Chapter 64: Chaos

"Otherwise my foot!"

Ryuji roared, a flash of white light bursting from his Staff of Death, instantly blinding the eyes of everyone nearby. Following that, Ryuji whipped around and brought the staff down in a strike, accompanied by a sharp crack as if he had hit bone.

Only then did Ryuji have the leisure to inspect the situation behind him. It turned out to be a man clad in bone armor, though he was shrouded in a layer of dark shadow energy and wielded a dagger fashioned from bone, making him look like a formidable assassin.

It was a mystery how he had managed to appear behind Ryuji, but the moment he was discovered, he split into four or five afterimages that darted off in different directions, vanishing into thin air in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Wilder could no longer suppress the anger on his face. He pointed at Victor and said, "You've crossed the line, just you wait."

Realizing the situation, Victor also turned his head to look behind him. He discovered that all of his bone guards were present; the person who had just attacked Ryuji was definitely not one of his subordinates.

Yet, saying anything now was useless. Victor could only speak in a chilling voice, "There is a massive problem behind what just happened. If you want this resolved quickly, you'd better grant us permission to enter the Underworld."

With that, Victor raised his hands as if he wanted to explain further, but Wilder refused to listen. He grabbed Ryuji directly and dragged him away from the spot.

Once they were in a secluded place, Wilder looked at Ryuji and said, "You did well. This time, you stood on the right side."

Still, Ryuji remained somewhat uneasy. "Captain, the situation over there..."

"I know. How could I not know about the sudden death of over three hundred people? That is why we must handle the soul extradition work shortly. Not a single soul can be left behind. As for the situation in the Underworld, I will have someone keep an eye on it. You don't need to worry about that."

Having said this, as if remembering something else, Wilder looked at Ryuji and added, "That fellow Victor may be unreliable, but he would never have his subordinates pull off an assassination. That means there are definitely other factions involved here. You'd better watch your back for a while."

Hearing this, Ryuji's gaze sharpened slightly before he gave a gentle nod. "I understand. Rest assured, I am not the kind of person who takes a provocation lying down."

"Good." Wilder glanced at Ryuji once more and then departed directly.

One could tell from Wilder's expression that his attitude toward Ryuji was not particularly favorable. After all, Ryuji had not been in office for very long before all sorts of incidents occurred on his watch. While it might not necessarily have been Ryuji's fault, to a superior, none of this boded well.

Ryuji himself was well aware of the situation. After a moment of thought, he eventually picked up the Staff of Death and returned to where the bodies lay.

Although Victor and his people were still in the vicinity, Ryuji still needed to properly manage the affairs at hand.

Whenever the corpse-handlers carried a body past him, Ryuji would press his fingertip gently against the center of the deceased's forehead, leaving behind the imprint of his Nether Palace.

This was Ryuji's coordinate in the Underworld, which would allow the spirits to know where to head upon entering the Underworld, while also enabling Ryuji's subordinates to identify which souls could be guided into the Nether Palace and protected.

Watching Ryuji go about his business, Victor looked as though he wanted to step forward and say something, but he ultimately shook his head and decided against it.

After all, the fact that Ryuji had returned to work at a time like this showed that he was dedicated to his duties. Even while they were in hot pursuit of the Blood Plague Medium, they could not interfere with Ryuji's work.

Moreover, just as Wilder had said, what happened within the Underworld was the business of the Morticians.

Unless the Morticians themselves could not handle it, outsiders had no right to demand entry into the Underworld or breach the ghost cities of the Morticians.

Watching the bone guards depart one by one, Ryuji knew he had made the right choice again. It seemed the bone guards would not hold this incident against him. His next task was to hunt down the fellow who had dared to ambush him.

Although the adversary followed the path of shadows and was not easy to track, Ryuji was not overly concerned. He was certain that the fellow was still watching him, waiting for the next opportunity for a surprise attack.

From the earlier attitude of the bone guards, it was clear that the culprit was not a bone guard from this district. If Ryuji discovered and killed him, it would not incur the hostility of the local bone guards.

However, the assassin did not show himself until Ryuji had finished dealing with all the corpses.

Casting a glance at the police officer who had brought him there, Ryuji said directly, "I have finished handling things here. Their souls will all be sent to my Nether Palace, so please give their families peace of mind. As for how to process the bodies, I don't need to spell that out for you, do I?"

"No need, I know what to do. They will be sent to the Church District to be handled by the priests there."

"Very well. Then I shall take my leave. If anything comes up and you cannot find me, you can go to Bureau 11 and contact the director there."

With those words, Ryuji lifted his Staff of Death and headed toward his own jurisdiction.

However, Ryuji's walking pace grew slower and slower. He looked like someone who had ventured outside his familiar territory, constantly glancing around.

In truth, all his attention was focused on his surroundings, staying on guard against the sudden appearance of an enemy.

Ryuji had figured it out while processing the corpses: he could not keep dragging matters out, nor could he lure the enemy back into his Nether Palace. In this plane, apart from Morticians, the vast majority of Necromancers and Death Knights required specific passages or a guide to enter the Underworld.

One could not simply waltz into the Underworld just by virtue of being a player.

If he returned to the Nether Palace and holed up for three or five days before coming back out, who knew where that fellow might have run off to.

Ryuji was not the type to swallow an attack without retaliating. He would rather act as bait and draw the enemy out than simply let him escape scot-free.

Yet, while the fellow superficially resembled a bone guard, he actually operated like a true assassin.

Ever since his initial ambush failed, he had remained completely hidden, waiting for an opportunity when Ryuji's guard was down.

With such an obvious bait setup, how could that fellow possibly show his face?

Not a single trace of the enemy appeared by the time Ryuji made it all the way back to Golden Scissors Street.

This state of affairs left Ryuji rather speechless. Since he could not obsess over this matter indefinitely, he eventually had a meal, returned to his small building, and prepared to enter the Nether Palace to manage the day's affairs.