The mansion of Duke Genin, the ballroom.
Zilingerus, who was pretending to be Baron Gramil, held a cup of blood-red Olmir wine, standing leisurely behind the railing on the second floor corridor, admiring the men and women in the dance floor, admiring the beautifully dressed ladies and wives.
But his eyes contained not the slightest desire. They were calm, like an ice-covered lake, only occasionally glancing at the huge crystal chandelier hanging from the roof and at Duke Genin, who was standing a few steps away, chasing after the beautiful figures with his gaze.
This Duke Genin was wearing a neat dark blue naval officer's uniform, with red ribbons connecting a series of medals of honor. He liked to dress like this in formal occasions to commemorate his glorious military career in the past decades.
However, his waist was already bloated, full of fat. His sharp and intelligent gray-blue eyes only had turbidity and desire left. But due to good maintenance, the wrinkles around his eyes, mouth and forehead were relatively shallow, and his black hair was still thick.
This was Paras Genin, the current Duke Genin, a major supporter of the Conservative Party, the brother of Prime Minister Aguishid, and one of the richest and most powerful few in the Kingdom of Ruen.
At the same time, he was also the target of Zilingerus' secret infiltration into Beckland!
To assassinate such a big shot is truly thrilling and makes one tremble all over... Zilingerus lowered his gaze and closed his eyes.
He was willing to accept this commission because the price offered was attractive enough, and also because he himself loved adventure and liked challenging difficult tasks.
If the assassination was successful, my fame would spread throughout the North and South Continent, surpassing the "Four Kings", and I would also obtain a card, one of the decks of cards made by Emperor Rosel that contained the secrets of the gods! Zilingerus suppressed his excitement and looked down at his left hand.
"The writhing hunger" had become transparent. With just the naked eye and contact, outsiders could not detect that "Baron Gramil" was wearing gloves.
"This is truly a magical item... If it weren't for it, only me with sequence 6 couldn't become one of the pirate generals..." Thoughts flashed through his mind, and suddenly, some feelings of regret emerged.
During his many years as a pirate, he had witnessed and encountered many extraordinary people, including the members of the "Aurora Society" who liked to adventure to the end of the Sunia Sea.
So, he knew that "The Writhing Hunger" was lacking in many aspects compared to the true "Shepherd".
Firstly, the state switching was too slow, requiring at least one second, while the true "Shepherd" could change instantly. Secondly, the driven souls could only use the abilities they had in life for one to three types, and how many and which ones were determined by luck and fixed after the first "pasturing". While the true "Shepherd" could choose selectively, without having to roll dice like in a gambling table. Finally, "The Writhing Hunger" could only "pasture" five souls at a time, while the true "Shepherd" could have up to seven.
Of course, both had the same limitations, that is, only one soul could be driven at a time, and only the corresponding extraordinary abilities of this soul and one's own extraordinary abilities could be used, and if one wanted to replace an original soul with a new one, the process would be irreversible and there would be no chance to reverse it.
After seven or eight years of adjustment, Zilingerus finally fixed five souls. Their abilities complemented each other, making the master seem extremely terrifying.
And because of the continuous adjustment and attempts over those years, among pirates, the story spread that "Admiral in the Storm" could do anything and everything.
In the passionate dance music, Zilingerus rehearsed the next actions in his mind, and at the end, with a slightly regretful feeling in his heart, he sighed:
"Unfortunately, I didn't find that 'Traveler' these days. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to worry about anything tonight." If they could catch that woman suspected of being the "Traveler", Zilingerz would undoubtedly not hesitate to feed one of the five souls originally "herded" to the "Rumbling Hunger".
For him, the ability of this sequence path was extremely useful!
Zilingerz glanced at the huge crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling and decided not to wait any longer.
The current soul he was driving only had one ability, that was the ability to change one's own appearance and body shape, and did not have the level to confront other extraordinary beings. However, due to this extraordinary ability being very useful in many things, Zilingerz had never been willing to replace it.
The good side was that, no matter which soul he was driving, Zilingerz could simultaneously use his own extraordinary ability as a "Wind Guardian".
Finally, he pretended to chase the graceful figure of a noble lady, and his gaze swept over Duke Negen, and then over the men surrounding him.
Duke Negen was a devout follower of the Storm Lord, a key figure influencing the kingdom's situation through the influence of the Storm Church. There must be extraordinary beings of the Storm Church protecting him, and the Negen family, although not an ancient family for thousands of years, had wealth and power ranking high in the kingdom, and would surely secretly seek the formula for the sequence potion and seek the allegiance of extraordinary beings... Zilingerz's thoughts were surging, eliminating the gentlemen belonging to the nobles and officials, and locking onto a man who was always by Duke Negen's side.
This man was wearing a black tailcoat, with brown hair and blue eyes, with almost no expression, constantly vigilant and on guard.
Zilingerz gave a barely visible nod, and with a small movement of his right hand, he pushed forward.
Whew!
A sudden strong wind swept over the dance floor, extinguishing the candles on the crystal chandelier.
Just as the light and darkness intermingled, just as everyone's gaze was drawn, several thin wind blades, aided by the cover of the strong wind, struck the metal chain hanging the crystal chandelier, hitting the same spot.
Creak!
The bone-chilling cracking sound, the huge crystal chandelier fell straight down onto the dance floor, making the ground rattle, causing screams to rise one after another, and injuring many guests with flying debris, emitting extreme frightened screams.
Taking advantage of the darkness and chaos in the hall, Zilingerz's left glove's surface began to move and change, forming a golden layer.
His expression then became full of authority, his gaze penetrating the darkness, fixed on the man beside Duke Negen.
Suddenly, two lightning-like rays of light lit up in Zilingerz's eyes.
The extraordinary being protecting Duke Negen suddenly let out a scream, covering his head and falling to the ground, rolling continuously, struggling continuously.
With a swish, Zilingerz's figure emerged from the darkness and rushed towards Duke Negen rapidly.
However, the target reflected in his dark and deep eyes showed no panic at all, full of confidence.
Duke Negen's tall and obese body stood still in place, looking down at the incoming assassin.
He raised his right hand and pushed forward, speaking in ancient Hermes language in a low voice:
"Imprisonment!"
In complete silence, Zilingerz suddenly stopped, as if his surroundings were filled with transparent walls, or flowing viscous liquid to the extreme.
This made him like a bug in amber, and a prisoner in the prison.
The leader of the conservative nobles, the hereditary duke, Parlas Negen himself was actually an extraordinary being, a very powerful extraordinary being!
Duke Negen spoke in a low voice again, and waved his right hand:
"Whipping!"
Pss! Pss!
It seemed that Zilingerz was struck by an invisible soft whip, causing his clothes to tear, skin to split, and bones to show.
Immediately, Duke Negen leaned forward, grasped his right fist, and solemnly judged:
"Death!"
Pss! He swung his arm, his entire body trailing behind with a lingering shadow, colliding with Zilinger's body. Meanwhile, his fist struck the target's head with an unresistible and unavoidable force.
Crack! Zilinger's head shattered, but everything around it also shattered. Duke Negen remained standing in the same place, merely having dreamed a nightmare.
At some point, this pirate general had switched his abilities and entered the "nightmare" state.
Unlike the normal "nightmare", after dragging the person into the dream, he could still move himself!
Zilinger's figure quietly emerged behind Duke Negen, his dark and cold eyes locking onto the opponent.
His right fist wrapped around the high-speed rotating wind, slicing towards the target's vest like a sharp blade.
Whew!
In the midst of the wind's roar, Zilinger's right fist penetrated Duke Negen's body, piercing through his heart. However, Duke Negen's figure rapidly faded into transparency, just like a summoned spirit.
This nearly invisible shadow spread out, and Duke Negen appeared at the opposite side of the corridor's double doors, with a scrutinizing smile on his face.
Another extraordinary person... Had they prepared in advance? Were they laying in wait for me?
How could that be!
A thought flashed through Zilinger's mind. Although he was reluctant to accept this reality, he calmly responded.
The glove on his left palm wriggled, revealing dark gold fine scales, and his pupils darkened and stood upright.
Immediately, an invisible wave swept outwards, enveloping a group of gentlemen and ladies, all of whom fell into uncontrollable fear. They left their hiding places and ran aimlessly everywhere, making the scene extremely chaotic.
This made the extraordinary people hesitate to act, fearing they might hurt relatives and friends.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zilinger coiled a hurricane around him and began to run at high speed, breaking through a lounge door and the convex window.
With a clang, he lunged towards the outside of the house, using the favor of the wind to fly for a considerable distance, leaving Duke Negen's mansion behind.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, Zilinger immediately headed towards the opposite woods, which was a municipal park - he had already explored the nearby terrain.
As long as he could get rid of the pursuit behind him, he could change his appearance and blend into the over five million people of Berkland.
This was also the reason why he dared to take on difficult tasks!
After a while, a strong wind blew towards Duke Negen's mansion. The storm priest, the archbishop of Berkland, the "Singer of God" Es Snake, and several "punishers" arrived directly by flying.
He had no time to notify the other extraordinary people.
Alger was one of the people who arrived with the archbishop Es. But his mood was very unpleasant because he saw the shattered windows and the colleague who had just escaped from the house.
This indicated that "The Hurricane" Zilinger had escaped in the storm.