It was rare to see two of them alive and kicking, so Claude's curiosity was piqued.
However, the captain didn't give Claude the chance to do so. He ordered his men to bring the five thugs back and interrogate them to see if they were telling the truth.
At the same time, he ordered the talkative man to send Claude back to the tavern. Judging from the fact that he didn't reveal his name to Claude, he had no intention of befriending him.
He sent Claude back as a gesture of politeness to apologize for the misunderstanding he caused.
The other reason was to keep an eye on him and investigate him.
Even though the conscription order, pass and identification documents he handed over were found to be fine and the information about Maria and Felidos matched the facts, the captain still ordered his men to find the coachman at the tavern to ask about Claude's situation.
The large bat-like robe covered the modified muskets on the man's back. Claude immediately understood why the special task force wore such strange clothes as their uniform.
Even though they would still attract a lot of attention when they walked on the streets like an underground gang, it was still much better than walking around with their modified muskets.
Even if they were in a strange place, the local scoundrels and hooligans would avoid them because of their strange and mysterious attire, which would reduce the possibility of small troubles and conflicts.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Lykleinte Dororme."
After the agents left with the five thugs, the black-clothed man who was left behind, the one who checked on the injuries of the three thugs and complained to his captain about the ugly black robe he wore, introduced himself to Claude in a friendly manner.
Claude nodded back. "I'm Claude Ferd. Nice to meet you."
Claude suddenly realized that the reason the captain asked Lykleinte to stay behind to send him off was probably because he didn't like him.
That was because not only was Ricklete a friendly person, but he was also a chatterbox. Throughout the journey from the dead end to the Big Wagon Tavern, Ricklete's mouth had never closed. He had been talking non-stop, and most of it was nonsense.
However, Claude managed to glean quite a bit of useful information from his chatter.
For example, the modified muskets the special task force had were all custom-made by the royal capital's firearms research institute. The cost of a modified musket was very high and there was no way to manufacture it.
But that wasn't a problem for the special task force. They had the funds to customize and modify the muskets.
Also, there were eight special task force squads in the kingdom with 15 men each. There was also a platoon of reserve squads. They were the kingdom's best weapons against magi.
Apart from the two secret service squads stationed in the Royal City to take turns maintaining order, the other six secret service squads were running all over the kingdom, hunting down the outlawed mages and wanted mages.
In a way, the special task force could be considered Aueran's combat magi. The minimum requirement to become a member of the special task force was to be talented in magic and be able to learn all sorts of spells. At the same time, they had to come from a clean background and be loyal to the kingdom and the Stellin royal family.
Additionally, the selection process for special task force members started at the age of 13 or 14. They were tested for magical talent and enrolled in a specialized training school to learn magic.
After 18, they would become reserve squads and undergo repeated tests before they could officially become a member of the special task force.
Lykleinte said that he was a war orphan who lived with his aunt after his mother passed away. He was only four at the time.
His father was a captain who died in Nubissia.
He and his aunt lived on his father's pension. When he was 13, some people suddenly came and tested his magic talent, so he was enrolled in a school run by the special department. After graduation, he became a reserve member of the Secret Service.
The year before last, due to the expansion of the special task force, he was selected as an official member due to his outstanding performance.
"You're saying that doesn't violate the confidentiality rules of the special task force?" Claude asked curiously.
"It's fine. It's an open secret in the royal capital. Anyone with the slightest bit of connections would be able to find out," Lykleinte replied nonchalantly.
Claude thought about it and felt that it made sense. The special department in the royal capital wasn't a secret to those who wanted to know. Furthermore, Riclaret had only told him a little about his background and the size of the special task force, so it would be easy to find out about those things.
However, he didn't mention anything about their mission or what magic he learned in the special training school. Even when Claude mentioned his modified gun, he only said that it was powerful and didn't mention anything about its effective range.
After returning to the tavern, Lykleinte told Claude that he wanted to talk to Oask alone after dinner to understand some things.
Claude nodded to indicate that he understood. He paid for the best meal in the tavern and returned to his room after paying the bill.
As for what Lykleinte and Oask talked about, Claude didn't want to know. It was probably about his situation in Whitestag.
Claude was thankful that he didn't reveal his secret to the special task force. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight against the dozen modified guns they had.
In the end, Oask was carried upstairs by the two coachmen in the tavern in a drunken state. He even muttered something about how he couldn't take you down.
The two coachmen said that Oask and the black-robed man were having a drinking competition. Were they actually having a drinking competition?
He went down to the second floor curiously and went to the main hall of the tavern. The owner of the tavern told him that the black-robed man had already left. Despite drinking a lot, he still seemed rather clear-headed and didn't look drunk at all.
Claude had no choice but to take care of the drunk Oask for the rest of the night. Fortunately, Oask's alcohol tolerance wasn't bad.
Even when he was drunk, he didn't go crazy. He only woke up twice in the middle of the night, once to get some water and the other time to pee.
The next morning, Oask woke up very late. According to the plan, they were supposed to leave at eight. But by the time he cleaned up and went downstairs for breakfast, it was already ten.
Just as he was about to pack up and get ready to leave, a few coachmen came back cursing and telling everyone in the tavern to stop working. Whitestag was sealed off for the day and no one was allowed to leave.
The moment the news spread, many of the coachmen cursed loudly in the tavern. To them, every day Whitestag was sealed off meant a day without any income. Some of the ore deliveries they had agreed on had to be rescheduled. Who knew if the bosses would find someone else to transport the ore?
But most of the coachmen wanted to try their luck at the city gates. Oask and Claude were no exception.
Only when they reached the city gates did they realize that there was no way they could be accommodated.
The city gates were tightly shut. A white line was drawn 50 meters in front of the gates.
The soldiers of the Garrison Camp who were guarding the city gate were armed with live ammunition, and the matches were lit. Anyone who did not have permission to cross the line would be shot by the Garrison Camp soldiers. Even the muzzles of the two small cannons on the city wall were aimed at the city …
Nobody dared to charge the gates, so everyone returned to the tavern cursing and swearing.
Oask continued cursing and swearing with the coachmen in the tavern's hall while Claude returned to his room to catch up on his sleep.
When he came down for lunch at noon, he realized that rumors were flying all over the place.
There were dozens of versions of the rumors about why White Wood City was sealed. The most exaggerated one was that the only daughter of White Wood City's General Manager had been raped and murdered. The General Manager swore that as long as the murderer was not caught, he would not reopen the city …
This was actually nonsense. Those who couldn't get out of the city were venting their anger.
According to the innkeeper, the seneschal of White Wood was about sixty years of age. He had two sons and a daughter. The daughter was an aunt, about forty years of age, and as fat as a wine barrel. Only a blind pervert would have designs on her.
If someone really did go after her, the one to be raped and murdered wouldn't be the aunty. Instead, the pervert would probably die of ejaculation.
Claude had no intention of staying in the tavern for long. He only advised Oask to drink less before returning to his room.
The reason Whitestag was sealed off was simple. The special forces were searching for the two magi from Higros. Otherwise, they wouldn't have made such a big fuss.
Whitestag suffered quite a bit of losses in a single day of being sealed off. Only the special forces from the royal capital could force the majordomo to cooperate with them.
In the evening, intense gunfire and explosions rang out in the eastern district of Whitestag for about ten minutes.
Then, news spread that two vicious fugitives were hiding in that district and they exchanged fire with the patrol squad that was chasing them.
The two criminals had brought a lot of gunpowder with them and destroyed quite a few buildings. Dozens of innocent citizens were injured in the sudden violence. Fortunately, there were no reports of casualties.
Claude knew that it wasn't due to the gunpowder the two so-called fugitives brought with them. Instead, it was due to some powerful spell.
In an era where gunpowder was used as the propellant for guns and cannons, the explosive power of gunpowder was child's play compared to explosives. It couldn't possibly destroy a three-storey building in one fell swoop.
Around eight at night, Lykleinte from the special forces came to the tavern to look for Claude.
"You can leave tomorrow. Whitestag will no longer be sealed off. Also, the captain wants me to tell you that the ten boxes of the highest quality whiteroot powder you bought from Dankro have been approved. They'll be sent to Normanley Wood tomorrow," said Lykleinte.
Claude was shocked. "I've already paid the bill. Why do they still need to be approved?"
Lykleinte cracked a smile. "That's what the special forces do. Anyone who buys those precious materials will be investigated and only allowed to buy them after they're satisfied."
"That's not right," Claude retorted, "The manager of the shop asked me if I should take them away immediately. If I didn't ask them to deliver them, wouldn't I be able to get approved?"
"Haha …" Lykleinte shook his head with a smile. "You can take them from the shop, but you can't leave Whitestag with them."