Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the pitch-black city walls.
Derrick Berg carried a leather pouch on his back and the Axe of Hurricane in his hand. He stood outside the door with nearly ten teammates.
Looking up, he saw that the black soil between the cracks of the city walls was dry and hard, but there were clumps of tenacious weeds growing out. They were fine and fluttering, like human hair.
At this moment, he heard light footsteps. He hurriedly retracted his gaze and looked towards the city gate.
Amidst the alternating lightning and darkness, a tall figure slowly walked over, carrying two straight swords crossed behind his back.
Following that, his pale, messy hair, deep eyes that had seen the vicissitudes of life, the deep, distorted old scars, and the brown coat and linen shirt that didn't change all year round were reflected in the eyes of Derrick and company.
The person who came was the Chief of the City of Silver's six-member council, Colin Iliad, a powerful Demon Hunter.
After Derrick greeted him, he subconsciously cast his gaze at the Chief's waist. There was a belt that was divided into many compartments, and in each compartment was a different metal bottle.
This was a symbol of a Demon Hunter's experience and strength.
Derrick had heard his parents mention that Demon Hunters were good at discovering the weaknesses of different monsters and identifying the uses of various materials. They could also target the former and use the latter to concoct the corresponding magical potions, holy ointments, essential oils, and special imprints under a special Cogitation mode. Then, by ingesting, smearing, and using these items, they could achieve the effects of restraining the target.
From a certain point of view, the experienced, knowledgeable, well-prepared, and quick-witted Demon Hunters were the nemesis of most monsters. The number and type of metal vials on their waists represented their 'experience'.
Of course, this was only a portion of the Beyonder powers that Demon Hunters possessed. With just these, they wouldn't be able to be called a demigod or a saint.
Colin looked around and confirmed that all the team members were present. Then, he said in a low voice,
Then, he said in a deep voice, "Light the lanterns and set off."
The two team members immediately lit the candles in the lanterns, allowing the dim yellow light to shine through the extremely thin leather.
In the daytime, when the frequency of lightning was higher, there was no need to use candles in the City of Silver. This was because there would be "light" every two to three seconds. Furthermore, the surrounding monsters had been purged over and over again. However, once they left the City of Silver and entered the depths of the darkness, they had to maintain candlelight at all times. Otherwise, if the lightning didn't keep up at a certain stage, causing a lightless environment for more than five seconds, there was a high chance that the team would be attacked by certain monsters.
The intense battle was not the most terrifying development. What Derrick remembered vividly was a story his parents had told him.
One time, when they were exploring the depths of the darkness, the candles were not replaced in time due to the battle with the corpses, so they had to endure eight seconds of deep darkness. When the lightning came again and the candles reappeared, they were shocked to see that only five of their original eight teammates were left. The other three had disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again.
Taking a deep breath, Derrick gripped the Axe of Hurricane tightly and walked in the middle of the team, following the Chief in a predetermined direction.
A bolt of lightning flashed, causing the plains filled with long black grass to appear like a gloomy oil painting.
The exploration team consisting of ten Beyonders walked on the path filled with jagged gravel and went deep into the black grass.
The lightning subsided, and the thick darkness instantly swept back, almost completely engulfing them.
The dim yellow candlelight penetrated the leather, weakly and shakily defending the surrounding area.
…
East Borough, in a cheap greasy coffee shop.
According to their previous agreement, Klein found Old Kohler, who was spreading margarine on his toast.
He glanced at the wrinkled cigarette on the table and laughed.
"Did you buy it recently?"
"No, it's from the past. I've never smoked it again, but I always carry it with me. Occasionally, I'll take it out and sniff it. Heh heh, it reminds me of my wandering life. Back then, I really felt like I could die at any moment." Old Kohler's tone carried a hint of lingering fear.
Klein took out the 20 soli he had exchanged for in advance and pushed it to the other party as he sat down.
"I'm very satisfied with the information from last time."
Without waiting for Old Kohler to be modest, he turned to look at the counter.
"A loaf of oatmeal bread, two slices of toast, a piece of butter, a portion of beef stew with potatoes, and a penny for tea."
"Mr. Moriarty, you didn't have dinner yesterday?" Old Kohler held the notes and was stunned for a moment.
Klein shook his head and smiled.
"I'll be very busy from now on. I might not have time for lunch."
He had to pretend that he was very active and serious. After all, he had taken 100 pounds from Prince Edessak.
Old Kohler didn't ask further. He looked around warily as he stuffed the notes into his pocket.
"There's an answer to the matter you asked me to find out. Azik Eggers' bounty comes from a few gang leaders and some intelligence peddlers. Well, I don't know who commissioned them. It's very difficult to contact them."
MI9 … Klein nodded.
"That's enough. There's no need to go any deeper. It's too dangerous."
Old Kohler heaved a sigh of relief.
"Two days ago, someone saw a guy suspected to be Aztec Eggers in a cheap hotel on Golden Cloak Street. It's said that he's basically the same as the picture on the bounty notice."
"…" Klein's heart skipped a beat. Instead of being alarmed, he laughed.
"And then? Could it be that the matter is over just as I'm preparing to fight for this bounty? "
"And then? With a clue, many bounty hunters quickly rushed over, but they didn't find anything. Uh, they said that there were signs of a fight in that room. "Old Kohler tried his best to recall the information he had gathered.
The information will definitely be given to MI9 first … Did Mr. Aztec have a secret contest with them? I wonder what the outcome will be … Klein looked at the boss who was carrying a tray over and pretended to ponder as he said to Old Kohler, "Take me to Golden Cloak Street later.
"Take me to Golden Cloak Street later. Maybe I can find some clues there."
It was already past breakfast time in East Borough, and there were very few customers in the cheap coffee shop.
"Alright." Old Kohler agreed without hesitation.
"Sixteen and a half pence altogether." The boss placed the breakfast that Klein had ordered on the table. There wasn't much beef in the potatoes, but it was stewed very well. It was obvious that it had been prepared in advance, and the strong aroma made Old Kohler involuntarily swallow a mouthful of saliva.
After paying, Klein picked up a fork and spoon and said to Old Kohler,
"Continue."
"No one is looking for believers of The Fool anymore, except for a few stubborn bounty hunters … Many unemployed female textile workers, including some male workers, have left East Borough …" Old Kohler said one by one.
"What?" Klein swallowed the beef and raised his head. "They left East Borough?"
"He probably found another job, but I couldn't find out where he went," Old Kohler answered truthfully.
"Their families don't know?" Klein asked.
"Some left with their unemployed families, while others didn't have any family to begin with. They came to Baekeland from other places in search of work." Old Kohler had already done some investigations.
From the choice of targets, there's something wrong with this matter … Klein made a mental note of it and continued listening to Old Kohler's account of what had happened in East Borough during this period of time.
After agreeing on a time for their next meeting, he put down his cutlery, wiped his mouth, and picked up his hat.
"To Golden Cloak Street."
…
In the only cheap hotel on Golden Cloak Street.
After the boss accepted the fee of two pence, he led Klein and Old Kohler to the room that was suspected to be Aztec Eggers.
"A lot of bounty hunters have come over during this period of time. Hehe, I've made quite a bit of money, so I've kept it the same." The boss opened the door with a key and pointed inside.
Klein looked over and saw a toppled chair and rags scattered everywhere. Other than that, there were no other signs of a fight.
With his high spiritual perception, Klein cast his gaze under the bed.
After staring at it for two seconds, he walked over and bent down to pat the bed.
Pfft. Some dust flew up, and a light black rat jumped out from under the bed.
It looked normal without any problems, but in Klein's Spirit Vision, the color of its aura was only black-green.
The rat turned a corner and climbed up the wall, exposing its abdomen to Klein's eyes.
The soft area was covered in green flesh that flowed with pus. He could directly see the rotting organs inside.
Klein retracted his gaze thoughtfully and said to Old Kohler, who hadn't noticed the rat at all.
"Has the bounty on Aztec Eggers been withdrawn?"
"No." Old Kohler shook his head with certainty.
Klein examined it again and walked out.
"Let's go. There aren't any valuable clues."
…
15 Minsk Street.
After a "busy" day outside, Klein lay down in bed early and entered the Dream World.
Fragments that were sometimes continuous and sometimes fragmented flashed past. Klein suddenly woke up and realized that he was dreaming.
A force has invaded my dream … Klein maintained his hazy state from before as he casually sized up his surroundings.
He found himself on the outskirts of the country, full of fertile fields.
A river rushed over from afar and circled around the cliff in front of him.
One side of the cliff was bare, revealing pure white rocks. From afar, it had an abnormally holy beauty.
At the bend of the river, nearly ten men and women in black coats or dark jackets surrounded a hidden underground entrance with all sorts of artifacts. Among them was Klein's acquaintance, Ikanser Bernard.
White Cliff Town … Stratford River Bend … Machinery Hivemind … They're exploring the Amon family's mausoleum? But why did this scene appear in my dream? Klein was puzzled.
At that moment, he saw the surface of the river ripple and quickly outline a line of white words:
"Your loyal servant, Arrodes, reports to you on the situation of the exploration."
"…" Klein's mouth opened slightly, momentarily speechless. A voice echoed in his mind.
Why did a mirror like you become a snitch?
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