Looking at the beastkin and Parkin before her, Mina wanted nothing more than to kill them on the spot. However, the Master had said an interrogation might yield some interesting information, so for now, she had to keep them alive.
"You... you are trespassing on private property! Are the people of Sedona City truly this barbaric?" Parkin's expression changed, his lips trembling as unease gripped his heart.
He recognized Mina; she was someone closely associated with Lucas, and he had seen her up close once in the castle.
Her presence here meant his plot had been exposed, and Lucas had sent her to arrest him.
"Take down this old man who uses vile words to mislead the public," Mina ordered coldly, utterly ignoring whatever he was blathering about.
"No, you can't arrest me! The Divine Lord will not forgive you!" Parkin still didn't forget to keep up his grift, bringing up the Divine Lord with every breath.
The moment the Divine Lord was mentioned, the previously somewhat subdued beastkin instantly grew agitated, shouting loudly:
"That's right! You can't treat Bishop Parkin like this! He is the envoy of the Divine Lord! Let him go at once!"
Mina furrowed her brows. Looking at these beastkin, she was secretly astonished that this old man possessed enough skill to make them follow him so blindly.
Seeing that the beastkin were about to resist, Mina narrowed her eyes and stated coldly, "Anyone who resists will be punished with maximum severity under the law."
"Yes!" The personnel Mina had brought were naturally highly skilled elites from the Security Department.
Shwing... Before the beastkin could even make a move, they were all swiftly subdued. With swords pressed against their necks, they didn't dare to move recklessly. A wad of linen was stuffed into each of their mouths to prevent them from screaming and causing unnecessary trouble.
"I want to see Lucas! You can't treat me like this! I am an envoy of the Divine Lord!" Parkin glared at Mina, extreme panic welling up inside him.
"You don't just get to see the Master whenever you want. Now, come with me," Mina said indifferently.
"I am from the Yadian Kingdom! You cannot arrest me, nor do you have the right to!" Remembering something, Parkin found some fake courage and tried to use the Yadian Kingdom as a shield.
Hearing this, Mina's brows furrowed slightly. Why would she care about some Yadian Kingdom? This was Sedona City, and arrogance from outsiders would not be tolerated.
"Hmph!" Mina snorted coldly and shot a glance at her subordinate.
Smack!
The agent holding Parkin delivered a swift chop to his neck. Parkin's eyes rolled back, and he fainted immediately.
"Move out." After inspecting the courtyard to ensure nothing was left behind, Mina and her group vanished into the dark night.
What awaited Parkin next were the Security Department's various interrogation methods. Most of these techniques had been provided by Lucas, and they were foolproof. Under those methods, there hadn't been a single mouth they couldn't pry open.
That night, muffled screams periodically echoed from the depths of the Security Department. The soldiers stationed there were already used to it, and no one paid it any mind.
A while later, Mina emerged from the Security Department holding a thick stack of papers. She headed straight for the castle.
Soon, Mina knocked on the door to Lucas's room.
"Come in."
Receiving permission, Mina pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Creak...
Inside the study, only Lucas remained; Ayesha had already left.
"It seems you managed to get something out of him," Lucas said, glancing at the stack of papers in Mina's hand.
"Yes, Master. That old man is a spineless coward. With just a little 'interrogation,' he confessed to everything." Mina nodded, her expression grave, and handed the confession report to Lucas.
"Oh?" Lucas took the papers and read through them page by page. By the time he reached the end, a slow smile crept onto his lips.
"Interesting," Lucas murmured softly. He set the papers down, his eyes flashing with calculation.
It turned out Parkin truly was from the Yadian Kingdom. It was just that the Yadian Kingdom was incredibly far from Sedona City; a carriage journey would take several months.
That place was vastly different from the Siacan Kingdom. In the Siacan Kingdom, royal authority reigned supreme. But in the Yadian Kingdom, although a royal family existed, the entire nation worshiped the Luminous Creed. The King's authority was inferior to that of the Archbishop of the Church; in short, it was a land where divine authority reigned supreme.
This Divine Lord was naturally an ethereal existence worshiped by the church. According to Parkin's confession, no one had ever actually seen the Divine Lord—not even the highest-ranking members of the church.
Yet, they firmly believed in the Divine Lord's existence, convinced that one day he would bring them endless wealth and glory, perhaps even immortality.
However, the Yadian Kingdom wasn't peaceful right now. The newly crowned Queen's first order of business upon ascending the throne was to curtail the faith in the Divine Lord, seeking to establish the supremacy of royal authority.
Ultimately, due to intense public resistance and the overwhelming influence the church held within the royal palace, her reforms failed.
Currently, the two sides were caught in a stalemate, which was the root cause of the chaos in the Yadian Kingdom. Overall, however, the Luminous Creed had the upper hand, while the newly ascended Queen was heavily outnumbered and had nearly been deposed.
If she didn't have some hidden trump cards, the Yadian Kingdom might already belong entirely to the Luminous Creed, and the Archbishop might have even seized the throne himself.
"Master, Parkin claims that people from the Yadian Kingdom will soon arrive to establish themselves here in Sedona City. How should we handle this?" Cold intent flickered in Mina's eyes.
"Establish themselves? Sedona City has no need for any churches, and we certainly don't need anyone from the Luminous Creed interfering here," Lucas said flatly, his eyes turning icy. He figured if these people from the Yadian Kingdom really showed up with such ignorance, the mines were perfectly lacking manpower; he could just send them there to help out.
"Understood." Mina nodded. Knowing her Master had a countermeasure put her mind at ease.
Seeing how those beastkin had blindly followed Parkin today had worried her, but seeing her Master now, she felt completely reassured.
"Master, what should we do with those beastkin? They seem to be under some kind of spell, constantly blathering about the Divine Lord." Mina sighed helplessly, turning to Lucas for a solution.
Even after being locked in the dark isolation cells, those beastkin continued yelling that the Divine Lord would come save them, refusing to quiet down at all.
"Send them to the mines. If they refuse to appreciate a good life, then let them go mine for a few months. Once they sober up and behave, we can let them out," Lucas said, shaking his head.
Beastkin really were lacking in the brains department—or rather, they were just too ignorant. They had been given such an excellent environment to live in, yet they harbored rebellious thoughts. Otherwise, how could they have been swayed by an old swindler like Parkin to the point of having their brains scrubbed completely clean?
It felt quite similar to a pyramid scheme. This served as a wake-up call for Lucas. He knew exactly how terrifying MLMs were back on Earth, and he had no desire to see such a thing take root in his city.
"Yes. I'll have them go mine black coal," Mina said in a deep voice. She was also furious; these beastkin truly didn't know what was good for them.
"Tell Customs to be stricter recently. If anyone resembling Parkin is spotted, flag them as suspicious individuals and have someone keep a close eye on them," Lucas ordered after a moment of thought.
"Understood." Mina nodded.
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