I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 171 Orchid

Central part of the empire.

In an unremarkable rural school, a despicable scene is unfolding.

"...Who...who are you people to treat those children like this? Aren't you afraid of retribution?!"

The person speaking is a woman.

She looked to be in her early twenties, with a pretty face and a scholarly air unique to teachers.

But now, she lay on the ground, her clothes disheveled, her naked body covered in wounds. The lingering smell of the sea in the air told the story of what she had just endured.

"retribution?"

The man opposite seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Hahahaha... Who do you think this empire exists for? I am the son of Minister Ernest! The empire has survived only because of us! You lowly commoners are lucky to even be alive, yet you dare to speak of punishing me?"

Faced with the man's arrogant smile.

The woman's expression grew even more indignant, her bloodshot eyes fixed on him: "To condone your subordinates' massacres and rebellions, to rape young girls... these are heinous crimes punishable by death! Even if you are the son of a minister, the governor... the governor will absolutely not forgive you!"

"The Prefect?"

"What a naive woman... I'll take pity on you and show you the truth."

The man's smile grew even more unrestrained. Suddenly, he grabbed the woman by the neck, lifted her up, and walked out step by step.

outside.

It was a jumble of severed limbs and thick bloodstains.

The man dressed as a swordsman twirled his sword and sheathed the demonic sword named "Jiang Xue".

"Lord Sheila."

"...How are you feeling, Izang?"

The guest named Yizang bowed slightly: "Thanks to you, 'Jiang Xue' has absorbed enough blood from those who harbor resentment, and I can feel its power has increased considerably."

"Hmph, once we return to the capital, there will be even more blood for you to drink..."

Sheila looked around: "Where's Champo?"

"Over there."

Following the direction of the hidden finger, a fat man wearing a clown mask emerged from another building, cradling several bleeding heads in his arms. His face wore a mixture of crying and laughing: "What adorable children, like angels... I can't bear to see them turn into filthy adults. It's better for them to stay as they are..."

"..."

They are clearly doing something that is outrageous and despicable.

But Sheila and her group spoke in a nonchalant tone, as if they were discussing what to eat for dinner rather than murder and arson.

The woman, held aloft by Sheila, watched and listened with bloodshot eyes, tears welling in her eyes, but because her neck was being held tightly, she could not make a sound.

At this time.

A series of hurried footsteps came from outside.

As the gate was kicked open, a pair of fully armed guards appeared inside the school, led by the local female governor.

"Who is it, causing trouble here...?"

The conversation abruptly ended.

Upon seeing Sheila's face clearly, the female governor's expression instantly turned panicked: "You...you are Lady Sheila?"

After a brief hesitation, the female governor suddenly knelt on one knee, and then beckoned the soldiers behind her to kneel as well, bowing their heads low: "Governor Flora of this region greets Lady Sheila... I was unaware of your presence here beforehand, and please forgive any offense I may have caused!"

"...Is this the governor you were talking about, the one who hates evil as if it were his enemy?"

Sheila turned to look at the woman beside her, and then, with a look of despair on her face, snapped her neck.

Then they casually tossed the body aside.

Then, he turned his gaze to the female governor and licked his lips: "You, come here."

"..."

The female governor's heart skipped a beat, and a hint of fear appeared on her face, but she still said in a trembling voice, "Lord Sheila, the bloodstains here are too heavy and will soil your noble body. Please come into the city with me and I will prepare a banquet for you to wash away the dust... As for this place, I will clean up the corpses of these lowly people and make sure no one discovers their connection with you."

"Going into the city...that's fine too."

"Then I'll give you lowly commoners a chance to serve me."

Sheila nodded in agreement.

At that moment, the minister's son left the school with an air of arrogance, followed by Yizang, Shangpu, and others.

The female governor turned to her subordinates and hurriedly instructed them, "Send someone to set fire to the school and burn it down, then cover up the news... If Lan asks about it when she returns, just say it was an attack by mountain bandits."

"Yes."

Sheila and her group gradually disappeared from sight.

A raging fire broke out inside the school.

All the evidence of the crime was burned to ashes in the fire, leaving only a pile of charred and broken ruins standing silently on the plain.

Much later.

A handsome, blond young man staggered back to the school gate, staring at the familiar yet unfamiliar ruins of the school, his expression trembling: "What...what happened here?"

……

Uchiha Hikaru arrived at the location marked on the map in just over half a day.

However, finding Sheila took quite a bit of effort.

After all, the location given by the Divination Imperial Arm was a plain area of ​​tens of square kilometers, and within this area were several villages and towns with a total population of tens of thousands. With Sheila and the others not showing themselves, Uchiha Hikaru could only use a carpet search method, creating about a dozen shadow clones to fly around in the sky using the Flying Technique, observing the surrounding crowd with the vision of his Sharingan.

until……

She spotted the somewhat familiar blond youth.

"Hey, what's your name?"

Uchiha Hikaru descended from the sky and landed in front of the blond youth.

The latter looked completely lost at this moment, as if she hadn't heard her question at all, until she was thrown into a Tsukuyomi by Uchiha Kou and calmed down.

"……orchid?"

Uchiha Hikaru thought for a moment before remembering who this person was—

A member of the "Hunter" organization founded by Esdeath, and the wielder of the Imperial Arm "Mostima".

In the original story, he was once a village teacher, deeply loved by his students, and fell in love with the local female governor. However, upon returning from a trip, he discovered that his students had been brutally murdered by bandits, and the news was being concealed by the local authorities. Dissatisfied, he abandoned his studies and joined the army, hoping to change the status quo of the empire and avenge his students. He joined the "Hunter" organization.

In fact...

The so-called "villains" are actually Sheila and her gang, also known as the "Wild Hounds".

In the original timeline, Ran ultimately perished alongside Champo from "Wild Hounds," and her body was turned into a puppet by her companion Kurome using the Teigu: Yatsufusa.

"...Did the killing of those students happen just in the last few days?"

When he learned this from Ran, Uchiha Hikaru had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

"Lan, do you want to know where the murderer who killed your students is now?"

"?!"

Ran looked up in astonishment, staring blankly at Uchiha Hikaru: "You...you know?"

"certainly."

Uchiha Hikaru nodded: "Before answering your question, please answer one more question for me... Where does the governor of this city live?"

(End of this chapter)