Chapter 144: Breakdown
Around 99% of renowned wooden carving collector Wilhem J. Bancroft's most prized possessionsthose precious wooden carvings that had graced magazines and newspaperswere mostly intact.
Aside from that, the entire Redwall Farm could be described as having been thoroughly plundered
All rooms were swept clean of gold and silverware. Gold and silver candlestick in the rooms and hallways had vanished, and even the gold trimmings on the doors, wardrobes, and cabinets had been seemingly pried off with tools.
Smaller ornaments, mechanical clocks, jewelryanything valuable and small enough had been completely cleared out. Even the curtains woven with gold thread to keep them stiff were stripped of their gold, leaving only tattered fabric fluttering in the wind.
Most importantly the sealed artifactreportedly the final work of a master wood carver depicting the birth of a baby according to earlier investigations by the churchwas nowhere to be found despite the night watchmen turning the mansion upside down.
The Church of Lady Gold Coin might not care about civilian exorcists pilfering while on the job since the items taken weren't their property, but the fact that the sealed artifact they were eyeing had been taken was beyond what they could tolerate.
The night watchmen ran a second thorough and cautious search, breaking open all wooden containers, walls, furniture, and even some large wooden carvings in search of any hidden items.
But still they found nothing.
The face of the livid night watchman captain went from red to white, then turned blue.
The sealed artifact had been taken!
After rushing back to the city, the night watchman captain immediately went to the official responsible for liaising with the exorcists and relayed the situation. The plump church official's eyes nearly popped out from shock. "How is it possible?!"
"The sealed artifact has indeed been taken," the night watchman captain snapped irritably. "You really found quite the character for the job!"
"This" the chubby official, sweating profusely, stammered. "This Wh-what if we try buying it back? That 'Von Alphonse' seemed desperate for money."
The night watchman captain raised his voice, "Go quickly! Now!"
The chubby official sped off at once.
Having sent the official to deal with this, the night watchman captain then hurriedly made his way to the Bounty Association.
Just the day before, the exorcist claiming to be "Von Alphonse" had come to settle the contract fee. To prevent fraud, the Church of Lady Golden Coin had dug a little into this person's background. Although they couldn't track Feng's activities in the city, they easily found the youngster who showed up with Feng. With little effort, the church located Feng's base of operationsPerfect Dream Portrait Studio, a photography studio that specialized in swindling women of their money.
Accepting any sort of deadly commission and still scheming to swindle women of their money indeed made "Von Alphonse" seem like a scoundrel who would do anything for gold.
However, the night watchman captain didn't hold much hope of buying back the sealed artifact; given that this scoundrel had already gotten hold of the sealed artifact, he seriously doubted if that scoundrel would demand an exorbitant price beyond that the church couldn't accept.
Typically, there were two methods to resolve a calamity.
The first was to completely eradicate everyone and everything associated with the catastrophe, akin to dealing with a plague.
This eradication wasn't just limited to the physical body but included the spirit as wellwithout thoroughly eliminating all that was related to the affected parties capable of interacting on the physical plane, the spread of the "catastrophe" couldn't be stopped.
The reason why the Redwall Farm catastrophe caused by the "Baby Birth Carving" became a persistent problem was primarily due to the initial survival of the library maid and four local low-level servants, which misled investigator "Goldfish." He wrongly judged the scale and transmission path of the catastrophe, thinking the personal servant who first heard the baby's laughter was involved with a cult and missed the chance of decisive execution.
After "Goldfish" died from the curse, the night watchmen quickly executed the library maid and four other servants. However, since the inadequately contained sealed artifact was already affecting the entire farm, they couldn't enter and exorcize the spirits of the remaining victims without sacrificing at least half of the local night watchmen.
The second method was to forcibly terminate the catastrophe by containing the sealed artifacta task that also came at the cost of many lives. Until the sealed artifact was found, and if there are still affected victims aware of its existence in the material plane, the catastrophe wouldn't stop spreading.
The self-declared "Von Alphonse" who claimed to have resolved the Redwall Farm incident overnight most likely adopted the first method. Both the liaising official and the night watchman captain believed that this exorcist, skilled in dealing with spirits, might have some kind of remote exorcism method. Otherwise, it was unexplainable how he could eliminate over a dozen ghosts just a day after registration.
However, little did they expect that this person was even more ruthless than they had imagined, with such an insatiable appetitethe scoundrel had actually taken the sealed artifact!
Sealed artifacts had no collection value for individuals. Even in the underground black market where everything could be bought, sealed artifacts didn't appear as merchandise.
An individual or private organization seeking a sealed artifact usually had only one purpose to blackmail the municipality of a major city!
The night watchman captain couldn't stand by idly and watch the situation deteriorate to such an extent.
While the Bounty Association wasn't a legally recognized organization, it often had intricate connections with local official organizations.
Kelly Simmons, the head of Indahl's underground Bounty Association, frequented high-society parties and dinners in Indahl. Whenever the respectable noblemen and ladies had discreet needs, she was always there at the right time.
Oak Bar on Saint Joseph Street, a seemingly ordinary establishment, was actually the external business front for the Bounty Association. When there were no major banquets in town, Kelly Simmons would usually be found on the second floor of this bar.
After hearing the night watchman captain's request, the usually capable Kelly Simmons shrugged helplessly. "I'm very sorry, esteemed sir, but no bounty hunter would dare to oppose an exorcist in possession of a sealed artifact. You know, if I were aware of such a person roaming the streets, I might opt for a short vacation myself."
"Don't be quick to refuse, ma'am," the night watchman captain said calmly. "I'm just hoping you can help me contact 'Lich' Envie. I know you can find him."
"This Esteemed sir, please believe that I'm not trying to shirk responsibility" Kelly Simmons apologized. "Mr. Envie already left last month upon hearing that the 'Nightmare Butcher' appeared in Indahl."
"What?!"
"Mr. Envie seems to have some past grievances with the 'Nightmare Butcher' But you know, who would dare to ask Mr. Envie about his unpleasant past?" Kelly Simmons said regretfully. "I heard that His Lordship Adra III recently provoked the 'Nightmare Butcher.' I do hope Mr. Gould would be able to properly advise Indahl's lord."
The captain's face twitched uncontrollably.
How should he put it. The Church of Lady Gold Coin had always maintained an ambiguous stance regarding the infamous Nightmare Butcher, Yang, going to Indahl to support the claim of a noble's illegitimate child. This was primarily to avoid getting tangled up with the notorious madman of the Navalon continent.
However, the fact that the "Lich" Envie, his greatest hope, had been driven away by the Nightmare Butcher was deeply frustrating
"Lich" Envie was an extremely rare "friendly" spellcaster among black mages that was willing to maintain a good relationship with official organizations. While his level of friendliness was subjective at least this legendary figure never maliciously attacked people from the churches and would accept commissions from official organizations if the price was right.
Leaving the Oak Bar regrettably, the night watchman captain hadn't yet figured out a plan when the chubby official returned with even more bad news
Von Alphonse's assistant, a young man named Brook, claimed that the peculiar wooden carving his master had accidentally acquired was bought by a passing black mage on their way back to Indahl.
That black mage who happened to encounter Von Alphonse claimed himself to be Yang.
In the hall of the exorcist registration office, the night watchman captain, in front of several officials and clerks, spat out blood in frustration.
"Von Alphonse!" the night watchman captain roared furiously. "Kill this idiot! Don't let him leave Indahl alive!"
The chubby official then gasped in terror.
"What else haven't you told me?!" The captain bellowed.
"H-he already l-left" The official was nearly in tears. "That Brook kid said they earned enough funds and had to return When my men got there, they were loading their photo studio's stuff onto a carriage. Th-they might have already left the city"
The night watchman captain nearly coughed out blood once more.
"Chase them!!!"
Soon, the Church of Lady Golden Coin's knights and two temporarily requisitioned City Defense Force cavalry squads set out on the northern, eastern, and southern roads in pursuit.
Toward the southwest, on the rural road to Weisshem, all was calm
As Indahl was thrown into chaos, to the west of Weisshem, in the mountains, Sam Hank and about 20 comrades, who had been urgently summoned to the town hall and officially enlisted as staff, were staring in amazement at a spectacle that shattered their worldview.
The mission assigned to Sam Hank and his comrades was to escort several undead and their equipment to conduct a terrain survey from Weisshem to the edge of the Taranthan wasteland; more undead were expected to join and assist them when they entered Taranthan.
Sam and the others were familiar with railways laid with iron tracks, like the magic steam train railway that ran from Indahl to the capital of the Rhine Kingdom. To prevent theft of the tracks, city police even set up mounted patrols along the railway.
Before leaving the town, Sam and the others didn't think this mission was much different from the ones they had carried out as soldiers, except that the important persons they were to protect and assist had changed from nobles to undead.
It wasn't until they left the town that the undead Mayor Ji Tang appeared in a strange pneumatic vehicle they had never seen before in the city no, not even in newspapers or magazines
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