This Holy Knight is So Despicable!
Chapter 175 - 166: The Abnormal Little Fishing Village

Chapter 175: Chapter 166: The Abnormal Little Fishing Village

"That little fishing village they mentioned?"

"Hegro Fishing Village, a hometown I’ve never met."

Unica didn’t know why Lette hurriedly pulled her over: "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing, just... suddenly curious. When you were very young, that fishing village was gone. How did it disappear?"

Unica pondered for a moment: "My father told me it was a sudden tsunami that swept away the entire fishing village.

Have you seen the terrain of Harbor City?

The area near the sea is lower, and the farther away from the coastline, the higher the terrain.

The terrain of Hegro Fishing Village is even lower than that of the fishing port, so it’s not surprising it was flooded.

After the village disappeared, the survivors of Hegro moved here to settle down.

Back then, Harbor City was just a bustling coastal city for cargo. The nobles of the Empire also liked to vacation here for leisure.

The people of Hegro Fishing Village were originally adept at turning the fresh fish they caught into various delicacies to sell to tourists and outsiders here.

After the village was gone, they simply rebuilt a fishing port here and continued their old business."

Emily chimed in: "So they built this fishing port?"

"Yes, although there were already some families in Harbor City who lived by fishing, they weren’t many.

It was only after the people from the fishing village came that it gradually grew in scale."

"Did they just build it like that? The City Lord didn’t intervene?"

"Of course not, building the fishing port was approved by the City Lord."

Saying this, Unica glanced back towards the City Lord Mansion high above: "For Harbor City, the seaside specialty food of Hegro Fishing Village has become an indispensable feature within the city.

If it were gone just like that, the city’s tourism would suffer greatly.

Moreover, establishing the fishing port would also increase the city’s revenue. It adds an economic pillar that is definitely beneficial for the city’s growth.

Harbor City is a semi-autonomous port, who would refuse to make more money?"

Lette waved his hand: "I’m more interested in the belief part.

That Old John just mentioned, although Hegro Fishing Village didn’t have a religion, it had a belief.

What does this belief refer to?"

Unica looked towards the group of fishermen, her brows furrowing.

"Mr. Wright, you might have been scared by them. That, their belief is rather a combination of certain taboos and nautical knowledge.

For example, in early spring, two-tenths of the fish caught need to be released back.

Or when special atmospheric conditions appear, one shouldn’t go out fishing.

If certain rare sea creatures are caught, it signifies a calamity is imminent, and they need to be swiftly dealt with according to legends to avert disaster.

Additionally, there are some catchy fishing tips that help fishermen quickly find netting spots at sea.

Or ways to find the direction home when lost at sea.

You could say they worship something... but there’s no precise definition.

Yet, to say they have no belief, they seem to have an unspoken faith in something.

So, it’s quite ambiguous."

Emily listened in a daze, but Lette seemed deep in thought.

He could understand Unica’s words.

Because there were plenty of such things in his hometown too.

Like, red sky in morning, sailor’s warning; red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Things like auspicious snow heralding a good harvest — even kids could recite a few lines.

The most typical would be the twenty-four solar terms, which are so miraculous they make one question reality.

But to say this is belief? Probably not...

Yet to say it isn’t belief, you can’t assert that either.

"One last question."

Lette looked earnestly at Unica: "Does your fishing village have the custom of Sea Sacrifice?"

Unica thought seriously for a moment, then clapped her hands.

"Yes! But... it’s not worshiping God....

How to put it, every spring, when the ice begins to thaw, the village elders organize a grand ceremony.

During the first ray of morning sunlight, they send out the first boat to fish, with a specific prayer time it must return by.

Moreover, a boat is sent out every prayer time, a total of nine.

Then, they examine the fish caught by all the boats from one to nine, to judge the fishing game for the next nine months.

How to say it, very strange, but the fortune determined by this ritual is particularly accurate!

If a certain month yields particularly low rewards, or boats fail to return on time, or something ominous is caught.

For that month, they would minimize the number of times villagers go out fishing.

And it’s also very precise!

Sometimes, someone doesn’t listen and secretly goes out fishing during the ominous month, and nothing good comes of it.

All these were what my grandfather used to tell me as bedtime stories when I was little.

Oh right!

During the Spring Festival, they would sacrifice the plumpest fish from each boat.

But who exactly the sacrifice is for, my grandfather didn’t make it clear at the time. I wasn’t that interested, so I didn’t ask."

Lette scratched his head: "Let’s go, back to the precinct!"

"Ah? Now?"

Unica’s intuition was spot-on: "Why, have you discovered something new?"

"I’ve been thinking, continuously thinking, what the conditions target the Murderer’s choice of victims.

Since the initial assumptions were wrong, then we must have overlooked something.

Your words just now made me realize that perhaps our searching direction isn’t quite right.

Age, physical characteristics, height, or even being the first child in the family, none of these are accurate.

I now suspect that the murdered girls all came from that destroyed Hegro Fishing Village?"

At these words, Unica was stunned, while Emily nodded slightly.

"Not impossible since all the deceased so far were from Lower City.

All the people who moved from the fishing village basically made a living in the fishing port and also lived in Lower City.

The only two where the murderer missed his targets.

One is Unica, now it can also be proven, she’s considered a person from Hegro Fishing Village.

And the other is that little girl named Emma Knap.

Her aunt married a noble in Upper City, so she has been living at her aunt’s house in Upper City."

Lette looked at Old John, who was arguing with the sergeant: "I remember that little girl; her cooking was excellent. She even specially came to the grocery store to give some pastries she made by hand once to thank Emily.

I remember her saying, she was late coming back because she went to the fishing port to buy fresh fish, hence encountering the thick fog and being targeted by the Murderer.

I found it strange at the time...

Although fishing involves early departures and late returns, ever since the thick fog appeared, fishing boats would return early.

Moreover, since she was going to buy fresh fish, she should have gone earlier.

Maybe she lingered because of other reasons, which led to her late return.

But she’s a little girl, and I didn’t pay much attention. What if she has a crush on some guy and secretly went on a date?

Thinking about it now, she very likely also hails from Hegro Fishing Village.

She might have met with old acquaintances from the village when buying fish and chatted too long, so she lost track of time, resulting in returning during the thick fog."

Unica also strongly agreed with this theory: "Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Once the thick fog appeared, the quantity of fish in the fishing port sharply decreased. If it weren’t for acquaintances, you might not get your hands on any fish even if you had money.

Emma Knap, right? I’ll check around and figure out her background."

Lette rubbed his temples: "If this is a massacre sacrificial rite targeting Hegro Fishing Village, then perhaps, we need to redefine some things."

"What... what do you mean?"

Unica waved her hands repeatedly: "There was never an evil practice of sacrifice in Hegro Fishing Village!"

"How much do you know about history?"

"Uh... I..."

"And as you said, although Hegro Fishing Village had a low-lying terrain, nothing happened for so many years. How could it suddenly get submerged?

Is it possible, they did something desecrating, which offended something?"

Unica shook her head vigorously: "No, this is all baseless speculation! I’m a detective, I need to speak with facts and evidence!"

"Of course, I also support facts and evidence. I just think since there are so many unusual aspects, there’s definitely an issue with this matter."

Unica pondered for a long time: "I’ll figure out a way, ask around and clarify."

"Please, as soon as possible. We don’t have much time..."

Unica nodded, turning towards Old John.

At this time, matters regarding compensation and apology had already been settled. The chief was leading the officers back, and the fishing port people also withdrew.

Those Flesh Believers who came to proselytize, under Lette’s indicated gaze, turned and headed towards the cargo port.

After greeting the police chief, Lette turned and followed them towards the cargo port with Emily.

As they departed, Unica, under Old John’s lead, headed towards the fishing port, warmly received by the fishermen.

After all, those who escaped from Hegro always harbored a sense of separation in this city.

Having a young elite holding a high position in the police department was naturally the pride of the whole village.

Indeed, she was their reliance and support in later stages!

With such hospitality, Unica would likely find it easier to uncover the secrets of Hegro Fishing Village’s destruction.

Following along the sea embankment road, Lette and Emily soon caught up with the Flesh God Sect believers from before.

Upon seeing Lette’s presence, they bowed in greeting.

"Church Ancestor! We’re sorry, we caused trouble for you."

"Hmm, the willingness to try is a good thing. But next time, don’t be so reckless. Make sure to gather intelligence well before acting.

Understood?"

"Yes! Church Ancestor, we understand!"

"Why did you think of coming to the fishing port to proselytize?"

Facing Lette’s inquiry, one of the believers awkwardly smiled: "It was... an impulsive thought."

"Why, are you lying to your Church Ancestor?"

"Ahem, no, no... actually, it was our Hall Master’s idea to come out and select the next spokesperson.

But given we don’t have many members in the hall, we were told to try and recruit more people.

We walked around Harbor City and couldn’t find many willing to join the sect.

As a last resort, we decided to try the fishing port.

We were getting along just fine among ourselves until I made a careless remark.

’You all have no more fish to catch, rather than starving here, why not join us and work hard together?’

At least by following our Divine Sect, you’d have enough to eat every morning.

Then suddenly they got aggressive!

Saying, we’re asking for their lives by making them change professions! Then a fight broke out..."