Chapter 1 The End

The Krythean Empire, Botswana Province, on a mountain rail line less than an hour away from the capital, Breda.

The Breda Mag-Lev train had been stopped for a while, smoke rising from the first few carriages, especially the fourth, which was severely damaged.

After a brief burst of fighting, silence returned.

A large hole had been blown open in the roof, sunlight shining in unreservedly, but unable to penetrate the black mist, only barely illuminating the aged figure standing amidst the devastated ruins.

The old man was like a twilight emperor standing on a black reef, only the brilliant glow on his body and the faint light flickering in his pupils within the black mist were exceptionally clear.

"Can we talk properly, Miss Unity?"

His voice was complex, looking at the female assassin on the ground, his words carrying a hint of pleading.

Within this soundproof barrier, their conversation would no longer be heard by others.

"..."

Unity lay on the cold, hard wooden floor, clenching her teeth.

Even though the body belonged to her, she felt no control over it.

The imperial officer in front of her looked down at her condescendingly, and with her night vision, she could clearly see a morbid gentleness on that mean face, as if he were toying with prey.

She had never seen such a terrifying mental manipulation spell. Once he captured her, he could infer some personal information through her dreams.

Although the content of dreams was ethereal and uncontrollable, it lurked deep within memories and the mind, and would always indirectly reveal clues.

Repeatedly excavating her dreams could eventually dig out some of the key information she didn't want to expose!

She stubbornly raised her head, glaring fiercely at him, fiery flames erupting from a pair of phoenix eyes beneath her mask.

"You beast! You're the invaders, yet you put on such a benevolent appearance!"

Unity squeezed out her angry rebuke word by word between her teeth, her hoarse voice echoing in the silent carriage.

Towards the imperials who had窥探ed her dreams, she held only the utmost animosity and hatred.

"What's with that?"

Lanchi clutched his head, feeling a throbbing pain.

"That's also the truth."

Talia reminded Lanchi in his mind.

"I don't need you to help me detect lies at a time like this!"

Lanchi always felt that Talia was taking the opportunity to scold him!

But he wasn't in the mood to apprehend Talia, who had recently become increasingly rampant.

The most troublesome thing about espionage was that you couldn't figure out which side was which. Whenever you arrived in a new area, there was a high probability that your own people would start fighting.

In any case, he couldn't keep her pinned to the ground like this.

After Lanchi ordered Talia to release her mental shackles on the Allied spy Unity.

Unity instantly felt as if control over her body had returned.

She incredulously clenched her palm, then instinctively pulled away.

It wasn't that she didn't want to escape this carriage of the Breda train.

But a psychic magic had formed a wall, blocking this fourth carriage, not only preventing other passengers from opening the door to the compartment, but also stopping her from leaving.

Although she didn't feel that this psychic power was strong, roughly at the fifth level, she understood that in front of this old man who was at least at the seventh level, she had no chance of escape. The other party had confidently released her restraints just to make her understand the difference in strength between the two sides.

"Can we talk, Miss Unity? There are probably more than ten minutes before the imperial army from Breda arrives."

Lanchi took the initiative to raise his hands, signaling to Unity that she could feel safe.

"..."

Unity did not respond, her eyes like an unextinguished flame in the darkness. Despite her disheveled appearance and mental and physical devastation, she still exuded an inviolable dignity.

Don't communicate with illusionists or mental manipulators, that's common sense.

These guys are all experts at manipulating minds.

At any moment, he could be lying to you.

"Lanchi, don't you think that the friendlier you are to her at this time, the more it resembles your usual ingrained habits? In the eyes of the enemy, your carefree, cynical, and often self-deprecating appearance looks like the most oppressive villain."

Talia said in Lanchi's mind, looking like she was watching a play.

"..."

Lanchi choked.

So, he was wrong no matter what he did?

"Let's go."

Lanchi hesitated for a long time, then finally shook his head.

Their meeting now was too bad. It was almost impossible to build trust with words alone. Only actions could gradually change her opinion.

Continuing to entangle with this female assassin was definitely not a good idea. He certainly couldn't harm her, so he could only let her go. Goodbye for now.

In all likelihood, this Allied spy's usual disguise identity was also in the capital, Breda. It was very likely that they would meet again in the future.

If she saw him as an imperial officer, she wouldn't need to report him to the empire, otherwise it would be a death wish.

She should run as far away as possible in the short term, and he probably had to find a way to change his identity when he went to the capital, Breda. This old man's identity was really inconvenient.

"?"

Unity's eyes were puzzled, then she immediately became alert again.

"What do you mean?"

She asked with a stern look.

The other party had窥探ed her memory and was now letting her go, which seemed like he was humiliating her.

Clearly, as long as the search troops of the Military Committee of the capital, Breda, arrived, he could take her back to the capital, Breda, and lock her up in the interrogation cell of the military intelligence unit, where she would never be able to escape.

"Anyway, go. I won't kill you."

Lanchi sighed softly.

"..."

Unity observed the old man-like imperial officer, unable to analyze what considerations were behind this inexplicable twist.

"...Are you from the Silver Moon Restoration Society? Or an extreme anti-aristocratic faction?"

Unity asked, staring at him tentatively.

Although from Unity's intuition, the other party was a traditional imperial, she was well aware of the problems within the empire, the existence of various hidden forces and positions.

Even within the Central Executive Committee and the Military Committee of the Krythean Empire, there might be imperial forces who wanted to stir up trouble.

"You should be able to judge well whether we are more like friends or enemies."

Lanchi only answered her concisely.

Even if they were allies, he couldn't actively reveal his origins. Besides, the identity Nigel gave him belonged to the most secretive intelligence agency within the Kingdom of Bosen, not the Allied Council of the Kingdom. He only had Nigel as a contact person, and he wasn't in the same system as the Canberra Kingdom in the Western Hub District. Unity couldn't match his code at all.

Unity hesitated.

Logically speaking.

The other party clearly had the strength to窺探 her mind without interrogation, but he chose to let her go at this time, which meant that he didn't seem to be fishing for bigger prey in the long run.

Because if the other party really wanted to dig out her intelligence, there was no need to let her go at this time.

Maybe she was really lucky today.

Or maybe the spirits of her deceased comrades were protecting her.

So that she wouldn't die so early, and she had survived this ordeal.

Unity decided not to linger here, and went straight to Landry's body. She wanted to take Landry's belongings and magic cards.

Lanchi suddenly reached out to stop her, and she stopped again.

"Why did you kill him?"

Lanchi asked.

If Unity left directly, he wouldn't do anything more, but if she had any ideas about Landry's belongings, it proved that her killing Landry might not have been a coincidence but premeditated.

In Lanchi's view, Landry was a good imperial.

He had to understand this issue at least.

"..."

Unity's eyes showed disgust.

She was originally unwilling to say it, but considering that if this imperial mental mage really wanted to investigate, she wouldn't be able to hide anything. Delaying time with him here would be even worse for her.

"Why do you think he was valued by the St. Krythean Monastery? This man's magical engineering talent is unimaginable. His family also has hundreds of years of history in researching demon magic texts. He can combine the empire's magical engineering with the lost demon world's magical engineering, which may cause a revolution."

Unity looked at Landry's corpse and sneered.

The instruction she received was to assassinate this border aristocrat named Landry Washington and seize his research data.

Originally, her work would have gone smoothly, until she encountered such an out-of-spec imperial who hindered her.

You should know that擅自窺探ing her secrets, as a kingdom's intelligence agent, she should have fought to the death with the other party. Her current withdrawal was already an act of humiliation and burden-bearing.

But after she explained, the other party still did not agree to her taking Landry's belongings, which obviously made the other party have some considerations due to her previous answer.

"Don't you think that since I let you go today, you should help me with something?"

Lanchi thought for a while, as if he had come up with a solution.

"..."

Unity's attitude was full of reluctance.

"Think about it. You were discovered on the train by the empire, which means that there is already a traitor by your side. In other words, your original organization may be in danger at any time and is no longer so reliable. At this time, if you want to reverse the situation on your own, you will definitely need a new friend, and preferably a third party who has never had any conflict of interest with you before."

Lanchi believed that he didn't need to say any more.

Unity's mental stress should be greater than he imagined.

"...What do you want me to do?"

Unity still kept her guard up against Lanchi, her tightly clenched teeth trembling slightly, her jaw tensed and stiff.

Although the enemy of an enemy may indeed have the possibility of cooperation, it did not prevent her from hating the other party.

Or rather, she hated the imperials.

The haze of war shrouded the entire southern land. Now her hometown had been occupied and shattered, and countless comrades had died before the imperial's cold blades.

Blood feud, engraved in her heart.

In her eyes, no matter which faction of imperials, she could not accept them. Every minute and every second she was lurking in the Krythean Empire was a torment for her.

But for the sake of victory, no matter how much she hated it, she would try to do things that were beneficial to the kingdom.

"Help me with a favor. Take his body away and bury it. His identity temporarily belongs to me. A living Landry who can cooperate with you is definitely more valuable than a dead Landry, right?"

Lanchi suggested to her.

He remembered hearing Landry say that as a border aristocrat, Landry had never been to the capital, Breda, and had no acquaintances to rely on. Then, as long as he pretended to be him, it should be difficult to be recognized.

Moreover, it was very easy for Lanchi to pretend to be Landry. He only needed simple makeup. Then, in the capital, Breda, he could make a transformation spell that could turn him into Landry: Human}, and it would be easier to disguise himself as him.

"You're really brave. Do you know who the principal of St. Krythean Monastery is?"

Unity instantly understood what this person was planning and looked at him ridiculously.

This guy was clearly an internal member of the empire, yet he wanted Landry's identity to infiltrate another imperial agency!

"...Yes."

Lanchi nodded slightly and began to squat down to take Landry's belongings.

Violet Water-Azure, the principal who has been stationed at St. Krythean Monastery for many years, is also the Sixth War God. Once she exposes you, it's basically over.

In the heart of the Krythean Empire, exposing your identity is equal to death. This formula will hardly change unless you can accumulate a force that can directly confront the city's defenses, similar to the Flower Capital Incident launched by Pearlman. This not only requires the right time and place, but also people. In theory, trying to make trouble in the Krythean capital of Breda is not at the same level of difficulty as the Flower Capital of Parieu, because the level and scale of these two cities are completely two different concepts.

"Besides, Landry is a genius in magical engineering and is also proficient in demon magic texts. What level are you at to be able to replace him without being discovered?"

Unity added with some disdain.

She thought this man was a little too arrogant.

If he was a fool, not only would he die, but the Allies would not be able to obtain Landry's belongings.

"Trust me, you're right."

Lanchi simply answered this way, with a sense of confidence from a professional.

"..."

Unity inexplicably felt that this guy wasn't doing this for the first time.

This confidence was not only brought about by talent, but also by considerable experience.

He seemed to be a habitual offender!

Leaving aside what kind of big heart he had, she couldn't even feel the slightest heartbeat fluctuation from the other party now, as if he didn't think there was anything to be afraid of in this high-risk behavior.

There was a sense of calm madness, powerful and evil, full of mysteries, and completely untrustworthy.

The key problem was that she couldn't beat this man, and agreeing to him wouldn't necessarily be a win-win situation.

But continuing to drag on would definitely be a lose-lose situation, benefiting the Krythean Empire.

"You remember this, you despicable person who窺探s dreams, I hope you can live a few more days in St. Krythean Monastery."

Unity hesitated briefly, then finally made a judgment, carried Landry's body, and disappeared.

She didn't think this person could successfully disguise himself as Landry in St. Krythean Monastery.

But if this guy wanted to commit suicide, she didn't need to stop him.

Imperials were destined to be her mortal enemies. Betrayal was only a matter of time, and she didn't expect this imperial officer to help her all the way.

The black mist dissipated. The furniture was broken, the glass was shattered, and the metal was charred. It was all scattered everywhere, piled up in a chaotic manner. It was almost as if it had experienced a doomsday disaster. The remaining flames were still jumping in the ruins, emitting wisps of black smoke, and the smell of blood choked people's throats.

Lanchi returned to compartment 404, breathed a sigh of relief, and began to quickly change his clothes.

A long time later.

Perhaps ten minutes had passed.

When the door of the compartment was opened again by the imperial officer who came, there was only a young man with black hair and blue eyes left, raising his hands and harmlessly signaling to the imperial officer that he was not an extremely dangerous element who attacked the train.