Alien world

Chapter 1698, Section 331: The Rat's Offense
South, Mangyue Territory.

On the scorched earth, two figures appeared in front of the teleportation array.

As far as the eye could see, the orange-red evening sky was covered with charred ash.

"The air is filled with the cries of living beings..." the Skeleton King murmured.

"What did you find?" Bean asked, turning his gaze away.

A massive fire had clearly taken place nearby, reducing everything to ashes. Huge wreckage was smoldering with a wisp of smoke, and only lonely stone walls or pillars remained standing on the hillside.

"Death and destruction..."

The soul fire in the Skeleton King's eye sockets flickered, and he stretched out his long, slender joints to beckon forward. The faint magical fluctuations drifted further and further away, like raindrops falling into the ocean, leaving no echo.

"There are no souls here."

"Even the soul is gone, so who could the murderer be...?"

“The necromancer is capable of doing it.”

But necromancers have always relied on the strong to bully the weak and the many to defeat the few. How could they dare to attack a powerful and influential family of the Kings of the North?

Therefore, the Skeleton King added, "Or fel energy."

"Wandering souls here, heed my call and awaken."

The Skeleton King raised his staff again, and another wave of energy spread out. Then, in Bean's sight, ghostly flames suddenly appeared in the empty ruins and gathered in the Skeleton King's palm.

Tell me, what happened?

"Rat swarm... so many rat swarms... help... Mom, where are you... hold them off... someone save me... call for help... kill them..." A jumbled, broken voice, a mixture of men, women, and children, came from the fragment of the soul in the Skeleton King's palm.

Bean was shaken and his mind was in turmoil, but after being soothed by the Skeleton King, he regained his senses and exhaled, "The culprit has been found; it's the rat swarm."

There are rat populations in the south, which is... quite normal.

But the fact that the place was burned down by fire is anything but normal.

Shouldn't they be gnawing on everything, edible and inedible?

The Skeleton King released his grip, letting the remaining fragments of soul dissipate into the air. "Want to come with me somewhere?"

Lord Annan's order was to follow the Skeleton King. Binn agreed first, then asked, "Where are you going?"

“Let’s go and see the master of this place, Grand Duke Watson.”

……

A cocktail party was being held in the brightly lit castle. The whispers of the men and the giggles of the ladies were refracted in different colors by the hanging crystal chandeliers.

The chief mage, holding a wine glass, stood in a corner of the banquet hall. Suddenly, his brow twitched; he sensed that the castle's magic circle had been activated. In the blink of an eye, two guests who were not on the guest list appeared in the center of the banquet hall.

Upon seeing the tall, slender figure, his first thought was that it was indeed an illusion.

How could I possibly discover the arrival of such a being...? Hmm, could it be a deliberate reminder, like a guest knocking on the door?

A few gasps rippled through the banquet hall, the music stopped, and the guests parted. Grand Duke Watson, who was conversing with a friend, stared at the two uninvited guests: "Undead, you are...?"

"Leonafah".

Leonefa… I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before. As Grand Duke Watson frowned, the chief mage stopped the guards and whispered, “Your Highness, it’s the Skeleton King…”

"hiss……"

Grand Duke Watson gasped, as if the temperature of the banquet had suddenly dropped, and even the lights seemed to flicker.

"So it's Mr. Skeleton King. What a distinguished guest! Is there anything the Duchy can do to help?" Grand Duke Watson put on a smile, a bead of cold sweat sliding down his forehead.

Those undead in the Netherworld are not to be trifled with. Don't be fooled by the fact that the Duchy is affiliated with the behemoth, the Southern Alliance; it's just an outer member. If you were to be killed by them for any reason, the Southern Alliance wouldn't even bother to avenge you.

"Grand Duke Watson, are you aware of what happened in the Manchurian Territory and the attack on the Benitez family's convoy?"

Grand Duke Watson's heart skipped a beat. He knew Annan Reeves, of course, but he didn't know about his connection to the Skeleton King and the King in the North. The Skeleton King Leonaf had come to ask him… was it to seek revenge for the Benitez family?
Damn it, why didn't they say those outsiders had this identity sooner!
Grand Duke Watson immediately said, "Mr. Skeleton King, it was the Skullmen of Stun who did it. They slaughtered the Benitez family and their caravan, and burned the entire Mangrove Territory to the ground. It's outrageous!"

He poured all the blame on the ratmen, since he had already gotten his share of the benefits.

Moreover, he was not involved in the whole incident; at most, he received some benefits but did not pursue the matter further…

"Understood. We'll probably ask you a few more questions next."

"Of course, it would be my honor." Grand Duke Watson smiled broadly as he watched the Skeleton King Leonera leave the banquet. He let out a long sigh, wiped the sweat from his brow, and looked at the silent guests.

"Let's continue, keep playing the music!"

……

"Damn ratman, you dare kill my men!"

His clenched fist crumpled the letter, and his dark eyes flashed with a chilling killing intent.

Annan immediately guessed the reason why the Stoan ratmen attacked the Benitez family—it must be because the high priest knew that he was investigating the truth.

That was an entire family. If I hadn't investigated, they would have just died, and no one would have stood up for them.

That damned rapist...

Traitors are more despicable than enemies!

But what about reporting Grand Duke Watson?

What's the difference between this and reporting yourself for colluding with the ratmen?
Annan released his grip and handed the letter to Bean: "Send it to the old patriarch and tell him not to worry. Tell him that Liberty City will avenge the Benitez family. Peterson, inform Francois to put pressure on that Grand Duke and make them give an explanation. We also reserve the right to pursue the matter further."

If we can't mess with the Skaven, we can at least mess with you! The King in the North may be in decline, but he's not at the point where anyone can trample on him!

If you dare to touch the guests of Liberty City, then you are not taking me, Annan Reeves, seriously.

The South and the Ratmen were exchanging glances, and everyone turned a blind eye. After all, humanity wasn't a monolithic entity; internal factions were tangled and chaotic. You and the Ratmen had a life-or-death feud, while I was on friendly terms with them. If you wanted to attack the Ratmen, why should I?

But allowing the ratmen to harm their own people... that's not just a matter of stance, it's also a matter of ability. The last one they did was the Kingdom of Rikaner, who is now obediently guarding their homeland in the North under Annam's tutelage.

As for the Skullmen... that high priest must have known something, and even knew what he knew, so he killed them to silence them.

So it was my fault that I ruined them...?
“Lord Annan, please don’t blame yourself too much. The ratman is the real culprit,” said Peterson, Annan’s advisor.

Annan shook his head. He felt a little sad that the King of the North had lost another one, but not much. He was more interested in his new perspective on the Skaven.

He had dealt with the Stoun ratmen for so long and benefited so much that he had overlooked the fact that assassination and infiltration were the Stoun ratmen's forte—they had even nearly overthrown Breeze City back then.

(End of this chapter)