Chapter 425

Chapter 425: Death

Next, she activated the skill “Dispel.”

Magic Rainbow saw that the “Mark” status on Merleau’s Attribute Panel had vanished.

“So… can you explain now, teacher?”

Since the status returned to normal, the other person should be able to change back to his original form.

While continuing to treat him with potions, Magic Rainbow narrowed her eyes and spoke to him.

“Explain? I’ve already said, there’s nothing to explain.”

However, what no one expected was that Merleau did not seem to return to his original form; instead, the corner of his mouth curled up strangely, revealing a peculiar smile.

Seeing this, Magic Rainbow felt uneasy, but before she could say anything more, a loud explosion suddenly echoed from afar, followed by an arrow shooting out fiercely!

The moment the sound reached everyone’s ears, the magical arrow, covered in blue magical energy, had already arrived before them.

The incident happened so suddenly that Magic Rainbow could only pull Third Princess Silvia behind her for protection…

Then, the arrow pierced through the chests of two palace guards before striking Merleau’s forehead with undiminished force, driving it several inches into the ground.

When all this was done, the magical arrow finally turned into magic essence and dissipated into the air.

Merleau was dead, and at the moment of his death, a strange smile still lingered on his lips.

Catch that archer!

Yes, sister!

Through telepathy, dozens of invisible Stealth Ants hidden around her suddenly flew toward the direction of the attacking arrow…

After seeing them chase after it, Magic Rainbow paid no further attention.

In the capital filled with Stealth Ants, no one could escape the pursuit of the ant tribe.

She turned her attention back and saw that after Merleau’s death, the guards and court mages quickly cried out to protect Princess Silvia and shield her in the center.

“There was actually a second assassin! Teacher, what… what should we do?”

Although Silvia was one of the most talented in the royal family, she was still just a teenage girl, and after seeing the power of that arrow, a look of panic appeared on her face.

If Magic Rainbow hadn’t been by her side, this girl might have been even more distraught.

“Don’t worry, that person has already escaped.”

“Escaped?!”

“That last attack was surely their full strength. If they didn’t escape immediately after, they would be finished.”

Magic Rainbow said calmly.

Seeing her teacher’s calm expression, Silvia also felt reassured.

“What are you all standing around for? You know where the arrow came from, so why not hurry and chase after it? I am responsible for Princess Silvia’s safety.”

After a pause, Magic Rainbow glanced at the mages and soldiers around her and spoke, her tone carrying an unintentional hint of command, but neither they nor Princess Silvia sensed anything amiss.

The soldiers and mages quickly obeyed and ran after it, while Princess Silvia tightly gripped the sleeve of the white-haired woman beside her, clearly showing her trust in Magic Rainbow.

After most of the soldiers and mages chased out, Magic Rainbow ordered the remaining ones to rescue any surviving princes, princesses, or other injured people in the palace.

The final outcome was…

The king perished, his body reduced to ashes in the searing flames.

The valiant and benevolent eldest prince, renowned for his sterling reputation throughout the kingdom, likewise succumbed to Merleau’s high-temperature fire magic during their confrontation, vanishing as he vaporized.

The ever-smiling yet deeply scheming second prince was similarly engulfed by the flames, turning to dust.

Moreover, the Fourth Prince, with whom Magic Rainbow had persistently failed to establish rapport, also fell victim to the assault…

Among the surviving princes and princesses, aside from Third Princess Silvia, the others were either too young or lacked sufficient capability.

…

Thoughts flickered through Magic Rainbow’s mind.

She glanced sideways at Silvia; the princess beside her remained submerged in the sorrow, resentment, and helplessness wrought by this cataclysm.

The white-haired woman reached out, resting her hand gently on the young girl’s head.

“Teacher?”

“I am here. The teacher will ensure your safety.”

“Teacher… *sob*…”

As if clutching her final lifeline, the girl flung herself into the woman’s embrace.

…

…

Afterward.

That evening at dusk.

“Sister.”

“Did you catch them?”

“We caught up, but the target… committed suicide, decisively. We had no time to intervene.”

A capable woman with bobbed hair reported with a resigned expression.

“And it was a self-destruction leaving no remains. We couldn’t even retrieve a body.”

Suicide… Self-detonation…

Magic Rainbow’s gaze shifted subtly.

“Any discoveries before the detonation?”

“Yes, I was just about to inform you, sister.”

At this moment, another woman standing beside the short-haired one—possessing long curls and a strikingly beautiful face—continued. Both were Stealth Ants who had received the “Transformation” skill from Lin Yu within the past three years.

“The detonated individual displayed a status of ‘Mark.'”

“‘Mark’… An effect of unclear purpose, likely originating from a reincarnator. There’s a strong probability it stems from a reincarnator in the Eastern Deta Empire, where we have yet to establish many ant colony watchpoints.”

“A reincarnator from the Deta Empire? Should we dispatch more ants to investigate?”

“Hmm… But let’s wait until the spatial magic circle in the Deta Empire is completed before acting. Additionally…”

Magic Rainbow’s eyes turned towards the old man’s corpse lying on the floor, a hole pierced through its forehead.

“As long as the body remains intact, revival is possible. Once revived, we should extract information from him. I cannot leave here now, so I entrust you sisters with returning this body.”

“Leave it to us, sister. Rest assured.”

The short-haired Stealth Seven raised her hand, activating the skill “Magic Backpack,” and stored Merleau’s body within.

After bidding farewell to Magic Rainbow, she and her long-curled companion, Stealth Eight, dissolved into twin shadows and departed the royal capital.

Beyond the city gates, they slipped into a narrow stone fissure within a cave hidden in a forest near the capital.

Underground, navigating several tunnels and exchanging greetings with ant squads encountered along the way, the two women arrived at a spacious chamber within the ant nest.

Centered in the chamber stood a stone platform etched with dozens of intricate, complex patterns forming a magic circle. Upon this platform rose a tall stone archway. Embedded at its pinnacle was a high-level Magic Stone radiating spatial properties. Scattered across the rest of the archway were other, smaller medium-level space-property Magic Stones.

This was a spatial magic circle established by Magic Rainbow within an ant nest near the royal capital, enabling the ant tribe to traverse to other such circles positioned across the continent.

Over the past three years, Magic Rainbow had erected over a dozen of these spatial magic circles across this land, save for the Eastern Deta Empire.