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Looking at the three cards of different shapes before him, Kai felt a little confused.
He stiffly took out a large bag of fruit from the shadow beside him. "Are you hungry, my lord?"
Because he'd worked with Kumoko before, he'd gone to buy a lot of fruit to make feeding easier.
But he hadn't expected that the Sixth Master could produce two more cards in such a short time.
I wonder what the other two like to eat.
Just as the middle-aged man was feeling a little uneasy, Kumoko had already snatched the fruit first.
"Mm, uncle, you're really sensible. This time, I, Lady Kumoko, will still protect you well." Kumoko stuffed her mouth full and spoke while chewing.
Frieren, standing nearby, first glanced at the swordsman next to her—who seemed much stronger than the dwarf warrior Eisen in the Hero's party—and then began dozing off while holding her ruby staff.
Looking at the white-haired elf's head bobbing sleepily, Russell felt helpless for a moment.
Walking forward and shaking her light body, Russell took a pudding from the Shadowkhan beside him and stuffed it into her hand. "Work, Frieren. Wake up."
Frieren opened her eyes dazedly. Her eyes lit up when she saw the pudding in her hand. "You're really well prepared, Russell."
Leaving Frieren to eat her pudding with squinting eyes, Russell threw another cup to Zoro. "Drink less. You can drink as much as you want after this is over."
Zoro had the Shadowkhan fill his glass and said with a grin. "Got it, Captain Russell."
The green-haired youth now had two captains: Russell and Luffy.
If placed in the One Piece world, it would probably be the Straw Hat Pirates under the Russell Grand Fleet...
Ignoring his three cards, Russell turned to look at Kai. "That's the situation. Don't reveal any flaws in front of Zayne later."
As a legendary master of balancing, Russell naturally knew his cards' preferences long ago.
The Shadow Kingdom now stored a lot of food and drinks that the cards liked.
Except Kumoko.
Because spider monsters were the type that could eat anything.
Kai silently wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded. "Don't worry, Sixth Master."
As he spoke, he changed his face into Russell's.
Seeing the other party was ready, Russell notified Zayne on the communication card.
[Six: Come see me.]
On the other side, Zayne looked at the message on the communication card and couldn't help but stare. "Why is the lord asking me to come over at this time?"
"Could it be..."
All he could think of for a moment was the assassination that took place last night.
He wants me to go with him to assassinate Russell?
Full of doubts, Zayne soon arrived at the underground study.
As soon as he entered, the scene before him made him freeze.
At this moment, in addition to the spider card he'd seen before, there were two cards he'd never seen.
However, in his perception, the threat posed by the white-haired card wasn't very strong. Instead, the green-haired young man carrying three long swords made his mental power feel as sharp as needles.
"Ahem, sit down." When Kai saw Zayne, he pretended to cough.
Under the gaze of four or countless pairs of eyes, Zayne felt very uncomfortable and sat down on the sofa. "My lord, you called for me?"
Kai nodded, then asked in a deep voice. "Do you know why I'm looking for you?"
Hearing this, Zayne combined his guesses and asked tentatively. "Is it about the assassination of Russell last night?"
Kai was stunned.
No—buddy, you know something that even I don't know?
Doesn't this make me look useless?
Controlling the complicated emotions in his heart, Kai pretended to be calm. "That's right."
"Simon actually said it was our Spirit Begging Society who did it."
"Then let's give him a surprise and let him know that's not the way to pass the buck."
"Does he really think the Society has no temper?"
Russell had naturally told him to say this.
They had to find a reason to assassinate Simon.
Although it seemed that with the Society's style, it would be okay even without an excuse.
Zayne quickly agreed. "Your Excellency is right. I've been annoyed with him for a long time."
Kai: ?
Has Zayne always been such a yes-man?
Why didn't he know?
Resisting the urge to complain, Kai said indifferently. "Let's go."
"Yes."
Simon pushed the crying woman in his arms aside, sat on the bed, and started smoking.
As the President of the East-Haven Association, plenty of women would come to him with just a beckoning finger.
But compared to those exotic imports, he still preferred local goods.
Madam, it's not like you want this either...
"Phew..."
The swirling smoke obscured his face, making it impossible to see his expression.
"Damn."
After cursing under his breath, he pulled the shivering woman aside and prepared to continue venting his frustration.
At this time, not far outside the house, several figures were secretly observing Simon's residence.
The figures were naturally Kai and Zayne, along with a group of cards.
With Kumoko's [Stealth] skill and Kai's mastery of concealment, they hadn't been discovered yet.
Zayne was staring blankly at the house in the distance.
As the Director of the Public Security Office who'd worked in East-Haven for many years, he naturally knew who owned the villa in the distance.
But...
"My lord, aren't we going to assassinate Russell?" Zayne asked uncertainly in a low voice to Kai beside him.
How did I end up here while walking?
Kai looked at Zayne strangely. "Do you also want to assassinate your boss like me?"
Fellow-minded people.
"It was Simon who released the news, so naturally we're going to cause trouble for him."
"Besides, we always pick on the weak. Russell is too troublesome."
Zayne was silent. These words seemed a little different from the impression he had of that lord.
But he immediately remembered that the lord had asked them to report the Unification Sect when they first met.
It seemed this was indeed something that lord would do.
"Your Excellency is right. I was wrong."
The Director of the Public Security Office admitted his mistake cleanly.
Kai waved his hand, indicating there was no need to say more. "Go ahead. Give that old guy a surprise."
As he finished speaking, Kumoko and Frieren attacked simultaneously, while Zoro waited quietly for the right moment.
At this time, Russell was standing on the rooftop of a tall building, staring at the magic circle that suddenly appeared in the air not far away. "Let's do it."
He had to find the right time to be by Simon's side.
BOOM!
The fire lit up the sky red. The originally quiet night suddenly became noisy.
"What happened?!"
"What's that noise?"
"Where's President Simon? Who dares to cause trouble here?"
The residents nearby naturally knew Simon lived in this area. They were full of disbelief that anyone would dare to cause trouble here.
The President Simon they were talking about was now standing on a pile of ruins with a furious expression.
"You bold lunatic—courting death!"
With a roar, Simon threw the woman he was holding by the neck toward the attackers.
Seeing this, Frieren waved her ruby staff slightly and used levitation magic to control the woman.
The woman was slowly placed on the ground, her face full of fear.
But that was all. No one present paid much attention to this poor ordinary woman.
Seeing this, she quickly covered her face and fled.
"Munch, munch. What a nasty uncle." Kumoko chewed her apple, her several pairs of compound eyes flashing scarlet.
Simon had already recognized Kai and the others' identities through Kumoko. He said darkly. "...Spirit Begging Society?"
"How dare you come to my door?"
"That's perfect. Let me collect some interest for Vice President Russell first."
However, Kai just twitched the corner of his mouth at this and said flatly. "I'm going to sue you for defamation."
"That wasn't something we did at all."
As someone who had falsely accused the Society, Simon naturally knew how wronged they were. But he still sneered. "How ridiculous! You've come to assassinate me, and you still want to deny it?"
At this moment, he'd been worrying about how to make the Society's assassination of Russell look more real—but who would've thought they'd come to his door?
The Society assassinating the Vice President and the President one after another—didn't this seem true now?
But Kai just sighed. In truth, they didn't care whether it was unjust or not. The Society's reputation was already terrible. "Since you said so..."
"Then we'll just have to oblige?"
"So—could you please just die?"
As soon as he finished speaking, several magic circles instantly opened around them.
"Zoltraak."
The purple lightning plowed across the ground instantly, coordinating with the abyss magic released by Kumoko to attack Simon—who was wearing only a pair of shorts in the distance.
At the same time, Zayne also summoned his card, and red flames instantly rushed toward Simon like a mad dragon.
Facing the mighty attack, Simon's expression was cold and hard. "Just tricks."
BOOM!
Another violent explosion occurred. Black smoke spread out, choking so thick people couldn't open their eyes.
But Kai and Zayne knew very well that as the President of the East-Haven Cardmaker Association, Simon couldn't die so easily.
What they were wondering now was that Frieren's attack power wasn't weak.
Especially Kai.
It was obvious that the aura displayed by this unknown white-haired card before hadn't seemed very strong—she'd behaved like a mascot.
But once she started fighting, she was like a different person.
The two of them shuddered as they looked at Frieren's cold eyes.
Ghost.
Why do I feel like she's the real killer here?
Kai couldn't help but mutter internally.
As a member of the Spirit Begging Society, he felt inferior to the white-haired girl.
Not far away, the smoke gradually dissipated, revealing Simon's unharmed figure.
At this time, three cards of different shapes were quietly guarding in front of him.
Soon, Kumoko identified their information.
[Mad Blade · Flame Silence]
[Venerable Master Zhishen · Tiger Slayer]
[Five Elements' Generation · Nangong Ce]
In the distance, Russell looked at the message sent by Kumoko and couldn't help but frown. "This Simon..."
"Going for the xianxia route with custom cards?"
He lowered his eyes slightly, and the corners of his mouth curled up. "Interesting."
"As expected of the president—there really are no mediocre people."
"But it's a pity."
It was me you ran into.
When it comes to playing his own cards, Russell believed he wouldn't lose to anyone.
A gust of night wind blew by, and he disappeared from the rooftop.