Clumsy Excuse

Aaron's body stiffened, and he instinctively looked towards the doorway, just in time to see Bals push the door open and walk in.

Holy crap!

Eavesdropping shortens your life!

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room became awkward, with everyone unsure how to react to Bals.

Sart had even subtly retreated half a step, coincidentally pulling the stunned Aaron with him.

Fortunately, this strange atmosphere didn't last long. Alice took the initiative, stating coldly, "Lord Bals, when did you arrive?"

Although it was a question, her tone held no hint of surprise; it was even laced with hostility.

For a Gold Tier Transcendent to remain undetected by Bronze Tiers was incredibly easy.

It was highly probable that he had been standing outside listening for a long time.

Even more likely, he had watched Aaron and his companions encounter the Crawling Hand, and watched that attendant die under Ed's sword.

"I arrived not long ago," Lord Bals replied, his tone calm, as if he were unaware that Aaron had just been discussing him.

Everyone's heart sank. The phrase "not long ago" was truly ambiguous.

It could be interpreted as "just arrived," but it could also mean "it hasn't been long."

"Then can you give us an explanation? Or… do you not need to explain?" Alice had already gripped her longsword, staring intently at Bals's face, speaking word by word.

She even suspected that Lord Bals might be a member of the Heretical Cult. Perhaps Tien had been murdered precisely because he discovered this fact.

While in this world, the dead might not necessarily be silenced, those whose souls and life force had been drained would likely have truly lost any chance to speak.

Even if Bals was powerful, the House of Iris was not lacking in courage to draw their swords.

"This matter is not what you think," Bals smiled, unfazed by Alice's deliberate display of hostility. "I did know that the Hand-Chopping Ritual would be completed tonight."

"And then?"

"I needed to find that cultist, but it couldn't be my people," Bals said, gesturing to the corpse on the bed and then to Sart. "Because without a Prophet in all of Leyden City, I couldn't guarantee my plan wouldn't be discovered."

Sart nodded thoughtfully, his eyes darting about.

The absence of a Prophet meant the lack of necessary discernment. It could be said that within the entire City Lord's mansion, and even all of Leyden City, cultists could come and go as they pleased, and naturally obtain information through charming humans.

After all, before revealing their transcendent powers, cultists were virtually indistinguishable from ordinary people.

And after Tien's death, the destructive potential of this Silver Tier cultist, who could manipulate minds in Leyden City, was immense.

"So, you found us?" Alice vaguely felt something was amiss, but couldn't quite grasp it for a moment.

Upon hearing Bals's explanation, Aaron blinked, feigning a downward glance at his toes to conceal the unusual look in his eyes.

"Yes."

"Don't you trust your own people?"

"It's not that I don't trust them, but if I had my people monitor this place, they would inevitably be discovered by him, and he would know I was watching him, meaning he would absolutely not act."

Aaron coughed and posed a question, "But why would he act?"

He blinked his harmless eyes, cutting straight to the point.

Knowing that Leyden City's Lord was a Gold Tier Transcendent, how could a cultist with only Silver Tier combat strength dare to be so brazen?

Not only did they sneak into the City Lord's mansion, but without alerting anyone, they killed a Bronze Tier Transcendent. Moreover, they didn't flee, but found an opportunity to return and perform a Hand-Chopping Ritual?

Was this the killer's revisit trope?

Did they truly not take Bals seriously?

Bals clearly hadn't expected Aaron to ask such a question. He merely gave Aaron a deep look. "Cultists kill without reason. Their minds have been utterly corrupted by their so-called Master. They are merely monsters still breathing, wearing human skin."

This explanation seemed a bit too weak…

Aaron thought to himself, but he still had to pretend to look thoughtful.

Clearly, asking any more questions would yield no good results, so it was better to stop here.

Alice glanced at Aaron, still staring at Bals, and said sternly, "Lord Bals, what about the outcome? We came here, nearly encountered a cultist, and killed a Crawling Hand, but what was the result?"

Her tone had softened considerably from before. "Was your plan successful?"

Bals nodded slightly. "More than half successful."

"More than half?"

"We successfully located the cultist, and we also made thorough plans…"

Alice couldn't help but exchange glances with the others.

It seemed that their earlier battle might not have been the cultist observing them, but that the cultist had genuinely left.

However, it would be more accurate to describe his departure as a retreat.

If that were the case, it was no wonder he hadn't shown himself.

After all, he had risked his own safety to sneak into the City Lord's mansion and perform the Hand-Chopping Ritual. Yet, this monster was about to be killed shortly after being summoned.

Anyone would likely jump out to try and save it.

But... Lord City Lord, just say it directly.

Aaron rolled his eyes and grumbled inwardly. He wasn't in the mood to listen to such meaningless talk.

"But he escaped. At the critical moment, several other believers put on his clothes, and we couldn't identify him. In the end, several people still got away."

This is getting stranger and stranger.

Aaron thought silently, but didn't say anything.

His impression of City Lord Bals plummeted. He even raised his guard.

He made meticulous plans in advance, even deceiving his own people, yet the cultists still managed to escape?

That's it? That's all?

"Escaped?" Alice never expected Bals to answer like that, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

Bals looked at Alice calmly and confirmed, "Escaped."

"Then shouldn't you go..."

"Those cultists hid in the sewers. With just my men, it's probably impossible to explore the entire sewer system of Leyden City."

The sewers of Leyden City were a complex maze. If it were just Bals and his subordinates, they probably wouldn't be able to catch the cultist.

Sart coughed lightly, "If you can provide the spices, I can try to perform a ritual."

A Prophet was never a combat class. The true measure of their skill lay in their rituals.

As long as the spices were prepared sufficiently, Sart was confident he could find the Silver Tier cultist, even across tiers.

And he also guessed why Bals had found them at this time.

He was the only Prophet in Leyden City, and he was a Prophet who came from the Star Tower!