Chapter 308: The Loyal Dog and the Fierce Dog (4K Bonus 98 99)

The attendant Douglas stood before the sand table, his expression grim, his hands clasped behind his back tightening and relaxing repeatedly.

"Eight mid- to high-tier Shadow Daggers died within a minute… now there are eight more monsters to deal with here, tsk!"

He lowered his gaze, his mind flashing through suspect profiles.

"Which group of outsiders? Which of the previous ones had this kind of power?"

"Was it the poachers banished by the Sunset Forest? Or those sailors claiming to have found the Pirate King's ruins?"

"…Could it be that slave merchant?"

He suddenly recalled a suspicious figure—a mysterious slave merchant who had never shown his face.

"She only revealed high-tier strength, but Stilla made me pay special attention to her… if she's a Legend, then it's certainly possible."

"Or perhaps a new outsider slipped in silently—but why would they hide themselves on purpose?"

"Ordinary Legends can't detect changes inside the city; even if they enter, they won't notice, only slowly being assimilated by the ritual."

"What exactly…"

Douglas pondered, then a flash of insight suddenly pierced his eyes.

No—there's another possibility!

"Unless they're extremely cautious, intended to stay low-key from the start, and came here with malice in mind."

Yes.

Douglas's expression shifted slightly, his lips pressed tight, appearing even more grim.

He continued analyzing along this line, speculating on the truth behind this possibility.

"And for a Legend-level force to hide… what is their purpose? Sabotage? Or assassination?"

If a Legend truly infiltrated here, his goal certainly wouldn't be simple.

Sabotage is petty, beneath notice, and not worth assigning a Legend to carry out.

Douglas leaned more toward the latter.

They're here to kill!

"If it's assassination, then who's the target? Me? Other Legends? Or… Stilla?"

He furrowed his brow, pondering what this guess would mean if true.

While Douglas was thinking, the other person in the room, after hesitating, looked at his expression and ventured cautiously: "My lord, how should we report this situation to the High Mother?"

The seductive, scantily clad dark elf woman swallowed hard, trembling: "The deaths of eight Shadow Daggers… the High Mother will surely rage…"

After the previous series of civil wars, the Mor clan has suffered heavy losses, with significant casualties within the clan.

Coupled with several Legends defecting and fleeing, the remaining Legends are few, most busy improving their strength or training abroad.

Mid- to high-tier practitioners are the backbone of the clan—talent that cannot be lost lightly.

And now, eight mid- to high-tier assassins, carefully cultivated and selected, vanished without a trace, not even stirring a ripple.

Especially now, at this critical moment when the High Mother is holding her ritual—this is practically spitting in her face.

How could this dark elf not be anxious?

She spoke now, hoping Douglas would devise a way to shift blame onto someone else.

After a long silence, Douglas exhaled deeply and slowly shook his head: "No, we don't need to tell her yet—I'll handle it."

The woman froze, glancing at Douglas with surprise.

This man, usually the master of framing others with conspiracies—why was he choosing to take the blame himself?

Had he changed?

Yet despite Douglas's words, the woman didn't believe him—she feared he planned to pin the blame on her.

"But even if we hide it for now, she'll eventually find out… and if the High Mother discovers it, the consequences might…"

At the thought of that possibility, she shuddered involuntarily, a chill running down her spine.

"My lord, I think you should let someone else inform the High Mother first?"

The woman needed Douglas to give a clear guarantee so she could distance herself.

Douglas still shook his head, speaking coolly: "No need. Set this aside for now—deal with it after the ritual."

"But…"

"I said! Don't tell her!!!"

After being pressed repeatedly, Douglas finally snapped, roaring and glaring at the relentless woman.

Facing the fury of a Legend, the woman panicked—her high-tier strength useless, her legs trembling slightly.

"L-Lord? What is this…?"

Why are you so agitated?

"Cough."

Realizing he'd lost composure, Douglas cleared his throat, suppressing his aura, and placed his hands on her shoulders.

He locked eyes with her, speaking slowly in as gentle a tone as he could: "This is our failure. We must make amends. Do you understand?"

The woman nodded frantically, bewildered by what had come over this man.

"Good. Then, what should we do?"

Douglas nodded and asked: "Does the High Mother truly care about the deaths of those people?"

"She doesn't care!"

Douglas lowered his voice, whispering: "Understand—our High Mother is the finest ruler! The most evil, the most insane Mor Matriarch!"

His tone brimmed with fervent adoration, praising the High Mother's cruelty and heartlessness.

"Right now, she cares only whether the ritual succeeds—everything else is irrelevant!"

"We must do better! We must make the ritual flawless, so the High Mother is satisfied—and so we can lessen our guilt."

"And when that moment comes, we shall receive her blessing!"

Under Douglas's encouragement, the woman's mood gradually shifted from unease to excitement, and finally to fanaticism!

She nodded vigorously, saying excitedly: "Yes! I understand! All for our lord! All for the Great Matriarch!"

Seeing the woman in such a state, Douglas nodded in satisfaction, released her shoulders, patted her, and said:

"Very good. I have high hopes for you. Don't worry — even if something goes wrong, I will extract you from it. You will be completely uninvolved in this matter."

The woman licked her lips, lowered her head gratefully: "Thank you, my lord Douglas. I will not disappoint you."

She knew that she was being cultivated by the other party as a trusted confidant.

Just like back then when the Great Matriarch chose him to become her attendant, to become her most loyal confidant!

An opportunity.

She had waited for several hundred years, and finally this chance to squeeze into the inner circle had come.

"My lord! I'll go handle it right now, suppress this news completely. I'll do this personally — I won't let a single person know, absolutely no information will leak!"

Douglas was quite pleased with her quick-wittedness, and nodded: "Mm, you think well. Go."

After receiving the affirmation, the woman excitedly turned around and strode outside, full of confidence.

After so many years, finally it's my turn…

Hiss.

A strange, soft sound interrupted her joy, and a bizarre stabbing pain caused her expression to twist slightly.

"…Huh?"

She lowered her head and saw the crimson blade tip piercing out from her chest.

"My lord Douglas?"

The woman turned her head and saw Douglas's expressionless face.

Why?

In response to her confusion, Douglas merely said lightly: "You said it correctly — this matter must be handled personally."

"I will handle it personally."

"And now, you too are completely uninvolved in this matter."

Thud.

The woman's corpse collapsed, wearing a face full of incomprehension, staring at the murderer with unclosed eyes in death.

Why did you do this?

"…"

Douglas lowered his eyes and said lightly: "Stella has gone mad. She has completely become Miss Xie Shen's running dog, forgetting the glory of the family."

"I absolutely will not let her sacrifice the glory of Moore to that despicable Miss Xie Shen."

He murmured, then bent down, picked up the woman's corpse, pushed open the door, and walked out.

Thud.

He tossed the corpse outside the door, and said lightly to the bewildered guards: "She betrayed my lord Stella."

No further explanation — just this one cold sentence, and the woman's crime was completely sealed and concluded.

The guards exchanged glances, then nodded in understanding.

"Understood!"

Douglas did not explain further, and said indifferently: "Send half of you to dispose of her. All her property and slaves are to be confiscated as well."

"According to the rules, half goes to the clan, and the remaining half you split among yourselves. After that, there's no need to send new people for the time being."

"I'm going to the bell tower. Half of you stay here and guard the place — no one is allowed to enter."

The guards nodded repeatedly, bowing respectfully.

"Yes!"

No one suspected Douglas.

Because he was an attendant — and moreover, a loyal hound trained by the Great Matriarch herself.

Time and again, his feats had proven that within the entire Moore Clan, no one was more loyal than him.

Absolutely no one would doubt his loyalty to Stella.

……

The City Lord's residence.

"Heh heh."

Stella was still in her half-reclining posture, using the bone in her hand to tease the giant hound beneath the bed.

She swung it left and right, only tossing the bone out after the giant hound glared at her in annoyance.

Watching the giant hound greedily gnaw on the bone, she sighed: "Such a good boy, such a good boy."

Roar!

The giant hound let out a roar, angrily bit through the bone in its mouth, and swallowed it whole.

Watching this scene, Stella smiled, tracing her fingertips over the skin of her own arm, and murmured to herself:

"Some dogs are obedient loyal hounds, the master's most faithful servants — the most lovable."

"But some dogs are vicious dogs, disobedient, always unwilling in their hearts, with One's Own Thoughts, heh heh~"

"What do you think, my good doggy?"

Saying so, she raised her head, extended her palm toward the vicious dog, wanting to stroke the top of its head.

"Stella, don't go too far!"

Just before her fingertip drew close, the black giant hound spoke in a muffled, booming voice: "You used His power to turn me into this state — don't think I've really become a dog!"

It bared its fangs, glaring furiously at the damned dark elf, and growled low: "If you humiliate me again, I'll kill you even if it means breaking the contract!"

Facing the vicious hound's threat, Stella appeared unusually calm, her smile blooming like a flower: "Kill me? Hehe~ The contract isn't fulfilled — do you really think you can do it?"

Her eyes brimmed with mockery as she sighed: "You can't~ If you could, you'd have done it long ago, wouldn't you?"

Hmph!

The black hound let out an angry snort, lowered its head in resentment, unwilling to pay the bastard any more attention.

"Anyway, the contract clearly states: within three hundred years, I'll only step in for you three times, and then you'll return my freedom! After killing those bastards, only two remain!"

"You'd better let me act soon, or time will be up, hmph."

It had endured over two hundred years of humiliation, with only the last few decades remaining.

Stella收敛 her enchanting smile, gave a cool little laugh, and said lightly: "Don't worry — under the witness of the gods, no one can break their oath."

The black hound growled low, scoffing disdainfully: "Hmph! You better be! Don't let me catch you pulling any tricks! Otherwise… the great Karo will fight you to the death!"

Roar!

It howled furiously, the force shaking the entire room without cease.

Stella gazed at it for quite a while, then slowly rose, stepped down from the bed, and came to stand before the vicious hound.

"Since you're so eager, how about this."

"Go help me deal with one more person. When you come back, I'll let you finish the last mission too."

The vicious hound hadn't expected its resistance to actually bear fruit this time, and hurriedly pressed: "Really!?"

"Who? Speak quickly — who do you want me to take care of!?"

Suddenly, it said warily: "It couldn't be your sister, could it? Let me tell you — the contract doesn't recognize impossible tasks!"

Go to Mist Monastery to break someone out of prison?

Is that something a normal being could come up with?

That bunch of Bai Chi who went before didn't come back — not a single one!

Whoever wants to go, go ahead!

Stella, meanwhile, laughed in delight, shaking her head: "Relax, of course I wouldn't give you an impossible mission."

"Not Svanje, then who are you after?" the hound asked, puzzled.

In this Maragas, is there really anyone else who needs dealing with?

"Douglas." The great matriarch of the Moore Clan spoke the name of her most loyal subordinate with a smile.

"The ritual has already begun to operate, I can't leave here lightly, and he's already lost his usefulness."

"Kill him, then make him the first legendary-grade Sacrifice."

"This ritual must thoroughly please my lord!"

The giant black hound fell silent, and only after a long while frowned: "You really are an evil bastard."

Stella smiled, gave a slight nod, accepting the评价, and said cheerfully: "Thank you for the compliment."

"Betrayal — this is the glory of the Moore Clan. The blood of betrayal flows forever in our veins."

"Everyone betrays."

"Slaves betray masters, masters betray slaves — no one, ever, escapes it!"

……

……

Beneath the bell tower.

Herbert looked at Svanje, his brow furrowing slightly, and said slowly: "Wait — what did you just say?"

"We've come all this way, and you're saying you want to go alone?"

"What kind of joke is that?"

(End of chapter)