Chapter 81: Investigation Team

Night in Degeng City, inner city district.

Viscount Bill, dressed in a maid's outfit, took off his own clothes and changed into pajamas.

He walked to the large bed, looked at the vulgar sheets and pillow, and felt anger in his heart.

Those monsters had completely destroyed the manor that Viscount Bill had inherited for over a hundred years, forcing him to temporarily reside in the villa that once belonged to his lover.

The furniture in the villa might appear extremely luxurious to ordinary people, but as a viscount whose taste has been refined by high society, Bill felt it was like living in a pigsty.

He thought of Rosa Castle, which he had visited during the day; even though age had made him more contemplative, a trace of greed still rose in his heart.

When the messenger he sent returned from the Royal City, having stripped the title of Count of Rosa, who said he couldn't sit in that castle? As for Ke Litte, just a little girl—what right does she have to guard such vast property and herself? He has ten thousand filthy methods to make her submit! A hint of a smile curled at Bill's mouth, when a faint, barely audible muffled hum came from outside the window.

He furrowed his brow, coughed to clear his throat, and with authority said, "Guard, what happened?"

A long time passed outside with no answer, and the old man's heart was filled with a bad premonition.

He hurried to the side of the desk, took out a Ring from it—the High‑grade Teleportation Ring he had bought at great cost; should any misfortune occur, the ring would instantly transport it one kilometer away.

But just as he was about to put on the Ring, a gust of cold wind flashed by, and he felt his fingers go cold, as if some liquid were gushing out.

He slowly lowered his head and, stunned, discovered that the four fingers of his right hand, except the thumb, had all been severed, falling to the ground, with massive streams of blood gushing out.

Ahhhhhh!!!

The delayed pain traveled through his nerves, and Bill let out a mournful wail.

A gray‑skinned finger reached from behind him to the front, swaying left and right.

Shh, your noise excites me.

A sweet, cloying, cold voice came from behind, tinged with uncontrollable delight; Bill's whole body tensed, he forced back the pain and dared not make a sound, slowly turning his head to look.

It was a Drow, massive in build, yet the shadows allowed him to move stealthily; his body was sheathed in black armor, but he had deliberately removed his helmet, reveling in the pleasure of showing his face to the victim.

"W‑who are you! What do you want?" Bill tried to stay calm, saying shakily, his body trembling continuously, the loss of blood making his aged body verge on shock.

Lao Luoan pressed the black sharp sword in his hand up to Bill's face, smiling cruelly.

"Who am I? I am the victim's henchman, I am the pleasure of pain, I am the death god of the night."

"Don't try to escape, Bill," the Drow captain said with pity, "All members of the Bill family except you have already been killed by me."

He closed his eyes joyfully, savoring Bill's sorrow and fear: "Ah, the master has fallen into slumber; all matters here are decided by us, this feeling is truly wonderful."

He opened his eyes, looked at Bill, withdrew his smile, and from his lofty height declared, "What I have decided is to eradicate all of you surface ants who covet his treasure, leaving none behind."

The sharp black sword flashed away, leaving only a solar‑eclipse‑like blackness in Bill's retina, inescapably devouring his soul.

In the final instant of his life, he had only one question.

He? Who is he? Lao Luoan stepped on the aged head, gave a cold glance, then vanished into the night.

The night was still long, and the blood of another family was still summoning him. — The next day, the bloodshed shocked all of Degeng City; the Bill family and the Tanger family were stripped of their titles overnight, citizens gossiped endlessly, yet the nobles remained utterly silent.

It was a struggle for power; Bill and Tanger had mistakenly overestimated their own cards, while the newly appointed Countess possessed even more, and that was all.

After this, Ke Litte's path to the countship proceeded unhindered, and the nobles also keenly noticed that the interests once belonging to the Bill and Tanger families had all been taken over within a week by Baron Ant.

"The Count's white gloves," the nobles understood perfectly.

At this moment, the "Count", with a face full of impatience, sat in the office, irritably handling various decrees and documents.

"Viscount Barau of Barau Town seeks Degeng City's military assistance against a Monster attack?" Ke Litte pondered for a moment, then wrote the characters 'Approved' on the document.

"Baron of Kate Village applies to restore the first‑night right? What a beautiful dream," Ke Litte sneered, tossing the document into the trash.

She casually tossed the pen, sighed, and leaned back onto the soft leather chair.

The count's seat was not as interesting as she imagined; dealing daily with the trivial affairs of the towns and villages under her command made her deeply miss her past adventures as the Golden Iris.

"I don't know how long until the master awakens."

The girl looked out the window and sighed; all matters big and small within Degeng City required deliberation among her, Luosi Lien, and Lao Luoan before a decision could be made, and often the trio's differing opinions caused prolonged delays in action.

She actually did not agree with Luosi Lien's method of manipulating the people's will, and she loathed the filthy, blood‑stained scent of Lao Luoan, but in the end, the three served the same master. All was for the benefit of the great White Mystery, a principle they all followed.

"Dong—dong—."

The main door was knocked, interrupting the girl's reverie; Luosi Lien entered, his face solemn, and said, "They've arrived."

Ke Litte was startled for a moment, then nodded, rose from behind the desk, and left the office.

In the reception hall of Rosa Castle, the party had been waiting for a long time.

They were an investigation team from the Royal Capital, sent by order of the King of Yinbu Tu to verify whether the truth of the matter contained any doubts.

Leading the team was an elder clad in a white robe; when he saw Ke Litte, his eyes lit up, he stepped over Luosi Lien, who was about to shake his hand, and greeted cheerfully.

"So you are the rumored Golden Iris, I have heard of you."

Ke Litte smiled while shaking hands, and with her gaze warned the pale‑faced Luosi Lien standing behind the elder.

"You must be Mr. Moor, the prophet from the Royal Capital—welcome to Degeng City. I have arranged for servants to ready the rooms; please stay at Rosa Castle throughout the investigation. I hope to extend a proper host's courtesy."

Ke Litte's words pleased the elder; as a level‑12 prophecy master, Moor generally enjoys top‑tier treatment in any city of Yinbu Tu.

After the meeting concluded, the elder got straight to the point: "Count of Rosa, my main purpose in coming is to locate the dragon that once saved the city; do you have any leads?"

Ke Litte paused, then politely asked, "May I know why the Royal Capital is investigating that dragon's information?"

The elder smiled and waved his hand, saying, "This concerns royal secrets; Count, you'd better not pry. All you need to know is that the royal family bears no ill will; on the contrary, they merely wish to find that prince and consult him on sealing the demons."

Luosi Lien squinted; the words seemed to imply the royal family knew some inside details of this demon‑sacrifice incident.

Unfortunately the master has already fallen asleep, and they remain clueless about what happened.

But publicly, they would never admit any connection with Naimi Xisi, so Ke Litte shook her head and denied, "I'm not aware; in fact, the dragon vanished after the incident, and it is said a massive black cocoon appeared in the square, sinking underground after the incident. Are you investigating that?"

Moor nodded and said, "Since that black cocoon has disappeared, there's no need to pursue it. As the Count is unaware, I'll leave it be for now."

The investigation team left the reception hall, and Ke Litte and Luosi Lien stared at each other, unsure of what had transpired.

"They… seem to know what's inside that black thing?" Ke Litte hesitated.

"Moreover, they think the master also knows…" Luosi Lien added.

He snorted coldly, stared at the closed reception hall doors, as if looking through the wall at the investigation team outside: "Let them investigate; the master has already returned to the underground lair, where countless monsters guard his slumber. If they seek death, let them have it." — Returning to his room, Moor immediately produced a crystal ball and ordered his apprentice to inscribe a pentagram on the floor for himself.

He sat at the center of the pentagram, began preparing the spell, and he must try to locate that great dragon; at least three cities within the kingdom have already uncovered concrete knowledge of the Abyssal sacrifice ritual, and the old shadows lurking underground may return at any moment.

"How exactly did you seal 'Fei Bo La Er'?" Mo Er sighed softly.

The royal family must be prepared for this; that which is buried underground should simply remain in this state.

He raised the crystal ball in his hand, a dazzling white light flashed from his eyes, he softly chanted the incantation, his spirit roamed the Multiverse, seeking those mysterious beings and begging them for information.

Five Ring Divination spell—【Otherworldly Insight】! The spell's power quickly linked to a powerful otherworldly entity; Mo Er was unsure whether the counterpart was an angel, a demon, or even a deity, but he knew the only thing he had to do now was to ask.

"Great otherworldly being, Mage Mo Er humbly petitions for an answer—where is the silver dragon that solved Degeng City's disaster now?"

The crystal ball's Light Screen turned into a swath of azure, then began swirling like a vortex; a deep voice sounded from within:

"Your prayer cannot be fulfilled."

Mo Er furrowed his brows; had he unfortunately linked to a weak otherworldly entity?

【Otherworldly Insight】 basically only connects with those extremely powerful quasi‑gods or higher, but some unlucky Mages waste Spell Slots only to find themselves linked to a lesser demon, or worse, a mischievous fairy.

So Mo Er, to verify whether he had also become one of those unlucky Mages, continued: "Why is that?"

A low chuckle echoed from the blue vortex, and a scent of fresh seawater drifted out.

"Because he is protected by a mighty divine power."

(End of chapter)