The aroma of roasted meat filled their nostrils, chasing away the damp chill from their bodies.
Kase placed several plates of food in front of his companions. The plates held roasted rabbit, bread, and vegetarian fare like roasted chestnuts and mushrooms.
Colin drew his Dagger, sliced off a piece of bread, then cut a piece of rabbit leg and placed it on the bread to eat.
"This whole time has been such a pain," he complained again. "At least we get to come back to some roasted meat. It keeps my spirits from getting too low."
Kase let out a couple of smug laughs and began to tackle the food in front of him.
Colin glanced at Kase’s triumphant expression and sighed as he ate.
After the first day, Yuri had started to take their training a bit more seriously.
During the first week, Yuri led Colin and the others through all sorts of counter-surveillance training.
For example, they learned how to use street corners to check for tails and how to quickly shake them off if spotted. There were also little tricks for moving stealthily, like using crowds or other objects for cover.
One special topic was how to deal with being tailed by invisible creatures.
Among Devils and Demons, some types can remain invisible for long periods.
And even some very low-level Evil Demons could turn invisible to infiltrate various environments on reconnaissance missions.
Besides relying on the sulfurous smell that Evil Demons often carried, a more common method was to get near a foggy area. By observing the movement of the mist, one could sense if there were any flying, invisible creatures in the air.
Another tactic, upon noticing something amiss, was to head for a crowded place.
That way, any invisible Evil Demons walking on the ground wouldn’t be able to push through the crowd to continue their pursuit.
Besides all this, Yuri also taught them a great deal about Cultists.
After learning all this, Colin realized that their last encounter with the Cultists of the King of Gnolls had gone far too smoothly.
It had led him to believe that dealing with Cultists was always like that: spot something strange, throw out some bait, then casually slaughter them all.
In reality, this kind of work was a complete mess that devoured time.
There were no brilliant twists like in a mystery novel, and certainly no mythic coincidences. It was just long, tedious investigation.
Thinking back, Colin felt that their little group must have had a death wish back then, charging in without even knowing the full scale of the Cult.
If anything had gone wrong, they would have ended up as sacrifices for the Cultists.
Now, however, their methods for investigating the Cult in the city were much more systematic.
They divided the city’s streets and districts into sections to be investigated sequentially. Then, they held daily meetings to consolidate and analyze the intelligence they’d gathered, gradually uncovering the truth from the surface level down.
While on the streets, they would also pay attention to their surroundings and formulate counter-plans for being followed or ambushed, ensuring they wouldn’t fall into danger.
Of course, they never actually had to use those plans.
All things considered, Colin and the others could now be considered competent at urban reconnaissance. But honestly, constantly being on guard for ambushes while walking down the street was unpleasant, and it left them exhausted at the end of each day.
After they proved themselves capable, Yuri started operating separately from them.
What Colin had just said to Kase was no exaggeration. Yuri’s ability to detect Devils and Cultists was far superior to theirs.
It was probably some special Paladin ability. He could walk down the street and tell at a glance who had blood on their hands, who was a habitual pickpocket, and who was an innocent just living their life. It was like he was wearing some kind of Mind-Reading Glasses.
After the group finished dinner, cleaned the plates, and rested for a while, the wooden door creaked open.
Yuri walked in, holding a paper bag.
He placed the paper bag on the table, then took out the city map from before.
"Alright, gentlemen. Our work is done. Tonight is the final phase."
Yuri spread the map on the table, pointing first to a street and then to a commercial pier where ships docked to unload cargo.
He got straight to the point. "So far, we have two suspected Cultist gathering spots: Warehouse Number Two at the commercial docks, and Mud Alley."
That’s right, the alleys Colin had asked about on the first day didn’t have much to do with the Cult.
Black Cat Alley was home to a local gang.
They were the local Black Cat Gang. The reason the tavern owner had recommended Colin go looking there was because the Black Cat Gang had been pushed to the brink by the Fish Eye Gang, which was controlled by the Cultists.
Their smuggling business, the gang’s livelihood, had been snatched away, and several of their lieutenants had been cleanly eliminated.
As for Herring Alley, which the old fisherman had been so secretive about...
Refugees had indeed gone missing there, but the alley itself was right on the edge of the docks. The people who disappeared were probably just some drunks who fell into the river and were swept away.
"To be specific, our opponents are likely Devils from the First Floor of Hell—followers of Duke Avernus," Yuri continued. "In terms of strength, they aren’t too powerful. You should be able to handle them easily."
"So for the ’final phase,’ we should probably split up and hit both places at the same time," Colin asked.
Since the Devil Cultists had two strongholds, they likely had some way of communicating quickly. Hitting them simultaneously was the safest bet.
"You’ve got a good memory," Yuri said with a smile, stroking his beard. "Correct. I’ll go to the larger Dock District, and you’ll go to Mud Alley."
"Alright then. When do we move?"
"Tonight."
The answer didn’t surprise Colin too much.
After spending this much time with him, he had grown used to the Paladin of Vengeance’s swift and decisive nature.
Besides, they hadn’t used any Spell Slots today, so they were in perfect condition for a surprise attack.
"The time is set for midnight, on the third toll of the bell."
With that said, Yuri walked to a corner and began to pull out some rations for his own dinner.
He also started fiddling with his gear. It looked like he was getting serious.
The others immediately looked to Colin, their expressions silently asking, "What now?"
Colin felt that it had become a habit for the team to listen to him ramble a bit before a fight. He also felt that it would be a bit strange not to say a few words before battle.
He spoke up. "First, we’re dealing with a cult of Duke Avernus. Most of his followers are armed cultists, not particularly skilled at infiltration."
Kase snorted like a horse and said, "So you’re saying we spent two weeks in this city—and could have spent a month if we were unlucky—just to root out an enemy that’s ’not particularly skilled at infiltration,’ is that right?"