The First Magic World War

Chapter 35 34. Liemar Detective Agency (Requesting more monthly tickets again)

The youth with the cross-shaped scar on his face revealed a set of pearly white teeth and smiled slightly, saying, "We have been watching you for a while. However, I thought it would be more merciful to act after you withdrew your bank savings, since that is your last wish before death."

"Even though I had a savings book from the joint savings bank, the password was unknown, and it would have been rather troublesome to withdraw the money, so I agreed to your request," Edison said.

Charles hadn't expected that he had already been under surveillance and had no intention of using his newly tailored alchemy wand. In close combat, he was but a weakling, so without hesitation, he drew his Magnum Hand Shuttle and, aiming at the speaking youth, emptied the bullets.

The youth with the cross-shaped scar on his face faced the muzzle with composure, drawing his rapier. With a light flick, he thrust out over ten times in a flash, and on the ground, cling-clang, fell more than ten bullets, each split into two halves – his swordsmanship was supernatural.

The limits of an ordinary person's body made such high-speed swordplay impossible.

Charles drew a sharp breath and asked, "A Transcendent?"

At the other end of the long street, a cold voice came through, "Wells is a diviner. His unique skill is divining the trajectory of bullets, as you've seen, very effective."

Charles grabbed the Vampiric Hand Axe hidden up his sleeve and asked, "A diviner? You relied purely on spirituality to find me?"

The youth with the cross-shaped scar on his face said, "That's right, so don't even think about running away. No matter where you flee, you can't escape my Divination."

Charles tossed aside the now empty Magnum Hand Shuttle and asked, "Who are you? Why are you after me?"

Wells, his rapier pointed forward, replied, "We're from the Liemar Detective Agency. Our client comes from Kilmainham Prison, an official request for investigative assistance."

"The orders from Kilmainham Prison were, regardless of life or death, better dead."

Charles had always felt that the law enforcement teams of the Fars Empire were not very efficient, but he had not expected that in this world of special abilities, there was the option of Transcendent Detectives.

The president of Liemar Detective Agency, Aubrey Barrington Atwood, was also one of the seven great detectives of the Empire, ranking even above the Elven Detective Vini Yarsaenu. The scale of the Liemar Detective Agency was more than ten times larger than that of the Cat Detective Agency, employing over a hundred detectives, among whom were more than ten Transcendents, two to three hundred detective assistants, a substantial number of apprentice detectives, as well as various clerical staff, covering a very wide range of business.

Facing a pursuer who could divine the future, Charles was very troubled. He didn't attempt to bribe them; the two Liemar Detective Agency detectives had already made it clear they intended to seize his cash, so to try such a method would be quite naive.

In an instant, Charles calmed down and without hesitation unleashed his Insight, a holographic view enveloping the entire street. The Vampiric Hand Axe flew out, slashing toward the other detective.

The Vampiric Hand Axe struck its target, emitting a dull sound. A ferocious flame erupted from the detective named Edison, forming a whirlwind of fire. The Vampiric Hand Axe sliced into the flames but could not break through the fiery whirlwind to harm the detective.

Edison's face twisted into a cruel smile as he said, "I am from the Liemar Detective Agency's Flame Dragon Cavalry. Your petty tricks can't break through my special ability." Without any visible movement on his part, a torrent of flame swept the Vampiric Hand Axe aside.

The Vampiric Hand Axe fell to the ground, still carrying momentum, it bounced forcefully and shot towards Wells for several dozen steps before its energy faded and it fell by the side of the street.

Charles's heart steadied a bit, but on his face, he deliberately showed panic as he yelled, "A Third Order Transcendent!"

The "Fighting Spirit" that Edison used was a knight's most prized ability!

In the Old Continent, it was said that being a knight was the most accessible Transcendent path and the easiest to achieve. The threshold was so low that even a commoner could have a chance to obtain a secret technique for cultivating fighting spirit.

In the Fars Empire, Sheffield University had a complete knight training system. As long as one got into the National Academy, one could learn the breathing method.

The most excellent students would condense a seed of strength, awaken the primal life force within themselves, break free from their cocoons, and upon acquiring fighting spirit, they would be granted the title of Knight.

Even if one failed to enter the National Academy, many community organizations across the Old Continent also taught some breathing methods. For instance, the Liemar Detective Agency was known for practicing the Flame Dragon's Breath Breathing Method, which awakened fighting spirit, allowing one to call oneself a Flame Dragon Cavalry.

Charles, unable to awaken his fighting spirit at the National Academy, gave up this practice entirely after entering university. However, he still had a firm grasp of many common concepts.

From Addison's performance, he could tell that the other's fighting spirit was roughly third level, which in the hierarchy of Transcendents, made him a Third Order Transcendent.

Wells, holding his rapier, took a big step forward and said with a hearty laugh, "Choose me as your opponent, then! I'm a Diviner who isn't good at fighting, and my strength is only at the Second Order."

From the information he had, Charles supposed to be a civil servant with no practical combat experience and at most a First Rank Transcendent. The Bloody Glory he was proficient in shared similarities with fighting spirit in manner of combat, but it was widely known for being less powerful.

The two detectives from the Liemar Detective Agency approached the fight with a game-like attitude, not taking it very seriously, playing with Charles as a cat would with a mouse, even showing a touch of laziness.

Charles silently calculated and when Wells stepped into a certain range, he said in a voice only he could hear, "Whether it's from the East or the West, whether it's from mythology or fantasy, there has never been any form of Divination that doesn't have a price, and no Divination is omniscient and omnipotent."

The Vampiric Hand Axe, which had fallen to the ground, flew up gracefully like an agile bird, striking Wells in the neck from an unusual angle.

Under the manipulation of Blood Flame Qi, this bloodsucking weapon voraciously devoured the detective's vitality and life force. Wells tried several times to pull the hand axe from his neck, but each time his hand lifted halfway, it fell back powerlessly.

In just a few dozen breaths, his robust vitality was completely consumed by the Vampiric Hand Axe, and his body became like a withered leaf in the autumn wind, instantly decrepit, his once young and strong body withering away like an elderly man in his twilight years.

Addison's face was filled with horror, and facing such an unexpected turn of events, he missed the fleeting chance to rush in and save his teammate.

Next, he made a decision that even Charles found surprising. His body erupted with flames as he unleashed his fighting spirit, fleeing as fast as he could.

Charles was a university student and had completed a comprehensive and professional education in Extraordinary Knowledge at Sheffield University. When the two detectives from the Liemar Detective Agency made their move, he spotted their weaknesses and designed his tactics accordingly.

The two detectives from the Liemar Detective Agency hadn't even made it into the National Academy; it was only in the detective agency that they had the chance to learn breathing methods. Although they were not lacking in strength and had rich combat experience, their scholarship was significantly inferior—they had not seen through Charles's true abilities.

Addison was aware of Bloody Glory but knew little about its thirteen Unique Skills. The ability to manipulate weapons from a distance was considered a Special Ability associated with a High-Level Transcendent in his understanding.

Especially since Charles had seized the initiative, killing Wells as soon as he made his move, the appearance of the bloodsucking weapon causing death was very much in the air of a "villainous" Demon King, leading Detective Addison to misjudge his strength and choosing the "smart" approach—to escape alone.

Although Addison was a salaried detective of the official agency, he earned a mere forty-two Fu Er a week, barely higher than a First Order clerk by less than one Fu Er. With so little income, why would he risk his life?