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Chapter 924: Return to the Red Palace (1)

It must have been a delicate discussion, given how long she had been there.

The woman came back to the room with a calm look on her face, though, meaning that everything went well.

"I spoke with Captain Lain. She has agreed to let you come to the Red Palace."

Erik felt relief upon hearing those words. His eyes widened with gratitude as he processed the news. His eyes sparkled, and a small smile played on his lips.

"Thank you, Emma. This means a lot," Erik said. "Without the resistance\'s help, our fight against Volkov and the Blackguards will be much harder."

Emma nodded. "Captain Lain understands the importance of working together. You showed us what you are capable of. She knows you\'ll be a valuable player. But she told me to warn you about the Red Palace. They are not so eager to have you there. She requested your discretion upon your arrival. The elite still have some reservations about outsiders. Even if it\'s you."

That left Erik confused, but only up to a certain point. Erik had been a member of the Red Palace, meaning he was, in fact, an elite himself. He was stronger than Becker, for fuck\'s sake.

Everyone knew the blackguards and Volkov wanted to capture him. That alone should have told them how valuable his help would be.

But at the same time, Erik didn\'t stay there for a long time.

He didn\'t earn trust among the Red Palace\'s members, meaning that even if he had been there, they didn\'t think of him like one of his own.

Even if that wasn\'t true, the higher ups within the Red Palace, so used to have control, power and prestige, would never leave decision-making positions to him, who, in their opinion, was a nobody.

Though he showed his bewilderment to Emma. "But I was a member of the Red Palace once." "Don\'t ask me why they are so guarded. I do not know, but I honestly think they fear you." Erik sighed. "I never had the intention of undermining them. But I want to at least make this clear with you, Emma," Erik said. "I don\'t need neither the resistance, and the Red Palace. I\'m completely capable of killing Volkov and freeing Richard on my own. The reason I came here was mostly to share intel and to speed up the process. Honestly speaking, if we work together, it would be all to your advantage."

"That\'s a little sad to hear this from my point of view," Emma laughed. But she knew he was right, and that, the old resistance members knew.

"Sorry."

Erik smiled. There was then a brief pause.

"Regardless of the situation, I think you are smart enough to play this well and to understand why those guys are behaving like this. So, just keep calm. We need your support, and since most of the power is held by Van Dyke and his people, we are not completely free to act. So, do this as a personal favor and do everything you can to let you join them."

"Ok..."

"Very well," Emma said. "Wait here, and I will bring you to the Red Palace. Captain Lain is expecting us."

"Thank you again."

Emma gave him a smile. "Let\'s hope your visit leads to progress against our common enemies."

With that, Emma turned and left the room once more to prepare for their departure.

Erik felt relieved that Captain Lain had agreed to meet with him.

Now, hopefully, they could begin finding a way to free Richard Stone and counter Volkov\'s influence within New Alexandria.

Erik followed Emma out of the safe house and into the streets of New Alexandria. The woman walked with brisk steps while remaining alert to their surroundings.

Erik kept his head low to avoid being recognized as he matched her pace.

He changed his face to that of someone else. He even scared Emma, as she suddenly was followed by someone else dressed like Erik.

But his face would be easily recognizable otherwise, even more than Amber\'s and Emily\'s.

As they walked, Erik took in the signs of Volkov\'s influence over the city. Propaganda posters warned of the dangers of the resistance while extolling Volkov\'s "protection".

How the man could talk so blatantly about protection was behind Erik, and most likely beyond all the resistance\'s members.

But that was exactly the word Volkov used the most. That wasn\'t the only thing he was doing. He was blaming most of the nations\' problems for the resistance, saying that if it wasn\'t for them, they would have more men to protect the city from Thaids.

Yet, he failed to explain that the reason why the thaids started migrating to begin with, was because of Volkov\'s little friends, the blackguards.

It was because of them tragedy was befalling New Alexandria once again. The situation was so dire that people started believing the city was cursed, and that so was Frant.

Besides, the city was full of Soldiers in black uniforms patrolling the streets, their gazes suspicious and harsh. Most of them were what remained of the criminal organizations that once littered the nation.

Just by using these people, it was absurd to talk about protection. From who the citizens needed protection, from those that should defend them to begin with?

While walking, Erik noticed that the few civilians outside hurried past, avoiding eye contact and keeping their heads down.

Erik didn\'t even need to wonder what they were going through, since the first thing that happened to him once he came to New Alexandria the last time was to get into a fight with

some policemen.

Besides, Erik noticed many businesses had closed, leaving only those affiliated with Volkov

open.

What protection was Volkov talking about?

Based on what Emma said, the Red Palace was maybe the only place that was not full of Volkov\'s guards. Even if these guys weren\'t as strong as the blackguards, their members were still on a par with them. The only difference was that there were few Red Palace\'s members than blackguards.

After about 10 minutes of winding their way through the district, the Red Palace came into full view again.

The old resistance\'s base was not far, but the safe house was far, so the two had to walk for a

bit.

As they approached the main gates, Erik saw people standing guard.

They all had Red Palace\'s uniforms, but Erik knew some of them, and they were Fischer\'s men.

They were people Fischer recruited along the way when Erik was still there. Since they weren\'t taken from the prison, even Volkov wasn\'t aware of them. Not that it would make a difference,

though.

Most of them had been ordinary citizens before joining the resistance, and whoever didn\'t join the army usually didn\'t focus on training, and often they didn\'t even have great brain

crystal powers to begin with.

They saluted Emma as she strode forward, Erik following behind.

The soldiers eyed Erik with suspicion but said nothing.

They didn\'t know Erik could shapeshift. That was something the blackguards and the

resistance higher-ups kept to themselves.

Even so, the idea that he was Erik Romano in disguise would not immediately occur to them.

That level of suspicion would be akin to paranoia, because Erik could be everyone.

Emma led the man into the Red Palace\'s expansive gardens. They walked along stone

pathways, passing fountains and statues.

Finally, they arrived at a side entrance guarded by more people. When they saw Emma, the

guards opened the doors to let the duo in.

They stepped inside the cool interior of the Red Palace.

Erik felt a surge of nostalgia as memories came flooding back.

This place held an important part of his past, good and bad.

Erik turned around, and there at the reception desk stood Amanda Smith, the Red Palace

receptionist.

She remained as beautiful as the last time Erik had seen her, yet her dark skin now bore many

scars.

It looked like the parasite attack, or Volkov\'s reign of terror, had affected her, though she was an elite. She would not let these things affect her.

The woman looked at him with an inquisitive stare, though she failed to recognize him given

the face he now wore.

Erik wondered how many other familiar faces within the Red Palace would not recognize him

in his current guise and wondered who was still alive.

<I wonder if Master Nieminen is ok. >

Erik hadn\'t seen the woman who taught him the sword in a long time. Among the Red Palace

members, she was the only one he really cared about.

Emma paused, then turned to Erik.

"Captain Lain awaits us. Stay close, and don\'t speak unless spoken to first. These guys here

are... weird."

Erik nodded. "I know. I lived here for months in the past. By the way, thank you again for bringing me here, Emma. I appreciate the chance."

Emma gave him a small smile, then turned and went deeper into the depths of the Red Palace,

Erik following in her wake.