She shook her head. "I'm sorry to disappoint Your Highness. If even the Amethyst Trading Company doesn't know, then it's even more impossible for me to know. What I can tell you is limited."
"Then tell me what's limited. Don't worry, I just want to know what's going on. If the information you tell me can help me deal with Aegis, then the organization would have ceased to exist a long time ago."
Madam Nalan thought about it and then helplessly said, "Alright, Your Highness, listen carefully." She paused for a moment before continuing seriously, "Tens of thousands of years ago, the Outerverse launched a large-scale cleansing operation. No one knows exactly who started it or why, but the target was the entire Outerverse's assassin organizations. More than half of the Outerverse's assassin organizations were wiped out, and the largest assassin organizations were the most important ones, so they were naturally wiped out as well. However, the leaders of those assassin organizations managed to escape.
"They were the ones who founded Aegis, and that's the origin of Aegis. Those people were very smart, and they knew that if they allowed the assassin organizations to grow too powerful, they would be surrounded again. Thus, they established a bodyguard company on the surface and trained mercenaries in order to make a fortune out of war.
"Those people were the founders of Aegis, and they were also the leaders. No one knows exactly how many people there were, but they took turns being frozen. Every hundred years, one of them would be revived and manage the organization for another hundred years before being frozen again. The next person would take over and take over. They were the true managers of Aegis.
"Those people were very smart, and they didn't turn Aegis into a closed organization. Instead, they recruited members of the board of directors, making them the second-highest level of management. Those who were recruited were either from large families or corporations. After so many years, no one knows exactly how many families or corporations have joined Aegis. These people joined because they wanted to borrow Aegis's strength and also to avoid being assassinated by Aegis. Even my Nalan family is part of Aegis' second management …"
Lu Yin was shocked. Madam Nalan had described the development and structure of a colossal organization to him. Aegis was a gathering of the power of many families and corporations in the Outerverse. When the Innerverse and Outerverse were connected, they did not dare to expose themselves for fear of being attacked by the Innerverse. Now that the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated, they could do whatever they wanted because their power had expanded to a certain extent.
It was no wonder that so many forces in the Great Eastern Alliance were willing to work for Aegis. The allied forces had eliminated more than a hundred forces, and all of them had joined Aegis' second management.
"There are roughly a few thousand people in the second management level of Aegis. They are unable to decide the direction that Aegis will take, but they can influence Aegis in certain ways. For example, they can assassinate a family member, or they can support which side is involved in a war, and so on. Most importantly, Aegis can borrow their strength to accomplish certain things, such as smearing the Great Yu Empire's name in front of the Great Eastern Alliance or getting certain powers in the eastern weaves to unite and resist the Great Eastern Alliance. These are not difficult tasks for Aegis," Madam Nalan explained.
"That's why, Alliance Master Lu, I've told you before that you should avoid provoking Aegis as much as possible. Provoking Aegis is equivalent to provoking hundreds or even thousands of organizations in the Outerverse. After so many years, they've already gotten used to Aegis' existence, and they're used to Aegis doing shady things for them. If you make Aegis your enemy, then those organizations will naturally make you their enemy as well."
"No wonder Aegis has the ability to worship Lord Egret. They must have a lot of wealth."
Madam Nalan smiled faintly. "Your Highness, are you tempted?"
Lu Yin looked at her. "Who's the current highest manager of Aegis?"
"Starfox. He was the leader of an assassin organization tens of thousands of years ago, and it's been nearly a century since he was the one who unsealed Aegis. All of the decisions regarding you were made by him, and he's very cunning."
"Have you interacted with him before?" Lu Yin asked.
She shook her head. "No, we've only exchanged a few words. After all, our Nalan family is also a member of the second management team."
"If I destroy Aegis, will it be a great loss to your Nalan family?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.
Madam Nalan smiled. "If Your Highness can destroy Aegis, then feel free to try. My Nalan family can still bear such a small loss. However, I still have to advise Your Highness once more. The enemy is in the dark while we're out in the open. If you fight to the death, only the side that's out in the open will suffer losses."
Lu Yin nodded and ended the call.
Lu Yin did not care about the commotion in the outside world. He was pondering over Madam Nalan's words while waiting for Aegis to contact him.
To Aegis, this attack was a show of strength, and they would definitely be eager to contact Lu Yin and force him to submit. The person who would contact him would definitely be the same person from last time.
Lu Yin did not have to wait long before an unfamiliar call came through. It was a voice call.
Lu Yin accepted the call.
"Your Excellency Lu Yin, do you like the gift we sent you?" the deep voice asked, still as cold as ever.
Lu Yin replied indifferently, "Not bad. Feng Zi and Mei Wushuang's corpses have some research value."
The voice fell silent for a moment. "But they're useless, so there's no harm in giving them to Your Excellency for research. This is the second time we've contacted you. Have you thought it through? Will you be an enemy or a friend of Aegis?"
"Same question: why do you want Northcastle Weave?" Lu Yin asked.
"I won't answer Your Excellency's question. I just need Your Excellency to answer this one question: are you an enemy or a friend?" The cold voice was still arrogant.
Lu Yin laughed. "Does Aegis want to be my enemy or my friend?"
"It seems that Your Excellency still doesn't understand the situation. Zenyu Star can withstand the attack, but I wonder if the other planets in the Great Yu Empire can do the same. Have you heard of the Poison Masters' battle records?" The cold voice chuckled and then hung up.
Lu Yin lowered his hand, his expression gloomy. The Poison Masters had set the record for poisoning 100 billion people to death in the shortest amount of time. They were also the killers who had killed the most people. With this record, even though they had not reached the peak of the Hunter realm and their assassination techniques were not as powerful as the Infernal Judge's, they were still ranked second.
Aegis was unscrupulous.
Since that was the case, there was no need for Lu Yin to follow the rules. The enemy was in the dark while he was in the light.
"Phantom Sting."
Phantom Sting appeared behind Lu Yin. "Your Excellency."
"Contact the Old Smoker," Lu Yin said.
Phantom Sting was shocked. "Your Excellency, the Old Smoker has to pay a high price for his actions."
"I know, but I have everything he needs. Feel free to contact him," Lu Yin said in a low voice.
Phantom Sting nodded and disappeared.
No one knew the Old Smoker's name or background, and no one knew whether he was a man or a woman. The only information that had been leaked was that he had assassinated the Blaze Realm's master and escaped unscathed. He was the number one assassin on the Outerverse's Assassin List.
The Blaze Realm was the leading power of the Blazing Mist Flowzone, one of the Innerverse's eight great flowzones. No one knew how many experts there were in the Blaze Realm or how powerful the Blaze Realm's master was, but one thing was for certain: the Blaze Realm had more than one Enlighter.
The Old Smoker had been able to infiltrate the Blaze Realm and assassinate the Blaze Realm's master. Even though he had failed in the end, he had still managed to escape unscathed.
This assassination had shaken the entire Innerverse and Outerverse, and it was because of this that the Old Smoker had become the number one assassin on the Outerverse's Assassin List, a position that no one had been able to shake for many years.
The Old Smoker's price was not star crystals or star essence, nor was it a weapon, a battle technique, or a power vessel. Instead, it was something that could help him avoid danger: a natural treasure.
After his confrontation with Aegis, Lu Yin had looked up the Outerverse's Assassin List and was especially interested in the Old Smoker. What the Old Smoker needed was exactly what Lu Yin had. He could say without exaggeration that no one in the Outerverse was more suitable than him to request the Old Smoker's help because he had many natural treasures.
Hiring an assassin to deal with another assassin was Lu Yin's bottom line, and Aegis had violated it. Lu Yin did not intend to play by the rules, and he wanted the Outerverse's number one assassin to panic once more.
Not long after, Phantom Sting appeared. "Your Excellency, the Old Smoker has agreed to help. He wishes to speak with you personally."
Lu Yin looked at the screen in front of him. It was pitch black, and faint white smoke would occasionally drift past to form two words: "Target."
"The second assassin, the Poisoner," Lu Yin said.
"Five natural treasures that can help you avoid danger." The white smoke formed words again.
"Alright, but I have to say that the natural treasures I gave you must be used up as soon as possible. They were all obtained from unlocking sourceboxes, so they cannot be left outside for too long. Otherwise, they will dissipate."
The white smoke drifted for a while before forming words again. "Alright, but if you go back on your word, you will not be able to live," the Old Smoker warned Lu Yin. The words then disappeared along with the screen.
Lu Yin looked up at the sky. "Do you think the Old Smoker can kill the Poisoner?
The Poisoner killed a hundred billion people in the past and caused panic in the Outerverse. Even the Innerverse sent experts after him, but they still couldn't deal with him. "
"Yes," Phantom Sting replied with certainty.
Lu Yin smiled. "That's good." The old smoker's price was indeed high. It would take at least a hundred thousand or even two hundred thousand years for a natural treasure to reach a level where it could avoid danger. No one would sell such a natural treasure, and it would be very difficult to obtain five of them. This was probably why no one had asked the old smoker to assassinate the Poison Master.
Of course, the large organizations wouldn't pay such a price for the sake of ordinary people. In their eyes, it didn't matter how many ordinary people died.
Lu Yin didn't have much, but he had plenty of natural treasures. If he didn't have enough, Bushtree Planet still had some. However, these natural treasures had to be used up as soon as possible, as they would dissipate after ten years.
He had twenty-two of these natural treasures in his cosmic ring, enough to hire the Old Smoker four or five times. Aegis, if you want to play, then I'll play with you.
"Have you checked Feng Zi's body?" Lu Yin suddenly thought of something.
Phantom Sting replied, "Yes, but I didn't find anything out of the ordinary."
"What about the power vessel that can avoid detection?"
This was what Lu Yin was most concerned about. He needed to know what method the Aegis had used to avoid rune lines.
Phantom Sting replied, "I didn't find it."
Lu Yin felt that it was a pity, but he wasn't disappointed. If it was so easy to find, then it wouldn't be one of the top ten assassins.
A few days later, Minister Garope requested an audience.
Garope didn't look too well. He had been dealing with the aftermath and hadn't rested much.