CHAPTER 529: 531. TREMBLING NECKLACE

"Socrates, who is my teacher and the man who has repeatedly rejected me."

Alcibiades was walking with Lann on the roads of Athens, looking back at Lann’s profile as he spoke.

"Although he takes pride in his identity as an Athenian, he opposes, or rather detests, the ’democracy’ advocated by Pericles."

"He thinks the concept is utterly foolish, and unfortunately, he is well qualified to say that, as he should be considered one of the wisest humans in this world."

As they were talking, the two passed by a rostrum in the city of Athens.

Because all Athenian citizens have the right to be elected, many citizens with political ambitions sometimes speak passionately, resulting in many rostrums being built in Athens.

At this moment, the person displaying wisdom on the rostrum was a man in a grass-green robe, wearing a gold headband, with graying hair.

The crowd surrounding the rostrum was quite large, indicating his popularity.

"That is Pericles."

Alcibiades pointed to the stage, introducing his uncle and adoptive father to Lann.

At this moment, the ’Father of Democracy’ was passionately making his speech to the audience below.

"Respected citizens! The construction of the long walls is absolutely necessary! The Spartans are wantonly trampling our farmlands and hunting grounds outside, but the land cannot be destroyed, only the people can! It’s the farmers and hunters!"

"Build the long walls, relocate the residents outside the city, and include them! This will also protect Piraeus Harbor and ensure the flow of materials within our city! The Spartans are not good at siege warfare; they can do nothing against the long walls! We will achieve security because of this!"

"Compared to this, the cost of the long walls is negligible. Moreover, the construction has already started; if we stop now, all previous investments will be wasted!"

Pericles’ impassioned plea was relentless, and seeing an elderly man with graying hair perform in such a manner, who could say he was not ’exhausting all efforts’?

The audience under the rostrum was also moved by the farsighted speech of a mature politician, and they began to clap.

It appeared to be a harmonious scene of ’mutual understanding between the people and the ruler’.

However, Alcibiades and Lann, who were passing by, looked upon this scene calmly.

"Do you believe it?" Alcibiades asked with an amused smile.

"Do you believe that these spectators below, after listening to Kleon’s emotionally charged and illogical speech in the afternoon, will immediately turn into something else?"

Lann calmly responded to the other.

"I’m not some naive fool, Alcibiades. I know that rousing emotions can gain more public support than explaining logic."

"Especially in difficult times." Alcibiades added.

"Difficult times drive people to vent their emotions, which is why Pericles is finding it increasingly challenging to deal with Kleon."

"Therefore, it’s impossible for Pericles to issue an order at this time to target the son of a well-known artist. Do you know the damage to Pericles’ public image that Brison can cause by merely standing on the stage with that face of his, shedding a few tears?"

"People are especially lenient towards beautiful beings, wishing to believe in their kindness and goodness. I believe you feel the same, right?"

Lann nodded and parted ways with Alcibiades at the crossroads.

"I will deal with him swiftly and decisively but will try to pry open his mouth before anyone discovers."

"Of course, that is your freedom." Alcibiades smiled and shrugged, "But it shouldn’t be that easy, Pericles has tried before."

-----------------

The other party resides within Athens and comes from a renowned family of artists.

The disturbance must not be big, leaving the only option—assassination.

"Tsk, this should have been Cassandra’s job."

Lann stood in the shadow of the street corner, looking at the three-story villa not far away.

If it were Cassandra with Icarus, they could see through the villa’s interior.

It’s like having X-ray vision, even able to assess the target’s strength without contact.

Divine Artifacts... some functions of these mysterious items are really useful. Unfortunately, being a foreigner, I seem unable to use them.

Lann slightly lamented, then began approaching the large villa.

A huge and heavy body can become light under a more powerful force.

Lann climbed the villa wall and instantly surveyed the interior upon gaining a view of the courtyard inside.

Menthos had already compiled the general layout.

And visualized it onto Lann’s retinas.

Four individuals patrolled inside the courtyard, with three more in the villa.

And four others in the deeper basement.

These are just those whose weaponry made noise, excluding servants and other personnel.

A villa of this scale in Athens is a deluxe residence.

Lann, after scaling the wall, accessed the Demon Hunter’s perception shortly, after which Menthos completed the intelligence summary.

"Route planning."

"Completed, sir."

Following a luminous path on his retina, Lann didn’t pause a moment atop the wall.

He jumped again, silently adhering to a protrusion on the villa’s exterior wall.

Aside from a passing large shadow on the ground, it was like a bird flapping its wings.

He then climbed upward, relying on protrusions and eaves along the villa wall.

Unlike Cassandra, who can freely climb dozens of meters against any surface by fingertips’ strength alone.

However, if the building itself provides footholds, he can manage.

The third-floor rooftop of the villa adhered to the consistent feature of Mediterranean architecture, a flat open terrace.

It had several luxurious wool carpets and a table with a silver basin containing pickled olives and fresh grapes.

As soon as Lann climbed up, two Divine Guards on the terrace saw him.

With extraordinary reflexes, Lann could even see their shocked and confused pupils behind the wise elder imagery on their helmets.

The throats of the two Divine Guards almost simultaneously started to roll, the alarm sound brewing in their vocal cords.

But the next moment, Lann’s left hand touched the floor of the third-floor terrace...with a glow of violet magic power.

"[Yarden]!"

A Rune Magic Array, encircling almost the entire terrace, unfurled, and the two Divine Guards’ movements slowed as if sinking into the sea.

This allowed Lann to quietly and swiftly approach them, using the Dragonbone Dagger from his lower back to skillfully stab into both their lower backs.

With their kidneys damaged, they couldn’t even scream, let alone call for help.

The Roaring Bear Head Necklace around Lann’s neck vibrated with a slight sound in response to the Chaos Magic Power.

He thus waited for half a minute until the Rune Circle composed of the [Yarden Magic Seal] completely shattered and dispersed before preparing to proceed.

However, as the purple fluorescent circle on the ground vanished, just as Lann was about to leave the terrace, he looked down in astonishment....

The Demon Hunter found his necklace was still vibrating!