For the first time in his life, he actually felt fearful of a person.
The scenario where Seth pointed to his heart and calmly said, "It is empty here!" kept repeating itself in Rody’s mind.
As a normal person, Rody really could not imagine how horrifying it would be if a human were to entirely lose the ability to feel emotions.
They no longer talked on the way back. After returning to the Summer Palace, they gave a simple narration of what had happened at the banquet. When everybody joked again about Seth dressing up as a woman, Rody no longer laughed together with them like he used to.
Instinctively, he observed Seth’s reaction. Sure enough, when Mouse said she would continue to apply makeup for Seth, Seth showed an expression of anger. And when everybody was making fun of him, Seth displayed a helpless expression right on time.
'Are all his reactions really acted out? Are they all just fake?'
'It would be frightening if such a person is my enemy...'
Perhaps only Seth, who was born extremely cold-blooded and logical, could plot such a large conspiracy. He seemed to have considered everyone in his plot. If it was not because he had ‘accidentally’ miscalculated, the Radiant Empire would have become Seth's world!
It was difficult to imagine that Seth, who plotted that large 'wild’ scheme, did not have any ‘wild ambition’. It was simply his rationality telling him what to do...
With such a complicated mood, Rody was naturally taciturn. Mouse noticed that Rody was acting strangely. However, Rody hesitated and did not tell Mouse about what Seth had told him in the carriage.
At night, just before bedtime, Rody gently hugged Mouse and smelled the fragrance of her hair. He could not help but think, 'We could feel each other’s love like this. We are truly blessed.'
Rody’s room was on the top floor of the Summer Palace. The room was very spacious and was constructed according to the architectural style of the Sauron Kingdom. It had a rugged style with a thick, red carpet, causing the room to have metallic ambience.
Rody was in low spirits when he recalled Seth’s words. He drew open the curtains completely at the windows and the balcony to let the cool breeze blow into all the corners of the room.
As it gradually got later into the night, Rody continued to lie down on the bed, unable to sleep. The curtains were blown by the wind and its shadows fell onto the wall. Rody's body suddenly felt cold.
A trace of distinct and fierce murderous aura entered the room from the outside. That murderous aura was like an actual entity lightly pricking Rody’s back!
Rody became tense and suddenly jumped up from the bed. He stood on the carpet barefooted and looked seriously at the balcony outside.
There was a large balcony outside the Summer Palace. Rody grabbed his scimitar from the bed and quickly walked out.
It was a dark night and almost no star was visible in the sky. Rody stood there only to see a tall and slender figure standing on the railings of the balcony. The figure’s black cloak and long hair fluttered in the dark of the night.
The figure stood quietly on one of the handles of the railing. Underneath that person’s feet was the sculpture of a tiger head. Her arms were folded at her chest.
Rody immediately felt the murderous aura emitted from the figure become sharper. He was surprised. Although he did not know where that person came from, for a person to have such a condensed murderous aura, she was definitely very strong.
"Who are you?" Rody whispered.
The silhouette smiled. The night wind blew her hair away and revealed her face. She had a very seductive face with prominent features. Her face was full of a wild woman’s charm. Generally speaking, a woman with that kind of face was peerlessly enchanting. However, her eyes were icy cold as if it was devoid of human emotions. It was sharp and piercing. That unique contrast gave Rody a weird feeling. It was obviously a face that could make men go crazy, but looking at them also gave people an intimidating feeling.
"Who are you, actually?" Rody asked again when the figure did not reply.
Rody suddenly felt the fierce murderous aura beside him and dodged instinctively. He could see from the corners of his eyes a brilliant ray of light appeared in the space at the side. It moved at a speed that Rody was unable to completely dodge. Rody swung with a backhand strike to block the attack. There was a clashing sound. The huge impact caused Rody to step forward. When he looked at the railings again, the figure had gradually become obscured.
"Shit, it’s an afterimage!" Rody cursed himself for being careless.
A cold voice then came from behind Rody. "Does the person who killed Ni Lin only have such degree of strength?"
Rody then heard a cleaving sound come from behind him. Rody reacted extremely fast. As soon as he slipped out, he saw a cold blade slash the empty space near his ribs. The chill from the sharp sword gave Rody goose pimples.
"Are you also an Snow Dragon?" Rody sneered as he gave a backhand slash. His body bent in an arch as he slashed. There was the sound of an explosion as his bed was cut into two. Somehow, his mysterious opponent had dodged his strike.
So fast!
Rody was shocked. Relying on his aura, he could tell that his opponent had already moved to the right the moment he swung his sword. Without having the time to think, Rody immediately turned around and brandished his scimitar in a circle. A cold laughter then came from the room. Rody’s scimitar once again slashed at nothing. The swift and fierce wind created a deep cut in the wall as the broken stones fell to the ground.
Rody’s opponent had already returned to the balcony and stood on the railings. Her slender sword was pointing towards the ground. Her elegant face exposed a mocking smile.
At that moment, Rody had completely calmed down. He took a deep breath and asked, "Who are you actually? Did you come here to kill me?"
"I…" The moment the figure started to speak, Rody had already rushed forward.
Rody was no longer careless this time. He instantly moved to the front of the figure and directly slashed down. Rody could clearly see the surprised expression on that person’s face. It seemed like the figure did not expect Rody to move so quickly. The figure had only lifted her sword halfway when Rody’s sword had already cut down from above her head.
There was a muffled cutting sound. Rody immediately felt something strange. The scimitar seemed to cut through easily as if there was no resistance at all. With that slash, the silhouette in front of him immediately separated into two halves. However, he noticed the thing that was cut into two was the black cloak. The torn cloak fluttered in the wind like a butterfly but the figure was not there.
"Hmph, Split Body Technique!" Rody sneered. "I wondered why you were quick. Well, it was Split Body Technique!"
A grim laughter came from behind Rody. "You only just noticed?"
Rody turned around and this time he could see the opponent clearly in front of him.
She was slender and almost as tall as Rody. Rody had never met such a tall woman before. Her black cloak had already been cut and at the moment, she could be seen wearing a set of skintight golden armor. Its style was similar to a Paladin's and yet it was slightly different.
As if it was a piece of shoddy work, the armor only covered the important parts of her body. As if it was intentional, her slender waist and half of her well-endowed chest were exposed. Only one-third of her legs were covered with the calves exposed.
"Are you a Paladin? Are you also a Dragon?" Rody narrowed his eyes and coldly looked at the woman in front of him. "You just used the afterimage of the Split Body Technique. Are you a Wind Dragon?"
"My name is Ars.Lan! I am a Paladin of the Temple. You have guessed correctly. I really am a Dragon," she smiled calmly and added, "or rather, I should say that I am also a Dragon like you!"
Rody coldly said, "Paladin of the Temple, why did you look for me in the middle of the night? Are you here to assassinate me?"
Rody smiled wryly as he looked at the scimitar in his hand. A thin layer of frozen ice could be seen on his scimitar. Rody frowned and said, "Could it be you are not a Wind Dragon? Are you a Snow Dragon?"
Ars.Lan smiled with ridicule and slowly took a few steps back. "Come and try out for yourself."
"Fine!" Rody answered in a simple manner and attacked in an even more straightforward manner.
Rody opened up his domain without any hesitation. The entire room became a world of flames. The surrounding furniture, curtains and tattered bed sheets all started to burn. As the sparks danced in the air and the flame tongues waved, Rody pointed his scimitar at his opponent and said, "I would like to see your capability!"
Unexpectedly, the woman, whom Rody thought to be an Snow Dragon, gave a relaxed smile. It seemed as though the flames around her did not make her feel uncomfortable. As she laughed, she burst into a reddish flame!
Both Rody and his opponent stood to face each other as if they were two balls of fire in the burning domain created by Rody
"You are not an Snow Dragon? Are you a Fire Dragon?" Rody was really surprised. This woman actually had the ability to have two attributes at the same time.
No, she actually used wind-based Split Body Technique earlier...This meant that she had wind, fire and snow attributes—three attributes!
Ars.Lan showed a cold and arrogant expression as she spoke, "I initially wanted to cross swords with you. I wanted to know how strong the man who could kill three Dragon warriors is. However, I did not come here for this today."
Rody asked, "What other reasons could there be for a person from the Temple to look for me?"
Ars.Lan coldly looked at Rody and lightly asked, "Is this how a renowned Domain Master treat his guest? I only came here to convey a few important messages. Is the Earl interested in listening?"
Rody gave a faint smile and instantly removed his domain. He then said, "Speak!"
Ars.Lan gently smiled and said, "The Pontiff told me to tell you that he really admires you and hopes to have the opportunity to meet and talk with you."
"What does that mean?" Rody showed an expression of disdain.
Ars.Lan shook her head and replied, "Idiot, what are the benefits for the Radiant Empire to help these Kingdoms? The Pontiff means that there are no permanent enemies or friends in this world!" She looked into Rody’s eyes and coldly said, "Your friends could become your enemies at any time. Your enemies could also become your friends at any time."
Rody then asked, "So what about it?"
Ars.Lan smiled and softly said, "The Pontiff sincerely invites Your Excellency the Earl to go to the Temple when it is convenient for you."
Rody's gaze suddenly shrunk. Unable to figure out the other party’s real intention, he said, "Between the Temple and us…"
At that juncture, a loud noise came from outside. Ars.Lan then coldly said, "Today is not a good time to talk. Rody, I will come and see you again! Do not tell anyone else about this!"
After she had finished, her figure transformed into a lightning and quickly flew away from Rody’s room, disappearing into the night.
Rody had the opportunity to stop her when she was leaving the room but for some reason, he did not do so. He frowned as he recalled the woman’s words. "There are no permanent enemies..."
Bang! There was a loud sound as the door crashed down and Mouse had already rushed in. The room was a mess and everything inside were burnt into ruins. Rody stood there, holding his scimitar. He seemed to be lost in thought.
"What’s wrong?" Mouse walked in with large strides. She grabbed Rody’s hand and asked, "What happened just now?"
After that, old Mark and the others arrived. Rody hesitated for a moment and did not offer any more details. He just said, "Just now, somebody came to assassinate me. It was one of the Paladins of the Temple!"
Mouse was startled. "A Paladin? Who is it? Is it…"
Rody gently hugged Mouse and whispered, "Don’t worry, it was not Augustine or Fielding. She is of the Dragon race."
"Where is the assassin?" Old Mark frowned as he looked at the room. There were obvious traces of a battle.
Rody shook his head and lightly replied, "She escaped."
Old Mark frowned but he did not say anything. He simply gave Rody a profound look before turning around to leave. Seth was standing in the doorway and looked at Rody as he smiled. His smile was a little strange. He then looked at Mouse, shook his head and left.
Rody saw that Mouse seemed worried. He felt apologetic so he reassured her. "Don’t worry, I am fine. She cannot hurt me."
Mouse became angry and said, "The Elder Council still would not give up?"
Rody shook his head and softly said, "The guards outside would arrive soon. This room cannot be used anymore. Let us change rooms first. I have something to tell you."
Mouse looked at Rody and suddenly blushed. They then left for Mouse’s room.
"That Pontiff, what kind of person is he?" The moment they entered the room, Rody immediately closed the door behind him and asked.
Ever since Mouse led Rody into her room, her face was red. However, when Rody suddenly asked that question, she became startled. She then thought for a moment and replied, "I guess you are asking about the Chief Elder of the Elders Council. He…" She frowned and thought before replying, "He is a complicated man."
"Complicated?" Rody looked puzzled as he pulled Mouse's hands and sat down. He instinctively sat down on Mouse’s bed. He then froze for a moment and blushed. After that, he stood up and looked at Mouse in embarrassment.
Since the reunion of the two, although the love in their hearts deepened, their intimate actions were limited to hugging and kissing only. Besides that, there were also others around. Mouse had grown up in the Temple and was conservative and shy. As a result, they did not have gone deeper in their relationship.
At that moment, the two of them were on their own in the room. As they were both sitting on Mouse’s bed at the same time, he felt somewhat nervous.
Mouse noticed Rody’s predicament and she turned so red as if her face was bleeding. She bit her lips and said in a voice so soft that it was almost inaudible, "You…Come and sit down."
Rody sighed and sat down again beside Mouse. He pulled her into his arms and softly said, "Idiot, I do not have other thoughts. I just have something to ask."
Mouse hung her head and softly replied, "I…I know."
When Rody saw Mouse hung down her head, his heart was filled with tenderness. He could not hold himself back from touching her face with his hands and lightly kissing her lips before softly saying, "That’s enough. Why should both of us be embarrassed? It is already destined. Yet we seem to be surreptitious."
Mouse giggled. "Your words are too offensive. What do you mean surreptitious?"
Rody laughed happily. He wrapped one arm around Mouse’s waist and whispered, "The question I asked earlier. That Chief Elder, what kind of person is he?"
Mouse finally calmed down and said, "He is a very complicated man! Although I do not have a good opinion of him, I must admit that he is really amazing!"