24: Chapter 24 Arrest

Nighttime.

Nie Ning sat on the edge of a pavilion, quietly gazing up at the starry sky.

Several people stood beside Nie Ning, including Raimond and Leighton.

At this moment, everyone's gaze swept over Poyi Town below.

Because electricity had not yet been popularized, the entire small town was shrouded in darkness, with only sporadic flickers of firelight shining in the silent town.

However, in the northern part of the town, specks of firelight were gathering towards a single location.

"It seems those people really do have a problem!"

Seeing this, a sharp glint flashed in Raimond's eyes.

Previously, he had accepted Nie Ning's suggestion to release the captured people after a brief interrogation, and then sent men to secretly follow them.

In the end, several people did not go home, but instead went to an estate in the northern part of the town.

That estate belonged to a family named Alva, which had previously been generous in distributing food and had contributed greatly to stabilizing the townspeople.

Now it seemed that was merely a pretext to recruit believers.

"What now? Should we arrest them directly?"

A Guard Captain asked in a low voice.

"To avoid complications, arrest them immediately!"

Raimond immediately ordered the town guards to move out.

Although they could play the long game, the townspeople could not wait that long, as hundreds of people were dying because of this almost every day.

Acting now might catch the other side off guard.

With Raimond's order, the Guard Captain immediately began gathering his men and secretly proceeded towards the Alva estate.

Naturally, Nie Ning and the others couldn't just sit and watch.

Leighton's purpose in this trip was to connect with the City Lord's Mansion; the current situation was the perfect time to show off, and getting some scraps from the City Lord's Mansion was still better than running around every day.

Nie Ning also had his own secret agenda; it wasn't just about saving these townspeople, the black water potion was his ultimate goal!

Since he was already no longer human, Nie Ning didn't mind changing again.

If he could obtain supernatural self-healing abilities, then this deal would be worth it.

...

Led by Raimond, the group arrived at the Alva estate.

As one of the local landlords, the scale of the Alva estate was about the same as that of the Hervis Family.

In the center was a three-story castle, surrounded by many buildings, with a large garden in the back.

There were a hundred guards on this trip, half of whom were Knight Apprentices, and the other half were strong, ordinary people who knew martial arts.

There were 7 official knights; in addition to Nie Ning's group of five Elementary Knights, there was also an Intermediate Knight like Raimond.

For a small town, such a lineup was already very luxurious.

Raimond didn't dawdle; he nodded at Nie Ning and the others, then kicked open the gate of the Alva estate.

The sound of the gate hitting the ground startled the people inside the estate, and immediately, a gaunt man wearing an exquisite robe walked out.

"Respected Knight Lords, I wonder what this means?"

The gaunt man asked, looking at the aggressive crowd with a terrified expression.

"Salvador, you should know very well why I have come here. You aren't going to tell me that you brought the townspeople here so late just to watch the stars with you, right?"

Raimond glanced at the ordinary people peeking from the castle windows and said coldly.

"My Lord, I am wronged! I specifically asked them to come over to discuss matters regarding the grain distribution tomorrow."

Salvador cried out that he was wronged upon hearing this.

"Oh? Is that so?"

Raimond sneered: "In that case, be cooperative. Put these on yourself. If the intelligence is wrong, I will come to your door to apologize."

As he spoke, Raimond had his men bring over a pair of handcuffs and shackles and threw them at Salvador's feet.

"My Lord..."

Salvador showed a look of hesitation.

Just then, Nie Ning suddenly drew the long sword from his waist and thrust it towards Salvador.

Due to the suddenness of the event, although Salvador shifted his body, the long sword still pierced his abdomen.

"You..."

Salvador clutched his abdomen, pointing tremblingly at Nie Ning.

As Nie Ning withdrew the long sword, black pus spilled onto the ground; Nie Ning didn't need to explain any further.

Although ordinary people would be corroded by black sores, their blood would not turn black within a short period.

And Salvador had no black sores anywhere on his body; he didn't even have a chance to argue.

Knowing he had been discovered, Salvador straightened his body as if he hadn't been injured, and looked at Nie Ning with a cold and fierce expression.

"How did you find out?"

Nie Ning pursed his lips and didn't answer.

With so many people, you were the one with the most malice; if I don't slash you, who do I slash?

"Salvador, do you have anything else to say?"

Raimond stepped forward and asked, looking at Salvador with icy eyes.

"Hehe, the glory of my Lord will shine upon the world. You people will eventually grovel at my Lord's feet. Only by believing..."

Salvador was full of piety, but before he could finish his sentence, Nie Ning slashed his mouth open with his sword, followed by a kick that sent him flying.

Nie Ning knew the dangers of brainwashing; one could often be deeply affected by it inadvertently.

Don't think about being able to persuade them; any words of persuasion are not as effective as a single sword strike.

Salvador, lying on the ground, spat out black blood, clutched his chest, and looked at Nie Ning with a sinister expression, as if he wanted to tear Nie Ning to pieces with his eyes.

Nie Ning was ruthless and didn't talk much; he walked up and slapped him unconscious.

A peak-level Knight Apprentice dared to act tough in front of him; he didn't even know his own worth.

As Nie Ning acted, Raimond and the others didn't say much and immediately called for their men to begin arresting the people in the estate.

Seeing that the situation was bad, the cultists in the estate tried to mix into the crowd and run out.

But the town guards were well-prepared and had even brought a small number of firearms; anyone who dared to leave the estate would be met with a bullet.

Under absolute force, the people in the estate were quickly brought under control.

Just as everything was proceeding slowly, a guard hurried over to Raimond.

"My Lord, Samodo of the Alva family is missing."

Samodo was the eldest son of the Alva family; previous intelligence had mentioned that he should be in the estate at this time.

"It seems there must be a secret passage."

Raimond's eyes flashed with severity: "Find everyone from the Alva family and make them tell me where those people are hiding."

...

Meanwhile, Nie Ning had come to the basement of the castle.

Unlike what Nie Ning had imagined, the basement before him was like a church, with rows of benches, a podium in front, and two side doors.

However, due to the guards' arrest, the church was in chaos, with broken wood scattered everywhere.

Nie Ning walked into the small door on the left; the room was filled with a large number of books, and two black potted plants were planted in the corner.

Looking at the books inside, most were ordinary books, and there were also some doctrinal books of the Nales Church.