章 159: Chapter 159: The Entire City of Beckland is Searching for the Followers of the Stars
Chapter 159: The Entire City of Beckland is Searching for the Followers of the Stars
Beckland.
Deep into the night, in a small alley on the streets of the eastern district, filthy water flowed across the ground, amidst randomly discarded trash, exuding a foul stench.
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
Two consecutive screams disturbed the nearby residents, already deep in slumber, as well as a drunkard who happened to be passing by the alley.
The miserable cries, as if someone was undergoing torture, made the already dark and deep alley seem even more mysterious and terrifying.
The nearby residents chose to call the police. After about two hours, the police station, less than 1000 meters away, dispatched two officers to investigate.
With a baton hanging at their waist, a gun in the right hand, and a flashlight in the left, they grumbled, "Why aren't people sleeping in the middle of the night? What's the point of calling the police? Can't it wait until tomorrow?"
Despite their complaints, they had arrived and naturally needed to report back to their superiors.
Quickly, they delved deeper into the alley, near a trash bin, where a strong scent of blood wafted through the air. The light swept over, revealing fresh blood trickling from two mangled bodies.
The most nauseating sight was the chests of the two bodies, torn open with their intestines, liver, lungs, and other organs extracted.
The faces of the deceased, eyes wide open, were frozen in terror.
The two officers, fighting back the urge to vomit, surveyed the scene for a moment before running out of the alley and returning to the police station to report to their superiors.
As for securing the crime scene?
No one wanted to stay in that haunted place.
…
The next day, Hugh, holding a newspaper with an air of mystery, entered fors' bedroom.
"There's been an incident. Last night, two bodies were found in the eastern district, and the manner of death was simply too gruesome to bear."
As Hugh spoke, he handed the newspaper to fors.
fors, curious, asked, "Isn't Beckland a place where people often die? Why are you so particularly concerned about this case today?"
"Do you remember the last time I told you about Mr. A offering a reward for finding the apostles of the stars? These two were brutally killed by Mr. A's men for falsely reporting information to claim the reward."
Hugh's face showed a trace of fear. She had briefly entertained the idea herself but quickly dismissed it, realizing it was unwise to offend someone like Mr. A.
If she hadn't resisted the temptation, she would have been the one dead last night.
After reading the newspaper, fors grew even more curious, "The paper doesn't mention who the killer is. How do you know those two were killed by Mr. A's subordinates?"
"Because Mr. A himself spread the word, saying it was a warning to everyone."
"Oh."
fors nodded slightly, feeling a bit uneasy. The crazier Mr. A became, the more frightened she was.
"Sigh, I wonder where those followers of the stars are hiding. Otherwise, I could have claimed a huge reward."
fors thought for a moment and said, "I think this reward is quite terrifying. You should just give up on it."
"Mm, I've indeed given up. Let fate decide."
"??"
fors looked puzzled at Hugh, who just smiled and said, "Now, all the wild extraordinaries in Beckland are basically aware of Mr. A's reward for finding the followers of the stars. I reckon official organizations have also begun investigating these so-called followers of the stars. The competition is too fierce; I doubt there's any hope left."
"Ah?"
fors' complexion changed slightly. Was the matter already so widely known? Then wouldn't all the extraordinaries in Beckland be searching for her?
"fors, what's wrong? You look a bit pale."
"No, nothing. I'm just curious why Mr. A would make such a big fuss over this."
Hugh explained as if it were obvious, "Of course, it's because he can't find the so-called followers of the stars, so he's taken a more indirect approach. Hmm, Mr. A is truly mad. I'll have to be more careful in the future and try not to come into contact with him."
"I see."
fors finally breathed a sigh of relief.
…
At the Brave's Bar.
Inside the billiard room, Maric and Hasturwere playing pool.
Hasturwasn't particularly skilled at the sport, but with his barbarian physique and a bit of luck, he was holding his own against Maric.
Mainly because Maric's level was rather average.
As Maric potted the final ball, securing the victory, his face was full of smug satisfaction, and he lifted his chin slightly, "Hasta, you need more practice in this area."
Hastur Just smiled silently. He had intentionally missed a few shots, giving Maric the chance to catch up and win the game.
It was a form of bribery.
Intentionally showing one's weaknesses to highlight the other's strengths, making them feel honored without embarrassment, thus achieving the purpose of bribery. For example, when a minister plays chess with the emperor, the minister can match the emperor move for move at first. But at a critical step, he deliberately makes a wrong move, allowing the emperor to turn the tables.
After winning, the emperor is delighted and even points out where the minister went wrong, suggesting that if the minister had played elsewhere, he might have lost.
The minister naturally shows a face full of regret, as if enlightened, and then lavishly praises the emperor.
This is the wisdom of five thousand years.
Maric, unaware of this tactic, was simply happy about winning the game.
Hastur Thought this situation was good. Maric was happy about winning the game, and Hastur Took the opportunity to aid the digestion of his potion.
Pleased with himself, Maric looked at Hastur With satisfaction, thinking he should play a few more games with Hastur In the future.
"Shall we play a few more rounds? This time I'm going to raise the stakes and win back the 20 gold pounds I lost."
Hasturtook the initiative to invite, having successfully bribed Maric, he didn't mind letting Maric experience what cruelty was.
"Don't be sore, be careful you might lose even more this time."
Maric, full of pride, laughed and accepted Hasta's challenge.
Then, Maric lost three games in a row, his face blank, staring at his cue stick, thinking it must be a problem with his cue that allowed Hastur To win three games in a row.
"Sometimes reality is this cruel, Maric. You need to learn to accept it."
"…"
Maric put down his cue stick and sat sullenly drinking, while Hasturpoured himself a drink and happily sipped away.
After a few drinks, Maric was ready to let go of his recent defeat when Sharon's voice floated over.
"The reason you won just now is that he let you."
This sentence made both Maric and Hasturfreeze.
"It seems he has a kind of wicked taste, enjoying watching you get carried away with pride before being brutally defeated."
Sharon came to an empty seat on Hasta's right and added another jab.
"Hasta!"
Maric stood up, his gaze hostile as he stared at Hasta, ready to start a fight at any moment.
"Cough, don't listen to Sharon's nonsense. You won just now because of your own strength, not because I let you." Hasturquickly defended himself.
"You bribed Maric just now, didn't you?" Sharon's words knocked Hasturoff his feet.
"…Sharon, when did you get here?" Hasta, seeing trouble, quickly changed the subject.
"Hehe, Hasta, I think we need to have a serious talk."
Maric put his arm around Hasta's shoulder and walked to a room on the side, followed by a dozen living corpses.
Bang bang bang! After a fierce collision, Hasturand Maric returned to the billiard room.
A little different from before, both had some bruises on their faces.
"The punch of a barbarian is really heavy." Maric commented, rubbing his nose.
"To actually gang up, Maric, you really have no sense of martial ethics."
Hastur Was resentful about the fight. Under the premise of not using extraordinary powers, he was dominating Maric, but he couldn't stand the sheer number of Maric's living corpses.
After the interlude, Maric brought up the serious matter of the night.
"Recently, many people in Beckland have been searching for the followers of the stars, causing over a dozen tragedies. Several extraordinaries with considerable strength have died because of this."
Hastur Frowned slightly, "Has the situation really gotten this bad?"
"There are quite a few people hiding behind the scenes, fanning the flames. They deliberately incite killings to amplify the impact of this matter."
"Aren't they afraid of being targeted by official institutions and the Church of the True Gods?"
"The seven Churches of the True Gods have also issued huge rewards in response to the escalation of this matter, likewise to find the followers of the stars."
Hasturchuckled, "I really don't understand what kind of magic the followers of the stars have that attracts so much attention."
Maric said gravely, "Sharon and I had received this commission before the incident, but it was later canceled."
Hastur Thought for a moment and realized that the commission Maric and Sharon had received came from Bernadette.
The reason for the cancellation was that Bernadette herself was a bona fide follower of the stars.
"These messy things shouldn
"…These messy things shouldn't concern me, right?" Hasturasked, puzzled by Maric and Sharon's seriousness. Had they noticed something?
Maric's expression turned grave. "Originally, it had nothing to do with you. But recently, we've discovered someone secretly collecting information about you."
(End of chapter)
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