This particular night in Buckland felt unusually long, so long that many people never saw that round red sun drive away the darkness.
Snow began to fall again, more urgently than before, quickly covering the streets with a thin white blanket.
The vagrants who had already found it hard to fall asleep were disturbed by the snow. One after another, they lost all drowsiness, got up, and tried to find a warm place to take shelter.
After wandering for a while in the dark streets, they were drawn by clusters of firelight. There were people, quite a lot of them, carrying firewood and piling it up in an open area, lighting bonfires. On top of the firewood lay one corpse after another.
Many people had died on the streets during the day. Some took advantage of the cold, snowy night to cremate the bodies overnight, so as to prevent the breeding of terrible plagues.
This was a real occurrence in many remote places and had provided valuable guidance to those living in Backlund.
Only by burning corpses with fierce flames could the spread of plague be effectively avoided.
Although the official explanation for today's events was that excessive toxic elements in the smog had caused many people to fall ill and die, the general public, who already held a negative attitude toward official announcements, could not accept that environmental problems were the cause of death. They were more inclined to believe this was an influenza or a plague that had begun to spread in Backlund.
And the source of that influenza or plague was those vagrants who had come to Backlund from other places! It was they who had brought the unfortunate plague to Backlund!
When the vagrants, who knew nothing about what was really going on, tried to warm themselves by the firelight, they were jointly thrown by nearby people into the fiercely burning piles of firewood.
This was not an isolated case. In some areas, people had already begun hunting down the homeless vagrants, treating them as the source of the plague and sentencing them to death by fire.
Some even more extreme individuals extended their targets to stray cats and dogs, believing that these animals were also symbols of impurity.
Once the flames were lit across Backlund, they became difficult to extinguish.
Late at night, the Empress Borough was not much different from usual. For the moment, the news of Duke Negan's death had not spread through the entire aristocratic circle.
But Hastur already knew. Greg had sent someone to inform him and had also invited him to Duke Negan's villa.
At three or four in the morning, Hastur was still accompanying Greg as they handled some of Duke Negan's posthumous affairs.
After finally getting a bit of free time, Greg pulled Hastur into the study and closed the door.
With a face full of exhaustion and hatred, he said, "Hastur, I want to know who has been secretly assassinating my father all this time! You must know who it is! Tell me, we're good friends, aren't we?"
Hastur sighed and stayed silent for a moment before saying, "That's not an organization you want to provoke. Once you say its name, it will also bring misfortune upon you."
Greg forced a smile. "Hastur, you should understand my personality. If I were afraid, I wouldn't be stubbornly asking you this question tonight."
"Greg, I do understand your character, but you don't understand how terrifying that organization is. If you trust me, when the time is ripe, I'll tell you the answer. This is out of concern for a good friend."
Hastur still chose not to tell Greg the truth. Greg had no Beyonder powers nor was he particularly blessed by Goddess Evernight. Once he learned about the Twilight Hermit Order, Adam would likewise become aware of his existence.
Perhaps Adam would not care about such a small flame of revenge, but there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't want to snuff it out to prevent any accidents.
After all, Greg would inherit Duke Negan's title. With his uncle's help, he would soon become the next Duke Negan.
The Twilight Hermit Order had chosen to kill Duke Negan precisely because he was an obstacle and could influence the tide of the era.
Hastur did not want Greg to become a second Duke Negan.
"Hastur…" In the end, Greg endured it. He raised a hand to cover his face and said in pain, "Hastur, will you help me take revenge on that organization?"
"I will."
"Good. The one who assassinated my father tonight was the secretary he trusted most, Lockhart Siakam. Can you help me find him?"
"Yes." Hastur agreed to the request. He had already planned that before leaving Backlund, he would throw Lockhart Siakam's head at Greg's feet.
"Hastur, I hope you won't betray my trust. I no longer dare to believe anyone else, including my uncle." Greg murmured softly, then got up and left the study.
Hastur sat alone on the sofa in the study, looking at the open door, his mood just as complicated.
He had not expected Duke Negan to ultimately die at the hands of the Twilight Hermit Order's assassination.
Besides Duke Negan's carelessness and underestimating the enemy, it was also because the Twilight Hermit Order was willing to sacrifice a pawn.
When one assassination failed, they immediately carried out a second.
"Lockhart Siakam…" Hastur repeated the name twice. Just as he was about to get up and leave the study, Earl Hall walked in.
"I came to have a few words with you."
"Please sit."
Earl Hall sat opposite Hastur, looked at him for a while, then said, "Although Duke Negan has unfortunately passed away, your trip to Southville County has already been decided. Given the current situation, you'll be heading there after the New Year. Is there anything you need help with?"
"I'm short of some usable funds." Hastur bluntly stated his need for money.
Although the money he had saved during this period was enough for his own expenses, who would speak about having too much money? The more money there was, the bigger the things one could do. The more, the better.
"That's easy enough. I can apply for a sum on your behalf before His Majesty the King, but it won't be too much, probably no more than one hundred thousand pounds."
One hundred thousand pounds?! That was already quite a lot.
Hastur inwardly marveled at Earl Hall's generosity, but said aloud, "I'll try to spend it sparingly. If it's not enough, I think the Grand Duke of Southville will also support me a bit."
"That's true. You're going to Southville County this time to help him share the burden. Any needs you have, he really should satisfy."
After finishing this matter, Earl Hall brought up what had happened today, including Duke Negan's assassination.
"The kingdom is currently at a critical juncture. There are always some people who hope the kingdom will become more chaotic. I think what happened today was all done by people with ulterior motives, to shake the foundations of the kingdom."
"Mm, your thoughts are similar to mine. But do you truly think that?"
Earl Hall seemed to see through something, or perhaps he was probing something.
"Duke Negan's death might also involve the struggle between the new and old factions among the aristocracy."
Hastur could only throw out a rather sharp viewpoint to satisfy Earl Hall's speculation.
Earl Hall fell silent for a while, then said, "Then which do you think I am, the new faction or the old faction?"
"The new faction," Hastur answered without hesitation.
Although Earl Hall was very close to Duke Negan, his actions fit the style of the new faction more.
Duke Negan himself understood this clearly, but the Negan family was like a huge ship that found it hard to turn around. They could only make up for it through means and methods, unable to change their stance.
"His Majesty the King is also of the new faction," Hastur added another weighty sentence.
Earl Hall shook his head and laughed. "No. His Majesty the King is a faction of his own."
Hastur just smiled and said nothing. Of course he knew that the king was the king and factions were factions, but sometimes one should not appear too clever, especially when only two people were talking.
To him, there was no real difference between the new and old factions, as long as Earl Hall didn't ask about the Twilight Hermit Order.
Outside, the snow was falling heavier and heavier, covering the streets with a layer of snow two fingers thick, yet the burning fires only grew larger.
It was not until dawn arrived that the flames of the bonfires gradually went out, leaving only wisps of smoke that rose into the sky together with the chimney smoke.
No matter what major events had happened yesterday, the factories that were supposed to open today still opened, and those who could work still went to work.
As for how many people had disappeared overnight, no one would ask, because even if they did, it would be impossible to count clearly.
Today, the focus of all Backlund was on Duke Negan's assassination last night.
The king was furious, and the prime minister also expressed his determination to severely punish the murderer.
That day, the front-page news of all Backlund newspapers was about this matter, along with the wanted notice for the assassin of Duke Negan.
The bounty offered by the Negan family alone was one hundred thousand pounds!
That was a massive fortune. Not only were ordinary people tempted, even many Beyonders were eager to try. Because as long as one provided valuable clues, they could receive a huge reward of several hundred to several thousand pounds.
Xio and Fors were very tempted, especially Xio, who quickly became full of energy and went out to get to work.
Leonard and Klein, who had been working together to track down Ince Zangwill, were also very interested in this bounty.
If they didn't need to pursue Ince Zangwill right now, Klein would even have planned to go above the gray fog to divine some related information. Maybe he could also squeeze a few hundred pounds out of the Negan family's pocket.
…
When Hastur left Duke Negan's villa, it was already two or three in the afternoon. After returning, he took a bath and then went to bed to rest.
When he woke up, it was already past nine in the evening.
He went downstairs to eat something, played with the little cat for a while, then, under Ariella's reluctant gaze, returned to his room, lay down on the bed, and entered the Hall of Stars.
He was also very concerned about Lockhart Siakam's whereabouts. There were only about ten days left until the New Year. He wanted to give Greg a big "gift" before the year ended.
Earl Hall had told him that the time to go to Southville County would be within ten days after the New Year.
In other words, the time left for him to deal with Lockhart Siakam was not much.
The Twilight Hermit Order, this time, he would first kill one of their members and use his head to tell them one sentence: influencing the tide of the era comes at a price.