A Sa pointed at the old pastor and stuttered: "Y...you didn't die?"

  "You died and I didn't." The old pastor glared at Asa with his black-and-white eyes, spitting out a wad of phlegm.

  "I... I'll be back to take revenge on you..." Asa had no idea what his emotions were, whether it was shock or joy. Although the appearance looked completely different, the old pastor's tone of voice and speech, as well as his gestures, most importantly, the special magical aura he felt when he broke in, this old pastor was clearly Sandru. As for that face, Asa knew it must be another mask. This old man had always been full of tricks.

  "I didn't expect you to be so righteous. If someone kills you in the future, I'll avenge your death." Sandru chuckled and removed a lifelike mask from his face, revealing a familiar yet strange face. In order to wear this mask, he had to shave off his beard, and it turned out that without the beard, his face didn't have many wrinkles after all, and he wasn't very old. He shouted into the corridor: "Everyone come in!"

  The duke's face was as ugly as it could get. Although Asa and Sandru were not on guard at all, the sword in his hand never made any moves. It wasn't that he didn't dare to, but rather his will to fight had already been lost.

  The storm of breath in the corridor had subsided, disappearing as suddenly as it appeared. Roland, the captain, stood up straight, his sword still sheathed. It was only then that others could see that his forehead was covered in sweat, and he even looked a bit fatigued. Just now when he bent down to prepare for battle without drawing his sword, he seemed not like a living person at all.

  Captain Roland turned his head to look at the corner, let out a labored sigh, as if he had just finished a hundred-mile run. He didn't say anything, and walked straight into the house. His footsteps made a crunching sound on the marble floor, which was somehow already shattered where he stood.

  Behind Captain Roland, a sound of footsteps came from the corner, and a tall, cold figure emerged from there. Although he had long known that only one person could emit such an aura, and it was him, seeing this person appear with his own eyes made the last bit of struggling hope in the duke collapse completely. It was Sedelos' friend, Gru.

  Commander Roland walked into the study, nodded to Sandru and Rodhart, then looked at Asa, and finally at the Duke. There was no expression on his face, nor was there a sharp light in his eyes. But the Duke's expression had already begun to collapse.

  Until this moment, the Imperial Guards who should have swarmed in from outside had still not appeared, and all around was quiet. The Duke's intelligence was sufficient for him to understand what all this portended.

  Glew also walked into the study. He didn't look at anyone, his gaze fell coldly on Colonel Roland first, and asked: "Just now I gave you a chance to draw your sword, why didn't you draw it?"

  "It's unnecessary." Colonel Roland replied calmly. His hand had originally let go of the sword, but now it was gripping it again at some point. However, he didn't look towards Gru, instead scanning his surroundings.

  "Don't you want to try?" Gru's gaze fell on the sword at Roland's waist, and his deep, bottomless eyes seemed to have two black flames flashing in them.

  Captain Roland glanced back at him faintly and replied in a still very calm tone: "Don't want to."

  Gru's gaze swept across the faces of Asa, Rodhart and Captain Roland, but not the Duke. Then he looked at Sandru and suddenly asked coldly: "You said everyone here is on the same road?"

  "It should be." Sandru nodded.

  "What about this person?" Gru's voice had a murderous tone. However, his gaze wasn't directed at anyone in particular, but rather at the bookshelf beside him. His eyes also became sharp and piercing, as if the wooden bookcase filled with books was more lethal than Roland, the captain. "Aren't you coming out? Do you want everyone here to invite you out?"

  Everyone looked over there, but it was just a bookshelf. Asa and Rodhart, even Sandru's expression were somewhat stunned. Only Colonel Ryland's expression did not change, his hand still on the hilt of his sword.

  "Ah, I'm old..." A strange sigh echoed, and under everyone's gaze, a figure emerged from the bookshelf, as if out of thin air.

  Everyone's face changed except for General Gru and Colonel Roland, especially the Duke and Asa.

  Although the study was not small, it was by no means large either, and its furnishings were far from complex. Even a cat would have found it impossible to hide in this room without being discovered. Moreover, the duke's study had neither windows nor ventilation shafts for secrecy reasons. In other words, he had been here all along. The duke and Asa's every move and word was under his watchful eyes.

  It wasn't until the man left the bookshelf that everyone realized the shadow in the corner of the bookshelf had lightened a bit. He had just dissolved into that little darkness completely. It made people not notice him even when looking at him, and even Colonel Roland only had a feeling about it, but only Gru noticed.

  "It's really old... to be noticed by two people... and even found out..." The person's voice was strange, but it could also be heard that it was full of despair. This was a person who was wrapped in a black tight-fitting suit all over his body, very thin and small, with a golden skull mask on his face. Even if he appeared like this, he seemed to have always been in a vague shadow that couldn't be distinguished, and even whether it was male or female, old or young couldn't be told.

  Asa's complexion changed. He had heard and seen this strange sound and mask before, the two dead spirit masters who had chased him to death were like that. But their masks were all silver, while this person was dark gold.

  But Shandru seemed even more surprised than Asa, his expression was extremely strange, just like Asa when he saw him, pointing at the man stuttering and saying: "Is it you? You...you...what are you doing here?"

  "This person looked at Sandru, the dark golden mask completely hiding his eyes in a shadow, only able to hear a flat tone from his voice: "I heard you were dead, came specifically to help you collect your corpse. But it seems like I made a wasted trip..."

  Shandru's expression was quite strange, as if he was a bit happy and a bit embarrassed at the same time. He completely lost his usual composure, even speaking somewhat unnaturally: "Thanks for caring about me..."

  "I don't care about you. I only care about the things you took away. What if they were taken back by those people from the guild after you died?" The person floated towards the door of the study room. "Since you're not dead, I'll be going back."

  "Halt." Gru and Colonel Roland spoke in unison. The two of them moved as one, standing to either side of the doorway. Their eyes, shining like needle points, both fixed on this person.

  The man immediately stopped moving. Not because he listened, but because he couldn't move.

  There seemed to be no earth-shaking changes in the study, and the surroundings were still abnormally quiet. However, Rodhart suddenly knelt down. His forehead was already covered with cold sweat, and he looked pale at the three people standing at the door of the study.

  A Sa was still standing, but his forehead also started to sweat.

  If the confrontation between Gru and Roland earlier was a storm, then the atmosphere that fills this study with these two joining forces is a cauldron of steel water. It looks calm on the surface, but the flavor inside is thick and scorching hot by tens of times. Almost every breath can feel the lungs convulsing under the pressure of this aura.

  "What are you doing?" Sandru bellowed at Gru and Colonel Roland.

  "I think you'd better explain." Captain Roland didn't pay attention to Sandro, still staring at the man with a gaze like a sword. He asked lightly, "If you really are looking for Mr. Sandro, why have you been lurking around here? And this mask, if I'm not mistaken, represents that you're from the Death Spirit Association. If you can't prove you're not our potential enemy, you won't be leaving."

  Gru didn't say anything. Captain Roland meant what he said. Even if they could defend themselves, their lord's life would be in danger with someone as skilled in stealth as him.

  It's undoubtedly the best opportunity to get rid of such a dangerous character in a two-on-one situation. Both Gru and Colonel Rowland understand this.

  "Don't be too excessive." Shandru's eyes widened, and the sudden burst of light fell on Gulu and Roland. The two men's momentum immediately produced a slight fluctuation, taking advantage of this opportunity, this person flashed by in an instant and then suddenly merged into the corridor environment like a most sensitive chameleon, disappearing from view. Leaving behind only a gradually fading voice: ".....Don't worry, I've long been too lazy to be anyone's enemy. I'm hiding here just because I want to help this kid out of kindness."

  "Captain Roland didn't chase after him, let out a sigh and turned his head to look at Sandru: "Sorry. This person is just too dangerous. If he might be an enemy of ours..."

  Shandru's eyes and expression returned to normal, with a hint of disappointment and laziness. He sighed and muttered: "Don't worry about it. He's just like me, we've lost interest in your conspiracies and national affairs long ago. This time he might have really come just to help me collect the bodies."

  Ge Lu looked back at Asa and said, "Just now I didn't come in because I found that there seemed to be someone else here. I couldn't figure out if they were friend or foe, so it wasn't good for me to make a move. I had to let you take the initiative first, and then I would seize the opportunity to act. But I didn't expect that he was also planning to help you." He revealed a rare smile. "It looks like your business this time has lost out. You spent so much effort convincing us to take action to help you, but it turns out it was all for nothing. Even if you were the only one returning to the capital, there would be no danger at all. There are actually so many people here waiting to help you."

  Ah Sa let out a sigh of relief, shaking her head with a bitter smile: "It's not a loss, at least it seems my goal has been achieved."

  Gulu said calmly: "I don't care about your purpose. But since you're not dead, you must do what you promised us."

  "Don't worry, I've never welched on a debt." Asa smiled wryly. "Especially when it comes to debts of gratitude."

  "It seems I have nothing to do here. I'll go find that two-legged flying dragon first." Gulu gave the Duke a cold glance, and threw out an even colder sentence. "Anyway, I think this person shouldn't be able to live either."

  With these words, the duke's spirit completely collapsed.

  He wasn't unaware of his own death. When Sandru and Colonel Roland appeared together, Gru also showed up, he already knew that there was no room for reversal. Death is inevitable. What he couldn't accept was failure, and it was a complete and utter defeat beyond comprehension.

  Just a few minutes ago, he still thought he was the master of this world, and everyone else was under his control. But just these few minutes later, he discovered that it was actually himself who was being controlled. Just now, he could only stay here, staring blankly as people spoke and discussed, with almost no one casting a glance in his direction. Gru's last sentence finally made it clear that in the eyes of the victors, he was now irrelevant, no different from a dead man.

  If this failure was just bad luck, or if it was just an occasional oversight of his own. Captain Roland only saw his weakness in a coincidence, the old undead mage was just lucky to escape death, or Gru and that mysterious person's appearance were indeed beyond his expectations, any one of these would have made him feel much better. Unfortunately, this is not the case, every event that occurred here can be seen by anyone as not being a coincidence, but rather a well-planned arrangement.

  One's own arrangements are just a part of someone else's arrangements. After so many years of planning and scheming, it turns out that I have only arranged for myself to play the role of a failed clown. The duke's spirit can no longer be summarized with words like pain or despair.

  The duke slowly sat down, and now everything he saw in his eyes, including the ducal mansion, was crumbling, rotting, collapsing, dying. He muttered in the weakest voice of his life: "Why is it so quiet around?"

  Until now, the surroundings are still so quiet and peaceful. Not only the royal guards outside, but also all the servants in the duke's mansion have not appeared. It seems that this place has suddenly become a haunted house.

  "They have all left, as per your orders, Your Excellency," Rodhart replied. His voice remained polite, humble and concise. "I told them that you and Colonel Roland were to interrogate the prisoner and not to be disturbed."

  The duke closed his eyes, nodded slowly: "Then you wait outside, waiting for me to say as much as possible to this kid who I think has only one dead end, and then come in and let him go?"

  "Right." Rodhart nodded.

  The duke let out a long sigh and fell silent. He had completely given up any thought of resisting or struggling. Although he was by no means weak, there were two top-notch strongmen here, and he didn't want to struggle futilely like a dog only to be pinned down and slaughtered. Besides, his will to fight had already collapsed, leaving not even a shred behind.

  Commander Roland and Rodhart quietly watched the Duke without a word. Sandru was lost in thought, as if his mind wasn't here at all. And Asa also didn't make a sound, he knew that there was no need for him to say anything now.

  After a while, the duke struggled to open his eyes and looked at Colonel Roland and said: "I just want to know some things now, will you tell me?"

  "Very well," Colonel Roland nodded, he understood from the duke's eyes that this man had completely collapsed.

  "Why are you and this undead warlock together? There were over a thousand people who saw you fight back then, at the very least I could tell that battle wasn't staged, and yet more than fifty of your comrades died. Why did you two end up gathering again to deal with me?"

  "What you see with your own eyes isn't necessarily the truth. Isn't that right? Just like how you made the people at Magic Academy see the killer."

  On that day, in the big house.

  "I've never been one for idle chatter." Commander Ryland's wrist flicked, the humming of the longsword filling every inch of space in the great hall. "Let's get down to business," he said, his eyes on Sandru. "Who are you?"

  "You don't even know who I am and you come to kill me?" Sandru looked a bit at a loss, furrowing his brow in thought. "But since it's you who came here looking for trouble, has something happened? Didn't Ronis know you were coming here?"

  "Bishop Ronis has been assassinated." Colonel Ryland looked into Sandru's eyes.

  "What." Shandru's body shook, and even the concentrated magical power dissipated due to mental confusion. "This... how is this possible."

  This clearly proved Captain Roland's conjecture. Such a shock would not be pretended, and it was better to surrender voluntarily when confronting him than to have his neck cut off by the sword. So Captain Roland sheathed his sword and said: "Hundreds of people saw the murderer living in your residence, that priest. There is also a wanted poster signed by Bishop Ronis himself at the scene, stating that the priest is a spy for the Death Cult."

  Shandru had not yet recovered from the shock. The Grand Master of the Holy Knights appeared here and three members of the team had already lost their lives, it was absolutely not just to tell a lie. He shook his head repeatedly: "Impossible...it's impossible for him...Besides, that kid can't even kill Ronis."

  "I also think it's impossible. And from the wounds on Bishop-sama's body and the situation at that time, it's indeed suspicious. I suspect this is a trap..."

  "Why don't you go investigate? Instead of coming here to bother me?" Sandru's voice was already exasperated.

  "Hundreds of eyewitnesses, a personal wanted poster from the Archbishop. Such evidence is irrefutable. Even if it's a trap, there's no room for escape or reversal. You're suspected by everyone to be a necromancer, and His Majesty has ordered me to kill any necromancers on sight. So even if I have doubts, I have no reason not to carry out the order." Roland stretched out his hand into his pocket and pulled out a teleportation scroll. "Although I've never heard Archbishop Ronis mention you before, but from his reaction during the previous necromancer incident, and your reaction just now, I already have enough reason to believe that you're indeed a necromancer, but there must be an unusual relationship between you and Archbishop Ronis. Now only if we two join hands can we reveal the truth. This is a teleportation scroll from the Magic Academy, where no one is currently present. You hide first, then we'll contact each other privately."

  "There's no need to hide." Shandru took the scroll, turned around and went into the inner room to take out a mask. He just wiped his face with his hand, and all his beard fell off. Then he put on the mask, and suddenly became another person with a completely different appearance.

  "It would be best to summon a few undead skeletons for me to kill, that way it won't arouse suspicion." Roland reminded Sandru. "If you can also disguise one of your own corpses, that would be even better. There are many people outside who saw us fight and if they see you get killed, it might be more convenient for us in the future."

  "Alright." Shandru nodded. "But you'd better be careful not to get yourself killed."