Chapter 33: Storming the Door!

"What is the hardest crime to discover?"

"The absurd one, with neither motive nor capability. You stare at the case file, not knowing where to begin."

Facing the candidates, Li En explained his plan, acting like an old-time bandit.

But others felt it was normal; those who truly understand crime are likely all law enforcers.

A criminal often needs only one slip to end, while law enforcers face these cunning villains every day, having seen every kind of chaos.

"Many unsolved cases, even when cracked by chance, feel like luck. It's that kind where he had no reason to kill you; he didn't lack money nor hold a grudge. Yet reality might be a passing glance, or simply disliking your hair color, then following you home."

Under Li En's design, the lack of murder motive and grudge would become the cover for Li En's group.

Because if it were just about reasoning and logic, Li En indeed had no need to clash with the slave market.

Li En and Dimon came to sell goods; was it necessary to kill the buyers? That makes no sense.

Killing for justice, for the weak? That's nonsense, better spoken in a dream. At least that's what most people would think.

The second layer of cover is the issue of killing capability.

"Can a stray dog kill a lion? Can an ordinary person kill a high-level transcendent? Reality holds this possibility, though low, but most would think it's completely impossible."

This is a world of transcendent beings; the gap between Dimon and Eugene is far greater than that between a stray dog and a lion.

Then, as long as Li En, who possesses the ability to kill, has an alibi, that suffices.

Then, when the suspicion against Li En's group shrinks infinitely, all eyes will naturally turn to the other party in the case.

"The Tail Hunter has both motive and capability."

He or she, following someone and discovering this transaction, would he, who already craves "life," let go of such a treasure?

Offending the slave market? With his usual madness, what wouldn't he do?

"But to form this logic, there is one premise: the Mad Knight must not be around when Eugene dies."

"Can you do it?"

Recalling the words and expectations of senior Li En, Larry took a deep breath and drew his longsword.

The original six arms, enhanced by the illusion, had vanished without a trace.

Though still slightly unaccustomed to wielding the sword with only two arms, against an opponent of merely this level, there was no problem.

The artificial justice of the local church seemed to have started walking another path.

"For the children..."

The orphans, those little bastards who emptied her pockets, should not become someone's life storage, a reserve ration anyone can take a bite of.

The lost knight seemed to have found the banner in her heart.

"... I will draw my sword."

That day, Larry responded thus; now, she says this to herself.

"To eradicate these scum, I am honored."

This time, the young Spider-man Paladin, though wearing another's guise, drew his sword for himself for the first time.

"Sin Domain Judgment."

Red light guided her enemies; these sinful ones must die.

This time, the transcendent judgment was superfluous; the children bound by iron chains in the trafficker's room were their unmasked evidence of guilt.

"Sin-Breaking Slash." Faint silver light fell upon this forged Sword of Courage; the young Oath Paladin wielded her first Sin-Breaking Strike.

"Clang."

A silver ring bloomed in the room; the next instant, flowers of blood bloomed at its center.

The headless corpse, still spewing blood, had no time to fall before a new semicircle slashed out again.

Her sword moved unceasingly; even with only her two arms, she displayed efficient and elegant killing techniques.

Being chosen was not without reason; in terms of swordsmanship talent, she was the most suitable successor.

"Don't be afraid, children; I am here to save you."

This time, she reached out her hand to the children who needed saving.

"Bastards, daring to mess with the market's business!"

"It's that Paladin again! Kill him!"

The thugs behind them hurriedly arrived, including two transcendent beings.

"Sin Domain."

What greeted them was still only the red of sin-breaking judgment.

"Sin Break."

And the silver of sentencing, and the red flowers blooming from flesh and blood.

Facing the sinners resisting law enforcement, Larry elegantly controlled the distance, guiding them to death with a single longsword, while her extra eyes still watched the children behind.

【I vow: the suffering of innocent children shall be returned tenfold to the abusers!】

This was her vow.

Controlling the power of law came at a cost; the power originally granted by the deity was insufficient to open this new "Sin Domain."

Thus, she also established her own three vows.

That day, the desperate eyes of the children taken away by traffickers before her played repeatedly in her memory.

If that man had not reached out, she might not have been able to face her true self and would have fallen long ago.

"This time, I can draw my sword for the children..."

This strike, filled with extreme joy, brought faint drops of water down her cheeks.

The children's expressions of extreme joy made her sword move faster.

And this was only the beginning.

Most of the human-trafficking organizations on the list had deep ties to the market—if they were to be moved against, it had to be done thoroughly.

【I swear, the order born of goodness and the light of law shall become my guide, my binding, my direction.】

The judgment of the sin-domain became her guide; her sword would swing without the slightest hesitation.

The trafficking gangs of the dock district suffered a great calamity—this one's slaughter was elegant and efficient, and she cheerfully went from one den of sin to the next.

She encountered obstacles, even ran into dirty cops—but so what?

"Power and violence cannot hinder my actions. Only my true heart can guide me. When I am lost, the radiance of the law will show me the way."

The silver light she swung out once more carried not a trace of hesitation.

Perhaps she was still immature, but this time, as long as the light of the law pointed toward evil, the day would come when she swung her blade at the gods themselves.

Kill after kill, and still the boundless evil could not be cut clean.

Along the path of swinging her sword, she also cast her gaze upon the presence in the dock district that could not be ignored—that resplendent, golden palace.

She recalled the words that man had once spoken.

"Perhaps we still cannot shake the roots of this evil, but this time, we can make them pay a price."

【I swear, I shall forever uphold the covenant of justice, and never betray my companions on the path of justice. With our swords, we shall carve out an ideal land where even the weak may know happiness.】

And so, foolish as she was, she simply kept swinging her sword.

The thinking—leave it to the seniors worthy of trust.

——

Things moved quickly. The news of Eugene's murder spread in no time.

"Who's Eugene?" But most people in the dock district didn't even know who he was.

"Oh, seems I've seen him." The "noble guests" who happened to visit the slave market only carried a fleeting impression of him.

"Oh, he's dead—great, I mean, what a shame. He was a good man."

And the nobles and gentlemen who actually had dealings with him, upon hearing the news, were for the most part quite pleased, with only a touch of vexation.

After all, one fewer person who knew of one's dark deeds—how could that not be a good thing? They simply needed to find another proxy.

For the slave market as a whole, Eugene died—just swap in another person.

Even if there was a period of chaos and loss, even if many connections and private dealings were lost—so long as the kingdom's "nobles" and "elite" still existed, still toyed with this kingdom, still had their many demands, nothing would change.

How did he die? Didn't he have bodyguards?

"Was he killed by the Tail-Cutter? Uh, why would they clash? Forget it, doesn't matter."

"Uh, the Tail-Cutter likes kids, Eugene did too. They wouldn't be reaching into the same pocket, would they."

The cause of his death—few cared; it naturally became a topic of idle chatter.

And from another angle, once he was dead, everything about him ceased to matter.

"Just as I said before—while he was alive, his life and death mattered, as if the sky would collapse without him. Once he died, no one cared about him anymore."

The day after the incident, faced with Talia who had come to ask what to do next, Li En replied casually.

But really—would it not shake the foundations of the slave market? From what Li En knew, their losses this time were considerable.

Too many private connections, assets, and treasures were held in Eugene's hands; he simply couldn't trust anyone else.

Only now, internally they should be busy fighting over the top position, with no energy to spare for this side, not even time to tally the losses.

"Eugene's bodyguard, Searle—why didn't he mention the Hero's Blood? We wouldn't have failed." Talia was uneasy; the slave market's response was too sluggish, which made her anxious.

Hearing this, Li En smiled and shook his head.

"Let the bullet fly a while."

Some things couldn't be hidden. How could one Searle possibly seal off all the news? If he truly succeeded in sealing it, then moving later wouldn't be too late.

Of course, letting it ferment on its own and leaving fewer traces of human interference was naturally the better outcome.

Li En could hold his patience; the one most anxious was Talia, who on the surface had no connection at all.

Recalling that day's events, she grew more and more uneasy, worried that she had botched it.

"It wasn't me, was it, that affected their investigation—after all, the Tail-Hunter being a woman and all…"

That night, the sky had already begun to darken, yet there were still many eyewitnesses on the streets.

If, because of that scene, they reached the conclusion that the Tail-Hunter was female, wouldn't that mislead the investigation? Searle might well have already reported that the assassin was a woman.

"It's fine. Too many abilities can change one's form—if they investigate, they'll definitely check both men and women." Saying so, Li En stroked his chin, growing all the more satisfied.

"It might even be that pursuing the female lead is correct. By my estimate, the probability of the Tail-Hunter being female is quite high."

Li En had long harbored certain thoughts and speculations.

The Tail-Hunter was far too brazen—he kept committing crimes as if nothing could stop him.

The fear he inspired always lingered; victims should have been on guard, so why was he still killing with pinpoint accuracy?

"Many victims died inside their own homes, at night, and there were even signs of the door being opened. Would you open the door if a man knocked at midnight?"

For him to commit crimes so easily and so madly, he must have had an appearance and identity that didn't raise alarm. The dock district was quite clannish—the odds were high he was a local.

"Killing is one thing; leaving safely afterward without drawing any attention or alarm is quite special. Most stealth methods have time limits and aren't reliable."

Li En had done a profile, and grew increasingly convinced that the killer was more likely a woman, an elder, or a child.

"His appearance should be quite harmless—otherwise he wouldn't have been able to commit crimes so smoothly in a dock district where people were on their guard."

"Then can't we use that condition to list possible targets?" Talia still knew a thing or two about investigative methods.

Hearing this, Li En gave a wry smile. "Then do you know how many people fit the bill of being able to move about freely without disturbing others' perceptions? You and I are both among them."

Too many possibilities—even a scavenging old man could be a candidate.

Especially law enforcers. If they knocked at midnight, the door would still be opened—whether Holy Knights or police officers, both were possibilities.

And if one truly assumed the Tail-Hunter was a police officer, it might not only spark a new wave of panic and chaos, but also let the real culprit of another profession slip through.

"I won't be. The dock district police will be under high alert." Talia said with a bitter smile.

"Is this a good thing?" Li En sighed; he also knew it was the truth.

Assessing the criminal's characteristics is a method to narrow the scope, but its reliability is insufficient, intelligence is lacking, and it can only serve as auxiliary judgment.

"Isn't there no other way?"

"It's just that there aren't enough resources. The Knight Brigade searches, the Thief Brigade blocks people in the shadows; surely they have gains we don't, but behind the slave market, there are definitely those behind them." All problems ultimately boil down to insufficient firepower.

Still saying, "Just wait and see."

Li En's group did not wait long; what was to come, came.

"Someone is selling a piece of Hero's Blood on the black market! At a sky-high price!"

Yesterday it was calm and peaceful; today it became thunderous and overwhelming.

The development of the situation was completely blown apart by a single piece of news.

Hero's Blood, such a thing, could actually enter the black market? And be auctioned? In an instant, whether in the Dock District or the Radiance District, whether the Church or the great nobles, too many gazes turned toward it.

Whose blood was it? How was it auctioned? How did an ordinary person get hold of it and directly throw it onto the black market to cause an uproar?

Soon, these details were dug out.

"Former Oath Grand Knight Li En Sudar, upon arriving in Radiance City, was in the Regression phase; he should have entrusted it to his friend Dimon to have it auctioned."

"Dimon and 'Black Gold' Eugene conducted a private deal, resulting in pursuit by the Tail-Hunters who had a grudge against Li En; then the Tail-Hunters killed and robbed. Logically, it makes sense."

"Dimon is very weak; he is just an ordinary person, a trash boss of the Dock District. He would not have the courage to deceive the market; he is now seriously injured and in a coma, the work of the Tail-Cutters."

"What about Li En? Isn't it normal for the Mad Knight to go mad?"

"That is even more impossible. On the day of the incident, he was in the eastern part of the Dock District pursuing a group of human traffickers; he used a Law-type ability, and he is the only one in the entire city who knows it; it must be his true self. Besides, did he have any reason to kill Eugene? There was absolutely no motive to act."

Yes, the fact that there was absolutely no reason to hunt and kill Eugene was the root cause why Li En and Dimon were not regarded as the culprits.

And Li En's alibi, on the contrary, cleared Dimon. On what grounds could Dimon alone injure Eugene?

As for Talia? From the very beginning, without the guidance of the dream, these few people had no interaction in reality; her information was not even within the scope of the case.

So, was it truly the Tail-Cutters?

"Bodyguard Syl's greed, his private search for the Tail-Hunters, completely confirmed the Tail-Hunters' suspicion."

Just as Li En said, interference leaves traces; letting human greed run wild makes the incident erupt more naturally.

He forcibly dragged it out for two days; his attempt to find the Tail-Hunters alone was exposed.

Immediately, it caused a huge uproar even among many high-ranking nobles in the slave market.

When those who coveted the Hero's Blood learned that the bag of blood gems had been stolen two days ago, they completely fell into madness.

As for Eugene? Uh, a dead man; who cares now?

But even this was still not enough; Li En's Heroic Soul possession time was decreasing more and more.

He needed them to be more anxious, more like mad dogs, to ignore even more the possible flaws in this case, and to chase and tear at the Tail-Hunters even more crazily.

An orderly search in the shadows was not what he wanted; he wanted the entire situation to be chaotic, to make the scene completely chaotic, so that the evil in the corners would have nowhere to hide!

"Then, let's light a fire."

Li En decided to give them another push, to make them even more anxious.

He, this "victim," also had a reason to act.

"Bang!"

In broad daylight, under the disbelieving gazes of countless onlookers, Li En kicked open the door of the slave market with one foot, storming in so righteously!

"You sinful bastards, how dare you swallow my goods?!"

Amidst his rage, there was also joy.

For this day, Li En had waited too long.

(End of this chapter)