Banquet Murder Case

"Feel this, the blood is still warm. He just died, and I was with you the whole time, how could I have had time to kill him?"

"But he died in the room you arranged, you caused all of this!!"

"I…" The male voice sighed heavily and explained again, "Alright, even if I killed him, isn't that good? He's dead, and there are no more obstacles between us."

"He could die, but not now! You ruined everything!"

"What everything? Dilar, are you hiding something from me again? You've changed recently, you've become so distant. Did… did you take a liking to someone else?"

"No! I didn't!"

The woman's voice was gritted, but she didn't explain further. Instead, she said anxiously:

"The banquet is about to start. Once everyone knows he's dead, we're finished!"

"Finished? You're the Duchess, the victim. I'm a nephew of the Duke with no inheritance rights, just a regular guard. At most, I'll be charged with negligent guarding. How could we be finished?"

"…I… I was too anxious. He can't just die like this. The matter of the decree isn't settled, and the territory's citizens will still protest…"

"Dilar, that's something the Duke should worry about. You're just the Duchess!"

"But he's already dead! Dead!"

The Duchess tried to suppress her yell, but it still sounded somewhat hysterical. The Duke's death seemed to be a heavy blow to her.

"So what if he's dead? You have the inheritance rights to all his property. Isn't that enough? Brooks' wealth is enough for us to squander for several lifetimes."

"No… you don't understand. I can inherit the property, but I can't inherit his title. This way, Brooks' administrative power will be returned to the Royal Court…"

"What? You want to be the Duchess?"

"No! I just want to do it for those… the citizens of the town!"

"Dilar, you've really changed. Why are you bothering with those dirt-diggers?"

"You don't understand! Listen, you stay here and don't let anyone in. I'll go find a way! We must ensure his death is not leaked!"

After speaking, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the room as the Duchess anxiously left.

Hearing this, Cheng Shi and Bailing exchanged a look in their cramped space and both breathed a sigh of relief.

If this "regular guard" was going to secure the room, the next step would be to go outside and guard it. This would give them an opportunity to escape first.

However, unexpectedly, the second the Duchess slammed the door shut, the man who called himself a "regular guard" turned towards the wardrobe with a smile on his lips.

"Sorry for letting you hear that farce, but it's alright, it'll be over soon."

He clapped his hands and said with a smile of admiration, "Thank you for killing Brooks. Although I had made arrangements, your methods were clearly cleaner and more efficient. I must say, your stealth abilities are also very good, it's just a pity you ran into me."

"Come out. Since you helped me with a small favor, I can give you a quick end."

Cheng Shi and Bailing exchanged another look, their hearts sinking.

They had been discovered.

"What do we do?" Bailing asked silently.

Cheng Shi pondered for a moment and mouthed back, "Can you fight?"

Bailing shook her head, but then she thought Cheng Shi was just a Priest and nodded again, writing a number on his leg with her finger.

"1321."

Cheng Shi immediately understood. That was her Ladder score.

It was indeed too low.

After half a year since the Faith Game descended, anyone still in this tier was either barely surviving through solo instances or had just been carried along.

Bailing clearly didn't look like either of those. Cheng Shi really couldn't figure out how she could have such a low score.

Did she fail every time but somehow survive?

That was harder than getting a high score every time!

But no matter what, she was a Hunter. Her offense was definitely better than his as a Priest.

"Don't panic, let's go get him!"

Cheng Shi mouthed silently again, then gently patted Bailing's shoulder, signaling that he was about to push the door open.

Bailing was startled, understood his intention, and began counting down in her heart.

"3."

"2."

"1!"

"Bang!"

They pushed the door open simultaneously. Bailing immediately summoned her longbow and activated her Sensory Hunting talent, piercing directly into the opponent's Sea of Desire, attempting to disrupt his actions.

Cheng Shi rolled on the spot a few times, casting his Healing spell on both of them in advance, leaving ample healing reserves.

However, after they burst out of the door, they discovered that the guard who had been shouting so fiercely was now standing by the head of the bed, a sinister smile on his face as he glared at them from a distance.

The sensory pursuit felt like hitting a solid city wall, firmly barred from entry.

"Damn, he has mental defense skills!"

"Oh? A servant of the Filth Fall? Excellent. Your methods of killing are too clean, leaving no trace. I was still wondering how to pin the blame on the refugees. This is even better."

Although he was speaking, his expression was extremely cautious. His eyes continuously scanned Cheng Shi and the other person, and he chuckled:

"The Filth Fall believers among the refugees infiltrated the Duke's mansion to assassinate him before the bill was announced, in protest of the Duke's legislation. What a perfectly reasonable explanation. Now, I'm completely in the clear. I really must thank you."

Cheng Shi's sharp gaze continuously swept across the surrounding space and the man from head to toe. Before long, he spotted a familiar object in the guard's hand.

A ring!

The man was wearing a ring identical to the one the Dwarf had!

Cheng Shi hadn't expected things to be this coincidental. He decisively took the ring from his pocket and held it up in front of him.

At this moment, saying too much would be worse than saying nothing, letting the other party guess was better.

The guard indeed froze when he saw the ring in Cheng Shi's hand. Then, he burst into disbelieving laughter:

"What? I only gave the broker three hundred gold coins. Didn't he say he found a group of Dwarves to do this? How come the Dwarves actually outsourced the job?

Hahahaha, you guys are too cute. Who are you? How much did those Dwarves pay you?"

Cheng Shi instantly understood the key point. It turned out that the group of Dwarves were arranged by this person in front of him to assassinate the Duke.

It was just that they had killed the Dwarves and then stumbled upon the Duke's death.

Damn it, now it was truly impossible to explain.

The other party clearly had no intention of letting them off just because they were hired killers.

Cheng Shi looked at the guard who was still laughing uncontrollably and replied with a grim expression:

"Thirty gold coins."

"What? Hahahaha, what did you say?" The guard's laughter became even more unrestrained.

"Twenty is fine too."

"?" His smile faltered, and he frowned, seemingly not understanding.

"Let's call it quits!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Shi unleashed an "Accelerated Metabolism" directly onto the guard, targeting the defect in his legs.

This way, during the rapid metabolism, the vitality of his legs would continuously increase, but the unfamiliar sluggishness caused by the different state of his legs would arise.

Seizing this moment of sluggishness, there might be an opportunity.

Bailing clearly understood Cheng Shi's "countdown." The moment he finished speaking, she shot an arrow imbued with the power of the Filth Fall towards the guard.

Their cooperation was incredibly tacit. The moment the guard's legs weakened, the arrow struck his arm.

The power of lustful depravity began to grasp at his sanity like tentacles, tearing at his emotions.

However, the guard was not alarmed. Instead, a cold smile appeared on his lips, and he opened his mouth to say:

"Resistance is forbidden here!"

"Buzz—"

A holy light rapidly spread out from the guard, instantly bathing the entire room in gold.

The longbow in Bailing's hand immediately dropped uncontrollably to the ground. Even the arrow on the guard's body fell silently to the ground.

Cheng Shi's pupils constricted at the sight, and he inwardly cursed.

This was the power of Order!

The person opposite was actually a Law Giver!

A Singer of Order!

How could a Singer be a guard these days?

Before Cheng Shi could wrap his head around it, the high-level Law Giver opposite him had already unleashed his voice and begun to chant.

"Judge above, the time for execution has arrived.

Chains grip the prisoner's wails, shackles shatter the sinner's arrogance.

They shall be judged here, receive the baptism of holy fire, and bathe in the Lord's glory.

And then!

Under the gaze of Order...

Turn to ash!"

With each line of the lyrics, Cheng Shi could clearly feel his physical condition rapidly declining.

"Silence," "Imprisonment," "Burning," "Penitence"...

Four negative status effects frantically stacked upon him, the heavy pressure feeling almost tangible.

Before long, the two of them were pinned to the ground, unable to breathe.

Bailing's condition was clearly worse than Cheng Shi's. It was as if an invisible giant foot was pressing down on her back, pinning her to the floor, deforming her entire body and face.

Bright red blood flowed from her seven orifices, and soon her vision began to blur.

She looked at Cheng Shi, who was equally miserable. There was no fear of death in her eyes, only a pained smile as she apologized:

"I'm sorry... Big Brother... I... I'm too weak..."

But the "Silence" affected everyone, and her voice couldn't escape her throat.

Cheng Shi only saw Bailing open her mouth, then smile and close her eyes.

"Weakness is the original sin, isn't it?"

The guard chuckled coldly, drew his longsword, and slowly paced towards Cheng Shi.