章節 358: Chapter 358: What It Means to Be Fortune's Favorite
Chapter 358: What It Means to Be Fortune's Favorite
The 30th birthday celebration of the Duke of South Weil's son was in full swing, with notable nobles from the surrounding areas arriving bearing carefully selected precious gifts.
In the study on the third floor, the corpulent Duke of South Weil reclined on a coffee-colored sofa that was clearly struggling under his weight. With drooping eyelids, he glanced at the two men standing before him and said in a grave tone:
"I don't want any mishaps this time!"
"Rest assured, Your Grace. We've specially invited a powerful extraordinary individual this time. He will certainly be able to complete your task," the two men hastily explained, cold sweat already beading on their foreheads.
"Hmph. If you disappoint me again, you can throw yourselves into the sea to feed the sharks. Or you can wait for someone to chop you into pieces and scatter you evenly across the ocean," the Duke sneered.
Thinking of how his covert schemes had been effortlessly thwarted by that Count Hastur Campbell each time, the Duke felt like he could eat someone alive out of frustration. Those eight ports were like eight mountains of gold - they should have been his, but now they had become someone else's private property.
The men he had secretly dispatched either mysteriously fell ill and were hospitalized, or suddenly went mad and jumped into the sea to end their lives. Even the moles who had successfully established themselves only sent back useless information with nothing that could be exploited.
Then there was that pair of sisters he had initially sent - they remained in the castle, barely able to relay a single message. Meanwhile, that young Count had been staying in Puning Port all this time. The two women had been essentially useless since he sent them.
Recently, the kingdom had declared all-out war against the Forsak Empire, which meant the southern continent would not pose a threat for the time being. Otherwise, the King would not have initiated such a large-scale war. This presented the perfect opportunity for the Duke to deal with that Count from Backlund.
After the two men left the room, the Duke glanced at the bookshelf in the corner and said, "Follow the men they've brought and take the sealed item my father sent from Backlund. Ensure tonight's operation goes off without a hitch." His lips curled into a faint sneer when he mentioned the word "father."
Having given these instructions, the Duke of South Weil closed his eyes and dozed off on the sofa until the butler outside announced that the banquet had begun. Only then did he open his eyes, push himself up from the sofa, and leave the room.
As soon as he stepped out, a benevolent smile appeared on his face as he greeted and exchanged pleasantries with every guest he encountered. It was his son's birthday celebration after all, so he didn't need to socialize too extensively.
When he went downstairs and spotted the young Count who stood out among the older nobles, he had someone bring two glasses of wine and walked in that direction.
"Count Campbell, your presence adds a brilliant luster to tonight's banquet," the Duke of South Weil said with a face full of smiles as he casually took a glass of wine from a nearby server's tray. "I heard you've been unwell since returning from Backlund. How are you feeling now?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Grace. I'm much better now, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to attend tonight's banquet," Hastur replied with a smile, lightly clinking his glass against the Duke's.
As the two stood chatting, they drew the attention of many nobles. At this point, the Duke of South Weil looked around at the nobles watching them and enthusiastically introduced, "Ladies and gentlemen, some of you may not yet know this outstanding young man beside me. This is Count Hastur Campbell. He helped us resolve the coastal pirate problem in South Weil County. Won't you all come and raise a toast to him?"
Due to the Duke's introduction, Hastur ended up drinking over a dozen glasses of wine. By the end of the banquet, he appeared thoroughly intoxicated.
The Duke of South Weil quickly had someone escort Hastur back to a pre-prepared room to rest.
Lying on the bed, Hastur lifted a corner of the blanket and gazed into the pitch-black room, sighing.
Really now, couldn't this Duke of South Weil come up with some new tricks?
His clumsy operations made it difficult for Hastur to play along convincingly.
He even had to pretend to be drunk to give them an opportunity to act.
Hastur wondered what kind of person the Duke would send to ambush him this time.
Probably some self-proclaimed powerful extraordinary individual.
Hastur wasn't particularly worried. He had called in four members from the Yellow Robed Priests, including two demigods at Sequence 4.
Caeus's previous lack of confidence had been quite necessary. Since Hastur's descent upon the Yellow Robed Priests organization, some non-believers who had been stuck at Sequence 5 for years suddenly advanced successfully, as if blessed by some stroke of good fortune.
Apart from Madam Lisa advancing to Sequence 2, another member had also advanced from Sequence 4 to Sequence 3.
In the eyes of Madam Lisa and the other Yellow Robed Priests, this was clearly a divine blessing.
Hastur pondered for a moment before pulling the blanket back over himself. He folded his hands behind his head, waiting for tonight's hunter.
It wasn't until around two in the morning, when Hastur had almost truly fallen asleep, that something unusual finally stirred in the room.
A shadow, like a puddle of black liquid, seeped through the cracks of the window. It gathered in the corner of the room before reforming into a human shape.
Shadow non-believer abilities - had the Duke of South Weil really hired an assassin?
Hastur, still lying in bed, watched this scene unfold. Just as the assassin was about to make a move, he pre-emptively shouted, "Chaos!"
The shadowy figure stood stock-still, as if completely immobilized.
Hastur threw off the blanket and got up, then thundered, "Corruption!"
Black, corrupting mist began to rise from the ground, spreading from the figure's feet upwards.
At that moment, the black figure - who should have been incapacitated by chaos - pounced like an agile cat. The dagger in its right hand gleamed with a lethal sharpness in the darkness, poised to slit a throat.
Its speed was impressive. Clearly, it had never been affected by the chaos in the first place, deliberately trying to lull Hastur into a false sense of security before striking a fatal blow.
Unhurried, Hastur uttered the word "Shackles." Two starry chains flew from his body, binding the assailant before it could react. It crashed heavily to the floor, knocking over a chair by the tea table with a crisp sound of splintering wood.
Having dealt with the threat, Hastur had time to ponder what had just transpired.
No ordinary person could resist the effects of chaos, which meant this wasn't a person at all, but a puppet - or rather, a marionette.
A Marionettist was lurking in the shadows tonight!
The Duke of South Weil had really gone all out, hiring a Marionettist.
And a cautious one at that, sending out a marionette to test the waters while hiding in the shadows. This was the standard combat strategy for a Marionettist.
It had to be said, this skill alone made them far more formidable than Master Luo.
Hastur wasn't intentionally insulting Luo; he was simply stating facts.
After a while, the figure bound by the starry chains suddenly stopped struggling. Its eyes became as empty as if its soul had departed.
Hastur guessed that the hidden Marionettist must have been captured.
A Marionettist could control their marionettes using spiritual threads, but there was a distance limit. This alone was enough for the Yellow Robed Priests to easily locate their position.
Hastur turned his attention back to the marionette before him. Surprisingly, it was a Sequence 6 Pleasure Witch.
To turn a Pleasure Witch into a marionette - this Marionettist was truly impressive.
However, why would they need to sneak in through the window cracks to assassinate someone with a Pleasure Witch marionette?
Shouldn't she have appeared openly in his room as a maid?
Taking advantage of his distraction by the Pleasure Witch's charms to strike would have had a much higher chance of success.
Could this be another Master Luo?
It might well be a case of the blind leading the blind.
As Hastur pondered, there was a knock at the door. He called for them to enter, and a Yellow Robed monk member came in, bringing a person and a freshly severed head that was still steaming.
There were two assassins tonight?
Hastur had someone light the lamps in the room before turning his attention to the captured middle-aged man.
He appeared to be in his early forties, with stubble on his face. He was somewhat handsome and must have charmed quite a few young ladies in his youth.
As Hastur observed him, the man's gaze remained fixed on the Pleasure Witch marionette bound on the floor. After confirming she was unharmed, he let out a relieved sigh, but his eyes then filled with disgust and disdain.
What a complex gaze.
Hastur's intuition told him that there must be an interesting story between this Marionettist and the Pleasure Witch.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Hastur looked at the severed head in one of the Yellow Robed monk member's hands and asked, "Was this another assassin tonight?"
"Yes, our people saw him leave the Duke of South Weil's study and come to the vicinity tonight. However, before he could make a move, we took preemptive action and subdued him," the member explained.
"He was a Sequence 4 Fallen Count. We were unable to capture him alive during the fight, so we had to decapitate him to secure his non-believer characteristics and sealed item. That's why we were slightly delayed."
"It was our oversight that allowed a marionette to approach your room. Please punish us as you see fit."
The Yellow Robed monk member explained earnestly and anxiously.
"..."
Hastur had thought they deliberately let a marionette in to give him some practice. It turned out to be a work error.
A Sequence 4 Fallen Count, dead just like that - wasn't his luck a bit too good?
But thinking about it carefully, there were four Fate pathway winners standing in this room, plus himself - that made five darlings of fate beloved by destiny.
With such high luck, it wasn't impossible for such a convenient turn of events to occur.
All he could say was, thank you to the Duke of South Weil for the birthday gift.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票