Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 207 Dark Shadow
If you want to know what it's like for an old man to cry, Haven can tell you.

It's not good-looking, or even extremely ugly.

Seemingly relieved of inner pressure, Marigoldan's mental state visibly improved after crying for a few minutes.

"Hehehe, I'm much better now. I know you guys will find out about me sooner or later."

"Now that you're actually here, I'm not so scared anymore."

"But... I didn't expect the people who came to be so young..."

Haven was quite satisfied with Marigolo Young's current performance. His dazed and flustered appearance just now was nothing like that of a mob boss who had been terrorizing the downtown area for over a decade. It was truly disappointing.

Now, sitting calmly on the ground, his triangular eyes, once again focused on him, began to scrutinize himself. That's the right feeling, isn't it?

"It seems you've regained your senses. Now we can have a formal conversation. Don't lie to me; I don't like wasting time like this."

After observing repeatedly, Marigoloyan was unable to obtain any further useful information from Havent and gave up.

"Actually, I've said everything I needed to say. Although I am indeed an intelligence agent for the Dark Alliance, you shouldn't expect me to know anything. I don't even know what my superior looks like."

Havent expressed understanding of Marigoloyan's wording, but also felt a little dissatisfied.

Humans are just not honest creatures after all.

"Ah~~~~~~~"

A scream suddenly rang out in the room. Marigoldoyan, his chest on fire, was rolling on the ground screaming. On the other side, Haven lowered his right hand, which had been holding out his index finger.

After rolling around on the ground several times, the flames on Marigoldan's chest were finally extinguished, and his eyes were filled with terror when he looked at Havent again.

"Look, we were having a good talk. I just came to ask you for advice on something, and I was even planning to pay you for it, but you're trying to scam me!"

As he spoke, he pulled back his crossed legs, stood up, and walked towards the latter.

"Look, don't suffer the same pain again. Now I'm asking you questions, so don't lie or say anything unimportant."

Marigolo Yang stared in horror at the smiling young man before him, no longer daring to entertain any other thoughts.

"My first question is, what have you been doing lately?"

"I~I've been~I've been~~~~"

Seeing Marigoldo Young stammering and unable to utter a single word for a long time, Haven couldn't help but frown. This shouldn't be the case; that's exactly how it's written in the book.

That's how it's described in Criminal Psychology and Interrogation Techniques.
Somewhat uncertain, Haven's left hand brushed against the ring on the middle finger of his right hand, and a book with a dark red cover appeared in Haven's hand.

"Let me see~ Oh~ It's like this~~~"

With a snap, the book closed, and Haven sat down opposite Marigold without any hesitation, once again flashing a friendly smile.

"I'm sorry, as you know, there's a lot between the knowledge in books and actual practice."

“I’ve decided to take your request seriously first. I think that way we can have better communication and you won’t be able to lie to me anymore.”

At this moment, Marigroyan couldn't help but recall the important figures he had met when he was still serving in the military. They were all equally rational, equally ruthless, and even equally arrogant. To these important figures, they, these ants, were no different from fruits growing on books or stones rolling on the ground.

"You just said you wanted me to protect your family's safety, right? I've agreed to that condition, and I think you'll be satisfied with the reward. Now, let's get back to my question."

"What have you been doing lately? To be more specific, what tasks have they assigned you to do recently?"

This time, Marigoloyan didn't try to be clever and started talking openly about the arrangements he had been made for.

As the tavern owner continued his explanation, Haven's brow furrowed deeply. Although the events hadn't deviated too much from his own guesses, based on multiple possibilities, the situation seemed far more complex than he had imagined.

"So, roughly how many people did you collect over these three months?"

"Um... I don't remember exactly, but there were at least a thousand people."

Having laid bare his entire background, Marigroyan is now behaving very compliantly. For someone of his stature, it makes no difference whether he sides with one faction or another; he's just trying to make a living.

If he could, Marigloyan wouldn't even mind returning to the Imperial law enforcement ranks.

"Three or four hundred???"

Despite being somewhat prepared, Haven was still taken aback when Marigoldan mentioned the number. After all, he had seen two or three hundred beastmen at the docks on the border, and the information about beastmen stated that not everyone infected with the beastification curse could be transformed into a beastman; a large number of people were unable to withstand the power of the curse.

According to the book, the probability of a person being transformed into a beastman by the general beastman curse is about 30%. So, based on the number of beastmen he saw at the dock and the deformed beastmen he saw in the underground hall of the farm next to the garbage mountain, it is reasonable to assume that the number of beastmen he saw is about 30%.

Even if these cultists could increase the chances of converting humans into beastmen, it would be limited, at most increasing it from 30% to 50% or 60%. That would mean at least 1,000 to 2,000 people would be used for the conversion.

Now, Marigloyan says he has only managed to get three or four hundred in the past three months. Although that is quite a lot, if you calculate it proportionally, there are at least four or five other people or places with similar responsibilities as Marigloyan.

But what's even more interesting now is that the files I got from the municipal government show that there are only forty or fifty missing persons reports in total, and there are even fewer reports and records about beastmen. This kind of disparity is quite interesting.

Either the capital city and the sea are peaceful and the world seems calm, or some situation has been suppressed. "Is it that easy? Three or four hundred people? That means you'd need to recruit four people every day. Do you have that many connections?"

Marigold looked at Havent with a strange expression, and after confirming several times that Havent really seemed confused, he finally spoke:
"Sir, you may not be very clear about the lives of those of us below. I won't go into other places, but just at the riverbank docks alone, there are no fewer than tens of thousands of people coming and going every day looking for work. Among these tens of thousands of people are residents of the nearby slums, as well as people from surrounding towns and cities who come here to make a living."

"Nobody cares if a few people are missing here every day. The patrol team doesn't care either, since they encounter three or four unlucky people every day who get drunk and freeze to death on the roadside."

"Oh~~ I see~~~ This~~~ Hiss~~"

People can be speechless when they're at a loss for words, and this whole thing just gets more and more complicated the more you dig into it.

At this point, a somewhat frustrated Haven scratched his head vigorously. He had thought he was just going to conduct a simple investigation, but things seemed to be getting more and more complicated. He was at a loss for words to describe the dereliction of duty in the government management mechanism and its bloated and useless structure.

"Alright, let's leave that question at that for now. I'd like to know if you're familiar with any locations or outposts where people are doing the same things as you?"

There were too many problems, too many complex ones, and they couldn't be solved by myself in a few moments. Moreover, I didn't want to solve such troublesome matters. These were obviously big issues that should be left to adults. I had already done my duty to Frederick IV by tracking the problems down to this extent.

Having decided to lighten his load, Haven decided to focus on the assassination of the beastmen, and it was best not to get involved in the adult conflicts.

"Hehehe~~ Sir, you are joking. As I just said, I am just a lowly clerk. I don't even know what they are going to do. What I just told you is all I know."

"Including the farm next to that garbage mountain, I previously organized a group of people and then took them to that place to hand them over to the people there."

Haven looked intently into Marigold's eyes, confirming once again that the other man wasn't lying, before standing up to leave. After all, this was just one place he needed to verify, and he hadn't held out much hope. The fact that he had gained so much was already quite good.

"Alright, since you can't think of anything else, let's call it a day. As for your safety, I'll arrange for MI8 to handle it."

Seeing Haven stand up, Marigoldo Young couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that this young man was indeed a man of his word. He just didn't know how the MI8 agents would deal with him when they arrived, and he wondered if the rotten mushroom could continue operating.

"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir."

Seeing Marigoldo Yang bow respectfully, Haven chuckled.

"No, you should actually thank yourself. It was your own choice that saved you. However, you will most likely spend the rest of your life in prison. Not killing you is already the greatest mercy we can show."

Hearing Haven's words, Marigroyan gave a bitter smile. He was well aware of this outcome. After all, given his past actions and what he had done for the cult, it would have been perfectly normal for him to be executed. He was already lucky to be imprisoned.

Thinking of this, the instinct for survival made Marigoldo Yang want to fight for himself, after all, this young MI8 officer could decide his future life and death.

"My lord, my lord, I have some information I would like to share with you, but it is mostly hearsay."

Haven, who was originally planning to leave, stopped when he heard the tavern owner's words. He thought that the other party had no more information, since the Eye of Truth showed no abnormal fluctuations in the other party's condition.

"What's going on~~"

"Regarding your question about whether you know of any other locations or outposts, I'm not entirely sure. However, I overheard a friend in the Eastern Fourth District mentioning that..."

"Ah~~~~ho~~~ho~~~~"

As Marigloyan was speaking, a dark, angular blade suddenly protruded from his chest, followed by a figure completely covered in clothing appearing behind him.

A black-clad figure, completely shrouded in black armor, poked his head out from under Marigoloyan's neck. His emotionless eyes stared intently at Haven. As the black-clad figure forcefully spun the spikes, Marigoloyan's head lolled to the side, his eyes devoid of any light. He died just as he thought he had escaped death.

"Hehehe~~ It seems that the master's worries and decisions were correct. This piece of trash almost ruined things. Now, Frederick IV's lackey, it's your turn. Don't be afraid, I will be quick."

The moment Haven saw the man in black appear, the sapphire ring on his hand flashed rapidly, and a magical dueling longsword engraved with sharpness and sturdiness appeared in his hand.

After pushing Marigroyan's corpse aside, the man in black shook off the pieces of flesh and blood in the thorn-filled blood groove. Only then did Havet get a clear look at the man in black's face.

A fitted, lightweight, pure black leather armor, its surface engraved with intricate patterns, completely covered the person in black. Judging from their figure alone, they appeared to be a woman.

"How long have you been here? I didn't notice you."

Faced with Haven's question, the man in black did not launch an attack immediately, but instead looked him over with some interest.

"What a pity, such a beautiful face, but don't worry, I'll make sure you die without suffering."

Seeing that the other party did not intend to respond to his question, Haven did not press the matter. The situation was not good for him, but it was not too bad. He then slowly lowered his body and assumed a defensive and counter-attack posture.

"By the way, did your boss tell you that as an assassin, you talk a little too much?"

"Also, assassins are most dangerous when the situation is unknown~~~"

As Haven's words fell, the black-clad assassin's aura noticeably changed; his cold eyes were fixed on Haven, as if he were looking at prey about to die.

The magic runes on the black-clad man's leather armor flickered slightly before quickly turning transparent under Havent's gaze.

Knowing he had angered the other party, Haven dared not be careless and quickly released his mental energy centered on himself.

next moment

"White Lion Armor!!! Combine!!!"

(End of this chapter)