Passing through the woods and over the artificial lake, Qilangos, favored by the wind, shook off his pursuers.
He looked around, intending to feign an escape by sneaking into the Tussock River along the canal, then turn and run into Hillston Borough, the economic center of Backlund.
Just then, his vision blurred, and he saw that the colors in the darkness had become unusually intense.
The verdant trees became even greener, the bright red fruits even brighter, and the dark water even darker; everything looked like a canvas splashed with oil paint.
High in the sky, where the Crimson Moon is obscured, there are countless transparent shadows of indescribable shapes, and clear, bright lights of different colors that contain mysterious knowledge.
Qilangos found himself Levitation in mid-air, with the dark water rising steadily beneath his feet, and pale hands reaching out from below.
Oh no! Qilangos realized he had been ambushed.
The ambushers are definitely not weak!
Suddenly, a gigantic humanoid skeleton appeared before his eyes. The Monster was four meters tall, with black flames burning in its eye sockets, and the white bones were illusory and hazy.
Qilangos stared at the enemy with emotionless eyes, a cold smile playing on his lips.
At the same time, the glove on his left hand shone with a brilliant light, appearing as if it were made of pure gold.
Qilangos leaned back with his arms outstretched, as if embracing the Sun.
Suddenly, a pure, blazing light descended from the sky, enveloping the enormous skeleton within. The entire oil painting-like world trembled violently, and pale hands beneath the dark water evaporated one after another.
This is the extraordinary power of the " Light Priest "!
This is the extraordinary capability of Sequence 5 of the " The Sun " pathway!
This is the nemesis of the Death!
As the brilliant beam of light dissipated, the black flames in the eye sockets of the enormous skeleton instantly went out, then it became transparent and vanished inch by inch into the air.
Before Qilangos could use the " Light Priest " ability to shatter the oil painting-like world again, his expression froze.
He saw another enormous skeleton appear to his left, nearly four meters tall, with black flames burning in its eye sockets, exactly like the Monster from before.
Immediately afterwards, one after another, the same skeletal Monster appeared around Qilangos —one, two, three... more than a hundred in total!
Hundreds of pairs of eyes, burning with jet-black flames, simultaneously turned their gazes toward their target.
Below, the dark water rose higher and higher, almost touching Qilangos's feet.
Pale, illusory hands sprouted again, waving upwards as if trying to grasp at a straw for salvation.
"Spread out and give chase, try to surround them," Cardinal Ace Snake of the Church of Storms gave the order, then took to the air in the sudden hurricane and flew towards the direction Qilangos had fled.
Duke Negan and his entourage did not join the ranks of the " Mandated Punishers," maintaining their dignity as they stood by the window and on the balcony to observe. It was only then that the ordinary nobles, who had been running around in a panic, gradually calmed down.
Because it had been completely dark before, and with shouts and cries rising and falling, they didn't know exactly what had happened, only that the Duke might have been attacked by Assassin.
Alger Wilson gritted his teeth and ran out of the Duke Negan's mansion, circling the municipal park across the street towards Hillston Borough.
He wasn't willing to give up even the slightest hope!
Suddenly, he heard a sound carried by the wind:
"No need to chase anymore."
"No need to chase anymore?" Snake Snake's voice... Alger ran a few more steps before stopping, turning around in confusion to look at the sky.
He saw Archbishop Snake, dressed in a black robe embroidered with Storm symbols, hovering above the woods and artificial lake, gazing diagonally below.
Alger frowned, not bothering to think about the reason, and sped towards the location of the cardinal.
As the distance closed, he saw things more and more clearly with the help of the " Navigator's" extraordinary abilities.
The " Songster of God " had no expression on his square face, but his posture revealed his solemnity. His gray hair, peeking out from under his black soft hat, swayed gently in the wind, highlighting his unusually serious silver eyes.
Alger looked away and ran out of the woods.
Suddenly, his eyes conjured up images of a cool lake shimmering with crimson Moonlight, and a tall figure near the shore.
The figure had a distinctively broad chin, brown hair tied up in an ancient warrior's bun at the back of the head, and icy, empty dark green eyes.
Qilangos!
" Admiral Hurricane " Qilangos!
Alger was first taken aback, then both surprised and delighted, hardly believing his eyes and wondering if the darkness was causing him to hallucinate.
Before he could react further, he suddenly saw Qilangos's face rapidly decaying, oozing yellowish-green pus, and pieces of flesh falling off one after another.
Snap! Snap! Snap!
Qilangos's face was reduced to bones, and his two empty eyeballs detached from their sockets, crashing onto the lakeside ground one after the other.
With a snap, Qilangos fell apart completely, his clothes covering the rotting flesh and white bones, and obscuring the shimmering light.
In less than twenty seconds, Qilangos, one of the seven pirate generals, died mysteriously in front of Alger.
The terrifying scene was etched into Alger's mind, making him wonder if he was having a horrific nightmare.
What happened?
Didn't Qilangos successfully escape?
How could someone die so strangely and so easily here?
What happened to him that caused him to lose his life in such a short time...?
He is Sequence 6 " Wind-blessed," the master of " Creeping Hunger "!
Who did it?
Why kill Qilangos...?
Just as countless thoughts were flashing through Alger's mind, he heard the magnetic voice of " Songster of God " Ace Snake:
"Have you shared this information with anyone else?"
"Is this information known to anyone else?"
Alger quickly regained his composure, glanced at Qilangos's corpse, and explained as if he had prepared:
"I just received the intelligence and immediately reported it to you, Archbishop."
At this point, he couldn't help but grumble to himself: If it weren't for Ace Snake going for a walk Tussock River, which made him spend a considerable amount of time looking for him, Qilangos might never have escaped Duke Negan's mansion!
Of course, he dared not voice such resentment in front of a High-Sequence expert, and could only continue his description respectfully and humbly:
"The personnel who received the intelligence directly even sacrificed their lives, while those who relayed it never opened the letters. I can confirm this."
"But I can't be sure if the source of the information has been leaked. If we can know it, others can too."
As Alger spoke, he also began to wonder who had killed " Admiral Hurricane " Qilangos:
Who or what organization commissioned Qilangos to assassinate Duke Negan? But since Qilangos has successfully escaped and there's no possibility of him revealing anything, there's no reason to kill him... If it were me, I would have Qilangos go undercover, and then carry out another assassination attempt when everyone thinks he's already escaped Backlund...
Furthermore, Qilangos only ever trusted himself; he wouldn't reveal the assassination plan to anyone beforehand. Duke Negan had been holding frequent gatherings recently to discuss several proposals for September, so there was no shortage of opportunities. Aside from Qilangos himself, no one could be certain when or where he would act... unless, unless he was a " Prophet "... which was highly unlikely...
Other forces? Impossible. Miss Justice immediately noticed the problem and relayed the information by pleading with Mr. The Fool: It's impossible for any organization other than us to have received this information simultaneously...
"Mr. The Fool "... Alger was startled, a possibility dawning on him:
It was Mr. The Fool's Blessed made the move!
He happened to be in Backlund, so he "happened" to help out!
Alger thought about it more and more and felt that this guess was close to the truth:
Only members and subordinates of the " Tarot Club " can receive information immediately!
Only when the relatives of the " The Fool " make a move can the matter seem strange and lack purpose!
As he was lost in thought, Archbishop Snake paused for a moment, then addressed the other " Mandated Punishers " who were arriving one after another:
" Qilangos is dead. He was killed by a High-Sequence powerhouse, or perhaps by Sealed Artifact of the same level, but that's extremely dangerous and unlikely."
"Based on initial observation, I believe it is High-Sequence powerhouse of the ' Death ' pathway, perhaps a member of the Spirituality Religion, but not the one I know. It could also be a member of some other Concealment organization."
The motive is unclear.
The Spirituality Religion originated in the Southern Continent. It is said that it was originally a Concealment organization established by some descendants of the Death in an attempt to resurrect the Death. After the Southern Continent was invaded and colonized, they were almost wiped out, but they survived and spread to the countries of the Northern Continent.
High-Sequence powerhouse... Yes, only High-Sequence powerhouse could kill Qilangos in such a short time! One of Mr. The Fool's Blessed is High-Sequence one... That's a " Demigod "! Alger looked at the pile of rotten flesh and bones again, his whole state was very detached, as if he had lost all emotions, staring blankly at everything.
"What if one day I betray Mr. The Fool..." This thought suddenly popped into his head.
Immediately, the horrifying image of Qilangos rapidly decaying flashed through his mind.
Alger involuntarily shivered and lowered his head.
At the same time, he relaxed.
Since escape is impossible and resistance is difficult, loyalty is the only option.
Whew... With Qilangos dead, no one can threaten me with that secret anymore! He breathed a sigh of relief, finally at peace.
Inside Duke Negan's mansion, Audrey Hall, who was discussing the assassination attempt with her mother and other noble ladies, saw her father, who sported a handsome mustache, appear at the door.
She made an excuse to leave the lounge and went to the balcony in the lobby.
"Father, is something the matter?" Audrey looked at the Earl Hall with her emerald-green eyes.
Her eye color was inherited from her mother, not her father.
Earl Hall chuckled:
"The matter is resolved, my child, you don't need to worry anymore."
"Hmm... have you told anyone else that Baron Gramir is an imposter?"
"No." Audrey shook her head firmly.
I only told someone who is almost a god... she added silently to herself.
She thought for a moment, then added two more specific sentences:
"After telling you, I went to the bathroom first, and then I went to my mother's. You can ask her."
"Hmm." Earl Hall nodded slightly, saying nothing more, and then added, " Qilangos is dead. He was murdered."
"Who?" Audrey, both surprised and excited.
"We don't know. We can't even guess why the killer would kill Qilangos. It's truly incomprehensible." Earl Hall paused for a moment before continuing, "Perhaps it was an individual, or perhaps an organization—a Concealment, powerful organization."
Unable to guess their purpose... Concealment, powerful organization... could they be Blessed of Mr. " The Fool "? Could they be our " Tarot Club "? Audrey suddenly realized something.