Chapter 490 (1/2)

Chapter 490: The Real Target

Translator: TransN Editor: TransN

Upon arriving at the Sheep Tavern, the group promptly obtained Maans’ address through enquiry.

“I’ll go in first to take a look. You guys enter from the front door afterwards. Summer, keep an eye on Lightning and Maggie. Don’t let them in.” Nightingale entered her Mist and vanished after delivering the order. In her world of black and white, the lines that constructed everything started to twist and distort. She soon located a crack invisible to the naked eye and glided through the wall effortlessly.

The man’s abode was as humble as Shovel’s. It appeared that Maans had been destitute since losing his job as a patroller. She could see clearly so she knew that there was no God’s Stone of Retaliation in the vicinity. Nightingale soon spotted her target in the bedroom. The man was sound asleep beneath the blanket. His coat hung at the bedside with blood smears still on its sleeves.

Nightingale returned to the drawing room to open the door. The police swarmed in. They pushed Maans, who had just woken up with a start, back on the bed and tied him up.

“Who are you? Let me go!” He yelled with horror.

“You’re under arrest for murders!” Rene silenced him with two loud slaps. “How dare you plot against His Highness. It’d be merciful even to have you hanged at the city gate!”

“No, I, I didn’t…”

“You didn’t!?” The slaps turned into punches. After a few muffled sounds, Maans gasped in pain, his mouth full of blood and his front tooth falling out. “We saw you murder Shovel last night. Do you think we’ll believe your cunning excuses? You used Dreamland Water to knock him out. Then, you strangled him to death before cutting his throat to avoid getting blood on you. That was pretty smart, eh?”

Maans did not say a word, but his eyes were filled with shock and terror.

“Who gave you the order to kill Rats applying for jobs? Who instructed you to draw a crossed crown with blood at the crime scene?” Nightingale picked up a glass bottle from the night stand, it was filled halfway with light blue liquid. “Dreamland Water isn’t cheap, and it isn’t easy to get a hold of it now that the gangs have been eradicated.”

“I…”

“We might exempt you from death penalties if you spit all out.” Rene clasped his hands. “Otherwise, I’ll make you fully understand the consequences of infuriating a noble.”

Nightingale did not stop his threat, even though she knew the Earl of the Elk Family was lying. Like His Highness had said, security was the top priority, and anyone who posed a threat to it should be punished severely.

Maans hesitated, more punches landed on him.

The knight, who had received professional combat training, hit him between the abdomen and the ribs with just the right amount of strength to inflict excruciating pain, but not enough to cause death.

“Mercy! Mercy! I’m sorry, my lord! It was a guy from the inner city, he told me to do it! He’ll pay me four gold royals for each person I kill. He said by doing this, people will nurse a grudge against the police and think those black uniform guys are incapable of protecting the public. In this way, we can reassemble the patrol party!”

Maans collapsed. He was not a strong-minded person. A person who stood firm in his spirit would never choose to be a patroller and benefit himself through robbery and pillage, and certainly would not take four lives for just a few gold royals. Nightingale believed he had probably never expected to be tracked down by the Ministry of Justice so soon after committing the crime, and definitely never thought he would be found out in a city of 20,000 people in merely four days.

Maans confessed everything tearfully, smearing blood and snot all over his collar.

“I don’t know how he found me. Our first meeting was at a tavern. He handed me that bottle of Dreamland Water and told me as long as I did what he asked me to, I would get a big chunk of money. I didn’t have any savings at the time, and the police had rejected my application. I was feeling bitter and resentful. So, I agreed.”

“The police department will never hire a scumbag like you.” Rene coughed out a spit.