Baron Cullen

The group first went to a shoe repair shop.

The shop owner is an elderly man. It is said that a few days ago, his ten-year-old granddaughter went out to deliver repaired leather boots to a customer and then disappeared.

The old man pounded his hunched legs as he spoke, tears streaming down his face, utterly heartbroken: "My granddaughter is so lovely, she knows the way home, she... she must have been kidnapped by those damned kidnappers!"

Listening to the old man's story, the team members all looked grim, their eyes burning with anger.

Karen silently took notes with a pen and paper.

Then, they asked around along the street and learned from a widow who ran a small tavern that her thirteen-year-old daughter had also gone missing.

It is said that he went out to fetch water while helping in the kitchen and never returned.

The widow searched every corner nearby, even looking under the well, but she couldn't find her daughter anywhere.

As the crowd questioned her, the widow sat blankly in her chair, repeatedly muttering, "The bucket was still by the well... but... but how could she suddenly be gone?"

Karen frowned slightly as she watched this scene.

He unconsciously tightened his grip on the pen, but still managed to record all the information.

After visiting several streets, they arrived at a flower shop.

It is said that the shop was opened by a little girl named Lina, but it has been closed since she went missing.

Karen sensed a faint presence behind the shop using the mysterious runes in her right eye, so she led everyone around to the back of the flower shop.

Soon, the group found Lina's mother in a narrow, damp shack not far away.

Upon seeing Karen, the woman immediately grabbed his hand, her eyes already red and swollen from crying, and cried out in a hoarse voice, "My lord! My Lina... she's such a good girl!"

That day she said she would go to the market to sell the last few bouquets of flowers and then come back. She was wearing a light brown long dress and a wreath of flower petals on her wrist.

But... I waited until dark and still didn't see her, so I immediately ran to the place where she usually sells flowers to look for her..."

"Madam, I understand your feelings very well..." Karen did not shake off the woman's hand, but let her hold it, and asked gently, "But I would like to ask, what did you find after you got there?"

For example, has anyone in the neighborhood seen Lina and where she ended up?

Is there anyone suspicious or anything else?

As he spoke, he gestured to Olsen beside him to write down all the information.

The woman said in a hoarse voice, "Yes...yes! I searched there for a long time, and then a peddler who often sells beans there told me that he...he often saw a strange black carriage those days."

The carriage was completely covered by a curtain and parked in the same spot every day.

But he has never seen that carriage since Lina disappeared!

"It must be...it must have been the people in that carriage who kidnapped Lina!"

The woman grew increasingly agitated, gripping Karen's hand tightly and refusing to let go: "My lord! Please! Lina must be in danger! Please, save her!"

Seeing this, Karen patiently comforted the woman, and after the woman's emotions gradually calmed down, she quietly removed her hand.

"Madam, I assure you..." Karen looked at the woman and said, enunciating each word clearly, "No matter what happens to Lina in the end, I will find her!"

He dared not make any overly ambitious promises.

Often, the higher the expectations, the more extreme the pain and despair will be.

According to his own knowledge, Bastian's kidnapping of the young girl was not a recent event, but had been going on for several years.

Over such a long period of time, the other person's humanity has probably been completely eroded.

Under such circumstances, he didn't even dare to think about the terrifying and desperate predicament that the missing young girls, including Lina, might face.

Thinking of this, he silently left the shed, his hands hanging at his sides unconsciously clenching.

The investigation was undoubtedly a heavy and oppressive process.

Whenever Karen saw the pain and despair in the eyes of those who had lost their children, she felt immense pressure and a burning anger that she had been suppressing deep inside.

After several hours of intensive investigation, the team found almost nothing except that several young girls had gone missing and that the perpetrators were likely involved in organized crime.

Those missing young girls vanished without a trace in this city, like drops of water falling into the ocean.

Despite their extensive experience, the group was helpless in the face of this situation.

The investigation has clearly reached a stalemate.

Seeing this, Olsen and Karen discussed it and decided to lead their team back to their base to see if the other teams had found any valuable clues.

After returning to the base.

Karen glanced around and saw that two teams had already returned.

The captain of one of the teams happened to be Harold, who had previously taught him combat skills. He went up to him and struck up a conversation.

However, after several exchanges, both of them saw a hint of disappointment in each other's eyes.

The two teams conducted a thorough investigation of the entire western part of the city's civilian district, but found nothing except that the number of missing young girls continued to increase.

Karen frowned for a moment.

He began to review the entire investigation process, trying to find out if he had overlooked anything.

However, upon review, the only clue that could be considered was a "strange black carriage".

But there are countless black carriages in the City of No Breath.

Not only nobles liked to decorate their carriages with this color scheme, but wealthy merchants did the same.

On the training field, the members of the battle group dispersed in twos and threes to rest.

Karen paced back and forth, trying to clear her mind.

He walked to a corner of the training field.

There were two rows of weapon racks next to them, and not far away, members of two other teams were squatting down, wiping their weapons and chatting casually.

"Did your team make any discoveries?" a chapter member with a scar on his hand asked.

The other person shook his head and said, "We searched almost the entire Queen Street. There were three families who lost their children, but we didn't see how they were lost."

"Sigh...we're in a similar situation. We investigated in the western suburbs, but didn't find any missing children." The man with the scar on his hand sighed, his face full of exhaustion. "But I did see a very impressive house near the Greywater River!"

"You actually have the leisure to look at those things?"

"That mansion is really something else. Not only is it heavily guarded, but in the few minutes I watched, there were many well-dressed people coming and going. It seems that the knight who apologized to Karen earlier was also there." The scarred man continued, his eyes gleaming with envy. "There was also a black carriage parked in the courtyard of that mansion. Just by looking at its style, you can tell it must be expensive!"

I guess that house must have been used by some nobleman to entertain wealthy merchants.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Karen, who was reviewing the clues not far away, suddenly froze in place as if she had been struck by lightning!

He strode up to the scarred member of the warband and hurriedly asked, "You just said you saw the Knights' squad leader Jacob Lance and a black carriage in that mansion?!"

"Yes...yes." The man nodded, somewhat puzzled. "Baron Karen, have you discovered something?"

After confirming it, Karen's pupils dilated violently!

It was quite strange that a suburban mansion was heavily guarded.

Most importantly, there happened to be a black carriage in the mansion, and even Jacob was there!

Who is Jacob?

Those are Bastian's men!

In that instant, Karen seemed to have an epiphany, connecting all the jumbled information in her mind!

It is a known fact that Bastian, as a priest in charge of external affairs for the church, had good relations with many nobles and wealthy merchants in the city.

But cultivating good relations requires skill, after all, nobles and wealthy merchants are not fools.

It just so happens that the mansion is frequently visited by many nobles and wealthy merchants. In addition, it was previously known that Bastian had a habit of adopting young girls a few years ago, and that several young girls had recently disappeared without a trace.

In a daze, an extremely bold and terrifying conjecture surfaced in Karen's mind.

That mansion was most likely a secret place where Bastian satisfied his perverse desires and conducted some kind of dirty deal with those nobles and wealthy merchants!

And those missing young girls are the price of this transaction!