Lord of Rot

When Leech came down from the battlements, the two even parted to let him pass.

Leech was long used to this. ’Growing young again? It seems to be true,’ he thought.

If the old monkey really could leave his sickbed and grow young again, Leech would be the one with the biggest headache. They were already implacable enemies; the longer the old monkey lived, the more mentally drained Leech would become.

After descending the wall, he entered the inner keep.

Using the memories of Guy and Shell Little Bill, Leech already had a detailed map of Shanzhang Castle in his mind. He headed straight for the old monkey Wells Bill’s room.

He hadn’t gone far when a young woman emerged from a blind corner in the distance, lifting her skirts as she walked toward him.

It was Annel Bill, La Bill’s younger sister.

She was also Guy’s paternal half-sister.

She had once been engaged to Guy Marvin, but after he was cursed by the Water Nymph and underwent a drastic transformation, the Bills called off the wedding.

As she approached from the distance, her eyes were fixed on Leech.

Her gaze lingered on Leech for just a moment before quickly darting away.

They brushed past each other, but Leech suddenly felt something was wrong. He subconsciously unslung the Dragon-Slaying Greatsword from his back and barred Annel Bill’s path with it.

Annel Bill froze, stopping in her tracks.

Her body was trembling slightly.

”You can see me,” Leech stated with certainty.

Although Annel’s act was good, one movement gave her away: she looked away too quickly.

The Pot of Invisibility only lowered Leech’s presence, making people subconsciously ignore him.

But Annel’s reaction just now had been as if she truly couldn’t see Leech at all.

Lowered presence wasn’t the same as true invisibility.

Of course, that was just speculation. The real giveaway was her reaction when Leech raised his greatsword to block her.

While wearing the Pot of Invisibility, one absolutely could not attack or make any hostile gestures, or its effect would be instantly nullified.

’I drank a Lucky Potion,’ Leech thought, feeling as if he’d swallowed a dud. ’If I were truly lucky, shouldn’t I have coincidentally avoided her?’

He quickly put away his sword and cane.

He shot his left hand out to cover her mouth and his right to grab her by the neck.

Pulling her into his arms, he lowered his head, inhaling the faint scent of her perfume. ”Miss Annel,” he whispered, ”please cooperate. Otherwise, I might do something very drastic.”

She nodded lightly.

”Much appreciated.” Leech let go.

It wouldn’t have mattered if she had screamed her head off. Worst-case scenario, he would just detonate the Alchemy Bombs.

If he couldn’t assassinate his target, he’d just annihilate everyone.

Annel struggled to calm her voice. She looked at the figure with a pot on his head and asked, ”Are you Lord Leech?”

”You know me?” Leech was taken aback.

’Has my look become that famous already?’

”I heard Guy was working with you,” she began, analyzing the situation aloud. ”He’s been holding Longship Castle, but my brother La took a force to besiege it. If you were truly allies, you would surely be at Longship Castle helping him. I assume you’ve come for my father, hoping to coerce him into forcing La to withdraw his troops.”

”You’re very clever,” Leech nodded, ”but you’ve got a few things wrong.”

His hand came to rest lightly on Annel’s neck, a clear reminder that he could snap it at any moment. ”First,” he said, ”Guy swore his allegiance to me. We aren’t ’working together.’”

”Second,” he continued, ”La Bill is already dead. His surviving soldiers are now my prisoners. You have lost. Completely.”

”And third!”

Leech said, ”I’m here to kill your father.”

Annel’s body, which had been trembling slightly, suddenly stilled. ”You can’t kill him.”

She didn’t quite believe his first two statements, especially the second, but she believed the third.

The sound of footsteps approached from the distance—patrolling soldiers.

Leech released Annel and let himself fade back into his low-presence state.

When the soldiers approached, they stopped upon seeing Annel and greeted her. ”Yarrn, miss!”

”Yarrn,” Annel replied calmly.

Once the soldiers had passed, Annel turned her head to look at Leech. ”Aren’t you going to ask me why I said you can’t kill him?”

’Looks like the Pot of Invisibility really is useless against her.’

”I’m actually more interested in why you can see me,” Leech said, pointing to the Pot of Invisibility on his head.

’For the pot to fail, especially in front of an ordinary girl, is somewhat incredible.’

”Because, like Guy, I’ve also obtained a miraculous power,” Annel said. ”I’ve gained the ability to sense danger.”

Regardless of how Guy obtained his abilities, he was, first and foremost, a Transcendent.

’But Annel doesn’t have the slightest trace of a Transcendent’s aura. Unless she can hide it, or her power surpasses my own, it’s impossible for her to seem like an ordinary person.’

Leech quickly moved past the topic. He didn’t believe Annel, just as she didn’t believe him. Instead, he asked, ”Why can’t I kill your father?”

”Because he’s becoming more and more dangerous,” Annel said. ”The sense of danger I get from him is far greater than what I feel from you right now.”

Their conversation was strangely calm—one man intending to kill her father, the other woman calmly explaining why he couldn’t.

The atmosphere was eerily quiet.

’Far more than me?’

Leech quickly contacted the Water Nymph. ’Is there anyone in this castle above the Extraordinary realm?’ he asked.

’No.’

’That’s a relief.’

’Perhaps this is where the Lucky Potion’s effect kicked in.’