Murderer Harrison (Part 2)

"What are you trying to do?" The guard captain shoved Dao Mian, who was trying to rush inside. "This is where the commanders live. Don't you know that?"

"They're all saying Harrison had someone murder Boss Morgan, and now Harrison has murdered Vice Commander Kelvin, the Lame, in the castle too. Is that true?" Dao Mian suppressed the fury in his heart and questioned the guard captain.

How could the guard captain answer such a terrifying accusation? The moment he heard it, he was dumbfounded. He turned, trying to seek help from his men, but the guards who had originally belonged to Morgan's faction instantly distanced themselves from their companions.

"Where did you hear that? Do you know what you're saying?" Seeing so many people crowding before him, the guard captain felt uncertain, but he still held to his duty and kept the gathered mercenaries outside the door.

Dao Mian froze. In truth, he had no idea where the rumor had come from. Because of Boss Morgan's death, many mercenaries had not slept that night.

Everyone had originally gathered outside the camp to discuss the mercenary group's future and whether they should run away.

No one knew who had first suggested that Ser Harrison had sent someone to murder Boss Morgan and had also killed Vice Commander the Lame in the castle.

In any case, the rumor spread through the entire mercenary camp in no time.

"That's right. Where did you hear that?" While Dao Mian was stunned, Turncoat Ser Glason squeezed his way to the front.

"This is utter nonsense!" Turncoat spoke up in support of the guard captain, putting on the air of someone helping maintain order.

The guard captain immediately cast him a grateful look.

"But it's no solution to have everyone gathered here like this," Turncoat Knight continued. "Why not have Vice Commander Kelvin come out and say something? Anyway, I don't believe Ser Harrison would do such a thing."

Hearing Turncoat Knight's support, the mercenary captains under Ser Harrison who had rushed over also hurriedly voiced their agreement. They did not believe Ser Harrison would do such a thing either.

Before the guard captain could state his position, Turncoat Knight hurriedly addressed the clamoring crowd again. "Then it's settled. Have him invite Vice Commander Kelvin out, all right?

"As long as the vice commander is still alive, it proves that Ser Harrison is not the murderer who harmed Boss Morgan at all. Then we can catch the person spreading these rumors together!"

Ian had taught Turncoat Knight this deliberately forced line of reasoning.

In a court trial, having two cases accuse the same person was a major problem, because proving that he had not committed one of them could prove his innocence.

But in a mob trial, it was the opposite. If two incidents were both pinned on one person, then as long as it could be proven that he had done one of them, people would not hesitate to pin the other on him as well.

When people were angry, they would not consider the logic behind it at all.

Turncoat Knight's speech had neatly addressed the mercenaries of Boss Morgan's faction, who were desperate to learn the truth. On the surface, he was also speaking for Ser Harrison, so he quickly won the mercenaries' unanimous approval.

The previously noisy crowd gradually calmed down, preparing to wait for a final answer.

The guard captain let out a breath and cast Turncoat Knight another grateful look.

He still naively believed that as long as he went upstairs and invited Vice Commander Kelvin, the Lame, down, the matter would be over.

"Please wait here. I'll invite Vice Commander Kelvin down immediately." The mercenary captain had his men pull open the castle gates and strode inside.

Harrison, hiding by the second-floor window and watching this scene, felt his heart sink straight to the bottom.

A steady rhythm of footsteps sounded in the corridor. Ser Harrison immediately recognized the gait of his old companion of many years.

He first drew his sword and hid behind the door, intending to kill him just as he had killed the old guard Kaili.

But only seconds later, Harrison threw the sword to the floor.

What good would killing him do? His little castle had only one entrance, and outside stood furious mercenaries waiting to avenge Boss Morgan. He was already doomed.

The next moment, the guard captain entered the room. He stared in shock at the two corpses inside, then looked furiously and warily toward Ser Harrison behind the door.

"Onion, do you believe me?" Ser Harrison asked bitterly.

Onion was the guard captain's childhood nickname.

The guard captain had been a child from a nearby village. Once, he had gone to Gransen's father's estate to steal onions and had been chased by a group of guards, only to cleverly run the guards in circles.

Gransen's father had taken a liking to his talent and brought him into the estate, making him a sparring partner for his eldest son, Gransen.

From then on, Onion became his nickname.

"Vice Commander Kelvin was killed with a dinner fork." Captain Onion's voice trembled.

"He attacked me first..."

"Kaili was silenced by you too." Captain Onion interrupted Ser Harrison.

"He belonged to the Lame. I couldn't let anyone know what happened here..."

"Did you send someone to kill Boss Morgan?" Captain Onion interrupted Harrison again.

Harrison could not even explain that question.

There was not the slightest logical connection between killing the Lame and killing Black Falcon. How was he supposed to explain it?

"I didn't do the things they're saying. Do you believe me?"

Captain Onion only took several steps back, then hurried downstairs.

Immediately afterward, a thunderous roar erupted outside the window, followed by dense footsteps. The only words Ser Harrison could make out were "murderer" and "avenge Boss Morgan."

Harrison collapsed limply against the wall.

Then he laughed. He laughed loudly.

In fact, he wanted to avenge Boss Morgan too.

By dawn, Adopted Son Dorian had naturally become the new leader of the Black Falcon Mercenary Group.

Unfortunately, fewer than thirty mercenaries remained at Ser Harrison's estate.

Such an outcome made Ian wonder whether he had made a terrible move.

Ian had thought that pinning the murder of Morgan on Ser Harrison would force most of Harrison's supporters to refuse to stand with him, leaving more people for the mercenary group.

After killing Ser Harrison, he could then shape public opinion by crediting Adopted Son Dorian with exposing Harrison as Boss Morgan's killer, increasing Dorian's personal prestige and allowing him to better control the mercenary group.

What he had not expected was that from the moment the mercenaries stormed into the castle, everything spiraled out of control.

After eliminating Ser Harrison's attendants and personal guards, the crazed mercenaries charged all the way into Harrison's room, chopped off his head, impaled it on a spear, and planted it atop the castle.

At that point, some of Ser Harrison's former subordinates, who had been forced to remain neutral for the sake of the greater good, could not stand it any longer. They said everyone should stop humiliating Ser Harrison's corpse.

Thus, they began arguing with the Lame's personal guards.

Then no one knew who was first to shout that those speaking for Harrison were accomplices as well. The claim immediately won everyone's support, and those people came under attack.

During the assault, many mercenaries from Harrison's faction who had originally chosen neutrality were gradually dragged in as well. People then began directing their anger toward all mercenaries of Harrison's faction.

Before long, the two major factions of the Black Falcon Mercenaries descended into a huge melee. Dorian was powerless to stop it and could only lead his men in finding a way to withdraw from the fight.

Amid the chaos, some cunning mercenaries began looting the castle's wealth. Others quickly followed suit. In the struggle for valuables, even mercenaries from the original Black Falcon faction began fighting among themselves.

Then came even deeper chaos. The mercenaries gradually forgot why they had started fighting and slaughtered one another over wealth. The conflict spread from Ser Harrison's castle to the mercenary camp.

The fighting continued until the latter half of the night. Only after most of the mercenaries had scattered and left did Dorian manage to keep the few remaining men by promising that they could retain the wealth they had already seized and that he would lead them to acquire even greater riches.

What? Where had Ian gone?

He had slipped away as soon as the melee began. At first, he had tried to use his identity as Ser Lannister to control the situation, but he quickly realized that no one was listening to him.

To avoid being drawn into the melee, Ian directly led his men out of Ser Harrison's estate and waited outside for the outcome.

Only at dawn, when Dorian sent someone to find Ian, did he return to the estate.

"Ser Lucian," Dorian said. His originally fair face was now blackened with soot, and he seemed somewhat embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I only managed to keep these men. The others fled in all directions after grabbing valuables."

"However," he quickly explained, "I've already sent people to notify the mercenary squads still stationed elsewhere. If we can call them all back, the mercenary group's strength should be restored to more than a hundred men."

It was a terrible ending. That was the only way Ian could describe it.

In fact, his original goal of "framing Ser Harrison for Boss Morgan's murder to force most of Harrison's mercenaries to remain neutral" had been achieved.

But he discovered that he had underestimated the very word "chaos." It was easy to create chaos, but once chaos began, it would no longer proceed according to anyone's will.

When it came to mastering mass movements, Ian believed he still had much to learn.

"Handle this quickly. As for the funds..." Ian gestured for Roar to hand Dorian a bag containing a full hundred Gold Dragons. "This is my first investment in you."

"Oh, right. Is Mountain Weasel, the one responsible for the treasure hunt, here?" Ian continued.

"No. I asked around. Mountain Weasel hasn't returned to camp."

"I'm returning to the Crossroads Inn. When he comes back, send someone to notify me immediately. If I need your people, I'll send someone to find you. I hope you'll respond immediately as well."

"Of course, Ser. That is part of our agreement. Then, about avenging my adoptive father?" Dorian lowered his voice for the final question, because among the mercenaries around them, Boss Morgan had been killed by Ser Harrison.

"I'll continue investigating this. Next, I'll personally meet with those from the Local Landed Knights Alliance and see what clues I can find there."

"Thank you, Ser."