Deborah Hayes was in a good mood today, as she had a good harvest in her estate's hunting grounds on a sunny autumn day, and she enjoyed afternoon tea alone, with dessert of cherry pies and dried raspberries, the latest tribute from the South, and the cream in the black tea was very fresh.

Far away from the hustle and bustle of the capital, Deborah enjoyed such a peaceful day, which was a rare day of leisure for her.

Although the Hayes family's influence in the kingdom is not as great as it once was, and Earl Hermann has no son who can inherit the title, as the only daughter of the earl, Deborah has the ambition to be as strong as men.

Relying on her father's residual power, she did not slack off to make friends on weekdays, expand her contacts in aristocratic circles, mingle in social occasions such as high-class drinking parties, and live a hypocritical, busy, and empty life...... The daughter of Duke Brilliant is known as the "Duchess", but Deborah is unimpressed by this false flattery.

In Odryk's code, a woman could not inherit a title from her father. If Archer Blaze did not have the younger brother who could inherit the title, her fame would have been nothing more than a rootless pinnacle, and she would eventually fade away with the old age of the glorious duke.

Deborah could not tolerate the Hayes family being an empty shell away from the center of power, and she needed strength to maintain the family's nobility, which was not something that could be achieved through social interaction.

"Conservative...... It's conservatives. Deborah smiled self-deprecatingly, looking through the openwork glass window at the forest sea at the edge of the manor, and the deep thoughts in her heart were about to move.

"I needed a chance...... Until then, a knight is needed. ”

Deborah is thirty years old this year but is not married, and she has not been canonized as a knight, which is unimaginable in aristocratic circles.

While the older single noblewoman was anxiously contemplating what to do, a figure on horseback appeared at the end of the plain and hurried to the Hayes manor. Deborah's eyes were good, and she could clearly see the knight's soft armor with her family's coat of arms emblazoned.

"Is something happening in the capital?" Deborah said to herself, she put down the teacup and told the maid to take the tea set away, and without changing her clothes, she went downstairs and waited only in her hunting suit.

The two valets opened the door to the hall and divided the squires to the left and right, and the visiting knight walked in briskly, his boots stained with fresh dirt.

He took off his helmet, revealing an ordinary "Oderick" face: soft facial lines, light gray eyes, and short brown hair.

"Good day, Lord Hayes." The man knelt on one knee in front of the carpet and held his helmet to his chest.

"Lucius? You should stay in town and oversee the festivities. Deborah sat on the couch with an inquiring look in her eyes.

The man known as Lucius bowed his head and replied, "My lord, preparations for the celebration are going on as usual, and if nothing else, they will be completed three days before the winter solstice, and I have another matter to report. ”

Deborah nodded and said, "What's the matter?" ”

"This afternoon, I heard that the royal capital security regiment found a charred carriage in Hongfeng Park, and a burnt corpse was buried in the ashes, and the original face of the deceased could no longer be seen. This was an ordinary law and order incident, but after I inquired about the details, I found some unusual problems. ”

Deborah raised an eyebrow and motioned for him to continue.

"In the wreckage of the carriage, the vigilantes found charred fragments of what appeared to be a family emblem, and they suspected that the body was identified with a nobleman, so the case must be taken more seriously," Lucius said. ”

"Burning the carriages of the nobles in Slom or even killing the nobles? It's not a trivial matter when it comes to the face of high society. Deborah pondered for a moment, and said, "Even so, there is no need to tell me anything about this, do you find anything else?" ”

"Yes, my lord, it's not hard to find...... I found out that the perpetrator of this incident may be the gangsters in the north of the city. "The earliest traces date back to yesterday, when a murder occurred in a brothel north of the city. ”

Lucius paused for a moment and recalled: "It all started when a stranger killed the son of 'Ogre Kief' for a prostitute, and then fled with the prostitute. In order to avenge his son, Keef sent his men to hunt them down, but it seems that only the prostitute was caught...... Until this afternoon, Keefe's men were seen entering the maple grove. ”

"Ogre Kieff?" Deborah had never heard of such a person.

"He's quite famous in Slom, he's huge, and claims to have ogre blood." Lucius explained, "He has gathered some thugs and is the largest force in the underground world north of the city. ”

Deborah's eyes narrowed, and she began to appreciate what Lucius meant by "unusual...... On the surface, the whole thing isn't too noteworthy, but if you pay attention to the details, you can read some subtle information.

If it's just a vendetta, why involve nobles who have nothing to do with it? If the nobles were implicated, why was there only one corpse at the scene?

Deborah had a bold guess in her mind, but she still needed to confirm it.

"How does the vigilante handle this?"

Lucius replied: "They claim that they have no leads yet and intend to enter into a long-term investigation." ”

As soon as Lucius's words fell, Deborah smiled strangely, like a hunter who had spotted her prey in the woods, and she was more sure of her guess.

"If I'm not mistaken, the underground forces in the north of the royal capital seem to have something to do with that 'Viper' Marquis." Deborah wrapped a strand of hair around her index finger like a triumphant little girl, but she quickly stopped, "Even in the suburbs, I can learn about the ogre's suspicion, but the vigilante is at a loss...... Then there is only one possibility, the ogre is hiding something, and the vigilante acquiesces in their actions. ”

Lucius listened quietly to Deborah's words and knelt in place without saying a word.

"Let's go, Lucius." Deborah stood up from her chair, "I don't have the slightest qualms about snatching someone else's prey—I wonder what surprises await me?" ”

When Levi awoke from his coma, he found himself in a dark room. He felt the weight of his arms, the tingling of the electric shock had not faded, and there was another rusty pair of shackles on his wrists, with thick chains attached to them to communicate with the walls.

After a brief look around, there were two people imprisoned in the dark room: Alvar Stewart, and the culprit who caused them both trouble.

In addition to the main door, the cell had three walls, each with a pair of shackles embedded in each wall, and one for each of the three of them. Levi was the last of the three to wake up, and it was clear from Alva's depressed look that he had struggled...... Thanks to the out-of-control serpentine lightning spell in the carriage, Alva had a dirty rag in his mouth that would make it impossible for even a seasoned magician to pronounce the spell.

Levi leaned against the wall in a more comfortable position, and Levi looked at the carriage hijacker, whose eyes were still very dangerous, but with a hint of desperation. With everyone in shackles, Levi ignored the menacing look in the man's eyes and looked at him from head to toe and foot to head.

Just when the other party was about to go crazy, Levi finally retracted his gaze and said, "I'm Levi David, what's your name?" ”

The guy was silent for a few seconds and replied, "Cizer." ”

"Do you know what this place is?"

"I don't know."

With that, both fell silent, and Alva couldn't speak, only to use his gaze to turn between the two.

Levi noticed that Cizer had a few more new injuries on his body than before, but he didn't bleed much and seemed to be receiving limited treatment. Judging from his age, the other party is similar to himself, perhaps bigger, and has a heroic spirit on his face that does not admit defeat.

Cizer stared at Levi with a flickering look in his eyes, as if hesitating about something, and Levi silently tapped his index finger on his knee, seemingly with no intention of talking.

In the end, it was Cizer who broke the silence first: "I'm sorry. ”

Levi didn't speak, keeping a calm expression on his face.

Cizer gritted his teeth and continued, "I'm sorry to involve you, this matter has nothing to do with you. ”

Levi still didn't react, which made Cizer a little embarrassed, and Alva, biting the rag, also threw a strange look at Levi.

Cizer was also not a communicative person, he turned his head and said, "When they kill me, I should let you go...... You are aristocrats. ”

"No, it's not that simple."

Hearing Levi's voice, Cizer looked at him in surprise.

Levi sat cross-legged on the ground, leaning his back against the wall, tilting his head slightly to look at the only small window in the cell, and said slowly: "Their arrows are poisoned, the poison juice is dark purple after dissolving in the blood, and the smell is mixed with the aroma of grass and fish, this poison is produced in the northwest, and it is spread in the fief of the Marquis of Peli, so the marquis has the nickname of 'poisonous snake'." ”

Cizer didn't understand what Levi meant, he originally thought that the other party didn't want to talk much, but he didn't expect to teach him a lesson now.

"In the underworld of Slom City, there is a gang boss who calls himself an 'ogre', who is active in the northern part of the city, and it is rumored that his backer is a big man, and that big man is most likely Marquis Pelly." Levi said, "Having the audacity to kidnap nobles in the north of the city, the weapons they use were coated with snake venom from the northwest...... It's enough to deduce their identity, they're ogres' men, right? ”

Cizer looked at Levi in amazement, he didn't know anything about Marquis Peli, but he knew that the man who was chasing him was indeed Ogre Keeff.

"From your words, I can understand that they are chasing you, what is the reason?" Levi didn't wait for Cezel's response and continued to ask.

Although Cizer is not a one-size-fits-all personality, Levi's analysis sounds very credible, but lacking some key information as clues, Cizer can't help but tell the truth: "In order to save a woman, I killed the ogre's son. ”

"Do you have any background?"

Cizer was stunned for a moment, his expression was gloomy, and he replied, "I am just a small person, and I came to the royal capital for the first time three days ago. ”

Levi said, "You're missing something. ”

"I don't understand." "I have nothing to hide. ”

"I didn't doubt you, it's just that things have developed like this, and there are still some conditions lacking." Levi said lightly.

"What do you mean?"

"First, if the ogre was going to kill you to avenge his son, you are dead now; Second, even if the ogre has a big background, there is no need to tie up the nobles together, it will not do him any good; Third, if he were going to kill everybody, we should all be dead by now. Levi held up three fingers, but then he felt that the shackles were too heavy and put his hand down again.

Cizer didn't think about so many things at all, he wasn't stupid, and after listening to Levi's words, he frowned and fell into deep thought.

Levi didn't intend to embarrass Cezel either, and continued: "Excluding distractions, there are only a few possibilities...... Think about it, do you hold any secrets? ”

Secret? Cizer couldn't help but feel a little absurd, there were many things that could be called secret to him, but none of them were of sufficient value.

"Why are you so sure...... Isn't it possible that the secret they want is also in you? Cizer couldn't help but say.

"Impossible." Levi shook his head and said, "Their target is you, but they can't be sure if you told us the secret, so they took us captive." ”

Leaviston paused, smiled, and continued, "And I'm pretty sure I didn't hear anything from you. ”

Cizer clenched his fist, then slowly released it.

He looked Levi's eyes and said with some uncertainty, "When they grabbed me, they took a mask from me. ”

"Masks?" Levi touched his nose.

"Yesterday I killed someone and fled with that woman...... But neither of us knew the king well, and she told me that the man who was chasing us was Ogre Keef, and that sooner or later he would catch us, so we decided to flee separately. There was some irrepressible anger in Cezel's tone, "I was going to lure away the pursuers, and before parting, she handed me a mask, and now it seems that it may be what the ogre wants." ”

Levi's fingers tapped lightly on his knee and said, "You think about it, in the beginning, they did intend to kill you, right?" ”

Cezel seemed to sense something, frowned and said, "That's right...... But when I encountered them this morning, those guys had the opportunity to kill me several times, but they didn't kill me, so I was able to run away again and again, is that really a little strange......"

"There's a good chance that the woman you saved has been caught." Levi said calmly, "I can deduce what they found out from her, so the order to hunt you down turned into a round-up." ”

"She's caught?" Cizer didn't believe Levi's words, "Why do you say as if you saw it with your own eyes?" ”

Levis didn't answer Cezel and continued: "The mask was what they wanted, but not all...... The fact that you're still sitting here alive is proof of that. ”

Cizer gritted his teeth and said, "But I really don't know anything else!" ”

"What does that mask look like?" Levi asked.

Cizer was about to answer when footsteps were heard outside the cell.

Listening to the approaching footsteps, the three people in the cell looked at each other, Levi's eyes narrowed, Cezel's expression was cloudy, and Alva's face was full of fear.

"Looks like we're going out to get some air." Levi said.

The iron door was pushed open, and there was a harsh sound of metal grinding on the ground, and a group of men in coarse cloth clothes entered the cell, and a strong fishy smell poured in.

They unchained the wall and shoved the three Levis towards the door. Cizer tried to resist and knocked one of the men down, but was quickly knocked to the ground with three punches and two kicks and dragged out the door.

Levi and Alva obediently walked out of their cells, slowly moving along the narrow hallway, surrounded by a group of strong men. Along the way, they saw a courtyard, the yard was full of bones and spinning gallows and bloody pork hanging high, and a dozen or so naked butchers were busy, and the smell of blood and sweat filled the turbid air.

Is Ogre Keefe's hideout a slaughterhouse? Levi looked around as he walked.

After passing through the foul-smelling courtyard and the dim, filthy corridors, the three of them came to a large room where it was impossible to distinguish between a dining room and a reception room: on either side of the room was a long table piled high with large, rugged cutlery; In the middle of the room was a large black cauldron, in which the crimson soup was boiling, and a few bones as thick as a child's arm appeared from time to time.

At the top of the room, a few steps atop a few steps sat an oversized chair draped in animal skins, on which a fat man with a hill-like shape sits, his eyes the size of two beans under the stack of loose fat, his arms resting on the armrests as thick as buckets, and his high, bulging belly unshackled from his tunic and exaggerated in the air.

There was also a tall figure standing on the side, the man's eyes were deep-set, as if he hadn't slept for days and nights, maybe the fat man's presence was too strong, and Levi and the others almost didn't notice him.

Without giving the three of them much time to observe, the fat man's hand flicked, and something landed on the ground in front of them: an ordinary bone mask.

Alva, who was standing at the back, looked at the mask and couldn't help but wonder if it was something cut from a person's face.

"Have any of you ever worn this mask?" The man standing beside the fat man asked, his voice hoarse and easily recognizable, and Levi could tell that he was the one who had been questioning outside the carriage earlier.

Cizer, who had been dragged all the way here, struggled to his feet, staring at the fat man sitting on the top, "What did you do to Nephitali?" ”

Levi stared at the mask and frowned quietly.

Nephi Tali? The name of the prostitute.

A man walked up from behind Cizer and kicked Cezel in the back. Unsuspecting, Cizer fell to the ground and was kicked twice by the man.

"You should know who I am." The fat man spoke slowly, his nasal voice extremely thick, like a hundred bees buzzing in a person's ear.

"You're Keef, aren't you...... That slug's father? Cizer lay on the ground and slowly propped himself up with his hands.

"Gavin, teach him how to speak." Fat Keef waved his hand.

Standing beside the fat man, the tall man known as Gavin moved his steps to Cizer, and he glanced at his men, and two stout men lifted Cezel up.

"When someone asks a question, you have to answer, that's etiquette." Gavin punched Cezel in the stomach.

Poor Cizer opened his mouth and almost vomited his intestines, but he hadn't eaten anything all day, so he just retched for a while.

"Now, answer the question." Gavin folded his hands behind his back and looked down at Cezel, "Who wore this mask?" ”

Cizer didn't say a word, just clenched his teeth.

Gavin motioned for his men to press Cizer to the ground, and then kicked Cezel in the face, his kick was very tricky, although Cezel was in pain, but not faint.

Alva, who was at the back of the seat, looked at Cizer who was prostrate on the ground, his face pale and his legs a little weak.

Unable to get Cizer to speak for a moment, Gavin turned his gaze to Alva and said, "Take the cloth out of his mouth, it's just an unfinished magic apprentice." ”

After the rag in Alva's mouth was removed, he couldn't help but want to spit on his foul mouth, but seeing Gavin's cold gaze, Alva swallowed his saliva into his stomach with nausea.

"Say it." Gavin's hoarse voice tormented Alva's eardrums.

Alva replied, "I...... I didn't-"

"Stanley's mask, a relic of the warriors of the Saladin era."

Levi's, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, looking straight ahead, and his tone was flat, as if he were speaking to the air.

"More than a thousand years ago, that hunter named Stanley left his mark on the Withered Wastelands as the 'Raven of the Blood Sacrifice', slaughtering countless tribes and caravans just to curry favor with a witch." Levi said slowly, "Stanley didn't leave any bloodline, his origin power is called [Blood Feast], and legend has it that this power was sealed in a mask and is still waiting for the chosen successor for thousands of years - in ancient books, it is called [Bloodthirsty Hood]. ”

Everyone in the hall turned their eyes to Levi's, his declarative words like a magician's incantation, clear and fluent, not to be interrupted.

In the silence, Keef, who was like a hill, slowly sat up straight, as if he had some interest in the young man.

"You know a lot."

Keeve's voice came.

Gavin narrowed his eyes as well, taking a closer look at Levi.

"I've just read a lot of idle books, honorable ogre." Levi smiled modestly, "I think the thing you are most concerned about is probably to extract the power of the Blood Feast, right?" From one of the three of us. ”

Ogre Kief, the giant of Slom's underworld, has a vicious red glow in his eyes, and Levi's calm eyes are reflected in those red pupils full of tyranny and blood.

("Wise men are often able to piece together fragmented information into a more complete piece of information, and there is no doubt that Nevenmor demonstrated this ability at a young age.) —General History of the Continent • The Dark Dynasty)