paranoianovel Chapter 200 Assassination, Aftermath, and the Eldest Prince
Chapter 200 Assassination, Aftermath, and the Eldest Prince
Chapter 200 Assassination, Aftermath, and the Eldest Prince
Zilingus was struck by a sudden, blazing fireball and fell from the sky.
The damage caused by the fireball's extremely high temperature was secondary; the most important thing was that his escape rhythm was disrupted.
Moreover, since Evan has already made his move, he won't just disrupt Qilingus's escape route. After being promoted to "Conspirator," Evan can briefly combine his body with flames and quickly relocate by launching fireballs and other objects.
So, just as Zilingus was falling from mid-air and before he hit the ground, Evan, engulfed in flames, appeared from where the fireball had just struck him. He wielded a saber formed of flames and slashed at Zilingus's neck in mid-air.
With Evan's newly acquired "Weakness Observation" ability, that was Zilingus's fatal weakness and weak point in defense. If this strike landed, Zilingus might die on the spot.
And clearly, Zilingus, who was in mid-air, understood this as well. Looking at the flaming saber slashing at him and feeling the scorching heat, Zilingus felt that death was approaching him.
But Zilingus truly lived up to his reputation as a pirate general who had roamed the world for many years, wanted by various kingdoms yet still alive and well.
In a split second, he reacted, utilizing the enhanced physical abilities granted by the "Wind Favorite" in mid-air.
Without any leverage, he forcibly twisted his body, like a sardine wriggling in water, turning his body to the side to avoid fatal points, while simultaneously covering his body with a layer of water film for defense.
The flaming blade struck Zilingus's arm, the water film shattering with a hissing sound, but it effectively withstood the burning of Evan's flames. Scales emerged from under his skin, providing some resistance, but it was still cut open in an instant.
Zilingus' right arm separated from his body like butter being sliced by a knife, flying into the air, and Zilingus fell to the ground with the force of the blow.
Despite his severe injuries, Zilingus did not give up hope of escaping. He remained unusually calm and was not intimidated by his predicament. This was because he had switched from "creeping hunger" to "light sacrifice" mode. The extraordinary properties of the solar pathway gave him a calm mind and courage, preventing him from being frightened by difficulties.
The instant he landed, his left glove, which seemed to have transformed into pure gold, emitted a brilliant light.
A pure, blazing light descended from the sky, purifying everything around Qilingus, including his arm that had fallen to the ground not far away.
If his arm remains at the scene, no matter how hard he runs, it will be in vain, and he can easily be found by looking through that arm.
Fortunately, Evan Horn's flames were hot enough to evaporate all the blood, and even charred the wound on his right arm; otherwise, the aftermath wouldn't have been so easy to handle.
Whether it was Evan, who was about to swing his sword again, or Duke Negan's bodyguard who had already rushed over, they knew they couldn't withstand the full force of this Sequence 5 'Priest of Light's' attack, so they could only retreat quickly to avoid its sharp edge.
This was exactly the opportunity that Zillingus wanted. He once again exerted all his strength, causing a strong wind to blow up Duke Negan's mansion. The ground of the villa was blown over, and sand and stones filled the sky, making it impossible to see the surrounding scenery. Many guests and servants who did not have time to escape were blown away, crashed into the villa walls, and then vomited blood.
The strong winds halted everyone's progress, and Zilingus took the opportunity to fly quickly towards the municipal park opposite the villa.
He had already planned his escape route in advance. The Tasok River, which runs through Backlund, is located within the park; all he had to do was jump into the river...
As a seasoned "sailor", he was able to escape.
Moreover, he could go down the river to the Georgewood district, where someone at the St. Wind Cathedral could meet him. No official force would expect him to dare to play dirty tricks.
Evan, who had been blown back to the second-floor balcony of the villa by Qilingus's strong wind, frowned as he watched Qilingus escape to the park. In the end, he made the flaming sword in his hand disappear and did not chase after him.
He could have used the witch's spider silk to capture Zilingus again, but he resisted the urge, especially with Robert present.
In fact, during this battle, he was not only unable to use the witch's abilities, but he also couldn't use the "precision" that he could draw upon in advance.
Otherwise, with just the first strike, he could control more than a dozen blazing white fireballs to kill or severely injure Qilingus, without needing any follow-up attacks.
Just then, Evan spotted a group of people dressed in Storm Church attire coming to their aid in the distance. Among them was Archbishop Snake, whom Robert had met when he converted to Christianity, which made him burst out laughing.
"Storm Pigeon finally failed to show up! Even with my interference, it still couldn't change its fate of being late."
Although he didn't kill Zilingus with his own hands, Evan wasn't disappointed at all, because he knew that there was another demigod waiting for Zilingus in the city park.
Meanwhile, he has already achieved his goal of making his move today, which is to publicly announce that he has been promoted to "scheming manipulator," laying the groundwork for MI9 to take a big bite out of the pie after its reorganization.
Previously, what hindered Evan's promotion was his sequence strength and age, not his achievements.
Moreover, revealing his successful ascension at this time would not arouse suspicion from the Augustus family, because George III was "well aware" that the current Evan was the living seal artifact "Bonaparte's Steadfastness," and it was perfectly normal for a demigod-level seal artifact to use some "scheming" abilities.
Sure enough, when he stepped back into the villa from the second-floor balcony, Robert looked at him with a complicated expression and asked:
"You've been promoted to 'scheming mastermind'?"
Others may not know exactly when Evan became an Extraordinary, but he does.
It was astonishing that he had been promoted from Sequence 9 to Sequence 6 in just two months; Robert had never heard of such a rapid promotion.
"This is all thanks to the Tottingen incident, which allowed my potion to be digested much faster than I had imagined."
Evan explained in a low voice, and that was indeed the case.
Robert nodded, reluctantly accepting the explanation, and then continued in a low voice:
"Come home with me later. I once said that once you advance to Sequence 6, I can give you one of my spoils."
Robert had once said he would give Evan a trophy from his service in the Southern Continent. Evan guessed it might be the extraordinary characteristic of the Hunter pathway "Reaper," and couldn't help but feel overjoyed.
As they spoke in hushed tones, they re-entered the villa, where many people were helping to treat those affected by the recent assassination attempt.
As soon as Robert and Evan entered, the Duke of Negan, who was surrounded by a large group of bodyguards, called out to them.
"Thank you so much this time. Without you, we might not have been able to easily resolve this assassination attempt."
Duke Negan was still somewhat shaken. He hadn't expected that someone would dare to assassinate him again, even though Backlund was on edge because of his previous assassination attempt. At the same time, he felt an overwhelming rage and wanted to find out who was trying to kill him one after another. This time it was the Pirate General, would it be the Pirate King next?
As a prominent figure in the secular world and the spokesperson for the Church of Storms, he was well aware that the Pirate King was a demigod.
"It's mainly because Miss Audrey is so thoughtful; we were just going with the flow. It's nothing special!"
When Evan and Robert went to find Duke Negan, they did not conceal Audrey Hall's role in it. Even if Evan himself knew that Audrey actually wanted to keep a low profile, taking all the credit without Audrey speaking up would offend Earl Hall.
Upon hearing this, Duke Negan turned to thank Earl Hall, who responded with great modesty, though a smile on his lips betrayed his delight.
Just then, Archbishop Snake, a man as elusive as the wind, flew in again in front of everyone, glanced at the villa, and expressed his condolences to Duke Negan, who in turn asked him about the whereabouts of Zilingus.
"Zilingus is dead. He was killed by a high-sequence Death Path expert I don't recognize, and he didn't leave any clues!"
Upon hearing this, everyone present frowned and unanimously came to the same conclusion: that they had been murdered to silence the witnesses.
Once a matter involves high-ranking powerful individuals, it becomes anything but simple.
"Could it be the Spirit Cult? After the Kingdom's defeat in the war against the Fusak Empire in the Southern Continent, those people began to stir, hoping to launch another rebellion and overthrow the Kingdom's rule in Byron City. According to intelligence, Fusak and Intis are also fueling this rebellion behind the scenes."
Robert, as chairman of the Military and Intelligence Committee, was able to gather intelligence from all sides and communicate closely with the military, so he immediately offered a guess.
After thinking about it, everyone present agreed that it made a lot of sense. Sometimes, the biggest enemy of the Kingdom of Rune in the Southern Continent was not the competitors of the various countries in the Northern Continent, but rather the local natives.
The Spirit Cult is a remnant of the Byron Empire. They have always harbored resentment and anger over the Kingdom of Rune's capture of Byron City and the theft of the Byron Empire's crown. They frequently launch KB attacks. They have every reason to take advantage of the Kingdom of Rune's setbacks and weakness in the Southern Continent.
To be honest, if Evan hadn't known the truth, and that it was Mr. Azik who had intervened, he might have been convinced by Robert's speculation.
"We still have very little information, so we can't be prejudiced. We need to investigate thoroughly before drawing any conclusions."
Count Hall now hopes that the political situation in Ruen will stabilize and that the "Government Employee Recruitment Act" will be properly implemented. He also hopes that this incident will not escalate, so he offered a subtle piece of advice.
Duke Negan naturally understood Earl Hall's meaning and knew that his opinion was correct: the Kingdom of Rune should not make any major moves before internal coordination was achieved.
But the repeated assassination attempts made him unable to let go of his worries, as they involved his own life. If he didn't retaliate, it would be disrespectful to his own life.
But it seems that no one present was wrong, and the relevant personnel protected him. So who should he sue?
Just then, Evan, who had been standing silently to the side listening to the big shots, suddenly spoke up:
"This assassination attempt is ultimately my responsibility. If yesterday's operation had resulted in the arrest of Zilingus, this assassination attempt would not have occurred today. This is my dereliction of duty."
Robert naturally knew what had happened yesterday, and immediately understood what Evan wanted to do, so he readily agreed:
"This isn't your fault. After all, you were just promoted today. It's only natural that Jonas objected to you going to the scene. Besides, the failure of the operation was due to the fact that unexpected events are common and hard to avoid."
Duke Negan's eyes lit up; sensing something was amiss, he quickly pressed for details:
"What does this mean? Explain yourself!"
Since Duke Negan was the victim, and the person involved pressed him for details, Evan naturally had no reason to hide anything. He recounted the events of yesterday from beginning to end, making Duke Negan's face turn increasingly red, and his whole body tremble.
"These people are all incompetent! They should all be dismissed!"
1
Duke Negan was furious, and none of the important figures standing next to him said anything good about the failure of MI9's operation.
Although Evan wouldn't directly reveal Captain Johnson's ulterior motives, everyone present was a seasoned veteran of the bureaucracy.
How could you not hear the little abacus whirring inside?
If this kind of petty scheme were to happen under normal circumstances, the big shots would just laugh it off. But when it comes to matters concerning personal safety, all the big shots find it unforgivable.
"Your Grace, please calm down. The responsibility for the failed mission to capture Zilingus does indeed lie with MI9. I will reprimand them when I return!"
At this point, Robert stepped forward again, seemingly to offer reassurance, but in reality, he added fuel to the fire.
"Reprimand them? They made such a big mistake, do you think a mere reprimand will be enough to settle things?"
As expected, Duke Negan was furious upon hearing Robert's words.
"MI9 is not a one-man show; all disciplinary decisions must go through the proper procedures before they can be made. While there may be disagreements on other matters within MI9, they tend to be united on these kinds of issues."
Although Robert didn't say everything, his meaning was clear: if punishment was imposed for poor performance, it would be met with collective resistance within MI9. After all, everyone would worry about being the next person to be removed for poor performance, and the scope of discretion involved was very large.
Even the bodyguards around Duke Negan were appointed by MI9, and they might have objections to this matter.
Duke Negan's face darkened. Did he not even have the right to punish a few people?
But he was also a seasoned politician. He glanced at Robert and remembered the report Robert had submitted a few days earlier, which included the matter of splitting up MI9. He immediately realized that Robert was seeking his support.
The splitting up of MI9 is an inevitable trend, but there is also considerable opposition. However, if the split is successful, he can both vent his anger and repay the favor that Robert and Evan did for saving him.
Having made up his mind, Duke Negan pointed out that MI9 had too many and too varied responsibilities, making it difficult to manage everything.
This leads to confusion and disarray, making things very difficult. We should follow Intis's example and break things down to improve efficiency.
As he spoke, Duke Negan looked at his colleagues with a meaningful gaze.
Those around him, swept over by Duke Negan's chilling gaze, understood that he was determined to vent his anger on MI9 this time, and could only express their support.
"Although MI9 made a mistake this time, it has also made many contributions in the past and cultivated many loyal followers. Baron Evan is the most typical example."
I actually think Captain Johnson and Jonas, who led the operation, bear a lot of responsibility and should be punished.
Just when Evan thought the matter was settled, an unexpected obstacle appeared out of nowhere.
Evan glanced around and saw a man in his thirties with a square face and good looks enter the ballroom surrounded by many bodyguards and speak loudly.
This is the eldest prince, Winton Augustus, who has come today on the orders of King George III to celebrate the Duke of Negan's birthday.
When Robert and Evan reported the discovery of Zillingus, both Duke Negan and Earl Hall insisted that the bodyguards take the eldest prince to the lounge to prevent him from being the target of the assassination or from being implicated in the capture of Zillingus.
Upon hearing of Zillingus's death, the eldest prince, who was walking out of the lounge, happened to witness Duke Negan's attack on MI9.
He thought that Duke Negan was angry because he hadn't punished the people involved, which was why he proposed splitting up MI9. So he hoped to throw out the people who made the mistake to appease Duke Negan's anger, and at the same time stop the splitting up of MI9, so as to gain the gratitude of MI9 and his father's praise.
But he didn't know that splitting up MI9 was already a consensus. The reason why the relevant plan hadn't been made public for so long was because of the great resistance, but it was bound to come to this sooner or later.
Even King George III, the biggest opponent on the surface, was secretly pleased, believing that this reform could help him build up his "Black Emperor" ceremony. He outwardly encouraged Jonas to actively resist, but in reality, he was happy to see it happen.
Today, the Duke of Negan and Robert worked together to finally finalize this matter in this public setting, but unexpectedly, the eldest prince interfered.
Even if Deputy Director Jonas and Captain Johnson are punished for the failure of their previous operation, Duke Negan will not be grateful to the eldest prince for helping him get revenge, because it means that Duke Negan still has not repaid the favor he owes Robert and Evan for saving his life, and favors are hard to repay for politicians, especially to people of the same rank.
Robert, needless to say, had just started MI9, which was his second major initiative after taking office as chairman of the Military and Intelligence Committee. Now that it had been stopped by the eldest prince, he was understandably happy.
However, Negan and Robert's current predicament is that they find it difficult to punish those responsible for poor performance, so they proposed a reprimand of MI9.
The eldest prince's proposal deconstructed their reasoning: since you believe it is difficult to punish the relevant personnel, so you want to strengthen the Ninth Military Intelligence Bureau, then I will grant your wish, and then you will have no reason to be stubborn, right?
Thinking about this, Evan really felt that this eldest prince was very clever; his suggestion had offended several parties.
He thought the solution was a win-win situation, but it was a solution that no one wanted, and he even thought that people would be grateful to him. He only saw the surface of things. He was really just a person.
This also made Evan understand why George III was only somewhat indifferent to the successor, while all the other princes were eager to seize power.
With Negan and Robert feeling awkward and unsure of what to do, Evan spoke up:
"It's understandable that Captain Johnson was punished, but it would be truly unfair if Deputy Director Jonas were punished. Besides, my success today is the result of Deputy Director Jonas's dedicated cultivation, and this matter really has nothing to do with him."
Robert and Evan agreed to keep Jonas, the "invisible man," in check. Now that the eldest prince wants to get rid of him, Evan absolutely cannot agree to it, so he directly becomes his supporter.
The eldest prince hadn't expected anyone to risk offending Lord Negan to oppose his win-win plan. Just as he was about to speak, Lord Negan spoke first:
"If there are no problems, then Robert will be in charge of handling all follow-up matters for MI9!"
"I support Duke Negan's decision!" Earl Hall, not wanting to cause any further trouble tonight, spoke up directly.
"I agree!"
"I agree!"
Seeing that the three representatives of the Conservative Party aristocracy had expressed their opinions one after another, the others had nothing to say and simply nodded in agreement. Only the eldest prince looked on with disbelief, not understanding what had happened.
Soon after, Deputy Director Jonas, who had control of MI9's mobile forces, personally led a team to Negan's mansion, fully demonstrating the police's "whitewashing" function.
Without Evan needing to say anything, someone would naturally inform him of what had just happened, causing him to break out in a cold sweat and feel as if he had just escaped death.
At the same time, his feelings were extremely complicated. He never expected that the ones who would ultimately protect him were Robert and Evan, with whom he had recently broken off relations, and that the one who would betray him was the eldest prince, to whom he was loyal to the royal family.
So after sending Rensha people out to "cleanse the ground," Jonas hesitated for a moment before arriving at Evan's clinic:
"Why haven't I seen your brother?"
"He went with Lord Negan and Lord Hall to discuss the aftermath."
Big matters are discussed in small meetings, and small matters are discussed in large meetings. This is the rule in every world. In any case, Lord Negan is one of the most powerful people in the Kingdom of Rune. He has been assassinated one after another. If there is no explanation and no proper handling of the aftermath, the Kingdom of Rune will lose its national image and will be laughed at by the countries of the Northern Continent.
"Thank you so much, Evan. Without your help, I might have had a really tough time today."
After rambling on and on for a while, Jonas finally thanked him.
But Evan didn't engage in a sentimental scene with him; instead, he directly extended his hand and said:
"So, how do you plan to thank me?"
Jonas hadn't expected Evan to be so direct, and was momentarily speechless. However, he quickly regained his composure as the head of the largest faction within MI9, and stared at Evan, saying:
What do you want?
He was the head of the royal faction within MI9 and also the biggest conservative within the organization, which naturally created conflict with reformists like Robert.
However, his success this time was due to Robert's favor and Evan's help, which could easily arouse suspicion from others.
Therefore, he was eager to sever ties with Robert and Irwin, no matter the cost.
"I want that rat from the Fussac Empire!"
Evan didn't hold back and immediately offered a high price.
Jonas's eyes flashed with a sharp light, but he said without hesitation, "Okay! Sure!"