Lord Protector novel (Zeke Williams) novel Chapter 1771

During one of their battles, they were inflicted with severe injuries that forced them to quit the army permanently.

Initially, they thought the only fate that awaited them was to spend the rest of their lives sitting around doing nothing useful.

However, they then met the Great Marshal, which altered the trajectory of the rest of their lives.

The Great Marshal bestowed upon them a new identity—spies of the North.

Following that, they came to Corleon as military veterans.

The Great Marshal had given them the mission of investigating the corruption within the government officials of Corleon.

That would involve infiltrating and identifying the members of a criminal gang that was led by the former provincial governor and protected by a group of corrupt officials.

The ten of them started out as mere doorkeepers of the criminal organization and worked their way up.

By proving themselves through their capabilities, they eventually advanced through the ranks. Over time, they turned into the essential members of the mob, especially Big Back, who had now become one of its leaders.

To avoid raising suspicions about their identity, they had gone all-in with their act.

Big Back, for instance, had engaged and indulged in every degenerate activity expected of him—heavy drinking, womanizing, gambling, and the likes—and had become the very epitome of corruption itself.

However, till this day, the Great Marshal still had not ended the operation.

Big Back often suspected if he had, in fact, forgotten all about them.

To his surprise, the Great Marshal had come to him earlier to request for his seat, proving that the other man still remembered him.

The Great Marshal remembers me even though we haven't been in contact for ten whole years! What a great honor indeed!

That thought filled him up with sheer joy and excitement.

His nine comrades came to him in no time, each of them similarly emotional as they bombarded him with questions.

“Were you serious? Has the Great Marshal really come back for us?”

“So, I was right! The Great Marshal hasn't forgotten about us after all!”

“Well, what's our next step now that the Great Marshal is back, then?

Big Back waved his hand at them as he instructed, “Gather a thousand elites at once. Have them disguise themselves as regular folk and hide among the commoners. Their sole duty will be to protect the Great Marshal.”

“All right!” they answered and were ready to hurry off when Big Back stopped them.

“Hold on, let me finish. Keep this in mind—the Great Marshal doesn't intend to reveal his identity yet. So, lay low and don't do anything that might expose him!” he reminded them.

“Understood!”

From not far away, a dark figure had witnessed this entire scene while hidden in a corner.

He was none other than the bodyguard sent by Charles to spy on Big Back.

After observing the scene, he hurried back to Charles.

“Mr. Darwins, I think the provincial governor had indeed left for an urgent matter. He just assembled nine high-ranking officials for a serious discussion. They even mentioned dispatching a thousand elites to lie in wait among the commoners. However, I didn't manage to catch the reason.”

Once he heard that, Charles instantly felt relief wash over him.

If the provincial governor summoned nine other high-ranking officials so urgently, it could only mean there was indeed a pressing matter they had to deal with. That meant him giving up his seat should have nothing to do with Zeke.

Even though he had no idea why the provincial governor had ordered for a thousand elites to be stationed in the crowd, he had a vague guess.

A possible reason that crossed his mind was that the provincial governor had received news that a wanted criminal was lurking amid the common folks, so he had sent men to track him down.

He turned and glared at Zeke coldly.

Tonight is the night of your death and the night I sleep with your wife!

The ceremony soon ended.

Lacey was about to leave with Zeke when Charles stopped her.

“Isn't this your first visit here, Lacey? As a local, it's only right for me to fulfill my duties as a good host. How about this? Since I'm the owner of the Grand Royal Hotel, which is just nearby, I'd be happy to let you stay at the presidential suite there. It'd be a great honor to me if you'd accept.”

“Well...” Lacey hesitated for a moment.

Seeing the lecherous look in the man's eyes, she figured there was bound to be an ulterior motive behind his offer.