"Yes, My Lord!" the steward said, bowing his head.
"Then let them wait a bit. I'll change my clothes and meet these wretches. Don't let Parliament think our Fox family doesn't know how to treat guests..." As he spoke, Duke Fox slowly rose and unhurriedly walked to the mirror to adjust his appearance.
The steward, with his head bowed, slowly exited the room, exchanged a glance with a nearby maid, and then walked towards the door.
Several maids immediately entered to assist the Duke with his grooming.
Upon reaching the door, the steward paused, then unhurriedly walked out of the room with an arrogant expression, looking at the parliamentary envoys from the capital, who were standing outside, swaying and on the verge of fainting.
"You are very honored. My Lord is in a good mood today and is prepared to meet you. Such a strong smell of sweat will offend My Lord. Someone, bring some water and splash it on them, and also refresh everyone, lest you gossip and anger My Lord later, and you might not be able to leave Kevindale."
As the steward spoke, several servants carried basins of water and splashed them onto the sweating envoys. Not only did these envoys not dare to curse, but they also smiled fawningly and thanked the steward for cooling them down.
About half an hour later, accompanied by a series of heavy footsteps, a tall figure walked out from inside the house. This person was Duke Fox.
He glanced at the envoys below, and seeing the steam rising from their bodies due to the hot weather, he sneered, "Gentlemen..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a heavy blow to his forehead, and his entire body tilted backward, blood instantly covering his entire face.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! The Duke has been assassinated! Seal off the area!!!" The next second, the steward beside him shrieked, yelling loudly.
Instantly, hundreds of hidden guards emerged from around the Duke's mansion. Half of them charged towards the direction of the attacker, and the other half rushed towards the crowd of envoys.
At this moment, the envoys below were all terrified. Their group was unfortunate enough to be forcibly arranged by Parliament to come to Kevindale to receive Grand Duke Fox. Although they would suffer a bit, at least there would be no danger to their lives, considering they were all nobles.
But now, Grand Duke Fox was assassinated right before their eyes. Regardless of whether this incident had anything to do with their group, everyone would likely be implicated.
Even if they wanted to run, it was too late. Less than ten seconds after Duke Fox was attacked, the main gate slammed shut, and their group was surrounded by the approaching guards. From the murderous looks in their eyes, everyone had a premonition of impending doom.
After making his move, the attacker did not linger in place but decisively left.
Even the highly professional Shadow Guard were empty-handed in the first instant.
Actually, they weren't entirely empty-handed; the attacker had also placed a booby trap. The two who charged the fastest were directly blown into a hornet's nest.
Upon discovering the trap, the Shadow Guards paused, then split into three groups and pursued in the directions the attacker might have escaped.
Even with heightened vigilance, these Shadow Guards could not defend against the attacker's elusive method of placing booby traps, and traps were constantly being triggered.
What chilled the Shadow Guards the most was that many of these booby traps contained Originium shards. After the explosion, these shards were pulverized, creating a large area of Originium dust.
If one was not well-protected, passing through it would result in becoming an Infected. And even with protection, being too close during the explosion could still cause the exploding Originium shards to cut the skin, also leading to becoming an Infected.
"Damn it! This is a tactic favored by Sarkaz mercenaries. Everyone, be careful! The enemy likely has elite Sarkaz involved."
After losing almost a third of their numbers, the pursuers' leader had no choice but to temporarily halt the chase. Of course, this didn't mean they were giving up; rather, they were expanding the search area further and wider to prevent the entire team from being wiped out by the mysterious enemy's traps.
Under the cover of these booby traps, the attacker, taking advantage of the Shadow Guards' hesitation, had already escaped to a safe location, then disappeared into the area through a hidden door. In the middle of the night, the cellar of a farm tens of kilometers away was opened. A mysterious figure emerged, opened an adjacent garage, retrieved an unmarked off-road vehicle, and sped off into the distance. As the figure got into the car, a large, somewhat exaggerated revolver was visible at their waist.
After Duke Fox was attacked, his sons quickly received the news. These sons were quite ambitious, and after confirming the Duke's death, they launched a bloody civil war over the succession of the ducal position. By the time the former Duke Fox's second son, Young Fox, inherited his father's ducal position, a week had passed since the attack, and all traces of the incident had been completely erased.
Finally, the Victoria government issued a reprimand to Laterano because Duke Fox's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, and firearms are typically only used by Laterano citizens. Without being able to find the culprit, Victoria could only assume it was a Laterano.
In response, the current Pope of Laterano, Evangelista XI, expressed grave concern over the attack on Victoria's Duke Fox and deep regret over his death.
Evangelista XI strongly condemned the use of Laterano's unique firearms as the murder weapon and announced that relevant personnel from the Laterano Notary Office would be arranged to enter Victoria in an official capacity to assist in finding the culprit.
However, the real culprit had already left Victoria through secret channels. Those in power also knew that after so much time, catching the person was impossible. But such a major incident as the attack on a Duke of a nation couldn't simply be brushed aside, so everyone made a fuss, which served to create a ripple in the otherwise stagnant upper echelons of Terra.
Just as Victoria was bustling with activity due to Duke Fox's death, Rhodes Island arrived at Laterano's border. Soon after, Rhodes Island would depart Laterano and enter Kazdel territory, detouring via this route to the vicinity of Lungmen, and then proceeding to rescue the Doctor.
As they were about to enter Kazdel, Kanna noticed many new and old Operators had come to the deck, looking towards the direction Rhodes Island was heading.
Kazdel, on the vast land of Terra, is just a small place, but for Rhodes Island and many of its Operators, it holds intertwined stories.
Most of these stories are not pleasant, but everyone quietly endured them and moved forward into the future.
"Speaking of Scout, why do those people look so somber, as if someone in Kazdel owes everyone money?" Kanna sat on top of the Lookout Tower, with Scout accompanying her.
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