All-around teacher at the magic academy

"Captain." As soon as Leon and Philip entered the villa's courtyard, a strong smell of blood hit them, and the two quickly covered their mouths and noses with their hands.

"Leon, Philip, you've arrived," Max said simply as he saw the two men standing at the door.

"The smell of blood is so strong. How many people must have died here?" Philip said, frowning. He was clearly not used to this environment either.

Fortunately, the Earl's mansion is located on the outskirts of the city, and there are not many people living nearby; otherwise, it would have caused panic among the citizens.

"The results have just been tallied. There were 22 guards and servants in the manor, plus the murdered count and his lover, making a total of 24 people. Not a single one survived," Max said gravely.

"What a deep grudge this must be!" Philip exclaimed, then a sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he pressed, "The Earl and his lover?"

"Yes, the body is inside the house. You can go and take a look."

The two then went inside, and less than half a minute later, they both rushed out of the room and headed straight for the flower bed to vomit.

Leon was glad he hadn't had time to eat anything that morning. He had originally planned to buy something on the way, but Philip kept urging him to hurry up, so he gave up on that idea.

He felt he should thank Philip, wondering if the guy had some experience and was deliberately preventing him from eating. He glanced at Philip and realized he was completely overthinking it; the guy certainly didn't have that kind of brain.

Seeing Philip's vomit of undigested food, Leon couldn't help but gag again. This guy ate breakfast himself and wouldn't let him eat, now he's getting his comeuppance.

The level of gore inside the room wasn't too bad; the gore in the courtyard was far more severe. However, the fact that both victims inside were naked, coupled with the mutilated state of their bodies, made the scene truly unbearable.

After vomiting for a while, Max took two bottles of water from the staff and handed them to the two men, who thanked him profusely.

"It's okay, you'll get used to it," Max said, patting Leon on the shoulder.

"It's alright, but I didn't expect it to be like this." Leon felt nauseous again as he thought about the scene he had just witnessed.

"Have you found anything?" Max asked Leon, to see if it matched his findings.

"It was done by the same person. Judging from the remaining magic, it's the same person we encountered before." Leon had fought with the other party and could clearly distinguish the remaining magic power.

"Was it one of the assassins who targeted us before?" Philip asked doubtfully, still not recovered from the shock.

"That's pretty much what I thought. Although I haven't encountered the other party, I can roughly judge from the residual aura that they are a dark magician." Max nodded in agreement with Leon's point of view.

"But why would they suddenly target the Earl? I can't find a motive for killing him." Leon was puzzled by this. He felt that every action should have a purpose; no one would wipe out an entire family for no reason. Of course, this excludes people like psychopathic killers who enjoy committing murder.

Although Leon had little contact with the other party, he could sense that he was not the kind of bloodthirsty maniac. Furthermore, judging from the deaths in the yard and the homeowner's body, all of them were fatal with a single blow, which further confirmed Leon's suspicions.

"Do you think it's possible that this person is the Countess's brother-in-law, and that the Count murdered his wife so he could be with his lover, and then the brother-in-law killed his entire family in a fit of rage?"

Philip offered his idea, and Leon was once again amazed by Philip's thought process; this guy never played by the rules.

“Based on previous investigations, the Countess did indeed die from excessive indulgence, and her lover has admitted it and is currently in the law enforcement’s prison,” Max explained, refuting Philip’s viewpoint.

"Then why? They're completely unrelated," Philip retorted.

“Perhaps it was a hired killing. Someone paid for the Earl’s family to die, and the killer accepted the job. The same goes for the Night Watchers; it’s highly likely that someone behind it wanted to target us and thus bribed the killer.” Leon offered his thoughts, and the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.

"Possibly, but who would choose to offend the Night Watchers? Besides, why would anyone hire someone to kill the Earl's family?"

It all comes back to the motive. Whether it's the Night Watchers or the Earl, whether the murderer acted voluntarily or the employer hired him, there must have been a purpose. Once the purpose is known, the case and the capture of the murderer become relatively simple.

The three discussed for a long time but still couldn't reach a valid conclusion.

"Sigh, Duke Adams has already stated that he demands the case be closed within a week. We're completely clueless now, and we really don't know what to do," Max complained in a low voice, his tone filled with helplessness.

"This case has indeed had a significant impact, after all, it involves an earl."

Leon could understand the thoughts of those in power, after all, it affected their dignity. A high-ranking figure with a title in the kingdom was inexplicably massacred along with his entire family in the relatively safe city of Barton, which was a complete disregard for the local law enforcement.

"It's not just because of that. In fact, Earl Gavin and Duke Adams are on good terms. This happened some time ago."

Max explained, "Shortly after Lady Gavin's death, the Earl of Gavin visited the Duke of Adams to express his loyalty to the Duke of Adams's household."

He died mysteriously just a few days later. What would those close to the Adams family think? Duke Adams is under immense pressure now.

"I see. The relationships between important people are really complicated." Philip wasn't impressed.

"It's all driven by self-interest." Leon was very familiar with this kind of thing, after all, he often followed such cases in his previous life, the infighting between powerful figures and the division of interests. In their view, there was no such thing as lasting friendship; it was all about the distribution of benefits. You give me the benefits I want, and I'll do things for you.

As Leon pondered the connection, he suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. It must be said, Leon's senses were remarkably sharp. Since arriving in this world, he had constantly worried about his safety, fearing he might be ambushed and die without even knowing how. Therefore, he placed great importance on his senses and had been consciously practicing them.

This time, he had a feeling of being watched. Although there was no obvious murderous intent, the feeling was indeed uncomfortable. He looked around, trying to find the person watching him.

"What's wrong? Is something the problem?" Max noticed Leon's unusual behavior and asked curiously.

Leon did not answer the captain's question, but looked towards the shadows some distance from the Earl's mansion. There, he saw a person whose face was not clearly visible standing in the shadows, facing him.