Chapter 265: The Bloodstained Family (I)

Karon moved over to Ophelia and prepared to check her condition, but at that moment, he detected faint movement outside. It was very slight, yet because Ophelia had been poisoned, Karon was already on high alert and sensed it in time.

Four people dressed as attendants rushed in. When they saw the scene inside, two drew short swords from their sleeves, while the other two took out small crossbows.

Seeing this, Karon swept both hands through the hot spring water. The water-attribute power of Progenitor Allen erupted from within him, and the splashes he raised froze into weapons in midair. They stabbed straight into the chests of the two attendants, knocking them to the ground.

The two attendants behind them pulled their triggers, and two crossbow bolts shot toward Karon and Ophelia.

Karon opened his palm and activated Darkmoon Blade. The greatsword beside Ophelia sensed the call, unsheathed itself, and flew to Karon, instantly stirring up a bloom of sword light that shattered both bolts. Immediately afterward, Karon appeared before them and killed one attendant with a thrust of the sword. “Order—Cage.”

Just as Karon was about to seal off the last attendant, blood spilled from the corner of the man’s mouth. He had already bitten through the poison sac hidden in his molars to kill himself. All living witnesses were gone, but Karon felt neither disappointed nor anxious.

Does he really think it’s so easy to silence himself in front of an Order priest? Especially... by killing himself right in front of me?

But this was not yet the time for an interrogation. Karon immediately returned to Ophelia. At this moment, her lips had already turned bluish, and her expression showed that she was in agony.

Karon raised his hand, preparing to use Order purification on her, but Ophelia immediately stopped him. With great difficulty, she managed to say, “No. I just used Darkmoon Protection on myself, but instead of clearing the toxin away, it stimulated the poison and made it even more violent. This is not ordinary poison. It is a toxin of corruption.”

After saying this, Ophelia’s chest rose and fell sharply, and the veins on the backs of her hands and along her neck stood out. The toxicity of this poison was shocking.

“I’ll take you to a physician.” Karon was about to carry Ophelia on his back, but she let out a cry of pain, and a layer of gray began to spread over her eyes. This poison was too terrifying.

For a moment, Karon was stunned. He understood that carrying Ophelia to a physician in her current condition would already be too late, because the toxin was spreading and infiltrating her system far too quickly. As the poison continued spreading and invaded her soul, even if her life was ultimately saved, she would suffer terrible torment for the rest of her life, with no way to root it out.

Just like Dora and Dorin...

No! This poison is countless times more potent.

Karon set Ophelia down. He wanted to use the power of Light to purify her, because Light-attribute power was publicly acknowledged as the one most effective at restraining corruption.

However, he hesitated. This was not because he feared exposing himself in front of Ophelia, but because she had just said that purification power had instead stimulated the toxin to spread further. Karon was worried that using Light power would accelerate that process even more violently.

Damn it. Does this toxin possess active consciousness? It can resist!

Ophelia lay in Karon’s arms, her hands unconsciously gripping his arms. She was in pain, terrible pain. For someone who had practiced swordsmanship since childhood and had been evaluated by the captain at her age as being able to fight, her endurance was already astonishing. For her to show this kind of reaction meant the torture had clearly exceeded her limits.

At this moment, the gray in Ophelia’s eyes was gradually deepening. This was the sign that the toxin was about to invade her soul.

Karon gritted his teeth. Right now, he would rather have been the one who drank that cup of ice water, because he did not need to fear toxins of corruption at all. Most corruption in this world could have no effect on him.

Wait. Karon immediately thought of a possibility. Although Kevin had never told him anything of the sort, Karon felt he could attempt it now. After all, he had no other potion at hand.

He stabbed the greatsword into the ground and drew his left palm across the edge of the blade, cutting open a deep wound. Then he brought the bleeding palm to Ophelia’s mouth and pressed it down. “Drink it. Drink it. This might work. Hurry, drink it, Ophelia.”

Ophelia’s vision had already blurred to the point where she could no longer make out what was before her, but she could still hear Karon’s voice. Out of trust, she immediately obeyed by instinct.

She began sucking at the blood flowing from the wound in Karon’s palm. He kept one arm around her while using the spirituality within him to force more blood from the cut in his other hand.

After drinking a considerable amount, Ophelia suddenly shoved Karon away. She collapsed sideways onto the floor in agony. The lower half of her face was smeared with Karon’s blood, her hands clenched tight as low, muffled cries escaped her throat.

Karon watched in some confusion. This was his first time trying to use his own blood to help another person expel corruption, but Ophelia’s reaction made it very difficult for him to tell whether it was working at all. Or, whether the effect was good or bad.

“It hurts...” Ophelia cried out. Her body began sweating rapidly, to the point that her long hair was already damp.

All at once, a wisp of black light flew out of Ophelia’s mouth. It was a small ball of light, and wrapped within it was a black insect that looked like a ladybug.

Karon reached out and caught the ladybug, studying it carefully.

No wonder purification power had been useless against Ophelia. The root of the toxin came from this tiny insect. When it sensed purification power, it would drive the corrupting aura in its body to spread even more violently.

The ladybug lay dormant in Karon’s palm, seemingly at its last breath. But in the next instant, it abruptly flew up and drilled straight into the wound in Karon’s palm.

There was no hint of panic. He remained very calm. A corrupted insect that had been forced out by his blood wanted to enter his body?

Sure enough, not long after, the black insect flew back out of Karon’s wound and landed on the ground. Its body convulsed for a moment, and with a loud pop, its body exploded.

Karon cast purification and a simple healing Art on the wound in his palm, temporarily stopping the bleeding. He then went to Ophelia and gathered her into his arms.

She was now panting. She opened her eyes to look at Karon. Only when he saw that her eyes had recovered did he finally relax.

She turned sideways to embrace Karon, pressing her face against his chest.

She was not afraid of battle, nor was she afraid of powerful enemies. Even when facing the captain, she had continued to fight him until the last moment. However, what she had just experienced went beyond fear that battle could induce. For a warrior, dying in battle was an honor, but to die in such a wretched manner, or worse, to be corrupted and forced to live on, that was a torment that could haunt an entire lifetime.

“All right, all right. It’s over now. You’re fine. You’re fine. Easy now.” This time, Karon did not need Ophelia to remind him where his hand should go. He naturally patted her back lightly.

Footsteps came from outside again, along with the voice of Panmir. “Her Highness would never order us not to disturb her. Your Highness, Your Highness!”

Ophelia, who was lying in Karon’s arms, immediately opened her eyes and said urgently, “Water. Wipe the blood off my face. Quickly.”

Ophelia knew Karon had used his own blood to help her drive out the source of corruption. Naturally, that meant Karon’s blood was extraordinary, and it would certainly involve his secrets. That was why she needed to wipe the blood off her face and help Karon conceal the matter.

He immediately grabbed a towel beside them, wet it, and helped Ophelia wipe her face clean. He then folded the bath towel and draped it over his own arm in passing.

Panmir and the others entered at almost the same moment. When they saw the corpses on the ground, astonishment appeared on their faces, and they drew their swords one after another. But then they saw their own princess lying in Karon’s arms, and for a moment, the guards could not quite grasp the situation.

With Karon supporting her, Ophelia stood and ordered, “Seal this place off, but do not disturb the others in the public pools. Send someone to inform my father at once, and someone else to notify my uncle, General Tafmann.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Ophelia pointed to the four corpses on the ground and said, “Dispose of the bodies.”

Karon said, “Leave the bodies here for now. They’re still useful.”

Panmir looked toward Her Highness.

Ophelia said quietly to Karon, “I know the Church of Order is skilled in awakening Arts, but this is not a suitable place for interrogation. We must compress the impact of this incident as much as possible and avoid disturbing the negotiations between the two great Churches.”

“No. It has to be here. You said the target of the assassination was me. Then the interrogation must be here.”

“What’s going on?”

“Yes, what happened here? Why are there so many people?”

Fannie and Paige had returned from their stroll. When they saw so many guards in the private pool area with drawn blades, they immediately realized something was wrong. After entering and seeing the bodies, their expressions turned serious at once.

“Fannie, notify the captain. Tell him someone poisoned me.”

“All right.”

Ophelia looked at Karon, her expression somewhat helpless, but she could only tacitly agree.

Although she was the one who had been poisoned, she still reflexively considered the overall situation.

However, Karon did not share the same position as her. In truth, he was furious. This was the first time anyone had tried to poison him. Although the poison had not made it to him, he had still indirectly suffered. He did not care who had tried to murder him. He intended to drag them out.

He would not help Ophelia to suppress this incident. He intended to rely on his status as a member of the Church of Order, and in the hot spring area used by the Church of Order, forcibly make the matter bigger.

The four corpses were left lying on the ground. Karon went to the cabinet, opened the ice bucket, and took out another ice cube. He held it up to his eye, but found nothing abnormal within it.

Impossible. Could Ophelia’s luck have been so good that she happened to select the poisoned ice cube?

Karon picked up the wine glass and examined it.

Ophelia came over and said, “There was nothing wrong with the water. Whenever I drink anything outside, I always check it.”

As she spoke, she lightly tapped her wrist. A gold-inlaid section on her bracer turned into fine threads that rose up. It should be some kind of holy relic used for testing for toxins. Whenever she ate or drank outside, she used this to test for poison. Even if she were not wearing armor and changed into other clothing, this strand of gold could attach itself to the cuff as a gold-edged pattern.

It was because Ophelia had checked when pouring the water that she said the poison was in the ice.

Karon said, “The other ice cubes are normal.”

“What?” Ophelia naturally realized the problem as well. It could not be that she had coincidentally chosen the one poisoned cube.

Karon picked up the untouched glass of water Ophelia had poured for him and looked at it from beneath. He found that the glass had been specially designed. At the bottom inside the cup was a tiny recess, covered with a thin membrane.

After pouring away the ice water in the cup, Karon reached in and lightly pierced the membrane with his finger. Inside was a tiny insect egg.

This insect possessed a certain instincts. It seemed to know when it should emerge. When a person was about to drink, it would break out of the egg, pass through the membrane, and follow the liquid into the person’s mouth. Right now, it clearly knew it was not yet time to emerge.

The poison was not in the water, nor was it in the ice. It was in the cup, because whether one drank water or wine, they still needed to use a cup.

The first to arrive at the scene was the captain.

The moment he appeared, his expression was grim. On the way over, he had already heard what had happened from Fannie. Afterward, he personally inspected the cup.

If he were being frank, Karon had initially suspected whether this poison might have been placed there by the captain, but after thinking the matter through carefully, the captain simply did not have the ability to do this. The four attendants could not possibly be subordinates Nio had developed in the past few days.

Moreover, the captain knew Karon was not afraid of corruption, and at the time, the ones accompanying Karon to the hot spring had been Fannie and Paige. The captain had no reason to put those two in danger as well. Most importantly, the captain had not known Ophelia would come here.

If the captain truly had such comprehensive abilities, then in another three months, he could probably hollow out the Darkmoon clan leader’s authority.

Judging from the result, Karon saving Ophelia after she drank the corrupted insect was exactly the sort of amusement the captain liked to see, but that was only when judging the result. The process did not support that reasoning at all.

That was why Karon did not ask the unnecessary question of whether the captain had done it. If he had really asked, the captain might have treated him as an idiot.

The captain walked before one of the attendant corpses, pointed at it, and chanted, “Order—Awaken.”

One attendant corpse was Awakened. He sat up in some confusion. According to his memory, he had already died, but now he was alive again.

“Who was your assassination target?” the captain asked.

The attendant did not answer.

“Heh.” The captain seemed to have anticipated this result. He opened his palm, and a cloud of black flame rose, directly covering the attendant’s body. Although the attendant was already dead, after being awakened, he could still taste the agony of torture.

“Him!” The attendant immediately raised his hand and pointed at Karon. Karon realized that the man did not even know his name.

“Who arranged for you to do this?” the captain continued asking.

The attendant gritted his teeth. Even while enduring torture, he still did not speak.

The captain smiled savagely. “You had better be an orphan. In a while, I’ll have someone investigate your family situation. If you have relatives, they will taste every torture of the Whip of Order because of your actions and your present lack of cooperation. I will make their lives worse than death.”

“It was His Highness...”

“Which Highness?” the captain asked. On Darkmoon Island, those who would be called “Your Highness” were Ophelia and her three older brothers.

“His Highness Dante.” The mastermind was actually Ophelia’s second brother, Dante, the second son of Veynar, leader of the Darkmoon clan.

Ophelia looked at Karon, pleading in her eyes.

He said, “Captain, I’ll leave the rest to the Darkmoon clan to give me an explanation.”

The captain understood. There were certain secrets he knew of, but could not be seen to know, so he gave a brisk nod. “Very well. As the involved party party, you will remain here. I’ll return and await the outcome. If this matter is not resolved to my satisfaction, I will report it to the church.”

Nio turned and left.

As soon as the captain left, a team of warriors in red armor entered and began reorganizing the scene.

An old man who looked like a steward came over, first bowing to Karon, then to Ophelia. “Mr. Karon, the clan leader and General Tafmann have arrived. Please come with me, both of you.”

The private hot spring pools were divided by grade. The highest-grade one was in the most secluded area, and was a pool with its own courtyard. The entrance was heavily guarded, and one could clearly see guards from both sides interwoven together, likely the chief’s guards and the general’s guards. This made Karon feel that the brotherly affection rumored outside did not seem quite so pure.

Upon entering, Karon saw General Tafmann and Veynar sitting in chairs, one on the left, one on the right. Kneeling on the ground was His Highness Dante.

“Karon, I am very sorry that our first official meeting must take place under these circumstances.” Clan Leader Veynar ’s face was gentle, like a kindly elder, and he took the initiative to stand and walk toward Karon.

Karon took a step back, avoiding his embrace.

“I was framed. I was framed!” Dante began shouting then. “My captain of the guard betrayed me, betrayed me. I never gave him this order. I didn’t. I admit I like Ophelia, and I admit I cursed Karon at home, but I never thought of killing him this way. I didn’t. I was planning to duel him!”

“Shut up!”

Slap! Veynar turned and angrily slapped Dante across the face. Compared with poisoning and assassination, what the clan leader found harder to accept was the ugly family secret his son had exposed just now. This second son of his had actually always had feelings for his own half-sister.

Karon said nothing. He watched the whole scene with a cold gaze.

Ophelia’s face, meanwhile, showed a trace of disgust toward this brother of hers.

Clan Leader Veynar very solemnly said to Karon, “Karon, you too are a child of Darkmoon Island. The same pure bloodline as our direct family flows through you. Please believe me, I will give him sufficient punishment.”

“Yes, please believe our clan leader.” General Tafmann stood as he spoke and drew a sword from the waist of a guard beside him.

With a slicing motion, Dante, his nephew, the son of the clan leader, the second prince of Darkmoon Island, had his head cut off just like that. Blood immediately splashed out, dyeing the carpet red.

This sudden change stunned everyone present into speechlessness.

General Tafmann bent down and lifted his nephew’s head. “As his uncle, I apologize to you on his behalf, Karon. Please accept his most sincere apology.”

After saying that, Tafmann loosened his hand.

The head fell.

Tafmann raised his boot and kicked the head. The head flew like that, finally rolling to a stop in front of Karon, just like a ball.