Infinite Evolution System Made Me Too OP! - Chapter 403

Chapter 403: The Duke Thief
Azmodeus stopped strangling the fat bastard for a brief moment. Taking this as a good sign, the Duke cleared his throat and began to speak. “You made a good choice—” but before he could commence a whole drawn-out young master dialogue session, Azmodeus interrupted him with the sharp end of his blade, saying:

“I wish I cared whether or not you could do anything for me… but I just don’t.”

“N-No, pleazz—”

SHING!

SPURT!

As Azmodeus let go of the baffling idiot, a sword was momentarily unsheathed, and a flash of light careened around the Duke. His head was cut clean off as his wide eyes were still as wide as ever. More than any other emotion, disbelief was the one most prominent on his face. Even in the afterlife, he couldn’t understand why his name and status held no sway in the face of the demon-masked man.

[Ding! You have killed a Grade 5 Immortal Emperor. The reward is 700,000,000 Immortal Evolution Essence!]

[Ding! You have…]

[Ding! Your cultivation has advanced to the ‘Grade 6 Immortal King Realm (Early)!]

[Ding! Your Battle Power has moderately improved!]

[Ding! You have…]

After a few dozen system notifications rang out, Azmodeus assimilated the rest of the Duke’s corpse. He then erased all evidence of his existence in the room. As all the guards in and around the room had been taken care of, nobody was left alive to weave the tale of the demon-masked man who slaughtered his way into the home of a Duke and killed the Duke himself.

Tomorrow, word would spread all around. But, by then, Azmodeus would already be in disguise and playing as the Royal Advisor of the Azureflask Empire.

The very next morning…

“The Duke is dead!” Someone shouted.

“The Duke is dead!? Duke Ashford!?”

“How could this be!? The Duke couldn’t possibly have died! He had an entire elite force made up of the very best the Empire has to offer!”

“He himself is an Immortal Emperor, and yet he had 4 Immortal Emperors serving under him! To kill the Duke, all 4 of them would have to first die! I don’t believe it!!”

“Well, you best believe it, because it has happened! The Duke died late last night, and his assailant has not been identified or located! Furthermore, the Duke and all his guards have no corpses! Only the shattering of their life crystals was certain proof of their untimely demise sometime last night…”

“I-I can’t believe this…”

Everyone on the populated streets of the Royal Capital of the Azureflask Empire seemed to be talking about the same thing. And it made perfect sense; after all, the elite forces of the Duke as well as the high-level forces of every other Duke in the kingdom had joined together in an attempt to catch and kill the infamous ‘Duke Thief.’ Yet, as soon as they confronted him, they fell to his blade, leaving not a single survivor. Then, right after, the Duke who commanded them mysteriously died in his sleep.

As there was no one left to provide any evidence on this claim, it was all just pure conjecture. But given the circumstances, it was definitely the most plausible option. Still, without any concrete evidence, everything that could be thrown onto the Duke Thief was discarded into the wind. However, with his current crime record, it wasn’t like he really needed anything more to be deserving of the death sentence that was already guaranteed.

Then again, it wasn’t like he would be caught using normal methods. The fruitless efforts of Immortal General Razkar were proof enough of that unlikely eventuality. Yet, as with all things, there was always a way if one had enough power, money, or influence. Luckily for the late Duke Ashford, he was deeply intagled into the business of very powerful people. His partners and compatriots were so powerful that the Eternal Jade Heavens practically revolved around them.

Now, who were they, one might ask…?

“Say, senior brother,” said a refined man wearing a golden robe embroidered with dragons. “Have you heard about the most recent death of Duke Ashford? You know, the one who handles most of our business in the Azureflask Empire?”

This man walked behind a slightly taller man wearing a similar outfit. However, contrary to the wild black hair of the first man, this man had his hair tied into a bun using a Phoenix pin. He lightly scoffed in annoyance, trying his best to make it seem like he cared about their Sect’s business and not his own business. “I truly hate whoever committed such a heinous act on one of our own, Fang Ju,” the man said with a tone oozing disdain.

Fang Ju nodded his head. “I totally agree, senior brother Ling Chao,” he said. “Still, I wonder who will be put in as Duke Ashford’s replacement. With the Emperor already the puppet of another, the viable choices are rendered abysmal…”

Outwardly, Ling Chao sighed along with his junior brother. However, on the inside, he was completely enraged. ‘I swear on the Evil Gods that when I find out who killed one of my major moles, I’ll skin them alive and fillet them on a spike!’ His thoughts nearly leaked through his facial expression, yet with thousands of years of pretending to be something he was not, he grew accustomed to covering his true feelings and intent with a facade.

As he and his junior brother journeyed throughout the picturesque Fairyland scenery, he fervently agreed with everything that his junior brother said. It was best to do just that if he wished to keep his head down until it was time…

‘With the Nine Evil Yin Immortal Realm preparing to make their move, I just need to be patient,’ Ling Chao thought sinisterly. ‘As long as no more mishaps occur and I keep things steady, then the ammassment of Evil Energy will have reached a tipping point. It is only after accomplishing such a thing that the Evil Sovereign will be able to pass over with his main body and the entirety of his Evil Legions.’

….