Chapter 758

Chapter 22 Tracking Part 2

What were they talking about…

The Third Knight Order… Revolt? Couldn’t withstand the temptation of the demons?

Those iron-blooded men who survived the battlefield were actually all beheaded last year…

What kind of joke is this.

My head was in a mess, still subconsciously doubting what I had heard. It was just idle talk from two strangers, and I happened to overhear it, but most gossip in this world isn’t to be taken seriously. Perhaps the story had been exaggerated through hearsay, turning into the worst version…

But such thoughts might not even convince myself. As I thought, I tiptoed to the wall and pressed my ear against the old, mottled wall to listen carefully to their conversation.

“What business…”

Someone asked, the voice sounded like the man who came upstairs later. Then another person replied, “Capturing people.”

“Capturing people?”

“Yes, dead or alive, no need to leave a corpse, as long as there’s a head.”

“You’re joking with me…”

“One head, ten gold coins.”

“…”

After these words were spoken, the room next door suddenly fell silent for a while.

I heard the sound of a wine glass hitting the cabinet, thump, thump, thump… After a few times, that person continued speaking.

“Surprised, excited, right? But this is the price they offered, a deal that would drive the whole city mad—fortunately, they don’t plan on letting too many people know about this.”

“They… are?”

The man’s voice was somewhat puzzled, yet in his confusion, one could detect a hint of understanding, as if he already figured something out when he asked.

The other person did not immediately answer this question; instead, he changed the subject: “Those members of the Third Knight Order who were seduced by demons… were beheaded last year, their heads buried together in the mountain stream south of the city.”

“I know this…”

“Not only you know, but everyone in the city knows this—from the nobles in the castle to the rats in the sewers. But they don’t know that not all members of the Third Knight Order died; some managed to escape during the chaos last year… This news was supposedly suppressed to avoid causing panic.”

“The Church Knights who were seduced by demons and turned into rebels… Some of them fled to neighboring cities, but they were quickly caught. Others ran into the wilderness, deep into Penzance Gorge, making them harder to find. It’s said that some are still at large…”

“This year, it seems the Holy City has issued a strict order to find all of them by August and torture them… The order was apparently directly given to the Second Knight Order, but those people aren’t very willing to take on such an unpleasant task… You know, those guys are better at enjoying themselves…”

“Where did you hear these rumors…”

“…Of course, I bought them. Let me finish. They later issued a bounty… The bounty wasn’t openly declared, some things can’t see the light of day… I’m telling you, Vestro, have you heard of a civilian organization called ‘The Praxis Society’?”

“…Yes.”

“At the end of 87, the so-called ‘Praxis Society’ was just a group of… vagrants who formed under the pretense of opposing the Williams family’s secrets… mostly vagrants, basically a bunch of unsavory characters. After the Williams family collapsed, we thought such an organization would soon disband, huh! Guess what? The information I bought on the black market was released by these people… gulp… gulp… Ha! This wine is really smooth…”

The speaker paused, and I heard the sound of a wine glass being put down.

“Let me tell you, someone from the Second Knight Order handed over the bounty mission to the ‘Praxis Society.’ Then, they only spread the word in the black market… you know, that place where private jobs are done. You may not be familiar with it, but you know it’s a dirty place full of filthy rats…”

“What do rats excel at? Of course, they’re good at sniffing out food hidden in the sewers… I have acquaintances there…”

“Familiar one, listen. The information I bought from him.”

“What information…”

“The story is a bit complicated… If you’re interested, I’ll tell you slowly on the way. In short… cough cough.”

The man cleared his throat, sounding somewhat excited. “Those who fled to the Penzance Canyon are none of our concern for now. We have another target tonight. I’m telling you, Vestlo, you and I, we’re going to meet two friends later. One of them later joined the Action Guild and has been good friends with me for many years. I bought the information from him, and after that, we agreed to cooperate to catch a few people hiding in the city… If you agree, the operation will be tonight.”

“… What?”

The man named Vestlo seemed surprised, and after a brief silence, he spoke again. “Wait, I didn’t quite understand… You mean tonight? That means—”

“Haha! You guessed right, Vestlo.”

Another voice interjected, though trying to keep his voice low, the excitement was evident. “Listen, they still have people hidden in the city, hidden all along in the city, perhaps for a whole year! No one discovered it, no one at all… But recently, by chance, my old friend found out about it. He sold me the information, and now I’m telling you, apart from us, no one else knows this…”

“Do you get what I mean? Three people! Three! Thirty gold coins! Otherwise, my friend wouldn’t have sold me the information. As long as we act under the cover of night, we can collect the reward ourselves!”

“Shh! Can your voice be any louder…”

“Vestlo, Vestlo! I’ve told you the information. My old friend is waiting outside the city now. They’re ready to move anytime. How about it? If you agree, we can pack up and head over right away. The news spreads quickly in the black market; we can’t let others get ahead of us…”

Clatter went the sound of things overturning. The man named Vestlo spoke again, his voice still hesitant. “Wait, wait, let me think about it…”

“Think about what? Thirty gold coins! Thirty whole coins! Vestlo, have you ever seen so much money?”

“…”

“I know what you’re worried about, but please consider your wife and daughter. Think about how they live!”

“As members of the Warhammer Army, we guard this seemingly glorious yet filthy city, living off scraps every day, not even enough wine to drink! Gulp… Gulp… Damn it, I may not be very smart or good at math, but I understand what thirty gold coins mean!”

Crash went the sound of a cup shattering.

“… Are you sure we can get the money?”

“Of course! As long as we successfully take those three heads… I’ve already made arrangements with my two old friends. We handle the operation, and after success, we give them ten coins and split the remaining twenty equally, ten each… Let’s see, it’s enough for us to enjoy for how many days, hmm? Let’s go—”

They started toward the door, their footsteps urgent. “Change clothes, bring your sword… We’re going to make a big score together.”

“You… Sigh…”

After a complex sigh, the sound of a door being violently pushed open followed. The two men moved swiftly, crossing the corridor in seconds and heading downstairs.

They were leaving…

I reacted instantly, securing my waist pouch and tightening my cloak. I waited alone in the room until the sound of footsteps faded before making a move. Instead of rushing down the stairs, I turned and leaned against the shadow by the window, peering out cautiously.

Soon, I saw two burly men rush out of the tavern and onto the street.

… It was these two.

I leaped, stepping onto the windowsill, and quickly climbed onto the roof, keeping my eyes on the two men as they hurried away. I crouched slightly and followed them silently.