Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

Xiao Ce was still somewhat surprised after hearing Cassivs's words: "A woman?"

Cassivs nodded: "Yes, Sean, it's a woman... but because her appearance was so mysterious last time, I've never seen what she looks like..."

Cassie continued to call Xiao Ce "for Sean," showing that he got into character much faster than Kate.

Xiao Ce nodded.

Cassivs continued to Xiao Ce, "By the way, Sean, she'll be here soon, and we'll need to go greet her. She'll be hosting a banquet for us... We can certainly attend."

Xiao Ce nodded again.

At this moment, Kate, who was standing to the side, looked at Cassie with great interest.

"Third Master, then I..."

Cassie said to Kate, "Are you sure you want to come along?"

Kate said to Cassivs, "Third Master, if it's possible, I certainly am..."

Cassivs then said to Kate, "Okay, if there are enough spots, I can take you. If there aren't enough, you shouldn't go. After all, I'm worried you might embarrass yourself..."

Kate will nod.

At that moment, a sound came from outside the door.

"Patriarch Cassivis, Mr. Victor King has sent word that the President of the Illuminati will arrive at the port in half an hour, and all members of our family are to greet him..."

After hearing what the servant at the door said, Cassivus nodded.

He then said to the attendant, "Alright, we'll go right away. Is there a limit to the number of people?"

The attendant shook his head: "No, the more people who come to welcome us, the better..."

Cassie nodded: "Okay, then go and prepare, we'll be right there."

Then Cassivs looked at Xiao Ce and asked, "Sean, are you going?"

Xiao Ce smiled at Cassivis and then said, "Since I'm already here... there's no reason for me not to go. I'll definitely go..."

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, Cassivus nodded and then gestured for Xiao Ce to proceed.

Xiao Ce then said to Cassivis, "Third Brother, if anyone's leaving, you should go first..."

Upon hearing Xiao Ce's words, Cassies's face immediately lit up with a smile, and he said, "Sean, you're right."

The two walked out while chatting and laughing.

After they stepped outside, Xiao Ce said to Cassivs, "Third Brother, do you think I should maintain Sean's original persona, or..."

Upon hearing Xiao Ce's words, Cassivs replied without hesitation, "Sean, just be yourself... Everyone says Sean has a strange temper, but nobody really says anything..."

Xiao Ce had a knowing look on his face.

After they went outside, they found people of all skin colors and races emerging from the lounges at various docks.

These individuals all exuded an air of nobility.

Looking at these family members, they all seemed radiant.

Xiao Ce looked around but didn't see any Lannisters.

Cassivs noticed Xiao Ce looking around.

Cassivs asked Xiao Ce, "Sean, what are you looking for?"

Xiao Ce said to Cassivs, "Where are the Lannisters? Weren't they also inherited the throne?"

Cassivs smiled at Xiao Ce and then said, "Sean, the Lannister family isn't really one of the Twelve Houses... To put it simply, the Twelve Houses provided a lot of help when the Illuminati first established order."

"The Illuminati rewards these twelve families, so within the British Empire, only the Brad family is one of the twelve families."

These twelve families are:

"The Brad family of the British Empire."

"The Gallic family of the Gallo-Baltic Empire."

“The family of Aurelius of our Roman Empire.”

"The Rust family of the Yugoslav Empire."

"The Seren family of the Madan Empire, and the Lorthern family."

"The Ox family of the French Empire, and the Fick family."

"The Jaeger family of the Bavarian Empire!"

"The Horn family of the Bolton Empire!"

"The last two are the Mergrave family and the Joels family. These two families are not affiliated with any particular country; they should be considered free men, or perhaps the most loyal members of the Illuminati. Their businesses are spread throughout the West without a specific country in mind, so saying they belong to the Illuminati is the most appropriate interpretation..."

Xiao Ce had actually heard of him and knew about him before.

However, it was indeed too difficult for Xiao Ce to remember these Western names.

Therefore, after hearing it, Xiao Ce simply forgot about it.

Even with Cassivs helping him recall, Xiao Ce's head was still spinning...

Xiao Ce asked Cassivus, "Cassivus, are these people all their respective leaders?"

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, Cassivus nodded: "That's right, they're all top leaders. After all, the president is here, so no one would dare to send their second-in-command directly."

After hearing Cassivs's words, Xiao Ce nodded, a thought flashing through his mind.

That is, if all these top leaders were eliminated, would the West descend into chaos?

However, this idea was fleeting.

Even if they were killed, they would not only not rebel, but would become even more united.

Just as Xiao Ce was thinking of this, Kate, who was standing next to him, seemed to have thought of the same thing.

He whispered to Cassivis, "Third Master, with so many people here, aren't there security issues? Do they have a lot of confidence in their security? If any violence breaks out here, it will be a huge problem... It might even lead to unrest..."

After hearing Kate's words, Cassivs smiled and then said to her, "You're completely overthinking it... Maybe a big reason why the Illuminati is stopping this is precisely because of this..."

Kate listened to Cassie's words with a hint of confusion.

Xiao Ce continued, "Third Brother, do you mean we should use ourselves as bait to lure the Illuminati's opposition to kill us?"

Cassivs said, "That's right. Although everyone here is a top figure from their respective families... families with a strong foundation like ours each have several heirs or candidates... such behemoth families have a very strong ability to withstand pressure..."

“Even if I die, my older brother can take over immediately, as can my son’s generation, or at worst, Kate’s generation. So, our resilience far exceeds your imagination…”

"If those who opposed the Illuminati had actually wiped out everyone here, the Illuminati would be overjoyed. By doing so, they would have essentially bound the Twelve Families to their warship..."

"So, I don't think they'll do that..."

As he spoke, he gave Xiao Ce a meaningful look.

Xiao Ce nodded after seeing his smile.

"That makes sense. So why are the twelve families now submitting to the Illuminati? Are they each harboring their own ulterior motives?"

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, Cassivs smiled and said, "That's right, that's indeed the case... It can't be said that everyone has ulterior motives. If there is a choice, then naturally one will choose the better one. If there is no choice, then one will choose the one that must be chosen... This is not a problem... There is no absolute loyalty. Didn't the twelve families once pledge allegiance to Agent Yin?"

After seeing Cassivs's words, Xiao Ce also noticed his enigmatic smile...

Xiao Ce nodded.

It seems that, just as Xiao Ce imagined, these families aren't all fools who have been able to stand strong in the West for so long.

No matter how powerful those newly appointed association leaders are, you still need to be able to intimidate them, or use incentives to firmly bind them...

Although the situation here is very urgent, the people from these twelve families seem quite relaxed.

There is no other reason.

It is said that a cunning rabbit has three burrows, and families like theirs have divided their property into countless parts scattered in various places.

Moreover, for deeply entrenched families like theirs, no matter how the regime changes, these families will not change.

That's their ability.

Therefore, all they need to do is adapt to the times.

These families maintained a certain distance from each other and did not communicate much with one another.

At this moment, the dock was heavily guarded, and the Light Guards, dressed in uniform, lightweight armor, stood like cold statues at every key point.

Their steps were perfectly synchronized, their movements imbued with inhuman precision and the screech of metal scraping together.

Looking at these people, Cassivs immediately understood and explained to Xiao Ce, "These are the Light Guards..."

Xiao Ce said to Cassivs, "They should be human, right?"

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, Cassivs paused for a moment, then said to Xiao Ce, "Of course they are people. It's just that these people are far more powerful than ordinary people..."

Just then, a deep whistle sounded from the sea, and an ironclad warship, far larger and with more rigid lines than any of the family ships docked at the pier, slowly sailed in, with the Illuminati flag flying at its bow.

The ship docked at the best berth that the pier had prepared long ago, and the gangway was lowered.

The first to step down were two people who now wield real power!

Victor King and Ed White, the two vice presidents of the Illuminati.

Victor King and Ed White both wore expressions of arrogance.

The two stood on either side of the gangway, bowing slightly, their posture exceptionally respectful.

All eyes were fixed on the top of the gangway.

A figure appeared.

She wore a pure white silk robe with extremely clean lines. The style was neither a traditional Western dress nor an Eastern gown, but rather a unique garment designed based on both, exuding a sense of dignity and ceremony.

The wide sleeves cinched at the wrists, and the flowing robe accentuated her tall and slender figure. Most striking was the golden mask covering her entire face.

The mask is not a figurative carving with intricate patterns, but rather uses simple, hard lines to outline the general contours of the eyes, nose, and lips.

The sunlight reflected off the cold, metallic sheen, revealing only the deep, calm eyes behind the mask's eye openings, as still as a frozen pool.

She didn't rely on anyone's help; her steps were steady, and each step on the wooden planks of the gangway made a clear and even sound, as if she were stepping on everyone's heartbeat.

The invisible pressure intensified as she approached, and the faint murmurs on the dock vanished instantly, leaving only the sound of the sea breeze.

This woman is the president of the Illuminati!

Xiao Ce had hoped to find something from her face, but unfortunately, he didn't find anything.

Behind her were two burly men, also wearing masks.

Upon seeing the two men, Xiao Ce summoned his spiritual energy in a secluded corner.

“Lingxu”.

"Master, I am here!"

"Are the two men behind that woman robots?"

After hesitating for a moment, Lingxu immediately said to Xiao Ce, "Master, that's right, those two are robots."

Xiao Ce was still somewhat surprised to see Ling Xu speak so confidently: "How are you so sure?"

Lingxu explained to Xiao Ce, "Reporting to Master, these robots are all equipped with artificial intelligence chips, and these chips have signal receiving devices. Although the Star Network is now shut down, their signal search is still on... so I can sense them..."

"What about Director Mi and those others from before? Were they different?"

Lingxu nodded to Xiao Ce: "That's right, Master. In a sense, they are still human... just modified... they don't belong to the category of robots."

After hearing Lingxu's words, Xiao Ce asked with some concern, "Will he find out about you?"

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, Ling Xu said with great confidence, "I am an artificial intelligence that is superior to theirs. Moreover, I do not have the function of signal transmission and search, so he cannot detect me at all."

Just as Xiao Ce was communicating with Ling Xu.

The female president stood on the dock, her gaze sweeping over the twelve family leaders gathered there as if they were real.

Those eyes lingered briefly on Cassivs, and then also fell on "Sean Aurelius" behind him. Xiao Ce neither avoided nor dodged them.

Fortunately, the female president didn't mean anything by it; she was just giving him a normal glance.

There were no welcoming remarks, no unnecessary small talk.

With just a glance, he exuded an air of dominance.

Victor King spoke at the opportune moment, his voice low but clear: "Clan leaders, thank you for coming here to welcome the Chairman."