Chapter 145: The Evernight Order

Hamburg Docks

The smoke gradually cleared. The biting, bone-chilling sea wind howled across the abandoned port district, but no matter how hard it blew, it couldn't disperse the nauseating, thick stench of blood hanging in the air.

Corpses littered the ground. Rivers of blood ran everywhere.

The Nightfall organization—once untouchable in Europe's underworld—was now reduced to scattered limbs and burning speedboat wreckage.

A sapphire-blue windproof lighter flared to life in the darkness, its flame illuminating Leo's face—sharp as if carved from stone, cold and merciless.

Leo stood with one boot planted on Mourner's corpse. Every bone in the man's body had been shattered, his eyes frozen wide in death. With deliberate slowness, Leo lit a cigar.

He took a deep drag, exhaled a thick plume of smoke, and surveyed the ruins with eyes as detached as a god's.

"Boss."

Olivia strode through pools of blood toward him.

In her hand, she carried a black waterproof case smeared with seawater and gore.

"Found it during cleanup. Hidden in a secret pocket against Mourner's body."

Olivia presented the case respectfully. "Explosion-proof grade is extremely high. Must've been the most important thing he had—something he'd take even while running for his life."

Leo's gaze shifted slightly toward the case.

"Explosion-proof? In front of me, it's just a toy."

A crimson silhouette swayed forward gracefully. Ivy licked her red lips and casually pulled a specialized black hairpin from her hair.

She crouched down, inserting the pin into the case's complex lock mechanism.

A few faint clicks of mechanical tumblers followed.

In less than five seconds, the top-tier waterproof case—one that would give any locksmith nightmares—popped open.

However, the moment the case opened, everyone present froze for a beat.

Inside the explosion-proof, waterproof case designed to withstand EMP pulses—no stacks of bearer bonds. No classified hit lists.

Nestled in the center of thick black shock-absorbent foam lay only a single key. Antique in design, cast entirely in dark gold.

At the key's handle, an extremely intricate and eerie totem had been carved—a one-eyed crow strangled by a crown of thorns.

"That's it? A lousy key?"

Ivy pouted in boredom. "I thought this rat bastard was carrying some nation-toppling treasure."

Serafina leaned in closer, her sultry, elongated eyes narrowing the instant she caught sight of the totem.

"This symbol..."

Serafina studied it carefully for a moment before finally shaking her head, a trace of gravity crossing her features. "I've spent years navigating Europe's underworld. I've even seen secret emblems from ancient noble houses. But this one-eyed crow wrapped in thorns... I've never encountered it before."

If even Serafina—with her vast intelligence network—had never seen it, that meant the waters behind this key ran terrifyingly deep.

Leo reached out with slender fingers and took the dark gold key, turning it over in his hand. It felt extraordinarily heavy—forged from some rare metal, no doubt.

"If Mourner kept this on him—valued it even more than Nightfall's registry—then this thing is the key to opening the door to whoever's pulling the strings."

Leo tossed the key casually to Olivia. "Look into the origin of this totem. Report back to me tomorrow morning."

"Yes, boss." Olivia carefully secured the key.

Charlotte Montes, clad in a dark green tactical suit, stepped to Leo's side and asked coldly, "Leo, Nightfall's main forces have been completely wiped out. What's our next move?"

Leo bit down on his cigar and looked up at the smoke-shrouded night sky, a dangerously cold gleam flickering in his deep-set eyes.

"Since conventional intelligence networks can't find anything..."

Leo exhaled a stream of smoke, a playful smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Then I'll go ask an 'old friend.' On this continent, if even 'she' doesn't know about something, then it simply doesn't exist."

The Next Morning

Vienna, Austria

A private underground bar hidden deep within the old district—so secretive it didn't even have a sign.

Inside, the lighting was dim and intimate. An old phonograph lazily played blues jazz.

In a corner booth sat a woman in a wine-red plunging bodycon dress, her long legs elegantly crossed as she reclined against the leather sofa.

Her golden waves cascaded loosely over her shoulders. She swirled a crimson dry martini in one hand.

Her sultry, alluring face radiated fatal attraction in the dim light.

None other than Victoria—Europe's top arms and intelligence dealer.

Steady footsteps halted in front of the booth.

Leo, wearing a black trench coat with both hands in his pockets, sat down across from Victoria without ceremony.

Seeing who it was, Victoria's bewitching eyes first lit up—then she rolled them dramatically with deep resentment.

"Well, well. What could possibly bring 'you' to me?"

Victoria tapped her glass lightly against the table, her red lips curving upward with a tone that was three parts coquettish, seven parts wounded. "You heartbreaker. You slip back into Europe without so much as a word, then stir up chaos all over the place."

"What—you turn Vienna upside down, kill Elton, slaughter Mourner, and 'now' that you've hit a snag, you finally remember this poor, helpless little woman?"

Faced with Victoria's bone-deep flirtation and complaints, Leo's expression didn't shift in the slightest.

"I kept a low profile so the blind rats hiding in the dark wouldn't catch on too early." Leo spoke flatly, pulling a cigar case from his pocket.

"Sure sounds nice when you say it."

Victoria leaned forward slightly, the breathtaking curve of her cleavage barely concealed. She extended a finger painted with red nail polish and traced lazy circles on the back of Leo's hand. "You hide from everyone else, fine—but you even hid from 'me'. Reaper, do you just not trust this arms dealer at all?"

Leo ignored her provocation.

He reached inside his coat and pulled out the dark gold key, slamming it bluntly onto the wooden table.

"I didn't come here to listen to you whine."

Leo clamped the cigar between his teeth, his penetrating gaze locking onto Victoria's eyes like a physical force. "Look at this. Tell me—what does this totem represent?"

Seeing Leo's unyielding, ice-cold demeanor, Victoria pursed her lips and dropped the seductive act.

Her gaze swept casually toward the key on the table.

But the instant she registered the one-eyed crow strangled by thorns engraved on the key's handle—

Victoria's pupils contracted sharply. The lazy charm and teasing smile vanished from her face in an instant, replaced by unprecedented shock and deep, instinctive dread.

She even gasped involuntarily, her body jerking upright.

"Where... where did you get this?" Victoria's voice actually trembled—something unheard of.

"Off Mourner's corpse." Leo keenly picked up on the woman's loss of composure, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You know what it is."

Victoria stared at the key intently. A full ten seconds passed before she finally took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the storm in her eyes.

"I know. In all of Europe, fewer than ten people could still recognize this totem."

Victoria lifted her head, her beautiful eyes flickering with unprecedented madness and excitement as she locked onto Leo. "I can tell you everything behind it. I'll even mobilize my entire intelligence network to support whatever you do next."

"But I have one condition."

"Name it." Leo was succinct.

Victoria bit her red lip, speaking with utmost seriousness. "Whatever move you make next—you have to bring me in. I want to personally participate in this game that's going to overturn Europe's underworld."

Seeing the undisguised ambition and fervor blazing in her eyes, Leo didn't hesitate for even a second.

"Deal."

Leo said coldly.

He wasn't afraid of Victoria's ambition. In the face of absolute power, all schemes were futile.

Hearing Leo agree, Victoria let out a long breath.

She picked up the martini and drained it in one gulp. Then she leaned across the table, lowering her voice, and began slowly:

"Leo, you probably thought the Rothschild family and the Valois family were the ultimate powers on this continent, didn't you?"

Leo said nothing, simply waiting for her to continue.

Victoria extended a delicate finger, pointing at the one-eyed crow on the key. Her voice dropped to a bone-chilling whisper. "This key—and this totem—represent an ultimate power hidden in history's deepest shadows. Even Europe's royal families can only bow before it."

"It belongs to 'The Evernight Order.'"