Duke Negan's mansion, the ballroom.
Zilingus, disguised as Baron Glamil, held a glass of blood-red Ormier wine, leisurely standing behind the railing of the second-floor corridor, admiring the men and women on the dance floor, admiring the gorgeously dressed ladies and madams.
But his eyes held no trace of desire, as calm as a frozen lake. Only occasionally did he glance from the corner of his eye at the huge crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and at Duke Negan, who was a few steps away, his eyes chasing the beautiful figures.
The duke was wearing a crisp, dark blue naval admiral's uniform, with a red ribbon on his shoulder connecting medals of honor. On formal occasions, he always liked to dress this way to commemorate his decades of glorious military career.
However, his waist had long become bloated, his body full of fat, and his sharp, shrewd gray-blue eyes had been reduced to murkiness and lust. But due to good care, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, mouth, and forehead were shallow, and his black hair was still thick.
This was Palas Negan, the current Duke Negan, a major supporter of the Conservative Party, the elder brother of Prime Minister Agusheed, one of the richest and most powerful individuals in the Kingdom of Rune.
At the same time, he was Zilingus's target in his secret infiltration of Backlund!
Assassinating such a big shot truly made one's whole body tremble with excitement... Zilingus withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes.
He was willing to accept this commission not only because the other party's offer was attractive enough, but also because he himself loved adventure and enjoyed challenging difficult tasks.
If I succeed in the assassination, my fame will spread across the Northern and Southern Continents, surpassing the "Four Kings". Moreover, I will also obtain a card, one of the set of cards made by Emperor Roselle that contains the mysteries of the gods! Suppressing his excitement, Zilingus lowered his head and glanced at his left hand.
"Creeping Hunger" had become transparent. With just the naked eye and touch, outsiders could not detect that "Baron Glamil" was still wearing a glove.
"This really is a magical item... If not for it, I, only Sequence 6, would never have become one of the Pirate Admirals..." As various thoughts flashed through his mind, Zilingus suddenly felt a tinge of regret.
In his many years of piracy, he had encountered and come into contact with many Beyonders, including members of the "Aurora Society" who liked to adventure at the ends of the Sonia Sea.
Thus, he knew that "Creeping Hunger" still lacked a lot compared to a true "Shepherd".
First, switching states was too slow, taking at least a second, while a true "Shepherd" could change instantly. Second, the driven soul could only use one to three abilities it had in life; the number and types were determined entirely by luck and fixed after the first "herding", whereas a true "Shepherd" could selectively decide on three, without needing to roll dice like at a gambling table. Finally, "Creeping Hunger" could only "herd" five souls at once, while a true "Shepherd" could have up to seven.
Of course, both shared the same limitation: only one soul could be driven at a time, and only the extraordinary abilities of that soul and one's own could be used. If one wanted to replace an existing soul with a new one, the process was irreversible, with no chance to regret.
After seven or eight years of adjustment, Zilingus had finally fixed five souls. Their abilities complemented each other, making their master appear quite formidable.
And it was because of those years of constant adjustment and attempts that the story of the "Hurricane Admiral" being omnipotent and capable of anything spread among pirates.
Amid the lively dance music, Zilingus rehearsed the next actions in his mind, and finally sighed with slight regret inside:
"Unfortunately, I haven't found that 'Traveler' in the past few days, otherwise I wouldn't need to worry about anything tonight."
If he could catch that woman suspected to be a "Traveler", Zilingus would not hesitate a moment to feed one of the five originally herded souls to "Creeping Hunger".
To him, the abilities of this Sequence pathway were all very useful!
Zilingus glanced at the huge crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling and decided to wait no longer.
The soul he was currently driving had only one ability: the ability to change his own appearance and figure. It was not on a level to confront other Beyonders, but because this supernatural ability was very useful in many matters, Zilingus had never been willing to replace it.
On the bright side, no matter which soul he was driving, Zilingus could simultaneously use his own extraordinary abilities as a "Wind-blessed".
Finally, he pretended to chase the graceful figure of a certain noble lady, letting his gaze sweep over Duke Negan and the gentlemen clustered around him.
Duke Negan was a devout follower of the Lord of Storms, a key figure for the Church of Storms in influencing the kingdom's situation. He must have protection from Beyonders of the Church of Storms by his side. And though the Negan family was not an ancient family spanning thousands of years, their wealth and power ranked among the highest in the kingdom, so they would surely secretly seek out Sequence potion formulas and the allegiance of Beyonders... As thoughts surged, Zilingus eliminated the gentlemen belonging to nobles and officials, and locked onto a man who had been following Duke Negan closely.
This man wore a black tailcoat, brown hair and blue eyes, his expression almost blank, always vigilantly on guard.
Zilingus nodded almost imperceptibly, and pressed forward slightly with his right hand.
Whoosh!
A sudden gale swept across the ballroom, extinguishing the candles on the crystal chandelier one by one.
In that moment of light and dark interweaving, as everyone's attention was drawn, several thin wind blades, aided by the cover of the gale, struck the metal chains holding the crystal chandelier, striking the same spot.
Creak!
Amid the grating sound of breaking, the huge crystal chandelier plummeted straight down into the dance floor, crashing against the ground with a loud bang, triggering screams one after another, and causing many guests to be injured by flying fragments, letting out terrified cries.
Taking advantage of the darkness and chaos in the hall, the glove on Zilingus's left hand squirmed and changed, forming a golden surface.
His expression then became full of majesty, his gaze piercing through the darkness, locking onto the man beside Duke Negan.
Suddenly, lights akin to lightning flashed in Zilingus's eyes.
The Beyonder responsible for protecting Duke Negan immediately let out a scream, clutching his head as he fell to the ground, rolling and struggling continuously.