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nChapter 466 Encounter

nFranca blended into the shadows and moved silently through the shadows, her eyes fixed on the crimson-lit corridor.

nShe even began to suspect that Ciel had failed to find her and had enlisted the help of Madam Magician to teleport Gardner Martin away. How else could he have vanished without her noticing?

nThe third floor of the grayish-white villa remained still. Franca listened closely, feeling like she was the only one left in the building. The butler, valet, maid, gardener, and chef seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

nShe cautiously approached the valet’s room, extending her right palm and silently turning the handle.

nThrough her Dark Vision, Franca spotted two people lying on the bed, wrapped in each other’s embrace and covered by a thin blanket.

nAlmost simultaneously, Franca’s pupils dilated.

nThe two of them were headless, their necks nestled against each other, their wounds stained with blood.

nInitially taken aback, Franca recalled Ciel’s description of the Iron and Blood Cross Order’s Supervisor Olson. She suspected that Gardner’s valet and his lover had experienced a similar situation. Their heads had seemingly “come to life” and left their bodies.

nWithout further scrutiny, she quietly closed the door and blended into the dense shadows of the staircase.

nFranca wanted to see if anyone else in the building had suffered a similar fate.

nUpon descending to the first-floor hall, her eyes froze.

nThe armor and weapons that had been there were gone!

nWhat a drastic change… F*ck, how did I not notice it at all? Franca, who had been confident in her abilities, experience, and reactions, couldn’t help but waver.

nIn the next moment, the washroom door on the first floor swung open, and a lady’s maid in an old nightgown emerged.

nThe lady’s maid shook off the liquid in her hand and slowly made her way back to the servants’ quarters, her head empty and her neck stained red.

nHidden in the shadows, Franca cast her gaze out the window. The two patrolling guards had also lost their heads, and the shadow reflected in the glass was like a magnified beer bottle.

nFranca, having roughly confirmed the situation at 11 Rue des Fontaines, didn’t hesitate and quickly sneaked out of the villa.

nShe planned to report this to Madam Judgment immediately and use the Primordial Demoness figurine to inform Browns Sauron and Demoness of Black Clarice about the anomaly here.

nThe latter necessitated a ritual. Franca was concerned that attempting it in this abnormal building would trigger unnecessary changes and bring unpredictable danger, so she decided to escape the abnormal environment before taking the corresponding measures.

nIn the darkness of the night, the Demoness of Pleasure lurked in the shadows of an empty house. She exited the building from the side and circled the lawn ahead.

n…

nBeneath Trier, Blazing Danitz forcefully opened the stone door.

nBehind them, they found a small mine, with three classical oil lamps embedded in the stone wall—one high, and two low.

nIn the center of the mine, a staircase descended into darkness. The bottom was hidden in shadow, appearing to have no end.

nDanitz retracted his fist and turned his body, signaling the nearly 20 sailors following him to enter the mine and cooperate.

nAmong them were Hunters responsible for observing the environment and detecting hidden traps and subtle traces. Seers used coin tosses or crystal pendants to determine the direction and danger of pursuit. A Mid-Sequence Sailor was ready to assist his teammates and handle any mishaps…

nWith this coordination, Danitz’s team swiftly made their way through the stairs and tunnel, and their vision suddenly brightened.

nThey found themselves in a caved-in quarry cave, scattered with straw mats, rags, pottery jars, and other items.

nDanitz scanned the area and chuckled.

n“It’s been turned into a weapons cache… Not long ago, dozens of rebels lived here.”

nHis gaze shifted to the end of the quarry cave, where a wide tunnel led to an unknown destination.

nA sailor standing beside Danitz clicked his tongue and remarked, “There should be many similar military hideouts nearby. Are the main rebel forces led by the Carbonari all here?”

n“I’m not blind. I can see!” Blazing Danitz cursed. “The question now is, where did they go? Is the chaos about to begin?”

n…

nIn the market district, at Auberge du Coq Doré, Room 305,

nAnthony Reid was awakened by the previous earthquake.

nEver since his escape that night, he had become sensitive to various movements, although not as fearful as when he heard gunshots.

nGiven the dangerous signals provided by the intelligence they had discussed earlier, he couldn’t fall asleep quickly.

nAnthony Reid got out of bed and poured a glass of light beer to ease his anxiety.

nAfter using Placate on himself, he intended to force himself to sleep a little longer.

nAt that moment, he heard pounding at the motel’s entrance.

nWho returns so late at night? It feels a little urgent… Anthony Reid listened intently, sensing that something was brewing in secret.

nBefore long, footsteps approached his door,

nand Anthony Reid immediately opened it to peer into the dimly lit corridor.

nHe spotted an impatient man in a grayish-blue worker’s uniform and cap.

nThis was an informant he had developed at the docks.

n“What happened?” Anthony Reid asked in a calm and gentle voice.

nHaving been placated, the informant’s anxiety dissipated, and he cautiously glanced around before lowering his voice.

n“There will be a huge strike at the docks tomorrow. Rumor has it that weapons will be issued.”

n“Issued weapons…” Anthony Reid’s mind instantly filled with images of barricades, incendiary bombs, smoke grenades, rifles, and two-wheeled carts symbolizing Trier’s chaos.

nIn Trier, due to the strong resistance of the citizens and their adeptness at protests and battles, such occurrences weren’t too unusual, happening every two or three years, sometimes even two or three times a year. The only difference was in their scale. However, considering the critical situation before a terrifying catastrophe, a massive strike suddenly distributing weapons led Anthony Reid to consider the possibility that it had been premeditated and was part of the impending catastrophe.

nThe information broker produced a Louis d’or and instructed the informant, “Your intel is very important. Find an excuse not to go to the docks tomorrow and hide at home.”

nInstinctively, the informant bit into the gleaming Louis d’or, bid Anthony Reid a cheerful farewell, and departed from Auberge du Coq Doré.

nAnthony wasted no time and swiftly descended to the second floor, arriving at Lumian’s room.

nHe knocked lightly on the wooden door of Room 207, but as the sound reverberated, there was no movement inside. It was so silent, as if no one had lived there for a long time.

nAnthony Reid stopped and furrowed his brow.

n…

nIn the painting world, the westering sun cast its illumination on Rue Anarchie, keeping the sky bright.

nLumian and Jenna hurried past the broken gas street lamps, sprinting toward Avenue du Marché.

nThey were uncertain when Room 7, where Voisin Sanson’s family resided, would discover their teleportation destination. Their goal was to reach the black hole representing Salle de Bal Brise before the other party could lock onto them again.

nThis way, even if their other plans failed or couldn’t be completed in time, they still had a final option—to enter the black hole and try their luck to see where they would appear.

nThud! Thud! Thud! Lumian led Jenna forward, and Avenue du Marché came into view. He grabbed Jenna’s shoulder and spewed crimson flames from his body, enveloping them both in a huge fireball.

nThe fireball sped forward with incredible velocity.

nLumian forcefully led Jenna across a distance of seven to eight meters towards the intersection of Rue Anarchie and Avenue du Marché.

nDuring this process, Jenna, unlike Lumian, wasn’t immune to the flames. Her hair and skin singed, but she didn’t struggle violently. Instead, she shrank her body and created frost to resist the crimson flames, easing the pain.

nIn the blink of an eye, they reached the edge of Avenue du Marché.

nFrom there, they had a clear view of Salle de Bal Brise in the distance and the pitch-black darkness.

nThis allowed Lumian to identify his destination without needing coordinates.

nWhat he saw was where they’d arrive!

nThe black mark on his right shoulder emitted a dim light once more.

nSpirit World Traversal!

nIn an instant, Lumian and Jenna appeared beside the darkness.

nAt that moment, a crystal-like wall materialized before them.

nIt extended upward, enclosing the entire Salle de Bal Brise like a transparent lid.

nLumian and Jenna subconsciously gazed up and saw two figures in the air.

nOne was a young woman wearing a blue beret, a tied-up white shirt, and dark pants. Her beige vest was open, and her body was covered in paint. Her orange hair was short, and her yellow eyes were deep and ethereal, as if hiding a world.

nThe other man, in his thirties, wore similar attire but with red pants for his lower body. He had gentle facial features, light eyebrows, and distant, ethereal blue eyes.

nHe still held a thick paintbrush in his hand, with a palette of mostly used paint.

nBehind them, a pair of translucent dragonfly-like wings flapped gently, helping them hover in the air.

nPainters? Those Pixies? Lumian and Jenna instantly speculated.

nThe man looked at Lumian with surprise and spoke in a voice that seemed to come from afar,

n“Welcome back to the Hostel, Room 1.”

nRoom 1… Lumian’s eyes froze.

nRoom 1? Jenna couldn’t help but turn to her companion in shock.

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