Chapter 171: You have to wait
The journey to Sky City went well after that. They faced no issues after the first one with Ken. When they arrived at the city, they were all blown away by it. This was just a city, and it looked mighty grand. The pure white walls rose high into the sky, with black and golden accents along the edges of these massive walls. Guards walked up and down the walls, watching all those that came in and left the city.
The gates were made of several layers of thick black steel and golden accents. They were opened, and a ton of people were entering and leaving the town. The roads that led to the town were well paved and very clean.
"I can’t lie, Sky City seems pretty amazing," Ren said as he looked out.
"The Duke is known to love appearances. He enjoys being able to be seen as the richest," Lia stated.
"Did you ever get to meet him?" Ren asked.
"Haha. There is no way the Duke would spare face for a low-level baron home," she said.
"I guess Vermillion takes nobility very seriously," Ren commented.
They got to the gates, and the guards immediately surrounded them to ensure that nothing dangerous was entering the town. They had on full armors and swords on their sides. On their chests was the crest of the Duke, a dove flying upward.
One of the coachmen came down and collected the letter from the count. They showed it to the guards, and the guards did not delay them further or search them, allowing them to get in and head to the estate of the Duke.
Sky City was even more impressive from inside, massive and filled with well-built houses. Even if the Duke loved money and loved looking rich, he still took care of his town from the way that things looked, and Ren considered that pretty good.
"It’s scary to think about the fact that the spiders might have reached as far as here, and we do not know how to even detect it on our own," Lia said.
Ren looked out as well. He could understand her worry as well. They were facing an enemy that was unlike anything they had dealt with, an enemy that had hundreds of years to plan and to prepare, to ensure that her plan came through. If Ren had not been around, it would have worked perfectly, and it would have been their end.
They rode through the town until they got to the estate. The gates were opened to them.
The estate was filled with a huge amount of houses and land. The place was near to becoming a small town by itself. They kept riding for almost half an hour before they finally arrived at the gates of the main compound.
The gates were opened for them, and they went in.
The manor was something else, a massive white manor that stretched out wider than should be normal. It was built with elegance, to make a statement for sure. Right in the front was a gold-coated dove fountain that sprayed water in a beautiful pattern.
They rode until they got to the front of the house, and then all the carriages stopped. Standing at the door was already an old butler and eight maids. The coachmen rushed down and opened the doors of the carriages. The maids bowed immediately as everyone began to come out while the butler stepped forward.
He scanned the faces of everyone and then spoke to the count first.
"Count Liam, it is an honor to have you here," he said and then looked to Ren. He had been given some information about Ren, so he knew who Ren was without much thinking.
"It’s an honor to have you here as well, Sir Ren, the Forest Lord."
He did not pay attention to Lia or the rest and simply turned around.
"Please, all our guests, come with us. We will help you get rested and comfortable until the Duke is willing to speak with you."
"Willing to speak with us?" Ren asked suddenly and caused everyone to stop. They all turned and looked at him.
"Sir Ren, is there an issue?" Liam asked.
"Yeah, I’m not doing that," Ren said.
"I travelled over two days and went through a ton of stress to meet the Duke on an issue I have no stakes in, and now you want me to wait?" He asked, looking right at the butler.
He knew the game that they were playing here, and it was simply to magnify the importance of the Duke and downplay the status of Ren so that they could effectively create a better negotiating platform for themselves.
Ren simply did not want to play their game.
"Sir Ren, please, you must understand that the Duke is an extremely busy man," the butler said.
"And I’m some bum that has nothing to do?" Ren asked. His eyes flashed for a moment, causing some of his aura to spill out. All the maids looked up in fear and stepped back. Even the butler swallowed.
Liam wanted to say something, wanted to speak and settle the situation, but he knew that Ren was right in this situation, and he did not want to sour his standing with Ren.
The butler gathered himself and then spoke.
"I’m sorry, Sir Ren, but you would have to wait a bit," the butler said. "I can speak to the Duke and have him come faster, but there will have to be some time before he comes."
"Then I’ll be leaving," Ren said. He turned around and started walking away.
Some guards of the house moved and intercepted him. A few even reached out to touch him. They had barely moved fully before all of them were attacked in a matter of seconds and thrown to the ground. Ezra, Remu, Fey, Silas, and even Lia had attacked and beat up the guards.
"How dare you?" Remu growled, their eyes locked onto the butler.