Inside a tent, Sean scrutinized the man tied to the chair. The man returned his gaze without flinching or making a fuss, calmly observing him.
This silence didn't seem like the demeanor of an informant. Back in the old King's City, Sean had witnessed plenty of betrayals. Although the enemy's rebellion was beneficial to him, the greedy, sycophantic, and impatient ugliness didn't become pleasing just because of some benefit.
This made the chief guard feel a bit of goodwill.
After staring at each other for a while, he broke the silence. "Name?"
"Joe," the man replied. "Are you the commander here? I mean, 'here' not as in Thorn Town or some lord's territory, but the person in charge of the Greycastle forces."
"Is that important?"
"If it wasn't, I wouldn't say anything, because... it would be pointless."
Interesting.
Sean leaned forward slightly. "I am Roland Wimbledon's, the King of Greycastle, chief guard and the captain of the Greycastle Exploration Team. You can call me Sean. Now that you've met the person you wanted to see, can you tell me the whereabouts of the treasure?"
"If you've come all the way to Cage Mountain for the Cursed Temple, then what you're looking for must be the Festival Cube," Joe stated directly. "And that thing is currently in the hands of Duke Island's Earl Lorenzo!"
Sean couldn't help but be a little surprised. He had expected the other party to negotiate terms first, then give a part of the clue in a roundabout way, and whether it was true or false would take time to verify. He didn't expect the other party to reveal everything directly. "You've seen... that thing?"
"No, but for the church, it's not a secret," Joe briefly recounted the church's plunder of Wolfheart. "To gain merit at that time, Lorenzo, who was in charge of this mission, greatly exaggerated this treasure in the report, and many high-level officials knew about it. It just didn't attract the attention of Hermes Holy City later."
"I see, the treasure flowed into Wolfheart over a century, and then was accidentally obtained by the church. That's a plausible piece of information." Sean stroked his chin. "But why specifically tell me? Selling the news to other lords wouldn't be meaningless, right?"
Joe took a deep breath. "Sir, have you heard of... the God's Punishment Army?"
"Of course, the church's proud secret army," Sean said with a mocking expression. "It's a pity that in the Battle of Coldwind Ridge, it was still defeated by His Majesty's First Army."
"That's good," the other party did not show any displeasure. "Then it's easier to explain. Lorenzo has the God's Punishment Army in his hands. No one dares to attack Duke Island except the King of Greycastle."
"Oh?" The chief guard raised an eyebrow. "I thought these humanoid beasts all died in the shell craters of Coldwind Ridge. How many God's Punishment Warriors does he have?"
"Ten... no, about five," Joe hesitated. "In short, not too many."
"If you want to attack the castle, five people are still a considerable threat." Sean smiled and said noncommittally, "Then what do you hope to get from me? Or rather, what's the price for this information?"
"No, I just hope to survive," Joe lowered his voice. "The church is no longer Greycastle's opponent, but those liuwang still haven't given up. Lorenzo is still paying attention to you. His people may have already mixed into Thorn Town. I don't want to be dragged into it. If..." he paused for a moment. "If this news is useful, the King of Greycastle should pardon me, right?"
Is he really doing this to save his life?
Sean supported his hands on the table, using his hands to support his chin—this was also a posture that His Majesty Roland often used when questioning. Although he didn't have the miraculous abilities of Lady Nightingale, sometimes you don't need magic to discern the truth.
At least in this man named Joe, he didn't feel a trace of wanting to live. Especially during the eye contact before, the indifference in those eyes was more of a resolution to make a certain decision.
Perhaps even the other party didn't realize that this was the look of someone with a death wish.
"Only this request?"
"Yes... yes."
"Then I will arrange for someone to send you to Neverwinter."
"Eh?" Joe heard something wrong. "Why go to Neverwinter City?"
Sean stood up. "I don't have the power to pardon you, nor can I abandon those who are lost and know how to return, so sending you to Neverwinter City is the safest option. Don't worry, His Majesty's benevolence and justice have long spread throughout Greycastle, and the Witch Union also has a way to determine the credibility of the information. If you haven't lied, you will definitely receive a reasonable judgment. Pardoning you is just basic treatment. If you're lucky, you might even get a large reward."
"S-Sir... that treasure..." Joe also wanted to stand up, but was fixed to the chair by the ropes, unable to move at all.
"If it's really in the hands of Earl Lorenzo, then it will be His Majesty's sooner or later. Besides, the treasure has nothing to do with you, right?" Sean spread his hands. "There's nothing to worry about. Although the journey is a bit far, and your actions will be somewhat xiànzhi before the news is confirmed, everything will eventually be rewarded, and you don't have to worry about the threat of the church anymore." He looked at the soldiers. "Take him down."
"No, sir, wait..." Joe's expression changed. That indifference was instantly broken, replaced by panic and helplessness. He forcibly kicked his legs and then fell to the ground. "Please, don't send me to Neverwinter!"
The voice contained an unimaginable sorrow, as if the previous performance was all a disguise. Such desperate emotions even made Sean stop... He was not afraid of death, but he still showed such an expression, which was really an incomprehensible thing.
"Why?" He turned around. "Or is it that your request is not just this?"
"Please save her—save Farina, please!" Joe gnawed on the dirt on the ground, shouting heartbreakingly, "There's no time, she... she has no time..."
In the end, the man was already sobbing.
This is probably the truth... Sean thought to himself.
He walked to the trembling Joe and patted him on the shoulder. "Who is Farina, and why is there no time... I think we can have a good talk now."
……
After the other party gradually calmed down and listened to the whole story, Sean finally understood what was going on.
The source of everything was actually related to love.
The other party was the real church liuwang, and the former bishop had now become their enemy. Desperate, Joe found the former enemy of the church—Greycastle's First Army. It was not so strange that a traitor was always more hateful than an external enemy. At the same time, he also understood the reason for the other party's death wish: Joe never thought that he could hide it from the First Army forever. Perhaps in his eyes, it was better to send himself and Farina to the gallows than to suffer Lorenzo's torture.
If this matter were slowly released, it might have an effect in a few months, but the urgency of time made him choose to take the risk in person—even if Lorenzo wanted to find the Holy Book, he would not deliberately torture Farina to death, but the body's endurance and recovery ability have limits. If Greycastle's action is triggered half a year later, it may be too late.
Originally, the conflict between the two sides of the church had nothing to do with Sean, but with love, the information became reliable.
Next, as long as the informant sent by Earl Lorenzo is found, everything can be confirmed.
"I know, I will notify His Majesty as soon as I catch those people." Sean said slowly, "—Using the flying messenger."