jdhmnovel Chapter 265 265
Chapter 265 265
'Let's just hope the father doesn't disappoint me in the same way his son did,' Su Ping thought to himself, a light smirk momentarily gracing his hidden features.
' If the viscount were not to act after this, then I'm afraid I'll be forced to take on a more darker approach, which is something I really don't want to.'
' But that shouldn't happen since I know that man loves his son, no matter how he tries to hide it.'
"Yu An," he called out.
"Yes, Master?" Yu An responded instantly, moving from her position to kneel before him in a posture that displayed absolute and unwavering reverence.
She did not look at the blood still dripping from her armor, her focus entirely on the man who commanded her soul.
"Have someone deliver that fool's head back to Nebula immediately," Su Ping commanded, referring to the gruesome trophy they had taken from the late Henry.
"I want her to find a way to deliver it directly to Veronica's father."
"As you wish, master, so shall it be done without delay," she said before standing up.
She walked away toward the stationary ranks of the undead army, likely searching for a swift-footed messenger to complete the orders or perhaps deciding to oversee the initial leg of the journey herself to ensure no mistakes were made with such a critical item.
Shortly after she had disappeared into the fog, Yu An returned to Su Ping's side, her task already set in motion.
"I've done exactly as you've asked, Master," she reported, her voice steady and low so as not to disturb the lingering silence of the square.
"The delivery is underway, and at the current pace, it should reach the city in less than a day's time."
"Good job," Su Ping said, offering her a genuine, albeit brief, smile.
For a very brief moment, her cold and stony countenance revealed a small touch of warmth in response to his praise, a flicker of humanity that softened the sharp lines of her face.
However, the expression quickly vanished, hidden away behind her usual mask of indifference before anyone else in the village or the army would have the chance to notice it.
"Since that's been thoroughly taken care of and the immediate threat has been neutralized, we need to deal with something else of equal importance," Su Ping remarked, his voice thoughtful as he looked out over the now-silent village square.
The fog continued to swirl lazily around the edges of the settlement, and the villagers remained huddled together in a state of confused relief.
"And what exactly could that be, Master?" Yu An asked, stepping closer to his side.
"Hmm... let us discuss this somewhere else, away from any potential prying eyes or ears that might linger in this place," Su Ping suggested, his gaze sweeping over the crowd of villagers one last time.
While he knew his mental warp was effective, he preferred the absolute certainty of isolation when discussing the finer points of his long-term strategy.
"I am quite sure they wouldn't dare to reveal a single one of your words, Master," Yu An said, her voice dropping into a chilling tone, As she spoke, she flashed the assembled villagers a frosty look that seemed to pierce right through their ragged clothing, causing their very souls to quiver with an instinctive terror.
' That might be true, and their fear is certainly a powerful deterrent, but there is never any harm in being overly cautious when the stakes are this high.' Su Ping mused silently to himself.
' Also, I would prefer to leave their minds with as little permanent damage as possible for the time being.'
' If I continue to exert my presence here, the strain on their psyche might lead to inconsistencies that the McClain investigators could pick up on.'
"Come," he said simply, offering no further explanation as he crouched low and then launched himself into the air.
With a powerful surge of his legs and a brief, shimmering manifestation of his power, he leaped several hundreds of feet across the rooftops, moving with speed that made the massive distance look effortless.
Yu An did not hesitate for a second, quickly following suit with a burst of speed that left a faint crack in the cobblestones where she had stood.
The two of them moved like twin shadows through the twilight, clearing the village walls and the surrounding perimeter of the undead army in a series of breathtaking bounds.
The next moment, the both of them were standing in the quiet outskirts of the village, surrounded by the gnarled trees of the forest edge where the only sound was the rustle of leaves in the cool night breeze.
The distance provided the privacy Su Ping required, and he turned to face his subordinate, the black-flame mask still swirling around his features.
"Regarding what I was starting to say back there," he started off, his tone shifting into a more professional one.
"We cannot possibly head back home now, as we will need to be close by when both sides finally engage each other in a full-scale confrontation."
" The chaos of the coming war is the perfect veil for our activities, but we must be positioned to strike the moment the opportunity arises."
"Then if we must stay within the vicinity, why don't we simply reside in this village for the duration?" Yu An suggested, looking back toward the cluster of small houses they had just vacated.
"It provides shelter, and the people are already under your thumb."
"That will be far too troublesome in the long run," Su Ping countered, shaking his head slowly. "It shouldn't be long now before Viscount McClain sends his own scouts and officials here to try and figure out the exact situation."
" They will want to know how the Montgomery heir was defeated and who these 'mercenaries' were. If we are seen living there, the narrative we've created will begin to crumble under scrutiny."
"Even if we were to hide the undead army in the depths of the surrounding forest, I fear they would eventually be discovered by a stray someone," he continued, his brow furrowing as he considered the risks.