Reluctant and unwilling, Cohen followed Duke Swice Hepburn into the carriage. The major general mounted his war horse and went to the carriage to ask where the Duke should go first. The latter thought about it for a while, decided to go to the palace reference room first, and called
The people went to take care of everything first, and then the group rushed to the palace. The people who went ahead had already reported to His Majesty the Emperor. His Majesty the Emperor approved the Duke himself to bring his "friends" to participate in the investigation of this special case, and awarded Cohen a badge.
——It is completely based on trust in the Duke.
"This is the badge that every noble wants to get. This is the sword bestowed upon you by His Majesty the Emperor." Duke Swice thrust each item into Cohen's hand, "I know you don't like certain things, so I didn't
Please ask His Majesty the Emperor to grant you specific official positions, but with these things, you can be regarded as a recognized noble in the imperial capital."
With the waistband in his hand, Cohen couldn't help but smile bitterly. He must have had a hard time singing the show, right? The palace data room and the Allied Intelligence Department were all arranged and planned by himself, and then he directed the intelligence personnel to steal them.
!If we get these things now, does it count as self-inflicted theft? At the very least, we are part of a family of thieves, right?
"It's really troublesome." Walking in the palace, Cohen pulled the scarf around his neck, "If you solve this kind of thing, will you be rewarded after it's over?"
"There is no reward, but this is what a noble should do. Everything that happens around us will have an impact on the world. If you want to live well, you have to support it yourself. It is immoral to expect others to do everything well.
It’s unrealistic.” Duke Swice, who took a step in front of Cohen, did not look back. “These locations are very sensitive. Under the current circumstances, it would be quite bizarre for something like this to happen, and there is no reasonable explanation for it.
More—we’re here.”
"Your Excellency, you are here." A general who seemed to be responsible for the security of the palace came up to him. Without any politeness, he directly introduced: "The palace reference room is a separate courtyard, with one building on three floors and one building on two floors.
, guarding the bungalow. There were thirty-four people on duty last night, sixteen people outside, sixteen people inside the building, and two magicians. This kind of thing should not happen..."
"Where are they?" After stepping through the door, the Duke said casually: "Call them up for questioning. We'll find out the spies first."
"There are no spies. The soldiers guarding them are all the most loyal soldiers of the empire." The general's expression turned serious. "They all died in the line of duty."
"All died in the line of duty!" Duke Swice stopped. "Thirty-four people, including the magician, didn't even send out a warning signal?"
"Yes." The general nodded, "We haven't moved their positions yet. Please take a look, Your Excellency."
"The situation at the military headquarters is the same." The major general following behind interjected, "The other party is rare and ruthless."
The Duke frowned slightly and followed the general to check the details. Judging from the current situation, it was not a theft but a raid last night. There were many people coming from the raiding party, and the magician and guards in the building were killed first.
Then came the guards in the yard, and the five guards who stayed in the guard bungalow were the last to be killed. Judging from what is known, these people were rare masters. Most of the guards were unaware until they died, even one of them
Even the most vigilant guard could not fully unsheath his sword. The weapons they used were very strange, because the wounds of all the guards standing at key points were very special, with their cervical vertebrae being directly severed by sharp instruments.
The mechanism that activates the alarm bell is at the feet of the magician responsible for guarding the center, but the magician did not have time to step on the pedal. Like others, the fatal injury to the magician's body was also in the cervical spine, but in the back spine
There is an additional wound.
The data room was a mess. All kinds of precious information had been rummaged through in detail by the raiding party. Some of the information related to the military and people's livelihood had been selectively taken away, especially map information, whether it was topographic maps of other countries.
It was the urban architectural drawings of our country. Almost not a single one was left behind. They were all moved cleanly - they came prepared and had a clear purpose.
"Your Excellency Asa." After carefully looking at everything, Duke Swice seemed to have something in his mind, so he turned around and asked the idle man, "What do you think? Tell me and let everyone comment."
"What can I think?" Cohen leaned against a pillar and looked at the mess in the room. "The guards here are already relatively tight. Logically speaking, this kind of thing shouldn't happen."
"Everyone knows how tight the guards are, but now something like this has happened." Duke Swice walked to Cohen, "Let's not talk about the guards for now. How do you personally think the raiding party came in? How was it completed?
All this? It would be best to deduce their every step, if possible."
"Deduced every step? Does this help you?" Cohen shrugged, naively trying to mislead Duke Swice, "My Duke, you should now order a dragnet to be set up at every intersection to prevent theft.
It’s better to transfer the items.”
"I don't need to go into the details, and I don't think it will help the matter. Even if the lost items are recovered, the secret has already been leaked." Duke Swice shook his head, "The top priority is to deduce who did it.
This matter, and their purpose of doing it. The impact of data theft must be eliminated at a strategic level, and at least some precautions must be taken."
"As expected of a Duke! His thoughts are really different from mine." The coalition major general nodded in agreement, "Now we know that at least three locations have been stolen, and the items lost by the military are even more top secret, and the situation is more complicated..."
"Let's go to the military department later and finish the matters here first." Duke Swice looked at Cohen, "Among the people here, you have the most extensive knowledge of martial arts, and you are also proficient in hunting. Please
Already."
Cohen's brows also frowned, but he was thinking about something different from others. What he was worried about was how to say something without making people doubt him. As for the person who did it last night, he had already
Scattered and hidden.
"If I want to lead people to raid this place, then I will have to spend a certain amount of time making preliminary preparations. Detailed maps and the status of the guards are necessary. I just heard this person say that soldiers are loyal, but I
I don’t think so.” Cohen walked up to the body of a guard and said, “Without an internal agent, this information is difficult to obtain, so there must be an internal agent. We should start with other guards who are not on duty... It is not ruled out that the other party will kill the internal agents together.
possible, after all, this is the easiest thing to do.”
"There should be more than ten people attacking here, because they have to attack people in two buildings at the same time, and they have to arrange for people to respond outside." Cohen walked to the door, pointed at the corpses of the guards in the garden and said: "They fell.
The directions were almost the same. Judging from the blood splattered on the ground, it can be inferred that they were facing the same direction at the last moment, and that direction happened to be the location where the fireworks were set off last night. This was the time when the other party took action. They must have known in advance that there would be a fireworks show.
.”
"Actually, I want to know how good the opponent's martial arts skills are?" Duke Swice asked softly: "This is the key."
"How good are your martial arts skills?" Cohen smiled and led a few people to the back of the building. "The light last night was good, and there was only one way for them to come in, which was to go directly to the roof from the back wall, and from the wall
The distance to the corner of the building is thirty arms' length. Ten people are divided into two groups. If they use ordinary martial arts, they will definitely be discovered by the guards."
"If you use teleportation magic in the palace, you will still be discovered." The guard general said, "But we are not aware of it."
"Could it be with the help of ropes? But if the wall is low and the roof is high, it will be very slow." Duke Swice looked at the long distance, "The roof of the building has been checked, and there are no traces of the use of hooks.
What method was used?"
"What's the use of speculation? You'll know if you try it." Cohen casually asked for the sword from an officer, climbed up the wall, looked at the corner of the building, and then tested the toughness of the sword. Suddenly it tilted from the wall.
Flying down, when he fell with all his strength, he used the tip of his sword to point on the ground to turn over and landed on the corner of the building. The whole process was extremely smooth, it lasted very short and there was no sound.
Several generals were stunned, looking at Cohen with admiration and suspicion in their eyes, but since the Duke brought him here, he naturally had no problem. Duke Swice did not express anything, and asked Cohen again,
"Who can do this?"
"How do I know this? I'm not familiar with the Imperial City." Cohen returned the sword, "It's not easy to have a group of people like this."
"Then, shouldn't you know the direction of the investigation?" Duke Swice turned to look at the guard general, "First investigate what mercenary groups there are near the imperial capital, and how many people with such abilities were not there yesterday, including various nobles.
The private power of the family.”
"In this case, the princes..." The general hesitated, "Do we also want to investigate?"
"That is your lord's duty and has nothing to do with me." Duke Swice smiled, "Let's assume that the people who attacked the three locations are not related to each other. There can be ten subordinates with such martial arts, and there can be many people near the imperial capital.
How many people? Even if they didn't do it, let them calm down. The recent atmosphere in the imperial capital is really a bit outrageous."
"General, I understand." The guard general nodded, "General, I sincerely hope that the Duke can come back as soon as possible to take charge of the overall situation."
"Some things cannot be achieved without sincere hope." Duke Swice looked at the guard general gently, "However, I appreciate your kindness, and I will personally report this to His Majesty the Emperor later - let's go to the army
Come on!"
"Okay, okay." The coalition major general was already impatient. After hearing this, he walked out and kept nagging in the Duke's ear, "Your Excellency, after the investigation is completed, you will personally report to the coalition commander.
Right? The other party is such a powerful person, there is no way to guard against him! If you do me this favor, I will definitely repay you well. Can you help me once? You have a lot of face, and the superiors will never blame you.
your……"
"You're dreaming." The Duke dropped these hard-hearted words and got into the carriage with Cohen.
The carriage left the palace and gradually came to the side of the Grand Canal. Duke Swice drew the curtains as usual and admired the scenery outside. Cohen followed and looked around, but found nothing special, so he asked: "They are all
Why do you treat people you know separately? This is a bit strange."
"As far as the empire is concerned, although I currently have no official position, I am still a member of the royal family. I am also responsible for the safety of the country." As he spoke, Duke Swice's eyes returned to Cohen's face, "But in
I am nothing in the coalition army at the moment. It is better for me to be less annoying as an idler. There are many people who will rush to take the lead in this matter! Why block other people's way."
"But if you tell others what you did, it won't be of much use in recovering the information, right?"
"Of course, the information can never be recovered." Duke Swice nodded, "I'm just using this matter to hit some people."
As they were talking, the carriage the two of them were riding in happened to pass by the gate of a private manor. There were too many carriages passing by, so they had to slow down. Most of the carriages next to them were occupied by ladies, and people kept asking Svis.
The Duke said hello, and the Duke responded with a smile, and kicked Cohen to keep him smiling, "They are attending a garden party, and they may write you a love letter!"
"Is it the garden party held by Count Hernan?" Cohen smiled, looking back and forth outside the car window, and finally found Count Hernan at the door of the manor. "It's really him! I wonder what kind of confidence he still has.
Entertain these nobles?"
Duke Swice also wanted to tease Cohen a few words, but something seemed to have happened in front of the carriage. After a few arguments, the slow-moving carriage finally stopped, and the argument developed into a fierce quarrel.
"This is the carriage of Lieutenant General Glens! You must give way first!" "You only need to retreat two horses to let us pass, but we have to retreat dozens of horses. How can there be such an unreasonable thing!
"You idiot, let alone two horse lengths, Lieutenant General Glens's carriage will not retreat even half a horse length!"
Hearing such a quarrel, Duke Swice's expression did not change at all. He knocked on the car door and said, "Let's retreat." He turned to Cohen and said, "This will take some time. Why don't you go down and get familiar with all the noble ladies and say a few words?"
talk."
"I don't want to go down..." As he was declining, Cohen suddenly saw the carriage where two acquaintances were sitting, "Okay, okay!"
"Oh, it turns out they are two young ladies!" With a wicked smile on his face, Cohen approached a carriage that had just stopped on the side of the road. "It's been a long time since I last saw you. Have you two missed me?"
"Bah - who wants to miss you! How could a bad guy like you come to the imperial capital?" The beautiful Miss Shania Gironde bulged her big eyes with an expression of disbelief, "I heard rumors a few days ago.
I didn't expect you to actually come. Hey, that duel couldn't be real, could it? How could a guy like you get a hundred love letters?"
Behind Shania, the gentle-looking Miss Ellie Fran greeted Cohen with a smile. Duke Swice also came over and greeted the two ladies with a smile.
"It was all my fault in the past. In fact, I am a very kind person." Cohen pretended to be extremely serious, "Then please, can you two go home and write me a love letter?"
"You're dreaming!" Miss Ellie Fran snorted with her cute, small nose.
"Oh, then I will tell you all the things that happened after someone was poisoned. I believe I can sell it for a good price..."
When Cohen was laughing, a certain lieutenant general's carriage was passing behind him. Cohen's eyes glanced over, but he happened to see a flash of light in the bushes behind the road. He immediately pushed the Duke beside him away and shouted at the same time.
Phew, "Assassin!"
A row of arrows flew over neatly, but the target was not Cohen and Duke Swice, but the passing Lieutenant General's carriage. There was a strange sound in the carriage of the Lieutenant General's carriage, and iron plates were actually added to the carriage.
, but the four strong horses pulling the cart had already been hit by arrows and fell down with a mournful cry. And the previous coachman who was very good at showing off had already been pierced by an arrow in the chest and could not survive.
"Get off the bus over there and enter the manor!" Cohen drew his sword and flew away two arrows that missed the target and flew towards the ladies' carriage, and then warned the ladies to get off the bus on the other side.
Dozens more bright silver discs shot out from the tree crown on the opposite side, and a series of sharp screams sounded in the air. The silver discs flew towards Lieutenant General Glens' carriage - this thing was so powerful that it could not penetrate the wall before with bows and arrows.
The board was actually cut open, and even the heavy carriage was shaking violently!
With a "pop!", the door of the Lieutenant General's carriage was kicked open, and two men in military uniforms rolled out. It was only then that the noble ladies on the carriage on the roadside began to scream in unison.
Many horses pulling the cart were frightened and began to run around, making the scene even more chaotic.
"Help!" Knowing that Cohen didn't like to meddle in other people's business, Duke Swice called out a special cry when he drew his sword and then jumped up. He was already on Lieutenant General Glens' head, and the long sword in his hand slashed
He let out a dazzling light and cut off several arrows aimed at the lieutenant general. Cohen rushed out without waiting for his orders, picking up the arrows and kicking another soldier away from him.
The roadside was crowded with aristocratic ladies who wanted to escape to the manor, and screams continued along the wall. The aristocratic men spontaneously protected the outside so that the ladies could enter the manor safely.
Miss Xenia's performance was even better - she stood outside the manor wall and directly caught those girls throwing. The noble ladies she threw into the manor were more scared than being assassinated. Even if they couldn't throw these ladies, they would be vulnerable once they were thrown.
I was scared to death when I saw myself spinning and flying over the wall!
Mixed with a group of warriors who rushed out of the manor, the guards of various nobles had already rushed over the crowd towards the woods on the river embankment. The crossbows in their hands kept firing, and the arrows shot by the assassins on the trees were much less. Seeing Ge
Lieutenant General Rens and his adjutant took this opportunity to find a place to take cover. The screams of the ladies who fled into the manor were a little quieter, and many people stuck their heads out by the door to take a look. (