NOVPUBChapter 193: Chapter 192: Mutual Decoys
Chapter 193 -192: Mutual Decoys
Under normal circumstances, a normal person taking such a blow would either die immediately or pass out from the pain, but this man still remained conscious, expression tormented as his body even attempted to rise.
Ailuodi immediately delivered another blow, a slash of her Gale Sword that severed his legs, only exhaling in relief after confirming he could no longer move.
However, her expression soon turned to one of difficulty.
“I thought you were all undying and was going to hold back a little.”
“Don’t say things like what a villain would say,” Chaoyang walked in from outside at this moment, “There is absolutely no need to hold back against these heretical cultists.”
“I was considering the interrogation,” Ailuodi grumbled dissatisfied, “Who do you think I am?”
The man’s lips twitched visibly as he saw someone entering through the door—it was another Leisk following behind Chaoyang.
“Trap, trap!” the parrot squawked.
“This is… fake…” the man finally realized that he was the prey that had fallen into a trap.
“Indeed, the Causal Sect isn’t the only one who uses substitutes,” Chaoyang admitted openly, “Attacking Magnificent Castle was never your true aim, just a means to an end, right? From the beginning, your targets have always been the followers of the Envoy of Mist.”
After discussing with the city guards the previous night, he first shared the information with other players, then “listened” to the discussions between players at Paradise Base. Xue Quan’s point of view particularly caught his attention—that relying solely on the cultists themselves to destroy a city was difficult, but using the power of the mist would change the situation drastically.
“Serial murders… assaulting the commander of the city guard… recruiting followers with the power of the Evil God… and openly inciting rebellion within the city. You kept escalating your actions because you knew someone was observing Magnificent Castle and would sound the Fog Horn when the Evil God’s influence grew to a certain extent, shrouding the entire city in mist!” Chaoyang said soberly, “Leisk is your actual target and you indeed caught his attention.”
The multiple encounters between the players and Leisk were not coincidentally.
Whether it was enslaving the destitute as miners or the film viewing held on the passenger ship, the essence was a manifestation of evil. Leisk could sense the spread of the Evil God’s influence, which is why he made appearances on the armed train and the Joy Goddess. Following that logic, he would increasingly sense the erosion of evil through successive deeper contacts, blowing the Fog Horn before things became irreparable.
But the outsider from another world became the unexpected element.
Chaoyang and the Paradise players were far less affected by the influence of the Mist Envoy than the locals, allowing them to consider Leisk in the sequence of events.
Especially on the passenger ship, where the latter chose to intervene to save Ailuodi, likely exposing his identity. Xue Quan wasn’t certain whether the cultists possessed similar memory capabilities, but he boldly speculated that they had other ways to lock onto Leisk—otherwise their previous series of lures would have been pointless.
Therefore, Chaoyang set up a trap.
For him, verifying this speculation didn’t require much effort, as long as Leisk was willing to cooperate. Through a simple pact, he could make Leisk control his own clone to strut through the city and return to his home. If nothing unusual happened, they would consider their deduction wrong; but if the enemy truly took the bait, it would undoubtedly be a big fish.
“The Divine Envoy on the way to the High Heaven Minefield, that was also a decoy, right? Directing everyone’s attention to the minefield so you can kill an unknown follower of the Hidden Mist Sect without any disturbance,” Ailuodi gathered a whirlwind in one hand and reached for the half-mask on the man’s face with the other, “If Leisk was your true target, the person you send must be a core figure, preferably someone who is already dead and will never be suspected.”
With that, she took off the man’s mask.
However, what greatly surprised the trio was that the man’s face seemed to be made up of several faces patched together, with the part from his forehead to his nose bridge almost comprising four or five complete faces, only they were significantly reduced in size, resembling deformed dwarves.
One of the faces had a conspicuous scar below the left corner of its eye, which was almost a signature feature of the Black Steel leader Aibuvich!
“Who exactly are you?”
Ailuodi was visibly startled and asked subconsciously.
“I have to admit… you’ve done… quite well,” the man replied weakly, anger flashing first in those several pairs of eyes, but it quickly turned to mockery, “For unbelievers, fools like you, reaching this point… is already quite sharp. You’ve won this round… As for me… I’m just an inconsequential servant under the Earl.”
“Where is Li Qiang Ola?!”
With a contemptuous look in his eyes, he seemed to be asking, Why should I tell you?
Before the Angel could ask again, the man had closed all his eyes and stopped breathing.
“He’s dead,” Ailuodi confirmed after checking his pulse, “This guy didn’t turn into a potted plant monster in the end, did we guess wrong?”
“He mentioned the word ‘Earl’; could it be that the person who went to the high sky minefield was Li Qiang Ola?” Leisk patted his chest in relief, “But at least the Fog Horn wasn’t stolen by him, or else the consequences would have been unimaginable. Since they didn’t get the Fog Horn, the issue should be resolved after the Heretical Cult followers at the minefield are eradicated, right?”
“Thank you, thank you so much!” Huihui flapped its wings and said.
“Indeed, I owe you a huge favor,” he said sincerely. When Chaoyang first brought up this idea to him, he had thought it might be a bit overly cautious. After all, he had been infiltrating Magnificent Castle for many years, and when he boarded the Joyful Goddess, no one seemed to recognize him. Besides, this fishing plan would have been futile without Paradise’s involvement; even if he sensed something was wrong, he would have had no means to counter it.
For the first time, Leisk tasted what it was like to have comrades by his side.
“No need, no need. You saved my life once after all, let’s call it even,” Ailuodi said, waving her hand and then nudging Chaoyang with her elbow, “You agree, right?”
However, Chaoyang’s brows were tightly furrowed; there was not a hint of relaxation on his face as he surveyed the body on the ground.
“What’s the matter?” asked the Angel, tilting her head.
“I’m thinking about something… If their ultimate goal was to seize the Fog Horn, then there’s no doubt that they have failed now,” Chaoyang said slowly, “But from the expression on this man’s face before he died, I sense not despair but merely a hint of regret, as if a long-simmering scheme had suffered only a minor setback, yet had not completely failed.”
“Could they have another way to summon the mist?”
“I’m considering another possibility…” Chaoyang’s voice suddenly turned quite heavy, “What if the Heretical Cult’s relentless efforts to lure Leisk into the open weren’t to take the horn, but to destroy it?”
“Didn’t we discuss this point already?” Ailuodi asked, puzzled, “Taking over Magnificent Castle is just a front; without the cover of mist, once the armies from the Old Continent arrive, none of these Heretical Cult followers will escape, and they will have to spit out as much as they’ve swallowed. In this way, their actions would be meaningless.”
“That’s exactly the problem,” Chaoyang shook his head, “This person attacked Leisk with a clear intent to kill, and without any hint of hesitation. Didn’t they consider the possibility that if an Envoy of Mist dies, there might be no one left who knows how to use the Fog Horn? However, one thing is certain—whether it’s eliminating Leisk or getting the horn, both outcomes lead to the same effect: whatever the Heretical Cult does next, there won’t be any mist to stop them.”
