Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 792 - 137: Elemental Shaper Ethan Challenges You

For the Simpler Clan, recent misfortunes have been relentless.

First, Duke Ash's illegitimate son died in Gear City, and their remains have yet to be found. Before they could finish dealing with affairs in Gear City, Duke Ash's son, Fabius Simpler, the clan's legitimate heir, was beaten to a pulp right under their noses, and was sent back to the mansion by the passing Imperial Army Commander.

Seeing his child's face swollen to twice its size, Duke Ash's face was as dark as a stormy sky.

The Simpler Clan not only brought shame upon themselves in front of the Imperial Army, but this incident was akin to trampling the entire clan's dignity underfoot. Duke Ash never imagined that someone in the Imperial Capital would dare to attack his son. In fact, neither Fabius nor his retinue expected it, so when they were knocked down with a few punches and kicks, they were still engulfed in deep shock.

"Lord Cedric, this is a provocation to the Simpler Clan."

After holding back for a long time, Duke Ash finally squeezed out these words through gritted teeth, "Therefore, I hope the Imperial Army won't intervene and will leave this matter for us to handle ourselves."

"Of course."

Cedric calmly held the hard bread in his arms, saving himself quite a bit of trouble. He never intended to get involved with the Simpler Clan's messy affairs, not just because the mysterious woman who came to him as he worked overtime brought hard bread as a midnight snack, but also because of her aura.

That aura was one only possessed by those who have truly crawled out from piles of corpses.

Yet he was quite sure that the red-haired woman was not a member of the Imperial Army, and her crimson hair doesn't match the characteristics of the Imperial people, raising questions about where she acquired such a deadly aura and why she appeared in the Imperial Capital at this time.

This was definitely not the kind of strength nurtured by the praise and flattery found in a "Hero Game."

A great upheaval looms on the horizon, yet the imperial nobility represented by the Simpler Clan remains mired in past illusions.

Cedric cast a deep look at Duke Ash, who seemed ready to explode at any moment, dismissing the notion of advising him. If the patriarch of the Simpler Clan retained any capacity for thought, he would realize letting matters stop at this point would be the best outcome for the Simpler Clan.

He learned the details of the battle from Fabius's two high-tier Transcendent attendants.

According to their account, it hardly qualified as a battle because by the time they came to their senses, they were already on the ground, part of a 'meat pile,' without having seen how the red-haired woman had struck, nor grasping her methods.

If the woman hadn't intended merely to teach them a lesson but had instead harbored a murderous intent, he would have encountered nothing but mutilated corpses when he passed that alley.

This inexplicably reminded Cedric of the death of the Great Summoner Haitia in Gear City, the only aspect of the case sparking his interest being the local detectives' descriptions of the wounds.

Stab wounds through the heart, with the battle having produced no sound, such that it took until the following day for servants of the mansion to find Haitia's body.

To Cedric, this seemed more like instantaneous killing.

Clean and swift killing techniques, wholly unlike the showy 'Hero Squad techniques.'

Although he never regarded the Hero Squad members highly, Haitia still carried the Empire's certification as a high-tier Transcendent. He knew very few persons capable of instantly killing Haitia, and those individuals had no motive to target him.

This seemed more akin to the work of an outsider.

For instance, the mysterious woman who brushed past him tonight, whose mere look posed a threat.

Yet could Duke Ash understand all this?

Cedric departed from the Simpler Clan's estate, chewing the remaining half of the hard bread with relish, leisurely blending into the darkness.

If he could comprehend these matters, he wouldn't be known as the 'notorious' Duke Ash.

Yet for him, it might not be such a bad thing; he had little interest in noble prestige or political games, only interested in those opponents able to excite his blood, which was also why he initially joined the Imperial Army, and tonight, that long-forgotten ardor was rekindled once more.

He had a premonition that as long as the red-haired woman remained in the Imperial Capital, their paths would eventually cross again.

And at their next meeting, it might be when they draw their swords against each other.

…

Elsewhere, without uttering a word, Duke Ash opened the hidden door in the study, proceeding towards the hidden prison beneath the mansion, a place used by the family for executing rebels or satisfying some members' perverse needs. The gas lamp was the only source of light here, and the farther he descended the stairs, the thicker the stench of blood became in the air.

Many were imprisoned in the cells, their hair disheveled, eyes dull and vacant.

They had lost the will to beg for mercy or cry for help, akin to walking corpses, awaiting death to liberate them from this Hell.

The interrogation room lay at this dark corridor's end, the source of the bloody scent.

When Duke Ash entered, the interrogation room's floor was already soaked with blood. A person who had been interrogated had already perished, unrecognizable, and fixed upon the execution platform was a bloody mass of flesh, beside which lay an intact human skin.