Chapter 130 Greetings to King Henry

"One."

"Two."

Before Henry got to three, Marcus from the other team fell to his knees, saying, "Commander of the Freton City forces, humbly greeting King Henry!"

After seeing their commander bowed down, all the officers of the third army followed suit, chanting in unison, "Greetings to King Henry!"

The officers of the second army were dumbfounded by the scene.

At this point, even if they were ready to fight hard for their fallen leader, they would be vastly outnumbered and might get completely defeated by the combined enemy forces.

It was futile.

They looked at each other and then, with one voice, called out, "Greetings to King Henry!"

Losing their commander was a humiliation, and not seeking vengeance would be an even greater disgrace. However, when their adversary turned out to be King Henry himself, everything changed.

The officers from both the second and third armies gazed upon Henry with an intense mixture of reverence and zeal.

Throughout the centuries since the founding of Diony Country, from its pinnacle of prosperity to its gradual decline, the nation had been beset by foes on all sides, standing on the brink of collapse.

Yet a young General emerged from nowhere, rising to prominence in the North State, leading his soldiers into battles, crushing enemies, and quelling rebels with invincible might.

Under the deliberate suppression from Ravinia City, the feats of the North State didn't make the headlines, but any military officer worth their salt knew that without the King of the North State, Diony Country would have been history and they would have either fallen in battle or surrendered as traitors to a fallen nation.

The power of one man saved a nation.

This was why, despite Ravinia City's desire to diminish him, they had no choice but to bestow upon him the title of King Henry the General.

This was King Henry.

Any soldier with a bit of conscience, upon learning about King Henry's actions, wouldn't dare to fight against him. They were aware that challenging the General meant risking their lives, as his reputation in battle was unparalleled.

Henry glanced at the people lying prostrate before him and nodded, "Good thing I made the trip here—you all still have some brains."

He wouldn't mind making an example out of someone in Freton City to establish his dominance. But obviously, that opportunity wasn't presenting itself.

"The plan to encircle the Tiger Gang has failed. I wonder what your next move will be?" Henry mused with a smirk, "The four great families—no, the three great families."

For some reason, he found himself quite taken with these little games.

"Who's next, I wonder?"

"Thinking about it, the Lewis family has been arrogant for far too long."

---

In the Freton City Hall's mayoral conference room, three people looked at each other, their eyes filled with uncertainty and doubt.

According to the original plan, by tonight, Kenny and Marcus were to take action against Beckett.

They had prepared for a night of fireworks outside the city hall.

To achieve this goal, Jasper went as far as imposing a citywide curfew, enforced by the Public Security Bureau, to keep citizens safe from getting involved in any nighttime conflicts and causing further problems.

Yet, as the time agreed upon passed with no signs of action, they were at a loss.

"General Kenny's and General Marcus's dissatisfaction with Beckett is nothing new. With our encouragement, action tonight was inevitable. It would not be postponed," one said.

Jasper sipped his coffee, his anxiety unabated, "The silence could mean only two things."

"First off, Beckett's downfall was a monumental success. Our guys ambushed him and, without firing a single shot, swiftly took control of the entire Tiger Gang. Just like that, the objective was achieved."

"Or, Beckett was prepared all along. The moment Kenny and Marcus walked in, they were captured. The crew had no choice but to lay down their arms and surrender."

"It's only in scenarios like these that we could witness such a silent and swift resolution of power."

Giulio was adamantly unconvinced. "No way!"

"We all know Beckett's a loose cannon, and so is the entire Tiger Gang. Even poisoned, knowing full well that fighting back means certain death, they’d never surrender."

"Kenny and Marcus aren’t fools either. They went in with a plan to take out Beckett. If they got snagged, they'd have backup measures. With our forces breathing down his neck, Beckett wouldn't dare make drastic moves."

"It just can't go down like that, no matter what."

"What does the head of the Costa family suggest?" Enrico Lewis questioned, his skepticism palpable.

"A more formidable, transcendent power has emerged, suppressing both sides," Giulio asserted confidently. As Enrico seemed about to speak, Giulio cut him off with a shake of his head. "It’s not Harold. He couldn't pull this off. Whichever side he takes, he'd just provoke the other into a wild backlash."

Enrico fell silent, unable to conjure any other explanation.

After hearing Giulio's analysis, Jasper became increasingly concerned. Freton City had undergone significant changes recently. It was no longer the place where the four leading families had a clear vision.

The Tiger Gang had brutally turned on the Lewis family. Enrico's father's body was still hanging, rotting at the doorstep of their family home.

There was Nicholas’s aggressive stance towards the White family, and the puzzling rise of Alessia, whose intentions remained unclear.

The countless assassins that had slipped into Freton City. Apparently, intent on causing havoc, it had vanished overnight.

And then there was tonight's bizarre situation...

Behind the scenes, it seemed as if mysterious, unseen hands were steering all these events, leading to the recent upheavals in Freton City.

But Jasper, despite pondering for a good while, could not think of any major player passing through or returning to Freton City recently.

'Could it be Henry?'

The name flickered through his mind—an enigmatic figure whose presence ebbed and flowed in the tumult. Jasper paused, then chuckled at his own thought.

Henry was simply the odd one out in the Millers' family, a former soldier who was let go. At best, Henry's future would only involve marrying into the Costas family reluctantly. But that's only if Giulio agrees to it.

Jasper couldn't understand why Giulio hadn't made his move against Henry, allowing this loser to linger around Miss Costa.

But it was a fortunate situation.

If Laura were to become single again, Jasper was sure Enrico's affections would drift towards the Costas.

Jasper's own daughter was an asset, true, but her looks.

He needed to encourage her to make a move on Enrico. The Lewis fortune wouldn't be far off then.

Jasper was plotting in his mind, and the other two had their thoughts.

One was pondering over the Corpse Mercenary Group's affairs.

The other, similar to Jasper's line of thinking, debated whether to sacrifice his charm and officially pair up with Jasper's daughter.

Thump, thump, thump!

The floor vibrated faintly as the three men snapped out of their reveries, aware of who had arrived.

"Dad, Uncle Costa, and... Enrico, are you guys hungry? I asked the staff to prepare some late-night snacks."

Abigail blushed as she mentioned Enrico's name.

"My thoughtful daughter, sure, a snack sounds good."

Jasper smiled, and the others did too, though Enrico's smile seemed a bit forced.

Abigail returned an embarrassed smile and walked away.

Watching her leave, Giulio's lips twitched, struggling to hold back his question. "Abigail is over six feet tall now, right? How much does she weigh?"

Jasper hesitated, "She's slimmed down quite a bit."

"Just under 250 pounds."