Chapter 871 - 88: Chaotic Struggle for Possession

Chapter 871: Chapter 88: Chaotic Struggle for Possession

Mosel Kingdom, Haus Manor.

Lunalei lay slanted on the bed, her breathing slightly labored, and her delicate skin covered with fine beads of sweat, a lingering blush on her face.

Cantona leaned against the headboard, his arm rested on his knee, his gaze indifferent, admiring Lunalei’s figure: a slender waist easily grasped, full and proportionate thighs, slender calves, and delicate ankles.

Lunalei curled her lips with a lazy voice, "What? Not satisfied yet?"

Cantona did not reply; he was indeed not satisfied, for Lunalei was merely a means to an end.

Dressed in a leather suit and playing the role of Sir Haus, he maneuvered with the Crown Prince and the Third Prince using the Hex-Tech Core, while the Death Church kept pressing him to quickly acquire a Wish Crystal for the resurrection of the Death God. The Nether God’s Court urged him as well, but seemingly without substantial punishment; he hadn’t received a message from Cardinal Hall’s First Secretary Onela Muti for a long time, unaware of what his mentor was up to.

Amidst the struggles of these ancient cults, he opted to drift along, with the primary goal being to enhance his strength; as for the Wish Crystal, he would attempt to obtain it if possible, otherwise, let things take their course.

However, reality wasn’t as easy as he imagined, and all these pressures could only be relieved by Lunalei, who excelled at a leg massage technique, making him unable to resist.

At this moment, Cantona’s desire waned, his mind as clear as washed with Holy Water. He reached out to grasp Lunalei’s calf, sliding down from the top to her ankle, unconsciously playing with her smooth leg, the delicate touch allowing him to dive deeper into thought.

Through smuggling Hex-Tech Cores, he had successfully entered the Royal Family’s sight. Under his covert influence, the conflict between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince had intensified from beneath the surface. The Third Prince had already planned to have Duke Balang bring the Wish Crystal back to the country, making the power struggle among the Mosel Kingdom’s upper echelons even more fierce and complex.

Cantona knew well that using this situation wisely would be his chance to seize the Wish Crystal from either the Third Prince or Duke Balang.

However, what he needed to think about was not just the task itself but how to maximize his benefits; the quicker you complete a task, the more burdensome it becomes, as the upper ranks don’t treat you like a human.

His hand stopped at Lunalei’s ankle, his thumb gently circling around, the smooth texture of the thin layer of skin slippery to touch.

Just then, a black butterfly flew in through the window gap, its inky wings flapping as if cutting through the night, circling the bed’s end before lightly landing on Lunalei’s pale toe. The contrast of pale skin, crimson toenails, and black butterfly created a striking tableau.

Nether Butterfly delivering a message.

Lunalei’s eyes shifted, her toes lightly trembling, and the black Nether Butterfly immediately scattered into fragments, with the covert message discreetly conveyed. She squinted, a glint flashing through her pupils, "As you wished, Jiu Man has set out."

Cantona bounced up, "Direction."

"Southeast, highly likely heading directly to sea." It was exactly the direction of Duke Balang returning to the country.

Jiu Man was the Third Prince’s strongest Angel Guest, rarely mobilizing, always guarding the inner treasury for the Third Prince. This outing could only mean he wasn’t planning on letting Balang return alive.

Lunalei watched Cantona dress with a playful tone, "How do you plan to proceed, Sir Haus?"

"Raid the inner treasury." Cantona replied without wasting words.

...

At sea, the thick clouds pressed extremely low, almost touching the ocean surface, and between the clouds and sea, an angelic silhouette was swiftly flying.

In the distance, dense smoke signals were rising incessantly, orange flames exploding one after another in the sky, hovering for a moment before slowly descending; that was Duke Balang’s distress signal.

Roar! The Angel let out a howl, accelerating further, the clouds behind him pulled into a long trail.

Above the fleet, Jiu Man suddenly halted, the clouds before him torn apart by a violent force, a bolt of lightning snaking out from the cloud gap—another angel’s warning to Jiu Man, if he continued, it would be a fight to the death.

Peak of Five Lives, Jiu Man furrowed his brows, using spiritual power to sense—it’s the Crown Prince’s agent, confirming the intel was accurate. Balang had indeed betrayed the Third Prince long ago!

The opponent’s strength matched his own, and he didn’t wish to engage him in a decisive battle here; the timing wasn’t right, even killing that person might be more detrimental to the Third Prince, appearing to have the upper hand but inviting the King’s suspicion is not worth it.

He looked down again, the fleet mostly destroyed by him, with floating corpses everywhere on the sea surface. The Wish Crystal had already been obtained; though Balang was still alive, he had been poisoned by Jiu with venom that would surely be fatal, merely hanging onto life for now.

Jiu Man’s figure flickered and instantly disappeared into the dark clouds.

Meanwhile, deep in the jungles of the Mosel Kingdom, the Third Prince hid in a secret cache nestled among the low hills. The exceedingly thick stone door collapsed inwards, its hinge broken, leaving it hanging askew.

Inside the cache, Cantona stood amidst a sea of corpses and blood, though not a drop stained him. He wasn’t wearing Sir Haus’s disguise, as that identity needed long-term management. Even if no longer played by him, someone else from the Death Church would assume the role, and the Hex-Tech Core was real, an important part of the Death Church’s layout in Mosel.

A dense aura of death permeated the air. Suddenly, his footsteps halted. He felt the Death God Potion awakened by this aura. Was it the last trace? Or something else? A wisp of nascent Death Divinity surged into his senses, as if revealing to him a destined path for the divine Death Angel.

Cantona suppressed the thoughts stirring in his mind and walked to the innermost stone chamber, the last door of the inner cache. Originally, Jiu Man was stationed here, but now it was empty.

He placed his hand on the iron door, covered in a thick layer of anti-rust resin. Power surged, unlike the outer door that needed brute force to break open, the intricate lock gradually unraveled under mysterious forces, the latch settled, the core turned slowly as if a key was turning it.

Squeak.

The iron door opened.

He was met with a training room. Without moving, he opened another inner door, revealing the true inner cache.

Cantona’s eyes lit up – a fortune!

...

A moment later, an angelic apparition descended from the sky, wind howling. Jiu Man, furious, looked at the chaotic stone door entrance, eyes widening!

He rushed inside, ignoring the carcasses along the way, arriving at the inner cache, and saw – gone! The magic potion was gone, the sealed objects were gone, and the Wish Crystal was gone.

Just as Jiu Man was about to erupt, a calm voice interrupted him, "Jiu Man."

The Third Prince Gael arrived with a team of attendants, looking indifferently. The stone door had been breached not long ago when he received the emergency signal from the messenger. The enemy was unknown, so he deliberately waited for Jiu Man to return before bringing people over.

Jiu Man immediately bowed, "Your Highness."

"Assess the losses."

Soon, the results came out, "According to the inventory, the inner cache lost a box of magic potions, three sealed objects... and one Wish Crystal."

Gael’s eyes were deep and serene, "Everyone leave."

Jiu Man quickly handed over the Wish Crystal snatched from Balang to the Third Prince, wanting to say he had managed to secure this Wish Crystal, wanting to say the Crown Prince’s subordinate personally came to rescue Balang which thwarted his full success, but seeing the empty inner cache, he sighed lightly and left with the others.

Gael stood alone in the empty treasury, his eyes burning with anger, but soon, that anger turned to an eerie smile.

Gael’s lips curved, indeed he was laughing, his eyes showing pride, "It truly leaves me speechless."

That box of magic potions was all low-grade, valuable but meaningless to him, it would only temporarily deprive his loyal guests of some cultivation resources, which could be replenished later. The loss of the three sealed objects was significant, but placing those three here meant they were costly supportive-type sealed objects; losing them was painful, but not crippling.

Besides...

In his plan, those sealed objects were meant to be "stolen."

He never had possession of a Wish Crystal.

It was a meticulous scheme against him. Desperate for credit, he fell for it, even prematurely reporting the news to the father King. He could not let the father King think of him as a fool unable to discern even the simplest of deceits. Thus, he always pretended to have a Wish Crystal.

His original plan was to stage a self-stealing act to find a place for the fake crystal. Unexpectedly, someone intervened, turning false theft into real larceny.

Oh, truly... hahaha, now it feels even more real! Besides, who says his Wish Crystal was also lost? Gael stroked the Wish Crystal taken from Balang, pride glowing on his face.

He was not afraid if the father King found out he struck against Balang. If Balang dared to play tricks, this outcome proved his foresight and wisdom, and the father King would only praise his capabilities. Conversely, if Balang had succeeded in stabbing him in the back, the father King would merely deem him inept and foolish at managing his subordinates.

Suddenly, Gael’s lips curled into an amused arc, his gaze venturing into the depths of the darkness, seemingly aware of who seized the chance amidst the chaos.