A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 284 The Mouse Whisperer, known as the Little Druid

The next day, the dwarf and the mage, who hadn't had enough sleep, were yawning, but the poet was full of energy. He teased the maid "Little Coal Ball" with his harp, and somehow Freddy managed to make her giggle.

"Hey teammates, how was your three-person basement night?"

"That sounds weird," Rorschach ignored him and pulled out the fast-sleeping Crawley. The dwarf had discovered a more effective way to use the drug—mixing it with strong pirate liquor and having the manager gulp down a whole bottle.

"You slept better than me, great poet. You're quite carefree." Rorschach, who had been keeping watch for half the night, yawned. It was dark outside, and he couldn't tell day from night. He took out his pocket watch; it was ten in the morning.

"Did you know what? Little Coal Ball is actually a mouse whisperer!" Freddy announced a major discovery, making the maid quite embarrassed. The poet continued, "Little Coal Ball was bought by Crawley, and I've already explained it to the maid. Now Little Coal Ball is free!"

The maid, with disheveled hair and an unrecognizable face, seemed much more lively overnight. Pointing at the unconscious manager, she exclaimed, "Old master, bad! Hitting Little Coal Ball, kicking, kicking!" Then she hugged the poet's leg, "New master, good! Let Little Coal Ball eat! Sing!"

"I'm not called Master, nor Sir, my name is Freddy."

"You're already incapable of fighting, yet you want to bring your daughter along?" Rorschach and the dwarf looked at Freddy with amusement. Little Coalball was one of the few Rat Whisperers with a relatively advanced language module, and she was now showing off her possessions—picking up a rat-skin cloak from the corner of her bed to prove she was a true Rat Whisperer. "My old master thought it was dirty and wouldn't let me wear it." She then draped it over herself.

"We can go back to Garbage Mountain and let Little Coalball return to the Mouse Whisperer tribe," Freddy shrugged.

As the group dragged Mr. Crawford out, Little Coal whistled, and the sleeping bats fluttered down and circled around him.

It turns out that Crawford's messengers were also trained maids. Rorschach was quite interested, after all, Coalball's speech was relatively clear, making communication more efficient than other rat whisperers, and he could even communicate with bats, making him practically a little druid.

"Let's go. Now that we've finished our investigation, let's tell the count, and then we'll head deeper into the area." Rorschach found the semi-submerged area to be like a beginner's village. The villains here were all weaklings, and he didn't see any powerful characters. It didn't seem like a place where mages would hide.

Rorschach believed that Caroline would not stop there. As a spellcaster, she would definitely want to explore more areas and figure out what this monstrous place called the Shadowlands was all about, just like Rorschach was now.

The level of magic in the Shadow City far surpasses that of other places. Since Rorschach transmigrated to the continent of Floren, generally speaking, both the church and the spellcasters are lawful and rational. The cult is somewhat eccentric, but not particularly outrageous.

But this place is like a demon city. The atmosphere changed drastically after entering. Many residents, especially in the "Jiaomaoding District" we passed through on the way into the city, don't look like living people. There are also patrol teams from the old imperial era.

Entry requires a near-death ritual, and the tragedy of the elves aboard that "ghost ship" is chilling. How could Istani, one of the three great powers, tolerate such chaos beneath its capital?

Don't let yourself enjoy yourself for over a year only to find out you've transmigrated into a Hammer world. Rorschach, while passing through a gathering in a city on the verge of collapse, accidentally steps on and crushes a fleeing live frog.

On the banks of the Tams River stands a magnificent and solemn building, its main entrance adorned with a black iron shield depicting a crown of thorns pierced by a sword. This is the headquarters of the Iron Crown Knights. Within it lies an office whose window faces the Queen's palace.

The thick carpet absorbed the footsteps of the approaching man, who stopped at the door and knocked rhythmically.

"Please come in."

Percival, having been granted permission, entered the Knight Commander's office. The furnishings inside were a culmination of Istani history and art. Classical oil paintings depicted the heroic figures of knight commanders throughout the ages, with the largest painting showing a grand scene of twelve knights leading the people to overthrow the old empire. Their swords were pointed to the sky, and their opponents seemed to be mythical figures.

Is this an exaggerated, symbolic expression by the artist? Or is it a true war against the Lord of Order? Every time Percival saw this painting, he had doubts. He was certain that the Knights were all mortals; how could they possibly raise their swords against a god?

But Istani did indeed become independent, and the Twelve Knights ruled the kingdom together under the king's leadership, leading to prosperity.

"My lord, there are no clues about number 021. The second suspected mage is named 'Rorschach,' who has not been removed from the list and may not have entered the Shadowlands yet." Within the kingdom, cases involving the Shadow City are represented by numbers, assigning numerical serial numbers to those whose names have been removed.

Caroline is currently the 21st person to enter the Shadow City and be eligible for the Kingdom's pursuit. Her information has been obscured by the curse of exoneration; the only information the Knights have is that she is a mage from the Empire who disappeared in Storm City earlier this year. The reason for the pursuit is that she accidentally learned something she shouldn't have known.

If that woman had known better, the Knights had only intended to "politely escort her out of the country" after capturing her, since she was a mage from the Empire and the Kingdom of Istani would have had some reservations. But she insisted on meddling in other people's business!

"Understood. Has the Order's ship been found?"

"No, we searched the entire shipping lanes within Storm City's territory and found no shipwrecks. They must have fallen."

"Those lunatics have never been reliable! The kingdom shouldn't have cooperated with that so-called Holy Mother Order, but Her Majesty the Queen insisted. If you continue to investigate, remember to go to the police station and erase the relevant case records."

"If the ship enters the Shadow City, the police should have no record of it."

"I'm giving an order, not joking, Sir Percival! You're becoming increasingly incompetent; do I really have to criticize you like this?" The knight's anger startled Percival: "I apologize, sir!"

After being reprimanded, Percival paused for a moment, then hesitated before asking another question: "Should we investigate that mage named Rorschach? He should still be within the kingdom's borders and hasn't entered the Shadowlands."

"No, those mages could escape through the teleportation array at any time; there's no need to waste energy catching an eel. By the way, didn't he come into contact with that elf?"

Benedict, an actor and detective.

"Hmph, an unbelievable combination." The Knight Commander snorted dismissively, handing over a file: "Our focus now shifts to investigating him and his surroundings. We have to thank Number 021; without her, we wouldn't have discovered this big fish. The Grey Elf rebels have become increasingly arrogant lately, and things aren't stable overseas either. It's time for us to close the net and show Her Majesty the Queen the capabilities of the Iron Crown Knights."

"yes!"

"Go down. Since that elf is a detective, you must be careful and not disturb him."

(End of this chapter)