Chapter 236 Late Night Hunting
Drink Augustus, the former Grand Duke of Southwell of the Kingdom of Loen.
He was stationed in Southwell County at the beginning, and any pirate who dared to land and rob was strangled by him with thunder.
In order to set an example, he also ordered people to string the bodies of the pirates with wooden stakes and erect them on the coastline.
Such iron-blooded behavior frightened all pirates and they dared not to go ashore and rob the fishermen's villages and towns on the coast.
As time passed, the Grand Duke who guarded Southwell County today was not as iron-blooded as his predecessor. Instead, he only knew how to play and enjoy, which made the pirates rampant again.
Many people, including some members of the royal family, had not seen the legendary former Grand Duke of Southwell for a long time.
He had been living a secluded life in his manor and had not appeared in formal occasions for many years.
"Let's go, the Grand Duke wants to see you."
"Yes."
Lockhard followed the attendant respectfully and went to the depths of the manor, a five-story tower that did not look very impressive.
Lockhard finally met the former Grand Duke of Southwell of the Kingdom of Rune, Drink Augustus.
This is one of the strongest pillars behind the current king and has a great reputation.
After assassinating Duke Negan, he fled here in a hurry to seek the protection of this Grand Duke.
As long as he has the protection of this Grand Duke, he will be absolutely safe.
At the first sight, Lockhard was secretly shocked. This Grand Duke did not look old. There were some silver threads in his black hair and no beard on his face, which made him look much younger.
As the former Grand Duke of Southwell, his actual age is at least sixty-seven years old. Few people know how old he is.
"You did a good job on this matter."
"Thank you for the compliment, Grand Duke." Lockhard lowered his head.
"You can stay here for the time being and leave after the storm is over."
"Thank you for the protection, Grand Duke."
"What is the current situation in the kingdom?"
Lockhard began to tell the Grand Duke, who lived in seclusion, about the current situation in the Kingdom of Rune.
...
Today, someone sent a secret message to the Holy Wind Church, saying that the whereabouts of the assassin who assassinated Duke Negan were discovered.
The current hiding place is in the suburban manor of Grand Duke Drink Augustus.
The source of this information is the spies of the Storm Church's wild extraordinary people scattered in Backlund.
Most people have long forgotten the existence of Grand Duke Drink Augustus, so the credibility of this information is extremely high.
But this matter is very tricky. Grand Duke Drink Augustus himself is powerful and a powerful extraordinary person, and behind him stands the Loen royal family.
If it is really this Grand Duke who provides shelter for the assassin, it is hard not to think that the assassination of Duke Negan was at the behest of the king.
This is a major event that is enough to split the royal family and the great nobles!
Once the two are at odds, the situation in the Loen Kingdom will be several times more serious than it is now.
"Investigate?"
"Investigate!"
"What if it causes unrest?"
"That only shows the incompetence of the Loen royal family!"
"Do I need to say hello to the king?"
"No, just take people to investigate."
The head of the Holy Wind Church quickly made a decision. Duke Nigan was a believer of the storm. Now that he was assassinated, it was necessary for the Storm Church to solve this matter.
Just as the people of the Storm Church began to act, the Church of the Goddess of Night and the Church of Steam and Machinery also sent people to go.
In terms of curbing the power of the Loen royal family, their position has always been consistent.
At nine o'clock in the evening, people from the three major churches had surrounded the suburban manor of the former Grand Duke of Southwell.
Faced with the aggressive people from the three major churches, even the reclusive Drinker Augustus had to personally deal with this matter.
"We received a report that Lockhard Siakam, the criminal who assassinated Duke Negan a few days ago, had been in this manor."
"Butler, has anyone visited our manor recently?"
"No."
"It seems that this should be a misunderstanding."
Drink Augustus lowered his posture a little. Although his strength was stronger than the clergy leading the team tonight, he still had to succumb to the power of the three major orthodox churches.
"It's easy for a person to lie, but it's difficult for a group of people to hide the truth. The Grand Duke should think it over before answering this question."
Faced with such ruthless words, Drinker Augustus' face darkened slightly, and he looked at his butler and said unhappily: "Are you doing something shameful without telling me?"
The butler trembled, then knelt on the ground, slapping his mouth, crying and begging: "That's the case, but I didn't know at that time that Lockhard Siakam was the criminal who assassinated Duke Negan. For the sake of our good personal relationship, I took him in to rest in the manor for one night. The next day, he had left the manor and disappeared."
"Damn it! How dare you do these little tricks behind my back!"
The angry Drinker Augustus kicked the butler who was kneeling on the ground and smashed a wooden table.
He said with anger: "He made a mistake, so he should be judged by the law. You can take him away for investigation now."
"We will."
The person in charge of tonight's operation took a deep look at Drinker Augustus, who was still angry, and then ordered someone to bring the butler with him. At the same time, he sent people to search the manor, but did not find any trace of Lockhard Siakam.
"Excuse me, we will leave now."
After the three major orthodox church members left, Drinker Augustus put away the anger on his face and his expression turned gloomy.
Lockhard Siakam had only been in the manor for two or three days, and the three major churches received relevant news and successfully found this place. Who leaked the news?
Could it be that there were spies from the three major churches hidden in his manor?
Drinker Augustus swept his eyes over all the people working in the manor, and finally did nothing, but his face became even gloomier.
Some of the three major church members who only caught a butler were not satisfied with the harvest tonight, and they all questioned that the former Grand Duke of Southwell was highly suspected of assassinating Duke Negan.
The person in charge explained: "Of course I know he is lying, and he knows it himself, but he has already distanced himself from the matter and expressed his attitude, so we should give him some face to avoid escalating the matter."
"What should we do now?"
"Take him back for interrogation, and then search the nearby area."
...
In the forest outside the city, Lockhard had already sneaked out of the back door before the members of the Three Gods Church arrived at the manor.
This was a long-prepared retreat, in order to avoid involving the Loen royal family as much as possible.
If he had not been useful, he would have been killed by Grand Duke Drink Augustus to eliminate future troubles.
"It seems that I need to live in the depths of the forest for a short period of time."
Lockhard walked deeper into the dense forest to avoid being found by the members of the Three Gods Church.
As long as he avoided this most stringent period, someone would arrange for him to leave Backlund, and then he could live freely by changing his identity.
Originally, he didn't have to take such a risk, but I don't know where Duke Negan got the news from, knowing that someone would assassinate him in the near future, so he set a trap to prevent the real killer who accepted the organization's mission from successfully completing the mission.
Fortunately, Duke Negan was also seriously injured, and he did not doubt himself, which gave him a chance to make amends.
For this reason, he could only give up the identity he had been operating for more than ten years and become a wanted criminal.
He still liked the big city of Backlund very much, but unfortunately, he could no longer stay there.
Just as Lockhard continued to go deeper into the dense forest, he suddenly had a premonition in his heart, and hurriedly rolled on the ground, and then hid behind a big tree.
After hiding for a while, he did not find anything unusual.
"Did I feel wrong?"
Lockhard seemed to relax his vigilance and came out from behind the tree, but he had actually set up an ambush in the area around him, just waiting for someone to fall into the trap.
But after waiting for more than ten minutes, there was no other abnormality except the sound of wild birds in the deep mountains and old forests.
He opened his spiritual vision and scanned around, and did not find anything unusual.
"Am I really too suspicious?"
Lockhard murmured, glanced at the crimson moon in the sky, and decided not to rush tonight, and find a place nearby to rest temporarily.
He hid on the branch of a big tree, half leaning against the trunk, holding a two-finger-wide knife in his left hand, and a button-like object in the palm of his right hand.
Even if he didn't find anything unusual, he remained alert. In the extraordinary world, the reminders from his own spirituality are often the most accurate.
He would not take risks easily.
He closed his eyes and pretended to rest. After waiting for a few minutes, he suddenly felt a pressure. This was the pressure of the status!
Lockhard hurriedly confused the space around him, and then activated the button object in the palm of his right hand. The whole person passed through the space out of thin air and left the original place.
This is a precious extraordinary item used to save his life. Even he only has this one now.
Seven or eight hundred meters away from here, Lockhard ran forward as soon as he landed.
Although he didn't see the enemy, it didn't prevent him from sensing the danger.
Run, leave this place quickly.
Seek shelter from others, otherwise he will definitely die in the hands of the hunter behind him!