Chapter 356
"On July 7, I arrived in Boren City to meet someone who said she could help me with certain matters. But when I got there, she never showed up. I was played for a fool, so I left Boren City that very night..."
Xiar interrupted, "Certain matters? What matters? Be specific."
Vitali took a deep breath and slowly replied, "It was about stopping the royal family from continuing to block aid to Beinan. I offered to help connect with the Grain Import and Export Association and the Opode Republican Army, but they stood me up."
Hmm?
At this point, Xiar paused for a moment.
Previously, while investigating the bombing that killed Aivina, Xiar had interrogated a group of people.
The grain merchant Balfour, who nearly faced repercussions for his funding, the city councilman John, and Goodwin from the Opode Republican Army.
Connecting these seemingly unrelated individuals, Xiar had always thought it was the infiltration of the Pleasure Society... but it turned out that this princess before him was the intermediary?
Isn’t she a member of the royal family?
What she was doing clearly harmed the interests of the royal family.
Yet none of their testimonies mentioned Princess Vitalis... It seemed she had used her connections to indirectly bring these people together.
However, in reality, she had ruined the plan before the key person could propose it, leaving Princess Vitalis empty-handed... The person she wanted to meet was likely the disguised key person.
So, did she know the other party was from the Pleasure Society, or not?
Did Princess Vitalis know that the key person's plan was to kill Aivina?
Xiar didn’t ask, but quickly noted down the details of Princess Vitalis's activities over the past hundred days.
Her areas of activity were mostly places where the Orlando Republican Army had carried out terrorist attacks... It seemed this royal princess had some connection with the Orlando Republican Army.
This royal family is quite something, with a madcap second princess and a first princess who constantly dreams of being a traitor...
"What’s your purpose in all this?" Xiar asked.
"Do you think you’re helping Beinan?"
"I just believe no one else should die of hunger."
Vitali looked into Xiar's eyes and calmly said, "Those in power should take action."
"Even if the Orlando Republican Army is launching terrorist attacks against nobles who are also ordinary people?"
Xiar pressed on.
"For the millions still suffering, that’s just a fraction," Vitali shook her head. "A few sacrifices can save many more."
Got it, she’s the type who would choose to sacrifice one to save five in a trolley problem.
"Do you really think the famine is solely due to the royal family's ban?"
Xiar sensed a subtle message in Vitalis's words.
Vitali replied, "No, there must be some extraordinary beings involved."
Xiar said, "The Pleasure Society."
"I know."
After a brief silence, Vitalis asked, "Are you one of them?"
Though Vitali had never met other "subversives," she was almost certain that the red-haired girl before her, who had just taken down another "subversive," was indeed a standout among them.
Given the other party's previous behavior, it was hard for Vitali not to suspect she was from the Pleasure Society.
And all of this was just for fun.
"Of course not. In fact, I’m a good Samaritan, ready to help Beinan research a cure for the rot plague."
Xiar shook his head with a smile and said, "Unfortunately, I just handed the samples to Ashford, and not long after, he was nearly blown to bits by the royal family."
Vitali narrowed her eyes.
This was something that had happened while she was away from Ansu City; she had only learned about the bombing through newspapers a few days later, and she had thought it was the work of the Pleasure Society.
"This is the Pleasure Society's doing," Vitalis stated.
At this moment, Tara, who had been standing nearby, spoke up to answer for Xiar: "The Pleasure Society hadn’t even had the chance to act. Lord Xiar has planted followers within the Pleasure Society who are in charge of gathering intelligence."
The air fell into silence.
Vitali seemed unaware of the royal family's actions and found it hard to digest the information Xiar had just revealed.
Princess Vitalis shook her head, "But... they have no reason to do this. If the cure is developed by the Royal Medical Society, the people of Beinan would love Queen Vitalis even more..."
Princess Vitalis was a smart person; she understood the current situation of the royal family and wanted to change it, but she found it hard to believe that the queen would disregard the lives of millions for the sake of unity.
Xiar calmly replied, "The Church of the God of Order wants to completely dismantle the Church of the Goddess of Salvation and eliminate its influence in Beinan, while the royal family aims to replace the nobility of Beinan. Interior Minister William has been parachuted in as the temporary governor of Beinan. Do you really think he’s there just for disaster relief?"
"Once the plan succeeds, the Church of the God of Order will solidify its position as the state religion, the Ansu royal family will fully unify Beinan, and the Pleasure Society might even give rise to a powerful and terrifying entity..."
"This is the truth."
Vitali's fingers twitched slightly, her expression pained and complex, especially given that she was a member of the royal family.
But at that moment, Xiar seemed to sense something. She slowly closed her eyes, listening to the information being relayed to her by the Anworm.
Those two just now... plus a fourth-tier reinforcement, all dead?
There are still some forces left...
"Continue the killing."
Xiar calmly issued the order in her mind.
"Absorb the flesh and blood; stay as long as you can."
In the vast Ansu City, it was impossible for there to be only three fourth-tier beings; even the Church of the Goddess of Salvation had three.
Kill, until other powerful extraordinary beings come out to stop it.
Without understanding the trump cards, it would be hard to know what to guard against in Ansu City in the future.
"It seems we can’t stay here any longer."
Xiar waved to Tara, "The storm in Ansu City is likely to be quite big; we need to get out of here."
"Lord Xiar, although I haven’t been to Ansu City much, I know there’s a wasteland outside the city. The high ground there offers a view of the situation inside the city."
Tara seemed to know what Xiar was thinking and directly recommended it.
Such a good place?
Xiar nodded, "Let’s go, out of the city."
This simulation was nearly complete, and in reality, the princess's location had already been uncovered.
Next, it was time to see just how far the Anworm could go without the restrictions of fourth-tier extraordinary beings.
---
Chapter 196: A New "Uniqueness," the Ace in the Hole of Strong Sound.
In the northern part of Ansu City, on the heights of the Hamm Wasteland.
This was an undeveloped area; while it wasn’t exactly a mountain, the landscape of the high ground was quite spectacular, offering a broad view. From here, one could directly overlook the main landmarks of Ansu City, including the two grand cathedrals and the parliament building.
This place was originally a leisure and walking area for the upper-class nobles of Ansu City, but now it had become the best spot for Xiar to observe the Anworm.
Standing behind Xiar, besides Tara and Lucy, was the princess Vitali, her expression complex.
"What a spectacle... Lord Xiar..."
Tara gazed down at the distant Ansu City, unable to suppress her heartfelt admiration.
The once-clear sun was now shrouded by rolling black clouds and a blood-red halo, the crimson light swirling within the dark clouds. Amidst this black haze, a terrifying monster was rapidly growing, driving the black clouds to devour everything.
Wherever the black clouds swept, even from nearly ten kilometers away on the high ground, they seemed to feel the hidden despair and wails beneath the stillness.
The symbolic giant bell tower of the Church of the Goddess of Salvation collapsed with a thunderous roar, and the western district had already begun to erupt in flames. It was a scene that looked like the end of the world.
"You’re committing slaughter..."
Princess Vitali spoke slowly.
Her thoughts were now in disarray; she had completely lost track of how to resolve the situation before her.
All she knew was that she had no qualifications to resist... and she had even saved her life by being taken away by Lucy.
What Vitali couldn’t understand the most was why that red-haired girl was doing this.
Why summon such a terrifying thing? Why target Ansu City for slaughter? If it was merely out of hatred for Ansu, then why not kill her too? Why tell her about the royal family's actions...
But if she viewed the other party as a member of the Pleasure Society, everything could be easily explained.
There was no reason, just a desire to watch, just because it was fun... A member of the Pleasure Society would surely give such an answer.
Yet they were not members of the Pleasure Society; they had even infiltrated it...
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