Calder was rushing to the manor, and deputy Cathy had returned from investigating the news. He held a newspaper and unfolded the news page with an ugly expression.
"The market warehouse was looted and twenty-one people died"
"Kton is dead," said Goldenbeard.
"died?"
"In an alley behind the warehouse, the entire caravan was slaughtered. I only recognized the head of the lone adventurer. The bodies of the others were all mutilated. I was able to identify them based on the goods on the ground."
Calder rubbed his chin, a gesture he liked to do when he was thinking. But if he is anxious, he will not do any small actions. Now adventurers are less concerned about Keton's safety, but more concerned about the reputation of the mercenary group.
"We should terminate the escort agreement with the caravan today." His eyes scanned the bloody killing fields in the newspaper, and he was a little unsure. "Keton should have spread the news. But this matter was in the newspapers. Please tell me why. It can't be because the circumstances of their deaths are relatively abstract, right?"
"It doesn't look like it was done by humans, but more like beasts or monsters. But businessmen are not just ordinary people, let alone that guy Marcus. He is a level adventurer. Ordinary monsters can only give He gave away gold coins.”
"Where's Jaice?"
"He's doing fine. There's no mention of this old poisonous snake in the news. Sooner or later he'll have to swallow his own tail."
"This is really ugly, and Jaice is not a fool." The adventurer shook his head, "The last place where Keton appeared must be the Lancoste family's manor. Let's ask Jaice to find out the situation. Whether it's the nobles killing people and silencing them, , or Keton has offended someone he can’t afford to offend, we must do our duty.”
Golden-bearded Kaixi hesitated: "Maybe it has something to do with the Paladin."
"Then we have to go and have a look." Calder pulled the reins, his expression unchanged. His helmet sat on his head and his fingers were wrapped in black leather gloves. The taste of ale had disappeared from his body, and Cai Xi could only feel the greasy and spicy taste in his mouth.
The sound of horse hooves sounded, going against the flow of people, and disappeared until they reached the iron gate of Lancoste's manor. The morning sun is not scorching, and through the obstacles of cold wind and heavy stone barriers, it only adds to the chill when it falls on people.
"Keton? Who is that?"
Calder's face was not very good-looking. A fat man sat opposite him, with an unpredictable and wary look on his fat face that was half-smile but not a smile. The Chief Financial and Commercial Manager of the Ice Territory wears a shoulder strap studded with turquoise and beeswax, with a huge golden-green cat's eye hanging on his chest; he wears rings on all ten fingers, and his collar is embroidered with silver thread. Noble emblems must always be embellished with gold pieces.
"A cotton merchant from the Northern Kingdoms. Yesterday, the Paladins of the Glorious Council detained their goods. This is unreasonable, Lord Steward. You don't have the tax to collect the goods that the Paladins withheld for no reason."
"That northerner." Jais was stunned at first, then he turned the quill in his hand and said very kindly: "You are right, Captain Calder, but the account cannot be settled like this. The Paladin only When the things are delivered to the market warehouse, you can't use the ladder to transport the goods back to Zangwill, right? Why does the Radiance Council want those northern goods? Collection of taxes is a legal requirement of the kingdom, and of course confiscated goods are also required."
The adventurer was a little surprised for a moment: "Then you mean that you will not return the goods but also collect taxes from the caravan?"
"This is the law of the kingdom. I just act according to the rules. Wineworth is not rich to begin with. If I want to reduce the regular income of the Ice Territory because of a foreigner, it will really tarnish the honor of the Lancoste family."
Jaice's fatness covered his eyes.
"Kedon is dead and torn into pieces." Calder said coldly, "You can only go to hell to collect money from him."
"What a pity." The fat man said with regret.
"What's even more unfortunate is that the last place he visited before his death was Lancaster Manor." Calder slapped the newspaper in front of the treasurer, his armor making a sound.
The smile suddenly disappeared from Jay's round face.
"Gaia! Did they encounter a beast?"
"If the city defense team didn't go drinking and looking for women, you could have asked them what beasts could leap over the city walls and still lurk in the city."
"Perhaps poor Mr. Cotton has offended someone——"
"He is a foreigner, Lord Jaice, and I know that the only enemy he may have is you."
The fat steward was furious. "This is a frame-up! It's so bad! Who dares to frame a member of the Lancaster family in Wineworth? Who dares to be so outrageous?"
"Perhaps they are a group of ferocious beasts that can both fly and lurk in the city. They don't have to pay taxes and are not afraid of nooses. But now they can't hide. Rumors of Mr. Cotton and his caravans are spreading in the streets. A strange way to die.”
"Damn, what do you want to know?"
"As a mercenary who has taken over the escort mission, you should know, for example, what the relationship between that batch of goods and the Paladin is."
…
The door opened and closed, and Calder felt himself exhausted both mentally and physically. "The Paladin asked Keton to take stock of his goods, and he led them away from the manor."
Kathy stroked his mustache. He really felt that he might be drunk, or that the truth was so incredible. "What's in Keton's cargo?"
"Whatever he has. The boss is dead, then we must find the murderer." The adventurer walked out of the corridor quickly and was about to get on his horse. Suddenly, he saw the main entrance of the castle wide open, and a holy knight in silver knight armor and a white-robed priest were waiting outside. He was stunned for a moment, then turned back and put the reins into Kaixi's hand.
"Captain?"
"The mystery will be revealed soon. Just wait here for me to come back. I hope there are still a few oranges left in that shipment."
"Don't get excited my captain, maybe Jiaaisi didn't tell the truth..."
"But we saw the Paladin taking away the goods yesterday, huh? It's always right to ask them."
Kaixi pressed his hat and said, "Gaia, please promise not to ask questions with your fists."
Calder felt that he was too verbose, so he slapped his deputy on the shoulder: "The Knox Mercenary Group never bullies the weak and is never unreasonable. But our reputation must be maintained. This is the bottom line."
…
Lemons never thought that there would be goods from his greedy merchants, and he would even kill people and silence them. After the mercenary in front of him told the whole story, he was speechless for a moment. The Knight Commander thought that the story he was listening to was just a bit evil in its meaning.
"Such an accusation is baseless. We have only arrived at Whinneyworth today," Arabella said without him speaking. "It's normal for people in Venevoise to be biased against the council, but it's been so long and I hope people will be sensible about the council's help."
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
This kind of surprise was not what Lemons wanted at all. He was more surprised than hearing a joke about a Paladin robbing a caravan. If you want to say how inappropriate the words of the Priestess are, then this is almost second only to straightforward cynicism.
Calder had a stern look on his face. He originally planned to believe her words: "If the Glorious Council sent a polite, mature and stable envoy who was not biased against Winnie Watts, people would be more respectful. So pretending You will get more satisfaction when you accept alms and express gratitude, my lady."
Arabella tightened her grip on the horse's reins, "Adventurer, I don't want to find superiority over others! In fact, you are insulting a council priest and questioning the justice of the demon hunting movement-"
"That's enough, Arabella, don't say unnecessary words." Lemons stopped his new priestess before the argument could get heated. He dismounted and said sincerely to Knox's mercenary leader: "Adventurer, please allow me to apologize for my companion's inappropriate words. She is still young and does not know how to behave."
Arabella had no choice but to keep her mouth shut.
As the leader of the Holy Knights of the Glorious Council, Lemmons would certainly not be as naive as the young Priestess. His attitude made the adventurer unwilling to entangle any more, so he went straight to the topic: "I don't want to discuss the tutoring of young people, Lord Knight. I just want to know which knight handled the goods of merchant Keton."
"No, no one." The Knight Commander replied without hesitation, "Lucia's Paladins would not do such a thing."
"I know you will never." Calder glanced at the Priestess, "But not everyone has such noble qualities as you."
The white-robed priest looked indifferent and said nothing.
But Arabella was not fooled, and Lemons became serious. "Only the most devout and self-disciplined believers can become paladins and adventurers. The servants of the God of Light are knights personally selected by the crown prince, and the honor of the knight cannot be tarnished. This is the only thing you need to know."
He drew his sword. As the paladin captain, Lemmons holds a special half-hand sword in his hand, with the steel blade flowing with the brilliance of the sun. The dark spine of the sword has a gradient color, and the blade turns pale to pure silver. The weighted ball behind the handle is a gold crystal, with star mist flowing inside.
An extremely sacred magic power gathers in the air. It is an unattainable mystery at the ring level——
"This sword has not been baptized and cannot be used in duels." Priestess reminded, she glanced at the adventurer worriedly.
"I am fighting to restore the honor of my comrades, not a formal duel." Lemons pointed the knight sword at Calder, "Adventurer, I hope you can respect Lucia's devotees, both in your words and in your heart. .”
"I want to maintain the credibility of the Knox Mercenary Group, even if it means offending Lucia's devotees."
Calder responded in kind.
