Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 56: Cherry

Ethan thought there must be something fishy going on.

Before the expeditionary force assembled and set out, the old butler seemed to have obtained inside information from somewhere and knew that the young man named Lance was destined to die on the border of the empire. However, he was unable to determine for a moment whether his family had bribed the knights of the expeditionary force to kill Lance if necessary, or whether the action itself was a suicide mission.

If it was the latter, then many of the questions he had while sorting out the documents were answered.

There was no detailed intelligence, no specific battle plan, and the whereabouts of the troops were exposed in a big way before the battle even started...

At least in Ethan's understanding, this is absolutely a taboo in fighting with high-level extraordinary people.

So the question is, if even he, an E-level investigator in a small border town, can't the strategists and decision makers in the imperial capital see the problem?
Unless those people deliberately concealed important information with the intention of killing all the elite troops of the kingdom's army here.

This thought immediately made Ethan break out in a cold sweat.

Ms. Higan is the Knight Commander of the Kingdom appointed by the King himself. A "high-ranking official" who can issue such an order is definitely a person who can do whatever he wants in the imperial capital.

As people often say, some things cannot be thought about too much, and anyone who thinks about them will die!
Ethan looked at Yin'an who was chatting and laughing with Ivy, and felt that she might not realize the seriousness of the situation at all.

He coughed lightly and asked, "Ms. Bi'an, I carefully read the message sent by the branch. The description of the Dream Eclipse members is extremely vague. There is almost no mention of any features that can quickly identify them. We only know that they are operating in groups of two."

Even the most important extraordinary level was not mentioned.

The Fallen Saint is a popular guess about the members of Dream Eclipse, but this theory has never been officially recognized.

In fact, their whereabouts were so elusive that when the high-level extraordinary people of the empire heard the news and rushed over, they had already disappeared without a trace.

Ethan still held on to the last glimmer of hope, hoping that he was the one who was being conspiratorial in this matter.

However, Bi'an responded with a bright smile, "It seems that you have done a lot of homework beforehand, that's all."

"only these?"

Ethan confirmed again.

"Hmm." Bi'an nodded casually, and said to Ivy, "Now I know why you care so much about him."

Ethan was not happy about other people's compliments. He just wanted to go to Hearth Bay as soon as possible to find the old butler and maybe find out some important information.

Bi'an came up to him again and patted his shoulder carelessly, "I have high hopes for you. The Internment Bureau is a good place. Work hard. But if one day you can't continue, you are welcome to report to the Kingdom Army!"

Is it so easy for the Royal Army to enter the place?
At this moment, Ethan felt the same helplessness as Ivy. It seemed that the Knight Commander was a little too out of touch and spoke without thinking.

Fortunately, Captain Hagrid was sick at home, otherwise this would undoubtedly be another heavy blow to Hagrid.

You have to know that Hagrid went through so much trouble, but ultimately failed in the third test of the Kingdom Army.

"Ms. Beyond, Captain Hagrid—"

"what?"

Ethan's prepared explanation was interrupted by Higan's strange behavior. He was about to tell Higan the story of "Captain Hagrid was unfortunately injured in the battle with the monster - the drunkard", but Higan suddenly supported his arms with both hands, stood on tiptoe, and put his nose directly to the top of his head.

Ethan was frozen in place, shocked by this sudden scene.

"Well, not here."

Bi'an sniffed along his hair all the way down, and when he smelled his shoulders and chest, he was finally surprised and asked, "Why do you smell like cherries? Where did you buy them from? There are cherries for sale in Ximu Town?"

"Cherry?"

Ethan came back to his senses and immediately took two steps back, increasing the distance between him and the other side.

He felt that the Knight Commander's eyes were not right when he was looking at him, as if he was going to swallow him up. He could only look at Ivy for help. Ivy's golden hair was on her hips, and she looked like she was laughing. Ivy acted as an interpreter, "Cherries are a kind of fruit produced in the northern border of the empire. They are very rare."

"Don't question my sense of smell!"

Bi'an puffed out his chest proudly, "My subordinates all say that my nose is sharper than a dog's. If they sneak in for a midnight snack at night, I will definitely find out!"

“They’re not complimenting you.”

Ivy felt weak. She heard that before Bi'an became the Knight Commander, he had set a rule for his subordinates: they could cheat on their subordinates, but they had to take her with them.

"Oh, that should be food for attracting wealth."

Ethan understood. He also smelled a strange fruity scent from Zhaocai when he was sleeping last night.

"Lucky?"

"It's a ragdoll cat. She just returned to town after a trip. Maybe she ate cherries somewhere before."

"It's a cat."

Bi'an understood. She looked up at the sky and said in a nostalgic tone, "It is said that cherries were first found deep in the snowy mountains by cats raised by people in the North. Oh, I haven't eaten cherries for a long time. It would be great if I could eat them again."

In the end, Bi'an was attracted by the dinner party and forgot about Xuelizi.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Ethan hurried back home. His ominous premonition became stronger and stronger, and he had to go to Hearth Bay as soon as possible.

He prepared dinner for Zhaocai and Miss Chloe, and ate a few bites of hard bread before changing into a wizard's attire. Before leaving, Zhaocai jumped onto his shoulders using the cabinet to help him fix his crooked wizard hat and his messy bangs, then watched him go away quietly.

This night is destined to be turbulent.

About ten minutes after Ethan left home, a figure appeared outside the apartment's living room window.

The ragdoll cat who was directing Miss Chloe to pack up the alchemical props caught a glimpse of the smiley mask outside the window, jumped down from the cupboard, jumped along the table to the windowsill, and then leaped onto the path outside the apartment.

She walked in front without looking back, and the black-haired woman wearing a smiley mask followed her silently, disappearing around the corner in the blink of an eye.

"First of all, I have to make one thing clear. I didn't mean to disturb you."

In a corner where even the moonlight couldn't reach, the black-haired woman stopped with the Ragdoll Cat and took the initiative to clarify.

The cat brought her to this corner without saying a word. It looked up at her with its creepy red eyes. The scene, which resembled a murder scene, gave her goose bumps.

She said tentatively, "How about you scream a few times? I'm scared."

"Meow!"

The cat let her get her wish and at the same time jumped onto her shoulder like a flying arrow.

"Ouch, oh my god! Stop scratching your face!"

The black-haired woman struggled as she spoke, "We are being targeted by the Imperial Knights, and the leader is the Knight Commander of the Empire."

The cat stopped scratching her and looked at her calmly, waiting for what was to come.

"The Council of Elders means that no one should be left alive."

The black-haired woman paused, then continued, "This is exactly what you want, isn't it? As long as the Knight Commander of the Empire dies here, it won't be long before this country is in complete chaos."

(End of this chapter)