Chapter 238: A Duel Without the Flash of Blades

Chapter 238: A Duel Without the Flash of Blades

With just a few words, the Guru Elder shattered the trust that the Dakville Leader had placed in Lu Heng.

Lu Heng witnessed the entire exchange, impressed by the Guru Elder's ability to control the situation.

In a matter of minutes, the Guru Elder had sown doubt in the Dakville Leader's mind about Lu Heng, though others may not have noticed it as clearly. Lu Heng, however, keenly felt the hostility emanating from the Guru Elder.

Within a short span of time, Lu Heng had gone from being a trusted ally of the tribe leader to a suspicious outsider.

If he couldn't sense the hostility now, there was something wrong with his mind.

This very hostility prompted Lu Heng to reevaluate the Guru Elder.

The Guru Elder, with his head held high, observed Lu Heng for a moment before turning to the Dakville Leader and said, "Leader, why don't we ask him how he managed to retrieve the former leader's ashes from Blackstone City?"

Dakville III, who had been too agitated earlier, had indeed not inquired about the process from Lu Heng. Reminded of this, he asked, "Lu Heng, how did you retrieve the ashes? Can you tell us the story?"

His attitude didn't do a complete one-eighty, but he maintained a friendly demeanor towards Lu Heng while remaining cautious.

Lu Heng paced at the hall's entrance, pondering several key questions before beginning to narrate his journey into Blackstone City to retrieve the ashes.

He omitted the part about thanking his teacher, as it had no substantial connection to the retrieval of the ashes.

Bringing up the matter of thanking his teacher would unnecessarily complicate things, and he'd have to provide explanations later.

After listening to Lu Heng's story, the Guru Elder asked, "You infiltrated Blackstone City alone and then escaped by yourself?"

Lu Heng nodded in response.

The Guru Elder turned to Dakville and said, "Leader, what do you think after hearing this? The entire process seems too smooth. We've spent three years, and only the leader has managed to enter Blackstone City once through the secret passage in the mine.

"Yet this outsider went in effortlessly, retrieved the ashes, and despite the bloodline demon ancestor's seal, escaped with such ease.

"Leader, don't you find this too convenient?"

The Dakville Black Iron Clan had been fighting the bloodline demons for three years, and Dakville was well aware of how challenging these demons were.

So, he also found Lu Heng's account of the process too simple.

Deep down, he was unwilling to believe that something he couldn't achieve could be so easily accomplished by others.

This psychology was subtle.

Lu Heng paused to think, then asked, "What do you both think of the defense at Forge Fortress?"

"Of course, it's well-guarded," Dakville replied matter-of-factly.

"Then didn't I also enter Forge Fortress and meet the leader?" Lu Heng maintained a calm expression.

Dakville nodded, saying, "That's true. Lu Heng has the ability. Although the process sounds simple, he does have the capability."

Lu Heng turned to the Guru Elder and asked, "Do you have any other doubts, Elder?"

The Guru Elder shook his head and replied, "Not for now."

"Since you're done, it's my turn."

Lu Heng paused and looked at Dakville, asking, "Leader, do you remember what I said earlier? In the Blood Sacrifice Tower of Blackstone City, I saw a figure in a black cloak. I suspect that this cloaked person is the traitor of the Black Iron Clan."

The Guru Elder interrupted with a doubt, "I remember you saying that this cloaked person was as tall as the bloodline demons. Now you're saying it's the traitor of the Black Iron Clan? Our tallest clan member doesn't even come close to that height."

Dakville nodded in agreement, "Yes, I remember clearly. You said the cloaked person was very tall."

The Guru Elder scoffed, "Outsider, you're not trying to change your story, are you?"

"Don't be hasty."

Lu Heng walked out of the Ancestor Hall, picked up a stick, brought it back, and compared its length to the height of a lava turtle at the entrance.

Then, using the height of the lava turtle as a reference, he made a mark on the stick with his fingernail.

Lu Heng then brought the stick back and placed it next to the Guru Elder's head, saying, "Elder, with this additional height, the cloaked person's height is just about right."

This action was slightly impolite.

The Guru Elder angrily swatted Lu Heng's hand away and scoffed, "What are you trying to say?"

Lu Heng took a deep breath and said, "At first, when I saw the cloaked person, it contradicted my guess.

"Until I saw this lava turtle; its height is just right. Why don't you, Elder, stand on the lava turtle and see for yourself?"

The Guru Elder scoffed angrily, "Are you suspecting me?"

"Don't be hasty. Let's clarify each clue one by one."

Lu Heng turned to Dakville and said, "Leader Dakville, do you remember the clues we investigated earlier?

When you sent someone to invite Grul Elder, you fetched him from outside Forge Fortress, which means Grul Elder wasn't in the fortress before.

Grul Elder scoffed, "I live in the Witch Mountain behind the fortress. As the most powerful wizard in the clan, practicing dark sorcery can easily harm others, so naturally, I don't reside within the fortress."

Dakville nodded in agreement, "Yes, Grul Elder doesn't live in the fortress due to his practice of dark sorcery."

Lu Heng continued, "That's right. As we mentioned earlier, this traitor left Forge Fortress before noon yesterday and went to Blackstone City. Leader, you've been investigating the clan's scouts, but you never mentioned Grul Elder."

Dakville paused, but his heart couldn't bring himself to believe this speculation. He looked at Grul Elder with a complicated expression.

Grul Elder immediately rebuked, "Outsider, how dare you slander me! Leader, do you believe an outsider's slander against our clan's elder?"

Before Dakville could speak, Lu Heng raised his voice, "Leader Dakville, you should know better than me that your father died from dark sorcery. I believe you're aware of the kind of dark sorcerer capable of killing your father. There can't be many sorcerers in the Black Iron Clan who could harm your father, right?"

Upon hearing this, Dakville III was stunned once more.

His father was indeed skilled in dark sorcery, and there weren't many in the clan who could use it to kill him.

This changed the way Dakville III looked at Grul Elder.

Grul Elder rebuked, "Leader, do you want to lead the Black Iron Clan to its demise? How can you believe the words of an outsider!"

The Black Iron Dwarves outside the Ancestor Hall chimed in, "Yes, Leader, Grul Elder is our clan's sorcerer and elder. He has been guarding Forge Fortress."

At this moment, Lu Heng was almost certain that the cloaked figure in the Blood Sacrifice Tower was Grul Elder. However, convincing this group of Black Iron Dwarves of this fact would be challenging.

After all, Grul Elder was of the same clan, while Lu Heng was an outsider summoned to the fortress.

Lu Heng knew that he had to present more compelling evidence at this point, or he would never be able to overturn this Black Iron Clan elder.

Previously, when meeting with Dakville III, Lu Heng had heard him talk about the clan's migration to the Lava Plain and the construction of Blackstone Mine.

Lu Heng had also heard some of the details of Blackstone City's fall three years ago from Dakville.

Lu Heng thought for a moment and asked, "Leader Dakville, I have a question. Three years ago, when you returned to the Lava Plain and found Blackstone City fallen, did you immediately start gathering your people and rebuilding the clan?"

Dakville nodded, "Yes, I gathered my people as soon as possible and brought them to Forge Fortress."

Lu Heng continued, "Then when did you find Grul Elder?"

Dakville recalled, "It was half a year after I brought my people to Forge Fortress that Grul Elder found his way here."

Hearing this response, Lu Heng slowly nodded. After a moment of thought, he pointed at the Lava Turtle and spoke quickly, "When in Blackstone City, the reason Grul Elder stood on the Lava Turtle, I believe, was to meet with the bloodline succubus Salein. He didn't want to appear shorter than Salein, so when they met, he stood on the turtle to talk to her face-to-face.

"He needed to maintain Salein's pride because he was captivated by her.

"I believe you all know the powers of a bloodline succubus better than I do.

"Let me guess what happened three years ago.

"Our Grul Elder, upon seeing the bloodline succubus Salein, was deeply attracted by her beauty.

"He agreed to all the succubus' demands and launched a coup three years ago, killing the previous leader.

"Otherwise, with Blackstone City's sturdy walls, how could the bloodline demons possibly break through? I'll take a bolder guess: Leader Dakville wasn't in Blackstone City at the time but was away on a mission..."

Lu Heng paused, turned to Dakville III, and asked, "Leader, I dare to guess that the reason you left Blackstone City three years ago was that someone sent you away.

"Because you possess the same talent and wisdom as your father, the traitor knew that if you were in Blackstone City, along with your father, even with their inside-outside collaboration, they wouldn't have been able to breach the city.

"So, the reason Leader left three years ago was most likely due to someone's scheming."

Dakville furrowed his brows and glanced at Grul Elder but didn't accuse him.

Lu Heng, seeing his expression, guessed that Grul Elder wasn't the one who sent him away three years ago.

As a tribal elder, one need not personally intervene to separate someone.

Lu Heng continued, "Everyone, I believe that after the fall of Blackstone City three years ago, the Black Iron Clan warriors here would have immediately sought out your leader and gathered together to fight for your homeland, right?"

The Black Iron Dwarves present remembered that history and all clenched their fists, saying, "Of course! If it weren't for the fall of Blackstone City back then, and if our former leader hadn't told us to flee, we would have definitely defended the city to the death."

Lu Heng suddenly turned around, pointed at Grul Elder, and asked, "Then why, after the fall of Blackstone City, did Leader Dakville gather the clansmen and station them at Forge Fortress, only for Grul Elder to appear half a year later?"

"As a tribal elder, shouldn't you have gathered the clansmen first after the fall of Blackstone City and gone to welcome the young leader, rebuilding the tribe?"

"Why did Grul Elder disappear for half a year and then suddenly appear at Forge Fortress?"

Grul Elder opened his mouth to refute.

Lu Heng interrupted him sternly, "Leader Dakville III, if I'm not mistaken, Grul Elder only appeared after your first counterattack on Blackstone City, right?"

"This... is indeed..." Dakville III recalled the events of three years ago and found that Lu Heng's guess was spot on.

Lu Heng continued, "Grul Elder, why did you only appear after the first counterattack on Blackstone City?"

"The reason is simple. During that half a year, he was serving under the Bloodline Succubus Salein."

"After Leader Dakville's first counterattack on Blackstone City, the Bloodline Demons discovered that the Black Iron Clan's power was still formidable."

"So, half a year later, Salein sent Grul Elder back to spy on the Black Iron Clan's actions!"

These words rang with conviction, and every detail matched what had happened to the Black Iron Clan initially.

This made Dakville III's gaze towards Grul Elder grow increasingly complex.

Grul Elder angrily shouted, "Nonsense! Leader, are you going to believe the words of an outsider? He's slandering our tribal elder! Do my decades of dedication to the tribe not outweigh a few doubts from an outsider?"

The Black Iron Dwarves present looked at each other, doubt in their eyes.

After listening to Lu Heng's analysis, they found Grul Elder indeed suspicious, but to label him a traitor solely based on his disappearance seemed insufficient evidence.

Grul Elder pointed at Lu Heng's nose and shouted, "Everything this outsider says is just his speculation! If a mere accusation can successfully slander an elder, does the tribe have a future?"

Although Lu Heng's reasoning matched the Black Iron Clan's history, there was a crucial unresolved issue—evidence.

Up to this point, there was no evidence to prove Grul Elder's betrayal.

Just as the Black Iron Dwarves were discussing this.

Su Muyu walked into the hall, approached Lu Heng, and whispered something in his ear.

Lu Heng gave her a thumbs-up and then turned to Dakville III, saying, "Grul Elder was charmed by the Bloodline Succubus Salein, so he must have something of hers on him, allowing him to constantly smell her scent."

Upon hearing this, all the Black Iron Dwarves looked at Grul Elder.

Grul Elder grew even angrier, tearing open his robe, and roared, "Search me! See if I have anything of Salein's, go ahead and search!"

The Black Iron Dwarves present, upon seeing this, immediately believed his words.

For caution's sake, Dakville III still had his guards search Grul Elder.

But they found no items belonging to Salein.

Dakville III turned to Lu Heng and asked, "You said Grul Elder had something of Salein's, but we've searched him, what do you say now?"

Lu Heng maintained his composure and said, "I didn't finish my sentence earlier. Grul Elder must have known that today's purpose was to investigate the former leader's death. Of course, he wouldn't dare keep Salein's items on him.

"So, he hid Salein's items in his residence. You'll find them if you search his quarters."

Upon hearing this, Grul Elder immediately protested, "Nonsense!"

Lu Heng smirked and said, "Grul Elder, not only do I know you've collected Salein's items, but I also know what they are. They're a lock of Salein's... mane!"

Earlier, while Lu Heng suspected Grul Elder, Su Muyu had already sent out the Celestial Phoenix to search for crucial evidence on Wizard Mountain.

What she had whispered to Lu Heng earlier was this information.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end