The Unclaimed Land

The concept of Tien being murdered by cultists and Tien committing suicide as a cultist were two entirely different matters.

A cultist's suicide was highly likely to be a sacrifice.

And any sacrifice involving cultists would undoubtedly not be a good thing.

The House of Iris could accept the former, but would absolutely not accept the latter.

Although when embarking on the path of transcendence, transcendents should be prepared for all sorts of temptations and even corruption.

But as a member of the House of Iris, Tien becoming a cultist was something that would be incredibly dishonorable to speak of.

It would bring shame upon the entire House of Iris.

"Master Tien underwent relevant examinations before leaving the family, and he even visited the Star Tower. If he were truly a cultist, he would have been discovered long ago."

If Alice still remembered noble etiquette, she would have jumped up and loudly refuted him at that moment.

Bals's expression darkened, his brow furrowing into a deep "river" shape, "You mean to say that Master Tien became a cultist only after arriving in Leyden City?"

Before, he had been all smiles and spoke in a gentle tone, and the full pressure hadn't been felt.

But when he became serious, the superior's aura as the ruler of a city immediately made the atmosphere much more somber.

The pressure, like a mountain, rendered Alice speechless—she had only speculated this in her mind, and she hadn't expected Bals to state it so directly.

For a moment, she didn't know how to respond, and unconsciously tightened her grip.

Aaron: ???

He grunted and gently patted Alice's arm.

This time, it was really too much. Alice's seemingly slender and fair hand was actually like an iron clamp, firmly locking his hand bone without giving him any chance to break free.

He could even hear faint cracking sounds.

Alice then realized her loss of composure, hastily released her hand, and quietly said, "Sorry."

Aaron bared his teeth and looked at his hand. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but his palm seemed to have shrunk.

However, Aaron sacrificed to the heavens, his magic boundless.

With his interruption, at least the atmosphere on the scene eased a little.

Aaron shook his numb hand, glanced at Alice, and couldn't help but try to smooth things over, "It hasn't been confirmed yet if Master Tien is a cultist. If it were confirmed, the Star Tower wouldn't have sent people to investigate this matter, would they?"

After all, she was his future fiancée, and he, her inexplicably acquired fiancé, had to show some favoritism.

Bals's expression softened slightly, and he turned to Sart, "Perhaps you could first go to Tien's residence to understand the situation?"

Because of his teacher's commission, Sart found it difficult to refuse. He pondered for a moment and said, "I can perform a simple ritual first to slow down the leakage of an aura..."

He paused here before understanding why his teacher had sent Siosand, and roughly understood why his teacher had also involved him in this matter.

He remembered Colin mentioning that Tien seemed to be collecting different spices, which meant he likely wasn't prepared to perform a ritual from the start.

As a seasoned 'problem-solver' from the Star Tower, he was proficient in various rituals and spice formulas. Perhaps from the records and residual spices, he could summarize and even deduce the ritual Tien might have been preparing.

As for Siosand, as the most outstanding prophet at the Silver rank of the Star Tower, he could trace the origin of a ritual's aura by sensing it, roughly pinpointing its cult category, and even potentially directly identifying the murderer.

If Tien had indeed become a cultist, then he and Siosand would surely find relevant evidence.

"However, I'd like this matter resolved as quickly as possible," Bals added. "Leyden City has been under martial law for too long because of this matter. In fact, many merchant guilds have complained to me."

Leyden City was located in the western part of the Yagrant Kingdom, close to the "no man's land" of the Badipila region. In a sense, it was a border city.

The Yagrant Kingdom to the east, the Kristan Kingdom to the north, and the Lenofica Kingdom to the west sandwiched the Badipila region.

Under the watchful eyes and mutual suspicion of the three powers, Badipila became ownerless land not ruled by any kingdom, and a paradise for all outlaws.

Countless evils sprung forth from this place, and innumerable villains fled here from thousands of miles away to escape pursuit by various forces.

Chaos, evil, betrayal, and desire bred vast numbers of heretical cults. It could even be said that those who resided there for a long time were almost half-believers of heretical cults.

Of course, from another perspective, Badipila also became an extremely important trade channel. Driven by profit, greedy yet diligent merchants established scattered order in this ownerless land, and through fragmented trade routes, they conducted profitable businesses endlessly.

The expensive gems of the Yagrant Kingdom to the east, the various spices of the Lenofica Kingdom to the west, and the furs and ores of the Kristan Kingdom to the north—numerous precious commodities were traded and exchanged through the Badipila region.

And during the city lockdown in Leyden City due to Tien's matter, there was no doubt that the ongoing trade would be greatly affected.

To continue maintaining the lockdown, Lord Bals had to bear immense pressure, some of which came from merchant caravans, and some, of course, from nobles of his own country—such a lucrative business would naturally not be missed by the high and mighty nobles.

Most of them were merely vain, but that didn't mean they were fools.

No one could refuse a little shiny golden cutie.

Alice nodded. She understood the pressure on Lord Bals, which was also one of the reasons she rushed over as soon as she received the news.

However, she thought for a moment, cleared her throat, and suddenly changed the subject, "By the way, Lord Bals, how do you plan to deal with that Earth Demon Spider?"

"Earth Demon Spider?" Lord Bals raised his eyebrows, showing a hint of surprise.

Alice was startled and retorted, "Didn't Colin tell you? A few days ago, we discovered an Earth Demon Spider while searching the sewers for the Rat-Faced Cult."

"Oh? Colin didn't tell me about that." Lord Bals's expression changed slightly, and his sturdy left arm couldn't help but gently rub his chin. "An Earth Demon Spider, huh... that's really a troublesome matter."

Although the Earth Demon Spider was only a relatively weak magical beast, not yet corrupted by heretical energy into an evil beast, it inherited the usual characteristics of spider-like magical beasts: a small appetite, a solitary nature, and it generally wouldn't attack humans proactively.

Compared to most magical beasts or wild beasts, its threat was actually very small, at least it wouldn't cause any deaths.

It often lives in dark, damp caves, feeding on small to medium-sized subterranean creatures. Leyden City's sewers are indeed a very suitable environment for its survival.

But here's the problem: how did this Earth Demon Spider get here?

Even if the city guard was lazy and neglected to clean the sewers, it shouldn't be enough for an Earth Demon Spider to end up in the sewers, right?

Or perhaps Leyden City's sewers are connected to some kind of underground cave?

"I will send people to investigate this matter," Bals nodded to Alice.

But Alice's mind was not on Bals, and she murmured, "Colin..."

Did Colin not report this matter to Bals?

Or did he think Alice would mention it to Bals?