Chapter 232

As a result, two days have passed since he went in, and there has been no news at all.

There are still two Sixth Tier investigators within the Burning Covenant, but 'Vainay' doesn't intend to take any more risks; every high-level Supernatural Being is extremely valuable. Even in the current Imperial Capital, besides a seventh-tier Court Mage in charge, only Haino, the 'neutral faction' vice dean, remains.

Most high-level Supernatural Being are unwilling to serve the royal family. Generally, once they reach the fifth level or above, they prefer to pursue achievements in the Faith Path and obtain greater power rather than power and glory.

Therefore, in terms of the number of Supernatural Being, the churches of the gods actually have more. For example, the cardinals of the Gate of Janus are at the Sixth Tier, and the top three are all at the seventh rank.

Because of the unique nature of their faith in God, churches are generally considered superior to states. Therefore, even if 'wild' Supernatural Being are considering joining a power, they will prioritize churches.

This is also why Ryan was so eager to establish a mage tower in the Augustus Empire, using imperial resources and the training of high-level Supernatural Being as conditions to attract people with extraordinary talents to join, and gradually form his own stable Supernatural Being training base.

This is much better than the Burning Covenant recruiting people everywhere. Firstly, it provides a stable output, and secondly, it avoids accidentally recruiting traitors.

Loyalty! Loyalty is the most important thing; Ryan hates traitors the most!

Just then, a guard walked in.

"Your Majesty, Earl Ryan has arrived."

'Vainay' nodded: 'Karin, you take men and guard this place. Inform me immediately if anything happens.'

"Yes."

Master Ryan rode in the car all the way into the castle amidst the enthusiastic gazes of the Baron people.

"I heard that Magana has 100,000 iron cavalry and has already marched to the Great Plains!"

"What do you mean by 'going to the Great Grasslands'? They're colluding with the people of the Great Grasslands and plotting a rebellion!"

"I've heard that too. Magana clearly has 100,000 troops, but she's only been defending and not attacking. She's passively fighting with the supplies given to her by the Empress, and she's even plotting a rebellion!"

"Really? I've heard that Magana was secretly groomed by Your Majesty Empress?"

"Are you out of your mind? How old is the Empress? How old is Magana? Magana has always wanted to fight for the throne. She was just forced by the situation and wasn't sure she could win before."

"Shh! It's Earl Ryan. Keep your voice down so he doesn't hear you. He's one of Magana's men!"

"What's there to be afraid of? The Empress will deal with this treacherous official sooner or later!"

"..."

"..."

Ryan said to the guards beside him, "Make a note of all those people who were loudly plotting just now. Arrest them one by one and interrogate them to see who has been spreading rumors lately."

"Yes, ma'am."

Enter the castle.

After the guards announced the arrival, 'Vainay' arrived shortly afterward.

She told Ryan about the underground fissure.

"The Blood God Space."

Ryan was having a headache. This thing was too dangerous; even Seventh Tier Transcendent would be harmed. The consequences of an outbreak would be unimaginable.

He had previously asked Jonathan, who confirmed that the Blood Hand Butcher was in that Chaos Space.

However, since the Chaos Space is actually interconnected, what was there back then might not be there now... right?

It seems more likely that it is.

Speaking of which, back then, 'Shally' actually succeeded in impersonating the Blood Hand Butcher and was even able to gather the power of the cultists to sacrifice to her. I hope the Blood Hand Butcher won't hold a grudge about that.

"I have a feeling that someone might be pulling the strings behind the scenes," 'Vainay' said, expressing her speculation.

Because the Old Emperor's blood sacrifice was performed there, she immediately thought of one person—Creed.

The latter has been secretly plotting to destroy the Augustus Empire. Since he knows about the existence of the Chaos Space, he cannot help but take advantage of it. In addition, there are rumors that have been gradually emerging within the empire recently. There must be a connection between the two.

Ryan thought about all the things he'd heard along the way, and he wondered where those commoners got the audacity to spread rumors. With Grand Duke Magana's reputation, who would dare to speak ill of her openly? Don't want your legs? Cut them off and let them sit at the same table as the kids!

Judging from this, those ordinary citizens were probably imposters, their purpose being to spread these rumors.

A powerful duke with a large army, who also harbors rebellious intentions, would naturally become a major threat to the emperor.

Using public opinion to stir up conflict and then using someone else to do the dirty work is a shrewd strategy.

Unfortunately, Creed never dreamed that 'Vainay' was Ryan's man, so how could he possibly attack the Western Territory because of that?

However, it is still necessary to stop public opinion. Public opinion can be deadly, and rumors can spread like wildfire. Especially in the context of the extraordinary world, the spread of such public opinion is actually part of the power of the Lord of the Bizarre. Once public opinion reaches a certain level, it may lead to the phenomenon of 'public opinion becoming reality'.

This matter is also recorded in the intelligence of Gate of Janus.

A follower of Lord of the Bizarre destroyed a kingdom with 'rumors,' shocking the continent.

Of course, such a thing requires the right time, place, and people, which is impossible in the current Augustus Empire; at most, it would cause a period of internal strife.

'Vainay' has secretly investigated one of the Eye of Dawn's strongholds and plans to launch a surprise attack when the opportunity arises, hoping to capture Creed or at least obtain some relevant information about him.

Ryan was helpless in this matter.

The enemy is in the shadows, while they are in the light.

This is why the Eye of Dawn is always disliked; enemies in the open are easier to deal with, but rats in the shadows are the most annoying.

"Are the supplies ready?" Ryan asked.

"It's ready, and you can take it with you anytime."

"That's fine then."

Ryan planned to let the caravan set off with the supplies first, and then he would follow later. In any case, he would need to assess the situation after reaching the Western Territory before taking any further action.

Those barbarians were starving, but now they needed a war, a victory, to make the Western Barbarians completely give up the idea that they could still plunder resources by force. His appearance at that time would be the best opportunity.

After spending some time with 'Vainay', it was a pity that 'Ina', the Minister of the Interior, was dealing with other matters. By evening, Ryan left the castle and returned to his residence.

He has a residence in Baron.

After all, on the surface, Ryan is just an earl, so naturally he is not qualified to live in Empress Your Majesty's castle.

Hmm, I'll sneak off tonight.

However, before that, he needed to have a good talk with Dean Hainuo. It was such a waste to keep this super fighter in Baron.

As soon as Ryan returned to the house, he discovered that someone was following him around the corner.

At first, he thought it was some 'ambitious people' who wanted to assassinate him, Magana's henchman, to clear the way for the Empire. However, it wasn't. As the figure walked towards him, the other person slowly took off the black hood on his head, revealing a long-lost and familiar face.

"Ryan, it's been a long time," the other party said with a smile.

Ryan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Keisha, it has indeed been a long time."

Keisha, Berman City, bookstore, the assistant Adler originally assigned to him.

But in reality, Keisha is a member of the Eye of Dawn, secretly orchestrating everything in Berman City.

It's obvious that Keisha and Creed are in cahoots. After the Grand Duke's Keisha disappeared along with Creed.

"You dare to show your face in front of me?" Things are different now. Although Ryan is only at the third level, he is confident that he can fight against Fifth Tier Transcendent, not to mention that the 'Shally' Character Card is always available.

"Hehe~ Don't be so murderous. I've come with more than enough sincerity." Keisha smiled slightly. "Doesn't Lord Ryan want to know how to help Grand Duke Magana overthrow the Empress's rule and become the new emperor?"

Ryan scoffed. "You? If you were truly sincere, it would be that bastard Creed who came to me. Of course, if he dared to show up, I would have him chopped up and fed to the dogs as the price for his betrayal of the Grand Duke."

"Ryan is truly loyal to the Grand Duke." Keisha smiled nonchalantly. "Lord Creed will not appear, but he is indeed sincere in his willingness to cooperate with Magana again. Don't be in a hurry to refuse. You and I are just messengers. Perhaps you could talk to Magana? I think she might be interested."

Ryan stroked his chin. "Then tell me, how can you help the Grand Duke?"

Palladium Yisi Jiu Ling San Qi Jiu Ba

A smile appeared in Keisha's eyes.

She knew that Ryan wouldn't refuse. After all, the Empress was becoming increasingly powerful, and in another year or two, 'Vainay's' position would be even more secure than the Old Emperor's back then, and then Magana would have no hope at all.

As Magana's new 'strategist', as long as Ryan isn't stupid, he'll definitely consider this collaboration. After all, who else can help besides them?

"Won't you invite me in for a cup of tea?" Keisha asked.

Ryan shrugged. "Let's go to a nearby coffee shop. I'm afraid the Grand Duke might misunderstand if he finds out."

"Oh? I didn't realize Ryan cared so much about the Grand Duke's opinion."

"Don't you care about what your husband thinks? If you don't have a husband, then never mind what I said."

To be honest, Keisha is pretty and has a good figure, but Ryan has no interest in her at all. Even if she stood naked in front of him, she wouldn't even raise her head to show respect. He always kills this kind of cunning old fox.

However, he now intends to use this opportunity to see if he can get Creed out.

Iron Cross Street, coffee shop.

Ryan found a secluded corner, and the two sat down.

Keisha secretly set up a Mana Barrier.

Ryan noticed that she was wearing a silver bracelet on her right hand. The bracelet was connected in a loop, with a magatama-like shape hanging down in the middle. But upon closer inspection, it was actually the number '9'. However, most people wouldn't make that connection even if they saw it.

Even in the records of Gate of Janus regarding the Eye of Dawn and Dusk, the meaning of the number '9' is unknown, which shows how deep these old schemers are hiding their true intentions.

But Keisha actually has this thing on her?

"Lord Ryan, I wonder if you have ever heard of the War Hall?"

"War Hall? Never heard of it."

"That is the core authority of the Blood Cult, which contains eight of the most mysterious and powerful war-traveling Supernatural Being. The former emperor of Augustus was also a member of the War Hall."

"Oh?"

Ryan raised an eyebrow; this was the first time he had heard of this.

However, the Blood Cult were able to grow so large not because of those guys who only shouted "Blood Sacrifice to the Blood God" and then TTK. Even if the people in the Temple of War were not the Chosen of the Gods, they should be very powerful hidden professions.

That explains why the Old Emperor was able to mobilize so much of the Blood Cult's power.

"So what?"

"Lord Creed has already reached an agreement with one of the members of the Temple of War, and can help Maganna overthrow Empress Vainay's rule at any time, if Magana so wishes."

Ryan scoffed, "Keisha, do you think I'm stupid? Using the power of the Blood Cult to fight against the Emperor, do you think those lunatics will listen to us? Besides, why would they help the Grand Duke? And why would you help him?"

"They just want to avenge Emperor Kahn. As for Lord Creed, you can think of it as a revenge against the Augustan royal family. Anyone can sit on the throne, but no one from the Augustan royal family can sit on it."

After Keisha finished speaking, she smiled faintly, "Actually, you don't need to care about these things at all. The premise of cooperation is that each party gets what they need. You just need to know that Lord Creed has no hostility towards Grand Duke Magana. Since she is not an enemy, he will naturally not go to great lengths to scheme against her. This is the basis of our cooperation."

Ryan picked up his coffee and took a sip.

He was considering how likely it was that if he tied Keisha up now, locked her in the basement, and interrogated her severely, he could uncover Creed's information.

The success rate is probably no more than 30%.

After all, they had already experienced Creed's cunning nature before, and if Keisha were killed, the information about the Blood Cult would be completely cut off.

The members of the Temple of War are probably at least at the seventh rank, right? Ryan doesn't believe in such nonsense as revenge, so what's the Temple of War getting involved in this conflict for?

"Even with the help of the Blood Cult, don't forget that the Gate of Janus has a close relationship with the Empress. Once the Temple of War makes a move, the Gate of Janus will definitely get involved."

"Therefore, this is where Grand Duke Magana needs to step forward." Keisha smiled slightly. "Given the Grand Duke's status in the Hand of Darkness, she can easily get a lot of people to help with just a word."

Oh!

Here it is.

Ryan suddenly realized.

Let's talk about why Creed suddenly approached Magana.

Is this some kind of massive coup d'état in the Augustus Empire?

With the Hand of Darkness, the Blood Cult, the Augustus Empire, the Gate of Janus, and the Eye of Dawn and Dusk that orchestrates everything, if this chaotic battle were to break out, Augustus would be crippled, if not killed.

Arcadia will not let such a good opportunity pass by. As long as the Watcher Legion cross the Northern Federation, an attack on Augustus will be inevitable.

"Damn it, those old bastards with the Eye of Dawn and Dusk!"

Etc.

Why did Keisha tell him the plan so easily?

Ding-a-ling~~

A sudden metallic clanging sound rang out.