Audrey's eyes rolled slightly as her thoughts scattered, and she quickly analyzed many things: The "Hanged Man" had described that Zilinger was a lone wolf who didn't trust anyone. His plan of action was known only to himself. Apart from me discovering it in advance, no one else should have known that he would attempt to assassinate tonight... I only told Father and the "Fool" about the suspicion that Baron Gramil was actually "Admiral Hurricane" Zilinger in disguise... Although there was a telegraph line in Duke Nigen's mansion that could have sent the intelligence out in time and called for help, there was no need to hide this... Father's confusion indicated that the powerful person who killed Zilinger was not within their expectations... To sum up, the person who killed Zilinger can almost be confirmed to be a member of the "Fool"... And only the special mode of our Tarot Society could create such a mysterious situation with an unclear motive! Zilinger was a "Wind Devotee" of Sequence 6 and also possessed the magical item "The Creeping Hunger". Only a high-sequence "demigod" or someone who used the rumored extremely dangerous Sealed Artifact could kill him without leaving a trace... Regardless of which possibility it was, it was enough to show that the "Fool" had extremely powerful followers... No wonder it's the "Fool"... Anyway, I have provided a clue. The "Hanged Man" must keep his promise and give me the pituitary gland of the seven-colored lizard dragon! This should be our Tarot Society's first official operation, right? One of the seven pirate generals, Zilinger, died because of this! Seeing his daughter lost in thought with a hint of excitement, Earl Hol, who was also a handsome man in his youth, cleared his throat and sternly warned: "Audrey, I know you are very interested in the mysterious field and usually indulge you, but you must not get involved in this matter, not even by asking questions. By the end of the year, you will be introduced to the social scene by the Queen. As an adult, you should understand and remember that a terrifying extraordinary being or a hidden, powerful organization often equals danger. Do you understand?" "I understand, Father." Audrey replied sweetly, "I was just a little curious." "Curiosity is not allowed!" After emphasizing this, Earl Hol couldn't help but show a helpless smile. "Uh-huh!" Audrey nodded obediently. Anyway, I know the whole story better than you... She made a face in her heart. Earl Hol thought for a moment and smiled gently: "Anyway, you are the hero of tonight, the savior of Duke Nigen. At least half of Zilinger's death is attributed to you, and the same goes for the reward. Of course, if no one claims to have killed Zilinger and takes responsibility for this matter and comes forward to claim the reward, the remaining half will also belong to you. In total, it's 10,000 pounds." "Also, the rewards set by countries and organizations like the Republic of Endis and the Empire of Fussak can be claimed by someone. Converted, it should be 20,000 pounds." "Duke Nigen just promised to give you his vacation estate in the Di Xi Bay, which includes a large rubber forest. I haven't specifically learned about the annual income, but it's definitely not low. He spent 8,000 pounds to buy it and later built houses and purchased high-quality seeds." Audrey, who already had 300,000 pounds, could be considered wealthy, but a reward of nearly or even over 40,000 pounds was still a huge income for her. Many noble ladies' dowries didn't reach this amount. In a noble and merchant marriage in August, Miss Mary Alderbury, the daughter of a millionaire, only had a dowry of 80,000 pounds. "I never even considered the reward..." Audrey murmured from the bottom of her heart. Suddenly, she thought of something. If she went to claim the reward herself and let her name spread, then the "Hanged Man" could easily figure out who "Justice" was. This wouldn't do! As a member of the Tarot Society, she had to remain mysterious. Audrey looked at her father and organized her words before saying: "Dad, I'm a little scared..." "Why? What happened?" ?" Count Hall hurriedly asked with concern. "If it gets out that I discovered Zilingers posing as Baron Grimmel, I'm afraid his men will retaliate against me. I'm afraid the person behind the assassination of Duke Nigen will target me..." Audrey tried her best to appear pitiful, weak and helpless. "I'll have someone protect you," Count Hall responded first, then nodded slightly. "But indeed, there's no need for you to take this risk. And the person who killed Zilingers took away 'The Creeping Hunger'. Of course, for a high-sequence power, this isn't a convincing enough motive. Hmm... I'll inform Duke Nigen to keep this matter under wraps and have him send someone else to claim the reward. Then I'll privately compensate you." At this point, Count Hall smiled broadly and said, "Not bad, my daughter. You've earned 40,000 pounds so easily. That's more than one-tenth of your current wealth." The 300,000 pounds was the portion he had set aside in advance for his daughter. When she got married, he would give her some more. "Are you as good as Dad when you were young?" Audrey asked happily in return. Count Hall shook his head and laughed. "You're much better. The first profit I made from business was only 60 pounds." Audrey immediately became extremely happy. The 40,000-pound reward, her father's praise, the sense of achievement from causing the death of "Admiral Zilingers" and completing a remarkable feat, the pride of being a member of the Tarot Club, and the fact that she would receive the seven-colored lizard brain pituitary from "The Hanged Man" later, all brought her not just double the joy, but triple or even quadruple! She really wanted to report to Mr. Fool immediately and get his confirmation... No, no. A mysterious powerful figure with an unclear motive killed Zilingers. There must be someone secretly observing me and looking for clues. I can't show any abnormality... Pah! I wasn't abnormal to begin with. As long as I don't try to invoke Mr. Fool's name... Well, if it was truly done by one of Mr. Fool's followers, He must already know the outcome. There's no need for me to report it... Hmm... Do I need to share the reward with that follower? No, 20,000 pounds in any form of payment will definitely draw attention. I can't take that risk... Besides, it's always "The Hanged Man" who asks Mr. Fool for help. It should be him who pays the reward. Hmm, he claims to have many of Roselle's diaries! I'll try to collect more diaries to thank Mr. Fool for responding to my prayer. He surely wouldn't be interested in vulgar money... Audrey quickly determined what to do next. ...... In the private study of Duke Nigen's mansion, the obese and tall Duke sat in a high-backed chair behind the desk, smoking a cigar and looking at the "Singer of the Gods" El Snike and the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, Agusid Nigen, and others across from him. "From the intelligence reports that have come in, we can't confirm which high-sequence power is behind this," Agusid had just returned from the King. Archbishop Snike nodded in agreement: "We've also used supernatural means to confirm that it's not any of the well-known high-sequence powers, not those from the Spirit Church." "There's enough reason to believe it's a mysterious high-sequence power we don't know about. Of course, it's not impossible that he used a dangerous Sealed Artifact." Duke Nigen held his cigar and said: "Perhaps it's not just one high-sequence power. There might be a hidden organization behind him, a hidden organization we don't understand. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been possible to ambush Zilinger so precisely. Hmm, maybe one of the participants at tonight's ball is a member of their organization." His brother, Prime Minister Agusid, said solemnly: "Regardless of which possibility it is, we must be cautious. We must quickly figure out the identity of this high-sequence power, what his purpose is in coming to Beckland, whether he's just after Zilinger, and why he wants to kill Zilinger." A high-sequence power not under control wandering in Beckland is enough to draw the attention of the Kingdom's government and the three major churches! Although a Sequence 4 or Sequence 3 power might not be able to withstand the bombardment of battleships and cannons, they have no need to confront them head-on. They have too many strange abilities. So, this is a more dangerous existence than an ironclad warship. Just from the title of "half-god, half-man", it can be seen! The "Singer of the Gods" El Snike immediately stood up and said: "I'll arrange it right away and contact the Night Church and the Steam Church." "His Majesty the King will also have the military and intelligence agencies cooperate," Prime Minister Agusid promised. ...... In the northern district of Beckland, inside a hotel. Azik, with a bronze complexion and a mole beside his ear, sat under a gas lamp, staring at a glove placed in front of him. This glove was very thin and light, as if made of human skin. It seemed that if filled with flesh and blood, it could turn back into a hand. Azik looked at it for a long time, then suddenly his expression became painful and distorted. He muttered to himself in a low voice: "It seems that I... I have cooperated with them..." ...... Klein didn't sleep well all night because he hadn't received any reports from "Justice" and "The Hanged Man", nor had he received a reply from Mr. Azik. He was constantly worried about the outcome of the incident involving "Admiral of the Hurricane" Zilingers. It must have caused quite a stir, making "Justice" and "The Hanged Man" reluctant to contact me again... But why hasn't Mr. Azik replied? Did he not participate, or did something happen to him? Was he injured by Zilingers? Klein yawned and covered his mouth with his hand, then boarded the trackless public carriage heading to Zootlan Street. "Extra! Extra! 'Admiral of the Hurricane' Zilingers killed in Beckland!" "Extra! Extra! 'Admiral of the Hurricane' Zilingers killed in Beckland!" ... The carriage was about to move when Klein suddenly heard the voice of a newsboy - this was also an invention of Emperor Roselle. Klein was stunned for a moment, then quickly took out a penny coin, passed it out of the window and bought a copy of the "Tingen Morning Post". Many passengers made the same choice. Unfolding the newspaper, Klein immediately saw the headline: "Big Pirate Zilinger Shot Dead by Duke's Bodyguard in Backlund" Zilinger is dead? Was it Mr. Azik who did it? Klein fell into deep thought and then made a self-mocking remark: As the mastermind behind this, I actually learned the result from reading the newspaper...
