Chapter 193: Gone Without a Trace

The night shrouded the Imperial Capital, with no wind and no snow.

It felt as if tonight was especially heavy, especially dark—a darkness that could stain a person’s very marrow black. It seemed that because of this oppressive darkness, the blizzards of the Odin Ice Plain had ceased, not daring to approach the Imperial Capital cloaked in night.

Assigned to serve under Elham’s command was the Night Nine Squad of the Knights of the Night from the Dawn Temple. The squad leader was named Ye Jiu—the young man with a black crystal embedded between his brows, who seemed to radiate darkness. His forty-nine Knights of the Night had no names of their own; instead, they went by numerical codes.

Ye Jiu One all the way to Ye Jiu Forty-nine—those were their names. Each of them was a warrior of immense strength, a cold-blooded and ruthless butcher, skilled in every cruel and wicked method of the night. Because they were the embodiment of darkness, the very darkness that nurtured light. It was because of their existence that the light of the Dawn Temple could shine upon the world.

Tonight, the Imperial Capital also grew unusually profound because of them.

A black tide encircled Elham and his three companions as they swiftly navigated the streets and alleys of the Imperial Capital, treading upon the darkness. Starting from the Old Rooster Inn near Victory Palace, they headed straight for the South City Commercial District. In Ye Jiu’s hand was a shimmering white light, from which stretched a several-foot-long white ray that twisted and turned, consistently pointing in a certain direction—the direction of the Divine Seal of Pursuit attached to the gold bars stored in the underground vault at No.1 Shenghui Street.

Although they knew that the Divine Seals had been forcibly expelled by someone with immense power, and all the Divine Seals of Pursuit were now attached to a small portion of the gold bars, the whereabouts of that small portion and the identity of those who possessed them still needed to be investigated.

Unraveling the layers to uncover the ultimate truth and safeguarding the final interests of the Dawn Temple—this was the sole reason for the existence of the Knights of the Night. No one could harm the interests of the Dawn Temple, and no one could bully the direct Divine Descendants of the Dawn Family. Anyone who dared to do so must be punished.

“We came directly through the Teleportation Array to Your Highness’s side. The Flame Temple dispatched a team traveling by conventional means to the Imperial Capital. They are currently en route and should arrive in about three days.” Ye Jiu’s voice was very soft, and only Elham, who was close beside him, could hear his words. “Whoever could remove the Divine Seal must be connected to the Church. The Flame Temple’s team is making such a conspicuous journey to the Imperial Capital precisely to lure out the mastermind behind this.”

In Ye Jiu’s eyes, a black flame burned fiercely. “If they truly dare to act, then they must be punished. No matter who they are, no matter who stands behind them, they will surely face punishment.”

Elham’s expression was extremely grave. Ye Jiu’s words represented part of his father’s will. Just before they set out, Ye Jiu had used a small Teleportation Array to send news of Ya and Ling’s mishap back to the Dawn Temple. All blame was shifted onto the filthy, foul-smelling Alien Race, as per the agreement between Elham and Lartus. They hoped their excuse would convince the hot-tempered old Sacred Halls of the Flame Temple.

If he did not believe Elham’s excuse, then Elham was finished!

Ya and Ling were his only two Divine Descendants. Moreover, due to a mishap in practicing the Flame Divine Art, that old Sacred Halls could no longer have direct Divine Descendants, which showed how important Ya and Ling were to him. Elham had no idea how this matter would ultimately unfold, but he could only take it one step at a time.

Perhaps spreading the glory of the God of Dawn throughout the Gaul Empire as quickly as possible would offer a chance to atone for his mistakes.

While Elham and his group swiftly moved through the alleys, Lin Qi and his companions were sitting in a tower within the South City Commercial District. This was a tower belonging to a wealthy merchant’s residence. About seven or eight hundred meters away was the small courtyard where Jiang Yong and the others were hiding.

Vic, with the magic dagger Lin Qi had given him tucked into his waist, wearing the magical boots, and with several large-denomination Gold Notes added to his belt, was full of energy and flushed with excitement. His eyes gleamed as he stared at the small courtyard. On such a dark night, only Vic, with his naturally amazing eyesight, could manage this. He could clearly see every move within the courtyard; he could even spot a few withered leaves on the snow-covered ground.

“Strange, the snow has piled up thick, but there’s no sign of anyone moving,” Vic muttered in surprise, raising a wine flask to take a sip.

It had been several days since Lin Qi and Long Cheng had framed Jiang Yong and his group. Today, on Long Cheng’s suggestion, and with Vic having just returned, they decided to come here to gather information. But they had been sitting there idly for a long time, growing a bit tipsy, and there was still no movement from the courtyard.

Lin Qi, Yulian, and Long Cheng sat cross-legged on the ground. Some ready-to-eat food was spread out on oiled paper. They ate meat and drank wine, leaving all the scouting to Vic. After all, even the astonishingly skilled Long Cheng did not have Vic’s freakish eyesight. In such pitch darkness, Long Cheng could only see up to three hundred meters at his best; he could never make out a withered leaf seven or eight hundred meters away.

Grabbing a piece of wind-dried goose meat and chewing heartily, Long Cheng casually wiped the grease from his fingers on Yulian’s outer garment. Ignoring Yulian’s resentful look, Long Cheng took a big swig of wine. “With eyesight this good from birth, he should practice a kind of Pupil Arts. If he wants to become a great thief, a top-tier assassin, then he needs a Pupil Arts.”

Lin Qi helplessly spread his hands. “Pupil Arts? Such things are too rare.”

Long Cheng laughed. “That man in black beside Lartus practices Pupil Arts. We could try to get it from him. If the Soul Pupil Art is cultivated to its highest level, it offers tremendous help to an assassin. With Vic’s naturally powerful eyesight, if he practices the Soul Pupil Art, he’ll definitely be better than that guy.”

Before Lin Qi could ask further, Long Cheng irresponsibly shifted the burden. “Of course, how to obtain the cultivation method for the Soul Pupil is up to you to figure out. Your relationship with Tixiang is so good now; there’s hope of getting it.”

Lin Qi gritted his teeth in frustration. He glared at Long Cheng, then leaned lazily against the tower’s parapet, taking a slow sip of wine. “Well, I’ll think of a way then. Another thing to deal with—so troublesome! But I really have a lot on my plate lately, really, it’s so troublesome!”

All sorts of matters, plus the Nirvana Crystals of Ya and Ling. According to Long Cheng, their Divine Souls were not yet solidified. If their Nirvana Crystals were not awakened within thirty years, their souls would scatter and spirits vanish, a fate even worse than death.

Reaching the Saint Realm within thirty years, and at least attaining the third rank of Saint Master—Lin Qi felt an urge to chop Long Cheng into pieces with a flurry of blades.

Of course, Long Cheng’s power was too formidable; Lin Qi only had the thought.

Sighing softly, Lin Qi shook his head. “Troubles, all kinds of troubles! But I don’t want so many troublesome things. Gods above, I just want to earn Gold Coins quietly. I really don’t want all this trouble!”

Long Cheng looked thoughtfully at Lin Qi. After a few sips of wine, he asked softly, “You really, just want to earn Gold Coins? Since you were a child, have you never had any thoughts about how your life should be? For example, don’t you have any ideals for your life?”

“Of course I do!” Lin Qi straightened up with enthusiasm. “I certainly have my life ideals! To live in a golden palace while alive, and to rest in a golden tomb after death—of course I have my ideals!”

Long Cheng felt a bit exasperated. He stared at Lin Qi indignantly. “Don’t you have any nobler ideals? For instance, a true man in this world should achieve great deeds and leave a lasting legacy! If not that, then at least raise hell and be remembered for infamy! You, you—what kind of ideal is earning Gold Coins?”

Lin Qi looked blankly at Long Cheng. He shook his head and said frankly, “But what does leaving a good name for a hundred generations or being infamous for ten thousand years have to do with me? Why should I leave a good name? Why should I be infamous? In the future, I just need to take over my dad’s position, continue as the helm of the Black Tiger Family, lead the brothers in eating, drinking, having fun, and earning Gold Coins—that’s enough.”

Long Cheng stared at Lin Qi, his mouth agape. He finally understood what it meant to be hopeless.

There was no helping it; Lin Qi had been raised with this kind of education. He simply had no grand ambitions—what could you expect from him?

What a pity, such a fine candidate for a fierce general wasted! Long Cheng shook his head in disappointment. He suddenly realized he and Lin Qi really had nothing in common. Take himself, Long Cheng: from the age of five, he received rigorous education in both civil and martial arts. Under his father’s strict discipline, he had set the grand ambition of expanding the empire’s borders, even writing verses like “A man bearing the Wu hook, through blood and rain seeks to be enfeoffed.”

If he himself was a proud and ambitious roc, then Lin Qi was a contented chicken in a cozy nest!

Shaking his head, Long Cheng couldn’t be bothered to waste more words on Lin Qi. He turned to look in the direction of the small courtyard, and his expression suddenly shifted slightly.

A deep darkness was approaching the small courtyard. Although his naked eyes couldn’t see it, his sharp spiritual sense detected the presence of that darkness. It was a profound, viscous, yet pure darkness—a stark, clean, sharp darkness like shards of crystal.

“Someone’s here!” Long Cheng muttered.

A glimmer flashed in Vic’s eyes as he started counting on his fingers.

“Fifty-four people, boss. That Elham you mentioned and his three followers are among them. The remaining fifty… their armor is really beautiful. Damn, I’ve never seen such fine armor; it must be worth a fortune!”

“They entered the courtyard. They went to the kitchen.”

“They carried out a chest from the kitchen.”

“No one, there’s no one in the small courtyard! Boss, there isn’t a single person in the small courtyard.”

“The lights are on, but there’s no one in the small courtyard.”