Then it hit her.
Thinking of what Russell mentioned just now, Charuni gave him the family emblem together with his mother.
How could Charuni be so close to a strange woman?
Unless she is——
"Because I am also a descendant of Poplarwood."
On the other side, Russell's voice continued to come.
"According to the contract, the descendants of Poplar can borrow the power of the sacred oak's artifact."
"Isn't this a matter of course?"
Chapter 115: Chaluni's Retribution
The news that Russell was Poplar not only shocked Xia Yibing, but also shocked Hitzfeld.
She really... didn't expect there would be such a hidden secret.
No wonder Charuni would use such means to control him instead of getting rid of him directly.
Being an illegitimate child is indeed not a nice title, especially when his father is the king. The troubles that Russell needs to face are ten times more exaggerated than those in those melodramatic novels.
Here she thought of Xia Yibing at that time - when the two of them described their dreams to each other and found that the contents were similar, the scene Xia described at that time could indeed be applied to Russell and his mother.
His mother is obviously not right, either she has a problem with her thinking, or she has been poisoned by the idea of anti-Sunflower. The so-called "returning to Western allies" is not necessarily to "help Sarah", it may be a sarcastic statement to prevent eavesdropping.
Then, Charuni may have foreseen what was about to happen in the future, or he may have noticed in advance that there was something wrong with Russell's mother. And the timing was just when he was about to leave the stage of history. According to his character, he would not leave this hidden danger to the next king.
Well...if Russell wasn't his illegitimate son, he might consider using this method to discipline Alvin, but this would involve him anyway, and it would be considered a scandal, so he did it very cleanly until Russell himself revealed everything...
How did he disclose it? He clearly said that his brain was also tampered with and would explode at the slightest movement.
He joined the Nightingale, and the Nightingale must have other members in Kerger, which means that he has actually been under surveillance. "Long distance" cannot be an excuse for "not bombing".
So how did he do it?
Oh... it seems that the beginning of his transformation originated from meeting me in the red soil. So it was the other half of the natural sphere that saved his life...
Thinking quickly, Hitzfeld went over all the information and conditions in his mind quickly, and guessed that the bomb in Russell's head had been dealt with by him using the other half of the natural magic ball.
As long as he could control the sphere a little, he could undoubtedly do this "little thing". His change originated from the red soil because that was the turning point when he obtained the sphere. Before that, although he was hesitant, he never dared to put down his disguise. It was not until he had the sphere and experienced its mystery that his hidden thoughts became active little by little, and more shadows began to grow.
"How did you hide this from everyone?" Hitzfeld asked him.
The other half of the sphere...if the distance was so close, she would definitely be able to feel it.
Not to mention that she clearly felt that thing being carried away quickly - if other people could be fooled by Russell, how could she, who had such a sense, do so?
"I'm not the only one acting alone." Russell shook his head, his glasses gleaming in the dark. "This is a little trick... Do you remember the letter-delivery technique you learned in Blackwood City?"
"Delivering a letter?" Hitzfeld was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted: "The messenger who delivered the message? Did he bring the thing to you?"
Before leaving the red soil, they avoided a high-level messenger.
The main purpose was to help Xia Yibing avoid the transfer order so that she could act with them, so she didn't think too much about it at the time, and she didn't even meet the messenger.
Russell was with them most of the time, so the probability of them meeting was not high. But in fact, it didn't need to be so troublesome - for example, Russell could send a package containing the "Apis Cube" with the magic ball. If she could sense that the magic ball was deliberately made for her, then he only needed to make a time lock or something like that on the magic cube to close the sensory connection, and then the package would be transported to the fortress, and then the courier passing through the fortress would mention it and send it back to him...
They didn't need to meet in person during the whole process. The messenger wouldn't care about such things at all. She estimated that there were a lot of such packages piled up in Onsayn at that time, and no one would take a close look at them.
"I divided it into several layers." Russell calmly recounted the whole process, "The first package will land in Linta City behind Wengsayin. When they tear open the package, they will find another package with a note to send it back to Wengsayin."
"So, it came from the 'back' like the other packages. No one would suspect that such a plain package contains a divine weapon. I received it again not long after I boarded the ship with you."
Hitzfeld stared at him in silence, not understanding how he could dare to take such a risk.
"No accidents." Russell saw what she was thinking. "You underestimate the power of this artifact... After gaining control of the other half, I can completely control the Apis Cube from more than ten miles away to ensure that no one will be curious and want to disassemble it..."
"We are not here to listen to your bragging." Xia Yibing stopped him from continuing, "I don't care whose child you are or whose blood flows in your body. I only care about what you want and whether you will be our enemy next..."
"Isn't it obvious from this body whether I am an enemy or not?" Russell said calmly.
"Just like what I asked Hitzfeld when she asked me a question before, even if I say now, 'I am not your enemy,' would you still dare to trust me?"
"..." Xia Yibing clenched the handle of the knife and was speechless.
"Don't try to use such tricks to delay time." Russell shook his head. "It's actually itself that is delaying time."
"Anyway, letting a girl without any connections be the queen will attract a lot of opposition." Hitzfeld suddenly said, "and before it has finished studying all the mimicry formation diagrams, it has neither the time nor the energy to deal with such trivial matters, so someone needs to stand up for 'Queen Hitzfeld', and their status must be so noble that most people can hardly resist it."
Xia Yibing glanced at her and immediately realized that the reason why the monster outside was still there was probably to lure Queen Milanka and Kaloni closer to the hotel.
Hitzfeld and I knew what this thing was and how dangerous it was, but the other two certainly didn't have such a comprehensive understanding.
She couldn't help but pray in her heart that the Count and the Queen wouldn't be so stupid.
Didn't Kaloni say that he built a lot of mechanical "dragoons"? I wonder if those junks can still move without the imaginary dragon fire...
"So you're sure." Hitzfeld was still communicating with Russell. "...I'm a little disappointed."
The analysis she just made was based on a premise, which was the implementation of the title "Queen Hitzfeld".
But the main character in the whole sentence is obviously not her, but "it" - the monster.
So the plan that Russell had always been reluctant to make clear was now clear: he planned to let that thing eat her, take on her appearance, and use this body and appearance to control Tarignan.
"We are all just the torch that opens a new era." Russell pursed his lips, "This sacrifice will not be in vain."
His thinking was completely hopeless, and Hitzfeld didn't intend to talk nonsense, so he asked him directly: "How do you ensure that doing this will usher in the new era you mentioned?"
She was simply curious.
If he planned to do a series of rebellious things today, he could cover it up by killing all the people involved.
After all, Wayne Port and Kerg are too far apart. The distance limit means that Sarah's control over Kerg will not be too strong. Russell and others can make use of this to do more.
So what follows next - how can he guarantee that if he lets that monster control Talignan, the whole country will be better off?
It's just a monster after all, isn't it?
She felt that Russell should be more worried about whether it would continue to commit crimes under the pretext of experiments, and create more crazy disappearances - in fact, kidnapping people and eating them.
"You are a little arrogant."
Russell commented.
"A monster - let's call it that for now. We know it was really bad at the beginning. It was stupid, muddleheaded, without a perfect mind. It just followed its instinct to survive and eat people."
“But it will grow.”
"Its thoughts will be perfected, its wisdom will be ignited. It will grow and develop by absorbing the blood and spiritual crystals of mankind, and in the process it will deeply understand what is law - and even morality."
"Then do you think it will reflect on everything it has done?"
"Reflect on the beast-like self I once was, and reflect on the self who was like a monster or a demon in the eyes of those innocent people."
"Tell me, Hitzfeld, if you were put into that monster's skin, would your pride allow others to see you like that?"
Definitely not.
Hitzfeld's eyelids twitched.
But...but is this also comparable?
"Mr. Russell," she lowered her voice, "it's not a human being, anyway."
"What's the difference?" Russell asked immediately.
"If a thing can think like a human, understand human laws, morals, and justice, and is willing to integrate into society in human form, what is the difference between it and a human?"
"But this——"
"At the very least, I don't think there's any greater difference between me and my father."
Chapter 116 The True Heir
It’s over.
If Hitzfeld still had a glimmer of hope of persuading Russell, she knew it was impossible as soon as these words came out.
This is Charuni's karma.
This was retribution for his ruthless approach back then, which even reached such an extent that he was cruel to his illegitimate child...
But damn it, why does this retribution have to fall on me?
Just as she expected, Russell became excited as soon as the topic started.
He waved his mechanical arm and added: "He is my father! I don't ask to be a prince. I don't even care whether I can inherit the family glory - I don't care about those things in the first place!"
"I don't even ask him to treat me like a father treats his son. Even if he treats me like a king treats his subjects, I can bear not seeing him for the rest of my life!"
"But look what he did?"
"It was just a hidden danger! Hitzfeld! He just thought that The Thorn Birds had hidden dangers and it was his personal scandal, so he did it - and then put all the blame on me! Even the woman he loved didn't escape - I saw her stabbed to death with my own eyes!!"
The "she" here is undoubtedly Russell's mother.
Xia Yibing really wanted to say that your mother probably deserved it, but Russell’s current condition was indeed dangerous, and she didn’t intend to add fuel to the fire.
After venting his anger, Russell gradually calmed down.
He gasped, controlling his body, which no longer resembled a human being, to half-kneel on the ground. Blood bubbles kept bulging and exploding on his bloody body surface, and sticky blood plasma sprayed all over the ground.
"So this is what he taught me." The voice came from under the drooping hair. "He taught me through reality and actions that being weak is the original sin, and being backward is worthy of extinction."
"Of course, I also said that I don't blame him... I think I can understand him, his ideals, his spirit, that noble spirit of 'as long as Sarah can continue, I will do it no matter what the cost'..."
"Then I think I must inherit this spirit... The current Sara is too weak compared to the Sara he ruled... Her Majesty the Queen does not have his iron fist and lacks this spirit... Those judges... I only saw unnecessary internal friction."
"And in the process I met him... 'Mr. Bokan'."
"He used to be a monster, but now he is civilized and his understanding of society, law, and morality is much deeper than that of ordinary people."
"He promised that he would not eat humans anymore, and he was unwilling to devote more energy to expanding the tribe."
"Of course, I didn't completely believe him. But the rationality he showed was not an illusion... It was not something a savage monster or a brainless evil creature could simulate."
"I think it would be more appropriate for him to control Talignan like this."
"It has nothing to do with what he does in the future."
It can be seen that Russell is under a lot of pressure.
I have been keeping so many things in my heart, hiding them with that mechanical face... These words can almost be called a confession.
Similarly, because he had invested almost all of his emotions, his spirit—if he still had it—expanded rapidly at an unknown rate. In the eyes of the two, it was like "the air was filled with whirlpools of thoughts that could be seen with the naked eye."
Those are things that seem invisible and intangible, but can indeed be sensed.
They were squeezed together, bursting out, and radiating... They were all his thoughts and his buried emotions, as if all the ideas he had accumulated throughout his life were pouring out at this moment. They were bathing in this "spiritual sea" and were forced to experience his insights.
A vortex swept past Xia Yibing like the wind.
In a trance, she saw Russell... probably the teenage version, standing in front of the mirror adjusting his tie, muttering "can't be seen through, can't be seen through", and practicing his fake smile over and over again.
Also passed Hitzfeld.
The girl saw Russell lying on the bed. A gentle and pretty woman was sitting beside the bed telling him a story. He fell asleep peacefully while listening to the calm description.
How could his spirit be so strong that it could actually form a "spiritual sea"?
Both of them were shocked and looked at each other at the same time, making the same mouth shape at the same time - Nature Orb.
Russell said that the other half of the magic ball was in his possession. Given the mystery of this thing, "divergent thinking" was only a minor function among its many functions.
"Aisun..." Xia Yibing clenched the fire knife, looked at Russell and then at the girl, the underlying meaning was self-evident.
Should I chop him off while he's going crazy?
Hitzfeld quickly shook his head.
Just kidding, she didn't think Russell was that easy to kill.
It was visible to the naked eye that most of his limbs had transformed into a monstrous form - most likely an extension of the "Mr. Bokan" he had mentioned earlier.
If that thing is the same as the blood mud monster, then this body is almost immortal. It has inherited the tenacious vitality of the ancient virus.
How could something that could not be exterminated by the squeezing of the earth's crust or the pressure of sea water, and could even survive in lava layers at thousands of degrees, be killed by just a knife or a gun?
Don't even mention hitting him in the head.
