"The owner of this house is named Patrick Jason, and he is a major shareholder of a small bank."
Ikanser was explaining their investigation results to everyone. With the help of Arrodes, they had successfully determined the true identity of that "Apostle of Desire" in Backlund.
"In his social stratum, the number of servants employed in his household is severely insufficient. Therefore, every time he holds a dinner party or a ball, he needs to additionally hire a batch of temporary waiters from the 'Metropolitan Help for Domestic Servants Association'."
Taking advantage of the moment when everyone else was nervously analyzing clues and arranging the capture plan, Klein walked alone to a corner and quietly took out the communication Charm engraved with peculiar patterns.
"Director, that is the situation. The identity of that 'Demon' has been uncovered."
"Right now, the people from the 'Machinery Hivemind' are preparing to make the arrest—"
"Alright, I understand. You just follow the 'Machinery Hivemind' and act with them. Remember, if you encounter danger, absolutely do not stand out; wait for my instructions for everything."
"Understood."
Klein hung up the "telephone" and, pretending that nothing had happened, returned to the midst of the crowd.
"Sherlock, what were you doing over there just now?" Detective Isengard Stanton's gaze swept over, carrying a hint of inquiry.
"I—I went to investigate the surrounding environment." Klein's expression shifted slightly, and he quickly fabricated a reasonable excuse.
"Given the cunning of a 'Demon', I was worried about whether there might be traps set by the other party in advance in the surroundings."
"He has already run away; there is no need to leave us with an intact house."
"Hmm." Isengard looked at him for two seconds, then nodded thoughtfully, accepting his explanation. "Indeed, when facing a 'Demon', one can never be too careful. Your caution is correct."
"The ideas you provided are very helpful for our operation this time." Ikanser also walked over, preparing to chat with these two Great Detectives about the details of the subsequent arrest, but a member of the "Machinery Hivemind" ran over in a hurry and whispered a few words into his ear.
"What did you say?!"
Upon hearing the news, Ikanser's face was filled with shock.
"Everyone, withdraw immediately! Something has happened!"
"What's wrong? Ikanser?" Detective Isengard Stanton stepped forward immediately, his brows locked in a frown. Something that could make an experienced Machinery Hivemind captain lose his composure like this was definitely not a simple matter.
Ikanser glanced at Detective Isengard Stanton, then swept his gaze over Klein, took a deep breath, and managed to suppress his rapid breathing. He explained in the simplest terms: "The Southern District—something has happened. It's serious. We must rush over immediately! The mission here—is temporarily postponed!"
After speaking, he said no more, waved his hand sharply, and led his equally bewildered team members to change direction, leaving behind only the sound of rapid, receding footsteps.
Seeing this, Detective Isengard Stanton and Klein exchanged a glance, both seeing a trace of gravity in the other's eyes.
Something more serious than capturing a Sequence 5 "Apostle of Desire"—what a terrifying matter that must be?
Just as Klein was pondering whether he should immediately notify Charles about this sudden situation, he suddenly discovered that the identity card he had placed in the inner lining of his clothes was flickering and heating up at a specific frequency!
"Emergency support signal—a stronghold has had an incident!"
On the other side, after hanging up Klein's "telephone", Charles also began to take action.
As the price for his "cooperation" with Jason Beria, he had learned in advance that the other party planned to launch an assassination operation against an important target this afternoon.
The special equipment within The Society all comes with a certain positioning function. This helps him obtain the approximate location of the "Apostle of Desire" in real-time.
For today's situation, Charles had made two preparations.
—If Jason's assassination operation succeeded, and he managed to escape the first wave of official pursuit relying on the eerie abilities of a "Demon", then he would, according to the agreement, immediately send this plague god away through secret channels, and from then on, they would have nothing to do with each other.
But if Jason failed, fell into a siege, or failed to escape in time after the assassination—then Charles would have to do it himself, and before the authorities Beyonders could capture him, completely eliminate this "Black Glove" who knew quite a few of his secrets, to prevent future trouble.
For this reason, he had also specifically borrowed a Mystical Item from the warehouse that could briefly interfere with a "Demon's" perception of malice.
As long as Jason was not killed on the spot, Charles was confident that, by relying on the information asymmetry and the assistance of this item, he could deal with him one step ahead before the authorities's dragnet closed.
"A 'Unshadowed' level Solar Flame should be able to burn him directly into ashes. Afterwards, one could also shift the blame for this matter onto other churches, misleading the search direction of the 'Mandated Punishers'—"
Just as he was calculating his next actions in his heart, a rapid vibration suddenly came from the inner lining of his clothes!
"This is—that stronghold at the subway station!"
"Something has happened!" Charles's pupils constricted violently.
"Damn it! Why does it have to be today!"
On the other side, on King's Avenue, an extremely luxurious giant carriage was slowly driving away from the Kingdom's Parliament. The interior of the carriage was like a mobile luxury room, with soft carpets laid on the floor, and comfortable daybeds, sofas, and exquisite tables placed inside.
Duke Negan was leaning back on the sofa with a look of contentment. He had just returned from enjoying himself with his mistress, a young and beautiful girl who had just turned twenty. She was the mistress he had favored the most over the past two or three years, and she had effectively made him recall the impulses and passions of his youth.
As the largest landed noble outside of the royal family, he possessed quite a number of mistresses. However, due to the relatively conservative social climate of the Kingdom of Loen, matters in this regard could easily become targets for political enemies to attack. Therefore, even with his status, he had to conduct such affairs sneakily. However, this sneaky feeling also had quite a few unique "pleasures".
Relishing the lingering aftertaste, he picked up the wine glass beside him, took a gentle sip of red wine, and then spoke to the secretary beside him: "Go and invite Earl Hall to come to my manor as a guest tomorrow. I want to talk to him about raising factory workers' wages, improving their working hours, and revising the 'Poor Laws'. These are all bills he has been vigorously pushing in Parliament recently; I think he will be very interested."
"When inviting him, you can first disclose to Earl Hall the matters I wish to discuss. However, the property restrictions for elections are a must; the requirements absolutely cannot be lowered—"
As he was speaking, the secretary beside him was recording rapidly in a notebook.
After finishing, Duke Negan sighed and said: "I do this also to maintain the status of us nobles. But, alas, there are more and more good-for-nothing fellows among us, squandering money without limit, and quite a few have even owed those rising factory owners and bankers a huge sum of money, losing all face—"
He waved his hand, as if to dispel these troublesome matters: "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. What other arrangements are there for today?"
The secretary immediately replied: "There is a dinner party tonight at Viscount Dela's residence. His Lordship the Viscount hopes you can attend at the end of the banquet; even just showing your face would be a tremendous support for him."
Duke Negan drank the red wine in his cup in one gulp, feeling the slight dizziness and warmth brought by the alcohol.
"Got it—let's go."
His voice was somewhat dull. As the elder and helmsman of the family, even though he had just been "exhausted" and his body was a bit weary, he still had to force himself to perk up and go support the younger generation of his clan, maintaining the necessary human favors and face. This is the price of being in a high position.
"Clang!"
Accompanied by a violent jolt, Loen clearly felt the carriage speed suddenly slow down, and the horses let out uneasy neighs.
He looked through the carriage window towards the front and discovered an incomparably huge, luxurious carriage driving unhurriedly right in front of him.
Its speed was clearly not comparable to his own small carriage. However, its wide size directly occupied nearly half the width of the entire road.
—The remaining distance was simply not enough to allow his carriage to accelerate and overtake the other party—
The coachman had to pull the reins tight, making the horses slow down, and follow behind the other party in frustration. "This road should at least be widened by another double—"
"No, that's not right. A law should be enacted to prohibit such giant private carriages from driving on main roads."
Loen, whose path was blocked by this luxurious carriage, felt somewhat displeased. He frowned and carefully sized up that carriage for a few moments.
"It looks like one of those carriages belonging to the high nobility."
"Tch, a bunch of show-offs."
Loen withdrew his gaze, not bothering to look any further, and leaned back in his seat, preparing to close his eyes and rest.
However, no sooner had he closed his eyes than he snapped them open again!
The "Premonition of Disaster" had been triggered!
"Stop the carriage!"
Meanwhile, Patrick Jason—no, he should be called by his real name now—Jason Beliar.
This "Apostle of Desire" leaned against the shadows on the rooftop, observing the luxuriously decorated carriage belonging to Duke Negan on the street below with greedy and tyrannical eyes.
"Hmph—" He let out a cold, disdainful sneer.
"He's already at that age, yet he's still so addicted to carnal pleasures—"
"He clearly has a formal banquet to attend tonight that will require plenty of energy, yet he still chooses to indulge himself this afternoon—what a fellow, wrapped in base desires from the inside out, from soul to flesh."
Logically speaking, the best time to strike would be when Duke Negan and his mistress are in the throes of passion, at their most unguarded.
However, considering that the planned time hadn't arrived yet, and the Church of Storms—especially that powerful "God of Songs"—hadn't been lured away by the accident about to break out, he had to temporarily suppress the tyranny in his heart and lie in wait.
Next, he would either have to take him out on the way back to his residence, or wait until the evening banquet to make a move.
Considering the banquet would last a long time with many variables, and that "accident" might not be able to hold back the upper echelons of the church for too long. More importantly, Duke Negan himself had experienced assassination attempts at banquets before, so he would certainly have corresponding precautions in place.
Conversely, while Duke Negan is a mid-Sequence Beyonder himself, he had just overindulged, leaving his body and mind in an exhausted state.
Coupled with the item supported by Charles, he was confident that he could quickly stir up the other party's emotions. The effect of detonating those desires might not be any worse than when he was in bed.
"Opportunity knocks—" Jason Beliar curled his lips, preparing to act.
Boom!
A violent explosion, accompanied by ear-piercing gunfire, instantly tore through the tranquility of the Southern District!
"Captain, is this the place?"
"Captain, is this the place?" Leonard Mitchell followed in the middle of the group of "Nighthawks," cautiously arriving in an abandoned subway tunnel.
Not far away, bursts of intense gunfire and the roars generated by the collision of Beyonder powers could be heard from time to time.
"This is the place—"
"They widened this abandoned tunnel and connected it to a previous abandoned station. Their stronghold is hidden deep within that station. The subways that pass by normally serve as their best cover. When necessary, they can even use the subway tracks to transport personnel and supplies—"
"Truly clever—" Leonard couldn't help but exclaim.
"Alright, everyone pay attention! According to our previously planned schedule, move in pairs and infiltrate in batches. Do not act rashly until we have completely figured out the situation inside!"
"Understood!" The Nighthawks, including Leonard, nodded one after another.
"Da—da-da—click...—da—"
Just then, an incredibly strange sound, like rusty mechanical parts rubbing against each other, suddenly came from the Darkness deep in the tunnel.
"What sound is that?" A Nighthawks gripped his pistol nervously.
"Such strange footsteps—and they're getting closer—what is it?"
Leonard and the others immediately braced themselves as if facing a formidable enemy. However, as the strange sound grew closer, they did not discover any moving figures within their line of sight.
"At your feet."
The aged voice of Pallez Zoroast sounded in Leonard's mind.
"At my feet?" Leonard was stunned, then abruptly lowered his head.
To his shock, he realized that at some point, a bizarrely shaped doll, only a dozen centimeters tall, had already arrived at his feet!
The doll eerily raised its head to meet his gaze.
Before Leonard could figure out what kind of situation this was, the doll gave a weird smile.
"Bang!"
An air cannon shot out fiercely from its tiny, toy-like barrel!
The highly compressed air whipped up an ear-piercing whistle in the tunnel, flying almost past Leonard's cheek, and slammed heavily into the wall behind him, creating a clear crack!
"Whew—" Leonard turned his head, still shaken, and saw Soest, who was gripping his arm tightly.
If it hadn't been for his quick reaction in pulling him just now, he would likely have been hit directly by that air cannon.
"Don't get distracted! That thing is dangerous!" Soest's tone was exceptionally serious.
"Heh, how nostalgic—I didn't expect them to still be using this antique..." Pallez Zoroast's voice sounded again in Leonard's mind, carrying a sense of reminiscent emotion.
"Old man! You know what this is? How should we deal with it?" Leonard quickly lowered his voice to ask.
Just as everyone was looking at this strange doll as if facing a formidable enemy, more and denser footsteps came from all directions.
Through the night vision far exceeding that of ordinary people brought by the "Sleepless" Pathway, they saw rows of identical dolls, all with weird smiles on their faces, walking slowly toward them from the Darkness with stiff steps.
"Look at yourself now, Negan. You're already at that age, your body has long been hollowed out, yet you're still obsessed with women's bellies every day."
"In order not to appear so incompetent in bed, you even drink that potion made from mummy powder. Don't you know how disgusted your pretty little mistress's expression was at the time?"
"You—you're spouting nonsense!" Upon hearing this, Duke Negan felt a surge of rage rush straight from the bottom of his heart to his skull.
No! Must control my emotions. His remaining sanity was screaming.
Damn it! Why haven't the reinforcements arrived yet!
The moment he was attacked, he blew the conch of the Church of Storms, but Ace Snake, the "God of Songs," had been slow to arrive! Clearly, at his speed, it shouldn't have taken long to get here from the Saint Wind Cathedral at all!
Steady! Must stay steady! Must hold on until the Archbishop arrives!
The "Apostle of Desire" couldn't help but sneer when he saw the other party's appearance of forcibly suppressing his anger. While dodging the sharp wind blades released by the "Wind-Blessed" bodyguard, he flipped his palm and produced a crystal emitting a dim yellow halo.
A dim yellow halo suddenly spread out from the crystal!
The moment he was struck by this eerie light, endless rage erupted from Duke Negan's heart like a volcanic eruption! He could no longer suppress the violent emotions within him!
"Ah—! Kill him! Kill him for me!! Tear him to pieces!!" Duke Negan completely lost his aristocratic demeanor, roaring with a hideous expression, his voice hoarse and insane.
"Hiss—something really did happen—"
At the street corner not far away, Loen looked at the luxurious carriage that had suddenly overturned on the ground, revealing a thoughtful expression.
"This commotion is definitely not just an ordinary robbery or revenge."
After he felt that something was wrong just now, he immediately got out of the carriage and asked the coachman to return the way he came and wait for him at the previous intersection.
"It seems—the battle is very intense."
Countless sharp wind blades and scorching flames were constantly scattering from the overturned carriage. The frightened horses had long since broken free from their reins, neighing and fleeing in all directions.
Loen looked around at the surrounding environment.
This is a relatively secluded path, not many people are usually around, making it very suitable for some "special" actions. For example—a terrorist attack.
"Why do I always encounter these kinds of things."
"Should I—go over and help?"
"Don't tell me there's another lady in the carriage who needs to be saved."
He thought for a moment, then took a 1-penny coin out of his pocket and flicked it upward with his index finger.