Leston finished comforting Harris.
He looked back at the battle between Shurein and the Royal Guard. Seeing Shurein's powerful performance, he couldn't help but marvel inwardly: "As expected of a soul from another world. The potential of these Reincarnators is truly wonderful. Their pure souls might actually help me achieve my long-cherished wish. No, they will definitely help me achieve it!"
Harris's intuition was correct.
The current Leston was no longer the Leston of the past, but an old monster who had lived for countless years. His true identity was the patriarch of the Elf Race, that snake-like man. As soon as he knew Shurein was a Reincarnator, he had already made moves on the royal family, planting Soul Seeds in all royal members. Only Shurein and Hero Julius had not been planted with a Soul Seed.
Earlier, upon sensing that his Soul Seeds in the royal family had been eliminated, he immediately activated the Soul Seed within Leston, devouring Leston's soul and taking his place. Then, after learning what had happened in the royal family, he felt his opportunity had arrived. He finally had hope of taking this Reincarnator's soul for himself.
Not only that, he could even manipulate Harris to become the King of the kingdom after assisting his ascent. The Anareto Kingdom would fall into his hands. At the thought of this, he couldn't help but want to laugh. Although he didn't know who was responsible for the setup, he was truly grateful to that fellow. This way, most of the Reincarnators had fallen into his hands, and next, he could fulfill his long-cherished wish.
It was only the matter of that prophecy that made him somewhat wary. What was that Reincarnator, who was prophesied to kill him and destroy the Elf Race, doing now? Moreover, that person could actually break his skills, which made him even more cautious. He had originally planned to act only after collecting all the Reincarnators, but now, as long as he took the two Reincarnators from the Anareto Kingdom,
he would start his move immediately.
And this matter had to be settled before that Hero rushed back!
Potimas was still dreaming his beautiful dream.
He didn't know that Shadow Shurein had already set his sights on him. His master had long known about Potimas's tricks; how could he not have predicted that this old geezer would take action? He had known long ago that between Harris and Leston, one of them must have been occupied by Potimas. What he needed to do next was find a way to expose this person's disguise. Then, it would be easy to persuade the kingdom to go to war against the Elf Race. After all, he still had evidence of the Elf Race's child trafficking from years ago.
Shadow Shurein broke through the army's encirclement and rushed in front of the Royal Guard Legion Commander. Under the commander's awe-filled gaze, he slowly sheathed his sword.
"Legion Commander, I have something I need you to do."
"Huh?"
"I have already received a letter from Brother Julius. The letter states that the Demon Race has launched an invasion. To ensure the safety of the frontline fortresses, Brother Julius will lead a team to the front lines to provide support and cannot rush back to investigate the truth behind the assassination of our father and the Queen. He has entrusted me to investigate the truth of this matter and asked me to stabilize the order of the kingdom, so that the country does not fall into turmoil because of this."
"The Demon Race has actually launched an invasion?!"
Upon hearing what Shurein said,
the expressions of the Legion Commander and the ministers all changed.
Then Shurein said to the Legion Commander: "You may not believe me, but you cannot disbelieve Brother Julius, nor can you disbelieve the words of the Hero. The matter of Father and the Queen and the invasion of the Demon Race definitely have a huge connection. I suspect the assassin is right here in the palace. I want to investigate this matter. Until the truth comes to light, everyone in the palace is under heavy suspicion, including... my two brothers. You are also suspects. I need you to cooperate with my investigation!"
Seeing that the Royal Guard Legion Commander seemed about to be persuaded by Shurein, Leston couldn't hold back any longer. He stepped forward and asked: "Words alone are not proof. Shurein, bring out Julius's letter for everyone to see."
Shurein said: "Of course, but I cannot give it to you. Legion Commander, Brother wrote in the letter that I can seek your help, which shows you are trustworthy. Let this letter be verified by you."
Then he looked at the ministers and the two princes.
"It was Brother Julius who said the Legion Commander is trustworthy. If you have any objections, you can take them up with Brother Julius."
"Ahem, since it is the Hero's wish, we naturally have no objections."
If Shurein hadn't just given the Royal Guard a beating, someone might have suspected they were colluding. But because of that farce just now, they knew that with Shurein's strength, he could completely ignore the Royal Guard and take them down. If he had already colluded with the Royal Guard, there would be no need for such an unnecessary move. Furthermore, since the Royal Guard could gain Prince Harris's trust and be entrusted with the heavy responsibility of guarding the palace today, it also showed that the possibility of Prince Shurein and the Royal Guard colluding was minimal. If that were truly the case, it would only prove that the two princes were too incompetent.
Leston looked at this scene with a gloomy expression.
Damn it, he didn't expect that even though he had immediately sent people to lock Shurein and the others up, they could still communicate with the Hero via letter!
Over there, the Legion Commander finished reading the letter and stated that it was correct—this was indeed Prince Julius's handwriting, and the wording was also Prince Julius's style; it couldn't possibly be a forgery. He had once served as Prince Julius's swordsmanship sparring partner. If he said so, then this letter was very likely real.
The letter was, of course, real.
Julius received news of the Demon Race's advance and could not return in time, so he wrote this letter and had someone bring it back. Furthermore, when that person discovered that Shurein had been imprisoned upon his return to the palace, he proactively suggested that he could take Shurein and escape, but Shurein refused. The arrival of this letter increased his leverage.
It turned out his plan was to wait until that Potimas exposed himself before taking action. Canadia's side was returning with a large army heading toward the Royal Capital; at that time, they would coordinate from within and without to take down Potimas and the Royal Capital.
But with this letter, such trouble was no longer necessary.
"Legion Commander, I want you to blockade the palace now. Not a single person is to be let out. Then, go invite the Archmage! I need the Archmage's magic to help me check if everyone's identity is fake. I suspect the assassin is hidden among us."
"Yes! Your servant obeys the command!"
The Legion Commander completely ignored the unsightly expressions of the two princes on the throne. After seeing Julius's evaluation of him in the letter, he had now completely submitted to Shurein's faction. Julius's personal charisma was just that strong.
Leston's expression was cold.
He felt quite dismissive in his heart. It was impossible for a mere human Archmage to see through his skills. However, after this commotion, his plan could be said to have been disrupted throughout. Additionally, Prince Harris was a waste who couldn't be helped; the throne would likely be snatched away by Shurein next.
After all, the only prince currently without suspicion was Shurein, who had just returned. Both Harris and he were under heavy suspicion, yet these useless people didn't even know who the assassin that killed the King and Queen was, or even thought the assassin didn't exist. Under these circumstances, living in the palace, they had no way to clear their own suspicion.
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