Chapter 33: Then Let You Speak for Yourself

To avoid chaos, Kei ordered a lockdown regarding the attack.

After uncovering a few lurking spies, the inner fortress swiftly returned to its usual state, operating smoothly as before.

As for the black sword knight, after a round of treatment that barely saved his life, he was imprisoned and subjected to interrogation.

However, after two consecutive days, they had failed to extract any valuable information from him.

"That guy must have undergone anti-interrogation training. No matter what torture we apply, he refuses to speak," Braid reported in the council hall.

"I say, just break his bones one by one. I don't believe he can endure that," Jordon sneered.

Braid shook his head. "It's useless. He seems to possess some method to block pain; he didn't react at all during our torture."

"There's such a method?" Jordon exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.

The other knights exchanged glances, bewildered.

How were they supposed to interrogate him now?

Kei furrowed his brow and turned to Su Nan, who was sitting nearby. "Su Nan, do you have any good ideas?"

Su Nan nodded. "Let me handle the interrogation."

Upon hearing that Su Nan seemed to have a solution, everyone perked up with renewed hope.

Under Braid and Jordon's guidance, Su Nan arrived at the prison where the black sword knight was held.

Entering the cell, he found the knight shackled to an iron pillar, looking utterly miserable.

The remnants of the lightning rune gem's burns covered his body, and after two days of torture, there was hardly a patch of unblemished flesh left.

Even so, he showed no signs of pain.

Seeing Su Nan enter, his expression shifted slightly, quickly replaced by a disdainful sneer.

"Don't waste your efforts. You'll never get anything out of me. If you have the guts, just kill me!"

Su Nan replied indifferently, "If you really want to die, there are plenty of ways to do it. Why hang on like this?"

His words clearly struck a nerve with the black sword knight; he twitched slightly at the corner of his eye and fell silent.

Unfazed, Su Nan calmly approached the black sword knight.

"Since torture isn't working on you, let's see if you'll speak on your own."

Upon hearing this, the black sword knight's expression became even more dismissive. He was about to scoff again when he met Su Nan's gaze, causing him to tremble. He felt as if Su Nan's eyes were deep as an abyss, threatening to pull his very soul in.

In just a few seconds, the black sword knight's face grew blank, his eyes lost focus, as if he had entered a trance.

"Your name," Su Nan said slowly.

"Yuli Elric," the black sword knight replied, his gaze vacant.

"Age."

"Thirty-two."

Braid and Jordon, who were following Su Nan, were completely stunned.

What was happening?

How had this guy suddenly become so compliant, answering every question without hesitation?

They quickly realized that the knight's odd expression indicated that Su Nan had likely used that strange power known as magic.

They hadn't anticipated that such a spell could cause someone to lose their wits and obediently answer questions!

Under this kind of power, didn't that mean everyone had no secrets?

Braid and Jordon exchanged glances, their respect for Su Nan growing.

Su Nan remained focused on the black sword knight.

The **Charm Human** spell could influence the target's perception to a degree, making them view the caster as a trustworthy ally.

The caster could issue commands to the target, compelling them to do things they normally would not.

However, commands that were clearly harmful to oneself, like suicide or self-harm, would likely fail and cause the spell to terminate.

But for inquiries about information, the **Charm Human** spell was indeed very effective.

"Who sent you to assassinate the lord of Blackstone City?"

"Lord Kasper," the black sword knight replied blankly.

**A priest?**

Su Nan raised an eyebrow. "What is your affiliation?"

"We belong to the Starfire Cult, worshiping the great Star God who created this continent!"

Even under the spell's influence, a hint of fervor appeared on the black sword knight's blank face when mentioning the Star God, revealing the depth of his belief.

**The Starfire Cult?**

Su Nan was surprised; he hadn't expected these assassins to come from the same cult that had attacked Baron Storm.

"What is your relationship with Marquis Jinyan?"

"I don't know," the black sword knight shook his head, still in a daze.

Su Nan frowned slightly. It was a given that Marquis Jinyan had connections with the Starfire Cult.

The fact that this guy didn't know indicated that the ones responsible for contacting Marquis Jinyan were likely higher-ranking members of the cult.

"How many of your companions are in Blackstone City?"

"Counting me, there are four in total."

"Give me the names of the spies you know."

The black sword knight immediately recited six or seven names.

Among them were several spies that had been uncovered just days before.

Without needing Su Nan to instruct him, Braid dutifully noted down the names and hiding spots, then hurried off with Jordon to apprehend them.

Su Nan continued to inquire about the organizational structure of the Starfire Cult, its branches, and the status of its members.

According to the black sword knight, the Starfire Cult was an organization that worshiped the Star God and aimed to spread his great glory across the continent.

They secretly collaborated with many nobles, assassinating competitors for those nobles in exchange for support, allowing the cult to grow rapidly over just over a decade, extending its reach throughout the Starry Principality.

As for which nobles they had collaborated with, the black sword knight didn't know much; only a few were barons or viscounts.

Higher-ranking nobles were likely beyond his level of contact.

After all, above the priest were the high priest, archpriest, and the pope who controlled the entire cult.

"Great knights are merely mid-level officers in that organization. It seems the Starfire Cult has a solid foundation," Su Nan mused.

Earlier, he had speculated that the Starfire Cult might be connected to wizard apprentices, but it seemed he had been mistaken.

The Starfire Cult clearly followed a religious belief route, entirely opposite to the pursuit of truth and the principle of self-empowerment typical of wizards.

Regarding their bases, the black sword knight also had limited knowledge, only knowing of three locations within the Golden Rock Province.

As for others in different provinces, he had no idea.

After mentally noting the structure of the bases mentioned by the black sword knight, Su Nan inquired about the Starfire Cult's activities in the Golden Rock Province over the past years.

He was taken aback by the revelations.

It turned out that in the past ten years, seven or eight noble deaths in the Golden Rock Province had been orchestrated by the Starfire Cult.

They had caused a variety of accidental deaths, disguising them as misfortunes or illnesses.

For more troublesome targets, they directly resorted to assassination.

Among them was the father Su Nan had never known.

While he appeared to have died on the battlefield, in reality, the Starfire Cult had sent someone to impersonate one of his guards before the war broke out, secretly striking him down on the battlefield and making it look like he fell to the enemy.

Although the black sword knight didn't know the true motives behind these assassinations, Su Nan could guess that the mastermind was undoubtedly Marquis Jinyan.

By eliminating vassal nobles and promoting puppets, he aimed to gain control over their territories.

Marquis Jinyan's ultimate goal was to completely dominate the entire Golden Rock Province.

No, perhaps that wasn't even the final goal.

To fully control the Golden Rock Province, he didn't need to go to such extremes.

Marquis Jinyan likely had even deeper objectives!

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