Chapter 266 - 245: Plantable Land Out of Thin Air?

Chapter 266: Chapter 245: Plantable Land Out of Thin Air?

East Suburb Fortress.

After Lu Feng led his men to kill Li Kai, he didn’t log out of the game. He had been waiting.

The people he’d sent to the City East Alliance should have spread the news he’d given them all over the alliance by now.

If the City East Alliance wasn’t too slow to react, they should already be making a move. It was impossible for them to simply ignore it.

Besides, if the Flame Emperor’s reactions were that dull, he never would have been able to establish the City East Alliance in the first place.

Soon, Lin Jiao hurried over to him and said, "Boss, we have visitors. They claim to be from the Flame Emperor’s Mansion and want to see you. They’ve brought the record book of the City East Alliance’s arable land and want us to cooperate with their audit. We’ve confirmed their identities; they are indeed from the Flame Emperor’s Mansion."

"Let’s go," Lu Feng said with a smile.

This meant the Li Family must have been questioned. The next step was to make it impossible for them to defend themselves.

Lu Feng followed Lin Jiao to the reception hall of the East Suburb Fortress. He saw a group of people sitting and drinking tea, led by a middle-aged man.

"Boss, this is Mr. Zhu from the Flame Emperor’s Mansion," Lin Jiao introduced immediately. At the same time, she turned to Mr. Zhu and said, "Mr. Zhu, this is the Guard Officer of our East Suburb Fortress, Mr. Lu."

Mr. Zhu studied Lu Feng for a moment before speaking. "I didn’t expect Mr. Lu to be so young. The Flame Emperor is already aware that you were the one who sent people to spread the news in the City East Alliance. Therefore, His Majesty has said that if this matter is true, then your dedication to the public good will be a great merit. If it’s false, you should know the consequences."

"You can rest assured, Mr. Zhu," Lu Feng said with a smile.

Those words put his own mind at ease.

According to the game’s background and lore, the Flame Emperor was an extremely popular figure, known for being fair in both reward and punishment. Once he felt you had contributed, you never had to worry about not being rewarded.

’Isn’t this the whole reason I freely offered so much neutralized, arable land to the City East Alliance?’

After that, Lu Feng led Mr. Zhu around the East Suburb to audit the arable land.

Naturally, there were no issues with the previously registered lands.

So, Mr. Zhu said directly, "Mr. Lu, just take me to see the arable land that the Li Family has hidden."

Lu Feng nodded and first took him to the newly discovered valley.

Upon seeing the arable land in the valley, Mr. Zhu immediately flipped through his records to confirm. His brow furrowed.

This area was indeed not on record.

Lu Feng naturally noticed Mr. Zhu’s expression and smiled inwardly. He then led him to the area that Lin Jiao and her team had just finished neutralizing.

When Mr. Zhu saw the arable land in this area, his expression turned grim to the extreme.

This area was countless times larger than the valley, yet it was completely unrecorded.

He even took out a special instrument to test the soil. After confirming that crops could be grown here, it meant the Li Family had actually hidden this much land.

He cursed aloud, "The damned Li Family! A bunch of greedy parasites!"

How much food and grain could such a large cultivable base produce each year? Now all that food and grain was nowhere to be seen. It had all gone into the Li Family’s pockets.

No wonder everyone said the Li Family could establish their own prosperous base even if they left the City East Alliance.

"Mr. Lu, you have performed a great service this time. The Flame Emperor is fair in his rewards and punishments; you will be rewarded." After saying this, Mr. Zhu used his communicator to summon a hovercar and departed in a hurry.

Seeing this, Lin Jiao remarked with emotion, "Boss, I guess the plan is a success now. That Flame Emperor really is fair with his rewards and punishments. By presenting such a large, unrecorded plot of arable land, he will surely see you as selfless and devoted to the public good."

"Otherwise, by normal logic, you could have cooperated with the Li Family and embezzled a great deal. But now, you haven’t taken a thing and have even offended the Li Family for it. A person like that is the most suitable to be the Guard Officer of the East Suburb Fortress."

But Lu Feng said, "The Li Family will definitely retaliate for this setback. Notify Wang Cheng to have the Mechas ready at all times."

With the Mechas, they couldn’t do anything to him unless the Li Family came out in full force.

But if the Li Family could come out in full force, they wouldn’t have needed to rely on outsiders to find that Salvation Army squad and obtain these Mechas.

Unfortunately for them, the Li Family had no idea the Mechas were already in his possession.

...

City East Alliance.

In the Flame Emperor’s Mansion, Li Sheng remained seated. In the meantime, the Flame Emperor had summoned several other people, all of them nobles from the City East Alliance.

After these nobles arrived, they all looked at Li Sheng as if they were watching a good show.

They had all naturally heard the news about the Li Family.

If it was true, they were also quite displeased.

After all, lining one’s own pockets was something they all wanted to do; it just seemed the Li Family had overplayed their hand this time.

Li Sheng naturally noticed their gazes and snorted coldly.

’It’s too early for these guys to be enjoying the show.’

’Even if our Li Family is punished this time, it’ll just be a punishment. After all, besides that newly discovered plot of land, we haven’t actually hidden that much.’

’With the Flame Emperor’s reputation, we never had the chance to hide those previous lands.’

This continued until the sun began to set.

Just as the Flame Emperor had food and dishes brought in, a figure rushed into the hall—it was Mr. Zhu, who had been sent to the East Suburb.

"Your Excellency, the Flame Emperor, the investigation is complete." Mr. Zhu handed the investigation materials to the Flame Emperor.

The Flame Emperor took the file and began to read. After just a moment, his expression turned extremely grim. "Li Sheng, your Li Family truly has a massive appetite."

With that, he threw the file at Li Sheng.

Li Sheng was stunned. He immediately picked up the file and read it. A moment later, his face also showed a look of astonishment, or rather, disbelief.

’How could there be such a huge tract of unrecorded arable land?’

’The key is, I didn’t even know about this land!’

’Why would such a massive amount of arable land suddenly appear out of thin air?’

Li Sheng wasn’t stupid. He immediately guessed the reason. This must be related to the Guard Officer his Li Family had sent over before.

The most likely culprit was Chen Feng (Chapter 189). Otherwise, how would Chen Feng have dared to think of leaving the Li Family? He even collaborated with those bandits; it must have been related to this land.

So much arable land would give anyone a boost of courage.

’So, this time, that Lu Feng must have discovered this unrecorded arable land.’

’But is this Lu Feng an idiot?’

’Wasn’t he tempted in the slightest by so much arable land? To just let the Flame Emperor find out like this?’

’Anyone else would have definitely hidden it. After all, this was arable land that not even our Li Family knew about.’

Obviously, he had no idea that this arable land was something Lu Feng had created out of thin air.

’In this situation, our Li Family can’t explain our way out of it. The East Suburb is, after all, under our jurisdiction.’

He could only say with a bitter expression, "Flame Emperor, our Li Family absolutely did not know about this arable land. You can send people to investigate our family’s situation."

But the Flame Emperor’s face was already full of rage. He snorted coldly and declared, "From now on, the Li Family will no longer be responsible for the East Suburb Fortress. The Li Family is to temporarily halt all Alliance affairs and submit to an investigation. Guard Officer Lu Feng of the East Suburb Fortress will be temporarily in charge of all matters in the East Suburb."

After speaking, the Flame Emperor left the hall directly and walked toward the inner chambers.

The Li Family hiding this arable land had clearly infuriated him. If the Li Family hadn’t made great contributions during the founding of the City East Alliance, the punishment would have been far more severe than this.

As Li Sheng returned to the Li Family estate, his fists were clenched tightly, and his expression was as dark as it could be.

’Damn that Flame Emperor.’

’If only we had found that Salvation Army squad!’

’If we had gotten the map held by that Salvation Army squad and obtained the Mechas mentioned in the intelligence, why would our Li Family have to fear this Flame Emperor?’

He still didn’t understand exactly what had happened, but that was no longer important. The Li Family had been temporarily suspended from Alliance affairs. Even if they were reinstated later, their prestige and power would be significantly weakened.

Li Sheng gave a direct order to a member of the Li Family: "Li Chen, take the forces we’ve recalled and proceed to the East Suburb Fortress as planned. Before the news gets out, contact Li Kai and Zheng Lin, and kill that Lu Feng."

’This was all caused by that Lu Feng from the Qingfeng Alliance. He dared to betray the Li Family and must pay the price.’

"Yes, Patriarch." Li Chen could clearly see the Patriarch’s fury and immediately went to gather men.

Soon, a team of more than ten people left the Li Family estate and headed out of the City East Alliance.

These people were the ability users led by Li Chen, including members of the Li Family itself as well as those from vassal families.

And each and every one of them was extremely powerful.

They rode in hovercars, rushing toward the East Suburb Fortress at top speed.

Not far from the East Suburb Fortress, Li Chen used a special method to contact Li Kai and Zheng Lin inside the fortress.

He had no idea that Li Kai was already dead.

However, Zheng Lin still received the message.

He found Lu Feng immediately. "Mr. Lu, someone from the Li Family has contacted Li Kai and me. It seems the Li Family is making another move. Should I go meet with them?"

"Go," Lu Feng said with a grin. "If those people are here for revenge, to kill me or something, remember to tell them that I’m about to leave the East Suburb Fortress to check on the situation at a planting site."

"Understood, Mr. Lu." Zheng Lin nodded and left the fortress. He felt a bit of pity for the people from the Li Family.

’Why do these people insist on sending their men to their deaths in waves, one after another? If they came all at once, they might have actually had a chance to take this guy out.’

Zheng Lin soon met with Li Chen and the men he had brought from the Li Family.

Upon seeing Zheng Lin, Li Chen asked, "Where is Li Kai?"

Zheng Lin replied, "This Lu Feng is incredibly ambitious. Li Kai is under surveillance and can’t get away."

Li Chen nodded and said, "The Patriarch ordered us to eliminate him. We’ll need you and Li Kai to cooperate with us, especially in tracking his movements."

Zheng Lin was surprised to hear this.

’So these people really are here to kill Mr. Lu.’

He hurriedly relayed the information he was given. "Perfect timing. That Lu Feng is about to go inspect a planting site. He usually doesn’t take many people with him, so this is a great opportunity for you to ambush him."

Hearing this, Li Chen and his men immediately showed their delight.

’We didn’t expect such a perfect opportunity to arise the moment we arrived in the East Suburb!’

’This is perfect. We’ll kill this Lu Feng and report back to the Patriarch.’

After relaying the information, Zheng Lin quickly returned to the East Suburb Fortress and reported to Lu Feng, "Mr. Lu, the Li Family’s men are indeed here to kill you. They brought over ten very powerful ability users this time."

Lu Feng said coldly, "Then after we take care of them, the Li Family should probably lay low for a while, right?"

...

Not long after, a hovercar conspicuously departed from the East Suburb Fortress. There weren’t many people inside—besides the driver, there was only Lu Feng and Wang Cheng. And, of course, two boxes.

Li Chen and his men naturally noticed the vehicle.

Soon, Zheng Lin appeared before him again. "Lu Feng is in that hovercar."

"Follow them." Li Chen didn’t hesitate. He immediately led his men in pursuit. Soon enough, they saw the target’s hovercar stop at a planting site.

Only two people got out of the car; the driver remained inside.

Li Chen watched this from his hiding spot and sneered. ’Only two of them. With more than ten powerful ability users surrounding them, they’re dead for sure.’

So, he gave a decisive wave of his hand, and his men started their hovercars and charged out, reaching the planting site at top speed.

Lu Feng and Wang Cheng naturally saw them at once.

Wang Cheng had already tightened his grip on the box in his hand. As the men charged closer, he decisively opened the box and suited up in the Mecha.

Lu Feng did the same.

By the time Li Chen and his men rushed up to them, they saw Lu Feng and Wang Cheng already suited up in their Mechas.

"Mechas?!" In that instant, Li Chen’s eyes widened in terror, and his mind went blank with a buzzing sound.

He knew just how powerful Mechas were.

The Mechas his Li Family had been trying so desperately to obtain were in their hands all along.