Chapter 654: Competitor

After drinking for a while, Nie Yuan turned his collar and walked out of the bar.

However, he did not even take a few steps before dozens of guards appeared and surrounded him.

The leader wore a helmet and armor, looking like a general from the ancient times.

“Halt, Nie Yuan! Who would’ve thought that you would dare to come back…” That General Rat Demon sneered.

“This is the place I was born, why wouldn’t I dare to come back? Or are you saying that my citizenship was revoked by your new King?” Nie Yuan said fearlessly.

“Hmph, you traitor! You still have the gall to return after damage have you caused to our Giant Rat Clan when you tried to restore the throne by rallying the rebels? It’s time to capture you and present you up to our King!” The General Rat Demon waved his hand, and the guards advanced.

“You don’t have to do anything. The reason I came back this time was to meet your new King, so take me to him now.” Nie Yuan said lightly.

“What tricks are you planning again? I’m telling you, don’t try to hide anything from the King’s Divine Eye.” The General Rat Demon said sternly.

Obviously, he was loyal to the new King, Bai Shixin, which was normal. If not for his loyalty, it was impossible for him to have the authority to lead troops to inspect the Greater Rat Kingdom.

“You’re indeed an ignorant scoundrel. Just lead the way.” Nie Yuan was very disdainful.

“Damn you!” The General Rat Demon wanted to teach him a lesson, but as if suddenly thinking of something, he forced himself to endure and ordered the troops to surround him.

The group of Rat Demons then walked along the street towards the center of the Greater Rat Kingdom.

Along the way, many Greater Rat Demon-men came and went. They all gave side-glances at Nie Yuan.

“Why does that person look so familiar? Hm, isn’t he that rebel guy from some time ago?”

“It is, he was once the second wisest person in our clan. He took the title of Elder Ancestor and tried to seize power, but he didn’t take a look at his own conduct and whether or not he was worthy of the throne…”

“That’s right, he’s just a local Rat Demon. There’s not much difference between us. His bloodline isn’t noble, and his strength isn’t high, so what gives him the right to be king?”

“Yeah, the new King is an Upper Realm Rat with noble bloodline. At least he’s perfectly legitimate.” The passers-by Rat Demons chattered.

“Hmph, I think before long, he’ll be sent to the execution ground…” Someone said gleefully.

“It seems that no Rat Demon-man so far had been directly executed. Before, they all died on the battlefield.”

“He’s probably the first.”

Nie Yuan’s face turned pale after hearing the words, and his heart began to give birth to a faint panic.

He realized that his plan neglected a fatal problem, and that was… The hearts of the people.

In the plan, Bai Shixin would definitely not kill him.

However, listening to all these discussions, he suddenly had a feeling that Bai Shixin would follow the example of ancient emperors, and take his head to appease the public anger.

…

In the center of the Greater Rat Kingdom was the new Imperial Palace.

The new Imperial Palace seemed to have just been completed. Many buildings had been cleaned up and were reconstructed in a way that mimicked ancient human palaces. The layout was quite similar to that of the Forbidden City.

There were three main halls and eight side halls that were symmetrically arranged along the central axis.

It was splendid, majestic, and spectacular. From a distance, it shook the hearts of people.

In the past, Elder Ancestor Bai did not need these external foils. He only worked at an ordinary office, but no one could ignore his prestige.

“Hmph, he really knows how to put up a show. In such a short amount of time, he was able to build such a palace in such a large scale construction. I wonder how much Greater Rats magical energy was consumed that should have been used for production instead.” Nie Yuan said disdainfully.

“Shut up. You used evil magic to entice other Rat Demons to participate in the rebellion. At that time, there were numerous casualties, and Rat Demons have always been scarce. That’s a huge waste.”

Nie Yuan could not be bothered to argue about that. The two things should not be confused. Who would consider if there would be a waste in a fight for power?

The General Rat Demon brought him outside the palace gates and asked someone to report it.

“The efficiency is so poor. If the Elder Ancestor were still around, he definitely wouldn’t let you have an easy time.” Nie Yuan pointed out disdainfully again.

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“Hmph, what do you know? The King said that most of the Greater Rats are short-sighted and aren’t suitable for directly applying the modern human system. It’s necessary to use the ancient system to make a transition first so that things remain stable. When the Greater Rat Clan cultural level increases, we’ll naturally be able to transition to the modern system that humans aboveground use.” The General Rat Demon said with an expression of worship.

“That master of mine really is good at fooling others. How ridiculous.” Nie Yuan said indifferently.

“Damn it, I really want to just chop you to death, but I’m afraid the King will blame me!” The General Rat Demon said furiously.

Just then, an old rat ran out from the gates.

It squeaked a few times, then the General Rat Demon waved his hands and the guards brought Nie Yuan into the palace.

Along the way, the palace cleaners and patrolling sentries were almost all ordinary Greater Rats. There were only a few foremen who were Greater Rat Demon-men.

“Oh, your new King hasn’t gotten carried away. At least he knows that he needs to use the millions of Greater Rat Demon-men at the right place.” Nie Yuan nodded.

He was the wisest one in the Clan for a reason, he still had some basic abilities.

It seemed the other party did not become stupid just because he ascended the throne. Power did not blind his eyes, so that was somewhat troublesome.

Before long, being led by the General Rat Demon, Nie Yuan entered the first main hall.

As soon as he entered, he felt envious.

There was a high platform in the main hall. Bai Shixin sat on the platform, reading the memorials with his head down.

Under the platform, two rows of officials sat neatly opposite each other, each bending their heads to check the documents.

It was like changing the humans’ modern office system into a setting inside an ancient palace.

‘It was like trying to draw a tiger but having the end product resemble a dog. If you want to imitate, then imitate everything. You want to increase efficiency, but you also want to maintain dignity. How can you have the best of both worlds?’

Nie Yuan thought sourly. The person sitting on that platform should have been him.

However, due a strange combination of circumstances, he failed in the fight to seize power, just one step short of success.

The other side had more contacts and more reserves, and the reinforcements invited were also stronger.

He had already teared up Cang Gongzi’s banner, and behind him was the support of Elder Ancestor Bai, who had been suppressed. Since he could not win the hearts and minds of the people, he was completely defeated by the other party. He was indeed still lacking.

However, he would never give up. That position would sooner or later return to his own hands.

‘Bai Shixin was just warming the seat for me. In the future, I’ll give him the title of Taizong ¹ …’

“Who stands before the throne?”

Just as Nie Yuan was lost in thought, a dignified voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

‘He really knows how to put on an act’, Nie Yuan sneered.

“Master, you really became forgetful after becoming nobility. This disciple traveled a thousand miles to congratulate you on finally obtaining your wish of ascending the throne as a King.”

“Haha, you rebel before and steal after. This King is considering to have you arrested. Starting a Kingdom requires a lot of work to be done so I have no time for you, but you walked right into the trap yourself. Guards, drag him out of the gates and behead him in front of the public…” Bai Shixin only glanced at him and said lightly.

‘Huh? This isn’t the same as the script I imagined.’

When the guards around him approached with glaring eyes, Nie Yuan hurriedly said, “Wait, I have something important to report to the King.”

“Oh, then speak. This King also wants to know what exactly is important enough that you’ll rely on it to avoid death.” Bai Shixin said coldly.

“I have reliable news that soon, a clan will descend from the sky and compete with us Greater Rats for underground space.” Nie Yuan quickly said.

“Hiss…” The scholar Greater Rat Demon-men all put down the documents in their hands in shock.

In the past, the Greater Rats had never encountered any competitors for underground development.

After all, there were very few creatures living underground, and even less that could become demons

As for creatures that could live kilometers below ground, they were even rarer. It would be difficult to form ecological communities, let alone establish a kingdom.

The local creatures were not competitive, but there were many creatures in the Upper Realm. There was no lack of subterranean creatures above them.

It seemed like the good days of the past would never come back.

The excellent foundation opened up by Elder Ancestor Bai finally produced new competitors.