Why is my anime art style so weird?

Judging from various signs, the so-called trial may not be as simple as him defeating a Caster.

Xu Ming could only try to find clues on his own.

Based on his analysis, since the 'Holy Grail of Heaven' sent him to Domrémy, and the time was exactly one year after Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, this trial must be inextricably linked to Joan of Arc.

So, starting with Joan of Arc's family might yield some useful clues.

Xu Ming was welcomed into the house by the woman, who then invited him to sit down at the table.

After exchanging pleasantries, Xu Ming learned the woman's name from her—Isabel Dalque.

During their casual conversation, Xu Ming casually asked a question.

“Ms. Isabel, has something happened in your village recently? Everyone seems quite tense.”

Isabel seemed unaware that Xu Ming was testing her, and a trace of sorrow immediately appeared on her face.

"Ever since that child was cursed by the Englishman... the Englishmen have been coming to our village to cause trouble, and recently several families' children have gone missing."

Everyone suspected it was the British or their mercenaries, so they were extremely wary of outsiders.

A child has gone missing in this area!?

Xu Ming was immediately startled.

Isabel, seemingly oblivious to Xu Ming's unusual behavior, sighed:

"Yes, at first they were just homeless children from the neighborhood, and no one paid much attention to them."

After all, this is the way of the world...

It wasn't until two weeks ago, when the Lockland family's youngest son suddenly disappeared one night, that everyone realized something was wrong.

A hint of sadness flickered in Isabel's eyes.

She failed to notice the shock in Xu Ming's eyes.

In the period following Joan of Arc's death, a series of horrific events occurred in France:

Joan of Arc's former comrade-in-arms, the retired Marshal Gilles de Rais, captured children near his territory, cruelly tortured them, and even used them for human experiments and as sacrifices in evil rituals.

In the history of the Type-Moon universe, this character suffered a severe mental shock after Joan of Arc's death. He somehow obtained a grimoire of evil gods bound in human skin, fell into evil ways, and became a complete madman.

Xu Ming entered the Caster class trial world, and judging from various clues, his target is likely the mad Marshal Gilles.

Xu Ming decided to verify this, so he casually said:

"I heard that Princess Joan of Arc's comrade-in-arms, Marshal Gilles, has also moved to the vicinity of Domrémy. I haven't seen him for many years, and I wonder how he is doing now..."

"Marshal Gil not only moved the castle to a nearby location, but also exchanged territories with other nobles."

Thanks to him, we have repelled several British attacks. And our family has also received considerable care from the Marshal over the past year!

When Marshal Gilles was mentioned, Isabelle's face immediately lit up with a smile.

That smile was a mixture of admiration and gratitude.

A strange look suddenly appeared in Xu Ming's eyes.

When it comes to sycophants, Xu Mingyuan calls Marshal Gilles the strongest!

Not to mention Joan of Arc's various acts of flattery during her lifetime, after her death, in order to resurrect her, she did not hesitate to fall into a cult, sacrifice children, and conduct human experiments.

Moreover, in order to be closer to Joan of Arc's former residence and to take care of Joan of Arc's family, they even exchanged territories with other nobles.

It's important to know that Dom Remy is not a desirable territory.

The territory suffers from numerous natural disadvantages, including low grain yields, infertile land, and a lack of specialty crops. Furthermore, it is close to enemy-occupied territory, and enemy troops frequently raid the area.

Only someone out of their mind would exchange this territory. The nobles who swapped territories with Marshal Gilles are probably laughing in their sleep.

Xu Ming's conjecture was also confirmed by Isabel's testimony.

Marshal Gilles moved to Dom Remy in an attempt to resurrect Joan of Arc, and has since fallen into evil ways, abducting children and using them for human experimentation.

This trial mission is probably to have Xu Ming eliminate this corrupted French marshal.

Ding!

Sure enough, after Xu Ming gathered a large number of clues, the system notification sounded in his mind.

—Caster Class Trial: Follower of the Evil God (5-Star)

Mission objective: Eliminate the corrupt French Marshal and expose his crimes and evil nature.

Upon seeing the task requirements, Xu Ming couldn't help but frown. He hadn't expected the trial task to be even more difficult than he had anticipated.

Killing Marshal Jill wasn't difficult; finding him and taking him down was all it took. The real challenge was exposing his crimes.

It's impossible for him to just rush up to the villagers and shout that their new lord is a cultist who is conducting human experiments on their children.

Do you think these 'simple' villagers believe in him, this black-haired, black-eyed stranger, or in the French hero who defeated the English, a nobleman?

The respect that Mrs. Isabelle showed was genuine.

In the eyes of the villagers, Marshal Gil is now the epitome of righteousness and the light of justice.

If Xu Ming wanted to slander him, the villagers would probably swarm him and tear him to pieces before he even opened his mouth.

The only thing we can do is find evidence of Marshal Gilles' crimes and expose his true colors to the villagers.

This child abduction case presents a perfect opportunity.

Every contact leaves a trace!

Since the system wants him to be a detective, he'll just temporarily take on the role.

Time flew by, and the sun gradually slid down the western horizon.

Caw!

A crow cawed.

A black raven perched on a tree not far from Joan of Arc's house, tilting its head as if sizing up the house.

The crow's dark pupils reflected the scene inside the window: Xu Ming was sitting by the window, talking with Mrs. Isabelle...

Not long after, Joan of Arc's father returned home with several of Joan's brothers.

After a brief introduction, Joan of Arc's father remained indifferent to Xu Ming, the uninvited guest who claimed to be Joan of Arc's comrade-in-arms.

Perhaps in the eyes of parents, anyone who drags their daughter into war is no good.

However, in order to complete his mission, Xu Ming had no choice but to shamelessly stay at Joan of Arc's house.

Xu Ming reluctantly accepted the strange looks from Joan of Arc's family and managed to get a free dinner, and then shamelessly stayed at their place.

Xu Ming could tell that Joan of Arc's father, Monsieur Jacques Dalque, hesitated several times, wanting to kick him out, but was secretly stopped by Madame Isabelle each time.

Moreover, Mrs. Isabelle actually arranged a room for this 'shameless' uninvited guest.

I must say, this lady is truly a kind and good person.

Chapter 511 Ending

In the pitch-black room, a man dressed in a brightly colored robe, who looked like a venomous snake, stared intently at the crystal ball on the table in front of him.

His hands were thin and bony, his nails were sharp, his face was pale and withered, and his eyes bulged like a frog's, making him look exactly like an evil wizard.

If you look closely, you can see that a picture is actually displayed inside the crystal ball.

The reflection in the picture is clearly of a house, and Xu Ming, sitting by the window, is right in the center of the picture.

Looking at Xu Ming, with his black hair and black eyes, in the image, the man revealed a mysterious smile...

After dinner, the sun had completely set.

It was almost pitch black outside the window, with only a few candlelight occasionally emanating from one or two houses.

Xu Ming fiddled with his phone. Nightlife in the Middle Ages was dull and boring; apart from exercising with crabs, there was basically nothing else to do.

Fortunately, his phone had some advanced technology that allowed it to connect to the internet, otherwise he would have been bored to death.

Lady Isabelle arranged for him a room in the attic, which was said to be the room where Joan of Arc had once stayed.

The attic was very simple, with almost no dust on the furniture and no musty smell in the air, indicating that someone regularly came to clean and ventilate it.

Crosses are a common decorative element in the room. A one-meter-tall, white-painted cross stands against the wall, usually used for prayer. Two or three small, meticulously crafted hand-held crosses are also placed on the bedside table and desk.

All these details show that the room's former owner was indeed a devout believer.

Xu Ming played on his phone for a while, then lay down on the bed, but couldn't fall asleep.

He had a premonition that something might happen tonight.

A soft sound suddenly came from outside the window.

Xu Ming jumped out of bed and rushed to the window, cautiously peering outside.

It was pitch black outside, with only a few pale moonbeams shining on the earth, bringing some light.

Xu Ming scanned the area around Joan of Arc's house and found nothing unusual.

Could the wind have blown something to the ground?

Just as Xu Ming was about to give up, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a blurry figure on the street outside.

coming!

Xu Ming immediately perked up and began to observe carefully.

For this reason, he even activated his spiritual vision.

With the amplification of his spiritual vision, Xu Ming quickly saw it clearly.

The guy who was wandering around the village in the middle of the night instead of sleeping was actually a thin little child wearing only pajamas.

What's even stranger is that the child walks unsteadily, as if he might fall at any moment, looking like a zombie from a distance.

Looking at the child who seemed to be sleepwalking, Xu Ming's mind raced.

Legend has it that there are many evil spells in the West that can imprison a person's soul, turning them into a mindless zombie who only obeys the spellcaster's commands.

Could the child in front of him be Marshal Gilles' target tonight?

Xu Ming decided to follow and take a look.

Ideally, we should find evidence that Marshal Gilles practiced evil witchcraft; if not, we should at least find out where Marshal Gilles' stronghold is.