NOVPUB"Just go, I won’t kill you," Lanci sighed softly.
...
Unity observed the old-looking Empire officer, unable to analyze the unfathomable shift in his thinking.
"... Are you with the Silvermoon Reform Association, or the Radical Anti-Aristocracy Faction?"
Unity stared at him tentatively.
Although Unity’s intuition told her that the man was a genuine Empire person, she was well aware of the intricate problems within the Empire, as well as the hidden forces and stances that existed.
Even within the Cerryti Empire Central Executive Committee and the Military Committee, there might be Empire forces that wanted to stir up trouble.
"You should be able to judge for yourself whether we’re more likely to be friends or enemies," Lanci responded tersely to her.
Even as an ally, he couldn’t expose his true cards; after all, the identity Nigel had given him belonged to the most secret military intelligence of the Poseen Kingdom, not the Kingdom Joint Council alliance. He only had Nigel as a contact, and he did not share the same system as the Western Hub Zone Camberra Kingdom; Unity could not match any secret signal with him.
Unity hesitated for a moment.
In theory,
the fact that the man had the ability to peer into her spirit without the need for interrogation yet chose to let her go at this time suggested that he indeed didn’t seem to be fishing for a bigger catch by letting her off the hook.
Because if he really wanted to pry out her information, there was no need to let her go now.
Maybe she really did have a stroke of luck today.
Or it was the spirits of her fallen comrades looking out for her from the heavens.
That she should not die so soon allowed her to cling to life a while longer.
Unity decided not to entangle herself here any longer and directly approached Landry Washington’s body; she wanted to take away Washington’s belongings and the Magic Card.
Suddenly, Lanci reached out to stop her, and once again, she stopped her actions.
"Why did you kill him?" Lanci asked.
If Unity had simply left, he wouldn’t have done anything else, but if she showed interest in Washington’s belongings, it might indicate her killing Washington was premeditated, not a coincidence.
In Lanci’s eyes, Washington was a decent Empire person.
He at least needed to understand this issue.
...
Unity’s eyes showed disdain.
She wasn’t very willing to speak, but considering that if this Empire Spiritualist really wanted to investigate, she couldn’t hide much. Delaying here with him would only be worse for her.
"Why do you think he was favored by the Saint Kray Temple? This man’s talent for Magical Engineering is unimaginable, and his family has a history of researching Demon Magic Text for hundreds of years. He could combine Imperial Department of Magic Engineering with the lost magic of the Demon World, potentially sparking innovation," Unity said with a cold smile, looking at Washington’s corpse.
She had been ordered to assassinate this border nobleman named Landry Washington and steal his research materials.
Her mission would have gone smoothly, had it not been for this exceptional Empire person obstructing her.
She should be fighting him to the death for intruding on her secrets, as a Kingdom espionage agent. Now, retreating was a humiliating but necessary act for her.
But after she explained, he still did not seem agreeable to letting her take Washington’s belongings, obviously considering his response.
"Don’t you think that since I’m letting you go today, you should do me a favor?" Lanci thought for a while, as if coming up with a solution.
...
Unity’s attitude was full of reluctance.
"Think about it, you were discovered on the train by the Empire, which means there’s a mole among your crew, indicating your original organization might be compromised and no longer reliable. If you want to turn the tide on your own, you’ll need a new friend, preferably one with whom you’ve never had any past conflicts of interest," Lanci believed he didn’t need to elaborate further.
Unity was likely under more mental pressure than he had imagined.
"... What needs to be done?"
Unity still regarded Lanci with suspicion, her clenched teeth quivering slightly, her jaw tense and rigid.
Even though there was indeed a possibility of collaboration with the enemy of her enemy, that did not prevent her from detesting him.
Or rather, she hated Empire people.
The smoke of war shrouded the entire southern lands, and now her homeland had been torn asunder by invasion, countless comrades had perished before the cold blades of Empire people.
Hatreds as deep as the Blood Sea, engraved in the bone, engrained in the heart.
In her eyes, no matter which faction the Empire people belonged to, she could not accept them; every minute and every second spent infiltrating the Cerryti Empire was agony for her.
But for victory, no matter how much she loathed it, she would find a way to do things that were beneficial for the Kingdom.
"You do me a favor, take his body away for burial, his identity is mine for now. A living Landry Washington who can cooperate with you is definitely more valuable than a dead one, right?" Lanci proposed to her.
He remembered Landry telling him that, as a border noble, Landry had never been to the Capital Bulerida nor had any acquaintances to turn to; therefore, as long as he impersonated him, it would be very hard to be exposed.
Moreover, the difficulty of Lanci impersonating Landry was quite low; simple makeup would suffice, and then it would be even easier to fabricate a "Transformation Magic: Human" in the Capital Bulerida to disguise himself as Landry.
"You really are bold, do you know who the headmaster of Saint Kray Temple is?" Unity immediately understood this man’s plan and looked at him as if it were absurd.
This guy was clearly an insider of the Empire, yet he wanted to steal Landry’s identity to infiltrate another agency of the Empire!
"...Yes." Lanci nodded lightly, already beginning to squat down and take the items from Landry’s body.
The headmaster of Saint Kray Temple who was stationed there year-round, Aqua Jade Olette, also known as the Sixth Army God—if she exposed him, it was basically game over.
In the heart of the Cerryti Empire, to be exposed was equivalent to death, a formula that would barely change, unless one could accumulate the power to confront the city’s defenses head-on, similar to the Floral City Pariel incident once initiated by Perlman. Not only did that require the perfect timing, location, and people, but theoretically, to stir up trouble in the Capital Bulerida of Crystal, the difficulty was not on the same level as the Floral City Pariel, as the tier and scale of these two cities were conceptually worlds apart.
"Moreover, Landry was a genius in Magical Engineering, and was also proficient in Demon Magic Text, what level are you at, such that you can replace him without being discovered?" Unity asked with a hint of contempt.
She felt this man was a bit too arrogant.
What if he was an idiot? Then it wouldn’t just be his own death at stake, but also Landry’s relics wouldn’t be obtained by the Allied Forces.
"Trust me, you can’t go wrong." Lanci gave her this simple reply, with quite a sense of professional confidence.
"..." Unity inexplicably felt that this wasn’t the first time this guy had done such a thing – taking someone’s place.
Such confidence wasn’t merely due to talent, but was laden with considerable experience.
It was as if he was a repeat offender!
Let alone what kind of a steely heart he had, even now she couldn’t feel the slightest heartbeat from him, as though he didn’t find such high-risk behavior the least bit frightening.
There was a kind of calm madness, strong and sinister, full of riddles, utterly untrustworthy.
The key issue was, she couldn’t beat this man in a fight, and agreeing with him wasn’t guaranteed to be a win-win.
But to continue the stalemate would surely lead to a lose-lose, to the benefit of the Cerryti Empire.
"You remember this, you despicable peeper of dreams, I hope you survive a few more days in Saint Kray Temple." Unity hesitated briefly, then finally made her judgment, picked up Landry’s body, and then disappeared from sight.
She didn’t for a second think this man could successfully impersonate Landry in Saint Kray Temple.
But if the guy wanted to commit suicide, she had no need to stop him.
Empire people were destined to be her mortal enemies – betrayal was just a matter of time; she didn’t expect this Empire officer to keep helping her indefinitely.
As the smoke cleared, the broken furniture of the carriages, shattered glass, charred metal could be seen strewn about, piled up haphazardly as if having survived an apocalyptic catastrophe. The remnants of flames still danced among the ruins, emitting wisps of black smoke, mixed with the smell of blood that made one’s throat tighten.
After returning to compartment 404, Lanci breathed a sigh of relief and began to change his disguise quickly.
Sometime later.
Maybe ten or so minutes passed.
When the door to the compartment was opened again by an incoming Empire officer, there was just a young man with black hair and blue eyes left, raising his hands, harmlessly signaling to the Empire officer – he was not an extremely dangerous extremist who had attacked the train.
