33: farce

For a time, the atmosphere in the council hall became lively.

Some were excitedly rubbing their fists, as if they saw the hope of their Family's rise.

Some showed worried expressions, clearly concerned that the conflict of extraordinary powers would affect them and shake their Family's Foundation.

There were also some weaker minor nobles whose faces instantly turned pale, their eyes flickering.

Li Ke sat quietly in the corner, saying nothing.

The candlelight in the council hall flickered, making his face appear in shifting light and shadow.

"Purge evil?"

Li Ke sneered inwardly.

This so-called purge operation seemed more Li Ke a game of reshuffling, led by the Oak Family.

It clearly created a good opportunity for some powerful nobles to eliminate dissidents and annex the weaker ones.

After all, where there is evil, and who is evil, is often unclear.

Based on his multiple attendances at the Mist trade fair in Xilin Town, he suspected that many nobles here were already entangled with evil forces, or even part of the evil themselves.

Asking them to purge evil, it was likely that under the banner of "purging," mutual infighting would not be uncommon.

Then, some Families whose extraordinary powers had been cut off would probably suffer a terrible fate...

The Oak Family could not be unaware of this, yet they still formulated this purge operation.

Their true intentions were probably far more complex than what appeared on the surface.

"Good, the more chaotic the situation, the better..."

"The Bronze Armor Corpse needs blood food..."

Li Ke lowered his eyes, feigning indifference.

However, hidden in the shadows, a faint smile had already appeared on his lips.

In the council hall, amidst the discussions of the crowd, Celestine, who stood behind Pastor Abbot, felt her eyes stir slightly when she heard the name "Li Ke Charles."

"Li Ke... Charles..."

The combination of this name subtly touched a chord deep within her memory.

A faint, blurry memory fragment flashed through her mind.

"Li... Charl..."

Was it the indistinct syllables spoken by Deacon Kahn before he died?

Celestine's heart skipped a beat.

She subtly raised her eyelids, her gaze sweeping over the crowd and landing on the young Baron sitting quietly in the corner.

"Could it be him?"

This thought merely flashed through her mind before she suppressed it.

Just a few similar syllables didn't prove anything.

But Celestine still secretly remembered the name and that calm face.

...

The banquet finally ended.

The nobles, with various complex emotions, gradually walked out of the council hall, preparing to return home.

Elegant carriages lined up in front of the Oak Family mansion, waiting for their respective masters.

The night was somewhat cold.

The servants of the Oak Family mansion held high torches, dispelling the surrounding darkness.

Hatties drove the Charles Family's plain carriage over, stopping quietly by the roadside, waiting for Li Ke to appear.

"Get out of the way!"

Just then, a richly decorated carriage suddenly squeezed in from the side.

Perhaps due to the coachman's impatience, the carriage swerved sharply to the side as it passed.

"Thump!"

The corners of the two carriages collided, emitting a dull sound.

A young knight guarding the luxurious carriage immediately burst into rage.

"Are you blind, you dog!"

"Can't you see this is the Varnes Family's carriage?!"

Whoosh!!!

Before he could finish speaking, a whip, carrying a sharp whistling sound, viciously lashed towards Hatties!

Crack!!!

Hatties's body instinctively dodged.

The whip struck the carriage shaft heavily, and a deep mark immediately appeared on the hard wooden surface.

Seeing this, Hatties's eyes twitched sharply.

Deep within his dark pupils, a tiny black Spiral Force flashed and disappeared.

But thinking that his master had not yet emerged, and as a commoner, he had no right to argue with a noble master, Hatties forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart.

He merely glanced at the other party in silence, attempting to pull the carriage aside to make way.

"You lowly slave, you dare to look!"

Unexpectedly, the other party escalated.

A chaotic and turbid Qi fluctuation suddenly emanated from the young knight's body.

Whoosh!!!

Another whip lash aimed at Hatties!

The wind howled, and this time, clearly more power was poured into it!

Hatties could no longer bear it.

In his dark pupils, the tiny black Spiral Force began to rotate rapidly.

A subtle, ancient, and fierce aura suddenly emanated from his body.

His right hand instantly vanished from its original position.

In the next instant, it had already grasped the rapidly swinging whip tip out of thin air, Li Ke pinching a wriggling venomous snake.

Hatties suddenly flicked his arm.

"Hiss!!!"

A strange Spiral Force instantly erupted from his body, transmitting along the whip.

The hemp-rope whip suddenly twisted violently, as if subjected to immense twisting force.

Fibers snapped one by one, making crackling sounds.

This Spiral Force directly transmitted from the whip to the knight's arm.

"Ah!!!"

The knight let out an extremely shrill scream.

His arm, holding the whip, from his fingers and wrist all the way to his forearm and upper arm, underwent terrifying, violent twisting!

Flesh and skin tore inch by inch!

Even exposing the pale white bone splinters!

His entire arm was Li Ke a wrung-out rag, blood spurting in all directions...

"Stop!"

From inside the other party's carriage compartment, a roar filled with shock and anger came.

The carriage curtain was violently pulled open, revealing a middle-aged noble's face filled with shock and fury.

"Are you openly attacking a noble's retainer?!"

Baron Varnes stared at Hatties, his eyes full of apprehension and anger.

Hatties's pupils constricted slightly, and he was about to speak.

"Clap clap clap!"

A faint sound of applause suddenly came from behind him.

Unbeknownst to him, Li Ke was already standing quietly by the carriage behind Hatties, watching the scene unfold with a faint smile.

"Baron Varnes."

Li Ke's voice carried a hint of a smile.

"It's just a small spar between servants, no need to be so serious, is it?"

Baron Varnes's gaze fell on Li Ke.

Seeing the smiling expression on Li Ke's face, and then glancing at Hatties, who stood with his hands at his sides, his fierce aura not yet completely dissipated, a hint of apprehension flashed in his eyes, and his expression flickered.

Finally, he managed to force out a rather strained smile.

"Indeed, just a small spar."

"The Charles Family has a successor, good, very good."

"Do I need to pay for some medical expenses?" Li Ke asked considerately.

Baron Varnes's face instantly stiffened for a moment.

He lowered the curtain and said sullenly, "No need."

...

This small farce quickly ended.

Li Ke's carriage slowly drove away from the Oak Family mansion, merging into the cold wind of the winter night.

Many nobles who had not yet left witnessed everything that had just happened.

They exchanged glances, their faces showing thoughtful expressions.

"I heard the Charles Family suffered heavy casualties from an evil attack, leaving only one son. It seems the situation is not entirely true."

"I didn't expect old Charles to still leave some Foundation."

Inside a spacious carriage, the hushed voices of several nobles could be heard.

"In that case, the Charles Family cannot be considered a fat piece of meat."

"Let's find other targets..."