"Ah!" He perked up, threw back the water bag, and roared in his usual loud voice: "I didn't catch any followers again! Damn it! Is this how they play hide-and-seek?"
"Sir." A man with extremely broad shoulders walked up to him, bowed humbly, and then said, "Lister and the detectives sent us an invitation to join the patrol tonight."
"Oh?" Old Barr raised his eyebrows and stretched his neck curiously, "What do you think?"
“We felt like we could get involved.”
"What the hell!" the old man on the horse shouted, "You guys even talked about me patrolling the town for a long time, why are you acting out of character this time? Did they give you some benefits? Or did you finally realize that I was right?"
"The latter, sir." Chikalia Noan lowered his head even more. "It's obvious that the other party wants to destroy this town. We can't just hide in the dark any longer. We must find them as soon as possible and put them on trial."
"You should have done this long ago!" Old Barr snorted, then lowered his voice: "Even Lister is joining in... How many policemen are there in this town?"
"It will definitely not be a problem to gather 150 people."
"Then if we go all out, there will be more than 500 people on patrol this time!" Old Barr seemed very happy. "Such a large-scale... their target is definitely not just in the town, right?"
"Yes, Sheriff Lister said: Since no trace of the murderer has been found so far, it is highly likely that the murderer is hiding outside, hiding in the mountains and forests."
"That's the only possibility!" Old Barr snorted again. "Joff reported to me that they found a fire near the forest, which means someone is hiding there. I have long emphasized that this forest should be thoroughly searched, but you insisted on saying that this is not the case!"
"We..." Chikalia paused and said in a very low voice: "We just don't want you to do these things yourself..."
"Stop talking nonsense!" He was interrupted rudely, "You know very well why I am alive! I don't want anything now! I just want revenge!"
"Grandpa...Grandpa Bal!"
Accompanied by a crisp call, a smaller figure ran out of the manor and ran to the front of the horse team.
"Grandpa Bal... I think what Chikalia and Dad said is right. You really don't need to do these dirty jobs yourself..."
"Rose..." Looking at the girl's hopeful face, Old Bal felt dazed.
But he still shook his head firmly: "No, it's useless no matter what you say!"
"Why does Grandpa insist on hunting the fire dragon?" Mei'er couldn't figure it out. "Even if there really is a monster, wouldn't it be better to let Dad and the others do it?"
"You don't understand." Old Barr was silent at first, then shook his head gently, "This is a blood feud... I must find out who killed the Baines family. Those who set fire to the town might be in cahoots with them. Your father is not as cunning as them, so I have to do it."
Then he dismounted, threw away the whip, and told the servants to help him change clothes and eat.
Judging from the situation, he planned to take his men away immediately after dinner to participate in the cleanup patrol of the red maple forest.
"Chikalia!" Mei'er walked up to his broad shoulders and stepped hard on his shoes. "What kind of magic potion did you give him? Doesn't he always dislike going out?"
"That's just an illusion," Chikalia Noan said to her. "He was like this for a long time before you were born. He was even more impatient and irritable than he is now."
"Then why didn't he get angry later?"
"Of course I'm tired."
"tired?"
"He has been looking for revenge for many years. He searched all the nearby mountains and forests but couldn't even find the other party's shadow. Anyone who encounters this situation will certainly be discouraged." Chekaria grinned slightly, "I think he must have thought that since he couldn't find it in the mountains and forests, it must be in the sky or in the lake. That's why he lived in the watchtower, where he can always see Lake Evans."
"Then why did he change back now?"
"Well." Chikalia's eyes dimmed, and he showed an unsatisfied expression: "You should ask your father about this."
"If my father could tell me something like this, do you think I would have to come to you?"
"…But you don't even want to call me uncle, and you even call me by my first name for a long time."
"Uncle Nuoan~"
"..."
"Uncle Nuoan, just tell me~"
"No." After staring at the girl for a long time, Chikalia turned around and took a step forward.
"Why not?" Mei'er quickly moved her short legs to catch up and reached out to hit his thigh: "You promised me, and you're cheating!?"
"Because this is the meaning of Gran and Nuoan's existence!" The man suddenly turned around and stared at her with an extremely terrifying expression.
"This manor!"
"This town!"
"Even these walls!"
"We have to give everything to maintain these!"
Mei'er also widened her eyes, looked at him with her mouth slightly open, and slowly sat down on the ground.
She was really scared.
It was the first time that Chikalia treated her so harshly. Before, no matter how she acted naughty or coquettish, this uncle would just put on an icy face, which was much kinder than Duke Gran.
"Rose..."
Realizing his own loss of composure, a guilty look appeared on Chikalia's face, and he quickly bent down and picked up the petite girl.
"I'm sorry, Rose."
"Forgive me...but this is also something you will have to bear in the future."
……
The night is getting darker.
Probably after dinner time, a little after 7 o'clock, old Bar mounted his horse again and led three times more men and horses out of the manor than when he returned in the evening. He met Lister in the middle of the road, near the town.
Lister also brought a lot of people, more than a hundred police officers, most of them were equipped with horses, and all of them were armed to the teeth. After a simple assignment of directions, they were divided into twelve teams and rushed into the forest under the leadership of their respective captains.
Patrolling at night is definitely more dangerous than patrolling during the day.
But old Bal didn't care about the danger at all and rushed to the front alone.
He knew that he was gifted and had innate terrifying strength.
Just like that huge lance, most people can hardly lift it, but he is so old but can still hold it and wave it for a long time without feeling any effort at all.
The Gralant family possesses extraordinary power after all.
This little danger is far from enough in his eyes.
Gradually, the team he led became the one that went deepest into the mountains.
What made him both angry and delighted was that they happened to discover another huge hoof print - illuminated by the lantern, and there were also traces of trees being crashed, clearly visible!
"It's heading forward!" He stared at the direction where the traces were spreading. "It wants to escape to the back hill... We can't let it succeed! Chase it!"
They were chasing further and further away and were completely out of touch with the main force.
Some servants and militiamen urged Old Bal not to chase, otherwise they would not be able to take responsibility if they really encountered a monster and something happened.
But it is obvious that someone who even Gran and Nuoan cannot persuade will not listen to them.
Old Barr continued to chase.
He found the exhortations both harsh and tiresome, so he simply extinguished the lantern, slipped away a few corners, and left them behind to move forward alone.
"It should be nearby."
Seeing the destroyed tree again in front of him, Old Bal was delighted, thinking that he would finally get something this time.
You can faintly hear the sound of rustling.
He slowed down, lit the lantern again, and carried it to illuminate the nearby scenery.
A steep cliff.
The cliff is next to the forest, and there is a dark pool below.
Is there a pond here?
This was the first time he had walked so far, and he had never seen such a scenery before.
"Fire dragons are animals too."
"Animals need to drink water..."
After a pause, he dismounted, bent over and walked to the edge of the pool, holding the lantern in one hand and struggling to dig in the grass with the other, trying to find more hoof prints.
He didn't notice that a dark shadow quietly came behind him, raised his hand, and something was reflecting cold light.
"boom!"
The sound of gunfire echoed over the pool.
Old Barr looked back in fear and saw Hitzfeld standing in the woods nearby, with smoke coming out of the muzzle of the gun in his hand.
Then of course he also spotted the person who was closer to him.
He lay on the ground, holding his calf and grimacing.
Although his face was distorted by pain, Old Baal could still recognize him.
"Rook?"
He exclaimed in surprise.
"why you?"
Chapter 43: Inside the Wall
Hitzfeld ignored old Barr's exclamation.
She was the first to jump out of the forest, followed by Ethan, Darent, and one after another of the black-clad policemen armed with guns.
In just a blink of an eye, the entire pool was surrounded.
"This..." Old Barr watched helplessly as Hitzfeld kicked Luke's hand, interrupting his movement towards his chest. Then the two men, Ethan and Darent, pounced on him and pinned him down, grabbing his hands and handcuffing them. His mouth opened wide, looking stunned.
He didn't understand what this development was.
Completely bewildered.
"No! Let me go... That's not what I meant! I haven't done anything yet!"
Realizing the situation he was in, Luke struggled frantically: "I didn't mean to do anything to him! I swear! Let me go... I'm hurt!"
"You knew exactly what you were trying to do just now." Darent punched him hard and pulled a pistol from his arms.
"Behave yourself, little one, and don't force me to shoot you again."
"Wait! Wait! What's going on?" Old Barr walked over with his eyes wide open, looking at the policemen and then at the young man who was struggling desperately under them.
Green Town is not big. Although he had rarely been out before, he had been out before, so he knew many people, including Luke, who had been missing for almost two weeks.
"Isn't he... isn't he dead?" He stared at Luke's face. "Why... and you guys are-how did you know he would be here?"
"You'll have to ask him about that." Hitzfeld bent down and picked up something from the ground. "If everything goes well with the Sheriff, we can ask Mr. Lux in detail later."
"Impossible..." Hearing her mention that person, Luke, who was still struggling, trembled and looked up at her, "How could you find any trace of him..."
"You hid the real Donmont Lux in the stove and brought him here, deliberately creating disappearances and faked his death... Do you think your methods of providing each other with alibis are clever?"
Hitzfeld walked up to him, staring down at him, with a cold look in his right eye.
"You've let your family down, Mr. Rooker."
Luke's body trembled again, and the fierce expression on his face quickly faded.
"Please..." He opened his mouth, "Don't tell them even if you kill me..."
"I'm afraid not." Hitzfeld bit his lower lip. "They have been worried about you. I think for those who truly love you, as long as you are alive, even if you have committed a huge sin, it is better than becoming a corpse."
Luke could no longer speak. His face was distorted and he was crying miserably. Ethan and Darent lifted him up and handed him over to the police officers to take him aside to treat his wounds.
"I feel I deserve an explanation."
Old Bar stared coldly at the gray-haired girl.
"Are you doing this on purpose? Are you using me as bait?"
Although he still didn't understand what Hitzfeld said, at least there was one thing he could understand.
The reason why he had the opportunity tonight - to be able to wander around freely and unrestrainedly - was because he was used as bait by some people to lure the murderer behind these cases.
As he said this, he looked at Hitzfeld's hanging right hand.
There was something very strange in his hand. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that it would be here.
A metal syringe.
