The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'-Chapter 530 - ’Survival Of The Fittest’: Evidence Hunting

Chapter 530: Chapter 530 - ’Survival Of The Fittest’: Evidence Hunting

Eventually the tangent of conversations ran their course. Including a full detailed description of what happened with the Greater Colonizer and Arbiter. Though Sevra was not sure that getting back on track would last long.

"The Shadow Whisker Sorority has asked me to consider switching my focus to tracking Anper down, since I am not having luck on my own. But I am not sure I could work with him."

"Probably not, he sees little value in the efforts of women. Harming family directly is beyond him, but I have no doubt he would try to kill you if given the opportunity. Based on what you told Qat you did to him."

"...What did you do to him?"

All of the goodwill she felt she had just built with the two young boys evaporated. Grimacing at the heiress, the scout turned back to Ajoreal and tried to think of how to describe that evening.

"Just... snuck into his study and emasculated him a little. Because I’m... stronger than him. I don’t think he will kill me."

"No, probably not."

"Then why’d you say that?"

"Those two have the potential to trust me too much. I was teaching them they shouldn’t rely fully on my opinion, should incorporate their own after forming it, and most of all... that knee-jerk reactions are something to be very aware of in yourself."

Halfway through, Elua er Goltbred clearly started looking intensely at Kaland er Yecine, making the boy rub the back of his neck. He felt it would be nice if someday there was a whole hour spent around his sister-in-law in which he wasn’t slightly criticized or shown up in some way. The latter was probably impossible, but the former could realistically come!

"For instance... testing suspected individuals, eliminating confirmed threats. It’s not the most unreasonable first step when you have no infrastructure to work with you. The problem is that he’s working alone when he didn’t have to - and his only tool is lethal force."

"I’m surprised you’d defend his choices at all."

"Is that what it sounded like I was doing?"

The ancient cultivator’s tone carried only ’apathy’ behind it. Whatever complicated feelings existed around the man’s existence, fondness was not among them. But she’d also spent millennia coexisting with people whose methods she found distasteful when their goals aligned. Plenty enough to recognize when an action had merit and when a plan should be retooled.

"If he had the support of people who could capture the members he found, you’d have intelligence sources right now instead of corpses. At least as good as any cultist ever is for that. Generally they will kill themselves, mislead you, and do everything they can to let information die with them anyway. He’s winning battles this way, but losing the war because he is treating it like one."

Flourishing her hand, illusory representations of all the most important documents appeared magnified in the air over the table. The missing person reports and map took the most prominent central position among them. Circles and dots glowing in new colors as lines, routes, and estimated travel paths were layered over with a different ’blueprint’. The young woman hadn’t been idle while carrying on with the others.

"Considering you mentioned he executed a relatively small handful of people compared to numbers present on this map, and that most of those weren’t near these locations... I take it something other than my father-in-law is what ultimately brought you here."

There was a pattern there and Zyris was quick to see it with how things had been modified for display. She had familiarity with her home region’s casualty rates in post Descent times - plenty enough to recognize an imbalance in her neighboring region’s numbers. These bits of information were shared with her husband, the Talcres Patriarch, in order to facilitate trade and general safety of the continental population.

"In our territory, we expect to lose perhaps three or four cultivators a year to accidents. These clusters here - that’s well above normal numbers for those regions. And that document... says several of the missing were high Echelon Enchanters who only went missing recently."

"Cultivators dying to beasts or falls or bad decisions... where I grew up, it happened. But you always found something even in rural areas. A pack, a weapon, tracks leading somewhere. Signs of struggle. For there to be nothing at all..."

Rezzue knew what it was like, from family stories, to search for missing persons. Half the time, the cultivator had just decided to swing a sword at a tree in the deep woods without telling anyone. The rest, they were often just camping in a strange spot and got turned around while exploring, taking extra days to get back - and sending family or Guilds into a panic.

"You’re right. Genuine deaths at the end of these reports are exceptionally rare. At these numbers and length of missing time, it would not be out of the question to say someone is taking them prisoner. With a human intelligence that can cover tracks and a strength that subdues the strong."

Calling an Enchanter ’strong’ was a bit of a stretch to Elua, who had once been close to the peak of cultivation. But they were indeed above a mortal by every metric - describing them as capable of going toe-to-toe in terms of ’vitality’ and fighting capability to most any beast on the continent would not sound strange to anyone in this era.

Of course, the ancient cultivator was certain that didn’t count some of the unnatural creatures in places like this Exclave. The lizard-birds in particularly were something that she thought could be responsible for those kinds of death statistics. Not without *any* sightings at all, however. She opened her mouth again to confirm Sevra’s intentions for arriving. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"You believe this is related to the reincarnator you seek and that is why you are here to ask me if I can help."

"I believe it’s the most likely explanation. But I can’t prove it - and I don’t know what we’re actually dealing with other than something with the potential of an inhuman monster behind their rise through the realms."

"Ah. I see why you thought it was me, then. Thank you for the compliment~"

"You... don’t look as happy as that sounded."

"Wonderful read on my emotions, little fish scale. Is there someone you actually know that would *like* to be called inhuman?"

The Aquatic Physique wielder flushed at the nickname. Kaland had only been called it once before then and the brunette had *promised* she’d never do it again! She really was trying to break all the trust she’d built up today, it seemed!

"Er... uh... no."

"That’s because the ones that do are back in the past of this world where they belong. Now, excuse me for a minute. Please, do not mind, I just need to retrieve a device."

Having already developed a few iterations of most likely routes based on the time of incidents and locations, she felt that the data they’d gathered was promising. Coming up with what seemed to be clear evidence that the danger was traveling while avoiding major settlements, never using the rails, and always choosing areas with geological formations that tended to allow the presence of ’nearby’ caverns.

At this point, she felt she could suggest that they thoroughly check all the large cavern systems around the areas of the missing for more clues. The only problem was that it didn’t particularly help her narrow down where the danger would go next - or who it could be... or how many. It was clearly distinct from Anper’s more theatrical trail of ’justice’.

’There are hundreds of places they or their group could pick next.’

It did seem like they avoided doubling back. Avoided any area too close to the most recent one. But there was no telling when that could change. She could still provide her estimates and probability maps for the forces of the continent to make use of. It just meant retrieving the printing device from the library.

Pausing at the doorway to a veranda that was attached to the kitchen area, she turned her neck back and decided that the others really weren’t so necessary for the conversation anymore.

"Actually, everyone is dismissed from the table. Enjoy exploring or time with each other. Use the training facilities you know about - but Zyris, do not approach the new moat yet without me. Sevra come with me. We are going upstairs to finish this talk."

"No. There are no stairs out there."

"Flying up is quicker than stair steps and, statistically, is less likely to result in falling down a flight of stairs."

"I’ve never fallen down-"

Given a tilted head look from afar with mint eyes, the scout grumbled then revised her statement.

"You pushing me to test those mundane safety sigils does not count as me falling down them! Besides, you’re only making my point better. You worked hard to make sure people that don’t deserve it will not be harmed in your mansion, let me-"

"We could have been to the library by now. You make everything so... ugh."

The illusion bubbled away at the doorway as Elua grabbed Sevra’s cloak collar and began dragging the scout away. Like a well trained young cat, the Shadow Whisker Sorority member simply went limp and let it happen. To the looks of sympathy, pity, and judgment from four others in the room.

Madrigal... didn’t actually care. He was there when she was first trained. Nothing new to see.