A hoarse and elderly voice echoed. An old woman, her face crisscrossed with wrinkles, straightened up and reached out with her trembling hand to caress the young girl's forehead.
Seeing that this odd pair of "sisters" was ready, the middle-aged man nodded in satisfaction, then instructed the wrinkled old woman,
"Lucy, the target this time has the ability to probe others' soul states, so once the meeting is over and we've chosen who will execute the ambush, I'll trouble you to step in again.
To prevent the selected individuals from harboring hostility towards the target and inadvertently alarming him, please implant a layer of false memories in the chosen ones to temporarily mask their original memories. Is that alright?"
Nodding towards the old woman in appreciation, the middle-aged man leaned slightly forward, his hands pressing on the tabletop as he spoke directly,
"So next, it would be best to first determine the ambush location. Do you all have any suggestions?"
"I suggest we act while he's at work!"
A man on the right side, covered in burn scars, raised his hand and coldly proposed,
"We should all move in together, storm that Purification Bureau or whatever, kill that red-haired woman first, then burn everyone else to death, and then..."
"Alright, alright, shut up!"
Hearing the burned man's suggestion, which couldn't be considered a death wish but seemed rather suicidal, the middle-aged man sighed and waved in the burned man's direction.
With a peculiar explosion sound, the burned man instantly disappeared from the room, leaving only a dust-covered empty chair in his place.
Having used some unknown method to expel the burned man, the middle-aged man said with a headache,
"There's no need for such foolishness; does anyone have a slightly more feasible suggestion?"
A rather scruffy old man raised his hand and seriously proposed,
"What about during the Duke of Lionheart's investiture ritual? How about an ambush there?"
The Duke of Lionheart's investiture ritual?
Hearing the unkempt old man's suggestion, the group of rebels in the room fell silent for a moment, then they started nodding one after another.
The middle-aged man at the head seat thought for a while, then nodded along with a smile,
"It's indeed a good choice. The Duke of Lionheart's investiture ritual will surely draw many important figures, even the royal family might send representatives.
If luck is on our side, we could not only solve the Leon Laine problem but also eliminate a large number of nobles and officials in one stroke. Let's set the ambush location at tomorrow's investiture ritual!
As for who will carry out the ambush, does anyone wish to volunteer?"
Hearing the middle-aged man's words, a young woman with a shaven head, courtesy of a burly man, excitedly raised her hand,
"I can strike from five kilometers away..."
Interrupting her again, the middle-aged man at the head seat shook his head and said,
"Your ability is covert enough, and the range is sufficient, making you excellent for assassination, but your destructive power is too weak. You might not break through the abnormal object the target uses for protection.
Moreover, we don't need to kill him this time; just subdue him so Phoebe can erase some of his memories and abilities. So, you're not suitable for this mission."
Just as the bald-talking woman pouted in dissatisfaction, ready to argue, a slender young man stood up eagerly, announcing,
"It was Barton who stayed behind to cover, so Samantha and I could escape. This time I..."
"Sorry, you're not suitable either."
The middle-aged man shook his head and said,
"Now is not the time to provoke that red-haired woman at the Purification Bureau. You were closest to Barton, and I'm afraid you'd kill the target in vengeance for Barton, making it impossible to wrap things up. So you should stay back."
Seeing the young man sit down dejectedly, the middle-aged man stopped asking for volunteers and named his choices directly,
"So, aside from Phoebe and Lucy, David and Luke, you two come along! Your abilities are clearly most suited for this mission."
The man who initially suggested setting a bomb responded.
The scruffy old man nodded.
After confirming the participants, the middle-aged man looked at those heading towards Lucy to willingly accept the memory implant, nodding in satisfaction.
Once they accepted the memory implant, he waved at everyone inside the room, and the peculiar explosion sound rose again, making everyone vanish, leaving only the dust-covered chairs.
And the middle-aged man at the head seat seemed to age a decade instantly, his once jet-black hair streaked with strands of gray.
*Was there still no one who could survive into the future?*
Looking at the empty meeting room and the dust-covered chairs, the clearly aged middle-aged man sighed deeply. He then struggled to stand, controlled the future body he inhabited, and walked towards the door.
After his last attempt to change things, he still couldn't alter the Kingdom's fate of downfall. The Faction of War Advocates, led by the Princess, failed abruptly, plunging the entire Kingdom into eleven years of brutal conflict. The once prosperous Capital City turned to ruins under bombardment, leaving countless people homeless and living worse than death.