Chapter 533 Commission
"Recycling ingredients?"
When Chloe suddenly used this word in her speech, Sergeant David was momentarily confused.
He was still unaware of what Chloe had encountered there—the sergeant was currently only concerned with the fact that Chloe hadn't told him the truth when they first met.
However, there's no way around it. If he directly said he killed more than a dozen highway robbers, the sergeant major probably wouldn't let her ride his horse. And in the office, if he changed his story, it would make it seem like Sergeant Major David hadn't done his job well enough and hadn't discovered the truth, which would be counterproductive.
"I've already explained this to Lieutenant Colonel Meyer." Now, Chloe told David the truth. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth, but my horse was killed by the cultists who were robbing it. Then, I killed those cultists."
"A dozen? More than a dozen? Killed them all?" Sergeant David asked incredulously.
Chloe nodded: "That's right. They were victims of the cult that Tangara had recently apprehended and controlled, but during their days of ganging up to rob others, they also abandoned their conscience as human beings, harming others and even engaging in cannibalism. This is their punishment."
Lieutenant Colonel Meyer comforted Sergeant David from the side:
"David, you know about the existence of supernatural abilities. Miss Chloe once served the Steam Church and certainly has the strength and confidence to travel alone. Against ordinary people without firearms, she could indeed achieve that effect. But now—"
So the sergeant knew about the existence of supernatural abilities? I've been following the church's instructions not to easily allow supernatural abilities to manifest in the world—Chloe calmed herself down, noticing Lieutenant Colonel Meyer looking at her:
"Now that it has been confirmed that a group centered around cult victims has appeared at 'Zuoxi Manor,' and if, as Miss Chloe says, the crimes are true and they can be directly identified as cult members, then it is indeed necessary for us to eradicate them."
"'Left Creek Manor' has likely been taken over by them as well," Chloe warned. "After all, their hideout is right in the plantation."
Lieutenant Colonel Meyer's expression turned serious. Remembering something, he began rummaging through some documents in his drawer.
"Zuoxi Manor, Zuoxi Manor, their last entry into the city was two weeks ago."
Ah, I can't believe I didn't realize this was a bad sign.
He closed his notebook, stood up solemnly, but paused for a moment before sighing and sitting down.
"But we are short-handed and cannot attack the suspected cult's stronghold without any preparation."
"Not enough manpower?" Chloe looked at him strangely. "Are there no other official Extraordinary beings left in the entire city?"
"No." Meyer gave a self-deprecating laugh. "There aren't enough mid-sequence extraordinary individuals. We can't let low-sequence individuals venture into such dangerous places without mid-sequence individuals to lead the way."
He started counting on his fingers:
"The bishop of the church needs to guard the Aurora Society victims who are temporarily restricted in their personal freedom. I have to stay in the city, otherwise there is a high possibility of sabotage by hostile forces. The local ruler, Kiza, who calls himself governor, has always been very wary of us and rarely leaves the city."
"We can't let those extraordinary individuals who aren't powerful enough deal with cults, can we? It seems we need to find a way to contact the church and the elite military response teams. But without solid evidence, it could take more than a week. Who knows how many more people they might harm while they're there?"
"How about I do it?" Chloe said, seeing Lieutenant Colonel Meyer's worried expression.
In the fight against the Aurora Society, Chloe, as one of the earliest members of the Tarot Society, had far inferior results compared to the others. This was an opportunity.
"You?" Lieutenant Colonel Meyer looked up, hesitation evident in his eyes. "I'm not sure if there's any precedent for this—"
"Just consider it as you posting a bounty, and I'm the bounty hunter—only 3000 Felkin, plus a decent warhorse. That's how adventurers make money." Chloe casually patted the gun holsters on either side of her body. "How about that?"
"Let me handle the scouting and the charge alone. Your army can hold off the surrounding area and gather the fleeing cultists. You don't need to directly penetrate their stronghold and engage the cultists."
Seeing that Lieutenant Colonel Meyer was still hesitant, Chloe chuckled again, giving him a boost of confidence:
"If I can kill ten, I can kill twenty or thirty. Why should you worry about me?"
"That is indeed quite good—" Mayer said, clearly somewhat absent-minded.
He had begun to weigh the pros and cons—especially when it involved a vast expanse of suburban plantations.
After a while, Lieutenant Colonel Meyer looked up, but not at Chloe, but at Sergeant Major David, who was still standing in the doorway:
"Please go out for a moment."
"Yes, sir." The sergeant major did not ask why, but respectfully left the office and closed the door behind him.
After confirming that the series of actions had been completed, Lieutenant Colonel Meyer turned around and lowered his voice to Chloe, saying:
"If you can provide concrete evidence that these cultists are actually eating people or performing cult rituals at Zuoxi Manor, I will double the reward. If you can provide conclusive evidence that Zuoxi Manor is helping those cultists, I will double it again."
It was only then that Mayer revealed the cunning of a military ruler of an overseas colony.
These officers, who control the security and development of a region, are involved in more interests and have more to consider than officers who specialize in fighting.
This is their way of compensating themselves for the lack of opportunities to make a name for themselves.
"Is it confirmed that 'Zuoxi Manor' has been completely massacred? Will the reward be doubled again?" Chloe rolled her eyes at him.
Upon hearing this, Mayer was startled and immediately said seriously:
"That's not true. We're looking for the truth. Please don't make assumptions; just stick to the facts."
He paused for a moment before speaking:
"Of course, if Zuoxi Manor really has no heir—then the bounty will be quadrupled. Let's make it clear from the beginning, just like you proposed, each round will be 3,000 Felkin."
Chloe curled the corners of her lips and stretched out a hand:
"make a deal."
Mayer gently shook her hand and smiled knowingly.
"Let me see your sidearm; I've prepared some good stuff for you."
Upon hearing this, Chloe lifted her coat hem, drew a rusty revolver and an ornate semi-automatic pistol, and placed them lightly on Meyer's desk:
"May I?"
"Of course—the adventurer's equipment is indeed extraordinary."
Colonel Meyer glanced at the distinctive sidearm and the demonically corrupted, flamboyant, and sinister holster, and a look of admiration appeared in his eyes.
He skillfully opened the magazine of the revolver and pulled out the magazine of the semi-automatic pistol:
Both types of bullets come with a "purified" bullet, which will give you 6 bullets as a precaution. If you need more, each bullet will cost 100 Fehr.
"After dawn, when it's time to start work, I will have David take you to choose a warhorse. Consider this an advance payment."
"By the way, when are you planning to leave?"
Chloe accepted the "purified bullets," loaded them into the magazine, and chuckled:
"If possible, now."
Stopped
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Chapter 535 Ambush
Chapter 534 The Manor Owner's Sentiments
As the sun rose again, Sergeant David, who had not slept all night, led his cavalrymen, who had also not had a proper rest, and followed Chloe toward the location of "Left Creek Manor".
"Miss Chloe, you've made us work overtime quite a bit," David yawned. "The little bit of money we had for the brothers to drink wasn't enough."
"You don't need to tell me, Lieutenant Colonel Meyer will definitely compensate you." Chloe chuckled, not paying much attention to his complaint. "No matter what, Zuoxi Manor will suffer a huge loss this time—meaning, if Lieutenant Colonel Meyer doesn't give you any extra rewards, then that's his problem."
As the sun gradually moved overhead, Chloe glanced back at the listless soldiers at the back of the column: "Aren't any other officers coming this time?"
David shrugged:
"Yes, there definitely is. We're just the advance team. A captain is leading the infantry in formation, heading this way, waiting for your message to seal off the entire manor."
"They should have set off by now. You know, infantry assemblies and marches much slower than cavalry."
"He seems to be an Extraordinary as well, but he's definitely not as powerful as Lieutenant Colonel Meyer, His Excellency the Bishop, or you."
So that was another extraordinary officer from Tangara City. Chloe nodded:
"It's clear that the army's garrison in Tangara City isn't very large—perhaps that's why you're all so exhausted. Is your cavalry the only force you have?"
"You were absolutely right," Sergeant David sighed. "The maintenance of the horses alone takes up almost half of the Tangara garrison's expenses besides their pay. They're considered 'elite'—well, of course, they can't compare to the frontline troops. We're mostly just maintaining order."
Even so, the task of maintaining order still largely fell on the local auxiliary forces—the soldiers of the local ruler, Kiza.
"If that 'governor' of Tangara suddenly goes insane and decides to betray us, Intis's regular army won't last long against his forces. To reclaim this land for Intis, we'll need naval gunboat support."
As previously predicted, the Northern Continent colonists' army was not actually that strong in the face of the local forces in the Southern Continent—so if they wanted to maintain their rule, the most important thing was to build up their navy.
Chloe's thoughts had drifted off to who-knows-where. Guided by Sergeant David, the cavalry squad turned onto a beautifully manicured path. Chloe looked up and saw a rather inconspicuous signpost beside the path, written in Duttan and Intis:
"The Left Creek Estate of the Fezzaro family."
"Private property, no entry without permission."
This must be the place where the plantation owners returned to their territory. Lucrecy had seen other plantations in the Rothschild Islands and knew that the plantation owners' residences only occupied a small part of the entire estate, but were the core of the estate, including guest rooms, gardens, wine cellars, windmills, and other facilities that were sufficient to support the operation of the entire territory, like a self-sufficient little castle.
The selection of the core buildings of the estate took into account many factors, among which comfort was certainly the most important. The Pass Valley region has a humid climate and many tributaries and streams. Since it is named after "streams", it is obvious that the core of this plantation should be built by the water.
"I've never actually been to this estate before," Chloe chuckled, looking at the thriving coffee trees on both sides of the road, its end obscured. "How far is it from meeting the owner of the estate?"
"It's another half hour on horseback," David said. "Their plantations are huge, but the houses are built in a very remote area. In fact, the plantation owners usually don't take carriages to Tangara. Their plantations have their own ports. If they want to go to Tangara City, they just need to send their boats downstream and land at the dock in Tangara."
"Okay, I got it." Chloe took out a coin, tossed it high in the air, and caught it. "If you keep going straight down this road, you'll see their house, right?"
Numbers facing up are not a good omen.
"Yes," David said sternly, "but if you don't know anyone, the guards might not let you in."
Chloe thought to herself, "It's not even certain whether he has any guards, or even if they're still alive."
After thinking for a while, Chloe stopped her horse.
"Stop here and turn back." Chloe looked at him. "I'll go in and scout it out myself—this is something Lieutenant Colonel Meyer and I agreed upon."
Sergeant David knew that the girl before him was a powerful Extraordinary. His experience in the military had taught him that it was best to listen to the strong, especially when the strong did not want others to carry out missions with them.
This usually means that one cannot help and may even be in danger as a result, rather than that a strong person wants to monopolize the benefits, establish merit, or is overestimating their abilities by refusing to provide protection.
After all, extraordinary people always possess abilities that are different from those of ordinary people.
"Is there anything we can do?" Sergeant David reined in his horse, signaling his squad to stop.
Chloe thought for a moment, then took a mirror out of her satchel and handed it to the sergeant major.
"If this mirror suddenly shatters, it means the danger in the manor is too great to withstand. At that time, keep an eye on any changes in the manor and immediately send a fast horse back to inform Lieutenant Colonel Meyer."
At this point, she dismounted and handed the reins to David:
"By the way, please keep an eye on my horse—even though it might make my commute a little longer, I don't want to lose my horse again."
David carefully noted down the first request, but upon hearing the second, he couldn't help but chuckle and handed the reins back.
"There's no need for that. If it's damage from a mission, Lieutenant Colonel Meyer will definitely reimburse you when you get back. Besides, even if you're really worried about losses, the manor has its own horses. Why don't you find a way to bring one out and ride it? Zuoxi Manor has some good horses, and no one will say anything if you replace it with a military horse."
"Everyone will thank you if you can finish the mission sooner."
That's the idea. Chloe thought about it for a while, then mounted her horse again.
"You're right—then let's do it. If we don't need your help, that would be even better."
"Have a safe journey." After offering this blessing, the sergeant waved and led the cavalry back to the main road.
Chloe spurred her horse forward. About twenty minutes later, she could see in the distance a fence made of black iron and a towering welded gate.
After using "Star Charm Powder" to make herself and her warhorse invisible, she blinked as she watched the gate getting closer and closer.
The two guards standing by the door, each carrying a musket, were both wearing hoods.
However, this did not escape Chloe's notice:
Beneath the hood were curly black hair and a young face with a gloomy demeanor.
Stopped
Looking for someone in Phnom Penh today
Willing to lie about how we met