Chapter 202: The Ring

Chapter 202: The Ring

Faced with Isengard Stanton’s proposal, Klein did not react strongly. He glanced at the tightly shut sitting room door and said, “As far as I know, Demons can foresee danger before we act and can even determine the source of that danger, allowing them to make effective countermeasures.

“It would be very difficult for us to find and hold him back.”

Isengard nodded gently.

“Yes. That is indeed the case, but it is not a problem without a solution.”

“What solution?” Kaslana immediately asked.

Isengard smiled.

“I fought him directly and witnessed this Beyonder power of his that foresees danger, so I have initially figured out its advantages and flaws.

“Demons can indeed sense danger ahead of time, even far in advance. As long as we make a plan against him and put it into actual action, he will receive a corresponding premonition. Of course, the plan must truly threaten him.”

No. The truth is that different kinds of Demons have different degrees of strength in this ability. Some may only be able to detect danger ten or twenty minutes in advance… Klein silently refuted him in his heart, but he did not say it aloud.

Isengard continued, “The flaw in this precognitive ability is that it can only perceive who and where the danger comes from. It cannot know the exact details. That gives us an opportunity to exploit.”

“What opportunity? I don’t believe we can make a Demon who can foresee danger fall into our trap,” Kaslana asked skeptically.

Klein also nodded in agreement.

Of course, I can use the gray fog to deceive that Apostle of Desire and prevent him from detecting danger too far ahead of time. The problem is, how could I possibly expose the secret of the gray fog in front of others… Klein silently added.

Isengard gave a chuckle.

“Under normal circumstances, indeed not. But the supernatural world is always full of all kinds of inconceivable things.

“I am a Sequence 7 Keeper of Knowledge of the Reader pathway. It can also be called Detective. I am frankly telling you this to show my sincerity in our cooperation.

“In a situation and environment like this, I believe honesty is more important than anything else.”

Only Sequence 7? A Sequence 7 actually escaped from an Apostle of Desire? It seems Mr. Stanton has a powerful mystical item… Understanding somewhat, Klein adjusted his sitting posture.

“A Keeper of Knowledge can restrain a Demon’s ability to foresee danger?” Kaslana leaned forward and asked.

“No.” Isengard smiled. “But I have a ring. It comes from a Sequence 6 Beyonder of the Reader pathway who lost control. It allows me to identify, see through, remember, and imitate any Beyonder ability I have witnessed. Of course, the stronger the Beyonder ability I face, the higher the probability of failure.

“Haha. In our Church, there is a saying: Omniscience means omnipotence.”

Why does that sound so familiar… Especially the description of that item… Just as Klein was about to search his memories, he saw Isengard Stanton take out a dazzling ring.

The ring was set with many tiny diamonds, all clustered around a beautiful gemstone as emerald-green as a human eye.

Merely seeing the ring made Klein dizzy, as if he had overexerted his mind.

This—this isn’t Sealed Artifact 2-081? Is Isengard Stanton the old gentleman Eye of Wisdom? Klein’s stunned gaze moved upward, landing on the great detective seated in the easy chair.

That ring was precisely the Sealed Artifact 2-081 that Eye of Wisdom had once shown off to him and had used several times at Beyonder gatherings!

Eye of Wisdom… That codename sounds closely related to the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom… Klein used his Clown abilities to control his expression and quietly examined Isengard Stanton.

In the end, he found that some of the great detective’s facial contours did indeed match the old gentleman Eye of Wisdom, though many details were greatly different.

Quite an impressive disguise ability… Did he borrow power from 2-081? Klein roughly formed a judgment.

At that moment, he naturally imagined a scene:

If Mr. Stanton says, “For us to cooperate against the Apostle of Desire, honesty is the most important thing. I have already described my Sequence and mystical item. Now it’s your turn,” what should I say? Silently take out the Sun Brooch I bought from him?

When that happens, will he say, “Well, well, so it was you, kid”?

While Klein’s imagination ran wild, Kaslana looked at the ring Isengard displayed and asked with a mixture of envy and confusion, “What ability do you want to imitate in order to oppose that Apostle of Desire’s precognition of danger?”

Isengard’s lips curved, and he let out a soft laugh.

“A Demon’s ability to foresee danger.”

At that moment, he resembled a gray-furred fox.

Huh? That works? For a moment, Klein did not understand how this would be operated.

Seeing the confusion on his and Kaslana’s faces, Isengard smiled and explained, “The first step is what we are doing now: planning a scheme that can truly endanger the Apostle of Desire and putting it into action.

“The second step: the Apostle of Desire senses danger and learns that it comes from us, from here.

“The third step: as a Demon, when he has not prepared in advance, there are certain instincts he cannot change. His first reaction will certainly be to strangle the danger or take revenge on us, and his body will undergo a certain change. Only afterward will he consider whether the current situation is unsuitable for counterattack and whether he should choose to stay away.

“The fourth step: I, who am imitating a Demon’s precognitive ability, sense the Apostle of Desire’s threat and grasp where the danger originates from—that is, his current location.”

This… What a godly operation… Klein was nearly shocked.

But what comes after? Once the Apostle of Desire discovers the problem, he’ll immediately flee. We won’t have time to pursue him… A new doubt immediately rose within him.

Isengard looked at the two of them in turn and smiled.

“According to my deduction, he is definitely hiding nearby right now. No matter how well he can remotely manipulate others’ emotions, there must still be a distance limit. And just now, he did guide Stuart and the others’ emotions out of control.

“After I shook off his pursuit, the reason I waited until now to come over was because I was discussing the plan with the Nighthawks, the Machinery Hivemind, and the military. Each side has sent two or three teams to take charge of a certain area nearby, and those areas each have their own codename. Heh, all of this is a response that the Apostle of Desire could predict in advance. Even if he senses danger, he will consider it normal.

“The moment I determine his location, I will immediately notify the official Beyonders. They will quickly seal off the corresponding area and form layers of encirclement.”

“But the problem is, how do we notify the official Beyonders? If this cannot be done within a few seconds, the Apostle of Desire will escape. Of course, after his earlier failure, he may already have gone far away,” Klein said thoughtfully.

“If that is the case, then we have no other choice. No plan is absolutely perfect. We can only wait for the activation preparations of a certain Sealed Artifact to be completed. By then, the Apostle of Desire may already have left Backlund, but he could return at any time,” Isengard explained briefly.

Immediately afterward, he took out a palm-sized golden object. Its shape resembled a miniature telegraph machine, except that it also had a horn.

“This is a Sealed Artifact that can make my voice sound across a five-kilometer radius at the same time,” Isengard introduced with a smile. “Its negative effect is that once activated, every sound within five kilometers will enter the user’s ears and continue for a long time. Of course, I can imitate a Beyonder ability to weaken this influence.”

Kaslana listened attentively, then frowned slightly.

“Since there are official Beyonders, you don’t seem to need to cooperate with us.”

Isengard carefully and cautiously put on Sealed Artifact 2-081 and said sincerely, “To avoid alarming the Apostle of Desire ahead of time, the area closest to us has been left as a gap in the net. If the target is truly here, then the three of us will need to help one another and delay him as much as possible.”

“I have no problem with that.” After brief thought, Klein agreed.

Kaslana also nodded.

“Mr. Stanton, you actually didn’t need to explain so much. We would cooperate for our own sake.”

“Haha. Explanation is part of the planning, and reaching an agreement means the operation is about to begin…” Isengard half closed his eyes.

On the ring worn on his right hand, the emerald gemstone flashed with a幽蓝, near-black light.

Suddenly, Isengard Stanton stood up. His expression grave, he pointed upward.

“He is here. He is upstairs!”

Klein and Kaslana rose at the same time. One was preparing to snap his fingers, ignite a match on the second floor, and leap directly upward; the other followed Isengard, rushing toward the door.

Neither of them had expected the Apostle of Desire to be so bold—after his previous failure, he had actually remained nearby, remained inside 15 Minsk Street!

Perhaps while we were discussing how to deal with him, he was upstairs coldly watching everything! The thought abruptly surfaced in Klein’s mind.

Just then, he saw Kaslana’s eyes suddenly turn crimson. Her right hand formed a fist, and with a slap, she punched at Isengard Stanton’s back!

This… Klein’s pupils constricted, and he instantly understood many things.

The reason the Apostle of Desire had not fled was because he still had an arrangement!

He had also planted a seed of corruption in someone’s heart, one he had not yet catalyzed.

That person was Kaslana!

One of the only three Beyonders present!

The earlier easily resolved disturbance that failed to succeed had actually been meant to lower everyone’s guard. Then, at the key moment, Kaslana’s emotions would be made to spiral out of control!

The Apostle of Desire’s greatest target was still Isengard Stanton.

So cunning… Klein snapped his fingers with a smack, but only produced a bullet of air, firing it toward Kaslana.

At the same time, he shouted loudly, “Watch out!”

Isengard, likewise experienced, did not care what the situation was. He directly threw himself forward.

But Kaslana ignored the bullet, allowing it to strike her arm and blood to spurt.

Bang!

Her fist and body together crashed into Isengard’s back.

Crack!

Klein heard the sound of bone breaking, and the point of contact between them was the spine.