Four Split Personalities

Compared to the genteel and courteous demeanor he had feigned upon his initial intrusion into the Purple Jiu Hall, he now bore an air of recklessness, which, while not despicable, was in presence of the highest-ranking members of the Violet Empire, an act that could have been charged as a serious disrespect.

Of course, that was assuming... he really was just a common bard.

By now, it was unlikely anyone would still think so.

"Cough cough, speaking of which, where is Lady Shuangye?"

Ignoring someone’s previous lament, Duke Baroka cleared his throat and asked Motan, "She was supposed to represent the Fire Claw Territory in our discussion, right?"

Motan waved his hand and lazily leaned back in his chair, "She has entrusted me with all her responsibilities, saying she was a bit worn out from previous meetings and feeling unwell, so she skipped."

"Skipped..."

Duke Baroka was taken aback, and after a while, he shook his head with a wry smile, "Indeed, she’s the apprentice whom Ana favored, even their temperaments are alike."

"Wait, what’s wrong with her?"

Duke Emily of Crystal Wolf’s concern was elsewhere.

Motan raised an eyebrow and responded without much thought, "Hmm, we played a bit too hard and too late yesterday, so she’s quite listless right now."

Emily’s eyes widened in shock, exclaiming, "You say what..."

"After all, playing cards is very brain-burning."

Motan pulled out a deck of tarot cards from his pocket, dazzlingly shuffled them for a few seconds, then spread his hands to reveal a neat row of identical [Demons], chuckling, "Let’s play all night sometime when you’re free, shall we?"

Emily’s face turned slightly red, and she spat gently, not saying anything.

"Well then, let’s get started right away..."

A few seconds later, seeing no one was in the mood for pleasantries, Clive smiled calmly and turned his gaze to Motan, "Mr. Dabus, I have already told everyone about the things you mentioned during your disturbance last night, and to tell the truth, including myself after an entire night of contemplation, everyone finds it quite unbelievable."

Motan nodded slightly, then glancing around at the six Dukes who were now wearing serious expressions, he whispered, "Whether the ’intelligence’ I provided is unbelievable isn’t what’s important; what matters is whether you are willing to believe it?"

Silence descended once more...

"I believe."

Half a minute later, Duke Dundis, who had always appeared utterly disconsolate, abruptly broke the silence with three words—and it seemed he had no intention of elaborating further.

"I also believe."

Duke Simon nodded and said gravely, "Although there is no substantial evidence, the fact that Baffi escaped from Sālāmù’ēn’s ’Grey Jail’ and managed to make the guards perceive an empty cell as still containing the target, such a delusion can hardly be explained other than by Mr. Dabus’s claims."

"I also believe."

Duke Hussein followed suit, stating righteously, "It is mentioned in the testimony previously provided by Zack Fryes that the Marshal Slave Hunting Group was collaborating with the Viper Chamber of Commerce and a Mysterious Religious Group. If that so-called religious group is in cahoots with the Marshall Family, a lot of things make sense."

"Believe."

Duke Baroka tapped the table gently, squinting slightly, "Remember the evidence left by Captain Ned? A simple comparison shows that the number of slaves sold by the Viper Chamber of Commerce is far fewer than the total number of the disappeared, and besides the Viper channel, it’s impossible for the Marshal to secretly move thousands of slaves out of their territory without the rest of our families noticing—thus, those people could only have been ’absorbed’ within the Marshal Territory."

"And the way to ’digest’..."

Emily clenched her fist tightly and gritted her teeth, "If it’s about sacrificing to the Evil God or using it to conduct some kind of ritual, then it makes complete sense. I’ve seen many texts mentioning heretical churches and dark gods; they have countless methods to make tens of thousands of people vanish without a trace."

Without a doubt, she was a believer herself.

After Emily finished speaking, Motan turned his gaze towards Mercury Core Fernan, who had several cushions under his buttocks.

He first blinked in surprise, then glanced around and chuckled twice, "I... I believe too."

It must be said, this Mediterranean Duke was quite a character, still able to play the fool so naturally even with four people (Motan, Clive, Dundis, Hussein) knowing his secrets.

Of course, his willingness to act like a fool had more to do with his desire not to be a target; Duke Fernan’s aim was simply to avoid trouble, not be sought out for opinions, or engage in conversations. If others truly treated him like a fool, that would be for the best.

However, after a brief conversation with Motan that day, he was very clear that his easy days were numbered. Even if Clive and the others continued to turn a blind eye, it was unlikely that His Highness would allow him to continue muddling along...

In a nutshell, after Duke Fernan finished speaking, the only one among the present company who had not expressed an opinion was Clive Bresin, and he clearly had no intention of standing out, so...

"With that said, we can put an end to the speculation about whether the Marshall Family is colluding with the heretics."

Clive nodded slightly and then said softly to Motan, "So Mr. Dabus, please continue with what you didn’t finish last night."

"Very well, Your Majesty, I was about to do just that."

Motan leaned on the table with one hand, supporting his cheek with a smile, "Since everyone believes what I’ve said, I’ll get straight to the point. Today’s battle, where our theoretically invincible Lord’s Allied Forces stand, will be very dangerous."

Clive did not bother to ask ’how dangerous’ with such an obvious question but immediately inquired without hesitation, "Because of those potential heretics?"

Since everyone knew that from a straightforward analysis of forces, the Allied Forces could not lose, after a simple process of elimination, that was the only possibility.

"Exactly."

Motan nodded crisply, saying with a smile, "Our enemy is not only the Swordsmen of Baffi, the Ice Veil Mage Group, and the Mercury Guards but also the heretics hidden for who knows how long and in what numbers in Mercury City. I believe, as a high-ranking member of the Whisper Sect, Baffi Marshal has absolute control over those people. Pressed into a corner, he may be reluctant, but he must play this card as a last struggle. And this shudder may well turn the tide directly."

Duke Simon slightly frowned, "Turn the tide? Even if those heretics reveal themselves, and he wins the battle, what then? Even if he kills us all, there’s no place left for him on this continent."

"Well said."

Motan clapped his hands, then shrugged, "But in fact, the power of that sect is very strange. Remember the incident of Baffi’s jailbreak. If I hadn’t informed everyone in advance, who would have thought he escaped with the power of the Evil God? You would have found Baffi’s escape mysterious. Similarly, if you don’t know this before going into battle, you would also find your defeat mysterious and would find it hard to attribute it to the Evil God."

Duke Baroka narrowed his eyes slightly, "In that case..."

"In that case, the situation for all the Dukes and His Majesty Clive becomes very dangerous."

Motan smiled broadly, leisurely saying, "Thus for this battle, please make sure you are fully prepared. Treat it as though we are the side with less chance of winning. I will provide some sound advice. While it’s hard to negate the advantage of the other side, we will at least not let them take us by surprise. At worst, we can create an evenly matched situation. Then..."

"No need for ’then.’"

Clive Bresin interrupted Motan indifferently, standing up and looking around the other six attendees...

"We all know what to do."

Chapter 546: The End