Early the next morning, at the crossroads near the Temple of Earth.

"When you get here, the smell is all messed up. "Lothar was half-lying on the ground, sniffing something on the ground in a strange posture like a canine.

The Dog Demon is a kind of alien demon race that only Andrarui exists, and there has never been a record of this special demon race in the war five hundred years ago. Like the Horned Demon, Lothar has a head full of fine short dark hair, and his jaws protrude so that his mouth looks long, and from a distance, it is easy to mistake him for a sheep-headed man among the orcs. If you look closely, you can see that Lothar has a face that bears a resemblance to the common wolves of Andrari, except for the threaded horns on his head.

André believes that this change in Lothar is likely to be due to the three black demon dogs who have been with him day and night, and it is not clear whether this strange connection of "near-ink black" is accidental or inevitable, and the children of the abyss are not clear for a while. However, one thing is for sure, with a long narrow nose and pointed ears, Lothar's sense of smell and hearing is far more developed than that of ordinary middle and low-level demons. Perhaps not as strong as his three calve-like henchmen in this respect, Lothar was able to communicate directly with others in a way that even rangers and animal companions who had been friends for many years could hardly compare.

"Someone deliberately sprinkled a very strange-smelling powder around this intersection to confuse the smell on his own body...... It was a very strange feeling, and the body odor of the thief became blurry and indistinguishable after smelling it. The dog demon stood up from the ground with a bitter face.

"As you want...... Was this theft a premeditated crime?" Arrett's sword-sharp eyebrows intertwined.

"I don't know if it was premeditated, but it's clear that the guy who took the egg was very experienced with this kind of thing. I don't think there is such a thing among the residents of Andrarui. "Lothar's face is not good-looking, those outsiders who disrupt the order of Andrarui are potential enemies of His Highness to the Dog Demon!

"The eggs are worthless to the inhabitants of the forest, and it is a very troublesome thing to artificially hatch and raise the owls, and only outsiders will sell them as 'oddities'. ”

"After the evening, the port basically ceases to operate, and it is no longer open to ships that reach the other side of the river. It should not have been officially opened yet, so I went to ask the city hall to order a strict inspection of the salutes carried by those who left the city. ”

......

At the same time, Lucien, who had been an early riser every day, had just finished washing up, and he was used to jogging along the streets near the Dark Temple before breakfast.

As soon as he ran, the Horned Demon smelled a familiar but slightly different smell at the corner of the exit of the Temple Square. It was the vague aura of a breeze, very similar to the sacred place he held on to every day, but it made him feel that he lacked the solemn oppression of the temple.

- It was the smell of blood, similar to the smell of the pool of blood in the temple.

Pushing aside the dense bushes, a short green arm emerged between the branches. Lucian, whose heart sank, quickly parted the branches that were in the way, and Kinnos, whose back was dripping with blood, appeared in his field of vision.

The wounds where the blood had become sticky made the Horned Demon's face even more gloomy, and he carefully picked up the goblin under the bushes, and Lucien's expression became irrepressibly hideous. Two years of almost penance-like life could not soothe the anger in his heart at this moment. Within reach, the goblin's diminutive body had begun to chill.

He knew the little green-skinned man, who was clearly the same as Kinnos, who had won the featherweight title just a few days earlier.

How dare Andrari, who is under the protection of the law, kill law-abiding citizens!? Lucien's teeth rattled.

Suppressing the hatred that was devouring reason in his heart, the temple guard carefully touched the wound, his blue-gray fingertips stained with a bright red.

"Huh!?" Just as Lucien put his finger into the wound to see how deep it was and tried to identify the murder weapon, slightly hot blood poured out of the wound, staining the horned demon's palm red...... The color and consistency of the blood are not right!

The Horned Demon, who has actual slaughter experience, naturally knows what the blood of the corpse should be when it becomes cold, and in addition to the obvious low body temperature on Kinos's body, the blood makes him feel very fresh.

Lucien cautiously flipped Kinnos's body over and pressed his cheek lightly against the goblin's chest, feeling that Kinnos's chest was noticeably warmer than his limbs.

He couldn't hear his heartbeat, but Lucien, who had been guarding the pool of blood all day, noticed a subtle change that he was very familiar with—just like the thick mixed magic in the pool of blood was constantly flowing and changing, even though the magic on Kinnos's body seemed very weak...... But it was exactly the same as the kind of magical rhythm and pulsation that His Highness Andre had made him feel a few days ago!

- It's a dragon's breath!!

Coming to this conclusion, the horned demon excitedly and carefully picked up the goblin's small body, and broke into the hall of the temple like a gust of wind. The two cowards, who were currently living in the temple and adjusting to their advanced status, were taken aback, and they were just preparing to pray to the abyss every morning and review their rituals.

"Your Excellency...... What is this!?" Seeing the large amount of blood on the goblins, the two cowards realized that something had happened.

Lucien gently placed Kinnospin on the edge of the pool of blood, and covered him with the brown boar skins used to decorate the main hall in order to keep the goblins at a gradually decreasing body temperature. The Horned Demon frowned, as if he had some thoughts in his heart.

"I'm going to ask for Lords Judien and Enriel...... If the magic in the pool of blood becomes manic, he must be removed from here. If the blood pool remains calm, don't move no matter what happens!" "After guarding the blood pool for two years, the horned demon has his own experience and perception of this mysterious existence in the dark.

"Lord Lucien, is he going to be okay?" said the cowardly demons, looking worried.

"It's the Dragon's Breath! The Dragon's Breath keeps him alive...... Just like the toads and snakes hibernate as His Highness said!His will to survive is tenacious, and he will need the magic power that escapes from the hall!" Lucien shouted and ran out as fast as he could......

Under the amazed gaze of the two cowardly demons, the pool of blood, which had just seemed very calm, slowly stretched out its "tentacles", and the red "blood" overflowing from the edge of the pool slowly but firmly climbed onto the goblin's body, like a gentle mother soothing a child in a nightmare.

......

"Hello, Mr. Guard, I wonder how long it will be before we get on the barge to the riverbank?" Ben had the same calm smile on his face as ever.

"I'm sorry, but early morning is the busiest loading and unloading time at the docks, so if you're not in a hurry to get around, why don't you wait until after today's championship?" replied Captain Allafayette, who was wearing a longbow, politely.

"Still no, my companion and I hope to be able to enter the confines of the wasteland before it gets dark today. As you know, the beasts of the woods can be very dangerous at night. ”

The captain of the guard was complaining in his heart that only you humans would think so, and an elven guard walked quickly outside the harbor, and quickly whispered a few words beside the leader Al.

"I'm very sorry, fellow passengers. I have just received a notice that from now on, every person who boards the ship will be subject to strict inspections. ”

The leader of the tall human adventurers quietly glanced at Ben, who was negotiating.

"My lord, you see that these cargo ships are loading and unloading so much, why don't you check our salute first and let us get on board first?"

"Of course, there is no problem in checking your salutes first, but the passenger boat crossing the river departs on the hour, and I ask you not to move around until then, so as not to affect our work and cause inconvenience to both parties. ”

......

At the entrance of the Earth Temple, Arret and Lothar were still carefully searching for clues about the stolen objects, and the three Abyss Guardians of the Inudemon were sniffing around with their heads lowered restlessly.

"A message has been sent to the port and the gates leading to Valhalla, and unless the thieves have left yesterday, the egg should not be so easily transported under close scrutiny. ”

"Arrett, I think you might be a little too optimistic. If the thieves had intentionally hidden the egg in a large number of sorted goods, it would have been impossible for our guards to clean it up thoroughly. Fortunately in the direction of Valhalla, the bulk cargo of the port is too complicated, and it is hidden in any agricultural products such as soybeans and green fruits, and you can only rely on the guidance of the gods to find it. ”

"I don't think we, the elves, the dwarves, the hobbits, and the heads of the Van Gar kingdom will cooperate with the thieves to do such a thing......"

"But even when they're loading, they can't really do it leaky, it's not very difficult to mix something into it, it's hard to get it out after that......

Just before the two of them could come up with any useful conclusions, the laughter of the elves came from above the temple—the elves had just goblins goblins goblins getting up and going out together.

"Is Lily there? There's something I forgot to ask her about last night. The young ranger felt that since it was not a good idea to argue with the two of them, why not ask the others for help. But Lily didn't look for herself last night, so maybe she didn't find any useful clues either, right?

"Lily?" "Did you see Lily?" "You didn't seem to see Lily when you just washed up?" "She wasn't sleeping, I just went into her room to see!"

"No one sees Lily in the morning, is there any fun for her to wake up early alone?"

An inexplicable and violent chill suddenly crept up on the young ranger's back...... It was only then that Arret realized that even such a beautiful Andrari could not avoid some corners where the goddess's brilliance could not shine. As Lothar said, the head of a cargo ship cannot guarantee that his cargo will not leak, nor can the wise Highness guarantee that the beautiful Andrari will not get mixed with any filth, and a guard like himself who has been taught by His Highness is one of the fundamentals of ensuring the purity and integrity of this town!

I should have been alert a long time ago! If someone dares to steal, then they are likely to do more irreparable evil! Why did I not take this potential danger to heart when I reminded Lily to be careful? Is it that the peaceful life that has been there has completely paralyzed me!?

The young ranger was eager to give himself a big slap in the face.

"Where did all the humans who were with you live yesterday!?" In the cool morning, Arret's forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and his young and handsome face was full of anxiety.

"Stone house?" "What's wrong, what's wrong?"

"Lily probably didn't come back at all last night!!" the young ranger galloped in the direction of the inn, followed by an equally slow black beast.

"I'll go to the harbor to keep watch, Mana, you go and inform Your Highness!" At this time, even Lothar realized the worst possible scenario.

The goblins, who were still happy, suddenly became a mess......