Chapter 191: Unclear Motives
Qilangos lost his pursuers with the help of the wind after crossing a
man-made lake.
He surveyed his surroundings, intending to create the illusion that he
had entered a ditch to escape into the Tussock River before turning to
the financial center of Backlund, the Hillston Borough.
At that moment, his field of vision suddenly blurred. He saw the colors
around him saturate in the darkness.
The green trees became greener, their red fruits even redder. The dark
blackness of the water became darker. Everything appeared to be splashed
with pastel paint.
Under the sky where the crimson moon was obscured, there were many
indescribable, transparent figures, as well as different lustrous
splendors that contained mysterious knowledge.
Qilangos found himself coming to a halt as he floated in midair. Beneath
his feet, dark water continually rose towards him. Under the water were
pale white palms, reaching out for him.
Not good! Qilangos realized that he had been ambushed.
And the ambusher was definitely not weak!
A giant humanoid skeleton suddenly appeared before him. The monster was
four meters tall, and burning in its eye sockets were pitch black
flames. The bones on its body were blurry and illusory.
Qilangos gave his enemy an expressionless look as he let out a sneer.
At the same time, the glove on his left hand released a radiant light,
appearing as if it was cast out of pure gold.
Qilangos leaned back and spread his arms wide, as though he was trying
to hug the sun.
A bolt of pure, burning brilliance descended from the sky, enveloping
the giant skeleton. The pastel-like world quaked in response, and the
pale hands under the dark water evaporated one by one.
This was the Beyonder powers of the Priest of Light!
It was a Beyonder power from the Sun's Sequence 5 pathway!
It was the nemesis of the undead!
The radiant pillar of light dissipated, and the pitch black flames of
the giant skeleton instantly extinguished. It then turned transparent as
it disintegrated in the air.
Before Qilangos had the time to use the abilities of the Priest of Light
to dispel the pastel-like world, his expression abruptly turned rigid.
He saw another giant skeleton appear to his left. It was also four
meters tall, its eyes burning with a black flame, identical to the
monster from before.
Immediately following that, the same skeletal monster appeared around
Qilangos, one after another. One, two, three... there were more than a
hundred of them!
More than a hundred pairs of burning black flames cast their gaze onto
their target at the same time.
Underneath him, the dark water surface rose higher, almost coming into
contact with Qilangos's feet.
Pale white hands extended outward, flailing them around constantly, as
though they were grabbing at a life-saving straw.
"Spread out and pursue him. Try to corner him," Instructed the
Cardinal---Ace Snake. He conjured a typhoon and took to the air, flying
toward the direction where Qilangos had fled.
Duke Negan and the rest didn't join the ranks of Mandated Punishers in
consideration of their statuses; instead, they stood at the windows or
balconies to observe. It was also at this moment when the ordinary
nobles who were running around frantically slowly calmed down.
Due to the darkness and the undulating shouts, they were unsure of what
exactly happened. All they knew was that Duke Negan might have
encountered an assassin.
Alger Wilson clenched his jaw and ran out of Duke Negan's mansion,
following the path of the municipal garden into the Hillston Borough.
He wasn't willing to miss this opportunity, no matter how small the hope
was!
Suddenly, he heard a voice which was carried to him by the wind,
"There's no need to continue the pursuit."
*No need to continue the pursuit? The voice of Cardinal
Snake...* Alger stopped after just running a few steps forward.
He turned to look into the sky, puzzled.
He saw Cardinal Snake, who was wearing a black robe adorned with many
storm symbols, floating above the forest and the man-made lake and
staring down.
Alger creased his brows and sped over to where the Cardinal was without
considering the reason.
As he neared his position, he made use of his Seafarer abilities to get
a clearer look.
The Spellsinger of God showed no expression, but his posture made it
evident that he was serious. His exposed white hair that peeked out from
under his black hat swayed with the wind, accentuating his stern silver
eyes.
Alger retracted his gaze and ran out of the forest.
The scene of the calm pond reflecting the crimson moonlight suddenly
appeared in his eyes. On the pond's surface, a tall figure was floating
near the bank.
That figure had a unique wide jaw, his brown hair was tied in a
ponytail. His dark green eyes were cold, yet blank.
Qilangos!
Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos!
Alger was taken aback at first, then he felt both surprise and joy. He
couldn't believe his eyes. and even suspected that the darkness was
causing him to hallucinate.
Before he could react, he suddenly saw Qilangos's face rot rapidly. It
oozed a yellow-green liquid, his flesh peeling off piece by piece.
Pat! Pat! Pat!
All that was left of Qilangos's face was a skull, his two vacant
eyeballs fell from their sockets and onto the ground beside the lake.
Qilangos fell apart completely. His clothes draped over his rotting
flesh and white bones and blocked the sparkling radiance.
In less than twenty seconds, one of the Seven Pirate Admirals, Qilangos,
had died mysteriously in front of Alger's eyes.
This shocking scene was etched deeply into Alger's mind. It made him
suspect if he was having a terrifying nightmare.
What was happening?
Didn't Qilangos escape successfully?
Why did he die so simply, yet so mysteriously here?
*What did he encounter, for him to lose his life in such a short amount
of time...*
He's a Sequence 6 Wind-blessed, the owner of Creeping Hunger!
Who did it?
What was the motive for killing Qilangos...
Just as countless ideas flooded Alger's mind, he heard Spellsinger of
God, Ace Snake's, charismatic voice, "Did you give the information to
anyone else?
"Is there anyone else who knows of this information?"
Alger quickly calmed down. He glanced at Qilangos's remains and gave an
explanation that he had prepared.
"I reported the information to you the moment I found out about it."
He couldn't help but grumble inwardly. *If it wasn't for the fact that
Ace Snake had gone for a walk along the Tussock River, forcing me to
spend time finding him, Qilangos might not have even escaped Duke
Negan's mansion!*
Of course, he didn't dare say this in front of a High-Sequence Beyonder.
He could only respectfully and humbly continue, "The personnel who
received the information directly even sacrificed himself for it, and no
one opened the letter during its transfer, I can vouch for this.
"But I cannot confirm if there was a leak at the source of this
information. Since we could learn of it, others might have too."
As Alger spoke, he formulated some guesses about who killed Vice Admiral
Hurricane Qilangos.
*The person or organization who tasked Qilangos to assassinate Duke
Negan? Since Qilangos had already successfully escaped and there was no
threat of any information leaks, there's no need to kill him... If it
were me, I would get Qilangos to lay low and try another assassination
attempt when everyone was certain that he had left Backlund...*
*Also, Qilangos only trusts himself, so he wouldn't tell his
assassination plan to anyone. Duke Negan has been organizing gatherings
lately in preparation for his bill proposal in September, so there are
abundant opportunities. Other than Qilangos himself, there's no one who
can correctly predict when he would strike. U-unless that person was a
Prophet... But that is unlikely...*
*Other factions? Not possible. Miss Justice prayed to Mr. Fool to relay
the information the moment she noticed a problem. There was no way
another organization could've received the information at the same
time...*
Mr. Fool... Alger was shocked as he thought of a possibility.
The person who struck was Mr. Fool's Blessed!
He happened to be in Backlund and thus lent a hand!
The more he thought about it, the more Alger felt that this guess was
close to the truth.
Only the members and subordinates of the Tarot Club could've received
the information in time!
Only the help of The Fool's Blessed could make it seem so mysterious and
without motive!
Just as he was immersed in his thoughts, Cardinal Snake fell silent for
a moment. He told the rest of the Mandated Punishers who were making
their way over, "Qilangos is dead. A High-Sequence Beyonder, or someone
who used a Sealed Artifact of a similar-level killed him. But this is
rather dangerous and highly unlikely.
"After a preliminary analysis, I believe that the High-Sequence Beyonder
is of the pathway of Death, perhaps a member of the Numinous Episcopate,
but not someone I know of. There's also the possibility of it being a
member of another secret organization.
"The motive is unclear."
The Numinous Episcopate originated from the Southern Continent. Legend
has it that it was first formed by a descendant of Death in an attempt
to revive Death. They were nearly eradicated after the Southern
Continent was colonized, but they stubbornly survived and spread toward
the countries of the Northern Continent.
*A High-Sequence Beyonder... Yes, only a High-Sequence Beyonder could
kill Qilangos in such a short amount of time! Just a mere Blessed of Mr.
Fool is already at such a high sequence... That's a Demigod!*
Alger once again looked at the pile of flesh and bone. He felt
dissociated from everything as if he had lost all his emotion. He stood
there in a daze, watching everything.
If I happened to betray Mr. Fool one day... He suddenly had
such a thought.
Immediately, the terrifying scene of Qilangos rapidly rotting appeared
in his mind.
Alger couldn't help but shiver and lower his head.
At the same time, he relaxed.
Since he couldn't escape or fight back, then he could only choose to be
loyal.
*Phew... With Qilangos dead, no one can threaten me with that secret
anymore!* He exhaled, his worries completely vanishing.
In Duke Negan's mansion, Audrey Hall, who was discussing the
assassination with her mother and the other nobles, saw her father
appear at the door.
She found an excuse and left the resting room for the balcony at the
main hall.
"Father, is something wrong?" Audrey looked at Earl Hall with her green
eyes.
Her green eyes had come from her mother, not her father.
Earl Hall smiled.
"It's been resolved, my child. You need not worry any longer.
"Hmm... Did you tell anyone that Baron Gramir was an imposter?"
"No." Audrey shook her head firmly.
I only told an almost godlike existence... She added in her
heart.
She thought for a moment, then explained herself, "After I told you, I
went to the bathroom, then to where Mother was. You can ask her."
"I see." Earl Hall nodded and didn't say anything else before
mentioning, "Qilangos is dead. Someone killed him."
"Who?" Audrey was as shocked as she was excited.
"No idea. We can't even figure out why the murderer killed Qilangos.
It's truly incomprehensible." Earl Hall paused. "Perhaps, it's a person
or an organization, a secret and powerful organization."
*Unclear motive... A secret, powerful organization... Could it be Mr.
Fool's Blessed? It could be our Tarot Club!* Audrey suddenly had
an epiphany.