“… Rickard?” The Baron seemed surprised at hearing this name. “He hasn’t appeared for more than seven years already. I was under the impression he died in that hidden realm.”

Red shook his head. “No one saw his body. Besides, most of his bandits probably died in that place too, so there was no reason for him to appear in public any longer.”

This was the youth’s sensible assumption that he offered the man. In truth, though, he knew Rickard was definitely not dead, considering he was shooting him full of holes moments before the trial ended.

“Be that as it may, why do you think Rickard was the one responsible for this?” the Baron asked.

“The wounds,” Red pointed at Orvin’s body. “They remind me of his abilities.”

The man frowned at this. “As far as I remember, Rickard’s abilities consisted of causing explosions at the tip of his spear. While I have to admit that a spear could have certainly caused these wounds, I don’t see why it reminds you of him.”

The youth nodded. “That is his most known ability. However, I happen to know of another ability of his - one that he most likely never used in public, or at least wasn’t forced to do so while fighting your men.”

These words seemed to catch the Baron’s attention. “What ability is this, exactly?”

“He can shoot Spiritual Energy projectiles capable of piercing through someone’s body like paper.” Red said. “Not only that, but he can do it in extremely quick succession.”

The reason the youth knew that was because he felt it in his own skin back at the last stretch of the trial. He managed to dodge past the heavily wounded bandit, only to be pierced from the back almost a dozen times by what felt like arrows ripping right through his body and destroying his organs and bones. If it wasn’t for his strong regeneration and reaching the water orb first, he would have certainly died a few seconds later.

This rather inconsequential detail at the time was mostly forgotten by Red, but looking back at it, that was certainly an extremely strong ability even for a Lesser Ring Realm cultivator.

The Baron frowned at this revelation. “That is not conclusive evidence.”

“Maybe so, but it is something to consider.” Red said. “Rickard was a Late-Stage Lesser Ring Realm cultivator, and after seven years it is not far-fetched that he could have reached the Peak of the realm. This would make him as strong as Hector in cultivation base and, in turn, make him capable of achieving this kind of assassination.”

The man seemed to be in deep thought, considering his words. “That would explain a lot. However, at the end of the day, whether or not this is Rickard makes little difference. They are still completely undetectable to us, as far as we can tell.”

The youth hesitated. “… I might have a way to spot them.”

The Baron raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You do?”

“Possibly.” Red nodded. “However, it is hard to tell how viable it will be. It’s entirely possible they know about my methods already, and I can’t necessarily predict where the killer will appear next.”

If the assassin was indeed Rickard, then he was most likely working alongside the imperials - considering he already did as much back in the trial. The imperials already knew about his ability to detect people from hundreds of meters away, so the man would most likely be avoiding the youth with all his power.

The Baron sighed at this. “It’s fine. We can’t possibly know where he will strike next, and I can’t, in good conscience, put you in harm’s way just like this, considering what we are dealing with.”

Red shook his head. “I am most likely already in harm’s way. You know they have people following us, and if I were them, I would probably be a top priority target.”

In fact, the youth wondered if he wouldn’t have been the one to be targeted if he was still in town. Certainly, he had found a way to avoid the imperial’s tracking, and this was all the more reason as to why they would want to target him.

The man frowned. “We don’t know why they did this or if the imperials are involved.”

The youth sighed. “Who else would be so bold as to do something like this and find a means to avoid the detection of an ancient formation?”

It was evident the Baron was in denial, but it wouldn’t change the truth of the situation. Their peaceful town, which had avoided conflict for the most part these past seven years, would not remain peaceful any longer.

The Baron shook his head with a sorrowful expression. “All of this for what? Our town never provided much of value to the kingdom, and there is nothing remarkable about us. Even the ruins we live on top of have been stripped of everything valuable many millennia ago. So why break an armistice over this?”

The war between their kingdom and the Empire had never stopped all those years. However, the sects had decided to intervene after the royal army was routed in combat, and the Empire agreed for an armistice that would last for an indefinite amount of time. They weren’t in a hurry to continue their invasion, much more so after conquering most of the northern regions of their kingdom where most of the valuable natural cultivation resources were located.

As such, they were afforded a precarious peace, with the clear knowledge that the war could resume at any point if the Empire decided to ignore the sect’s threats. These threats were, of course, the entire reason why the Empire hadn’t conquered the whole continent yet, so they weren’t unreliable, but this didn’t make the citizens of their kingdom feel any safer.

With this in mind, the Baron’s bewilderment was a very reasonable one. Red had his suspicions, but he couldn’t really voice them in front of the man.

“They might know something we don’t.” the youth said. “We didn’t even know about the hidden realm before it opened up, so it is sensible that there could be more hidden from us.”

The Baron gave him a sad smile. “You are right. I can’t possibly claim to know everything about my own barony when such a large secret was kept hidden right under my nose for who knows how long.” He looked back at Orvin’s corpse. “I thought we could weather this crisis safely for the rest of my reign. I thought that even if the kingdom fell, we would have enough time to evacuate our townsfolk with the defenses afforded by our formation… How naïve I was! Now, my dear friend has paid the price for my incompetence.”

Red didn’t know what to say at this, so he kept silent and waited.

The Baron looked at him. “You should leave this town before it’s too late. Gather your companions and leave this place before it’s too late. Despite everything, your sect has saved us countless times, so you don’t deserve to be dragged down by the incoming storm.”

Red frowned. “What about the rest of the town?”

The man shook his head. “These people have nowhere else to go. They came here seeking refuge due to war, choosing our town because they were turned away everywhere else. Even if I wanted to send them away, they would have nowhere else to go… They aren’t cultivators like you, and if I forced them away for their safety, they would be preyed upon by monsters and bandits in the road or perhaps even worse now that a Blood Moon has appeared. Both these people and I have no choice but to stay here and fight.”

The youth couldn’t find any words to refute the Baron. In fact, judging by the fate of the village he went through, he knew that there were even more dangers than the man knew about expecting them out there. To leave the fort that was this town would be insanity, even if it wasn’t as safe as it was in the past.

“… Can I inspect the rest of the room?” Red asked after finding nothing else to discuss on the matter.

“Feel free,” The Baron nodded. “But I can already tell you that there is nothing else the assassin left behind.”

The youth knew the man was probably right, but he wanted to see for himself either way.

The window to the room was ajar- the probable opening the assassin used to enter. The window faced the courtyard, and there were almost five meters to the ground, a small height for a cultivator. There were no markings on the windowsill or anywhere else on the stone floor. The assassin didn’t leave any trace of his existence behind that Red could see, other than the corpse of the Captain of the Guard.

The only thing the youth could tell is that Orvin was probably killed right as he was going to bed. The assassin might have already been hidden in his room at the time rather than barging in, considering that the window it was to the left side of where the corpse fell and all the blows were struck from the front. There were probably other details they could gleam from the guards that might have been in the courtyard at the time of death, but it was all likely pointless.

None of them would have seen the assassin if not even Orvin detected their presence.

There were absolutely no leads other than wounds on the corpse.

A few minutes later, Red returned to the Baron and shook his head. “There is nothing.”

The man sighed. “Never have I felt so powerless in my reign before. To know that a powerful assassin is probably in town right now but to be completely incapable of finding them… It is a terrible position to be in.”

The youth was about to suggest something before he felt something enter his crimson sense. A couple of familiar fluctuations, both walking towards the fort. Soon enough, the sound of voices coming from the courtyard below reached them.

Red and the Baron exchanged glances, both recognizing who the voice belonged to. They then waited in silence, and a few moments later, a guard came wandering up the stairs towards their room.

He stopped short of entering it, though, seemingly hesitant to take a step forward. “My lord… Hector has come to see you.”

The Baron nodded. “Let him pass.”

The guard gave a slight bow before going back.

Soon enough, the sound of footsteps reached them again, and down the corridor Hector appeared approaching the room, with Domeron walking behind him, who hadn’t even bothered to clean himself. The elder had a frown on his face, and it only deepened once he set foot inside the room and spotted Orvin’s body.

He didn’t say anything though, and a heavy silence settled in the air as the old man stared at the corpse and the Baron stared at him with a severe expression.

Domeron was the one to break the silence, looking over at Red. “What did you find?”

“No traces in the room.” Red said. “An extremely strong and skilled assassin, likely near the Peak of the Lesser Ring Realm, or carrying a magical item of equivalent power. Orvin didn’t even have time to react, and was struck by five powerful perforating blows all at once or in extremely quick succession that pierced straight through his body. All of these blows were targeted at his vital organs, and he died almost instantly.”

The swordsman was silent for a bit, digesting his words with a difficult expression. “… Is that all?”

Red hesitated. “… I think Rickard might have been responsible for it.”

Domeron frowned at this. “Why?”

“The blows are similar to an attack I have seen him perform before.” The youth said. “His cultivation level would fit the power required to execute this, and we know he was likely working with the imperials, which are the only people who could have figured out how to trick the town’s formation from detecting his presence.”

Another long silence happened after he finished his explanation. This time, Hector was the one to break it.

“Both of you can leave.” the elder said without even looking at them. “I need to speak with the Baron.”

Neither Red nor Domeron protested, and they both walked out of the room, leaving the two men alone to discuss matters that would likely decide the fate of this town.