CHAPTER 488: CHAPTER 466: THE 1ST MALIGNANT MURDER CASE IN POPE COUNTRY

"How many died?"

Sitting at the ornate windowsill, Horn put down the "Demon Hunter Storybook" in his hands, sighed softly, and returned to the desk.

Just after resting for two hours, he hadn’t even had lunch yet; now work was coming again.

Since the establishment of the town on Autumn Dusk Island, this was the first violent murder case.

Horn knew that when the population increased, such incidents were inevitable, but he didn’t expect them to happen so soon.

"Four sewage workers, two beastmen, two humans, all from out of town." Raphael pushed a brief report to Horn, and behind him, Vite clutched his hat against his chest, anxiously waiting for something.

These four were the second group of immigrants arriving after the gate opened in May 1445, as referred to by Raphael as outsiders.

Although so-called "locals" arrived only six months earlier than "outsiders," they are considered veterans.

During the hardest times, they stood with the Saint’s Grandson, feeling superior.

Maintaining internal security should have been the job of the Night Watchers and the gendarmes, but seeing Cheka’s leader René standing nearby, Horn knew it wouldn’t be simple.

"Have they caught the mysterious masked man?" Flipping through a few pages, Horn asked casually without looking up, "Can it be confirmed that he’s the killer?"

"Brune’s Legion Commander and Rudilo’s Legion Commander happened to be present at the time, chased for a while, but the man got away, though he was shot in the arm and back and was heavily injured."

Raphael hesitated: "We think that although that masked man attacked the witnesses, he may not be the actual murderer."

"Why?"

"The Witch Doctor performed an autopsy on the four deceased, none died from stab wounds, but from electrocution..."

"Electrocution?" Horn suddenly raised his head, "You mean lightning? They were struck dead by lightning?"

"Their internal organs were almost half-cooked." René added beside him, "The Witch Doctors also said one of them had a strange organ deformity, his heart was about thirty to fifty percent larger than a normal person."

"Organ deformity? Is it a Wizard?" Horn frowned, was there an unregistered Wizard in the territory?

"No, Wizards rarely have organ deformities, more on senses and bodily control.

According to our Cheka instructor, the former Demon Hunter Jilo’s analysis, the deceased might be a Demon Hunter, possibly from the Lion faction."

"You mean, one of those four sewage workers was a Demon Hunter, already infiltrated Autumn Dusk Island?" The Town Mayor Vite turned pale.

Unlike Horn and his battle-hardened companions, Vite grew up being pampered and had never seen such a spectacle.

That’s a Demon Hunter, top hunters and assassins even capable of hunting witches and monsters.

Many of the Church’s enemies have died at the hands of Demon Hunters, even during the hundred-year war, there were cases of Vampire Princes being assassinated by Demon Hunters.

This small town on Autumn Dusk Island has fewer than 11,000 people, with only 55 Night Watchers and 25 gendarmes responsible for the most basic security and justice.

Only two to three Night Watchers stationed in each district, working shifts and enforcing curfews, with only two to four gendarmes stationed at Mansion Square and various important buildings.

After all, it’s located in deep mountainous marshland, hard to reach here.

To reach Autumn Dusk Island, one must first pass the layers of identity checks in Wild Spider Forest and Mayo Town.

Additionally, there are many active duty or retired War Monks on the island farming during their leave, with at least one legion of soldiers stationed in the city and countryside.

The Junior Generals aren’t as common as dogs, but Marshals are everywhere on Autumn Dusk Island, not just empty talk.

Yet with such security strength, these Demon Hunters still managed to bypass checks and enter, successfully killing four sewage workers!

Only now did he realize the town’s security forces were too small.

Unlike Vite’s panic, Horn remained calm.

Through his experiences with Jilo and Grush, he’d mostly demystified the Demon Hunter community.

In a relatively primitive world, how could such an advanced and organized entity arise?

If Demon Hunters had such organization and combat power, how could they still be in this barely-surviving dog-like state today?

Yet Horn didn’t want to underestimate them, as among the worst, Demon Hunters weren’t that rotten.

Pulling out a page from the brief, Horn confirmed with René: "This deceased Demon Hunter entered Autumn Dusk Island in July, right? And worked as a sewage worker for a month and a half?"

"Correct."

"Among the four sewage workers, one was a Demon Hunter, all died from electrocution, and the mysterious person seen might also be a Demon Hunter." Horn pondered for a while, "Could it be done by those Shaping Wizards on the island?"

"We questioned those Wizards skilled in lightning spells, after voluntarily drinking Veritaserum and undergoing hypnosis, the Mind Mage of White Mountain Hermitage interrogated them.

So far, they indeed had no intent or acts of murder.

Besides, they have no motive; if they intended to kill Demon Hunters mistakenly kill civilians, there’s no need for secrecy."

"Then how did this lightning come?" Vite suddenly exclaimed, "Could it be done by Her Highness Na?"

René, Raphael, and the others looked at the panicking Vite speechlessly, Na is a high-level Lightning Shaping Wizard, isn’t the previous reasoning still valid?

"Possibly, maybe it really has something to do with Na..." Silence reigned for a while, and Horn’s first words startled René and Raphael.

"Your Eminence, what are you saying? This can’t be related to Sister Jeanne." René hastily approached and whispered, "You want to take away Sister Jeanne’s military power, I have a better way..."

"What are you thinking?" Horn tapped René’s forehead, "Related to Na doesn’t mean it was done by Na."

Seeing everyone still unresponsive, Horn straightforwardly revealed, "Either there’s an outsider Lightning Shaping Wizard, or Autumn Dusk Island has a hidden... new follower of Na."

The people in the room suddenly understood.

Witch sickness has a latent period; even though Jeanne covers herself thoroughly outside, there are always some who slip through.

The question is why? Why would that new follower hide their identity?

Saint’s Grandson is known for his tolerance towards Wizards; what is he or she afraid of?

The room fell into silence once more, only the sound of Horn slowly sharpening a quill pen remained.

After preparing a pen and dipping it in ink, Horn wrote a series of dispatch orders on blank paper.

"Alright, let’s first lock down the news, preventing panic, Vite can handle this, right?"

"Raphael and René will both lead those White Mountain Hermitage Wizards, conduct secret investigations in two groups, one investigating the runaway Demon Hunter, the other investigating the killer; I will grant you search rights."

"Send this letter out, let Jilo accompany the new Kush Noble Youth to Autumn Dusk Island, strengthening checks during this period, don’t let any more suspicious individuals in."

"Yes, Your Eminence."

Watching them leave the study, Horn picked up the "Demon Hunter Storybook" again and sat back down beneath the windowsill, but he couldn’t focus.

Staring at the construction sites and new buildings by the riverside outside, Horn couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh, since Autumn Dusk Island’s opening, many rats have snuck in.

No way around it, open the windows and fresh air comes in, but so do the rats.