Chapter 504, So Many Connections
The assassin's eyes widened in terror, and he said hurriedly, "No, no! Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you!"
The subordinate didn't move.
The skeleton 'Keramu' had already slashed the assassin's throat with his longsword, and blood gushed out like a waterfall.
The assassin's body slowly fell, convulsing before going still.
Wu Heng released [Speak with Dead], and the corpse slowly sat up.
"Who ordered you to kill 'Kristo'?"
The corpse replied, "Our lord."
Lord?
Not a hired assassin, but one of the lord's guards.
"Who is your lord?"
The corpse replied, "The chairman of the Golden Wing Trading Company."
Wu Heng looked at O'Cote, who shook his head, signaling that he wasn't familiar with this trading company.
He continued, "Where is the chairman?"
"Inner District, East 3rd Street, Mansion No. 72, that's his residence."
O'Cote quickly noted it down.
Wu Heng asked again, "What were his exact orders to you?"
"Kill 'Kristo,' ensure that the Lord's Manor finds the body, take the money, and leave Rentam City. Return after some time."
Wu Heng waved his hand and dispelled the spell.
The corpse collapsed back to the ground.
The equipment was stripped clean, and the body was discarded to the side.
"Let's go to the Inner District."
...…
Inside the carriage.
Glenda flew back from a distance, revealing herself as she spoke, "A man in his forties. When I went in, he was asking if someone had left Rentam City. He must have been referring to the person from earlier."
"How many guards are inside?"
"More than twenty guards, one Level 15, the rest around Level 10. There are also six servants."
Wu Heng nodded, pulling open the carriage curtain.
"O'Cote!"
"Master." The subordinate quickly approached.
"There are over twenty guards inside. Take the skeletons and storm in. Bring the man out. Whether he's alive or not doesn't matter." Wu Heng instructed and added to the carriage's exterior, "Keramu, you go with him."
After giving the orders,
O'Cote led a group of skeletons, turning at the street corner and heading straight to the mansion.
With one kick, they smashed open the building's door.
They stormed in directly.
Sounds of fighting and shouting erupted inside the mansion.
Chaos ensued.
The commotion didn't last long before the noise of battle gradually died down.
O'Cote ran back, reporting, "Master, it's over. The strongest one was decapitated by your skeleton with a single sword strike. That merchant was also killed by the skeletons."
"Let's take a look."
The carriage moved closer, and Wu Heng entered the mansion.
Bodies lay strewn across the floor.
Wu Heng spotted the richly dressed merchant and bent down to remove the space ring from his hand.
[Space Ring (5 Cubic Meters)]
He used his mental energy to check inside.
There were daily necessities, gold and silver coins, as well as some pre-drafted contracts.
[Iron Ore Procurement Contract from Sergon Tribe]
[Copper Ore Procurement Contract from Diyafort]
[…]
It seemed this was a series of trade agreements conducted within Rentam City.
The contracts concerned the purchase of certain quantities of ores.
Wu Heng pocketed the space ring.
He cast [Speak with Dead] on the corpse.
The richly dressed corpse sat up, its cloudy eyes turning toward him.
Wu Heng asked, "Were you the one who arranged for the three Level 15 Professionals to attack the Inner District yesterday?"
"Yes!"
"Why did you do it?"
"To take over Rentam City and establish a stronghold."
As expected, he was behind it all.
Wu Heng glanced at him, hesitating to ask if he was part of the Secret Cult, but refrained.
Previously, when questioning a Secret Cult member's corpse,
mentioning anything related to them triggered a confidentiality spell, automatically ending the spell.
After some thought, he asked, "Are there any others involved in the city?"
The corpse replied, "No."
Wu Heng asked, "If you had taken over, what was your plan afterward?"
The corpse answered, "To use Rentam City as a base to supply weapons and equipment to the Ekow Kingdom, securing an advantage in governance."
Wu Heng's eyes narrowed instantly.
How had this become entangled with the Ekow Kingdom?
The final question.
"What's your plan in the Ekow Kingdom?"
"To support the second prince in becoming king!"
Wu Heng's eyes widened instantly.
He was even more shocked by the response.
These people were scheming on a grander scale, now even targeting the throne of the Ekow Kingdom.
And the old king wasn't even dead yet.
After answering the five questions,
the corpse collapsed back to the ground.
Wu Heng cast [Battlefield of the Dead], raising all the corpses into skeletons.
He ordered, "Guard this place."
Clatter, clatter~!
The skeletons moved to secure the mansion.
Wu Heng left with his people. "Let's head back."
...…
Back at the Lord's Manor.
Wu Heng informed Wen Mansa of the investigation's results.
The good news was that the three Level 15 Professionals had been dealt with, and the mastermind was identified and eliminated.
The bad news was that the final merchant was almost certainly a member of the Secret Cult. These people excelled at scheming.
They used various methods to manipulate power in different places for their own massive benefit.
Furthermore, they were tied to the Ekow Kingdom.
This was far from good news.
Wen Mansa listened quietly. Her expression didn't show much concern. "It's so dangerous; why don't you stay here?"
Wu Heng was momentarily stunned, pinching her cheek. "We still can't leave the Guild, and I can't stay away from Gold-Silver Island for too long."
Wen Mansa curled her tongue, pulling his fingers into her mouth, mumbling, "When can we stop leaving?"
"When we no longer need to rely on the Guild." Wu Heng gently flicked Wen Mansa's soft tongue.
Wen Mansa thought for a moment and said, "Actually, it's nothing new. With Rentam City developing like this, plenty of people have their eyes on it."
Wu Heng nodded. "I'll arrange for more skeleton guards next time. Don't worry, I won't let you be in danger."
"The way you're talking, I'm not even scared of them."
After dinner,
Wen Mansa and Wu Heng, in light disguises, went to the Golden Cat in the city.
They watched a song and dance performance in Rentam City's nightlife district.
After the performance ended, they returned home to rest.
...…
The next day.
In the zombie world.
Outside the Jinjiang Apartment District.
The roar of concentrated explosions echoed down the road.
On the top floor of a building, two survivors huddled in a corner, trembling.
A middle-aged man with a receding hairline lifted a paper-covered window corner to peek outside, seeing bone-white wyverns swooping along the road.
They dropped clusters of bombs into the zombie horde below.
With each round of bombing, the zombies were wiped out in waves.
"Uncle Wang, is it— is it the base we heard on the radio?" A young man asked softly behind him.
The balding man swallowed hard and shook his head, saying, "I don't know. There are skeletons outside, bombing the zombie horde."
"Then it must be them! Didn't the radio say their ability is to control skeletons?" The young man was excited.
The balding man replied, "But I don't see any humans, only skeletons."
"Two monster groups fighting each other?"
Zzz~!
At that moment, a voice came through the radio.
"This is the Xinfu Base. Can anyone in the Jinjiang Apartment District hear us?"