Chapter 111 The Head of Misfortune
That was the most heart-wrenching scene Joyce had ever seen in his life. Even though he later participated in countless tragic battles, he could never forget the scene of that day: the black-haired, black-eyed male insect slowly walked out of the cave holding the bloody Ludwig, as silent as a stone statue, while his teammate who had fought side by side with him for many years was now dead, with his eyes closed.
Just a moment ago they were still discussing who could be promoted to lieutenant general faster after returning to the imperial capital. Ludwig even said that he would invite all his comrades to attend his and Amber's wedding. His usually cold eyes were now filled with tiny starlights, all of which were hopes for the future, but they had completely become an unattainable dream.
Looking back now, that battle was perhaps full of twists and turns from the beginning. The herd of aliens was disturbed by an unknown force, causing the mother body that was originally to be exterminated to disappear without a trace. Not only did the Black Eagle Legion suffer a great defeat, but it also lost a precious male insect and a major general with unlimited prospects.
After the fleet returned to Heiz City, the Empire held a grand funeral for all the fallen soldiers, including Ludwig. Both the Insect Emperor and ordinary citizens felt extremely sorry for his sacrifice. No Insect doubted that if he continued to live, his future achievements would never be lower than any marshal of the Empire.
But some insects seem destined to become history, like a meteor flashing across the sky.
As Ludwig's fiancé, Amber seemed extremely calm from beginning to end. He handled the funeral in an orderly manner. He looked no different from before, except that he had an exquisite iris ring on his right ring finger.
"Sir, although you have already made an engagement with Ludwig, he has already died. I cannot delay you in vain. The insect god is not blessing you. This marriage is cancelled. I hope you can find a female insect that suits your taste in the future."
After Ludwig's funeral, Duke Bach specially invited Amber to his home. It had not been long since they last met, but he seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. He couldn't help coughing while talking, and it was hard to hide his old age and illness.
Seeing this, Amber stood up and poured him a cup of hot water. She patted his back to help him calm down. She said in a low and firm voice: "Although Ludwig and I did not have a wedding, I already regard him as a queen in my heart. Please forgive me. I have no intention of canceling the engagement."
Duke Bach could not hide his surprise when he heard this, because since Ludwig's body was transported back, Amber had not shown any grief throughout the funeral. People said that he was cold-hearted and was ready to cancel the engagement. After all, no male insect on the planet Alicia would remain faithful to his deceased partner. After several days of consideration, he finally made up his mind to cancel the engagement, but he didn't expect Amber to refuse.
Duke Bach said hesitantly: "But if you marry a female insect again in the future, you can only marry a female servant."
Imperial law stipulates that each male insect can only marry one female monarch, and his status is superior to that of any female servant. Therefore, when nobles marry, male insects without female monarchs will always be particularly popular.
Amber said calmly, "I will not marry a female servant. In addition to refusing to break off the engagement, I also want to ask you something."
Duke Bach was stunned when he heard this: "What's the matter?"
Amber looked at him with dark eyes that seemed like a bottomless pool. She asked word by word, "Is Severi back?"
Since the fleet returned to the imperial capital, Amber has not heard any news about Sivley. It's as if he has disappeared from the face of the earth, and even his body cannot be found. But some time ago, she heard that a survey team rescued a female soldier from the bottom of the canyon when they went to investigate the situation of the alien beasts. She is currently recovering in the interstellar hospital. It is very likely that she is Sivley.
Amber was just about to go check out the situation today, but unexpectedly received an invitation from Duke Bach, so she came over.
Duke Bach looked a little confused when he heard this. "Yes, Sivley has returned. Ever since Major General Joyce reported that the herd of aliens was disturbed by an unknown force and fell into disorder, His Majesty sent another exploration team to go there. Unexpectedly, Sivley was found seriously injured at the bottom of the valley."
Amber slowly turned the ring on her ring finger and asked casually, "You should be happy, why do you look so worried?"
In his spare time, he had heard Ludwig mention that Duke Bach particularly favored Siffre over Ludwig.
Duke Bach closed his eyes, the wrinkles on his face were clearly visible under the light, and he seemed to sigh in a trance: "After Ludwig's death, the position of the head of the family was vacant. I don't know when the third prince Numan got in touch with Siflai and wanted to support him in the election for the head of the family, but the Lanyi family has always stood on the side of the fourth prince."
Amber heard the Third Prince and Severus talking together, and frowned slightly: "Do you agree?"
Prince Bach shook his head slowly and said unexpectedly: "No, I object."
He stopped talking and looked at Amber. His blue eyes were like the deep sea, full of experience accumulated over the years. "Are you curious? I favor Sifley more, but I don't want him to be the head of the family?"
Amber didn't answer, just listened to what was going on.
Duke Bach's chest ached, his eyes reddened as he clenched the cane in his hand, his voice hoarse and old: "Among so many younger generations in the family, I love Ludwig the most. He is brave and good at fighting, and he is most like me in my youth. In the future, the entire Lanyi family will be handed over to him, so I have to be strict with him. Siflai has been a deep-minded child since he was a child and it is difficult for him to achieve great things, so I have never disciplined him strictly and let him go. But Ludwig always thinks that I am biased..."
Duke Bach couldn't help choking up for a moment, tears streaming down his face, he said: "Perhaps Ludwig hated my partiality until his death... He hated why he was called a bastard when he was born, why he was covered in wounds on the battlefield, and why he didn't get a word of comfort when he returned home... Even when he was dying, he didn't know that I loved him the most..."
Amber was not the only one who regretted it. Duke Bach felt the same way. In order for Ludwig to be able to shoulder the burden of the family in the future, he had to be extremely strict, but he ignored the pain in Ludwig's heart.
From the moment the twins were born, all the elders in the family showed special favoritism towards Severi, always carrying him for walks and play. Ludwig, who was still a baby at the time, could only sit alone on the steps in a daze, his back a small ball, without crying or making any noise.
He didn't understand why he was different from his brother, nor why he was called a bastard. He could only train hard day after day and fight hard on the battlefield to gain recognition from the outside world.
But he still died on a desolate alien planet, and even before he died, he was probably confused as to why he had never received true love in his life...
It was almost dusk when they left the old house. Amber let out a breath slowly, but her chest did not feel relieved. Instead, it became heavier.
There are only ten days left before the two-month assassination. Amber firmly believes that Sifley will find another chance to kill him, and what he needs to do is to burn his boats and find out what trump card the other party has.
But Amber never thought that he and Severus would meet again at a funeral——
Funeral of Duke Bach.
The Lanyi family's feng shui is probably not very good. Most of the nobles in Heitz City think so. Not long after Major General Ludwig died last month, the only pillar of the family, Duke Bach, also died suddenly of an acute illness. The once prosperous family is about to fall, which is bound to make people sigh.
Amber, wearing a black and white suit, stood with the guests who came to pay their respects, and listened quietly to the priest reading the life story of Duke Bach. He originally had a charming face, but when he was not smiling, he looked a little cold, like the snow on the top of the mountain that never melted. The other female insects were obviously here to attend the funeral, but because of the outstanding appearance of the male insect, they couldn't help but look back frequently.
The nobles of Heitz City originally thought that after Ludwig died in the war, Amber would be impatient to break off the engagement and quickly find another potential stock, but unexpectedly, he attended both Ludwig's funeral and Duke Bach's funeral as a family member.
As for why he was so calm, perhaps he was so sad that he couldn't even cry, and all he felt was despair.
Silver had just been discharged from the hospital, and thanks to the amazing medical technology of the Zerg, there was no trace of injury on his face. He stood on the lawn not far away, staring at Amber with his blue eyes. The innocence he pretended before was no longer seen, only sinister viciousness.
Amber was not in a hurry at all. After all, he just needed to stay alive. The one who should be anxious now was Sifley. If the other party failed to kill him within the remaining few days, the mission would be a failure.
Amber met Severus's sinister gaze with a cold curve on her lips. She lowered her eyes and gently kissed the pinky ring on her right ring finger, with undercurrents and provocations that only they knew about.
Severus had an ugly look on his face, and murderous intent in his eyes became more obvious. Several times he couldn't help but want to go forward and kill Amber, but due to the full guests, he couldn't act rashly. As time became increasingly tight, he gradually lost his patience.
After the funeral, Amber turned and left the venue, but unexpectedly met two unexpected bugs at the corner.
"Mr. Amber, would you mind talking?"
The fourth prince Chuck, who had always lived in seclusion, suddenly called out to Amber. Behind him followed Lusuti with red eyes. They were very close to Ludwig when he was alive. As the younger generation, they also came to attend the death of Duke Bach.
Amber paused when she saw them and said, "Fourth Prince, what's the matter?"
The Fourth Prince looked serious and said, "It's not convenient to talk here. Are you willing to move?"
The other party's tone was mysterious, which inevitably made people wonder if something major had happened. Amber nodded in agreement and followed the Fourth Prince and Lusuti on the aircraft to a more secluded manor.
This is the private property of the Fourth Prince. After Amber sat down at the table, he dismissed the servants and asked pointedly, "Sir, I believe you already know that Duke Bach died suddenly of illness in the middle of the night, but have you ever thought that the reason behind this may not be simple?"
Amber frowned: "You mean, there might be something else behind Duke Bach's death?"
He actually felt something was wrong. Although Duke Bach was devastated by Ludwig's death in the war and his health was deteriorating, he would never be so exhausted that he would die suddenly in just three days.
The fourth prince took a document from Lusuti, placed it on the table and gently pushed it in front of Amber: "In fact, I have always felt that the cause of Duke Bach's death was not simple. Before he was buried, I asked Lusuti to privately examine his body and obtained this autopsy report, which shows that Duke Bach was injected with a large amount of drugs that can cause heart failure before his death, which caused sudden death."
He paused, and his serious voice echoed in the air, which inexplicably made the insect feel heavy: "During this period of time, Duke Bach has been living alone with Siflai in the old house. I heard that other insects in the Lanyi family wanted to nominate Siflai as the head of the family, but they were suppressed by Duke Bach. I suspect that his cause of death is related to Siflai."
Amber took the test report and read it from beginning to end. She lowered her eyes slightly, wondering what she was thinking: "You told me this because you want me to do something?"
The fourth prince actually had no other purpose: "I just want to tell you that Siflai is not a simple bug. You must be careful. I will find a suitable time to send out this report. It would be best if he can be put in jail. Even if he cannot be brought down, he must not be allowed to sit on the position of the head of the family."
Amber suddenly raised her eyes to look at the Fourth Prince: "You seem to be worried that Sifley will turn to support the Third Prince after becoming the head of the family?"
The fourth prince shook his head upon hearing this, with a hint of regret in his eyes. "No, sir, Severi is narrow-minded and unlikely to achieve great things. There is no need to worry about him at all. I just think that the position should have belonged to Ludwig. Even if he died in battle, it would never be Severi's turn."
"Since you have no intention of breaking off the engagement, you are also a member of the Lan Yi family. If you want to compete for the position of head of the family, can I help you?"
The Fourth Prince certainly did not want to see the Lan Yi family turn around and support the Third Prince, but today's reminder and olive branch were more because of his friendship with Ludwig, otherwise he could just stay out of it and wait for Siflai to destroy himself.
Amber smiled and declined, "Thank you, but I don't think I can stay here for much longer."
The fourth prince didn't understand and frowned in confusion: "What do you mean?"
Amber pulled out a chair and stood up: "Leave Sivry to me, you don't have to do it yourself. It's getting late, I'll leave first."
He nodded slightly after he finished speaking, turned around and said goodbye. However, he had only taken two steps when the voice of the Fourth Prince suddenly rang out from behind him.
"Sir, are you really willing to marry only Ludwig and not have any female servants in the future?"
Amber had said this to Duke Bach before. The other party had always had a close relationship with the Fourth Prince, so it was not surprising that the words were passed on.
"yes."
A short word, without any unnecessary explanation.
The fourth prince saw Amber leave, his eyes fell on the iris ring on the male insect's right hand, and he couldn't help but say in amazement: "Lusuti, if Ludwig was still alive, he and Amber would have become a couple that insects envy..."
Lusuti nodded gently: "Yes, they are a good match."
The Fourth Prince thought the same as the outside world. He originally thought that after Ludwig died in the battle, this male insect would immediately break off the engagement and find another one. This was true for all the male insects on Alicia without exception, especially Amber, who did not show any sign of grief.
But the real pain may not be the quarrel, but the dead silence. He and Lusuti have been secretly paying attention to Amber until she rejected Duke Bach's request to cancel the engagement, and then they realized that the truth may not be what they seemed.
Amber walked out of the Fourth Prince's manor, politely declined the other party's request for a driver to escort him, and called a plane with the terminal. He stood by the road with his hands in his coat pockets waiting, and soon saw a black plane slowly landing on the roadside from the sky. In the cockpit sat a middle-aged female insect with a dull face, messy hair, and looked unkempt.
The driver asked, "Is this the aircraft you called? Terminal number xxxx."
Amber glanced at him with an inexplicable look: "Yes."
The cabin door opened and Amber sat in. There was a crystal aromatherapy in the cabin. The light sweet fragrance made people drowsy. He quietly raised his collar and lowered his head to cover his mouth and nose: "Change the destination and go directly to Ryan Mountain."
It was a suburban cemetery outside the main city. Few insects would go there, especially in the middle of the night. The driver looked at Amber a little strangely, but didn't say much. He drove the aircraft towards the destination.
The journey was quite long. Amber leaned against the back of the chair with her eyes closed, her head slightly tilted, as if she had fallen asleep. She did not wake up until the landing.
The driver parked the aircraft, got off and walked around to the back of the aircraft, opened the cabin door and called softly: "Sir? Sir? We have arrived at the place you want to go."
Amber didn't respond.
Seeing this, the driver reached out to push him. Under the cover of darkness, he suddenly had a gun in his empty hand. With a sinister look in his eyes, he was ready to pull the trigger. However, Amber, who had fallen into a deep sleep, suddenly opened her eyes, grabbed his wrist, pulled back the muzzle of the gun, and shot the driver in the abdomen.
"Bang!"
The deafening sound of gunfire echoed through the forest, and the driver stumbled back a few steps, his face pale. He raised his hands and ripped hard at his ears, and actually peeled off a piece of human skin mask, revealing a familiar face with blond hair and blue eyes.
"S.F.L.."
Amber read out the visitor's name word by word in a low voice. He got off the aircraft, and there was a soft sword prepared in advance hidden on his waist. With a flash of cold light, the sword blade pierced through the wind.
Seeing this, Sivley hid behind a tree in panic. A strange voice echoed in the air:
[Ding! Use a Painless card! ]
When that strange voice fell, Sifley seemed to lose his sense of pain instantly. He ignored the bleeding wound on his abdomen and rushed over to fight with Amber, using every move to kill her.
In addition to giving Severus the ability to be fearless of pain, this card also seems to have significantly improved his speed and strength. When Amber was fighting, she clearly felt that the opponent was much stronger. The speed of her attacks became faster and faster, and the sword shadows flew, leaving countless wounds on Severus' body.
Amber had long discovered that Sifley's life-saving skills were all time-limited. Once the time was up, they could no longer be used, so she deliberately dodged to waste time.
One minute passed.
Ten minutes passed.
Half an hour passed.
Amber failed to kill Severus, and Severus failed to touch the corner of Amber's clothes. When the clock pointed to eleven o'clock, Severus suddenly screamed in pain, fell heavily to the ground, groaned and covered his wound, and his whole body trembled violently.
Apparently, his "painlessness" ability was gone.
Amber immediately drew her sword and chopped at his neck fiercely, but Severus suddenly screamed: "If you kill me, you will die too!!!"
The sword stopped just inches away from the neck.
Amber's eyes were cold: "What tricks are you trying to play?!"
Severus didn't care about the pain, he rolled and crawled back, spewing out a mixture of truth and lies: "Amber, if you kill me you will die too! You will definitely die! I have nothing to do with Ludwig's death. You are still young, and you are an S-rank male insect. You will never be able to find any female insect you want in the future. How about this, we ask for peace? How about asking for peace? I won't kill you, and you don't kill me either!"
Silver had tried every possible means to implant a surveillance program in Amber's terminal, disguised himself as a driver to lure her into the trap, and even put a large dose of hypnosis in the aircraft. However, despite such a meticulous plan, he still couldn't defeat Amber.
Amber originally thought that Sivley was talking nonsense, but she didn't expect the system to appear in mid-air at some point and said with certainty: [If you kill him, you will die.]
Amber sneered softly: "I've never been afraid of death."
He only cared about one thing.
"Can 10,000 points really allow me to start over?"
The system's figure floated up and down for a moment, with a somewhat "glad nod" meaning: [Okay, but you don't need to waste a precious opening opportunity. ]
Such an opportunity is invaluable to every missioner. Even if Amber doesn't kill Sifley now, she can still succeed as long as she lives safely for two months. There is no need to waste the opportunity for some irrelevant hatred.
“Sizzle!”
However, the system was too late to speak. There was a sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh and blood. Amber suddenly thrust out the long sword in her hand and chopped Severi's head fiercely. Scorching blood spurted out from his neck, splashing Amber's face with mottled bloodstains. The man's handsome face was full of frost, like a Shura in the dark night.
"But I want him to die."
Amber replied calmly.
The hand holding the sword grew extremely cold under the invasion of darkness, only the iris ring on his ring finger was faintly hot. In a trance, he seemed to hear a distant yet familiar reminder tone from the sky, and then all the strength in his body was drained away in an instant, and he fell to his knees with a thud.
[Ding! Activate a Together Ends card! ]
Sivley's last trump card is to die together. This card is only aimed at Amber. If Sivley is killed by him, Amber will go to hell with him. No wonder he said that if he died, Amber would die too!
Amber felt like a plant on the verge of withering, with her blood drying up, her muscles atrophying, and her strength gone. It was as if an invisible hand had taken away her breath, and her body began to disintegrate, turning into dust and dissipating bit by bit.
Amber's face turned pale, and he looked up with difficulty at the rolling hills in the distance. The night was endless, and he could no longer tell where Ludwig was buried, nor how he could sleep alone forever.
"Ludwig..."
Amber closed her eyes and spoke in a low voice.
"I told you...we will meet again..."
A gust of wind blew past, and his figure was blown away like snow, leaving no trace. Only the black heart was suspended in the air, reciting the same routine in a cold mechanical voice:
[Ding! The host uses the restart opportunity, and the game starts again! ]
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