I've Become the King of Villains in the Game

Chapter 288: Chapter 209: The Beginning of the Empire’s Turmoil (Vote for Monthly Tickets!)
 

“——The Sun Royal Family has been assassinated! Duke Bloat Tresor was attacked by an enemy kingdom’s assassin, and his life and death are unknown! War is about to break out!”

Chen Lun looked at the newspaper, his eyes deep in thought.

Golov was sitting on the sofa. He had just brought Maggie back, then handed the newspaper to Chen Lun.

The detailed content of the newspaper was not much, it only roughly described what happened.

The incident took place in the Royal City of Beryl, the day before yesterday, which was the birthday of Duke Bloat Tresor’s daughter, Monica Tresor.

During the birthday party, a Transcendent, disguised as a guest, inflicted heavy injuries on Duke Bloat, and was subsequently cornered by a Shelter Executioner Squad, and Lamp Protector Squad from the Sun Church, while trying to escape.

After interrogation, it was revealed that the assassin came from the neighboring “Anlong United Kingdom.”

This kingdom is not under the jurisdiction of the Tresor Empire but consisted of three former principalities and a dozen smaller countries, mainly comprising the Yake Principality, The Xerol Principality, and the Tzebureba Principality.

They border the Beelzebub Kingdom to the west and Tresor Empire to the east, essentially sandwiched between two nations.

Because of its strategic location and the abundance of various resources within its territory, it has long been coveted by the Empire, and frictions between them are frequent.

However, because the Empire has been expanding eastward in recent years, waging colonial wars overseas in attempts to occupy the Mist Continent, they haven’t had the opportunity to formally declare war on the Anlong United Kingdom.

Now, this assassination case is like a fuse that has ignited public outrage within the Empire.

The territory of the Anlong United Kingdom, originally those three principalities, were, hundreds of years ago, part of the Tresor Empire, and now the domestic public opinion is in favor of quickly taking back this land.

But this case of assassination is full of doubts, such as how powerful the Transcendent had to be, to dare to assassinate the Duke right under the Sun Royal Family’s watch in the Royal City, and why choose such a grand occasion for the assassination instead of a more concealed opportunity, and so on…

However, Chen Lun knew that none of this mattered anymore, because perhaps it was all led by the Sun Royal Family themselves, their goal already achieved.

‘Was it that Prince’s arrangement…? I remember there were posts analyzing the main plot of the version 1.0 in my previous life, it was precisely the outbreak of war between the Tresor Empire and Anlong Kingdom that led the Red Apple Church to take the opportunity to start the turmoil.’

He pondered.

As he continued to recall, those blurry memories began to return.

The prince of the Tresor Empire was named Dazlert, highly favored by the Sun King, with many governmental and national affairs involving the prince.

This assassination case had been analyzed by players before, and it was highly likely that the prince was the one pushing for it behind the scenes, aiming to get rid of the opposition within the Royal Family while finding an excuse to start a war.

Killing two birds with one stone.

Additionally, players active on the border at the time unearthed clues through various side quests, such as Duke Bloat secretly trading with Anlong United Kingdom and selling a large amount of unique Empire military equipment and weapons.

This could also be one of the reasons why the prince had him killed.

‘The war should start soon, which is something I’ve experienced in a past life… And by that time, the Red Apple Church will change its previous dormant state and begin to operate in various locations within the Empire. Escaping the surveillance of the Sun Church and The Shelter, top-tier Combat Power will enter the fray… Only strength is the guarantee of survival in this chaotic situation.’

He felt some pressure.

‘I now need money, Experience Points needed for leveling up, and subsequent Supernatural Knowledge… The Red Apple Church is sure to choose this moment to temporarily break away from the Sun Church and The Shelter’s supervision. Only with power can one ensure survival in this maelstrom.’

He looked at the other contents of the newspaper.

Interestingly, at the birthday party of Duke’s daughter Monica, the CEO of the previous Meidan Jewelry Company and Count Lawson, who Chen Lun had saved, both presented extremely valuable diamonds.

But unfortunately, they both died on the assassin’s only path of escape.

Chen Lun couldn’t help but reflect, it seemed that Count Lawson’s destiny had not been completely changed by him, and in the end, he could not escape his death.

“You’ve worked hard, Golov, you should rest now.”

He put down the newspaper and said to the bearded man sitting opposite on the sofa.

Golov stood up, tipped his hat in salute, and then left.

Chen Lun looked around the empty living room and shook his head slightly.

Maggie had just returned, simply nodded a greeting, and then went upstairs to the laboratory to research new potions, he had not had the chance to ask about the situation outside the city with the plague.

“Well, let’s go see how Floey and Noah are doing.”

*

*

*

“Mr. Jack, these are portraits of Mr. Golov, Mr. Barton, Miss Floey, and myself…”

Noah lifted a white cloth in the corner, revealing a box that neatly contained more than a dozen oil paintings.

Chen Lun walked over to inspect them and found that these paintings were simply framed and contained some Supernatural Power.

Golov and Barton had the most portraits, with each of them having five paintings, each with different expressions and actions. There was only one portrait each for Floey and Noah.

Chen Lun picked up Floey’s painting. She was dressed in a black gown, her eyes covered with black vines, smiling serenely while sitting calmly on a chair.

[Mysterious Object – Oil Painting of a Person (One-time consumable)]

Item description: A genius painter has, with his high mastery, made a replica of a lady’s Supernatural Power, capturing a rare essence of the Moon’s Power.

“I didn’t want to bother Miss Floey too much, so I only painted one,”

Noah said with a bashful smile.

“It’s fine, Noah.”

Chen Lun then picked up the self-portrait that belonged to him, featuring a young man with glasses, cleaning his palette.

“This is the self-portrait I painted from my memories when I was young, it’s somewhat embarrassing, Mr. Jack.”

Noah said.

“You did well, it’s both a piece of art and a Mysterious Object…”

Chen Lun said with a light laugh, praising him.

“And you have indeed controlled your diet during this period, you’ve lost quite a bit of weight… I believe it won’t be long before you can return to looking like you do in the painting.”

Noah chuckled appreciatively in response to his compliments.

Chen Lun collected all the paintings into the Blood Poem Ring, then said to Noah:

“Now, paint one of me.”

“Alright, Mr. Jack!”

Noah seemed very happy, immediately prepared the painting materials, and moved a chair over for Chen Lun.

As soon as Chen Lun sat down, Noah entered his working state without any delay. The bone key around his neck wriggled slightly, and soon after, blood slowly seeped out from the floor of the room, forming a painter’s easel amidst it.

With a palette in one hand and a brush in the other, Noah began to paint on the canvas.

A moment later.

Chen Lun felt a mysterious link connecting the painting with himself, but he didn’t feel any discomfort.

“It’s finished, Mr. Jack.”

Noah walked over with the painting, a smile on his face.

“You truly are the most perfect man I have ever seen, this painting hardly captures your grace.”

He turned the painting around; it was a contemplative Chen Lun, propping his chin on his hand.

The black mid-length hair was slightly curled, revealing a handsome face and deep eyes underneath.

“You’ve worked hard, Noah.”

Chen Lun took the painting, nodding with satisfaction.

He was somewhat curious about how much of his own strength the portrait Noah had painted with the “Bone Gallery” possessed.

Chen Lun looked once again at the paintings in Noah’s room, which were covered with white cloths, knowing in his heart that most of them were ordinary portraits of himself.

He just didn’t know whether Noah had heeded his words and dressed them.

*

*

*

After dinner had ended.

Chen Lun had intended to find an opportunity to have a private chat with Floey, but unexpectedly, she approached him first.

“The kind of crystal stone you gave me before… Although using it alone could trigger red lightning, I found after experimenting that adding some other supernatural materials and integrating them through forging enhances the effect.

Floey said, taking out two samples from her Grape Ring.

One was a short sword, and the other a wand.

“These weapons can’t be called Mysterious Objects, they’re just items with supernatural powers.”

“You’ve done well, Floey.”

Chen Lun took the two weapons and examined them closely.

[Transcendent Weapon – Unnamed]

Item Description: A weapon containing high heat and erosive powers, appearing as a short sword as long as a forearm. The blade is made of black multi-faceted crystal stone and is extremely sharp. Upon impact during an attack, it emits red electrical arcs.

Having integrated various supernatural materials, it was forged with the supernatural forging power of the Moon, resulting in a seemingly simple but exquisitely crafted weapon.

Chen Lun extended his hand, allowing the Didak Armor to cover his palm, and gently ran his pale fingers over the blade, producing a light chime.

Sizzling!

Red arcs of electricity sprang forth, giving Chen Lun a tingling sensation.

“A very nice weapon, let’s name it ‘Black Crystal Short Sword’ then.”

Pleased, Chen Lun set it down and picked up the wand next.

The wand looked almost like a chopstick, with a wooden feel to it, except for a piece of dark Dragon Sharpstone embedded at the tip; the whole core of the wand was made from Dragon Sharpstone as well.

Its description was similar to that of the short sword, with a usage similar to that of the werewolf chieftain Chen Lun had encountered in the Immortal Realm. Raising it to aim allowed the user to generate red lightning for ranged attacks.

However, it required a cooldown, needing about five seconds to charge before unleashing the next bolt of lightning.

Chen Lun named it “Black Crystal Wand.”

‘These transcendent weapons are quite powerful and can be sold to players as premium equipment in the ‘Black Crystal Series’…’

Chen Lun thought.

He then spoke to Floey:

“Try to add this type of crystal stone to bullets and arrows in the future. That might create corresponding consumables… In this way, we can indirectly increase the power of ranged weapons.”

Floey nodded, giving an affirming hum.

Having finished discussing business, Chen Lun pulled her to sit on the sofa.

“Floey, you should get out more and not stay cooped up in the manor all the time.”

But Floey shook her head slightly.

“I don’t like going out. It’s nice here; I can do what I want and wait for your return at any time.”

Chen Lun was slightly taken aback.

Indeed, he had unwittingly grown accustomed to seeing Floey as soon as he returned home, hearing her say, “You’re back.”

Looking at Floey’s delicate face, a thought suddenly flashed across Chen Lun’s mind.

‘When I become strong enough, I must restore her sight and then take her to see the paths I’ve walked in my previous life, the scenery I’ve encountered…’

“I had a dream recently,”

Floey said.@@novelbin@@

“A dream?”

“Yes.”

She nodded slightly.

“In the dream, there was a voice, very familiar, speaking many words to me… But when I woke up, I forgot most of it, I just vaguely remember one sentence, ‘Don’t go forward’.”