Letania, the land of sorcerers, the land of music.
In the past, when the Witch King was still alive, Letania was once powerful. It held a significant advantage in the Four Kings' Battle that besieged Gaul, but after the Witch King became tyrannical and eventually fell, Letania gradually declined to its current state.
Letania and Kazimierz, these two countries, due to their shared border, often had friction.
The intelligence recorded in the memory card in Noah's hand was information belonging to the Witch King Remnants.
According to the Shieldless League's investigation, these Witch King Remnants, who had secretly infiltrated Kazimierz, were secretly assassinating some ancient knight families. Many of these ancient knight families had already declined, or even ceased to exist. Even the once glorious Golden Pegasus family was now on the verge of losing its noble status.
The Nearl Family family was like this, and the situation of other knight families was not much better.
But why would the descendants of these knight families become their targets?
Noah had not found this reason in the intelligence. The intelligence had identified all the merchants within Kazimierz who were colluding with the Witch King Remnants, but it still didn't explain why she and the Nearl sisters were targeted. Moreover, they almost exclusively targeted young descendants. Could it be that they simply intended to weaken the younger generation of Kazimierz?
But with Letania now ruled by the Twin Empresses, why wouldn't these Witch King Remnants confront direct enemies like the Twin Empresses, and instead target neighboring Kazimierz?
Witch King Remnants… what exactly are these people thinking?
The more Noah read, the more confused she became. She suddenly remembered something and looked up to ask, "Kuro, I remember your hometown was Letania, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"Then…"
"Sorry, I don't know much about Letania's affairs." Kuro shook her head, "I'm not welcome there, so I naturally don't have any good impressions."
"I see… sorry." Noah shook her head. What was the reason the Witch King Remnants were targeting her and the Nearl sisters? Noah had previously thought it must have been people from the Commercial Federation, or rather, she hadn't even considered that these people would come from the neighboring Letania.
Now, Noah had a strange feeling that the enemy was clear, yet even more mysterious.
"Witch King Remnants… hunting the descendants of knight families."
The Witch King, Hel Hawn Zoren, a wise ruler in his early life, a tyrant in his later life, the most brilliant Stone source art user in Letania's history, and also the greatest musician. His appearance led Letania to its peak and also plunged it into the abyss. After his fall, there were many evaluations of him: tyrant, madman. But no matter who, no one could deny that he might be the greatest Stone source art user in history. He revised the Golden Law Chapter, which no one had been able to touch for a hundred years. He constructed the supreme chapter.
He built the High Towers of Letania, and also caused their collapse.
Legend has it that he never truly died, that his power flowed within his music, and his sorcery circulated within his bloodline.
Legend has it that he would return from a distant world, and with his tyrannical rule, re-establish the High Towers forged by fear.
The Twin Empresses were once also his creation. This man's genius almost overshadowed an entire era.
And those so-called Witch King Remnants who longed to follow the Witch King, what they wanted, or rather, their ultimate goal must be to resurrect the Witch King, right? What kind of reason brought them to Kazimierz…
—
Meanwhile, as Noah received intelligence from the Shieldless League, Manner also encountered an uninvited guest.
"…Yo!"
"…."
"Don't make such a bitter face, as if my appearance is a bother to you. Weren't we quite good friends before?"
"That depends on your definition of 'good friends.'"
Manner closed his eyes, a little headache. The man who appeared before him looked quite frivolous, carrying two swords, with dark skin, clearly a man accustomed to wind and sun. At this moment, he waved his hand enthusiastically, "You really don't hold back, do you? An old brother comes to find you, and this is how you treat him? Is Kazimierz not big on hospitality?"
"It mainly depends on the quality of the guest." Manner was stopped by this guy on his way home. Maria's match was in the afternoon, and if possible, Manner really didn't want to get entangled with the person in front of him any longer. "And also what the guest is here for."
"…Don't be in a hurry, actually, my visit isn't necessarily all bad. Maybe there's even good news." The other party patted Manner's shoulder, "I've also watched your niece's match. Your Nearl Family family Knights are indeed extraordinary, just not as flamboyant as you were back then. She seems a bit shy."
"…I'm leaving."
"Hehehe, don't rush." The other party grabbed Manner's shoulder, "I promise, you absolutely won't regret letting me finish."
"…Speak."
"Be careful of the Howling Guard."
"…?"
Manner stopped, turned around, and then frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I did some investigating for you. To be honest, I didn't expect it at first… Wasn't there a Knight who died from injuries in that melee the other day?"
"I heard he was cremated. What about it?"
"I swapped that body." The man said with a smile, "And guess what? I found a familiar doctor to investigate specifically. That person was indeed severely injured, but it wasn't fatal. The person who attacked didn't intend to kill him. The technique was very precise, completely avoiding vital points. And the real cause of that guy's death was poisoning."
"And then?"
"Because I found it very strange, I simply asked someone to sneak out the weapon from the investigation team—hoh!—and guess what? His weapon was coated with Stone source art dust. If someone were to be stabbed with it… tsk tsk tsk."
As soon as the man finished speaking, Manner turned around. A fierce killing intent, just like in the past, appeared on his face, reminding the man for a moment of that young master bathed in a rain of light.
"Doesn't this method seem very familiar?" The man just smiled, speaking as if reminiscing about the past. "I still remember the name of that girl who always protected your niece. Wasn't it us who found her back then? What was her name, Noah?"
"You'd better get to the point now, Tolan." Manner's patience was running out. Or rather, upon hearing this, he already knew who the assassin's target was.
"Alright, this is the point… That Knight originally wasn't qualified to participate in that melee, and his points came from the Plastic Knight. And the ones who transferred these points were the Howling Guard… or rather, certain people cooperating with the Howling Guard."
Tolan. Kashi raised his hand, "I followed the clues—and guess what? I actually discovered that the upper echelons of the Howling Guard have dealings with Letanian people."
"…Letania."
"I've told you everything I know. What are you going to do next? Or… could we, for once, cooperate?"
Tolan looked at Manner's profile. Just like in the past, or rather… he finally saw that expression again.
That expression, full of indignation.
Leave of Absence
Got a cold—
Plus, I have a part-time job today.
Taking a leave today, will see how I feel tonight. If I recover, there will be an update.
That's all!
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