The setting sun was like blood, the red sun slanting westward.
The atmosphere in the Russell Family castle was solemn. The servants walked quickly with their heads down, each one like a puppet, their faces stiff with a hint of fear.
In the exquisitely decorated bedroom, a dozen pale yellow flowers slowly bloom, bringing a fragrant aroma.
Duoliya lay on the bed, her face deathly pale, veins bulging and throbbing violently, and on her exposed skin, grotesque purplish-black lines spread like a spider web.
On Duoliya's side abdomen, a two-centimeter-wide wound was oozing thick, foul-smelling Black Blood. A pure-blooded Gendaya People, dressed in a white Mage's robe, was spreading his palms out, radiating circles of pure white light, trying to stop the worsening injury.
Ron Russell paced anxiously by the bedside, a dark cloud hanging over him.
"How is Tucker? Is Duoliya any better?" Ron had asked this question countless times already.
Tucker raised his hand, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said helplessly, "The assassin's dagger was coated with some kind of poison, which triggered the curse within Miss Duoliya, causing it to erupt instantly and expand dozens or even hundreds of times in a short period of time..."
Ron, annoyed, raised his hand to interrupt Tucker, "Just tell me directly, what are the chances of Duoliya surviving!"
"Less than 20%!" Tucker said truthfully.
Ron was clearly prepared, but upon hearing the news, he still swayed, finding it hard to accept.
Although Duoliya was not his daughter, Russell raised her single-handedly.
In comparison, Kaluote was away fighting and carrying out various missions all year round, failed to fulfill his responsibilities as a father.
The Gendaya People are a family-based society and place great importance on family members. If something were to happen to Duoliya, it would be a huge blow to Ron.
"Save her at all costs!" Ron practically roared as he said this.
"Young master, great news!"
Lunbate is here again. As Logo's most trusted confidant, he knows many secrets, including that the Campbell Family and Russell Family families are now enemies, and that the latter are plotting to assassinate Logo.
"Duoliya is dead?" Logo asked without looking up as he continued with his work.
"Just confirmed news: Duoliya's bloodline curse has fully erupted. Mage Tucker tried his best to save her but failed, and she has now perished." Lunbate spoke, a look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes. He had no good feelings towards Duoliya, who plotted to assassinate Logo, and wished he could skin her alive. Hearing the news of her death was like drinking an ice-cold beverage on a hot summer day, making him feel completely refreshed.
Click!
With a crisp click, Logo inserted the last T-shaped metal part into the heart of the Maker Type I Alchemy Assistant in front of him. The fit was perfect, with no gaps visible from the outside.
As the energy circuits lit up one by one, the centipede-shaped alchemy assistant, which was 1.2 meters tall and 3 meters long, slowly crawled out of the laboratory and headed to the adjacent mecha production line workshop to begin mass production.
"What's the Russell Family's reaction?" Logo asked, extinguishing the Fire of Birth and stretching his body.
"I'm furious, but all that anger is directed at the Snake Gang. Nobody knows that Duoliya's death is related to us. Ron might have suspicions, but he definitely has no evidence," Lunbate said confidently.
"Hmm, well done. You're as reliable as ever." Logo made a refreshing drink and handed it to Lunbate.
The latter quickly accepted it, a smile on his face as he flattered, "I was just running errands. If it weren't for the poison formula provided by the young master, how could I have killed Duoliya so easily?"
"Note that it's not a toxic formula. Its scientific name is ' W012-Type Plant Essence.' It's non-toxic, harmless, and even beneficial to health. But what can I do? Duoliya likes growing Kuiming Flower, after all," Logo teased, taking a sip of his drink.
Gustavo can concoct poisons, Logo's potion-making level has reached 10, and he has mastered the All Things Under Heaven and Eye of Insight, so of course he can also concoct poisons.
However, the ' W012-Type Plant Essence ' that poisoned Duoliya this time was not actually a toxin.
This stuff is essentially a harmless and neutralizing agent.
But the wonder of the Astral Realm lies in the fact that some completely non-toxic and harmless substances, when combined, can form deadly toxins.
For example, ' W012-Type Plant Essence ' and Kuiming Flower.
Once someone ingests ' W012-Type Plant Essence ' and then smells the aroma of Kuiming Flower, a highly toxic substance will accumulate in their body.
When the amount of this highly toxic substance is small, it will not cause an immediate reaction. Instead, it will remain dormant in the body. If the body stops absorbing this substance for a period of time, its own metabolic system will automatically excrete it.
The problem is that if this substance is ingested frequently, and the amount accumulates to a certain level, then only a very small trigger is needed for this terrible toxin to cause an attack.
Furthermore, the eruption of this toxin triggers negative energy stored within the body, and curses are also a form of negative energy.
The curse erupted, and the deadly poison attacked her heart; Duoliya, Mid-Rank Transcendent, simply couldn't withstand it and died instantly.
What's even more remarkable is that the Russell Family couldn't find the slightest fault in this whole affair. With their limited knowledge, they didn't even know what ' W012-Type Plant Essence ' was. This is the power of knowledge.
As for how to get Duoliya to ingest ' W012-Type Plant Essence ', it's also very simple.
Duoliya liked to go to a restaurant run by the War Lizard People, where she loved the food. Logo had to do was add something to these dishes—some harmless, non-toxic little things that wouldn't be noticed by anyone.
He assigned the task to Lunbate, who completed it admirably.
The Snake Gang's assassination attempt gave Logo a perfect opportunity to shift the blame, allowing him to pin Duoliya's death on the Snake Gang.
The rivalry between the Russell Family and Campbell Family is merely covert; outwardly, they remain close allies.
Even most members of both families were completely unaware that the two sides were already enemies.
Even Ron himself was unaware that Logo had already discovered the mastermind behind the assassination, always believing that the latter was kept in the dark. Little did he know that when Catherine died, she had already revealed the identity of the other mastermind to Xisi.
This information gap allowed Logo to more calmly devise various plans targeting the Russell Family, while also creating an invisible shackle for the Russell Family.
"Besides Catherine, how many members of the clan were assassinated this time?" Logo asked, looking at Lunbate.
After a moment's thought, Lunbate replied, "A total of five important clansmen have fallen, and there are probably seventy or eighty other casualties. The Earl is furious and has already set off for the Thorn Clan. It seems that a conflict between us and the Snake Gang is about to break out!"
Upon hearing this, Logo nodded slightly and then asked, "What do you think of Madam Poison?"
Lunbate thought for a moment and said, "Very decisive. We've only been officially in the arms market for three or four days, Snake Gang has already launched such a fierce assassination attempt. This reaction is far stronger and more decisive than we anticipated!"
"That's only one reason. The bigger factor is that the Snake Gang made no progress in cracking technical codes, which led to Madam Poison directly breaking ties with us."
As the supplier of Red Crystal Gunpowder and Strong Vibration Steel, Logo is most aware of the complexity of the technical codes of these two materials. In some ways, the value of these technical codes themselves is even greater than the value of the two materials, but no one has realized this yet.
After saying that, Logo asked again, "How is the construction of the Mage tower in Wellington going?"
"It's 90% complete, basically finished!"
"What about the weapons and equipment of the Second Brigade? Have they arrived?"
"We produce our own conventional weapons, which are already in service with our troops. As for advanced equipment such as particle beam weapons and laser matrices, we haven't received a response from the Gonis City-State yet; it'll probably take another month or two before they arrive."
"Why is it so slow?" Logo frowned. Based on past experience, the Gonis City-State should have sent the weapons over soon.
"My subordinate inquired and learned that the Gonis City-State had already placed many weapons orders before us, and it is said that another war has broken out in the Myriad Nations."
"Myriad Nations? Does it involve Sebawen Faith?"
"I think so. It's said that the faith of that 'saint' Radiance become even purer, and more and more people from the Dawn Holy See are turning to Sebawen Faith."
"Heh, it seems the Dawn Empire isn't peaceful either," Logo sneered.
A look of disgust and hatred flashed in Lunbate's eyes as he cursed, "These despicable Geya People, they'd better all die in the civil war..."
"It's not that easy. This Pope's methods are anything but simple..." Logo sighed. "Go and urge the Gonis City-State to get the weapons in place as soon as possible."
Lunbate quickly agreed, Logo waved him away before continuing his work.
The Snake Gang's assassination attempt caused the three major clans to lose some elite members. The leaders of the three clans soon met at the Thorn Clan and, after a brief discussion, decided to launch a full-scale counterattack.
Thus, under the watchful eyes of various factions in Sunset Jungle, the Snake Gang and the Three-Eyed People secretly engaged in fierce combat, assassinating each other's key members. The casualty count rose daily, hatred accumulated, and the conflict gradually escalated...
Crimson Alliance, Kahn Province, Bolake City.
In the spacious living room, Lancelot, Burke, and two others sat together, with several exquisitely designed invitations on the coffee table in the center.
Burke carefully picked up an invitation with a longsword emblem drawn in gold thread on its surface, his face showing an expression of piety akin to that of a pilgrim.
After watching it over and over again, Cole, who was waiting in line next to him, said impatiently, "Have you seen enough? Let me see it already."
Although Rui didn't speak, the longing on his face betrayed his true feelings.
"What's the rush? There are still a few portions left. Why are you fighting me for them?" Burke shoved away Cole's outstretched fat hand, turning slightly to avoid his grabbing.
Cole immediately retorted angrily, "How can they be the same? This is a Level 1 invitation letter, while the others are all Level 2 invitation letters. They're worlds apart!"
"Wait, wait a minute, I haven't had enough yet. A first-class invitation from the six top universities, I might only get to touch it once in my life. Can't I have my fill?" Burke chuckled, clutching the invitation tightly.
Seeing this, Cole immediately tried to snatch it, and the two went back and forth like two children playing around.
Lancelot watched this scene with a faint smile on his face.
Rui leaned closer and asked, "Lancelot, are you planning to enter the Holy Sword Academy?"
"I haven't decided yet. Let's talk about it after the final exam," Lancelot said, shaking his head slightly, though he had basically decided on the Holy Sword Academy.
It wasn't because Mona was the deputy director of admissions there, but rather because the Holy Sword itself was very attractive to Lancelot and more suitable for his future development.
The six top universities of the Crimson Alliance are --
[Infinity Academy]: An independent school that only admits Ability Energy. It adheres to the principle that talent is king and gives priority to those with innate awakening. It gathers the most high-potential Ability Energy in the Alliance and is the headquarters of the "Sublimators School".
[Holy Sword Academy]: Affiliated with the First National Defense University, it inherits the military's tough style, is pragmatic and diligent, and recruits all kinds of Transcendent individuals, making it a mixed bag. At the same time, it is also the headquarters of the Innovator School.
[Constellation Academy]: Primarily recruits mystical and magical Transcendent individuals, and is a gathering place for the Alliance spellcasters.
[Radiant Sun Academy]: Primarily recruits melee Transcendent professionals. Warriors, knights, sword saints, martial artists, and other Transcendent professionals are mostly concentrated in this academy.
[Crown Academy]: Primarily trains talents in administration, intelligence, and assassination. Many high-ranking officers of the Department of the Extraordinary are graduates of the Crown Academy, and several Alliance Leaders have even emerged from here.
[Steel Refining Academy]: Only recruits research-oriented Transcendent. It is the cradle of the Alliance technology, with various research results published every day. If we talk about the contribution to the development of the entire civilization, Steel Refinement may be the real number one, but if we talk about combat power, it can only be ranked last.
The six top universities each have their own unique characteristics and are the dream destinations for countless young people throughout the Alliance. Any student who can enter them for further studies can be considered a prodigy.
As for Lancelot, five of the six universities had extended an invitation to him, and he could sign his name on the invitation and become a member of the school if he wished.
Of course, he definitely wouldn't do that.
A Level 1 invitation was not enough to satisfy Lancelot's appetite.
"The final test..." Rui sighed, a look of longing and anticipation appearing in his eyes, which then turned into a deep sense of helplessness and disappointment.
After chatting for a while, Bo Le and the others left. Lancelot turned around and went back to his bedroom. He took a metal box from the cabinet, opened it, and a brand new Gene Stabilizer was revealed inside.
Lancelot stroked the black tubes and thin metal sheets, his pupils gradually narrowing, sharp as swords.
Let's begin!