Order of Knights

Striking red warning tape surrounded Haisha Bar, with knights from the order guarding every entrance and exit.

Passersby in this district didn't even have the desire to spare a glance at the commotion, instead fleeing as if trying to get as far away as possible.

Because within the Holy Kingdom, when the Church's knights and red warning tape appeared together, it only meant one thing—Corrupt Calamity contamination.

Fortunately, judging by the area cordoned off and the number of personnel dispatched by the knights, the disaster level of this Corrupt Calamity contamination shouldn't be high.

Inside Haisha Bar.

"So, Mr. Liao Ji, let me confirm with you once more: at 4:16 PM, a group of gangsters organized by Kalleva broke into the Haisha Bar in the Beirang district. Their leader claimed to be a Corrupted to threaten the owner, attempting to extort a high protection fee. However, during the confrontation, this leader suddenly lost control, went berserk, and turned into a Corrupted Corpse, attacking everything mindlessly in his monster form. To survive, you and the gangsters joined forces and ultimately worked together to kill the monster?"

After reading the long string of text from the testimony book, the knight member looked up at the young man sitting opposite him, who was dressed in a tan suit and had delicate, fair features.

"Do you have any corrections or additions to my transcript, Mr. Liao Ji?"

"None. You recorded it very thoroughly, and I have already told you everything I saw. So, may we leave now? To be honest, this place is really giving me trauma."

Regarding Liao Ji's request, the knight showed an understanding yet apologetic expression. He shook his head and said, "I am very sorry, Mr. Liao Ji, but I must ask you to be patient and cooperate with us a little longer."

"Fine, but please be quick."

"Please rest assured, we will notify you as soon as we have finished our investigation."

The investigator knight gave Liao Ji a chest-thumping salute before walking away quickly to report to their captain, who was in charge of the incident.

Watching the knight's retreating back, Liao Ji was lost in thought.

The so-called knight order wasn't actually composed of knights in armor with swords at their waists.

They were simply the name for an armed force established by "The Church."

If one had to make a comparison, from Liao Ji's perspective, these people wearing uniform silver-gray outfits, handguns at their waists, and cross brooches looked somewhat like city police.

The Holy Kingdom, as the name implied, was a country entirely ruled and managed by "The Church"; the Church was effectively the government.

But as Irin had explained to him at the very beginning, the Black Cave Settlement maintained a certain degree of independent autonomy due to its special history and geography. The Church hadn't completely taken over; instead, gangs had become the masters of the Black Cave.

However, no matter where it was or who managed it, the Church had the obligation and responsibility to maintain local public order, and in the event of Corrupt Calamity contamination, to organize personnel immediately to eliminate the contamination, prevent its spread, and rescue the wounded.

This was the first absolute tenet for the "Church" written by the Saintess "Stia" herself in the Founding Scripture.

For hundreds of years, the Church had always done exactly this.

No one dared to defy it.

At least...

No one dared to defy it openly.

"Captain Dulin, this is the testimony of one of the survivors at the scene, the bar patron Liao Ji. Please take a look!" The knight who had previously investigated Liao Ji trotted up to a middle-aged man and respectfully handed over the report.

From the young knight's form of address and the extra holy patterns on the shoulders and cuffs of the middle-aged man's uniform, it was clear that this "Dulin" was the leader of the knight order and the person in charge of the incident.

However, compared to the serious attitude of the young investigator, Dulin, as the captain, appeared somewhat lazy.

He waved his hand at the transcript Liao Ji had provided, not even bothering to take it.

"Just tell me, is it any different from the others?" Dulin asked, tilting his head.

"No. Aside from some minor details, the testimonies of the survivors at the bar are almost identical."

"Hmph." Dulin snorted, as if he had expected this.

He then continued to ask the young knight: "So, we've investigated just about everything we can. Tamik, what do you think of this contamination incident?"

After a brief pause, the young knight straightened his posture and stated his analysis to Dulin.

"First, following your previous guidance, Captain, I did not go to the scene immediately. Instead, I found several patrons in the surrounding area who had left the bar before the contamination broke out. Judging by their testimonies, at least the first half of the event is credible: the Kalleva gangsters did indeed come to the bar to stir up trouble and collect protection fees."

"Mm, go on. And then? By saying 'at least the first half is credible,' does that mean... you suspect their testimony regarding the second half is problematic?"

"Yes, Captain Dulin, and I think the problem is significant." The young knight nodded.

"Tell me, where is the problem?"

"I think there are three highly suspicious points. First, according to the survivors' descriptions, they joined forces with the gangsters to fight the berserk Corrupted. But why, looking at the corpses at the scene, were the gangsters completely wiped out, while the Haisha Bar side suffered no casualties?"

"Maybe they were just lucky, or perhaps those gangsters were the first to suffer because they were closest to their boss?" Dulin countered.

"What you say makes sense, but that is exactly why there is a second suspicious point. We investigated the gangsters' bodies and found that their cause of death was primarily being slashed in the throat by some sharp weapon. This clearly doesn't look like the work of a Corrupt Calamity monster."

"Finally, the third highly suspicious point is that Mr. Liao Ji and his female companion."

"Although they claim they missed the chance to leave the bar because they were frightened, I just feel that these two people are, well, a bit..."

"Out of place?"

"Yes, Captain Dulin!" The young knight nodded, feeling understood.

"So, it seems you already have an outline of this incident in your mind, then?"

As Dulin spoke, he reached into his pants pocket, only to find nothing. He then realized he was wearing his field uniform and that his cigarettes and lighter weren't there, causing him to mutter a curse under his breath.

Ignoring the captain's actions, the young knight finally gave his conclusion.

"Reporting to the Captain, in my view, the full picture of this contamination incident is that the Kalleva gangsters came to extort protection fees, but some accident occurred midway, leading to a conflict with a third-party force inside the bar. The gangsters were completely crushed in terms of combat power, and that Kalleva leader likely suffered severe emotional fluctuations in such a desperate situation, causing the Corrupt Calamity in his body to lose control and turn him into a monster. Even so, he was still ultimately killed."

After finishing his deduction in one breath, Tamik looked with nervous anticipation toward his captain and mentor, the most outstanding and formidable knight commander in the Black Cave Settlement's Church knight order over these past years, Dulin.

"Your conclusion is correct; I also believe this is the true nature of the incident."

Dulin first affirmed the young knight, which immediately made Tamik flush with excitement. He couldn't help himself and immediately requested, "Then I will go organize a team right now to capture that man and woman!"

After all, the "third party" in his deduction was already obvious. The fact that just two people could wipe out an entire gang squad and even kill a rampaging Corrupted proved one thing through all the clues.

That man and woman were also Corrupted!

What a pity.

Before the eager Tamik could even take half a step, a pair of rough, calloused hands grabbed him by the collar and yanked the young knight, who was acting like a greenhorn, right back.

"Ca-captain?" Tamik looked back at that stubble-covered middle-aged face, his expression full of confusion.

"Tamik, in terms of case handling and investigative ability, I think you have already graduated. Therefore, next, you should follow me to learn the next essential skill for becoming an excellent knight."

"You—you mean?"

"Survival skills."

After saying this, Dulin ignored the young knight standing there in a daze and strode toward a certain young man not far away.