Chapter 96: Chapter 88: Red Steel Weapon must be obtained by legal means! _1 Chapter 96: Chapter 88: Red Steel Weapon must be obtained by legal means! _1 Upon hearing Lady Alice’s words, Ivita walked towards the assassin, swinging her sword with her right hand.

The Sword in Fire possessed a unique magic that reduced its own weight, making her strike extraordinarily fast.

Even though Ivita’s swordsmanship was crude, the speed of that one swing surpassed that of many sword practitioners.

One sword could save decades of arduous training.

That’s the advantage of a legendary sword.

The assassin raised his dagger in defense, observing his surroundings for an opportunity to escape, ready to fight like a cornered beast.

Unfortunately, he realized that the guards and mercenaries of Parviga had blocked all surrounding streets, watching him vigilantly.

Among them were quite a few professional hunters.

It was because they could hire these professional hunters that the city factions of the Viscount Ambrose’s Independent Country had the military power to fight against nobility in the knight system.

The red light flashed on the assassin’s dagger. Surprisingly, it was the same red steel weapon that Basang had used.

“Red steel from the Frankish people?” Ivita frowned. “Whether the Frankish are sponsors or hidden supporters of the Little Brotherhood, they actually equip each of you with more than one red steel dagger.”

“Quite amusing.”

The assassin’s eyes were lifeless; it seemed as if he hadn’t heard Ivita’s words.

However, he used the force reduction technique to neutralize Ivita’s three strikes. During their last clash, the dagger slid along the ridge of the Sword in Fire towards the hilt, creating sparks and aimed at Ivita’s sword-holding hand.

Such excellent dagger skills.

Ivita was taken aback and began to mentally chant the Charm Spell; a light flashed across the Ring of Desire on her little finger.

Then, the assassin was stunned momentarily.

This moment decided victory or defeat.

Ivita chopped off the assassin’s hand holding the dagger.

As the pain was about to rouse him, Ivita intensified her application of war magic power.

The strengthened war magic power from Baron Moro’s territorial contract rendered the new Charm Spell more powerful, confusing the assassin once more just as he was about to regain consciousness.

Ivita picked up his discarded red steel dagger from the ground. The dagger was engulfed in a layer of shadows, as if dipped in black ink.

“What’s going on?”

Bewitched, the assassin dully explained: “Weapons made from red steel can only obey one master.”

“Illegal acquisition of red steel weapons would cause red steel to lose its effect, making it more decayed than the rustiest iron.”

“Only through lawful methods, like buying, receiving, or winning through a bet, can one use red steel weapons.”

“Red steel can only be manufactured by the Frankish people.”

“Red steel maintains its extraordinary hardness and has the ability to self-recover. It is said that except for a few magical weapons, red steel can’t be shattered.”

Ivita nodded. Those few exceptions should include the other legendary sword on her back, the Broken Steel Sword.

The Broken Steel Sword, possessing the magic power to break all swords, was once the side sword of the Grand Viscount Ambros.

Regrettably, based on the information Ivita had, the Grand Viscount was just a mortal and never wielded the true power of the Broken Steel Sword.

The legendary sword had gathered dust for over a century.

Now, she was beginning to understand the three traditional enemies of Alsace.

The Frankish people who had the mysterious method of crafting red steel and even made it the standard equipment for their army. Ivita only wondered if the creation of red steel involved violating laws.

The people of Lower Burgundy were people of the water, and as long as their rivers did not dry up nothing, not even an army of dragons, could break their defenses.

Meanwhile, the Aleppan people, trapped in the middle likely could use the Moonstone Great Wall to withstand the Dragon Flame magic of the Alsace royal family.

For more detailed information, Ivita needed to visit those countries personally.

The original owner’s father for some unknown reason declared war against these three countries for over thirty years. This later resulted in him losing his throne under strange circumstances. There seemed to be more to this than met the eye.

Did the mobs truly organize themselves spontaneously?

Why didn’t Alsace have a King Protection Party? Or had they avoided contacting her up to now?

Lady Alice walked over, but she dared not come closer and could only stand behind Ivita. “Sir, please help us ask him who hired him to assassinate me.”

“I am willing to offer a substantial reward.”

“I am willing to pay a hundred gold pounds.”

Ivita raised her eyebrows, that’s a large sum.

She really was a wealthy widow.

Sadly, Ivita couldn’t earn this money.

Ivita shook her head, “No, the Charm Spell is easily broken.”

“The answer to your question is what he must strive to conceal unless he wants to tell you.”

“You should severely interrogate him.”

Lady Alice shook her head. “That would take too much time. The city council meeting is about to commence. If I can find out who the murderer is before that, I can accuse them at the council meeting.”

“So, there really is no other way?”

Ivita thought for a moment and said, “Lady Alice, actually I have an excellent long-term iron material supply. I’m seeking a similarly long-term and stable partner to utilize what we provide…”

Lady Alice looked at Ivita in surprise.

Just then, a group of guards not far away, led by a man who slightly bowed to Lady Alice. After noticing Ivita, he sized up Ivita’s clothes, somewhat hesitant.

But upon seeing the Sword in Fire in Ivita’s hand, he couldn’t decipher the profound blood magic embedded in it, but he could tell that the sword was finely crafted and of high quality.

Removing his hat, he slightly nodded at Ivita in acknowledgment. He also acknowledged Knight Gastrot who had just arrived. “Lady Alice, please leave this matter to our patrol. We will uncover who hired this assassin.”

“No,” Lady Alice unexpectedly refused outright. She then looked at Gastrot and Ivita pleadingly.

Lady Alice shook her head towards the city guards, the captain of the patrol, saying, “It’s not that I don’t want to trust you, Captain Paul.”

“But I owe an explanation to all the ladies who are the leaders of the guilds in the city. I must oversee his interrogation myself.”

Captain Paul squinted, a flash of annoyance in his eyes. “Although I am not from Ambros, and merely a mercenary, I am a faithful Federalist.”

“Please, trust me.”

Lady Alice still resisted letting go. “Please understand, Captain Paul.”

Ivita realised that Lady Alice did not trust any party in the city right now.

Because she was unsure about who had hired the assassin.

Is it impossible that the city patrol might be the employer?

Ivita understood her concerns because regardless of whether this incident was linked to the city patrol or not, everything that happened today was a dereliction of duty on the part of the Parviga city patrol.

But that Paul, he was most likely not the one who hired the assassin. He was probably only trying to salvage the patrol’s reputation. He wanted to take the captured assassin into his custody, conduct an interrogation, and provide an explanation to the city council.

Ivita remained silent because he was a newcomer.

As the saying goes, even a dragon can’t suppress a snake in its old haunts.

Now he was just a dragon passing through Parviga, but Captain Paul and Lady Alice were the snakes of this city.

He remained silent, calmly waiting for the two snakes to finish their spat.

As the standoff between the two parties continued, Lady Alice’s maid stepped forward, courageously and quietly said, “My apologies, everyone. I am an apprentice witch.”

“I can prepare an Intelligence Reducing Potion.”

“If this assassin, after being under your charm spell, ingests my potion, I believe his willpower as a professional assassin can be suppressed.”

Lady Alice turned to Paul, “In that case, it would be better to interrogate him on the spot.”

“Captain, you can order your soldiers and mercenaries to disperse everyone here.”

“And, we can first move them to the street next door because this is the entrance to the market. Let’s not embarrass Parviga anymore.”

Captain Paul kept nodding. Of course, it was also his reputation at stake.

Mercenaries care about their reputation more than anything.

Such incidents severely affected his prospects of switching to other cities to become a militia captain in the future.

He initially thought of staying here for another ten years, accumulating some experience and reputation, then moving to a small republic on the southern peninsula to run for governor.

Lady Alice asked Ivita for permission, “May we? Sir.”

“May I ask for your name, I can offer you a hundred pounds of gold as a reward, as long as you continue to maintain your charm spell.”

Ivita didn’t mind, but he was still waiting for the old witch and her companions.

Who knew, the old witch arrived at that moment, appearing from somewhere hidden and whispered, “Your Excellency, I’m here.”

“…” Ivita seriously suspected that she was here all along but didn’t dare to show up earlier. “How did you get here so fast?”

The old witch whispered a few words into Ivita’s ear. His eyes grew icier with each word.

Then, Ivita looked at Alice coldly, drew out the Broken Steel Sword with his left hand, and pointed the tip directly at Lady Alice’s tender throat.

Lady Alice was visibly terrified.

All those present were taken aback by this sudden change.

Ivita said, “Lady Alice, I ask you, is Parviga a bandit?”

“I am Ivita Augustus, a lawless man. If you don’t give me an explanation, remember this as the name of your killer.”

Ivita paused, omitting the surname Alsace, which was too sensitive. Instead, Augustus had not yet appeared in this world.

To conceal his identity, he improvised a name on the spot.