Chapter 273

Chapter 259: Carriage

Kock was dead, dead on the carriage that continued to travel along the cold, quiet road. Soon, the four figures pressing down on Kock burrowed back beneath the seats of the carriage, disappearing completely into the darkness under the seats like shadows.

Then, Kock’s wide-open eyes became peaceful. He slowly stood up from the floor of the carriage and returned to his seat. After adjusting his clothing, he pulled out a newspaper and began to read, appearing completely at ease.

After that, the black carriage continued its journey forward. The coachman’s expression remained calm and composed, even whistling a little tune, as though he were engaged in an ordinary business transaction. The passengers in the carriage were still waiting to arrive at their destination, and the occasional passerby cast no suspicious glances at the carriage.

Thus, the carriage drove out of the cold road and towards the outskirts of the city. After over an hour of turning left and right, they finally arrived at the city suburbs and stopped in front of a deserted little grove.

“Your destination has arrived, sir. A total of 15 gold coins.”

After stopping the carriage, the coachman said with a smile, while Kock inside the carriage nodded, put down the newspaper in his hand, and after getting out of the carriage, handed the payment to the coachman, who smiled and tipped his hat in salute.

“Safe travels, sir.”

Then, the coachman drove away with the carriage, while Kock walked with determination into the grove, making his way to its depths. There, in a grassy clearing, he saw another private carriage parked there. Kock approached the carriage, bowed respectfully, and then retrieved a thick book with a red cover from within his robes, handing it through the carriage window.

“I’m back, miss. Please accept this.”

“Hmm, thank you for your hard work~”

Inside the comfortable carriage, Dorothy, dressed in a small formal outfit, reached out to accept the bright red secret transmission, thanking him. Kock then respectfully retreated back into the grove.

“It seems the operation went smoothly…” Looking at the secret transmission in her hand, Dorothy murmured with a hint of a smile. She and Vania had formulated and prepared Kock’s plan together since the morning, and by the afternoon, everything had progressed very smoothly.

Dorothy had Vania prepare a letter that threatened Kock using a typewriter. The letter pointed out his plans; under no circumstances could Kock remain at ease within the church once his plan was revealed, so he would inevitably flee.

As soon as he ran out of the church district, Dorothy would be able to take action.

First, Dorothy prepared a taxi. Due to the urgency of the situation, she had no time to obtain a vehicle through normal channels; instead, she directly used a zombie puppet to rob a taxi in the suburbs. After knocking out the coachman, she tossed him into the grove and stripped him of his clothes, replacing them with those of the most suitable zombie puppet.

Of course, as compensation, Dorothy left 50 pounds in cash for the poor coachman she had knocked out, enough for him to buy three carriages or acquire some other assets.

Once Kock left the church district, he would need to quickly move to a safe location. As a middle-ranking cleric, he was merely a Black Tier with no unusual modes of transport like bats, so he would have to travel like an ordinary person. Dorothy just needed to ensure the taxi arrived at his location on time.

As for how Dorothy accurately grasped Kock’s exit location and time… that was because the letter Vania wrote to Kock had the landmark sigil Dorothy had bought from Beverly for thirty pounds stamped on it.

Kock would not leave such documents behind; the pressing time constraints wouldn’t permit him to deal with them on the spot, so he was likely to take it with him. Then, Vania could use the landmark sigil to sense Kock’s position, and this location information could be transmitted to Dorothy through the information channel, allowing Dorothy to precisely know Kock’s movements. At the moment he stepped out, she would bring the taxi right to him. After Kock got into the carriage, everything would be easy. With the magic box, she would treat this cleric to a full set of big men, letting him experience what Kim had gone through.

The coachman zombie puppet and the zombie puppet hidden under the seat holding the magic box were both utilizing the effect of the Veil Ring shared through Dorothy’s spiritual thread, so Kock, despite being a Black Tier “Lamp” with the inherent ability to sense extraordinary traces, did not detect anything unusual about the zombie puppets. Dorothy spent 1 point of “Shadow” for this.

While strangling Kock, Dorothy also spent 3 points of “Cup” to remotely bestow the bl**d-Eating effect on the three zombie puppets using her spiritual thread. Dorothy herself remained in her own carriage, manipulating everything from several kilometers away. She had prepared her carriage long before this, thinking ahead after her experiences in Igewent that she would need to move quickly within the city.

“Well, now this side is finally taken care of. I wonder how things are going on Vania’s side?”

As she stroked the red-covered secret transmission in her hand, Dorothy gazed at the sky outside the carriage window, lost in thought.

……

Meanwhile, in the hall of the Historical Records Office in the Church District, the atmosphere was extremely tense.

A group of fully armed Inquisition soldiers, clearly out of place in the Historical Records Office, were standing guard in various parts of the hall, sealing off all exits.

The members of the Historical Records Office, who were originally delighted to continue studying the documents, were taken aback when they saw these soldiers burst in. Some wanted to confront them, but upon seeing the Inquisition Officer, clad in light armor under a cleric’s robe and wearing a helmet, walk in behind the soldiers, everyone immediately dared not make a sound.

Quickly, under the command of the Inquisition Officer, the soldiers efficiently took control of the entire area, and began searching everywhere. All the clerics and nuns of the Historical Records Office were herded to one side, looking around in panic. Although confusion was written across every face, no one dared to ask questions.

After all, these were Inquisition Officers, people from the Tribunal, managing internal affairs, whose strength and power were unmatched within the church’s various systems, not someone from the small Historical Records Office could provoke.

Meanwhile, there was also a group of what appeared to be craftsmen following the Inquisition Officers into the hall. As soon as they entered, they started dismantling the secret transmission observation instruments inside, carefully inspecting each component of the devices and meticulously examining the lenses. Though the clerics and nuns of the Historical Records Office were furious at this intrusion, no one dared to speak up in front of the imposing Inquisition Officers.

Suddenly, one of the craftsmen frowned while examining a lens. After carefully inspecting it, he quickly rushed to stand before the Inquisition Officer and respectfully said, “Sir, the secret transmission observational instrument here indeed has a problem. Out of a total of 12 anti-poison enchanted lenses, one is an ordinary lens. Observing secret transmissions with such equipment would absolutely fail to provide comprehensive protection.”

The Inquisition Officer extended a hand covered with thick leather gloves, took the lens, and scrutinized it carefully. Then a stern voice echoed from within the helmet.

“Has Ludo Kock been found?”