Anthony was the spy Reve wanted to place beside Ed, and Reve was connected to Hurricane Horsewalk. From Ed's observations, this Hurricane Horsewalk had deep ties with Andrew, the son of the Lord of Dorey City.

Anthony's father had gone bankrupt and committed suicide due to the outbreak of the infectious disease between the warhorses. Of course, this "suicide" might not have been a true suicide.

The disease among the warhorses was more complicated than it appeared. Hurricane Horsewalk guaranteed that none of their warhorses were infected, and the potions to treat such diseases were sold by the apothecary at the Lord's Mansion...

Everything seemed to be controlled by an invisible hand behind the scenes. When combined with the inscriptions on the ruins' stone tablets and the events that had unfolded in Sloka City, Ed had many theories in his mind, but he still lacked some crucial information.

Once he obtained the missing pieces, Ed would be able to connect everything he had discovered and uncover the truth behind it all. Only by understanding the truth could he begin to formulate a targeted plan.

The dangers within Dorey City were slowly starting to surface.

As Ed pondered all of this while walking with Melissa toward the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association, Melissa's voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts, "Ed, someone is following us!"

Ed's expression remained unchanged, and his body didn't react at all, as though he hadn't heard Melissa. However, he lowered his voice and quietly asked, "When did you notice something was wrong?"

Melissa pretended to stretch casually and answered nonchalantly, "I sensed something off right after we left the inn, but I wasn't sure. Now, the person has been following us the entire way."

"This stalker is quite professional, with considerable strength. They're likely at the Silver level of Hunter abilities."

Hearing this, Ed immediately ruled out the possibility that Andrew had sent someone to follow him. Andrew's subordinates weren't this skilled or professional and wouldn't have been able to evade Ed's Hunter senses.

So who could this follower be working for?

Was it Vice-Captain Reve from the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association?

Aside from him, there was no one else who might be involved.

But then, Ed suddenly had another thought. Perhaps the follower wasn't after him at all?

Was he tracking Melissa?

Why?

Ed took a deep breath. Reve's current focus was on the development of the ruins. He hadn't returned to the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association in several days, and Ed had already agreed to allow Anthony to rejoin the squad.

It was unlikely that Reve had sent someone to follow him.

Thinking about what Melissa had said, she had shared Ed's speculations about the potential dangers in Dorey City with a friend from the Lord's Mansion today.

Ed couldn't help but quietly ask, "Melissa, is your friend reliable?"

Melissa paused for a moment, quickly realizing what Ed meant by this question. She responded directly, "She should be reliable. I've known her for a while, and I've helped her before. She wouldn't send anyone to follow me."

Ed nodded. He just wanted Melissa to find an opportune moment to discreetly figure out if her friend, after meeting with Melissa, had mentioned anything to anyone else related to the matters they had discussed.

Ed took a deep breath, his gaze fixing on the entrance of the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association, which had now come into view. His sense of impending danger was growing stronger.

Why would a simple speculation about potential dangers in Dorey City lead to someone following them?

A very unsettling thought slowly emerged in Ed's mind:

What if his speculation was correct, and someone in the Lord's Mansion was afraid the truth would be exposed, so they sent someone to follow Melissa?

Perhaps, after investigating, those people would realize that Ed had uncovered their plans. What would they do then?

They would surely try to silence him!

Only the dead can keep secrets.

Fortunately, Melissa was the one handling this matter. If it had been Ed himself, he probably would have been in danger just for voicing his suspicions about Dorey City.

Ed subtly reminded Melissa to be cautious and to stay aware of any potential threats.

Looking at the situation now, the danger was much greater than Ed had imagined.

What he needed to do was to uncover everything as quickly as possible!

Soon, after returning to the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association, Ed gave the remaining two warhorses to Toronto and Ford, and asked them to look into the issues surrounding the infectious disease, Hurricane Horsewalk, and the apothecary run by the Lord's Mansion.

Of course, he also wanted them to gather information on Anthony and the situation surrounding Anthony's father.

For safety's sake, Ed specifically instructed both of them to avoid investigating personally and to consider hiring professionals instead. It would be safer that way.

Afterward, Ed returned to his room. He needed to use the time to focus on his Moonlight Meditation Technique practice and enhance his strength.

Danger was approaching, and only by continuously improving his abilities could he protect himself—or the people he cared about—when it arrived.

The next morning, as the sun rose once again, Ed slowly opened his eyes.

He hadn't slept all night, having spent all his time practicing the Moonlight Meditation Technique.

[Progress toward breaking through to Silver level mid-tier: 31%]

Ed was in a good state this time. Over the course of the entire night, he had made a 5% progress in his training. Of course, this pace was much slower compared to when Melissa had helped him, but there was nothing he could do about it. It was unlikely that Melissa would seek his help again for the time being, so he had to proceed slowly on his own.

After a quick wash, Ed was just about to head out when he saw Melissa standing at the door.

Melissa was holding a scroll, which she tossed to Ed with a smile, saying, "Lately, things seem to be getting a bit dangerous. This is a protective scroll. All you need to do is tear it, and it will form a Light of Guardian around you, lasting for fifteen minutes."

"Only a Gold level Hunter can break the Light of Guardian in a short amount of time."

Without thinking, Ed caught the scroll she tossed him. He hadn't expected Melissa to be so concerned about him, and a faint feeling of gratitude arose in his heart.

But then Melissa nonchalantly added, "Don't forget, you signed a contract scroll with me. If you die, I'll be at a loss—not only will no one be able to help me, but no one will be left for me to study either."

The feeling of gratitude in Ed's heart quickly vanished. Still, no matter what, he remembered that Melissa had helped him with the patient yesterday and had even specifically given him a protective scroll today.

He thought for a moment and said to Melissa, "How about this—once everything settles down, I'll let you start your research."

Melissa's eyes lit up immediately, and she eagerly replied, "Do we really have to wait that long? Why not tonight? Even if I don't need your help, we could still do that kind of thing together."

Ed didn't respond. He simply waved his hand and walked out.

Starting research on his body right now was risky. What if something went wrong? That could be disastrous!

As she watched Ed leave, Melissa slowly leaned against the wall. The excitement and enthusiasm on her face disappeared, replaced by silence. She muttered softly to herself:

"My mother told me that if you don't want to feel sadness from parting, you must avoid everything that starts and avoid becoming too close."

"Ed, when people die, they're really gone—there's nothing left, nothing to remember."

"I don't want to be like my mother, living a life of loneliness in memories."

...

Ed was unaware of the last words Melissa had said. At this moment, he was in a corner of the Moon Eclipse Demon Hunter Association, standing in front of Toronto and Ford.

Ford, looking excited, said to Ed, "Captain, the warhorse you gave me—I tried it out this morning, and it's absolutely perfect!"

"How can I put it? With just a small command, it perfectly understands what I mean! I've never encountered such a warhorse before—it's like it was custom-made just for me!"

Toronto nodded in agreement, clearly very satisfied with the warhorses Ed had given them.

Ed smiled. Of the three warhorses, the best one was the black one with a white lightning-shaped mark on its forehead—he hadn't tested it yet.

However, judging by Toronto and Ford's satisfaction, Ed was confident that his warhorse would not disappoint.

After a moment, Toronto spoke up again, saying to Ed, "Captain, I investigated Anthony's father's situation last night. Unfortunately, his father passed away a few years ago, and I didn't find any useful information. But there is one strange thing."

"On the day before Anthony's father died, someone saw him near Hurricane Horsewalk. His expression was extremely angry, and he was saying something about exposing something."

Upon hearing Toronto's words, Ed's suspicions were once again confirmed.

Everything was starting to come together. Anthony's father's death might indeed be linked to Hurricane Horsewalk!

This proved that the direction of the investigation was not wrong, but more information and evidence were needed.

As for what Anthony's father had said about exposing something, Ed instinctively thought about the infectious disease between the warhorses.

Could it be related to Hurricane Horsewalk's guarantee that their warhorses were free from the disease? Was it something to do with what Anthony's father had wanted to expose?

Was Anthony's father about to expose something that would harm some people's interests, and that's why he was forced to commit suicide?

Of course, this suicide might have been coerced.

One question lingered in Ed's mind: did Anthony know that his father's death was suspicious?

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