"Sixteen dead, seven seriously injured." Darent was at the scene. When he saw them coming, he came forward to report the data to them. "I don't think they can survive."
"Don't make sarcastic remarks," Hitzfeld warned him.
Although she knew that this sarcasm might be true - large-area burns could be fatal even in modern times. This damn world probably doesn't even have the concept of skin grafting. If the burn area is a little larger, even if you survive, you will die.
The ruins were crowded with people, and several charred corpses could be seen clustered together. Some people who should be relatives of the victims collapsed on the ground and cried bitterly.
The crowd was talking about the disaster, arguing and quarreling everywhere. Some tourists who came to join in the fun were regarded as arsonists by some townspeople. If such accusations were not supervised, they would inevitably turn into violent conflicts.
Hitzfeld felt a little overwhelmed when she heard the noise around her which was ten times noisier than that of a vegetable market. She tried her best to stay calm, and under Ethan's protection, she squeezed through the crowd and came to the front, where she saw Sheriff Lister squatting there.
Compared to the last few times we met, he looked much more haggard, his nasolabial folds and eye bags looked deeper, and the whites of his eyes were bloodshot.
"Inspector!" she called out to him, "What's going on? Where's Father Booker?"
"do not know……"
"I do not know what that means?"
"All the bodies were burned beyond recognition. We are currently unable to tell whether Father Booker is among them."
A young police officer nearby helped explain, "But no one really saw him come out. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be... among those corpses."
"..." Hitzfeld frowned and got goose bumps unconsciously.
Father Booker was perhaps the only person who knew the secret of the Granat family, who was not a native of the town. If he died, it would undoubtedly become very difficult for them to learn the secret in a short period of time.
"This is definitely a premeditated action!" Ethan's face was livid, and his words contained suppressed anger. "Just when we were not in town... these damn things!"
"These damn things!!!" Simultaneously, Old Bal's roar came from the other side.
"Those deformed evildoers! How dare they challenge me like this? I must catch them! I will chop off their heads and feed them to the dogs!!"
"That's Lord Gralant..."
"It's the mayor..."
"Your Excellency..."
"Our savior has finally arrived..."
The townspeople all knew him, and they felt relieved when they saw him taking over the scene with a team of fully armed knights. Many people approached the guards and begged them to catch the murderer, and more people shouted from a distance, accusing the travelers of doing all this.
"Tell them to shut up!" Old Barr was annoyed and waved his hand to Duke Gran. "Someone broke in and set fire in broad daylight... It's really useless!"
"Master, this matter is very serious." Duke waved his hand to let the guards carry out the order, and whispered to the old man: "The monastery and church were built specifically for us by the Goddess of the Mechanical Sun Cult. If this news gets out..."
"Sorry, maybe you don't need to worry about this." Hitzfeld squeezed in again, and his voice interrupted before he even arrived.
"Miss Hitzfeld." Old Barr stared at her gloomily. "What do you mean by that?"
"Burning down the monastery is a provocation to the church. If the news gets out, nearby towns will definitely send a large number of troops to garrison the town. The arsonist obviously can think of this." Hitzfeld's face was solemn.
"But he still did it. Don't you think it's strange?"
"What's so strange about this... What do you want to say?" Old Barr thought for a long time but couldn't figure out what she meant. He stared at the girl fiercely: "Are you mentally ill?"
However, Duke and Lister, who came with her, changed their expressions drastically. They each called people and asked them to check the dock and the railway.
Twenty minutes later, the guy who was checking the dock came back.
"There is nothing unusual at the moment... except that there is fog on the lake, and many fishermen are already packing up and heading back."
"Nothing else happened?" Duke asked.
"No! I asked a lot of people, some of them just came back from the fog, and Punk just came from the dock on the other side, and nothing happened to them!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Twenty minutes later, the people who inspected the railway came back.
This time the news was not good - the railway out of Green Town was damaged by human beings, and according to the train conductor's description, it would take at least a week to repair it.
At this time, new news came from the dock. It was said that there was a rumor at the dock on the other side that an infectious disease had broken out in Green Town, and the shipping companies and merchants on the other side had already sailed their ships back and would not come in the short term.
"They want to blockade this town!" Fear was revealed on Liszt's face. "They are definitely not just one person... but a group of organized evildoers!"
Fear spread rapidly in the air, and almost everyone felt their scalp tingling. It was a really uncomfortable feeling to be targeted.
"I don't think there's any need to be too nervous."
It was Hitzfeld again, and she took the initiative to break the suffocating atmosphere: "Whatever they want to do, their numbers should not be too large."
"Are you sure?" Old Barr looked at her.
"The blockade is not complete." Hitzfeld nodded. "People in the town can still leave by boat. They can't completely prevent the transmission of information. This shows that their purpose is just to delay time."
"Delaying time...what do they want to do by delaying time?"
"The question is, Mr. Inspector, have you searched the ruins of the abbey?"
"Of course!" Liszt nodded hurriedly, "We did it when we searched for the body! Very detailed! We almost turned the whole piece of land over!"
"Is the slate still there?"
"…What slate?"
Liszt looked at her in some confusion.
It is indeed impossible to expect these police officers who are "exiled" to the countryside to know the secrets about the slate.
"It's a thick stone slab that is obviously different from building materials." Ethan couldn't bear to watch it anymore and gestured to describe it to him, "That thing can't be destroyed by fire. Is it still there?"
Liszt was still confused.
At this time, the young policeman came up to him and whispered something.
"...It's still there." He nodded. "They said they found it. It looks intact."
Ethan and Darent couldn't help but frown.
The Jiyang Stone Carving has magical powers. With it, it can protect the town from large-scale invasion of evil spirits.
This was also one of the reasons why everyone, including Hitzfeld, did not believe at first that there would be any "fire dragon" in this place.
It’s a good thing that this thing is still there.
But they couldn't understand - if the arsonist was bold enough to set fire to the monastery and destroy the crucial stone slabs - was it a big deal?
It doesn't make sense to burn down the monastery and ignore the slabs, right?
"That means...their target is simply Father Booker."
The clear voice made their bodies tremble at the same time.
They all recalled the conversation between Father Booker and Hitzfeld.
Remembering the secret that he had brought to hell.
“So their goal is pretty clear.”
Hitzfeld turned his gaze and looked directly at old Bal, who had his lips tightly pursed.
"Before visiting the manor, I talked to the priest about some of the deeds of the Gralant family... He obviously knows something, some secret about why Sarah allowed the town to be autonomous."
"..." Old Bal said nothing, and looked at her with an increasingly unfriendly expression.
Even those who came from the manor had gloomy expressions.
"Now that the priest has been killed, the person who committed all these crimes obviously wanted to take advantage of the time when the town was closed to pursue that secret."
But the girl continued speaking firmly.
"So for the sake of the entire Green Town, Mr. Glarant, Mr. Gran, and Mr. Noan."
"I hope you can take the initiative to disclose the hidden truth and help us catch the murderer."
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Thanks to: Little Finger Qingqiao, Tota Songstress Ai Mei, Ultimate Transfer, Luluna, Shuke 53641256652, Fantasy Huameng, It’s Landa, Vigiler, Hidden Name-Nameless Mist, Xinyuexin, Commander of the Aili Guard... and the above readers’ blades and rewards~!
Thanks for your support~!
ps: Happy New Year’s Eve~!
Chapter 31 Blood Curse
"Cough--" Duke Gran suddenly coughed violently.
"Regarding this matter, I think that even if we want to discuss it, it should not be in a place like this... The most urgent task is to evacuate the crowd, rescue the injured, clean up the ruins, and send people to set up guards at all entrances and exits of the town. Miss Hitzfeld, what do you think?"
Hitzfeld narrowed his eyes slightly.
Because the man's body was facing at a very strange angle at this moment, only she, Ethan, and Darent were the only people in his direction who could see his entire expression.
Intuitively, she read pleading in that expression. At the same time, he saw Duke extend two fingers from his sleeve, as if hinting something to her.
"Of course." She immediately agreed, "It should be so."
As time goes by, the turmoil caused by the fire continues to ferment.
At this time, we can see how important a lord with absolute prestige is. No one dared to disobey Old Bal's orders. The gathered crowd was quickly evacuated, and the wounded, ruins, alerts... everything that should be done was quickly implemented.
As for Old Baal himself, he seemed like a different person since he heard the howl - from a slightly crazy but at least harmless old man to a lord who was crazy but majestic enough.
He insisted on leading a team of knights to patrol the entire town, and no one could persuade him to do so.
Fortunately, this action itself is beneficial to stabilizing the situation. For those who are disturbed by the frequent murders, this patrol team, their posture, and the weapons they carry are necessary psychological comfort.
It was a full two hours before Hitzfeld saw Duke Gran again.
"You are very punctual." Sitting next to the round table in the room on the fourth floor by Lake Tonks, Hitzfeld stared at the guest leisurely.
"I'm glad you think so." Duke Gran's voice sounded weak. "To be honest... I was thinking twenty minutes. I'm grateful that you didn't blame me for being late."
"If you and Mr. Noan insist on keeping an eye on him and treating him like a baby, then 20 minutes is obviously not enough," Hitzfeld said. "Besides, we still have a week, and I have been very patient so far."
Ethan and Darent were sitting across the table and at the head of the bed. Hearing what she said, Darent frowned deeply.
Of course he could tell that the 'he' Hitzfeld was referring to was Old Barr... He hadn't paid much attention to it before, but now that he thought about it, Duke and Chikalia's attitude towards Old Barr was not right.
This is not to say that these people have rebellious intentions, but that they are too protective of him.
But if we consider old Barr's madness, this kind of care seems justifiable.
"Are you so sure..." Duke smiled bitterly, "What if? What if we really don't care about him that much?"
"The main reason you are willing to make such an agreement with me is to prevent him from getting too emotional." Hitzfeld smiled slightly, "If you are willing to pay this price, I don't believe you can care less about him."
"Okay, okay." Duke put his hand to his forehead. "I am somewhat convinced, Miss Detective... You know, I was hesitant before entering the door. I didn't know if it was the right thing to do, but now I am more than half confident that I am doing the right thing."
"Stop talking nonsense, okay?" Darent couldn't help but interrupt, "What exactly is the secret of the Gralant family? Aren't you here just to explain this?"
"Maps—" Ethan glared at him.
"Oh, I just don't like all these twists and turns~"
"I'll tell you." Duke sat down and poured himself a cup of tea. "The fact that I'm willing to come here alone says a lot, doesn't it? Some things are true. Yes, I understand."
The other three people in the room held their breath, trying not to put too much pressure on him.
"The legend of Hu Teng Mu." Duke suddenly talked about fairy tales. "How much do you know about this legend?"
“I basically know everything.”
"Really?" He grinned mockingly, "But I bet you only know the incomplete version."
"If you collect all the similar legends that are currently circulating and stick all the plots together, the most you can get is a fairy tale story of 'a boy gets a treasure from a tree demon, uses the treasure to defeat the evil force that shrouds Green Town, and marries his sweetheart and lives with him forever.'"
“But that’s not actually the case,” he said.
"There is another half to this story, and its ending is not a fairy tale at all, because the evil force left behind a terrible curse."
"I believe you can guess what's going on." Seeing the three people's moved expressions, Duke nodded, "Yes, as a demon-blood family that inherited the power of the tree demon, all descendants of the Gralant family will bear this curse. This is why my master sometimes seems crazy - the power of the curse is tormenting him all the time, and I don't want to see him continue to suffer like this."
"Curse..." Hitzfeld narrowed his one eye.
So, the main reason why Duke hinted to her to drop the topic and move on to the detailed discussion was actually to protect old Bal.
Would this kind of talk cause harm to old Barr?
"Can you tell me what the 'evil force' is specifically?"
When she asked this question, she was mentally prepared.
"It's a fire dragon."
