Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 331 This place is as safe as a royal army camp.

Ethan is a Sherlock Holmes fan.

Victorian-style architecture, a foggy city, a bizarre murder case, and his black trench coat—all the elements of a detective are there.

As he entered, all eyes in the police station were on him.

Then, all of them frowned and showed disgust.

They recognized Ethan's identity—a detective from the Truth Society. Only they would dress like that, and they disliked detectives the most because they often meant trouble. Detectives would always cause trouble for them when they could easily turn a blind eye to a case.

Fortunately, they didn't recognize him.

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Imperial Truth was gaining popularity in the Empire under the new cabinet's promotion, Ethan specifically emphasized to Ivy that she should not post his picture everywhere. He absolutely did not want a group of people to suddenly appear and hold his hand with tears in their eyes wherever he went.

After exchanging glances, a police officer from the local police station finally resigned himself to his fate and came forward.

"God of Truth above, please don't tell me you're here for Fisher's case too."

They all had a bad afternoon.

A big shot came to the capital and personally visited the police station, demanding that they retrieve all the case files from a year ago. They worked on it all afternoon and hadn't even had a chance to catch their breath when another troublesome person arrived at the door.

They didn't know what had happened today that had brought so many people from the Academy of Truth over. They really wanted to advise Miss Ivy Margaret to let bygones be bygones and not to investigate such cases thoroughly, because even if the truth was eventually found, it probably wouldn't end well.

When Ivy mentioned Ms. Valerie, who was suspected to have been missing for a year, they could only smile helplessly.

Let alone a year, in Darkforge City, if someone is missing for more than three days, they are mostly beyond saving.

More than a year has passed since this incident, and they don't understand why the people of the capital insist on reopening an old case at this time.

"Actually, I'm here to see the sheriff."

Upon hearing this, the approaching police officer breathed a sigh of relief. "Officer Shu Jia has already gone home. You can come back tomorrow."

“I have a very difficult case that I need to discuss with him. Please help me get in touch with him.”

The police officer gasped.

Although Ethan's words sounded polite, he didn't seem to intend to leave them any room to refuse. Under normal circumstances, they would have kicked this detective out of nowhere long ago, but the situation was special recently. It was said that many people had come from the capital, including Prime Minister Ivy Margaret.

Commander Shujia's complaints before leaving were correct; Dark Furnace City is likely about to undergo a major upheaval.

After thinking it over, the officer resignedly said, "I'll take you to him, but I have to warn you, Commander Shuga doesn't like people disturbing his life after get off work."

Sometimes they really missed Dark Furnace City a year ago, when they had a lot of influence, and the Church of Life and the Imperial Military Industry would give them some benefits every now and then to help them deal with some troublesome matters.

Now, they haven't even gotten a single gold lion, and they're risking being reprimanded by their superiors by taking people to find him.

The police officer had a long face; he could foresee the outcome of this whole thing.

If Shu Jia couldn't afford to offend this detective, he would definitely take his anger out on him after he left—the others in the police station obviously realized this as well, and they all looked away, unceremoniously pushing this chore onto him.

Sheriff Shuga is located in the wealthy district north of Darkforge City, not far from Grand Duke Bellamor's manor. This area is a gathering place for nobles and wealthy merchants. Ethan heard that during the great purge after Julius's downfall, the number of residents in this area decreased by a third.

Shuga's estate looked very grand, not like a house that an ordinary sheriff could afford.

"Sir, Commander Shuga!"

The police knocked on the manor door, but the manor was unusually quiet today, and an unsettling atmosphere was quietly spreading under the cover of night.

"Commander Shuga, a detective from the Truth Society is looking for you."

There was still no response, but he couldn't say that Commander Shuga wasn't home because the gaslights were on. He figured Shuga was probably inside and didn't want to talk to them.

The people of Darkhearth City all know that Sheriff Shuga is single all year round, but his private life is extremely chaotic. You can often see women dressed up in flamboyant clothes at his manor.

"Commander Shujia, please come out for a moment, we—"

The officer's somewhat frustrated voice suddenly stopped. He abruptly took a few steps back, his hand almost reflexively reaching for the musket at his waist.

"What happened?"

"Commander Shuga keeps a black wolf, which is said to be a gift from the guild master of the Darkforge City Adventurers' Guild..."

This wasn't his first time visiting Shuga's manor, and the place hadn't left him with any pleasant memories.

The officer realized the source of his unease. Normally, after his shouting, the ferocious monster would have bared its teeth and roared at him—a method Shuga used to drive away unwelcome guests. But today, the manor was unusually quiet, so quiet that it gave him the creeps.

"Something seems wrong. Do you...can you protect yourself?"

The officer retreated to the outside of the manor fence and asked a question with lingering fear.

He hoped for a negative response from Ethan, so that he could carry out what he considered the safest plan—he and Ethan would return to the sheriff's office, gather all the men, bring the electromagnetic crossbows that had just arrived this quarter from the armory, and come back to the manor for inspection only after making thorough preparations.

Of course, doing so would very likely cause you to miss important clues.

"Yes, I know a little bit about self-defense."

Ethan's answer left the officer ashen-faced, but the officer seemed unwilling to let him off the hook. "What time did Mr. Shuga leave the police station?"

About half an hour ago.

The police officer gripped his musket tightly with both hands, staring at the dark manor where the gaslights on the second floor flickered on and off.

Before the officer could speak, Ethan had already started walking along the fence towards the inside. The officer quickly followed, advising, "Be careful, the monster that Commander Shuga keeps is very aggressive. If you act rashly—"

He saw black down scattered on the ground, and under the moonlight, he could still vaguely see mottled bloodstains on the grass outside the manor. The bloodstains trailed all the way to the bushes not far away, and the smell of blood in the air grew stronger and stronger.

The manor remained deserted and silent. The side rooms where the monsters usually lived were empty, and there was no trace of the black wolf.

He could only follow behind Ethan. At this point, it would not be a wise choice to break apart. He just didn't understand why Ethan was so bold as to follow the trail of blood under such circumstances, and even dig at the end of the trail.

What kind of self-defense techniques does this detective practice?

Isn't he afraid that the murderer hasn't left the scene yet and is hiding in the shadows, lying in ambush?

Ethan paid no attention to the officer's thoughts. He pushed aside the blood-stained bushes and saw more black fur. Apart from that, there were only a few barely noticeable bits of flesh. It was clear that the intruder had eaten everything clean, leaving not even bones behind.

The book "Take You to Know 100 Dark Creatures" mentions that when extremely hungry, ghouls will attack any living creature, and their teeth can easily crush the bones of humans or animals.

"Mr. Shuga's situation may not be very good."

Ethan turned his head and saw the police officer several meters away from him, his flintlock pistol trembling as it was pointed at him. When Ethan stood up, the officer awkwardly moved the barrel of the gun to the ground.

They also failed to find Mr. Shuga's body at the manor; all that remained at the scene was a pool of blood.

The attackers looked very hungry; there were hardly any bones left.

The crime scene was on the second floor of the manor. The cushions on the chairs were soaked with blood. Shuga should not have been aware that someone had broken into his room when he was attacked. He was sitting at the table, engrossed in reading something.

"...A ghoul, is it a ghoul?"

The police officers paced anxiously back and forth in the blood-stained room. It was a truly ironic scene, because not long ago, Shuga had assured Ivy that under his management, Dark Furnace City was as safe as the Imperial Kingdom's headquarters, and that not even a single ghoul could possibly sneak in.

"Yes, but not entirely."

Ethan didn't think this was an accident.

"What does this mean?"

"As far as I know, ghouls don't steal things from the table after they've eaten all the food."

Judging from the crime scene, Shuja was attacked and killed by the ghoul behind him while he was sitting in a chair, but his desk was empty.

"Did Mr. Shu Jia exhibit any unusual behavior before leaving the police station?"

"He looked terrible, but we all thought it was because Ms. Ivy had been tormenting him all afternoon... Why do you ask? Do you think it's related to his murder?"

"This possibility cannot be ruled out."

Ethan glanced at the darkness outside the manor. "In any case, you're probably going to be busy tonight."

What's more terrifying than a ghoul is knowing there was one in town, and now it's gone.

"I suggest you immediately issue a curfew, increase the number of patrols on the streets, and bring electromagnetic crossbows, which can effectively kill ghouls."

Ethan searched Shuga's bedroom again, a strange feeling creeping over him.

The room was covered in blood and in complete disarray, yet it had been "cleaned up" perfectly. Whatever Shujia had suddenly thought of before leaving the police station and rushed back to his bedroom, it was no longer there.

Another question is, what exactly can drive ghouls?
This is a knowledge gap that was not mentioned in "Take You to Understand 100 Dark Creatures".

(End of this chapter)