The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 1018: Conflict on the Royal Avenue

The status of the Academy of Giant Trees and its involvement in the incident ensured a smooth arrest process.

The defendant, the defendant's lawyer, and even the judge at the trial were all included in the list of suspects and investigated. While the city guard was still searching the jurors, a report came from the police station: the defendant's lawyer had died from a vicious curse while being transported.

They had unexpectedly stumbled upon Midnicht's dark underbelly.

With that, Claire's part in the incident was over; the subsequent developments no longer concerned Lu Li or her. Once the Knightly Order intervened and the sluggish city officials and police chief were swiftly investigated, it was only a matter of time before the entire network of corruption was uprooted.

"It won't be long. They're just a bunch of rats who can't stand the light."

Claire's status meant she didn't have to worry about any pressure from above. As for Lu Li? Those rats should consider themselves lucky he wasn't the one coming after them.

"Let's head back and wait for news."

Claire stretched, unwinding the torn bandages around her arm in a circle. The movement revealed dark red runes pulsating with a strange power before they were once again concealed by the fresh wrappings.

On their way back, they were passing through the Royal Avenue when they found the street cordoned off near an intersection, blocking the way for citizens.

Claire's bandaged hand clenched and then relaxed; the cordon wasn't for them. The entire Royal Avenue had been temporarily shut down.She glanced toward the inner city.

"The Midnight Church? Or is the royal family making an appearance?"

Soon, Claire had her answer from the whispers of the surrounding citizens: the Alliance of Bloodline Families, one of the factions participating in the Tournament of Ten Powers, had arrived in Midnicht.

At the edge of their vision, a long line of caravans slowly approached from the outer city.

Russet-colored horses pulled luxurious carriages engraved with family crests. To the citizens, the purebred, uncontaminated horses were an even greater spectacle than the carriages themselves and the unseen figures within.

Breeding purebred horses was a laborious, impractical, and incredibly expensive endeavor, but it was exactly the kind of thing one would expect from the bloodline families, who considered themselves the true nobility.

Along with the vanguard of knights and the procession of carriages, the citizens' attention was drawn to the figures riding alongside the caravan.

These young nobles carried themselves with an air of arrogant elegance. They were impeccably dressed, with handsome faces. They were likely the members of the Alliance of Bloodline Families who would be competing.

One impressive crest after another rolled past. As the end of the caravan drew near, Claire, who was standing beside Lu Li, suddenly tensed.

At the same moment, Lu Li felt an indescribable wave of nausea wash over him.

"Unleashing a Cursed Title! Attacking an exorcist... how reckless."

The last word hung in the air for an instant before being torn apart by a sudden explosion of movement. Claire became a blur, charging into the caravan as the city guards at the cordon were sent scattering like paper dolls.

Her fist descended, and a blast of wind tore the cloak from a young man, revealing a startled face still twisted with lingering malice.

Boom—

A horse's whinny was cut short as the rider's legs were mangled into an unrecognizable pulp of flesh, splattering across the road, the walls, and the armor of the city guards.

"Who are you!?"

The now-legless young man fell into a bloody smear that looked like a crude painting. Gritting his teeth, he snarled like a cornered beast, preparing to invoke his bloodline curse. Then, he abruptly saw a faintly glowing sapling materialize behind the approaching figure in the black cloak.

"A Lord!"

The young man's menacing posture froze.

More importantly, he recalled Claire's cold cry as she had charged forward.

An exorcist...

"Even if you cast your curse, you'll be the first to die."

Claire whispered coldly, her beast-like pupils fixed on the young man immobilized in a pool of his own blood.

Pure strength, to a certain degree, was nearly invincible, but unfortunately, its advantages and disadvantages were equally glaring.

When faced with rituals, contamination, or curse-type anomalies, that strength was almost no different from an ordinary person's—however, Claire's mother, an alchemist, had made up for her shortcomings.

Yet, once he realized who his enemy was, the young man no longer had any will to resist. His face was pale as he waited, enduring the excruciating pain.

Clip-clop-clip—

A pure-white stallion trotted into the middle of the conflict.

"An exorcist... Lu Li, I presume?"

The composed Alexis Monck looked down at Lu Li from his mount.

"I have long heard of your name. I am Alexis Monck, son of the current head of the Monck family."

The front of the caravan continued to move, but the rear was forced to a halt, and gazes fell upon them. Unlike the uniform "astonishment" and "awe" from the citizens and city guard, these looks were a mixture of mockery, amusement, indifference, and intense curiosity.

Alexis Monck then turned to Claire, recognizing her identity from her display of raw power.

"Daughter of the Dragon Mother... why have you harmed a member of the Monck family?"

"You should ask your family member what he did."

"Saud."

The young man whose legs had been destroyed, his forehead beaded with sweat from the pain, spoke through trembling lips.

"They ruined my business... they left an aura. I didn't know it was Lu Li and the Dragon Mother's daughter."

"It seems this was your mistake..."

Alexis Monck's gaze returned to Lu Li and Claire, his calm eyes sweeping over the fading sapling behind Lu Li and the sprouts pushing up from the cracks in the stone road.

"The Monck family will not shelter criminals. We will punish Saud—"

"You want to take away a human traitor who attacked an exorcist?" Claire cut in bluntly.

Having spent much of her youth around the bloodline families, she knew exactly what they wanted: to preserve the dignity of their lineage.

Any punishment from outside the family was seen as an affront, an insult to their dignity.

But this time was different. On the other side stood Lu Li and Kris's daughter.

After a brief silence, a placid smile appeared on Alexis Monck's face.

"Then how about we hand this matter over to the Knightly Order? I trust they will deliver a fair judgment."

Claire glanced at Lu Li and gave a slight nod.

"Fine."

The knights of the honorable Knightly Order, who had arrived and were awaiting the outcome, were finally able to approach and retrieve Saud, who had passed out from blood loss.

Alexis Monck allowed the Knightly Order to take Saud away, a disgrace to the family, his dark blue eyes remaining fixed on Lu Li.

"Exorcist, we will meet again at the Tournament of March Excellence."

The young nobleman gracefully pulled on his reins and returned to the front to lead his family's caravan forward.

"Foolish families who think themselves so noble," Claire muttered at the departing caravan.

"They're like woodworms, never taking responsibility, only consuming endlessly."

But that thought was steeped in prejudice—the bloodline families were always on the front lines in the fight against anomalies.

Though their pride was indeed unlikeable.

"In their eyes, you're just nouveau riche, an upstart. Funny, isn't it?"

Claire had grown up hearing the legends of Lu Li, and his reputation among the bloodline families was clearly not held in the same reverence as it was among the common citizens.

"I thought the ancient bloodline families would at least have some basic manners and etiquette," Lu Li said, averting his gaze. His eyes drifted down to the street, now coated in a film of blood.

"Alright, those guys aren't all bad," Claire shrugged, following his gaze to the bloody tracks the carriage had left on the road.

"What did you find?"

"The horse was innocent."

"What?"

"Next time, you can attack the culprit directly."

"Got it!"