Chapter 799, Damn, It's a Skeleton
City Lord's Mansion, radio room.
Wu Heng sat in front of the radio, recounting everything that had happened in Rentam City.
When he finished, the voice of the wood elf Shanaila came through from the other side, "Seems like the First Prince got the news earlier and sabotaged the Second Prince's plan."
"That's what I think too," Wu Heng replied.
Shanaila's thoughts weren't much different from Wu Heng's.
The First Prince had likely learned of the assassination plan against Wen Mansa through some channel and made his move in advance.
Shanaila continued, "Maybe they've both planted spies around each other. The royal power struggle is something we only ever see the tip of."
"Right, there's another thing. The Second Prince's backers might be the Secret Cult," Wu Heng suddenly remembered.
"Secret Cult? The Qilin Path?" Shanaila blurted.
"Exactly. That's what I thought too."
The Qilin Path wasn't complicated—they used all sorts of means to install their chosen candidate as a regional leader.
Methods included stirring up local revolutions or backing someone new to power.
There was no fixed approach, only results: putting their man in charge.
Shanaila paused, then said, "That would explain it. The First Prince already has the upper hand, even holds the royal capital, yet still reached out to all those religious factions—he must be countering the Secret Cult."
"Why not just report it to the Guild?" Wu Heng asked.
If he were the First Prince, holding the advantage, he wouldn't have bothered with those cults.
He'd have written to the Guild and then to each local leader to get them to clamp down on the Secret Cult.
Shanaila laughed, "Maybe from his perspective, waiting on the Guild wasn't the best play."
"Fair enough," Wu Heng agreed. "Any updates from Netalei City?"
Shanaila said, "Actually yes. The roads to the capital are open again. Word is, the investigation team is now based in the capital, continuing their work."
"Did the religious leader stay too?"
"That's what the reports say. Sounds like the leader stuck around."
Good stuff. With those pompous Church folks around, the First Prince's headache probably got worse.
This matched what Lilith said a few days back—that they had found links between the First Prince and some cults and were still investigating.
But thinking about it now—
This was a win for him.
If all attention was on the First Prince, no one would be watching his side too closely.
And with how slow intel moved in this world, he could finish off the Second Prince before the news even traveled far.
Wu Heng said, "That's fine by me. At least they're not watching Gold-Silver Island."
Shanaila seemed to guess what he was up to. She warned, "The Second Prince is still royalty. With the Secret Cult's support, he's no pushover. Otherwise, the First Prince wouldn't be scrambling to make allies."
"You be careful. Don't act rashly. Your job is to keep leveling up and secure a Guild Elder seat."
Wu Heng listened quietly.
Then he said, "Relax. I'm not dumb enough to go charging in. He's running around catching beatings, and I've still got Gold-Silver Island."
"As long as you know."
"You take care too. If things get dicey, you and Philipa fall back to the ship. Our ship can handle even an army."
"I'll be careful. Let's talk later—I've got work." Shanaila said softly.
"Alright."
......
After ending the call, Wu Heng remained seated.
From what Shanaila said, the high priest 'Saidu' and the investigation team were now stationed in the capital.
They probably found something solid on the way.
High-level clerics could detect lies. A high priest? Even more so.
"Him staying there is a good thing."
"Now I can focus on dealing with the Second Prince."
At first, Wu Heng hadn't cared much about the Second Prince.
But once the Secret Cult came into it, the threat level spiked.
No wonder the cult had gone quiet lately—they were setting this up.
If the Second Prince took even half of the Yeko Kingdom, that'd be a huge problem for him.
He needed to wrap this up fast.
But if he killed the Second Prince, would that just make things easier for the First Prince? That guy didn't seem too friendly either.
Thinking of the First Prince—
A thought popped into his head.
If the high priest stayed in the capital, where the hell did all those cult members go?
The pirate captain he'd planted undercover had mentioned there were lots of Level 18 Professionals among them.
Even if they clashed with the Guild, they couldn't have all been wiped out.
So where'd they go?
If they moved north, they'd be heading his way.
Wu Heng pondered.
Benny flew in from outside and said straight up, "Wu Heng, a Level 18 Professional showed up in the city. He went to the tavern where we killed the messenger—must be the guy we're looking for."
Wu Heng's expression froze.
After all this waiting, he was finally here.
A Level 18 Professional arriving now could only be that high-level assassin.
"Just one?"
"Yeah. Madam Glenda is tailing him. She didn't want to try possessing him and risk failure, so she sent me to get you," Benny said.
Wu Heng stood up, "Let's go together."
He left the study. The skeletal attendant was waiting at the door and followed behind.
Downstairs, Wen Mansa and Slater were chatting.
Wen Mansa looked back and asked, "Master, going out?"
"Yeah. I'll explain when I get back," Wu Heng said as he walked.
The two women sensed something was off.
Slater said, "I'll come with you."
"No need. Don't worry, it's fine."
Wu Heng waved it off and walked out of the mansion with the skeleton.
......
Outer District, tavern.
Private room on the second floor.
The middle-aged man in black leather armor sat quietly at the table.
The noisy sounds of arguing and dice games drifted in from the main hall window.
Knock knock knock~!
Someone knocked on the door.
The man adjusted his collar and said, "Come in."
The door opened. The bartender walked in cheerfully, "What can I get you, sir?"
"A beer and some snacks," he said, flipping a silver coin his way.
The bartender's eyes lit up. He caught it and smiled even wider, "Right away, sir!"
The man waved him off. The bartender left.
Time passed.
The man tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, timing everything in his head and running through his assassination plan.
A woman from a gang background.
Made city lord thanks to a fast-rising kid from the Guild.
"Gold-Silver Island…"
Heh~!
The man chuckled.
He'd heard of that island lord too. The guy even had detective novels sold in the city.
Even if he wasn't as good as the books made him seem—
If he killed the woman, could the guy even find him?
Small town jobs~!
Damn good money.
The thought made him tap the table even faster.
Suddenly, his hand froze.
The noise from the main hall—arguing, shouting—had gone silent.
He stood up and looked out the window.
The tavern was empty.
Shit~!
His heart jumped. Even if he didn't fear anyone here, the sudden silence gave him a bad feeling.
He spun and dashed toward the open window.
But mid-run, his body halted.
He lost control—like someone else was wrestling him for it.
Bang~!
The door slammed open.
Two figures burst in and attacked instantly.
He fought for control and flung his cloak forward, releasing a thick poison mist.
His body faded in the fog and vanished.
Just as he stepped onto the windowsill, he lost control again and fell back.
One of the intruders was already in his face.
A massive blow slammed into him.
He flew back, crashing into the wall.
Bones cracked. Organs shattered. Agony.
High-level strength-based class.
"Shit!"
This job ain't worth it.
Before he could get up, the other figure lunged.
He yanked out two daggers from his belt and stabbed like a venomous snake at the attacker's vitals.
Unless the target had a death wish, they'd have to dodge.
He'd use that opening to escape.
But the figure didn't dodge. The dagger pierced their body—no reaction, no pain.
Undead!
Damn it, a skeleton from the City Lord's Mansion.