Four days had passed since the fall of the Kolabo Legion.

This morning.

Somewhere on the Junction of Suffering, inside a secret outpost of MI2.

Merster wore a silver mask and a black hood, covering himself so tightly that he didn't show the slightest skin, not even the brim of his hair.

He sat at the back of his desk, his arms bent, his elbows resting on the armrests of his chairs.

Ten of his fingers crossed in front of him, forming a triangular peak.

"Cavado, three days ago, you submitted an investigative report to me. You report that Kaisha's killer is most likely an Imperial traitor named Yug. It was he who manipulated the undead to assassinate Kaisha..."

Merst pauses for two seconds:

"The Emperor has cut off the man who used to sit in my place and put me in command in the hope that MI2 will make a change, Carvado. So you have to adjust the way you used to work. I want the truth of what you've investigated, not a lie you've compiled that you think you can use to make a difference...

"Now, Carvado, tell me. After I denied the results of your first investigation, what kind of investigation report did you bring? ”

Captain Kava stood at his desk, took off his hat, held it in his hand, and placed it in front of his abdomen, his voice heavy.

"I'm sorry, sir. Last time I was negligent. This time I brought a new investigative report.

"According to my investigation, Kaisha's death is very strange. I had thought the killer was an undead of the Necronomicon or a traitor named Yug, but as I investigated, I realized that something was wrong. ”

"Well, that's right. Trust the evidence, not the assumptions. Go on. Merst nodded his chin imperceptibly.

"I found the vehicle driven by Kai'Sa in the underground passage. The cart had all the supplies on board, including the most effective battle potions and the Imperial soldiers' favorite tobacco. I walked through the doorway of the underground passage to the underground river, and saw a scene of battle. At the time, I thought that the traces of the battle at the scene were left by the undead when they attacked Kaisha. At that time, I preliminarily determined that the murderer of Kai'Sa was a self-destructing skeleton soldier. But MI3's lab report disproved this speculation. ”

Captain Kava took out a stack of paper documents and put them in front of the commander:

"Upon examination, the bone fragments and flesh foam stuck in the cracks of the stone were clearly abnormal. The bone fragments are indeed the remains of a necromantic construct, but there are bullet marks from machine gun bullets on them. Kaisha's team did not carry light machine guns. In addition, the meat foam is not a human limb fragment, but pork, to be precise, pork from canned pork. ”

"So someone deliberately faked the crime scene, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Look, Cavado, aren't we one step closer to the truth? So, who is this person who faked the scene? Merst asked.

"Sir, I've found some important clues, but I'm not hiding them, I'm getting more and more confused."

Captain Kava opened his briefcase, took out a document from it, and placed it on his desk:

"After I entered the fortress of the Kolabo Legion, I used the secret order to connect with the spies in the legion and obtained important information from the other party. First of all, Yug, who guards the underground morgue and incinerator, has been contaminated by the Necromancy and violated the taboo.

In his dormitory, he set up a ritual circle to summon walking corpses, and desecrated nearly seventy corpses before and after. As for the origin of the pattern of the circle, the origin of the death stone that supplied energy to the circle, etc., I have the preliminary results of the investigation, and they are all on the document. ”

Merst's hands didn't move, his fingers crossed.

His gaze was on the desk, where the documents were windless and automatic, floating in front of him, slowly turning the pages.

Cavado faced this scene, and there was a slight tremor and envy in his eyes.

Merster reads quickly. In half a minute, he finished reading dozens of pages of the report.

Captain Kava explained:

"The person who provided Yug with knowledge of the pattern of the circle and the Death Primordial Stone is a spy of the Death Society. They disguised themselves as guards of the steam train, and have now been stripped of their status as guards and sent to serve as criminal soldiers in the legions of the mountain passes.

"These spies have been transporting criminal soldiers for the Legion all year round. They hid the Death Stone, a book that recorded death magic, and the potions and props needed to learn death magic in the bodies of a pair of sinner brothers.

After the two bodies were sent to the underground morgue, Yug acquired the forbidden knowledge of the corpses. He used the corpses in the morgue to practice the art of stitching up corpses. He also prayed to the important people of the Death Society, and under the bewitchment of the other party, he began to set up a ritual circle to summon the walking corpses.

"We should have discovered Yug's anomaly sooner. But Yog's skin disease is just too deceptive. His white skin just concealed the outward manifestation of being eroded by the energy of death. I reckon this is the main reason why the Death Society chose him as a spy within the Legion. ”

After reading the document, Merst raised his finger and motioned for Cavado to continue.

"Sir, we've simulated the area of influence of Yug's summoning circle.

"It has been calculated that the three underground floors of the castle to the three floors above ground are all within the influence of the circle.

"We confirmed it repeatedly and came to one conclusion. That is, although the summoning circle arranged by Yug can affect the three underground floors of the castle, it is some distance away from the scene of Kaisha's murder.

"If Yogg wants to send his dead men to fake the scene, or to attack Kaisha, he will have to take his team around most of the fortress and go underground from the steam boiler room. It's impossible. Because many people saw him near the castle that night. Our informants planted in the fortress also testify that Yug has always been above ground and has never been underground.

"As soon as I realized that I was going in the wrong direction, I immediately started looking for new leads. I soon received new information from the army that was sweeping up the ruins of the fortress. ”

Cavado put another document on his desk and continued:

"On the night of the fall of the Korabo Legion fortress, about 20 errant soldiers were held in a confinement chamber on the third basement floor. All of the soldiers died tragically in the fire in the guard room, but one escaped: Sinner 888, Leno Jarvis.

"The army that swept through the ruins of the castle confirmed that they had not seen the body of Leno Jarvis. The person who confirmed the situation was Sergeant Marles, Leno Jarvis' immediate superior.

"It is worth noting that the door to the stairwell of the guard duty room is locked from the inside. The fire, which burned the soldiers, was also confined to the inside of the guardhouse. All of these indications are that someone helped Leno Jarvis escape from the confinement cell and disguised the false appearance of Leno Jarvis's tragic death.

"That's when I remembered that the area of influence of Yog's summoning circle includes the confinement room on the third underground floor..."

Merst raised his hand and interrupted Cavado's speech:

"You're saying that after the soldiers in the confinement were killed, Yog transformed them into walking corpses and helped Leno Jarvis escape from the third basement level. Then, Yugg manipulated the walking corpse to lock the door of the guard's duty room from the inside and create a fire, creating the illusion that Leno Jarvis had also died tragically, right? So you think Leno Jarvis is an accomplice of Yug. Did the two of them murder Kai'Sa together? ”

"No, sir. I think the killer is Leno Jarvis. Because Yogg has only shown an extraordinary ability to command the walking corpse throughout, our informants have not seen him command skeletons. At the scene of the murder of Kaisha, I saw only the remains of the skeleton soldiers, and the undead who attacked the steam boiler room were only skeleton soldiers. ”

Captain Kava took a deep breath:

So, I finally came to the conclusion that Leno Jarvis was the murderer. But... However, I don't understand. How he commanded the skeletons. I asked everyone who had come into contact with Leno Jarvis, and everyone reported that there was no sign of death energy being eroded on him. His complexion was normal, and he spoke with a lot of energy, without the slightest sign of weakness or shortness of breath. ”

Müstert pondered for a moment and asked:

"Cavado, let's say the killer is Leno Jarvis. The festival between him and Kai'Sa is his motivation. But the difference in strength between the two is too big, right? I've observed Leno Jarvis, who is just an ordinary person who has just been injected with a booster, and he doesn't have any energy fluctuations at all. Have you ever wondered how he can kill Kai'Sa before she can react? Also, do you think that the person who faked the scene of the underground river crime is also Leno Jarvis? ”

"Yes, sir. I even suspect that the skeleton team that attacked the underground boiler room was the work of Leno Jarvis, but "Captain Kava opened his mouth, not knowing what to say."

Merst finished speaking for the other party:

"But the fact that Leno Jarvis doesn't see pollution from death makes you confused, and it's hard to believe your assumptions, right?"

"Yes, sir. Anyone who comes into contact with the forbidden power will exhibit very obvious outward characteristics. Yug had it, but it was long overshadowed by his own physical flaws.

"Leno Jarvis has no physical defects, and we don't see anything unusual in him. But one thing is clear, and that is that Leno Jarvis knows a lot about death magic. When Kai'Sa arrested him, he had spoken many things in a frenzy, accurately predicting the fall of the Korabo Legion's fortress. This part is also in my report. ”

Captain Kava flipped through the document and showed it to the commander.

As Merst reads, he reads:

"'Talk about the Empire, talk about the undead, talk about the damned Junction of Suffering', 'You're all like fools', 'You'll only be led by the nose by the enemy'. I originally arranged a nurse for him as a love object, just to weaken his IQ with love, but I didn't expect him to be fooled at all, but became more and more sober. This kind of guy with superior intelligence is the most difficult to deal with. ”

Merst's ten fingers shook regularly, arcing like waves.

"Carvado, I have some guesses."

"Listen up, sir."

"It wasn't Jarvis who killed Kaisha, it was the wizard of the Death Society. On the night of the fall of the fortress, Yug received instructions for action from the person he was praying for. After helping Jarvis get out of his confinement chamber, he directs him to join the wizards of the Death Society. After the two sides met, they left the Legion fortress together from the underground river.

Jarvis resented the Imperial army and accepted the invitation to the Death Society. He and the wizard of the Death Society meet Kai'Sa on the way. Jarvis begs the Death Society to kill Kai'Sa to avenge his hatred. The Death Society then kills Kai'Sa and sets up a fake crime scene.

In this way, the cause of Kaisha's death, who set up the fake crime scene, and why there are no signs of contamination on Jarvis's body are fully explained. Because it was not him who was an ordinary person at all, but the wizard of the Death Society who came to answer him. ”

After hearing this, Captain Kawa's eyes trembled, pondered for a few seconds, and nodded heavily:

"Yes, sir. Your speculation is more convincing than mine, and it is more relevant to the actual situation of the investigation. But why did the Death Church answer Jarvis? ”

"Because you know what you know in your heart, Cavado, use your brain carefully. You've caught so many Death Order wizard apprentices, and how many of them can write necromantic runes with a 100% success rate? Lenovo's talent as a wizard is far higher than that of a wizard's apprentice. ”

Cavado gave a look of sudden realization:

"Yes, sir, yes. After you reminded me, I realized how capable this guy is Jarvis. If he joins the Death Society, it will definitely be a headache for us.

"What do we do next, sir? Is it to go to the eastern border line and carefully search for traces of Jarvis and the wizards of the Dead Society? ”

"Nope." Merst shakes his hand:

"There's no way the Death Church will take Jarvis to the east. From the moment of the fall of the Kolabo Legion, the entire border line was put on the highest level of alert. Even I won't necessarily be able to cross the border and return to the heart of the Empire. ”

Merst held up a finger:

"There is only one way for Jarvis to follow the Death Society back to the heart of the Empire. That is to climb over the Blade Mountains, reach the "Fission Wilds" of the Golden Federation, and then return to the Empire through the illegal ferries in the wilderness. We can't control the illegal ferries of the Golden Federation, but we can still block the passes of the Blade Mountains. ”

"Blockade passes. But sir, if Jarvis and the people of the Death Society don't climb the mountain from the pass controlled by our empire, but go through the pass of the Necronomicony, won't we be able to catch them as well? Cavado asked.

"No, it won't. I know very well the virtues of those people who will die to die. Merst waved his hand confidently:

"The people of the Death Society are eager to master the power of death as a living person, and they look down on the undead of the Necronomicon Sect from the bottom of their hearts. The Death Club has finally gotten a talented apprentice candidate from the Empire, and of course it has to be cultivated well to make him a serious death wizard. How could he be sent into the territory of the undead and transformed into an undead. So, nine times out of ten, the people of the Death Society will take Jarvis through the Empire's passes, over the Blade Mountains, and reach the Golden Federation.

"As for who this Death Church wizard is who helped Jarvis escape from the fortress, I have some speculation. It is highly likely that the person is the leader of the wand destruction team who betrayed the empire with the bone-receiving wand. It was this traitor who cooperated with the Necromantic Sect to carry out the ritual of summoning the army of the undead within the legion. ”

Carvado was convinced, and said from the bottom of his heart:

"Sir, your reasoning is much more reliable than mine. Then I will personally lead people to guard the pass, and never let Jarvis and the people of the Death Club cross the mountains. ”

"Yes, Cavado, I formally authorize you to go to the Pass for this mission. Also, one more thing. ”

Merst continues:

"Regardless of whether the members of the Death Club around Jarvis are traitors to the Wand Destroyer Team or not, he has a lot of strength. Well, in order to ensure the success of the operation, I grant you permission to mobilize a biochemical soldier with proliferating armor. ”

“！！” Captain Kava's eyes widened suddenly, and his tone suddenly became excited:

"Proliferating armor, biochemical soldiers. Sir, our research plan has succeeded?! Did the Emperor approve of our proliferating armor and biochemical soldiers? That's great! We must prove to the Imperial army that the Imperials can defeat the Necromantic Sect without knowing the Necromantic Runes! The power of biochemical mutations is enough to defeat everything! ”

Merst raised his hand and pressed lightly, calming his excited-looking subordinates:

"Carvado, calm down. The research plan has not been fully successful, and there are still many research parameters that need to be adjusted. You're going to hunt down Jarvis this time, just in time to test the combat effects of proliferating armor and biochemical soldiers with the people of the Death Society. When you come back, remember to write a detailed report and give it to MI3.

"If, in the course of your search for Jarvis, you find a traitor, I grant you permission to keep him by all means. This order was a higher priority than the hunt for Jarvis, because the traitor had a bone-catching wand. ”

"Yes, sir!"

Cavado said yes, his back straight, his heart stirring.

He took the order from Merster, raised his hand in salute, and turned to leave.

Only Merst was left in the office.

"Huh..."

A soft sigh wafted through the office.

"It's so hard to deal with a bunch of people who don't know what a wizard is.

"In a country where magic cannot be mentioned, it is even more difficult to command a bunch of fools who will fall in love with a wizard at the first sight.

"Father, father. If you hate wizards and magic, and don't accept alchemy, why did you call me back to take over this mess? Do you just want to use the extraordinary knowledge in my mind to help you with MI2?

"The power of magic is great, and so are fathers, wizards. I've helped you destroy the Death Society, and new magical institutions will appear in the Empire. One is stronger than the other, one is more extreme than the other...

"Do you want me to fight those behemoths..."

Merst lit a cigarette in annoyance.

He clipped the cigarette to his finger.

The cigarette butt did not come into contact with the mask or lips.

He took a slow breath.

The spark of the cigarette butt becomes bright, and the tobacco burns quickly.

"Whew~"

Exhalations were heard, but there was no white smoke to be seen in the office.

"Let's just maintain the status quo. The death meeting is not too easy to deal with... I'm afraid that the new magic agency is an existence that I can't mess with. ”

Chapter 2 is at 12 noon!

Starting tomorrow, the update time will be adjusted to noon to avoid everyone staying up late chasing books and hurting their bodies.

(End of chapter)