Chapter 292: Chapter 292: Action, Intercepted by the Shaman King
Chapter 292: Action, Intercepted by the Shaman King
The next day, Alfred Hall strolled along the streets of Port Puning with a few nobles he was on good terms with.
There were quite a few nobles who went to the Southern Continent from Beckland to seek their fortune or start a new venture. Most of them were descendants of some powerful noble.
This time, they were leaving the Southern Continent together with Alfred Hall, so they could keep each other company on the way.
After strolling for a while, the group came to a famous local restaurant to enjoy lunch.
Compared to the rugged style in the Southern Continent, the food here was much more exquisite, though still far from Beckland's standards.
As the group was savoring the taste of their homeland with relish, the topic of the neighboring customers' casual chat somehow turned to the Grand Duke of Southwill and the future of the Duchy of Southwill.
Many diners expressed that even if a pig became the Grand Duke of Southwill, it would be better than the current one. Some radical diners even joked that if the Southern Continent really brought the war to the Duchy of Southwill one day, they would definitely not rely on Southwill's garrison troops but would join the Southern Continent's forces to overthrow this rotten and stinking land.
Although the person said it in a joking tone, many still echoed in agreement.
From their conversation, it was all criticism without a single word in favor of the kingdom.
This made Alfred Hall and his companions look at each other, and even the delicious food before them lost its appeal.
They patiently listened for a while longer and found that the logic of these diners was that the port garrison was incompetent, the Grand Duke of Southwill was incapable, which meant the king was too foolish, and the entire Kingdom of Ruen was rotten to the core from top to bottom.
Finally, Alfred Hall and his companions hurriedly finished their lunch and left the restaurant.
After they left, the diners who had been loudly discussing fell silent again and started talking about what they would do today.
Alfred Hall's group lost interest in strolling the streets any further and returned to their inn rooms, each writing a letter to be sent to Beckland.
They had personally experienced how terrible the war was in the Southern Continent. In the current state of the Duchy of Southwill, if there was no suitable ruler to turn the tide, it would only be a matter of time before the kingdom's gates were pried open. Perhaps even a well-equipped pirate gang could directly seize the port.
As nobles of Ruen, they had a responsibility to alert the king at this critical juncture.
In another inn room, Hastur was hugging Aisala and gently stroking her fur.
Ever since being squeezed by Sharon, Aisala had become much more obedient and dared not provoke the relationship between Hastur and Sharon anymore.
Instead, the battle between the stray cats and dogs in the port had become much fiercer than before.
"I didn't expect Miss Audrey's second brother to return from the Southern Continent. It seems the situation there is very chaotic," Hastur sighed with emotion.[1]
At noon today, he was also in that restaurant and heard those nobles call a man in his mid-twenties Alfred.
Compared to Audrey's beauty and Hibert's noble bearing, this Alfred who had gone to the Southern Continent to seek his fortune exuded a rugged air from the Southern Continent. Although he tried hard to tone it down with noble etiquette, the effect was minimal.
Perhaps from years of exposure to the sea wind and sun in the Southern Continent, his skin was distinctly tanned, his chin stubble unkempt, with only a pair of eyes flickering with the shrewdness of a merchant.
Based on his understanding of Earl Holl, Hastur believed that even if Alfred returned to Beckland, he would not gain Earl Holl's favor.
He was destined to be a failure in inheriting the Earl of Holl title.
There was no helping it - looks and bearing could sometimes decide many things.
This was something Hastur had deep experience with.
"Meow?"
Aisala tilted her head slightly, as if questioning Hastur.
Hastur lowered his head and rubbed the plump Aisala against the grain of her fur. "You have a talent for being a provocateur."
"Meow." Aisala thought it was a compliment and purred happily.
As Hastur and Aisala played, Sharon returned through the window from scouting outside.
"Between 2 am and 2:30 am tonight, the target ship will dock."
"Meow."
Aisala struggled free from Hastur's rubbing and escaped into Sharon's arms, blinking her innocent eyes and complaining pitifully.
Hastur asked, "Did you find out who is guarding the ship?"
"Most likely a Rank 4," Sharon said, gently stroking Aisala's head. "The target is that coffin. No need for a battle to the death."
"I understand," Hastur nodded.
The two began planning how to proceed.
...
Deep into the night at 2:25 am, a total of three ships from the Southern Continent successfully arrived at Port Puning.
In the hazy moonlight, the night seemed particularly desolate and silent.
In the merchant ship docking area of the port, after the three ships finished docking, a fire broke out from an unknown source and began to spread uncontrollably.
These three ships disguised as ordinary merchant vessels only used their extraordinary abilities to extinguish the fire source when it showed signs of getting out of control, to prevent damage to the cargo on board.
When the source of the fire was controlled and the lingering smoke gradually dissipated, Hastur had already used a mirror to become invisible and board one of the ships.
The information Sharon obtained only knew that there was a coffin containing a demigod mummy on board, but not which ship it was on, so he had to search for it himself.
Hastur was skilled at this. Before taking action, he had roughly grasped the location of the demigod mummy through fate-viewing.
But in the relevant scenes he viewed, he did not see the guardian, so Hastur only deployed his spirit body, which made it easier to act and was also safer.
If any real danger arose, Hastur could retreat into theHall of Stars and then descend again using the Celestial Container.
Thanks to the preparation, Hastur quickly found the place where the mummy was kept.
On the surface, there were only six people guarding near that coffin. They were divided into three pairs, with two pairs patrolling alternately and the other pair always guarding near the target coffin.
Even when the ship caught fire earlier, they did not leave their guarded positions.
Hastur hid in a corner and did not immediately take action.
In the plan he and Sharon made, they were to send that coffin into the spirit realm, and then transport the coffin away from the spirit realm.
Otherwise, if he wanted to take the coffin away openly before everyone's eyes, he would need to defeat all the guards on this ship.
If he could do that, Hastur wouldn't need to sneak in, he could just take it by force.
After quietly observing the timing when the two patrolling pairs were farthest apart, Hastur came out from the shadows. Taking advantage of that brief gap when the patrolling personnel were separated, he successfully infiltrated and approached within three meters of the coffin.
Now he only needed to deal with the two guards never leaving the coffin's side, and he could send the coffin into the spirit realm.
To ensure complete success, Hastur intentionally brought the Witch card with him.
The Witch merges with shadows, excelling at assassinations, while also possessing some anti-divination abilities. Combined with the Witch card's own rank, it could more effectively conceal Hastur's aura.
Before taking action, Hastur observed his surroundings again. Since he did not sense the aura of that demigod, he launched his ambush from the shadows.
First, he ambushed one guard from behind, using the Witch card like the sharpest weapon to easily slit his throat. At the same time, he used a mind-shock technique to control the other guard, preventing him from raising an alarm. Then he ambushed that guard, slitting his throat before his terrified eyes with the edge of the Witch card.
After swiftly dealing with the two, Hastur pushed open the coffin lid before the other guards could react, clearly seeing a mummy covered in spices lying inside. He then threw the mirror he was carrying into the coffin, allowing Sharon hiding in the mirror to take the coffin into the spirit realm.
This would take some time, so Hastur put away the Witch card and used the power of the War Emblem to don armor and wield a greatsword, standing before the coffin to buy Sharon time.
The moment Hastur pushed open the coffin lid, it triggered the alarm measure left on it.
A figure with an overwhelming aura swiftly rushed over. He was probably around forty years old, over two meters tall, bald but with a goatee, and a slanted scar by his left eye, looking extraordinarily burly and robust.
The Southern Continent really nurtured people well.
That was the only thought in Hastur's mind - this physique seemed even more rugged than his own barbarian form.
The other guards also rushed over, surrounding Hastur.
Upon sensing the subtle fluctuation of the spirit realm opening, the leader did not say a word but instead picked up a book and began flipping through it intently.
This contrast momentarily stunned Hastur, but he was soon assaulted by a barrage of vile curses and frost attacks, making him instantly realize the opponent was a Shaman King from the Lunar Path.
Hastur did his best to evade, but each curse, whether sickly green or dark and foul, pursued him relentlessly like bone-gnawing venom. In just a few breaths, the armor Hastur wore was corroded with holes.
If it had been his physical body inside, the skin would have surely rotted and oozed pus long ago.
"A spirit body?" The leading figure's face showed puzzlement and derision, not even revealing his mythical form, only continuing to flip through the book's pages as curses specifically targeting spirit bodies completely enveloped Hastur.
At the same time, his eyes reflected Hastur's form, as if brewing something.
Then a brilliant light shone forth, dazzling like the sun itself, instantly dispelling all the curses, frost bindings, and everything else as if melting snow.
The brilliant light was too dazzling to open one's eyes, causing even the leading figure to squint instinctively.
For a moment, he could not see the situation within the light clearly either.
Fearing the intruder would seize this chance to escape, he drew a ritual pattern in midair with his right hand, causing a moon to appear to float.
The gentle, cool moonlight dispelled the blinding sunlight, allowing everyone to regain their vision.
But when the light dissipated, the coffin had vanished, leaving only a figure in tattered armor remaining.
(End of chapter)
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