In the past, back in Ye Xunhuan’s kingdom, after Louis III was killed by the Big Boss, Ye Xunhuan had Gabriel take Louis III’s corpse and leave, while keeping the Big Boss behind. And inside Ye Xunhuan’s kingdom, the Big Boss and everyone else had absolutely no communication devices, so it was impossible for them to contact anyone.
Now Gabriel was claiming to be the Big Boss, which filled Ye Xunhuan’s heart with doubt. Could it be that the Big Boss had already found Gabriel and Nicholas beforehand and struck some sort of deal with them?
If that was the case, then Ye Xunhuan could only say the Big Boss was fucking vicious. Whether or not Ye Xunhuan saved Louis III back then, Louis III probably never had a chance to make it back to the Holy See alive.
"You’re right, I really didn’t have time to get in touch with the Big Boss!" Gabriel said without hesitation. "But before we set out, the Big Boss did contact Nicholas!"
Ye Xunhuan’s face darkened; sure enough, it was exactly as he had suspected. That Big Boss really had been dead set on killing Louis III!
"So you guys planned this a long time ago!"
"But Nicholas and I didn’t agree at the time," Gabriel changed his tone and said.
"Oh yeah?"
"We both knew how strong the Pope was, and none of us had any idea how strong the Big Boss was, so we had no reason to trust him. Besides, nobody could say for sure what you were going to do then," Gabriel said evenly. "So we turned him down."
"But who would’ve thought the King would show up in your kingdom, and even have a final battle with you, giving him the chance to launch a fatal sneak attack on the Pope!"
"That was when I realized the Big Boss really did have the strength to take on the Pope!"
By now, Michelle’s face had gone completely ashen, and in her eyes flashed waves of killing intent so intense they made people’s hearts tremble.
Obviously, Michelle simply couldn’t believe that even before Louis III went to attend Ye Xunhuan’s wedding, someone had already been planning to kill him—and had even hooked up with people inside their Holy See.
Michelle simply couldn’t accept that.
After all, both Nicholas and Gabriel were the two people they trusted most, yet now they were the ones who’d hurt them the deepest!
"So you’re saying he came to you again after that?"
Gabriel nodded. "Yeah. At the start, I knew nothing about any of this—only Nicholas knew. I only found out later."
"Oh really?"
"Marshal, I’m not lying to you, I really only found out later. When I followed the Pope to your place, I had no idea about any of this," Gabriel said with utter seriousness. "It was after I came back that Nicholas came to me, and I even overheard a call he took..."
Gabriel didn’t hold anything back; he laid out everything, every last detail!
"So the Big Boss contacted you guys again later?"
"Marshal, you can’t even begin to imagine how massive the Big Boss’s power is!" Gabriel stared at Ye Xunhuan. "There are probably countless moles of his inside the Holy See. Nicholas had just been killed when he called me right away..."
A look of surprise immediately flashed across Ye Xunhuan’s face.
From what Gabriel had said earlier, he’d already guessed that back then, after Ye Xunhuan schemed against the Big Boss at sea, the man hadn’t died in the ocean but had survived. But he hadn’t expected the Big Boss’s reach to be that long, that he’d actually have people planted in the Holy See.
"Who are the others?"
"That I don’t know," Gabriel shook his head. "But if you let me go, maybe I can slowly help you dig these people out one by one."
Even though Ye Xunhuan had agreed not to kill Gabriel, Gabriel still hadn’t relaxed. On the contrary, he kept trying every way he could to negotiate with Ye Xunhuan, to give himself enough leverage!
Ye Xunhuan didn’t answer right away. He pondered slightly, then said, "What you’re saying makes sense."
A look of joy immediately appeared on Gabriel’s face. Was Ye Xunhuan really going to let him go?
The next second, Ye Xunhuan slowly took the sword from Gabriel’s neck. "Gabriel, you should know that if I want to kill you, it’s very easy. So don’t you dare try any tricks with me."
"Marshal, I’m not that eager to die!"
"Go."
Hearing this, Gabriel secretly let out a long breath and didn’t say anything more. He turned around and was about to leave.
Gabriel had just turned, his right leg had just lifted, when Ye Xunhuan’s sword suddenly thrust forward!
"Puchi!"
The sharp blade pierced straight through Gabriel’s back and punched through his heart, scarlet blood gushing out like mad.
Then Gabriel struggled to twist his head around, looking at Ye Xunhuan. "You... you..."
"My promises to enemies have always been dirt cheap."
With that, Ye Xunhuan yanked the sword out of Gabriel’s body.
"Clang!"
The moment the sword came free, Gabriel’s whole body collapsed to the floor, scarlet blood pouring out of him like it cost nothing, wildly flooding from his body and in an instant dyeing the ground red.
Ye Xunhuan didn’t spare Gabriel another glance. Gabriel’s heart had been pierced with a single stab; there was no way he was going to survive. So Ye Xunhuan slowly turned his gaze onto Michelle.
"Michelle, you have to be extra careful inside the Holy See. Don’t believe a word anyone says," Ye Xunhuan warned. "The enemy might be right inside your own body!"
Right now, Ye Xunhuan was filled with dread toward this Big Boss. Just what kind of monster was he, that he could stretch his hand into the Holy See itself, and even talk Nicholas into betraying them?
And inside the Holy See, who knew how many people were his informants.
Michelle slowly shifted her gaze away from Gabriel’s body and then asked Ye Xunhuan, "Is this Big Boss really that terrifying?"
Ye Xunhuan nodded. "Yeah, he’s terrifying. Even though I’ve never fought him myself, just the fact that he could make Shadow and King Kong submit to him says plenty about how powerful he is."
To gauge someone’s strength, you don’t have to fight them personally. Just look at what kind of people they have under them, and you can see clearly how strong they are.
Neither Shadow nor King Kong are easy to mess with, and on top of that, he killed Louis III.
Sure, there was an element of a sneak attack in that, but even that proves from another angle how terrifying the Big Boss’s strength is. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to pull off a successful sneak attack on Louis III.
"I’m going to kill him!" Michelle said heavily.