Four Split Personalities

Game Time AM10:43

As the battlefield’s Balance finally began to slowly tip in favor of the Lord’s Allied Forces, the city of Mercury dispatched its last batch of reserves. This group included a small number of loyal autonomous army elites, remnants of the first Slave Capturing Group, and all the members of the Whisper Sect within the city, totaling fifteen thousand people.

This wasn’t the final card of the Marshall Family, just the last bit of strength that Baffi could squeeze out, far inferior to the three main battle groups in average combat power. Their task was simple: to aid the main forces currently engaged in a bloody battle with the Lord’s Allied Forces at the frontline, seeking to delay the inevitable defeat as long as possible until Jiawen and Quinn’s assassination squad completed its mission.

Today, whether for Baffi Marshall himself or for the entire Marshall Family, there was no way out anymore. Therefore, even though Baffi knew that if the final plan proposed by Jiawen failed, they would be beyond redemption, he had to gamble, had to act according to the opponent’s wishes.

He had already lost when he last stepped into the Hall of Amethyst and was judged ’guilty’ in an instant. From that moment, as long as Baffi Marshall wanted to save his own life, the situation was bound to evolve this way. Baffi, Jiawen, and Shu had all considered this.

From an objective perspective, dying seemed like the best solution. After all, if Baffi willingly sacrificed himself and dissociated himself from his family, the Marshall Family might decline in the next few decades, yet it wouldn’t be destroyed. People like Simon the Duke, who had been very close to Baffi in his youth, would never just sit back and watch others kick someone who was down. At a glance, accepting his death seemed to be the only correct choice.

But... no!

Willingly taking punishment after disassociating the slaving incident from his family seemed unproblematic at first glance, but this was precisely what Baffi would never do. It wasn’t because he feared death; on the contrary, if his death could solve future problems for his family, Baffi would gladly step onto the gallows and end his turbulent life with a smile.

The problem was, he knew very well that even if he died, the Marshall Family would not be safe, for, besides the slaving issue, there was another terrible problem...

Besides being a Grand Duke of the Violet Empire, Baffi Marshall also had another identity: an honorary leader of the Whisper Sect. Although not fully privileged, he, and his family who also worshipped the Whispering God, received as many ’blessings’ as other Advanced Stage believers. His eldest son had received the ’Faceless Knight’ sect rank years before, and both his daughters were ’Whispering High Priestesses’. The other collateral members of the family had covertly become believers of the Whispering God at the latest twelve years before. Under their subtle influence, as of today, the city of Mercury had turned into a nest of the Whisper Sect, and due to the ’Whisper’) Evil God’s peculiar Trait, even the local Thief Guild and Cloud Traveler Inn hadn’t noticed a thing.

In terms of cunning, intelligence, and wisdom, neither the future heirs nor anyone else in the family could compare with him. Even with the help of Fujiki, Quinn, and others, it was impossible to guarantee there would be no slips. So, after secretly doing his calculations, Baffi Marshall concluded that if he accepted judgment to clear his family from the slaving incident, it would take at least ten days to five years for the collusion between the Marshall Family and the Heretical Church to be exposed, leaving no room for maneuver.

What a Grand Duke family faithful to an Evil God meant for the Violet Empire was not hard to guess.

Should this come to light, not only would the Marshall Family itself have no path to life, but the Violet Empire itself would also face criticism from various quarters. The forceful intervention of the Holy Church Union and the pressure from many large neutral organizations were almost a certainty. By then, the problems Marshall faced would be far more than just the tens of thousands from the Lord’s Allied Forces facing him now; being eradicated in the blink of an eye was no joke.

Hence, he could not afford to die!

So, he had to struggle!

Jiawen’s plan was Baffi’s last lifeline. As long as Clive died, Crown Prince Rebo, who had temporarily entered into a cooperative relationship with him, would surely buy some precious time for the Marshall Family. Then, there might be a chance to return to the negotiating table, leaving some room for possibilities.

Otherwise, if they failed, even if the Lord’s Allied Forces razed Mercury City today, it would merely change a death sentence from suspended to immediate execution.

"Sylvia..."

Baffi Marshall finished the red wine in his hand and turned his gaze towards the elf sitting idly in front of him, tapping her nails.

"Hmm?"

The sultry, seductive Blood Seeker casually responded, taking a long while before lazily lifting her eyes and asking in her distinctively sweet, sickly tone, "What is it now, boss?"

Baffi poured himself another glass of wine and raised it towards her in a toast: "You’ve worked hard these many years."

"It’s a transaction, after all. You wanted to keep such a spendthrift around to help you; it’s only right," Sylvia Frostbloom casually played with her aqua blue long hair, yawning lazily, "Besides, I’m a Blood Seeker with a poor reputation... though, after finding out about your worship of that what, Evil God, it seems there isn’t much left to thank you for not minding my identity."