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As Russell's words came out, the scene fell into silence.
After all, if what he said was true, it was too bizarre.
Warren and Bianca looked at each other with existential doubt in their eyes.
They'd been working as firefighters in the Eastland region for years, and this was the first time they'd encountered such a situation.
Not long ago, both had been certain Russell wouldn't survive—yet they'd been slapped in the face just minutes later.
But unlike Simon, besides being shocked, they were more delighted.
After all, it was best for a genius like Russell to survive. And they wouldn't have to worry about being blamed by a Master-rank cardmaker afterward.
Zayne, standing aside, felt as if struck by lightning.
He'd just been thinking that the lord would be pleased if Russell died—but in the end, Russell was actually alive.
The opponent had simply become the number one enemy of the Spirit Begging Society in East-Haven.
At least in his memory, President Simon definitely couldn't have done such a thing.
The deadpan face now truly became a dead face. Zayne could only look at the young man numbly, not knowing what to say.
Different from the above three, Luther performed an emotional face-changing act.
In just a few seconds, his expression shifted between astonishment, shock, and joy—finally settling on looking convinced.
Sensing the strange atmosphere, Russell took the initiative to change the subject. "But my cards are basically on cooldown. As for those monsters in the distance..."
"I'm afraid I can't help."
As he spoke, he looked toward the fleet of broken warships that had fallen silent in the distance.
But the others weren't prepared to simply skip over this topic—especially Simon.
After all, he and Russell were the only ones present who had a grudge. If he didn't figure out what had happened, he wouldn't be able to sleep well.
Although even if he figured it out, he might not sleep well anyway.
Simon now lived up to his Chinese name, with an expression as if a loved one had passed away. His heart was broken to the extreme: Why couldn't you just die quietly?!
In his opinion, Russell dying at the hands of the Emerald-rank demon would've been a happy ending for everyone. He would've perfectly cleared himself of suspicion.
But who could've thought Russell would actually kill the Emerald-rank demon directly?
This time, the demon killed was Emerald-rank. But it was hard to say who would be killed next time.
After all, Simon—the one who'd put Russell into such danger—still had some self-awareness.
After a moment of silence, he rolled his eyes and then raised an extremely outrageous request, seemingly casual. "Since Vice President Russell says he's dealt with the Emerald-rank demon, could you show us the information of the card you used?"
Of course, he also realized his words were a bit excessive. He tried to cover himself.
"Naturally, I'm not doubting you, Vice President. I'm just curious."
"Curious."
But even so, the others present still frowned slightly. After all, asking to see a cardmaker's specific card information was too presumptuous.
No—it couldn't be called presumptuous. It should be called shameless.
As important information related to one's life, how could a cardmaker's specific card details be easily viewed by others?
Although Luther and the others were also very curious, they didn't intend to do anything so excessive.
Besides, Russell had done nothing wrong.
Was it a crime to destroy an Emerald-rank demon?
But before Russell could speak, Luther spoke first. "Isn't it rather rude for President Simon to ask this?"
"Vice President Russell isn't an illegal cardmaker who needs to cooperate with your investigation."
Russell saw Luther's expression and movements, and a hint of doubt emerged in his heart.
Why is Luther speaking for me?
If he remembered correctly, the other party should be in cahoots with Simon, right?
But looking at his performance now, it seemed sincere.
...Am I really a succubus?
A fake succubus: wearing revealing black stockings and huge breasts, pestering you every day, wanting to drain you dry.
A real succubus: a middle-aged man in his fifties holding your hand and asking if you want to help restore the kingdom.
Russell still remembered that at Southridge University, Lucas from the War Society had been the same way—becoming his fan for some unknown reason.
But then he immediately thought of the information about Luther that Kumoko had identified before: [The Addict of Contradictions].
Considering that title, it wasn't surprising his behavior was like this.
So to say...
I've already sidelined Simon, right?
Putting aside Dylan, the Director of Human Resources Management who'd never been found, the two Gold-rank cardmakers at East-Haven Association headquarters were currently under his influence.
Russell suddenly realized he was about to become the actual controller of East-Haven—both overtly and covertly.
Just as his thoughts churned, Simon's face had turned cold.
He said stiffly. "Director Luther, how can this be called an investigation?"
"I'm just curious. I think Vice President Russell should be able to satisfy my little curiosity, right?"
In just a few words, he'd put Russell on the spot.
However, what Simon didn't know was that in Russell's eyes, he was basically already a dead man.
Facing his actions, Russell just said indifferently. "Then stay curious."
After speaking, he ignored him.
Simon froze. He hadn't expected Russell to be so unwilling to even say a polite word—refusing so bluntly.
Just as he was about to continue pressing Russell about his trump card, a blazing flash of lightning exploded beside them.
Then, an old man with a white beard wearing Taoist robes appeared on the shore.
"Where is the Emerald-rank demon?" As soon as the old man appeared, he looked around and asked aggressively.
However, after seeing who'd arrived, Russell was startled and exclaimed in surprise. "Master Zhang?"
Hearing his voice, the old man's eyes fell on him. "Little Russell?!"
"Are you alright?"
The old man was none other than Master Zhang, a good friend of Russell's teacher Blake.
Russell hadn't expected the person sent this time would be him. If he remembered correctly, the other party should be Diamond-rank, right?
He shook his head and just asked. "Why are you here?"
Logically speaking, East-Haven's situation should be resolvable by the Eastland Cardmaker Association sending an Emerald-rank cardmaker. There was no need to alarm Diamond-rank Master Zhang.
Moreover, as an old Celestial Master, he should normally be active in the Westbrook area, which was relatively close to the south.
How could he come to the Eastland region, which was close to the north?
Master Zhang chuckled at Russell's question and stroked his pale beard. "The situation in the north isn't good, so I've been helping out there."
"I happened to be resting these few days. After receiving East-Haven's request for help, I rushed over to see what was happening."
This was all true.
However, what Master Zhang didn't mention was that Russell was the disciple his old friend had the most hopes for—and his old friend had asked him to look after Russell when he came to East-Haven to take up his post.
The newly emerged secret realm on the southern coast had really made Russell's teacher too busy to attend to it.
Therefore, Master Zhang had already informed the Eastland Cardmaker Association beforehand, requesting they forward him any important information about East-Haven.
"Come to think of it, didn't the news you sent say an Emerald-rank demon appeared on East-Haven's coast?"
"Where's the demon?"
At this moment, in Master Zhang's perception, let alone Emerald-rank monsters—even the Gold-rank monsters were just a few rotten fish and shrimp.
Hearing this, Russell shook his head and told the old man what had happened.
He just concealed his Spirit Begging Society cards and the fact that he'd asked Grant for help.
By this point, he'd made up his mind that even if someone really wanted to check his card information, he could just attribute it to Aizen's [I Am an Inventor] trait.
After all, the description of this trait was vague enough for him to make up whatever he wanted.
What if the Hōgyoku appeared and Aizen evolved into a transcendent being and chopped Will to pieces with one blow? Or what if a Beta Capsule appeared and he transformed into a Warrior of Light, using the Spacium Beam to shoot Will directly?
Well, that made sense.
You say Russell can't become a Warrior of Light without light in his heart?
Check out Dark Tiga—there's always one that suits you.
However, it was obvious Master Zhang wasn't going to ask further questions.
The younger generation had their own opportunities. He wouldn't pry too much.
After all these years, he still believed in his old friend's judgment.
The old man just looked at Russell in surprise. "Not bad, Little Russell. I didn't expect you to have this skill."
Although Gold versus Emerald did seem a bit otherworldly.
But a card with various blessings wasn't without a chance of succeeding.
Coupled with strange and bizarre abilities, the chances of a Gold-rank card defeating an Emerald-rank weren't high—but not zero.
However, what Master Zhang might not have expected was that Russell had relied on the abstract skill of [Gaze of the Superior].
At this point, Simon had already lowered his head like an ostrich the moment Master Zhang and Russell started talking.
He'd never expected the person sent by the Eastland Cardmaker Association to provide support would be Russell's elder.
And a Diamond-rank cardmaker at that!
Even if he tied up his whole family together, he still couldn't afford to offend the other party.
Damn it—can you really do whatever you want just because you have someone backing you?
Russell didn't know Simon's thoughts. Otherwise, he'd be like the villain in some trashy drama: "Sorry, but having someone backing you really does let you do whatever you want."
Moreover, he had a lot of people behind him. He was someone who could get along with both the underworld and the establishment. Did Simon have any idea how powerful that was?
At this moment, Simon could only pray Russell wouldn't complain to Master Zhang. Otherwise, he'd definitely be in trouble.
Fortunately, it seemed the young man had no intention of doing so.
Russell just glanced at him coldly and ignored him.
After all...
Would a normal person waste time talking to a dead man?
As a shrewd person who'd lived this long, Master Zhang could naturally see the conflict between the President and Vice President of the East-Haven Association.
But since Russell didn't mention it, he wasn't going to meddle.
He trusted the young man had his own plans.
"Since everything's fine, I'll head back first."
Seeing there seemed to be nothing for him to do, Master Zhang prepared to leave East-Haven.
He was only on vacation now. He'd return to the north in a few days to continue helping Felix Warren fight against the demon army.
"Oh, right."
"Since I'm here, let me help you out."
Before leaving, Master Zhang seemed to have thought of something. Then a red-faced, bearded man appeared beside him—holding a golden seal in his left hand and a golden whip in his right.
[Taiyi Thunder Voice Response to Heavenly Lord · Wang Lingguan].
As an extremely important deity in the Taoist system, Wang Lingguan was naturally the best choice in the minds of Taoist disciples today.
It was just that he required at least Emerald-rank to create, so many disciples couldn't manage it.
But as a contemporary Celestial Master, Master Zhang naturally had no such worries.
Wang Lingguan had a majestic look on his face. As the golden seal in his hand turned, wisps of flame flew toward the sea.
The moment the golden flames touched the seawater, they instantly spread across the entire sea area.
In just the blink of an eye, everyone present saw rising golden flames everywhere.
The next moment, everyone finally witnessed what it meant to burn the sky and boil the sea.
The vast ocean was like boiling soup—constantly evaporating and dissipating into the air.
Space was distorted by the soaring temperature.
But that wasn't the point.
The huge fleet of ships in the distance were like lit torches, burning fiercely on the sea and releasing their heat wantonly.
In just a few breaths, everyone could no longer see the fleet of warships that Townes had gathered.
"Now you don't have to worry about their threat."
At that moment, as Master Zhang's voice sounded, the golden flames on the sea flew back to the golden seal in Wang Lingguan's hand like swallows returning to their nest.
What was strange was that even though they were so close, Russell and the others didn't feel any warmth at all.
The once-boiling seawater calmed down in an instant—as if nothing had happened.
Only the fleet of warships disappearing in the distance proved that what had just happened wasn't an illusion.
"Alright, I'm really leaving this time."
Putting Wang Lingguan back into his mind, Master Zhang smiled at Russell.
What he'd just done certainly wasn't on a whim, nor was it to show off.
It was just to support his old friend's disciple.
After all, if Russell was bullied, he'd have no way to explain to his old friend.
"Take care."
Seeing this, Russell bowed his head respectfully, gratitude on his face.
Amidst a flash of lightning, the old man in Taoist robes disappeared from the coast.
As Master Zhang vanished, all the cardmakers couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Especially Zayne.
He'd been much more nervous facing Master Zhang than facing Hazel.
After all, his situation was somewhat complicated.
Being an Association director was a job. Being a Society member was life. Alas.
Russell was different. He was a Schrödinger's Society member—able to switch sides at any time if necessary.
At this moment, he glanced at Simon, who remained silent, and then said. "Since the crisis has been resolved, we should be fine after we handle the aftermath here."
This should actually be considered overstepping—it would be more appropriate for President Simon to say these words.
However, Simon looked very distracted right now, so Russell temporarily exercised presidential authority on his behalf.
Upon hearing this, several Gold-rank cardmakers except Simon agreed and turned to handle their own affairs.
Seeing this, Simon seemed to have calmed down. He put on a fake smile again. "Then I'll leave this to Vice President Russell. I'll head back to headquarters to manage things there."
As soon as he finished, he vanished from the coast without waiting for Russell's response.
Watching the hypocritical middle-aged man leave, Russell curled his lip in disdain and sneered internally.
Tch.