NOVPUBChapter 291: Chapter 275: The Indecisive Duke Ward_2
But for Lis, who knew how the future events would unfold, he easily derived the ultimate answer from these subtle clues.
“It seems that the Dillon Kingdom started their preparations quite early.”
Lis poured himself a glass of Ice Wine, a specialty of the Dillon Kingdom.
This particular wine required a very tedious process to produce, delaying the harvesting of ripe grapes, leaving them on the vine to be tempered by the cold wind and snow, resulting in a wine that carried a rich fragrance and a crisp taste.
Even in the Dillon Kingdom, it was a rare delicacy.
“The taste is not bad, I should bring some back for Ya’er and Risa!”
...
Lis nodded in satisfaction, drained the wine in his glass, and lay back on the bed to enter the Dream World.
…
Drifting through the Dream World suffused with colorful lights, observing the noticeably sparser dreams around him, Lis was not surprised.
After all, he had entered the Dream World early, and many people in Ice Peak City had not yet fallen asleep.
However, Lis had his plans.
Although the main purpose was to visit Duke Ward again, Lis decided to first investigate the impact of last night’s fireworks in Ice Peak City on its residents, to see how it was reflected in the Dream World.
He was also making some preliminary preparations for “Dream Refraction.”
Lis rubbed his hands together in anticipation, excitedly observing the mysterious and fantastical Dream World before him.
Without the ability to use the Sphinx Ascension Technique yet, Lis felt the Sphinx Dream Building Technique to be increasingly magical, practical, and powerful.
It was as if it had opened up a new domain for him to operate in.
Lis was still not very familiar with the Dream Building Technique and the Dream World, and his manipulation was rather strained, but he was willing to invest more effort in the Dream World, build a foundation, until the day he could develop his own unique Dream skills and arcane arts.
…
The sensation of time passing in the Dream World was quite vague, and Lis could only guess that it had turned to deep night in the outside world by the increase in the number of Dream Spaces around him.
To Lis’s satisfaction, the dreams of most Ice Peak City residents featured the dazzling golden pillar of light from last night’s fireworks, a testament to their impact.
Lis roughly estimated that about fifty percent of the dreams in the Ice Peak City area showed the phenomenon of the golden pillar.
That was quite astonishing!
But Lis was also aware that this was because the event had occurred just yesterday, and the impressions of the people were still vivid.
Time could erase all memories; similarly, with the passage of time, this phenomenon would gradually fade from people’s dreams.
He estimated that within a week, the figure would remain at thirty percent, and after a month, it would drop to less than ten percent.
However, this amount of time was already sufficient for Lis. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝒐𝒎
With the escalating conflict between the King and Duke Ward, a direct confrontation was imminent, especially since Lis had already fanned the flames quite a bit.
When Lis finally finished some of his preliminary preparations and arrived at the Dream Space of Duke Ward, he was somewhat surprised to find that the golden pillar phenomenon was also present in this dream.
“Hey, who would have thought that even Duke Ward was startled?”
Lis said with a chuckle as he entered Duke Ward’s dream.
He controlled the dream to recreate the familiar Bronze table and the carved antique chairs with high backs.
But unlike the previous two times, the setting was not the dark and secretive room, but rather hovering above the Ice Castle Palace, as if he were stealthily lurking in the sky.
And the immense golden pillar was not far away, within arm’s reach.
“Northern Realm’s Fury,” the various expressions of fear, resolve, and hesitation on the faces of the Royal Family’s devotees were clearly visible.
Lis casually sat down at one side of the Bronze table, lightly tapping the tabletop with his right hand.
Thud — thud —
Across from him, Duke Ward, startled awake by the tapping, immediately noticed the different environment.
This was clearly the scene from last night’s attack on the Ice Castle Palace!
Especially upon seeing the commanding figure controlling the golden pillar bursting into the sky, his eyes became much more serious.
The “Northern Fury” had actually intervened last night, which explained the great commotion with minimal damage to the main body of the palace.
“How about that, my dear Stran?” said Lis, still clad in a black robe, looking at Duke Ward excitedly.
“That’s the grand entrance our Death Secret Cult deserves!”
“To declare our return to the world!”
Return?
Duke Ward did not respond directly, silently pondering every word spoken by the man in the black robe.
Duke Ward had to admit that last night’s display had truly shaken him.
Such a grand gesture did not seem like something a small organization could muster.
Was it all just to earn his trust, to make such a commotion?
Moreover, it looked as if they had escaped from the clutches of the Northern Realm’s Fury quite effortlessly in the end.
Although it might be that the other party hadn’t taken them seriously, for Professionals below the rank of legend, it was already quite an impressive feat.
So much had happened in the Ice Castle Palace last night, but because King Lukar had strictly ordered a news blockade, using his most elite troops to seal off the entire palace,
even Duke Ward, who had arranged quite a few spies within the palace, only just found out from Moriarty about the extent of last night’s events.
Therefore, although he still seemed somewhat neurotic, the hooded man Moriarty’s standing in Duke Ward’s heart soared.
“Indeed, your strength is indeed greater than I imagined,” Duke Ward said after a moment of silence, his voice heavy.
“So, what exactly do you want to do?”
“Don’t start with that talk of supporting me to become the king in order to gain support.”
“If your strength is really as you showed last night, you wouldn’t care about those covert forms of support, would you?”
Duke Ward’s gaze fell on the Ice Castle Palace not far away, yet his tone conveyed certainty and confidence.
He wanted to take control of the negotiations!
Lis realized this immediately, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Good! He wasn’t afraid of negotiating, only that Duke Ward might not be tempted enough.
After all, Lis’s ultimate goal was not to get anything from Duke Ward, but to cause as much chaos in the Dillon Kingdom as possible.
In Duke Ward’s eyes, the hooded man leaned back in his chair, speaking indifferently,
“My dear Stran, after all I’ve done, do you still doubt our sincerity?”
“Our enemy now is that young His Majesty the King, and isn’t the enemy of our enemy our friend?”
Duke Ward’s expression remained unchanged, his silence toward Lis signaling his distrust.
“Really, where else in the world can you find an ally as sincere as us!”
The hooded man stood up, stretching out his arms and waving them exaggeratedly as if in despair.
Then suddenly, he stopped the fanciful gesture, standing in place, staring intently at Duke Ward.
“After all, you have no other way out, do you?”
Duke Ward’s body tensed, feeling as if he was being watched by a greedy and ferocious hungry wolf that wanted to devour all the flesh from his bones.
Especially the deep darkness beneath the long black hooded cloak felt like an unfathomable vortex eager to drown and extinguish his soul.
Eerie! Maddening!
Suddenly sensing Moriarty’s malice, Duke Ward felt as if his entire body was frozen, his heart stopping.
But after all, he was one of the ruling powers in the Dillon Kingdom, and his long-established composure kept him from losing his cool at this moment.
“Then, what assistance can you offer me?”
After a short standoff, Duke Ward spoke, breaking the silence.
In a way, he was the first to yield.
“What do you need?”
The hooded man’s attitude suddenly warmed, as if he was peddling wares.
“This… I need to think about it some more,” Duke Ward said after hesitating for a while.
Need to think more?
Lis frowned inwardly, feeling something was amiss.
At this point, why all the hesitation?
Did he really dare to make up his mind and open the Demon’s Gate?
Or was there another hidden issue?
“Heh heh heh, my patience is limited. I hope you don’t disappoint me,”
the hooded man chuckled bleakly, and then he kicked Duke Ward out of the Dream Space.
