The gas streetlights illuminated the wet ground at night, and occasionally a horse-drawn carriage would pass by, splashing a few drops of water.
Backlund is located in the central part of the kingdom, only a few dozen kilometers from the Sonia Sea. It is rainy all year round, with an average high temperature of only 28 degrees Celsius in July and a low of around 2 degrees Celsius in winter. It rarely drops to "zero" or even below that. However, this does not prevent people from feeling cold here. Even the people of North Feysac, who are used to living in the snow and ice, sometimes cannot bear the damp and cold that can penetrate their clothes and flesh.
Klein stood in the room with the fireplace unlit, behind the bay window, gazing at the peaceful scene outside, feeling an extraordinary sense of ease in his body, mind, and spirit.
Once he gathers all the materials and concocts the Potion, he can immediately advance to Sequence 6 and become the " Faceless ".
"The ' Magician ' potion has been completely digested... I personally ended the ' Apostle of Desire,' he couldn't escape... The ' Aurora Order's ' search for the ' The Fool's ' followers is still dead ends... Apart from Mr. Azik being pursued by some unknown force and the issues related to the Potion ingredients, I have no other worries for the time being..." Klein leaned forward, exhaled, and watched as it condensed into a layer of white mist on the window.
The reason he risked intercepting the " Apostle of Desire " was because he was worried that the other party had other plans to use to escape the pursuit of the official Beyonder. In that case, he might be remembered for providing key advice and retaliated against afterward. As " Cold-blooded," Devil are unlikely to risk avenging their companions, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't choose to vent their anger after nearly dying themselves.
"This operation was indeed necessary. Perhaps the ' Hermits of Fate ' were waiting somewhere to meet us. Once the ' Apostle of Desire ' escaped, without the relevant intelligence, I might have just been preparing according to Sequence 5, thinking that advancing to ' Faceless ' would eliminate much danger. However, the ' Apostle of Desire ' could very well advance to High-Sequence with the help of the information provided by the ' Abyss ' card and the ' Hermits of Fate '! Just thinking about such a development is terrifying... Justice finishing blow is indispensable..." Klein reviewed the events of this afternoon, summarizing the experiences and lessons learned.
After admiring the night view for a while, he walked back to the sofa and sat down, contemplating his next move:
"With the bounty from ' The Machinery Hivemind,' we can buy the mutated pituitary gland and blood from the Thousand-faced Hunter. We also have enough money for the Deep-sea Naga's hair; these materials should be relatively easy to collect at sea. We can ask Mr. ' The Hanged Man ' for help. The only problem is the properties of the Human-skinned Shadow..."
"And even if we have a clue, the gold pounds aren't enough..."
Thinking of this, Klein couldn't help but silently mock himself:
"I'm not a particularly money-loving person at heart, it's just a normal hobby. When I Tingen, I always encouraged Melissa to spend money and urged her and Benson to hire maids. I felt that no matter what, we should try not to mistreat ourselves. Whenever we did Concealment operation, safety was the top priority, and we were always careful. We wouldn't let wealth affect our minds."
"But for revenge, I must upgrade my Sequence, and upgrading my Sequence requires purchasing expensive extraordinary materials, which I can only accumulate one penny or one Soli at a time, saving wherever I can..."
He suddenly shrank his shoulders, feeling a chill in the living room that made the " Magician," who wasn't known for his physical prowess, shiver.
So he decided to take a shower, get into bed, and read books in bed.
"I should be going to bed in three or four hours, there's no need to light the fireplace again..." Klein sighed, stood up, and walked upstairs.
The underground area of Steam Church.
After reviewing all the Record statements, Ikanser picked up his coffee and took a sip.
After a few seconds of calm, he took out the ancient silver mirror called Arrodes.
Carlson glanced at it and asked with some curiosity:
"Deacon, if we were to ask the esteemed Arrodes about unsolved mathematical problems or classic paradoxes, would it provide the correct answer?"
"Most of the time, it will simply refuse. If it thinks you have malicious intent, it might even strike you with lightning or subject you to a curse you absolutely don't want to face," Ikanser sighed. "It's a living Sealed Artifact with extremely high Wisdom; it's not a rigidly rule-following difference machine. When using it, it's best not to have any ideas about finding loopholes."
Carlson looked around at his teammates and kindly suggested:
"Butler, let me ask for you. I have nothing to hide."
He straightened his back, adopting a frank and honest posture.
Ikanser smiled bitterly:
"There's no need. I know what I need to know. I'm no longer afraid of similar questions. Besides, Your Excellency Arrodes occasionally asks rather profound questions. Given your physical condition, the subsequent punishment won't be easy for you to bear."
After speaking, he first clenched his fist, then spread his fingers and gently stroked the surface of the silver mirror three times.
In the subtle, hazy atmosphere, Ikanser spoke in a low voice:
"Your Excellency Arrodes, my question is, who, or rather which faction, ordered the ' Apostle of Desire ' to assassinate Duke Negan?"
The silver mirror remained unchanged for a short while before the water began to shimmer and reflect, creating a scene resembling an oil painting.
It was a plain where the Sun was about to set, and the vast fields were bathed in the pale golden afterglow.
"What does this mean?" Carlson and the other members of " Machinery Hivemind " looked at each other, completely bewildered, even though some of them were Beyonder who had been promoted from " Mystery Pryer " and were no strangers to interpreting revelations.
" Twilight? A symbol of life coming to an end? A cult that believes in Death or Lunatic who believes in the Apocalypse?" one of the " Mystery Pryer " said thoughtfully.
Carlson nodded in agreement:
I think it's the latter.
Ikanser ignored their discussion because Arrodes's problem had already surfaced:
What's your favorite color for underwear?
Ikanser's face suddenly flushed red, and he felt as if smoke was rising from the top of his head.
He uttered a single word with great difficulty:
"Red."
The room suddenly became unusually quiet, and Carlson and the others pretended to look into the corner.
Ikanser sat down, looking utterly exhausted, and ran his fingers through his disheveled hair, preparing to ask his second question.
Carlson said with a sigh:
"Butler, let me give it a try."
"... Try to avoid going into the punishment phase." Ikanser finally nodded in agreement.
Carlson confidently mimicked the butler's actions, gently stroking the surface of the silver mirror three times, while the other members gathered around again.
"Your Excellency Arrodes, my question is, who are the collaborators of the ' Apostle of Desire '?"
The water shimmered, the images shifted, and the first thing to appear on the surface of the silver mirror was the back view of a woman with an exceptionally beautiful figure.
Next, there was a person who was so blurry that it could only be roughly determined to be male based on their clothing and appearance.
"As expected, there's another collaborator. This must be the one who betrayed Duke Negan's information! Unfortunately, they took some action..." Carlson said, looking around.
He believed he had no secrets and didn't need to worry about further questions.
This time, Arrodes offered a choice: a problem, a task, or punishment.
Carlson said without hesitation:
"Question!"
Blood-soaked words were rapidly etched onto the surface of the silver mirror:
"You rely on your hands to solve problems every day?"
Carlson's lips moved, and he felt his ears suddenly become burning hot.
Although he considered this a normal thing, giving the answer in front of so many teammates and superiors still made him feel like burying his face in the ground.
"Yes..." he answered very quietly.
The base of Saint Samuel Cathedral.
Wearing blue eyeshadow, Daly threw a stack of documents in front of " Spirit Warlock " Soest:
"All the case files involving tarot cards that you requested."
"Less than I expected," Soest said, slightly surprised.
Daly chuckled:
"This is just an index."
Seeing this, Leonard touched his lips with his right hand, which was gloved with Red Gloves, and said:
"Captain Soest, why don't we investigate those who have had contact with Jason Beria more thoroughly and compare it with the previous two cases? There might be clues to the organization symbolized by tarot cards hidden here."
" Duke Negan is a devout follower of the Lord of Storms and represents the political interests of the Church of Storms. The Mandated Punishers will definitely be frantically searching for the real culprit. We don't need to get involved; that would only create conflict with them. We can investigate other cases involving Tarot cards and perhaps find new clues. Of course, this will inevitably require us to travel around, but that's the duty of the Red Gloves," Soest explained with a smile.
Leonard nodded:
"I see."
But in his mind, that slightly aged voice chuckled:
" The Nighthawks just missed him like that. That person smelled like the ' Black Emperor,' the real ' Black Emperor '!"
Inside the Saint Samuel Cathedral.
Wearing a black soft cap, " The Songster of God," Ace Snake, swept his silver eyes across the selected elite of the Mandated Punishers and said:
"Although I am about to leave Backlund, this is a decision made by the Council of Cardinals."
"Your only task now is to investigate the assassination of Duke Negan."
"Having submitted a report, you are authorized to use Level 1 Sealed Artifact. You must find out who is targeting us!"
Standing at the very front, a middle-aged man wearing a modified captain's hat immediately led the group, clenching his fist and lightly striking his chest, saying:
"Yes, Your Excellency Cardinal!"
He was lean and had no distinctive features, but he had an anchor-shaped dark blue tattoo on his neck.
Inside the Earl Hall's luxurious villa in Queens Borough.
Audrey looked at Susie as she entered the Door Opening and lowered her voice, saying:
What are Dad and the others talking about?
Upon discovering that Earl Hall had returned late and with an unusually grave expression, she immediately sent her golden retriever, Susie, to sneak in and eavesdrop.
" Duke Negan has been assassinated," Susie said, closing the door behind her.
"Huh?" Audrey was stunned, wondering if she had misheard.
Although she had already survived an assassination attempt on Duke Negan, she never imagined that this extremely powerful nobleman would actually die because of it.
"Really," Susie replied affirmatively.
Audrey was momentarily bewildered, feeling that it wasn't real.
Such a nobleman, such a flesh-and-blood duke who could talk and laugh, and who even Bestowal him an estate, died just like that?
Suddenly, she experienced the cruelty and coldness of the adult world.
"Who did this?" Audrey asked instinctively.
"A Sequence 5 Devil," Susie replied quickly, "But he's been silenced, by that rogue ' Black Emperor '."
"Huh?" Audrey was taken aback again.
How could he be the chivalrous thief " Black Emperor," or Blessed of Mr. " The Fool "?
He just helped me out of the assassination attempt on Duke Negan last time!
This is completely contradictory!
Audrey immediately instructed Susie to go and listen in again, while she locked the bedroom door, sat on the bed, and prayed to Mr. The Fool.
After reciting the name of the Duke and describing the assassination of the Duke Negan, she asked with great trust:
"Were any of your Blessed present at the scene?"
After a while, she saw an endless Gray Fog and heard the voice of the " The Fool ":
"Yes.
He's looking for the organization that directs the ' Apostle of Desire '.
It wasn't arranged by Mr. " The Fool " after all! Was His last order for His Blessed to intercept Qilangos also for the sake of that organization behind the scenes? Audrey relaxed and asked curiously:
"What kind of organization is that? It's amazing that it has caught your attention."
A second later, she heard Mr. The Fool reply in his usual calm and collected manner:
" The Hermits of Fate "
PS: Both chapters are posted today, please vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets!