Chapter 745: Bismarck

Erwins home was located at the rich zone of Yothur City where most of the biggest buildings and high-cla.s.s gathered.

It was a 4-story apartment, and Erwin owned the top floor. The busy street below the building was called Marcel District. Both ends of the street had a statue of a crouching man with wings behind his back. Most people who entered the street would remove their hats and pay respect.

The statue is Marcel. Rumors say that hes some herald of heaven who descended upon Aureum and civilized the initial tribes into the city you see now. Tulu carried some hot water onto the balcony where Angor was inspecting the mortal city with a curious look.

So you dont believe that rumor, I take it?

Who will? Dont mind those people bowing and kneeling to the statues. Its kind of a rule around here. The royal court of Aureum believes the story, then the n.o.bles follow them. They made up family t.i.tles after Marcel and built his statues everywhere just to show their loyalty to their ruler. Next, traders and common citizens who wish to join their rank also copied their ways. Tulu rolled his eyes. Most of them never believed this sh*t. Seriously, maybe even the current king of Aureum pretended it.

I dont know about the others, but Im sure the king trusts the legend, said Angor.

Er, whys that, sir?

I sense supernatural energy coming from the statues. Maybe a wizard placed them around the nation to gather the power of faith. And since the rulers allowed this wizard to spread the religion

The power of faith? You-you can collect that?

Of course you can. There are demons from Abyss Plane who absolutely love such a thing.

Tulu knew about demons since the basic knowledge told by Angor included foreign plane and their relations.h.i.+ps with the wizarding world.

You mean Marcel did some business with demons? So he wasnt a herald of heaven, but the Abyss?

Nah, we dont know yet. Judging from their conditions, the statues had been left in the city for centuries, and nothing bad happened here, right? Maybe its only a curious wizard who built them.

Angor then entered the room and put the matter behind. Even if a demon from Abyss was plotting something in the city, it had nothing to do with him.

The fourth floor of the apartment had a dozen rooms, all belonged to Erwin. Usually, he and Tulu lived here when they were off-work.

Erwin arranged a relatively small room for Angor, but this one had two balconies that allowed Angor to look at Marcel District and a serene park on the other side.

Although whatever Erwin would like to achieve didnt work out since Angor wasnt planning on spending much time enjoying the view. He was only briefly interested in the statues of Marcel upon his first arrival, after which he never used the balconies.

The next day, he became a complete shut-in who did nothing other than studying Empty Ballad in his room.

During noontime on the third day, Erwin returned to the department with a depressed look and went to look for Angor.

Mister Padt, Ive shown the proof to the inspector, and he wants to meet you in person.

Meet me?

Angor would like to refuse and continue with his work, but on second thought, he decided to provide a little bit more help since the faithful captain did help him reach Ferran.

Alright. Lead the way.

Erwin quickly arranged a carriage that would take them to the office department of the White Clam a.s.sociation.

Oh, sir, about that matter you asked to check I still need more time to confirm the details, Erwin whispered while on their way.

Just do your best. Dont worry if you cant find anything.

Their vehicle arrived at the destination almost at nightfall since the office was pretty far from Erwins place.

Angor was asked to go into a guest room where he met with the inspector in private.

However, it wasnt the uniformed man he saw at the port. Instead, he was welcomed by a bald and bulky guy named Bismarck.

Its an honor to see you, Mister Padt.

They spent a brief moment exchanging formalities.

I heard that you wield brilliant illusion skills, Mister Padt, and right now, I cannot ascertain whether the proof filmed in the crystal ball is an illusion, so we need you to help us confirm the evidence.

My help? Angor was a bit annoyed since what Bismarck said sounded slightly offensive. What should I do exactly, Mister Bismarck?

The a.s.sociation sent an expert whos on his way. I hope Mister Padt can stay at Yothur City in the meantime. When he arrives, you can talk about this matter. Bismarck looked more respectful when talking about their expert.

Both Bismarck and Angor were level-3 apprentices, so they maintained basic manners while talking to each other. By this, Angor a.s.sumed that this expert might be a wizard.

How long am I supposed to stay? Several days or months? Angor looked at Bismarck in the eyes.

He departed not long ago, but it wont take him too long to reach here since he didnt need to cross Devils Water, Bismarck replied without noticing Angors impatience. About three months, Id say.

Thats no good. I have my own missions to do. I cant remain at Ferran for that long.

Please dont make it hard for me, Mister Padt. Bismarck suddenly changed his tone harsher. Or are you afraid to have your forged evidence found out?

Heh. Are you playing dumb on purpose or are you dumb for real? Angor slowly released his power. Dont you have someone who can identify the reliability of the crystal ball? Yeah, maybe you cant. But there must be loads of wizards from Floating Mech City stationed at Ferran. What about them? You think I played a childish trick on the evidence? Come on, I thought you can find a better excuse.

Bismarck grimaced. Youre right, Mister Padt. I mean, we can use truth-detection spells for this purpose, but Im afraid you still have to wait for our expert to perform the spell.

I showed the evidence to Floating Mech City, and Im not afraid of anything you might do with it. Since none of us is the stupid one, I should ask this question more clearly, what are you keeping me here for?

Bismarck remained quiet.

Heh. Not that it matters. Since you dont want to talk, Ill not waste any more time here. We both know whether the evidence is trustworthy or not.

Bismarcks expression turned cruel when he saw that Angor was about to leave the room. When he found a chance, he quickly lifted his hand and released two golden chains toward Angors back.

Angor already had a cantrip prepared in his minds.p.a.ce. After an ice wall blocked Bismarcks chains, he instantly deployed a number of illusion nodes around him.

Despite his level, Bismarck had been spending his time in peaceful places, which made him an academism. He was trapped in Angors mist without putting up a fight.

I was going to have a peaceful talk with you since youre with the Floating Mech City, but since you made the first move dont blame me for some legit self-defense.

Angor expressed his killing intent for Bismarck to hear, then he asked Toby to hara.s.s Bismarck without actually killing him. He still would like to know why someone from Floating Mech City wanted to keep him in the city.

As for the evidence part, Angor never believed it. Even Bismarck seemed pretty embarra.s.sed when making up that lie.

While Toby left more and more wounds on Bismarcks flesh, Angor also used his nightmare energy to break down Bismarcks spirit defense.

However, Bismarcks lips remained tight.

It was until Angor used a powerful Nightmare Fear cantrip, which finally caused Bismarck to lose the mental fight. But the man never mentioned any coherent information while in such a state.

From the limited words, Angor managed to know that Bismarck wasnt helping the Centipede Guild. Other than this, there were only two names worth noticingRoman and Leviathan.

Angor wasnt going to check what was so special about Roman since Roman was dead. And when there was nothing else to learn, he unleashed a simple but deadly attack at Bismarcks forehead.

There might be all sorts of hidden facts and misunderstandings, but he had enough reason to kill Bismarck now.

However, his attack was blocked by a sudden energy wave that came from Bismarcks body.

Who dares to harm my student?! A shadow appeared beside Bismarck and unleashed its wizard-level might at Angor.

A wizard left his spirit barrier on this b*stard?! Angor cursed in his mind. Even Sunders never gave me such protection!

No matter what he did next, the wizard must have seen him through the mark left on Bismarck. And Angor definitely did not want to provoke a vengeful wizard who would either hunt him down personally or send a.s.sa.s.sins without an end.

As he wondered whether he should force his way through the protection and finish off Bismarck, the shadow suddenly spoke again in a smaller voice, This illusion is weird. It feels familiar.