Eternal Thief

The Midnight Duke’s thoughts scattered, ’Was it an illusion, or a formation blind spot? No, perhaps a recording error?!’

Without hesitation and filled with disbelief, he replayed the scene once more, but the same outcome occurred, and seeing this, his face beneath the mask went pale.

He remained in that state for an unknown time, and before he could decide on a response, a cold, dominant voice exploded directly within his mind.

“Did you see it?!”

The Midnight Duke nearly jolted from his dais. Had his mind not already been in turmoil, he would never have reacted so visibly.

Nonetheless, he knew who that voice belonged to, and he immediately knelt within his own consciousness, suppressing the chaos in his mind.

“Y-your Majesty Evernight Fiend King…” His voice, though controlled, carried unmistakable shock. “Are you speaking about… Nomad?”

The presence of the Evernight Fiend King loomed over his thoughts like a blazing inferno, and the Midnight Duke knew that reason behind it because, for the first time since the trial began, the Hunter’s Hunt was no longer proceeding according to the Evernight Fiend King’s design.

“So, you know, good!” The Evernight Fiend King paid no attention to Midnight Duke’s current state as if he himself was suppressing his own unease, “I want you to contact the Corpse Governor and figure out if they have captured Nomad or not. If they had, I want him back no matter what!

“But if they hadn’t, then you make sure you wouldn’t give any hints or even remotely imply anything related to this. I don’t have to tell you that this is an extremely important mission which can break the stalemate between those filthy Undead and us!”

The Evernight Fiend King was extremely domineering, and there was also a sense of urgency and a hint of ecstasy in his voice because he loathed the Undead Race to the core of every Evernight King, as a matter of fact.

Now that they had learned about Nomad’s uncanny ability to enter the Undead Boundary, he had turned from insignificant to an essential component that the Evernight Council must have.

After all, the Evernight Council has been eyeing the resources of the Undead Cradle for a long time now, and even if they can’t get inside the Undead Boundary, they knew that place was the core of the secret realm, and also where the most important treasures of the realm lies especially the knowledge related to the Undead Boundary.

The Evernight Council, after getting defeat after defeat and no crackdown at the Undead Boundary, wanted to assimilate it within their own Evernight Sanctuary, and if they succeeded, they would be truly invincible within the Abyss of Wandering Souls.

But they first need to gain access to its core location, and they have never been able to do it until today, when they finally saw a glimmer of hope.

The Midnight Duke also senses the great urgency behind the Evernight Fiend King’s voice, and he could easily guess the reason.

“B-but your majesty, since Nomad can enter the Undead Boundary, doesn’t this mean he’s probably part of the Undead Race?” The Midnight Duke hesitantly revealed his own worries.

Even the Evernight Kings’ trail of thoughts was similar, and they also suspected Nomad to be a hidden Undead Race cultivator pretending to be an Ash-Flame Fiend.

“Why are you asking so many questions?” The Evernight Fiend King coldly retorted, “Let us worry about whether he’s a member of Undead Race or not once we capture him. Right now, you need to do everything in your power to get him back if those filthy Undead had found him.”

The Midnight Duke was speechless as he anxiously said, “Your majesty, if they truly discovered him, I don’t think they’ll let him leave because they also won’t allow an outsider who can enter their previously ’impenetrable’ fortress freely. They’ll probably decide to go to war with us just to make sure he won’t leave, no matter what!”

“Bastard!” The Evernight Fiend King cursed as rage and unease became apparent in his voice, making the Midnight Duke’s heart tremble because he knew what kind of temper the Evernight Fiend King had.

“I don’t care how you do it, I want to know if they have him, and if they don’t, make sure they won’t discover him because if they do, I’ll break your every bone and cripple you for a thousand years!”

With his violent threat, the Evernight Fiend King cut off the connection, leaving the appalled Midnight Duke sweating. Midnight Duke might hold an esteemed position among the King’s Circle, but he was still nothing but a child in front of an Evernight King!

The Midnight Duke finally grasped the severity of his situation and forgot all about the mystery behind Nomad’s uncanny ability. He finally got the chance to see his subordinates, who were also looking at him with dazed expressions.

His anger flared up as his pressure descended on the entire hidden space as he roared, “Bunch of idiots! What are you wasting time on by looking at me!? Go and handle the trial properly without any mistakes. I have something else to handle. Oh, and I don’t want anyone to speak any word of what you just saw, or I’ll break every bone in your bodies and cripple you forever!”

Without giving grace to the trembling subordinates, the Midnight Duke vanished from his dais as he was rushing towards the ’neutral point’ between the Evernight Council and Corpse Clan.

—

“Have everyone turned into fools these nights?!”

The Evernight Fiend King couldn’t help but curse loudly after cutting off his connection with the Midnight Duke.

The Evernight Devil King wryly said, “First Brother, don’t blame little Midnight, even we couldn’t wrap our minds around this current situation, so how could he have remained composed?”

“Hmph!” The Evernight Fined King grunted in displeasure but didn’t retort.

At this moment, the Evernight Devil King looked at the throne of the Evernight Demon King, which was apparently empty at this moment, and solemnly stated, “Now we can only hope the third sister’s plan works. We have to get Nomad back!”