landbeastnovel Chapter 212 Revisiting Twin Harbors and Unexpected Changes
Chapter 212 Revisiting Twin Harbors and Unexpected Changes
Chapter 212 Return to Twin Harbors and Unexpected Changes
Did the royal family or the dukes get involved?
Kane's eyes flickered slightly, his expression instantly turning serious as he fell into deep thought.
As the de facto rulers of Susas, the royal family possesses a direct guard and royal mages.
The Duke had already recruited mercenaries from all over the world through the merchant guild, and had even used the Stigmata Ritual to turn many people into demons.
Both of them are powerful enough to intercept two third-tier spellcasters at the same time.
After all, a third-tier spellcaster is not difficult to damage once they have exhausted their spell slots or have been ambushed at close range.
As he pondered, the way the others looked at Kane changed.
In the divination just now, Kane predicted that the two would not be able to arrive at the academy on time and that someone would be injured, and all of these predictions came true.
Although there had been instances of failed attempts to capture the territory before, Kane said that it was simply due to a lack of clues.
Moreover, the cost of divination is far less than communicating with that great astral being.
Everyone thought that the acting dean of the Prophecy Branch was just someone they had hired to deal with the royal family, the noble council and other royal forces, but he turned out to be surprisingly reliable.
Many people on the field were secretly pondering this.
Hammond frowned slightly and looked at Lux, asking, "Lux, their route shouldn't have been leaked, right? Has something gone wrong?"
The skeleton, who had been silent all along, snorted coldly and said, "Just because there's one Bella doesn't mean there won't be a second one."
Perhaps we should conduct a thorough purge of the entire Illusion Department, and then investigate the other departments.
Lux retorted with a cold laugh: "If you suspect that I leaked the information, you can arrest me right now, skeleton."
Haven't you all always disliked me?
The atmosphere on the field instantly became even more tense.
Kane sighed inwardly.
Even after Bella, as the head of the Illusion Department, was imprisoned, the suspicions among the department heads did not dissipate.
After all, there are already gaps between the various departments. Although they are temporarily united due to external pressure, any changes could easily lead to internal friction.
"Quiet!" Hammond slammed his mallet on the table, his tone serious.
The others reluctantly snorted, but remained silent.
Due to their magical prowess, the School of Evocation is the strongest branch, and even though the spellcasters belong to different factions, everyone acknowledges Hammond's authority.
Hammond said in a deep voice, "Now is not the time for infighting."
We have both used the power of truth to ensure our innocence, so let's put aside any pointless speculation.
Now that one of the two incoming deans is dead and the other injured, our immediate task is to deal with the situation ahead.
He looked at Lux: "Tell me the details."
Lux nodded and slowly said, "The two people I invited are named Daniel and Zeno. The former is a free mage from the Free City-State, and the latter is a tribal mage from the grasslands. Both of them have experience studying at the academy."
The former, in the Dark Forest, and the latter, in Twin Harbor, were both attacked by several teams of assassins at night.
After being poisoned, Daniel fought valiantly to kill several assassins, but ultimately succumbed to his injuries; Zeno, on the other hand, used illusion magic to evade the attack and is currently hiding in Twin Harbor.
"Twin Harbors?" Kane frowned slightly.
His subtle change immediately caught the attention of others.
After all, his series of accurate divinations had just proven his abilities, and now no one dared to underestimate this newly appointed second-tier acting dean.
"Dean Kane, please tell us about your discovery."
""
Lux looked at Kane, her tone now showing more approval.
Kane nodded: "Now we have a clue. Please allow me to perform one more divination."
"Please." Everyone said in unison.
Without hesitation, Kane immediately cast his divination spell again, muttering to himself, "Was the Duke involved in this assassination attempt?"
He rolled the dice three times and the divination was successful, which meant that the Duke was indeed involved.
The expressions on everyone's faces grew increasingly solemn.
Even now, they are still embroiled in infighting and power struggles between the royal court, the royal family, and the parliament, while the duke has been secretly accumulating strength.
Now, once he makes a move, he directly kills a third-tier quasi-dean and seriously injures another, demonstrating his formidable strength.
Hammond's gaze swept over everyone, and he said in a deep voice, "I will make the arrangements next. The six of us need to act at the same time."
First, send people to guard the academy, on the one hand to interrogate Bella about whether she has other accomplices, on the other hand to deal with the pressure from the royal family and the council, and to extend invitations to those third-tier mages who are not affiliated with any power and have a clean identity to fill the vacancy of the dean.
Second, we must go to the Dark Forest to investigate Daniel's death; the Academy must be held responsible for his demise.
Third, go to Twin Harbor to meet Zeno and cut off the Duke's men sent to hunt him down.
If there are no objections, I hope everyone will agree.
"I have no objection," the skeleton nodded, adding.
"The six kingdoms are not lacking in third-tier spellcasters, but there may not be many with clean identities who are willing to get involved in the murky waters of Susas."
Lux frowned slightly: "In that case, let's stop speculating about each other."
The skeleton snorted coldly and said nothing more, then turned to Hammond and said, "Ling Shu and I will go to the Dark Forest to investigate the cause of his death."
My necromancy will come in handy, and the Spirit Pivot's control spells can control the creatures in the forest, preventing us from being attacked.
Hammond nodded, then looked at the others.
Lux frowned slightly: "Nightowl and I can go to Twin Harbor. My spells and his transformations can work together to deal with any unexpected situations."
But if that happens, only the students from the Energy Transformation Branch will be stationed inside the academy. Won't their strength be too weak?
Night Owl, the head of the Transformation Division, added with a smile: "Moreover, we have no rescue experience. How many people to send, how to infiltrate Twin Harbors, and who should be in charge are all questions."
I've heard that Twin Harbors has been quite desolate since the previous turmoil, yet a military corps has remained stationed there, and the Duke even sent people to repair the previously burned-down merchant guild."
Hammond's expression instantly turned troubled.
According to the two, if the academy headquarters only had him as a third-tier spellcaster, his strength would be greatly weakened, and the royal family and the council would have more reasons to intervene in the academy's affairs.
Just then, Kane spoke up, "Why don't I go and test the waters first?"
Everyone else raised their eyebrows slightly upon hearing this.
Kane smiled and explained, his gaze casually sweeping over the newly appeared quest on the panel:
Side Quest: Rescue the Mage Zeno
[Introduction: Zeno, from the grasslands, is trapped in Twin Harbor and faces imminent danger. Please rescue him before he is killed.]
[Reward: Randomly selected class trait]
Professional traits are a rare reward, and Kane certainly wouldn't let them pass him by.
He looked at everyone and said firmly, "Although I am only at the second level, you should have all seen my previous battle with Malcolm. I have absolutely no problem protecting myself."
Moreover, if I can obtain enough clues, I can find Zeno's location faster through divination.
More importantly, I have a lot of grudges against that duke.
He has repeatedly sent men to hunt me down, and I have burned down his business guild. This matter is not over yet.
Recalling the previous intelligence, Lux frowned slightly, and the others also showed slight changes in expression.
The group exchanged glances and ultimately expressed their approval.
After all, Kane was able to capture Bella first and then force Malcolm to surrender in a spell duel, so he cannot be regarded as an ordinary second-tier spellcaster.
Hammond looked at Kane and said solemnly, "I understand, Dean Kane."
I will dispatch a team of mages to assist you in your work, and you will have full command of this team of mages.
If needed, you can also recruit local forces on your own, and the academy will reimburse all expenses incurred.
However, please be sure to pay attention to your own safety.
Kane smiled, revealing his gleaming white teeth: "Of course, no problem. I'd also like to ask you to send a letter to Nord for me, but I'd appreciate it if you could handle this personally."
""
"letter?"
Hammond took the letter and saw the words "Mistweaver" at the beginning. He searched his memory for the owner of this name and was stunned.
He instantly understood Kane's intention and nodded in response, "Okay, I understand."
Three days later, Twin Harbors.
This once prosperous city, after being besieged by the army, facing rumors of an attack from the Nords, and the fire that destroyed the Duke's Merchant Guild—
It has become desolate and bleak.
Boats were scarce, and people were few and far between; even many boatmen wore expressions of worry.
And one of the people involved in all of this was Kane.
He is stepping back into the city with a completely new identity.
He sat on the boatman's boat as he entered the city, his face expressionless.
He had long since changed out of the robes that represented the academy's dean, replacing them with the clothes of an ordinary merchant; his black hair had also been transformed into gold through disguise, concealing his Nord identity.
Looking at the half-elf boatman's worried face, Kane feigned confusion and asked, "It's said that the royal court has formulated tax reduction and support policies for Twin Harbors, so why is it still so desolate here?"
The boatman shook his head and sighed, "Dear guest, Twin Ports, as the hub of two inland waterways, did indeed attract chambers of commerce from various countries."
But what businesses value most is a stable environment. Now, the Finafone family in Hong Kong is embroiled in a scandal involving the assassination of the royal family, and their troops are stationed here.
Furthermore, the Duke kept questioning the local council, accusing them of failing to protect their own chambers of commerce, so chambers of commerce from other countries dared not come here again, even though they knew it was a transportation hub.
Our boatmen's business naturally plummeted.
Kane's eyes flickered slightly; he wasn't surprised.
He suppressed a pang of guilt in his heart.
After all, according to the original historical plot, this city would eventually be destroyed, and everyone in the city would become food for the devil.
He then asked, "Are you referring to the Duke of Eisenberg? Could you tell us how he held the local chamber of commerce accountable?"
The boatman nodded, rowing the boat toward the tavern Kane had indicated, and said intermittently, "Guest, since you are in business, you should know that the merchant guild under Duke Eisenberg has a presence in various cities of Sussas."
The Chamber of Commerce in Twin Harbors is the largest besides the Royal Court.
After the Chamber of Commerce was burned down, the Duke pressured the local noble council, accusing some of them of colluding with the Finafine family to allow others to burn down the Chamber of Commerce, and demanded huge compensation.
Those noble lords were utterly powerless to contend with the Duke, and were all in a state of utter chaos. They could only compromise by sacrificing the interests of other merchant guilds, which led even more guilds to accelerate their withdrawal from the region.
Kane smiled and said, "As an ordinary person, you seem to know quite a lot."
The boatman smiled and explained, "Business is slow now, so I have more free time."
Previously, an organization called "The Lantern Bearers" came here, bringing with them some bards who sang and performed everywhere, recounting these events in their songs.
Those people were really interesting; they not only cheered us on and could sing great songs, but they also always loved to ask about strange and unusual things.
"The lantern bearer? Inquiring about strange matters?"
Kane paused for a moment, then instinctively thought of Shar.
But the next moment, he became wary.
As an organization of the Nords, the Lantern Bearers aim to fight against demons and other lower-world creatures, but in essence, they still have intricate connections with the Nord royal family, making their neutrality questionable.
What exactly is the purpose of their arrival?
They had only discovered a few clues that the Duke was colluding with the demons, and were preparing to take action against him.
Or is it for Nord's benefit that they plan to attack Susas?
Kane was lost in thought.
However, with so few clues, even divination has a low success rate.
He looked at the boatman, whose face was full of worry but who was still humming a tune, and asked, "Where do they usually perform?"
"There are many of them, they can be found on the streets and alleys, and sometimes they'll even sing a song on a boat. But after each song, they always ask if anyone has encountered any strange disappearances or deaths, so many people think they bring bad luck."
The boatman shook his head and continued.
"Those who go to listen to them sing now are either bored like me, or curious young people."
However, the local noble council seems to have taken notice of them and is reportedly sending a sheriff to expel them, on the grounds that they are Nord spies.
"It's ridiculous. How did a bunch of singers become spies?"
Kane was silently making plans in his mind when the ship docked at the shore.
"We've arrived at the Dark Brotherhood's local stronghold," the boatman said.
Kane's eyes flickered slightly. He tossed down a gold coin, ignored the boatman's words of gratitude, and strode toward the Dark Brotherhood's stronghold.
The moment he pushed open the door, his expression instantly turned serious.
The ground was a mess, with tables overturned, debris scattered everywhere, and even wine bottles smashed to pieces. A rotten smell permeated the air, indicating that the place had been abandoned for a long time.
"Have they already abandoned Twin Harbor as their stronghold?" Kane wondered.
The Dark Brotherhood, a large underground force spanning six countries, has a presence in each nation, and Twin Harbor is just one of its many strongholds.
After the city fell into decline and became embroiled in power struggles, it was not impossible that they would abandon this stronghold and seek a new foothold.
"But if it's just an evacuation, the action would be too hasty, making it seem more like an attack."
Kane lowered his head, casually tapped his hand, and a faint light emerged from his palm, illuminating the ground beneath his feet—it was the Light spell.
Using the light, he carefully observed the scene:
There were black, congealed bloodstains on the ground, indicating that a fierce battle had taken place here;
The walls were covered with knife marks and arrow marks;
The tables and chairs were knocked over and were knocked askew, and there were scorch marks on the floor in the corner.
Kane closed his eyes, and, combining the evidence at the scene, the scene slowly resurfaced in his mind:
At night, the mercenaries in the Dark Brotherhood's stronghold were drinking and making a ruckus, completely unsuspecting, when at least dozens of soldiers suddenly broke in.
Before the mercenaries could react, the soldiers launched an attack with their crossbows, instantly inflicting heavy casualties on the mercenaries.
Some of the remaining mercenaries scattered and fled, while others fought back tenaciously, relying on the corpses of their comrades and the tables and chairs they used.
At the same time, several wanderers of at least Tier 2 took the opportunity to break in and begin a massacre.
In desperation, someone set fire to the stronghold, burning it down.
"We must find them and find out what happened!" Kane's eyes hardened.