Chapter 85: Invitation

At 11 Kimmel Street, Goethe was in his study examining his loot. These items were mostly notes and books, with a small portion being materials. When he refused the help of Gratz the Elder's butler and personally moved them in from the carriage, Goethe already had a good idea of what he had. However, he didn't refuse the butler's offer before leaving, "If you've forgotten anything, please let me know, and I'll bring it to you immediately."

Who knew if he might be missing something?

As for the attitude Gratz the Elder displayed?

Goethe wasn't surprised. As the son of the Grand Duke, Gratz the Elder not only possessed astonishing wealth but also knew many things ordinary people didn't. He understood very well the consequences of fighting a supernatural being.

Therefore, he would never refuse him!

A mutually destructive outcome?

That wasn't what he wanted!

Goethe knew very well that before there was a real chance to kill him, the Grand Duke's son would definitely act very friendly!

So, he had to keep control of the situation at all times, leaving no opportunities for the other party.

"I really want a permanent solution!" Goethe sighed softly.

Unfortunately...

He wasn't strong enough!

Maintaining the current situation already involved some bluffing and tricks. In fact, if he hadn't happened to learn [Despondent Gaze], causing the natives of this "secret realm" to misjudge him, the situation might have been very different.

And such misjudgments would become less and less frequent as they interacted with him.

At least, after tonight, no one would think he wasn't good at hand-to-hand combat.

Moreover, after tonight, the people he faced would be even more dangerous!

For example: Grand Duke Gratz!

For example: More supernatural beings!

The former, as the father of Gratz the Elder and Gratz the Younger, would definitely appear once he knew about tonight's events. Moreover, he was also Andy Nan's father.

Before Andy Nan's identity was exposed, he could turn a blind eye.

But now that Andy Nan's identity was known to more people, he would definitely have to give an explanation.

Goethe understood this so-called "noble honor" all too well.

And the latter?

Based on the bits and pieces of information from Scilick and Devant, there was clearly something in Hesetins that attracted supernatural beings.

Some supernatural beings were gathering because of this.

He was considered one of them.

Whether it was Grand Duke Gratz or these supernatural beings, Goethe needed to deal with them carefully!

"Hopefully, there will be some gains!" Goethe looked at the notes and books placed in the study, thinking silently.

For the next four days, Goethe didn't leave the house. He even skipped his afternoon shooting practice at the club. Apart from eating, he spent all his time in the study, flipping through these notes and books written in a mix of [Tu Fu Yu] and the common language.

He hoped to find more secret techniques to use as trump cards.

He even more hoped to find secret techniques that could interfere with divination.

Unfortunately, he found nothing.

It wasn't that these notes and books didn't mention any secret techniques at all. On the contrary, they mentioned quite a few.

Such as 'Raven. Concealment', 'Raven. Claw Strike', 'Raven. Flight', and so on. But next to each secret technique, there was a note indicating it was incomplete. Even though the notes tried their best to complete these lost secret techniques, it was a drop in the bucket.

Most were just concepts or speculations.

The only one that could be considered complete was a "ritual" called 'Raven. Black Domain'.

It was the ritual that Devant had set up at the Royal Bird Academy.

The entire ritual was quite complex, but even more difficult were the materials required.

Flawless diamonds and mithril!

And to set up even the most basic 'Raven. Black Domain', three of the former and one kilogram of the latter were needed.

After three days of reading, Goethe had a fairly good understanding of the supernatural situation in this "secret realm." Not to mention that the supernatural was already in decline now, even in its heyday, finding three flawless diamonds and one kilogram of mithril wouldn't be easy.

Undoubtedly, Devant had used the entire century's worth of accumulation of the "Voice of the Raven" to deal with him.

He was certain that as long as he killed Goethe, he would get everything from the "Robert Family."

But the result was that the loot Goethe deserved was reduced by more than half.

"Gamblers deserve to die!" Goethe said bluntly.

Then, he looked at the bookshelf beside him.

On top of the bookshelf, an invisible "Raven Spirit" that only he could see was standing there, vigilantly observing the surroundings.

Upon receiving Goethe's mental instructions, it immediately flew over and landed on his shoulder.

Looking at the obedient "Raven Spirit," Goethe's mood immediately improved.

The reason he said the loot was reduced by more than half, rather than being completely worthless, was not only because the hidden information in those notes and books was extremely valuable to Goethe but also because of [Ominous Cry].

The 'Raven Spirit' summoned by [Ominous Cry] was truly handy. Not only did it have a natural invisibility ability, but its vision was also extremely wide, allowing it to see clearly even in darkness. Moreover, it also possessed a certain degree of combat capability.

Of course, the most important thing was that it could be taken out of the 'secret realm'. When he returned to the 'anchor world', the 'Raven Spirit' would undoubtedly become his most important 'eyes'.

And now?

It was the most direct source of power.

Goethe stood up and picked up the invitation from the side of his desk. Three days ago in the morning, Grand Duke Gratz had sent this invitation.

However, Goethe didn't go immediately.

Apart from needing to read the newly acquired notes and books, it was naturally to ensure his safety a bit more.

Outside the window behind Goethe, on the large trees lining Kimmel Street, ravens were hidden among the dense leaves.

These ravens had been controlled by the 'Raven Spirit' within three days.

A total of ninety-nine.

Goethe kept the limit of [Murder of Crows] in mind.

He didn't want to become a chatterbox.

Just the thought of possibly turning into Devant's state during battle made Goethe feel worse than death. So, before his own [Heart] had a new breakthrough, Goethe would absolutely not let the 'Raven Spirit' control more than a hundred ravens.

"Can I continue to improve [Hand-to-Hand Combat] to achieve a [Heart] breakthrough?" Goethe wondered.

In those notes and books, although 'talented individuals' were mentioned more than once, the descriptions of them, without exception, were: born with it.

Not acquired later in life.

Someone like Goethe, who entered the supernatural and opened his [Heart] through [Hand-to-Hand Combat], was unique.

Because, in the records and descriptions of those notes and books, ordinary people who wanted to gain talent would invariably go mad and die.

But the reality that happened to him told Goethe the fallacy of that.

Ordinary people could gain talent!

But it needed to be done by themselves!

Not by changing one potion after another like the 'Voice of the Raven' experimented with.

It was just that Goethe couldn't be sure if [Hand-to-Hand Combat] after becoming supernatural could still continue to increase his [Heart].

"Still lacking [Bloody Honor]!"

"I need more [Bloody Honor] to be more at ease!"

Glancing at the remaining 3 portions of [Bloody Honor], Goethe pondered for a moment, then took Grand Duke Gratz's invitation and walked out of the study - when he received this invitation, Goethe already had a rough idea.

Now, after three days of 'accumulation', the idea could be turned into a feasible plan.

"Master, do you need anything to eat?"

"I have a newly developed recipe!"

Maid Maria asked excitedly when she saw Goethe coming out of the study.

You know, for the past three days, her master, in order to focus on reading, had ordered her to make the simplest and most ordinary food that could be eaten directly. This made Maria, who had learned many traditional noble recipes, feel that her skills were useless.

But now, it was alright!

Her master had finished reading!

She could showcase her culinary skills!

You know, she had been researching a special cake for the past three days!

It would definitely win her master's favor!

Maria was so confident.

But Goethe had an apologetic look on his face.

"Sorry, Maria."

"I need to go to an appointment."

"With Andy Nan."

After saying that, Goethe strode out the door.

And in the corner of the living room, Andy Nan, who had been silent since Maria spoke, rushed out of 11 Kimmel Street as if fleeing.

"Mr. Maple, do you know how I've been spending these past three days?"

"Every mealtime, I had to try my best to indicate that I only needed ordinary food, fearing that Maria would bring me her special dishes."

The young man lamented.

"You could have just said it directly."

Goethe replied.

"I didn't want to discourage Maria - whenever I saw her looking at you with joy and working hard for you, it was difficult for me to say such things."

The young man sighed.

Goethe wasn't surprised by this.

Because he felt the same way.

When faced with malice, Goethe could easily deal with it.

But when faced with goodwill, Goethe felt a bit at a loss.

"However, we're lucky, at least much luckier than Kai. He's been sick nine times in three days."

"If this continues, Kai might really get sick."

The young man mentioned the poor manservant and couldn't help but shrug, looking helpless yet holding back laughter. But Goethe could keenly notice that the young man's gaze kept glancing at the invitation in his hand from time to time.

Three days ago, when they received this invitation, Andy Nan made it clear that he wanted to go.

Goethe didn't object at the time, and he wouldn't ask now.

Even though the young man seemed very nervous.

Some things, others couldn't help with; they had to be faced alone.

Goethe closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, using the 'Raven Spirit's' vision to observe the surroundings.

Almost instantly, Goethe spotted several hidden onlookers in the shadows.

Moreover, these armed onlookers were rapidly converging towards his carriage.

Clearly, these onlookers were another probe.

After the battle with Devant, his absence from the public eye had aroused some people's ulterior motives.

And this was what Goethe wanted to see.

He needed further fame!

He needed more deterrence for himself!

The onlookers, filled with malice, quickly blocked the target carriage. They gripped their firearms tightly, and just as they were about to raise their guns and shoot, a flock of ravens suddenly swooped down.

The onlookers screamed in agony.

Their eyes and flesh were pecked at by the ravens.

In less than two minutes, when the ravens took flight, only a few incomplete skeletons were left on the ground. Most of the flesh and internal organs had been devoured by the ravens.

Rick, the coachman, was stunned, and at this moment, Goethe's calm voice rang out faintly.

"Keep moving."

"Yes, sir."

Rick immediately steered the carriage forward.

There were no detours, no more pauses. It just rolled straight over those incomplete skeletons.

With crisp crunching sounds, the carriage, leaving two clear trails of blood, slowly drove into the core area of Hesetins.

Under the afternoon sun, this crimson was incredibly glaring.

The blackness swirling in the sky was even more profound.

Caw, caw!

One sharp crow's call after another, as if informing everyone -

Ominousness and calamity had arrived.

(End of Chapter)