Declaration of Victory
They survived a nighttime attack by Corrupted Poison Spider.
After that, the campaign against Devil Beast went smoothly.
To ensure the safety of other Devil Beast in the Southern Forest, Anrui pressed his advantage the next day, leading the town's awakened ones to attack southwards, leaving the northern Devil Beast for last.
The battle was quite intense that day.
Once a Devil Beast was torn open in the chaotic outer area, hordes of Devil Beast emerged from within, naturally bringing danger.
But thanks to Linsey sending the message back in advance.
The Awakened in the town had anticipated this danger, and the powerful Awakened led by Anrui stepped forward to withstand the most dangerous wave of attacks.
After that, the human side completely took control of the rhythm of the battle.
It continued until the evening of the fourth day.
The Awakened Ones swept away the last remaining Devil Beast belonging to the North, returning home laden with the spoils of victory.
The town's residents had been eagerly waiting on the town's gravel roads.
People huddled together here in the cold winter, their eyes filled with anticipation and curiosity, as well as respect for Anrui.
The Lord at the very front of the group saw this but said nothing.
Anrui simply slowed his pace, smiled at the townspeople, and waved his one-armed hand.
"..."
"We won! We won!"
"Long live Lord Anrui!"
A smile and a gesture say it all.
The next moment, a thunderous cheer spread, and waves of people surged through the streets packed with hundreds of people.
But in front of Anrui, the cheers always made way for him.
People's joy comes from the heart.
This successful operation does not only mean that the town is now safe.
It also solved another crucial problem—food.
It took a full four days.
The awakened ones wiped out all the Devil Beast within a radius of more than ten miles around the town. These corpses were naturally not wasted; they were transported back to the town as food reserves for the winter.
The townspeople witnessed this scene.
How could they not be happy? Amid the cheers of the townspeople, Anrui led the Awakened back to the Lord's Manor.
He gave a speech to reward the Awakened Ones for their hard work over the past four days, followed by a celebration for everyone.
The lingering shadow of previous opposing stances has been completely dispelled by this success.
When it got completely dark and people started to leave because they were tired, they finally dispersed.
Anrui left the manor alone.
They approached Suo Mu Jin, who had remained out of the public eye since the start of the crackdown.
He arrived at the merchant's door, pushed it open, and saw that the man was tidying his clothes, clearly preparing to go out.
"Lord Anrui?"
Upon seeing Anrui appear, Suo Mu Jin bowed in greeting.
The title "Sir" that I used to address Anrui a few days ago has been changed back to "Sir".
The merchant praised, "I have given my all, and I congratulate you on your victory."
Suo Mu Jin were a double entendre.
He had clearly backed down, congratulating the operation on its success while also acknowledging Anrui's victory over the conflict in the town.
However, Anrui did not respond to this.
Instead, he went straight into the house and sat on a bench in the front hall.
"Suo Mu Jin, I have something to ask you."
Anrui's questioning voice was like a muffled thunderclap, while he stared at the merchant in front of him with a deep gaze, his cold and suspicious attitude undisguised.
Seeing this, Suo Mu Jin frowned slightly.
However, he did not lose his composure. Instead, he sat down politely opposite Anrui and said in a calm and methodical tone, "Please feel free to ask me anything, and I will answer to the best of my knowledge."
Anrui then revealed his purpose. "During this extermination of the Devil Beast, there was something that I couldn't figure out."
"I clearly set up sentries, and those spiders hadn't made a move for the past few days. But right after the first day of battle, those spiders launched an attack on our assigned troops under the cover of night."
"How did those spiders know about our actions? And how did they seize such a perfect moment?"
I think this is a very important question!
"..."
Suo Mu Jin's expression immediately darkened; he knew exactly what Anrui was asking.
"Anrui, are you suspecting me of making deals with those Devil Beast?"
Anrui neither confirmed nor denied this.
"As far as I know, merchants are skilled enough to do this kind of thing."
"Absurd!" Upon hearing this, a rare hint of anger appeared on Suo Mu Jin's aged face. "Anrui, I know my thoughts differ from yours, but you don't need to pin this accusation on me!"
"Even if I wanted to leave this hellhole, I could never do something so heinous!"
Suo Mu Jin was furious.
Although he wanted to break through the Black Mountain, it was a risky attempt made out of helplessness and despair.
Anrui's words at this moment were clearly accusing him of betraying humanity.
He even made a deal with Devil Beast to persecute the awakened ones in the town, which was something he absolutely could not accept.
Suo Mu Jin then stood up angrily from his chair.
His tone was no longer as calm and composed as before:
"If you want to kill me to stop people from heading to Black Mountain, then you can do it now."
"There's no need to fabricate these baseless accusations!"
Anrui stared coldly at the other person:
"I am the Lord of this Border Town. I cannot wrong any of the townspeople, but I will also not let any troublemaker get away with it."
Suo Mu Jin retorted sarcastically:
"So, you want everyone to dig their own graves, and you still want to uphold the name of justice to judge me? Ha! What a qualified Lord you are!"
Anrui remained indifferent in his reply:
"I will verify the truth; there will be no wrongful convictions."
At this point in the conversation, the businessman regained control of his emotions. He sat down again, met Anrui's gaze, and spoke frankly:
"Since you put it that way, then present the evidence now."
"If you can guarantee that I did this, then you can take my head, and I promise I won't resist."
"..."
Anrui remained silent.
He took a small Jade Balance from his pocket, placed it on the wooden table between the two of them, and then spoke to Suo Mu Jin again, "This is just a routine inquiry."
"Suo Mu Jin, did you betray humanity and inform those spider Devil Beast of the extermination team?"
"The scales of the City of Law?" Suo Mu Jin looked at the Jade Balance, raised an eyebrow, and said with great confidence, "Then listen to whether what I'm saying is true or not!"
"I'm telling you now, Anrui! I, Suo Mu Jin, have not betrayed humanity, nor have I leaked any information to those Devil Beast, nor have I ordered anyone to do such a thing!"
"Do you have any questions now?"
"..."
Anrui did not speak.
The Jade Balance he placed on the table were a rare artifact from the City of Law, used to determine whether a person was lying.
And the feedback he received from that prop just now— Suo Mu Jin's words were all true.
The person who betrayed the information was not the businessman in front of me! "..."
Anrui remained silent, his brows furrowed.
Suo Mu Jin also wanted to continue paying attention to the other party, so he snorted and turned to walk outside.
"My Lord, I have some matters to attend to and cannot keep you company any longer!"
"If you want to find any more evidence in my house, then do as you please!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Suo Mu Jin left Anrui inside and went out of the house himself.
Anrui kept his promise and didn't say anything more, letting the other party leave.
The merchant then headed south.
Suo Mu Jin stopped at the border between the town and the Farmland.
With just a blink of his eyes, the excitement and annoyance on his face vanished, and a polite smile returned to his lips, "Linsey, are you home?"