Cultists

The entire incident was not complex, and it took only about a quarter of an hour to hear her subordinate's account.

But Sandella sensed a strong feeling of anomaly.

Where exactly was the problem? Was it the disappearance of the corpses themselves? She pondered for a moment, and suddenly she knew where this strangeness came from—she raised her head and looked at Shi Dong, "Do you really think they were pirates?"

Shi Dong expressed his confusion, "My lady, they certainly looked like pirates... and they did the things pirates do. If I hadn't stopped them, those four could have let the village..."

"But the key is that you appeared." Sandella interrupted him, "A Glorious Fortress patrol squad, equipped with rifles and armor, and outnumbering them—where did those pirates get the courage to face you head-on?"

"Uh... this..." Shi Dong was immediately choked for words.

The adjutant also realized it, "That's right, how did they dare?"

Even among the elite in the army, morale would inevitably drop when facing a certain-death scenario, but what did the pirates do?

According to Shi Dong, they drew their weapons, charged to meet the enemy, and in the end, all of them died in battle!

No one surrendered.

No one ran away.

It was as if they had no intention of turning back the moment they landed.

Pirates, of course, could not do such a thing.

They looked vicious and cruel, and their methods were extremely brutal, but that was directed at the weak who fell into their hands. If these people truly had more backbone than the army, they would have been the ones ruling Glorious Fortress long ago.

"There is another kind of person who does not fear death." Sandella was silent for a moment, "Or rather, they no longer know what death is."

As soon as these words were spoken, the temperature in the room seemed to drop by a few degrees.

"Are you referring to... Cultists?" Dailam, the head of the Fourteenth Group, gasped, "The Hidden Mist Sect?"

"You have heard the rumors too?" Sandella looked at her subordinate.

"Yes." The other replied bluntly, "Ever since the outpost city neared completion, such news has become increasingly frequent."

It was rumored that the Hidden Mist Sect worshipped the mist that never dissipated on the New Continent, hoping it would forever shroud the sky above the world. Any act of dispersing the fog would be hated and viewed with hostility by the believers of the Hidden Mist.

"I cannot make a judgment based on this; after all, there are many types of cultists, and heaven knows which sect they belong to." Sandella shook her head, "But in my opinion, everyone who throws themselves into evil has something wrong with their brain and cannot be treated with common sense."

"My lady..." Shi Dong swallowed hard, "Actually... before this incident, someone knew that pirates would appear in the southern suburbs of the city."

"What do you mean?" Sandella and the adjutant asked in unison.

"In the West District of the Old City, there is a Fortune Telling House." He honestly recounted the fortune-telling incident.

"Why didn't you mention this at all in your report!?" Dailam said, annoyed.

Shi Dong lowered his head, not daring to retort.

"Because this is not a matter that must be written into a report." The commander waved her hand, signaling for it to end there. "I will launch an investigation later, but there are more important things to do now. Dailam, go get your weapons, take Shi Dong with you, and we are going to the Old City immediately."

"Understood."

As soon as the two left the office, Woody immediately set about helping his superior put on her armor, "How many men should I bring?"

"No need to assemble troops, just the four of us, as fast as possible."

"Would that be too reckless?" Woody asked in surprise, "This matter might be related to cultists..."

"Precisely because of that, we need to catch them off guard."

"You suspect someone within the City Guard..."

"I do not suspect." Sandella picked up her sword, stopping him from continuing, "But it is better to be cautious at times like this. Besides, with my strength and skills, what is there to worry about?"

Ten minutes later, the four arrived at the location of the Fortune Telling House.

But there was nothing in the alley.

"This... how is this possible?" Shi Dong stared at the empty alley entrance, his face full of disbelief, "I clearly had my fortune told here; it was a crude shed with a sign hanging on it!"

"Are you sure you didn't remember the place wrong?" Dailam questioned.

"I swear! It was right here, it's impossible to be wrong!" He said urgently, "Right, right, there must be others who have seen the Fortune Telling House, as long as we ask around here more..."

"My lady?" The adjutant subconsciously looked at the commander, only to find Sandella crouching down by the edge of the alley.

"Someone was indeed here; there are not only footprints on the ground, but also marks left by a table and chairs." The latter said in a low voice, "The footprints are not from passersby, but the result of pacing back and forth many times."

"This subordinate can't see anything..." The adjutant walked to her side cautiously, fearing he would ruin the scene.

"When you reach my level, your observation skills will naturally be different." Sandella's expression was quite grave as she spoke.

"Is there something wrong?"

"There are no drag marks, no debris from dismantling... not even wood shavings, as if the shed never existed at all."

"But you said someone was active here... and that furniture like tables and chairs had been placed here..."

"That is the problem, have you noticed?" Sandella sighed, "If the person existed but the building did not, then what state was Shi Dong in when he spoke to the fortune teller?"

The mere thought of this scene was eerie.

The adjutant's face stiffened. One had to know that seeing specific and detailed hallucinations and being able to recall them clearly afterward was a precursor to hysteria.

As for that "fortune teller," they were very likely the culprit behind the hysteria.

No one dared to underestimate hysteria.

Currently, the medical field's research on hysteria was still in its early stages, but one thing was certain: if left unchecked, hysteria would gradually transform into madness. At best, the patient would commit self-harm and die; at worst, it would bring disaster to those around them.

That's right, hysteria was by no means a simple mental illness; it was not only contagious, but it could also influence reality little by little.

The corpses seen by the officer and the pirates encountered by the villagers could perhaps be understood as the aftermath of hysteria.

If the fortune teller could induce hysteria in a well-trained soldier, then their hiding in the city would sooner or later turn them into a ticking time bomb.

Although it had never been heard of in the past that hysteria could be triggered by a person, who could be certain it wouldn't happen?

After all, that was a power beyond common sense; even the Grand Cathedral, protected by God, could not cure those who had fallen into madness.

Worse still, the other party might be a cultist.

Although many cults in the past had claimed this was their power, there was not a single instance to prove it. However, Sandella could not guarantee that things would always stay that way, just as the whole world was constantly changing.

"Seal off this district, question every resident one by one, and check how many people have seen this Wonderful Fortune Telling House. If anyone knows the whereabouts of the fortune teller, there will be a heavy reward."

"I will go do it right away."

This was merely routine procedure. Considering that the main population of the West District consisted of low-level residents and gang members, Sandella found it hard to hold much expectation for the subsequent inquiries.

She turned her head and looked at the dim, yellow horizon, sighing silently in her heart.

This city was likely in trouble.