Invisible Offense and Defense

Old Blind Eye stood surrounded by a group of pirates, their faces ferocious. Some of the pirates even had eager expressions on their fish-like faces.

These deep ones alone were enough to guarantee Lynch's death.

Not to mention Walker and Mr. Kelvin watching him like hawks from the side. Lynch knew that once his identity was exposed, he would be a dead man.

Kelvin, the very man who had put Lynch in this predicament, was currently sizing Lynch up with a scrutinizing gaze. He didn't say a word, but his sinister look was enough to make Lynch feel like needles were pricking his back.

Walker of the Rangers, on the other hand, had no unusual reaction. He merely pulled his arm back desperately as if he were being targeted by an evil god, his smile incredibly awkward. “No need, no need. Let them keep resting.”

Good, my performance seems to match the Swelling Daughter in his memory. He hasn't become suspicious. As long as I don't make any major mistakes later, there's hope I can fool him. Those deep ones have no intellect to speak of. As long as I keep Walker appeased, I don't need to worry about them for now. It's just this Kelvin...

Lynch's gaze merely swept casually over Kelvin, but his entire focus was concentrated on the man.

A single move had almost pushed him into a corner. This man was definitely a formidable enemy. Just looking at his refined, gentle appearance, Lynch felt an immense threat.

“That is rather strange.” Kelvin stroked his mustache, smiling coldly as he spoke. “Then could you explain it to us, Lady? Why were you teleported here, and where is that private detective?”

Of course it's... Just as Lynch was about to make up an excuse, his heart suddenly jolted. Realizing he had almost fallen into a trap, he knew he absolutely must not explain. He immediately put on a teasing smile, forced his eyes to turn cold, and cast a glance at Walker, saying:

“Outsider, this gentleman has quite a lot of questions. Is he one of yours as well? Hehe, I just happen to be hungry...”

“Yes, yes, he is also an ally of that esteemed lord.” Walker immediately stepped between Lynch and Mr. Kelvin without drawing attention to it, squeezing out a smile. “Let me introduce you. This is the vice president of the Kingdom of Friedman's Commercial Alliance, and also a high priest serving the Ancient Flicker. In addition, these are the crew members of the sea hegemon, Davis. They are also here to help execute the encirclement and suppression plan.”

His gaze behind the round fan flickered over the calm Kelvin. Lynch gave a noncommittal laugh, speaking ambiguously, “An ally I've never heard of. Hehe, it seems you are keeping quite a few secrets as well.”

“You worry too much, Lady,” Walker quickly said with a placating smile. “Mr. Kelvin has nothing to do with our plan. He is here to bring down our common enemy, the private detective Lynch Levive I mentioned earlier.”

“Who is that?” Lynch said nonchalantly. “The Eldest Sister only said there was a prelude and told me to come watch the fun—no, to ask about the progress. She didn't mention any private detective. Why? Has something exciting happened?”

“He's the one who swindled the item away. He's an extremely cunning bastard, and his nose is sharper than a hound's. If we aren't careful, he'll target us. He has caused us a lot of trouble this past month. If we hadn't reacted in time, even our connection with you might have been exposed.”

Sorry, but it's already been exposed. And I'll take that as a compliment.

Hearing his enemies discuss him from a third-party perspective for the first time gave Lynch a very subtle feeling. But after hearing the end, he still cast a stealthy glance at his formidable enemy, Kelvin. After all, this topic was too sensitive, and there was no guaranteeing the other party wouldn't connect the dots.

Fortunately, Kelvin didn't seem to notice. He merely stroked his beard, deep in thought and silent. Lynch breathed a quiet sigh of relief, quickly shifted his gaze, and said casually, “Why not just eat him?”

“Indeed. That's why we set a trap to teleport him here, kill him, and snatch the item back. We didn't expect you to appear instead. I hope we didn't disturb the mood of you and that great ruler.”

It seems Walker doesn't suspect me at all. But Kelvin's attitude is still so ambiguous, which is truly worrying. Under his stare, I can't show any sign of wanting to escape, or the jig will be up immediately. There's no other choice. I have to play along for now and wait for an opportunity. I might as well try to gather some intelligence while I'm at it. After all, opportunities like this don't come often.

Having made up his mind, Lynch tried his best to banish his urgent thoughts of escape and inquired intentionally, “Why go through so much trouble? Why not just kill him on the spot?”

“Heh, Lady, this place is different from where you are. This is a city. Even we Rangers have to worry about public relations. We can't just attack citizens on the streets. Besides, his network is rather complex, making an open attack inconvenient. And... Mr. Kelvin has his concerns as well.”

“It is not that I have concerns. Rather, this man is highly troublesome.”

Kelvin finally broke his silence. His eyes swept over Lynch seemingly intentionally yet casually as he said calmly:

“Not only is his vitality incredibly resilient, but his sense of danger is also extremely sharp. Two of our fellow believers have already died at his hands. One of them had even backed him into a corner, with only minutes left before his death, yet he still managed to turn the tables in the end. Therefore, we must never underestimate him. We have to use the most secure method to kill him, or we will surely regret it. Furthermore, it is highly likely that a top-tier powerhouse stands behind him. That person almost injured me last time. If we were to kill him head-on, we might run into that person again. That is why we teleported him here this time. Even if that person truly wants to protect him, they won't be able to catch up immediately. By the time they realize what has happened, we will have already succeeded.”

“Mr. Kelvin's plan is indeed very secure. It is truly our good fortune to have Mr. Kelvin's assistance,” Walker sighed. “Everything was clearly going so smoothly today. I don't know how he suddenly became alert and used the Church of the Black Night to escape.”

“It is probably too early to say for certain that he escaped.”

Kelvin suddenly interrupted Walker, causing Lynch's heart to sink.

“With my ability to read people, I should not be mistaken. A person like him, once he realizes he has been plotted against, will definitely come to seek revenge. I do not believe I am overreacting.” Kelvin looked at Lynch meaningfully. “Besides, I was the one who teleported all of you here. Heh, as for what was teleported, I can at least deduce a portion of it.”

At that instant, a chill ran down Lynch's spine. He realized there was a massive loophole in his plan. But it was already too late. He heard Kelvin continue.

“I can only distinguish that four people were teleported, and I cannot be certain of who they all are. However, I can be absolutely sure that the gem has been teleported here by me. Could you explain, Mr. Lynch Levive, why the gem that should be on the detective was teleported along with us?”

Before his voice could even fade, Kelvin snatched a sharp blade from the deep one beside him and abruptly appeared in front of Lynch, thrusting it straight toward his chest.

“I am very sorry, but you lose.”

As the blade thrust forward, its bright, snowy gleam illuminated Lynch's pale face.