Chapter 1290: Chapter 1290: Riding the Waves

Endless sea stretches beyond the horizon.

The North Sea fleet sails slowly.

On the deck, Julius Reed set up a table for a wine feast, sitting opposite Gabriel Abernathy.

The sea wind howls.

Mixed with a somewhat fishy scent.

At first, everyone was quite uncomfortable with it.

But after enough exposure, they got used to it.

“Why suddenly invite me to drink?” Julius Reed sat cross-legged on the carpet, looking at Gabriel Abernathy, who was dressed as a man.

It was strange.

Out of the blue, an invitation to drink.

When something is abnormal, there must be a demon at play.

“Do I need a reason to ask you to drink?”

Gabriel Abernathy gazed directly into Julius Reed’s eyes and countered: “When you sought me out to make the mask, you didn’t talk like that.”

“Strictly speaking, you belong to the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance, it’s only right you do things for me.”

Julius Reed spoke indifferently.

“Oh.” Gabriel Abernathy responded dismissively, then suddenly smiled, “Then as a member of the Night Vein, belonging to Pendleton, should I kill you now, my lady?”

“You may try.”

Julius Reed spoke calmly: “I’ll give you a thousand chances. Within those, I won’t kill you.”

“You!”

Gabriel Abernathy clenched her lips tightly, feeling humiliated.

“You insult me!”

Her tone carried a hint of grievance.

“Just stating the facts.” Julius Reed picked up a bottle of red wine, pouring some into his glass, “Isn’t that the case? Besides, Kyler Reed is of the Night Vein, but whether you are of the Night Vein or not, nobody knows for sure.”

“Do you want to know?”

Gabriel Abernathy suddenly laughed.

She pointed to her chest, “I’ve heard the mark of a Vein Holder is usually tattooed on the chest. Or else…”

“Stick to the matter at hand!”

Julius Reed hated dealing with women the most, always turning things vulgar.

Did they really think he was easy to bully?

“It’s nothing, just truly wanted to have a drink with you.” Gabriel Abernathy picked up her wine glass expressionlessly and toasted, “Here’s to the Lord’s triumphant start.”

“Thank you.”

Julius Reed drank the red wine, looking towards the sea: “It’s quite windy outside, shall we go back if there’s nothing else? You say you invited me for a drink, but this wine is all mine, and you only showed up.”

In the whole world, there probably isn’t a more sorry excuse for a host.

Moreover, it’s all so perplexing.

“I wanted to talk to you about my master.” Gabriel Abernathy suddenly became somewhat melancholic.

This melancholy came so suddenly that Julius Reed suspected it might be feigned.

“Kyler Reed?”

Julius Reed never took the initiative to inquire about matters of the Night Vein.

Gabriel Abernathy gave him a very strange impression.

So strange that he didn’t enjoy interacting with her.

Moreover, from their brief time together, he clearly understood that Gabriel Abernathy had always been kept in the dark, brutally used by Kyler Reed.

If it weren’t for Lily Jorden risking her life to carry her out, Gabriel Abernathy probably wouldn’t exist in this world anymore.

Asking might only stir up painful memories.

And it might not even yield anything useful.

Now that Gabriel Abernathy was the one bringing it up, Julius Reed was somewhat interested.

“Speak, what’s it about.” He lifted the bottle, poured more wine, and waited for what was to come.

“Kyler Reed exploited me, even attempted to kill me.” Gabriel Abernathy’s face was expressionless, but there was a hint of sorrow in her tone: “Tell me, if I betray him, would it count as deceiving my master and destroying my lineage? After all, Kyler Reed did raise me and taught me all I know.”

“Since you’re asking, it means you already have an answer,” Julius Reed raised his wine glass and clinked it with Gabriel Abernathy’s: “Go ahead.”

Silence.

Three minutes later, Gabriel Abernathy lifted her head and took a deep breath.

“You once asked me why I helped Ivan Reed and others to make those masks.” She smiled, but it was a pained one: “I remember, years ago, someone once came to our alliance. Not long after, my master passed away.”

“During this time, I’ve been thinking, and the more I think about it, the stranger it seems. Even from what you’ve told me, I heard Kyler Reed is from the Night Vein. So I searched everywhere, inquired with some people, and finally learned about Pendleton, about the Seven Veins.”

“Guess who was the one that visited our alliance back then?”

Her eyes brimming with tears were staring straight at Julius Reed.

“I won’t guess,” Julius Reed shook his head: “It’s a waste of energy.”

“Fine, as expected, the Sovereign is different from others,” Gabriel Abernathy shot him a glance and said softly: “Grace River. Your maidservant, Grace River.”

CLANG!

The wine glass Julius Reed held dropped to the ground.

Wine was spilled everywhere.

“Grace River?”

His eyes narrowed as his hands involuntarily clenched together.

“Yes, your maidservant, Grace River. From the Mont royal family, among the four maidservants of the Sovereign, the one of the noblest blood and most powerful background, Grace River.”

Gabriel Abernathy spoke calmly: “After Grace River personally visited our alliance, not long after, Kyler Reed faked his death. Based on the timeline, I’ve deduced that shortly after faking his death, Kyler Reed appeared in The North Sea, becoming Everton Davenport’s ‘Heartless Mage’. Then, The North Sea brazenly launched a war that led to a kingdom’s downfall.”

“Impossible!”

Julius Reed shook his head: “Maybe you remembered wrong. According to the rules of Demarco Mount, maidservants cannot leave the main hall for even half a step. Even if I’m not around, the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance has countless eyes watching, countless checkpoints to inspect.”

“I’ve checked the records of the Ten Thousand Mountain Alliance from that year,” Gabriel Abernathy started: “Don’t be surprised. I’m good at disguising, and obtaining intelligence isn’t that hard for me. The rules, you’re talking about are only for the maidservants, but you seem to have forgotten, Sovereign, that Grace River has another identity, as the Princess of Mont!”

“Mont, a vassal state renowned as The North Sea. According to what I’ve learned, the horses used by the Wolf Cavalry are all from Mont. As the Princess of Mont, Grace River has the opportunity to visit her family once every three years. And the General who accompanies her is Ian Jorden.”

After finishing her statement, Gabriel Abernathy fell silent.

“I’m always careful with anything related to Ian Jorden,” Julius Reed said with a smile: “Ian Jorden could never betray me. And as for Grace River… I actually forgot about the once every three years family visit. But I’m still curious, how does a young girl who was expelled from the alliance suddenly come across so much information.”

“Unless you’re Kyler Reed.”

Julius Reed stared into Gabriel Abernathy’s eyes and asked with a smile: “But Kyler Reed wouldn’t dare board my ship.”

“Arrogance!”

Gabriel Abernathy sat cross-legged on the ground, looking at Julius Reed: “Your arrogance will be your downfall.”

“Speak.”

Julius Reed slowly stood up, gripping the Great Cyclic Night Longsword in his hand.

A cold glint flickered on the sword.

He stood on the deck, turning to look out at the sea: “I’ll give you one minute.”

After speaking!

He launched into the air!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Julius Reed tread across the waves, sprinting for hundreds of meters before thrusting the Longsword down fiercely!

BOOM!

The calm ocean surface!

Waves reached sky-high!

Even the North Sea battleship felt the tremor.

The sea breeze blew the spray, causing droplets to keep falling onto the ship.

Many North Sea soldiers emerged from the cabins, staring at the gradually subsiding waves.

In utter shock.

And Julius Reed stood on the water’s surface, as if he were standing on land.

Five seconds later.

A submarine slowly surfaced.

Thump!

Julius Reed leaped onto the submarine and fiercely plunged the Great Cyclic Night Longsword down!