Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1490: Section 1491 Escalation of the Situation Chapter 1490: Section 1491 Escalation of the Situation Two incidents occurred in Gust Town today.

The first event was the sudden disappearance this morning of Ms. Martin, who was shepherding at the ranch near the entrance to the town.

As Ms. Martin was a devout believer, Father Bertrand had gone to the ranch with the Sheriff early in the morning because of this incident. After a dayʼs hard work, there was still no trace of where Ms. Martin had gone.

However, near the spot where Ms. Martin had vanished, some fresh blood and shredded flesh were found. Although it was not yet confirmed whether those remains were human tissue, the Sheriff was not optimistic about Ms. Martinʼs situation.

This is also why Father Bertrand had been absent from the church all day.

The second event was the death of the nine-year-old son of the tailor Sansi, Anthony.

These two events were not directly related, but due to the disturbance caused by the disappearance of Ms. Martin in the morning, the entire town of Gust was in panic, and Sansi the tailor was affected as well. She had finished cooking dinner and when she went to call Anthony to eat, she found he was not there. Anthony was usually naughty and Sansi didnʼt discipline him much, as Anthony would come back to eat when he was hungry.

However, today, because of Ms. Martinʼs incident, Sansi had a bad premonition. She only learned after asking Anthonyʼs playmates that he hadnʼt been playing with them today, and they assumed Anthony had been grounded by Sansi.

After hearing this, Sansiʼs unease intensified, and she hurried to ask the Sheriff for help.

Then, not long ago, the Sheriff led a team of knights and, after questioning Anthonyʼs friends, they discovered his body at the secret base he used to frequent.

“Only the head remained?” Alex asked softly, with a solemn look in his eyes.

Father Bertrand nodded, “Yes, his limbs and body were missing, and only a head was found placed on a tattered doll at Anthonyʼs secret base.”

Father Bertrandʼs eyes were filled with pity, his face etched with sorrow.

Alex looked equally sorrowful, as if he could empathize with the tailor Sansiʼs pain in the church.

But Alexʼs mind was actually racing, his gaze growing increasingly murky.

After Father Bertrand finished speaking, he mentioned some details and then went to console the grieving families and the residents upset by these two events.

Alex, however, stepped back to a quiet corner, watching the chaotic scene in the church from a distance and spoke softly, “The situation has escalated.”

Angel, who was hidden nearby, nodded his head.

The disappearance of Ms. Martin hadnʼt been concluded, so it was put aside for now. However, it was highly likely that she was also dead.

Anthonyʼs death was a watershed. His death was entirely consistent with a series of previous murders in the method. However, the reason why the killer targeted Anthony was different.

In the past, the deaths of people like Knight Raven, Miss Camelot, etc., generally occurred because they planned to leave Gust Town and had discovered the truth of the cage, which brought disaster upon them.

But Anthony was different. He was just a nine-year-old boy; even if mischievous, he couldnʼt possibly have gone dozens of miles away on his own without family.

Moreover, Sansi made it very clear that Anthony had still been sleeping at home when she woke up in the morning.

Anthony was killed sometime between when Sansi went to the tailor shop in the morning and evening.

In the few short hours, even with Anthonyʼs pace, he could not have reached the edge of the cage.

Therefore, the reason for Anthonyʼs death was completely different from those in the series of murders.

If Knight Raven and Miss Camelot were indeed the ones who killed Anthony, then the situation had truly escalated!

“Why would they kill Anthony?” Alex murmured to himself.

“An unchanging pattern of events has shown a deviation,” Angel replied.

Alex also nodded, “Mrs. Connieʼs escape is indeed a deviation. However, what I canʼt understand is why they would involve Anthony?”

As Alex expressed his confusion, Father Bertrand called him to go to the place where Anthony had died.

Because Anthonyʼs head was still there, Father Bertrand hoped to recite the Holy Scriptureʼs undead ritual with Alex.

Angel also whispered to him, “If you canʼt figure it out, then go and see for yourself.”

Alex nodded.

Soon, a large group left the church majestically. However, as this was a ritual for the deceased, the Sheriff and Father Bertrand dissuaded the residents to return home first, allowing only the distraught Sansi to accompany them.

Led by the Sheriff, the group made their way to Anthonyʼs secret base.

During the journey to the secret base, Alexʼs frown deepened further.

The Sheriff of Gust Town, a middle-aged man with a very noticeable reddish-brown beard, noticed Alexʼs unease and asked with curiosity, “Whatʼs wrong?”

Everyone turned to look at Alex, who slightly adjusted his expression and said in a low tone, “Nothing. Iʼm just a bit puzzled.”

“Do you have a discovery? Feel free to share with us.” The Sheriff himself hadnʼt found anything and didnʼt believe that Alex, a young man with white hair, would have noticed anything, so his tone was somewhat mocking.

“I obviously didnʼt find any clues, but I have one doubt, the route weʼre taking now, seems to coincide with the one to Mrs. Martinʼs ranch, right?” Alex said.

The Sheriff nodded, “Indeed, there is a distance that coincides, because Anthonyʼs secret base is actually very close to Mrs. Martinʼs ranch, almost adjacent to it.”

“Because of this, we suspect that Mrs. Martin might also…”

The Sheriff didnʼt finish his sentence, but everyone understood that there was a very high possibility that Mrs. Martin had encountered misfortune.

Perhaps it was the emergence of two suspected murders in one day that made everyone uneasy. For the next stretch of the journey, no one said much.

Alex was also dutifully acting out sadness, but inside, he was somewhat puzzled.

He not only noticed that Anthonyʼs secret base and the ranch had an overlapping path, but he also observed something else–it was a road leading out of town.

Moreover, if one were to continue along this road, it was actually the road to Holy City!

Could there be some connection here as well?

Before long, they arrived at Anthonyʼs secret base.

It was a small house made up of abandoned tin scraps… calling it a house might be a bit of a stretch, because from the outside, it just looked like a pile of tin scrap, but inside there was a narrow compartment.

Upon entering the secret base, the first thing Alex saw was a teddy bear on an old table straight ahead.

However, at this moment, the yellowish teddy bearʼs head was missing, replaced by the head of a child.

It was Anthony.

Anthonyʼs eyes were tightly closed, his small face pale; the blood that flowed from the wound on his neck had soaked into the teddy bear, creating a sense of quiet serenity that was at once eerie and horrifying.

The others, upon seeing this scene, either shrank back in fear or covered their mouths as if they were going to vomit. But Alex was very calm, even to the point of appearing indifferent.

It wasnʼt until he noticed Priest Berenger looking over that Alexʼs expression instantly became one of sorrow.

“Letʼs begin, for the poor children of God, let us recite the funeral rites from the Holy Scriptures,” Priest Berenger said to Alex with a touch of sadness.

Alex nodded and, in the presence of the Sheriff and the tailor Sanxi, quietly murmured the funeral rites from the Holy Scripture.

Alex appeared to be reciting earnestly, but he kept glancing around the scene. There wasnʼt much inside the secret base.

The tin outer walls might have been somewhat chaotic, but the contents inside were actually very orderly.

Because of this neatness and simplicity, Alex instantly noticed the crimson splatters on all four walls and the large pool of blood on the floor.

Seeing this, Alex seemed to realize something.

After finishing the recitation of the funeral rites, Alex used his sorrow and reluctance as an excuse to leave the secret base ahead of the others.

Alone, he walked to the side and spoke to Angel, who was lurking nearby, “Confirmed, this should be the primary crime scene.”

This meant that Anthony was killed in his own secret base.

It also indicated one thing: Anthony had indeed not been to the cageʼs barrier; otherwise, he couldnʼt have died in the secret base.

And since the barrier of the cage was quite far from here, why would they kill Anthony?

As Alex pondered, Angelʼs gaze was drawn elsewhere, “There, thatʼs Mrs. Martinʼs ranch. I went to take a look just now, and from that ranch, one can clearly see over here to the secret base.”

Alex, “What do you mean?”

“I have a guess, perhaps the reason for Anthonyʼs death was that he saw something he shouldnʼt have or someone who shouldnʼt have been there,” Angel said, “And Mrs. Martin, maybe for the same reason, she saw something happening at the secret base from her own ranch…”

Hearing Angelʼs speculation, how could Alex not understand what he meant? His understanding made him feel a chill down his spine.

The secret base and the ranch are both outside of town, and here is a road that leads to Holy City.

Could Anthonyʼs death be because he saw someone coming from the other end of this road?

And seeing whom would lead to being killed? And in such a manner?

The answer was already quite clear: only the Raven Knight and Camelot!

It was because he deduced this answer that Alex felt a chill down his spine. Continuing with this logic, if you carried it further, the Raven Knight and Camelot could maybe be in… Alex couldnʼt help but turn his head back toward Gust Town.

Gust Town at night was as quiet as a ghost town.

Those two terrifying undead might be somewhere in town at this very moment, watching them with their sinister gazes.