211 A Gamble in the Dark One

Thales rubbed his temple in pain.

He suddenly found that his trip to Northland, which originally had a clear and distinct aim, was once again be shrouded in a cloud of confusion.

The awkward part was, 'his people' from Constellation were the ones who had put him in this predicament.

He really did not know how to react.

Should he shout at the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department and tell them how lousy they were?

"It is just as we've mentioned earlier," Raphael's voice rang steadily. "Our predetermined choice of person successfully provoked the Blood Calamity. Following our plan, the Blood Calamity then found Ramon."

Thales furrowed his brows.

'Predetermined choice of person.

'Does Black Sword know that he was also a chess piece?'

"However, the Blood Calamity acted very strangely, unleashing its strength without any regard for the consequences. We estimated the gap in ability between it and that person beforehand. The Blood Calamity didn't need to do that at all."

"It's strange," Morat's hoarse voice rang from the disgusting black hole on Raphael's hand. He seemed to be hinting at something. "That murderous demon has always been very clever… What on earth made it willingly risk its own life?"

Having heard this, Little Rascal glanced at Thales curiously. Thales glared at her with furrowed brows, and she stopped.

'Damn it.'

Thales swore that he was trying his best to control his movements and expressions so as to not expose himself.

'Me.'

'Giza Streelman had acted out of character…' he thought.

'… because of me, and Asda.

'Such a horrible situation…'

Feeling his increasing heartbeat, Thales maintained a stoic expression without saying anything.

"Perhaps that person's ability exceeded our expectations, and he was able to rival the calamity," Raphael said in a low voice. "He improves very quickly, just so you know."

Thales' heart sank. The callous figure who wielded his sword in one hand appeared in Thales' mind.

Finally, after a few seconds of silence, the Black Prophet spoke.

"We will postpone this matter for now," the Black Prophet said slowly. His tone sounded contemplative and flat. "I have a feeling that there's more to the truth than this, and it's definitely very interesting… The Blood Calamity, hehe."

Having heard this while he was trying his best to keep up his disguise, Thales inhaled deeply.

'They make it sound as though...

'As though the Mystics are chess pieces that can be manipulated according to their whims.'

The scene of Asda sitting in the chess room at Red Street Market and quietly moving the chess pieces that night suddenly crossed Thales' mind.

'The Air Mystic and the Blood Mystic…

'Sometimes insane and sometimes sagacious, they possess immense, almost unparalleled power.

'Just like that, countless lives in Shield District…' Thales remembered Giza's blood and flesh monsters, as well as Asda's strange air currents.

'There are actually people who see them as… chess pieces?

'And…' Thales could not help but lower his head and glance at his palm…

He stared at the wound he inflicted using his dagger. It had already closed up, and it was starting to scab.

"What do you mean?" Scratching his head, Kohen blinked in bewilderment. "Why would the act of unleashing its strength put the Mystic's life at risk?"

"Don't ask." Hiding his expression behind the darkness, Raphael nonchalantly said, "The handling of calamities is the business of the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department."

"Oh, come on." Kohen furrowed his brows and said in annoyance, "A few hundred years ago, there were people in my family who worked in the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department. At that time, the Secret intelligence Department—"

"Young Master Karabeyan!" Raphael suddenly cut the police officer off.

"That is precisely why. It is precisely because of the history between your family and the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department that…" Raphael gave Kohen a profound stare. His red eyes glimmered in the dark, causing Kohen to swallow the remainder of his words. "You should keep a distance from the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department.

"This is sincere advice."

The black hole on his hand quivered a little.

Kohen froze, and was immediately at a loss for words.

Miranda stared at Raphael as though she was deep in thought.

"And then?" Worried that they would dwell too long on the topic, Thales immediately cut them off. "What have these accidents resulted in?"

Keeping watch by the door, Wya peeked through the crack between the door and its frame. He turned his head and signaled to Ralf that he could be at ease.

Raphael sighed. "Due to the calamity's insanity, Shield District was destroyed, and trying to stop it, the White Blade Guards were dealt a devastating blow. Consequently, King Nuven had very little troops left in Dragon Clouds City. He didn't even have enough defenses by his side.

"King Nuven died too soon, and Black Sand Region won too easily." The young man from the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department continued, "Right now, the entire of Dragon Clouds City is in chaos. We no longer have control over the situation there."

"Wasn't this your exact plan? To paralyze Nuven the Seventh's defense system," Treated unfairly earlier, Kohen spoke with a disgusted expression.

"That was indeed why we lured the calamity here," Raphael said calmly. "But the process was not supposed to be like this."

Miranda raised her brows. "Process?"

Raphael nodded. "Based on the original plan, there should have be an equilibrium of power between Dragon Clouds City and Black Sand Region from beginning to end. King Nuven and Chapman Lampard should have been standing in equilibrium on both sides of the balance."

Thales thought of something.

"What do you mean?" Puzzled, Thales raised his head. "Wasn't your initial intention to assist Lampard in assassinating King Nuven?"

Raphael stared profoundly at Thales. His expression was stern.

The black hole on his arm wiggled slightly. The fangs around it rubbed against each other as if they had lives of their own.

Miranda could not help but furrow her eyebrows.

"Of course not… Not completely," Raphael said solemnly. "It's just as I've mentioned. The aim of Dragon's Blood isn't vengeance and murder, but chaos… This is so that Eckstedt can barely look after itself.

"The Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department did not work together with Lampard to help him. We planned for an assassination, but we did not necessarily want King Nuven dead."

At that moment, it was as if a trail of sparks flashed through Thales' mind.

"But King Nuven died too soon," he muttered as the scene of King Nuven's head falling to the ground replayed again and again in his mind. "Therefore, Black Sand Region won too easily, correct?"

He knew what was going on now.

Raphael stared at Thales with a solemn expression. He slowly nodded after a few seconds.

Everyone else looked confused, but there was a flicker in the eyes of the sharp-minded Miranda. She subconsciously asked, "You mean that the winner between Lampard and Nuven shouldn't have been decided so early on?"

"Damn it, can all of you speak in the common language so that I can understand what's going on?" Kohen punched his right shoulder hard. "You mentioned that the accidents were related to the calamity and Lampard. So, how would the plan have gone without any incident?"

Staring at the person who used to be in the same cohort as him, Raphael could not help but recall the image Kohen used to exude. Back in the tower, he was always roaring furiously and waving his sword around.

'It looks like this man has improved as well.

'I wonder if it's because of his experience at the Western Frontlines, the police station, or both.'

Raphael sighed and spoke,

"If Eckstedt was a fierce pack of wolves, what we wanted to do yesterday was to help one of the wolves challenge the alpha. We wanted the other wolves in the pack to watch clearly as they fight to death.

"To achieve this aim, we had to make sure that the fight was brutal and long enough, with an equilibrium of power between the two wolves. We didn't want to create a new alpha wolf."

Morat remained silent on the other side of the black hole. Instead, he quietly waited for his student to do the explaining.

Raphael's pupils contracted slightly. At this moment, Thales raised his head and stared into Raphael's eyes.

"According to our plan, whenever the balance is skewed to one side during Nuven and Lampard's duel, we would assist the other party." Raphael nodded lightly at the second prince. "To ensure that the fight doesn't end too soon.

"For example, if Lampard's conspiracy is exposed before time, we would give him information that makes his next move more convenient. On the other hand, if King Nuven is at a disadvantage in this coup, we would help him using special tactics. We would act in accordance to the situation until both parties are battered, and one of them emerged victorious."

Having a headache, Kohen sighed and said, "Having said so much… between Walton and Lampard, between the Dragon Spear and the Iron Fist, who did all of you want to win?"

Looking at the police officer, Raphael's gaze was fierce, and his expression was solemn. It gave Kohen a scare.

"The winning party wasn't important.

"The main point was in the deadly duel between the two, as the third party, the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department held a small bargaining chip that was insignificant yet able to affect the equilibrium of the balance. Once both parties shed their last drop of blood, we would achieve our desired result," Raphael said seriously. "Based on the situation of fight, the Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Department would then choose the survivor of this deadly duel depending on who's victory would benefit Constellation more."

"Choose?" Thales' expression changed. "Whose choice would it be?"

Turning his head towards Thales, the gaze in Raphael's eyes was firm.

"Mine."