From the Abyss Invasion to the Blasting Star.

Chapter 404 Lure the snake out of its hole
"Was there five people in this raiding party that broke into Kolos City?" Lu Heng asked the question that had been on his mind.

Queen Aureanna nodded and replied, "Yes, five people, the same as the last time."

If this raiding party consists of five people, things seem a bit strange.

Su Muyu also noticed something amiss: "Something seems off. There are four of us, plus this raiding party, that makes nine people. Add Ke Yiming and Clyde Savile, and that makes eleven. The numbers don't match, unless..."

According to normal conscription patterns, the number of people conscripted will be a multiple of 5, such as 5, 10, 15, etc.

There are now 11 humans, exceeding the 10-person scale. Given the current situation, it's unlikely that there are any other hidden recruiting forces.

"Is the recruitment scale always a multiple of 5?" Lin Zeyu asked.

Fiona nodded in confirmation, "Yes, the Elven race hasn't seen a number of people who don't conform to the rules of conscription in hundreds of years."

Su Muyu looked at Lu Heng and asked in a questioning tone, "Isn't Clyde Savile a recruiter?"

This possibility exists.

After the Abyss Battlefield opens, the summoned world is not closed; anyone with the ability to teleport to that world can teleport in.

In other words, if Clyde Savile uses necromancy to teleport over with the help of the Skeleton Lord, and is not included in the recruit quota, the recruitment scale will still be 10 people.

After a moment's thought, Lu Heng made a request: "Could you recreate the previous battle so I can see this raiding party?"

When they arrived back, the battle was already over. They only saw the Frost Bone Dragon lying on the ground, but did not see the raiding party from the Creator Organization.

Queen Orianna stood up, walked to the center of the domed hall, took out her arcane staff, and gently tapped it into the air.

Arcane energy surged forth, drawing a three-dimensional image in the air that recreated the battle, appearing virtually identical to a hologram.

Lu Heng moved closer to observe the battle up close and saw the five people in the raiding party.

The five members of the raiding party all wore masks, obscuring their faces, but each mask was different.

For example, the Pharaoh's golden mask, the two red mustaches on the Redbeard mask, and the scar on the Life-Cut mask.

Because of these characteristics, each person can be identified at a glance.

After reading it, Lu Heng noticed a few strange things.

The first and most direct impression is that this Frost Bone Dragon's combat power is not as strong as I remembered.

It's also possible that the level of myself in my memory was relatively low, and the strong level difference created the impression that the Frost Bone Dragon was extremely powerful.

Of course, the Frost Bone Dragon was still very powerful. Queen Alleanna personally led the arcane sorcerers and guards to defeat it.

Secondly, during the battle, not all five members of the raiding team gave their all; some members had very low participation in the fight.

After noticing this detail, Lu Heng had an idea, but couldn't figure out why. He then asked, "Does the Elven race have detailed data on the [Death Agent] class?"

Queen Orianna wanted to shake her head, because the Elven race did know that such a class existed, but before yesterday, no Elf had ever obtained this class, so there was naturally no relevant record.

Fiona interjected, "Albert has returned to nature, perhaps..."

Upon hearing this, Queen Oriana said, "Perhaps the Tree of Knowledge knows; we can go and ask it."

When an elf dies, it returns to nature through tree burial.

The knowledge of these spirits will also return to nature, but it will not completely disappear. Some of it will merge with nature and remain in the Tree of Knowledge.

This is also why the Ancient Tree of Knowledge possesses vast knowledge.

"I have a question that I must answer. I need to see the Ancient Tree of Knowledge. Does the City of Kolos have the roots of the Ancient Tree of Knowledge?" Lu Heng asked.

“Yes, come with me.” After a moment’s thought, Oriana led Lu Heng and the others to the ancient tree space in the north of Kolos City.

The ancient tree space in Kolos City and the one in Moonshadow Forest are not the same, but the ancient knowledge tree rooted in them is the same tree, just different roots.

After entering the ancient tree space, Lu Heng nodded in greeting and then asked the question that had been on his mind.

The Tree of Knowledge remained silent for a long time before answering: "I did indeed see Albert's knowledge from his lifetime. He obtained the [Death Agent] class, and the way this class was acquired was very special."

Upon hearing this, Lu Heng's heart began to race, as this confirmed his suspicions.

The Ancient Tree of Knowledge continued, "The [Death Agent] class is acquired through a scythe of the same name. This scythe is also called Death Agent. After a creature acquires the scythe, its blood will be absorbed by the scythe. After absorbing 30% of its blood, it will gain the power of the scythe and become a [Death Agent]."

really!

Lu Heng had considered this possibility before he came in. Although he didn't know the specific abilities of the Crimson Scythe, he had guessed that the Crimson Scythe was the key.

However, before the Tree of Knowledge revealed the specific values, it was unaware that the Crimson Scythe would absorb the host's blood.

This practice is equivalent to offering blood as a sacrifice.

After absorbing the blood of the sacrifice, the Crimson Scythe grants the host class power.

This method of obtaining a rank is very special, but it does exist.

Similar special ranks have been recorded in military archives, but they are extremely rare.

Lu Heng was initially unaware that the [Death Agent] was obtained through this special method, subconsciously assuming it was acquired through the form of class-specific essence.

After all, in the previous life, all I knew was who obtained the [Death Agent] rank, but I didn't know how they obtained it.

However, the Crimson Scythe absorbed too much blood.

For ordinary people, losing more than 20% of their blood will be life-threatening, but the Crimson Scythe requires absorbing 30% of the blood to complete the class acquisition.

An ordinary person simply couldn't withstand that.

Superhumans have much higher physical strength, but this amount of health is still very dangerous. Even if they don't die, their bodies will be extremely weak.

Lu Heng pondered for a moment, then asked, "Since the true form of the [Death Agent] class is a blood-red scythe, can this class change hosts?"

The Tree of Knowledge replied, "Yes, anyone who obtains the Crimson Scythe can acquire a class by sacrificing 30% of their blood. Once the class changes hands, the original host will lose their class abilities. During the blood sacrifice, the sacrificer cannot receive blood transfusions from outside the body; if non-sacrificial blood is used, the sacrifice will fail."

After hearing this answer, Lu Heng finally understood why the Frost Bone Dragon would abandon Albert and take the Crimson Scythe.

Because the Crimson Scythe is the true form of the fourth-tier [Death Agent], as long as this scythe exists, it can change hosts and create a second [Death Agent].

In other words, Albert can be the "Death Agent," and any elf can be one, including Ke Yiming, as long as they obtain the Crimson Scythe and offer their blood as a sacrifice.

According to the sacrificial rules of the Crimson Scythe, the host can switch at any time.

The original host could even voluntarily relinquish this class and transfer it to a second sacrificer.

In other words, the fact that someone does not have a certain rank does not mean that they never had it.

Combining this with what he had witnessed of the raiding party's battle, Lu Heng had a bold idea.

After leaving the ancient tree space, Lu Heng proposed a strategy to Queen Oriana: "I suspect that the enemy's operation is not over yet, and there may be other targets stealing the commander's statue. Constantly being on guard is not a solution. It would be better to lure them out and solve this problem once and for all."

After careful consideration, Queen Aureanna agreed to the plan.

The order was then given, and the elven guards defeated the Frostbone Dragon, earning the Queen's reward and permission to hold celebrations. ...

That night, the city of Kolos was bustling with activity, as many elves sang elven songs and prayed to the moon goddess.

The celebration lasted until midnight, when everyone got tired and went home to rest.

Lu Heng lay on the bed fully clothed, eyes closed, resting. In the dead of night, the magic stone in his hand emitted light and began to vibrate.

This is a magic stone used by the elves to transmit signals; if the magic stone vibrates, it means something has happened.

Lu Heng immediately jumped out of bed, opened the door, and shouted, "The target has appeared, everyone get up!"

Before the words were even out of his mouth, the doors to the other rooms opened almost simultaneously, revealing Su Muyu, Xie Shi'en, and Lin Zeyu, all ready to go.

The four of them left the hotel and headed straight for the palace district.

The palace district is bustling with activity, as the elven guards and the queen's personal guards patrol the city.

Lu Heng found Fiona and asked, "How is it?"

Fiona, accompanied by the Dragonhawk Knight, answered as she ran quickly: "Just as you predicted, someone infiltrated the palace area, trying to enter the Queen's study, but was discovered by the Arcane Spirit."

"However, the target acted very quickly and fled immediately after his whereabouts were exposed. We are currently searching for him, but we have not yet made any progress."

Lu Heng immediately turned to Su Muyu and said, "Find Ke Yiming's location immediately."

Su Muyu immediately controlled the Azure Phoenix to transform into a streak of light and flew towards the hotel where Ke Yiming had been staying.

The Azure Phoenix, a divine bird, can fly at an incredibly fast speed, covering distances of over ten kilometers in just a few seconds.

So she quickly replied, "Found him, Ke Yiming is at the hotel."

“Keep an eye on him.”

As Lu Heng spoke, he headed towards the commercial district. Before long, he arrived at the hotel where Ke Yiming was staying and pushed open the door to his room.

"Commander Lu, why are you here so late?" Ke Yiming asked with a puzzled expression, pulling up his right sleeve to cover the bandaged wound on his arm.

After entering the room, Lu Heng said something that seemed out of the blue: "You should have run away as soon as you came out of the palace area."

Ke Yiming frowned and asked, "I don't understand, what do you mean?"

Lu Heng met his gaze and said, "Didn't you say I've always suspected you? I also thought it might be inappropriate to maintain this suspicion towards you, but in the end I still discovered clues that proved my suspicions were correct."

Ke Yiming's expression turned serious, and he asked, "Commander Lu, what exactly are you trying to say? I don't understand what happened."

"Alright, stop pretending. Let's be frank. You're the one who went into the palace area to steal the statue, right?" Lu Heng directly voiced his suspicions.

Ke Yiming shook his head in denial: "I don't know what you're talking about. I stayed in the hotel all night, and the hotel owner can vouch for me."

As he spoke, he pointed to the wine on the table.

Only a small amount of the elven fruit wine had been consumed; it was clearly freshly served.

Moreover, since he said the hotel owner could testify for him, then he certainly could. After all, if this statement were a lie, asking the hotel owner would expose it, and saying it would be useless.

Since he said that, it must be true.

Lu Heng didn't care. He pulled up a chair, sat down opposite him, picked up the wine pot and turned it around, saying, "You've even prepared an alibi. It seems you've prepared very thoroughly."

Ke Yiming frowned even more, and was a little angry: "Commander Lu, there should be a limit to malice towards people. I believe that since I met you, I have never done anything to harm your interests. You can't treat me like this."

While talking.

Su Muyu and her group arrived, accompanied by Fiona and her elven guard.

Fiona was somewhat puzzled, but still ordered the elven guards to surround the inn.

After everything was ready, she went into the room and asked, "Is it him?"

Lu Heng nodded: "I'm convinced it's him."

Ke Yiming shrugged: "I stayed in the hotel all night. I don't know why you all have to suspect me."

Just then, an elven guard came in from outside and whispered in Fiona's ear, "I asked the innkeeper. He brought wine up ten minutes ago. This person is indeed in the inn."

Fiona looked at Lu Heng and asked again, "Are you sure?"

Lu Heng stood up and began to review the events from the beginning: "Actually, based solely on tonight's events, it might be really difficult to prove your identity. It's just a pity that there are too many suspicious points about you, which you may not even have noticed yourself."

Ke Yiming picked up his wine glass, took a sip of the fruit wine, and asked, "Really? What's suspicious about me? I'm also curious, how does Commander Lu intend to convict me?"

Lu Heng smiled and said, "First of all, the timing of your appearance is wrong. You did not come into contact with the elves on the first day you were teleported to the Quel'dorei world."

"In the human world, information about the elven world is no secret; almost all those with superpowers know that the elves have formed an alliance with humans."

"Therefore, according to normal logic, human superhumans should contact the elves and seek cooperation the moment they are teleported into the elf world."

"And you only appeared on the third day."

"I know you can explain that the location you teleported to was relatively remote, so this can only be considered a point of suspicion, not evidence."

"You, or rather your team's real weakness, actually occurred when your group stormed into the city of Kolos."

"You guys?" Everyone present looked puzzled.

“Yes, I already know your identity, and this identity answers all the questions. You are a member of the raiding team of the Creator Organization, and your name is ‘Mingke’ (pronounced backwards as Ke Yiming). You have already put the answer out in the open from the beginning, but no one has noticed, so you are very proud of it, right?” Lu Heng said the answer he had deduced.

Upon hearing this, everyone present showed expressions of shock and became alert.

"Is he a member of the Creator's Organization?"

Ke Yiming frowned and retorted, "Commander Lu, it's not appropriate to assign identities to people so casually, is it? I was also involved in the battle when the raiding team and the Frost Bone Dragon appeared. All five of them were there. How could I possibly be a member of that team? The Queen even summoned me for this, showing her great trust in me."

Lu Heng smiled and said, "Queen Aureanna did summon you and lifted the surveillance on you. Because I was the one who asked her to do so."

At this moment, Ke Yiming finally showed a look of surprise on his face.

Lu Heng continued, "You specifically pointed out that all five members of that raiding team were present, which actually shows that your mindset is unstable. In fact, by arranging for five people to appear, you actually revealed a flaw in your strategy."

"No team operation requires all five people to go out together, but all five of you showed up, as if you were deliberately trying to make people see that all five of you appeared at the same time."

"As for creating five people present at the same time, there are too many ways. Just create a puppet or a substitute to impersonate 'Mingke'."

"However, the clone you created cannot completely replicate your combat abilities, so the 'Life Mark' clone's participation in the battle was very low throughout the entire process."

"Besides that, I also know that the [Death Agent] class is you, or rather, it used to be you."

"Albert was the scapegoat you found. I must say your plan was very successful. It would be hard for anyone else to suspect you."

(End of this chapter)