The guards were shocked to hear the news of the fire.
They all possess special skills, but they are not arrogant enough to go against fire.
In order to verify the truth of the matter, one person walked out of the door. He saw more and more people coming out of the room. They had all received the news of the fire and were running along the corridor and rushing towards the stairs. Some people in the opposite room did not leave their positions, but were rummaging around on the table, but that was just to find important assets that they had to take away. Less than a minute after the announcement, the sound of footsteps and running had spread throughout the building, and people downstairs were shouting in panic.
Just as the guards were hesitating, the choking smell from downstairs had risen with the smoke, allowing them to smell a little, which made their original skeptical attitude disappear immediately.
The stairs were already crowded with people, and it was not easy to go down.
The guards who came out to observe went back to report the situation. Without further hesitation, to make absolutely sure of their own safety, the guards opened the windows and jumped out one after another.
Julius was also thrown down.
His body was not as strong as those soldiers, and he could not withstand the pressure of jumping from the third floor. The next moment his feet landed on the ground, his knees also touched the ground, followed by his palms and his head.
The whole person's posture seems to be devoutly worshipping some distant deity.
When he got up in a panic, he found that there were people all around him.
Staff and security personnel filled the streets like meat in a can, and people continued to pour out of the building in the distance.
It was afternoon now, and just like the day Julius and Hazel reunited, the union-organized parade arrived on time, and a large number of police officers and security personnel from other blocks were also approaching - because of the previous gunshots, they only knew that a gunfight had ended here, but they didn't know that the house was on fire.
Thick smoke spewed out from the gaps in the windows around the first floor. Behind the tightly closed glass windows, the smoke formed a thick black color that stuck to the glass, attracting most of the attention.
But not everyone was looking at the building. The approaching parade team collided with the arriving police.
Perhaps someone had informed the police about the shooting, and now when they saw the procession demanding compensation approaching the Bassby Building, they thought it was a violent attack carried out by these union members.
The two groups of people blocked each other and started arguing fiercely.
The police waved their batons and the union members waved their wooden signs. It seemed that another big fight was about to break out.
Julius looked around calmly and found that the gunman on the balcony upstairs had just left. No one could overlook the overall situation. Now there was only one guard around him who was paying attention to him, and everyone else was attracted by the smoke and the marching crowd.
At least two people had to watch Julius together, this was Hazel's order, but they did not obey.
This seemed like a good opportunity, should he run away?
Julius pondered.
Although he had not yet obtained the information he wanted, he already had other general directions to investigate and did not need to stay here and be slaughtered by Hazel.
But there was something strange about this fire. It made him hesitate for a moment. The thick smoke on the first floor did not make him feel a strong force, which meant that the fire here was not that big, but the smoke was unusually thick. This could be easily checked. It might only take a few minutes for these people to realize that the temperature of the fire was not actually rising, and then turn their attention back to him.
Refusing to cooperate a second time might result in some less friendly treatment.
Julius' eyes moved around, and suddenly, he saw a figure in the distance of the crowd who was a head taller than the others.
As soon as he saw the black hair and shining eyes, he immediately made up his mind.
The guard who had been watching the prisoner was suddenly stunned. The green-haired wizard walked past him quietly, then dived into the crowd and approached the figure he had just seen.
One step, two steps.
The guards behind him were getting further and further away, and they hadn't noticed yet that he had left.
There were already five or six people between Julius and them. They didn't know what he was doing as he bent over, and they turned their heads to look at him curiously. This action might expose his position. If anyone turned back at this time, they would find that he had disappeared.
The wizard's heart beat faster.
In this torment, he finally moved slowly to the front of the tall man and looked up with excitement.
"Go first." He urged in a low voice.
Clayton nodded slightly and let him stand in front of him, using his huge silhouette to cover his retreat. Everything went incredibly smoothly.
After getting a little further away from the fire, they started running quickly.
"So what's going on? How did you get caught by Basby's men?" Clayton asked in a low voice, handing over his hat.
Walking onto the unfamiliar street, Julius straightened his back. He gathered his hair, then lowered his hat vertically to cover the clump, and pulled his collar to wrap it around his neck. "They want to deal with the Presbyterian Church. I'm in there for intelligence, not to be caught."
"I don't think they think so."
"Never mind that. Why didn't you leave?"
"The Konglione family cordially invited me to stay." Clayton said halfway, then sighed and told the truth: "I made a mistake, the same mistake as Chude Osmar. I thought they had been here for a long time and perhaps had a history with my ancestors, so I trusted them and went deep into their lair, and then they discovered my identity. I am still injured now."
"You still make mistakes?"
Clayton was sure that this was not a question. He frowned and said, "Don't mock me. Wait until you meet someone who can detect lies by listening to heartbeats from a distance of ten meters. Then think about whether this is something that can be prevented with common sense."
He knew that there was a powerful female prophet named Abigail in Weodi now, and he had to seriously consider the possibility of other prophets.
Julius sneered: "The wizard consultant of the Basbe family does not have this ability. He only knows how to protect himself. That skill can certainly make him immune to punishment, curses and diseases, but for other things - strangers touching his skin will seriously reduce his magic power."
"What use does the Basby family have for him then?"
"His protective magic can transfer curses and block other people's divinations, which is quite useful for conspirators." Julius snorted and said, "Fale Mammon Hazel, this is his name. If you see him in the future, either don't do it or kill him directly. He holds grudges like a venomous snake."
“He doesn’t use a wizard name?” Clayton asked.
"That's his wizard name. Even his last name is made up by him. He likes to act like aristocrat."
After complaining, Julius followed Clayton for ten minutes and returned to a location near the Basby Building. He immediately became alert.
"Why did you take a detour?"
"I've made a lot of preparations to counter tracking. They must have been thrown off by now, so don't worry. They would never think that we're back near the building now. I have to go pick someone up first. You should thank this person, because he was the one who created such a big commotion."
Wrap wood chips and plant fibers such as weeds with newspapers and old clothes coated with whale oil and water. First light the dry inside of them to start the fire, and then wait for a while. When the flames burn through the center, they will begin to burn the wet surface of the garbage. Inadequate burning conditions will emit a lot of smoke and a strong smell that will keep strangers away.
Joseph had made the baits himself, and all Clayton had to do was light them and quietly throw them into the window of an empty room visible on the first floor of the Basby Building.
These will burn for a while, and by the time they really start to smoke, he won't even be there, and no one will find out who did it.
As Joseph had said, everyone in the building came out.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
"Sounds like a useful guy, I should really thank him, what class is he from? I need to know what kind of etiquette to use." Julius asked, rubbing his face again to make sure there was no dirt on it.
"A simple hello will do," Clayton said.
Two minutes later, the green-haired wizard saw with his own eyes the person that Clayton Bello had described. His face was a little distorted, and he turned to look at Clayton.
"What do you do? Do you run a correctional facility for evil children?"
The kid looked no more than ten years old. In Julius's opinion, the black magic witch and the human-headed spider demon were already extraordinary, and now there was a young arsonist.
"He's not evil." Clayton rubbed Joseph's head, then looked at Julius. "And you will be the one taking care of him next. I want you to take him back to Sasha City, along with this letter."
As he spoke, he took out the sealed letter given by Sheriff Albert from his pocket and handed it to Julius. The latter opened it and took a few glances, and his face changed drastically.
"He came to Albert."
"who?"
"Nightingale, the companion of the corpse we saw in the abandoned house." Julius stuffed the letter back into the envelope and put it in one of the countless pockets on his windbreaker.
Previously, the ascetic Nightingale was able to break into the building and communicate with him, but later Hazel increased the guards of the building.
Clayton raised his chin: "What does the letter say?"
"They are preparing for war against the Sacred Heart Fraternity." Julius' mouth twitched, and his casual attitude was gone. "They converted part of the factory into a military factory, and prepared a large amount of silver to melt warheads. This should be to deal with us."
Silver can "break" the effects of curses and cut off the wizard's spiritual vision, so it is regarded as a symbol of warding off evil.
Now they are "evil".
Clayton certainly knew that the Elders' Council of Sasha City was not a just and kind organization. It turned a blind eye to the gang fights in the slums, and even the elders would fight against each other to eliminate dissidents. But without the Elders' Council to maintain order, all kinds of cults and secret societies would flood into Sasha City.
"Go back quickly and tell the others about this. The sooner they know about this, the better."
Julius shook his head.
"No, I can't leave yet."
He patted the pocket that contained the letter. “It’s no different if I mail the letter back or go back myself, but I can do more things here—like cause some damage.”
"What about you? Are you staying?" he asked Clayton.
Clayton was silent.
It wasn't because of Julius. He was still thinking about Norris and Conrionay. They were like two thick spider webs entangled in his mind. Now he didn't know where to go, nor did he know what he was or where he stood.
Compared with these problems, his personal safety is the least worth mentioning in his current crisis.
"I'd better stay for a while. I need to take care of some things." He finally said. "Do you have any suggestions on what to do next?"
Julius took a breath, and Clayton's choice made him smile a little more.
"I intend to take their silver."
"I have to remind you that silver is not a very light metal. If the Sacred Heart Fraternity is fully committed to stockpiling this resource, I don't think the amount is something that the two of us can move."
Julius listened to the quarrel outside the window and his smile grew wider.
"It's not just two of us. In fact, we have allies, and a lot of them."
The sounds outside the window came in waves. In addition to the sounds of people discussing the fire and the police's scolding, there were also the slogans repeated over and over again by the parade team.
"Protest Jeremy Basby's brutality. The railway company should compensate the medical expenses of the tremor patients!"
Clayton heard them, too.
"It sounds like they deserve some compensation," he said.
They all possess special skills, but they are not arrogant enough to go against fire.
In order to verify the truth of the matter, one person walked out of the door. He saw more and more people coming out of the room. They had all received the news of the fire and were running along the corridor and rushing towards the stairs. Some people in the opposite room did not leave their positions, but were rummaging around on the table, but that was just to find important assets that they had to take away. Less than a minute after the announcement, the sound of footsteps and running had spread throughout the building, and people downstairs were shouting in panic.
Just as the guards were hesitating, the choking smell from downstairs had risen with the smoke, allowing them to smell a little, which made their original skeptical attitude disappear immediately.
The stairs were already crowded with people, and it was not easy to go down.
The guards who came out to observe went back to report the situation. Without further hesitation, to make absolutely sure of their own safety, the guards opened the windows and jumped out one after another.
Julius was also thrown down.
His body was not as strong as those soldiers, and he could not withstand the pressure of jumping from the third floor. The next moment his feet landed on the ground, his knees also touched the ground, followed by his palms and his head.
The whole person's posture seems to be devoutly worshipping some distant deity.
When he got up in a panic, he found that there were people all around him.
Staff and security personnel filled the streets like meat in a can, and people continued to pour out of the building in the distance.
It was afternoon now, and just like the day Julius and Hazel reunited, the union-organized parade arrived on time, and a large number of police officers and security personnel from other blocks were also approaching - because of the previous gunshots, they only knew that a gunfight had ended here, but they didn't know that the house was on fire.
Thick smoke spewed out from the gaps in the windows around the first floor. Behind the tightly closed glass windows, the smoke formed a thick black color that stuck to the glass, attracting most of the attention.
But not everyone was looking at the building. The approaching parade team collided with the arriving police.
Perhaps someone had informed the police about the shooting, and now when they saw the procession demanding compensation approaching the Bassby Building, they thought it was a violent attack carried out by these union members.
The two groups of people blocked each other and started arguing fiercely.
The police waved their batons and the union members waved their wooden signs. It seemed that another big fight was about to break out.
Julius looked around calmly and found that the gunman on the balcony upstairs had just left. No one could overlook the overall situation. Now there was only one guard around him who was paying attention to him, and everyone else was attracted by the smoke and the marching crowd.
At least two people had to watch Julius together, this was Hazel's order, but they did not obey.
This seemed like a good opportunity, should he run away?
Julius pondered.
Although he had not yet obtained the information he wanted, he already had other general directions to investigate and did not need to stay here and be slaughtered by Hazel.
But there was something strange about this fire. It made him hesitate for a moment. The thick smoke on the first floor did not make him feel a strong force, which meant that the fire here was not that big, but the smoke was unusually thick. This could be easily checked. It might only take a few minutes for these people to realize that the temperature of the fire was not actually rising, and then turn their attention back to him.
Refusing to cooperate a second time might result in some less friendly treatment.
Julius' eyes moved around, and suddenly, he saw a figure in the distance of the crowd who was a head taller than the others.
As soon as he saw the black hair and shining eyes, he immediately made up his mind.
The guard who had been watching the prisoner was suddenly stunned. The green-haired wizard walked past him quietly, then dived into the crowd and approached the figure he had just seen.
One step, two steps.
The guards behind him were getting further and further away, and they hadn't noticed yet that he had left.
There were already five or six people between Julius and them. They didn't know what he was doing as he bent over, and they turned their heads to look at him curiously. This action might expose his position. If anyone turned back at this time, they would find that he had disappeared.
The wizard's heart beat faster.
In this torment, he finally moved slowly to the front of the tall man and looked up with excitement.
"Go first." He urged in a low voice.
Clayton nodded slightly and let him stand in front of him, using his huge silhouette to cover his retreat. Everything went incredibly smoothly.
After getting a little further away from the fire, they started running quickly.
"So what's going on? How did you get caught by Basby's men?" Clayton asked in a low voice, handing over his hat.
Walking onto the unfamiliar street, Julius straightened his back. He gathered his hair, then lowered his hat vertically to cover the clump, and pulled his collar to wrap it around his neck. "They want to deal with the Presbyterian Church. I'm in there for intelligence, not to be caught."
"I don't think they think so."
"Never mind that. Why didn't you leave?"
"The Konglione family cordially invited me to stay." Clayton said halfway, then sighed and told the truth: "I made a mistake, the same mistake as Chude Osmar. I thought they had been here for a long time and perhaps had a history with my ancestors, so I trusted them and went deep into their lair, and then they discovered my identity. I am still injured now."
"You still make mistakes?"
Clayton was sure that this was not a question. He frowned and said, "Don't mock me. Wait until you meet someone who can detect lies by listening to heartbeats from a distance of ten meters. Then think about whether this is something that can be prevented with common sense."
He knew that there was a powerful female prophet named Abigail in Weodi now, and he had to seriously consider the possibility of other prophets.
Julius sneered: "The wizard consultant of the Basbe family does not have this ability. He only knows how to protect himself. That skill can certainly make him immune to punishment, curses and diseases, but for other things - strangers touching his skin will seriously reduce his magic power."
"What use does the Basby family have for him then?"
"His protective magic can transfer curses and block other people's divinations, which is quite useful for conspirators." Julius snorted and said, "Fale Mammon Hazel, this is his name. If you see him in the future, either don't do it or kill him directly. He holds grudges like a venomous snake."
“He doesn’t use a wizard name?” Clayton asked.
"That's his wizard name. Even his last name is made up by him. He likes to act like aristocrat."
After complaining, Julius followed Clayton for ten minutes and returned to a location near the Basby Building. He immediately became alert.
"Why did you take a detour?"
"I've made a lot of preparations to counter tracking. They must have been thrown off by now, so don't worry. They would never think that we're back near the building now. I have to go pick someone up first. You should thank this person, because he was the one who created such a big commotion."
Wrap wood chips and plant fibers such as weeds with newspapers and old clothes coated with whale oil and water. First light the dry inside of them to start the fire, and then wait for a while. When the flames burn through the center, they will begin to burn the wet surface of the garbage. Inadequate burning conditions will emit a lot of smoke and a strong smell that will keep strangers away.
Joseph had made the baits himself, and all Clayton had to do was light them and quietly throw them into the window of an empty room visible on the first floor of the Basby Building.
These will burn for a while, and by the time they really start to smoke, he won't even be there, and no one will find out who did it.
As Joseph had said, everyone in the building came out.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
"Sounds like a useful guy, I should really thank him, what class is he from? I need to know what kind of etiquette to use." Julius asked, rubbing his face again to make sure there was no dirt on it.
"A simple hello will do," Clayton said.
Two minutes later, the green-haired wizard saw with his own eyes the person that Clayton Bello had described. His face was a little distorted, and he turned to look at Clayton.
"What do you do? Do you run a correctional facility for evil children?"
The kid looked no more than ten years old. In Julius's opinion, the black magic witch and the human-headed spider demon were already extraordinary, and now there was a young arsonist.
"He's not evil." Clayton rubbed Joseph's head, then looked at Julius. "And you will be the one taking care of him next. I want you to take him back to Sasha City, along with this letter."
As he spoke, he took out the sealed letter given by Sheriff Albert from his pocket and handed it to Julius. The latter opened it and took a few glances, and his face changed drastically.
"He came to Albert."
"who?"
"Nightingale, the companion of the corpse we saw in the abandoned house." Julius stuffed the letter back into the envelope and put it in one of the countless pockets on his windbreaker.
Previously, the ascetic Nightingale was able to break into the building and communicate with him, but later Hazel increased the guards of the building.
Clayton raised his chin: "What does the letter say?"
"They are preparing for war against the Sacred Heart Fraternity." Julius' mouth twitched, and his casual attitude was gone. "They converted part of the factory into a military factory, and prepared a large amount of silver to melt warheads. This should be to deal with us."
Silver can "break" the effects of curses and cut off the wizard's spiritual vision, so it is regarded as a symbol of warding off evil.
Now they are "evil".
Clayton certainly knew that the Elders' Council of Sasha City was not a just and kind organization. It turned a blind eye to the gang fights in the slums, and even the elders would fight against each other to eliminate dissidents. But without the Elders' Council to maintain order, all kinds of cults and secret societies would flood into Sasha City.
"Go back quickly and tell the others about this. The sooner they know about this, the better."
Julius shook his head.
"No, I can't leave yet."
He patted the pocket that contained the letter. “It’s no different if I mail the letter back or go back myself, but I can do more things here—like cause some damage.”
"What about you? Are you staying?" he asked Clayton.
Clayton was silent.
It wasn't because of Julius. He was still thinking about Norris and Conrionay. They were like two thick spider webs entangled in his mind. Now he didn't know where to go, nor did he know what he was or where he stood.
Compared with these problems, his personal safety is the least worth mentioning in his current crisis.
"I'd better stay for a while. I need to take care of some things." He finally said. "Do you have any suggestions on what to do next?"
Julius took a breath, and Clayton's choice made him smile a little more.
"I intend to take their silver."
"I have to remind you that silver is not a very light metal. If the Sacred Heart Fraternity is fully committed to stockpiling this resource, I don't think the amount is something that the two of us can move."
Julius listened to the quarrel outside the window and his smile grew wider.
"It's not just two of us. In fact, we have allies, and a lot of them."
The sounds outside the window came in waves. In addition to the sounds of people discussing the fire and the police's scolding, there were also the slogans repeated over and over again by the parade team.
"Protest Jeremy Basby's brutality. The railway company should compensate the medical expenses of the tremor patients!"
Clayton heard them, too.
"It sounds like they deserve some compensation," he said.
