Chapter 204: Scarlet Relief Society

"After the reporter regained his sanity, we asked him many questions, including when he last drank blood, whether he knew that he had actually murdered his son, and what places he had been to and what he had done before his son died."

"Hmm."

"Regarding the blood-drinking aspect, the reporter claims he is unaware of ever consuming fresh blood, and at the same time, he vehemently denies the matter of murdering his son."

"In fact, I also find it somewhat strange; if he truly murdered his own son and buried the body, why would he come to the Guard Hall to report it?"

"Of course, we do not rule out the possibility that this may be caused by some issues with the reporter's mental state."

Leinuode paused slightly after saying this.

He flipped the page on the clipboard and gave a light cough, signaling to everyone that important news was coming.

"After arranging for personnel to continue questioning the reporter, we began to investigate other matters related to him. According to the coroner's autopsy report, his son died about a week ago."

"Once the approximate time was determined, what happened next was a bit too smooth."

"We visited the reporter's neighbors and friends we knew, and learned that about a week ago, the reporter quit the union he originally belonged to, resigned from his job, and joined a union organization called the Scarlet Relief Society."

"With the help of that Scarlet Relief Society, he found a new job with higher pay and better benefits."

"Because the reporter had invited his coworkers to join that Scarlet Relief Society at the time, we easily learned of this matter from the reporter's coworkers."

"Very arrogant, right?" Leinuode said, a smirk appearing on his face.

"Their actions had no concealment, even the name..."

"Sigh, forget it." Suddenly sighing, Leinuode shook his head and said, "Complaining about the Guard Hall's problems here won't help; I'll just continue."

"After learning of the existence of the Scarlet Relief Society, we did not take any grand actions, but instead began to investigate information about this union in secret."

"Its founder is a rising noble named Siman, and it was founded 9 days ago. From the application process to approval, it took less than two hours in total."

"It is very obvious that the rising noble named Siman probably used money to bribe the guard responsible for the approval."

"No wonder no one in the Guard Hall had ever heard of the existence of the Scarlet Relief Society... there was no so-called approval process at all; it was entered directly into the system. Damn it."

"This kind of thing is clearly tacitly approved by the Chief of the Guard Hall, that useless, rice-bag-of-a-bastard who weighs over two hundred pounds, wearing a wig every day thinking I don't know he's bald?"

"I really want to arrest him, then squeeze him hard to see how much grease can be wrung out of that lump of fat."

Leinuode held his forehead, cursing as he spoke.

It was no wonder he was so angry; how could one govern Frostfall City working with such a group of good-for-nothings!? Back when he was still following Edward, the sailors on the Sunset were all more reliable than these guys! "... Excuse me."

Taking a deep breath, Leinuode quickly adjusted his state and continued: "We also investigated that rising noble named Siman yesterday during the day."

"That guy is a typical profit-seeking merchant, a bastard who would never consider the workers. Even if he wanted to gain a good reputation, it is unlikely he would go and found a union that seeks profit for workers."

"Not to mention providing better benefits and higher-paying positions for the union's workers."

"But this is the fact that has already happened before us. Setting aside the problems in various aspects, I think there is only one reason..."

"He was forced, or rather, is the Siman at this moment truly still Siman?"

"Hoo."

Letting out a long breath, Leinuode put down the clipboard in his hand and sat back down in his chair.

"I have finished speaking."

"..."

The sound within the Barrier fell into silence after Leinuode sat down; clearly, everyone was digesting the information provided by this member of the Supernatural Guard.

"If anyone present has anything to say, feel free to speak boldly. Aren't we gathered here to solve this matter?" Brenna stood up at this moment and said.

She looked around at everyone in the Barrier, her gaze lingering slightly on a few people.

"I have a question."

Seeing that no one seemed to have any intention of speaking, Sixin, the president of the Painter Association, stood up from his seat.

"As far as I know, the strength of that Scarlet Messenger is only at the Master level, right? And that Bishop Land is also just a Supernatural of the Master rank."

"We have six Masters here and one Champion. Even if we can't find the location of that Scarlet Messenger, going to the Church to take down Bishop Land shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"I think... if we can ask something out of that Bishop Land, it should also help our subsequent investigation."

"No." Bishop Muse rejected Sixin's proposal without hesitation. He said: "We currently do not know the location of the Anchor. Rashly exposing our combat power and letting that Scarlet Outer God run away with the Anchor Point would be troublesome."

"Since that entity was discovered in this city, I want to solve it once and for all right here!"

Although that is indeed what was said, destroying the Anchor Point would only be able to repel the Scarlet Outer God from this world.

The next time it wants to invade, it would just have to start all over again.

If one truly wants to solve it once and for all, unless the gods take action, there is basically no hope.

However, this is fine; the maximum that they, as mortals, can do is just this much.

By the time the opponent invades this world again, who knows how many years later it will be.

Future matters should be left for future generations to worry about.

"That sounds nice, but how are we supposed to find the location of that Anchor Point?"

As a Fourth Order Master Preacher, Lienie said this while chewing on the food in her mouth.

"Not wanting to expose combat power while also wanting to conduct an investigation—there is no such perfect method."

"In the end, even if we really encounter an Anchor Point, how are we supposed to distinguish it?"

"Also, to destroy it until it loses its function, to what extent must it be destroyed?"

"If we don't solve the problems above, there is no meaning in saying more pretty words."

Who is this woman? Daring to talk to the Bishop of Winter City like this, does she not want to live?

President Sixin silently crossed his fingers in front of him, hid his lips behind his palms, and asked Edward beside him using lip-reading.

"How would I know?" Edward shook his head and only told him that this person was also one of the Supernaturals who came from the Winter City Church; she was likely an acquaintance of Bishop Muse.

"There is, in fact, a method."

Just at this moment, Dunn, who is a Fourth Rank Faceless One, said in a deep voice.

He turned his head to look at Bishop Muse.

"This is the reason you called me here, isn't it."

"Even with Dunn's ability, there's no way it would be effective in front of a god, right? Wait, could it be?" Lienie stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing something, and looked at the other person with an incredulous expression.

"You guessed right." Although Lienie didn't say what she had thought of, Bishop Muse clearly understood her thoughts and confirmed: "Dunn is already a Transcendental who has one foot stepped into the Champion rank."

"With the power of that Scarlet Outer God, before He can send an avatar into this world, He cannot see through Dunn's disguise with just His current means of observation."

"But I am not a Champion rank after all; this level of disguise only works on me personally, so it's best not to be too optimistic," Dunn waved his hand at this moment and stated to everyone.

"As for the question of the Anchor Point, let me answer that as well."

Dunn looked at Lienie, then quickly withdrew his gaze, and said: "About fifty years ago, I also participated in an operation targeting an Outer God, just like this."

"Regarding the question of the Anchor Point, there is no need to worry. When you see it, no matter what form it takes, you will definitely realize in the depths of your brain that this thing is what is called an Anchor Point."

"Because that feeling of being filled with Profane, rejected by the world, and disgusting—like cheese that has been gnawed on by live maggots—is something you absolutely cannot mistake."

"Use any method you can think of to destroy it; as long as that feeling fades, it means the Anchor Point has been successfully destroyed."

". What a distasteful metaphor." After listening to Dunn's description, the Conqueror Knight Daniel, who loved eating cheese, commented silently.

"Because I don't like eating cheese," Dunn glanced casually at the cheese on the plate in front of Daniel and said.

"So?" Lienie waved her hand helplessly and said: "Are we going to investigate where that Anchor Point is, even though we don't have any clues?"

"It is precisely because there are no clues that we must conduct an investigation."

"Moreover, there are actually quite a lot of clues," Bishop Muse looked at Brenna.

"Issue the order, Princess. If we continue to discuss like this, I'm afraid it will be difficult to reach a result."

"We need a unified voice; on this point, I think it is more appropriate for you to do it."

". Thank you for your trust," Brenna bowed slightly to Bishop Muse.

A unified voice, huh? Edward breathed a sigh of relief in his heart; it seemed that the struggle for command he had anticipated did not occur.

Otherwise, it would be troublesome to face a situation where the internal team splits before the enemy is even dealt with.

"Then, let me briefly explain my thoughts," Brenna placed her left hand in front of her chest and looked at everyone within the Barrier.

"If you all have any thoughts, you can bring them up after I finish expressing my opinion. After all, my qualifications are shallow, and my experience is far less rich than everyone present. If there are any loopholes in the plan, I hope someone can point them out to me as soon as they are discovered."

After a pause, seeing that no one had any objections, Brenna immediately took out a map from the Storage space she carried with her.

"Can you clear the table?" she said.

"I'll do it."

Sixin held a Paintbrush in his hand at some point; with a light wave, the entire tabletop became like a canvas, and the empty plates and tableware on it were all put away.

Is this the skill 【Encapsulation】? Yun Mu, who had been keeping a low profile since the meeting began, widened her eyes at the sight before her.

Treating the tabletop as a canvas to quickly encapsulate the items on it—so this skill can be used this way! As expected of a Fourth Order Master Qi Painter; just a casual display is enough for her to learn from.

Furthermore, based on this method, many inspirations had already surged into Yun Mu's mind.

"Hiss, I suddenly really want to try it," she thought, her hands feeling a bit itchy.

"Currently, there are a total of four places we can investigate," Brenna spread the map flat on the table. She held a slightly thick marker and drew red circles on the four locations on the map.

"First is the Church side," Brenna looked at Meiyin, Huoerfu, as well as Edward and Sixin, and said: "I want to make contact with the high-ranking clergy behind that Father Chelman."

"At the very least, we must figure out who he is."

". Regarding this matter, I hope Mr. Edward and Mr. Sixin will conduct the investigation, because you two have long been exposed in the open and are Transcendental who are not part of the Church. Even if discovered by Bishop Land, it will not cause too much alarm on his part."

"Even if you encounter danger, with two Master-level Transcendental joining forces, I imagine there won't be too high a risk... To be safe, let Daniel go with you."

Halfway through her sentence, Brenna suddenly thought of something and added.

"The Conqueror Knight is also not a Church-affiliated Transcendental, so this will be more secure."

"I have no problem with that," Daniel agreed without hesitation.

"We are the same," Edward said, preempting Sixin before he could speak.

"I... sigh, I have no problem."

"Very good."

Brenna nodded, then pointed to the next location on the map.

"This is the residence of that rising noble, Siman. The other party has not come out of the residence for nearly a month. Honestly, since the Scarlet Relief Society's actions are so high-profile, I think the possibility of this being a trap is very high."

"But we cannot give up the investigation because of this, so I hope that Bishop Muse, myself, and the Shadow Guard will investigate this place."

Having said this, Brenna paused slightly. She looked at Bishop Muse and said: "As a Champion-level Night Apostle, you should also be able to hide your aura like the Faceless One, so as not to be discovered by that Scarlet Outer God, right?"

"Hahaha, don't underestimate me, Princess." Hearing her question, Bishop Muse chuckled twice and said: "I am the Royal Capital Bishop who has handled Outer God invasion incidents several times. If it's just this little thing, I can still manage it."

PS: Wow, what a hearty and satisfying challenge.

A meeting with over ten people, each with a different personality.

In the past, I wouldn't have dared to write this kind of plot.

Perhaps, this is also a kind of progress.

(End of chapter)