One of the men noticed Ren's presence. He turned his head, raised his lantern, and illuminated Ren's face with its light. His two companions also stared intently.
"Excuse me, are there any casualties? And did you see the perpetrator?" Ren paused for a moment. The three exchanged glances before one of them—a man wearing a bowler hat with neatly tied long black hair—stepped forward.
"I didn't see him," he replied. "But there was an old woman who witnessed the incident." He pointed behind him.
In front of the blue tent, there were three people inside: an old woman, an injured man, and a resident who was trying to stop the bleeding from the stab wound in the victim's stomach.
The old woman had indeed seen the perpetrator, saying that a man dressed in a black robe with a cloth covering part of his face had suddenly stabbed the victim.
She also witnessed several merchants being taken away, one of whom was her son.
An hour earlier...
The old woman's loud screams broke the quiet afternoon atmosphere. She hoped someone would hear her and rescue the hostages before it was too late.
Realising that their actions had been exposed, and with the sun about to set, the group in robes quickly left the square, taking several hostages with them, including Mei Actitus.
Elsewhere, not far from the square, two men were about to open the door to their house after returning from the bar. Half drunk, they were surprised to see a group of men in robes walking calmly past their house.
The two men froze. Their eyes widened. They saw drops of blood on the road to their right, dripping slowly but surely, and realised that the blood came from the hands of the hostages, most severely the woman walking alongside Mei Actitus.
They imagined what the group had done to the hostages, who had been tied up one by one. Without thinking twice, one of the men immediately pulled a pistol from his coat pocket and aimed it at the head of a cloaked man nearby.
However, his target seemed to already know his intention. He turned quickly, staring at the shooter with a cynical smile, before leaping towards him.
Silence—
With one movement. The man suddenly felt a cold stab on the left side of his neck. His body froze, his mind went blank, and fresh blood flowed down from his suit collar, dripping onto the stones and forming a small pool on the ground.
The shock and pain caused him to lose control, his finger reflexively pulling the trigger.
Bang!
The man in the cloak reflexively dodged, taking two steps back, and the sound of breaking glass followed. The street lamp behind him exploded, sparks scattering everywhere and piercing his back.
"Aarrgh!" the man screamed before the gun slipped from his grasp.
His friend who saw this was shocked. He grabbed the fallen gun, intending to retaliate. But before he could fire, a shout from behind ordered him to stop immediately.
The man turned around, and the group of people in robes immediately fled when they saw several people approaching. He obeyed the residents' orders to stop, choosing to save his friend who was lying beneath him.
–––
Ren glanced at the blue tent. "An old woman, huh? Alright, thank you for the information, sir." After saying that, he turned and walked towards Zavi.
He was still watching his younger sister kneel with both hands covering her face, guilt in his mind.
"How long are you going to stay like this?" he asked. "Let's go, I've found the old witness," he said coldly.
Zavi turned his head, and the two exchanged glances. Two seconds later, he finally stood up. Ren nodded, signalling for him to follow immediately.
The two walked towards the blue tent to meet the old woman who knew about or had witnessed the riots in the town square.
Next to the blue tent were crushed fruits and two damaged carts. Ren glanced at them before pushing the tent open and entering, followed by Zavi behind him.
An old woman sat on a simple wooden chair. On the bed next to her lay a man drenched in cold sweat and grimacing in pain.
Another turned, stood up to greet them, and asked why they had come.
"Are you the family of this victim?" she asked, pointing to the man lying weakly.
Ren shook his head and continued walking towards the old woman on the left.
"Sorry to bother you," he said softly. "Did you see who caused this damage?" he asked hopefully, staring intently.
The old woman stared back at Ren before saying softly, "Yes, I saw them... Many people, not just one. About six people, each wearing black robes and with part of their faces covered."
"Ugh, those people again," he thought to himself. "Thank you for the information," whispered Ren. He signalled to his brother to follow him immediately.
The two of them left the tent. Meanwhile, the man who had previously spoken to Ren looked confused and approached the old woman.
"Is he a relative of yours, ma'am?" he asked in surprise.
The old woman said nothing, and the atmosphere inside the tent suddenly became tense, but it quickly subsided when three residents entered the tent. The tent curtain closed, then reopened a few seconds later when two more people entered with worried expressions on their faces.
"This is serious. Get out of here immediately! Take the injured to a safe place, along with this old woman," said one of them in a panicked tone.
"What's going on, Yatsh?" asked one of the three locals who had just entered.
"Don't talk so much, hurry up and take them away!" he said sharply.
They rushed out of the tent without being told what was actually happening. The old woman stood there confused, and in the end, one of the villagers took her away from the field as quickly as possible.
The crowd of townspeople returned to their homes, urging their families to flee and seek shelter.
Earlier, when Ren and Zavi were still in the tent, a male officer who was guarding the field told them that there would be a big explosion there.
The residents immediately believed him because the officer was very friendly and trustworthy, having served for more than eight years.
Those who lived near the village square rushed out of their homes, carrying useful and important items, with lanterns lighting the streets.
Meanwhile, the two had already run dozens of metres from the square, heading towards the Forgenate district, looking for a group of people in robes.