Chapter 24: City in Turmoil

Lin Qi stood on the rooftop of a tall building, leaning against a chimney, watching the burning tavern with great delight.

Yulian was an expert at setting fires. He had a special talent for it. Just as he described himself, he was good at setting everything in the world on fire. And as he also said, what he was best at was igniting a blazing fire in the hearts of beautiful women!

“Hmm, not sure how good he is at starting fires in women’s hearts, but this fire right now is spectacular!” Enzo also recalled Yulian’s boastful words. He crouched on a bronze animal-headed downpipe at the corner of the roof, chewing tobacco and betel nut vigorously, happily commenting on Yulian.

Lin Qi took a deep puff from his cigar and slowly exhaled the smoke through his nostrils.

The fire in the stable grew larger. Over thirty panicked horses neighed sharply and ran wildly across the small square of the Sword and Beauty Tavern. Somehow, one of the horses kicked open the back door in the corner of the yard, and all the horses rushed out through the wide-open doorway.

Based on Lin Qi’s understanding of the Commercial District, it would be hard to recover those horses running loose late at night. The brave souls lurking in the darkness would quickly capture them alive and transport them far away from Borelly. In a few weeks, these horses would appear in some clients’ stables or simply end up as large ribs in a cooking pot.

“Big Sword Joe can afford to lose this money. It’s just over thirty horses!” Lin Qi blew out a thick puff of smoke and sneered. “Enzo, you all need to return to the dorm. Tonight is going to be lively. Very lively!”

Enzo gave a strange laugh and nimbly jumped down from the rooftop. The building they were on was six stories high. Enzo lightly stepped on the windowsills one by one to slow his descent, landing safely without much effort. He waved to Lin Qi and then disappeared into the darkness with the equally smiling Blood-robed Seven Blades.

Lin Qi spread his arms, gazing at the faint shadows in the distant streets, and laughed silently.

At least three squads of night-patrolling Dragoons had arrived at the scene. Nearly a hundred Dragoons were riding around the tavern, driving away the idlers who had woken up and come to see the commotion. Dozens of secret police from the Garrison Office, wearing copper helmets and heavy coats, frantically blew their whistles, waving their arms hysterically as they called for the Commercial District’s specialized residential firefighting team.

The sharp whistles pierced the air. In the distance, over a dozen red oil lamps quickly approached. Nearly a hundred poorly dressed men, shivering from the cold, pushed more than ten large water carts and scrambled toward the scene. They were the professional firefighting team under Borelly City Hall, and their lives and livelihoods depended on this fire.

If they put out the fire and prevented major damage, they would receive a heavy reward.

If they failed to extinguish the fire and it caused serious losses, some of them might even be sentenced to prison.

Fortunately, to guard against the cold winds from the Frozen Plains to the north, most of the better buildings in Borelly City were made of stone. The Sword and Beauty Tavern was built with blue stone blocks, making it not only sturdy but also highly fire-resistant. With the firefighting team’s efforts, it took them a quarter of an hour to put out the stable fire. Aside from a flour shop next to the tavern suffering collateral damage—its woodshed roof burned down—no other nearby buildings were affected.

As soon as the fire was extinguished, the Dragoons dismounted and rushed into the tavern along with the Copper Helmets.

Screams from men and women came from inside the tavern. The second floor of the Sword and Beauty Tavern was an inn, where about thirty to fifty guests were resting in their rooms at that moment. The arrogant Dragoons and fearless Copper Helmets split up—some stormed into the tavern, while others violently broke into the rooms, searching for suspicious individuals.

After all, the Hundred-Year Land-Island War had ended only thirty years ago. People on the continent still remembered the grim scenes from that time, when Borelly would experience dozens of deliberately set fires by enemies almost every month. Thirty years had passed, and Borelly City had not seen a nighttime fire in three decades. Today’s fire had once again touched some people’s sensitive nerves.

The inn doors were broken open, and guests were roughly brought outside. The howling wind made the poorly dressed guests, some even in only their pajamas, shiver uncontrollably. A few delicate young girls fainted from fright and cold.

Amid the chaos in the inn, even louder commotion erupted from inside the tavern. More piercing whistles sounded, and one Dragoon even walked out of the tavern, broke a small scroll, and threw it into the sky. A white fireball the size of a human head shot high into the air with a sharp whistle, rising over three hundred meters before exploding with a loud bang into a ball of white light dozens of meters in diameter.

The entire city of Borelly was in an uproar. This was the warning signal used by night-patrolling Dragoons only when they discovered urgent incidents. Such events either required immediate reinforcements or indicated underlying complexities that the on-site Dragoons couldn’t handle, needing their superiors to rush to the scene.

Lin Qi grinned so widely his mouth almost couldn’t close. Black Horse Haus and his gang were finished this time.

Over a hundred students from various grades at the Imperial Army Academy had violated military discipline by staying out late at night, getting drunk at a tavern, and accidentally starting a fire. Not only would the Round Table Knight Society face severe consequences, but the Sword and Beauty Tavern would also be held accountable.

This incident would not only alarm the higher-ups at the Army Academy but also draw the attention of major military figures. Especially since Black Horse Haus came from a noble military family with deep connections—precisely because of his strong background, he was in even bigger trouble. The still-vigorous Saint Louis XIII would never allow such scoundrels in the military academy he founded. This matter was far from over.

Recalling the entire process of leading his men into the tavern, Lin Qi was sure he hadn’t left any traces.

He let out a relaxed sigh. Seeing the Dragoons beginning to expand their search radius on horseback, Lin Qi dashed down from the tall building like a nimble cat, hunched over as he sprinted along the street toward Fifth University.

Enzo and the others should have already returned to the Army Academy dorm by now. Without evidence, no one could do anything to them.

As for Lin Qi, he had the best alibi—he was serving the great Deity that night. When the incident occurred, he was copying scriptures in his dorm, with Father Barin as his witness. Even the Borelly Constabulary wouldn’t dare say a word against it.

Divine Authority was supreme, and royal power was beneath it. With the Deity’s protection, who would dare question Lin Qi?

“Great Deity, I will help you sell those one thousand Indulgence Scrolls as soon as possible!”

Lin Qi prayed devoutly as he ran.