Chapter 854: Death Letter

"You want to become a Consul?"

Silver Star Duke showed a hint of surprise on his face, then said somewhat puzzled, "You even gave up the chance to enter the Supreme Council, yet you still think about becoming a Consul, sinking deeper into the mire?"

"It's nothing, I just want to experience it."

Lei En explained very casually.

Storm Queen made a disdainful face, "What's there to experience? A Consul is just a puppet of the Supreme Council, worrying about so many affairs; it's more comfortable to be a real titled noble."

"You don't understand."

Lei En smiled inwardly and said nothing more.

"You're still too young; once you become one you'll regret it, it's a total waste of time," Silver Star Duke hummed twice, thinking Lei En lacked experience and didn't understand, believing the Consul title was impressive, so he wanted to taste the flavor of power.

Storm Queen had a similar thought.

Lei En glanced at Anxiwodasi beside him; the teacher's face showed no expression, and his demeanor revealed nothing.

Silver Star Duke, recalling something, asked, "Lei En, you've probably had the idea of becoming a Consul for several years, right?"

"Yes," Lei En nodded.

"Do you think Kaisitong will know?" Silver Star Duke asked again.

Lei En immediately understood her meaning; his preparation to run for Consul wasn't really a secret. In recent years he frequently contacted Empire legislators from the Mo Du faction, building a network, and anyone with intent could guess some of it.

Genieus was even one of the earliest to know, and several of his close aides must have known as well.

A secret known by more than two people is no longer a secret.

Kaisitong surely has a spy beside Genieus; if he truly is the mastermind behind the Consul assassination, he could easily obtain that information from Interior Minister Ambur.

Then the revenge operation could be a bait released by Kaisitong; as long as Lei En wants to become a Consul, he must take part.

The chance of traps in Banbei City is even higher!

Anxiwodasi said calmly, "Just now in the Supreme Council, the one who proposed reopening Consul election registration was Kaisitong."

"TimKainanMaster didn't object?" Lei En asked.

He had found it odd before; if the election couldn't be opened, there are only two candidates now, Otiluk is practically the fixed next Consul. Logically, Tim*Kenan shouldn't agree; this harms the interests of the Balance faction.

"He opposed, but it was useless," Anxiwodasi said without further explanation.

Lei En understood as soon as he thought about it.

Kaisitong's proposal was certainly supported by the Naiser faction, while the Balance faction relied on only two or three votes, fundamentally unable to block the resolution.

He was curious about the teacher's attitude.

If the teacher and the Mo Du faction support Tim*Kenan, and the election remains closed, his own plan would undoubtedly be delayed ten years.

From the outcome, the Mo Du faction clearly passed the proposal.

"The teacher also voted in favor?" Lei En asked with implication.

"Obviously!"

Storm Queen, unaware of the details, thought Lei En was being foolish, "How could Anxiwodasi possibly oppose? Otherwise Oritikbai would grab a Consul title. As long as the election reopens, the next Consul will surely be from our Mo Du faction."

"That's right," Lei En said, glancing at the teacher whose stance was ambiguous.

"I just now couldn't figure out what Kaisitong meant," Silver Star Duke realized, "So he was setting a trap for you."

Then she said gleefully, "Lei En, do you still dare to go to Banbei City?"

"What is there to be afraid of."

Lei En sneered, "I will not only go to Banbei City, but also achieve the greatest merit, indisputably becoming Consul."

"Truly fearless of death..."

Storm Queen muttered, but her eyes were full of admiration; Lei En's style of acting when challenged, never backing down, fit her temperament perfectly, "How can we miss such a lively battle? I will also bring the Red Robe Legion to fight."

"Delairza, what about you?" Storm Queen provocatively looked at Silver Star Duke.

"Hmph..."

Silver Star Duke, unwilling to appear weak, "Although this doesn't match my plan, I've prepared for so long that there's no reason to abandon halfway. The Secret Fire Guard and the Silver Armor Knights can join the battle at any time."

The Empire's troops deployed were more than ten times the scale of her personal plan; there's no need to rush to raid Banbei City and retreat. There will be ample time to loot, yielding greater profit; even if many forces scramble, the final loot will still be of considerable value.

Neither of the two witches mentioned deploying a floating city.

The Empire has eight floating cities; they are rarely mobilized, and one floating city suffices to deal with a Gupata Kingdom.

In the earlier prophecy vision, only Flaniss Floating City was seen.

This shows that Tim*Kenan will deploy his own floating city, and the other Holy Soul Wizards' floating cities need not join the fun.

"Weizelan will not participate," Anxiwodasi declared.

Lei En and the two witches were unsurprised.

This incident had little to do with Weizelan, and Anxiwodasi, lacking territory and economic base, couldn't raise a private force. In fact, among the Supreme Council's Twelve Holy Soul Wizards, only five possess exclusive Supernatural Legions.

GreyEagle Duke's "Eight-Leaf Hand"; Hong Shi Duke's "Crimson Flame Sword Guard";

KangJieladeGreatSage's "Golem Legion"; Storm Queen's "Red Robe Legion"; and Silver Star Duke's "Silver Armor Knights".

The Weizelan Wizards' strength is undeniable, but they are too few; tasks requiring many troops—such as occupation, dispersed operations, raids, scouting, patrols—are beyond the Wizard Corps' capability.

Members of the Supernatural Legion can be treated as expendables.

But the Wizard Corps cannot.

If a battle costs a few witches, it's heartbreaking and takes a long time to replenish.

The Wizard Corps is like a tremendously powerful, battle‑turning, decisive superweapon, but it is extremely costly, requiring meticulous upkeep; a defeat would be hard to recover from, so it cannot be used lightly unless absolutely necessary.

Lei En and the three Holy Soul Wizards continued their discussion, focusing on being outside Banbei City and guarding against Kaisitong's hidden hand.

For this, they also discussed several contingency plans.

A little over an hour later, the three Holy Soul Wizards simultaneously received a magical message, their expressions changing, and Anxiwodasi said, "Dubustan has committed suicide at home."

Lei En was also startled.

Du Bositan was Ge Niu Si's chief of staff and also the person they trusted most in life; I had originally planned to meet Du Bositan afterwards, perhaps to obtain useful information, but unexpectedly they died.

And it was suicide!

After the incident in the morning, Du Bositan was summoned by the Justice Church for questioning, which was also a form of indirect protection. Until GreyEagle, the Duke, temporarily held the Consul's authority, he was called back to He Palace.

"Are you sure it's suicide?" Lei En couldn't help but ask.

"The Justice Church reached that conclusion after examining the scene," Anxiwodasi said, their face also looking displeased.

What a useless person!

Lei En cursed inwardly, the name of the Justice Church was indeed terrifying, but in the few times I dealt with them, I never saw them accomplish anything.

These holy swordsmen are very strong in combat and excel at dealing with evil demons, but they are woefully amateurish at investigation and case solving.

The Public Security Bureau and the Demon‑Extermination Squad were originally a good fit, but both lack sufficient strength; handling ordinary evil‑god cultists and monsters is fine, yet when it comes to legendary‑level or even Saint Rank strongmen, they can only stare helplessly and have no say.

The Empire lacks any institution that possesses great power, combines investigation, interrogation, intelligence, and law‑enforcement authority, and operates independently, answering only to the Supreme Administrator.

There once was one called the "Hand of the Emperor".

But over a thousand years ago, after the Supreme Council was established, the Hand of the Emperor was disbanded.

Successive Consuls, when faced with major incidents, often felt constrained, and none dared to change the status quo, not even daring to raise the issue; the reason needs no further explanation.

"When I become Consul, I will definitely reestablish the Hand of the Emperor."

"But it will need a new name."

Lei En made a quiet resolution.

He had no interest in going to Du Bositan's house to investigate; whether it was genuine suicide or forced suicide was now irrelevant.

The mastermind behind the scenes must have erased all clues completely.

The three Holy Soul Wizards discussed for a while but reached no conclusion, and each went their separate ways.

Lei En said farewell to the teacher and teleported to Marlinge Manor.

Viola was still waiting for him to dine together; after dinner the two entered the study to talk, and he told Viola everything he knew. The half‑elf said with some worry, "Lei En, you really have to go to Banbei City? That's the Duke Hong Shi…"

She couldn't imagine how she would survive if she provoked such a terrifying enemy as Duke Hong Shi.

"I can't not go."

Lei En shook his head, wrapped his arms around the half‑elf's slender waist, "You don't need to worry too much; I already have a countermeasure. No matter how powerful Kailsi Tong is, he's just a mortal; he's not Augulevi Master, and in the Prime Material Plane, no one can kill me."

"Hmm…"

Viola was about to speak further when she saw Lei En frown and couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?"

"Hold on."

Lei En's attention synced to Gotham City.

At the highland fortress, Falanjiasika suddenly arrived at the teleportation array; there were four Extreme Warriors and two Thundercast Celestial Soldiers guarding. She approached one Thundercast Celestial Soldier and whispered, "Lord, I have urgent matters to report to the Lord."

She could not see the face beneath the golden mask.

Lei En had instructed her that if there was an extremely urgent matter, she could ask any Thundercast Celestial Soldier, and they would locate him.

From beneath the golden mask, Lei En's voice sounded, "Falanjiasika, what is it?"

Falanjiasika listened to the familiar voice; although slightly different, the overwhelmingly oppressive aura was unmistakably that of the Lord, making her realize that she was speaking with Lei En himself, and she was instantly surprised, not understanding how this was possible.

She suppressed her curiosity and quickly replied, "Lord, Ms. Aixilei wishes to meet you as soon as possible."

"Finance Minister Aixilei?" Lei En retorted.

"Yes," Falanjiasika said swiftly, "She is at Nuosiruier's house, in a very dangerous situation, but cannot reach you; she could only send a magical message to Dean Margarita, which I then relay."

Her tone was very uneasy, fearing that Lei En would be angry about this.

This was her first time contacting the Ailatusa Academy since arriving by Lei En's side, not of her own volition, but Dean Margarita strongly demanded it; Aixilei is too important to the academy, and regardless of her strength or position, they cannot stand by and watch her get into trouble.

Moreover, Aixilei had often looked after him in the past, and their relationship was good.

A few seconds later, the Thundercast Celestial Soldier said, "Understood."

Then it fell silent.

Falanjiasika let out a sigh of relief, hearing that Lei En had already agreed; after she saluted the Thundercast Celestial Soldier, she withdrew from the teleportation hall.

In the study of Marlinge Manor, Lei En stood up and said, "I need to step out right away."

"Alright."

Viola saw that Lei En had urgent business, asked nothing further, and simply reminded, "Go ahead, be careful."

"Wait for my return," Lei En whispered a gentle kiss on her lips, then turned and vanished.

The scene before him shifted.

Lei En instantly teleported to the skies above Nuosiruier; his rainbow‑light cloak rendered him invisible as he looked down on the city, instantly spotting the Fubei Deng Castle, the majestic Rike Palace, the towering statues of the Goddess and of Truth, and He Palace.

It was already past ten at night, and He Palace was still brightly lit.

The patrols of the Rike Guard Palace were three times larger than usual, and Nuosiruier had imposed a curfew, losing its former bustle.

Aixilei's residence, not far from the Imperial Palace, was an exquisite, luxurious courtyard.

Lei En observed from several thousand meters away; Aixilei's home had two squads of Rike Guard, yet they gave her no sense of security. The All‑Seeing Eye looked through the roof and saw Aixilei pacing in her meditation chamber, appearing restless.

Beyond that, there was no other danger.

At least it could be confirmed that Aixilei's residence was not an enemy‑set trap.

But Lei En remained cautious, immediately casting Mirror Image; ten mirror images appeared beside him, each instantly becoming invisible.

He sent one of the mirror images to Aixilei's meditation chamber.

"Who?"

Aixilei sensed the magical disturbance, instantly raising an icy shield around her body, and a ball of flame burst formed in her hand, staring intently at the spot where Lei En had teleported, her expression extremely vigilant.

The mirror image of Lei En revealed itself and asked, "Ms. Aixilei, what brings you to find me?"

The female wizard instantly rejoiced, "Chairman Lei En!"

"You finally came." She let out a sigh, withdrew the Flame Burst Technique from her hand, "I knew that Fa Lan Jia Si Ka would definitely be able to contact you."

Lei En nodded.

He was very curious what could frighten a level-18 Disaster Mage like this, even though the surroundings seemed quite safe.

"Let's get to business, I don't have much time." The Eight-Ring Mirror Image Technique can only last fifteen minutes.

Ai Xi Lei's expression grew serious, "Chairman Lei En, you have already heard about Du Bo Si Tan's suicide, right?" After receiving Lei En's confirmation, she whispered, "Du Bo Si Tan had long foreseen his own death, so he left a letter, having a servant placed in my household deliver it to me."

She took out the letter paper: "Chairman Lei En, please have a look."

Continue writing Chapter Two, damn, looks like I'll be another half hour late, admit the mistake, don't get slapped!

(End of chapter)