The Anarchist of Ophridia (Horsemen Origins Book 4)

Part 7

"Hey! Hey guys!" Zao said. "The Emperor's making an announcement!" The three other men rushed to watch the newscast.

"A terrorist has struck deep in the heart of our Empire," Yiu Mei proclaimed. "He operates to sow the chaos we suffered upon the arrival of this planet when we were part of the Core. He seeks to drive us back into the wilderness before we banded together under one flag and proclaimed ourselves a united and free Ophridia! Minister Diang Xia gave his life for the glory and the strength of our Empire. This terrorist seeks to destroy your safety! He seeks to erode the protections that I have worked so hard to put into place!" Yiu Mei screamed as he slammed his fist onto the podium. There was silence everywhere as the world held their breath for his next line in the speech.

"The Anarchist Xing Ming Lee seeks to eradicate the peace that has prevailed on Ophridia!"

"I am not an anarchist!" Lee hissed.

"Shh! Let's see where he's going with this," Jay said.

"He seeks to erase the peace that I have provided to this world! The peace that I kept on our planet while the rest of the Core waged their vicious civil war. While brother fought brother we united under one banner and built this world from scratch. We built this world through strength, through unity and through security! We will not be intimidated by a lone criminal who seeks to take that all away from us! As a result, I am placing a bounty on his head which is worth...whatever you wish it to be. Whosoever brings me the anarchist Xing Ming Lee will be granted any one wish that I as Emperor can grant."

"Let's see your reign of terror top that," Zao said.

"Bee-jway!" Lee snapped. He looked around and felt the walls closing in. He felt surrounded on all sides as though the entire planet had turned against him in an instant.

"It's not over my boy. You just need to lay low for a couple of weeks. I'll go into the streets and see what the word is on ya," Jay said.

"Yeah Lee. Don't worry, we'll keep you hidden right Zao?" Deng asked.

"Yeah...of course," Zao replied.

Lee nodded. He knew that the best course of action was to keep quiet and lie low like Jay had suggested.

"There anything you'd like?" Jay asked.

"Got any books?"

"I can find some. Bit of a collector myself."

"Good. Bring me some books, and I'll occupy my time," Lee said.

"...And together, we will emerge a stronger and more united Ophridia!" Yiu Mei screamed into the microphone and held both his arms high in triumph.

The weeks flowed as the four men navigated through the populace and set small bombs inside of government buildings. The empire rumbled and shook as the blasts consumed Yiu Mei's employees, with each retaliation from the Emperor more swift and brutal than the last. People were arrested in the dead of night as the Xiongbu consumed Ophridia's children just like the story of the ancient serpent. Lee and his men attacked the Tingchia who dared come out to make the arrests, and left the bodies of the soldiers in the streets. Rumors of the ghosts of the fallen who would protect the innocent from the Emperor's wrath.

"Good news lad," Jay said as the men convened just before midday. Lee read inside the converted office with books scattered all over the floor. "Blimey, you're at a loose end."

"What?" Lee asked.

"Doesn't matter," Jay replied. "Good news is that talk about you is gone. Murmurs and gossip are about the Tingers. There's no love for them right now. We eliminate one of those blokes, two more take their places."