Chapter 52: The Spiral of Death, Section 6

The Grand Duke of Tarot’s reaction was justified. After all, Veri was his daughter, so he knew her personality all too well.
Indeed, in terms of cunning, Veri could be considered the best among his children. As for ambition, she had inherited everything from him. But there was one thing she would never possess—compassion!!
His own daughter, who had inherited his ambition, abilities, and even amassed a vast amount of power—could never show the slightest trace of compassion. Perhaps she might cry for someone who meant nothing to her during a performance, but once things got serious, she was colder than the most venomous snake. So no matter what… she would absolutely never give an order to spare his life!!
The words spoken by these two suddenly appearing human figures only proved one thing in the ears of the Grand Duke of Tarot…
They were not Veri’s subordinates!! They were lying to him!!
“You’re not sent by Veri!!”
Hearing this roar, the human figures on the other side were momentarily stunned before suddenly laughing. Their voices were no longer metallic in tone but had turned into a somewhat hoarse sound.
“Your Excellency, when have we ever admitted to being Miss Veri’s subordinates? It’s all just your own delusion.”
This voice!? The Grand Duke of Tarot’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Beck… Beck!! Weren’t you already dead?”
“Dead?” The dark-haired man sneered. But with the mask covering his face, nothing could be seen.
“Sort of. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to see your true appearance, Your Excellency. I must say, you’re very good at hiding.”
“Well…” The Grand Duke’s expression changed as he realized he had revealed quite a few secrets with his earlier words. But he wasn’t panicked.
“But this has nothing to do with you, Beck. I remember never treating you poorly when you were by my side.”
“That’s true,” the dark-haired man nodded honestly, his gaze softening somewhat.
The Grand Duke was right. Although this time, the dark-haired man had ulterior motives in approaching him, in the past, during his time infiltrating the Moor Empire, the Grand Duke had treated him well—never cutting corners in his demands and always treating him with respect. But… that still wasn’t enough reason for the dark-haired man to spare him.

Black Hair had never believed in such things as special treatment. Whatever he received was entirely earned through his own strength. If not for his formidable combat skills and leadership abilities, the Grand Duke of Tarot would never have offered him such great help or supported him unconditionally. Therefore, no matter what the Grand Duke said now, Black Hair would not change his original intentions.

His gentle gaze turned cold in an instant, and his voice also became icy.

“Grand Duke, you’re supposed to be a remarkable figure. How can you still fail to see the situation clearly at this point? Do you really think I came to see you just because of the past? If that’s the case, I truly despise you.”

“You…” The Grand Duke of Tarot was speechless. As a powerful warlord, how could he not understand Black Hair’s meaning? He was simply upset to see his own bargaining chips vanish in an instant. Moreover, Beck was clearly dead, yet he appeared here now—Black Hair couldn’t figure out the meaning behind this.

Unseen, a sense of dread rose in the Grand Duke’s heart. He suddenly felt that today would be a very long day.

But in fact, his feeling was wrong.

Black Hair only wanted secrets and wouldn’t waste time on this. Although they had infiltrated this place, it was still the Grand Duke’s territory. If things escalated, Black Hair didn’t want to engage in a fight—that would be a waste of time.

So in the next moment, a tightly wrapped hand, like a sharp claw, landed directly on the Grand Duke’s head.

“I want everything you know,” Black Hair said coldly. With those words, a deadly intent erupted, causing the temperature around them to drop sharply. The already terrified naked girls couldn’t bear it and started to tremble violently.

But now, no one would show them pity. These women had been the Grand Duke’s playthings for who knew how long. Some might still be forced into it, but most had given up completely. Black Hair didn’t kill them right away because they weren’t worth it.

As the direct target of Black Hair’s murderous aura, the Grand Duke remained remarkably calm. His head, covered by the giant hand, didn’t move at all as he replied coldly, “Impossible.”

“Why? Do you even want to keep your life??”

“Of course. But I still can’t give it to you, Beck.” Beneath Black Hair’s palm, the Grand Duke’s lips curled slightly, revealing a strange smile.

“You really don’t understand me at all. Beck, if my secrets were so easily obtainable, His Majesty would have killed me years ago. Do you think that man would let his weaknesses be known to others for so long? The reason he hasn’t touched me is first, because I certainly won’t reveal them, and second, because he has no choice—since besides the secrets, he also relies on me.”
“Oh?” Blackhair immediately became interested. “What’s going on here? After all, His Majesty is the ruler of a nation and the most powerful emperor in this universe. What does he need from you?”
“That’s not something you should know,” the Grand Duke of Tarot sneered disdainfully. “Beck, it’s not too late for you to let go of me now. Don’t go too far. Otherwise, even if the empire falls, there likely won’t be a place for you to hide.”
“Is that a threat?” Under his mask, Blackhair also showed a disdainful smile. But the Grand Duke of Tarot remained oblivious and continued speaking.
“You can think of it that way. Beck, don’t make the same mistake again. If you stop now, no matter who your master is, I guarantee he won’t really dare touch you. Even if it’s His Majesty, he’ll give me some respect.”
“What boldness. Then I must get those secrets even more. Your Excellency, it seems your luck is really bad.”
At that moment, Blackhair suddenly waved his hand. Five small orbs of light appeared on the fingers of his left hand. As he waved, five long threads formed instantly, circling the bathroom. There was a rumbling sound all around. Everyone except the Grand Duke of Tarot suddenly shrank in size.
Hundreds of shattered corpses appeared on the ground…
“You!!!” The pungent smell of blood instantly changed the Grand Duke of Tarot’s expression as he realized Blackhair wasn’t joking. “Are you crazy?! If you kill me, the Moor Empire will lose its dominance! It won’t be able to suppress those vassal tribes. Do you want to become the empire’s sinner?!”
“Is it that exaggerated?!” Blackhair suddenly grinned viciously. “Then I definitely can’t let you go!”
As he spoke, a crystal on Blackhair’s forehead suddenly glowed brightly. A soft white light spread out, completely covering the Grand Duke of Tarot’s head. Both Blackhair and the Grand Duke’s bodies trembled violently, shaking as if shaken by a sieve.
“The head?!” The monkey behind him was shocked by this sight but didn’t know how to help. He could only watch on, staring at Blackhair with concern.

Fortunately, this situation didn’t last long. In just five minutes, Black Hair and the Tarot Grand Duke’s tremors stopped at the same time. As Black Hair released his grip, the Tarot Grand Duke instantly lost all his strength and collapsed like a pile of mud. Black Hair also swayed unsteadily; if not for Monkey’s quick reaction in supporting him, he would have fallen too.

“Leave this place right away.” No matter how short the time had been, Black Hair seemed to have been seriously ill. Even his voice was trembling. Monkey could imagine that his face beneath the mask must be as pale as paper.

“Boss, what are you doing?”

“I can’t explain now. Leave immediately. I need a safe place to process this.” Black Hair cut Monkey off urgently, giving orders in a hasty tone.

Seeing this, how could Monkey not know what to do? He ignored everything else, sent out a signal for an emergency retreat, and immediately rushed outside with Black Hair in his arms. As soon as they left the castle, the power armor on his body emitted a burst of intense light, enveloping him completely. The next moment, he had transformed into a meteor and shot into the sky.

At the same time, in the sky above the castle, Blood Pupil and Baroque also received Monkey’s message. They exchanged glances, both seeing the killing intent in each other’s eyes.

“Boss, they succeeded and are retreating.” Beneath his mask, Baroque’s voice sounded mechanical and emotionless.

“Mm. We must leave too. Otherwise, a fleet of warships will arrive soon. I don’t mind fighting, but I don’t like wasting time on useless pawns.”

“Then…” Baroque grinned, his eyes glowing with intensity.

“Let’s do it!” Blood Pupil nodded.

“Hehe!!” With Baroque’s cold laughter, their power armor suddenly moved toward each other, and their hands clasped together. The next moment, they began spinning rapidly around each other. The speed increased faster and faster, and in just a few seconds, their individual forms became completely indistinguishable. As they spun, numerous energy orbs floated out from their bodies like fireflies, only to be sucked into the rapidly rotating vortex. More and more…

Soon, a huge milky-white light sphere appeared in the sky above the castle. Along with Blood Pupil and Baroque’s wild laughter, the light sphere plummeted toward the castle, leaving a long spiral-shaped light trail in the silent sky…

“The Death Spiral!”