Isaac rolled off Fenri's back, and Fenri shook its fur and retreated behind Isaac.
"Then," Carlo tossed his hand, and the ebony cane flew over.
Isaac caught it, still thinking about the Battle Wheel from before, "Boss, your Check Domain..."
Carlo interrupted, "It means expanding the range of my ability to cover a certain area, within which checks can be performed without handing the dice to you."
Since Carlo didn't elaborate, Isaac couldn't press for more details, such as how this ability was consumed.
The nosebleed didn't seem like a simple case of exhaustion, and I had no idea what Carlo meant by the "blue bar".
On the other side, Vilka walked towards Mary. With each step she took closer, the electric arcs on Mary's body pulsed more violently, and her flesh emitted a burnt smell.
Mary's body convulsed, her sheep head tilted to the side, and the approaching nun was reflected in her rectangular pupils. The surrounding lambs wanted to rush forward to protect the Shepherd, but dared not approach Vilka.
Vilka clasped her hands together, lowered her head, and muttered something. Fine golden patterns appeared on the surface of the Golden Bough Spear, like the veins of branches and leaves glowing, extending from the branches to the tips, radiating light.
As Vilka stopped, the entire Golden Bough Spear burst into flames, the blazing white flames spreading along the spear shaft, engulfing Mary's body, and flowing from Mary to the ground, igniting the lambs scattered around.
Mary let out a hoarse cry, neither like a sheep nor a human voice. Her tattered clothes turned to ashes, and then her body peeled away layer by layer, revealing her internal structure.
Mary's interior did not contain the organs of a normal living being; instead, there were only thread-like things writhing in the flames, like parasites.
The lambs around did not struggle or run away in the flames. Without the Shepherd's guidance, they eventually bowed their heads and accepted the purification, one by one being swallowed by the flames.
The acrid smell spread with the fire. Carlo sniffed his still-congested nose and sighed, "Isn't this also a kind of roasted whole lamb?"
"Boss, let's not ruin the atmosphere at a time like this..."
"Let poets write about atmosphere. But with it burned so thoroughly, it seems unlikely to create anything Wonder. What a pity."
Vilka ignored the conversation, and with a gentle clench of her hands, the flames seemed to receive a command, quickly shrinking away from the ground and gathering on the Golden Bough Spear.
Until the last wisp of flame returned, the Golden Bough Spear shattered, turning into specks of light and dissipating, leaving only a ring of charred ashes on the ground.
Vilka lowered her hands. "It's resolved."
"I hope your playing style didn't attract too much attention."
"The surrounding observation posts may have detected the fluctuations, but they cannot confirm exactly what happened. Subsequent reports will be issued by the Joint Investigation Bureau."
"Those who wield power have the authority to speak freely. Go talk to Parker yourself."
While Carlo and Vilka were talking, Isaac walked toward the scorched area.
On the ashes-covered ground, some unburnt objects were scattered about, irregularly shaped, resembling small metal objects.
It must be residue left on those who were devoured and assimilated... he thought, bending down to examine it.
Things like metal buttons that don't burn completely, and...
Isaac paused, noticing that the Wonder didn't seem to have been dropped by Mary. He used his cane to brush away the still-warm ashes, and then brushed away the other ashes around it.
... They are shackles.
And there's more than one.
"Boss, Vilka Verca, come take a look." Isaac pointed to the shackles with his cane. "Shackles, there are still many. Could it be that the prisoner escort team was attacked by Mary?"
Carlo glanced at the shackles that Isaac had pulled out of the ground. "The guard was killed by Mary, and the prisoner was eaten by the sheep. Sounds plausible. But, well, the prisoner must have been Mary's least favorite kind of sheep."
"Why?"
"Whether committed voluntarily or involuntarily, committing a crime means violating the order. Mary prefers docile people, those who are obedient, compliant, and submissive, while criminals are those who break the rules, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, and to Mary, they are as unpalatable as rotten meat."
Isaac frowned. Prisoners weren't Mary's favorite food, so these shackles were unlikely to have come from prisoners, yet they were here.
Did Mary, contrary to her usual behavior, attack the prisoners being transported or somewhere in the prison, causing her lambs to eat this "carrion," or...?
Another possibility came to Isaac's mind: being bound by shackles does not necessarily mean being a criminal; it could also mean being an innocent person being restrained.
Vilka looked at the shackles that had been unearthed and said, "Recently, the construction progress on several railway lines has slowed down. Reports submitted by various sections frequently mention attacks by sheep-like aliens, whose characteristics closely match Mary's lambs."
Isaac took a deep breath, and his guess gradually took shape with the additional information provided by Vilka.
It is known that: Mary prefers docile, obedient, and submissive people; Mary has recently been active in the area surrounding Vista, affecting the progress of railway construction in Vista;
Who benefits from the delays in the railway project?
Noticing the change in Isaac's expression, Carlo snapped his fingers, "What's on your mind? Explain it to Vilka Verca."
Since Vilka was able to provide some relevant information, it meant that she also had a deduction about the situation. However, she looked at Isaac now, waiting for him to give an explanation.
Isaac sorted out his thoughts. "Someone is using living people as bait to lure Mary into staying near the railway construction site and obstructing the construction. The direct beneficiaries of obstructing the railway plan are those old nobles."
"The calls for the repeal of the Corn Laws in Vista have grown louder recently, and in the future, more cheap raw materials will be imported from other cities. This is directly related to the expansion of the railway, and the old nobles will never sit idly by and watch their interests be crushed by the railway."
"The railway construction needs to pass through the territories of nobles. They cannot directly stop the Grand Duke from advancing the railway plan, but they can make the railway construction stop, for example, by causing a calamity to appear near the construction section."
"Frequent attacks by alien species, and even calamities, have occurred along the construction section, which will naturally delay the construction period. Dagong will also face pressure because it cannot guarantee construction safety, and will inevitably need to organize a crackdown."
"At that time, the old nobles can step forward and use 'assistance in suppressing the disaster' as leverage to mobilize troops and provide supplies. They can set prices for everything and demand returns from the Grand Duke in exchange for concessions."
Carlo turned to Vilka: "So, Cardinal Vilka, what do you think of his reasoning?"
Vilka nodded. "There is indeed someone pushing behind the scenes to obstruct the railway construction; I've heard some rumors about it too."