Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World
Chapter 470: Soul Search 1

Chapter 470: Soul Search 1

A man in black hurried to the fountain, his dark face revealed under the glow of the firelight from beneath his hood.

This man, named Sean, continued, “If we don’t start such a big fire, the townspeople will soon discover our operation, and then we’ll all be exposed to the world. Is that what you want?”

His tone was sharp and sarcastic.

The woman named Carol turned her face away in disgust, not wanting to look at him. “Baldes, hurry up and finish things here.”

The tall man in black beside her gave a wry smile, then approached the people blindfolded and bound by their hands.

“Lord Somolette!”

He looked at a slightly overweight man facing him, his hair somewhat gray, still wearing his pajamas.

“Respected Lord Somolette, have you made up your mind? Let me explain one more time, if you agree to cooperate with me, I will let you and your family go. Now, can you tell me where the child is hidden?”

Lord Somolette, with his mouth gagged, could not speak, but shook his head to refuse.

Let him and his family go? If that were true, then why did they start this huge fire to divert attention? These people were merely exploiting his last hope.

“Well, that’s a pity!”

Baldes gestured, and a subordinate immediately stabbed a knife into one of Somolette’s family members.

The stabbed person groaned and quickly lost his breath.

The sound of the knife piercing flesh and the groan reached Lord Somolette’s ears. His body trembled, but he showed no other reaction.

“Will you cooperate with us now?”

He shook his head.

Another family member was killed.

“How about now?”

Still shaking his head.

…

In the end, only Lord Somolette was left, trembling and sobbing, his mouth gagged, yet still making a whimpering sound.

Baldes clicked his tongue.

“Lord Somolette, I really didn’t expect you to be so loyal to the Dias family, even at the cost of your entire family’s lives just to keep a secret, even though this secret is not particularly important to the Dias family. Alas!”

He shook his head as if to mourn the fate of the Somolette family.

“But do you think this is worth it? Do you think your huge sacrifice is meaningful? Haha!”

“No!”

The tall Baldes stepped forward, grabbed Lord Somolette by the collar effortlessly lifting him off the ground.

“Your sacrifice is meaningless, you’re just paying in vain. Even if you remain silent, we will still find out the whereabouts of that child.”

His tone was mocking, “Even if your mouth won’t speak, your soul will tell us everything we need to know.”

Then he whispered into Lord Somolette’s ear, enunciating every word:

“In front of magic, there are no secrets!”

Magic?! Although blindfolded, Somolette couldn’t help but widen his eyes in shock.

At that moment, screams came from outside the courtyard.

Baldes looked annoyed and asked, “What’s going on? Wasn’t this mansion already cleaned out?”

A person slowly walked out of the firelight, “Some guys broke in from outside, but don’t worry, they’ve been taken care of.”

Then he clasped his hands in prayer, looking up to the sky, and said aloud, “Father in heaven, taking the lives of these innocent people is a necessary evil, please forgive us, your sinful lambs.”

Sean, standing nearby, provocatively looked at Carol. “See! Someone still managed to break in despite the fire. I should have made it even bigger.”

Carol remained motionless, ignoring him.

Seeing that he failed to provoke a reaction, Sean, somewhat bored, turned to Baldes and asked, “Boss, want me to go out and stoke the fire?”

Baldes shook his head, “No need!”

He tossed Lord Somolette at the feet of the man who had just prayed to the sky. “Father, take him to Master Ordennel.”

Lord Somolette’s body rolled a couple of times before stopping at the feet of the “Father.”

The “Father” bent down, picked up Lord Somolette, and said, “Come, sinner.”

Baldes instructed the remaining people, “Clean up the courtyard, leave no trace.”

…

In a secret basement near the Somolette mansion, Denson Plante watched his mentor, sitting quietly in the middle of a magic circle, making final preparations for casting a spell.

The magic circle was composed of numerous mysterious runes that seemed random and curved. Overall, it appeared to be divided into two symmetrical rectangular parts, each with a blank circular area in the center surrounded by dense runes.

Denson Plante’s mentor, Ordennel, was sitting in one of these circular areas.

He was seated cross-legged, hands on his knees, eyes closed, breathing at an incredibly slow pace, with only his chest and abdomen moving slightly.

Denson, looking at his mentor in the circle, said emotionlessly, “Andy, this is a rare opportunity to observe. Master Ordennel seldom performs magic in front of others. You should cherish this. Of course, if those outside get the information, we’ll have to wait for another opportunity.”

He was speaking to a boy beside him, not yet as tall as Denson’s shoulder.

“Yes, Mr. Plante,” the boy replied, his voice hoarse with the characteristic rasp of puberty.

He watched Master Ordennel intently, even though the latter was just sitting and breathing.

Their conversation continued without moving.

“Mr. Plante.”

“Hmm?”

“Why not use suggestions on the intelligence target?”

“The target is not an ordinary person, but a powerful assassin who has served the Dias family for decades. Even if his body isn’t as strong as in his youth, his willpower must be very strong. For such a person, suggestions must be made when the target is unguarded, and the actions they are instructed to do must not alert them. To immediately become close with a highly alert assassin and extract a secret that he would protect with his life, that’s nearly impossible.”

“Then,” Andy continued, “why not use a brain worm to control him?”

“The brain worm takes a long time to erode a person’s mind, and we need to complete the mission tonight – before the Dias family catches on. We can’t wait that long. Moreover, a brain worm causes severe damage to the target’s brain. Although the target becomes obedient, they also become mad and delirious. In such a state, the reliability of any extracted information is doubtful.”

Denson Plante blinked.

“So, my mentor has chosen this method.”

“Soul Search!”