Free Web NovelChapter 187: Chapter 187: Hired Hunter_1
Another day passed, and Rebecca arrived at Rose Iron Prison to convey the results of the Heretical Inquiry’s investigation.
"We found out where those two fled—the location is an abandoned mine in the Northwind Mine... right here." Rebecca spread out a map on Aiden’s desk and marked the target location with a pencil.
This time, the operation against the Harvest Mother Cult involves cooperation between the Heretical Inquiry and Rose Iron Prison, providing a certain level of intelligence support and personnel assistance.
In the Witch Assembly, Abigail, Qiqimora, and Habanis all have quite formidable means of intelligence gathering, while the Harvest Mother Cult has almost an infinite amount of expendable manpower. Compared to Rose Iron Prison, there’s a significant shortcoming in intelligence collection; fortunately, the support from the Heretical Inquiry made up for this.
"An abandoned mine? Not a village?" Aiden asked.
"It used to be," Rebecca replied, "Northwind Mine produced coal and pyrite. It began to be mined over thirty years ago and started to be abandoned seven years ago. A village was also built near this mine during its extraction period, but it’s been uninhabited for quite a while."
"I remember this place; a bandit gang once occupied it, and I took part in the siege," Veronica interjected. "Another time was when two Class B fugitives who had fled together were hiding out here. I led the team that captured and killed them on this spot."
Aiden slightly furrowed his brows: "This place has come under Black Iron City’s jurisdiction, hasn’t it? Does Silvertown also take charge here?"
"Northwind Town is under Black Iron City, but it is separated from the city by a mountain with no railway connection. In terms of commuting, it’s actually more convenient from Silvertown’s side. The population living there is sparse, and the police force is weak; any urgent situations are prioritized for reporting to Silvertown," Veronica explained. "Because of mining, Northwind Town has quite a few of these abandoned villages, so..."
"It’s practically a paradise for criminals," Aiden concluded with a nod. "But why would they go to such a place? Did they have no alternative hideouts?"
A small town with weak policing, an uninhabited abandoned village with shelter from the elements and basic facilities, not requiring them to sleep in the open—this was simply an ideal hideout for fugitives. Especially for bandit gangs, who could virtually claim territory and build a stronghold there.
However, for the Harvest Mother Cult, such places might actually feel a little restricting. Their most effective methods of expansion and collecting wealth are better suited for dense population settlements.
When Habanis reported that they fled to a village on the mountainside, Aiden had assumed they would set up more preaching outposts in other autonomous state villages.
"Actually, Northwind Town seems to have reported to us a few days ago; several well-known ’hunters’ suddenly appeared in the town," Rebecca mentioned. "At first, we all thought it was unrelated to this cult..."
"Hunters? Bounty Hunters?" Veronica interjected, taken aback.
"Bounty Hunters, Magical Beast Hunters, there are both. Northwind Town lacks a Heretical Inquiry institution, and the town’s police suspected that either a Class A or higher fugitive, or some dangerous magical beast, had moved nearby, which is why they reported it to us," Rebecca answered.
Aiden understood the local police’s actions; bounty hunters live on the bounties they obtain from capturing fugitives, while Magical Beast Hunters mainly take commissions to hunt down harmful wild magical beasts, or they hunt magical beasts to sell precious materials to the black market, witches, or alchemists. Some hunters with significant accomplishments could even make a name for themselves on the streets.
These individuals are mostly self-taught and operate in a grey area, relying on their own intelligence networks to chase after profitable opportunities. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
An influx of bounty hunters or Magical Beast Hunters in an area would naturally make the local law enforcement nervous, especially since Northwind Town is particularly suitable for hiding criminals.
"Are they targeting the cult?" Veronica was a bit puzzled.
After all, members of the Harvest Mother Cult were heavily sought after with bounties on their heads in both the Empire and Gistas.
But Rebecca shook her head, "No, capturing members of the Harvest Mother Cult within the autonomous state is meaningless. The Harvest Mother Cult only just made it onto the Heretic Inquisition’s purge list these past few days, and the warrants aren’t even public yet. We visited around and got a few locals to identify some hunters; we’ve compiled a list."
As she spoke, she took out a document and placed it on the table.
Veronica glanced at it and immediately frowned, "Why is it only these kinds of people?"
The names listed on the document indeed belonged to some well-known hunters, but they did not have a good reputation. These were not the type that lived purely off bounties. Essentially, every one of them was suspected of doing dirty work for money, and two of them were even on the wanted list.
Briefly put, they were a bunch of desperadoes.
"They’re probably earning extra as mercenaries, hired by the cult," Aiden said slowly.
These desperadoes, given enough money, would be willing to risk their lives, and the Harvest Mother Cult certainly wasn’t short on funds; they could even provide women without limit.
"So, this abandoned mine shaft where they’re hiding is a... fortified position of the cult? What are they planning?" Veronica was taken aback.
Aiden was also a bit surprised. It was one thing to run a cult and oppose the Heretic Inquisition, but to hire a group of barely competent mercenaries and station them in a town with little police force... were they planning to start a rebellion?
Although, on closer thought, the goal of the Harvest Mother Cult was indeed to incite rebellion and restore the nation, they should be directing their rebellion toward the Empire and the Gistas Kingdom, not the autonomous state which was supposed to be neutral territory.
But as he looked back and forth at the map, he noticed something.
"No, their goal in recruiting soldiers here must be the Banquet Forest," Aiden pointed to the map, "Cross the Northwind Mine, follow the valley in this direction, and you can leave the autonomous state and reach the edge of the Banquet Forest. It would roughly take three days, or even faster if there’s a shortcut through connecting tunnels in the mine. The cult has been sieging the Banquet Forest, and this base ensures their operations on both sides."
With this, the cult’s actions could be explained. After their activities in the autonomous state were unexpectedly hindered, they shifted their focus to attacking Abigail, but it was clear they did not want to give up their activities in the autonomous state, so they moved to this most suitable location.
This was good news for Aiden, as the cult’s distance from Silvertown would likely reduce their activities against Rose Iron Prison.
However, he could not sit idly by while the cult targeted Abigail. If the Harvest Mother Cult really got their hands on the "Incubation Egg," he would be the next to die.
"We haven’t thoroughly checked the number of hunters operating there, but if there are enough of them... it could also pose an obstacle for us," Rebecca said with concern.
"I’ll see what the witches’ gathering has to say tonight. If the cult is shifting its focus there, Abigail will be the one most anxious," Aiden replied.
