“That night I arranged for several soldiers of the Knight Order to patrol near the city, but not long after we heard bone-chilling screams of agony. When we went to look for them early the next morning, we discovered they had already been killed…”
As Lawson spoke he shook his head and sighed, as if regretting the mistaken arrangements he had made.
“What was the condition of the corpses at the time?”
“Too tragic to look at…”
Lawson said, “One soldier had his entire body torn apart by a powerful force. The other three soldiers also suffered injuries of varying degrees. There was not a single complete corpse. Yet we searched for a long time and still could not find their remains.”
“City Official Lawson, are you certain?”
Lucen furrowed his brows and said, “Fornos are not as brutal as you describe, and their intelligence is also insufficient to support them carrying out such brutal acts. The behavior of liking to tear humans apart and prey on them is instead more similar to Selene Wolves…”
“Selene Wolves? Aren’t those B-rank magical beasts?”
Mia asked, “Moreover, the largest individuals of Selene Wolves currently observed are not as large as City Official Lawson described. Could there be a mistake?”
“It’s possible… But if it were other magical beasts with similar behavior, they would not specifically choose to come out only at night.”
“Perhaps there are other magical beasts around the city as well?”
Declan guessed.
“That possibility cannot be ruled out. In any case, let’s first go take a look at the specific situation…”
“Lord Lawson, we have arrived.”
Before Mia could finish speaking, the soldier leading the way in front of the carriage spoke up to remind them.
Lawson looked out the window. “My lords, this is the place where those soldiers were killed three days ago. Because we were afraid that the magical beast would appear again at the time, we handled things rather hastily. There are still quite a few traces left from that time at the scene.”
“Get down and take a look.”
At Mia’s command, everyone got out of the carriage one after another.
In the interval of getting out, Mia gave Declan a look and pointed at Lawson who was walking ahead to lead the way.
Declan was a little surprised. This was a code within the Duke’s Private Knight Order, meaning to capture Lawson according to Mia’s instructions.
He did not quite understand why Mia wanted to make a move against Lawson, but since it was an order from Mia, he only needed to carry it out.
“My lords, it is right here.”
Lawson led everyone to an open space.
Relying on the faint moonlight, one could barely make out the situation here.
There was a large pool of blood on the ground. Because too much time had passed, it had already turned a dark red, yet it was still enough to see just how cruel the scene had been at the time.
In addition, fragments of armor were also scattered around the surroundings.
The city Knight Order was the foundation that guarded the city’s safety, so soldiers generally wore heavy armor. Ordinary attacks were fundamentally incapable of causing them harm.
Yet the magical beast that had killed those soldiers had not only pierced through their heavy armor, but had even torn it to pieces. From this alone one could see just how great its strength was.
A conservative estimate would put it at least at B-rank magical beast.
“Lucen, any leads?”
Mia asked.
“This…”
Lucen squatted down, picked up a fragment of heavy armor, and carefully studied it. “City Official Lawson, could you reveal what material the Knight Order’s armor is made of?”
“The armor of our city’s Knight Order is all forged by a top blacksmith in the city using black-pattern iron.”
Lawson answered.
“Black-pattern iron… Although it cannot compare to top-tier dragon-breath pattern iron, its strength is still absolutely not low. To be able to tear armor of this material into this state, could it be an Eclipse Griffon? But Eclipse Griffons do not leave their nests at night either. City Official Lawson, do you have any other clues on your side?”
“As for other clues, there are some. For example…”
“Declan, make your move.”
Taking advantage of the moment Lucen was questioning Lawson, Mia directly issued the order to Declan.
Declan immediately moved. Almost in the blink of an eye he arrived behind Lawson and intended to capture him directly.
Yet the moment he raised his hand, one of the soldiers leading the way actually erupted with speed comparable to his own and arrived in front of Lawson, slamming a fist into his chest.
The enormous force caused the completely unprepared Declan to retreat several steps backward, nearly failing to steady himself.
This scene left everyone present stunned.
Recruitment for local Knight Orders was not as strict as for the Duke’s Private Knight Order, let alone for a small border city like Mordin City.
As long as one could pass various simple assessments, one could basically take up the post.
If ordinary soldiers of the Duke’s Private Knight Order at the very least needed the level of a D-rank adventurer, then the general level of local Knight Order soldiers was only a little higher than bottom-tier E-rank adventurers.
But what had just happened?
An ordinary Knight Order soldier who appeared completely unremarkable had actually used a single punch to force an elite-level warrior of the Duke’s Private Knight Order—whose strength was second only to Kate—to retreat several steps.
Is this reasonable?
“Lawson, what are you doing!”
Mia immediately questioned.
Lawson let out a light sigh. A sinister smile appeared on that ruthless face. “Lady Mia, this seems to be my line, doesn’t it? I don’t believe I have made any moves that threatened any of you. Why did you have Lord Declan make a move against me?”
Clearly, the current situation had completely exceeded Mia’s expectations.
“Lawson, do you think I still need evidence to arrest you?”
Mia directly revealed her own identity to pressure him.
The title of chief mage of the Duke’s Private Knight Order was not called for nothing.
Aside from Kate and the Duke’s family, she was one of the people of the highest status in the Principality. A city official of a small city was almost no different from a commoner in front of her.
“Hehe. I still underestimated you, Lady Mia. I originally thought my plan was already seamless, yet I never expected you would still detect it.”
Lawson waved a large hand. The two soldiers directly blocked in front of him, separating him from Mia and the others.
Mia furrowed her brows, truly unclear what kind of medicine Lawson was selling in his gourd.
As a fellow member of the Duke’s Private Knight Order, Mia was very clear about Declan’s strength.
Warriors who could shake him could not even be picked out in a handful throughout the entire Knight Order. If these two people attacked together, it was truly uncertain how much of a chance Declan would have of winning.
“Lawson, what exactly do you want!”
Lucen questioned.
“Sigh… Originally I had planned to let you all die painlessly in your dreams while you were sleeping. But who would have thought Lady Mia would detect it? Now I can only make you die a little more painfully.”
Lawson let out a “ke-ke-ke” laugh.
The next second, the two soldiers protecting Lawson behind them directly removed their armor and revealed their true appearances.
Their heads were like those of lizards, long tongues still flicking from their mouths. Their entire bodies were covered in scales, and a thick, sturdy tail dragged behind them. Strange magic power radiated from their entire bodies.
“Serkath race…”
Mia immediately recognized their race. “Aren’t you of the Demon race? Why are you in the Human Realm, and even colluding with a city official of a human nation!”
The two Serkath looked at each other and coldly laughed. “The dead have no need to know so much.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.