The airship crossed the Ferreglen river and entered Silver Star District airspace. Reyn recalled the Longsand airship dock was north of that district, four or five kilometers from the central Mages' Tower. By land, he definitely wouldn't make it in time.
After pondering, he made a decision.
Flying toward Martin, Reyn shouted,
"Martin, head back to the Bureau. I need to fly a bit more—I'll return later!"
He didn't explain, but Martin seemed to suspect something. Still, he didn't pry and silently flew back.
Once Martin and his big griffon vanished over the horizon, Reyn changed course and flew north along the Ferreglen river. The griffon raced at full speed, and in just minutes, they reached the city's northern edge, leaving Honiton District behind.
Out of the city, Reyn ordered the griffon west, across the river, to the northern boundary of Silver Star District—just beyond the Mages' Tower observation zone.
Flying a bit further, he spotted the airship again. It was preparing to land.
Reyn immediately focused on it. His Eye of the Soul-enhanced vision magnified the image hundreds of times, and even from nearly ten kilometers, he saw everything clearly. The deck crowd had dispersed, and through the gondola windows, passengers moved inside, collecting luggage and preparing to disembark.
To avoid detection by superhumans with enhanced sight, Reyn had the griffon climb higher, almost to the clouds, and hover there.
At that altitude, a piercing wind howled. An ordinary human couldn't even open their eyes, but it barely bothered Reyn. His gaze locked on the airship dock. If anyone looked skyward, they'd see neither griffon nor realize they were being watched from above.
Soon, the airship landed safely, and passengers began exiting the gondola one by one.
Like a spy satellite, Reyn instantly identified the evil god's follower. Too far to see his soul state, but by appearance and attire, it was easy. A man in his thirties, dressed as a merchant, leather satchel in hand. He leisurely left the dock and boarded a waiting carriage. The carriage set off toward Silver Star District's center.
Reyn didn't pursue on griffon, staying high in the sky, just tracking the carriage racing through streets. Distance grew, and even the post-transformation-enhanced Eye of the Soul struggled to keep it in focus—the image blurring. But he couldn't enter Silver Star airspace, so he strained his vision desperately to hold the target.
Finally, after about half an hour, the carriage slowed and entered the courtyard of a luxurious mansion with manicured lawns. The evil god follower alighted and vanished inside.
"Seems that's his lair."
The whole quarter consisted of such private residences. Prime location—just over a thousand meters from the Mages' Tower, practically Longsand's priciest area. Owning such a large mansion here took more than money.
Reyn memorized the address and turned the griffon back.
With a dull thud kicking up dust, the griffon landed on the platform near the large stable. Reyn unclipped the carbines and dismounted. After over two hours of flight, solid ground underfoot felt good.
Martin approached:
"Take it back, feed it more horsemeat to build rapport."
"Got it."
Reyn patiently fed the griffon, thanked Martin again for the lesson, and left the Public Safety Bureau. Without delay, he hired a carriage and headed to Silver Star District.
Soon, the carriage entered the tycoons' quarter. Reyn alighted several hundred meters from the mansion, looked up, and scanned around. The Mages' Tower was perfectly visible from here—practically under the gaze of the Spiritual Demon's Eye at its peak.
A Lohi follower dared live so close to the Mages' Tower!
As known, the evil god Lohi and the Goddess of Magic were sworn enemies, their followers sharing no warm feelings. Discovery meant a fight to the death.
"Does he really think the most dangerous place is the safest?" Reyn marveled at the follower's audacity. More likely, some major conspiracy lurked behind it.
He found a nearby coffee shop, sat at a table, ordered an overpriced lunch, and while eating, activated the Voice of All Things, listening to sounds from the mansion. Countless chaotic sound waves reached his ears. After tuning and filtering, they became clear.
But even after finishing lunch, he heard nothing useful. Over ten people in the mansion: manager, servants, coachmen. Many talked, but none seemed tied to the evil god. The owner conversed too, but only about business, like any wealthy man.
"Did I make a mistake or lose him?" Reyn doubted. From the sky, too far—tracking error possible.
He sat patiently another half day, drank several coffees, rebuffed approaches from a few tycoons' daughters drawn to his looks and bold enough to chat, but gained nothing.
In the end, Reyn had to leave. He stepped out of the coffee shop and was already hailing a carriage, about to climb in, when a car drove out from the gates of that very mansion. The curtains on the car's windows weren't drawn, and on the back seat sat two people: a man and a woman.
Catching a glimpse, Reyn memorized their appearances. The man was that same passenger from the airship, a third-level shadow warrior. In his soul intertwined black-red flames of faith—a clear follower of the evil god. The woman he saw only in profile: red lips, high nose, black hair cascading over her shoulders—she radiated enchanting beauty and was also a follower of Lohe.
Reyn instantly scanned the woman's soul and involuntarily shuddered inwardly. She was a mid-rank superhuman, but her class was unfamiliar to him. She possessed some elements of a shadow warrior, yet also wielded spells. This combination of abilities gave her the fifth level!
"Is she a Trickster?" Reyn guessed. This class was an advanced version of the shadow warrior, available exclusively to followers of Lohe. Due to Lohe's enmity with the Goddess of Magic, his followers didn't dare appear in public, so Tricksters were extremely rare in the Empire. However, beyond its borders, they enjoyed a fearsome reputation.
The car sped away quickly, vanishing from sight. Reyn didn't order the coachman to pursue it—that would make him too easy to spot. It was enough for him to know that this mansion was a lair of evil god followers. The woman's identity was undoubtedly no simple matter. A mid-rank Trickster hiding in close proximity to the Tower of Mages—it was unbelievable that she had no scheme in mind.
With an impassive expression, Reyn boarded the carriage and told the coachman to take him to the Violet House. He'd spent the whole day in the coffee shop and hadn't practiced the viola; he needed to warn Viola.
All the way, Reyn pondered this affair. Starting with Iceberg, who had set up surveillance in Kleyden Academy, then information that Shadow Blade had spies in Silver Star Academy too, the encounter with Wilt's trio at the Demonic Souls Market, and now—discovery of a lair in the wealthy quarter right under the Tower of Mages. All these signs pointed to extraordinary activity among Lohe's followers and connections between them. Their operations were concentrated in the Silver Star district, around the Tower of Mages. Clearly, this was a conspiracy against the Silver Star Duchess.
Beneath the calm surface of Longsand life, dark currents were already churning, ready to burst forth at any moment. Had anyone else noticed?
Truth be told, Reyn really didn't want to get involved, but the Seal of Discord on him caused him great unease. Such a number of Lohe's followers in Longsand irritated him greatly!
After some thought, Reyn decided to stick to his original plan: strike first. Whatever their schemes, he needed to eliminate some of them first. If he could expose their conspiracy and thwart their plans along the way, perhaps these evil god followers would leave the city early, sparing him further constant tension. Either way, he was now a follower of the Goddess too, and exterminating heretics was his direct duty. Plus, killing them would boost his own power. All upsides!
Of course, how exactly to deal with this group of evil god followers was something Reyn needed to think through carefully. Among them was a fifth-level Trickster, and acting alone would be suicide.
The best way was, of course, to report them! Now he was a member of the Demon Extermination Squad and should make good use of that position.
Over the next few days, Reyn meditated as usual, practiced the viola, or headed to the Demon Extermination Squad to continue griffon riding training with Martin. Every day after sessions with Viola, he stopped by that same coffee shop to observe people entering and leaving the mansion, and spotted two more evil god followers. They masqueraded as business partners, behaved very cautiously, and even alone exchanged only a few short phrases in a secret language. Reyn didn't understand their dialect; it seemed to be from the Shabukantai subcontinent. There was too little information, and even the dictionary translator on his phone couldn't decipher it. But that didn't matter. Reyn just wanted to kill them; everything else was irrelevant.
On the fifth day in the squad, Reyn received a message from Pollock via his communicator watch: tonight would be his first night watch.
Reyn had been waiting for this moment and was fully prepared.
That evening, as soon as it grew dark, Reyn, armed with his warhammer and shotgun, arrived at the Public Security Bureau and entered the squad assembly room. Soon the other comrades who were on duty with him arrived too. By the rules, the captain always had to be present for watch. Last time it had been him, Frida, and Hargrove, so now it was Milton, Alberna, and Ilay's turn. With the newbie Reyn, that made five, and the room grew quite lively.
After chatting a bit, everyone dispersed to rest—patrol was late at night.
But not even half an hour passed before a panting law enforcer burst into the room and handed Pollock a letter.
Pollock opened it, skimmed it, and his face changed instantly.
"Looks like we'll have work tonight," he announced gravely to the others.