Chapter 129
She actually mistook him for a dog that was pouncing on its prey to steal its food...?
"Hehehe... hehehehehehehehahahaha, very good... very good--"
Duhkare slowly rose, his hands merely bound, but for the woman before him who had defied the Red of the Sovereign, two hands were almost too many.
Alright.
"I hope your screams later will remain as... calm and natural as they are now!"
He smiled with a somewhat distorted expression, while simultaneously beginning to cast his own witchcraft again from his palm.
The sorcery of the Bloodfiend.
He wanted to make that guy pay the price.
"Go to hell, woman."
Blood flowed from his palm, transforming into crimson servants pouncing on their opponent!
But in the very next instant!
Duhkare was startled. The chains at his waist seemed to sprout two hands from nowhere, grabbing his blood servant as if lifting several rabbits, and then...
A gaping maw suddenly tore open in the chain, and right before Duhkare's eyes, the blood servants were thrown into it, making a crunching chewing sound.
The entire process happened in an instant.
Skadi turned her head, as if something had just pounced on her, but then vanished.
Turning around, I only found Duhkare looking down at the chains binding him with a shocked expression.
"... Do you want instant noodles?"
As if she had made some major decision, Skadi looked at the Bloodfiend Great Lord with a hint of soft-heartedness.
"?"
Chapter 86, The Tarans
Laurentina's voice still echoed in his ears, but Zuo Jian slightly opened his eyes, sensing the "shells" several miles away.
The replenishment of flesh and blood, along with the unique structure of Columbia's body, elevated Zuo Jian's ability to manipulate distant limbs to a new level of precision.
Like --
Even if he keeps his consciousness inside Laurentina's body, he can still simultaneously gain access to the vision and perception of another body.
Just like now...
On the top floor of the hotel, in that luxurious office, the man who had been sitting in his chair all evening—the gang leader—slowly opened his eyes.
While multitasking can cause a slight slowdown in reaction time, there aren't any good solutions at the moment, especially...
"Ring ring ring--"
The communicator beside him rang, and then two phone numbers connected to the small screen almost simultaneously, waiting for Zuo Jian to answer.
He looked down at two different contact numbers.
One of them simply displayed "Stranger".
After a moment's thought, he indeed ignored the other "familiar number" and instead answered the "unfamiliar call."
First of all, he never made any notes on the communicator; the so-called familiarity only referred to the people the previous owner of this body knew.
And strangers... Ah, besides that one, are there any other unfamiliar numbers around?
Unconsciously, a slight smile appeared on his lips, and he spoke directly after Zuo Jian.
"Good morning, Doctor., what's up so early in the morning?"
[Zuo Jian... Phew, I have something to tell you.]
The Doctor on the other end of the phone seemed a little tired, but still mustered his energy to speak.
"You speak, and I'm listening attentively."
[Regarding the Feline you found, handling her affairs is no problem. I'll arrange a meeting place for you in Columbia with a company I know... Also, regarding what you currently want to do...]
The Doctor paused for a moment, then told Zuo Jian all his thoughts.
"Royal power... Drak, and Aslan?"
[The remaining bloodline of Drak is rare, and the heir with the blood of Aslan seems to have long since disappeared. Moreover, if Aslan stood among ordinary Feline, it would be almost impossible to distinguish the two with the naked eye.]
"Aslan..."
Zuo Jian was taken aback, suddenly remembering the face of the blonde girl he had helped a few days ago.
... It can't be that much of a coincidence, can it?
[Theoretically, an Aslan would be easier to find, but if possible, I still hope you can find a pure-blooded Drak, since the latter is, strictly speaking, more beneficial to us.]
[Ahem, if, if we can't find it, then there's another way...]
"What method?"
The Doctor seemed to hesitate for a moment, but ultimately did not tell Zuo Jian about the bold idea in his mind. He simply spoke slowly.
[Another method is... to exploit the current conflicts in Victoria, whether among the Infected or the Tarans.]
"The Tarans..." Zuo Jian frowned slightly, seemingly deep in thought.
After a long pause, he slowly spoke.
"If I remember correctly, that Terra Guide briefly mentioned such a piece of information."
"It says that this land was once inhabited by the Tarans, but as the original inhabitants, they were repeatedly squeezed out of their living space by the Victoria settlers, and eventually could only huddle in backward and remote small towns."
[Besides the Tarans, there are also scattered Gaul remnants in Victoria. Zuo Jian, you should understand what I mean.]
"Then we definitely need to find a way to contact them... Thank you for the reminder, Doctor."
[It's nothing, I'll help anyway. After all, we really need a legitimate reason right now. Whether it's a hero rising up in rebellion or something else, everything needs to be given a name of reason and justice.]
Thanks.
Hang up the communication, Zuo Jian
Leaning back in his chair, he began searching his memory for any useful information.
In fact, when the word Tara was mentioned, a familiar memory was triggered in this gangster's mind.
Strangeness.
Logically speaking, a gang leader shouldn't be associated with the Tarans; it's more reasonable that he's a thug backed by a duke.
Unless... the other party isn't just any ordinary Tarans either.
With his eyes closed, information about a man quickly began to surface in Zuo Jian's mind.
Earl Warwick
Feline.
... Known as the current spiritual leader of the Tarans, he has taken in many persecuted Tarans within his territory...
As for why I know him...
Zuo Jian slowly got up, opened the hidden compartment according to his memory, and found one list of supplies after another.
Gangs are experts at smuggling... and this is a gang from Londinium.
Even with the Duke's support, it doesn't mean they'll abandon their original profession.
Not to mention...
The Earl Warwick did not appear to be smuggling any extremely dangerous items.
Most of the items sold were simply inexpensive clothing and food that avoided tariffs.
However, there is a problem.
The Zuo Jian pulls back the list of past days.
In theory, today should be the day the Earl comes to hand over the "goods".
But... why is there still no movement?
After a moment's thought, Zuo Jian made a decision.
Even for gangsters, the Earl remains a distinguished guest; even gangsters of his caliber must maintain basic courtesy when facing nobles.
Therefore, it's reasonable to pay a visit in person, right?
Of course, Zuo Jian was more interested in taking the opportunity to check on the Tarans's organization.
(I'm going to start pushing the main storyline faster and faster!)
Chapter 87, Zuo Jian: As long as I can move, that's fine.
Splash--
Tiny flames ignited from a wick fixed in the wall, dancing with the rushing air from the open doorway, emitting an alluring pale purple glow.
Its lights, carrying an ominous aura, filled every corner, adding an even more eerie atmosphere to the not-so-spacious room.
"Love... Blana..."
The man leaning against the wall spoke weakly, and copious amounts of blood gushed from his throat, occasionally choking him and preventing any sound from escaping his vocal cords.
"Finally, is there anything you'd like to say, my teacher?"
The Drak girl, enveloped in purple flames, stood quietly before the man, as if nothing around her concerned her.
"Cough cough... Ahahaha... Greedy Drak with endless ambition... Cough cough, did you kill me to push the Tarans's living environment into the abyss?"
Earl Warwick raised his head with difficulty, his questioning gaze not filled with anger, but with a hint of expectation.
"Even if you don't die, Tara's living conditions will not change. Your actions are like trying to wrap a burning flame with a wet piece of paper, while most of the nobles in Victoria choose to keep adding fuel to the fire."
"One day, the fire will grow so fierce that it will evaporate and burn through this damp tissue."
"But you can only watch, because... you know you can't do anything about it."
Eblana stepped forward, squatted down, and stared directly into the eyes of the man in front of her.
"And what about you? Are you going to stop it from burning? Or... cough cough."
"I will let it burn, even push it back, let it burn even more fiercely, and then------"
Warwick stared intently at Eblana, waiting for her to speak and give the answer he had already guessed.
"After they've burned completely, I will pull them from the ashes and bring them back to life."
Seemingly satisfied with the answer, Earl Warwick's face showed a look of relief.
Drak... the Drak he searched for his whole life...
He opened his mouth slightly, as if he wanted to say something.
Eblana... and...
"Loughshinny..."
Whose students are you...?
In the end, he only uttered another name; the rest of the words were forever silenced as he carried them down the corridor of death.
It was this call that made Eblana turn around and look at the open door behind her, where another somewhat dazed Drak stood.
The girl by the door stared in disbelief, clutching the spear in her hands, as her older sister stood calmly before their "teacher" and adoptive father.
Or rather, in front of his corpse.
"Sister... Sister?"
Loughshinny seemed to have never realized more profoundly than she did now... that she had never truly understood her blood relative.
Inside the high-rise building in Londinium, Zuo Jian sat quietly to one side, looking at the list of various supplies.
Logically speaking,
The Earl Warwick was never one to mince words in such matters.