Deity Investigation Report

Chapter 278 Hunting the Old Earl (Vote for monthly tickets to win gold prizes, two gold prizes are up for grabs)

"Have you shaken off all the pursuers?"

"We've shaken them off!"

"Are you sure no one from Gianthorn City will catch up with us again?"

"They were already in disarray, and they urgently dispatched three groups of people. That's quite impressive, isn't it? There won't be any more of that."

"Alright, since that's the case, when do you plan to make your move against me?"

"..."

Skinning Manor is about seventy miles from Giant Horn City, and when you get to within twenty kilometers of Skinning Manor, it becomes part of Count Alvarez's territory, and Skinning Manor properties can be seen everywhere.

Vast areas of mechanized farmland cover the land, and dense, dark forests of man-made trees with twisted branches cover the hills, with rusty barbed wire fences enclosing large swathes of land.

Wei Lan and the old count drove along the road to this point, where it was pitch black all around. Only the faint light from the half-cloud and half-moon in the sky made the headlights seem weak and unable to illuminate the end of the road.

Hearing the old count, who was driving, ask his final question, Wei Lan turned her head with a smile: "Why do you say that?"

The old count slowed down the car and whispered, "Even a fool could see that!"

"Half of the armed forces of Skinning Manor were left to launch a feint attack on Giant Horn City, so that they would not be able to spare any resources to hunt me down."

"But after escaping for less than 20 kilometers, they accidentally entered an observation post outside Giant Horn City, so they had to send people to intercept them. After escaping for another 10 kilometers, they were inexplicably caught up by a team of investigators from Giant Horn City."

"In order not to waste their time, William also stayed behind to hold them off."

"We couldn't escape for more than a few miles. The other vehicles broke down, and we were the only ones who made it this far..."

"..."

As the old count finished speaking, the carriage slowly came to a stop. He turned around, his expression half-joking and half-serious, and said, "Such a coincidence has happened, and given that I know there's always someone in the wilderness who wants my life, do you think I could have guessed it?"

Wei Lan smiled and clapped: "The old count really knows his stuff..."

Count Albares sighed softly and said, "I'm just curious, why do you want to kill me?"

"Or rather, do you know how serious a matter it is to kill a nobleman?"

"..."

Wei Lan looked at him with a smile and said softly, "I have had contact with nobles, but I don't know them very well. Actually, I'm quite curious too."

"If those nobles are really as high and mighty as the legends say, how could someone like you, with the title of earl, abandon such a large family business and noble pride to travel all the way from the Western Continent to such a remote place to start a farm?"

"That's not how it works."

The old count shook his head slightly and sighed, "Salem has its own set of strict operating rules. The angels, the blood ancestors, the voodoo cult, the crusaders, and other factions fight to the death."

"Any member of any family could be exiled for breaking the rules, and I am an unlucky one. After all, the glory of my ancestors cannot protect me now."

"However, although I have been exiled, I have lost my privileges. This is different from being easily killed by outsiders, do you understand?"

"..."

"Understand."

Wei Lan listened very attentively and said softly, "Actually, there is such a family in the city I am familiar with. Although they have not been involved in the mysterious circle, no one dares to underestimate them. It seems that, in some ways, they are similar to the Earl."

The old count nodded and asked, "What are their surnames?"

Wei Lan smiled and said, "Then it's not convenient for me to tell the Earl."

The old count was somewhat dejected and sighed, "It seems you are determined to kill me."

He got out of the car, took out gloves from his backpack and put them on, then his knight's sword. His movements were slow and deliberate, and he looked at Wei Lan with a hint of regret: "May I ask why?"

"I can't think of any benefit that would make a young empress like you take such a big risk to kill a nobleman. I'm very curious who is worthy of your loyalty?"

“Giant Horn City wants to kill me because my crimes are too great, and only I can bear the consequences. Moreover, by making this decision, they are prepared to give up more than a third of the seats in the Giant Horn City Council. But you, I really don’t understand…”

"..."

"You will see them soon."

Wei Lan met the old count's gaze with a calm smile: "Perhaps the count cannot understand that the people I serve have not yet grown to be as gentlemanly as the count, but they are people for whom I would give everything, including my life."

She was very proud when she said those words; it was a genuine, heartfelt pride.

"I am indeed quite curious about them..."

The old count had already drawn his knight's sword. Facing Wei Lan, he sighed softly, "I have never seen anyone from the Queen's Organization pledge allegiance to anyone else."

“Beautiful ladies all possess selfish privileges, and queens are loyal only to themselves, not even to the city they live in. You are a special person, but perhaps I will never have the chance to meet them…”

"Although I am reluctant to make a move on a beautiful lady, I must take my research results back to Jerusalem."

“I realized you might have problems, but I was still willing to come with you because I can see that you are indeed an empress. So, you should also be able to help me complete the last mirror and form a complete deep-sea cryptic array.”

As he spoke, he performed a gentlemanly bow, and then lightly slashed with his longsword.

Suddenly, a fierce wind of unknown origin swept through the dense forests all around.

The vast canopies seemed to undulate in clusters, and the dark forest gave one the feeling that it was in motion.

Soon, the road they had come from was also submerged by vast forests, and the surroundings became pitch black, like an airtight prison.

This is a natural trap, a strange forest covering tens of kilometers.

In this forest, Wei Lan saw strange humanoid creatures peeking out from among the trees.

Recognizing their origins, he frowned slightly: "Pantanar Wetland Tree People?"

"Correct."

The old count had a hint of arrogance on his face: "These are the creatures I personally bred. They possess the genes of the Pantanal wetland tree people and also the drought resistance and cannibalistic characteristics of the Abundant Forest. They are the natural guardians of Skinning Manor and my strongest knightly order here."

"This is the second question I want to ask you!"

"To kill a nobleman requires an unimaginable price."

"Most importantly, we are not so easily killed, even if I am not a monster who seeks power!"

"..."

Wei Lan got out of the car with a smile and said, "Then we won't feel any guilt about killing you."

“Count, I know how many lives such a cannibalistic forest requires. It seems you’ve committed quite a few crimes.”

"..."

As she spoke, she stood in front of the old count, lifted her non-existent skirt to bow, and then her eyes gradually became calm.

Upon hearing this, the old count couldn't help but laugh: "We are the masters of the world, enjoying exemption..."

As he spoke, he suddenly stepped forward, thrusting his sword with elegant movements. The slender sword pierced through the layers of night and struck Wei Lan.

……

……

"Is this the superstar you described who's meticulous and thorough in everything he does?"

At the same time, outside the cannibal forest, Lü Xiaoba frowned and said to Han Su, "She didn't lead others into the encirclement at all; she just stupidly walked right into it herself. Could she have already been beaten to death?"

Han Su was somewhat annoyed: "Stop talking nonsense!"

"Miss Wei Lan doesn't act recklessly like that. The most important thing is for us to get in and help as soon as possible."

"There's something wrong with this forest. Are you confident you can get through it?"

"..."

"Heh, of course I have a way."

Lu Xiaoba rubbed his nose, glanced at Han Su, and said, "But I can only go there by myself; I can't help you with that."

"Let's go, let's see who can get through this forest first, the slowest one is a dog..."

"..."

As he spoke, he suddenly lowered his head and darted into the forest, his movements as swift as a cannonball.

But the instant he entered the forest, the dense, crisscrossing branches and twigs intertwined layer upon layer, and he could even vaguely see dark, gaping mouths with a ring of fangs suddenly appearing on the trunks of some trees.

The branches, sharp as knives, were eerie and sinister, wrapping around him as if trying to pull him close and devour him.

But Lü Xiaoba let out a cold snort, letting the branches and vines entangle him, and charged forward with all his might. With a series of cracking sounds, he broke off all the branches that were wrapped around him, and the trees in front of him were knocked over and bent over.

He actually crashed right through it.

A massive tremor spread deep into the forest, resembling an earthquake.

"Is he still a child? Playing this kind of game?"

Han Su was speechless, but he was genuinely curious about Lü Xiaoba's abilities. Seeing the invisible power emanating from him wherever he went, which was extremely powerful, he reached out and grabbed it.

When the abilities of the mystical side are activated, there are two styles. One is extremely precise, with every bit of power calculated, like carefully carving on a chip the thickness of a hair.

One type is barbaric and brutal.

It would be difficult for Han Su to steal the mysterious power from the former, because that would immediately alert him and even provoke a counterattack from the enemy.

People like Lü Xiaoba, even if they don't steal, seem to flock to you as if they don't need money.

Sure enough, as a mysterious power seeped in, the sound of the Emperor's Book rustling through the pages rang out from inside the briefcase:
【Thirteen Mysterious Sources, Number 03 – Lucy】

[Nature: A flawed evolutionary direction that combines numerous drawbacks and paradoxes] [Description: This anomaly has been proven to be the most intractable, unclassifiable, and unmanageable anomalous force.]

[Because it is irrational, it cannot be studied or measured; it possesses the attributes of the unknown and change. However, every so often, it is inherited by some unpredictable organism, the equation of which is unknown, and the principle of inheritance is unknown.]

[A sigh from the Emperor: This damn thing is unreasonable, so let it be...]

【…】

Han Su was somewhat puzzled: Did Lü Xiaoba's abnormal power belong to a superhuman?

That's not right. He was rescued from the castle by himself, so he was already far away from the monsters inside.

Logically speaking, in reality, he would either become an ordinary person, like Xu Ji, or gain completely different powers, like Wei Lan who was chosen by the bronze monster in the castle but became a model in the Queen's sequence in reality...

But why is it that the power he obtains in reality is also from the castle?
A sense of curiosity suddenly arose in his heart. He glanced at the eerie, menacing forest and stepped inside, muttering to himself:

I am about to plunge into the abyss!

【…】

At this moment, his spiritual power surged and his mental activity increased again. In particular, the splitting of divine matter brought about a completely different change. After reciting the incantation, he felt the surrounding shadows gathering towards him.

The original purpose of this cipher spell was to detach oneself from one's own existence, which can also be understood as the surrounding shadows obscuring oneself, but now it has changed again.

For a moment, Han Su even felt as if he had entered a space parallel to reality.

A slight realization dawned on him: "Perhaps by plunging myself into the abyss, I can also achieve another, deeper effect?"

"So, I will detach myself from reality?"

"..."

In the blink of an eye, he almost became a faint shadow and instantly entered the forest.

Countless trees all around opened their eyes and tried to block the way, but no matter how powerful these trees were, how could they stop a shadow?
This change brought Han Su a pleasant surprise.

Is it that my power has evolved as I've risen through the ranks, or are these incantations inherently parted with a second half?
While her mind raced, she followed closely behind Lü Xiaoba. The closer she got, the more she could sense the strangeness about this guy.

The power he was unleashing at this moment was somewhat similar to the Banshee Sequence power of Qinggang. He rampaged through the forest with astonishing momentum, but it didn't seem to be of a high level. Some senior investigators could even perform it with more skill than him.

Simply put, at first glance, one would only think that even if he possesses mysterious power, it is the lowest level.

If I hadn't read it in the Emperor's Book, I would never have believed that this guy possessed one of the thirteen abnormalities—superhuman power.

As she followed closely behind him, she quickly asked, "Where did you get your mysterious power?"

"What mysterious power?"

When Lü Xiaoba turned around, he saw that Han Su had actually followed him. Not wanting to be a dog, he immediately sped up and rushed forward.

But after several attempts to break free from Han Su, he became somewhat frustrated and could only reply:
"I was born this way, and no one taught me..."

"Anyway, I was neglected by my father and mother when I was young, so I had to run away to make a living. At first, I fought with thugs, then I fought with professional gangsters, and then I inexplicably made a name for myself."

"That guy named Wang Fotuo from the Qinggang Disaster Management Bureau has been targeting me and trying to arrest me, so I ran away. But I didn't have any money, so I registered an account on a black market platform..."

"..."

"What the hell?"

Han Su was completely dumbfounded.

intrinsic?
According to him, he has never received any training in mystical powers?

The "guy" he mentioned is Qinggang's independent investigator, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

This person has never received training in mysterious powers, yet he managed to escape from the independent investigators, and he's still a hundred times unconvinced?

The situation became increasingly bizarre.

In the mysterious circle, some people do indeed possess innate power that they cannot escape, such as Miss Crow.

However, I have already checked with the Emperor's Book, and Lü Xiaoba's condition is one of the thirteen abnormalities. How could this be congenital?

Logically, because of the existence of the "successor," the number of the thirteen abnormal powers should be predetermined.

In other words, since the half-doctor in the castle exists, it will not cause the superhuman's power to be lost at will.

This also means that the thirteen types of abnormalities will not result in congenital contamination.

Surprised, a series of images suddenly flashed through his mind. These were the images he had seen time and time again in the castle, all of them showing the half-doctor chasing and tormenting Lü Xiaoba, yet refusing to kill him.

A strange answer inexplicably arose in his mind: Could this innate power be the reason why that half-monster favored him so much?

Once we get back to the Qinggang line, we'll have to investigate this guy properly...

In the blink of an eye, they had already forced their way through the blockade of this cannibalistic forest.

He was a little faster than Lü Xiaoba, who was charging forward, and he could sense Wei Lan's mental coordinates, while Wei Lan needed to adjust his direction. However, because Wei Lan kept trying to get ahead, the two of them rushed out of the dense forest at about the same time.

Yeah, nobody acted like a dog.

"Hey!"

The moment he rushed out of the forest, he saw the old Earl of Skinning Manor wielding a rapier, swiftly thrusting it towards Wei Lan.

Three mirrors materialized in front of Wei Lan, intersecting and folding the space. Strange patterns crawled all over his body, spreading to his sword. The sword pierced through the three mirrors, weaving through the space, and still managed to strike Wei Lan.

Upon seeing this, Lü Xiaoba didn't hesitate and charged headfirst into the old count with unusual ferocity.

Han Su then flashed in front of Wei Lan and raised his hand to block the slender sword that was thrusting towards him.

In the previous life storyline, Wei Lan had already been disfigured to help him, so of course he had to help her avoid that in this life storyline.

"Hellish cultivators, one of the five major sequences in the Western Region!"

Wei Lan appeared quite relaxed. She hadn't gone all out against the old count, and when it came to stalling for time, the Queen's Organization was most adept at using all sorts of methods.

Seeing Han Su and Lü Xiaoba arrive, he relaxed a bit and whispered, "This old count is remarkable, possessing a civilization-level totem for protection. However, he seems to be quite unskilled in combat."

"Civilization level?"

Han Su's gaze turned slightly cold as he looked up at the old count.

He had fought against many mysterious beast-level powers and had also witnessed race-level powers, but he had little experience with civilization-level powers.

However, in his mind, this old count was not the type that was too difficult to kill. If it weren't for the fact that the old count had some kind of strange blessing that caused him to waste the opportunity during the previous sneak attack, he might have already successfully dealt with him.

"Is this the person you're loyal to?"

Meanwhile, the old count, who had been knocked away by Lü Xiaoba, slowly got up from the ground.

The impact was quite severe, and his arm was somewhat twisted. However, he simply swayed his arm slightly, and strange runes began to appear on his body, traveling throughout his body and repairing his arm.

He calmly surveyed Han Su and immediately recognized his identity...

The young mercenary who had previously negotiated with both himself and the Great Horned City while accompanied by the Little Lamb Girl.

So, all of these things were caused by this guy?

He couldn't quite understand when he had gotten involved with such a crazy and audacious group of people.

It was inexplicable and brutal; not only did they destroy half of Giant Horn City, but they also set a trap to kill themselves.

But this series of events had also stirred his arrogance, especially after seeing Lü Xiaoba and Han Su appear, who did not fit his image of a young empress worthy of his loyalty. So he drew his knight's sword and pointed it at Han Su:
"Then let's wager this empress and have a gentleman's contest..."

"..."

"Who the hell wants to mess with you, you old codger..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Xiaoba, who had just knocked the old count away and rolled on the ground, got up and charged at the old count with a powerful leap, throwing a punch.

While hitting, he didn't stop talking, rattling off a string of words, and in the blink of an eye, he had greeted all of the old count's relatives within three generations.

"Shoot..."

In the heat of the moment, the old count only had time to raise his knight's sword in front of him to block the punch.

However, Lu Xiaoba's punch was too powerful, and he was still hit by the punch, causing him and his sword to slide backward uncontrollably.

"you……"

He gritted his teeth, thinking that this beautiful young empress would be loyal to some remarkable figure, and that anyone who dared to scheme against him must be some powerful and mysterious being.

Who would have thought that they would be a group of young hooligans?
He was furious and gritted his teeth slightly. The cannibalistic forest around him quickly converged towards the center, and the golden cells in his body underwent changes.

The gold cell divides for the first time!
The strange runes that had already appeared on his body became denser in an instant, quickly covering his entire body.

These young people are indeed too young and inexperienced. They are not good at fighting. Having lived for so long, they have never considered themselves as warriors; that would be too barbaric.

I am a scholar.

However, they did not know that some forces were beyond their comprehension.

I don't use it myself, simply because it's not respectable.

'Has his divine essence undergone a change?'

At the same moment, Han Su keenly sensed a strange aura. In an instant, he stepped forward and joined forces with Lü Xiaoba to attack the count with the strange expression. Although he was tense inside, he remained arrogant on the surface and shouted in a deep voice:

"We certainly didn't come here to challenge you..."

“Count, you are merely our prey…”

(End of this chapter)