Chapter 61: Discovering the Assassin

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Discovering the Assassin

Diamond Town should have been settling into the quiet of the night, but an assassination attempt on the Lord Baron had thrown its people into a state of panic.

Residences, shops, and even the homes of Diamond Town’s officials and wealthy merchants were not exempt from the search. Olay no longer dared to trust anyone around him. If even Lanwo could turn traitor, who could say for sure that others hadn’t been bribed or coerced?

The pitch-black night was ablaze with lights, and screams and cries could be heard everywhere.

「On a street corner.」

Olay sat motionless on his horse, his face grim.

Over a dozen reports had come in from the Personal Guard Team and the Guard Team, but still, no one had found any trace of the assassins.

’Olay wished he could slaughter every last one of these incompetents.’

This was a matter of utmost importance, affecting not only the Lord Baron but all of Diamond Town, yet they had made no progress.

Olay was filled with a burning rage he had no way to release.

"Lord Olay, the residences in the northwest sector have been searched. Nothing unusual was found."

A messenger from the Personal Guard approached on horseback, his apprehension clear as he steeled himself to report to Olay.

"Useless! You’re all useless! Keep searching! If you can’t find them, you will search until you do!"

Olay’s expression was savage.

"Open the door!"

After searching Third Street, Morion, Vili, and their men still had nothing to show for it.

Vili was still calm, but Morion was growing impatient.

As soon as they reached Fifth Street, Morion was already bellowing at a door.

Since it was an iron door, Morion couldn’t just kick it in. He had no choice but to wait.

However, no one came to open the door. Instead, from within came the sound of something shattering, as if in a panic.

"Hm?"

Morion’s brow furrowed, and he immediately shouted, "Smash the window!"

Of course, these weren’t glass windows. While crude, impure glass could be produced in this era, it was mainly used for high-end crafts; ordinary families couldn’t afford to use it for their windows. For commoners, a "window" was little more than a wooden plank, opened during the day and shut at night.

At the command, a member of the Personal Guard Team walked right up to the plank window and smashed it to pieces.

The group stormed into the house without a moment’s hesitation.

Vili was the third to enter, right behind Morion. The moment he stepped inside, he heard Morion yell.

"Stop!"

A panicked man in shorts was about to leap out a window that led to the backyard.

Quick as a flash, Morion lunged forward and yanked the man back just before he could jump.

"Trying to escape, are you?"

Morion kicked the man squarely in the chest. A sickening crack of breaking bone echoed from his ribcage. The man sprayed a mouthful of blood, his eyes filling with terror as he looked at Morion.

Just as Morion was about to interrogate him, a disheveled blonde woman emerged from a back room.

"Sir... please let us go... this is our first time..."

The blonde woman’s arms were trembling, and she could barely speak.

Morion saw this and knew he had the wrong people.

It was obvious they were adulterers. In Diamond Town, getting reported for adultery meant facing punishment.

"Search!"

Morion snorted coldly.

Vili stood to one side, observing the man and woman. They were both shaking, looking like they had never experienced anything like this before. They even seemed to think the Personal Guards were there specifically to arrest them.

As he studied them, Vili’s brow suddenly furrowed. A faint, metallic scent reached his nose.

His pupils contracted sharply, but he quickly composed himself, making no unusual movements.

"We didn’t find anything suspicious."

The men quickly reported back.

Morion swore, his face a mask of frustration.

He’d thought he’d finally found the assassins, only to stumble upon a pair of damn adulterers. The pressure from Olay, combined with his own desperate desire to distinguish himself, left Morion extremely agitated.

"Consider yourselves lucky!"

Morion spat in the man’s face. If they weren’t so short-staffed tonight, he would have made them pay. At the very least, he would have extorted some money out of them.

"Let’s go!"

Morion gave the order and was about to leave.

Just then, however, Vili stepped forward. Without any warning, his Long Spear shot out and struck the blonde woman, whose face was still etched with relief.

The Long Spear pierced straight through her shoulder blade, pinning her to the wall.

The blonde woman let out a bloodcurdling scream, her face a mask of horror. Before she could react, Vili lunged forward and shattered her jaw.

The instant Vili attacked the woman, the man who was supposedly severely injured sprang to his feet, showing no signs of injury whatsoever. He whipped a dagger out from his shorts and lunged at Vili.

"We’ve been had! There’s something wrong with these two! Get them!"

Morion might have been slow on the uptake, but even he could see the problem with this pair now.

Facing the man’s sudden attack, Vili’s eyes narrowed. From his attacker’s movements, Vili could tell he had the strength of at least a Middle Level Knight’s Squire, perhaps even a Senior Knight’s Squire. ’In a one-on-one fight, I might not be his match,’ Vili thought.

But Vili wasn’t the least bit panicked. With Morion right there, he didn’t have to fight this man alone.

Morion wasn’t a Senior Knight’s Squire yet, but he wasn’t far off. His reflexes were also sharp. The instant the man attacked Vili, Morion’s own Long Spear shot out and struck the man in the waist.

A look of grim finality flashed in the man’s eyes. An instant later, black blood poured from his mouth. His body convulsed, and he dropped to the floor, dead.

’He’s dead...’

A flicker of regret crossed Vili’s eyes. But at least the blonde woman was still alive.

’That was why I crushed her jaw—to stop her from taking her own life.’

"Cunning! Treacherous!"

Morion cursed when he saw the man was dead. Olay had ordered them to take a prisoner alive, but the man had killed himself right in front of him.

"It’s alright. At least we have one."

Vili stepped forward to reassure him.

A look of gratitude surfaced in Morion’s eyes. At first, he’d thought Vili would just be dead weight. He never expected the boy to be the one to save him at the critical moment. If Vili hadn’t exposed them and shattered the woman’s jaw, Morion feared he’d be facing Lord Olay’s blade himself tonight.

"Vili, thank you. If it weren’t for you, those two would’ve escaped right from under my nose tonight. If our superiors were to trace this back to me later, I’d probably lose my head."

Morion hurried to thank Vili.

"It was my duty," Vili said with a small smile. He then glanced at the barely breathing blonde woman. "But this isn’t the time for thanks. We need to get this woman to Teacher Olay. I avoided her vitals, but if she keeps bleeding like this, she won’t last long."