Chapter 171

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Chapter 171: Reasonable

With Russell’s mercenaries joining the battlefield, the situation quickly stabilized, clearing a path for Teresa and the others to pass through.

Now in the entire City of Freedom, besides Frank’s troops, the strongest fighting force is Russell’s army.

Don’t underestimate him just because he only has four thousand mercenaries, he has the most weapons and equipment!

Fighter jets, tanks, all of these were brought in on ships, enough equipment for a whole division.

No one knows whom the kingdom purchased this entire division’s worth of equipment to defend against…

"Karoso."

When Teresa saw Karoso shot twice again and sporting even more wounds, she couldn’t help but embrace him.

Karoso held Teresa, patted her back, and whispered softly, "It’s okay, in this first-tier battle, we have emerged victorious."

"Well, but the final victory is still far away," Teresa nodded and let go of Karoso.

"Her Royal Highness Princess Teresa," Russell performed a standard gentleman’s bow. "I have long heard of the name of Her Royal Highness Princess Teresa."

"Sorry, but I just found out about you today," Teresa said cheerfully.

"If you don’t mind, could you please tell me what happened?" Russell raised an eyebrow. "I have too many doubts right now."

"Didn’t you tell him just now?" Teresa looked at Karoso in surprise.

Karoso and Russell looked at each other, hummed simultaneously, and turned away.

Teresa: ???

Why are these two behaving like children?

Wait, Karoso is actually a child.

……

Soon, Karoso and the others changed into clean clothes, took a bath, had some food, and arrived on Russell’s ship.

Besides carrying weapons, Russell also brought a cruise ship.

This was another business of Russell’s: a gambling ship.

He originally planned to make some extra money in the City of Freedom after selling the weapons…

Karoso and Teresa’s army had already rested on the spot, with the army doctor using the supplies Russell brought.

The lounge on the cruise ship.

Russell was playing with poker cards and looked at Karoso, saying, "So, young man, you mean to tell me you met my daughter in the capital city, you are a fan of hers, and you brought a camp to City of Freedom for a vacation when you had free time?"

"Well, I’ll come clean. Attending the concert was just a side thing. My main goal was to ask Teresa to help me connect with Eugene, so we could properly equip this camp – it’s my guard battalion." Karoso shrugged.

Russell had a smug expression on his face.

Noble young men like Karoso, who have important matters to attend to, do not usually bring so many soldiers to a concert.

For his own safety, he should have brought skilled individuals, not soldiers.

However, Karoso did not seem to have any ulterior motives, as he did not bring skilled individuals with him.

That’s Karoso’s cleverness. If he had brought skilled individuals, he would have been overly prepared, which is why Teresa found it strange and Will had no reason to question Karoso.

Grand Duke Osiris actually assigned Karoso a seventh-tier bodyguard; it wasn’t Karoso’s own choice.

Elizabeth pouted.

If Karoso had come specifically for her, she would have been happier.

Unexpectedly, I’m just a side note…

Karoso was really moved.

"Silly girl, what are you looking at? You’re only fifteen." Russell tapped Elizabeth’s bottom with his cane. "I didn’t come just for you."

Now, Russell is sitting on the middle couch, Elizabeth is standing on the side; Karoso and Neymar are sitting together, with Kirmin standing by them; Teresa is sitting alone, with Will standing beside her.

"I never admitted that you, this scoundrel, are my father!" Elizabeth stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Russell. "Besides causing me trouble, what good have you done? You abandoned me and my mother back then, went out on your own adventures, did you ever care about how we felt?"

"Other than sending 300,000 Forged Coins home every month, have you ever cared for us? I need a responsible father, not this dirty money!"

"Please, miss…" Russell chuckled while looking at Elizabeth with a pained smile, holding his fists together. "I was in great danger back then, if you had followed me, we’d have been goners in a few days. If I hadn’t gone out to seek my fortune, where would you have gotten your tuition fees, money for singing lessons…"

"Do you have the nerve to talk to me about learning?" Elizabeth’s anger flared up. "When I was having my career awakening, I was captured and awakened as a thief. Do you know, I can only be a thief in the shadows in the future!"

"Being a thief is not a problem." Karoso reached out. "Using the fourth-tier Thief Card deck, I successfully influenced a seventh-tier thief."

"I can testify that Master Karoso’s deck…is indeed powerful, able to retain a seventh-tier thief, all thanks to Master Karoso," Will said. "Though it has quite a few restrictions."

"Are you speaking up for this jerk?" Elizabeth looked at Karoso in disbelief. "Don’t forget, you were arguing just now and he wanted to throw you into the sea to feed the fish!"

"I’m not helping him, I’m just stating a fact," Karoso said seriously. "The Thief Card group is not wrong."

"Haha, little brother, I appreciate your straightforwardness." Russell laughed.

"You all bully me!"

Elizabeth stomped her foot, about to leave, but then saw Russell say, "You need to explain what happened back there clearly to me, or else how will I pay you the ransom money?"

"So it’s really all about money for you!" Elizabeth glared at Karoso.

"No, initially we were friends. Back then, I was simply helping you without knowing who you really were. It was you who kept your identity a secret from me. In that situation, offending a Marquis’s son, even if I could afford to do so, would only bring me trouble with no benefits." Karoso explained.

Elizabeth fell silent for a moment, stomped her foot, and left the place.

This girl, who hasn’t been beaten down by society much, still had a touch of being unreasonable.

Or we can say, people like Neymar Teresa Kirmin who speak logically are rare…

"How do you know she’s my daughter?" Russell tapped his heart.

"Neymar was guided by the gods," Teresa said. "When we were at the ballroom, everyone else heard her being called Elizabeth Swann, but Neymar heard Elizabeth Hekmatyar. Also, the enemies have resorted to extreme measures for your daughter, so it’s strange for us to treat her like just a singer."

"Makes sense," Russell nodded. "So, you chose to save her?"

"If she were just a friend, I would help her normally, but I wouldn’t risk the lives of my soldiers for her," Karoso said. "I risked my life to save her later because she’s your daughter, and I hope you can help me."