Instigator and Protector of Violence-Chapter 367: [Chimes]

When the men jumped out, Ethan was still sitting on the sofa without moving.

He even picked up his glass again and poured himself another cup of red wine.

At the moment the liquid fell, those men had already charged close to Ethan.

Their speed was incredibly fast; any one of them alone could have been a formidable force, and now, there were eighteen of them.

They really spared no expense.

At the moment the wine finished pouring, the first military dagger was already at Ethan’s face.

And at that moment, in the Royal Capital, the bell of the Sanctuary in the South District tolled.

This bell wasn’t there before; it was recently added to call the faithful to the church to pray together.

Vasini had this idea because he heard that on the Old Continent, the Sun God Sect’s cathedral also had a bell, called the Sacred Sun Bell, which tolled every morning, noon, and evening, signifying the rising, apex, and rest of the sun.

At these three times, the Sun God Sect’s believers had to put everything aside and praise the sun.

Vasini hadn’t yet instituted a thrice-daily prayer rule; he only initially asked that when people heard the bell, they should either come to the Sanctuary or pray nearby.

As the entire South District came under the Martinos Clan’s control, more and more people began to believe in the Dark Savior.

And not just the South District; even in the Port District, people began to worship the Dark Savior, the proponent being naturally the first convert from the Port District, Sea King Lockeby.

Lockeby had privately visited Vasini in the Sanctuary a few days ago and had prayed in front of the Dark Savior.

Honestly, Vasini still felt a sense of unreality, even though his faith in the Lord was unshakable; he was still surprised that Sea King Lockeby came to worship.

After all, he was a famous figure in the Royal Capital even during Vasini’s fledgling days.

For a while, Vasini even idolized Lockeby, wanting to become the Sea King of the South District.

However, his devotion to the Lord overcame those fleeting personal emotions, and he received Sea King Lockeby with the most impeccable demeanor, treating him just as any other follower.

Until the prayer ended, Sea King respectfully greeted him and then said, "Lord Vasini, may I come to pray once a week from now on?"

"Naturally, as long as you are devoted to the Lord, you can come to pray anytime."

Vasini felt a little vanity rise in his heart at being addressed as "Lord" by the Sea King.

But he knew the respect was not for him; it was for the Lord.

So he always maintained the demeanor an envoy of the divine should have.

"Praise my Lord."

Lockeby whispered a praise and then continued speaking.

"I want to develop followers in the Port District as well. Please grant me this authority."

Vasini thought for a moment and then shared the divine insight he had heard: "Do not believe indiscriminately."

Thus, when the bell tolled, not only in the South District, but also in the Port District, the believers began to pray.

"Did you hear anything?"

Because they were so close to the South District, even in the Central District, the bell could be heard faintly.

At this moment, the Eldest Prince was in the Kingdom Club conducting a regular meeting, casually eating some newly imported Storm Island fruit while leisurely reading the Kingdom Deep Observation Report in his hand.

Then he suddenly tilted his head, as if he heard something.

"It’s the bell, Your Highness."

Heisenberg answered.

Although in the last action, Heisenberg was completely ineffective and bungled everything, the Eldest Prince was after all a benevolent person. He did not overly blame Heisenberg and continued to trust and use him.

"It’s the bell? Where is it coming from?"

Havenius asked while flipping through the newspaper, his mind seemingly elsewhere.

"I heard it’s that Vasini guy who set up a bell to get those hooligans of his to worship some Dark Savior. A bunch of bastards from the slums now talking about faith—ridiculous."

White, the eldest son of the Eriman Clan, sneered while taking a bite of fruit.

His family was extremely prominent and he always looked down on such lowly people, even Sea King Lockeby was nothing more than a dog to their family in the past.

But because of Lockeby’s betrayal, he now particularly despised those slum dwellers, so he couldn’t help but mock when the topic was brought up.

"Do hooligans have faith?"

Jonas glanced in the direction the bell was coming from. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Likewise, looking silently in that direction was "Observer" himself again.

"This is good, this is well-written, very enlightening, this Herlosh has delved deeply into North District industrialization, he’s a talent, we must recruit him later. I like his editorials, and this newspaper must continue."

The Eldest Prince suddenly interjected, interrupting the group’s discussion.

His focus seemed to be on the newspaper.

But everyone knew that wasn’t the case.

"It’s almost two o’clock. Is Ethan dead now?"

Just after finishing his previous sentence, the Eldest Prince immediately looked up at the clock on the wall and asked a completely unrelated question.

Which was in fact the real question.

"There’s no movement in the Royal Capital."

Heisenberg was the first to answer.

"My younger brother communicated with the Northern Military Command, but I have some acquaintances there, so it’s fine."

Jonas replied second.

"At least Naruf has done something productive in Wenster, not just loafing around. My people disembarked last night."

White was the third to speak.

"So he’s dead?"

Havenius asked, then nodded as he continued to flip through the newspaper.

"Everyone worked well together. If he’s not dead now, then it’s my fault."

"But Johnson and the others should be fine."

"Tonight I’ll treat everyone to dinner at my place, let’s celebrate."

The afternoon sun in the Royal Capital was still scorching, and the echoing bell had already faded. No one knew that a deadly confrontation a thousand miles away was driven by the chessboard here.

But who, in the end, will be the one to die?

"Shhh—" the military dagger that had almost reached Ethan’s face suddenly pierced through thin air.

Clearly, Ethan was sitting there a moment ago, but now the chair was already empty.

The men surrounding Ethan all paused in shock.

Then Ethan appeared behind them, kindly offering a reminder: "Hey, I’m over here."

At this moment, Vincent took the lead, letting out a low growl, a surge of battle intent spreading out, intimidating those men and adding a layer of power to Ethan.

"The first one."

He suddenly fired, shooting the closest man.

The bullet sprayed out with incredible power.

Even though the man reacted quickly and turned around, he couldn’t evade it, and could only use his military dagger to block.

But the bullet still slid past the dagger and drilled into his forehead.

One shot, through the skull.