Lauren’s death came without warning. It was so sudden that Dustin barely had time to process what happened. Staring at her shattered skull and her body sprawled in blood, his smile faded as he frowned.
No one had attacked her, and it wasn’t suicide either. Her head exploded because someone had planted a cursed insect in her brain.
This insect lay dormant inside her head. It caused no harm to its host under normal circumstances.
However, when the host planned to betray the Skull Covenant, the insect would immediately awaken and self-destruct. The explosion occurred from within and was impossible to prevent.
If Dustin had examined Lauren thoroughly, he would’ve spotted it. With his current skills, eliminating such an insect would have been easy.
Even Lauren herself hadn’t known that she had been implanted with the cursed insect. If she had known, she wouldn’t have endured such prolonged torture. Otherwise, she would have chosen to
trigger the explosion earlier.
Grace approached him and examined the corpse on the ground, then frowned. ” What happened?” she asked. “Is she implanted with the cursed insect?”
“Yes, it was implanted in her brain and extremely well hidden,” Dustin replied with a nod.
“It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get any useful information from her,” she said, clearly disappointed.
“Even if we had learned the location of the Skull Covenant’s headquarters, we probably wouldn’t have caught anyone there,” Dustin remarked evenly.
He continued, “Getting captured was part of her plan. She planned to use this opportunity to assassinate Dragonmarsh’s key officials while sacrificing herself to spread the blood plague and turn Reedcrest into a dead zone.
“The moment she decided on this suicide mission, the Skull Covenant’s core members had probably relocated.”
“You’re right.” Grace nodded. “Thank goodness you were here. Otherwise, we couldn’t have handled that scarlet mist.”
Dustin spat out the crimson orb he had swallowed earlier. It landed in his palm, spinning slowly.
“Want to study this thing?” he asked, holding it out to her. “According to her, this contains their Skull Lord’s blood. The energy inside is corrupted, but it won’t explode easily unless you overstimulate it.”
“A strange artifact like this definitely deserves to be examined,” Grace said as she accepted the orb without hesitation.
Her knowledge of the Skull Covenant was limited since most of her information came from old archived materials. Now that she’d encountered them firsthand, she realized they were even more dangerous than she’d anticipated.
The Skull Covenant members devoted themselves to worshipping a being known as Skull Lord. The true nature of this person remained a mystery to her. However, possessing a sample of his blood might finally provide the answers she needed.
Inside the governor’s mansion at Harbortown, Tristan finally felt his nerves begin to relax as he listened to his subordinate’s report.
For the past two days, he hadn’t slept well and was occupied with efforts to contain the outbreak. Things finally began to turn around yesterday when Grace sent over a prescription that helped bring the situation under control.
New infections had dropped sharply, and existing patients showed signs of recovery. While the prescription couldn’t completely cure the disease, it at least helped them survive longer.
Right now, time was the one thing Tristan needed most. If Icarus and Lenora could complete the development of the antidote, the crisis would finally come to an end. And when that happened, Tristan would be celebrated as the hero of Ashen Coast.
“Your Highness, something terrible has happened,” Milton said urgently, panic and terror etched across his face. He rushed in just as Tristan savored thoughts of future glory.
“What happened? You look terrified.”
Tristan frowned as unease crept over him.
Milton delivered the devastating news. ”
Your Highness, I just received news that a large amount of poisonous scarlet mist suddenly broke out in the hospital where patients were being treated.
“This mist possesses deadly corrosive properties and dissolves anyone it touches into pools of blood. Unfortunately, everyone inside the hospital is dead.”
“What? Everyone is dead?” Tristan shot to his feet. “Are you sure? How could things suddenly get this bad?”
“The disaster struck without warning. We’re still looking into the details, but so far, no survivors.” Milton looked grim.
“You mean Dr. Strum and Dr. Carmel are dead?” Tristan’s eyes widened, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.
“They couldn’t escape in time.” Milton’s head dropped in defeat.
He knew Icarus and Lenora were Tristan’s trump card for ending the outbreak. Their sudden deaths weren’t just a setback but a devastating blow for Tristan.
Tristan slumped back into his chair as all color drained from his face. “Without the two skilled doctors, how do we stop this outbreak now?” he asked.
“Your Highness, the outbreak is no longer our main concern. It’s the red mist we need to worry about now. It’s still spreading and destroying everything in its path. At this rate, it’ll reach the governor’s mansion in 30 minutes,” Milton said urgently.
“What? It’s still spreading?”
Tristan sank deeper into despair. The outbreak still hadn’t been solved, and now this scarlet mist had appeared out of nowhere. It felt like he was being pushed to the edge with no way out.
