Chapter 80 - The Murders....

The first man had a scar across his face as if he had fought with someone a few days ago. That man gave off a feeling that he was a local criminal. But at this moment, he sighed and had a trace of sympathy in his eyes. "I didn't think the murderer would end up killing another child in a single night. The authorities have recovered three bodies tonight."

The youth in front of the man with the scar shook his head. "Don't you think the murders have increased lately? The first time something like this had happened, it had created havoc! Women had stopped sending their children to schools for fear of encountering the madman!"

The man with the scar scoffed. "If I had a kid, I would also behave the same. After all, why would anyone want their kid to go outside with a crazy murder wandering about?"

They were both silent as Zion's frown deepened. To say that he wasn't curious would be a false statement. He was so interested that he was on the verge of getting up from his seat and asking those youths about this murder.

Lia observed her human servant's expressions that darted toward the men who gossipped about the murder and sighed. She got up and went toward those men and sat on the third seat. In front of her were a round table and two men who stared at her in surprise. She coughed awkwardly and said, "Murder of a child? What were you talking about? I apologise that I overheard your words, but I'm curious. Is something happening in this village?"

The men saw that this girl belonged to the Dhampir race, and a trace of sympathy flashed in their eyes again. They had all heard about what had happened to the Vanne Kingdom, so they especially thought that the woman in front of them was pitiful. So they just exchanged glances and decided to tell her everything. "It all started about a year ago. A child's dead body was found at the bank of the Yala River a few miles away from here. It seemed like the dead body came with the flow of water. No one knew whose body it was, but the condition of that child was terrible. There were traces of injuries on the child's chest as if someone had brutally murdered the little one by slashing a sword against the kid."

"Did you forget about the neck?" The youth asked all of a sudden.

The scarred man thought for a while and nodded. "Yes. It seemed like the kid was also strangled to death and then was slashed with a sword against his chest. It was crazy, and the kid's parents belonged to the capital city of this kingdom. They cried so much, and went to higher-ups, even approaching the Queen to make an appeal. Sadly, the murderer left no traces behind and vanished in thin air for a few days. The case closed with no leads, and the court officials decided to wait and see."

"As a result…." The youth spoke when he saw the scarred man pausing. "Another child was murdered, and this time, the intensity of sword injury doubled. Although the child didn't have a neck injury, it seemed that he was slashed to death! His body was also found in the same river. And one after another, murders continued to occur four times a month. People started to call that place a river of death."

Lia frowned, and Zion opened his mouth as if to ask something, but closed it again. He was a human, and he didn't have the authority to speak anything. But it seemed Lia was also thinking the same thing as him. "Then why did you say there was an increase in murder? And it has already been a year. They haven't caught the murderer yet?"

"Well…." The two men exchanged glances and sighed in sync. "Since two months ago, the murderer seemed to be on a killing spree. He started killing eight children a week!"

The youth said again, "The reason why we were surprised today was that it was already the ninth case this week. None of us expected his killings to increase all of a sudden."

Just when they were discussing this, a drum sounded from outside. Almost everyone stopped what they were doing and instantly rushed there. Lia and Zion glanced at each other and followed them.

There was a man with a drum hanging on his neck. The elf had white hair that seemed similar to others. When he saw that everyone had appeared, he expressionlessly opened his mouth and said, "The village chief has left a message and a warning. Since the children's murders have increased, the authority has decided to put up a lockdown during nights. No child is allowed to wander about alone. If a child is found alone, his parents will be punished. If anyone other than the kid is found, they will be locked up in the cell for three months."

After saying that, he beat the drum three times before repeating the message again. Then he walked away expressionlessly with a row of elf soldiers behind him. They were all wearing dark green robes with sleeves fluttering in the wind as they carried swords on their waists.

At the same time, Zion grabbed the princess by her hand and brought her to a secluded place. He said with a serious expression on his face, "Go to the village chief and tell him that you want to solve this case."

"Why would I do that?" Even though Lia was interested in the situation here, she didn't want to invest her energy into something that wasn't connected to her. She didn't even stay behind to help her father. Why should she even help the elves whom she didn't like? She had a reason to hate them, and she didn't want to think about it. So she took a deep breath and glanced at her human servant coldly. "I won't go. You have to practice sword fighting skills."

Just as she was about to walk away, she heard Zion's voice again that made her stop in her tracks. "Are you going to ignore it just like that? Have a conscience, will you? Children are dying, and I have skills to help solve the case, but you're saying we should sit back and see the murder occur." Zion paused and glared at her. "And you say humans are bad. Here, all I can see is how a Dhampir princess is ignoring such a heinous crime. I say humans are better than you."

This was a firm declaration of war against a certain Dhampir princess. His words meant that he, as a human, was higher than Lia just because he had a conscience in his heart and wanted to save the elf children.

Sure enough. Lia turned back and glared at him fiercely.