Sword Demon City, Baron’s Mansion.

It wasn’t called 【Moonwish City】 by the monsters. Because it was the city of the 【Sword Demon】, it was called “Sword Demon City”.

Monster naming conventions are simple and straightforward.

“How’s the search for the killer going?”

In the mansion’s meeting hall, Sword Demon Baron Ferdinand sat cross-legged.

He was muscular, about 3 meters tall, with dark purple skin and short, ashy hair gathered at the nape of his neck. His dark golden eyes emitted a faint golden light.

His bare upper body had four strong arms. Two were folded in front of him, two rested behind his back. Instead of human legs, he had ox hooves.

Black wings sprouted from his back. A crow-headed humanoid monster said respectfully: “Dear Baron, we haven’t found any relevant information yet.

The killer seems to have vanished without a trace.”

“Perhaps they’ve already entered the city.” Another monster, with white wings and a dove’s head, suggested.

“Whatever, increase vigilance.” Ferdinand raised his right hand, which had been resting behind him, and waved it.

He was a Sword Demon, and despite his fondness for swords, he wasn't tyrannical. If it were a more aggressive demon, at least one of these subordinates would be dead.

Because the search for the killer had been going on for a full week.

“Ugh, this kind of thing happens at this time!”

Lying on the ground, a giant, formless scorpion slammed its pincers on the ground.

“We’ve finally captured a serious criminal, it must be another lord who sent someone to disrupt things! Trying to steal the credit from our Baron!”

“Ah, don’t say that!” The dove leader tried to calm him.

“Speaking of which, that serious criminal hasn’t been brought into the city yet, right?” Ferdinand asked.

More than half a month ago, Ferdinand and his subordinates had captured a wanted criminal.

The criminal was powerful, and Ferdinand had lost several high-ranking subordinates before capturing him, severely weakening his territory.

They had initially sealed his mana and planned to bring him into the city. The journey was long, but unexpectedly, an unknown killer appeared as they were entering the city!

Although he only killed a few Class 3 monsters on the border, it seemed like a warning from someone trying to steal the prisoner.

They wanted to quickly imprison the criminal in the city’s prison to avoid any unforeseen incidents.

But they were currently facing headwinds and didn’t dare to act rashly.

They didn’t know the enemy’s numbers or strength, they could only speculate about the enemy’s size and weapons.

Since the enemy could easily kill Class 3 monsters, they were at least Class 4, or even Class 5!

Worst-case scenario, the enemy lord would also come to fight.

Their territory was already severely weakened, if another lord really came to steal the prisoner, Ferdinand might not be able to hold on.

Therefore, the transfer plan had been postponed, and the criminal was hidden in a nearby village.

Because of the killer incident, he had been traveling to other noble territories, seeking the opinions of other lords.

He had only just returned and didn’t know the current situation of the prisoner.

Monsters of their level can't use long-distance communication magic.

Coincidentally, during his absence, the killer hadn’t made any moves.

It was as if a lord had discovered their plan and ordered the killer to stop.

The killer’s initial actions were already reckless, and in Ferdinand’s eyes, extremely foolish.

The killer could have remained hidden and launched a surprise attack to steal the prisoner.

But… the killer’s actions might have been a result of someone among the dead leaking the plan, and the killing was to silence them!

Knowing which lord was behind the killing was crucial, knowing would allow them to prepare accordingly.

Without knowing, they could only guess at the opponent’s methods.

“Three days.” The crow leader said seriously, “In three days, bring the prisoner into the city!

Otherwise, the people won’t be able to receive the reward!”

“Three days… I’ll lead the team myself!” Ferdinand nodded forcefully.

When they captured the monster criminal, they had already begun to generate hype among the people.

Because criminals of this level, once presented to the Royal Family, would receive blessings from the Demon Lord!

For the following year, the entire territory’s mana would double, and all monsters in the territory would benefit!

Living in the territory for one year was equivalent to two years of growth!

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

This was something to celebrate for both the lord and the monster citizens.

Moreover, as a lord, Ferdinand couldn’t secretly inform the Royal Family and let others take the credit.

He had to personally escort the prisoner to the prison in front of all the citizens, then inform the Royal Family.

Finally, he would hand over the prisoner to the Royal Family in the square in front of his mansion!

It had to be grand!

If he had secretly captured, transported, and delivered the prisoner, acting furtively and fearfully…

He wouldn’t deserve to be a 【Sword Demon】!

He might as well be called a “Mouse Demon”!

...

On the other side, in the underground stronghold in Sword Demon City…

After several days of “Unlocking Bestiary entries,” the heroes had gathered a large amount of monster information, reaching 2% of the entire Bestiary.

Without exaggeration, this was the most comprehensive information about monsters gathered by humanity.

The greatest gain was mastering the monster language!

During these days, the Silver Moon Stronghold team witnessed the system’s powerful information processing capabilities.

Just as Anyi said, by spending some time gathering information in a certain area, they could instruct the system to analyze and synthesize it, eventually learning the language.

Because in the context, many words had references, unlike ancient writings that could only be guessed.

Anyi was once the only human who understood monster language, but now, seven other heroes understood most of the commonly used monster words.

The previous suspicions surrounding Anyi were dispelled.

For humanity, this was an unimaginable breakthrough! A huge leap forward in monster research!

Now, they just need to bring this information back and share it with the stronghold and the League of Heroes to begin planning a months-long, or even year-long, conquest of 【Moonwish City】.

But during this time, something happened in the monster city.

“Based on the information we’ve gathered, it seems that a monster about 4 meters tall, using heavy weapons, is hunting other monsters.

If I’m not mistaken, it must be Hilo.” Eira said.

During these days, the eight heroes had found an underground human stronghold in the city and were currently staying there.

“Who else could it be?!” Hilo said proudly.

“You’re right… It’s best to move away from the city to exterminate monsters; otherwise, it'll attract too much attention.

If it weren’t for Mr. Carl saving us that day, we would have been in big trouble at the gate.” Sephie sighed helplessly.

Hilo pursed her lips, crossed her arms, and turned her head away: “What’s wrong with exterminating monsters! Hmph!”

“But thankfully, our worries were justified. If we had come two days later, the defenses would have been even stronger.” Eira chuckled.

Anyi sat on the side: “They seem to be focusing on the killer.”

“Of course, after so many Class 3 monsters were killed, it’s normal for them to be concerned.” Hilo smiled proudly, acting like a showoff.

Miruku occasionally glanced at them but didn’t speak.

No… this is abnormal…

The killer hadn’t appeared for many days, suggesting they were facing a setback.

Based on their experiences, the monsters were ruthless and didn’t value life. Disputes often resulted in;

“What are you looking at?”

“Looking at you, what about it?”

And then eyes or heads were gouged out, and if they didn’t die, they were at least seriously injured.

Those who died on the road would be… ah, monsters would collect the corpses.

For some monsters, a fight between their own kind meant a free meal.

Except for Anyi, the other seven were shocked, Sisrine even looked nauseous.

And because of this…

A killer who killed a few Class 3 monsters received so much attention, that was clearly abnormal.

Countless monsters died every day, what was so special about this killer?!

But instead of easing their vigilance, they had increased their search efforts, eliminating and recording all similar monsters.

Why?

“No, this is abnormal.” Sephie spoke, “You’ve all seen it these past few days, the deaths of a few monsters here mean nothing.

But they seem to consider this killer a huge threat.”

Ariana was also unusually serious: “I think…

They’re not doing this to protect the commoners.”

“Then who are they protecting?” Hilo blurted out.

“Perhaps they’re protecting some important figure.” Ariana pondered.

As the Holy Maiden of Aldrich’s disciples, she considered things from a higher perspective.

In the reports she had heard, different social classes were often considered separately.

“Perhaps, a noble among the monsters?” Sephie could only think of this.

“But logically, shouldn’t a higher-ranking monster be stronger?” Hilo questioned.

“What if the killer is stronger than the nobles?” Anyi pointed out.

“Ah!”

Hilo exclaimed, startling everyone.

She jumped up from her seat, widening her eyes and pointing at Anyi, exclaiming:

“I didn’t think of that!!

If I’m stronger than the nobles in this city…

Then I can just go kill him now!!”

“Don’t be impulsive.” Eira quickly pulled her back.

“No need, don’t forget our objective.” Anyi said.

Sephie nodded: “Yes, our objective is to gather information, and our current objective has been achieved.”

“That’s true, but what if those monsters are planning to attack the stronghold?”

At this moment, Layton, who usually didn’t speak much in meetings, suddenly spoke.

He wasn’t taciturn, he just didn’t have much to say.

“Attack the stronghold? Now? Why?” Even Hilo, with her Intelligence of 1, couldn’t help but question.

Because Layton’s question was absurd!

Layton said: “Didn’t Her Highness the Holy Maiden say that the monsters might be protecting someone important?

But they’re still guarding outside the city, which means…”

“Ah!!” Hilo exclaimed in fright, slamming her hand on the table and shouting, “That’s right!!

Their important person hasn’t entered the city yet! That’s why they’re guarding!

You’re a genius!! Hahaha——!!”

“Hahaha——! Too much praise! Too much praise!” Layton also laughed loudly.

The two laughing seemed to get along very well.

“Then I’ll go with Holy Maiden to investigate the depths of the city.”

At this moment, Anyi unexpectedly spoke.

Ariana pointed at herself: “Me?”

“I’ll go too!” Hilo said excitedly.

“I think it’s better if I go with Sephie.

We’re soldiers, we’ve had relevant training.” Eira raised her hand.

“I think I should protect you guys!” Layton also stood up.

Miruku: “…”

Everyone wants to go, then it’s not my turn… Good!

Very good!

Sisrine, seeing everyone stand up, felt she should do something: “I… I want to go too!”

“Quiet.” Anyi stood up and raised his hand, signaling them to stop, “I suggest that only I and Her Highness the Holy Maiden should go, and here’s why.”

First, Hilo, that easily excitable fool, absolutely couldn't go.

Of course, he couldn’t say that directly.

“First, I’m the one most familiar with the monster language among you. I might understand information you don’t.

Second, the Holy Maiden has the highest mana among us.

After these days of testing, you should have noticed that monsters don’t actively attack those with high mana.” Anyi explained.

They had noticed that the monsters would attack weaker monsters but not them.

So they had separated into several groups to test this theory.

The test results were that those with high mana wouldn’t be attacked.

Those with low mana, like Layton, Hilo, and Miruku, were the easiest to provoke or attack during the tests.

But those with 10 or more mana were rarely attacked.

Through observation, they also noticed that larger monsters were less likely to be attacked.

But they were usually the ones who attacked other monsters.

With similar Prana attributes, Ariana had the highest mana.

Even though Eira and Sisrine had allocated 30 points to Prana, their total mana was still significantly lower than Ariana’s.

“We haven’t explored the depths of the city, and the Holy Maiden has the highest mana.

Therefore, taking her is safer than taking any of you.”

Anyi explained.

“Finally, two people are less noticeable. A large group exploring would attract too much attention.”

“This…” Hilo hesitated for a moment, then nodded, “Fine, you’re right! Then I won’t go!”

Although she was quick-tempered, she could still accept reasonable arguments.

The others also fell silent for a moment before nodding, without objection.

“But, I have a suggestion.” Eira stood up, looking at Sisrine, “Mr. Carl, take Sisrine with you.

Her mana is also quite high.

Moreover, if something happens, she can use magic to help you escape and avoid fighting.”

Sisrine was stunned, then nodded: “Please, Mr. Carl, take me with you!”

“Okay.”

Surprisingly, Anyi didn’t refuse.

Hilo glared at Eira: “You talk too much!!”