Chapter Twenty-Four: Linked Murder Cases

  When Joanie returned to the castle with a calm expression, the investigation had already concluded. It was basically confirmed that this bloody murder case was done by the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group.

  This was not the conclusion drawn from the fingerprint examination of the blood. The soldiers found two shops still open in the Artisan Quarter, one being the woodworking shop that Johnny had visited and the other being Vincent's scissors shop that Johnny had also visited.

  The body lay in the wood shop, its appearance gruesome to the extreme, as if it had been pierced by countless arrows, no longer resembling a human being. The old boss sat behind the counter, looking at the stunned soldiers with an expression of impatience: "What took you so long? Hurry up and get rid of this body, yesterday's incident must have something to do with him. Dammit, this little thief has caused me to reset my mechanism again."

  The soldiers looked around, saw the crossbow bolts deeply embedded in the walls, and shivered with fear. They hastily carried the corpses out of the shop. After hesitating for a moment, several more soldiers came in and politely helped the old man sweep the bloody floor clean before leaving with trepidation.

  The scene inside the barber shop was not as bloody. When the soldiers entered the seemingly open store to check, they found the boss sitting calmly behind the counter. Seeing the soldiers coming in, he just said a word: "Backyard." and then stopped talking, even completely ignoring their existence.

  The soldiers came to the backyard, where a corpse was lying. The corpse was still intact, with only a wound on its throat. However, this scene still shocked the ordinary soldiers. They carried the corpse and passed by the store, respectfully bidding farewell to the old boss, then hastily sent it back to the castle.

  Facing the two corpses, everyone was shocked. Who would have thought that there were still such two masters hidden in the market of this city? The owner of the wooden shop should be an excellent trap setter, a wandering expert at setting up traps. And the owner of the scissors shop... an assassin? No one could tell.

  The earl suddenly had the intention of recruiting, but immediately thought that the two had been hiding in the artisan district for many years, doing small business, and must have been disgusted with the days of fighting and killing, and could not be forced. So he focused on observing the corpse in front of him.

  Actually, without careful observation, when they took off their outer garments, it suddenly became clear that they were wearing black inner armor with the mark of a wild wolf.

  The Earl immediately ordered that the city gates be strictly guarded and a thorough search of the entire city be conducted. If they were still in the city, they would be found; if they had already left, measures would be taken to ensure they never returned!

  The streets were bustling again.

  When Odala saw Joni, who was calm and composed, standing in front of him, he was somewhat surprised. The young man who had been on the verge of collapse just yesterday had recovered overnight?

  "Master, I'm back." Johnny smiled and bowed.

  Can still laugh out? Even more surprising.

  Seeing Odala's confusion, Johnny shook his head and explained: "My parents are already dead, which is something that no one can change. If I sink into despair now, wouldn't it be a great disappointment to them?"

  Then his calm and smiling face began to distort: "Only the heads of their sworn enemies are the best offerings for them."

  Offerings? Odara found it a bit strange. Aren't offerings supposed to be made to the True God... Still, he understood what Jony meant.

  "It's fine if you can understand. However, you must remember not to let hatred blind your eyes, or it will only make you lose sight and even fail to achieve your goal of revenge." he reminded.

  "Yes, sir, I understand. Revenge is my goal, hatred isn't. To achieve this goal, I will put aside hatred and stay sober." Joanie bowed her head and said, "Excuse me, sir, but I saw soldiers on the street who seemed to be searching for something. Is there a lead now?"

  Audra nodded: "Indeed, it can be confirmed that the murderer is a member of the Wild Wolf Mercenary Group." Then, she informed Joanie about the two corpses.

  "Who would have thought that those two bosses were experts? No wonder they were so calm at the time." Joanie sighed, and then clenched her fist.

  Mercenary Corps of Wild Wolves!

  But not now.

  "Sir, I'm already a 7th-level warrior now, but I've found that I still have some issues in actual combat..." Jony began to talk about the problems of using dual-handed greatswords against other weapons.

  Audrey felt that this kid was getting more and more inscrutable. Logically, a normal sixteen-year-old boy should be clenching his fists and shouting slogans like "Wild Wolf Mercenary Group! I'll never let you go!", but the one in front of her just showed a slight emotional fluctuation before starting to focus on his combat skills.

  It's interesting. Odala thinks this kid has a promising future.

  Then the two of them threw themselves into intense training. Johnny no longer complained or grumbled. With Pastor there, he was not afraid of anything. Such good learning conditions, if he still loafed around like before, how could he face his parents who had died at the hands of thugs?

  Astrid also came to visit Joni, seeing that he didn't seem to have any depressing emotions, and was delighted for her friend. After encouraging him a bit, she made an appointment to tell stories after resting, and then skipped home - the wind outside was strong, and Eisatis dared not let his daughter venture out of the city again. And Astrid, although proud, also knew her own strength. Even her father had returned with serious injuries, let alone herself?

  Better stay at home and be honest.

  Five days later, under the strict inspection at the city gate, a large-scale manhunt was carried out inside the city, and a series of measures such as reporting strangers among residents were taken. As a result, several major trade associations' offices in Tabriz were bloodily suppressed.

  In just one night, the city of Tabriz was no longer prosperous, and merchants unanimously chose to detour. This city, which relied on trade, was on the verge of collapse.

  "Which of you can tell me how these bastards snuck in? Hmm?!". In the fourth floor of the castle, several members of the city defense team, who were responsible for guarding the city, hung their heads and listened to the usually gentle Earl venting his anger.

  "Gate checks, in-city investigations, and night patrols. Are they all useless? Five merchant guilds were slaughtered by the enemy overnight, and my army only received news on the second day?! Who was in charge of the patrol?! Davy Tanchis! You're relieved of duty starting now, go home and reflect on your actions! Dismissed!"

  The knight's descendant looked embarrassed, pounded his chest and bowed, then turned around and walked out of the room.

  "Let Odara lead the patrol. You go and investigate, if they can still infiltrate Tabriz City like this, then there's no need to fight this battle, I'll just send the ransom directly to the opponent!" Earl Delas slammed his fist on the desk, bringing a dull sound, just like the mood of the people present.

  On the other hand, Odala and Jony.

  "Are you appointing yourself as the leader of the patrol team? So there's no way we can continue training?" Johnny asked.

  "Yes, you too. This time's incident is a bit tricky, never heard of such a move before the battle. And we still don't know who our opponent is." Odara replied.

  In this era, there are only two types of wars. The first is to issue a challenge letter, gather troops, and have an open and fair battle. If you lose, you pay money; if you win, you receive money. As for whether it's a field battle or a siege, it's up to you. The other type is to hire assassins to kill the opposing general, but this would severely damage one's reputation, so few people use this method. As a noble, having no reputation is more terrifying than having no army.

  Attacks like this on trade routes, attacks on non-military targets... unheard of. The Wild Wolf Mercenaries may have a bad reputation, but I've never heard of them fighting like this. Who the hell is giving them such vicious orders from behind?

  That employer is also on Jony's revenge list.

  At this time, Joanie suddenly thought of something: "Sir, are you sure that the murderer won't be let go at the city gate?"

  Audrey nodded: "This can be confirmed, the entrance is the responsibility of those two brothers. Although they are not very good at being human, they are very serious about doing things. The guards hired by those merchant teams are all under Esa's surveillance, and there is no unusual movement."

  "Is the murderer still in the city?"

  "The problem is right here. We have records of all the people who came into town, and not one of them is missing, nor is there an extra one." Odara pointed out the strangest part of the whole thing.

  Jony nodded and confidently said to Odara: "Sir, please gather the troops, I think I know how they enter and exit the town."

  (First update. By the way, why doesn't anyone leave a message or comment...)

  The Full-Time Assistant