Chapter 307: Hal's Attack
In the passenger car of the magic steam train heading to the royal capital.
Hal Maxwell, wearing a gentleman's suit and with messy semi-long brown hair combed back, sat in his seat with his legs wide open, his upper body leaning against the back of the chair, staring blankly upward with his head half tilted back.
There were three suitcases on the luggage rack diagonally above, one of which was Hal's luggage.
He was working in the wilderness as a prison chief and prisoner supervisor, and suddenly he was called back as if his life was in danger. Suddenly he was dressed up like a human and put on a train to go to the capital to carry out a mission... That was fine!
Anyway, Hal was a bit tired of squatting in the wilderness, so he might as well come out for some fresh air - this task might be a hassle for others, but it was really not difficult for Hal; the "Holy Crow" thieves group had been active in the Rhine Kingdom before, and Hal did have a channel to contact people from the Rhine royal family.
Hal had no reason to refuse the mission, as he could go to the capital city at public expense from the city hall and also openly attack Lord Yang!
It was not until the train started moving that Hal belatedly remembered something.
How did Yang know that he knew someone from the Rhine royal family? After being tricked by Yang to Tarantin, he never mentioned this to anyone.
Trying hard to recall the last time he mentioned this to someone, Hal's face gradually turned ugly...
That's right, when he was trying to find another black magician, the "Lich" Enwei, to help solve the predicament of the thieves' group, Yang happened to come to him.
He had just revealed his biggest trump card, his relationship with a member of the Rhine royal family who was in line for succession, when Envy disappeared without a word.
At the time, Hal thought Envy was not interested in this bargaining chip, and he never thought about it again.
Now that I think about it, the “Lich” Enwei was actually scared away by Yang! !
After that, when Yang arrived at Innadri, Envi, the "lich" who had been hiding in the Sorenson Mountains for several years, packed up and left without saying a word!
If Enwei had not been scared away, the thieves would not have been deceived into going to Tarantan.
No need to be harassed by the undead, no need to owe Yang a debt, no need to be forced to do things...
But at the same time, he would also lose many opportunities... For example, he, Tuttle, Pansy and others who were on the wanted list, if they had not become Yang's men, they would not have the opportunity to appear openly in the town with their own identities, let alone become wardens or puppet lords.
The more he thought about it, the more troubled he became, and Hal gradually fell into a state of inaction.
Hal was slumped in his seat in a rather inelegant posture. Across the wooden table sat a middle-class couple.
When the couple found out that the passenger sitting next to them was a man who was dressed decently but looked like a bad guy, their smiles to greet him were very forced...
There was no way, Hal's smell of a villain was too strong. Even if he was wearing a formal suit that would not be impolite for a cocktail party, with a bow tie tied properly, a case for his monocle in his breast pocket, and a corner of a white silk scarf sticking out from behind the case, he still looked more like a robber than a gentleman.
When the train arrived at the station, the middle-class couple who sat with Hal couldn't wait to get off the train. They sat opposite each other for several hours, but the couple didn't even ask Hal's name...
Hal didn't care what the other passengers thought of him. After leaving the station, he skillfully hailed a carriage to go into the capital.
The rules in the royal capital were much stricter than those in other cities. Anyone walking on the street might be stopped and questioned by the burly city police at any time, asking about their identity, origin and residence - the last point was very important. Anyone who could tell their identity but had no proper residence would most likely be taken back to the city police station and would not be able to get out without suffering a heavy punishment.
The first thing a stranger must do when entering the royal capital is to find a hotel or inn to stay in.
With the same logic as Yang Qiu's action when he entered the royal capital, Hal, the old man, also found a neighborhood with the largest population mobility in the outer city and lived there - he did not stay in a hotel, because he would be staying for a long time, and it would be more cost-effective to stay in a short-term rental apartment than a hotel, and the latter was more private.
Next, he rented a carriage from the apartment owner and hired a coachman... There was no need to hire a servant, because Hal didn't need to go to an occasion where he needed a servant to save face anyway.
Next, he had to find the underground branch of the Bounty Hunter Association hidden in the outer city, and register as a bounty hunter with a citizen certificate issued by the Innadri City Hall.
In this way, one can obtain proof of employment and avoid the trouble of being treated as a vagrant; and one can also obtain some additional conveniences through the Bounty Hunter Association - the Bounty Hunter Association has a wide range of customers, including many dignitaries.
Hal, a long-time fugitive, is extremely skilled in hiding his identity and gaining a certain amount of space to move around in big cities.
After solving the identity problem, Hal went back to his apartment and took a nap. When it was getting dark, he got up in high spirits, shaved off his stubble, and used the hairspray prepared by the City Hall to neaten his hair. Finally, he put on a more elegant suit prepared by the City Hall. A brand new gentleman... no, a thug in formal wear, made his debut.
Before leaving, Hal thought of something and went back to the bathroom, spraying himself with the perfume prepared by the City Hall...
"Cough, cough! Grass, it smells so bad!"
Hal waved his hand in disdain and walked out the door smelling delicious.
As a former great thief, there is no way he would like something like perfume. How can he sneak around if he stinks everywhere he goes?
But precisely because of this, security forces in most places will not be on guard against people with a strong scent - firstly, poor people cannot afford perfume, and secondly, such people smell of perfume wherever they go, and will be exposed if they do something bad.
The driver who had just been hired during the day was waiting downstairs of the apartment building as promised. He took Hal and drove straight to the neighborhood that was brightly lit at night.
The entertainment venues in the capital were not comparable to those in the countryside like Innaderi. Bars, strip shows, dance halls, and other places were all low-class and low-class, and clubs were just barely up to par. Private clubs with membership access were the mainstream of the nightlife for the upper class.
Hal couldn't enter the private club, but it didn't matter. The royal member he was familiar with actually didn't like places where people either had too much fun or had too much fun. If he really tried to sneak into the club, he wouldn't be able to find anyone.
However, Hal's luck didn't seem to be very good this time. He went around the most popular clubs and dance halls in the city for a whole night but still couldn't find anyone.
Hal returned to his apartment before daybreak.
After hiding during the day and coming out at night for several days, Hal finally found his target in a club...
The fourth prince of the Rhine royal family, Andre Henrik Rhine!
He is sixth in the line of succession, with three princes, one duke and one duke ahead of him. It can be said that he will only be able to succeed to the throne if a great plague strikes the capital and the princes suffer heavy casualties.
But Hal's boasting that the royal family member he knew was at the top of the succession list was not really an exaggeration, because Prince Andre the Fourth had more than a dozen people behind him...
It’s not that there are so many princes, but according to the inheritance order of the kingdoms in the continent of Nabarron, the current king’s sons, brothers, and brothers’ sons and grandsons can all be arranged in the order of succession.
Of course, the king's brothers are lower in line of succession than the king's sons.
After finding the target, Hal did not rush forward to say hello, but observed carefully first.
The fourth prince Andre would definitely not come to the club alone. Outside the booth where he was sitting, two sturdy men were standing in the aisle, flirting with the waitresses in the club while looking at the guests in the booths in the lobby.
The two men were guards, and Hal remembered the name of one of them.
There were several waitresses accompanying Andre in the booth, and there were three other people with Andre.
The two were young men with slicked-back hair and powdered faces. Hal, who was sitting in a booth nearby, only took a glance and judged that the two young men were not stronger than the peasant woman doing farm work.
As for the third person, Hal couldn't see through him.
The man was wearing a half-face mask used at balls, with only a small part of his chin exposed. He was wearing an extremely large, loose robe that looked very much like a nightgown, and had long light golden hair hanging down. Because he was sitting and leaning lazily on the sofa, it was impossible to tell whether he was a man or a woman.
"Who is this?"
Hal had a question mark on his forehead.
After observing for a while, he found that the man wearing a half-face mask was not very close to Andre and the other two. He seldom spoke and only nodded and uttered a few words sparingly when Andre looked over.
"Forget it, he doesn't look like a threat." Hal thought for a while, unwilling to give up the opportunity, put down his wine glass, stood up, straightened his collar, and left the booth, as if preparing to go to the bathroom.
When passing by the two guards, Hal seemed to suddenly think of something, turned his head to look at one of them, and said in surprise: "Hey, you are..."
The guard who was flirting with the waitress turned his head to look at Hal, looked him up and down for a while, and said "Ah", then remembered him: "Mr. Harvey?"
"Ah, it's you!" Hal clapped his hands in mock delight. "Grantham, am I remembering correctly?"
"I'm not mistaken, Mr. Harvey, you have a good memory." The guard smiled politely.
When Hal got in touch with the fourth prince Andre, of course he couldn't use his real name.
In addition, this guy has a lot of experience in not doing his job, and he knows how to invest in the prince's guards... Even after appearing again after several years, the guards still remember him.
She chatted happily with the guard for a few words, and then excitedly followed the guard into the booth to visit the prince.
When the fourth prince saw Hal, he not only remembered him quickly, but also showed great joy. He pulled him to sit down intimately and introduced him to his friends...
Hal, who has a typical villain face and can make passers-by automatically give way when walking on the street, will actually have a lot of opportunities if he is willing to be polite and courteous and enthusiastically make friends with others - being "lowered" to please and get close to someone who has a very intimidating physique, professional-level strength, and looks like a super villain or a big villain will make people feel inexplicably refreshed and satisfied.
The mother of the fourth prince Andrei is the second wife of the old king. She is still a princess and has not been crowned queen. That is why Andrei's succession order is low. Perhaps because he knew from a young age that he would not become the crown prince and was not valued by the royal family, Andrei does not have the pride in his three older brothers. Instead, he has some inferiority complex.
Andre, who was often ignored and lacked confidence, was warmly approached by Hal, a villain who didn't want to be approached by strangers, when he was relaxing and having fun in "hidden identity". It was really hard to refuse...
