Chapter 418: Chapter 418: Divine Punishment from the Stars
Chapter 418: Divine Punishment from the Stars
Outside Puning Harbor, the investigators from the Three Gods Church, who had been waiting in the outer area, thought today would be another fruitless day.
Unexpectedly, they saw Earl Hastur Campbell leaving Puning Harbor with their own eyes.
Their spirits were lifted, and they hurriedly surrounded him, hoping to seize this rare opportunity.
Unfortunately, after following him for a while, they completely lost track of Hastur and didn't see even his shadow again.
"There's no need to doubt anymore. This Earl Hastur Campbell is definitely a powerful extraordinary being. From the extraordinary abilities he just displayed, he is likely an extraordinary being on the apprentice path, very possibly a Sequence 5 Traveler."
"It's hard to imagine. He's clearly not that old, yet he has reached this level."
"Some people are just favored by fate, unlike us, who are just here to make up the numbers."
The investigators sighed for a while and then sent this latest news back to Backlund, waiting for the next instructions.
Before their message reached Backlund, Hastur had already arrived there.
In those fragmented memories, Backlund, the City of Hope, was the starting point of his life, the beginning of all stories.
His appearance did not attract the attention of others until he returned to his home according to the position in his memory and saw Butler Neil, which brought back some memories.
"Earl, why have you suddenly returned?" Butler Neil first spoke with surprise and joy, then quickly scanned the surroundings, lowered his voice, and said, "Earl, you shouldn't have come back alone. This place is too dangerous for you. You should leave Backlund quickly!"
"Why?" Hastur asked calmly. This was his home; why should he leave his own home?
"The royal family has sent a message saying they want to charge you with treason."
Butler Neil lowered his voice even more and led Hastur to a more secluded study on the second floor to avoid being discovered by too many people.
"Treason?"
Hastur showed a hint of confusion in his eyes. Why did he feel no sense of belonging to this country?
He didn't even have any related memories.
"Yes, there have been rumors in Backlund recently that you were responsible for the deaths of the two previous Dukes of Southwell."
Butler Neil spoke earnestly and once again hoped that Hastur could leave Backlund quickly and find a place to hide to avoid being discovered by the Ruen royal family.
Hastur just stood quietly, thought for a while, and nodded, "I did kill them."
He remembered that the deaths of the two Dukes of Southwell were related to him, but he couldn't remember their names or the reasons for their deaths.
"…Ah!"
Butler Neil was stunned, his hands and feet cold, looking at the young earl in disbelief.
Hastur said nothing more, glanced around the study, and then left, walking along the second-floor corridor to his former bedroom, where he stayed quietly for a while.
Soon, a commotion of footsteps sounded near the front door. It was the police spies who had been watching the house. Seeing Hastur's return, they immediately sent a large number of police officers to arrest the man responsible for the deaths of the two Dukes of Southwell.
When they rushed into the house and searched around, they couldn't find Hastur's trace.
Butler Neil, who had recovered from his shock, was relieved that they hadn't found the earl and prepared to handle the situation, but he was taken directly to the police station for investigation.
In the police station, despite his white hair and old appearance, Butler Neil answered questions with dignity, ignoring the police's threatening words.
"I repeat, I did not see Earl Hastur Campbell today, nor do I know where he went," Butler Neil repeated his previous statement.
"Hmph, do you think we are blind? Other maids have already confessed that the criminal named Hastur appeared briefly today," the interrogating officer slammed the table, making a loud noise, trying to intimidate him.
Butler Neil slightly raised his eyelids, "They saw him, but that doesn't mean I did. My eyes wouldn't deceive me."
"Old man, it seems you don't want to live."
Butler Neil just smiled, "Staying true to one's duty is a virtue. I am merely walking the right path."
As long as Earl Hastur Campbell hadn't dismissed him, he was still the butler of the Campbell family.
Just as the interrogating officer was about to say something, a small meteor fell vertically, causing a huge explosion in the police station.
When the dust settled, Butler Neil's figure had disappeared.
In the suburbs, Hastur put down Butler Neil and said softly, "From now on, you are free."
It took a long time for the frightened Butler Neil to recover. Hearing Hastur's words, he coughed lightly and smiled, "Earl, I have already advanced next year's salary. Even if you want to dismiss me, you have to wait until after next year."
"No need for that."
Butler Neil didn't continue the topic but reminded Hastur to be wary of the Augustus family of the Ruen royal family.
Recently, many old noble families in Backlund had suffered unjust treatment, persecuted by the royal family's orders, leading to their downfall and replacement by new nobles.
"Earl, you must take care of yourself."
Leaving these last words, Butler Neil departed.
"Augustus family…"
Hastur frowned. He didn't like this family.
After a while, Hastur didn't continue walking on this land but returned to the Hall of Stars.
When his gaze fell on Backlund again, he naturally looked at the Augustus family's palace.
Destroy it. It's an eyesore.
Hastur looked up at the starry sky. Besides the stars, there were countless meteors.
He only needed to make a slight pull to let the meteors break through the atmosphere and descend as divine punishment.
Because the starry sky was his divine kingdom.
...
December 26th.
As the new year approached, a celestial phenomenon occurred late at night. Meteors fell from the sky, hitting the Ruen palace precisely. The grand palace complex was reduced to a desolate land, with countless meteor craters on the ground.
What was even more miraculous was that the ordinary residents living near the palace were unaffected, and many slept soundly through the night. It wasn't until the next day that they learned about the meteor shower.
This night's meteor shower was called the Night of Star Wrath by the residents of Backlund.
It was said that the gods were displeased with the recent actions of the Ruen royal family and sent down divine punishment.
The rumor grew so intense that King Covington II had to publicly repent to the gods.
Unfortunately, the gods did not accept his repentance and sent another humiliating fire meteor, destroying the platform from which he was speaking.
This event confirmed various rumors, severely damaging the royal family's prestige and ruining King Covington II's reputation, which had been built up by wartime victories.
"Useless!"
"What divine punishment! This is clearly man-made!"
"Isn't anyone from the Church of the Night, the Church of the Storm, or the Church of Steam and Machinery going to address this?"
In a newly constructed temporary palace, King Covington II raged in his study.
A meteor shower? This was clearly someone using extraordinary abilities under the guise of divine will!
In the mysterious world, many Sequence 2 angels could do this.
For example, the Sequence 2 Catastrophe of the Storm pathway, the Sequence 2 Disaster Witch of the Witch pathway, the Sequence 2 Miracle Invoker of the Seer pathway, and so on.
Based on the Augustus family's extraordinary beings' guesses, these events were likely caused by a Catastrophe of the Storm pathway.
But the Church of the Storms firmly denied this, saying it had nothing to do with them.
The Augustus family didn't accept their explanation.
Backlund was under the watchful eyes of the gods. To cause such a large-scale disaster in Backlund's sky without the gods noticing was impossible.
If not, Backlund would have been destroyed by high-sequence extraordinary beings long ago.
But the disaster still happened, suggesting it was at least tacitly approved by the three gods, with the Lord of Storms certainly aware.
After the incident, the three churches didn't actively address it, instead evading responsibility.
This further confirmed the Augustus family's suspicions.
But without a true god's support, they didn't dare directly question the three gods and had to swallow their anger.
To calm the situation, King Covington II became more subdued and eased his policies against some old nobles.
...
Above the gray fog, although Klein was overseas, he learned about the recent events in Backlund through his information channels.
With a bit of time before the Tarot Club meeting, he was thinking about how to answer questions about Backlund.
Such matters required preparation to handle the members' various possible questions.
The Night of Star Wrath seemed like the work of the Stars pathway.
Perhaps I should attribute the recent events in Backlund to the Stars pathway. After all, it's so mysterious and unpredictable that anything is possible.
Klein thought for a while, then waited for the time to summon the Tarot Club members.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."
Audrey greeted all the members naturally, her cheerful voice like a ray of sunshine piercing through the gray sky, lightening everyone's mood.
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