Mark turned his head to look at Joe Man, who was still trembling. He saw that Joe Man's eyes were vacant, as if he was terrified. Mark quickly comforted him:
"Joe Man, right? You don't need to be afraid! As long as you explain everything clearly, you'll be fine. Don't worry! I won't falsely accuse a good person, but I won't let any bad person go either!"
There was a "thump"!
This guy immediately knelt on the ground, his head pressed tightly against the floor, and shouted:
"Lord! Please believe me! I didn't kill anyone! Really, I didn't?"
Following this, this guy recounted the whole story. Joe Man said that he suddenly fell asleep for some unknown reason last night.
When he woke up the next morning, he found a blood-stained robe and a dagger in his room.
At the same time, he heard people downstairs saying that someone had died in the Blacksmith Shop, so he was scared and wanted to destroy these things. He didn't expect that the ground fire furnace had just been lit when the City Guard captain, Mans, rushed in with his men.
Joe Man didn't dare to raise his head, and stammered through the whole story. Mark shifted his gaze to the bloodstained clothes and the dagger.
Joe Man explained that those things weren't his. Mark called over a City Guard soldier and had him pick up the bloodstained clothes, holding them up with both hands.
At the same time, he called Joe Man over. Joe Man still had a dazed look, with no expression on his face.
Mark had the City Guard Captain, Mans, come over and compare the two men's builds. Even Mans could see the difference now.
He blushed and said to Mark:
"Sorry! Lord! I didn't ask about the details clearly."
"Go check the bloodstains and footprints you found this morning later. Try walking through them yourself, and see if you can even make those steps!"
"Yes, Lord!"
After Mans left, Mark took the bloodstained garment and examined it closely.
The bloodied item was an old-fashioned fur coat. There were obvious bloodstains on the chest and right sleeve, but there seemed to be an excessive amount.
It didn't look like the blood had splashed on the coat when the person died. Instead, it looked like it had been deliberately smeared on. Mark had just examined the location of the wounds on the deceased.
He found that the killer's technique was extremely skilled, clean and efficient. Judging by the location, not so much blood should have splashed.
It seems they did this on purpose. So, what are they trying to frame this guy for?
Mark thought to himself, simultaneously turning his gaze towards the fellow named Joe Man and asking:
"Have you experienced anything recently? Or have you met anyone?"
The boy's vacant eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this question. However, in an instant, as if he had thought of something, his eyes gradually dimmed again.
He swallowed hard and said,
"My Lord! I don't know why this is happening! I haven't encountered anything! I really didn't kill anyone!"
Mark stared into his eyes as he answered, but this time Mark didn't see any expression.
At this moment, the City Guard captain, Mans, also jogged back to Mark's side. He whispered a few words into Mark's ear, and Mark nodded lightly.
"Alright then! On behalf of the Lord, I will temporarily rule out your involvement in the murder, but this doesn't mean you're unrelated to this matter. You must stay in the city and not leave! Do you understand?"
"Yes, my Lord!"
After Joe Man answered, Mark signaled the surrounding City Guard soldiers to put away their spears.
Watching his receding figure, a trace of doubt flashed through Mark's heart. He said to the City Guard captain, Mans:
"Those footprints… are they unable to walk?"
Mans scratched his head and replied:
"My Lord! Looks like you're right! This guy is definitely not the murderer!"
Mark smiled and said:
"You still lack experience with these things. You need to learn and observe more. Learn from your cousin; he's very meticulous in his work!"
"Yes!"
After burning the body, Mark ordered the ashes to be collected. To deal with the potential ghoul crisis, Mark had been requiring everyone to cremate the dead since he took over Skaggs Island.
Afterward, Mark returned to the castle with Mans, the City Guard captain. He also summoned the "Wolf Spirit Squad."
Now, Mark's Wolf Spirit Squad had grown to about 20 members, all led and trained by Henk.
Three members were stationed in Driftwood Hall and King's Hall respectively, and one in the Mine. Because Mark had encountered Wolf Fang, who had attacked Abyss Fortress with him previously.
Mark brought him back from the Mine and put him in charge of training when Henk was away. The Bloodstone Elder, due to his age, was now only teaching reading and writing.
Mark asked Wolf Fang, "How's the training been lately? Any progress? How's tonight's plan coming along!"
Wolf Fang, a young man with considerable talent, had followed Mark's advice and chosen a wildcat as his second animal companion after gaining the ability to have one.
This animal companion was much better for stealth, making it perfect for gathering intelligence. Many "Shapeshifters" preferred wolves or eagles as their animal companions.
The former was easier to communicate with, the latter easier to control, and the more powerful ones would even tame a bear.
Perhaps because of Griffin Fortress, the "Shapeshifters" were getting stronger, with most now possessing two animal companions.
"My Lord! We're basically ready. Many people can already control the wildcats proficiently.
Tonight, we will monitor all the building areas in the city according to the divided positions, to find those few 'rats'!"
"Alright! Good. Go rest quickly! We have a lot to do tonight!"
Mark nodded in satisfaction at them, then made his arrangements.
Night quickly arrived. At this time, Joe Man quietly peeked his head out of his house, making sure no one was around.
He used the moonlight and the public whale oil lamps along the road to slowly move toward a house near the Blacksmith Shop.
These houses in Griffin Fortress were all two-story buildings, with one family living on each floor. Mark had stipulated that only families with more than 5 people could apply for an entire building.
And at this moment, Joe Man didn't know that a small cat with glowing eyes was following him from a dark corner. After the cat saw him enter an independent building…
Mark immediately followed Joe Man and ran over. Upon reaching the door and finding no entrance, he jumped onto a nearby public whale oil lamp, following the wooden frame and leaping up to the second floor.
At this moment, the little cat looked through the window and saw the situation inside. There were two people on the second floor, conversing about something!
The cat, however, couldn't hear anything clearly, only seeing Joe Man nodding. Suddenly, the cat's body shivered, instantly losing its previous agility and becoming an ordinary cat.
Three minutes later, City Guard Captain Mans and the archer captain, Lauren Hawk-Eye, led a twenty-man force to surround the area. They held torches, illuminating the surroundings brightly.
Mans shouted inside, "Come out and surrender immediately, or we'll set it on fire! Uh..."
"Boom!"
A ceramic bottle was thrown out, and green liquid spilled everywhere. With the throwing of a torch, the green flames ignited instantly, producing intense light and high heat!
Fortunately, Mans and the others had retreated in advance. Just then, the door suddenly opened, and a man, gripping Joe Man, pushed him outside, shouting:
"This guy's brother and sister are hidden away by us, and they have a lot of that stuff there, and here too! I want your wizard lord to regret messing with… Aaaah!"
"Meow!"
Following a sharp cat's cry and the man's scream, everyone saw the man's right hand pinned to the door.
His left hand's torch was knocked to the ground by Joe Man. Everyone swarmed forward and captured the man.
A gag was stuffed into the man's mouth to prevent him from biting. After capturing him, Joe Man ran over to Mans and said:
"Help me save my family. I will help you find their base. I discovered they were experimenting with that weird whale oil when I was working there.
They took my younger siblings and told me not to speak about them. The Lord must have seen through my situation! Right! Praise the Holy Son!"
Mans patted his back, comforting him, and then said, "The Lord told us you had a problem! That's why we found this place!"
"That cat must have been the legendary Wolf Spirit! Amazing! It can actually control animals to attack people!"
"Alright! This is all thanks to the Lord! Hurry and take us there!"
After saying that, the two of them ran towards the market. Mans and Lauren each led ten people, heading in different directions. Joe Man was with Mans's group.
According to Joe Man's account, these people had once boasted to him that they were affiliated with the King's Hall tribe. They had used the opportunity of transporting furs and fish to smuggle this "Wildfire" into Griffin Fortress.
Their original plan was to burn down the castle, but they couldn't find a way inside. Furthermore, they weren't very skilled at using the stuff, so they'd been secretly testing it in the city.
Once, they accidentally mixed up their own lamp with someone else's, nearly causing that family to be burned alive.
When the castle began its investigation, they had already planned to kill the old man to divert everyone's attention. That way, they could burn down a large area and take revenge on Griffin Fortress!
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