Now that the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team was four members short, the four female knights seemed like the most suitable candidates to fill in their spots. This had seemed to be one of the reasons behind Xia Lei’s intention to keep them. However, now was not the time for the female knights to meet the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team. After all, they were presumed dead by the sisters. The influx of information would be too much for them. It was impertinent to take this one step at a time.

Returning to his room, Xia Lei washed away the blood on his hands then destroyed the burqa. Finishing off everything else, he went to rest for the night. But it had proved to be too difficult to fall asleep with his mind fixated on the torment the sisters had gone through. Considerations on how to access the Sacred Palace lingered in his brain too.

The Knight Hospitaller headquarters were situated under the Holy Mountain, better known as the Temple Of Apollo. How was he supposed to get in if the security there was as tight as they claimed?

“I’ve made a copy of Arthur’s access card. I’m sure that would allow me into the Knight Hospitaller headquarters but my appearance is now a problem. I must change my look but whose face should I use to guarantee my safety?” Xia Lei thought of Bray, then thought of William Arthur and Professor Ferkel.

Bray’s status wouldn’t suffice but to dress up as William Arthur and Ferkel was challenging. Their ages were a concern and the other problem was the two were still alive. It was too risky to impersonate someone who could walk in and ruin his plans!

How should he solve this?

Xia Lei was deep in thought.

An hour later, noises could be heard from the corridor outside. There were people screaming, there were rushed footsteps and there were rappings against the door. Before long, the bell in the clock tower rang loudly.

Abruptly, Xia Lei left his bed on the balcony to look into the direction of the Holy Mountain. This was surely a signal directed to the Holy Mountain. Was the Knight Hospitaller headquarters about to send their people over?

Sadly, due to the distance, his left eye couldn’t make out the happenings on the mountain.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

His door was knocked and there soon rang an unfamiliar voice. “Come out! Come out!”

Xia Lei averted his gaze to the door. There was a bald middle-aged Caucasian man standing behind the door. His body was built and his gaze was terrifyingly intense.

“Open the door!” The bald man slammed his fist.

Xia Lei made his way over and did as he asked, “Mister, what’s the matter?”

“Go to the grand hall.” The intruder was unfriendly.

“But I was just sleeping...” Xia Lei tried to look unwilling.

Abruptly, the man pulled him by the arm away from his room. Shoving Xia Lei, he yelled, “Do you not understand me? Move!”

Xia Lei shrugged, finding the treatment unpleasant. But he wasn’t about to retaliate.

At this moment, Linda too exited her room. Bewildered, she asked, “What the hell is going on?”

Xia Lei shook his head. “I don’t know. But this man over here had asked me to go down to the grand hall.”

The bald man exclaimed, “You too! Get down to the grand hall!”

“Fine.” Linda walked towards Xia Lei and looked at the bald man. “Can you please explain what’s going on?”

“There’s no need to ask.” The man seemed more courteous with Linda than with Xia Lei.

Making their way there, Linda and Xia Lei spotted a large plastic sheet on the floor of the grand hall. There were two bodies displayed, one was Tanni’s and the other was Bray’s. Bray’s state was difficult to stomach. The man was missing a brain and his feet. There were countless holes all about his body and his genitals were charcoal burnt!

“Mmph-!” Linda gagged, quickly clamping her mouth close with her palm to stop the urge.

Xia Lei gagged too. Almost vomiting his insides.

Ferkel and William Arthur were also present in the hall, gazing at Linda and Xia Lei darkly. Standing beside them were two bald Caucasian men.

Feigning his disgust, Xia Lei utilized the cover to ponder. “Shit, why are there so many baldies here? Could it be that the black-robed sharpshooter coming for Linda last night was a member of the Knight Hospitaller? If that’s so...”

This was akin to willingly entering into the trap!

The sense of danger flared up. But there was a new chance that surfaced in front of Xia Lei. If the Knight Hospitallers were the ones who killed Professor Oman and tried to assassinate Linda, then the Metal Book was in their hands!

With that, Xia Lei deduced a new hypothesis in his mind. The Knight Hospitallers surely knew some things about the ancient alloy or AE capsules!

Though this thought was formulated from the murder of an Italian professor and had not enough to prove its validity, Xia Lei was certain that there was a high possibility!

As Xia Lei was occupied with his thoughts, Ferkel spoke. “Mister Ma Lei, where had you been before this?”

Xia Lei pushed his brainstorming aside. Tilting his head in confusion, he answered, “I was sleeping in my room. Why are you asking me that?”

“I don’t mean anything else. As you can see, there was a murder that took place here and the sinner was excruciatingly cruel. I’m just trying to understand the situation,” replied Ferkel.

“I really was sleeping the entire time in my room.” Xia Lei feigned his innocence.

“What about you?” Ferkel placed his gaze on Linda.

“I was sleeping in my room too.” Linda continued, “I woke up due to the noise outside. Can... Can I please leave now? I can’t take the scent here.”

Sternly, Ferkel warned, “No one is allowed to leave until I get a hold of the situation.”

William Arthur approached Xia Lei. He paused in front of his face and started sniffing Xia Lei out.

Xia Lei acted dumb. “What are you trying to do?”

Suddenly, William Arthur grabbed Xia Lei’s elbow. “Why is the smell of blood so heavy on you?”

Xia Lei’s heart clenched in fear. “This... This entire place reeks of blood! Don’t accuse me like that, I really did nothing!”

William Arthur began to exert force on his grip.

“Ouch!” Xia Lei screamed in pain. “What are you trying to do?! Let me go!”

Instead, the man pushed him away vehemently, causing Xia Lei to stumble backwards.

“What the hell?!” Linda hurriedly came over to help him up. Angered, she retaliated, “Show me your evidence if you think we did this! Bring us to the police if you dare! Who do you think you are?”

Ferkel chortled. “Miss Linda, did you and Mister Ma Lei sneak over?”

Immediately, Linda froze. “Wh... What are you trying to say?”

Ferkel pressed on. “Miss Linda, I’m guessing no one knows that you’re here in Malta, right?

“What do you mean?” Linda was starting to feel nervous.

“Is it not obvious?” Ferkel’s face warped into something ferocious. “No one knows that you’re here. Naturally, no one will learn of your death!”

Something finally clicked in Linda’s mind. She screamed, “You! You were the ones who killed Professor Oman!”

“Professor Oman was a friend. I wasn’t planning to kill him but it was inevitable.” Ferkel fixed his cold glare on her. “I went to the customs to inspect their arrival records. If you both had entered through the sea route and the Vatican knew that you’re searching for me, it would’ve been difficult for me to lay a finger on you. But having the both of you as stowaways makes this so much easier!”

“You... You want to kill us?” Exasperated, she fumed. “But why?!”

“Because you know too much.” Then, Ferkel sent a look to the bald man beside him.

Taking his cue, the man approached her and grabbed Linda’s arm roughly.

William Arthur pulled Xia Lei up from the ground like a rag doll and handed him off to the bald minions. Xia Lei was soon brought away, locked in their tight grip.

“You can’t do this to us!” Linda cried out. “We’re innocent!”

Ferkel was unfazed. Though he had mentioned that Linda had learned too much for her own god, he was clear that the amount of knowledge she had was pitifully shallow. Despite that, Ferkel was adamant on not letting them leave alive. He shall not allow her another chance to continue her search for the Metal Book.

It was only after Xia Lei and Linda were brought away from the hall that William Arthur finally exclaimed, “It was those bitches that killed Tanni and Bray! I swear I’ll chop them up and feed them to the dogs!”

“We’ve already alerted the headquarters. I’m certain their men will arrive soon. By then, you shall lead them after the four women. This is our territory, they can’t run far.” Ferkel’s tone was malicious.

“What about the thing?” William Arthur stared at Ferkel, eyes harbouring caution and suspicion.

Ferkel shrugged nonchalantly. “Our friendship goes way back. Do you not trust me? It was something we got via joint effort. Of course, I will wait for your return to present it to our lord. I won’t enjoy the honour and glory alone. Trust me.”

“Of course I believe in you. I’ll do as you say. I’ll lead the men after the four bitches while you take care of that archaeologist and the Chinese. Tomorrow we’ll hand in the Metal Book to the lord,” agreed William Arthur.

“Hehe, I can’t wait to see the miracle happen. For the sake of this day, many of us had shed blood and sacrificed themselves.” There was a proud smile on Ferkel’s face, his mind was already constructing an image of the supposed miracle.

Wiliam Arthur too had a smile. He extended his arms to hug Ferkel.

But the hug robbed Ferkel of his smile. He froze, quickly pushing William Arthur away. Glancing down to his chest, Ferkel found a sharp knife stabbed into it. Blood was spewing out of the opening like a fountain. He pointed to William Arthur, in shaking fury and shock. “Why...?”

William Arthur smirked. “You, Bray and Tanni were all killed by the four bitches. They killed you and ran away. I’m going to go after them to avenge you.”

“You...” Before he could utter his sentence, Ferkel slumped against the ground face-first. Eyes wide open, he suffered an unpeaceful passing.

“Rest in peace, my old friend.” William Arthur muttered under his breath. “Professor Oman was an old friend of yours and yet, you had the heart to kill him. But please don’t misunderstand me, I’m not trying to have the fame and honour all to myself. The Vatican will take you as a clue to search for the Metal Book, so you must die.”

Sadly, Ferkel could no longer hear those words.