When This Is Over

With Amy, Sunan silently returned to the tavern room.

The moment she entered, Amy pounced on the bed and rolled around endlessly on the soft sheets.

"Meow, I haven't slept in such a soft bed for days. No one's coming to catch me tonight at last!"

"Even so, haven't you forgotten something important?"

On the way back to the tavern, Sunan had continuously prepared himself mentally, reminding himself that he meant Amy no harm. Now, he could begin steering Amy without any reservations.

Amy, who was sprawled across the bed with her limbs spread out, raised her head at those words. She thought in confusion for a moment, then suddenly leaped up as if she had remembered something.

"Meow, I almost forgot! I still haven't gotten my master's things back!"

The little cat jumped onto Sunan's lap and looked at him with tearful eyes.

"Sunan, you'll help me, right?"

Good. She remembered.

Sunan smiled gently and scratched Amy beneath the chin. "Of course. We're friends, after all."

"Meow, thank you, Sunan. You're such a good person."

Amy wore an expression of bliss. It took her a while to come back to herself before she hurriedly asked,

"Then what should we do?"

"Tomorrow night, we'll go to the Starfire Cult's base. I'll have Hidden Dragon lure out the people inside, then we'll sneak in, retrieve your things, and take all the God Blood Amber while we're at it. We'll teach them a lesson!"

"Meow, let's do it! Teach them a lesson!"

Amy could not tell whether the plan was good or bad, but she trusted Sunan.

Since Sunan said so, there had to be no problem.

Once she relaxed, Amy could not help yawning. She sleepily returned to the bed, lay down, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Watching the carefree little cat, Sunan could not help smiling and shaking his head. He sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed and began meditating.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, Amy slept until nearly noon before waking up.

"Meow, that felt so good."

She sprang onto the table, pawed at the bell hanging around her neck, and a translucent ice crystal shaped like a mint leaf appeared out of thin air on her plump paw.

Amy brought the icy leaf beneath her nose and sniffed it several times before placing it in her mouth.

From the blissful look on her face, it was as though she were savoring some supreme delicacy.

"What is that?" Sunan asked curiously.

"Ice Condensation Mint. It tastes great. Want to try some?"

Amy generously gave Sunan a leaf.

He took it, examined it for a moment, and put it into the Magic Cube.

Ice Condensation Mint. Carrying it could ward off heat poison, while consuming it directly had a refreshing effect.

So it was a magical plant. No wonder it looked so unusual.

Sunan glanced at Amy. The little cat hugged the Ice Condensation Mint, sniffing and licking it. Before long, she had melted across the table like a puddle of mud, looking thoroughly delighted.

Shaking his head with a laugh, Sunan went to sit by the window, took out a book, and began reading.

Recently, he had discovered another use for the Magic Cube: it could serve as a temporary storage tool.

As long as an object was nonliving and lacked independent consciousness, it could be placed inside the Magic Cube.

Furthermore, the Magic Cube could conceal the energy fluctuations of certain special items.

Like God Blood Amber.

Whether it was kept in a pocket or inside Amy's bell, the Starfire Cult could sense it.

But after it was placed in the Magic Cube, even Amy could no longer sense the God Blood Amber's energy fluctuations.

From that alone, the Magic Cube was undoubtedly a higher-level existence than spatial Magical Items.

If there was any drawback, it was that when using the Magic Cube to synthesize items, everything had to be taken out first, which was rather troublesome.

"I still need to find a genuine spatial Magical Item."

Sunan sighed softly, gathered his thoughts, and focused on reading.

Toward evening, he went downstairs to eat something and make his presence known, lest the owner see that he had stayed shut in his room all day and come knocking.

Yet while eating, Sunan unexpectedly heard some news.

"Have you heard? The Viscount is recruiting warriors to eliminate an evil spirit!"

"What evil spirit?"

"Didn't they say Kubeiro Baronet's manor was haunted some time ago? Apparently, it's an evil spirit."

"Even the Viscount has been alerted?"

"Several knights died, after all. The Viscount has even put up a reward of one thousand Gold Coins!"

"Really? One thousand Gold Coins? I couldn't spend that much in a lifetime!"

Several tavern patrons exclaimed in astonishment.

Sunan's eyes flickered. He finished his meal without showing any reaction, then went upstairs to his room.

Time gradually passed.

The deep night slowly shrouded all of Stone Bell City.

Sunan glanced at the night sky outside the window, closed his book, and stood.

"It's time to move."

Amy had been boredly licking her paws. At his words, she immediately got up.

"Meow, I'm ready!"

Sunan nodded, pushed open the window, and leaped down, landing soundlessly in the alley behind the tavern.

Amy immediately appeared out of thin air on his shoulder.

Under the cover of night, one man and one cat dashed out of the alley and raced toward the Starfire Cult's base.

By midnight, most of the city's residents had already fallen asleep.

There were few people on the streets, with only the occasional drunkard lying by the roadside.

Patrolling city guard soldiers passed by from time to time, but Sunan sensed them in advance and easily avoided them.

Before long, the man and cat arrived at the Starfire Cult's base.

Looking at the brightly lit manor in the distance, a flash of coldness passed through Sunan's eyes.

"Go. Draw out as many people inside as you can."

A low hiss sounded behind him, as though a breeze had swept past. Then all returned to silence.

Deep within the manor, in the study of the main building.

The atmosphere was stifling.

Four Priests stood before the desk with their heads lowered, scarcely daring to breathe, much less look at Casper Priest seated across from them.

"Two Priests and more than twenty followers were slaughtered in a single night, yet you still haven't found even the slightest clue about the killer."

Casper's cold, stern gaze swept across the four men, and his tone grew even frostier.

"I'm beginning to doubt whether you are capable of continuing to serve as Priests!"

A sheen of sweat immediately appeared on the foreheads of the four Priests.

One of the older Priests hurriedly said, "High Priest, we examined the traces at the scene and confirmed that most of the followers died beneath the claws and fangs of some ferocious beast. Ryan Priest's corpse bore lightning scorch marks. As for Troy Priest, although we did not find his body, judging from the traces at the scene, he was most likely burned to ashes by high-temperature flames."

Casper narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Are you telling me that a Legendary Knight who keeps a strange beast killed them?"

"No, no!"

The Priest hurriedly shook his head.

If a Legendary Knight who bore a grudge against the cult had entered Stone Bell City, there was no way they would not have received word beforehand.

"Besides Legendary Knights, wizards can also wield elemental power."

"We unanimously believe that the attacker was likely a wizard. That person is very likely connected to the Magical Creature we are hunting!"

Casper remained silent for a long while before saying, "No matter what, those two pieces of God Blood Amber that were taken must be recovered. They must never be allowed to remain outside!"

"I don't care what methods you use. Find that wizard!"

"Otherwise, you know the consequences!"

"Yes, sir!"

The four Priests tensed and answered in unison.

Casper's expression softened slightly. Rubbing his brow, he asked, "How is the investigation into the matter in Blackstone City going?"

One Priest hesitated before answering, "Sir, all four people we sent have lost contact. The names on the spy list Baron Owen gave us have also all been cleared out. You Li and the others have most likely already..."

The corner of Casper's eye twitched.

Losing two Grand Knights and two Advanced Knights at once was no small loss for the Stone Bell City base.

Combined with the manpower lost last night, it would not be an exaggeration to call it a devastating blow!

"By rights, Blackstone City only has Kei Arnester, one Grand Knight. No matter how you look at it, You Li and the others shouldn't have failed," one Priest said.

Another snorted. "What is there to think about? Baron Owen's intelligence must have been wrong. There are probably other powerful people in Blackstone City. He must take responsibility for this failed assassination!"

Casper looked toward the older Priest, who immediately understood and said, "Baron Owen claimed he did not know what happened either. That man was furious and insisted that our capabilities were lacking. He demanded that we send more assassins and make sure to kill those two targets."

"He has quite the imagination."

A contemptuous sneer appeared on Casper's face as he waved a hand.

"Tell him that the previous payment will count as compensation for the faulty intelligence. If he wants us to continue the assassination, he can pay another three thousand Gold Coins."

"Yes, sir."

After waving the four Priests away, Casper rose and walked to the window, gazing out at the boundless night sky.

"This mistake was no small one, but fortunately, there's still that batch of goods. As long as I hand them over, it should be enough to make up for this failure. If I handle it well, getting promoted another rank may not be impossible."

"Once this is over, I'll personally take the goods to Giant Nan City."

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Casper's lips.

Boom!

A deafening crash like thunder suddenly rang out in the distance.

Casper's smile froze. He looked into the distance and saw thick clouds of dust rising in the direction of the manor gates.