Ashes Of Deep Sea - Chapter 320 - Chapter 320: Chapter 324: Critical Intelligence

Chapter 320: Chapter 324: Critical Intelligence

In the last moments of his life, Belazov saw the figure standing at the edge of the wreckage.

The tall, thin face, pale and reflected in his pupils, also entered his view with the pitch-black chains floating in mid-air, and at the end of the chains – the Profound Demon – “Smoke Dust Jellyfish.”

After a brief moment of astonishment, Belazov finally recalled scene after scene – he remembered that figure and the scenes that had been shielded from his consciousness. He remembered when he set foot on Dagger Island, this tall heretic had been standing on the shore; when he entered the “Chamber,” the other was walking alongside him; when he returned to the Sea Swallow, there stood the other inside the cabin…

Belazov’s eyes widened, and the charred skin on his face seemed to crackle as he tried to shout, to speak, but could only emit a low hiss from his chest. At the same time, the tall, pale-faced figure finally lowered his head and looked down upon the general who was on his last breath.

“I admit, I was negligent,” the tall, pale man spoke indifferently, with hardly any emotion in his tone, as if speaking to a piece of rotting wood rather than a person, “When you were moving around the ship, I thought you were just checking the status of each post – General Belazov, I must say, your acting was quite good.”

Belazov just stared at him fiercely, rage boiling in his chest, no longer able to move his once strong body.

“What a pity, you were almost an ‘Envoy,’” the thin man said with regret, shaking his head, “Bringing the glory of The Saint into the City-State, liberating the filthy mortals from their shells of suffering, letting the first paradise descend upon this twisted ‘reality.’ Such a glorious chance, and you wasted it… just short of that last bit of the journey.”

“Heretic…” Belazov finally pushed out a bit of voice from his chest, his teeth and bones creaking with friction, “You’ll never… lay a finger on it…”

“Conserve some energy, General,” the thin man stepped forward, looking down at the dying man at the center of the wreckage, “Embrace your death peacefully. The Saint’s blessing will grant your pitiful body new life – you’ve already wasted your chance to become an Envoy, but the forgiving Saint will still not abandon your tormented soul…”

With those seductive whispers, the thin man slowly reached out his right hand, and the Smoke Dust Jellyfish floating behind him also rose, writhing, and began to release an increasingly vivid red glow from its gauzy, mist-like body. The blood-red glow was reflected in Belazov’s increasingly dimming pupils. His body, growing cold, seemed to have completely lost consciousness, no longer reacting to the outside world.

“It took a bit more effort than expected,” the thin man shook his head as a trace of emotion finally entered his voice, “Damn it, if not for that queen… tch.”

A sticky, strange writhing and sliding sound arose as the sea water churning around the wreckage began to froth with unnatural black bubbles. Within the bubbles, a mud-like substance began to surface, creeping gradually toward Belazov’s body.

However, just a second before this muddy substance could touch the body, it suddenly stopped.

Even the sea water swirling around appeared to be frozen in place.

The thin man looked at this spectacle with surprise, instinctively trying to communicate with the “Smoke Dust Jellyfish,” attempting to use the power of the Abysmal Curse to complete the ritual. But the next second, he saw the general, who had previously shown no reaction, suddenly stir slightly.

“You are really tenacious,” the thin man frowned involuntarily, “Wouldn’t it be better to calmly accept your fate, General Duncan?”

“Not better,” the bulky body, nearly charred to a crisp, lying at the center of the wreckage opened its eyes again and calmly watched the heretic bonded with the Symbiotic Demon, “Continue, ‘if not for that queen,’ what comes next?”

The thin man blinked.

Something was off!

He didn’t know what had happened, but in that instant, all his intuitions suddenly started to throb fiercely, a terrible sense of crisis as if bubbling up from his soul, soaking through his spirit. He stared at the body that had opened its eyes again, instinctively wanting to retreat, but found his legs refusing to obey the command for a moment!

Then, the thin man finally noticed the bizarre change in General Duncan – his breathing was steady and strong, his voice was deep and calm, and his eyes were filled with vitality. This man who had been on death’s door a moment ago, now seemed to have regained all his life force!

The general even sat up!

” ‘If not for that queen’, what comes next?” Duncan slowly rose to his feet, his towering stature allowed him to even look down at the heretic across from him. He fixed his eyes on the other’s, his tone serious and calm, “The queen you’re speaking of, is she the ‘Frost Queen’, Lei Nora?”

As he spoke, his gaze lingered on the heretic behind him, watching that Smoke Dust Jellyfish that was still floating in midair.

The jellyfish was beginning to respond.

Profound Demons can sense what mortals cannot. Although that cloud of smoke didn’t possess any facial features, it could evidently “see” the truth within the charred shell. Now it trembled, its trembling growing fiercer while strands of black shadow began to seep from its edges, prying open a passage between the Mysterious Deep Sea and the real world.

Duncan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: if it weren’t for this Profound Demon, continuing to pretend to be a dying general would have actually made it easier to gather some intelligence.

“Who are you?!” The doomsday heretic, of course, reacted as well, and the intense dissonance along with the dangerous signals continuously transmitted from the Symbiotic Demon were enough to make him realize the gravity of the situation. Even without understanding what exactly was happening, he knew that the soul now inhabiting the body in front of him was no longer the original one, “If you’re just passing by, then I have no intention of coming into conflict with you…”

“Getting polite now?” Duncan raised an eyebrow, finding the heretic in front of him to be more perceptive than the two he had met in the graveyard, “Then why not tell me what exactly you and your brethren are up to, and what does your business have to do with the ‘Frost Queen’?”

As he spoke, he suddenly looked up at the “Smoke Dust Jellyfish” floating in mid-air, “Don’t even think about escaping.”

The Smoke Dust Jellyfish trembled violently all at once, and the black cracks spreading around it shattered and dispersed in the blink of an eye with a piercing tearing sound.

Profound Demons are chaotic and simple-minded, but driven by instinct, they also seem to “understand advice.”

The tall, thin man only then realized that his Symbiotic Demon had just attempted to open a Profound passageway, a late surge of fear gripping his mind, but at this moment, he had no time to communicate with his Symbiotic Demon — because the “Outsider” who had taken over the general’s body was giving him a calm yet icy stare.

“I… am just a nobody,” he lifted his head to look Duncan in the eyes, and his face seemed to be trying to squeeze out a smile, “I don’t know the full extent of the plan, you…”

“Then who does know the full extent of the plan?” Duncan asked expressionlessly, “And where are they hiding?”

“My brethren… they…” the tall, thin man spread his hands, and his face formed a half-smile, “They will bask in glory because of me—”

Duncan’s brow suddenly furrowed, and before the heretic could react, an intense surge of energy erupted from within his body. The next second, his entire body inflated like a balloon and burst into a Fireball!

Duncan only managed to raise his hand in time, and a greenish flame formed a curtain, blocking and transforming the oncoming firelight and blast. By the time the explosion dissipated and the surrounding sea gradually returned to calm, the heretic had already vanished into ash.

Only a disintegrating cloud of black dust remained in the air—the Smoke Dust Jellyfish that rapidly broke apart and vanished after losing its symbiotic medium.

Duncan stared dumbfounded at the scene, taking a good while to come to his senses, only to sigh as he watched the few fragments floating near the wreckage: “These damn heretics are really tough… Officially, not even someone who’s brains aren’t holed would believe in a heretical cult.”

As he spoke, he shook his head.

The heretic had blown to smithereens; it was of no use lamenting now. Although he hadn’t managed to extract more clues from the man, his own “possession” had already yielded a fair amount of useful intelligence.

And among this intelligence, undoubtedly the most useful was the heretic’s last mention of the “queen.”

It sounded like the Frost Queen, who died in a revolt half a century ago, had caused significant trouble for those heretics in some operation or the other? This trouble had persisted until today, to the point that they had to go to great lengths during their activities?

Duncan raised a hand to stroke his chin, thoughtfully lifting his gaze.

The night was deep, and the Creation of the World’s pale light dimly illuminated the distant sea surface. At the edge of the sea, one could see the lights of the City-State coast.

He didn’t know where Dagger Island was, but this place was clearly not far from Frost’s main island.

Just take this body to Frost then—it looked terrible, but at least it wouldn’t dissolve into nothing while walking like the previous one had.

Duncan exhaled and walked towards the edge of the wreckage while calling out to Ai Yi in his mind, preparing to have it take him to the nearby coast.

However, the next second, his movement suddenly stopped.

He looked down in surprise.

This body… refused to obey the command.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on N𝘰vgo.co