Chapter 454
The Shapeshifter paused for a moment, then provided the answer:
"I will explain this to His Highness, Other Self will also speak to the Great Lord about it. As long as he and His Highness agree, there shouldn't be any problem, right?"
These two were both of higher rank than the Confessors; if they agreed to Salus's request, they wouldn't dare utter a single word.
"Fine, so you're going to do this? Okay, she's yours then. You'll take responsibility if anything happens."
Salus stormed out, slamming the door behind him, leaving a shocked and bewildered Dephine slumped to the floor.
She never imagined that simply mentioning Doctor Zhongli's code name would save her life.
Is this... is this even possible?
"Your Lord Duke, you should retreat first."
The military staff stayed behind to cover the Rearguard for Duke Windermere, trying their best to buy as much time as possible.
Because if they are gone, others will take on the role of military advisors. But if the Duke Windermere is gone, her territory will likely be divided among other Duke.
Whether for his own benefit or for the benefit of his family, His Lord Duke cannot die here!
Without hesitation, the Duke Windermere nodded solemnly to his military advisors. Then, accompanied by a few personal guards, he went to rendezvous with the Sword Guard on the warship.
She needed to get from Sector A to Sector B, and to save time, she had to walk on the deck. Along the way, she glimpsed countless soldiers' corpses, lying coldly on the floor.
The crimson mist, almost tangible, gradually coalesced into human form upon the discovery of Duke Windermere. The Blood Demon Great Lord, clad in a black cloak with a red lining, moved with remarkable elegance.
"Your face is so pale. If only you could add some blood, it would be so charming."
Duke Windermere snorted coldly, not expecting that it would be the Royal Court Leader of Sarkaz who had come in person this time.
"You're not going to the Frontline to fight, but instead you're coming here for a visit, that's really giving me face. What, is playing with blood your special hobby? You're all old guys who've lived for hundreds or thousands of years, and you haven't improved at all."
The Blood Demon Great Lord did not answer directly, but looked down at the raindrops dripping onto the back of his hand and sighed:
"Look, it's raining. This kind of melancholic weather goes well with death, don't you think?"
"It would be more fitting if you died here."
"Heh, you're a strong Victorians. I knew you wouldn't back down..."
Before he finished speaking, four fully armed Sword Guard appeared before Duke Windermere, offering him protection:
"Your Lord Duke, please go first. We haven't figured out how many Demon Race have infiltrated our ranks yet."
"No need to look anymore. The only Sarkaz who can truly threaten me is this Blood Demon Great Lord before me."
"Blood... Blood Demon Great Lord?!"
Upon hearing this, the four Sword Guard immediately assumed a high state of readiness.
Before the Blood Demon Great Lord could even make a move, a thick cloud of Blood Mist rushed towards them.
"Careful!"
The cyan sword light met the attack head-on, but was quickly swallowed by the Blood Mist, and then collapsed to the ground in disbelief.
Seeing that his opponent was now without any guards, the Blood Demon Great Lord revealed a smug expression. The Blood Mist that returned to his hand contained many drops of blood, none of which were his.
"While your ancestors were formidable, do you harbor unrealistic fantasies about defeating me?"
The Duke Windermere was unable to speak, for she sensed that the blood within her body seemed to be acting strangely.
This is a change that comes from within, and cannot be forcibly stopped by individual willpower. It's as if the blood in one's body has been stripped of its control, leaving one at the mercy of the enemy.
"Hateful..."
At this critical moment, Windermere saw his 'daughter' walk calmly toward the Blood Demon Great Lord.
Why is Dephine here?
No!
It's dangerous over there!
Duke Windermere unleashed tremendous potential, temporarily breaking free of his restraints and regaining control of his body:
"Daughter, stay away from him!"
But soon she was stunned. Her daughter had turned into a green-haired boy.
Shapeshifter...?
The Sarkaz actually sent two tribal leaders from the Ten Royal Courts to get rid of me; they're really giving me face.
Seeing that the Shapeshifter had actually reverted to its original form, the Blood Demon Great Lord frowned and asked in bewilderment:
What are you going to do?
As originally planned, the Confessors would accompany a Shapeshifter to find the Daughter of the Duke.
Once that Shapeshifter obtains the facial data, the Shapeshifter here can transform into Dephine.
If the garrison on the warship exceeds expectations, he can become a surprise force. Disguised as the Daughter of Duke Windermere, he can approach the target and carry out a close-range assassination.
But if he changes his appearance now, then the plan to impersonate Dephine will lose its meaning.
"Dephine knows Zhongli, we can't kill her."
This remark amused the Blood Demon Great Lord, who had never heard of this person before.
"Who is Zhongli? Did you not completely erase your cluster memories, causing memory confusion?"
"My Great Lord, I'm not joking. If we kill the wrong person, the Sarkaz will face annihilation."
As the Shapeshifter spoke, he took out a specially made communicator, preparing to contact Regent Theresis.
Because Signal Jamming Tower have been installed in the Central City District of Londinium, external signals can only cover the Mid-level District at most, and special communication devices are required to establish communication.
The two Newborn Shapeshifter also possess the ability to create an unlimited number of clones.
However, unlike in the past, cluster memory can be shared or used exclusively. It's as if the servers storing information have suddenly become two.
The Blood Demon Great Lord knew that killing this clone was useless, so he suppressed his anger and waited for it to contact His Highness.
To prevent the Duke Windermere from eavesdropping, he used Blood Mist to create a quiet area.
Shortly after, the Shapeshifter successfully established communication. Theresis's voice came through the microphone:
"The mission is complete?"
"No, Your His Highness. I merely discovered a potential threat and suggested canceling the Decapitation Operation."
Upon hearing the Shapeshifter's voice, Theresis on the other end of the microphone remained silent for more than ten seconds before asking:
Give me a reasonable explanation.
"Before I came here, I didn't know that the Daughter of Duke Windermere knew Mister Zhongli. Killing her could very well provoke a furious revenge."
The deceased former Shapeshifter knew Dephine's true identity. However, when he chose self-destruction, he only retained the collective memories related to Shi Lei and Wang Ting. Everything else was completely erased, which is why he was unaware of it.
Who is Mister Zhongli?
Upon hearing the Regent ask the same question as himself, the Blood Demon Great Lord immediately understood. It turned out that all of this was a farce orchestrated by the Shapeshifter.
But soon, his smile vanished.
"Based on the intelligence obtained by my former self while infiltrating the Self-Rescue Army, it can be confirmed that the King of Scavengers, who has been missing for many days, was indeed killed by Mister Zhongli."
Upon hearing this, the Blood Demon Great Lord's lips twitched.
"He single-handedly destroyed the City Defense Cannon in the Mid-level District and Central City District. The airship that has been hovering over Norbert District recently was also shot down by him."
The Blood Demon Great Lord was starting to lose his composure.
"Wendigo, who refused the royal summons, is currently loyal to him. He was also the one who enlightened me to the answer. Losing a Duke will at most buy us a month or two. But if we anger him by killing Dephine, we will pay a much heavier price."
The Blood Demon Great Lord's expression was complex, and the Regent on the other end of the microphone must have had a similar look.
After a long silence, Theresis gave the order:
"Mission canceled, come back first."
The Blood Mist dissipated, and the scarlet witchcraft vanished without a trace.
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Chapter 530 Feline is not afraid of boiling water (4K)
After the Blood Mist dissipated, the Blood Demon Great Lord and the Shapeshifter had vanished. Even Duke Windermere, who was used to seeing grand scenes, was greatly surprised.
She looked around warily, but found no trace of Sarkaz; it seemed he had truly left.
But the cold corpses of the Sword Guard on the deck and the blood flowing everywhere constantly reminded Duke Windermere that what had just happened was not an illusion.
Wasn't it taking advantage of the fact that the elite Sword Guard were all fighting on the Frontline that they wanted to carry out Decapitation Operation against me?
What exactly is going on?
Duke Windermere's face was grim, showing no joy at surviving such a catastrophe. She desperately wanted to know why the Blood Demon Great Lord and the Shapeshifter had retreated.
First, it's quite easy to guess why they wanted to carry out the Decapitation Operation.
Windermere's territory is in Reinkaden, so even if he dies, the Sarkaz won't benefit. Therefore, it's highly likely they want to create chaos so that the various Duke watching the show will step in and divide up the resources, thus buying them time.
Judging from what just happened, the Blood Demon Great Lord's original plan was to kill him. It was only because of the sudden appearance of the Shapeshifter that he changed his mind and decided to leave the scene.
When the Shapeshifter boarded the deck, he appeared in the form of Dephine...
Not good!
Duke Windermere's heart skipped a beat, and she rubbed her slightly weak legs. She didn't know where Dephine had gone, so she headed straight for the warship's Main Control Room.
They attempted to mobilize surviving crew members to help search for their daughter via the ship's public address system.
Ten minutes later, Dephine arrived following the broadcast. Together with the Victoria Soldiers who had come to reinforce from other warships, they went to the Main Control Room.
"Mom!"
Seeing his daughter open her arms, ready to pounce on him, the Duke Windermere hesitated and took a half-step back.
Dephine was taken aback, but quickly understood:
"Mom, I'm not Shapeshifter. Why don't you ask me something only the two of us know, and we can be sure?"
The Duke Windermere frowned upon hearing this, not bothering to confirm the other person's identity with a question. She stared at the person who looked exactly like her daughter and voiced her doubts:
"Judging from your words, you've seen Shapeshifter?"
"Ah."
"So how did you survive?"
The fact that the Shapeshifter could transform into Dephine's appearance indicates that the two had met before, and that their contact occurred even before the Blood Demon Great Lord was hunting him down.
It was precisely because Duke Windermere loved his daughter so much that he did not want her to be switched by the Shapeshifter.
"After I separated from Lieutenant Schiller, I found a room with a phone to call for reinforcements. However, Shapeshifter and another Sarkaz wearing a skull mask arrived shortly after and took care of the soldiers inside. I thought I was going to die, but he spared me..."
Realizing she had been misunderstood, Dephine quickly explained the situation to her mother, including the conversation between the Confessors and the Shapeshifter, and how the Confessors slammed the door and left.
Duke Windermere listened silently, finding his daughter's story utterly absurd. Could someone truly survive simply by giving their name? Who was this Zhongli?
She would investigate the warship's surveillance footage to verify whether the Dephine in front of her was real.
However, before that, Duke Windermere summoned the officers from the other warships and gave them instructions:
"Immediately send someone to investigate this Zhongli. I need all his personal information!"
June 25, 0:20 pm
After the meeting convened by the Self-Rescue Army, the Doctor and Amiya returned to their temporary tent.
Seeing the two lift the curtain and enter, Kal'tsit asked:
What did you talk about?
Upon hearing this, Amiya took the initiative to continue the conversation:
"They asked us about our future plans, but I didn't reveal any specifics. I estimate that we'll have to leave the Self-Rescue Army camp after lunch."