The Witcher: Astartes Of The Bear School

Chapter 47: Convergence of Cases

For the first five minutes of the interrogation, Lan didn't ask a single question.

He simply acted, pressing the three-edged spikes on the outside of his gloves deeply into Willis's skin and slowly, agonizingly, dragging them across. Unlike the sudden and fierce punch from before, the slow tearing of skin by steel and force was fully felt by Willis's body.

For someone who had just lost sensation in his lower body and whose sense of security had plummeted, this slow torment was enough to drive him mad!

"Ah!!! Ah!!!" The screams were as if he was tearing his vocal cords apart.

"Ask! Ask me anything! I'll tell you everything, just kill me afterward! Ask! Ask!"

Willis's fingers scratched frantically at Lan's steel wrist guards, his nails flipping over and leaving bloody marks. But compared to the quality of the armor from the School of the Bear and Lan's own arm strength, Willis's struggles were insignificant. Lan ignored his cries and continued his actions until the five-minute alarm set by Mentos went off.

By then, Willis was terrified. Rationally, he knew his information was needed; otherwise, there would be no reason for the torture. But Lan's approach of inflicting five minutes of pain regardless of whether he could endure it revealed a complete disregard for his life, allowing his emotions to override his reason. Willis knew he would die, from the moment his spine was broken, but he didn't want to experience more pain before his death, not at all.

Lan's blood-stained face remained calm as he looked at the prisoner, but under that calmness, Willis felt a chill run through his entire body.

"First question, did you come for me?" The witcher slightly loosened his fist pressing on Willis.

"No! No! I didn't even know who you were! We thought we just saw two unlucky stragglers on the road and wanted to—"

Coincidence? So, the possibility of revenge was gone. But at the same time, it confirmed another possibility.

"Ah, I understand. Cannibals also need to stock up on food, it's normal, right?" Lan seemed completely uninterested in the part Willis found hard to say.

"Second question, are you the ones responsible for the large-scale abduction of children in Velen?"

"Yes, it's us. Although children taste better, we also need money. After coming to Velen, someone offered a good price for the children."

Lan looked at Willis and nodded without any emotion. Even cannibals couldn't live entirely outside of society. Salt, iron, fabric, wood, livestock—cannibals needed these too. To be self-sufficient in these, the manpower required would be enough to form a small society. But by participating in the economic activities of society—spending money—these materials could be easily obtained.

Thus, the two major cases plaguing Velen, the cannibal cult and the large-scale disappearance of children, could be attributed to the same group. 

But Lan's expression showed no joy in solving the case. He wasn't a detective and had no interest in solving crimes. The convergence of the two cases only added another layer of determination to the already blood-soaked situation.

No matter what other heinous crimes they had committed, the moment they shot Bernie and abducted White, their lives were forfeit.

"Motives clarified. Now let's talk about what's truly important. One question."

The spiked leather gloves spread wide, covering Willis's skull. The muscles in Lan's fingers swelled inch by inch, veins bulging, and his previously calm face now twitched with barely contained anger. Willis's upper body was lifted slightly off the ground as the hand gripped his skull. The cat-like eyes, in Willis's extreme fear and resistance, moved closer to his.

"Tell me, where do you take the children?" The usually forthcoming Willis hesitated slightly at this moment. Lan captured it keenly.

"Ah, it's not simple, you hesitated. It seems the location where the children are held is important to you, perhaps even your base? It makes sense, as they are valuable 'goods.' And the location wouldn't be far from the transport point because the 'goods' are conspicuous. In Velen, you can only transport them by water... Your base is on the western coast of Velen?"

Mentos quickly proposed the possibilities, and Lan's mind synchronized to filter and judge. In this cold fury, the witcher's brain cells operated with an efficiency that even surprised him.

Willis's eyes suddenly darted around in panic. Lan knew he had guessed correctly.

"Boom!" Another punch hit Willis's cheek. His pupils instantly began to lose focus. This sudden punch completely stunned him, both physically and mentally.

As the right fist struck, Lan's left hand simultaneously changed gestures. A cold, misty white magical glow aimed at Willis's head. The Axii Sign.

Willis's head now wobbled on his neck like a drunken man, dazed.

"Tell me where your base is, Willis." Lan spoke calmly, as if setting a hypnotic suggestion.

"Velen isn't large, and you've seen my skills. How long would it take me to search the western coast where dozens or hundreds of people could be hidden? Since you can't hide, why not tell me and give yourself a quick end?"

One of the main reasons a witcher couldn't rely on the Axii Sign to act recklessly was that its effects were extremely weak. For someone like Willis, who could face direct combat without changing expression, the sign would likely only cause dizziness for less than two seconds. Because they were resolute and filled with killing intent.

Certain powerful sorcerers' mind control spells could make such a person turn and kill their own wife and children without stopping. But for a witcher's magical tricks, even when extracting information, Lan had to weaken Willis's body and mind first, then suddenly stun him and give a barely self-consistent reason to make him speak without reservation.

"Yes, yes, since we can't hide..." Willis's words were like a dream. "On the western coast of Velen, near a village called Condyle. We set up camp in the hills there."

"A village? Did you eat the villagers?" Lan flicked the skin fragments caught on the three-edged spikes of his gloves and asked softly.

"No, the 'Head-Eater' doesn't allow us to hunt nearby. He said if we did, we wouldn't last two years in Velen before being discovered."

"'Head-Eater'? Who is that?"

"Our leader. We don't know his original name, and he never says. We call him that because he likes to eat boiled heads." 

Lan's hand swept across his waist, and the cold light of a hunting knife flickered in his palm.

"You don't even know his name, and you recognize him as your leader? When did trust within criminal groups become so strong?"

"Because... he can bring food and money. He brought back this child trafficking business. He suggested this outfit for me. Although he looks like a brainless wild boar, he's actually the smartest..."

***

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