A familiar smell. Only a mixture of fresh blood spurting from veins and ruptured organs could produce that distinctive odor.
As a veteran adventurer, Renato took a light sniff and immediately reached a conclusion.
Someone was killed here recently, and their death probably wasn't pretty.
The smell was not particularly strong. The nighttime sea breeze had diluted it considerably, and the Dock District perpetually reeked of rotting fish, shrimp, and damp timber. Without a deliberate effort to distinguish it, the scent would have gone almost unnoticed.
But Renato's keen senses had already gauged the distance automatically. The fight must have taken place nearby, roughly twenty to forty meters ahead and to his left. Only the unfavorable wind direction, compounded by the filthy surroundings of the Dock District, had kept him from noticing until now.
Ordinarily, Renato had no intention of meddling in this sort of thing. He was no constable, after all, and knew nothing of the grudges between the locals. Blindly intervening would accomplish nothing beyond landing him in trouble.
But now, the dead body clearly lay on his only route to the Governor's Special District.
Looking up at the shoddy wooden buildings haphazardly erected on either side, the swordsman could not help sighing.
Pye had only told him to follow this road straight to his destination. Newly arrived, Renato had no idea how to find a detour through this maze of illegal buildings, nor did he want to get lost in the dead of night and end up wandering unfamiliar streets and alleys until dawn.
Honestly, I haven't even had dinner yet...
Tightening his grip on the Silent Lady, Renato raised his left hand slightly, ready to cast Shadow Shield at any moment, and headed toward the source of the smell.
After circling a pile of empty wooden