Serena suddenly stood up, her eyes filled with vigilance as she slowly stepped back.
"Uncle Nacke, what is going on?"
A pistol hung at Serena's waist, but she couldn't quite bring herself to believe it. She didn't want to—and didn't dare to—believe that Uncle Nacke would scheme against her. But the commotion coming from next door was definitely no coincidence.
At this moment, Nacke picked up his teacup, drained it in one gulp, then slammed it hard onto the table. His expression struggled for a moment, but in the end he spoke harshly:
"Serena! This is your last chance. Join us! The future Eldian Empire will never treat you unfairly!"
Serena's heart turned cold. One hand quickly moved toward her waist as she shouted angrily:
"Impossible! The Eldian Restorationists will not take part in your ugly power struggle! Our fellow Eldians are still in constant danger, and you people still have the mind for power? You scum!"
As soon as Serena finished speaking, the door to the teahouse's side room exploded apart. Two figures fell to the ground in pain, letting out groans.
The moment she saw them, Serena's heart sank—they were her subordinates from the Eldian Restorationists, also acting as her bodyguards, meant to return with her to Marley's capital.
"H-hurry… hurry… run!!"
One of the Restorationist soldiers clutched his chest, enduring the pain as he struggled to shout to Serena.
But trapped in this tiny teahouse, where could she possibly run?
The noise from next door gradually subsided. Serena drew her pistol—click—the bullet was chambered.
At the same time, another person stepped into the room.
Tall, with a cold expression, emotionless blue eyes, dressed in the green military coat from Paradis Island. The unicorn emblem of the Military Police on his uniform was especially eye-catching.
Arno stepped into the room and looked at Serena, who was pointing her gun at him.
"It seems Miss Serena is unwilling to cooperate with us."
Tap.
The Restorationist soldier who had told Serena to run used his last bit of strength to grab Arno's calf. Feeling the resistance, Arno frowned slightly, lifted his leg, and kicked—sending the soldier rolling his eyes back before completely losing consciousness.
"Bastard!"
Seeing this, Serena was enraged. Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The gunshot rang out—but Arno had already crouched low to dodge it, then lunged forward like a leopard—
Although within seven steps a gun is both accurate and fast, the distance between Arno and Serena was less than three meters. The first shot missed, and in the blink of an eye, Arno had already reached her.
He raised his hand and shoved hard. Serena's arm was forced upward uncontrollably, and as she pulled the trigger again, the bullet fired into the air.
Though Serena had received some combat training during her time with the Restorationists and had honed herself further on the battlefield—enough to deal with two or three ordinary soldiers—Arno was a Squad Leader among the elite of the Military Police.
Even if the Military Police weren't particularly popular now, in Arno's time, entering it required ranking in the top ten of the same training corps.
Moreover, after joining, Arno was nothing like those lazy, incompetent Military Police. His Squad Leader position wasn't obtained through bribery or flattery—he earned it through countless fights against underground gangs and solving numerous cases, gaining merit through real achievements, with several near-death experiences along the way.
Within the Military Police, Arno's reputation was far from small—anyone mentioning him would give a thumbs-up and call him ruthless. Even Nile, the commander of the Military Police, admired him and had considered grooming him as a successor.
The squad under Arno was also one of the few truly capable units that didn't just idle around. Many Military Police who refused to slack off dreamed of joining his squad.
Back to the point—Serena's combat ability was nothing in Arno's eyes. After knocking the gun aside, he directly slipped his finger into the trigger guard, locking it firmly so Serena couldn't fire.
Controlling her wrist, he twisted sharply. Serena's body instantly lost balance and fell forward.
Arno expressionlessly dodged her side kick, grabbed her wrist, turned with the motion, and threw her over his shoulder.
With a heavy thud, Serena was slammed hard, her vision spinning, and the pistol flew far away.
Enduring the pain, Serena forced herself back to her feet.
"You bastard! Do you even know how many of our people are still suffering in the outside world? You scum who only know how to harm your own kind!"
But Arno had no interest in that.
"When the Eldian Empire rises again, the world will kneel at its feet!"
To be honest, Arno did feel a trace of admiration for Serena's will. That last move—an ordinary, sturdy soldier would have gone down for good. Yet Serena, a seemingly frail girl, still managed to stand.
But admiration was just that—he had no intention of showing mercy.
He charged again. The two exchanged more than a dozen blows, but even a fool could see—Serena could barely defend herself.
Arno didn't hold back. A brutal elbow strike made Serena double over like a shrimp in agony, followed by a straight punch to her face.
This blow drew a scream from her and completely destroyed her ability to fight.
Her nose throbbed with pain, tears streamed uncontrollably, and blood gushed down, staining her pretty face red. Her bones felt as though they had fallen apart, pain spreading through her entire body.
Seeing that Serena had lost the ability to resist, Nacke—who had been cowering in the corner—finally stepped forward. Looking at her miserable state, he showed a hint of reluctance, but still asked Arno:
"What do we do next?"
Arno fell silent for a moment, then adjusted his collar and said:
"Proceed according to plan. Remember, this is not a rebellion—this is a coup. The parliament overthrew the king through a coup back then, and we can do the same to reestablish the Eldian Empire!"
Nacke nodded repeatedly. Soon after, a squad of fully armed Military Police entered the teahouse in formation, taking Serena and the Restorationist soldiers—now completely unable to resist—into custody.
Serena's consciousness gradually faded. As she was carried out of the room, she saw a short-haired man lying next door, covered in blood, wearing a military uniform bearing the Garrison's rose insignia.
Then her vision went completely black.
At the same time, the gunshots from the teahouse had drawn quite a crowd of royal capital citizens. But over a dozen Military Police outside quickly sealed off the teahouse and drove the onlookers away.
Within the Military Police barracks of the royal capital, more than half of the forces suddenly geared up and marched out, heading toward various administrative strongholds across the capital—
Even the royal palace.
Above the entire capital, dark clouds gathered densely, as if the heavens themselves had foreseen the coming storm.