Basil Provincial Capital was much larger than Chier County City.
After Linley and his group entered the city, they did not immediately look for Perry.
Sessler, Lina, and Rebecca moved into a private courtyard residence. Haeru lay at the courtyard entrance, while Bebe crouched beneath the eaves, watching the passersby.
Linley walked into a nearby tavern alone.
He found a seat by the wall and ordered a jug of wine.
When the tavern waiter brought the wine over, Linley took out three gold coins and set them on the table.
"I want to ask about someone."
The waiter glanced at the gold coins.
"Please go ahead, sir."
"There's an old earl named Perry in Basil City. He has graying hair and a mustache that slopes down at the sides. Do you know where he lives?"
The waiter quickly nodded.
"Earl Perry? Of course. He's a famously good man in this city. He normally doesn't fight with anyone and rarely gets involved in disputes between nobles."
"Where's his estate?"
"Huating Street, the third estate from the right."
Linley pushed the three gold coins toward him.
"Take me there for a look."
The waiter looked hesitant.
"Well..."
"I'll give you another three."
The waiter immediately accepted the gold coins.
Half an hour later, Linley had memorized the location of Huating Street and gotten a clear look at the layout of Earl Perry's estate.
The estate had three rows of buildings.
Ordinary servants and guards lived in the outer courtyard. The second row of buildings was more spacious and was probably where Earl Perry and those close to him lived.
By the time Linley returned to the courtyard residence, it was already dark.
Lina and Rebecca were inside, listening to Sessler explain necromancy. Sessler sat beside a wooden table, his withered fingers tapping lightly against its surface.
"You're back?"
"Yes." Linley looked at Haeru. "Haeru, stay here and protect Lina and Rebecca."
Haeru immediately stood up. "Understood, Master."
Lina hurriedly rose.
"Lord Linley, where are you going?"
"To see someone."
Sessler raised his head.
"Earl Perry?"
"Yes."
"Basil Provincial Capital has the Saint Realm expert Mackenzie stationed here," Sessler reminded him. "Don't cause too much of a disturbance."
"I know."
Linley looked at Sessler. "You, me, and Bebe will go together."
Sessler stood and put on a long black robe.
"Let's go."
Haeru lay down at the courtyard entrance again.
Linley, Sessler, and Bebe left the courtyard and headed toward Huating Street through the alleys.
Night shrouded Basil Provincial Capital.
There were already very few pedestrians on the streets.
Linley walked in front, his footsteps soundless. Sessler followed behind, while Bebe blended into the shadows at the corners of the walls.
A short while later, the three arrived outside Earl Perry's estate.
Linley looked up.
"This is it."
He and Sessler leaped up at the same time, easily clearing the courtyard wall.
Bebe slipped in through a corner of the wall, landing without the slightest sound.
The estate's front courtyard was silent.
Several guards were patrolling, none of them noticing that three more people had appeared outside the courtyard wall.
Linley and Sessler approached the second row of buildings.
Sessler stopped.
"I'll go first."
He spread his hands and chanted an incantation in a low voice.
Gray mist slowly billowed out from beneath his feet.
The mist was very thin, and in the blink of an eye, it drifted into the buildings through gaps in the doors and windows.
The guards in the front courtyard went limp and collapsed one after another.
Some servants had just opened their doors when they fainted outright.
The gray mist rapidly spread.
The whole of Earl Perry's estate was enveloped in it.
Linley breathed some in. His head grew slightly heavy, but he immediately regained his clarity.
"What is this?"
"It knocks out anyone below the seventh level." Sessler gave a sinister smile. "Those at the seventh level can counteract it with battle-qi. Perry is an eighth-level warrior. He's definitely awake."
Just as he finished speaking, an angry shout came from the second row of buildings.
"Who's there?"
An elderly figure rushed out.
He was an old man with graying hair and a neatly trimmed mustache that sloped down at the sides, dressed in a loose robe.
Behind him, five middle-aged men and women emerged one after another, all holding weapons.
The battle-qi around all five lit up at once.
"Seventh-level warriors," Linley said.
Sessler nodded.
"Perry's estate has five seventh-level experts in total."
Perry stared at Sessler through the gray mist, his expression gradually changing.
"You're..."
Sessler raised a hand and waved.
Two black rifts appeared behind him.
Two gold-furred zombies, each three meters tall, stepped out of the rifts.
A dense aura of death immediately filled the courtyard.
Perry's face paled.
"Sessler!"
"Earl Perry, long time no see," Sessler said with a strange laugh.
Perry looked at Linley next.
Linley had not concealed his face.
"You're Linley?"
"Yes."
Perry's gaze grew complicated.
He already understood that the group escorting Sessler had probably met a grim fate.
"Do it," Linley said.
The two gold-furred zombies charged at the same time.
Golden figures flashed past. Before the two seventh-level experts in front could even raise their swords, they were sent flying.
Thud!
Thud!
Their breastbones caved in, and they died on the spot.
The remaining three swung their swords simultaneously.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their weapons struck the gold-furred zombies, leaving only a few shallow white marks.
A gold-furred zombie raised its palm.
One young man hurriedly retreated, but his head was still smashed by a single slap.
Another middle-aged man kicked apart an artificial rockery, then grabbed huge rocks and hurled them at a gold-furred zombie.
The huge rocks struck its golden body one after another.
The gold-furred zombie did not stop.
The middle-aged man turned and fled.
Bebe darted past from the side.
A black shadow flashed.
The middle-aged man clutched his throat and fell.
The last person had already reached the courtyard wall.
Linley raised his right hand.
A blade of wind swept past.
The person stiffened and collapsed beneath the courtyard wall.
All five seventh-level experts were wiped out in the blink of an eye.
Perry stood where he was, making no attempt to flee.
He looked at the bodies strewn across the ground. There was no anger on his face, only a trace of weariness.
"Linley, were you the one who killed Lampson and the others?"
"Yes."
"You rescued Sessler?"
"That was me too."
Perry nodded.
"I know I won't survive today."
He raised his hand and gripped his longsword.
"But don't think you'll get anything out of me."
Sessler sneered.
"Who said we were going to question you?"
The two gold-furred zombies charged at Perry from either side.
Perry swung his sword to block them.
Clang!
A gold-furred zombie caught his longsword.
The other zombie seized his arms from behind.
Perry struggled desperately, but he was only an eighth-level warrior. He could not resist two ninth-level undead at all.
"Hold him," Sessler said.
Linley stood to one side and did not stop him.
Sessler walked up to Perry.
Perry's expression finally changed.
"What are you going to do?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
Sessler extended his right hand.
His five withered fingers pierced straight into Perry's skull.
Perry's body shuddered violently.
Jade-green light shone from Sessler's eyes as an aura of death poured continuously into Perry's soul.
"Ah!"
Perry cried out in pain.
Sessler did not stop.
Linley stood beside them, quietly watching the scene.
Doehring was also observing Sessler.
As a mage who likewise studied souls, Sessler's methods reminded Doehring of many forbidden arts from ages past.
"Soul Search," Doehring said.
"You know it?" Linley asked.
"I've heard of it."
Doehring said no more.
Two minutes later, Sessler withdrew his fingers.
Perry's body went limp, and he collapsed like a puddle of mud.
His soul had been utterly destroyed.
Sessler's eyes returned to their original color.
He looked at Linley, a hint of smugness on his face.
Linley nodded.
"Very impressive."
Only then did Sessler smile in satisfaction.
"Let's go."
The two Gold-furred Zombies returned to the Undead Realm.
Linley, Sessler, and Bebe left Earl Perry's manor and retraced their route to the courtyard.
Lina and Rebecca were still practicing necromancy inside, while Haeru guarded the courtyard entrance.
Linley closed the door.
"What was in Perry's memories?"
Sessler did not answer immediately.
He first looked at Lina and Rebecca.
"Do you know how famous Linley is in the Holy Union?"
Rebecca shook her head.
"When he was sixteen, a stone sculpture he carved sold for twelve million gold coins," Sessler said with a smile. "His talent for magic is also astonishing. By now, there are probably very few below the Saint Realm who can match him."
Linley frowned.
"Get to the point."
Sessler pursed his lips.
"You brat. You won't even let me give you a little praise."
His smile faded.
"Perry was the Radiant Church's man in charge of the Northwest Province. He was responsible for maintaining contact with all their undercover personnel throughout the province."
"What about the other provinces?" Linley asked.
"He didn't know." Sessler shook his head. "The Radiant Church's forces in the O'Brien Empire use single-line communication. Perry only knew about his own area, and he didn't know the true identities of those in charge above him."
"Then what use is the information he knew?"
"The undercover network in the Northwest Province is enough for us to dismantle bit by bit," Sessler said with a cold laugh. "As long as we kill the people in charge at each location, those beneath them will lose contact."
Linley nodded.
"There's one more thing."
Sessler looked at Linley.
"In about a month, an important escort party will enter the Northwest Province."
"Who are they escorting?"
"Perry didn't know."
Sessler shook his head.
"He only received orders to arrange support and maintain secrecy. According to their route, the party won't enter Basil Provincial Capital. They'll head to Deke County City instead."
"How important?"
"No less important than the party escorting me."
Linley lightly tapped his fingers against the tabletop.
When escorting Sessler, the Radiant Church had deployed six ninth-rank experts.
Since this party was no less important than Sessler, whoever they were escorting was certainly no ordinary person.
"How far is Deke County City from here?"
"Over eight hundred li."
"At full speed, we can get there in a day," Linley said.
Sessler nodded.
"We'll leave in half a month. Lina and Rebecca still need to complete the undead inheritance."
"All right."
Linley looked outside.
Haeru lay quietly by the entrance, while Lina and Rebecca were meditating in their room.
"Haeru will stay behind to guard the place during this operation."
"You certainly have everything planned out," Sessler said.
Linley did not answer.
In the distance, the lights of Basil Provincial Capital still shone brightly.
No one knew that Earl Perry had already died in his own manor.
Still less did anyone know that Linley had already set his sights on an escort party that had yet to enter the Northwest Province.