Lu Yu is not interested in the factional struggle among the elves. He just wants to explore the Silent Mountains as soon as possible and find the secrets left by the ninth-level magician Sayer.
But looking at the current situation, there is a high probability that the Elf King will not return to Thoresen until he can get an explanation to appease the people.
In order to go to Thoresen as soon as possible, Lu Yu took Heather and Aesop aside alone and informed them of his ideas.
Heather was still fine, and Aesop's eyes were trembling.
Lu Yu yawned, waved to them, and went back to rest.
Whoever benefits from continuing the war will be the murderer.
It seems to be a very simple idea, but there are many elves in Thoresen who want to suppress Gran through war, and there are also several factions.
After Aesop reported Lu Yu's ideas to the Elf King, they waited for the ill-intentioned incitement from the elves for two consecutive days.
However, no one expressed dissatisfaction, and no one opposed the peace talks. Regarding the death of their companions, most people believed that the Grand Empire could properly solve the problem and bring this indiscriminate murderer to justice.
Domestic information channels also informed the Elf King that everything was normal and there was no commotion caused by this matter.
Assuming that Lu Yu's guess is correct, it can only be said that this elf imitator is very cautious and determined not to reveal his flaws.
Because of the death of Thoresen's elves, the Knights of the Wind Feather and the Empire's guards have stepped up patrols near Thoresen's station. Even for daily trips, guards will be escorted from a distance to crowded places to avoid recurrence of the tragedy.
.
Heather got the detailed report of the previous murderer's crime and read it carefully for a long time, but she still couldn't judge whether it was the work of the same murderer based on the techniques.
What the previous victims had in common was that they were young, but this time the ones who died were elves. Their lifespans are different from those of most races. The murderer couldn't just convert his age first before killing, right?
Just when Radner was leading the Imperial Knights across the city to search for suspected magicians, an unsigned letter was sent to the Star Knights and Heather was asked to open it in person.
This strange letter aroused Heather's suspicion. After many tests to confirm that there was nothing unusual, she opened the letter.
"There are too many imitators. I am not very satisfied with their poor performance. I only recognize seven of the seventeen human lives."
There was thunder in Heather's mind.
The writing on the letter was crooked, and it was obvious that he was not writing with his dominant hand.
This tone seems to be the real killer that the Imperial Knights have been tracking for a year but found nothing.
Heather quickly asked the companion who was responsible for receiving the letter and learned that the letter was delivered here by a child running errands for others.
Just when Heather mobilized the people of the stars to look for the child, the child who delivered the letter came to the door again with a letter.
The unkempt boy was obviously a beggar in the city, but in his left hand he was holding a paper bag from a famous delicatessen shop in the city, and the aroma wafting out of it made people salivate.
"While I was dozing off, a paper ball fell from my head. I was asked to take the letter that was pressed under a stone not far away and bring it here. The reward is this bag of food..."
Surrounded by a group of mighty knights, the boy's voice became smaller and smaller.
Although he is young, poverty makes him more sensible than his peers. When he saw this situation, he didn't know that he was involved in trouble.
The boy quickly fell to his knees, trembling and begging for mercy: "I don't know anything. I'm really just here to deliver something. Please forgive me, gentlemen."
He is so skilled that people like Xingchen who have been promoted from the bottom feel heartbroken.
A big man helped the boy up. After patiently asking for some details, he heard the boy's stomach growling and asked with a smile: "Why, he gave you food, didn't you eat it?"
"He entrusted me to do something, but I haven't finished it yet. How can I eat it?"
"Then you can eat now, we have collected the food." Heather opened the letter and asked the logistics partner to give the child a few copper coins.
Unexpectedly, the boy shook his head quickly.
"I don't want copper coins, and I can't spend the money even though I have it. Gentlemen, can you let me do things for you... I have good legs and feet, and I can do any handyman's work!"
"That's a good idea. There's nothing you can do about us. Xingchen will not enslave children. This is the rule set by the leader."
"Since he is homeless, let him live with me. I still have some space in my house, so I can share his food with him."
In a few words, everyone helped the boy find a place to stay, and then they all raised their heads and looked at Heather, hoping to know what the murderer said in this letter.
Heather showed them the letter in her hand.
A blank piece of paper.
"Are you sure this is what the other party asked you to give?"
The boy was immersed in the excitement of not having to sleep on the street and meeting good people. When he heard Heather's question, he nodded hurriedly.
"There is just this letter under the stone nearby. There is nothing else. I won't take it by mistake."
Confused, Heather swept her magic power over the paper, confirming again that it was just a blank piece of paper with no message at all.
Really unable to understand the meaning of the white paper sent by the other party, Heather waited for a whole day but still did not receive a new letter.
Just when she was about to inform Feng Yu and the Imperial Knights of the existence of this letter, a bouquet of flowers was sent to the Star Knights.
Heather quickly found a letter among the flowers.
"It's okay. I'm very satisfied with Xingchen's reputation. Archmage Heather, I heard that you are hunting me down because I killed the elves in Thoresan. I can only express regret for this accusation because you have found the wrong murderer.
"
"It's not true. I want to meet Heather alone. Of course, because Miss Heather is so prestigious, even if I believe in your character, I have to make some preparations."
"The eldest daughter of Viscount Wentu of Dongcheng District has been invited to my side. If the conversation is not interrupted, she will go home intact."
"At the same time, I hope you can invite another distinguished guest for me, Sir Lu Yu, who is about to go to Thoresen."
The address given on the back of the letter was on the edge of a pasture west of the capital.
Heather frowned, then suddenly realized.
This murderer was actually paying attention to the whereabouts of that little boy, and he had sent a blank letter just to see their reaction.
But randomly, Heather was a little confused again.
The murderer just wanted to find him, so why should Lu Yu be involved? He didn't seem to know Lu Yu and had no way to contact him.
What a weird thing.
But now that we have some clues and can directly determine that the murderer is not the same person, Heather must take action.
Lu Yu heard the murderer calling him by name, which was even more inexplicable than Heather.
What does this have to do with you?
However, when he heard that the other party had tied up a meat ticket and might also involve some information related to the elf's murder case, Lu Yu didn't say much and cooperated decisively.
The agreed meeting time was late that night, and Heather kept her word and did not notify anyone else except Lu Yu. In order to ensure the emotional stability of the real murderer, Lu Yu did not call Sigrid and the fog demon, but only brought
Lulutis.
It's normal for a summoner to carry summons with him. You didn't say you can't bring them with you.
Under the bright moonlight, three torches were lit on a small hay house on the edge of the pasture. This was exactly the mark mentioned by the murderer on the back of the letter.
Heather pushed open the wooden door of the barn and stepped forward on the scattered hay. After a while, she caught a glimpse of the person lying on the second floor, looking down at her from a high position.
The light inside the house was very dark, and the moonlight filtering through the roof of the thatched barn barely illuminated the outline of the murderer.
The murderer wore a furry black cat hood, revealing only a pair of bright eyes.
He has a well-proportioned figure and is neither tall nor short in the Grand Empire. He is the kind of person who can't be found if you throw him into a sea of people. He has no characteristics and is very ordinary.
Heather raised her head and said to the murderer: "I came as promised, and I also brought Sir Lu Yu, but I didn't bring anyone else. I fully satisfied the conditions you mentioned. I need to know about the eldest daughter of the Viscount family.
What's going on now?"
After receiving the letter, Heather secretly confirmed the situation near Viscount Vento's house. It was true that the eldest daughter had not returned after going out for work. However, because the eldest daughter of the Vento family socialized too frequently, the family really didn't take it seriously.
go.
"Don't worry, although you have given me the title of a murderer, I never kill people indiscriminately."
If the murderer didn't disguise his voice, then he should be a man, because his voice is rich and powerful.
"If you don't kill people indiscriminately, then all seventeen innocent victims committed suicide!" Heather asked sternly.
The murderer did not answer Heather immediately, but turned to look at Lu Yu, his eyes lingering on Lulutis behind Lu Yu for a few seconds.
"Thank you Sir Lu Yu from a foreign country for appearing here. I know you must be curious about why I asked you to go with Miss Heather. You will definitely get the answer you want later."
"Now, let me answer Miss Heather's question just now." The murderer declared in a serious tone, "I only killed seven people, and all seven people deserved to die."
"It's quite fair."
Knowing that Heather didn't believe it, the murderer tapped his finger on the wooden guardrail and chuckled: "Does Miss Heather know about the blood bank?"
Heather, who had just laughed at the murderer to whitewash herself, was stunned, the smile on her face disappeared little by little, and she stared at the murderer.
"It seems that you know, but do you know that there is not only a blood bank, but also a heart bank? In fact, they like to refer to those people collectively as 'exhibition cabinets'."
"you…"
"You are also a magician. You should know that some people in this group will take some devious ways that ordinary people dare not think of in order to pursue more powerful magic and more powerful potions."
"Materials such as goblins, slimes, and dryads are not new, so... demihumans and humans have all become targets."
"A homeless child can be defrauded by a few moldy pancakes and a mouthful of unpalatable bran. The people who deceive them know very well what kind of fate these people will have, but they don't care.
."
"In the eyes of these scammers, it has nothing to do with what these 'showcases' turn out to be. They only care about how long they can squander the money they get. If they squander it quickly, they are especially looking forward to the next business coming to them as soon as possible.
"
"Probably because they have done too many bad things, these people actually choose to repent to the gods. The way to repent is to get the money they have and pay tribute to the gods, and then pray constantly... By the way, their common self-comfort is 'Who told them
stupid'."
Every word spoken by the murderer was filled with a deep chill. Lu Yu, who didn't know the slang at first, was still confused. After hearing it, his whole body became cold. However, a nameless evil fire kept coming out from the bottom of his heart, making him
He clenched his fists tightly.
Lulutis took a deep breath in the chat room. Although she didn't say a word, Lu Yu could still feel her anger.
"The first one I killed was trying to survive, and I talked a lot about it. When I heard that a child followed him and had enough to eat, and when he got home, he washed and cooked for him, hoping to have a place in his new home...
"
The murderer took out a dagger and slapped it on the guardrail.
"He thought that as long as he confessed everything, I would accept his confession, but unfortunately, I have no intention of letting him go. In my opinion, he is not a human being, just a beast in human skin.
."
Heather recalled the deceased in the first murder case and suddenly understood why his body was so mutilated.
Immediately afterwards, the cat-faced murderer talked about the second incident, the third incident...it wasn't until the seventh incident that it was over.
Every one of his murders was related to this chain of crimes.
"Why don't you inform the people in the review court about these things, even the Knights?"
Lu Yu answered for the murderer: "Maybe he filed a lawsuit, but no one cared about it at all. Let me guess...these people are just minions. The real mastermind is something you can't deal with at all."
"Sir Lu Yu is indeed wise." The murderer bowed slightly to Lu Yu to show respect, "I am just a small person, far less powerful than you think."
"During this period, because of me, many vicious crimes were detained under my banner, which can be regarded as my masterpiece...Smart and wise Archmage Heather, do you think...is this following the trend or an intentional act?"
Heather murmured: "They knew you existed, so they put all the blame on you, the murderer..."
Heather felt cold all over.
Lu Yu asked curiously: "But you still haven't told me why you invited me here. We don't know each other, right?"
"Yes, I just heard people talking about you. I know that you are a seventh-level magician with a good temper, and you have been invited by the Kingdom of Thoresen and are about to go to Thoresen."
"The elves of Thoresen were killed two days ago, and there are rumors that I was responsible. Some people are already saying that this will once again strain the easing relationship between the two countries."
"So I need to come out and clarify, but I can't just walk into the Knights and tell you that I am a murderer, so I can only use this method to invite you two to listen to me prove my innocence."
"One of you is a genius girl from the empire's past, and the other is a seventh-level magician from a foreign country. At the same time, you can also talk to the Elf King of Thoresen. You are my best choice."
Proving his innocence, these words coming from the mouth of the cat-faced murderer were extremely funny, and even made Lu Yu feel ridiculous.
"Have you never thought that you can't escape if you show up?"
The cat-faced murderer laughed.
"Sir Lu Yu may not believe it, but in fact I love Grandland very much. There are my relatives and friends in this land. Since I was a child, my neighbors have often shared delicious food with me, and the extra fabrics will also
Stay for me and make me a scarf and a hat."
"But one day, the neighbor who often brought me food could only cry at home because all three of their children who went to the front line died."
"One day, the uncle who always brought me clothes said goodbye to me because he didn't want his children to be sent to the front line, so he took up arms instead of his son... and then he never came back."
"I don't know when it started. Those neighbors who like to laugh no longer like to laugh. They will just sit under the tree and look into the distance, waiting for people who will never come back, and keep talking all day long."
"Twenty years...two generations are really enough."
The murderer's voice was choked with sobs: "Two generations have filled it in. For this country and for the land that raised us, we have shed all our blood, and finally we have peace."
"This peace is the result of my favorite group of people, but they can no longer see it."
"I'm a coward. I've escaped time and time again, even doing things secretly, but this time I don't want to hide anymore."
"If taking me to see the Elf King can explain everything clearly..." the cat-faced murderer raised his hands, "Then I will stand here, please do as you wish."