Bright torches were held aloft, barely illuminating the slick road ahead in the darkness.
The road here was even filthier than the sewers Aaron had stayed in before, and the air was thick with a nauseating stench.
Even though Aaron had mentally prepared himself before coming down, he still couldn't help retching several times.
In the firelight, the waterway beside them was filled with nearly stagnant water. Every now and then, a few bubbles rose to the surface, offering the world an even deeper layer of foulness.
They had walked for less than a few minutes when Aaron had already spotted several unidentified corpses, bloated to the size of house cats, as well as half of a human corpse that had rotted beyond recognition.
Under Aaron's admiring gaze, Lord Bals calmly used his iron arm to turn over the corpse.
After examining it briefly, he turned back to the others and said, "Probably some unlucky vagrant, or perhaps a victim of a gang clash. Leyden City's sewers are never short of these."
In a sense, the sewers gathered not only all kinds of filth excreted from human bodies, but also the baseness and sins born from their souls and character.
Bals casually spread his fingers, and a mass of cyan-blue flames suddenly burst from his palm.
A wave of heat swept through the air. Aaron watched as the flames licked at the half-corpse, producing a sizzling sound before it finally turned into a pile of ashes amid the smell of burning flesh.
"Looks like the city defense force has plenty of free time," Aaron remarked casually.
According to Yagrant's customs, the city defense force was generally responsible for all kinds of odd jobs within the city. The most important of these was regularly clearing away corpses and monsters that had spawned.
Of course, the monsters that spawned were not necessarily extremely dangerous. Some civilians might never see such monsters in their entire lives. But allowing them to wander freely through the sewers was hardly acceptable.
Moreover, the sewers were an excellent place for living, traveling, murdering, and disposing of corpses, so they naturally attracted the attention of many ill-intentioned people.
Thus, it was especially important for the city defense force to patrol and clean the sewers regularly.
But if one considered that even the captain of the city defense force, Colin, was an ordinary person, then perhaps there was a legitimate reason for the force's inaction.
"Miss Alice, I think you understand this best. Politics is an art of compromise. Perhaps you should introduce your fiancé to this art," Bals said with an unconcerned smile, having understood Aaron's implication. "Colin is the crystallization of this art."
The attendants had not entered the sewers. Everyone present was a supernatural, so Bals had no need to hide his attitude. "No one is more suitable for this position than Colin."
"Just because he's an ordinary person?"
"In Leyden City, no one wants the captain of the city defense force to be a supernatural." Bals gave everyone a meaningful smile. "Sometimes, we need to be like ostriches—cover our eyes and pretend we know nothing."
Aaron raised his head, seemingly deep in thought. He stared seriously at Bals and said, "Lord Bals, what do you mean by that?"
"Leyden City is the western jewel of the entire Yagrant Kingdom, reputed to be a city paved with gold. Every merchant guild in the Yagrant Kingdom has established a branch here, so no one wants to be seen carrying something they shouldn't, or seeing something they shouldn't..."
"So Colin is the best candidate?" Sart added casually.
He was quite displeased by Colin's practice of secretly skimming off spices, even though the spices being skimmed were of little importance.
"Of course." Lord Bals waved his hand casually. As the runes on his iron arm lit up, a gust of wind swept over and precisely blew the pile of ashes into the stagnant water.
The stagnant water, whose color could not be discerned, silently swallowed the ashes, accepting this generous gift from Lord Bals.
Bals raised his head and looked seriously at Sart. "As long as he's ordinary enough, it means he can be replaced at any time. The city defense force of Leyden City has always been expendable, and he's nothing more than a tool."
His tone was natural, but Aaron inexplicably felt a chill.
As if he had thought of something, Bals gave Sart a slight bow. "If you're angry about him skimming off the spices, I apologize to you on his behalf. He's always fond of taking advantage of small opportunities. When it comes to glittering little things, he's never one to refuse."
"For someone who's about to die, he does indeed need our pity," Siosand interjected abruptly.
As soon as he said this, everyone couldn't help looking at him.
As another branch of the Gold Coin Path, prophets had abandoned the continued study of rituals and spices and instead focused on their own souls. They could see scenes ordinary people could not, and hear voices ordinary people could not.
Both drifted along the river of fate. Diviners used rituals and spices to build a boat and guided it along the river, while prophets relied on their own power to swim through the river of fate alone.
Or perhaps it could be said that prophets were closer to fate itself than diviners.
"What did you see?" Aaron asked with interest.
They said that olfactory cells tired easily, but the stench of the sewer was like a stimulant, making his olfactory cells burst with energy and refusing to let up. He had no choice but to force himself to shift his attention.
"When I saw that Colin, I saw a scene from the future," Siosand said, keeping his eyes fixed on Lord Bals. "It involved you."
As he spoke, he walked up to Lord Bals, raised his head slightly, and quietly gazed at Bals's face. "Yes, Lord Bals. I don't know when it will happen, but I saw you kill Colin."
Lord Bals's expression changed slightly, but he did not refute him. Instead, he nodded thoughtfully.
Unlike the vague revelations diviners received, the premonitions prophets received were often more accurate.
If what diviners saw was a process, then what prophets obtained was a result—or rather, one possible result from the future.
"Perhaps we should consider how to catch that Heretical Cultist?"
Aaron mentioned it casually. He watched the slight ripples spreading across the stagnant water, his mind racing as he did his utmost to speculate about Bals's next move.
They already knew that Bals harbored ill intentions. Even if he became a Heretical Cultist the next moment, Aaron wouldn't find it surprising.
He was simply curious—curious about what Lord Bals would do, curious about how he would bring the matter to a reasonable conclusion, and curious about what he ultimately wanted to achieve through it.
For example, did that Heretical Cultist really exist?
Aaahhhh, we're finally on the trial recommendation list!
Sorry, everyone, but could you readers please give me a triple vote? QAQ
There'll be another update tonight!
T.T
Before you continue