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Chapter 1805 Secret Investigation (My stomach is full)

Like almost all buildings in the empire, the Governor's Mansion was filled with gaudy decorations, various crystal or gemstone inlays, and tapestries depicting magnificent war epics hung from balconies dozens of meters high. Duanmu Huai paused and carefully admired the tapestry in front of him. It depicted a war he was not familiar with, but it was obviously not from the Great Crusade.

Maybe this is what the colonists did when they arrived on this planet?

Duanmu Huai's gaze paused on one of the dark figures, then he retracted his gaze and walked forward again along the bright red carpet.

The banquet hall was very lively with incense burning. The nobles were dressed in gorgeous clothes and stood respectfully on both sides, welcoming the arrival of the most powerful people in the empire. The women were dressed like peacocks, and the men were not much worse. Duanmu Huai walked and observed their expressions. At least from the outside, for this group of ignorant idiots, their lives were pretty good.

Well, if you don't consider the countless demons flying around outside, this place is indeed quite habitable.

Then came the routine speech time. The Governor weighed his big belly and loudly praised the glory of the Empire, and said that he would continue to serve the great Emperor as a citizen of the Empire. Of course, these disgusting flattering nonsense were more to please the Inquisitor from the Tribunal in front of him, so as to avoid Duanmu Huai executing him on the spot for his lack of loyalty.

Duanmu Huai then said some clichés, saying that the empire admired your loyalty and hoped that you would be loyal to your duties. Of course, he also mentioned the idea of ​​raising the tithe at the end. This was of course Duanmu Huai's intention. After all, the appearance of the judge would not bring good news anywhere, and as a judge, he obviously did not come here for sightseeing.

Then Duanmu Huai was very satisfied to see that the faces of those nobles suddenly became as wonderful as if they had drunk the urine of a fart spirit on the spot.

However, Duanmu Huai knew that these nobles would not dare to disobey. Refusing to contribute to the emperor was as treasonous as worshiping evil gods. This was why such news would most likely be conveyed by the Inquisitors. If the other party was even slightly reluctant, Duanmu Huai could pick up the chainsaw sword and execute the heretic.

After this unappetizing speech, the banquet officially began. Duanmu Huai refused the fat governor's request to accompany him, and instead wandered around the banquet hall alone. He restrained his aura, disguised himself as a shadow in the dark, walked among the painted nobles, and listened to their exchanges and conversations.

Most of the nobles' speeches were as worthless as they themselves were, discussing women, wealth, and power. These were all things that Duanmu Huai didn't care about, but he was very patient. If a hunter wants to find his prey, it takes some time and patience.

Of course, Duanmu Huai said that this time would not be very long, perhaps at most until the end of the banquet.

Time passed by, and just as Duanmu Huai was considering whether to capture a few nobles for interrogation, his keen ears caught the faint sound of quarreling in the corner of the banquet hall. Duanmu Huai walked towards the sound, and then saw several young ladies gathered together, seemingly arguing about something.

"We will be able to go to the stars soon! You see, the Inquisitor is here, my God, she represents the Empire! Do you think we can have a chance to serve this lord? Leave this damn place?"

"Are you crazy? That's the Inquisition. Haven't you heard the stories about them?"

"Isn't that great? Traveling among the stars, fighting for the Empire and the Emperor, ruthlessly destroying all evil existences that threaten the Empire... I dream of becoming such a warrior, instead of just staying in the room and being a vase that can only give birth to children in the future like now!"

"Continuing the bloodline is very important."

Another slightly older woman spoke up to dissuade him.

"Try saying that in front of your father and he'll break your legs."

"I won't say that in front of him."

The young woman sneered at this, full of adolescent rebellion. Then her eyes suddenly sparkled and she showed an excited expression.

"Do you think the Inquisitor will come to investigate the dark fortress? I know there must be something wrong with that place!"

"You should learn to be careful with your words! Mina!"

The older woman interrupted again.

"This is a serious banquet, not a place for you to spread those nonsense! If you do this again, I will have no choice but to ask you to leave!"

"Get out, get out!"

The young woman snorted coldly, then walked away quickly, lifting her skirt. The others looked at her and shook their heads.

"Really, her father spoiled her."

"But that prophecy..."

"That's not what the prophecy says. She's just a dreamy child."

"But what do you think the Inquisitors are doing here? We have indeed lost contact with the Empire. Now they are here to reestablish contact and confirm our loyalty to the Empire?"

"That should be the case, but the increase in tithes may be a bit too much for us to bear..."

"Don't discuss it, this is all the Emperor's will..."

Duanmu Huai couldn't hear any more interesting news, so he left the group of gossips, thought for a while, and walked towards the corridor on the other side of the banquet hall.

Walking through the corridor, Duanmu Huai saw a woman standing at the end of the corridor bridge, looking at the garden in front of her. If she was just standing there, she would look like a pitiful young lady. But it was obvious that her performance just now had completely made this disguise useless.

"Hello, young lady." Duanmu Huai walked out from the shadows and spoke. Hearing his voice, the woman trembled, and she quickly turned her head and saw Duanmu Huai appearing in front of her. She quickly stood up, lifted her skirt and bowed.

"Hello, Your Excellency the Judge. It is a great honor to meet you..."

Wow, this is really a little devil.

Looking at the woman in front of him, a smile emerged in Duanmu Huai's eyes. He had seen this kind of character many times in the game, a pampered rich lady. After hearing some stories about the Inquisitors, she imagined them as knights galloping across the starry sea to protect the empire - well, strictly speaking, this was not wrong.

As long as you don't go into details.

"I just heard you guys talking about some very interesting topics."

Duanmu Huai walked slowly towards the woman and spoke at the same time.

"For example, prophecy or something... Can you explain it to me?"

"This, this... this doesn't seem to be what I should..."

"You are a citizen of the Empire, young lady."

Duanmu Huai's tone became serious. He wanted to let the woman in front of him know that the person here was not a bootlicker pursuing her, but the empire's judge.

"As a citizen of the Empire, it is your duty to cooperate with the Inquisitor's investigation."

"Yes, yes, of course, I know!"

When the woman heard Duanmu Huai's words, she suddenly became nervous.

"Prediction... Actually, everyone knows that the prophecy says that one day, our compatriots will come for us. All we have to do is wait patiently for their salvation. This is the reward for our loyalty to the Emperor. We will join a greater collective. As long as we do this, the evil surrounding us will be completely wiped out..."

"Hmm... When was this? Who made the prophecy?"

“This… Sorry, Master Inquisitor, I’m not sure. I’ve heard servants say this since I was a child. It seems that not long after this world lost contact with the Empire, a highly respected bishop said this in person at a gathering. He said that he had received a revelation from the God-Emperor…”

"And the bishop?"

"He must have been dead for many years..."

What a shame, there's no way to hang that heretic from a lamppost.

This thought flashed through Duanmu Huai's mind, and then he changed the subject.

"I also heard about the Dark Fortress... Can you tell me more about it?"

"Of course!"

Compared with before, the woman seemed very excited this time.

"There is a fortress in the northeast of the city. We don't know what it is called, but everyone calls it the Dark Fortress. We are all strictly forbidden to go there. A servant once escaped to that place, and the governor sent an exploration team to investigate. As a result, only one soldier came back. When he appeared at the city gate, he was covered in blood and his whole body was in a horrible state. He only left a sentence of 'Don't get close to there' and then died... After that, everyone believed that the Dark Fortress was some kind of evil existence, so no one was allowed to get close."

Dark Fortress?

Duanmu Huai asked a few more questions, and when he was sure that the woman had nothing more to say, he nodded to her.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss, what is your name?"

"Really? My name is Mina Jean Rice... My father is Clerk Maradok Jean Rice..."

"Okay, Miss Mina, the Inquisition will remember your contribution."

What a naive and foolish woman, but very useful, so it's not bad this way.

Duanmu Huai nodded to the woman, then turned and left.

Next, he would go to the Governor to inquire about the situation here. Especially regarding the dark fortress, Duanmu Huai always had a bad feeling.

As for the specific situation, we will have to wait and see.