Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 363 Aurora Society Announces Responsibility?
With a biscuit in his mouth, Lu Ze walked out of the house and went to the mailbox.

Since he only collects the newspaper every three to five days, his mailbox is already quite full.

Lu Ze took all the newspapers out of the box and piled them on the living room table. He then boiled some hot water for himself, as chewing the dry biscuits made his mouth very dry and swallowing them was a bit difficult.

Before the kettle boiled, he picked up the latest issue of the Backlund Post.

"The Pritz Enters Port and Moors"

"This report is from our correspondent. To celebrate the New Year, the Royal Navy will soon arrive in Backlund. The newest ironclad warship, HMS Pritz, will also enter the city via the Tasok River and dock at Naval Port 3."

Ironclad warship?
It seems like this is their first time in Backlund. They say they're celebrating the New Year, but actually they're just taking the opportunity to show off to Fussacks and intimidate them.
Lu Ze continued reading, where he found a general introduction to the Pritz's tonnage, size, speed, as well as the caliber of the cannons mounted on it and the types of weapons. This information, presented so openly, further confirmed his idea.

Six rapid-fire cannons, twelve 6-pounder cannons, eighteen machine guns, four torpedo launchers, and 457 mm of main armor—a formidable iron hedgehog that can withstand any attack. Can any extraordinary being contend with it?
Lu Ze thought for a moment.

Low-rank Extraordinary units are basically helpless against ironclad ships. Even in the mid-rank, their pure firepower is certainly not enough to penetrate 457mm of iron armor, and their strongest defensive capabilities cannot withstand the frontal bombardment of shells.

Unless one uses special abilities to incapacitate the crew operating the ironclad ship, such as Lu Ze, it is possible to spread "plague," incite "desire," or use "suggestion," "hypnosis," and so on. Of course, all of these must be done while dodging enemy fire.

As for the higher sequences, Lu Ze didn't know. He only knew that a god's body was definitely not something that an ironclad warship could destroy, and that angels could easily wipe out the people on board.

After letting his thoughts wander for a while, Lu Ze felt it was pointless, so he put down the newspaper and picked up a new one.

The headline above immediately caught his attention.

Breaking News! Duke Negan assassinated; Aurora Society claims responsibility!

"what?"

Lu Ze almost spat out the crumbs of the biscuit in his mouth.

Aurora Viewing?
Haven't I already wiped out all the Aurora Gang members in Backlund?
"Woo-glug-glug."

The water in the kitchen behind him had boiled. He got up to pour some water, then returned with a cup of hot water, sat down, and picked up the newspaper to continue reading:

"According to this newspaper, yesterday, during a routine meeting of the House of Lords, an assassin carrying a bomb suddenly stormed into the chamber, killing and injuring several members, including the Duke of Negan, causing extremely negative consequences."

Meanwhile, at 15 Minsk Street, Joewood District.

"Afterwards, the terrorist organization 'Aurora Society,' which was wanted by many countries in the Northern Continent, announced that they were responsible for the bombing."

Klein read the newspaper and couldn't help but shake his head.

If he hadn't known the details, he would have almost believed it.

However, since none of the Aurora Society members in Backlund had any objections, he naturally wouldn't say anything.

"Currently, the West Vilas Field and MI9 have issued a joint statement to hold the 'Aurora Society' accountable for its unforgivable crimes. In response, we cannot help but ask, how could a criminal carrying high explosives infiltrate the center of the highest national power, a building that should theoretically be the most secure?

Is this a systemic flaw or a weakness of human nature?

Klein was speechless for a moment, then tossed the newspaper aside. The reporter who wrote the story had probably studied at Intis and mastered the journalistic charm inherited from Russell there, escalating an assassination attempt to an extreme degree.

Breakfast time was over. Klein tilted his head back and finished the coffee in his cup, then stood up, cleared away the dishes, and took them to the kitchen to wash.

After doing all that, he went to the mirror and tidied his appearance.

The mirror reflected Klein's current appearance—a full beard and gold-rimmed glasses.

He lowered his head to straighten his clothes, and when he looked up again, his beard had disappeared, his cheeks had become fuller, and his overall appearance had completely changed. His black hair had also turned into short, curly brown hair.

Apart from the fact that he was still wearing those gold-rimmed glasses on his nose and that his clothes hadn't changed, he looked like a completely different person!
The Faceless Man's main ability is "shapeshifting"!
That's right. After obtaining one of the main materials, "Human Skin Shadow Trait," from Luze, Klein obtained the other half of the main material, "Thousand-Faced Hunter's Pituitary Gland," from the vampire Emlyn White, along with the corresponding auxiliary materials. After preparing and consuming them last night, he successfully advanced to Sequence 6 of the "Diviner" pathway, "Faceless Man"!
Besides the increase in spirituality and the enhancement of his lower-sequence abilities, Klein's most important ability is "shapeshifting." This ability allows him to almost perfectly mimic the appearance of others, making it difficult to distinguish them unless one is very familiar with them. However, this does not allow him to conjure additional flesh or reduce his size, which is a drawback.

Klein is currently imitating a friend he met at the Cragg Club—Talim Dumont, a nobleman's riding instructor. This friend died on the spot in front of everyone due to a strange curse.

"Talim, do you know how you died?"

Klein said to "Talim" in the mirror.

Talim ignored him and quickly changed his appearance, his face becoming rounder, his eyes narrower, and he exuding youthful vigor and a smile.

If anyone else were present at this moment, they would definitely be frightened by this face, because it is none other than the current third prince of the Loen royal family, Edsak Augustus!
The prince, who bears a striking resemblance to Henry Augustus I on the £5 note, smiled and spoke:

"Detective Sherlock, please accept my commission and find the murderer of Talim."

That's right. Because of Talim's unexpected death, Klein was invited to the prince's manor and given an investigation mission. The prince was also a friend of Talim's, and since his own actions would be restricted, he asked Klein for help.

The prince's face in the mirror quickly distorted, reverting to the appearance of "Sherlock Moriarty".

"I didn't want to get involved in the power struggles within the royal family."

"Sherlock said with a sigh."

But that was a prince's request, and he couldn't refuse it at all.

So he has been out these past few days trying to find the reason behind Talim's death. Unfortunately, he has found nothing so far.

Klein looked in the mirror, and his face changed once again, now with black hair and blue eyes, becoming both handsome and insane.

—He became Luze.

"Huh? Enough nonsense, I'll kill you all."

"Lu Ze" said coldly and displeasedly, then suddenly smiled, "If it were him, he would definitely be able to refuse so frankly."

Unfortunately, Klein wasn't one of them, so he had no choice but to go out on this cold morning to continue his mission.

(End of this chapter)