The moment the fireball struck, Lex infused the evil bandage with his spirituality, activating the 'Werewolf Transformation' ability. Just as short black fur began to sprout on his hands, the fireball hit. Lex only had time to raise his arm to block before the exploding crimson light consumed his entire vision.
He felt searing heat and impact, his body shaking violently. When it all stopped, he found himself slumped in the corner of the factory. His arm was a bloody mess, his sleeve long since torn, with black and red as the dominant colors.
Splintered wooden boards lay all around him, and a sharp piece of wood, like a dagger, was plunged into his abdomen, slowly soaking his clothes with blood.
In addition, he had numerous small wounds on his body. As for the carriage, half of its compartment was blown off, and the two horses, startled and neighing, dragged the remaining half of the carriage out of the factory.
Bakerland's body, which was tied to the other body, fell out of the half-missing carriage as it sped away, the sheet that bound the two bodies torn, and the Ambassador's body scattered.
"It really is you! Are you a Faceless Man?"
An Intis Intis Official climbed in through the window, an orange-red flame burning in his hand.
Illuminated by the fire, Lex saw a rather gaunt face. The other party had thick eyebrows but small eyes, making him look disproportional, even a little comical.
But now, Lex couldn't find anything comical.
He quickly assessed the situation.
After leaving the Embassy, he used a Flash Charm to delay his pursuers. Those few seconds were enough for him, transformed into a werewolf, to carry the Ambassador's body into the square.
Then Lex dispelled the werewolf transformation, changed his appearance, and hid the Ambassador in a secret compartment of the carriage. To prevent being Divined, he also wrapped the evil bandage around Bakerland's body.
So now, he should have been discovered by chance.
The Ambassador was killed, and his body was stolen. Intis personnel immediately launched a city-wide search, but their numbers were limited, so they had to disperse.
Thus, there should only be this Intis Official nearby. But he must have already notified his colleagues before appearing to attack; this was a logical deduction.
However, if it were me, I wouldn't act rashly. I would observe my opponent first, track him secretly until I rendezvoused with colleagues, and only then act when I had absolute certainty.
So that means.
This Intis Official was eager to act, either he was a brainless hothead, or he had a compelling reason to act.
That's it.
Bakerland was killed at the Embassy, and his body was stolen. These Intis Officials would all be punished afterwards. But if he could retrieve the Embassy's body and kill the culprit, he might not be punished and might even stand out among his comrades, becoming important!
In an instant, Lex grasped the other party's psychology and objective, which would aid his subsequent actions.
Lex's guess was correct; although there were some discrepancies in the details, it was largely true.
After the incident at the Embassy, the First-Class Intis Official immediately ordered someone to Divine the whereabouts of the Embassy's body. After receiving no revelations, he then ordered all Intis Officials to mobilize, dispersing throughout the city, to retrieve the Ambassador's body at all costs.
If even Bakerland's body couldn't be recovered, tomorrow morning, the Intis Republic would become the laughing stock of Loen.
And these Intis Officials of theirs would have to be severely punished.
Bark was one of the Intis Officials responsible for the search. He was a Sequence 7 Pyromaniac, and he was in charge of searching the East District.
Discovering Lex was a complete accident.
He saw this four-wheeled carriage while searching the East District. At the time, Bark didn't pay it much mind, but soon he found it strange: why would there be a carriage in this part of the East District, especially at night?
So he followed it, and from outside the window, he personally saw Lex enter and exit the carriage with two completely different faces.
And the latter face was even a guest from the ball!
Why would a guest from the ball secretly come to the East District? The reason was self-evident. Even if he wasn't the main culprit in the Ambassador's assassination, he must be someone related to it.
So Bark first sent a signal, then launched an attack. He hoped to subdue or kill the opponent before his comrades arrived, so that he could claim all the credit and atone for his mistakes.
He judged that the other party should be a Faceless Man, a Beyonder of the Seer pathway. He knew that Beyonders of this pathway already had Beyonder spiritual intuition at the 'Clown' stage.
Therefore, an unprepared attack could also maximize the possibility of avoiding detection by him, achieving the effect of a surprise attack.
Facts proved his judgment was very correct.
Not only was the opponent blown away, but the carriage was also destroyed, and the Ambassador's body fell out of it.
Looking at that Faceless, Bark felt as if meritorious service was waving vigorously at him.
Can't let anyone else have it!
But then, he saw that Faceless pull out the sharp wooden splinter from his stomach without hesitation, causing blood to gush out from his abdomen. He thought the other party was going to use 'Damage Transfer', but saw that the opponent did nothing and turned to run.
And during this process, black stiff fur grew on the other party's body, and his fingernails elongated into sharp claws.
"Werewolf!"
Bark immediately remembered that a colleague had previously said that it was a werewolf who had taken the Ambassador's body.
Bark had thought this Faceless was an accomplice of that werewolf, but it turned out to be the same person!
Now he didn't care what pathway the other party was from. Bark aimed at the werewolf and threw the flames in his hand. The flames transformed into fire crows in mid-air, chasing after it one by one.
The werewolf changed direction mid-way, shooting up a nearby pillar with Beyonder leaping power.
One fire crow missed, but the other fire crows, under Bark's spiritual control, flexibly turned and caught up with the werewolf.
Bark saw the werewolf let out an impatient howl at him, but then jumped down from the pillar, which was within Bark's calculations.
He took the opportunity to throw a fireball, which accurately hit the werewolf as it landed on the ground. The flames from the explosion violently sent the werewolf flying.
Bark's lips curled into a smile, and he calmly controlled the fire crows to dive and continue their pursuit and harassment.
The werewolf seemed eager to break out, always rushing towards the windows, but the Intis Intis Official, who clearly grasped the other party's mentality, could always block the way with fireballs a step ahead.
In this process, Bark gradually moved deeper into the factory, shortening the distance between himself and the werewolf, causing the firepower and pressure the werewolf faced to double.
Under the pressure from this Pyromaniac, the werewolf had no escape, forced to jump around by various flame abilities.
It would sometimes spring onto pillars, sometimes run on vertical walls, and sometimes leap onto the roof, wanting to break through the roof to escape, but no matter what it did, Bark forced it down.
As the werewolf was sent flying by a whip of flames conjured by Bark, the Intis Intis Official raised his hand, and a spear of flames condensed in his palm. The spearhead was scorching white, and the temperature there was terrifyingly high.
He was going to deliver the final blow to the werewolf!
Bang!
Suddenly, an explosion sounded overhead. Bark looked up in surprise, realizing that a pillar had exploded with flames, as if explosives had been buried there, and now, the explosives had detonated.