Chapter 390: The Death of Fisher
“Wake up! Wake up!”
“How did this guy manage to survive a whole night lying in the snow in the Northern Region without freezing to death? He’s about to turn into a block of ice.”
In the Northern Region, the sky where snow was falling was exceptionally bright.
At this moment, the Death Lord, whose consciousness was a blur, dimly heard a woman’s voice calling him. Just as he wanted to respond, he realized his head was pounding painfully, as if it had been struck with a steel cone and stirred around inside, making him gasp for breath. He tried to cover his head and curl up his body but suddenly found himself frozen in place. He struggled for a while before he managed to separate his clothes, which had frozen together.
Where am I?
He thought confusedly, opening his eyes to see three figures dressed in Northern attire standing in the snowy landscape. The leader was an older woman, who frowned, crouched down, and waved at the Death Lord, seemingly the one who had asked him a question earlier.
Seeing that the Death Lord had fully awakened, she continued to ask, “Sir, have you seen a slender black-haired Nali person coming this way from the southern Healing Rot Church? If you can provide us with any information about him, we will reward you generously.”
Nali person?
Holding his head, the Death Lord recalled the description she had just given and instinctively blurted out a name.
“Wait, are you talking about… Fisher?”
“Kexiening, he has seen Mr. Fisher!”
The two men behind the woman spoke up eagerly, and even the woman, referred to as “Kexiening,” had a slight change in her expression as she leaned in closer, sternly asking, “You know Fisher? Where is he right now? He was supposed to meet us at McDowell yesterday. Where did you see him?”
“I—I saw him… urgh, my head hurts.”
The Death Lord’s mind felt muddled, not just from the hangover of the previous night’s drinking, as it seemed he had gone to meet that Fisher as per the Fate Lord’s orders, and then suddenly forgot to give him his contact information while preparing to find him. Did I even give him my contact information? Then…
As the Death Lord’s consciousness gradually cleared, he suddenly panicked and stood up, looking towards the distant woods, shouting anxiously, “Ah, right! Damn it, it’s the Sorceress Research Society! Yesterday Fisher seemed to have gotten into a conflict with a woman from the Sorceress Research Society! Oh my god, he was in such a weak state, and they were fully armed bastards! I just wanted to help him, but—let’s go find him, he’s really important to me!”
The Death Lord’s face turned pale as he recalled everything. He ignored his frozen body and hurriedly got up, rushing towards the woods where the conflict had occurred yesterday. Behind him, Kexiening and the other two Slimes exchanged glances, somewhat skeptical as they watched him leave, and one of them asked Kexiening, “Do you think what he said is credible? Is it possible that Fisher’s disappearance is related to this guy?”
Kexiening pondered for a moment, then shook her head, deciding to follow the Death Lord, adding, “Risking it for a woman has always been his style; otherwise, Miss Valentina wouldn’t… Never mind, let’s go see what’s happening. After all, we don’t have any extra leads. This morning, the Nali overseas secret agency in the McDowell area mobilized towards the Healing Rot Church. Empress Elizabeth highly values him; I wonder how she’d feel if she saw Fisher looking so weak now.”
The three Slimes had noticed the movements of the Nali secret agency in McDowell this morning, and since Fisher didn’t show up as promised yesterday, they had come to find him, only to find both sides left empty-handed, with the only discovery being the nearly frozen but still alive Death Lord.
In the woods, all that was left of yesterday’s tense confrontation were two frozen corpses, evidently the two former elders of the Sorceress Research Society who had hunted Renee. Bound to a tree, they had been left to freeze to death in the cold Northern night.
“No, Fisher isn’t here. He definitely couldn’t have handled so many people yesterday; he must have gotten away, but the Sorceress Research Society didn’t let them go.”
The Death Lord’s face changed dramatically as he continued running. Kexiening looked at the two dead bodies that had been frozen to death, her expression also not good. They only had these cities and the Healing Rot Church to rest at after leaving McDowell and reaching Luhomg Castle, and Fisher hadn’t gone to either, and he clashed with the Sorceress Research Society. Given his current physical condition…
The Death Lord ran ahead, moving through the snow towards the mountains. The deeper they went into the forest, the sparser the population became. After nearly half an hour of searching, they finally spotted a dilapidated hunter’s cabin on a hillside, but the sight before the cabin immediately brought down the mood of Kexiening and the other Slimes to its lowest point.
Before the Death Lord’s astonished eyes, there were many dried bloodstains spreading out from in front of the cabin, and traces of ancient magical presence were everywhere, with several robes from the Sorceress Research Society lying on the ground. Most critically, in the center of the cabin, Fisher’s signature white shirt had numerous rips and bloodstains, indicating that its owner had suffered serious gunshot and knife wounds the previous night.
Given Fisher’s physical condition, surviving the near-zero Fahrenheit nighttime in the Northern Region was almost impossible.
The Death Lord collapsed in despair, kneeling on the ground, slapping his head and crying out, “Fisher! Fisher! Why did you have to leave like this? What am I going to do?! Ugh! Just kill me if you have to! Why do you have to treat me like this?!”
Kexiening sighed, suddenly feeling a headache as she rubbed her temples. Valentina was still lying under the Parasol Tree, unaware of when she would wake up. When she finally awakens to her Phoenix form, what would she feel if she knew her husband, whom she married in a sacred ceremony, was already…
She suddenly shivered, a chill running through her as she was lost in thought. From outside the cabin, she suddenly heard a hurried sound of footsteps, and the two Slimes behind her quickly turned to look. They saw many Nali people with magical tattoos carved onto them approaching.
“It’s the Nali overseas secret agency; they’ve found their way here too.”
“Let’s retreat first. We’ll talk things over with the elders later, especially about Miss Valentina. And let’s take this idiot with us! Stop crying, it’s driving me crazy!”
Kexiening hastily kicked the Death Lord from behind, and with a flash of golden light, the four figures in the cabin all twisted and disappeared amidst the sound of a high-pitched song.
By the time the Nali people arrived, sent by the Empress to search for Fisher, all they found were pools of blood and signs of battle, along with Fisher’s blood-stained shirt.
In Nali, within the Golden Palace.
In the warm office, Elizabeth, dressed in a golden-colored casual long dress, was reading the documents brought by her ministers. Although the documents bore good news, there was no happiness on her face.
Perhaps it was due to the phone call Fisher had made yesterday, or because of the nauseating expression of that junior who had appeared in her dreams last night, or perhaps it was the ominous feeling she woke up with that morning.
Elizabeth sighed, rubbed her temples, and leaned back in her chair. She waved her hand towards the maid waiting by her side and said, “Go, call the head of the secret agency to see me.”
The maid lowered her head but did not leave. After hesitating for a moment, she finally said, “Your Majesty, the head of the secret agency just returned not long ago.”
Elizabeth’s movement paused slightly. She raised her gaze to look at the maid. Startled, the maid immediately knelt down, fearing her words had angered Elizabeth. She quickly added, “I will go call him back right away. I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I shouldn’t have spoken out of turn.”
Elizabeth remained silent for a moment before unexpectedly shaking her head, surprisingly gentle, “No need. I understand your meaning. You may leave, and just inform me of any news.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Seeing this, the maid breathed a sigh of relief and cautiously walked away. Elizabeth, however, did not even glance at her, as her attention was fixed on the photograph of the Gryphon Cup champion from the Royal Academy on the table.
The photograph bore the emblem of the Royal Academy, showing a radiant Elizabeth dressed in formal wear, leaning against Fisher, who was piled with competition victory badges. He was young and handsome, and under Elizabeth’s encouragement, he raised the trophy symbolizing victory with a bit of reluctance, capturing this precious moment.
Time had passed so quickly; ten years of hardships felt like they had happened only yesterday. She had waited so long for him.
In the anger and resentment of being abandoned by her family and Fisher, she counted her grievances day and night, desperately trying to bring him back. But only yesterday, when she heard him was on the brink of death, she realized how unimportant all of that really was when she heard his last apology.
What she had always wanted was simply to return to the past, to those carefree days spent with him every day, but due to her circumstances and fate, they had grown increasingly distant; all her resentment and unwillingness felt so insignificant compared to the reality of Fisher’s impending death.
Elizabeth had always loved Fisher, and this was the source of both her fortunes and misfortunes.
But this time, if it was the last chance, she was willing to reconcile with herself and let him go, even if just watching him, even if after expending all her efforts to save him, he chose another woman, it would be fine; she just wanted to see him again, wanting him to live healthily.
Under such thoughts, her eyes suddenly started to ache, as if expressing her dissatisfaction, causing Elizabeth to abruptly close her eyes.
“Your Majesty! The secret agency personnel have arrived!”
“Come in! Is there news of Fisher in the Northern Region?”
“There is, Your Majesty.
The quiet Elizabeth immediately stood up upon hearing the voices of the maid team outside. Within the beautifully shimmering, seemingly furious gaze of her mechanical eye, the pale-faced member of the secret agency entered and, without saying a word, suddenly knelt down, filling Elizabeth with an ominous premonition.
“Your Majesty! This morning, overseas secret agency members departed from McDowell under your orders, heading towards Luhomg Castle and the Healing Rot Church to assist Mr. Fisher’s return, but…”
Elizabeth’s chilling fingers trembled as she lightly rested against the table behind her, quickly asking aloud, “But what?!”
“But, last night, one kilometer north of the Healing Rot Church, we discovered traces of activity involving the Sorceress Research Society and Mr. Fisher. They had a fierce clash there last night, and the members of the Sorceress Research Society pursued Mr. Fisher to a cabin halfway up the mountain, where they made their final decision. As a result, we found Mr. Fisher’s white shirt soaked in blood and injuries, and there were traces of firearms and magic at the scene.”
The kneeling secret agency member did not dare to look at Elizabeth’s expression, just continuing, “We did not find Mr. Fisher himself, but according to checks, he didn’t go to any populated places nearby last night. Given the amount of blood on his clothing, he suffered very serious injuries and spent the entire night in below forty degrees during the night; chances are he has…”
The Sorceress Research Society?
Elizabeth’s mind went blank, suddenly recalling the Kadu cult organization she had used as a pawn in her schemes six months ago. She never expected that six months later, this disposable pawn would unexpectedly take the life of the one she loved the most.
“No, that’s impossible. Go. You have to find him. My Fisher.”
Elizabeth dazedly wanted to command the secret agency to find Fisher again, but to her surprise, neither her voice nor body obeyed her control. Her face turned pale, unable to stand as she leaned against the nearby table, gasping for breath, seemingly struggling to issue orders.
“Your Majesty!”
The maid nearby’s face changed drastically, watching as Elizabeth, pale-faced, couldn’t even stand without trembling. The swift and decisive empress was actually frightened to the point of losing her strength by a single sentence from the secret agency.
In the next moment, amid everyone’s astonished gazes, Elizabeth’s world suddenly turned black as if her heart was about to stop. She muttered “Fisher” softly, and then could no longer withstand the blow, collapsing to the ground, completely fainting.
“Your Majesty!”
“Doctor! Go get a doctor!”
“Anyone unrelated, step back immediately! No one may leave the Golden Palace!”
The maids hurriedly surrounded Elizabeth, protecting the most esteemed person in Nali, and expertly restricted the spread of information in the first instance.
Thus, the chaos in the Golden Palace remained very discreet, as affairs concerning the Empress were not something ordinary Nali people could come into contact with.
All they knew was that today, the snow in Nali was falling especially heavily.
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(The End of This Chapter)
