Chapter 1515: Chapter 1515: Seizing Power
Dong!
“Co in.” Julius Reed sat at the bedside, holding a cup of coffee, deep in thought.
Outside the door, there was a knock.
It was already 4 o’clock in the morning. The only one who would knock at this hour was Gabriel Young.
It must be sothing major in Swimming City.
That’s why she rushed over to find him.
The door wasn’t locked.
For a skilled individual, whether the lock was engaged or not made no difference.
It can keep out honest gentlen, but not scoundrels.
If soone truly wanted to assassinate, even ten doors couldn’t stop them.
“Sothing big has happened!” Gabriel Young burst in wearing pajamas, closed the door behind her, and whispered urgently, “Commander Ridge and Rhys Cook are dead. Rumor has it soone nad Devlin has taken control of many people and made himself the City Lord.”
“Is that possible? Is the intel accurate?” Julius Reed asked, sowhat surprised.
Sure enough, it was just as he had suspected.
Devlin was not skilled in many things, but when it ca to thriving in chaos, he was undoubtedly world-class.
This ti, however, he played his cards big—stealing the City Lord’s position.
Quite interesting.
“The intel is very accurate! By now, even ordinary citizens in Swimming City know about it. Apparently, the new City Lord has gathered the forces that originally belonged to the Nine Factions and rged them with the City Lord’s Mansion’s elite guard. They’re preparing for war!”
Gabriel Young was visibly anxious, her speech rapid.
The balance of power among the Three Factions had maintained Swimming City’s order for years.
Now that two factions have rged into one, the situation has changed dramatically.
“You’re worried he’ll target us next?” Julius Reed pinpointed her concerns with a single remark.
“That’s right.” Gabriel Young nodded. “For years, whether it was the City Lord or the Nine Factions, they’ve wanted to wipe out us old aristocrats. But their lack of unity maintained the balance of power. If Devlin truly becos City Lord and takes full control of Swimming City, we will surely be his first target.”
“Don’t worry, go back down.” Julius Reed waved her off.
He lay back, ready to go to sleep.
“Things might be more dire than you imagine. If Devlin really cos for us, even if the Six Families fight to the death, we won’t have any chance of winning. People might just decide to surrender for a better outco,” Gabriel Young didn’t leave, standing by Julius Reed’s side and calmly reasoning.
When danger strikes, everyone will make choices that benefit them the most.
It’s natural.
Human instinct, that’s all.
“Go to sleep.” Julius Reed turned over and closed his eyes.
What occupied his mind was the headless man from his dream.
Tonight’s dream might provide answers to the puzzle.
“Sigh!” Gabriel Young sighed, shaking her head. She had no choice but to leave.
She didn’t share his calm mood.
If things went south today, the Two Kings and Four Generals of Swimming City might beco history.
Entirely… history.
And what of the Young Family’s fate?
This wasn’t just about the combined forces of the Nine Factions’ armies and the City Lord’s elite guard!
However.
To Julius Reed, these were all transitory concerns.
In the face of absolute power, any sches or conspiracies seed feeble and insignificant.
Ti trickled away.
The dream seed closer and closer.
Julius Reed felt his body sink and reentered his dreamscape.
Pitch-black!
All around!
It resembled a bottomless abyss!
Or perhaps a black hole, devouring all light.
He couldn’t see.
He couldn’t touch.
Only when the headless man was less than a ter away could Julius Reed see clearly.
He had entered this dream countless tis.
Now his only task was to stand and wait.
Julius Reed had tested this before. Whether he yelled or remained silent, called out or stayed still, the timing of the headless man’s appearance remained unchanged.
But what if he moved toward the direction the headless man appeared?
In the darkness, identifying directions was utterly impossible.
Even if Julius Reed walked dead straight, the headless man would always appear three minutes later, directly in front of him.
Wait.
Julius Reed stood in place, awaiting the appearance of the headless man.
Two minutes and thirty seconds passed.
He heard footsteps.
The sound approached slowly, its pace deliberate.
Even if Julius Reed turned away and walked toward another direction upon hearing the sound, he would still encounter the headless corpse thirty seconds later.
It seed as if everything had been preordained, precise to perfection.
Half a minute passed.
The headless man appeared before him.
Maintaining a distance of about thirty centiters, the figure stopped advancing.
Julius Reed lowered his gaze to the corpse’s right hand.
In the hand was a human head.
As always, the head was shrouded in mist, obscure and indistinct.
But each ti, the face grew clearer than in the previous dream.
The corpse had a bare upper body clad in animal hide.
Its skin was covered in densely packed glyphs.
Julius Reed leaned in to examine them, frowning slightly.
These glyphs seed strikingly similar to those of the Ghost Martial Tribe.
After killing the Ghost King, he had studied the blade thoroughly.
Yet he had never figured out the origins of the inscriptions or their aning.
Based on past patterns, the corpse would wake him from the dream after staying for a minute.
The timing was almost up.
“Hmm?”
Suddenly, Julius Reed narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the headless man’s attire.
Previously, he had focused solely on figuring out the corpse’s identity or deciphering the glyphs.
But he’d never paid close attention to the corpse’s clothing.
Now, it appeared rather intriguing.
Animal hide, animal teeth, even the bracelets were made of bones threaded together with grass and worn on the wrists.
How peculiar.
What kind of person would adopt such attire?
Why was there no trace of modern craftsmanship or anything representative of advanced culture?
“Huff!”
Julius Reed opened his eyes.
The dream was over.
He checked his tir and was surprised.
This ti, the dream had lasted shorter than usual.
Was it because he fell asleep faster?
Or perhaps woke up earlier?
Regardless, none of that mattered.
“Who could it be? Why am I having this dream?”
Julius Reed pondered for a mont, then rose to dress himself.
There were matters to handle outside.
The Azure Emperor’s tomb was about to open.
“Hopefully, I can find answers in the tomb.”
…
Dawn broke over the horizon.
Inside the City Lord’s Mansion.
Devlin sat on a throne forged of pure gold, with a cigarette in hand.
Before him, core leaders of the Nine Factions stood in orderly rows within the grand hall.
How ironic.
The blood-drenched conflict between the First Faction and the Second Faction had culminated in them joining this lineup.
Swimming City was not just a den of sin but also a mirror of human nature.
Here, nothing was surprising.
After slaughtering Commander Ridge and Rhys Cook, their subordinates didn’t seek revenge but instead quickly surrendered.
Of course.
This surrender was insincere.
They couldn’t gauge the power of this masked man who extinguished five leaders in one go. Who wouldn’t be terrified?
Choosing surrender was rely waiting and observing.
Given an opening, they would seize the opportunity to replace him.
“I hear the old aristocrats cling like leech paste, refusing to budge. Fine!” Devlin stood and said coolly, “Now, we’ll personally end this era! Ten minutes from now, the army will march directly in, leaving no old aristocrats behind!”
“Yes!”
A roar of ferocious cries erupted below.
“Victory is ours!” Devlin raised his goblet and drained it.
The elites did the sa, downing their drinks in one swift motion.
Crash!
One by one, ceramic cups shattered against the ground, fragnts scattering everywhere.
“The wine was poisoned. The antidote is mine alone.” Devlin placed the cigarette between his lips. “Post-victory, you’ll have the antidote.”
With that.
Under the stunned stares of all present, he turned and walked away.
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