Chapter 229 | Bound by Gear, Forged by Power

Matthew slowly finished listening to Stefan's description of the yellow-haired youth, a vague image gradually forming in his mind.

Yellow hair, green eyes, a cold temperament, and a secretive way of doing things, appearing on a fixed weekly schedule to control the gang to conduct “experiments”—these characteristics made Matthew increasingly certain:

This person was highly likely to be from some wizard organization.

Otherwise, given the Peters family's status and power as one of the three major noble families in the county seat, it was absolutely impossible for them to be so respectful to an outsider of unknown origin, even tacitly allowing and cooperating with the other party to conduct these “experiments” that involved human lives and clearly crossed legal and moral boundaries.

And the keyword “experiment” pointed even more toward the typical characteristics of the wizard path—systematic, knowledge-based, and goal-oriented.

The true path of a wizard was not something one could build behind closed doors by relying solely on talent or luck.

It required a systematic inheritance of knowledge, rigorous research methods, and repeated verification and recording of unknown phenomena.

Just like Matthew himself; although he was filled with a desire for magic, in the absence of a mentor, ancient texts, or the guidance of predecessors' experience, he was still like a blind man feeling an elephant when it came to the world of wizards, unable to even be considered a Novice.

That the yellow-haired youth could design and drive a human experiment of this scale indicated that he very likely had an organization with a complete system of knowledge and research resources backing him. This not only made Matthew vigilant but also gave him a faint sense of an opportunity to approach the truth of magic.

But the crisis was equally clear and recognizable.

First of all, Matthew was clear about his own strength.

In Jin County Seat, a Silver Rank Class holder was already considered a capable expert, enough to walk sideways in the outer city, and even hold a place in the inner city.

But he was by no means at the top—those veteran Silver Ranks, half-step Gold Ranks, or even true Gold Rank experts were still existences he could not currently confront head-on.

What's more, someone who could quietly set up a stronghold in the inner city and make the Peters family bow and cooperate would only have even more unfathomable strength, either personally or in terms of the power backing them.

Secondly, the other party acted so secretively and boldly, clearly possessing some sort of reliance. Once Matthew investigated further, he would highly likely touch upon some undercurrents that he was unwilling and unable to face too early.

Just as a trace of hesitation born from weighing the risks flashed in Matthew's eyes, Stefan keenly captured this moment of hesitation.

He forced down the excruciating pain and weakness, hurriedly adding:

“That... that yellow-haired youth... the aura on him is very strange, sometimes strong and sometimes weak, very unstable! I felt it up close several times, it's definitely not an act... It's the instability of life energy, I'm sure of it!”

Matthew cast a cold glance at him and did not immediately respond.

He did not fully believe Stefan's words—it was only normal for a dying man to deliberately reveal half-truths in search of a sliver of hope for survival or simply to drag someone down with him.

But after quickly running through the known information in his mind, he found that Stefan had no more valuable clues left to squeeze out.

It was time to end this.

Matthew slowly raised the longsword in his hand, the tip pointing at Stefan's neck, a cold light flowing along the blade.

But before swinging the sword, following a nearly ritualistic habit, he asked in a deep voice:

“Do you have any last words?”

Stefan did not show any panic or surprise at his impending death. He struggled to pull the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile mixed with bleakness, relief, and profound hatred, his voice hoarse but clear:

“If... if you have the power... kill all those nobles... leave none alive.”

As soon as the words fell,

A sword light flashed, like cold lightning tearing through the gloom.

Stefan's head rolled to the ground, the final expression frozen on his face one of relief, yet also of endless resentment.

Matthew sheathed his sword and stood quietly, his gaze sweeping over the lifeless corpse, sighing inwardly:

It seemed this Stefan also had a rather extraordinary past.

Perhaps he was once a passionate mercenary, or perhaps he once had cherished family or companions, only to fall step by step into the abyss during the nobles' conflicts and exploitation, turning into a butcher's knife in the hands of others, leading to today's end.

But such a story seemed so ordinary in this kingdom.

The nobles' oppression of the commoners, their monopoly on resources, and their abuse of power had long since become a deep-seated norm. “Tools” like Stefan, who were used, sacrificed, and driven to destruction amidst hatred and numbness, played out their tragedies in every corner of the county seat and the kingdom, at every single moment.