Chapter 453

"My daughter, I have things to do. I'll spend time with you after I'm done, okay?"

"Okay, sure."

Dephine was very obedient and did not stay in the Command Room to disturb her mother's work.

"Lieutenant Schiller"

"Your Lord Duke, I'm here!"

The Duke Windermere wouldn't let her wander around the warship alone; he arranged for an officer to accompany her.

"Take my daughter to the deck for some fresh air, and don't let any unrelated people approach or disturb her."

"Yes, Your Lord Duke!"

Dephine followed the officer onto the deck, his gaze still fixed on distant Londinium:

"Lieutenant Schiller, I know you've made significant contributions to military rehearsals. My mother was nearby, so it wasn't convenient to ask her earlier. What's your assessment of the Sarkaz's raid on the Duke Wellington's Defense Zone last night?"

After a moment's thought, the officer offered his personal opinion:

"In my humble opinion, the Duke Wellington's defenses are far too unstable. In terms of troop strength, the two sides should be evenly matched, so he shouldn't have been defeated so quickly. He must have deliberately tightened his lines, unwilling to go all out."

"Ha, in this war that has swept through Victoria, self-preservation has become an essential tactic for almost every Duke. Only someone like my mother, once she sets her mind on something, will go to great lengths to achieve it."

The entire continent of Victoria, no, the entire Terra, has not faced a Sarkaz army for a very long time.

Based on what I've learned over the past six months, their witchcraft is extremely difficult to detect. It doesn't match the primitive and backward image I initially encountered in the materials I received.

The hidden strength of the various Sarkaz branches far exceeds our imagination. If we underestimate them and act rashly in the upcoming military operations, we could suffer heavy losses."

The officer grinned upon hearing this, but it was unclear whether it was genuine praise or deliberate flattery.

"The Lord Duke's fleet and Sword Guard are invincible in battle. If the Sarkaz believe the Duke's actions are reckless, then they will only be met with blades honed since the war between the Four Emperors!"

At this point, Lieutenant Schiller's pupils suddenly dilated, and he drew his weapon, standing guard in front of him warily.

"Miss, please step behind me!"

This startled Dephine. She looked around but couldn't find anything wrong, and asked in confusion:

"What's wrong?"

"It's blood, a strong, pungent smell of blood! The elite troops who should have been patrolling the deck are all gone!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a strange noise came from not far away.

When Dephine saw the soldier's head, wrapped in his helmet, roll onto the deck, his heart clenched!

The next second, blood from the severed head was drawn out and rushed towards where the two were.

"Miss, run!"

Lieutenant Schiller attempted to intercept with his weapon, but unexpectedly, blood exploded the moment it touched the blade.

In an instant, a cloud of Blood Mist spread out!

Dephine felt a chill run down his spine; this extremely bizarre Originium Arts resembled Sarkaz witchcraft.

But how did they end up here?

With the Sarkaz forces, it was impossible for them to defeat Duke Windermere's army head-on.

Judging from how silently they eliminated the elite troops on the deck, they are very likely about to carry out Decapitation Operation!

Seeing her standing there in a daze, Lieutenant Schiller was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, and urged her again:

"Miss, you need to get out of here! I'll cover you!"

As Dephine stared at the viscous Blood Mist spreading, contracting, and coalescing into a shadow, her heart pounding.

If the officer protected him during the retreat, he was unlikely to die. But doing so would put his mother in danger.

"Lieutenant Schiller, I order you to immediately inform my mother that Sarkaz is attempting to assassinate her. If there are any Sword Guard on the warship, summon them all."

"But His Lord Duke ordered me to protect you."

"If my mother died, how could you possibly live? You idiot!"

She knew that these Sarkaz who dared to assassinate her must be quite capable. In order to stop the Bloodborne from leaking through the Duke Wellington's Defense Zone, many Sword Guard remained at the Frontline.

In other words, they couldn't stop these assassins.

"And what about you, Miss?"

"I..."

It's now unlikely that they can rely on warships.

A man's image flashed through Dephine's mind. He could create incredibly sturdy houses out of thin air with a mere wave of his hand. His strength was unfathomable, and his subordinates were all more powerful than the last.

"I'm going to find reinforcements!"

Shortly after the two escaped separately, the Confessors Saluzzo, the Blood Demon Great Lord, and two Newborn Shapeshifter appeared on the deck of Duke Windermere's warship.

The Shapeshifter erased a large amount of their collective memories through self-destruction. The Blood Demon Great Lord brought the two Shapeshifter to participate in the Decapitation Operation to see just how much of their strength remained.

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Chapter 529 A Person's Name and the Shadow of a Tree (4K)

At Dephine's insistence, Lieutenant Schiller was forced to leave her behind and run to inform Duke Windermere that the Sarkaz were coming to assassinate him, urging him to be on high alert.

Dephine rushed into a room and found a phone that could connect her to the outside world. Only then, still in a state of panic, did she realize the gravity of the situation.

I do not have Doctor Zhongli's phone number.

Not only him, but Dephine didn't even have the contact information for the Doctor and Amiya from Rhodes Island.

The only people they could contact were the Londinium Self-Rescue Army in the city. But by now, they should have already withdrawn from the Norbert District.

Last night, when my mother and I were evacuating from the camp, a military staff officer told us to wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus.

If the Green Flame scattered from the exploding airship are indeed a virus developed by the Sarkaz, then the Self-Rescue Army has no reason to remain in place; they should relocate to other districts.

One desperate thought after another surfaced in her mind, plunging Dephine into despair.

Since she was already there, all she could do was pray silently.

Please, you have to answer the phone!

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Schiller, who had separated from Dephine, sprinted desperately straight to the Command Room:

"Your Lord Duke, something terrible has happened!"

The Duke Windermere, who was on official business, frowned when he saw him panting and shouting.

"Didn't I specifically issue an order forbidding running on the warship? What's going on with you?"

After reprimanding Lieutenant Schiller, she noticed that Dephine hadn't returned, and her brow furrowed even deeper.

Where is my daughter?

Lieutenant Schiller quickly took a deep breath to compose himself and explained the situation as concisely as possible. Every minute and second was precious and could not be wasted.

"My lord, assassins! We've discovered Sarkaz assassins boarding the warship; they're here to kill you!"

Upon hearing this, Duke Windermere strode over, grabbed Lieutenant Schiller by the collar, and demanded:

"Don't you understand? I'm asking you, where's my daughter?"

"Miss... Miss said you were going to find reinforcements, I guess you were calling other Duke for help? She ordered me to come back and inform you, so I came straight back."

"Ha, the other Duke? Do you think they'd rather I die here, or would they actually help me?"

Faced with such a momentous event, the Duke Windermere displayed the composure befitting a ruler. After a moment's thought, she realized a serious problem.

Originally, the Sarkaz assassins who infiltrated the warship were unaware of its internal structure. Searching one by one until they found this place would have taken a considerable amount of time.

However, if you follow someone who can tip you off, you can pinpoint your location much faster.

"Listen, Lieutenant Schiller. From this moment on, your mission is to protect my daughter. Go to the ship immediately, find her, and bring her to safety."

"Your Lord Duke, and what about you?"

"This is none of your business. Go find my daughter right now. If she gets even the slightest bit hurt, believe me, I'll take your head!"

After dismissing Lieutenant Schiller, Duke Windermere immediately issued orders to the staff in the Command Room.

"Notify Main Control Room to activate the red alert. Close all Safety Cabin doors; don't let the Sarkaz assassins get close easily. Everyone else, follow me!"

Duke Windermere knew he couldn't stay in the Command Room any longer. The Sarkaz lacked the capability to fight against the various Duke's Warship; they could only resort to Decapitation Operation strikes.

Damn it, I should have thought of that sooner.

She now needs to keep moving constantly in order to buy more time and launch a counterattack against the Demon Race.

"Bang!"

No sooner had Duke Windermere left than a shockwave erupted from the narrow passageway Command Room!

"Beep beep beep."

The constant busy signal was making Dephine irritable; she bit her lip and paced back and forth in a small area.

"Click."

Upon hearing the call connect, Dephine was overjoyed and excitedly held the receiver:

"Hello, is this the Self-Rescue Army? I am Dephine, Daughter of Duke Windermere. Our warship has been attacked by the Sarkaz. Please, you must tell Doctor Zhongli for me; there will be a great reward afterward! I have no one else to help me right now, and I can only count on him..."

Before receiving a response, the communication was suddenly and inexplicably cut off, which greatly alarmed Dephine.

"Hello? Hello! Can you hear me?"

Two or three seconds later, the door was kicked open.

The Confessors Salus, wearing a skull mask and carrying a scalpel-like weapon, walked in.

"Protect Miss Dephine!"

The soldiers inside tried to resist, but were easily and instantly killed, utterly powerless to fight back.

Salus tilted his head and sized up Dephine, quickly confirming that she was Daughter of Duke Windermere.

"Aha, got you. Shapeshifter, it's your turn to perform."

Shapeshifter?!

Dephine had seen the Shapeshifter Ablana had captured outside the Sunset Hotel in the Norbert District. He thought the shapeshifter was dead, but it turned out he was still alive.

"Thump!"

With a dull thud, a green-haired boy wearing a black hood jumped into the corridor.

He merely stood at the doorway and glanced at Dephine, and his body and appearance instantly transformed into hers.

Salus's gaze swept between the two men, and after comparing them, he nodded in satisfaction.

"That's right, it's impossible to tell with the naked eye. In that case, there's no need for the real person to stay."

Just as the Confessors was about to eliminate them completely, the Shapeshifter, who should have been the enemy, suddenly stepped between the two:

"No, you can't kill her."

"Huh? Why?"

Salus looked at the Shapeshifter strangely, wondering if he had misheard.

"Didn't you completely erase the cluster's memory? Didn't you erase it completely?"

The Shapeshifter did not hide anything and answered truthfully:

"We erased most of the collective memory, but retained some. I think that by retaining these important memories, we can understand the meaning of our rebirth."

The Mister Zhongli she just mentioned is our mentor who guided us towards a new life. I don't know how to explain this to you, but we cannot kill his friends."

"Ha???"

Salus had a complicated expression on his face, and also felt constipated as if he had eaten Nine-Turned Large Intestine.

"Our mission to assassinate Duke Windermere and his daughter is to kill them. Once they are dead, the other Duke will fight amongst themselves for their territories, leaving them no time to attend to the escalating war in Londinium. If you insist on protecting her now, how are we going to explain this to His Highness when we return?"