Honkai Summoning.

"Don't be nervous, it's me," said the man opposite, whose face was mostly hidden in the darkness. His voice was young and his tone was relaxed.

The familiar tone put Wilfred at ease, and he thought to himself, "Could it be His Majesty's man? But this voice sounds a bit unfamiliar."

Seemingly in order to make himself recognized by Waverly, the man took a few steps forward, stepped out of the shadows, and completely exposed himself to Waverly's gaze.

If he had said those familiar, conversational words as if he were talking to an old friend, Wilfred might have already fired the gun by now.

But right now—Williams just stared at that somewhat familiar face with a puzzled look.

He did find the face somewhat familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it.

"you are?"

Wilfred frowned and asked, "Could it really be someone we know?"

“Oh, you think you know me…” The young man in black took another step forward.

The cold smile on his face made Wilfred's heart clench. He finally recognized who this guy was!

This person is Sebastian, Trent's butler!

Wilfred felt the face looked familiar, not because he had actually met this new member of the Worbs family, but because he had seen a sketch of him that wasn't very similar.

Wilfred was about to pull his hands out from behind his back to fire a gun or thrust out a sword.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Su Mo, who was less than a meter away, had already placed his footprint on Wilfred's chest.

Due to the intense pain, the gun and sword in his hands fell to the ground. Wilfred's body flew backwards into the carriage, smashed through the other side of the door, and flew out again, rolling several times on the ground.

Despite the excruciating pain, he struggled to get up, only to be stepped on the back. The Wobbs family butler appeared before Waverly, saying in a mocking voice, "I told you it was me, don't be nervous, why won't you listen?"

"Bullshit! Who knows you! Don't act like we're old friends!" Wilfred wanted to yell those words out, just like he always did.

However, the immense force on his back and the pain in his chest made it impossible for him to speak; he could only exhale but not inhale.

Fortunately, the other party didn't seem to intend to kill him immediately. After letting Wilfred experience what it felt like to suffocate, they released him.

Su Mo squatted down, looking at the face in front of him, contorted with pain and covered in cold sweat, and said, "My young master, I would like to ask Director Wilfred to make a trip. I think you won't refuse, will you?"

"What do you want to do?" Wilfred said through gritted teeth.

"What are you doing? Isn't it obvious? Revenge." Su Mo said with a righteous expression.

"revenge?"

Wilfred's eyes widened. "What revenge? Revenge for Marquis Worbus? And did you really do what happened these past few days?"

“It’s not just for Marquis Worbus, but also for Young Master Tranton himself. What happened these past few days… wasn’t done by us, it was done by me alone. Oh, and that list was provided by Young Master Tranton,” Su Mo said, staring into Wilfred’s eyes.

Unfortunately, he couldn't detect any special emotion in Wilfred's eyes—it's true that the idea that panic flashes in someone's eyes in comics and novels is a lie.

Panic and tension are only apparent when displayed on facial expressions. But now, the expression on Wilfred's face had long been "ruined" by pain, rendering it utterly worthless.

His face was etched with obvious pain.

"Revenge? Is this revenge? You bunch of lunatics, do you even know what you're doing?" Wilfred said.

“I know very well.”

Su Mo didn't react much to Wilfred's questioning, casually replying, "By the way, you're on the list too. But you're at the back, not the kind with much hatred. However, your identity isn't good. Young Master Tranton really wants to know the truth about his parents' deaths. Besides... kids, they always hold grudges. You've sent sheriffs to harass him several times, and he's very unhappy about it."

"After saying all that, do you think you've already won?"

Wilfred stared at Su Mo and sneered, but the laugh turned into a painful cry halfway through. He felt that this bastard should have kicked his ribs off.

The only saving grace is that the broken ribs probably didn't pierce anywhere, so there's no danger to his life.

“I know you’re stalling for time…” Su Mo waved his hand dismissively and said, “Actually, I’m stalling for time too.”

Upon hearing Su Mo's words, Wilfred was startled.

There was a reason he endured the pain and rambled on like this. As the head of the Thorn City Police Department, he had held that position for ten years, and it was inevitable that he had offended some people. How could he possibly be unprotected?

However, this protection was clandestine. Henry XI assigned him six shadow guards, each of whom was exceptionally skilled.

In the past ten years, Wilfred has only met them three times, yet they have saved him more than a dozen times.

Wilfred believed that he would be rescued by the Shadow Guard again, just like before—although this time it would be the most dangerous and closest he had ever come to death.

"Okay, actually I'm not stalling for time."

Su Mo spoke again, "I was just waiting for someone, and I was bored while I waited, so I said a few words to you. Okay, the person is here."

As he spoke, Su Mo stood up, and Wilfred heard footsteps and a slight rubbing sound approaching from behind.

The footsteps stopped, followed by the sound of a heavy object landing. Wilfred turned his head and saw several familiar yet unfamiliar faces—his shadow guards.

However, at this moment, all of these people had stopped breathing.

"Anything I missed?" Su Mo asked Arno and Seven Sins who had come over.

“No.” Arno shook his head and smiled. “These guys are a little better than the average thug. They’re worth killing.”

"Come on, it's like you won't kill someone unless they're worth killing," Su Mo said.

Although Arno's tone of voice is reminiscent of Hong Kong comics, he is essentially a demon, and killing is practically an instinct ingrained in his very being.

The idea that because they were too weak, they weren't worth killing and therefore I wouldn't kill them—just listen to these kinds of stories.

"Well," Su Mo squatted down again, "I think we should be more straightforward. If you have something to say, just tell me directly, and I'll give you a clean break, okay?"

Wilfred closed his eyes, then opened them again: "What do you want to know?"

“Not much. How much do you know about my young master’s disappearance, and the cause of death of the former Marquis of Wobus?” Su Mo said. “Although this place is secluded, it’s not like no one will ever show up. Let’s see how you perform. Can you stall for time until someone appears? Maybe that can save your life.”

A glint of survival flashed in Wilfred's eyes as he licked his chapped lips: "Okay..."

The next morning, a sharp, piercing scream almost ripped through most of the lower town.

The city of thorns, which had not yet recovered from the successive deaths of several nobles, was plunged into chaos once again.

Sheriff Wilfred was found dead in the Lower City, his carriage violently vandalized, its door torn off. The coachman, who should have been with Wilfred, was found unconscious in an alley in the Middle City.

Countless people suddenly realized that this incredibly prosperous city, the heart of the empire, known as the City of Thorns, was far more dangerous than they had imagined.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Lower City District

Wilfred's death seemed to be a sign that the Three Hands gang and mobsters in the lower city were starting to stir, and all sorts of things began to happen, with a sense of fear gradually spreading to the middle city.

Fortunately, the nobles of the upper city remained as calm as ever. One reason for this was that, even if they felt some fear, they wouldn't show it like ordinary people.

What is nobility? Nobility is when a servant rushes in to report, "Something terrible has happened! The peasants outside have already reached the door!" while the nobles leisurely finish their wine and calmly deal with the problem of "the peasants reaching the door."

Even if they were terrified, they had to appear relaxed and calm—in the words of that brat Tranton, it was aristocratic pride.

On the other hand, those nobles might be secretly delighted. Wilfred, the royal loyalist, has finally been killed. Well done! Let's raise a glass to that unknown good man who has benefited everyone.

While Wilfred's death was astonishing, it was not a major national event like the discovery of the "New World" or the sudden death of a king.

In fact, if this guy hadn't been lucky enough to die after the Marquis of Monroe and several other nobles, forming a series of deaths, it would have been a different story.

The impact of Wilfred's death was not even as great as that of the Marquess of Worbus's death.

The City of Thorns remains the same bustling imperial capital, but behind the prosperity, undercurrents have become increasingly apparent, seemingly forming a chaotic vortex that will drag everyone into it.

As the one who created the undercurrent, Tranton's face also showed some worry. He looked at Su Mo and asked, "Won't what we're doing...?"

"What can you do?" Su Mo asked.

"A bit too presumptuous?" After thinking for a while, Tranton couldn't find a suitable adjective, so he could only use "presumptuous" to describe it.

"No... We've been doing things in secret, isn't that in line with the code of conduct for nobles?" Su Mo said. "Besides, young master, this is revenge, and revenge always involves death. Why don't you give up revenge and just complete the contract, so I can go home and sleep earlier?"

"Tch, do you think I'd let a devil like you off so easily?" Tranton sneered, suppressing his confusion.

“Anyway, we’re all on the same side,” Su Mo said.

"Alright, enough of this nonsense. How much useful information did you get from Wilfred?" Tranton steered the conversation back on track.

As Su Mo said, Wilfred did indeed have several significant clashes with the Worbs family. However, this was not the main reason why he was listed as a "target of revenge" by Tranton.

Trent considered him an enemy, partly because of Wilfred's inaction, perfunctory attitude, and even his attempt to cover something up after his parents' death. On the other hand, as the head of the Sheriff's Office, he knew far more secrets than the average nobleman.

“He doesn’t know much, but he should be very useful,” Su Mo said.

"What about the people behind that island, or the cause of my parents' deaths?" These were the two things that concerned Tranton the most.

“Yes, I have both.” Su Mo gave an answer that made Tranton’s heart race.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before Tranton managed to calm himself down.

"Regarding your parents' cause of death, although it has always been publicly stated that they were hit by a carriage, the real cause of death was not that. I'm sure you should have some idea about that, young master," Su Mo said.

Trent nodded. The official explanation for his parents' deaths was that they were hit by an out-of-control carriage that afternoon and died that evening after returning home.

But Tranton remembers that day very clearly. Although his father and mother had some injuries, they were still strong and did not look like two seriously injured people at all.

How could he wake up one day to find himself "seriously injured" and dead in his own bedroom?

“Although there is no definitive evidence, according to the investigation, the cause of your parents’ death is no different from that of other members of the Worbs family. Their conditions after death were almost identical,” Su Mo said.

"..."

Tranton's eyes widened. "How did they die?"

“Deaths without cause,” Su Mo said. “At least, with current methods, we cannot detect the cause of their deaths. However, compared to being scared to death or being haunted by a vengeful ghost, I personally prefer poisoning.”

"Poisonous?" Tranton muttered to himself.

"By the way, if Wilfred wasn't lying, the Marquis of Monroe's death is in the same state as the Worbs family's," Su Mo said.

"What did you say?" Tranton was stunned for a moment.

"There's probably a master poisoner who, after nearly wiping out the Worbus clan, then turned his attention to Marquis Monroe," Su Mo speculated.

"Find that person," Tranton decisively ordered. As for how to find him, that was no longer his concern.

"And then there's the matter of that island."

Su Mo said, "Wilford isn't an insider, but he provided a very interesting clue. Young Master, how much do you know about Aldridge?"

“I don’t know him,” Tranton said. “What does he do?”

"The King of Beggars in the Lower City—at least on the surface, he's the leader of a group of beggars," Su Mo said.

"What use is this guy? Is he going to help us beg?" Tranton said with disdain.