"General Wu Lai, His Excellency the Scarlet-robed Priest is in Block Town, twenty miles ahead, so we are not going into the city." You Zhong said with a smile after diligently placing the boarding stool for Wu Lai.

Wu Lai nodded. He was not surprised that the meeting place was not in Kayikede City.

"General Wu Lai, I want to ride with you." Shelley glanced at You Zhong and said.

"It's my honor." Wu Lai smiled and nodded. With You Zhong beside him, it would be a little awkward whether he refused or agreed. In that case, he might as well agree immediately so that they could chat along the way.

"General Wu Lai, please. High Priest Shelley, please." You Zhong bowed and stepped aside...

Although the carriage is not very spacious, it is very clean. The seats are covered with a layer of velvet, which feels good to the touch and feels soft when pressed slightly. Obviously, there is cotton or cashmere padding under the velvet.

"My High Priest Shelley, please sit down first." Wu Lai said with a smile and pushed open the window. From this angle, he could see the bustling main city gate. Although it was not yet night, the militia guarding the city gate had already lit a number of torches. Under the firelight, some laborers or slaves dressed in shorts were busy moving a large pile of sacks onto several large flatbed trucks waiting on the side. It seemed that these goods should belong to a foreign merchant.

"Woolley." Shelley gently took his arm.

Wu Lai withdrew his gaze from the window. At the same time, he heard the crisp sound of a whip. The two of them felt their bodies shake slightly, and the carriage began to move slowly.

"What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" Wu Lai noticed that Shelly's face looked a little bad, so he asked with concern.

Shelley shook her head, but her brows were slightly furrowed. She tilted her head slightly, as if thinking about something.

"You look a little pale," said Wu Lai.

"Really?" Shelley touched his face, then shook his head gently and said, "Wu Lai, I don't know what's going on, I suddenly have palpitations, this feeling is not good at all, it seems like something bad is going to happen."

"Heart palpitations?" Wu Lai was startled, thinking that she must be worried about the meeting with the secret envoy, so he held Shelley's little hand in his and raised it to his lips and kissed it gently, "You must be too tired on the road. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen. Even if there is, I am here."

Shelley was stunned for a moment, then gently leaned her face on Wu Lai's shoulder: "Okay, I am really tired, I will lean on you to rest for a while, if I fall asleep, please don't disturb me."

"Okay." Wu Lai smiled.

The horse trail was straight, and although it rained and cleared several times during the day, and vehicles ran over people and horses, it was not very muddy. Shortly after nightfall, the carriage drove into a fork in the road, and after a short while, we arrived at Bullock Town.

Perhaps because it is close to the city of Kayiked, although the town of Block is not big, it is also very lively. There are shops lining both sides of the street, and the sounds of shouting and jingling are endless. There are also many pedestrians coming and going outside the car windows. It must have rained for several days in a row, and it was sunny tonight, so the townspeople are happy to go out for a walk.

When seeing these scenes, Wu Lai couldn't help but think of Salt Marsh Town. At the end of last month, Guru brought two letters, one for public and one for private. After reading them, Wu Lai felt relieved and happy because everything in Salt Marsh Town was progressing steadily as he had imagined.

"I wonder when this war will end..." Wu Lai thought to himself. The war had already started for a long time, but judging from the current situation, it was still a long way from a decisive battle. The Assyrian army, which had always been accustomed to taking a defensive stance, would naturally not take the initiative to attack the other side. Therefore, whether or not there would be a decisive battle was usually decided by the other side, and not every battle would end in a decisive battle.

In addition to competing in military strength and the quality of soldiers, war is also a competition of attrition. However, in this competition of attrition, the slower side is more likely to win, because if one side's manpower and material resources are consumed too quickly, it will certainly not be able to sustain it for long.

However, according to the complete report on the Assyrian front forwarded by Date, the Assyrian territory was being consumed at a high rate, which inevitably made Wu Lai worried.

As his thoughts were flying, the carriage slowly stopped. Wu Lai had just stopped thinking when he heard You Zhong's voice from outside the window: "General Wu Lai, High Priest Shelley, we are here."

"Got it." As soon as Wu Lai finished answering, Shelley opened his eyes, frowned, glanced around in the light of the small lantern in the carriage, and then gently hugged Wu Lai's waist.

"Are we there yet? I slept all the way." Shelley said with a pout.

"It's a good time to refresh yourself." Wu Lai couldn't help but touch her earlobe.

Shelley nodded and suddenly said, "I still feel bad."

"It'll be okay, Mikoyan is here." Wu Lai said with a smile. He guessed that the arrival of the secret envoy was most likely related to the "divine magic incident", otherwise Mikoyan would not have stayed and waited. Since Mikoyan stayed, nothing would happen, because if there was, Mikoyan would definitely inform him the first time. After all, this matter was closely related to him, Wu Lai.

After You Zhong welcomed Wu Lai and the other two out of the carriage, he pointed to the left front of the carriage and said, "General Wu Lai, High Priest Shelley, the secret envoy and the red-robed priest are waiting for you in this house."

Wu Lai nodded and raised his eyes slightly, only to see a large house facing the street in front of him on the left. On each side of the dark gate stood two people holding torches and waiting. Although their clothes were ordinary, the aura they stood with was not what ordinary civilians should have.

"General Wu Lai, please. High Priest Shelley, please." You Zhong bowed again and took the lead...

Inside the gate was a courtyard. Although it was not big, the ground was smooth and there were green plants planted. The walls on both sides were covered with vines, which was quite similar to the Green Building. This gave Wu Lai a familiar feeling.

Shelley obviously didn't like this place. From the moment she stepped into the door, she frowned. If it weren't for You Zhong being there, she would not mind holding Wu Lai's arm or even stopping Wu Lai from moving forward.

At the end of the courtyard was a small wooden building. The door was open and the lights were on, allowing Wu Lai to see the simple furnishings in the small hall. However, there was no one there at the moment, and it seemed particularly quiet.

After leading the two into the small hall, You Zhong bowed again and said, "General Wu Lai, High Priest Shelley, please wait a moment. I will go and inform the secret envoy and the red-robed priest."

"Go." Shelley nodded. Wu Lai looked around and his eyes fell on a painting on the left wall that was one elbow wide and two elbows high.

As soon as he saw it, Wu Lai exclaimed in surprise, because this painting was too unusual.

The Assyrians had the habit of decorating their houses with paintings, either statues of the god Amun, portraits of family members or landscapes, but the painting in front of Woolley was none of the above three - it was a portrait. At the bottom of the picture was a man lying, covered in blood, leaning against a huge rock. Above the picture was a large cloud, and close to the cloud, a woman was drawing a bow and arrow, with the tip of the arrow pointing directly at the man.

This may seem like nothing, but the man at the bottom of the picture is wearing the attire of the god Amon, and the weapon that fell at his feet further highlights his identity - it is a thunder staff.

"Shelley, come here and take a look." Wu Lai leaned over and took another look, becoming more certain of his thoughts.

Shelley had already sat down, but upon hearing the voice, he stood up and walked over quickly. As soon as he took a glance, his brows furrowed fiercely: "This is blasphemy!"

"Oh no..." Wu Lai's heart skipped a beat. It was absolutely impossible for such a blasphemous portrait to appear in the place where the scarlet-robed priest and the secret envoy of the temple stayed.

"Get out of here!" Wu Lai shouted urgently while grabbing Shelley's arm, but before the two of them could take a step out, their feet suddenly felt empty and they fell sharply.

A pit?! Wu Lai subconsciously reached around, but his hands were empty. Then, he heard Shelley's scream, and the light above his head suddenly dimmed.

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After a while, You Zhong appeared in front of the gate and waved to Wu Lai and Shelley's guards and followers with a friendly look...

…

Seventeen days later, the report of Woolley and Shelley's disappearance reached Assyria. The Temple, the Senate, and the Supreme Council learned the news almost at the same time.

St. Lean frowned fiercely and immediately ordered someone to ring the assembly bell, because the report clearly stated that Woolley and Shelley went to the city of Kayikd after receiving Mikoyan's letter and then disappeared there.

Saint Lean knew Mikoyan and believed that this matter had nothing to do with Mikoyan, but he knew that the report was also sent to the Senate and the Supreme Council, so he had to take an attitude, even if that would temporarily hurt Mikoyan.

Qiyuan Duncan disappeared for seventeen days without any news, which basically means that there is no possibility of finding Wu Lai and Shelley, unless they disappeared voluntarily, such as eloping. In that case, maybe one day in the future they will work together to go out. But the possibility of elopement has been basically ruled out, because the patrol team of the garrison of Kayikede City found Wu Lai and Shelley's entourage in a grove more than forty miles away from Kayikede City. They had all turned into smelly corpses.

If it was an elopement, there would be no need to kill anyone. Besides, there was no need for Wu Lai to elope. He had no shortage of beautiful women, just as he had no shortage of money, admirers and followers.

Connor was extremely angry. He was almost certain that Woolley and Shelley had been killed, and he was also certain that the person who killed them was either a hidden chess piece planted by the enemy in the Assyrian territory, or someone who regarded Woolley as an enemy. If he didn't think the first possibility was more likely, Connor would not mind rushing into Cosmondo's house and grabbing Cosmondo by the collar to question him, because looking at the whole of Assyria, apart from the bandits killed by Woolley, only Cosmondo was most likely to regard Woolley as an enemy.

"What should I do? What should I do?" Connor suddenly felt that he was at a loss. In the current situation, he should do two things first. First, arrange the defense of the gap defense zone. Once Wu Lai disappeared, it would be like losing its backbone. Connor didn't think that anyone who stayed there now could replace Wu Lai. Second, he had to find Wu Lai and Shelley alive or dead. If the latter was the result, he must thoroughly investigate the matter, find the murderer, and then cut him into pieces.

Because the other party not only killed Woolley, but also destroyed the future of Connor and his followers, which is impossible to forgive.

The next morning, the Big Three had a rare gathering.

"The Scarlet-robed Priest Mikoyan has been temporarily detained." Saint Leon said with a straight face, "However, from my understanding of Mikoyan, based on his personal relationship with Woleglindo, he will definitely not do anything that is detrimental to Woleglindo. In addition, there are some things I want to tell you two. Some time ago, I appointed Mikoyan to visit the troops in the Gap Defense Zone. Among the people accompanying him, there was a middle-level priest named Youzhong. On Mikoyan's way back, he asked for leave and has not returned yet. I guess that Mikoyan's wax seal and other items were lost on the way, and the disappearance of Woleglindo and Shelley Oliver are most likely related to him."

"You two, soon we will have to face the pressure from the Aurelius family."

Qi Yuan and Connor nodded silently. They naturally knew Shelley's background.

"It is my duty to do what my temple should do." Saint Lian glanced at Qi Yuan and the other two, "What about you guys?"

"Let me speak first." Qi Yuan glanced at Connor and said, "I believe in the judgment of His Excellency the High Priest. The Senate believes that the disappearance of Wuleglindo is closely related to the enemy. The other party did this for two purposes: one is revenge, and the other is to undermine the morale of our army. After all, Wuleglindo's reputation is unparalleled. Therefore, the Senate believes that before looking for the murderer, we should first find a candidate for the chief general of the Gap Defense Zone. Chief Connor, what do you think?"

Connor nodded. "The disappearance of High Priest Wuleglindo and Shelley is very strange. It has been so long. Even if I don't want to, I have to maliciously guess that he has been killed. I called a meeting last night. Everyone felt that Wuleglindo's disappearance should not be made public. Secondly, it is necessary to conduct a large-scale investigation within Assyria to find as many hidden enemy chess pieces as possible. The third point is consistent with the Senate's idea. Arrange the personnel for the Gap Defense Zone in the shortest possible time."

"The Salt Marsh Army may be difficult to command. You know, it can basically be regarded as Wulaglindo's private army." Saint Leon sighed softly and said, "If someone else goes, they may not be able to command them."

"Yes, but there is no one in the Saltmarsh Army who can replace Woolleglindo." Connor said, "So the Supreme Council Military Department believes that a change of guard is the most appropriate."

"Replacement? Who will be replaced?" Qiyuan Duncan frowned. Wu Lai was missing, but the combat power of the Salt Marsh Army was there. He was planning how to take this army into his pocket. Even if it was not all of them, 30%, 50%, or 70% would be fine. If the overall defense was replaced, it would not affect the recruitment of troops, but without the defense zone, what was the point of raising so many people? "Whoever wants to go, I will let him go." Connor said with a cold smile.

"Huh?" Saint Lean raised his eyebrows and looked at Connor with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Qi Yuan frowned and thought for a while, then nodded slowly: "Yes, let's do it this way. Whoever rushes to go will be the most suspicious."

"Only the three of us know about this." Connor said slowly.