Chapter 85

Chapter 85: Sealing Off

In the upper part of Igewent, on the north bank of the Iron Mud River in its middle and upper reaches.

In the afternoon, the sun in the sky was obscured by dark clouds, and the city below appeared dull and gloomy.

Inside Buck’s manor, the scent of bl**d permeated everywhere. In the most bl**d-soaked place, the disordered Buck’s study where corpses were strewn about, Dorothy silently surveyed her surroundings, eventually focusing on the window from which Bill had escaped.

“Master…?”

Muttering this title, that young man named Bill had said he came to take Buck and Colif away under his master’s orders, directly discarding them after removing all the “Cups” for the immobile Colif.

‘Master… Just hearing this title suggests that Bill and Buck are students or something under this person. If so, it would mean that the leader of the Crimson Eucharist is not just at their level. Above them, there must be some sort of master… He might be the true owner of the Eucharist.’

Dorothy pondered this, but then various other doubts arose. Who exactly is this master? Why hasn’t he shown up now, after we’ve clashed with the Eucharist and left them in such a state? What does it mean that he suddenly sent people to rescue them? And why did they bring back people turned into “Cups”? Are they rescuing the “Cups” or the people?

Various thoughts surged through Dorothy’s mind, but she shook her head without delving deeper into them because she knew it wasn’t time to think about these things now.

The pressing matter at hand was to gather everything and make a quick escape.

Then, Dorothy walked straight into the secret room to see if there was anything valuable. With the help of her spiritual vision provided by the Identification Technique, she could easily distinguish between spirit storage items, extraordinary items, and secret transmissions, making the search relatively easy.

Dorothy took the handbag containing the lime mechanism trap, emptied its contents, and began packing things into it. Most of the items had already been collected by Buck and were on him, leaving only a few sigils, some spirit storage items, ritual materials, and two secret transmissions, one of which she had read before: “The Taste of Red.”

Although there were only a few items with extraordinary properties, there were also various mundane valuables in the secret room. Dorothy found several pieces of jewelry that seemed to be made of precious metals and some cash.

Continuing to plunder Buck’s secret room, Dorothy tried every possible way to find hidden treasures. Just as she had packed everything into the handbag and was ready to leave, the sound of hooves echoed from the street outside.

‘What’s going on?’

Hearing this, Dorothy was puzzled. She activated the zombie puppet ring linked to the crow puppet waiting on the roof, controlling the crow puppet to fly into the sky and observe the situation below. Then she saw several large black double-horse carriages coming down the distant street, stopping at the front yard of Buck’s house. A group of men wearing uniform black clothing and masks, carrying firearms, emerged from the carriages and began flooding into Buck’s courtyard.

‘F*ck! Hunters? How did they find us so quickly?’

From her high vantage point, Dorothy was shocked to see the black-clad people rushing in. Normally, Hunters shouldn’t have found Buck’s place so quickly, right? They should have waited for the police to notify them, no? How could they have gotten here so fast? Weren’t they still at the flooded dock?

‘Could it be that when Buck and company escaped, the An Yin Bureau caught their trail and followed them all the way? Did someone report to the main force of the Hunters, leading them here? No… How could the Thirsters move so fast for the Hunters to catch up? After escaping the battlefield, Buck and company wouldn’t have had no intention of shaking off the tail, right? They should have known to lose the trackers by taking a few detours. Or perhaps, Buck and company were fitted with some kind of tracker when they left, and the Hunters followed them here?’

Dorothy’s mind raced through numerous possibilities, but at that moment, the Hunter team members had already rushed into Buck’s courtyard, spreading out to occupy various positions, securing entrances and exits. Some Hunters entered the surrounding buildings, emerging from the second and third-floor windows to aim their guns at the windows of Buck’s manor. Within less than a minute, the entire Buck manor was completely sealed off by the Hunters.

‘Oh wow… This is bad…’

Seeing this, Dorothy leaned against the wall, her face pale with fear.

…

After dealing with the remnants of the Eucharist at the flooded dock, the Hunter team tracked them along the river to the White Galaxy Riverside. Their large black carriages had stopped steadily in front of Buck’s house, and the black-clad Hunters quickly secured the area.

Gregor, wearing a mask, stepped into Buck’s courtyard, scoffing as he scanned the mansion before him.

“The White Galaxy Riverside District… Such a grand house. Impressive… I didn’t expect the leader of the Eucharist to have such status. Probably our three houses combined in Igewent aren’t as big as this one.”

With a mocking tone, Gregor stated directly, while Elena, holding a compass, continued speaking.

“Many heretics and heterodox societies hold high positions in society. The wealth they possess is coveted by these societies, so they try to corrupt and win over these individuals. After all, the funds required for mysterious research are bottomless. And these so-called nobles, while living extravagantly, also seek new experiences. Hmph.”

Elena’s voice carried a note of disdain, and then she thought for a moment before continuing.

“However, judging from their current behavior, they appear to be more of a simple evil cult rather than a deeply heretical or heterodox society. Otherwise, the Church would have put in much more effort. It’s not just me being dispatched here.”

Elena finished speaking, and then Turner, a tall figure, sniffed the air and turned his gaze toward the severely damaged third-floor window.

“This house has a strong smell of bl**d, especially upstairs. There seems to have been a fierce battle, resulting in many deaths,” Turner said slowly, causing Gregor’s brows to furrow slightly.

“A fierce battle? Do you mean that those two managed to return here and fought with others?”

“Not entirely clear yet. But overall, I feel that the situation inside is quite unusual. Be careful when entering,” Turner warned, and upon hearing this, Gregor and Elena nodded slowly.

Immediately afterward, Gregor drew his sword, Elena switched to her pistol, and Turner clenched his iron fist. The three led a team of Hunters into the vast manor with full alertness.