Chapter 678 Are they all still alive?
At noon on Thursday, a steam train, hauling numerous carriages and emitting white smoke from its chimney, slowly pulled into the station in the north of Backlund.
Looking at the familiar buildings outside the window, General Angel sighed in his heart:
"Backlund, I'm back."
During the two-day journey, she was so bored that she had already begun to study the gossip in the newspaper word by word. If the food in the first-class carriage had not been quite good, Angel would have been unable to resist entering the mirror world and returning to Backlund early.
Of course, she also did not miss the GG published in the "Novel Weekly" published in Trier, and successfully found the publication previews of the first two volumes of "The Great Pirate Angelica Series", "The Fountain of Youth" and "Ghost Empire" on it.
It seems that the "magician" lady of the Tarot Club, the well-known novelist, enthusiastic agent, and close friend of the Abraham family, Ms. Fors Wall, really published those novels in Intis... Angel chuckled, not caring that his reputation had become strange because of the popularity of these fictional novels.
Besides the Tarot Club members and Klein, no one knows about my current relationship with Angelica Sage. Leaving behind some legends about the "Golden Queen" who appears from time to time will help solidify her identity and distinguish her from "Angel." At most, after all her novels are published, I'll come to her asking for royalties. I'm sure she wouldn't dare refuse... Thinking of this, Angel couldn't help but calculate the potential profits, and the corners of her mouth gradually curled up.
With these thoughts in mind, before leaving Trier, she went to District 8, trying to find Fors and return to Backlund with her.
Unfortunately, both divination attempts ended in failure. Angel could only convince himself that the great writer might stay for a while, so he bought a ticket back to Loen alone.
Of course, compared to the copyright fees that Fors and she didn't get, Angel's biggest gain from this trip to Trier was undoubtedly the Beyonder characteristics that emerged after the death of Syrio Soren, the "Iron-Blooded Knight," and the magical item he left behind.
No, according to my divination, this "Harvester Legion" should be a seal, and a "1" level seal, very likely formed by the characteristics of Sequence 3 "War Bishop". This characteristic alone is probably worth no less than 200,000 pounds.
Unfortunately, only in the hands of the "Hunter" path can these "Reaper Legions" with the combat power of "Reapers" and defensive capabilities that are even comparable to those of demigods be able to exert their full strength... For me, who mainly fights with the mirror world, curses, and diseases, they are of little use...
Looking at the string of tin dolls of various shapes in his hand, Angel thought with some regret.
At the end of the five soldiers connected head to tail, an iron-black human figure slightly smaller than Knuckles was shaking continuously. It was the sixth "soldier" being generated.
That's right, the five armored soldiers who died in the battle with Angel are slowly recovering as time goes by!
According to Angel's estimation, within half a month, this seal will be restored to its full capacity of ten people. If they are summoned together, they will pose a great threat to the demigods who are not good at defending themselves.
After all, they were the dead, without fear, and were difficult to be contaminated. Their status was the same as that of the "War Bishops." In a sense, they were even more "useful" than real people...
The only problem was that this sealed object would definitely not be sold at the Tarot Club. Angel realized this after failing to sell Zatwin's demigod Beyonder characteristics.
Moreover, the negative effects of the seal are very obvious. If a Beyonder below Sequence 5 uses it, he will be directly killed by the soldiers. Even if he is a Sequence 5 or even a demigod, once he is seriously injured and his strength is reduced, he may sit at the same table with Syrio Soran and share the feeling of being "betrayed".
"Giving it to Klein is a good choice. Having his marionette carry and summon it can largely mitigate risks. Even if it's 'betrayed,' only the marionette will die... But once the 'Reaper Legion' is summoned, the battle will inevitably become a positional war, which is a major drawback for a sequence like the 'Marionette Master' that requires flexibility... Well, it's best to give it to a Hunter Demigod who can share the damage with teammates and gather strength from them..."
Thinking of this, Angel took out the iron box that contained the extraordinary characteristics of the "Iron Knight".
She knew many Beyonders on the Hunter Path, but the one with the greatest potential for advancement, and one she could use, was undoubtedly Elaine Soren, captain of the Redheaded Lady. Elaine had recently demonstrated remarkable earning power, not only quickly repaying Angel's initial investment but also saving a considerable sum, earning her a promotion to Sequence 6 Conspirator, a figure worthy of the Soren family's glorious history.
"Try asking around at the Tarot Club first. If no one wants it, I'll sell it to Elaine. The prerequisite is that she's willing to accept the negative effects of being promoted to 'Iron-Blooded Knight'..."
Angel chuckled and put away his extraordinary characteristics and the "Reaper Legion".
Of course, in order to avoid negative effects, she placed the sealed object in the "mirror space". After using it for a period of time, Angel has discovered the convenience of this space independent of the "mirror world" and began to put valuable items into it.
Of course, she still sacrificed some overly dangerous items, such as the "Blasphemy Card" and the "Parasite" gloves that Mr. Azik had specifically reminded her of, to Mr. Fool, who had unpredictable strength but was very approachable, and kept them for her.
"Unfortunately, the Knight's Bracelet was ultimately destroyed in this battle. Perhaps we can ask the craftsmen Mr. The Hanged Man knows to use its Beyonder properties to craft a magical item..."
Touching his empty left wrist, Angel sighed for his lost "Sword of Dawn". Seeing the suburban scenery outside the window replaced by the city, the train slowly slowed down and stopped. He picked up his luggage and prepared to get off.
At this moment, she saw a train heading eastward on the other side of the platform accelerating, and a familiar figure flashed by in a window.
"That's... Leonard and Ms. Daly. Didn't they both join Backlund's Nighthawks? Why did they leave here together?"
Angel looked in the direction the train was heading in confusion. That was the steam train line she had taken when she first came to Backlund nine months ago.
That's the direction to Tingen City.
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The only steam train station in Tingen City was located in the suburbs of the North District. After a four-hour short journey, Leonard Mitchell, wearing a windbreaker with his expression hidden in his stand-up collar, and Daly Simone, who was rarely dressed in a dress and a cloak, got off the train and headed straight for Raphael Cemetery, which was also located in the suburbs of the North District.
The June afternoon sun was quite strong. The cemetery keeper was dozing off in the duty cabin and did not notice that the shovel placed outside the door disappeared without a trace after an unnatural shadow appeared.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Daly asked softly as they stood in front of a grave.
Next to her was Leonard, holding a shovel with a serious expression. He nodded and said:
"I will never be able to rest in peace unless I dig it up and take a look."
After saying that, he picked up the shovel, held it tightly with both hands, and poked it into the soil next to the tombstone that had solidified due to wind and sun. With just a few shovels, he overturned the tombstone, the tombstone with the epitaph "The best brother, the best younger brother, the best colleague" written on it.
With the sound of digging, Leonard's figure continued to sink, and the soil piled up on both sides gradually increased.
The air around Daly grew colder, and the area around the cemetery, which was bathed in sunlight, felt as if it had fallen into darkness. Passersby who occasionally passed by involuntarily walked around it, completely unaware of the situation.
Soon, the coffin, which was not buried very deeply, revealed its slightly corroded wooden lid. Daly's expression changed slightly. She took two steps closer and looked down at the tomb.
The iron nails that held the coffin in place had fallen off at some point, and the wooden lid was even slightly tilted, not completely aligned with the coffin below.
Leonard threw the shovel out, grabbed the heavy coffin lid with both hands, and with a force, opened it.
Inside the pitch-black coffin, within the soft lining, there was no corpse, no clothes, nothing.
A breeze blew by, and the rustling of leaves woke up the two stunned people. Leonard pushed with both hands, completely opening the coffin and confirming once again that what he saw was correct.
"Empty...empty!"
He roared low in his throat and looked up at Daly above him. Her eyes flickered, and she seemed not as surprised as he was.
What does she know... No, Ms. Daly's behavior during the past few days of following me in the investigation showed that she knew nothing about this either... So, she once had doubts, but they were dismissed?
Exhaling a breath of foul air with the smell of soil, Leonard quickly climbed out of the tomb and looked at another adjacent tombstone.
It was framed with a black and white photo of Angel avoiding the camera.
The first time I saw you, the captain, Ms. Daly and I were investigating the case you reported at your home. Since then, you have been thinking about how to sneak into the "Nighthawks" and how to get out of here... Leonard's mind flashed with the scene of seeing Angel's broken body in the destroyed downtown park, and he suddenly raised the shovel.
A moment later, Leonard, who had also entered the tomb, looked at the coffin that was nailed shut with a look of hesitation on his face.
In his opinion, since "Klein Moretti" was still alive, "Angel Granger", who had the same suspicion and even similar evidence, should not be dead either. However, unlike the Klein tomb nearby, the coffin here was nailed shut from the outside, indicating that it had not been opened since it was buried in the tomb.
"Open it and take a look."
As he hesitated, Daly's cold voice reached his ears from above.
"What?"
Leonard looked up subconsciously and found that Daly's eyes had turned pure black in the glaring sunlight.
Clairvoyance... He understood that this "necromancer" had learned about the situation inside the coffin through the nearby spirits, so he no longer hesitated, grabbed the edge of the lid with both hands, and opened it.
Inside the coffin, there was only a fragment of mirror.
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