"Sir, please! Go find our boss, Forta! Tell him to come save us!"

The guard sighed. "But this is L..."

He added another Silver Coin.

The guard said, "But that’s L..."

The ruffian gritted his teeth and produced another Silver Coin.

The guard said, "Even if it is L..."

The ruffian glanced back at his henchmen. With long, sad faces, they emptied their pockets of Copper Coins, scraping them together for the guard.

The guard cleared his throat. "Even for L..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a figure flew through the air and crashed heavily at the guard’s feet.

The moment they got a clear look at the figure’s face, the expressions on the Forta Gang members froze. "Boss!"

They looked up to see Demon Hunter L standing elegantly in the distance, who said nonchalantly, "Kidnapping, extortion, loan sharking, and a litany of other crimes... Throw them in jail."

The guard nodded vigorously, locking the whole gang into a prisoner transport amidst their shouts of "Fuck you! Give us our money back!"

"So that’s the L from the newspapers. First time seeing them in person. They’re so young."

The guard locking the cart door said, "You got that story wrong earlier."

"Wrong about what?"

"That story about L at the Hunting Competition—fighting eight Contract Knights to a standstill and single-handedly subduing Sun Knight Gawain, making him willingly kneel three times—I think that’s wrong. I thought it was ten Knights."

"So how many was it?"

"If I remember right, I think it was ten."

"That can’t be right. I remember it was twelve," another guard chimed in. "And all twelve of them were Faith Knights."

For the rest of the journey, the guards debated exactly how many Knights Demon Hunter L had simultaneously fought on the day of the Hunting Competition.

One guard who had actually been there gave the answer of six, but he was scoffed at by the others. Gradually, he even began to doubt himself.

By the end, even he was convinced that Demon Hunter L had simultaneously fought twelve Faith Knights while also single-handedly crushing the Sun Knight, Gawain.

And so the story slowly morphed into a Fude City legend: Just how many Undead Cultists did Demon Hunter L kill during the Hunting Competition?

.........

Arriving at the city gate, Baron found not only guards but also soldiers arrayed in formation.

His heart skipped a beat. ’It can’t be this much of a coincidence, can it?’

His hand on the reins tightened, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

Although the affair with the Immortal Church and the Iron Thorn Gang was temporarily concluded, he couldn’t be sure if other Undead Cultists remained in the city. This was especially true now that his two powerful backers, Stephen and Yalilan, had left, while Silver Wizard Fei was still around.

But just as Baron began scanning for the best escape route, two figures appeared before him.

It was Lewis, the City Lord of Fude City, and Sonny, the former deputy who had just been promoted to Guard Commander.

Thanks to an "honesty session" with Faith Knight Victor and Brother Sorrowful, it had been determined that Sonny was not an Undead Cultist. He had merely had his mind temporarily affected by a blessing from Miss Triss.

The source, it was said, was the well at the Guard Post. Drinking its water for years had caused them to be subtly influenced over time.

While this blessing couldn’t control their minds, it could amplify their inner desires.

But the human heart is a bottomless pit, and amplified desire is no different from an uncaged beast. This was why he had acted so rashly at the gate earlier.

This also confirmed one thing: the former Guard Commander—Miss Triss’s father—and his personal guards hadn’t rebelled because of her... but because he himself was a true Cultist of the Immortal Church.

This also might explain why the guards had turned on each other.

Lewis said cheerfully that he had come to see him off, but that he also had a small request.

"What kind of request?"

Baron didn’t let his guard down around the City Lord. For one, the Immortal Church had infiltrated nearly half of Fude City’s high society; the City Lord himself might not have been spared.

For another, there was Ferdinand’s deathbed accusation.

Baron figured it was always better to be careful.

"Before you depart, I’d like you to lead the army, alongside Commander Sonny, and arrest the high-ranking nobles on this list who are suspected of being Undead Cultists."

Lewis produced a list and handed it to Baron. "What do you say?"

’Arresting the city’s elite? He’s openly trying to use me as his hired gun. Does he really think I’m a fool?’

"In return, both I, personally, and the city government are willing to sponsor you an additional 10,000 Silver Coins. Furthermore, as City Lord, I will grant you one request, so long as it does not break the law and is within Fude City’s power to fulfill."

Baron agreed immediately. "I can help the City Lord make the arrests. But in return, I’ll need you to prepare some Alchemy Materials for me: the hide of a Dragon Crocodile, the flesh of a Rabbit Demon, feathers from a Pikas Yelro Bird..."

"...and the corpse of a Bronze Blood Race."