Chapter 45: Apostle Armament

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Apostle Armament

Several hundred kilometers from Talin City, there is a stretch of rolling, fractured rock formations known as the Chaotic Star Rock.

Legend has it that thousands of years ago, this place was an active volcano. A meteorite fell, shattering the volcano and transforming it into the peculiar landscape it is today.

For some reason, the Lanyu Kingdom always seems to be favored by "meteorites," which is why people so firmly believed the story of a meteorite striking the Carlos Plains.

Perhaps due to special minerals within the meteorite, or maybe because of the chaotic geomagnetic environment, communications within the Chaotic Star Rock were always inexplicably disrupted.

And so, it wasn’t until eight hours after the Prime Minister’s death that the two players facing off here finally received the news.

"Red Heart Q, I don’t know why you wanted to assassinate Cloze, but it seems there’s no need to know the reason anymore."

"Just a few hours ago, the guy was taken out!"

"Hahaha, whatever you were plotting, someone beat you to it!"

Diamond 6 stared mockingly at Red Heart Q. ’Damn it, I chased this bastard for half a month like an idiot just to get him to spit out the truth.’

’We’re all members of the Demon Slaying Association, for crying out loud. How can there be so little trust?’

"What? Cloze is actually dead?"

"Who did it? Who got the Card?"

Fang Jinxing (Red Heart Q) looked shocked and furious. He didn’t suspect Diamond 6 was lying; this kind of news would be easy to verify.

Soon enough, his communicator regained its signal. News of Cloze’s death was plastered all over.

"Hmph, Fang Jinxing, your assassination attempt violated the Demon Slaying Association’s principle of unified action!"

"Until we are at total war with the Order Keepers, any action against a high-value target must be reported."

The Demon Slaying Association prided themselves on being warriors of Justice, dedicated to "slaying Demons," not some criminal gang of disorganized thugs.

Aside from hunting other players, they rarely interfered with the normal order of the Lanyu Kingdom.

Fang Jinxing’s attempt to assassinate the Prime Minister was a major taboo.

If he couldn’t provide a reasonable explanation, they would Backstab him themselves without the Order Keepers even needing to lift a finger.

Of course, Fang Jinxing was a member of the Demon Slaying Association, after all, so a certain degree of "protection" was necessary.

That’s why the Demon Slaying Association blocked the Order Keepers but sent Diamond 6 to question him.

For some reason, however, this Fang Jinxing guy stubbornly refused to tell the truth.

"Cut the crap! Tell me who did it, and I’ll tell you why!"

Fang Jinxing’s intelligence access in the Demon Slaying Association had been locked. That was the price he paid, and it was also why he couldn’t shake Diamond 6.

Now, hearing that someone else had gotten to his target first, he was too furious to care about any of that.

"Tsk, tsk. It’s actually pretty funny when you think about it. That guy Cloze was killed by one of his own!"

"The one who did it was Najir Buffon, that Spade 3 who can predict fortunes."

"Hahaha, that’s hilarious!"

The last half-month had been incredibly frustrating, so Diamond 6 was genuinely gloating.

Besides, it wasn’t his target that had been stolen.

"Damn it, that loser dared to steal what’s mine! I’ll kill him!"

"You wanted to know why I tried to kill Cloze, right? Fine, I’ll tell you!"

"Cloze Jic evolved his Card behind everyone’s back!"

"According to my intel, the Xiaowang Card’s ability is no longer [Talent: Adept at Coordinating Various Affairs] but [Ability Integration]!"

"If I get that Card, I can deeply fuse all the abilities I’ve plundered and construct my very own Apostle Armament."

"That’s why Cloze had to die! Even if you knew, you’d do the same thing!"

A blazing fire burned in Fang Jinxing’s eyes. He had been just one step away from getting everything he wanted!

But those damned Order Keepers had shown up out of nowhere and blocked his killing blow.

What made him even more frustrated and furious was that the man he had risked his life to kill, and failed, had been taken down by a single bullet.

And the Xiaowang Card had fallen into someone else’s hands!

’Damn it, how did the intel get leaked? Why would Najir know?’

After spilling the hidden secret, Fang Jinxing finally felt a little better.

He looked at Diamond 6, ready to enjoy the sight of his frantic rage.

’This was the Apostle Armament they were talking about! Wasn’t achieving that goal the entire reason they, the Traitors, had started down this bloody path of hunting other players?’

But all he saw was the incredibly cold look in Diamond 6’s eyes.

It was a look one would give a monster, full of vigilance and wariness.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Fang Jinxing was confused. He could feel genuine killing intent from Diamond 6, something that hadn’t been there at all before.

"How did you find out that Cloze’s Card had evolved?"

A purple light flashed around Diamond 6 as he quickly put distance between himself and Fang Jinxing!

The latter was bewildered but had no choice but to prepare for a fight.

"My intelligence operative in the Royal Capital stumbled upon the information by chance."

Fang Jinxing thought Diamond 6 was being ridiculous, but since he ultimately didn’t want to "betray" the Demon Slaying Association, he answered the question.

"Then do you remember the first warning the Chairman gave us when we joined the Demon Slaying Association?"

Hearing Fang Jinxing’s answer, a flicker of understanding flashed in Diamond 6’s eyes.

"The Chairman’s first warning?"

"Those who betray the Demon Slaying Association will die!"

Fang Jinxing said decisively. This was also why he didn’t want to completely fall out with Diamond 6.

"Heh, our Demon Slaying Association is about mutual aid and benefit. There’s no such rule!"

"As long as you don’t work against the Demon Slaying Association, you won’t be hunted down for leaving."

"Hmph, you idiot. The Chairman’s first warning was to stay away from the Royal Capital until you become an Apostle."

"Red Heart Q, before we only suspected. Now I’m certain. You’ve definitely fallen under a Demon’s Enchantment!"

Diamond 6 had more or less figured out the whole story.

’How could an ordinary human possibly get news of the Xiaowang Card evolving? Even they, the players, had been kept in the dark by Cloze, hadn’t they?

’The only one who could have noticed all this was King Gutaf!

’The Prime Minister Card is a management-type Card, responsible for maintaining the game’s operation.

’Gutaf would naturally not allow Cloze to upgrade it into a combat Card, as that would be a devastating blow to the game’s long-term operation!

’That’s why he repeatedly warned Cloze; the falling approval ratings were a sign of his displeasure!

’But for some reason, Cloze was clearly determined to have his own way!

’In the end, Gutaf had no choice but to make a ruthless move and send someone to assassinate Cloze!

’As for why he chose a Traitor, it was, of course, because they were more powerful than ordinary people and Order Keepers, and more susceptible to Enchantment!

’It was unbelievable, but Demon Gutaf could hardly influence ordinary people directly.

’His power of Enchantment was also very weak against players who hadn’t fused with a Card!

’It was the Traitors, on the other hand, who were the easiest to ensnare!

’That idiot Fang Jinxing didn’t have any so-called "intelligence operative" at all. The one who contacted him was King Gutaf himself!

’The moment he gave in to his "greed," he was already under the Enchantment!

’Going to the Royal Capital after that was just asking for death, letting himself fall right into the "Demon’s" grasp!

’This was the real truth behind Cloze Jic’s assassination!’