The two of them worked for a long time, skinning a total of seven scaled Dragon Beast hides and severing seven ferocious Dragon Beast heads.
Thanks to Ale, quite a few of the hides had large holes burned through them, so their value would likely take a hit.
After learning these Dragon Beasts had been transformed from Dragon Eggs, Colin finally understood why the books said Evil Dragons laid eggs frequently, yet the number of True Dragons remained so low. It was because this kind of transformation ritual existed.
Colin turned back for a closer look at the skin of the two burly Samurai.
The scales growing on their bodies were very different from the Dragon Descendant he had seen before. Aside from being of various sizes, many of the scales also looked particularly "new."
"We’re skinning these too, right?" Kase asked, walking over with his knife in hand.
"I wouldn’t do that if I were you," Yuri interjected from the side. "The scales on these Dragon Blood Warriors haven’t hardened yet. Skinning them would be useless for anything besides satisfying some pervert’s grotesque hobby."
Hearing this, Kase put away his skinning knife.
He looked at the corpses on the ground and asked curiously, "How did these guys end up like this?"
"They’re a type of Giant Dragon Fanatic, though one of the more civilized kinds," Yuri replied. "At least the scales on their bodies are the masterwork of their Giant Dragon masters infusing them with Power. There are many other Giant Dragon Fanatics who search everywhere for the corpses of Dragon Species, then sew the pieces they find onto themselves."
"A bunch of guys who want to get stronger by using dragon scales? Sounds like a bunch of lazy cowards looking for a shortcut," Kase said with a frown.
Hearing this, Colin was reminded of the nauseating room next door.
When it came to being disgusting, these Evil Dragon Cultists and Evil Demon Cultists were truly on the same level.
As he was thinking this, Colin asked, "Speaking of which, does this kind of thing happen in Thousand Masts City’s underbelly as well?"
"Who knows? After all, Thousand Masts City has yet to pass an ordinance banning Devil worship. As long as you’re not stealing or kidnapping, worshiping Devils in Thousand Masts City technically isn’t a crime."
Yuri sneered. "The first City Lord of Thousand Masts City once said, ’The more exquisite the pattern, the more complex it becomes. Politics and faith should be the same.’ Every succeeding City Lord has treated this as a guiding principle. I’d wager the situation in that city’s shadows is far more complicated than what you see on the surface."
"If Devil Worshipers really did appear, we wouldn’t just stand by and do nothing, would we?"
"Most Paladins wouldn’t, at least. I ended up spending ten years in prison precisely because I wiped out a minor family that worshiped Devils."
Kase asked in astonishment, "Isn’t that a good thing? Did no one else step in to help you?"
"The law is the law. Wiping out a gang involved in kidnapping and human trafficking isn’t the same as dealing with a noble family that is, on the surface, legitimate," Yuri said with a shrug. "Since I broke the law, I had to pay the price. And besides, compared to the crime I committed, ten years was a short sentence."
"I’m sure you only made that decision because you had no other choice," Colin said earnestly. "At the very least, you successfully prevented many cult sacrifices that might have happened otherwise."
Yuri, however, gave him a strange look. "Are you really a native of Thousand Masts City? Anyone else would’ve called me ’a dictator’s dog’ long ago. Back then, many people thought I’d taken a bounty from some powerful figure to help them eliminate their rivals."
"I guess I just see things differently," Colin said with a shrug.
He then asked, somewhat curiously, "Speaking of which, if that thug had been tight-lipped, would you have actually tortured him?"
"Of course. What kind of question is that?" Yuri said. "But I would have turned myself in afterward to accept the punishment I deserved."
Hearing this, the questions that had been nagging at him recently were finally answered.
’Yuri claimed to be Edwin’s colleague, but... although he was clearly seasoned and efficient, and Colin could tell he was a strong fighter, his power level didn’t quite qualify him for the title of "Legendary." ’
’That explained everything.’
"So, when do you plan to move to the Inner City?" Colin asked, looking at Kase.
Kase spoke quietly. "I’ll ask Bob about it later. Maybe we’ll find a place to live in the Dock District."
After hearing the previous conversation, the Half-Orc stopped arguing.
’Who knew if there were Cultists "procuring goods" from the slums in Thousand Masts City right now? Those guys probably wouldn’t dare mess with Adventurers, but it was still better to be on guard.’
"Alright, the idle chatter is over."
Once they had finished talking, Yuri clapped his hands and laid out the plan. "The victims here need professional help. We’ll take them back to the hideout first. We can get them properly settled after reinforcements arrive."
"As for this business with the Dragon Worship Cult and the Devils, I’ll report it up the chain. I’m also going to head north and investigate what’s really going on."
"For you, this matter is more or less concluded. Collect your payment from the person who sent you here. As for the spoils of war, they’re all yours."
Colin breathed a sigh of relief. Beside him, Kase stretched, his joints letting out a series of loud CRACKS.
’This whole mess is finally over.’
The group then freed the tortured refugees. To the very end, their expressions remained numb and vacant. It was impossible to know what these poor souls had endured.
By the time they made it all the way back to the hideout, it was nearly dawn.
After a hasty meal, Yuri sent the others to bed. He stayed awake to watch over the tortured refugees and the captured thug.
In the days that followed, they no longer had to worry about exposing their location and alerting the Cultists, so they were able to go above ground to buy some fresh food.
「About four days later.」
Colin and the others, now in their gear, stood by the commercial docks, peering upstream through a thin mist.
They had deliberately found a less crowded spot to wait.
The mist, combined with the cold wind from the winter disaster, made it feel bitterly cold and thoroughly unpleasant.
After Yuri reported on the mission, Morel sent orders for Colin and the others to continue waiting in Three Bays City. In a few days, a merchant ship would arrive to pick them up and take them by water to the White Tower.
"Is that ship coming today? Where’s Yuri?" Kase asked.
"The ship’s definitely arriving today. The worst that can happen is we wait until the afternoon," Colin whispered, leaning closer to Kase. "He went to meet with the people from Five-Stringed. He still has to make arrangements for the kidnapped refugees later."
Colin stood rubbing his hands together.
He glanced at Ale, who was standing nearby. Although her face was as expressionless as ever, he could tell her mind was elsewhere.
In the end, Colin couldn’t resist asking, "How are things with the Supreme Forest? Did you inform the Elves there?"
"The message certainly got through. They already knew about the Dragon Worship Cult’s activities; they just hadn’t told me," Ale said.
Kase cut in, "Then why did you come here? Are you going back to the Supreme Forest after this?"
Seeing her hesitate, Colin added, "Of course, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to."