SCT-Novel Chapter 144: Breakdown
Chapter 144: Breakdown
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.
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