Chapter 52: Exploitation
"Well, man...... "I thought the 'evidence' you were referring to was a stack of papers or something." ”
Dineh's gaze crossed the raised wine glass, and he stared at him with a smirk.
"Oh no," he said, "in view of your apprehension about this, I think a more convincing way should be adopted to ensure that our message is clearly accepted by the Viscount. ”
No, you're clearly taking revenge. Albert next to him sighed and pushed aside the plate of dark red bolognese in front of him. Korver glanced at him, made sure he didn't mean to, and carefully shoved the plate in front of Dinen with one finger. Dinein, on the other hand, dug a spoonful and smeared it on the bread.
"So, what about the Viscount's reaction?" He asked with interest.
"He paid three times his salary for the servants to clean the courtyard, and then he had the captain of the peace come in and talk." "He regards this as an extremely malicious provocation, and he will definitely investigate it to the end." ”
"It's a bit off from what I expected." Dineen said thoughtfully, "Didn't the part of his neck up really notice the anomaly of those corpses?" ”
Albert frowned in embarrassment, but Korver was completely indifferent to the part of his words directed at his father: "He only looked at it twice, and then he had it all packed up and sent to church." ”
"Church? How long ago was that? ”
"About forty minutes ago." Korver somehow found a pocket watch and looked at it, affirming, "Soon after he went out, I ran out to look for you." ”
"Very well," said Dineh, decisively, "we will go to church now." ”
Albert was caught off guard by the sudden decision, but he subconsciously followed him to his feet, while Korver was a beat slower. As he struggled to pull his leg out from under the bench, he asked, "Why do you want to go to church?" ”
"Go see how many smart people there are in this town."
There was a local who showed the way, and it didn't take long for them to get to the church. The church in Nanhai Town, like everything else, is the largest building in town, and although there are not many people coming and going, it is continuous. Dineen looked around and slapped Korver on the shoulder.
"Go to the senior pastor." He commanded, "I want to know his attitude towards this matter." ”
Korver was driven two steps forward by his force, and when he turned around, he found that Albert and Dineen did not mean to follow: "You are not with me?" ”
"No, you go yourself."
Albert was the right person, but there was no guarantee that the senior pastor wouldn't turn to him for help. Even if he could have good reason to refuse, there was a chance that the senior priest would inform the viscount of the matter. It's not worth taking the risk of testing the other person to remember themselves. As for Dineh...... He was never responsible for situations that could not be solved by violent means and in exchange for benefits.
And Korver came in a lot better. On the one hand, this matter is his family business, and he himself is an idle bastard, and it is entirely possible that he will come to inquire about the news out of interest, even if he is a little tough and scoundrel, it will not arouse any suspicion.
Cornwall naturally understands this, but he is "the kind of bastard with a bit of conscience", and it is nothing to bully civilians in normal times, but directly attacking a respected priest of the Holy Light, he will inevitably feel empty in the bottom of his heart.
Seeing his hesitation, Dineen gave him a smile. For him, the meaning of this action is similar to that of a beast, squinting eyes, grinning lips, showing teeth, a sign of threat, intimidation and provocation, and has nothing to do with kindness.
Although they were strictly an equal partnership, Korver automatically put himself in the position of his follower. He could sense that Dining's essence was closer to that of the Cursed Cultists, who were closely related to dangers that had nothing to do with the lives of ordinary people, and who defied the laws and powers of the world. As a result, when they want to hurt others, there is neither psychological burden nor practical difficulties. Although he knew that Dineen could not use the same methods against the Cursed Cultists, and Albert was the surest guarantee in this regard, the fact that the tiger did not bite did not mean that he could be rubbed like a house cat, at least not in the things he considered important. So he walked into the church dejectedly, without arguing any more.
Dineen had been prepared to wait for a while, but he didn't expect Korver to run out after a few minutes. He looked like he was going to go straight this way, but he took two steps and stopped, staring at a man for a moment before he hurried over.
"What's going on?"
"The senior pastor is not in the church. The acolyte said he had just left, not long ago. Korver was visibly relieved by the accident, "As for that man, the captain of my family's bodyguard. He should have sent the body over for burial. ”
"Is it the carriage?" Dineen pointed in the right direction.
"Uh, yes." Korver glanced at it, and then stared uncertainly, "Wait, why didn't I see the sign?" But it was my carriage, and I had broken a corner of the pedal two days ago, and before I could fix it, you see, there it was. ”
Dineen stared at the carriage and the trail left by the carriage for a moment, "Where did the senior pastor go?" ”
"Said to go to my house for a purification ceremony......" Korver said, scratching his head.
Hearing this, Dineen chuckled, but when the other two looked at him strangely, he didn't explain, but motioned for them to follow the carriage.
It was not a difficult task in a crowded street, and the driver of the carriage did not shout loudly for the way of way, but silently followed the crowd, seemingly not wanting to attract anyone's attention. Dineen seemed to follow casually, observing his surroundings with interest like a country boy, sometimes pointing out people and things for Albert to see, but he was always able to stop just in time for the coachman to turn back, so that the stalls or pillars could block him. After the carriage had driven down a dirt road, he even stopped to study the rut marks for a while, allowing his target to turn around the corner for a few moments before following unhurriedly.
Albert and Korver followed Dinein's rhythm and followed Dinein's pace as they chased the carriage through town without any danger until they reached the Viscount's residence. After watching the carriage drive through the gate, Dineen nodded, indicating that he had learned what he wanted.
"The wagon wasn't empty, and I think the body was still in it." When they reached some deserted alley, he said bluntly, "Whether it's the senior priest's request or the viscount's order, at least they understand what I want them to discover." And this visit was anything but purifying. If a person thinks that the house needs to be purified, he will not continue to stay there. ”
"They want to talk about something in front of people." Albert said knowingly, "The ones you showed me on the street...... The viscount had already decided to act, and he was secretly gathering soldiers. ”
"I'm more interested in who he's going to deal with." Dineen tilted his head to look at Korver, "Do you think your father is interested in the topic of immortality and the resurrection of the dead?" ”
Korver's eyes lit up slightly, but Dinen then added, "For the Cursed Sect, these two situations are equated with becoming undead. ”
Thinking of the rotting monsters in the dungeon, Korver's eyes dimmed again.
"No," he replied affirmatively, "as long as he knew that, he would never do." Either way. ”
"It's good to be in a normal mind. Then now you can give him these things. Dineen tossed him a dozen pieces of paper, "Tell him about your experience last night, or make up a story that doesn't mention us." By the way, remember to observe their reactions. ”
Korver was in high spirits this time. Albert watched him walk through the door and poked Dineen in the ribs with his elbow.
"How?"
"I think," said Albert, frowning, "that he seems to be very active in our position to calculate his father." Generally speaking, when someone from an unknown source asks you to cooperate with their plan, no matter how legitimate the reason, you should trust your loved ones more, right? ”
"Obviously, he didn't have a good relationship with his father, very bad." Dinen folded his arms and leaned against the wall, "Avenging the life of a man who once beat him half to death is obviously not the only reason for a normal person to run out and take risks, and he is not a paladin. I think he was more annoyed by his father's decision and wanted to protest, not because of you. ”
Albert had become completely accustomed to and habitually ignored the taunts that his partner would come up with from time to time. He was sure that one day he would understand the reasoning behind it and completely resolve the situation. Although Dinen has been working to deny the paladin's strong sense of morality and act in a more realistic way, it is clear that he is not profit-oriented. His principles were not far from Albert's, but Dineen was trying to ignore them.
Never mind. He thought, with a sense of tolerance for a child with a temper tantrum, I'll pull him back, whatever the reason.
But it was too early to talk about that until Dineen was willing to explain it to him. So Albert turned his attention back to the problem at hand.
But there should be a limit to this, encouraging his father to crusade against a dangerous cult gathering point...... "Are you sure he didn't want a murder?"
Albert swallowed the second half of his sentence. Such accusations were impossible for him to think of in the past, and he should not be now. But after going through so much, he instinctively became wary and alienated from the local aristocracy. Even if Korver doesn't seem to be too bad by nature.
"Because I promised him that we would help, thank you for your credibility." Dinen simply said that using his status as a paladin to gain the trust of others was already a familiar tactic, "and they knew that there was no way to solve the crisis." As for asking for help from Dunhold......"
When the name was mentioned, the two of them snorted at the same time with a very tacit understanding. Blackmore has returned from Intramus, but according to the news, it appears that he continues to try to murder himself with alcohol. He spends less than a third of his time awake in a day. Not even the orc rebellion on the surface did not attract his attention, let alone the Cursed Sect hidden in the shadows.
"So," Dineen concluded, "let's go into battle ourselves." ”