Mystery: When the Fool Meets the Masked Fool

Chapter 450 Preparing to Hunt Inszangwell
Although Medici's return to the position of King of Angels was quite a commotion, Backlund was large enough that Medici didn't intentionally make sure everyone in Backlund saw his intentions.

Therefore, even though Medici planted the "Red Army of War" banner high in the clouds, only those around the dock area saw it.

"The war... is likely to become even more intense."

As Leonard, wearing red gloves, stepped off the carriage and was about to enter St. Samuel's Church, he heard Palles' voice in his ear.

"What? Is...what happened?" Leonard paused slightly in his steps, pretending to look at the newsboys on the side of the road.

But Pales only said something vague: "When He comes here, war will break out here."

“He!” Leonard was startled by the title.

"You're already scared this much by the return of the Angel King? And you still dare to buy that sealed artifact that lets you take out your monocle anytime, anywhere!" Pales scolded Leonard irritably.

Clearly, several days later, Pales, who had been startled, was still furious.

Leonard instinctively covered his backside, fearing that a stick might suddenly fly out and hit him in the buttocks.

He was taught a harsh lesson by Pales at the time.

“The Red Angels have returned,” Palles explained to Leonard simply this time.

Just then, the newsboys, waving newspapers, ran quickly through the streets and squares, passing right in front of Leonard.

Leonard stopped the newsboy, took out a penny, bought a newspaper, and said in a low voice as he flipped through it, "I heard that the Imaginary Angel Adam predicted this last week. But he didn't mention the reappearance of the Red Angel."

“Perhaps this was also unexpected by Him,” Palles replied. “However, it is more likely that He considered ‘the reappearance of the Red Angels’ and ‘the outbreak of full-scale war’ to be synonymous.”

"What do you mean?" Leonard unfolded the newspaper, but did not read its contents.

"It means that an angel king who symbolizes war and walks on earth can escalate war even if he does nothing."

Leonard paused for a while before saying in a slightly dejected tone, "In that case, it might not be long before the South also becomes a battlefield."

“Yes,” Pales said with absolute certainty, “or rather, it was inevitable.”

“However, it shouldn’t be a big problem.” Leonard’s tone regained its cheerfulness. “At least three true god-level beings will intervene to minimize casualties.”

"Believe in the power of the gods, but not in their mercy." Palez Zoroaster's slightly aged voice echoed in Leonard's mind.

After a few seconds of pause, Pales added, "But this time, you may have indeed encountered some decent gods."

"But why am I still stuck in Backlund?" Leonard muttered to himself, puzzled.

After ascending to the level of a spirit sorcerer by drawing upon the vengeful spirits on the battlefield, he became the captain of a "Red Gloves" squad. The members were drawn from other squads, making them a formidable fighting force.

Needless to say, it won't be long before he's promoted to "Consciousness Inspector," a fifth-order rank in the Hunting Path. Even if the church's middle ranks are unaware of his strength, the true high-ranking members should be quite aware of it.

He didn't think he could fool those important figures. According to Paris, during one of his secret outings to play the "phantom thief," a saint was watching nearby, which is how he kept himself hidden from Leonard.

After the outbreak of war, Leonard thought that his squad would be transferred back to the Sanctuary to participate in the battle in the Amanda Mountains, just like the one he had previously served in Sost. However, he was assigned to the mobile force of the Backlund diocese.

Because of the wartime policies, such as the curfew, the metropolis is currently safe and secure. No extraordinary individuals are causing trouble, and even the murderous "demons" have not created chaos, giving Leonard quite a bit of free time, making it even more relaxed than in peacetime.

"Instead of wasting your time thinking like this, you should think about how to proceed with the next step of the ceremony." Pales didn't want to pay attention to Leonard, who was lost in thought.

"What can I do?" Leonard was also troubled.

The promotion ceremony for Sequence Five is to personally kill off a former enemy.

"The chicken that bullied me when I was a kid was stewed a long time ago." He rubbed his forehead in frustration. "But I stewed it myself back then, so does that count as completing the ritual?"

"You're spineless." Pales laughed in exasperation. "What grudge do you hold against me that you keep thinking about your wretched chicken?" "Well, it pecked at me every day when it was a chick, how could I not resent it?" Leonard didn't think he was wrong at all.

“What about Inszangwell?” Pales retorted. “Does it matter whether former enemies still harbor hatred?”

“This…” Leonard frowned. “I can’t find it. And it’s possessed by an evil spirit.”

“That evil spirit is gone,” Pales said. “And if I’m not mistaken, it should have left a high-ranking, Hunter Path related high-sequence item on Inszangwell. Perhaps it’s a sealed artifact, perhaps an extraordinary trait, or perhaps a desecration card.”

"And you, on your hunting route, might be more or less attracted. It won't be much, but I'm a codebreaker, and I can easily help you find his location."

Leonard nodded at first, then turned to ask, "Old man, have you been helping me too much lately?"

"Is there a problem?" Pales's tone was somewhat strange. "I am the 'Old Angel' of the Church of Pleasure. Is there a problem with helping you, a spy planted by the Church of Pleasure in the Church of Night?"

“Old man, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want,” Leonard retorted immediately. “When did I become a spy? And when did you become an angel of the Church of Pleasure?”

“Your brain will rust sooner or later if you don’t use it,” Pales explained. “They wrote me into the canon, which is clearly to protect me under Amon’s control. I didn’t refuse, so that means I accepted it.”

"As for you, every gift of fate comes with a price tag attached. You accepted so many conveniences from that Tarot club, do you really think you can do it without giving anything in return?"

"Even if you know nothing, even if you believe that everything you do is from the heart, you have already become a tool in the hands of that foolish master."

"So, this master of fools has indeed lived up to his name, manipulating you like a puppet, and you know nothing about it."

Leonard was filled with awe. He never expected that Mr. Fool had arranged so many things. He had been a member of the Tarot Club for so long, yet he had been kept in the dark.

As expected, Mr. Fool.

“Alright, you’d better make your move in the next couple of days. If you wait any longer, your target might leave Backlund,” Pales said. “You can’t kill anyone in the next few days, but when you’re facing Inszangwill, I can barely help you create an opening.”

"Speaking of which, why did that Red Angel send Inszangwell to me?" Leonard realized another question.

"Who knows? It might be a whim, but it's more likely to be another conspiracy."

"I can't fathom His thoughts. All I can say is that if he wants to become a high priestess, he must have someone at least on par with the Primordial Witch as his backer and support. But I don't know which one that is."

"He brought Inszangwell to you, perhaps to befriend the goddess of night, or perhaps to befriend the Fool behind you."

"Just like I was saying, you're a double agent."

At this point, Pales paused for a moment.

"That's what we're talking about."

"You may not have noticed, but there seems to be something wrong with your former colleague."

Leonard, who had just put away the newspaper and was about to walk into the church, paused for a moment, then continued forward on his own.

"what is the problem?"

Pales chuckled twice.

"I don't want to tell you now. Let's talk about it when something really happens."

"However, there's probably no need to worry too much about it, since he has that Mr. Fool above him for protection."

Hearing this, Leonard fell silent for a moment. He then took out his phone again and sent Klein a few messages as a reminder. He told him they could hunt Inszangwill together in the next couple of days, and also that there might be trouble around him.

(End of this chapter)