Chapter 67: The Shadow King Arcanis Disha
It is a pity that the Great Benefactor Bransi is no weakling either. He reacts swiftly, stepping aside as scales appear on his face, striking the dagger with his forearm, creating a sound of metal clashing.
After blocking the ambush, the Great Benefactor Bransi draws his longsword. It is a bone sword, quite fresh, as if just pulled from a spine, with a web of tiny blood vessels covering the blade. Like a swift shadow, it attacks the assassin soldier.
In the blink of an eye, the Great Benefactor Bransi has turned defense into offense.
The assassin soldier deftly retreats a large step, seemingly about to escape the range of the spine sword. But the spine sword lunges forward like a venomous snake, dashing towards the assassin soldier’s forehead with lightning speed.
Just as the spine sword is about to pierce his brain, he tilts his head, narrowly dodging the fatal blow. The blade grazes his cheek, and his appearance shatters like a broken mirror, fragments scattering and dissipating.
In the blink of an eye, the assassin soldier has changed his appearance. A pale-skinned, short, lean man who is as tall as Jima appears before the crowd.
He has a head of silver-white hair, and his green almond-shaped eyes are filled with malice. He wears an excessive black mask, revealing his half-long pointed ears, indicating his rare half-elven heritage.
He is a half-elf!
Some scholars have always believed that there is reproductive isolation between elves and humans, as there are almost no half-elves in a continent overflowing with hybrids.
A shallow wound streaks across the cheek of the half-elf assassin, blood flowing out. But the blood contains white eggs of some sort.
This is the ability of the Great Benefactor Bransi’s spine sword.
“Oh, good reaction, hee hee hee,” the half-elf assassin cannot help but laugh, unconcerned about the bloodstains on his face, “You guys are hilarious, a bunch of idiots.”
At this moment, everyone finally reacts.
“There’s an assassin! Protect the Great Benefactor!”
Boss Fulis is the first to shout, rushing to the side of the Great Benefactor Bransi.
Chamberlain then circles around the side of the half-elf assassin as soldiers surge in from behind. George, unarmed, raises a pear tree wood chair as a weapon.
“Die!”
The Great Benefactor Bransi has no time for idle chatter; his legs spring like a coil, launching himself towards the half-elf assassin.
“Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet?”
The half-elf assassin crashes through the door, and as Bransi’s sword reaches its maximum distance, he springs towards the half-elf assassin’s chest.
The half-elf assassin transforms into black smoke in mid-air, and the sword thrust misses.
The door swings wide, revealing the body of the dead beautiful woman hanging beneath the tree.
The half-elf assassin sits on a branch, a gold coin rolling between his fingers, which he flicks into the air.
He laughs, bending over, and openly slashes the face of the corpse with his sharp dagger. The corpse’s face stretches into a large, painful grin.
The half-elf assassin says:
“She begged me not to touch her face, so I promised I’d wait until there were more people before I cut.”
Jima, witnessing the half-elf assassin’s actions, immediately plugs her ears with her fingers.
“Ahhhhhhh!!!”
Sure enough, a familiar soprano voice comes from behind.
The face of the Great Benefactor Bransi turns ashen.
His daughter is in love with beauty. If her unmade-up face is seen by outsiders, she would be unhappy all day. Now, he is surrounded by a group of people watching that butcher desecrating his daughter’s corpse!
He grits his teeth and shouts, “Get all the soldiers out! Extraordinary abilities users, come with me!”
He would rather reduce the odds of victory than allow others to desecrate his daughter’s image with their gazes!
Jima clutches her hat, watching George raise the pear tree wood chair, and follows the three into the garden.
Who would have thought that the genius warrior from the cathedral would actually wield a chair to fight alongside his enemies?
As Jima leaves with the crowd, she kindly shuts the door. As she closes it, she hears a hoarse male voice coming through.
“Let me introduce myself, I am Arcanis Disha, known as the Shadow King, hee hee ha ha ha. Killing your wife makes me very happy.”
After the door closes, a sound of fighting ensues, but it stops shortly thereafter.
The people in the living room exchange glances.
The pale-faced aristocratic woman says:
“Did the Great Benefactor win?”
“Most likely the person ran away,” Jima says.
“Impossible.” A soldier in a yellow robe responds, “Lord Chamberlain and the Great Benefactor work in perfect harmony; no one in Shalin City could be their enemy.”
As soon as he finishes speaking, the door is pulled open, and the iron-gray face of Chamberlain appears behind it.
Jima glances at the garden, only to see George empty-handed, the pear tree wood chair resting against a tree.
The Great Benefactor Bransi is severing the noose from his daughter’s corpse. He gently holds the mutilated body, with tears falling onto her gradually cold cheek.
As for the Shadow King Arcanis? There isn’t even a ghostly shadow.
“Turn your head away, what are you looking at?” Chamberlain says angrily, “Quickly inform the navy to search the nearby sea and inspect the guests, one by one! The assassin has the ability to transform into others!”
“Yes!”
The soldiers shout and leave.
The entire living room is suddenly much emptier, while the whole ship becomes lively again.
Four terrified aristocratic women, with their backs to the door, comfort each other.
Jima says, “Lord Chamberlain, we witnesses don’t need to be inspected, right?”
“Wait for the order from the Great Benefactor,” Chamberlain replies.
George then walks into the living room, the door leading to the garden closing behind him.
Jima asks, “What happened to that assassin called the Shadow King?”
George writes in response:
“He was seriously injured but turned into a shadow and disappeared, likely escaped.”
Jima looks at the aristocratic woman, who seems at a loss, and says:
“It seems we’ll unveil the mystery before the Great Benefactor returns.”
A doctor on the ship comes to check the wound on the aristocratic woman’s back, which looks like it was caused by a dagger. Not too deep, it avoided the vital points.
Strangely enough, the aristocratic woman had felt nothing until the blood soaked her clothes.
Moreover, she claims that she felt very tired after boarding the ship and went to rest in one of the cabins, which her servant corroborated.
But according to multiple testimonies, the aristocratic woman did indeed appear at the banquet; Stroud recalls, “I remember she played with a gold coin.”
At this moment, the door leading to the garden is pulled open. The Great Benefactor’s hands are covered in dirt; he looks somber and says:
“Thank you for your patience. I buried her in the garden she loved most in her lifetime. I always owed her; she adored this garden, every blade of grass was planted by her, yet I catered to the devil Kima by offering the garden for his pleasures. She cried for a long time when she found out. This time, I failed to protect her again.”
Jima’s expression darkens further.
George writes: “Please accept my condolences.”
The Great Benefactor Bransi says:
“Thank you. In you, I see the virtue and bravery of Sir Bartos. I was wrong about you, yet you fought alongside me. Now, you are a friend of mine, the Great Benefactor; I will remember your friendship, and feel free to ask for anything.”
George writes: “I want to find someone and need the assistance of someone who knows the residents of Shalin City well.”
The Great Benefactor Bransi looks at Boss Fulis and says:
“My friend needs help.”
Boss Fulis smiles at George and says:
“I’ll be happy to help you.”
Jima feels that George’s task progress suddenly increased. She has a feeling of being left behind.
With the friendship of the Great Benefactor, George should be able to complete the task quickly and take her away. That way, she cannot cling to George any longer, much less develop freely. As for her treasure? Most likely, it would default to the Great Benefactor, that pimp.
But she feels helpless, after all, she is just a mere bronze.
The Great Benefactor Bransi asks:
“Have you done your investigation?”
George nods, writing on paper. To demonstrate his importance to George, the Great Benefactor Bransi patiently waits for him to write and report.
“We’ve confirmed that the Shadow King transformed into the deceased’s friend. After meeting him, he killed the deceased and then transformed back into the deceased. He seems to need to harm the other party to use the ability of transformation; everyone he impersonates is either dead or injured.”
A soldier’s body was found floating in the sea earlier.
“The Shadow King spoke with us after transforming into the deceased, likely trying to divert attention and cause chaos, looking for an opportunity to strike at you.”
Everyone on the ship has been toyed with. Besides, the Shadow King’s ability to impersonate others is undetectable, even by close relatives.
Even the composed Chamberlain cannot help but take a sharp breath:
“What a cruel and insane killer, who on earth could this person be? Silent and capable of impersonating others, and extremely cunning.”
Boss Fulis says:
“Perhaps he overestimated his strength, rashly attacked, and was injured by the Great Benefactor? Don’t worry, sir.”
George writes:
“The opponent transformed into a wisp of black smoke, possibly a decoy. I think he is likely unharmed.”
The atmosphere on-site stiffens. Does that mean everyone has been completely at the mercy of the Shadow King?
“Your emotional quotient is even lower than mine,” Jima internally scoffs.
The Great Benefactor Bransi says:
“I want to know who he is. I must have an answer within a week. Also, don’t search the ship anymore; just look for the corpses. Currently, we cannot effectively discern who is impersonated. Creating panic is inadvisable; we will announce outward that the assassin has been severely injured. Additionally, do not announce the tragic death of my daughter.”
Chamberlain replies, “Understood.”
The Great Benefactor Bransi shows signs of exhaustion, smiling wryly, and says to Jima and George:
“There’s no other way. To save Shalin City, I must ensure this Year of the Rainbow Festival is successful. At such a crucial moment, I cannot allow the enemy to instill panic among the citizens. I can’t even hold a proper funeral for my daughter; I owe her once again.”
Even Jima, whose heart is typically cold, cannot help but feel a surge of respect for him.
Bransi continues:
“If I am to blame, then I must blame my poor judgment. I thought the devil Kima was young and promising; I didn’t expect him to be nothing more than a weakling and a coward. And the hypocrites from the cathedral, they care only for so-called goodness, entirely indifferent to how many lives we support.”
“It is truly difficult to make a living between the two factions.”
Damn, your entire family should die hanging on a tree. Just stepping out of the bedroom, I encountered a diamond-headed fool who started with a big move to stab people; willing to lower his level just to stab me to death, who can stand that? Even Ultraman has to punch a few minutes before going all out, right?
Jima takes notes in a small black book, sneaking glances at George, noticing a hint of displeasure on his brow.
