"Feel it, the blood is still warm. He just died, and I've been with you the whole time. How could I have time to kill him?"
"But he died in the room you arranged! You caused all of this!"
"I..." The male voice sighed heavily, then explained, "Alright, even if I killed him, isn't that good? He's dead, and there's no longer any obstacle between us."
"He could die, but not now! You've ruined everything!"
"What everything? Di Lieer, are you hiding something from me again? You've changed recently, become much more distant from me. Have you... taken a liking to someone else?"
"No! I! Haven't!"
The woman's voice was gritting her teeth, but she didn't explain anything further. Instead, she said anxiously:
"The banquet is about to start. Once everyone knows he's dead, we're immediately finished!"
"Finished? You are the Duke's Wife, the victim. I'm the Duke's nephew with no right of inheritance, a common guard. At most, I'll be charged with negligence. How could we be finished?"
"...I... I'm too anxious. He can't just die like this. The matter of the bill isn't finished yet, and the citizens of the territory will still protest..."
"Di Lieer, that's the Duke's concern. You're just the Duke's Wife!"
"But he's already dead! Dead!"
The Duke's Wife tried hard to suppress her roar, but it still sounded a little hysterical, as if the Duke's Death was a heavy blow to her.
"What if he's dead? You have the right to inherit all his property. Isn't that enough? Brooks's property is enough for us to squander for generations."
"No... you don't understand. I can inherit the property, but I can't inherit his title. In that case, Brooks's administrative power will be returned to the royal court..."
"What? You still want to be the Duchess?"
"No! I'm just for those... the citizens of the town!"
"Di Lieer, you've really changed. Why bother with those commoners?"
"You don't understand! Listen, you stay here and guard, don't let anyone in. I'll go figure something out! You must ensure his Death is not spread!"
After speaking, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the room as the Duke's Wife anxiously walked out.
Hearing this, Cheng Shi and Bailing exchanged glances in the cramped space and both breathed a sigh of relief.
If this "common guard" was going to guard the room, the next step should be to go outside and stand guard. In that case, the two of them would have the opportunity to escape from here first.
But unexpectedly, the moment the Duke's Wife slammed the door shut, the man who called himself a "common guard" smiled with the corner of his Mouth and turned to look at the wardrobe.
"Sorry to have made you listen to a farce, but it doesn't matter, it will be over soon."
He clapped his hands and smiled appreciatively:
"Thank you for killing Brooks. Although I also made arrangements, your methods were obviously cleaner and more efficient. I have to say, your ability to conceal yourselves is also very good. It's just a pity you ran into me."
"Come out. Since you helped me a little, I can give you a quick Death."
Cheng Shi and Bailing exchanged glances again, their hearts sinking.
They had been discovered.
"What do we do?" Bailing asked silently.
Cheng Shi pondered for a moment, then also mouthed, "Can you fight?"
Bailing shook her head, but then she thought of Cheng Shi being just a Priest and nodded again, writing a number on Cheng Shi's leg with her finger.
"1321."
Cheng Shi immediately understood that this was her ladder score.
It was indeed too low.
Those who were still in this rank after half a year of the Faith Game's arrival were either barely surviving by relying on solo dungeons or had muddled their way through.
Bailing's appearance clearly didn't fit either description. Cheng Shi really couldn't figure out how she could have such a low score.
Did she fail every time but survive every time?
That was even harder than getting a high score every time!
But no matter what, she was a Hunter, and her offensive capabilities were definitely better than his as a Priest.
"Don't panic, let's fight him!"
Cheng Shi spoke silently again, then lightly patted Bailing's shoulder, indicating that he was going to push the door open.
Bailing froze, understanding his meaning, and began counting silently in her heart.
"3."
"2."
"1!"
"Bang!"
Both of them pushed the door open simultaneously. Bailing immediately summoned her longbow, and at the same time activated her Sensory Tracking talent, directly targeting the other party's Sea of Desire, attempting to interfere with their actions.
Cheng Shi rolled several times on the ground, casting his healing spell on both of them in advance, leaving plenty of healing margin.
However, after they broke out, they realized that the guard who had just been shouting so fiercely was now standing at the head of the bed, grinning sinisterly at them from a distance.
Sensory Tracking felt like it had hit a solid wall, being firmly shut out.
"Damn, he has a mental defense skill!"
"Oh? So you are servants of the corruption? Very good. Your method of killing was too clean, leaving no trace. I was still worrying about how to shift the blame to the refugees. This way, it couldn't be better."
Although he was speaking, his expression was very cautious. His eyes constantly scrutinized Cheng Shi and Bailing, and he chuckled:
"corruption believers among the refugees, in opposition to the Duke's bill, snuck into the Duke's mansion on the eve of the bill's announcement to assassinate him. What a reasonable explanation. Now, my suspicion is completely cleared. I really must thank you."
Cheng Shi's sharp eyes constantly scanned the surrounding space and his entire body. Before long, he saw a familiar object in the guard's hand.
A ring!
On his hand, he was wearing a ring exactly like the one in the Dwarves' hands!
Cheng Shi never expected things to be so coincidental. He decisively took out the ring from his Arms and held it up in front of him.
At this point, saying more would only lead to more mistakes. It was better to say nothing and let the other party guess.
The guard was indeed stunned when he saw the ring in Cheng Shi's hand, and then he laughed disbelievingly:
"What? I only gave the broker three hundred gold coins. Didn't he say he found a group of Dwarves to do this? How is it that the Dwarves actually outsourced this job?
Hahahaha, you are really too cute. Who are you? How much did those Dwarves give you?"
Cheng Shi instantly understood the key. It turned out that those Dwarves were exactly the ones arranged by the person opposite to assassinate the Duke.
It was just that they killed the Dwarves and then ran into the Duke's Death.
Damn it, now it was really impossible to explain.
The other party obviously didn't let them off just because they were hired killers.
Cheng Shi looked at the guard who was still laughing and replied with a grim face:
"Thirty gold coins."
"What? Hahahaha, how much did you say?" The guard's laughter became more unrestrained.
"Twenty is fine too."
"?" His smile froze, and he frowned, as if he didn't understand.
"Let's go our separate ways!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Shi directly cast a "Accelerated Metabolism" on the other party, targeting the defects in their legs and feet.
This way, during the rapid metabolism, the vitality of the other party's legs would continuously increase, but they would experience an unfamiliar sense of sluggishness due to the different state of their legs and feet compared to before.
Seizing this momentary sluggishness might create an opportunity.
Bailing clearly understood Cheng Shi's "countdown." The moment his words fell, an arrow carrying the power of corruption shot towards the guard.
The cooperation between the two of them could be said to be very tacit. The arrow hit the guard's arm just as his feet went soft.
The power of Desire and sinking began to grab at his reason like tentacles, tearing at his emotions.
However, the guard was not flustered. Instead, a cold smile appeared on the corner of his Mouth, and he opened his Mouth and said:
"This place, Resistance is forbidden!"
"Buzz--"
A wave of holy light rapidly spread out from the guard, instantly painting the entire room golden.
Bailing's longbow immediately fell from her hand uncontrollably, and even the arrow on the guard's body directly fell to the ground, silent.
Seeing this, Cheng Shi's pupils contracted, and he thought inwardly that something was wrong.
This was the power of Order!
The person opposite was actually an Ruler!
A Singer of Order!
How could Singers be guards these days?
Before Cheng Shi could even process it, the high-level Ruler opposite had already opened his Mouth and began to sing.
"Judge on high, the Time for execution has arrived.
The shackles have strangled the prisoner's wails, the leg irons have shattered the sinner's arrogance.
They will be judged here, welcome the baptism of holy fire, and bask in the glory of the Lord.
Then!
Under the gaze of Order...
Turn into ash!"
After each line of lyrics was sung, Cheng Shi could clearly feel his physical condition rapidly deteriorating.
"Silence", "Imprisonment", "Burning", "Repentance"...
Four negative statuses were wildly stacking on his body, and the heavy sense of oppression was palpable.
Before long, both of them were pressed to the ground, unable to breathe.
Bailing's condition was clearly worse than Cheng Shi's. It was as if an invisible giant foot was on her back, stepping on her heavily on the floor, her entire body and face distorted.
Bright red blood flowed from her seven orifices, and soon her vision began to blur.
She looked at the equally miserable Cheng Shi, without the fear before Death, only smiling sadly and apologizing:
"I'm sorry... Da Lao... I... I'm too weak..."
But Silence affected everyone, and her voice couldn't squeeze out of her throat.
Cheng Shi only saw Bailing open her Mouth, then she closed her eyes with a smile.
"Weakness is the original sin, isn't it?"
The guard sneered, drew his longsword, and slowly walked towards Cheng Shi.
...