The castle gate is being impacted by the battering ram, and every collision makes the ground tremble.

The soldiers of the Divine Blood Society pushed the overturned carriage to the open space in front of the city gate and set up a bunker. Regular troops outside the city might break into the city at any time.

Just when cracks appeared on the city gate, Duke Oren appeared. Wearing a military uniform and a black cloak, he walked calmly out of the castle.

If someone who is familiar with him sees it, they will definitely notice that the Duke's walking posture is slightly different from usual, but this subtle difference is not obvious in the dark night.

When the soldiers saw the Duke, they all stepped aside. The Duke, escorted by two soldiers, passed through the bunker and climbed up the city wall.

A large number of soldiers gathered outside the city. Dozens of soldiers controlled battering rams and were constantly attacking the city gate. The archers were watching the top of the city wall alertly, always ready to shoot arrows at anyone who poked their head out.

The Duke appeared at the gap in the battlement. A sergeant noticed him and quickly ordered the archers to stop firing arrows. Someone failed to stop shooting in time, and an arrow missed the Duke and almost pierced his ear.

Yet he didn't even blink.

"Who is the commander of this band?" the Duke asked loudly.

"It's me, Your Majesty the Duke." A man with a square face wearing an officer's uniform stepped forward and looked up at him, "I am Major Luciano Vincent."

"Very well, Major Vincent. You and your soldiers responded to the call loyally and rushed to the castle as soon as possible. I am very satisfied with your performance. You can stop now."

A trace of doubt appeared on the major's face, but it quickly disappeared. "Your Majesty the Duke, you know our responsibilities very well. When the alarm bell rings in the castle, we must rush into the castle at all costs to ensure your safety."

"The alarm was just a false alarm," the Duke replied. "The castle was not threatened in any way."

"If this is the case, then I ask you to allow us to enter the city." The major insisted, "I must see with my own eyes that you are safe and sound, because you may have said those words just now under duress."

The Duke nodded, "Of course. Send the order, open the city gate, and everyone put down their weapons."

Amidst the rumble of the gear winch, the city gate slowly opened. The soldiers of the Divine Blood Order put away their weapons and retreated behind the bunker. Since they were all wearing the uniforms of the castle guards, Major Vincent did not become suspicious.

"Now you see, Major," said the Duke, descending the steps, "are you sure of my safety?"

The major made a military salute and said, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty the Duke, I am just performing my duties."

"There is nothing to forgive." The Duke came to him, "As you said, you are just performing your duties. But your duties tonight are not over yet. I have another task for you."

"At your disposal at any time, Your Majesty the Duke."

"Very well, please come with me to the castle to discuss it in detail." The Duke said, "Let your men repair it where they are."

Although a landslide had just occurred in the castle, the Protector Sage had used magic to reinforce the main structure of the building, so there was no need to worry about subsequent dangers in the short term.

The hall on the first floor of the castle was dimly lit, and the alchemy lamp ball in the alcove gave off a dark red light. There was a strange man in the room with his back to them, admiring the tapestry on the wall.

"Here he comes," said the Duke to the stranger.

The man turned around, revealing a scarred face. He had a pair of pointed elf ears and slender elf eyes. These were the only elf features on his face. A terrible scar ran across it.

His face, but the elf didn't seem to care.

The major drew his weapon, "Who are you?"

The elf stared at him with empty eyes, seemingly bored.

"You know what to do." he said.

The major only heard the sound of a weapon being unsheathed next to him, and then something stung his neck. He reached out to touch the stung area and touched warm liquid.

is blood.

He turned around in surprise and found that the Duke had disappeared, replaced by a strange woman. The woman was wearing a black leather armor with a slight smile on her face. The major realized that she had just attacked him, so he roared angrily

He turned his sword around and tried to counterattack.

This time, the woman slit his throat at an extremely fast speed. The major covered the wound in vain, trying to stop the flow of life.

But he only held on for a few seconds longer.

"I have fulfilled our side of the agreement." Butterfly Killer looked at the corpse on the ground and wiped the blade in his hand, "I hope that what is waiting for me is not another betrayal."

"What you say hurts my heart, Ms. Anastasia." The scar-faced elf said calmly, "We have reached an agreement a long time ago, and there will only be one betrayal tonight. Could it be that you have something to do with Han Ye?"

Do you regret it?”

Butterfly Killer's expression twitched, "There is no doubt that her unexpected death will cause a lot of trouble for me. There are very few wizards in the Divine Blood Society, and there are even fewer witches of her level. But as long as I

If we can successfully complete the mission in Fire Seal City and bring back the agreed rewards, the organization will regard the loss of Han Ye as a certain price...an acceptable price."

"Then, we have nothing to worry about. The Divine Blood Society can gain full control of the port area. At least for the next three days, I guarantee that no one will disturb your work."

"No?" Killer Butterfly frowned, "How do you plan to deal with the witch hunters in the Black Clothes Hall? Although the deputy commander has died at the hands of our assassins, the number of surviving witch hunters is still very large.

threaten."

"This threat will soon cease to exist." The elf looked at the major's body and said, "I have just handed an army of five hundred people into your hands. You should know how to use them, right?"

"...You want me to turn into a major and lead his army to search for witch hunters in the city?"

"No need to bother," the elf smiled, "the witch hunters are on their way here. It won't be long before they arrive at the inner city gate between the Uptown and the Platinum District. You just need to tell the soldiers,

The witch hunters plan to betray the Duke, and then they can hide behind and watch the fight. One side is the witch hunters who can fight one against ten, and the other side is the loyal regular army. I think the numerical advantage should be able to make up for it.

The gap in combat effectiveness. After the battle is over, no matter who is the winner, we have eliminated two threats in one fell swoop."

Butterfly Killer narrowed his eyes, then grinned, "You are really a madman."

"I am an Avenger." The elf said, "Madmen do things without logic and without any goals. As Avengers, all our preparations and actions are only for one ultimate goal."

"Your revenge has nothing to do with me, elf," she said, "but I am glad to cooperate with you."

The footsteps of Butterfly Killer disappeared in the corridor, and the scar-faced elf leaned down towards the major's body. He put his hand in the pool of blood and muttered something.

The melted flesh and bones flowed into his palms and merged with his skin. Red light shone in the elf's eyes. Before long, only an officer's uniform was left on the ground.

The elf stood up and quickly left the hall.

————

"Mr. Ende, what are you going to do with them?" Fatia Seren asked in a low voice. She is a core member of the noble group and one of the few people in the Thorns who knows his true identity.

Her men had just left the room and were preparing for the final stages of revenge.

"Don't call me Mr. End," he replied. "The name has no meaning anymore."

"As you command...Mr. Basil."

Basil stared at the two bodies on the ground, Sylvia Sharma and the witch hunter Falcon. After they were taken to the morgue, someone wiped the blood off their skin.

"They are not elves, but they have all served the Thorns faithfully." He said, "I promised them that I would not let their bodies be defiled, nor would I eat their flesh. You know, I will only

Be cruel to enemies and traitors.”

"Of course, sir."

"Bury them in the highland cemetery of the nobles. There, they can watch me slowly torture the city. They definitely don't want to miss this."

Fatia nodded.

"Then," Basil turned around, "let your men get ready. Spread the news and tell the nobles and rich people in Fire Seal City that they are no longer welcome in the upper city. If they are still there before tomorrow night

If you stay here, you will be killed without mercy."
Chapter completed!