Chapter 467: The First Vicious Murder in the Papal States

"How many died?"

Sitting in front of the carved windowsill, Horn put down the "Witcher Tales" in his hand, sighed lightly, and sat back at the desk.

I've only had a two-hour break and haven't even had lunch yet, but I'm already back to work.

This is the first vicious murder case since the establishment of Qiumu Island.

Horn knew that with so many people showing up, something like this would happen sooner or later, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon.

"Four sewage workers, two beastmen, and two humans, all from other places." Rafael pushed a briefing in front of Horn. Behind him, Witt held his hat to his chest, anxiously waiting for something.

These four people were the second group of residents who migrated after the port was opened in May 1445, which are the outsiders mentioned by Rafael.

Although the so-called "locals" arrived only half a year earlier than the "outsiders", they are considered old players after all.

In the most difficult times, they stood with the Holy Sun and felt superior to him.

Internal security should have been the job of night watchmen and gendarmes, but when Horn saw the head of the Cheka, René, standing nearby, he knew it couldn't be easy.

"Has the mysterious masked man been caught?" Horn flipped through a few pages and asked casually without looking up, "Are you sure he is the murderer?"

"Captains Brune and Rudilot were there at the time. They chased him for a while, but he finally got away. However, he was hit in the arm and back by lead bullets and was seriously injured."

Rafe paused. "We believe that although the masked man attacked the witnesses, he may not be the actual murderer."

"why?"

"The witch doctor performed autopsies on the four victims. They did not die from sword wounds, but from electric shocks..."

"Electric shock?" Horne raised his head sharply. "You mean lightning? They were killed by lightning?"

"The internal organs were almost half-cooked," René added. "The witch doctors also said that one of the men had a strange internal organ abnormality, and his heart was 30 to 50 percent larger than that of an average person."

"The organs are deformed? Is he a wizard?" Horn frowned. A wizard without a registered identity appeared in the territory?

"No, wizards' abnormalities rarely involve internal organs, but instead focus on the senses and body control.

According to the analysis of our Cheka instructor, former witcher Jilo, the deceased may be a witcher, and most likely a Lion Faction. "

"You mean, one of the four sewage workers is a witcher, and a witcher has already sneaked into Autumn Dusk Island?" Mayor Witt's face turned pale.

Unlike Horn and his gang of old idiots who are used to seeing bloody battlefields, Witt can be said to have grown up in a honey pot and has never seen such a scene.

That's a demon hunter, a top hunter and assassin who can hunt down witches and monsters.

Many enemies of the church died from assassinations by witchers. During the Hundred Years' War, there was even a case where a vampire prince was assassinated by a witcher.

This small town on Qiumu Island has a total population of less than 11000 people, with only 55 night watchmen and 25 gendarmes responsible for the most basic public security and justice.

There are only two to three night watchmen stationed in each block, working in shifts day and night and enforcing a curfew. There are only two to four gendarmes assigned to stand guard in the official residence square and various important buildings.

After all, this place is located in deep mountains and swamps, and it is difficult to pass through.

If you want to reach Autumn Dusk Island, you must first go through the layers of checkpoints in the Wild Spider Forest and Mayo Town to verify your identity.

In addition, there were many war monks on the island who were on leave from service or retired to farm, and there was at least a legion of soldiers stationed in the city and the countryside.

The young generals are no better than dogs, and the marshals walking all over Autumn Dusk Island are not empty words. But with such security strength, this group of demon hunters were able to pass through layers of inspections and even successfully killed four sewage workers!
It was not until this time that he realized that the town’s law enforcement force was too small.

Unlike Witt's panic, Horn was calm and composed.

Through Gilo and Grush, he basically completed the demystification of the demon hunter community.

This is a world with a relatively low level of civilization. How could it be possible for such a strict organization that is so far ahead of the level of civilization to give birth to such a strict organization?

If the demon hunters could have such a level of organization and combat effectiveness, how could they still be in their current state of being half-alive and half-dead lackeys?

Horn didn't want to underestimate them, because compared to the worst, the witchers were not that bad.

Taking a page from the briefing, Horn and René confirmed: "This dead demon hunter entered Autumn Sunset Island in July, right? And he worked as a sewage worker for a whole month and a half?"

"Correct."

"Among the four sewage workers, one was a demon hunter. They all died of electric shock. The mysterious man who appeared at the scene might also be a demon hunter." Horn was silent for a while. "Could it be those energy-shaping wizards on the island who did it?"

“We went to question those wizards who cast lightning spells. After they voluntarily drank the truth serum potion and accepted hypnosis, the psychic wizards of the White Mountain Hermitage interrogated them.

So far, they have indeed had no behavior or intention to kill.

And they have no motive for this. If they accidentally killed an ordinary person in order to kill the demon hunter, there is no need for them to hide it."

"Then where did this lightning come from?" Witt suddenly exclaimed, "Could it be that Her Highness Jeanna did it?"

René, Rafael and others looked at the flustered Witt in silence. Jeanne is simply a high-end version of the Lightning Shaper Wizard. Aren’t the previous reasons the same and applicable?
"Maybe, maybe it really is related to Jeanne..." After a long silence, Horn's first words scared René and Rafael.

"Your Majesty, what are you talking about? This can't be related to Sister Jeanne." René hurriedly stepped forward and whispered, "You want to deprive Sister Jeanne of her military power, but I have a better way..."

"What are you thinking?" Horn reached out and tapped René on the forehead. "Just because it's related to Jeanne doesn't mean Jeanne did it."

Seeing that no one had reacted, Horn simply pointed it out: "Either there is an external lightning-shaping wizard, or a new follower of Jeanna has appeared in Autumn Dusk Island."

The people in the room suddenly realized what was going on.

The witch's disease has an incubation period. Even though Jeanna always wraps herself tightly when she goes out, there are always some who slip through the net.

The question is why? Why did the new follower hide his identity?
The Saint's tolerance towards wizards is obvious to all. What is he or she afraid of?
The room fell silent again, with only the sound of Horn slowly sharpening his quill.

After sharpening a quill pen and dipping it in ink, Horn wrote a series of transfer orders on a piece of white paper.

"How about this, block the news first and don't cause panic. Can you handle this matter for Witt?"

"Rafael and René, take the wizards of the White Mountain Hermitage and conduct a secret investigation. Divide into two groups, one to investigate the escaped demon hunter, and the other to investigate the murderer. I will grant you search rights."

"Send this letter and have Ji Luo go to Qiumu Island with the newly enrolled Kush noble youths. During this period, we will strengthen the inspection and prevent other suspicious persons from coming in."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Watching these groups of people leave the study, Horn picked up the "Witcher Tales" and sat back under the windowsill, but he couldn't continue reading.

Looking at the construction sites and new buildings along the river outside the window, Horn couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. Since the opening of Autumn Island, a lot of rats have sneaked in.

There is no way. If the window is opened, fresh air will come in, but mice will also sneak in.

(End of this chapter)