"Woof!"
Kuroro ran over in a panic, opened his great jaws, and clamped his sharp fangs into the bear's hide, tugging hard to drag it aside.
Kuroro had been searching for prey ahead of Logo and had not been caught in Jiesita's attack.
The harrowing life-or-death battle had also ended so quickly that Kuroro had not even had time to react.
By the time he ran back to help, Logo was already pinned beneath the giant bear.
When a druid died, his body reverted to its original form. Kuroro had only tugged a few times when the bear hide in his mouth turned into human skin.
Logo pushed the corpse off his abdomen and sat up.
Because the Shadow Spike had killed Jiesita first, piercing his brain and causing him to lose consciousness instantly, his attack had naturally stopped. Logo had not been badly hurt; he was just a little tight-chested and short of breath.
After taking a few breaths and recovering, Logo took a signal flare from his backpack and pulled the trigger!
With a whoosh, the flare rose into the sky and exploded, forming the highly conspicuous crest of the Campbell Family.
Through the Eye of Insight, Logo had already learned how strong the half-elf druid was.
He was a third-tier transcendent life-form with multiple classes and innate abilities, and his combat power was considerable.
Prey like this could not possibly have appeared in the first-tier area.
Even if similar oversights had happened in previous years, Logo did not believe his luck was that bad.
Most likely, someone was behind it.
It was best not to investigate something like this in private.
He would make a big fuss and draw the clan's attention. Even if they could not find the person behind it, he would at least make him rein himself in and buy himself time to grow stronger.
It was never too late for a gentleman to take revenge, even after ten years. Logo was not impatient, and the lessons of his previous life had told him time and again that when he was not strong enough, it was best to lie low and grow stronger.
Once he was invincible, he would settle every score!
Logo got to his feet and retrieved the Shadow Spike, which was covered in blood and brain matter. After wiping it clean, he put it back in his backpack.
Then he sat down where he was and took a few sips from his water flask.
The clan responded quickly. In just half a minute, several hunting hawks flew over.
Melier leaped down and came to Logo's side. Seeing that he did not appear to be seriously injured, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"What happened? Why did you fire a distress flare?" a short, thin old man demanded as he walked over.
Reynard Carvin, an eighth-tier Slaughter Knight, was the strongest member of the Carven Family and had close ties with Augustus. The Carven Family was also the family closest to the Campbell Family.
Of course, that closeness was only relative. The seven great families had intermarried for generations. Though there was infighting among them, they were ultimately all one family, bound by blood. If they traced their lineages back far enough, they could all find common ancestors.
Holding a giant axe, Melier stood in front of Logo. His towering, iron-tower-like figure gave him a strong sense of security.
With Logo having just been attacked by an assassin, Melier remained on guard even in Reynard's presence.
"Grandpa Reynard, here's what happened..."
After Logo briefly explained, Reynard narrowed his eyes. The old man did not believe in luck either; like Logo, his first thought was that someone was behind it.
"What do you plan to do?" Reynard asked bluntly.
Logo said, "This half-elf only just died. If we ask a spellcaster skilled in soul studies to examine his soul fragments, we should be able to get some useful information."
"Let's do that. I'll contact Kaien right now. He has some attainments in soul studies!" Reynard promptly took out his communicator and dialed Kane Rengat's number.
Logo's eyes flickered, and he more or less ruled out the Carven Family.
The assassination of the Campbell Family's first-in-line heir was such a major matter that Reynard, as his family's strongest member, had no reason not to know about it. Besides, given the relationship between the two families, there was no motive at all.
In fact, Logo already had a suspect.
His aunt, Catherine!
He had to find an opportunity to kill Catherine, whatever the investigation revealed next.
He could not judge the actions of this fool, whose brain had been corroded by the curse, by the reasoning of a normal person.
Even if she had not done it this time, the woman would cause him trouble in the future.
Before long, Kaien arrived on a hunting hawk, accompanied by Kevin Herbert, the Count of Red Maple.
The assassination attempt on Logo was no small matter. If an outside enemy had done it, it was a provocation against the Red Maple Clan, and they would have to retaliate.
If it was someone within the clan, it was a major matter concerning the clan's stability.
The seven great families were the pillars that kept the Red Maple Clan stable. If they fell into infighting, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Kaien was an eighth-tier wind mage who majored in elemental studies and minored in soul studies, as well as the strongest member of the Rengat Family.
He was a taciturn middle-aged man. Reynard had already told him what had happened during their call.
Kaien went straight to Jiesita's side and held his palm above the corpse. After letting out a long breath, he lit his palm with a hazy black glow. A cold wind howled, and the temperature seemed to drop by more than ten degrees. Faint whispers from ghosts and evil spirits sounded in their ears.
"Soul Gathering Technique!" Logo recognized the spell Kaien was using. It was one of the basic spells of the soul school, and it was of the fifth circle.
Spellcasters' spells were divided into thirty-three circles, corresponding to the thirty-three life tiers.
As the Soul Gathering Technique took effect, Jiesita's corpse began to tremble, as though something were resonating with it. Wisps of gray-brown mist drifted through the air and entered his nostrils, as if being absorbed.
At the same time, images of past memories appeared in Kaien's mind.
He raised the staff in his hand and tapped it lightly in the air. Wind elements condensed into a virtual projection, playing Jiesita's memories before everyone.
The images changed extremely quickly, as though playing at sixteen times speed, but everyone present had the reflexes and dynamic vision to follow them easily.
The first scene on the projection was Logo turning the tables and killing Jiesita.
It was the end of Jiesita's life and the most vivid of his remaining memories.
The Shadow Spike's tremendous power shocked the clan leaders present, but they did not ask about it. Their immediate priority was finding the mastermind.
The images continued to change, until the projection finally reached the scene in the prison.
When Catherine's face emerged from beneath the hood, everyone present understood at once, and their gazes turned to Logo as one.
"Lord Kaien, please continue!" Logo's expression remained calm. Even after learning who had sent the assassin, he remained unruffled.
Kaien glanced at Logo without expression and said, "The further back we go, the blurrier the memories become. My mastery of soul studies is limited, and the Soul Gathering Technique cannot trace memories too far back."
Sure enough, the projections that followed contained no valuable information.
Kaien withdrew his hand. A gleam flashed in his eyes, then disappeared.