The soldier skillfully led Axel to a secluded street. He moved with such practiced ease that it was clear he had already escorted many people who had come to pay respects to Lu Bu.
Seeing that Axel didn't say anything, the soldier took the initiative to start a conversation.
"My lord, may I ask whether you admired my lord Lu Bu, or had some connection to him in the past?"
"Is that important?", Axel blinked.
"Uh...", Seeing Axel's reaction, the soldier couldn't help freezing for a moment.
Xiapi had been besieged for many days, and just outside the city was the powerful Cao army.
Now, anyone brave enough to enter the city could only be one of two kinds of people.
The first were Lu Bu's admirers, and the second were Lu Bu's old friends.
But judging from Axel's reaction… he seemed to be neither?
The soldier frowned in confusion, "Then may I ask, my lord, why you've come to Xiapi at such a time?"
"Oh, I came to look for Diao Chan."
Soldier: "???"
'Brother, are you for real? You're way too blunt!'
'Lord Lu Bu just died, probably not even cold yet, and you already came to look for Diao Chan?'
On the small side, this made the man immoral. On the big side, this meant he didn't put the soldiers of the entire city in his eyes.
"Trai...", The soldier patted Ponyta's mane, wanting to shout "Traitor, die!" and have Ponyta launch a surprise attack to instantly take Axel down.
But he had barely said the first syllable when a crushing wave of overwhelming pressure slammed into him.
The soldier's expression twisted in pain. He keenly felt that Gardevoir clearly hadn't done anything, yet he felt like he was facing a terrifying beast beyond imagination.
It felt as if with one thought from her, his mind would completely shatter and he would become a corpse.
"How... how is this possible?"
Ever since joining the army, he had never felt such a terrifying psychic force, not even from Lu Bu.
Across the entire Eastern Han, only Zhang Jue could possibly have had such terrifying suppressive power.
"Gardevoir, let him go first," Axel knew Gardevoir wouldn't act for no reason. It must have been this soldier who first felt killing intent.
But still... he was only going to look for Diao Chan, not marry her.
What was this soldier getting worked up about?
"Tell me, why can't I look for Diao Chan?"
"N-no reason!", After feeling Gardevoir's almost tangible killing intent, how could the soldier dare say anything now?
Gardevoir, on the other hand, gently sent her telepathic voice into Axel's mind.
["He... thought you were here to be a cuckold-maker..."]
Axel: "..."
'How did we even get to that misunderstanding?'
And also, what have Gardevoir, Cynthia, and Caitlin been doing these days that she even knows that term?
Next time they meet, he was absolutely going to punish Cynthia and Caitlin properly.
"Brother, you're misunderstanding. I'm looking for Diao Chan because I want to exchange ideas on how to train a Gardevoir. Nothing else…"
Hearing Axel's explanation, the soldier was speechless at first, then forced a bitter laugh.
"My lord, please don't speak with such dramatic pauses in the future… I felt like I almost died earlier."
"But since you're not one of Lord Lu Bu's friends, I'll take you to Lord Wang's residence. The people gathering there are mostly admirers of Lord Lu Bu. You can interact with them for now."
"As for Lady Diao Chan…"
At this point, the soldier's stomach tightened again. Why did he feel like he was courting death? He was actually daring to discuss Lady Diao Chan.
But he had seen Axel's strength just now, and Axel's reason for coming was perfectly proper.
At such a critical time, he couldn't afford to create more enemies for Xiapi.
"As for Lady Diao Chan, she'll probably preside over the ritual tomorrow. You should see her then. As for whether you can talk to her… that'll depend on your own ability."
With that, the soldier stopped speaking. He practically delivered Axel to a certain residence like he was sending away a plague god, handed him over to the steward, and hurried off.
The steward was a smiling, chubby man who looked much more smooth and crafty than the soldier.
He didn't ask about Axel's origins at all. He simply led Axel to a quiet room and had someone bring food and wine before preparing to leave.
Before stepping out, he still smiled warmly at Axel.
"Sir, Xiapi has been unsettled lately, but anyone who comes is a guest. Aside from not sleeping too deeply at night, so that you can flee if flying Pokémon attack the city, everything else can be handled by the servants here."
"Tomorrow during Lord Lu Bu's funeral, I will bring all of you there.
However, there is one rule: except for combatants, no one else is allowed to release Pokémon. I ask that you follow this."
"What do you mean?", Axel couldn't help getting curious.
Judging by the steward's words, there would be battles at the funeral.
But who on earth fought at a funeral?
Hearing Axel's question, even with the steward's smooth personality, he couldn't help his eyes turning a bit red.
"That bastard Cao Cao has set his eyes on our Lady Diao Chan.
She only wants to take Lord Lu Bu's family and leave, but that bastard wants Lady Diao Chan to stay behind."
"Lady Diao Chan couldn't stand it, so she set a wager with that Cao bandit. Tomorrow they'll fight nine battles. If our side wins five, he will let everyone go."
"But that Cao bandit made demands as well. If he wins, Lady Diao Chan must leave with him… or he'll directly massacre the city."
"But our main fighting forces were already exhausted long ago. How could we possibly win?"
"Luckily, Lord Liu Bei intervened and persuaded the Cao bandit to change his terms."
"The previous wager still stands, but as long as our side wins one match, one tenth of the civilians in the city will be allowed to leave."
Axel nodded thoughtfully, "So that's why you've been sending soldiers out into the streets to recruit people. Hoping to borrow the strength of other trainers to win as many battles as possible, right?"
"That's right," After speaking his mind, the steward looked much more relieved and bowed slightly to Axel.
"But I was being emotional just now. You only admire Lady Diao Chan, so we absolutely won't drag you in."
"It's just… just that in the coming days, considering our hospitality to you, please let the world know of that Cao bandit's crimes once you are safe."
"Do?", Axel couldn't help grinning.
"Do what? That bastard?"
Axel still didn't know how to approach Diao Chan, nor how to get her to willingly share her training methods.
And now Cao Cao had delivered himself to his door.
Wasn't that just a walking goodwill machine?
Axel would be generous to not beat him half to death, and they expected him to let Cao Cao act like a bandit?
Keep dreaming!
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