Chapter 2321: Enigmatic and Confounding

Chapter 2321: Chapter 2321: Enigmatic and Confounding

Next, the few of them exchanged some more information and gradually pieced together the exact sequence of events that happened tonight.

Shard knew the timing of the war between the Church and the Light Worshipper Training Association in the east of the city;

Mr. Benhart, although he had been in the city’s inn, was well aware of the time of the dock incident as he saved a night-shift porter on his way here;

John Flynn and his party met with the black market intelligence dealer on a boat on the Taton River and saw a fireball descending towards the north of the city, knowing the situation when the fire broke out;

As for the coroner, he had been working here until he heard cries outside and went out, at which point the bat swarm had already begun attacking the Lower District.

The four of John Flynn’s party were still unaware of the details of the battle at the dock, so they did not discuss whether the "God Summoner" had mastered the method to draw the "Sword of Light." After all, to anyone present then, the scene of the "Moonlight Dragon" summoning the Moonlight Greatsword was too similar to the incident on the Belindel Big Bell last week.

The four of them did not linger here for long; after discussing with Mr. Albert, they left in a hurry, as it was clear that their plans for the night were not as simple as trading information on the black market.

And it was only after these strangers left that Shard asked the two vampires in the suddenly quiet morgue:

"Do you really not know anything about tonight’s events?"

They did not get angry at Shard’s inquiry but replied together:

"We didn’t receive any advance information, but judging from the behavior of those Dragonborn Vampires and the strength of the manipulated giant bats and Vampire Beasts, there are quite a few local clansmen cooperating with those cultists, and they aren’t weak either."

Shard nodded:

"This is really troublesome... How is the interrogation of Baron Chandler going?"

Baron Chandler was the person Mr. Benhart ultimately confirmed to have provided blood to the Dragon Feast Cult. The day after the banquet at Margaret’s Manor, this fat "vampire" was captured by Mr. Benhart and his men.

Mr. Benhart hesitated before speaking, and seeing him look towards the elf girl behind him, Shard belatedly said:

"It’s okay, little Amy can be trusted."

"I think Armand is worried about scaring her rather than not trusting her. Our interrogation methods are somewhat... extreme."

The coroner calmly explained, and the elf girl, whom Shard had just called by a nickname, immediately spoke up:

"I’m not afraid!"

After she said that, she immediately shrank back behind Shard, seemingly afraid of the cloaked coroner, which Shard attributed to the latter’s profession.

"Little Amy, wait here with our horse, don’t go inside."

Although Emilia said so, Shard still didn’t let her follow, and the elf girl herself breathed a sigh of relief:

"I’m really not afraid... Okay, we’ll wait for you here."

"Very well, Mr. Watson, come with us."

Mr. Albert led the way, guiding Shard and Mr. Benhart deeper into the morgue.

Inside, the walls also had a door, and after descending some steps, there was an even colder room, which was the morgue’s corpse storage area.

Three of the four walls were filled with iron cabinets, and Shard could imagine what was inside them.

"Most of the nameless bodies from the Lower District, especially those fished out from the Taton River, are hard to find family members for, so they are mostly stored here."

The coroner said tonelessly.

"So those nameless bodies are just kept here forever?"

"No, they’re regularly taken away for cremation, then buried in a designated area of the city cemetery by the Church... This way."

He kicked the floor, and an illusion technique dissipated, revealing a trapdoor in the corner where the iron cabinets met.

The three of them climbed down a ladder to a lower level, a part of an abandoned sewer blocked off at both ends, with a door opened from above to enter again.

Mr. Benhart snapped his fingers, and a flying light orb illuminated this blood-scented secret chamber.

The secret chamber wasn’t particularly large, with darkened bloodstains all over the floor. At the deepest part stood a stone coffin in the shape of a cross, from which blood and weak wails constantly emanated. A small table beside the coffin held some cruel torture devices that Shard could imagine and some he couldn’t.

The wailing voice and this eerie atmosphere were unsettling, no wonder Mr. Benhart feared scaring Emilia.

"Is Baron Chandler here?"

Shard pointed to the coffin, and the coroner nodded:

"His mouth is stricter than we expected, so I’ve used some extreme measures. Don’t worry about him; after this is over, Armand will contact the Order to imprison him in the Blood Cavern of the Holy Mountain."

Shard wasn’t worried about this baron, and his knowledge of Vampires told him that these Advanced Vampires, or those with noble enough bloodlines, wouldn’t kill their kind easily. If they encountered a clansman who had genuinely done wrong, they would only imprison them.

As for the "Holy Mountain" and "Blood Cavern," these are probably secrets of the [Vampire Sect], and Shard wouldn’t casually inquire about them.

"What did he say?"

"He provided the ’blood extract,’ but he was also under someone else’s control..."

Mr. Benhart sighed:

"Controlled by some addictive substance, moreover, the other party could bring convenience to his business. He doesn’t know who his superior is, but he’s very certain that among the local same clan, there is a secret group collaborating with the [Dragon Feast Cult]. He’s just a pawn thrown out to mislead the Church’s perception."

"In the end, you and Armand investigated too quickly, and he was thrown to you instead."

The coroner added, walking to the wall and prying open the upright coffin with a crowbar. Both Shard and Mr. Benhart covered their noses and stepped back two steps.

Shard was not very willing to describe what was inside the coffin at this moment. In fact, it wasn’t a coffin; he was wedged between two large stones with shallow dents.

However, it’s obvious that the mass of bloody flesh inside hadn’t died; the life force of an Advanced Vampire was very strong. He even tried to spray blood at the three when the stone coffin was opened, but the coroner, wearing gloves, later scattered the blood resembling sharp spikes.

"We tried to get more information from him, but we weren’t successful; then tonight’s incident happened. His mouth isn’t very tight, but he knows less than expected."

Mr. Benhart explained while covering his nose, getting slightly closer to Shard:

"If tonight’s assumptions are correct, then the collaboration between the Moon Bay’s same clan and those dragon-eating cultists certainly isn’t a matter of one or two years."

He thus explained the events of tonight briefly to Baron Chandler, alongside the coroner. Although the original fat baron had become unrecognizable at this point, Shard could still see him trembling with fear.

Yet even so, he still didn’t disclose any valuable information.

Shard pondered and then pulled out a book from the starry-colored bookshelf beside him, displaying the images of the cultists who appeared in that missing memory after Ciris restored part of the memory, asking Baron Chandler to identify them.

Shard couldn’t even locate his eyes and mouth, but he still tenaciously completed the task.

Based on the photos, he provided four possibly fictitious names, and only after Mr. Benhart repeatedly questioned him about what he knew did he finally divulge an important piece of information he was unaware of.

His voice was hoarse, as if with blood blisters in his throat:

"I... I haven’t been to the lab you mentioned; I only know that most of the [Dragon Feast Cult]’s labs are in the New World, not here. I haven’t seen many of them; in fact, until this year, they didn’t have many people in Moon Bay, mostly just for communication or exchanging information and materials."

"Materials?"

The coroner frowned:

"What materials, your blood?"

"They have a large testing ground in the New World, but some precious potion ingredients are unique to the Old Continent. Also, the [Dragon Feast Cult] is a sizable organization; besides using Moon Bay Harbor for personnel exchanges, they need to use Moon Bay’s banking system for fund transfers."

Listening to the mass of flesh say this, Shard suddenly asked:

"Do they have accounts in Moon Bay?"

"Yes. But I don’t know which bank their accounts are in or who holds them specifically."

"So, do you know the dates of their large-scale transactions in Moon Bay over the past two years?"

"I..."

He clearly realized something but only paused momentarily before the coroner’s gloved fingers suddenly crushed his flesh.

In agonizing cries, they obtained the answer:

"Remember, remember, if you need, I can tell you. But don’t torture me anymore; I’m really not a core figure, and I only know these."

Then the coroner went to record the new information, while Mr. Benhart asked Shard on the side:

"There must be substantial funds transferred before and after large-scale transactions. Are you trying to find the accounts with repeated transaction records during those periods in Moon Bay City’s banks and then find the holder behind the accounts?"

"Yes, I’ve understood since my initial contact with Circle Sorcerers that even Transcendent organizations need professional accountants, clear accounts, and substantial funds.

Finding the [Dragon Feast Cult] isn’t a concern, finding the money trail is equivalent to finding them. Even if those accounts have been abandoned, as long as there are transaction records and inbound/outbound records, we can find others in Moon Bay City who collaborated with them, among whom may be your same clan."

Mr. Benhart slightly frowned:

"Good approach, the transactions near Moon Bay Harbor can only be done in Moon Bay City’s banks; this is a method the Seven Great Families use to protect the local financial industry, and it’s an important reason for Moon Bay’s enduring prosperity.

But the issue is, those accounts aren’t easily traceable. Although I don’t believe all bankers can keep customers’ secrets, such an investigation... Moon Bay’s banks aren’t just one, and the Seven Great Families are involved in this vital industry; even if you have... connections, it’s not easily investigated."

"I also have other connections; specialized matters naturally require specialists, leave this to me."

Shard spoke calmly, naturally referring to Grey Glove and MI6.