Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength
Chapter 176 - 175: The Oppressive Hall

Chapter 176: Chapter 175: The Oppressive Hall

Surrounded by the black fog, there was a clearing.

The flames of the lantern flickered in the eyes of the people present.

At this moment, Ronald, who had been silent, sat in a chair, the constantly churning black fog at his back.

In the eyes of the estate guards,

there was a decisive gap in status between their bound selves and him.

There was no need for an elaborate description.

In every corner that was suffused with the surrounding fog,

Ronald was now the devil who decided life and death for everyone present.

—This was an unimaginably impossible scenario before.

Although there were rumors that this man was a "formidable Caster",

no one ever imagined that his spells were so powerful.

The regular twelve-man combat force was easily subdued by just him alone!

In other words,

if Ronald had been hired by the enemies of the Ginkgo Leaf Business Alliance, none of them could have stopped his assault, and the collapse of the exhibition would look like nothing more than him taking a casual stroll here one evening.

From their perspective, even the elite investigators from the bureau would hardly be able to achieve this feat.

It was outrageous!

Among the crowd, there were locals from Berenwich.

But they had never heard of a "formidable Caster" who could be so strong.

After all, among them was Hansen.

He was Everton’s confidant and an official combatant of the Ginkgo Leaf Business Alliance.

To have such a man taken down as well...

Simultaneously, an idea emerged in the minds of the guards.

—Perhaps if Mr. Ronald were a bit older,

—he could become the original controller of his school of thought, right?

With this thought, they were even less inclined to speak.

Most of the guards were merely hired for the job and had never encountered such a situation before.

"..."

"Ronald, release us first!"

At that time, Hansen, who was under control, was most aware of the crisis at hand.

As Everton’s confidant, he didn’t want to remain passive nor did he think it was wise.

So he took the initiative and tried to reason:

"With me here, I can assure you that no one will leave the estate until the matter is clarified, and I can also help you investigate the truth. Moreover, think about it, if the one who murdered Kevin has already run away, your actions are hindering our chances to retrieve the merchandise."

"Be careful!"

"..."

Hearing Hansen’s suggestion, Ronald stood up from his chair without a word.

His gaze briefly swept across the man’s face, then he turned and left the crowd his back, promptly walking into the midst of the black fog.

"..."

Whoosh—

In an exceptionally synchronized manner, everyone turned their gaze to Hansen, and a dozen pairs of eyes stared intently at Everton’s confidant.

Although Ronald hadn’t said anything,

everyone present took it for granted that it was Hansen who had irritated him, which was why Ronald had left the area directly.

In such a tense atmosphere,

even the eyes of the guards began to look dangerous.

"..."

Feeling their gaze, a chill ran down Hansen’s back.

He began to contemplate

whether he should take the risk to try and break free from the bind of the black fog.

Though no one was reacting excessively for the moment, if Ronald didn’t return for too long, it was likely that someone would lose control of their emotions and, risking being stabbed to death, attack him.

Hansen had been through several complex situations.

He understood all too well how irrational humans could be under certain circumstances.

Surrounded by darkness, with not even the possibility of action, the human mind only grew closer to losing control.

At that moment Ronald stepped away, leaving one to wonder if it was time to act.

...

However, the situation didn’t spiral out of control.

Almost a minute and a half later, before the emotions of those present could collapse, Ronald returned.

This time he was different from when he had left; he was dragging a corpse with him.

— Kevin’s corpse.

In the winter chill, the temperature on the outskirts of Greenwich was hardly comfortable.

Even indoors, the body had already lost its final traces of warmth.

Ronald placed the icy corpse onto a chair he had brought over, then clapped his hands together with a smack.

"Alright, let me explain the situation to everyone."

His eyes shifted to Hanson, and Ronald offered him an unkindly smile devoid of warmth before answering the question Hansen had asked earlier:

"First off, it’s highly likely that the perpetrator is still here because my spell detected that Kevin was murdered this morning. Please trust my expertise."

"As for Mr. Kevin..."

Reaching this point, Ronald lifted the corpse’s head so everyone could see the dead man’s face.

It was a visage twisted in agony.

The winter’s cold had frozen the bitterness solid onto Kevin’s remains.

Particularly around the mouth, where congealed blood had stuck to the skin, making Kevin’s face appear all the more terrifying.

Especially since Ronald was now propping the corpse onto the chair.

Under the dim light of the few lamps, the shadow from the collar of the corpse’s clothes flickered dark and light upon the face, the dancing shadows making Kevin look like a devil from Hell about to come back to life.

At the same time,

Ronald’s calm and indifferent voice rose from the side:

"I have already examined Mr. Kevin’s body."

"There are no obvious external injuries; instead, his vital internal organs were directly destroyed by a spell. There’s barely any residue of magical power, but it was likely a type of casting that involved getting close and launching a surprise attack."

At this point, Ronald’s tone briefly paused:

"However, I haven’t been with all of you for long."

"May I ask everyone here to accuse someone whose school of magic fits the current situation?"

...

There was silence for a few seconds, and it was still Hanson who spoke first:

"Ronald, I really suggest that you let everyone go first."

"It’s no use getting worked up now; we should send for Mr. Everton as soon as possible."

Ronald then said:

"The person going to inform Mr. Everton has already left."

"What I want to know right now is who murdered Kevin."

"Of course, I won’t ask you to reveal your most guarded magical knowledge. In fact, just accusing someone else will suffice."

...

After Ronald spoke, there was silence once again.

In that moment, Hanson momentarily ceased his attempts at persuasion.

With Ronald confirming the presence of the perpetrator among them, and having already sent someone to Greenwich to inform Everton, Hanson’s two interjections were met with Ronald’s decisive responses.

The situation was deteriorating.

...

With his mind racing, Hanson weighed the chances of extracting himself from the predicament.

The sharp blade gleaming at his neck, the cold steel touching his clothes, pressing almost against his skin.

The sensation of the cold blade stood right before him.

Unintentionally, Hanson’s back was soaked with cold sweat.

— It was futile.

After all, it was Hanson who had killed Kevin.