After seeing the other party off, the expressions on the other mercenaries' faces were rather grim. Only Rafinia let out a cheer: "Are we finally going to battle?"
She drew her Knight's sword, her face brimming with eager anticipation.
This expression immediately drew the displeasure of her companions.
"In that case, you can start tonight's patrol!"
Raylin's blunt remark instantly deflated Rafinia's enthusiasm.
Old Bam didn't dare say anything openly, but secretly gave Raylin a thumbs-up.
Watching Rafinia storm into the carriage in a huff, Raylin and the others burst into hearty laughter. Yet behind Raylin's smile, his gaze held a hint of depth as he turned to look back the way they had come.
"This feeling... it seems something has happened..."
......
At that same time, a special group of people had entered the city of Emon.
"Based on the intelligence we've gathered, after making landfall, the target completely disappeared without a trace. After ruling out the other directions, this location is the most likely place they're hiding..."
Leading this group was a Paladin clad in gleaming silver armor. The blinding holy light forced the city gate guards to retreat, their faces showing a mixture of reverence and fear as they stared at the holy symbol on the Paladin's chest.
It bore the image of a blue shield as its backdrop, with a design of scales upon a warhammer — now wreathed in a distinctive divine radiance.
"A Paladin of the God of Justice!!!"
Hushed whispers rippled through the crowd, and the thugs and hooligans on the streets vanished without a trace.
The holy symbol this Paladin bore was unmistakably that of
"Raylin Farolan — this minor noble is absolutely connected to the recent pirate tide. He won't get away!"
The Paladin's expression was resolute: "Under the radiance of my lord, all evil shall face judgment!!!"
"High Paladin
An elderly priest behind the Paladin reminded him.
Unlike the radical faction of the Paladins, the priests of the God of Justice, while equally earnest in judging evil, had long recognized that the world was not divided into pure good and pure evil — that gray areas existed. And they had learned to compromise. This was precisely why the church of the God of Justice had managed to endure until the present day.
"However… the lives of over a thousand civilians on the outer seas, and the displacement of tens of thousands of innocent people — these do demand an answer. The suspect must cooperate with our investigation. The God of Justice will not let a single villain go free, nor will he wrongly condemn a single innocent!"
A trace of sorrow flickered through the priest's eyes before instantly giving way to resolve.
"Praise our God!"
Behind the priest, several other high-ranking clergy members likewise began to offer their prayers.
This was the investigation team that the God of Justice had dispatched to the outer seas of Danbres, led by several high-ranking Paladins and high-ranking priests.
Upon arriving at the outer seas, they were immediately struck by the atrocities committed by those villainous pirates.
The spreading tide of piracy had nearly destroyed the entire Bodhi Archipelago — only a few minor noble fiefs had managed to escape unscathed.
Because the pirates had left virtually no survivors, gathering evidence had proven extraordinarily difficult.
After enduring countless dangers, they had at last managed to vaguely trace the masterminds of this catastrophe to the Pirate Port and the Crimson Tiger pirate crew — only to discover that a minor noble appeared to play a very important role in the whole affair.
The investigation team rushed without pause to Faolan Island. They were informed that Raylin had long since departed.
With no alternative, the team split into two groups. One remained in the outer seas to continue the investigation while spreading the teachings of the God of Justice. The other headed directly back to the mainland, ostensibly to have Raylin cooperate with the investigation — though in reality, once a suspect fell into the hands of these Paladins, even the most cunning and devious noble rarely lasted more than a day!
The priests under Tyr, the God of Justice, were never lacking in divine arts for interrogation or breaking a target's will.
Often, a simple alignment detection could resolve a great many problems.
Before the might of a powerful deity, a minor noble caught with evidence had no power to resist whatsoever.
But on the flip side, without evidence, even a high-ranking bishop could not directly judge a noble!
And Raylin had severed all ties between the Crimson Tiger and Faolan Island long ago. Therefore, unless they captured Raylin — the key witness — the investigation team in the outer seas could take no action whatsoever against Faolan Island or Baron Jonas and his wife.
It was precisely because Raylin had recognized this fact that he had resolved to set out on his travels.
"Disgusting… those nobles again, ignoring the suffering of the common folk below and creating one catastrophe after another…" a female priest declared indignantly.
"Hold your tongue!"
Although the Holy Knight harbored the same thoughts, she still rebuked her companion's outburst on the surface.
The Holy Church's expansion in the Material World could not do without the support of secular power. Even deities had their share of helplessness.
"We cannot purge all the filth from this world, but we can persist in judging every evil before our eyes! And in the end, we shall purify the entire world!"
The Holy Knight Laurent spoke, his voice resolute beyond doubt. "Raphael, go and notify the city hall — we'll need their cooperation… As for the rest of you…"
Several days passed before Laurent's group managed to uncover several identities that could potentially match Raylin.
"This one is ruled out as well!"
Inside an obviously opulent mansion, numerous guards lay strewn across the floor in every direction, among them quite a few powerful professionals.
The Holy Knight Laurent reluctantly set down a young noble in his hands who was already trembling violently, his face deathly pale.
"However, he has committed countless crimes — unlawful imprisonment, murder, embezzlement, and more. Hand him over to the city hall for judgment!"
"That leaves only those suspicious mercenaries!"
The priestess Raphael looked down at the noble youth still quivering on the ground with undisguised disgust, as though she were staring at a maggot. Letting such parasites continue to live in this world was nothing short of an insult to her deity!
Though she very much wanted to simply finish him off on the spot, the priestess forcibly restrained herself.
"Those mercenaries are highly mobile — even with our abilities, it would be extremely difficult to screen them all in a short period of time! However, the large merchant caravan that arrived most recently is highly suspicious!"
The priestess continued, "Since it was assembled from numerous smaller caravans, conceiving one's identity within it would be the simplest thing in the world…"
"Exactly. I was thinking the same thing!"
Laurent turned and strode off, leaving behind a scene of utter disarray. "We've wasted far too much time here already — we need to pick up the pace…"
A short while later, the reassembled investigation team marched out through the gates of Aimon City. The remaining city hall officials and nobles watched them depart from a distance, inwardly heaving a collective sigh of relief before exchanging bitter, knowing smiles.
The investigation team had left, but in the mere process of searching for a single suspect, they had taken down a baron, two Knights, and a small batch of unlucky officials who happened to be in the way. As for the criminal gangs and the like, countless had been obliterated. The security of all Aimon City had been thoroughly cleaned up — yet a tremendous mess had been left in its wake.
……
"I'm being tracked... Could it be that investigation team from the God of Justice? Judging by the timing, they should be reaching Aimon City around now..."
Years of sharpened intuition and meticulous thinking allowed Raylin to instantly deduce the truth.
"Tyre... heh... In the eyes of many corrupt nobles, this Greater God is no less terrifying than the Plague God..."
Raylin sneered to himself.
"However, this time I'm afraid that unless I reach High-rank Mage and build a mage tower, I won't be able to return to Faolan Island..."
This incident had indeed stirred up quite a commotion. The key issue was that if Raylin's family were one of those established ducal houses or even major royal aristocratic clans, things could have been swept under the rug. Unfortunately, the Faolan family simply had no such standing.
Therefore, if the other side managed to get their hands on any leverage, it would be extremely dangerous.
Those Holy Warriors of the God of Justice were no pushovers.
Of course, even the most steadfast Holy Warriors under the God of Justice had to learn the art of compromise. Once Raylin demonstrated power so terrifying that the cost far outweighed the gains, it wasn't impossible for them to let this matter slide.
"No! I just need to have the Dambrass Kingdom's authorities make an official ruling, and that should basically absolve me of any involvement!"
A sharp gleam flickered in Raylin's eyes. "Even the priests of the God of Justice must operate on evidence. It seems there's still plenty I can do while in the royal capital..."
Of course, all of this hinged on the assumption that Raylin was still just a noble and a mage, and that his crimes had not been fully exposed.
But if his identity as an otherworldly invoker or a devil worshipper were ever revealed, what awaited him would be an unending war from every divine pantheon, along with a joint wanted warrant from every nation on the continent.
"Fascinating! Truly fascinating!"
Raylin's original plan had been to accumulate enough resources on Faolan Island before venturing out to advance his training, striving to rapidly elevate his rank in order to ascend to godhood and ultimately call upon his true self.
Everything was proceeding largely according to plan. The Faolan family was also flourishing. Although this investigation team had become a troublesome complication, it was not something that couldn't be handled.
"Careful! Ogre tracks spotted ahead!"
At that moment, a report came from the front of the convoy, setting the entire large merchant caravan on edge.
Since entering this territory, Raylin could no longer afford to sneak off and slack off at every turn. He had to fulfill his duties as a mercenary, protecting his employers alongside the carriage.
Through the gauze curtain of the carriage, he caught sight of two similar yet panic-stricken faces.