At dusk, the train stopped at a small station obscured by dense forest.

David, wearing a long coat and hunter's hat, walked off the train carrying a light suitcase. He left the platform surrounded by steam and walked straight into that shadowy valley.

This was Dark Valley, a town located south of the imperial capital.

Different from what David had imagined, while this place looked rather gloomy because it sat in a canyon, there was actually no gloomy atmosphere at all.

Dark Valley town wasn't small at all—in fact, it was quite prosperous.

After leaving the station, David saw a bustling market area. The streets were filled with numerous merchants and transport teams. Countless shops and stalls were hawking their goods.

There were many items for sale. Besides the usual stuff, most were "specialties" unique to Dark Valley—synthetic beasts.

Dark Valley had the Empire's largest synthetic beast factory. You could also think of it as a mysterious large-scale experimental facility dedicated to researching various dark creatures: control, destruction, transformation and utilization... purposes varied.

As for those synthetic beasts, they were just various byproducts of the experiments.

But many people flocked to these byproducts, seeing them as proof of humanity "creating" new species. Especially nobles near the imperial capital—they loved keeping synthetic beasts as pets or guard dogs.

This led some profit-seeking merchants to start privately researching synthetic beasts, making their varieties increasingly numerous, eventually forming a strange industry chain.

David saw many cages of various sizes at street stalls, containing all sorts of weird small creatures—supposedly these synthetic beasts.

He'd actually studied these things before, because even the Order's hunters trained some combat-capable synthetic beasts as claws for hunting darkness.

Fernandes had actually suggested David check out the synthetic beasts here. If he found one he liked, he could consider buying one to take back and train.

But of course he didn't mean these street "pets."

David pulled his hunter's hat lower and quickly walked through the market with his luggage. At the town entrance, he picked a nearby inn, planning to stay there.

As he set down his suitcase, he suddenly heard that flapping sound again...

"Coo coo..."

Thwap!

A white pigeon landed (crashed) onto his suitcase in a not particularly elegant manner.

David narrowed his eyes. He recognized this pigeon—it was the one His Highness had used to send him that letter earlier. It seemed to have been following him the whole time without leaving.

"Why are you still here?"

David murmured as he picked up the pigeon, thinking: Could His Highness's pigeon have no sense of direction and can't find its way back...

"Why can't I be here?" The pigeon suddenly opened its beak and spoke in human language.

David was shocked. The pigeon could talk!?

His mouth dropped open and his hand shook, tossing the pigeon away.

"Coo coo..." The pigeon landed and flapped its wings, seeming somewhat dissatisfied with David's rough treatment.

Just then, the innkeeper emerged from behind the counter with a key, ready to lead David to his room.

The innkeeper didn't seem to notice the pigeon speaking.

David glared at the pigeon, picked up his suitcase and followed. The pigeon flapped its wings and landed on the suitcase.

Entering the room, closing the door, confirming the innkeeper's footsteps had departed, David finally turned to look at the pigeon that had followed him.

The pigeon hopped onto the table and continued speaking in human language: "I'm His Highness's messenger, and also the observer ensuring you complete your mission. Remember, His Highness's order is: leave no one alive..."

The pigeon's eyes were hollow, looking somewhat creepy.

Those eyes were actually quite similar to David Frank's. His black pupils also looked equally eerie when he was expressionless.

He bent down, staring at the pigeon with cold eyes for a long time before confirming this magical talking creature wasn't some dark creation.

Could this be one type of synthetic beast?

"I understand... but you need to get one thing straight." David said to the pigeon, "You're not some 'observer.' You're the final insurance His Highness sent to assist me in completing the mission. If any target escapes, you need to track them for me. Understand?"

The pigeon tilted its head, seeming to accept David's interpretation.

David nodded with satisfaction.

If Roland really needed an observer, she definitely wouldn't send a dopey pigeon. At minimum it would be a nighthawk hidden in darkness.

The pigeon was just a mouthpiece. Its existence was just to convey one message to David—"leave no one alive." That was Prince Roland's most important desire.

What exactly had those people done to make that seemingly gentle prince issue such a cold command?

David snorted and decided not to dig deeper.

The royal family's power struggles had little to do with him. He just needed to complete the mission.

...

When the sun went down, David left his room. He'd already taken off the long coat and put on a proper outfit, looking just like a small-time merchant specifically here to buy synthetic beasts.

After asking the innkeeper for the location of the "Monster Cage," he left the inn and walked into Dark Valley town at night.

"Young man, you found the right place. The 'Monster Cage' runs the town's biggest synthetic beast market. What they sell is the real deal. Supposedly they even have trained and modified void hounds..."

The innkeeper seemed to have taken money from the Monster Cage and deliberately gave David a sales pitch.

The so-called "Monster Cage" was actually an organization similar to a merchant guild. This massive force apparently had backing from major nobles in the imperial capital, providing one-stop service for producing, modifying, training, and selling synthetic beasts.

And its headquarters was located deep underground beneath the town.

Legend had it that non-public auctions were frequently held there, and you couldn't enter without a special letter of recommendation.

David's target—the "glowing heart"—this material actually didn't require him to go deep into the Monster Cage guild to obtain.

But David wouldn't be satisfied with an ordinary glowing heart. He wanted the biggest and best...

Plus with His Highness's mission, now he needed to figure out how to sneak in.

The town at night was still quite lively. On streets full of lights, people were rushing toward various special venues or banquets in town, like they had endless business to conduct.

The town center had several massive buildings. The lights on the clock tower and high towers even illuminated the mountain peaks on both sides of the valley, making Dark Valley no longer dark.

David followed the crowd toward the largest building. That was where the "Monster Cage" guild was located.

His eyes hosting the Sacred Watcher frantically scanned left and right. The bizarre vision kept searching for his target. Soon, he noticed those carriages entering the guild's side entrance and some very mysterious-looking personnel.

These people were heading for the underground auction... David quietly followed them.

When entering the side door, the attendant checking visitors' identities stopped him.

David friendly extended his hand to shake the other's palm—he used the Heretic's Arm.

The attendant's eyes instantly became hollow, his consciousness blurred. When he came to, there was no one in front of him anymore.

David successfully infiltrated the guild's underground. After entering the auction hall, his constantly scanning vision unexpectedly spotted a familiar face.

The imperial capital's master alchemist, Julius.

The old man sat in the back row of the auction venue, looking very low-key. David saw him, but he didn't notice David wearing the bowler hat.

But Julius didn't seem to have come alone. Both sides of him were filled with an entire row of strange people in black robes.

Those people's faces were completely concealed by hoods and masks, and each had a burly build, looking really not to be messed with...

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