MMORPG: War God, You are Invincible Again
Chapter 364 - 119: Testing

Chapter 364: Chapter 119: Testing

Zun Long’s disappearance made Duke Xinlei feel deeply uneasy. Zun Long was not just any ordinary member of the Xinlei family; the title of First Devotee alone commanded the respect of even some well-established marquises, who had to bow in his presence.

"Have you contacted Zun Long yet?" Duke Xinlei asked the servant beside her, her voice tinged with a touch of anxiety.

"Not... not yet." Even though this servant was a powerful Mage in the late stages of the Third Transition, he broke out in a fine sweat upon sensing the change in Duke Xinlei’s tone. It had been two whole days without any communication from Zun Long. Recalling the incident of the ’Red Slash’ that happened beyond the Seventh Layer Realm, he dared not think further.

"Alright, you may leave." After two days of tirelessly using her spatial skill to search for signals from Zun Long with no sleep, it was evident that she was nearing her limit. Duke Xinlei waved her hand, signaling him to leave.

Once the hall was empty, Duke Xinlei lay down, feeling somewhat exhausted. From the information she currently held, the worst-case scenario was that Zun Long had been killed by Baron Yitian—a possibility, though extremely unlikely, as there had been no abnormalities detected in the magic mirror she possessed.

Yet, Duke Xinlei could not comprehend; Zun Long was the most difficult person to detain in the entire Eagle Alliance. Once he deployed his "Instant Miles" skill, even Xina, the top warrior of the alliance, would not be able to harm him. Surely Baron Yitian, powerful as he might be, could not surpass Xina?

Could it be that Zun Long encountered an ambush from someone else?

Who would that be? Nuoshan? Chen Hui? Or... Lei Shan?

Reviewing her thoughts, Duke Xinlei’s gaze settled on Lei Shan. The fall of the Blood Lion Group was closely tied to him, and to this day, she was still searching for evidence of Lei Shan colluding with Baron Yitian. It was highly possible that this was a trap set by Lei Shan and Baron Yitian to assassinate Lu Hong.

As she drifted towards sleep, a servant rushed into the hall, startling Duke Xinlei awake.

"What is it?" Duke Xinlei asked in a subdued voice, suppressing her irritation.

"My lord, Duke Chen Hui has sent a letter; I dared not delay."

"Chen Hui?" Duke Xinlei’s eyebrows twitched slightly. "Bring it here."

She took the letter handed over by the servant and upon opening it, found only an address.

Duke Xinlei understood this to be an invitation.

Private meetings between the dukes were rare, and relations among the four great dukes were delicate. Any sign of alliance could greatly influence the powers below. This was the second time Duke Chen Hui had sought a private meeting with Duke Xinlei; the previous occasion had been hundreds of years ago during a peacetime negotiation between their families.

Since Chen Hui had requested, Xinlei headed out.

The location was very close to the Xinlei family estate, reflecting the attitude shown by Duke Chen Hui.

Entering a dilapidated apartment building, a Third Transition warrior bowed slightly: "Duke Xinlei, Lord Chen Hui is waiting for you. Please follow me."

Going upstairs, Chen Hui greeted Xinlei with a smile: "I’m glad you could come."

Duke Xinlei did not accept the tea offered, but directly asked, "You requested a private meeting. Is there something important?"

"Two days ago, the ’Red Slash’ in the Seventh Layer Realm; you are aware of it, aren’t you?" Chen Hui set down his teacup and smiled, "Do you have any information?"

"I’m aware, but I haven’t been able to uncover the reason," Xinlei replied. "Did you call me here because you have some vital information?"

"Not at all," Duke Chen Hui shook his head. "I sent a large number of people, but not only did they fail to find anything, I also lost many spies, with thirty percent of them coming from the Nuoshan family."

"Hmph!" Xinlei scoffed. "Quite the strategist, Duke Chen Hui, planting spies in other families to steal intelligence."

Chen Hui squinted and smiled, "What are you talking about, Duke Xinlei? Who hasn’t done such things? I’ve executed many spies from the Xinlei family; haven’t you been sending people to my side as well?"

"Say it, what exactly do you want?" Duke Xinlei did not wish to dwell on this matter. Since Chen Hui had concluded his investigation fruitlessly, he surely wanted something from her today.

"Well, I’ll be frank then," Duke Chen Hui didn’t beat around the bush further. "Did Zun Long successfully assassinate Baron Yitian?"

"I don’t know," Duke Xin Lei shook his head, "Since the Red Glow incident, Zun Long has not contacted anyone for over two days."

"Could Zun Long be dead?" Duke Chen Hui frowned, "These days, there’s still someone capable of killing Zun Long?"

"Not that I know of." Duke Xin Lei sighed, "Others may not know, but as a Duke, you should be aware. The Xin Lei family’s magic mirror can reflect the moments before one’s death."

"Zun Long is not dead, but the loss of contact suggests he might have been imprisoned," Duke Chen Hui pondered, "Only Nuoshan and Lei Shan could pull off such a feat."

"Why couldn’t it be you?" Duke Xin Lei pressed, his gaze intense, "The old trick of a thief crying ’Stop, thief!’ is not foreign to the Chen Hui family."

"Erm..." These words made Duke Chen Hui awkwardly embarrassed, reminding him of the time he had used the excuse that his legitimate son had been captured by the Xin Lei family to launch a surprise attack.

Duke Xin Lei did not dwell on this, continuing, "I have also investigated the incident of the Red Glow. I ordered people to check every fragment of the plane thoroughly; there was only one plane my people couldn’t reach."

"Must be the little plane where you hid the Lion Blood group, right?" Clearly, Duke Chen Hui had done the same.

"Yes, even though I have the coordinates of that plane, it was deliberately interfered with, blocking the portal from activating normally."

"My men couldn’t detect anything even with the Star Sea battleships; I figure it must have been hidden intentionally."

"That must have been Lei Shan’s doing," Duke Xin Lei concluded, pointing the finger at Lei Shan.

Duke Chen Hui chuckled, "But I think, Duke Nuoshan is more suspicious."

Duke Xin Lei glanced at Chen Hui, "Just because three percent of your spies died at Nuoshan’s hands? I reckon more might have died at Lei Shan’s."

"But I still think it was Duke Nuoshan who was behind this," Duke Chen Hui continued, "Over fifty percent of my people died under Lei Shan’s command. Although Lei Shan had once blocked the fragmented plane, which seemed highly plausible as he was assisting the Baron of the Empire in locking down information, the more plausible it seems, the more I suspect deception."

Duke Xin Lei understood his implication. Chen Hui was right. Being able to rise as the fourth Duke, Lei Shan was definitely not a fool. If he was truly colluding with the Empire’s Baron, he would be better at hiding.

"So, you’re saying it was Duke Nuoshan behind this?" Duke Xin Lei looked at Chen Hui, "Do you have any evidence?"

"None," Chen Hui shifted in his seat with a smile, "Who can be certain? With things having developed to this point, I have every reason to suspect that you have been laying out the plan behind the scenes, posing as the Baron of the Empire, secretly positioning your elite troops and now making Zun Long lie low, perhaps waiting for an opportunity to sweep clean the opposition’s nobility, especially since nearly eighty percent of the alliance’s nobility are currently in the Seventh Layer of the Floating Worlds discussing military strategy."

Duke Xin Lei simply smiled, "Your suspicions aren’t unfounded, but that isn’t the case."

"I thought so." After the exchange, neither had really gained any useful information from the other. Duke Chen Hui changed the subject, "I heard that you had a meeting with Jenaxi from the Holy Court, is that so?"

Duke Xin Lei’s eyes dropped, a surge of alarm in his heart. His meeting with Jenaxi had been extremely secretive; besides Zun Long and another two attendants, no fourth person knew of this meeting, and the leakage of this information frightened her. Had the Chen Hui family infiltrated her ranks to the level of her attendants?

"What exactly did Duke and Jenaxi discuss? Was it about a union?" Duke Chen Hui pressed further, his words sharp.

Duke Xin Lei picked up the teacup on the table, took a gentle sip, then replied, "Duke Chen Hui is overthinking this. I merely discussed with Jenaxi about the Holy Court seeking passage. The remnants of the Northern Holy Court wish to gather in the Seventh Layer of the Floating Worlds, and Jenaxi asked if they could use the planes under my command to arrive at the periphery of the Floating Worlds more swiftly."

"I see." Duke Chen Hui did not pursue the matter further, but he didn’t take it seriously either, "I thought the Holy Court was looking to ally with the Xin Lei family to govern the alliance!"

"You worry too much, Your Grace," Duke Xin Lei stood up, not wishing to stay any longer. She got to her feet and said, "I have matters to attend to and must leave now. Farewell."

"Take care," Duke Chen Hui waved his hand, "No need to see me out!"

As she left the old building, Duke Xin Lei’s expression was dark as the depths of water. Regarding her contact with Jenaxi, there were only two explanations. The first, Duke Chen Hui had planted a spy of extremely high rank right under her nose, a possibility far less worrying than the second.

The second possibility was that Jenaxi’s defection to the Xin Lei family was a sham, and that he had actually sided with Duke Chen Hui long ago, thus Chen Hui knew about their private meeting. Today’s conversation might have been meant to disrupt Xin Lei’s focus, causing instability within the core of the Xin Lei family, thereby allowing for some covert schemes.

But whichever possibility was true, they were both unacceptable to Xin Lei. Lei Shan had risen unexpectedly but had always lacked depth in his foundations, not catching her interest. Nuoshan’s lack of ambition was also unworthy of concern. Chen Hui and Xin Lei had dueled for thousands of years, and as time passed, only one of these families would ultimately emerge victorious, ruling the alliance while the loser faced utter ruin!