" Macht Pound's Future."
Klein held the Baron's hair in his hand, closed his eyes, and drifted into a deep sleep through Cogitation.
In the gray, overcast sky, he saw a narrow, irregular opening Macht Pound, with puffy eyes and graying temples, crawled out, supporting himself on his elbows like a reptile.
Then, the scene flashed, and he picked up a black iron badge from somewhere and put it on his chest.
The badge was engraved with a scepter and a hand gripping it tightly!
" Tudor!" Klein suddenly woke up from his dream and sat up straight.
According to the bodyguard, the black iron badge was engraved with the royal coat of arms of the Fourth Tudor Empire!
This is exactly the same as the one he saw in that old building!
" Macht Pound is definitely not as simple as he seems..." Klein rubbed his forehead and muttered to himself.
As a " Seer," he had his own interpretation of the revelations he had just seen in his dream Macht Pound would take in the future; on the other hand, he believed that it indicated that Macht Pound himself had a deep connection with the Tudor Family!
After undergoing three tests—direct questioning, " Dream Divination exploration," and " Spirit Channeling communication" —Macht Pound revealed nothing, nor did I detect anything unusual. If I hadn't kept a backup plan, I probably would have been Deceit. Hmm... maybe, just maybe he really doesn't know anything right now, and what happened just now was a natural performance. In the future, he might have a chance encounter and make contact with the Tudor Family...
But more likely, he had already learned quite a bit from the Viscount and, before he was certain, deliberately Depravity and feigned madness. The fact that he could deceive me with " Dream Divination " and " Spirit Channeling abilities" was due to some extraordinary power at work. Hmm... he probably wasn't acting at the time; he was genuinely in a dazed state, otherwise he would have given himself away to someone as experienced as me...
What extraordinary ability could it be?
What Sequence does he have?
Or are they born with certain extraordinary abilities?
Klein continued pondering this path, feeling he had reached a dead end. He quickly pulled himself out of it, changed his perspective, and muttered to himself:
" Macht Pound has deep ties to the Tudor Family..."
"Could we make a bold assumption that he is actually a descendant of the Tudor Family?"
"If his blood relation to the Viscount is real, then things will get interesting."
"Is the entire Pound Family a branch of the Tudor Family that changed their names to escape persecution?"
"They earned merit and titles, gradually returning to the center of power, while secretly searching for the secret relics left behind in Backlund by the Tudor Empire."
"After who knows how many years, they finally reaped the rewards, so they bought the house that now belongs to Miller Carter and built an extravagant basement to explore the surrounding area."
"Thirty or forty years ago, they found the ruins and built a secret door leading to them."
"However, during the exploration of the ruins, an accident occurred. The Evil Spirit did not recognize the so-called descendants of the Tudor Family at all. The Viscount's two heirs died one after another in the innermost room, and even the Beyonder Characteristic and magical items could not be salvaged."
"Although the Viscount paid a huge price to acquire similar Beyonder Characteristic, making the deaths of the two heirs seem more normal, the successive sudden deaths were still somewhat suspicious in the eyes of the royal family and the church. Therefore, after the Viscount's death, Macht Pound deliberately exaggerated and Distortion the secret investigation he had conducted years ago, causing himself to develop psychological problems and begin indulging in wine, women, and gambling in order to avoid attention."
"This explains something that puzzled me before: how could a dignified Viscount family be controlled by mysterious figures from who-knows-where? Do they think the royal family and the church are blind? Even if they wanted to control someone, they would use a gentler, less noticeable method, like Sequence 6 of my path, ' The Faceless.'"
"Even a child can sense something is amiss, let alone the powerful members of the royal family and the three major churches?"
"The only explanation for their 'ignorance' is that they sent those people."
"Hmm... I guessed at the time that the Tudor Family and Trunsoest Family also controlled the ' Black Emperor ' pathway, so, based on the need for their Acting, the dynasties they established retained the style and characteristics of the Solomon Empire. The bodyguard seems to have indirectly confirmed this."
" Sequence 9 of the ' Black Emperor ' pathway is ' Lawyer,' an extraordinary profession highly skilled at manipulating order. Um... Macht Pound's ability to Deceit through ' Dream Divination ' and ' Spirit Channeling ' stemmed from this, or perhaps even further? He fully cooperated with me, but in the dream and in a state of confusion, he still subconsciously exploited loopholes in order to steer the outcome in the direction he desired."
"Thinking about it carefully, during the ' Spirit Channeling,' Macht Pound didn't seem to lie, but the truth was only part of it... 'Maintaining the family, remembering the glory' could refer to the Pound Family, or it could refer to the Tudor Family..."
Klein's thinking gradually became clearer, and he came to an overall assessment of the situation:
Judging from Macht Pound's current attitude, the Evil Spirit shouldn't be able to escape without external help. Otherwise, the Baron would have already tried to save himself. Regardless of whether the Evil Spirit comes looking for him, as long as it escapes the seal and causes a disaster, the matter of that underground ruin won't be kept secret from the royal family and the church. At that time, Macht will inevitably be implicated... The collapse of the opposite room didn't affect the power binding the Evil Spirit, which means that as long as the innermost room isn't directly destroyed, the Evil Spirit cannot escape...
Hmm... the plan is clear: buy some explosives from Kaspars, collapse the entrance, prevent anyone from getting in, and bury that Evil Spirit underground forever. Heh, once I have enough power, I can consider dealing with it, completely eliminating this threat for the citizens of Backlund, and incidentally acquiring some valuable items...
However, what's the safest way to demolish it? I have absolutely no idea... Perhaps Kaspars knows some demolition expert? After all, he's a black market arms dealer.
Klein quickly finalized the plan and decided to go see Kaspars again the next evening, hoping to completely resolve the issue of the underground ruins within this week.
As for the true relationship Pound Family and Tudor Family, and as for Macht Pound's unusual behavior, he had no intention of delving into it.
"None of my business!" Klein muttered, then quickly plunged into the Gray Fog and returned to the real world.
On Friday morning, Klein left home early as usual, pretending to be very busy.
In reality, he returned to the Cragg Club to practice shooting, read newspapers, and enjoyed himself quite comfortably.
During afternoon tea, having spent almost the entire day there, he prepared to leave, only to unexpectedly see his former employer Mary Gale, and his riding instructor Talym Dumont, entering the club at the same time.
Accompanying them were many gentlemen in double-breasted suits and ladies in beautiful dresses and exquisite makeup, including Mike Joseph, a reporter from the Daily Observer.
"Oh, Detective Moriarty, what a coincidence," Mike, with his captivating eyes but rather rough skin, greeted him.
Klein smiled and replied:
"Sir reporter, have you finished your investigative report?"
"It's done, thanks to your help! Let me introduce you, this is the famous Detective, Mr. Sherlock Moriarty, Talym's good friend," Mike said, waving his arm.
After they exchanged greetings, Mike continued:
"I think I've figured out who Capim is. I'll tell you in more detail when I have time. Anyway, I have good reason to believe that Shermane's death was caused by a copycat crime, not by that Serial Killer. Haha, tomorrow, you'll see my investigative report in the newspaper tomorrow."
"Just as I guessed," Klein replied with a smile.
At this moment, Mike seemed to remember something, and turned to Mary Gale, saying:
"Let's arrange an exclusive interview about the air pollution situation in Backlund and its solutions. However, you must communicate with our newspaper's editor-in-chief beforehand to finalize the layout and time."
Mary's eyes lit up immediately:
"OK."
"Thank you so much, Mike! How come I didn't think of that great idea!"
Is this some kind of publicity campaign to get into the " Kingdom Atmospheric Pollution Investigation Commission "? Mike, this reporter is quite experienced... The Daily Observer may not be one of the best newspapers, but its circulation is still quite large... Did Mary suddenly come here today because the members of the House of Commons who attend this club are coming? Private clubs are really suitable for politics and business... Klein suddenly realized and took his leave.
Before becoming a " Faceless," he didn't want to get involved in such high-level affairs.
It was evening, inside an apartment in the East Borough.
After a busy day, Williams entered his cramped rented room, intending to change his coat, grab some cash, and head to a pub for a good drink and dinner.
In the gloomy, dimly lit environment, his action of putting on his coat suddenly stopped.
He saw a dark figure standing by the window, a figure whose face was completely obscured by the shadow of a hood.
"Who sent you to find Lanarvus?" the dark figure asked in a low, slow voice.
Williams quickly put on his coat, swallowed hard, and said:
"A friend of mine, a bounty Hunter."
Bounty Hunter are adventurers who primarily earn their income through various bounties. There are quite a few of them in the East Borough, in Backlund.
"Why has he suddenly started looking for Lanarvus again? It's an old bounty." The dark figure was very tall, and walked step by step to Williams's side.
"I don't know. Maybe she's just trying a different bounty." Williams took a small step back.
The dark figure pressed on with a deep, hoarse voice:
"Who is she?"
Williams struggled for a moment, and after a few seconds answered in a trembling voice:
"Hugh, Xio Derecha, I don't know where she lives."
"Very good, very honest." The shadowy figure patted Williams on the shoulder, asked no more questions, and headed towards the door.
Williams quietly breathed a sigh of relief, believing that his extensive experience in the underworld had been helpful.
Don't be stubborn when you shouldn't be!
Just then, he saw the dark figure snap its fingers.
Snap!
Williams ' thoughts froze, and his body instantly tore into pieces, scattering in all directions, leaving blood and flesh all over the ground and walls.
Immediately afterwards, the dark figure severed the gas pipes.
With a hissing sound, he picked up the candle from Williams's table and stroked the wick.
The shadowy figure then left, and a few minutes later, the candle suddenly lit itself!
Boom!
The sound of the explosion drowned out everything.