I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 302 The Duke's Hidden Move, Murderous Intent Under the Moonlight

Count Jekyll Emmentault has been feeling rather irritable lately.

Nine days ago, after he followed that person's instructions and had his subordinates find someone to cause trouble for the newly promoted lieutenant general of the reformist faction, he discovered that his forces were being investigated by the Ravenbeak Army, and even his daily travels were being monitored.

And it seems that not only the Ravenbeak Unit, but also the Royal Guard, which has always been responsible for palace security, has begun to investigate the truth behind the frame-up incident.

This discovery also caused him unease and panic.

Because he was unsure whether these clues were His Majesty William's intention.

He also felt somewhat confused and surprised.

After all, in his view, since that person had instructed him to do this, the other party would surely have perfectly eliminated the relevant clues.

Therefore, this situation should not be happening right now.

Strangely enough, the Royal Guard still managed to trace it back to them.

This is clearly not normal.

"So, was I used as a pawn by that gentleman? Or did the other party reach some new deal with His Majesty William?"

This is in conjunction with the cabinet meeting held a few days prior, which resulted in the establishment of the Imperial Intelligence Service, and the subsequent parliamentary proceedings concerning the distribution of interests among the three parties.

Jike, who vaguely felt that he had been drawn into another political vortex, felt his heart grow even heavier.

He suddenly regretted getting involved in this otherwise insignificant political campaign in order to show his loyalty to that person.

"Lord Jike, are you alright? You look so pale."

At night, inside a carriage that looks unremarkable on the outside but has a lot of luxurious decorations inside, it travels on the streets outside Elena.

Looking at their Earl, Elliott's secretary was filled with worry and doubt.

He discovered that Lord Jik's condition had inexplicably deteriorated since eight days ago, even though his party had just won the key position of the Oversight and Compliance Bureau in the recent conflict.

As the current head of the Emmentorout family, Lord Zeke also served as the head of the Compliance and Audit Department under the Inspectorate and Compliance Bureau, responsible for auditing the use of funds for all operations to ensure that the operational procedures comply with the Imperial Code and internal regulations.

It is one of the most lucrative departments in the entire Imperial Military Intelligence Bureau.

Logically speaking, after getting such a good position, Lord Jike should have been extremely happy, if not thrilled every day.

But for some reason, he became depressed for a time.

This is clearly not normal.

"...It's nothing, I'm probably just a little tired lately. Also, Elite, at our current speed, how much longer will it take to get to the temple?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, it should be about half an hour more. If you are tired, Lord Jike, you can take a short rest."

"Great, remember to wake me up when we arrive."

"The villain understands."

"rustle!"

Looking at Count Zeke, who was half-reclined on the sofa, Elliott carefully drew the curtains. Then, he glanced at the count, who was pretending to be asleep, and couldn't help but wonder what was going on.

Having served Count Zeke for eight years and acted as his personal clerk, Elliott immediately realized, upon hearing Zeke's vague explanation, that the details of the matter were secrets unknown to someone of his status.

Even if he were to inquire further, given the other party's cautious nature, they probably wouldn't tell him the truth.

But as the other party's front man, having experienced countless power struggles, he also knew that once the other party fell from power, he, as the other party's confidant, would probably not escape death, and would no longer be able to complete his mission.

Yes, Elliott White has a great mission, a mission he has existed to fulfill since he was ten years old.

In fact, it differs from what Jike knew.

He wasn't actually the descendant of a down-on-his-luck merchant, as he claimed. He gained Zeke's appreciation through a chance encounter and, through his own efforts and talent, was fortunate enough to become Zeke's personal clerk.

Contrary to his public persona, his true identity is that of a trusted confidant secretly cultivated by the Mosilis family.

His chance encounter with Zeke was the result of careful planning by the Duke's advisors.

Someone like him, who received the Duke's training and joined the faction of the conservative or reformist nobles by a perfect coincidence, became their advisor, concubine, or steward.

There are actually many others besides him.

Their purpose was to allow His Majesty the Duke to monitor and keep track of the movements of the conservative and reformist middle-level members.

And when the Duke is about to rise to power, they will try to win over or eliminate the middle-ranking nobles they currently serve, thus clearing away obstacles for the Duke's advance to the greatest extent possible.

This grand plan, known as 'The Lurkers,' had already been secretly underway for ten years before His Majesty William ascended the throne.

And even then, the total number of people he knew had already reached 185.

Now, after a full eighteen years of foreshadowing, this number will only increase, not decrease.

This also means that once the Duke decides to take power, most of the middle-ranking nobles in the empire will be brought under the control of the Mosilis family.

In other words, with just a single order from the Duke, they could control the fate of half the empire's nobility.

Furthermore, the empire is now on the verge of a major two-party conflict, which has escalated into a fierce and protracted conflict.

He was one of the most outstanding of the many hidden agents planted by Duke Mosilis.

As an agent, Elliott had already clearly anticipated this.

The moment when His Majesty the Duke will manipulate these pawns to achieve his astonishing ambitions will likely come soon.

And when that time comes, it will be the end of this boring master-servant drama.

Thinking of this, a barely perceptible glint of coldness flashed in Elliott's eyes, but he quickly buried the surging memories deep within his heart, replacing them with contemplation:
"Based on the clues, the time when Zeke's emotional change occurred was eight days ago. The action most recent to that point was when the other party arranged for him to find someone to frame John Maslow."

"So, if I'm not mistaken, could the other person's unease be related to this matter?"

Has a new decision been made within the conservative party?

Or did William Perus discover this and thus put Count Gick in a bad light, making the latter start to feel uneasy?
Or perhaps, there are deeper secrets hidden within that I am unaware of?

For example, is it related to the unknown conservative member whom the other party secretly met before he was ordered to carry out this little prank?

Elliott pondered various possibilities, but after realizing that he couldn't deduce the key information with the existing data, he realized that he couldn't deduce the key.

He then abandoned the idea and instead planned to inform his contact during a subsequent secret report, allowing his superiors to make a decision.

After all, this situation is indeed somewhat unusual. Whether to try to win him over in advance to obtain inside information or to request external assistance to conduct an investigation, it is beyond his ability to handle on his own.

Therefore, reporting this matter to higher authorities for a decision is the most appropriate option.

Just as Elliott had made up her mind to spend the trip in silence.

When the vehicle arrived at the location of the secret salon that Zeke and several counts had set up, he woke Zeke, who was sleeping like a log, and then waited in the car as usual for the salon, filled with desire and decadence, to end. The next second, a loud bang followed by a violent shaking of the car interrupted his thoughts.

"Oh!"

"what happened?"

Abruptly awakened by the jolt, Zeke instantly turned to Elite with a dark expression, his dissatisfaction and anger making Elite's eyelids twitch.

Realizing something was wrong, he didn't have time to wonder what had happened. After giving Jike a frightened look, he stuck his head out of the car window without saying a word.

He then planned to angrily berate the foolish coachman for disturbing the Earl's rest, and he would make sure the coachman suffered the consequences.

However, before Ellit could even speak, the moment he peeked out, the sight before him caused his pupils to shrink to their absolute limit:
Under the cold moonlight, the six disguised guards who should have been riding ahead to guard and scout ahead were now hacked to pieces along with their horses, their remains scattered on both sides of the road.

The coachman, who was driving the carriage ahead, had already fallen to the ground in fright. He was now staring at the hellish scene in front of him, his face pale, and he was involuntarily muttering words like "devil" and "monster".

At the same time, he was uncontrollably vomiting all kinds of filth, and his body was filled with a strong smell of urine.

Amidst that hellish scene of flesh and blood, a relatively short figure, wearing a huge black cloak and with a unique magical veil covering his eyes, making it impossible to discern any distinguishing features, stood in the center of the carnage.

The other party was also carrying a common standard longsword.

However, the terrifying magical fluctuations emanating from it caused Elite to feel the hairs on his body stand on end the moment he noticed them.

I will die. Once the other party makes a move, I will definitely die!

With just one glance, Elliott, who had undergone ten years of specialized special agent training and mastered various assassination techniques, instinctively issued a frantic warning to him.

This is in stark contrast to the fact that the other side, without uttering a single word, swiftly slaughtered six of our elite mid-rank knights.

He instantly realized that this was probably not a sudden robbery.

It was a premeditated assassination!

Moreover, the other party's target is none other than the idiotic nobleman he serves, Zeke Emmentalout!
"What kind of being did that idiot Zeke make a deal with that would actually send out such a monster to forcibly eliminate any future trouble?"

Am I doomed now?

In an instant, Elliott blamed everything on Zeke's troubles, feeling both shocked and angry.

At the same time, he was also thinking about whether he should pretend to be scared out of his wits and then launch a sneak attack when the other party came to deal with Zeke.

The best chance of survival is to directly and unhesitatingly expose one's strength and run away.

The next second, a sudden change in the situation left him completely stunned.

"Whoosh!"

Accompanied by a piercing sound as if something was being torn apart.

Immediately afterward, to Zeke's astonishment, a terrifying magical light once again shone eerily behind the figure standing in the flesh-and-blood hell, who was about to draw his sword and charge at the carriage where he was.

It then rapidly solidified in the air at an astonishing speed, instantly transforming into a massive slash that brought the figure that attacked them, along with the carriage they were in, into its attack range!

"Crack!"

……

Late at night, in an abandoned stone house on either side of the road in the area surrounding the Temple of the Ritual of Silence, Anna Splinter received the latest intelligence from her own side.

At this moment, it was silently crouching in this abandoned house, its emerald green eyes peering through the cracks in the stone house, waiting for its target to arrive.

She planned to ambush Jik on his way to the secret salon, and then suddenly attack and kill him once his carriage arrived.

They then left pre-prepared marks to frame the conservatives, thus successfully completing their mission.

As time passed in the cool night breeze, Anna grew somewhat bored during the long wait and pondered how she could reasonably investigate the Binott family's affairs.

Listening to the faint sounds around her, she then saw, with her extraordinary eyesight, a carriage guarded by six guards approaching her from afar.

Combined with the intelligence provided by her own spies, Anna instantly understood that the other party was her target for this assassination.

"Finally here!"

Quickly deal with the other party, then go back to the hotel to rest.

Anna murmured to herself, but her eyes did not relax in the slightest; instead, they were filled with an unprecedented seriousness.

"Tap, tap!"

As the carriage rapidly approached, Anna instinctively placed her right hand on the hilt of her sword at her waist.

The moment the carriage entered her attack range.

A chilling light suddenly burst forth at that moment.

"Crack!"

However, this was not the result of Anna taking action.

Instead, the level of magical disorder in the entire abandoned housing area suddenly increased to a level far exceeding her expectations!

In an instant, countless beautiful yet deadly eerie smoke clouds condensed in the air, as if they had a life of their own, transforming into a destructive torrent that precisely struck Count Jike's vehicle!

In an instant, he killed all six knights in front of him!

"There are others?!"

Anna's pupils constricted to the extreme, her heart filled with horror and disbelief.

She was somewhat shocked that the other party's concealment skills were so advanced that she hadn't even noticed them, and they had hidden themselves here silently.

What was shocking was that the scale and precision of this technique were far beyond what ordinary assassins could achieve.

Moreover, for some reason, the attack launched by the other party gave her a strange sense of familiarity.

It was as if she herself had made the move.

No, the opponent's strength was far greater than hers.

So, what exactly is this...?

He watched as the person in front of him suddenly attacked and killed all the guards accompanying his mission target.

Anna's eyes flickered as she looked at the somewhat petite man in black, but then she saw that he seemed intent on continuing his attack and killing her target, thus jeopardizing her mission.

In a split second, she made her decision and, without hesitation, drew her sword and launched an attack on her opponent:
"Whoosh!"

……

(End of this chapter)