Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 142 Jin Shizhong
"Hehehehe~ Tell me, how did you get exposed?"

In another dimly lit room, Carlos, who had escaped from the suburbs, knelt humbly on the ground, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead like raindrops down his cheeks.

"My lord... this...it happened so suddenly, I wasn't quite sure either, at that time...at that time..."

"Don't test my patience with your stuttering!"

Hearing the voice coming from the seat deep in the shadows, Carlos, who was already panicked, calmed down as he read the threatening and warning voice.

After taking a few deep breaths, Carlos forced himself to calm down and began to organize his thoughts to recount what had happened that day.

"That day was just like any other day. We were trading goods. A butcher from the south brought a lot of good stuff. At the time, I thought the auction would be a big success."

As he spoke, Carlos glanced up furtively, and seeing that the figure sitting in the shadows hadn't said anything, he continued speaking with a heavy heart.

"And just as I predicted, these meats were quickly snapped up by the customers as soon as they were put into today's auction."

Just as Carlos was about to launch into his long speech, the figure who had been sitting deep in the shadows spoke.

"So what made you lower your guard and not check and verify the incoming goods? In our line of work, caution is a sign of respect for our lives."

Sensing the dissatisfaction in the voice of the figure sitting on the sofa, Carlos, not daring to utter a word of rebuttal, once again pressed his body to the ground, his head pressed firmly against the camel hair carpet.

"I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong."

No one spoke, and the atmosphere in the room remained frozen for several minutes, leaving Carlos, who was lying on the floor, unsure of what to do.

After a long time, the figure in the shadows spoke again.

"Okay, let's continue."

Feeling like he'd been granted a pardon, Carlos finally dared to secretly breathe a few sighs of relief. After all, as a veteran of the organization, he had seen too many people who were perfectly fine one moment, only to have their heads and necks separated the next because of a single wrong word or action.

"Of course, you are right, sir. It is indeed my fault for not doing a good job in checking the source of the goods."

This butcher has cooperated with the Chamber of Commerce many times, so I neglected to notice these things. I deserve to die; I will definitely pay more attention to these issues in the future.

"Did you conduct any follow-up investigation on that businessman?"

"My investigation shows that this guy is still conducting normal transactions with the Chamber of Commerce. However, the Night Watch has tightened its checks on goods entering the capital."

So the quality of this guy's products has dropped a lot recently.

Furthermore, my subordinates investigated the source of that shipment. It turned out that unrest had occurred in the large half-elf tribes at the border of the Eternal Night Forest. The half-elf women and children affected were sold to him by their leader.

As the murderous intent subsided, Carlos's trembling muscles relaxed. If he weren't still in danger, Carlos would have loved to take off his clothes and get a good night's sleep.

"Then what about that Red Dragon Princess?"

Upon hearing the leader's question, Carlos, who had relaxed, tensed up once more. This question was the one that could determine his life or death today.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, I have also carefully verified this information. It seems that the Red Dragon Princess and the gentleman accompanying her arrived by chance."

The two of them had become members that day and were then led to our auction hall by a staff member. They were seated just as the auction for those half-elves was concluded.

"Just right?"

Hearing the voice from above, Carlos's body trembled involuntarily, and he slightly raised his head. He then saw a shoe made of pure gold, with a dark red gemstone inlaid on its surface, stopped in front of him.

"Yes, yes, sir."

The immense pressure emanating from the other party made Carlos feel as if the air around him had stopped circulating, and his chubby face turned as red as a red balloon.

"What a coincidence! It's quite interesting, considering that I am a devoted follower of the Nightingale Goddess and Sidis, and a hunter walking among humans."

Such a coincidence is no less significant to us than a thief stealing a treasure chest and the key suddenly breaking, or an assassin releasing hallucinogenic drugs and a gust of wind suddenly blowing in their face.

So why did things turn out this way? This commotion was enough to thwart our original plan of a low-key infiltration.

As the ruby-studded shoe tip moved away from his sight, and he felt the pressure and the suffocation disappear, Carlos could no longer maintain his prone position. Like a drowned dog just pulled from the water, he lay on the ground, panting heavily.

A dozen seconds later, Carlos, having recovered, struggled to his feet.

"Yes, sir, I also felt it was very strange at the time, but in retrospect, it was indeed an accident."

It is said that the red dragon princess took pity on the group of half-elf women and children and did not want them to be used as medicine people, so she contacted buyers to purchase them.

Then, under these circumstances, the Red Dragon Princess and another unnamed young man, led by the seller and service staff, arrived at our storage warehouse located in the suburbs.

The mysterious man sat back down on the sofa and pondered for a moment, as if he were thinking about something. "What's going on with that half-elf? Have you become so lax in your work that you've stopped giving these professionals hallucinogenic drugs? Or have you been too comfortable for too long and forgotten the threat of death, Carlos?"

"No, no, sir, I guarantee that I absolutely did it. I have never forgotten these lessons learned through blood and tears."

Somewhat incoherent, Carlos even frantically crawled a few steps, but under the mysterious man's gaze, he quickly stopped this foolish action, cold sweat dripping down Carlos's chubby cheeks.

"My lord, I have already sent men to investigate the place the half-elf mentioned, and I expect to receive news soon. However, based on my current assessment, this half-elf is probably not in cahoots with the half-elf woman and child who were used as sex slaves. He is probably just a powerful half-elf who wants to rescue the woman and child."

With a whoosh, the mysterious man threw down a stack of letters, which scattered and landed on the ground.

"Take a look. This is an investigation report from MI8. It seems that the claim in your own report that the half-elf was killed by Shadowblade is incorrect."

Upon hearing his leader's words, Carlos hurriedly picked up the scattered intelligence information and examined it carefully. The more he looked, the paler his face became. He thought he had handled the matter perfectly, but he never expected that the imperial surveillance agencies, which he thought were already corrupt, could still find so much information in such a short time.

The more Carlos looked, the more alarmed he became, and his hands began to tremble. He had only been promoted to the coordinator of the capital for two or three years. He had hoped to manage the capital well and climb the ranks in the future by achieving good results here. He never expected that just because of his negligence, the organization would appear before the royal family ahead of schedule.

"This...this...I deserve to die...I deserve to die~~~~~~"

Carlos, belatedly realizing what had happened, looked on with a look of despair and resignation. As an old man who had lived in the Dark Alliance for many years, he knew all too well the consequences of his actions. All that awaited him was to commit suicide in front of the statue of Sidis, using his own blood to wash away his mistakes.

"Alright~ It's not a big deal. Although we were exposed early, we can't hide for long. Fortunately, this incident has diverted the attention of those hounds, making it easier for us to carry out another task."

The next moment, the mysterious man who had been hiding in the shadows finally got up from the sofa and slowly walked towards Carlos, who was kneeling on the ground waiting for punishment.

“I’ll give you another chance. If you mess this up again, don’t even think about escaping next time. Just die right there. That way, I won’t have to explain to the people at Saint Road why I trusted such a stupid guy.”

Hearing that the other party didn't intend to kill him, Carlos's eyes lit up again with renewed hope for life. A figure with long, reddish-brown hair was reflected in his pupils, and he said tremblingly:
"Lord Mercer, I will do my best, I will do my best."

The man called Mercer wasn't tall; his long, loose hair obscured most of his face, making it difficult to discern his features. The only striking features were his pale gray pupils and unusually long fingers.

"Although your foolish decision to eliminate the Red Dragon Princess led to the exposure of the organization, it also inadvertently influenced His Majesty the Emperor's judgment. Originally, our major client was about to be exposed due to Frederick IV's continuous investigation."

But your actions led them to mistakenly believe that we were about to unleash a bloody night in the capital again, just like thirty years ago, and at the same time, they made our beautiful and charming Empress Catherine discover the weakness in the surveillance system.

Here, you should thank Lady Nightingale for her favor. She merely plucked the thread of fate, saving you, you foolish fellow, and even granting us some unexpected protection.

Although Carlos only vaguely understood what Mercer was saying, and even completely misunderstood some parts, overwhelmed by the joy of surviving the ordeal, all Carlos wanted to do was lie in the warm bath and wait for the maid's soft fingers to gently caress his body.

"Ah~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

The next moment, Carlos, who was kneeling on the ground, let out a miserable scream and suddenly raised his left hand. His little finger and ring finger were broken off cleanly. Surprisingly, not a drop of blood flowed from the cross-section of the severed fingers, as if an invisible air cap had blocked the wound.

"Although I've decided to spare your life, to prevent you from doing such mindless things again, these two fingers are a reminder. I hope that when you're most relaxed and comfortable, you'll look at your left hand more often, and then touch your head to make sure it's still on your head."

Carlos, who was in pain and covered in cold sweat, let out a scream when he was initially caught off guard. After realizing what had happened, he quickly shut his mouth to prevent himself from making a sound, and his face turned bright red, like a ripe tomato.

"Alright, let's go over the next plan together. If you're not smart enough to create any surprises for me, then just stick to the plan and do it properly. That way, at least in my eyes you'll still be someone who can get things done and has some use. That way, I won't be endlessly ridiculed by those two groups, Saint Road and Rewrite."

Still recovering from the pain, Carlos could only nod to show that he understood.

"Since they think we're going to start another bloody night like we did thirty years ago, then let's do as they want and start another bloody night. The commotion must be huge, the scene must be magnificent, the number of participants must be large, and the scope of the impact must be wide. Do you understand?"

Having finally adjusted to the pain, Carlos struggled to sit up again, enduring the excruciating agony as he spoke:
"My lord! Our infiltrators were almost wiped out during the last Blood Night. If we launch another operation at the Royal Gathering now, we probably won't achieve the effect you want."

Faced with Carlos's difficult explanation, Mercer, standing against the light, did not give a direct answer. After thinking for more than ten seconds, he slowly said:
"Your focus has shifted. I've brought twenty more Level 1 Shadow Blades this time. Your goal now is to muddy the waters of the capital as much as possible. As for who you target—the royal family, nobles, merchants, or commoners—I don't really care. What I want is a big commotion, widespread impact, a spectacular scene, and a large number of people affected. Understand?"

Under the gaze of Mercer's pale gray eyes, Carlos felt as if he were being stared at by a vicious wolf, and could only nod stiffly and with difficulty.

"I understand, I understand. I will definitely do my best this time and not let you down, sir, and not let the other two factions ridicule us, Kim Shi-jung, at will."

Seeing Carlos's determined look, Mercer snapped his fingers easily, then walked back to the sofa and downed the red wine on the low table in one gulp.

"That's good, Carlos. Don't disappoint me again. I'll be waiting for your good news in the Dark Nest."

As the wine glass was placed on the table, Mercer was shrouded in black mist, and after a few breaths, he vanished from the private room.

After Mercer left and the invisible pressure disappeared, Carlos's left hand, which was being covered, suddenly gushed out a large amount of blood from the severed finger. Strangely, however, as the blood gushed out normally, Carlos's complexion actually looked much better.

Unable to endure it any longer, Carlos immediately let out a pig-like scream. After a while, feeling exhausted from screaming, Carlos shouted into the void:

"Someone come here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure dressed in leather armor covered in black magic patterns appeared out of thin air.

"Go and get me all the recent intelligence. Also, fix my finger."

(End of this chapter)