Chapter 624: War is Coming

    cw: gore

    How could His Highness Prince Kaivia suddenly drop dead when Shen Nianzu had just communicated with him through Jin Jiuchi’s terminal right before they departed?

    That was just over an hour ago, and at that time, the young siren prince still looked fine and dandy, pitifully wailing at Shen Nianzu to come and rescue him from the evil humans’ clutches!

    So how... how did things turn out like this all of a sudden?!

    Shen Nianzu did not doubt even for a second that he was mistaken. The throbbing pain in his chest was sharp and intense; it felt as vividly as though half of his heart had been gouged out. And he instinctively knew—it was the siren blood within him grieving and weeping for the loss of the last member of their royal family.

    Hell, he was not even aware that sirens had such a mental connection!

    It meant that not only him... but each and every siren in this Cycle, had received the same devastating news as well!

    Yet at this moment, Shen Nianzu had no luxury to analyze what kind of disaster this would bring forth, for his attention was seized by the residence that had barely come to view.

    They had been so close to reaching the destination, and if they made it quick, perhaps they would be able to detain the main culprit stirring chaos behind the scene!

    "To the residence!" That was all Shen Nianzu said before he switched the speed to the highest setting, nearly driving the hover car straight through the residence.

    The vehicle made a sharp swerve midair before screeching to a halt. With just one look exchanged, Jin Jiuchi intuitively scooped his jade doll into his arms and leaped out of the car in one fluid motion. Using the car as a springboard, he launched himself straight toward the second floor, his mechanical right arm aiming at the window!

    A sharp beam shot out of his palm—CRASH!

    The glass window exploded into a spray of glittering fragments as the two of them rolled inside, with Jin Jiuchi tucking his taller and broader body around Shen Nianzu to shield him from the flying glass shards.

    From the moment the hover car stopped to when they barged into the residence through brute force, only two seconds had passed, just enough to catch the fleeing figure inside completely off guard!

    Shen Nianzu’s gaze sharpened as he spotted the suspicious figure clad in black cloak. "Stop right there!" he hollered, his voice imbued in powerful siren magic that compelled anyone to obey his command.

    At a moment like this, he felt a little grateful that the Cycle didn’t leave them completely powerless despite the skill card and prop restrictions. At least, he still had the siren’s mystical ability and Jin Jiuchi’s body had even been mechanically enhanced. Not to mention, his identity was that of a siren commander. Even under the sea, less than ten sirens had higher authority than him, indicating that he was quite a formidable figure.

    Under normal circumstances, unless the other person was a more powerful siren or someone who was immune to the magic, they would have been affected, ensnared by the authoritative command in his tone.

    And yet an unbelievable sight unfolded right before their eyes—

    Not only did the cloaked figure not falter a bit, they even fled faster! They were not affected by the luring power in Shen Nianzu’s voice at all!

    Disbelief flashed across Shen Nianzu’s eyes, but he reacted swiftly and cried out, "Da Shen!"

    "Is it my turn now?" With a crisp kacha, Jin Jiuchi ejected a small pistol from a small compartment in his right arm and fired at the figure’s back without a pause. And at the same time, he broke into a run, intending to capture them in one fell swoop. "Did you not hear my Nian’er telling you to stop? Hey—wait until I catch you!"

    He was so quick that his silhouette almost blurred into afterimages, and the two of them swiftly disappeared from Shen Nianzu’s sight.

    Jin Jiuchi could be surprisingly reliable when the situation called for it; Shen Nianzu trusted in his capability that was akin to a mad hunting dog. Once he set his eyes on someone, rarely could they escape from his grasp.

    However...

    Shen Nianzu’s eyelids twitched ominously when the man returned empty-handed less than two minutes later, scratching his head with a puzzled look.

    "You... didn’t catch them?" disbelief and incredulity colored Shen Nianzu’s voice as he peered at the empty space behind Jin Jiuchi.

    "They disappeared right in front of me, Nian’er!" Jin Jiuchi complained, half annoyed and half confused. "They went through the wall and—whoosh—vanished just like that! I can’t even sense their presence anymore! Are we dealing with a ghost here, Nian’er? That’s possible—no, it can only be a ghost!" he exclaimed with conviction.

    "This is not a supernatural Cycle..." Shen Nianzu shook his head, creases forming between his brows.

    He found it hard to believe someone could slip away unscathed with Jin Jiuchi chasing after them, even more than the fact that they were immune to his mental power. Just how powerful could that unknown figure be? And yet, they had fled as soon as Jin Jiuchi and Shen Nianzu arrived, indicating that they didn’t wish for a direct confrontation.

    But why? Wouldn’t it be more reasonable to get rid of all eyewitnesses with the extent of power they possessed?

    Why had they chosen to flee instead?

    And wearing a long black cloak like that, almost as if... they feared for their identity to be exposed.

    Was it a key NPC or a player?

    Shen Nianzu’s mind spun rapidly as he analyzed the situation, yet the clues were far too few for him to draw a conclusion. In the end, he could only shift his focus to what Jin Jiuchi had said. Escaping by going through the wall... what kind of power was that? It did not sound like what he knew of sirens, garudas, or humans...

    A sigh escaped Shen Nianzu’s lips as he pinched his brows. "Let’s... check on Prince Kaivia first."

    With only so little clues around, he decided to investigate the crime scene to see if he could gather any crucial leads.

    However, he regretted it as soon as the bedroom door swung open, and an overpowering fishy smell rushed out.

    "Urgh...!" Slapping a hand over his mouth, Shen Nianzu hurriedly turned away and retched.

    Nonetheless, that split second glimpse had been seared into his retina, sending a wave of strong convulsions to his stomach.

    Blood—thick scarlet blood poured down the wall directly facing the door, seeping into the thick carpet like an overturned bucket of red paint.

    And on that wall, Prince Kaivia was hung like an ornament, reminding him of the filthy and decaying atmosphere of the butcher house. The young siren prince’s body had been cleaved into five separate pieces; the head, arms, torso and tail, each was nailed to the wall in the greatest form of mockery.

    Shen Nianzu couldn’t even begin to imagine how the sirens would react if they saw their most precious prince being killed and displayed in such a humiliating manner—when he, who wasn’t even a legitimate siren to begin with, was already struggling to cope with the intense discomfort that had surged without warning. The blood under his veins seemed to be boiling, clamoring for slaughter and vengeance, telling him not to stop until he hunted down whoever was responsible for the royal prince’s demise!

    War, he thought with rising dread. A war is coming.

    Sure enough, this high-level Cycle would not let them off so easily.