However, just now he had been keeping an eye on her every move, and that old woman definitely hadn't had the opportunity to secretly draw blood or pass the blood to that young man.Since the beginning of the ceremony until he took the blood sample, no one except three women had approached that young man.This was strange. Could he have used illusion magic?Impossible. To prevent him from secretly using illusion magic, Jet had prepared illusion butterflies.
As long as someone used illusion magic, the illusion butterflies would be able to sense the fluctuations of magic energy.But now there was no reaction at all. This was really strange.A sense of foreboding gradually rose in the young man's heart.This premonition had enabled him to escape from the predicament of death countless times. It was a kind of innate and indescribable ability, the power from his mother, a nun who had originally wanted to serve the gods with her lifelong chastity.
This premonition had never been wrong before.Moreover, he had never felt such a strong sense of impending danger.Could there be threats hidden in this solemn and sacred church that he had never seen or encountered before?The young man began to feel nervous and confused.However, his eyes were always closely scanning those targets.Every move of these people clearly fell within his sight.Time passed bit by bit.
Standing for a long time was an extremely tiring thing for ladies and young ladies.Therefore, under the guidance of the on-duty priests in the church, the ladies and young ladies walked towards the lounge at the back of the auditorium one after another, and those elderly people also gradually left.However, Miss Madin clearly knew that her identity was special, so she always stood there straight.
Taking this opportunity, Miss Betty also greeted others and went to the back to take a rest. Moreover, she still had to clean up the wound on her hand.Just when Lord Leonard and Earl Kenneth were arguing vigorously, she had secretly used the crossbow arrow that Ivan carried with him to prick her arm, and the blood was absorbed by Ivan's magic wand.To be honest, when that magician released the blood bees just now, she was really afraid that the whole thing would be completely exposed.Fortunately, those blood bees didn't land.However, for the sake of safety, it was better to leave this place as soon as possible and clean up the wound quickly.
Fortunately, this was a church, and the priests were definitely experts in treating wounds.To cover Miss Betty's departure, Fanny and Lisztine also went to the lounge at the back with her.Everything disappeared unnoticed.For those chatting and laughing, time slipped by unconsciously.However, for those waiting nervously, time passed so slowly.
Nevertheless, although it was slow, it would eventually come to an end.In fact, there was no need to wait until the end. Most people had already seen the changes happening in the crystal bowl.The originally bright red color gradually faded.The originally somewhat turbid holy water mixed with blood was now gradually becoming clear.
At the bottom of the bowl, people with sharp eyesight could even see a pinkish thing lying quietly there.Elder Monr gently waved his hand, and the singing in praise of the God of Life stopped suddenly. The priests got up from the ground and returned to their original positions.
Elder Monr once again drew two strokes in the air with his index finger, and the crystal bowl slowly descended from the ceiling.When the crystal bowl descended to the level of the elder's chest, Elder Monr gently lifted up that crystal bowl.Inside the bowl, a pinkish, oval-shaped, translucent flat ball the size of a thumb was rolling around as the bowl swayed."Mr. Leonard, you've seen it. Everything in front of us has proved Mr.
Ivan's identity." Having said that, the elder turned his head and said loudly to the nobles in the auditorium, "I announce that Mr. Ivan · Este is the son of Miss Bertha · Madin, the grandson of the late Mr. Blake · Wivensk · Madin, and the legitimate blood heir of the Madin family. He definitely has the right to inherit the position of the lord of Luxembourg.""No, this is impossible. This is completely impossible," Lord Leonard said in a panic. "The blood has been switched. It must have been switched. Someone has played tricks.""If there were tricks played, then the only possibility is Miss Madin," the magician said. "Just release the blood bees and everything will be proved. Miss Madin, you don't mind, do you?"Before Miss Madin could answer, the magician had already released the blood bees hidden in his sleeves.Those blood bees, accompanied by a deafening buzzing sound, flew towards Miss Madin overwhelmingly.Although Miss Madin was indeed a bit flustered, it was just out of a woman's instinctive fear of insects. Besides that, she was quite calm in her heart because there was definitely no wound on her body at all.
Sure enough, the blood bees that found nothing didn't land on the old lady at all. They just buzzed around her. The nobles were outraged by the magician's unreasonable behavior. If it weren't for their fear of the mysterious power the magician possessed, they would have surrounded and attacked him long ago.
The magician had been confident before. In his opinion, Miss Madin must be the one who provided the blood. The blood bees would surely be able to find the bloodstains. Unexpectedly, things didn't turn out as he had expected. There was no wound on Miss Madin at all, and there wasn't even the slightest smell of blood. Coupled with the extremely agitated emotions of the surrounding nobles, the magician himself began to feel that something was wrong.
He really couldn't figure out how things had become like this. Suddenly, a possibility emerged from the depths of his mind. Maybe there was someone else who provided the blood. It wasn't a big deal for such a noble and prominent family to have one or two illegitimate children. As long as the blood relationship was within three generations, it could also activate the dry bones. Only this was possible, the magician thought to himself. This wasn't difficult for him.
The blood bees could easily find the existence of wounds, and these blood bees had already established a mental connection with him. Once the target was found, he could sense it immediately. Thinking of this, the magician suddenly shouted loudly, "I got it. There are other descendants left in the Madin family. They provided the blood that activated the finger bone. My blood bees will find that person." With that, he waved his arms continuously. The blood bees that had been buzzing around Miss Madin suddenly flew in all directions.
All of this happened so suddenly. So suddenly that most people couldn't react for a moment. Even the young man was completely stunned at that instant. Suddenly, a strong and indescribable sense of crisis hit him hard. He seemed to suddenly understand everything. But it was already too late. The blood bees flying all over the sky did find a person with a strong smell of blood and indeed a wound on his body. And that person was Ivan.
Countless bees suddenly turned around and rushed towards him, rushed towards him from all directions, and rushed towards him overwhelmingly. Unlike Miss Madin, Ivan had learned many ways to deal with crises from Herbert. And among the things Herbert taught him, there was definitely no content about passive defense or waiting helplessly for death. For a killer, killing the opponent before the opponent makes a move is the only correct way of defense. To make Ivan firmly remember this point, Herbert didn't let Ivan suffer less.
The painful experiences made Ivan deeply imprint this knowledge in his mind and it became a habit, an instinct. Feeling the danger sweeping towards him, Ivan shook his right arm, and three crossbow arrows shot towards the magician like lightning. Almost at the same time as the crossbow arrows were shot, the young man rushed forward. He planned to intercept these crossbow arrows halfway. For a master like him, this should have been nothing difficult. Unfortunately, the young man forgot that Ivan wasn't alone.
The moment he rushed forward, he suddenly felt a strong murderous aura surging towards him. The young man had no time to react at all, and a sharp dagger silently and swiftly slashed towards his chest and abdomen. This stab was not only extremely precise but also the timing was extremely accurate. It was exactly at the moment when he had just started moving and his body was inconvenient to turn. For such a terrifying stab, the young man knew in his heart that it was impossible to completely avoid it. This guy who launched the sudden attack was not only an absolute master but also a person who was extremely proficient in how to kill people. At this instant, the young man finally understood what had happened in the forest.
When those people he really needed to deal with this time were attacked in the forest, they hadn't thought about eliminating the young lord heir and his companions with their own hands. For their own safety, it was absolutely necessary to kill them to silence them. However, one of the reasons why their plan didn't succeed was undoubtedly the existence of the little magician, and another reason was that they found that among their opponents, there was a master with extraordinary strength who specialized in underhanded deeds hidden.
This person's skills were definitely not inferior to his own, and his killing skills and the ability to seize the opportunity to attack were better than any master he had ever seen. What's more terrifying was that this person obviously had an outstanding tacit understanding with the little magician. Once they joined hands, they didn't give their opponents any chance to fight back. Presumably, those guys had also suffered the same in the forest. The young man used all his strength on defense and kept backing away.
At this point, he couldn't care less about protecting that magician. Herbert usually wouldn't get into a dogged fight with his opponent if his first strike missed. That wasn't the way a killer fought. When they were attacked in the Bart Forest, because they were ambushed and couldn't figure out the strength of their opponents at all, Herbert had no choice but to hold back the most powerful guy among them. It was the only option under such helpless circumstances.
But now the situation was completely different. Looking at the corpse lying on the ground, although Herbert still maintained an attacking posture, he wasn't in a hurry to make another move. That poor magician was almost killed instantly. Ivan had never forgotten what Herbert told him when teaching him crossbow skills. Since this kind of crossbow was used just in case, once it was used, it must ensure that the opponent had no ability to fight back.
If the opponent could still fight, at such a short distance, it was very likely that he himself would be the one to die. That's why when practicing shooting three arrows at the same time, the targets of the crossbow arrows were aimed at the three absolutely fatal parts: the center of the eyebrows, the throat, and the heart. Ivan's mastery of the crossbow had already satisfied Herbert.
There was no problem for him to hit the target every time at close range. Ivan and the magician were originally very close to each other, and the magician wasn't an agile person. The three crossbow arrows hit the magician's center of the eyebrows, throat, and heart precisely. The powerful ejection force drove the crossbow arrows deeply into the target's body. The gushing blood immediately attracted the attention of the blood bees. The magician's body was immediately covered with blood bees. This time it was completely different from before.
The blood bees crawled freely on the magician's body. Although they couldn't bite the wounds without orders, the flowing blood was their favorite food. The magician was almost killed instantly. Although they possessed magical powers, at close range, they were weaker than most ordinary people. The magician standing within the range of the crossbow arrows had undoubtedly already dedicated his life to the God of Death who ruled over death.
Ivan took out his magic wand from his pocket. This was the weapon he always carried with him for self-defense. He quietly dipped the magic wand into the two bottles tied around his waist, and after it was filled with the potion, Ivan waved the magic wand and recited the incantation. As he pointed the magic wand forward, although there was no astonishing sound or dazzling sparks, those blood bees crawling all over the ground and licking the blood dropped to the ground one by one and couldn't move anymore.
All of this seemed miraculous enough to ordinary people. After the danger passed, most people finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, some people weren't so excited. In fact, Lord Leonard was already trembling all over. Just thinking about those extremely accurate crossbow arrows that took the life of a powerful magician in an instant made his heart pound with fear. He hadn't forgotten the promise of the duel. He had just been perfunctory before.
He wasn't willing to joke with his life. Although Lord Leonard had practiced fencing for a few years when he was young, it was just for show and to follow the fashion. Moreover, just looking at that kid's skills, he definitely couldn't handle it. Lord Leonard was absolutely certain that Ivan was a killer, a killer proficient in all kinds of fighting skills. He wasn't so stupid as to put his life in the hands of a killer. However, it wasn't that easy to escape smoothly either. The two people he relied on, one was a paladin and the other was a magician.
Originally, in his opinion, these two people joining hands should have no problem sweeping through the southern part of Francois. But he never expected that the magician was killed so easily, and the paladin didn't seem to be as powerful as he had imagined. He was beaten by one of Juan's bodyguards and had no chance to fight back. Perhaps it wasn't even easy for him to protect himself.
Lord Leonard had to start thinking about his own future. And in the young man's heart, he was also uneasy. He had never expected that the situation would deteriorate to this point. Jet was dead, and he died so meaninglessly, so worthless. In fact, this whole thing had nothing to do with him originally.
He was shouldering an important task, an extremely crucial task that must not fail. For this mission, His Grace the Duke not only put the most elite knight squad under his command but also sent Jet, the magician, to assist him. However, now, before the mission even started, it had already failed. Without Jet, he and his knights had no hope of winning at all. Because the target he was aiming at was guarded by a magician.
To deal with a magician, only another magician would do. Now that Jet was dead, he had let down the Duke's great trust. And all of this was just for something that had nothing to do with him originally. A silent and painful cry burst out in the young man's chest.
Endless regret burned fiercely in his heart, gnawing at his soul and devouring his spirit. He had failed, completely failed. His mission was over. Perhaps this also meant that his position in the Duke's eyes would plummet from now on. Perhaps it even meant that everything he had sacrificed his honor and friendship for had come to nothing. The young man was filled with regret. He should never have interfered in this matter. The church was silent, and no one said a word. What had happened in that instant just now was definitely something that they would hardly see again in their lifetimes.
A magician was killed in an instant, and the person who killed the magician was also a magician, except that the means he used were not the ones commonly used by magicians. Immediately after that, in the blink of an eye, two top masters fought in front of everyone. Although this fight was so brief, the lightning-fast attacks and defenses left many people in awe.
These people were not amateurs like Lord Leonard. Earl Levy was one of them. By now, apart from his awe of Mr. Juan, he was more shocked. Because although this Mr. Juan was just a commoner noble, just a hereditary lord. However, there was actually a top master as powerful as a paladin hidden beside him.
What kind of a lord was he? He was practically a king. Only a king could train paladins, and only a king had paladins as his guards. Earl Levy secretly rejoiced in his heart: It was really a right choice that he hadn't stood on the opposite side of Mr. Juan at the beginning. "Lord Leonard, you should now fulfill your promise and accept the challenge of the duel for your despicable deeds," Earl Kenneth broke the silent atmosphere.
"Your Excellency, you know, Your Excellency, there's something fishy about it. They played tricks in secret. They definitely played tricks, Your Excellency. You have to uphold justice for me," Lord Leonard pleaded to the young man. "Leonard, you should take responsibility for what you have done yourself. Since you have done such an outrageous thing that enrages both gods and men, you have to pay the price for it," someone among the nobles shouted loudly.
The young man remained silent all along. He was quite reluctant to interfere in this matter in his heart. This stupid guy named Leonard was none of his business whether he lived or died. However, if he went back and reported that he had encountered a killer whose strength was no less than that of a paladin, His Grace the Duke might not believe it. It would be good to spare this stupid guy's life as evidence.
The young man was calculating in his heart. Besides, by saving this stupid guy's life, there would be others in the capital who would be grateful to him. It was good to leave a way out for himself. Moreover, if he just let this stupid guy be killed, then others would really think that he had abandoned his companion in danger.
In the future, who would be willing to cooperate with him? Who would be willing to be his subordinate? Thinking of this, the young man said coldly, "Everyone saw what happened just now. My assistant, Mr. Jet, is dead. He died quite meaninglessly. This heir to the lord didn't have to shoot the crossbow arrows and ambush Mr. Jet at all. From the beginning to the end, Mr. Jet didn't have any malicious intentions.
But now that the person is dead, that's the fact after all. Mr. Jet was a magician. You have killed a magician. I must report this matter to His Majesty the King. And the whole thing was caused by Mr. Leonard. Mr. Leonard is the person involved, so Mr. Leonard must explain everything to His Majesty the King in person." "Yes, I want to meet His Majesty the King. I want to report to His Majesty the King," Lord Leonard was obviously out of his mind and was talking nonsense. "Your Excellency, you are being too overbearing," another noble shouted loudly.
Hearing what the young man said, both Earl Kenneth and Earl Levy couldn't help but worry. They didn't want to really offend this young man and the force behind him. As for this guy Leonard, it didn't matter whether he was killed or not. Anyway, since the Leonard family had done such a heinous and blasphemous thing against the lord's family, they definitely had no place in Luxembourg anymore.
As soon as Lord Leonard left, they could immediately incite the nobles in Luxembourg to completely drive out all the forces of the Leonard family from Luxembourg. "Everyone, let's forget these things that have made us extremely indignant. We still have the most important thing to do. Let's leave the task of punishing the evil to be done in the future!" Mr. Juan said. Hearing this sentence, Lord Leonard didn't say a word and fled out of the cathedral. He rushed straight to his carriage.
Now, for him, leaving this city as soon as possible was the most important thing. The young man coldly said "Farewell" and left the cathedral without looking back. Naturally, he also had a place to go. "Now, everything has been clarified. Let's officially start the voting. The time has been delayed for a full three hours because of a despicable person. However, in my opinion, these three hours are quite worthwhile. We have seen a scene that we have never seen in our lifetimes.
By the way, Mr. Juan, how should we deal with this corpse?" Elder Monr asked. "Let the magician's things be dealt with by the magician," Mr. Juan said. "Alright. Mr. Ivan, I'll trouble you. While we are voting, please deal with these things. I'm going to ask the ladies and young ladies to come over. I'm afraid it's not appropriate for them to see such a bloody scene," The elder turned his head and ordered, "Budi, Pace, you two follow Mr. Ivan and provide him with all the help.
Dorade, go and tell the ladies and young ladies to come over in five minutes." According to the elder's orders, everyone went to do their respective jobs. Ivan certainly knew why Mr. Juan asked him to deal with this corpse. On the one hand, he was indeed the most reliable candidate. On the other hand, it was nothing more than to thoroughly search the pockets of the dead magician.
As a thief, this was part of his job. Ivan asked his two assistants for a secret room and began his work with great interest. All the things he found that he couldn't recognize were carefully sorted and put into small pockets one by one. As for the corpse, after stripping it completely, it was thrown into a sack. Like all the dead people, he didn't need any of his things anymore anyway. A decent burial was simply a waste for a thief.
Ivan stuck to this principle. When Ivan finished dealing with all of this and returned to the auditorium, the result of the voting had already come out. Perhaps it was because of the huge deterrent effect of the thrilling duel just now, or perhaps it was because of everyone's dissatisfaction with Lord Leonard's behavior.
Ivan got an absolute majority of support. In fact, not only were there pitifully few opposing votes, but there were also few abstentions. After the voting was passed, it was the official ceremony. Ivan had never thought that the official ceremony would be so complicated. He just hoped that the ceremony could end earlier.