Chapter 335 - 125: My Fierce and Beautiful Mentor (5)

Chapter 335: Chapter 125: My Fierce and Beautiful Mentor (5)

It was an iron ball with a hole through the middle and ropes tied to both ends, stuffed in her mouth and forcing it into an "O" shape.

An unknown liquid was dripping from the iron ball...

Annabella walked to the cell door, observed the Undead Demoness’s condition through the bars, and nodded. "She’s been handled well enough."

She could tell that the iron ball was to prevent the Undead Demoness from screeching and had most likely been custom-designed for it.

Without another word, she extended her right hand and made a grasping motion in the air.

In an instant, a dense aura of death condensed in her palm, then transformed into a translucent, shadowy claw that passed through the bars and seized the Undead Demoness’s head.

The Undead Demoness’s body immediately convulsed violently. Muffled, guttural "h-h-h" sounds escaped from her gagged throat, and the ghostly green Soul Fire in her eye sockets flickered wildly, as if she were in immense pain.

Annabella’s gaze was focused, and deep within her lake-blue eyes, countless soul runes seemed to flicker in and out of existence.

Relying on her profound understanding of Soul Contracts, her powerful Spiritual Power slowly probed into the core of the demoness’s Soul Fire, launching an attack on the Soul Contract imprint left by Adelaxius.

Lynch watched from the side, holding his breath, incredibly nervous.

He could feel his mentor engaged in a fierce clash with the residual Spiritual Power his worthless senior brother had left in the Soul Contract.

This kind of clash was extremely dangerous.

If she won, she could erase the Soul Contract imprint. But if she lost, her own Spiritual Power could be damaged by the backlash.

「A full quarter-hour later.」

Annabella’s grasping fingers suddenly clenched shut!

"CHIII~!"

The Undead Demoness let out a wail of agony, but it was muffled by the iron ball in her throat, transforming into a distorted, tuneless whimper.

Her body then went completely limp, falling silent. Only the Soul Fire deep within her eye sockets still flickered faintly, proving her soul had not been completely extinguished.

Annabella slowly withdrew her hand.

The claw of death dissipated into the air along with it.

She let out a soft breath. Beads of sweat had formed on her smooth forehead, and a clear trace of exhaustion showed in her eyes.

"As expected of a Saint. Just the Soul Contract he left behind was so stubborn and difficult to deal with," Annabella remarked in a low, emotional voice. She then explained to Lynch, "There was a small mishap while clearing the Soul Contract. The demoness’s Soul Fire almost went out, but thankfully, it was a success in the end. She’s an unowned Undead Demoness now, but her Soul Fire is severely damaged and will need some time to recover."

Lynch quickly said, "That was hard work, Mentor. You’re amazing! That good-for-nothing Adelaxius, when he was your age, his accomplishments were surely nothing compared to yours."

Annabella shot him an exasperated look. "Enough with the flattery. When I was your age... I was far worse off than you."

She paused, looked at Lynch, her tone taking on a rare hint of emotion. "To be honest, Lynch, in the Realm of the Dead, a Necromancer reaching Tier Three at your age is rare, but not unheard of."

"But someone like you, who can start from scratch on the Empire’s border surrounded by powerful enemies, build up such a foundation, gather so many talented people, and rapidly improve your own strength, equipment, and resources... that’s truly one in a million."

Her gaze was profound, her voice distant. "Continue on your path. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how far you’ll go."

Hearing his mentor’s high expectations, Lynch felt a warmth spread through his heart and offered a rare moment of humility. "You praise me too much, Mentor. I’ve just been lucky, and I’ve had your help and everyone else’s."

Annabella gave a noncommittal chuckle and said no more.

Seeing this, Lynch quickly said, "You’ve worked hard, Mentor. Clearing the Soul Contract must have been draining. You should go eat something and get some rest. I’ve already had rooms prepared for you and my junior sister." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

After getting his mentor and junior sister settled in, Lynch finally had some free time.

In a room on the second floor of the garrison, he once again summoned his newly promoted Vampire assassin subordinate—Nightingale.

After being turned into a Vampire, Nightingale’s disposition had undergone a subtle change.

Her skin had grown paler, and her eyes were tinged with red. Her movements possessed the characteristic lightness and grace of the Blood Race, which actually gave her a considerable advantage in the art of assassination.

Lynch asked her some questions about the secrets of the Third Prince and the Shadow Hand.

However, after a detailed questioning, Lynch found that as a mid-level operative of the "Shadow Hand," Nightingale was mostly responsible for carrying out specific missions. Her knowledge of the organization’s deeper structure and the Third Prince’s more specific plans was still limited.

She only knew that the Third Prince was extremely "concerned" about the Seventh Prince’s disappearance and had issued orders to investigate. As for whether the Third Prince had any follow-up actions or what the attitude of other factions in the Imperial Capital was, she didn’t know.

"That’s enough." Lynch mulled it over for a moment, then made his decision. "Nightingale, I need you to return to the ’Shadow Hand’."

Nightingale bowed her head slightly. "Your orders, Master."

"In a while, you will report to your superiors. The report will be something like this: After an undercover investigation, you can basically confirm that the deputy of Lakefront Town, ’Aus,’ is not the missing Seventh Prince, Augustus. His real identity is suspected to be a branch descendant of a minor noble family from the fallen southeastern region of the Empire—Sardinia Province—who went missing during the war."

"By a twist of fate, the young man drifted to Lakefront Town, where he was recognized and given an important position by Lynch Blackwood. Although he is talented, his words and actions are a far cry from those of a royal descendant, and there is no evidence whatsoever linking him to the royal family."

Lynch slowly recited the story he had fabricated.

Although he wasn’t afraid of Aus’s identity being exposed now, it was always good to buy more time, cause the enemy to misjudge, and reduce some of the direct pressure on Lakefront Town.

A result that was "suspected" but "unproven" could at least buy them some time.

"After you return to the Shadow Hand, you must gather as much intelligence as possible about the ’Shadow Hand,’ the Third Prince and his faction, and any other powers that might be interested in Lakefront Town or the Seventh Prince. Report to me periodically through a secure channel."

Lynch wasn’t worried that her Blood Race features would expose her transformation.

As an assassin, disguise and makeup were her required skills. The pair of fangs the Blood Race used for feeding could also be retracted.

Besides, as a professional assassin, Nightingale spent most of her time operating in the shadows. Hiding her identity wouldn’t be that difficult.

A red glint flashed in Nightingale’s eyes as she knelt on one knee. "Nightingale understands. I will carry out my master’s command."

"Good. Aus will brief you on the specific contact methods and other details later. You can go and prepare for now."

Not long after he finished dealing with Nightingale, the cry of a Griffin echoed through the sky outside the garrison.

A few moments later, Senior Brother Raymond rushed to the garrison, arriving even more hastily than Lynch had anticipated.

The subsequent "business negotiation" was conducted personally by Mentor Annabella with Raymond in the reception room.

Lynch tactfully stayed out of it, only vaguely hearing the sounds from behind the closed door: his mentor’s cold and ruthless voice, and Senior Brother Raymond’s voice, which was at times agitated, at times helpless, and finally, almost pleading.

"...Three years, you can rent it for three years at most! And you have to put up something of equal value as collateral! Who knows if you’ll try to default on the deal? I’m trying to secure my student’s interests here..."

"...What? You want to use your territory’s tax revenue as payment? What does your Red Ridge Castle have besides rocks and debt? ...Oh? You’ll use your family’s territory and that small Magic Crystal Ore as collateral? Now that’s more like it..."

"...Two mid-grade Negative Energy Crystals per month? That’s the market price! Considering the risk premium, the wear and tear on the demoness, and the potential threats my student might face because of this... that number is non-negotiable. Agree and sign the contract, or disagree and leave. It’s not like you don’t know how rare a Netherworld Demoness is. If you don’t want her, plenty of others do..."

"...You’re poor? Does being poor make you right?! What about the military funds the North Wind Legion allocates to you every year? What about the spoils of war you’ve gained? If all else fails, you can always go to the Imperial Bank or some merchant guilds and take out a loan..."

Listening to this conversation, Lynch, standing outside the door, felt his scalp tingle. He couldn’t help but secretly sweat for his senior brother.

Mentor Annabella’s bargaining skills were so good that even the goblins from the Goblin Venture Capital Company would have to admit defeat.

’Senior Brother, you’re on your own now~’

...