LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 20: Arrest
Chapter 20: Arrest
As they approached.
The group finally saw the state of the man and skeleton.
Wu Heng was fine, just a bit disheveled, but the skeleton beside him, wearing a round helmet, had five or six crossbow bolts sticking out of its chest plate, all of them piercing through its body.
Additionally, the skeleton was carrying a blood-soaked corpse over its shoulder.
This left everyone puzzled.
The crazed mob had used dynamite, but there hadn’t been any sign of crossbows.
If they had used crossbows, none of them would have made it out alive.
"Wu Heng, where did you go?" Karvina immediately asked.
"I hid in the village for a while. When I saw everything was calm outside, I came out," Wu Heng replied.
"Good to see you're okay," Ottoluck nodded, then turned his gaze to the corpse the skeleton was carrying. "Who’s that you’ve got there?"
"Put it down."
The skeleton dropped the corpse on the ground, and Wu Heng pulled back the face cover.
The others frowned as they looked at the corpse.
"Achido's butler," Wu Heng identified the body immediately.
With this reminder, everyone’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
They had just been discussing their suspicions about Achido but had no direct evidence.
Now, Wu Heng had returned with the body of Achido’s butler.
"What happened? Explain everything!" Ottoluck pressed further.
"After we were scattered, I ran west and happened to see a group of people coming out from behind the mine…."
Wu Heng then recounted everything he saw the previous night.
From spotting the sneaky group, the item they were carrying, to their attempt to kill him and how he managed to fight back.
He only omitted the part about using the skeleton horde, mentioning only the poison smoke grenade and the help of the skeleton Basen.
"You’re saying they took something from the back of the mine?" Pramon stepped forward.
"Yes, after the mob was completely drawn away, they took something."
Everyone's expressions darkened immediately.
Pramon’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.
Treating the investigation team like fools—Achido was the first to do so.
"Cut off the corpse’s head," Pramon ordered.
A soldier stepped forward, swung his blade, and decapitated the body, wrapping the head in a leather bag.
"Let's head back."
"They should have left their horses nearby. If we find them, we can return faster."
The investigation team’s horses had all died the previous night.
Walking back would waste more time, and Achido might send people to ambush them.
"Alright, spread out and search the area," Pramon ordered.
The team spread out and searched the surroundings, soon finding horses tethered in the woods.
The horses were far enough from the village that they hadn’t been disturbed.
Everyone mounted up and headed straight for the station.
Once they arrived at the station, they didn’t leave immediately.
Pramon mobilized the stationed troops and returned to Achido’s estate to arrest him.
……
The group marched grandly to the estate.
The estate’s defenses were no match for a city’s—iron gates, hollow and flimsy, were no defense against an army.
"Sir, this might not be proper. If you want to arrest someone, you need a warrant from the town hall," a guard said from behind the gate.
After the battle the previous night, Pramon had little patience for pleasantries.
With a kick, he slammed the iron gate open, shouting, "Anyone armed is a traitor and will be executed on the spot."
Swish, swish, swish!
At the moment the order was given, crossbows were drawn and aimed forward.
The estate guards, who had been about to speak, froze in place, not daring to move.
Carefully, they dropped their weapons to avoid being turned into pincushions.
Accusations of treason had been thrown, indicating that something big was happening here.
The estate guards dropped their weapons, and the soldiers quickly moved in to restrain them.
Pramon waved his hand again, leading the way to the main building.
As they reached the door, it swung open.
The mine owner, Achido, emerged, holding a package wrapped in yellowing cloth. Through the fabric, a ceramic jar covered in symbols could be seen.
Pramon glanced at Wu Heng, who gave a slight nod, confirming that this was what he had seen the previous night.
At the same time, Wu Heng noticed a faint aura of death emanating from the object Achido was holding.
"Achido, you know why we’re here, don’t you?" Pramon’s voice was cold, dripping with murderous intent.
"I know, and I’m willing to go with you. Just please don’t harm anyone else here," Achido said.
Heh!
Pramon sneered, "Now you say that—what about the villagers you killed?"
Soldiers stepped forward to restrain Achido and the others around him.
Pramon handed the deathly jar to Wu Heng without a second thought. "Keep an eye on this—don’t let anything happen to it."
Damn it!
Wu Heng cursed inwardly and quickly placed the jar into Skeleton Basen’s hands before following the team as they took Achido and the others away.
……
On the return train.
The soldiers and the adventurer team kept their distance from each other.
Skeleton Basen stood at the far end of the carriage, holding the jar.
Wu Heng and the others sat on the opposite side, maintaining some distance.
"Captain, tell me about the Adventurer’s Guild!" Wu Heng asked.
Having just joined, he really didn’t know much about the organization.
His reason for joining was simply to have a legitimate identity.
"Sure, let me tell you about the guild’s structure," Captain Ottoluck began. "The Adventurer’s Guild is the organization’s umbrella term, not just for teams like ours that go on missions. There are many other branches."
"We’re called ‘Field Agents,’ stationed in various branches to carry out tasks, assist in rescuing guild members. There are also branches like the ‘Scholars Guild,’ ‘Seekers,’ and ‘Whispers,’ among others."
"The Scholars Guild mainly consists of scholars and adventurers with a strong thirst for knowledge."
"The Seekers focus on exploration and adventure, mainly consisting of rangers and thieves."
"Then there are the Whispers—they specialize in gathering all sorts of information, from old kingdom affairs to noble scandals or hidden folk tales. They aim to collect it all."
Listening, Wu Heng understood the concept.
The Adventurer’s Guild was like a school, where everyone was a student, but there were different clubs within the school.
If you liked studying, you joined the Scholars Guild. If you liked adventure, you went with the Seekers. If you were into gossip, you joined the Whispers.
But no matter how the groups were divided, you were still a member of the Adventurer’s Guild.
The system seemed well-organized.
Karvina chimed in, "Don’t get too close to the Whispers. If they get curious about you, it’s a real headache. You wouldn’t want your secrets stored in their archives, would you?"
Damn!
Hearing that, Wu Heng instantly felt like his personal information was being exposed for the whole world to see.
"Uh, does Blackstone Town have any Whisper members?" Wu Heng asked.
"Yes, Lady ‘Slette’ of the Golden Panther," Karvina replied.