His gaze shifted from the oil painting to the staircase on the first floor, and only then did he finally hear voices from upstairs.
It wasn't just one person, but a group of people; it seemed all the guests attending the banquet were upstairs.
Xia De took a few steps up, peered around the stairwell, and found five or six guards at the top of the stairs, two of whom were even Ring術士.
So he took off his mask, turned it into a toy, and put it in his pocket, then used Moonlight Illusion to make the strange silver mist flow upwards.
The silver mist of the illusion was invisible before it took effect.
Xia De manipulated it to form a wall of mist at the top of the stairs.
Then he stomped his foot loudly, and the moment the guards actively passed through the mist wall, his body vanished, reappearing behind them.
He walked into the crowd, head bowed, playing with his rhode cards, and no one noticed Xia De's arrival.
The second floor was very lively; the aroma of food mixed with the scent of perfume created a pleasant atmosphere, a band in the corner was playing soft dance music, and the Mermaid-shaped gas lamps on the surrounding walls made the entire banquet hall appear brightly lit.
Although people looked somewhat panicked, both the dignified gentlemen and the ladies in fashionable dresses were still able to engage in normal social activities.
Xia De straightened his clothes and entered the crowd, then easily inquired about what had happened here and deduced the events of the first half of the night.
Around ten o'clock a few hours ago, Aurora Manor, like Sophia's Great House, was attacked by armed fish-people.
However, unlike the unity within Sophia's Great House, spies from the Scarlet Cult, disguised as guests, had already infiltrated this banquet, which led to the attackers successfully breaking into the manor and sealing off the entry and exit routes with relics.
Fortunately, under the resistance of the Natural Church's Ring術士, the Princess's guards, the guards hired by the Aurora Family, and the bodyguards of a few guests, a gunfight lasting nearly twenty minutes resulted in the manor's side gaining the upper hand.
Currently, the ugly enemies attacking the manor occupied the basement and wine cellar, while the banquet guests were active on the second floor and above.
Upon discovering that no one could leave the manor, the Natural Church's Ring術士 found the manor owner, and Miss Aurora announced that the police had been contacted, and that it was dangerous downstairs, so everyone was asked to wait on the second floor.
Thus, the panicked people gathered together, and the ugly enemies in the basement did not attempt to come up and attack the humans again.
“So there's no one on the first floor; the bloodstains I saw were left from the battle in the first half of the night.
It seems the ritual node is in the wine cellar.
The Cultists gave up on slaughtering the manor's guests when they realized they couldn't win.”
Having understood the situation, and after hearing that although there had been death, the Princess was not among the deceased, Xia De finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
He didn't see Darkness or Leia on the second floor.
Later, he learned that not all guests were here; some distinguished guests were resting on the third floor.
The staircase from the second to the third floor had more guards, and the protection for the third floor was much stricter than for the second.
And as he got closer to the Great Witch, Xia De was also unwilling to use his power casually.
Fortunately, soon after, he saw Leia's maid come down from upstairs, preparing to go to the kitchen to fetch hot tea for the Princess.
Xia De followed her into the corridor, and when he patted the maid's shoulder, he almost scared her into screaming.
“Oh, Xia De!”
In the lounge on the third floor, Leia was originally lying on a small sofa, covered with a blanket, resting with her eyes closed.
Hearing footsteps at the door that didn't sound like her maid, she sat up, opened her eyes, and saw Xia De immediately:
“Oh, God, I'm not dreaming, am I?”
Saying this, the red-haired girl, not caring that her personal maid was still in the room, quickly walked forward, hugged Xia De for a moment, but then immediately let go.
She didn't give Xia De a chance to speak, her eyes scanning him up and down, then she asked somewhat strangely:
“What did you do to my maid? Why is she looking at you like that?”
“Your Highness, it's nothing.”
The maid said softly, and Leia didn't mind; she grabbed Xia De's arm, very happy to see him:
“Xia De, why are you here? Am I really not dreaming?”
She held Xia De's arm, unwilling to let go, with an expression of pleasant surprise on her face.
“I was a bit worried about you.”
Saying this, he explained what had happened at Sophia Manor in the first half of the night and showed the corpse he had turned into a doll.
What happened at this manor was similar to what Xia De had heard on the second floor.
It was just that ordinary people were missing some details; the fish-people originally did not want to “coexist peacefully” with the humans upstairs.
However, the Church's Ring術士 team went downstairs again two hours ago and had a direct confrontation with the Cultists, neither side gaining much advantage, which led to the current stalemate.
“Sunrise is in another hour and a half, and then the red ocean will appear.
And the Church breaking through here will probably happen around the same time.”
Xia De summarized the current situation, but he wasn't nervous at all, as he had confirmed that the Great Witch was still in the house.
“Will you be with me?”
Leia asked softly.
“No.”
“Hmm?”
“Oh, I mean, I want to go downstairs and take a look.”
Xia De pointed downstairs; since the manor was an important ritual node, the fish-people underground must have information about the ritual.
He suspected that the information about the “Golden Pearl” was also in the fish-people's hands.
This was certainly risky, but definitely worth it.
Before the night ended, while Moonlight Illusion could still be used, he wanted to go to the basement and take a look if possible.
“No need to take risks; with that fishing line, I'll be fine.”
Leia seemed to have misunderstood Xia De's meaning.
Xia De wanted to explain, but didn't know how to start.
Having confirmed that the Witch was here, he already believed that the Princess would definitely be fine.
If she attended the banquet held by the Aurora Family and something happened to her, the most troubled person would probably be that Great Witch.
Even without those relics that resist curses, Hivi Aurora would never let Leticia Cavendish die here.
Even without considering the influence of the royal family, Miss Jialinna, as a fellow member of the Witch Council, also had to be considered.
“Besides the fish-people, I accidentally heard some news on my way here; there's someone possessed by a demon—hmm?”
Xia De suddenly froze, then clutched his chest.
The badge rapidly heated up, the warmth even causing him a slight pain.
The Great Witch was approaching.
