Book 11: Chapter 57: Night Investigation of the Farm

In fact, Qin Lun and the others did not need to swim across the River Rauvin to leave the city. After many days, the hidden injuries on Iristin finally healed completely. She could transform into a giant eagle and carry Qin Lun and the others out of the city one by one.

“The Druid profession is really convenient. If we had known earlier, we might have switched too!” The three Apostles expressed sincere envy towards the Elven Druid who could adapt to any environment, which made the beautiful Elf very happy.

The troubled farm was only two or three kilometers away from Silverymoon. Owners of such farms naturally did not dare to be too far from the city to avoid sudden attacks by wild creatures.

Precisely because of such a short distance, the farm was still attacked by werewolves, which drew attention in Silverymoon. Otherwise, such incidents would not easily surprise the tough-nerved residents of the Toril World.

Not long after, everyone saw the dim farmhouse shrouded in the night. However, after smoothly arriving here, the group found themselves in a somewhat difficult situation. They hid in the bushes beside the field and began to discuss.

The assassins of the Zhentarim were very powerful, something Qin Lun himself had deeply experienced. Since they intended to cause trouble during Elastor’s Silverymoon Celebration, the manpower they sent probably wouldn’t be just one or two people, but at least a small team of five to ten.

The city lords of the Northlands were different from ordinary nobles in human nations. Most of those who grew up to become lords in such a complex environment possessed considerable combat strength. Among them, “Lady Hope” Elastor was a Legendary Powerhouse blessed by the Goddess of Magic Mystra.

Causing trouble under her nose was not too difficult; the real challenge was to cause trouble without getting caught in the act.

The Zhentarim wanted to use this operation to drive a wedge between the cities of the Silver Marches. If everyone learned the truth about the assassination, then even if several lords were killed, it would be futile. Instead, it might backfire and help Elastor unite the alliance even more.

Based on this, the Zhentarim would likely send at least two or more Legendary assassins to counter Elastor, while the rest would at least be High Rank.

Among the five people Qin Lun brought this time, only Iristin was a High Rank Druid. Idria and the three Apostles had not reached High Rank and could only barely fight against High Rank for a short while.

With such a lineup, facing two Legendary and a group of High Rank would definitely be seeking death. Moreover, Qin Lun and the others came mainly to investigate the situation, not to seek a decisive battle. Otherwise, it would have been better to bring Mastashia and the two Candlekeep ladies along, at least for more cannon fodder.

The problem Qin Lun and the others now faced was that they were not confident about sneaking into the farmhouse and the storage cellar underneath without alerting the enemy, as that was the most likely place for people to hide.

Originally, Qin Lun still had the Shadow Gale Panther available. However, during the battle against the Troll sentries at Troll Claw, the Shadow Gale Panther was severely injured by the Troll’s dying counterattack. The spirit contract was severely shaken, and it could not be summoned at the moment.

Letting Iristin alone transform into a wildcat to infiltrate made everyone somewhat uneasy. After all, no matter how cautious Iristin was, she did not have shadow talent and could not stealth.

“Use Construct Beetles. The farmhouse area is too large. Actually, even if the Shadow Gale Panther wasn’t injured, moving around for a long time would still alert the enemy.”

Hill reminded the other two companions in the Team Channel, “Construct Beetles are not easily noticeable and can even crawl into the farmhouse cellar. Each of us three can release several to quickly search this area.”

“Good!” Qin Lun and Rand’s eyes lit up, and they immediately nodded in agreement.

“Eh, what kind of bugs are these?” Seeing Qin Lun and the others take out more than ten palm-sized, dark black beetles from their Storage Space, Iristin curiously came over to look, while Idria bristled with fear and moved away from the three with a terrified expression.

“They are a type of alchemical creature. They can help us investigate this farmhouse and won’t attract attention.” Qin Lun placed the Construct Beetles on the ground. These construct creatures could connect with the Apostles’ Soul Sigils. Although they couldn’t feedback images to the Apostles like Gargoyles, they could still convey some simple information.

Iristin was not at all afraid of these ugly big bugs. She crouched down, picked up one beetle, and waved it towards the Female Knight.

“Idria, look, how cute!” The Construct Beetle on Iristin’s hand kept moving its six limbs, its sharp, scissor-like mandibles opening and closing, making hissing insect noises.

These alchemical beetles were certainly not friendly; on the contrary, they were highly aggressive. But Qin Lun used his consciousness to suppress them, preventing them from attacking Iristin. They could only helplessly move their legs and bare their teeth in strong protest.

“You, don’t come any closer!” Idria’s face showed rare panic. She repeatedly waved her hands and stepped back, almost stumbling.

“Oh!” Seeing Idria’s reaction, Iristin felt very discouraged, and her Elf pointed ears drooped.

The Elven Druid, who spent years in the forest close to wild creatures, was not afraid of any bugs. In contrast, Idria, a follower of Lady Loviatar, had not yet overcome this feminine nature.

Watching more than ten Construct Beetles crawl towards the farmhouse, Iristin’s curious habit acted up again. She pulled Qin Lun and asked all sorts of questions about the origins of these Construct Beetles.

She clearly knew that before his disappearance, Qin Lun definitely did not have these things.

In fact, regarding the inexplicable disappearance, although Iristin never intended to investigate thoroughly, from the Elven Druid’s occasional expressions of wanting to ask, Qin Lun knew her patience was wearing thin.

However, after all this time, Qin Lun had already prepared an excuse for this matter, planning to pin it on some deity. After all, the Toril World had an entire Elf pantheon, and there were many Chosen among the Elves. Whether Iristin ultimately believed it or not, it could at least serve as an excuse.

“Alright, I know what you mean!” Qin Lun looked into Iristin’s sparkling big eyes, sighed, took a few Construct Beetles from his Storage Space, and handed them to her, finally temporarily shutting her up.

The Elven Druid, beaming with joy, crouched to the side to play with the poor bugs. However, this time she did not share the Construct Beetles with Idria. Seeing the Female Knight’s frightened expression, she knew her good sister probably wouldn’t like this game.

“Eh, strange!” In no time, the Construct Beetles sent some simple messages to the Apostles controlling them. “There are actually no living creatures in the farmhouse. Did we guess wrong? Maybe the Zhentarim didn’t use this place as a temporary base?”

“Wait, one beetle detected a smell of blood.” Hill, however, had some findings.

“The werewolves and the Silver Guard both had a party here. It’s probably left by them,” Rand joked.

“No, the smell of blood is strong and was left recently.” Hill shook his head. “Let’s go. Since there’s no one, we’ll go in and take a look.”

The Construct Beetles’ investigation was very detailed; they crawled over every inch of the farmhouse. Except for a few that smelled blood, they did not report any living humans.

Despite this, Qin Lun and the others remained very cautious. Construct Beetles were unintelligent alchemical creatures; with preparation, there were many ways to deceive them.

The five split into two teams and approached the farmhouse from two directions, eventually meeting up in the main house.

The main house of the farmhouse was in disarray. The originally well-made wooden tables and chairs were almost chopped into piles of wreckage. Perhaps during the days the werewolves occupied this place, they used these tables and chairs as firewood for warmth.

The ground was littered with broken pottery and utensils. Although the Silver Guard had eliminated the werewolves, they had not cleaned up the farmhouse. In some places on the walls of the main house, dark brown bloodstains could still be seen, probably left by the previous owners or the werewolves.

These bloodstains were not the blood smell the Construct Beetles detected earlier. After months, the smell of these stains had long faded.

“It doesn’t look like anyone has been here!” Hill carefully searched the farmhouse and came to an accurate conclusion.

The Shepherd was quite authoritative on this point. Back when he was still a cannibalistic maniac, he paid great attention to cleaning his “dining area.” If not for that, the world might not have taken so long to discover his crimes.

If someone had lived in the farmhouse these past few months, it definitely couldn’t have escaped Hill’s notice.

“It seems we made a trip for nothing. The Zhentarim probably didn’t choose this place as a hideout,” Rand shrugged helplessly.

“We haven’t found the cellar yet. The blood smell the beetles detected might be there. We’ll know after checking it out,” Qin Lun was reluctant to give up. From all aspects, everything that happened here seemed too coincidental.

If they lost this clue, combined with the fact that the Hand of Light had not discovered any abnormalities in the city, finding the Zhentarim assassins would be very difficult.

“Found the cellar entrance, come quickly!” Idria’s call came from outside the farmhouse.

It turned out the farmhouse cellar was located in the farm’s hay storage shed. There wasn’t much hay left here. Because it hadn’t been dried for a long time, the haystack gave off a unpleasant musty smell.

Lifting the floorboards behind the hay storage, a large tunnel appeared before everyone.

“Smell that?” Hill frowned slightly and asked warily.

“Yes, it smells strongly of blood,” Qin Lun sniffed and couldn’t help but sneeze. “The ventilation down there is probably poor. Let’s wait fifteen minutes before going in.”

A short while later, the smell of blood in the cellar below weakened slightly. Qin Lun had Rand stay with Iristin above ground, just in case they got trapped inside. He himself, along with Hill and Idria, entered the tunnel.

“Shh!” The Female Knight walking at the front lit a torch. In the dim, flickering torchlight, the tunnel seemed somewhat eerie. Fortunately, the farmhouse cellar wasn’t very big, and they soon reached the end of the ten-meter-long tunnel.

“Hmm?” As the torchlight illuminated the entire cellar, the three of them couldn’t help but narrow their pupils at the scene before them.