Chapter 262: Evidence
“In 9564 holy calendar, song moon, 7th day of Kishou, Chandler Town in the northern Marshall Territory was suspected of being attacked by a slave-catching group, with over three hundred people perishing without exception.
The Marshall Family officially announced that the town was attacked by a low-tier monster group of Mudtooth Beasts from the 'Scaly Claw Marsh' twenty miles to the west, and two days later, dispatched the Autonomous Army from the nearby Frostfire City to clear them out. However, according to testimonies provided by the 'Battle Forest Boar Mercenary Group,' 'Green Forest Mercenary Group,' and some members of the local Autonomous Army who were stationed in Frostfire City at the time, the three Autonomous Army squads in Kishou Marsh were not part of the fixed establishment of the Frostfire City Autonomous Army, but were unfamiliar personnel temporarily added to the roster two weeks prior.
The entire second squad of the Green Forest Mercenary Group, who happened to be collecting taro in Scaly Claw Marsh at the time, all stated that they had not witnessed any Autonomous Army soldiers nearby. However, in the early morning of the 10th day of Kishou, many witnesses in Frostfire City indeed reported seeing three Autonomous Army squads returning triumphantly with over twenty Mudtooth Beast tails. According to my subsequent investigation, there were no traces of Mudtooth Beasts rampant in Chandler Town that day.
On the morning of the 8th day of Kishou, Gabri, the Vice Captain of the Battle Forest Boar Mercenary Group, who passed through the area, discovered half of a crest bearing the Marshall Family emblem in the ruins, suspected to have been knocked off a 'Autonomous Army squad member' during combat. The crest had a sword mark, perhaps related to Hausen, the blacksmith who lived in seclusion in Chandler Village and was the only Mid-Tier professional in the area.
And there's another detail worth noting: a small group of Mudtooth Beasts could not have successfully destroyed a village in the face of a Mid-Tier professional… Phew, so detailed…”
Aimilin put down the scroll in her hand. She gently rubbed her temples, then glanced at Grand Duke Marshall, who was also reviewing the 'evidence' nearby with a furrowed brow, and pursed her lips with a complex expression: “Something that can be confirmed with just a little investigation doesn't look like a forgery at all.”
Grand Duke Marshall shook his head with a bitter expression, letting out a deep sigh: “Unheard of… unheard of…”
Shuang Ye, sitting next to Aimilin, shot him a sidelong glance and yawned lazily: “You'd better spend your time expressing emotions on reading more, though personally, I feel that no matter how much you read, it won't be able to be smoothed over.”
“In 9568 holy calendar, month of poetry, 4th day of melody, Frost Rime Village in the western Marshall Territory was suspected of being attacked by a slave-catching team. Sister Mora of the Abundance Church, who had escaped disaster by going into the city to purchase food, returned the next day to find at least twenty corpses, all frail old people and children. Mora, on the verge of a mental breakdown, immediately returned to Snowmist City, which she had just left, to seek help. She first went to the Abundance Church to explain the situation to the local bishop, and then proceeded to the Snowmist City Hall, from which point she was never heard from again. When the Autonomous Army and Church warriors arrived at Frost Rime Village on the 7th day of melody, they found no bodies; where the village once stood, only…”
Grand Duke Dentis hadn't finished reading the passage in his hand when Shuang Ye interrupted him.
“Only a few empty houses remained, so the nearby City Hall defined the incident as 'normal migration,' because Frost Rime Village's geographical location was remote, and usually only that poor nun would occasionally go out to Snowmist City to buy things. It could be said that there was no evidence to contradict it.” Shuang Ye repeated the content of the scroll in Dentis's hand almost word for word, shaking her head with a sneer: “They didn't even clean up the bodies properly, which is very careless. Honestly, if I were the one investigating this series of events, Grand Duke Marshall's grave might already be three zhang high.”
Grand Duke Simon, also perusing a scroll, frowned slightly: “But this evidence is not enough to prove Grand Duke Marshall's guilt, or even to sufficiently prove that these are related to the Marshall Family.”
“Oh? Is that so?” Shuang Ye casually glanced at him, slowly took a sip of tea, then raised an eyebrow: “Please unfold the scroll in your hand to about sixty inches. If I remember correctly, there should be a record of an event from 9569 holy calendar, month of illusions, 6th day of Kishou. I hope you can read it and… never mind, not everyone is as smart as me, just read it~”
Grand Duke Simon did not express dissatisfaction with Shuang Ye's flippant and sarcastic remarks, but quickly unfolded the scroll in his hand to the length she mentioned, and indeed found a record about the month of illusions in 9569 holy calendar…
“In 9569 holy calendar, month of illusions, 6th day of Kishou, White Lion Town in the eastern Marshall Territory was suspected (crossed out with newer ink) confirmed to have been attacked by a Marshall Family slave-catching group. After one night, only a large area of ruins remained, with some very obvious Thief group emblems scattered in the town. According to the explanation given by the Flying Elephant City Hall afterwards, the perpetrators of the White Lion Town tragedy were the roaming bandit group 'Wind Skull,' but this was not the case. On the night of the 6th day of Kishou, a three-person adventurer squad discovered a young man in the river ditch east of White Lion Town. The ranger in the team, who had a junior alchemist qualification, saved this person… Could it be that…”
Grand Duke Simon, halfway through reading, looked up and exchanged a glance with Emperor Kleiwo, who was looking at him.
“A witness, a living, fresh witness.” Shuang Ye grinned at the two, her small feet, barely reaching the ground with her thick-soled boots, happily swinging: “That guy's name is Tieke, an ordinary farmer. That night, he had a few too many drinks at the tavern, and later, unable to bear the hangover, he ran to the wilderness outside the town and vomited for half the night. When he went back, he found a large group of fierce people slaughtering people. He was so scared that he lost his nerve, and finally, in a panic, he ran and ran, and fell into the ditch~”
Grand Duke Simon looked at Shuang Ye with a serious expression: “What did he see? Where is he now?”
“He saw his idol, the former Vice Captain of the Buffy's Sword Knights, Borkborg.” Shuang Ye answered without hesitation, then pointed at the scroll in Grand Duke Simon's hand with a look of disgust: “It's all written there, can't you read it yourself?”
Simon shook his head with a gloomy expression: “It doesn't say where he is now.”
“It does, but I tore it off, here it is.” Shuang Ye, as if performing magic, pulled out a stack of old parchment, and smiled: “I can show you the testimony Captain Ned got from Tieke. As for where he is… tsk tsk, I can only say that he has been living quite well in Grand Duke Dentis's territory all these years. The rest will have to wait until the next stage~”
Grand Duke Scorpi snorted, but said nothing. He also held a scroll that looked somewhat old.
“What do you think, Buffy?” The kind-faced Grand Duke Dentis glanced at Grand Duke Marshall and asked leisurely: “If I remember correctly… that Borkborg was indeed the former Vice Captain of the Buffy's Sword Knights…”
The latter shrugged: “The last time I saw old Borg was at a dinner three years ago. He said he was old and didn't want to get up early every day for morning exercises with everyone, so I gave Borg a rather generous amount of Wealth, and I haven't seen him since~”
“So, you don't think that Borkborg took people to do something outrageous in White Lion Town two years ago?” Shuang Ye casually handed a parchment labeled 'Tieke's Testimony' to Grand Duke Simon, then gave Buffy Marshall a malicious smile: “You believe in loyal old Borg, right? After all, he's been with you for twenty years.”
Grand Duke Marshall hesitated for a moment, then finally shook his head: “To be honest, if someone had asked me this question yesterday, I would have fully vouched for old Borg's loyalty, but now… I'm not so sure, because Borg has indeed been very close to Benny Crow on a daily basis… So…”
“Alright, alright.” Shuang Ye smiled sarcastically and shook her head: “Benny, Benny, Benny, everything is related to Benny. Any suspicious place can be linked to Benny. Aren't you afraid of turning him into a meme?”
Grand Duke Marshall blinked: “What's a meme?”
“Nothing.” Shuang Ye casually brushed it off, then raised her eyebrows and asked: “So you don't rule out the possibility that the witness wasn't mistaken, do you? You're just refusing to admit that this has nothing to do with you, right?”
The other party nodded seriously: “I am unaware of everything in these records.”
“Is that so?”
Grand Duke Baloka suddenly looked up from the other end of the table, shook the scroll in his hand, and said in a deep voice: “Are you aware of the content on that?”
“What con…”
“In 9571 Holy Calendar, month of storms, 8th day of Kishou.” Grand Duke Baloka read aloud from the newest-looking parchment in his hand: “The tracking has finally yielded results! I discovered a large cellar in Mercury City in the Marshall Territory, containing at least sixty recently captured slaves!
I originally planned to rescue them and immediately head to the Fire Claw Territory, but the plan failed. The slaves were transferred the next day. Fortunately, the supervisors seemed to have temporarily left. I found many clues in the empty cellar, including a direct lineage roster connected to the Marshall Family. However, due to time constraints, I couldn't memorize it all or secretly take it with me. It would be too easy for them to catch me in Mercury City. Before the truth comes out, I must hide myself carefully.
I quickly memorized a few names. Among them, a high-ranking contact person is named Gart. On the surface, he is a captain in the Dieyan City Autonomous Army, but in reality, he has been involved in slave-catching plans targeting the Fire Claw Territory. I think it's necessary for me to infiltrate that place. If possible, it would be best to send intelligence to Grand Chieftain Xi Luo again. He is trustworthy. This is very dangerous. I am well aware that the Marshall Family has spies in the Fire Claw Territory, but now is not the time to consider the risks.
With just a little more clue, even an insignificant one, this evil act that has caused countless tragedies should finally end… Yes, I must withdraw from the mercenary group I'm currently in, then find an opportunity to infiltrate the Marshall Autonomous Army in Dieyan City and secretly investigate that Gart. I must not implicate anyone. Hope is right before my eyes. In short, I will write down everything I saw, guessed, and thought today while I still remember it… Do you want to see it, Buffy?!”
Baloka slammed the scroll onto Marshall's table, his eyes flashing with furious anger, and shouted at the pale-faced latter: “Mercury City, right under your nose! A cellar full of slaves! Do you know what else is there? Seven or eight slave-catching strongholds also in Mercury City! The addresses are very detailed, very, very detailed!”
“This is impossible!” Grand Duke Marshall shook his head without thinking. He narrowed his eyes and shouted: “Perhaps I cannot be sure about the previous content, but what you just saw, Vernon, I guarantee they do not exist! They are fake, they are lies!”
Grand Duke Fernand raised his hand tremblingly, and whispered: “I saw this person named Ned say that many accounts related to slave trade are also hidden in Mercury City, just… just in your mansion, Buffy. Are these also…?”
Marshall vehemently denied: “Illusions, lies!”
“Oh ho?” Shuang Ye stood up with a smile, walked in front of Grand Duke Marshall, who was at least thirty centimeters taller than her, and asked with an innocent look, tilting her head up: “So you mean, all this evidence I brought is fake.”
Buffy Marshall shook his head again: “Not at all, quite the opposite. I think many things on it might indeed be true, but what Vernon and Mercury Core just said is definitely false.”
Emperor Kleiwo gave him a rather sharp look: “Why do you think so?”
“The reason is simple, Your Majesty.” Marshall gently clenched his fist, and said slowly and firmly: “I stand by my previous opinion, this is a conspiracy. What Miss Shuangye said before is by no means groundless. Perhaps there truly exists some despicable, shady business on this land. Perhaps in places I cannot see, certain shadows are growing in the Marshall Territory. I understand Miss Shuangye and Fireclaw Duke, but…”
“But hatred might have already blinded their eyes~”
Shuang Ye flicked her long hair with a half-smile, lightly tapped her glasses, and continued to speak in Grand Duke Marshall's tone: “So, they might have mixed in some false, very unfavorable evidence on top of the original evidence, just to quickly punish a Grand Duke. And this irrational action often makes us overlook the truth hidden beneath the surface.”
Buffy Marshall was stunned. Shuang Ye's words just now almost perfectly articulated what he had prepared, with an error of no more than five words. How could he not be surprised, how could he not be flustered?
“Am I not very understanding~” Shuang Ye showed a charming smile, and playfully stuck out her tongue: “Grand Duke Marshall?”
“You…”
“It's okay, I highly agree with your point of view~”
“Wh…”
“So, let's move on to the next segment now~”
Chapter 259: End
