Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 167 A Magnificent Rebellion Against Our King

12 month 31 day.

Inside a dilapidated, cramped apartment in the eastern part of Backlund.

Edsack stood quietly in front of the apartment’s only dilapidated and narrow window, gazing into the distance at the magnificent palaces and towering Gothic clock towers that were still clearly visible even in the East End.

That was Sodrak Palace, the royal palace of the Loen royal family, where Edsak spent his childhood.

And tonight, a grand New Year's Eve party will be held there. All the nobles and royals in Backlund will attend this annual feast to celebrate the New Year.

For those obscure minor nobles, this was undoubtedly a tremendous honor, bringing them unparalleled pride. Normally, they were not even allowed to visit the Sodrak Palace, not even to stroll around its outskirts.

Edsack gazed at the magnificent palace, which was faintly visible in the mist, with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes and a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth.

"When I was little, my father would affectionately let me sit on his shoulders. He was so tall, majestic, and full of love. He once told me affectionately: 'My son, on the day you were born, the entire Kingdom of Rune was whispering one name: Edsak.'"

"During my coming-of-age ceremony, my father proudly declared: 'One day, his life will come to an end, and I will be crowned king!'"

Edsack's eyes were somewhat unfocused as he murmured softly, a mixture of pride and nostalgia in his voice.

Triss scoffed, mercilessly mocking:

"I'm sure George III never said such a thing."

Edsack was only the third prince, and his line of succession was only third. As a qualified king, George III would not have said such a thing even to his eldest son, who was first in line to the throne, let alone to Edsack.

Edsack snapped out of his daze, but he wasn't angered by her words. He simply looked tenderly at the girl before him—a girl in a simple long dress, with a round face, long, narrow eyes, and a gentle, sweet demeanor—and smiled:

"No, he did."

Triss stared at him for a long while before finally sighing softly, "You're crazy."

"I'm not crazy." Edsack shook his head, his expression extremely serious.

Triss did not reply, but instead turned her head to look out the window, gazing at the magnificent palaces layered upon each other in the distance.

Triss suddenly asked in a low voice, "Are you sure?"

"no."

Edsack shook his head and said frankly, "As you can see, I'm just a low-sequence Extraordinary, not even as strong as you. How could you possibly think I'm confident I can overthrow the royal family that rules the strongest nation in the Northern Continent?"

Triss frowned and reminded him:

"Although the Witch Cult worships a true god, this is Backlund, and according to the interpretations of the three true gods, He dares not descend. Moreover, the Witch Cult is not considered powerful even among secret organizations, and does not have many high-ranking experts. Furthermore, the two sides are merely using each other, far from mutual trust. The Witch Cult will not send angels to assist, at most a few saints."

"I know."

Edsack's gaze softened as he looked at the girl, and he said gently, "You've told me this many times already."

"Be normal."

Triss frowned slightly, annoyed, and said, "I told you, I used to be a man, and I was bigger than you when I pulled it out!"

Edsack nodded and said seriously, "I know, you've said that many times."

But before Triss could erupt in anger, Edsack shrugged, pointed to the magnificent palace in the distance, and asked:

"Do you know what it's called?"

Triss was seething with anger, but she took a deep breath to suppress it and answered his question in a clear voice:

Sodrak Palace.

"right."

Edsack nodded and said seriously, "It's called Sodrak Palace. In Old Fusak, the word means 'balance.' Although the royal family is cooperating with the Witch Cult, given my father's personality, he would never trust the Witch Cult. Therefore, he will definitely introduce other secret organizations to counterbalance them in order to achieve the balance he wants."

After a pause, Edsack continued, "Of course, I'm more inclined to believe that the Witch Cult was the one that was introduced."

Triss frowned, lost in thought.

Edsack opened his arms wide, as if embracing the dawn of a new life, his face showing a hint of fervor:

"Tonight, I will present my beloved father with a magnificent act of rebellion!"

Suddenly, a breeze swept in, carrying the cool morning air and blowing a refreshing, nauseating stench into the room.

Edsack felt nauseous and nearly vomited, bending over in pain.

Triss wrinkled her nose and complained:

"This is the East Side, a slum. Do you think this is your luxurious manor? Honestly, why did you open the window out of the blue!"

While complaining, Triss stepped forward and reached out to close the dilapidated window on the stained wall.

-

The Earl of Hall's luxurious villa in Queens.

A slightly muffled knocking sounded outside a living room on the second floor.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Come in!"

The girl's clear and melodious voice pierced through the door and reached Yu Jin's ears as he stood in the corridor.

He turned the doorknob, pushed the door open, and saw Audrey standing in front of a full-length mirror, dressed up, with many maids behind her helping her get dressed.

Audrey lifted her skirt and twirled around, a faint smile on her face revealing two small, adorable dimples, and asked with a hint of anticipation:

"Is it pretty?"

"very beautiful."

Yu Jin gave a thumbs-up and then adjusted his bow tie.

"Then I'll take this one."

Audrey's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile tinged with pride and joy under the maids' gaze.

Ember extended his hand to the girl and asked in a rather gentlemanly manner:

"So, beautiful Miss Audrey, shall we set off?"

Audrey slightly raised her chin and gracefully handed her hand, clad in a white gauze glove that reached her elbow, to Ember.

Ember, holding the girl's hand, descended to the first floor and entered the living room, amidst the surprised and delighted gazes of the maids who were shipping the two. Count Hall and Hilbert were sitting on the sofa at that moment, and immediately smiled upon seeing the two.

Earl Hall's eyes were full of love and pride, while Hilbert quietly gave Ember an encouraging look and a thumbs-up.

"dad."

Audrey's face beamed with excitement and anticipation for the New Year's Eve party, and she asked curiously, "Aren't you coming along?"

"You guys go ahead."

Earl Hall chuckled and said, "Hibbert and I have some things to take care of, we'll be there soon."

"Um."

Audrey nodded obediently and didn't ask any further questions.

She gracefully and modestly allowed Yu Jin to lead her out the door, across the red carpet laid out in the garden, and onto her luxurious carriage, which headed towards the Sodrak Palace.

Although the New Year's Eve party was still some time away, it was perfectly normal for young noblemen and women to be unable to contain their excitement and to head to the palace with their servants ahead of time.

In the living room, Earl Hall watched the two leave the villa, his smile gradually fading as he calmly said:

"Don't tell your sister about that."

"I see."

Hilbert nodded solemnly, but a hint of worry flashed across his face as he hesitantly asked, "But, can we really succeed by doing this?"

Why not?

Count Hall chuckled. "The Prime Minister supports us, and the nobles of the entire Kingdom of Rune are on our side. Even the royal family cannot and dare not ignore our opinions."

Hilbert nodded silently, but from Earl Hall's perpetually serious expression, it was clear that he wasn't as confident about the matter as he claimed.

Outside, inside the luxurious carriage traveling on the wide road, Audrey's initial excitement and exhilaration vanished, replaced by a hint of nervousness.

Audrey whispered:

"Dad and the others are hiding something from us."

Yu Jin withdrew his gaze from the street outside the window and said softly:

"It must be related to the royal family. Earl Hall was hypnotized by the royal family, which touched the interests of all the nobles. They want an explanation from the royal family."

Audrey nodded thoughtfully, but then remembered the purpose of their trip and her expression turned strange.

My father and the others just want an explanation from the royal family, so they definitely won't embarrass them at the New Year's Eve party. The royal family will certainly compromise on this matter, but this isn't because of the nobles' shared sense of righteous indignation; the nobles' power is negligible to the royal family. However, the nobles are backed by the three major churches, and the royal family's actions have not only infringed upon the interests of all the nobles but also crossed the bottom line of the three major churches.

With the support of the three major churches, the nobles had enough confidence. And whatever the reasons the royal family might have, they would certainly give in.

But this plan will not succeed at all, because after tonight, the entire landscape of the Ruen royal family will be completely changed!

"My dad didn't tell me what they were going to do because he didn't want me to get involved, but they had no idea what we were going to do."

Audrey thought silently, a subtle mix of pride and excitement in her heart. As for the tension and slight unease about overthrowing the royal family, they had already vanished the moment the royal family hypnotized Earl Hall.

-

Sodrac Palace, Queens.

King George III sat regally on his throne, his expression indifferent as he gazed down at the women in evening gowns below.

"Georgina, it's been three days. Tell me the results of your investigation."

Grand Duchess Georgina stepped forward and respectfully reported, "Your Majesty, all traces of Edsac have been concealed. The person who did this possesses the ability to counter divination and prophecy, and is of extremely high rank. Even prophecy and divination at the saint level cannot detect any trace of Edsac."

Georgina kept her head bowed low, not daring to look up at George III's expression, lest she offend His Majesty.

George III said coldly:

"The Steam Church is unwilling to provide assistance?"

Georgina shook her head and whispered, "Archbishop Horamik said that the Heart of the Machine needs '2-111' to deduce the true culprit behind the 'Great Smog of Backlund' incident and cannot lend this sealed artifact. However, they also promised to continue tracking Edsack's whereabouts and will notify us immediately if there are any relevant clues."

A hint of helplessness flashed in Georgina Augustus's eyes; anyone could tell that the Steam Church's words were a mere pretext. But after all, it was a true church, and the royal family had no power to contend with them until their plan was complete, let alone forcibly seize it from the Steam Church.

Moreover, because the "Great Smog of Backlund" was resolved by an angel who "just happened to be passing by," no one in the East District perished in the smog. This not only completely thwarted the royal family's plan to cover up the missing people in the East District, but also attracted the attention of the three major churches. They could easily discover that, despite no one dying, a large number of innocent people had gone missing in the East District.

Although the three major churches don't usually pay much attention to the East District, it is home to more than 150 million people. Adding in the unregistered undocumented residents, the East District has at least two million people!

Many of these people are followers of the three major churches, and the sudden disappearance of hundreds of thousands is bound to attract their attention. Even if the royal family takes swift remedial action, destroying all remaining traces and diverting the attention of the three major churches, while also countering divination and prophecy, these actions themselves will still leave traces. It's only a matter of time before the three major churches trace the clues back to the royal family.

Therefore, even though the royal family's pursuit of Edsack, the traitor, was perfectly justified, they dared not take any overly outrageous actions, as this could further arouse suspicion from the three major churches.

King George III asked in a deep voice:

"What about the nobles?"

Georgina breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that King George III hadn't taken her rudeness to heart, and quickly said:

"Agusid has reopened the investigation into the assassination of Duke Negan and rejected MI9's independent investigation, inviting Extraordinary Beings from the three major churches to join the investigation instead. Meanwhile, Earl Hall has been frequently contacting other nobles these past few days, seemingly trying to unite all the nobles to put pressure on the royal family. Should we…?"

"Ignore him."

King George III said calmly, "It's normal for him to be resentful; all he wants is an explanation. As long as he doesn't do anything more outrageous, we can ignore him. Also, bring Herwin Lambis to see me."

Georgina nodded silently. Earl Hall was currently only contacting nobles everywhere. This was certainly an attempt to put pressure on the royal family, but it also sent a signal to the royal family: this was a matter between the nobles and the royal family, and as long as the royal family gave an explanation, there would be no problem.

The "outrageous behavior" naturally refers to the three major churches.

Pressure from the three major churches is nothing, after all, the power of the nobility is insignificant compared to that of the royal family, and without the support of the three major churches, they simply cannot contend with the royal family. But as long as Earl Hall does not openly involve the three major churches, there is still room for negotiation, and the royal family can tolerate his "willfulness".

King George III waved his hand to dismiss them, saying:

"Step down."

"Yes."

Georgina bowed respectfully and slowly withdrew from the palace.

But King George III, sitting on his throne, suddenly turned grim.

Even the divination of saints could not find any trace of it, indicating that at least one angel provided Edsack with protection. Moreover, this angel was undoubtedly one with the power to counter divination and prophecy, and the means to achieve such power are extremely rare.

Among these, the Church of the Night's "secrets" are undoubtedly one of them, and the most outstanding one at that.

In other words, the Church of the Night is very likely the one secretly protecting Edsack!

This was certainly not good news for George III, especially given that his plans had been thwarted time and again. If things continued this way, his scheme to become a god might very well end in failure.

"Snapped!"

George III crushed the armrest of the throne, a ruthless and resolute glint in his eyes.

His plan to become a god must not be disturbed by anyone, not even a god!

(End of this chapter)