CHAPTER 410: CHAPTER 25: SUDDEN ATTACK

In Saint Mark’s Square, Aske was leisurely holding a bag of corn kernels, grabbing a handful and scattering them onto the ground, a flock of pigeons cooing as they chased after him.

The other four girls: ..........

Weren’t we here to investigate a case? Why are you feeding pigeons here?

However, since the Squad Leader was acting, there must be a deep meaning to it, so everyone followed suit and bought some corn and wheat grains, trailing behind to feed the birds.

Medea and Mia were having the most fun, deliberately enticing the flock of pigeons to run after them; Sigrdrifa, due to her unprofessional technique, sprinkled too much at once, causing the flock to stay in one spot and peck continually. No matter how much she sprinkled afterward, they wouldn’t follow, which frustrated her.

"These pigeons are so plump, maybe we should catch a few to roast..." Such a thought circled in her mind, and Sigrdrifa was a bit tempted. But seeing Aske still feeding, she somewhat dared not take action.

Peggy, meanwhile, was feeding the pigeons absentmindedly. Aske had previously asked her to contact Agrippina, so she started writing in her diary. However, there was no response from the other side, after about an afternoon, drawing close to evening, still nothing.

Could Master have run into trouble?

For this makeshift mentor, Peggy had a good impression; he had taught her how to master and use her Extraordinary Ability and how to pursue the Squad Leader. Whether useful or not was beside the point, her gratitude for his intention was genuine.

With these thoughts, she grew agitated, but if a Demigod indeed faced danger, then apart from the Squad Leader, no one else could intervene. Therefore, she could only suppress her anxious emotions and wait in silence.

After feeding for a while, a particular pigeon suddenly flew onto Aske’s hand, pecked at the palm of his hand, peck peck, and then suddenly vomited a small clump of flesh.

The piece of flesh writhed disgustingly and quickly spread out to form a map drawn in blood, to the shock of the girls.

"Can you do this?" Sigrdrifa asked Peggy.

Peggy shook her head, looking somewhat confused.

She didn’t know what had happened to Agrippina, which prevented her from replying through the diary, forcing her to convey the message in such a hidden manner. This only added to her concerns.

But how did Aske know?

Thinking of the Squad Leader’s confident demeanor, she felt slightly reassured.

The designated location on the map was in a secluded old suburb of Venice City, an area built earliest on the sea with wooden stakes as the foundation, which had mostly rotted away due to neglect over the years.

The rotting of the wooden foundation meant that the stone slabs above might collapse at any moment. Thus, the "surface traps" scattered everywhere and the "temporary road surfaces" patched together with tarpaulins, wood, and boats became one of the few characteristics of the poor districts in Venice.

The group arrived in a hidden alley, seeming to be where the surrounding residents dumped their garbage, with rats and insects lingering.

After waiting patiently for a moment, a rat emerged from the pile of rubbish and quickly morphed into a vague human shape.

Agrippina, known as the Henbane Flower Demigod, now looked as disheveled as a soldier who had just fled a battlefield, hardly a patch of skin on her was intact.

"Master..." Peggy choked up, only to hear Agrippina fix her with a stare and fall silent, then angrily burst out:

"Aske! I told you to come alone, who let you bring her here!"

"A blade long sharpened must eventually be drawn from its sheath to be tested," Aske said calmly.

"What if the blade breaks?" Agrippina sneered.

"No," Aske said, "leave everything to me."

"Fine," Agrippina replied, impatiently dismissing further conversation, "when the time comes I can only protect my apprentice; you’re responsible for everyone else!"

What were these two talking about... The girls were clueless and confused when suddenly Medea’s complexion took a drastic turn as she cried out in alarm,

"Demigods! Two demigods are approaching!"

Perception honed by the Conspiracy Sequence had detected some strong malevolence rapidly closing in. As for who the newcomers were, the conversation just now had already provided an answer.

At the end of the alley, a certain rat stood up from the ground and transformed into a young man with a high nose bridge and deep-set eyes.

On the wall of the adjacent building, flesh writhed and took the shape of another human form, bearing a seven to eight parts resemblance to the young man.

"Tiberius! Gaius!" Agrippina hissed through clenched teeth.

"Agrippina," the pair of demigod brothers began, "cease your resistance and come back with us. You ought to pay for your crimes."

"I’ve committed no crime!" Agrippina retorted angrily, "It wasn’t me who killed him! I mean..."

"At that time, I wasn’t acting of my own volition! I was being controlled!"

"We know," to her surprise, the demigod brothers revealed a cruel smile, "Killing the Venice Governor would bring you no benefits; you had no motive to do it."

"You know?" Agrippina was stunned.

"Of course, but you must die here today," said the left demigod.

"We’ve already lost any room for negotiation with the Church Court and can’t afford to further offend the Venice City State," the right demigod added.

"Your head will be our offering to broker favor with the city council," both spoke in unison, "A sacrifice for the greater cause of the organization—it’s an honor for you, Agrippina."

"Honor?" Agrippina scoffed, "I’m afraid that once I’m dead, certain people will eagerly sling mud on my name, seizing the chance to purge the Reformists from the organization in one fell swoop?"

"The tenets of your Reformist faction are simply outdated," the left demigod asserted.

"Solomon isn’t about lineage; it’s a cultural identity," the right demigod explained, "In today’s world narrative, it represents the Solomon Sect. Everyone who believes in the Solomon Sect is a true Solomonite."

"Judging solely by bloodline, your views are far too radical," they spoke in chorus again, "After killing you, we’ll bring the organization back to the path it should be on."

"Cowards!" Agrippina laughed maniacally, "A bunch of self-deceiving scum!"

"If you want to eliminate the Reformists, come at us!"

Then, the battle was on.

The right demigod was the first to move, his arm instantaneously transforming into a colossal limb that stretched out like a battering ram towards Agrippina. She managed to block the blow with her left arm, which had turned into a shield, but the force of the impact made her stagger backward.

The left demigod, meanwhile, dove into a swift charge. Mid-sprint, he burst into countless bats that scattered then quickly converged in front of Aske, reforming into shape, his hands now turned into over half a meter long, sharp claws gleaming with indigo radiance.

He viciously tore down towards Aske.