Seeing Gehrman Sparrow put on his coat and hat and pick up his cane, Danitz recalled that he had apparently been forgotten.
He coughed once, and under the gaze of two pairs of eyes, he said, “D-do I need to follow?”
“You can stay here, but someone will be here for the sweep later.” Elland laughed.
“Aside from the reward, there aren’t many opportunities to earn money from the military. I’m very willing to give it a try.
“The only problem is that you’ll have to wait a few minutes. I’ll don a disguise, Mr. Captain. I don’t want to put you on the spot by causing unnecessary misunderstandings.”
After thinking for a few seconds, Elland took out an iron-black mask from his inside pocket and tossed it over.
“Just put it on. I will explain the rest.”
Without a word, he turned the handle and walked out of the room.
Elland followed close behind, and Danitz hurried to catch up with them as he grabbed his coat and put on the iron mask.
When they reached the street where there was a lot of flooding but no pedestrians on the streets, Klein pressed down on his hat and asked, “How do we start?”
Elland laughed.
“In regions.
“My Beyonder job has some special characteristics. As long as I see the person in the flesh, in a photo, or a sketch, then I’ll be able to firmly remember the target’s appearance and obtain an additional sense on an extraordinary level. Yes, I can also detect any abnormalities and grasp indistinct traces. When put together, it allows me to do investigative sweeps in a rather effective manner.”
The poster Danitz had posted last night had a portrait of Leticia attached to it. Klein had used ritualistic magic to pray to himself and produce it.
“No.” Elland shook his head. “We have yet to learn of their previous whereabouts. The only things that we can confirm is that they didn’t return from Symeem Island until around 3 p.m. yesterday. And after 2 p.m., no passenger ships left the docks. And that due to the weather this morning, only entry is permitted.”
Danitz suddenly let out a sneer.
“That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe they left Bayam yesterday afternoon and went to the other cities on the island.”
Blue Mountain Island was the largest island in the Rorsted Archipelago. It was very large in size and had dense forests and rich mineral resources. Therefore, there were many cities on the island, and they were all built around fertile land with astonishing mineral resource reserves.
For this wealth, the Loen Kingdom first bribed the indigenous princes, then forced them to use force, and finally set up the governor-general’s office. In a more efficient manner, it opened wide roads leading to cities and completed several important railways—this was in the form of establishing a corresponding railway company to sell shares and raise funds on the Backlund Stock Exchange.
Of course, these large projects were accompanied by the deaths of many local people, sinister construction workplaces, excessive work, almost slave-like treatment, and a fairly modest salary, which allowed bodies to be buried one after another under the roadbed and railroad ties.
To this day, a large number of locals still loathed the railway, believing that it had swallowed a large amount of human life and brought about countless suffering. It was the symbol of an evil god and devil.
Elland turned his head to glance at Danitz and said, “If they leave by land, then there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Why?” Danitz asked, puzzled.
Without explaining anything, Elland took out a notice and handed it to Gehrman Sparrow.
“The main target is this woman.”
At this moment, they heard the intense sound of fighting coming from the side room.
“She has been found?” Danitz asked the question Klein wanted to ask.
“Probably not.” Elland shook his head. “According to the orders, the first thing to do when discovering the target is to release red fireworks. Once it appears, everyone will close in on that location. If one encounters other wanted criminals who they cannot handle alone, they are to release orange fireworks. Surrounding teams would rush over to reinforce them. If they’re ordinary pirates or criminals, we are to handle them ourselves. Let’s wait. Perhaps, it’s because the fireworks couldn’t be released in time…”
While he was talking, the glass on the third story of the house facing the street shattered with a crack. A bear-like brawny man jumped down. His speed was extremely fast as he ran into the distance like a cheetah.
At this moment, an enormous shadow enveloped him, and gatling sounds came from the sky above.
The brawny man’s body was almost torn apart by the machine gun fire as he fell to the ground without putting up any resistance. Blood flowed out and dyed the ground red. If the residents weren’t forbidden to leave their homes, then they would’ve screamed.
At some point in time, the airship had floated over, but it didn’t stop and had turned toward another direction.
“… Goltadt.” Danitz recognized the victim.
Seeing Gehrman Sparrow turn his head over, he forced a smile and said, “This is the leader of a pirate crew. He’s from Feysac, with a bounty of 950 pounds.”
When Danitz saw the pirate’s outcome, he was grateful that he had followed Gehrman out.
Seeing that the alert over here had been lifted, Elland didn’t linger any longer and led Klein and Danitz to the area that he was in charge of.
After walking quickly for five or six minutes, they saw a barricade at the intersection in front of them. Guns were mounted and cannons were set up. Loen soldiers in red uniforms stood guard over the area in silence.
On the other side of the barricade, twenty to thirty corpses lay scattered on the ground, forming a vanguard formation.
Their clothes were tattered and their faces gaunt, clearly indicating that they were natives.
A little further away, several young native children were hiding in the corner. They were quietly looking at them in fear. Their eyes were dark and their faces were dirty.
Klein and company fell silent for a few seconds before circling around the area.
…
Backlund, Cherwood Borough.
Fors lifted the ceramic cup from the table and felt the heat.
She roused herself and quietly waited for any changes.
The temperature of the hot water dropped rapidly, and a thin layer of ice appeared on the surface of the liquid. White frost appeared on the rim of the cup.
“I’m a Trickmaster now…” Fors closed her eyes in delight.
She didn’t waste any time after receiving the Spirit Eater’s stomach pouch, immediately concocting the potion and completing the advancement. She obtained quite a number of spells with lower potency.
Among them, Fors’s favorites were Fog, Wind, Flash, Freezing, Electric Shock, and Tumble, which made people slip.
Only at this point did she feel that she was a complete Beyonder. She was no longer someone who could only pass through walls or rely solely on ritualistic magic.
…
At almost noon, Elland, with the help of Klein and Danitz, had completed most of the investigation.
“Let’s eat some bread and drink some water before continuing.” He took off his boat-shaped hat and spoke with parched lips.
Klein was about to nod when he saw an orange firework fly into the air not far away.
Without hesitation, Elland put on his hat and ran in that direction.
“I’ll go and support them.”
“Orange means other wanted criminals that cannot be dealt with… Who could it be?” Danitz said to himself with interest.
He switched to a gait of raising his legs high as he proceeded forward, hoping that the battle would be over before he arrived. Then, he saw Gehrman Sparrow follow behind Just Elland, leaving him alone by himself.
Glancing at the “dark-blue monster” flying in his direction, Danitz let out a hollow laugh and quickened his pace.
Two minutes later, they arrived at their destination and saw a house with a lawn facing the street. Three or four military personnel were lying on the ground. Their faces were pale, and their bodies were trembling as if they had been thrown into a frozen lake.
The more Klein walked in that direction, the colder it felt, it was as if he had arrived in the polar regions.
Soon, he discovered that the ditches outside the house were filled with thick snow.
Just then, a burst of female laughter came from inside the house at varying pitches, alternating between craziness and strangeness.
“Hahaha…
“Gyahaahaahaa…
“Hahaha…
“Gyahaahaahaa…”
Danitz couldn’t help but stop and touch his neck, which was covered in goosebumps, with his right hand.
With a clanging sound, the window opened and a charred body flew out.
It landed hard on the ground, as if it were caught in an inferno.
With just a glance, Klein was able to recognize through his spiritual intuition that this was one of the three male adventurers who had followed Leticia
