Primordial Draconic Incubus With A Gourmet Chef System

"Are those the guards who traveled with Young Master Wang Chen? Why are they here?"

"The real question is, why are they collared and drenched in blood?"

"Were they tortured? But why?"

Earlier, they had witnessed Wang Chen's journey to the Fire Cloud City, but the recording had abruptly skipped to a few seconds before he was stabbed to death by an Undead Skeleton.

At the time, by putting pieces together, most of them deduced Wang Chen had entered the Moon Grove Forest after leaving Fire Cloud City. But what they could not understand was why was the cripple Wang Chen in the Moon Grove Forest? Where were his guards?

Even if Wang Chen had needed to use the bathroom, the guards should have followed him into Moon Grove Forest. No competent person, especially, trained guards of the Wang Family, would allow their Young Master, whom they were sworn to protect with their lives, to enter the Moon Grove Forest, which was teeming with Undead Magical Beasts.

To the non-Mage Wang Chen, just the Death Element in that place was potent enough to kill him if he stayed there for more than an hour.

But now… seeing the collared, brutally tortured guards in front of them, more pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.

'The guards must have something to do with Wang Chen's death.' The audience simultaneously came to the same conclusion as they shifted their eyes to Number One, waiting for him to continue.

Of course, Lucian was an exception to the audience. After hearing their clamor, he realized the guards were fake. They were pitiful scapegoats, most likely random people, who were threatened to sign a Blood or Soul Contract in exchange for their family or loved one's continued survival.

[This should be good.] Lucian propped one leg over the other and tossed a piece of popcorn into his mouth. The buttery, garlicky flavor paired perfectly with the live theatrical play unfolding before him.

[Popcorn?] Lucian extended the bucket of popcorn to Lily and simply asked her, who blushed behind her mask. She was not as shameless and thick-faced as her Big Brother Lucian, but the thought of eating the delicious popcorn washed away her shame.

[Okay, just one.] Lily accepted with a mischievous tone.

Lucian smirked and extended his Mana to cover her, then Lily grabbed a piece of popcorn and elegantly placed it into her mouth.

*Crunch*

The satisfying crunch produced after her white teeth went through the popcorn echoed in the bubble created by Lucian but remained locked within. Stay connected through empire

"Now then, allow me to show you what I deliberately left out previously."

As Number One finished speaking, his Spatial Ring glowed, and the Astral Eye Crystal shot up into the sky.

Using his Mana he manipulated both Astral Eye Crystals, and the images they projected changed.

The audience watched as the horses slowly galloped down the paved road, pulling the carriage toward Harmony City.

*Shua* *Shua*

Suddenly, countless bright lights flickered, and in a mere moment, the two horses crashed onto the ground before they could cry out in pain.

"Dagger Intent," Lane muttered in envy. Those bright lights and the small holes in the horses were produced by a Mage, who had mastered Dagger Intent.

As a dagger user himself, Lane was beyond envious of the assassin. Even now, he had not even touched the realm of Dagger Intent, let alone mastered it.

'This might be my chance.' Lane's fingers twitched involuntarily, itching to grasp the hilt of his dagger.

Mastering Dagger Intent was the dream of every dagger user.

Lane and everyone continued to watch as the guards in the projection scrambled to their feet and formed a protective circle around the carriage. At the same time, they drew their weapons and readied their Skills to be unleashed on whoever dared to attack them.

*Shua* *Shua*

But before they could locate the attacker, another flurry of lights streaked through the air.

The guards screamed in terror and hurriedly attacked the small, immaterial daggers.

The hundreds of immaterial daggers, formed from Dagger Intent, trembled under the guards' counterattacks, but they soon continued to descend and struck the guards with deadly precision. Each dagger pierced through their armor and defensive Skills, felling them in quick succession. One by one, the guards collapsed, their bodies crumbled to the ground like discarded dolls. Blood dyed the ground red.

"Who could have done this?"

"The guards didn't even stand a chance!"

"The assassin knows Dagger Intent, so, of course, those weak guards didn't stand a chance."

"But where is Young Master Wang Chen?"

"He should still be in the carriage."

As if on cue, the scene shown by the hologram changed, showing Wang Chen's figure running for dear life through the Moon Grove Forest.

"When did Young Master Wang Chen escape?"

"Didn't any of you notice the small gap created by the guards surrounding the carriage?" Peng Ting questioned. He wondered how these people reached their Mage Ranks.

"Oh… Now that Sir Peng mentioned that, I suddenly remembered seeing a gap between two of the guards, and a black shadow jumped through it."

"The shadow must have been Young Master Wang Chen."

At that moment, the scene changed again. This time, the recording showed the dead guards. The audience was confused, but quickly, their expressions changed to astonishment, as they watched the guards, who should have been dead — whose bodies had been riddled with countless deep holes and cuts — begin to stir.

Slowly, they stood to their feet as their wounds vanished and their armor returned to their once pristine silver color.

Before anyone could react verbally, Number One, who had been watching the hologram spoke, "These guards are not mere victims of a powerful and skilled assassin. They are traitors, collaborators with the assassin who attacked the carriage. They lured Young Master Wang Chen out of Harmony City and forced him to run into the Moon Grove Forest to have him be killed by an Undead Magical Beast."

Saying so, the assassin that had been hidden from the beginning, finally broke away from the shadow of a nearby tree.

His form slowly materialized, but the guards did not show terror like before.

"Give me the second half of my payment," The assassin said in a spine-chilling tone.

"Hahaha, of course. Here you go, sir!" One of the guards stepped toward the assassin with a bag.

The assassin took the bag, opened it, and checked with his Mana Sense.

"Good, exactly 500 Low-Grade Mana Stones."

"Now, if you don't mind, we will take our leave." The guard said, then he and the other nineteen guards swiftly ran away while using movement Skills.

"As you can see, these guards," Number One pointed at the twenty blood-soaked and brutally, tortured guards behind him, then continued, "Conspired with the assassin to have it seem they were killed by his sneak attacks. If not for the tracking Skill implemented in their Soul Contracts by my Master, we would have never known the truth."

The audience was once again shocked. The thought that the guards tasked to protect their Young Master with their lives had betrayed him was not unthinkable. Jealousy, envy, greed, and many other emotions and reasons could make even the most loyal subordinate betray the person whom they swore to protect with their lives.

What they were shocked by was the tracking Skill the Wang Family Head implemented into the Soul Contracts. They were repulsed by his method and secretly wondered if their respective Master had done the same.

Despite that…

"No wonder Sir Number One called them vile creatures! I feel disgusted just by breathing the same air as them!"

"Instead of protecting Young Master Wang Chen, they betrayed him. How vile!"

Number Zero was pleased with their reactions. This time, he did not even have to throw fuel at the fire.

Meanwhile, the guards and even maids surrounding the perimeter of the courtyard and outside were subtly frowning. Their thoughts were quite simple, anyone who wanted to become a subordinate of the Wang Family was required to sign a Soul Contract. If the twenty guards had a Tracking Skill secretly implemented in their contracts, then did that mean their contracts were the same?

Furthermore, it seemed the Wang Family also secretly implemented some kind of surveillance Skill to their contracts.

Who liked their privacy secretly monitored at all times?

Thus, their displeasure was apt, but they did not dare voice a single complaint.

As for the displeasure of the guards and the maids? Number One could not care less what they felt. It was a small price to pay to keep his Master's scheme a secret.

Furthermore, if they wanted to quit their jobs after finding out the truth, they were more than welcome to. The Wang Family received new subordinates each day. Them quitting made no difference.

Meanwhile, the guards and maids' displeasure did not go unnoticed by most of the audience. Some of them secretly smirked and wondered how they could get a few of them to quit and swear loyalty to their Master.