Chapter 111

After learning the whole story from Coliford, Cyrus finally arrived at the "crime scene" with His Holiness the Pope.

The scene was quite lively; almost everyone who was supposed to come had arrived.

This included three princes, the Marquis Galli, and Thomas, the Grand Master of the Ed Merchant Guild...

The man who claimed he didn't throw the javelin at the White Wolf intentionally was a viscount of relatively low status, of medium build, and around forty years old.

He fell to the ground in terror, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word...

Because these fluffy creatures, like Coalball Snowball, were almost all "enthusiastically" surrounding him, their sharp teeth protruding, their expressions fierce, and they would occasionally reach out their claws to hold down the viscount's clothes, preventing him from escaping.

So it was obvious that the other person's clothes were already torn to shreds by their claws, especially the area below, which emitted a foul odor from urinating in their pants.

When Cyrus arrived, she first observed the surrounding situation.

This is a clearing in the woods, with withered grass scattered everywhere. Not far away is a trap that looks like it was set in advance.

But by this time, the trap had been completely destroyed; the ropes and nets inside were torn apart and in a terrible state.

Let's look at the other side.

A javelin, broken in two, lay forlornly among the withered grass—just as Coliford had told him on the way there, this javelin was later bitten off by Egg Yolk.

It's likely that only Gena and his subordinate Coliford witnessed what happened.

Because of the White Wolf, after separating from Cyrus, they headed in the direction the White Wolf had run off in.

The White Wolf always hunted with the tall, golden-furred lion. Even if Gena wanted to approach the White Wolf, he couldn't do so rashly in the presence of the lion.

Then, he and his man Coliford saw the viscount and others chasing five or six prey toward them.

The prey, upon seeing the beast, scattered in terror and fled.

But the viscount and the others who were chasing the prey stopped abruptly when they saw the White Wolf and the lion...

At the time, Gena and Coliford were hiding in the woods not far away and were not spotted by them.

Then, it was the viscount who first threw a javelin at the White Wolf —the sound of it cutting through the air rang out, and the White Wolf, which had been facing away, nimbly dodged it, then quickly turned around, its ears perked up, and lowered its body to become alert...

The lion stood in front of the White Wolf, baring its sharp teeth and growling menacingly at the Viscount and his group.

The group was clearly also afraid of the beast, but for some reason they didn't leave.

They were clearly well-prepared, equipped with bows and arrows, javelins, slings, and other weapons... and followed by servants and knights.

Then, just as the Viscount and his men were about to take further action, Gena saw the large golden lion stride to the javelin stuck diagonally into the dry ground, and open its mouth—

With a "click".

The lion used its sharp teeth to bite through the iron spear shaft, and then, to the astonishment of the viscount and the others, it tossed its head and threw the broken iron spear shaft in front of them.

At that moment, two tigers, one black and one white, suddenly leaped out from the forest, while a snow-white Gyrfalcon circled in the sky.

The next moment, deafening roars of tigers and lions echoed throughout the hunting grounds, and the overwhelming force even frightened one of them so much that he stumbled backward and fell to the ground.

The viscount and his men became frightened and tried to turn and run away, but were immediately blocked by the even faster Coalball Snowball.

The snow-white shadow swooped down from the sky, its enormous wingspan reaching seven or eight meters.

--Gena and his subordinate Coliford then saw the magnificent, enormous bird extend its sharp claws, grab one of them, circle him once amidst his terrified screams, and then throw him back to the ground.

Without the slightest effort.

Within moments, the Viscount and his men were all paralyzed, unable to even run away; their legs were weak and their whole bodies were trembling.

Leaving aside the others for now.

The viscount who was the first to throw a javelin at the White Wolf is now the most unlucky one.

He was pulled out by the Coalball and attacked with their claws, his shirt almost torn to shreds—though the furry creatures were gentle, their sharp claws left red marks on the viscount's body.

Although it only reached the point of barely breaking the skin.

The viscount, however, looked as if he was about to faint and go into shock. He was sweating profusely and shivering in the cold wind.

Even those nearby who wanted to stop them hesitated under the watchful eyes of the beast, not to mention the majestic eagle lurking overhead.

During this time, Prince Warner tried to approach the Viscount, who was surrounded by fur, in an attempt to rescue him.

Warner ordered the knight to draw attention to himself while he took the opportunity to step forward and look for a chance.

But a white tiger with black stripes blocked his path, its cold eyes fixed on him, as if it would pounce and tear him apart if he made any further move.

Warner. stopped what he was doing.

He always felt that these beasts kept by the Lord of Desinia were too intelligent, not only able to understand and see through their intentions, but also able to limit the harm they caused to the Viscount and others to a certain extent.

--It's intimidating, but it won't kill them.

Therefore, even though the viscount and his companions looked rather pitiful, the situation was not too serious.

Archibald and Orville stood by, watching indifferently.

After Warner's attempt to rescue the viscount failed.

Archibald said, "The eldest prince had better not try to save anyone anymore."

"The beasts of the Lord of Desinia wouldn't frighten them without reason. What these people have done must be clarified upon the Lord's arrival..."

"And you, too, must give an explanation."

The man who had come with the viscount immediately shouted, "Your Highness, we are truly innocent! We did nothing! We were merely chasing our prey, and Viscount El simply turned in the wrong direction!"

"As you know, this is a common occurrence in hunting grounds; it's unavoidable..."

Even though Gena and his subordinate Coliford witnessed the whole incident, it was difficult to believe anyone based solely on their accounts.

After all, as the king of the Bovell Kingdom, Gena had recently fought a war with the Saint Airo Empire. Although they had temporarily reconciled, it did not mean that the grudges between them had disappeared.

After Cyrus arrived, he listened to their explanations again. Gena then recounted what he had seen, and both sides stuck to their own versions of events.

Crown Prince Warner pleaded with the Lord of Desinia to be magnanimous and allow his beasts to spare Viscount El for the time being.

Warner said, "If this continues, Viscount El may not be able to hold on... and people will die."

--Not killed by a wild beast, but from being scared to death because his heart was pounding too hard.

Cyrus slowly walked over to Ice Cream and rubbed its erect ear tips. She then called over Coalball Snowball and Egg Yolk and patted their big heads.

The ferocious beasts that were just moments ago suddenly began to whine and purr sweetly, swishing their tails and nuzzling affectionately against Cyrus.

Those who had been surrounded by ferocious beasts and dared not move immediately dragged the viscount away, leaving him in a disheveled state.

Cyrus patted Coalball's big head, then pointed to the javelin broken in two not far away. Coalball Ball immediately understood and ran over to retrieve the javelin shaft and placed it in front of Cyrus.

This obedient and well-behaved behavior drew whispers from the surrounding crowd.

Cyrus picked up the broken gun barrel and examined it—one end had the mark of being bitten off by Egg Yolk, while the other end was precisely the sharp, pointed gun head.

He said, "The javelins distributed at the hunting grounds all have wooden shafts, so why is this one made of iron?"

A nobleman from the Saint Airo Empire said, "Some people are not used to the tools used in the hunting grounds, so they can bring their own... Viscount El usually uses these specially made iron javelins when he comes to the hunting grounds."

It is not easily broken under huge forces.

"Is that so?" Cyrus remained noncommittal.

He glanced at Viscount El, who was being helped to sit against a tree, panting heavily, and said calmly, "My beast wouldn't frighten innocent bystanders like this unless it sensed a murderous intent or was under attack."

"Because I forbade them to harm people, the viscount and the others were not immediately killed."

"I believe His Majesty Kozmo's statement that you deliberately wanted to hunt down my beast... What, are you trying to provoke a war between the Desinia Territory and the Saint Airo Empire?"

These words made some people's expressions change.

Second Prince Kien glanced at Gena Kozmo and said, "Perhaps His Majesty the King of the Bovell Kingdom misunderstood what happened just now."

"Lord of Desinia, things haven't escalated to the point of war yet..."

Some say that Viscount El may have simply thrown his weapon in the wrong direction, accidentally provoking the beasts, which led to him being surrounded, torn apart, and frightened by them.

Those who came with the viscount also insisted on this version of events.

The third prince Kashu, also said, "Even Viscount El was so frightened by your beast, you..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Cyrus suddenly threw the broken javelin in his hand, aiming directly at Viscount El.

With a "whoosh".

The javelin, broken in half, struck Viscount El's head and embedded itself firmly in the tree trunk—the shaft humming with the aftershock.

Viscount El had barely caught his breath when he was so startled by Cyrus's action that his eyes rolled back and he fainted completely.

Under the incredulous gazes of the crowd, Cyrus clapped her hands and said, "You have to give me an explanation for this, or you can give me his life."

"As for the truth, I know it in my heart, and you all know it in your hearts too. There's no need to argue with me about it here."

After Cyrus finished speaking, she looked at the eldest prince, Warner, and said, "Your Highness, please deliver the gifts from this hunting competition to the Sheri Hall later. I'm tired, so I'll head back now."

He gestured to His Holiness the Pope, then led the furry creatures away.

Orville dropped his bow and arrows, nodded to Warner, and then followed him away.

Archibald gave a mocking smile to the man who had just stood on Viscount El's side, turned and left, followed by Gena Kozmo and some distinguished guests from the Sheri Hall.

Kashu only slowly came to his senses after Cyrus and the others had gradually disappeared from sight.

He roared, "What kind of attitude is this from Desinia?! Does he want to be an enemy of the Empire?!"

"Kashu!"

Warner glanced at him, successfully silencing the third prince in a huff.

Segalot left the Boer Mountain Hunting Grounds after saying, "Investigate this matter thoroughly."

The hunting competition ended halfway through.

Afterwards, Cyrus ordered people to inquire about Viscount El and the rest of his men in the imperial capital—and discovered that they were all skilled hunters who regularly participated in hunting expeditions.

Viscount El, in particular, never missed when throwing his javelins, and he preferred hunting large prey to smaller ones, having killed wolves several times...

If it weren't for Ice Cream's extraordinary agility, and the fact that it was a descendant of the Divine Mountain Snow Wolf King specially brought back by 098, it would probably have been injured or impaled by a sharp spear without warning...

Upon learning of this, Walker analyzed, "It's no secret that Viscount El is very close to Marquis Galli and the Ed Merchant Guild within the Imperial City."

"And behind what happened at the Boer Mountain Hunting Grounds, there is likely the instruction of the president of the Ed Merchant Guild, or the Marquis Galli... They might even be involved..."

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Their motive is obvious: revenge.

Ferdinand said, "There are only two possible outcomes after this happens: either we succeed in making the lord lose the Ice Cream, or we fail."

"But regardless of whether the Ice Cream was injured or not, Viscount El and his group can claim that it was accidentally thrown in the wrong direction while chasing their prey..."

Even if the matter is thoroughly investigated, Viscount El cannot be convicted of harming a wild animal.

--If we were to actually kill a White Wolf, even if we were to be punished by the eldest prince and others, it would be nothing more than a matter of loose skin for them.

superficial.

They thought they had everything under control.

But Viscount El and his men clearly misjudged two things.

--Firstly, Cyrus's furry creatures are different from ordinary beasts; their sharp teeth are so powerful that they can easily bite through iron bars.

This ability alone terrified Viscount El and his companions, not to mention the beast's intelligence, strength, and speed, which were all incredibly frightening.

And in the sky, there was an eagle as tall as a person with an amazing wingspan.

Secondly, they also underestimated the importance that Cyrus placed on the fluffy creatures.

They thought it was just an animal.

Even if she lost a White Wolf, Desinia would at most be extremely annoyed, rather than showing no respect for Prince Warner at the hunting grounds and insisting on the truth.

The night Cyrus returned to the Sheri Hall, the prizes for the Boer Mountain hunting competition were delivered.

The next day, under pressure from His Holiness the Pope, Warner, along with Viscount El and others, personally went to the Sheri Hall to apologize to Cyrus.

Viscount El even sent expensive gifts to compensate for the fright caused by the beasts.

Cyrus accepted Viscount El's gift.

Warner thought the matter was over, and after a few more sincere words, he left with the viscount.

After they left, Cyrus threw away the gift and muttered, "This isn't over."

Since they dared to scheme against him, this isn't something that can be resolved with just a little hardship.

Ten days later, the Alchemists and Physicians Exchange will be held at the auction house provided by the Ed Merchant Guild...