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

Chapter 315 is full of acquaintances.

Those who know him know that Saint Anthony is a demigod, and one of the few demigods in Backlund—at least there are no more than five demigods officially under Backlund's control.

Even those who don't know the details know that Saint Anthony is the archbishop of the Church of Saint Samuel and the head of the entire diocese of Backlund.

All members of the Church of the Night throughout the entire territory of Backlund are under his jurisdiction.

It is no exaggeration to say that, to some extent, Archbishop St. Anthony's influence and appeal even surpassed that of the royal family!

Congressman Macht was almost certain that if a conflict were to break out between the Church of the Night and the royal family, the vast majority of the public would undoubtedly side with the Church of the Night. After all, the royal family was merely the rulers, while the Church of the Night was a faith!

Under the immense influence of the Church of the Night, Archbishop St. Anthony's status was, if not equal to that of a king, at least above that of a prince.

The Macht family were considered devout followers of the Dark Church, but when they went to St. Samuel's Church to pray, they were only received by Bishop Elektra. As for Archbishop St. Anthony, only nobles of marquis or duke rank were qualified to have contact with him!

Similarly, just as Archbishop Elektra regularly visited their home, Archbishop St. Anthony would also regularly visit high-ranking nobles, who were either dukes or marquises, or, like Earl Hall, top nobles whose titles, though not high, were wielded influence and status equivalent to dukes!

Now, according to Bishop Elektra, Ember is also a nobleman who is qualified to take the initiative to visit Archbishop St. Anthony. Doesn't that mean that his status and influence are equivalent to those marquises or even dukes?

Congressman Macht didn't dare to be too obvious, only subtly glancing at Ember beside him out of the corner of his eye, his heart churning with turmoil:

"His title is only that of a viscount, but it is comparable to that of a marquis or a duke. Either his family, like Earl Hall's, has formidable economic power, with total assets in the tens of millions of pounds."

"But this is unlikely. If it were true, such a person would not have been unknown in Backlund."

"Then there's only one other possibility: the other party's family has held high positions for generations!"

"Neither the House of Lords nor the House of Commons has heard of this person, and this Viscount Black is from Wintershire. This means that his family holds a high position in the Church of the Night; perhaps a senior deacon or even an archbishop is a member of his family!"

Representative Macht already had a guess in mind, but this guess did not bring him joy; instead, it made him somewhat worried.

To be fair, the status of members of the House of Commons is actually far inferior to that of the nobility.

Nobility is mostly hereditary, and their descendants naturally inherit their fathers' titles. As long as they do not commit fundamental errors such as treason or rebellion, this inheritance can continue until the fall of the Kingdom of Rune, truly sharing the fate of the nation!

Similarly, most nobles are naturally entitled to seats in the House of Lords, and these seats are almost entirely hereditary.

The House of Commons, on the other hand, was proposed in the first place to win over and appease ordinary people who had some property but no real power.

The House of Lords is responsible for making decisions on national affairs, while the House of Commons is responsible for proposing bills, but it does not have the power to make decisions. In other words, the House of Commons is only responsible for offering opinions, and whether or not to adopt them depends on the opinion of the nobles in the House of Lords.

Unlike the hereditary upper house aristocracy, the House of Commons is elected every five years. Many members serve only five years, as they are likely to lose out to others.

Of course, with the ascension of George III, the king had been intentionally suppressing the House of Lords and the nobility, while strengthening the power of the House of Commons. It was clear to everyone that the king was worried that the nobility's power was becoming too great and threatening the monarchy, so he hoped to use the House of Commons to check and balance the House of Lords.

But frankly speaking, the House of Commons is just a tool.

Even though it seems like there's a chance to compete with the nobles in the upper house, it's just a temporary illusion.

As expected, with the sudden death of George III at the turn of the year, the new King George IV naturally succeeded to the throne.

Perhaps George IV was naturally close to the nobility, and coupled with his young age and lack of political experience, or perhaps because George IV had just ascended the throne and his foundation was unstable, he urgently needed the support of the nobility.

In short, the new king abandoned the House of Commons without hesitation. He not only restored the power of the House of Lords but also promised the nobles huge benefits, while the House of Commons was suppressed and neglected in return.

Most of the members of the House of Commons who had answered George III's call to confront the nobility were purged. Member of Parliament Macht, however, survived the purge because of his military background and close ties with the nobility.

With his extensive network of connections, MP Macht was confident of re-election. As a member of the House of Commons, he always felt his status was equivalent to that of a baron.

Therefore, Congressman Macht believed that his daughter's marriage to a viscount was not an unfair match. In fact, if the viscount were to fall on hard times, he might even be able to offer him some assistance, making it a mutually beneficial arrangement.

But in the current situation, Viscount Black is clearly not a fallen nobleman, but a powerful nobleman who can be ranked alongside the top nobles!

"I can't afford to associate with you!"

Congressman Macht sighed inwardly, glancing at his daughter's surprised and curious expression, a sense of helplessness washing over him. He could only hope that everything was still in time, and that their brief exchange hadn't won Hazel over.

As Senator Macht glanced at Ember out of the corner of his eye, Klein was also glancing at Senator Macht out of the corner of his eye.

As a Faceless Man, Klein, though lacking the intuition of the "Audience," could still discern the shift in Senator Macht's attitude and understand his anxieties to some extent. But that didn't matter; after all, their target was never Miss Hazel, but the demigod behind her.

Just then, another voice came from behind them:

"Your Excellency, Bishop."

Klein turned around and saw two young men walking towards them, holding glasses of champagne.

One of them wore a black trench coat, had black hair and green eyes, and his slightly long hair was unkempt, giving it a messy and unruly appearance, yet possessing an unusual beauty. He was quite handsome, with a striking good looks that could grace a magazine cover and rival those of vampires, and an air of a romantic poet. It was none other than our poet classmate, Leonard Mitchell!

The other woman is also quite striking in appearance, with flaxen hair, dark brown eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips.

Mobert Zoroaster, another old acquaintance of Klein's. However, this time he wasn't dressed in the bizarre asymmetrical style of the Fourth Age, but rather in a proper black double-breasted suit, exuding an air of arrogance.

Klein resisted the urge to cover his face. Why were all these people familiar faces?

He and MP Macht are neighbors, so it was only natural for him to attend the dinner.

But why are you two here?

Aren't you two living on Pinster Street and Pesfield Street respectively? While those two places aren't far from Berklund Street, they're definitely not neighbors! Who invited you here?

Klein instinctively turned his gaze to Bishop Elektra, who was currently the most suspicious person.

As expected, Bishop Elektra smiled and introduced:

Let me introduce myself.

"Leonard Mitchell and Mobert Soros are both devout followers of the goddess. Mr. Soros only recently arrived in Backlund from the south; perhaps you, Mr. Dantès, know him as well."

Klein smiled and raised his glass, saying:

"Your Excellency, if I may be so bold, the South may not be as prosperous as Backlund, but it is certainly much larger. Not everyone from the South is an acquaintance."

Of course they know each other! They've even hunted dragons and pirate generals together, and they even got their start-up capital from Blood Above.

But in this situation, he would never admit it under any circumstances. After all, Leonard was also present, and he didn't want to be suspected.

Of course, being suspected wasn't a big deal. He had no intention of harming the Church of the Night, and his poet classmate wouldn't be able to deduce that he was Klein Moretti just because he knew Mobert.

Mobert also raised his glass in response, and smiled:

"Then we'll have to have a good talk. Where is Mr. Dantès from?"

"Dasi County," Klein replied with a smile.

"What a coincidence? I'm also from Dixi County, but I spend most of my time in the Southern Continent."

"Oh? I've done some business there and have some knowledge of the Southern Continent."

"Really? Then we'll have to have a good talk."

The two chatted happily and unknowingly drifted away from the crowd.

When they reached a secluded corner, Mobert asked with a surprised look:

"What are you doing here?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you too."

Klein retorted irritably, his gaze subtly observing the crowd, and replied:

"I am a neighbor of Representative Macht."

Mobert took a sip of champagne, his gaze drifting over the passing crowd, and said:

"The Macht family attended Mass at St. Samuel's Church last weekend."

"I happened to be there at the time, and Leonard was there too."

"I immediately noticed that Miss Hazel was somewhat unusual and possessed a unique quality."

"To be honest, I was deeply attracted to her, which is why I asked Bishop Elektra to bring me to the dinner."

Mobert's words were somewhat veiled, but Klein immediately grasped his subtext—

Last weekend, Congressman Macht and his family attended Mass at St. Samuel's Church, and Mobert and Leonard happened to be present as well. It's highly likely that the old man within Leonard's body discovered the anomaly in Hazel; she is not only a Beyonder with the Thief pathway, but she also likely bears traces of a high-sequence Beyonder.

However, Mobert needed to advance to Sequence 4 and was missing a Sequence 4 extraordinary trait.

As Mobert's ancestor, Leonard's grandfather would certainly not hesitate to offer his assistance. Even though this angel was severely injured in Amon's hunt, he was still far beyond the reach of a demigod. Hunting down a demigod on the Thief path would be easy, if not effortless.

And Hazel, exposed right under their noses, became the 'path' to the extraordinary Sequence 4 characteristics.

However, the "old man" at that time probably couldn't determine the exact location of that demigod, which is why he had Leonard and Mobert attend the banquet together to make further confirmation.

In other words, their goals are actually the same.

Klein's eye twitched slightly. He took a sip of the pale gold champagne and said:

"Then let's rely on our own abilities."

"Um?"

Mobert raised an eyebrow, looked Klein up and down, and said in a slightly joking tone:

"I really didn't realize that at your age, you still have such thoughts?"

Klein glanced at him, as if asking why a Seer-path Beyonder would want the Thief-path Sequence 4 Beyonder trait. Not to mention that the two paths are interchangeable, he could seamlessly switch to the Thief-path without worrying about the risk of losing control.

Moreover, this demigod was not his target.

Klein shook his head and said:

"It wasn't me, it was him."

Mobert raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze to Ember, who was having a pleasant conversation with Miss Hazel. To be more specific, Miss Hazel seemed very curious about Ember, constantly asking him questions. In contrast, Ember's attitude, while not exactly cold or impatient, was merely answering questions one by one, seemingly indifferent to Miss Hazel.

He's interested in demigods of the Thief Path? Could he also be of the Thief Path? What a coincidence! And his abilities don't seem to have anything to do with the Thief Path, do they?

Even if there is a connection, Ember is at least a Sequence 2 or higher angel.

After all, only angels of Sequence 2 or higher could hunt down a Sequence 3 demigod of the Church of War in a short period of time.

If the other party is already an angel, why would they need a Sequence 4 extraordinary trait?

After exchanging pleasantries for a few minutes, Klein and Mobert went their separate ways.

Mobert approached Leonard, who was observing the crowd alone in a corner, and the poet classmate, seeing this, also took the initiative to ask:

"You two know each other?"

I guess so.

Instead of giving a detailed answer directly, Mobert began by saying:

"Dantès's friends seem to be interested in Miss Heyole as well."

"Um?"

Leonard looked at Ember thoughtfully. He knew that Ember was also a Night Watchman of the Church of the Night, and that his identity was mysterious.

Although not a Red Glove, their authority is still above that of the Red Glove.

It's not surprising that he was interested in that Sequence 4 demigod.

The question is, is he interested in bringing this demigod to justice, or is he motivated by some other purpose of his own?

Leonard lowered his voice, as if muttering to himself:

"Old man, what do you think?"

Leonard waited for a long time, but the slightly aged voice in his mind never sounded.

(End of this chapter)