Chapter 161: Aerial Pursuit

After repeatedly confirming it with Dickens, Locke looked at Dickens and asked, “How many heinous acts have you committed for God to punish you this way?”

This sentence caused Dickens subordinates to stnicker.

Upon noticing how embarrassed Dickens looked, Locke did not probe any further. After returning the photo, he said, “Anyway, use all the connections at your disposal to determine the source of the ketchup.”

“Understood, boss!” Dickens shouted.

…

The ketchup was being sold throughout the city.

“Give me 5 bottles!”

“I want 25 bottles!”

“I ordered 30 of them yesterday…”

In front of a residential area filled with Beastmasters.

A food truck that was manned by two people were immediately surrounded by dozens of Beastmasters upon opening shop.

The customers were staring at the ketchup bottles within the containers on the cabinet with eager eyes.

In less than twenty minutes, the truck had completely sold out.

The merchant in charge muttered to himself while he observed the dissipating crowd, “What a bunch of idiots…”

The other person closed the container. “The Holy City will fall under our rule before long!”

Dickens, who had noticed the scene, immediately reported it to Locke.

Locke was making his way back home when he got the call.

“Boss! South of the city, in Gabis District, there are two vendors selling the ketchup! I’m currently calling my men over to apprehend them!”

Locke pulled up a mental map and responded, “No need, I’m quite close to the scene!”

After hanging up, he immediately summoned Lil’ White to teleport him there!

In less than ten minutes, Locke had arrived on scene and he noticed that the truck was just about to leave.

The merchant seemed to have recognized Locke, and he immediately shouted, “It’s Locke!”

“Master told us not to confront him directly. Run!”

Following that, the ordinary looking truck began to transform!

The four wheels retracted and were replaced by four flame throwers!

Spurt! Boom!

The merchant floored the accelerator, and the truck immediately soared into the sky!

Locke was originally uncertain of their involvement in the ketchup’s distribution. However, Locke’s suspicions were verified once they fled!

The truck flew at breakneck speed!

In less than two minutes, it had flown about two kilometers away.

Locke originally wanted to summon Lil’ Dragon to go after them.

However, as there were several citizens around, Locke did not want to expose the fact that he had possessed a dragon.

Thus, he chased after them with Gale Wings!

The leader laughed loudly while observing Locke’s pursuit via the rearview mirror, “Hahahaha! My Battle Beast is one of the fastest mechanical-types to ever exist! Goodbye, Locke!”

Then, the merchant’s mana surged, and the truck transformed once more!

A few more flamethrowers had spawned at the rear of the truck!

Moreover, there were also two mechanicals wings at its sides!

Its speed had increased once more!

Locke was having a hard time catching up.

Regardless, he did not lose track of them.

After pursuing them for more than twenty minutes, they finally arrived at the outskirts.

At this point, Locke no longer had any inhibitions.

The wind in his hands began to gather, and he unleashed two shots of Hurricane Piercer!

Boom!

Locke’s attack had hit its mark, and the plane began to plummet towards a remote hill!

Since the truck was a Battle Beast, its natural instinct was to protect its master.

It managed to protect the two vendors right until the very end, despite losing its life in the process!

The vendors’ faces turned pale once they saw Locke approaching them.

The vendor in charge had heard many rumors about Locke, and he knew that Locke would not hesitate to take his life.

Thus, he begged, “Mr. Locke! I will tell you anything you want to know! I don’t want to die yet!”

The other vendor also nodded vigorously.

Amused by their cooperative spirit, Locke sat down on a large boulder and raised his chin, signaling for them to begin their explanation.

“We… We’re Beastmasters hired by the Trent family. They asked us to sell this ketchup. They told us to sell it to Beastmasters if possible!”

“That’s right! This thing is poisonous. It’ll seal a Beastmaster’s mana core!”

Locke looked at them coldly and said, “Then what? What will happen once you’ve sold the ketchup? What’s the Trent family’s goal?”

This was the crux of the matter.

“We’re not sure about this. We’re not official employees of their family. They won’t tell us these sort of stuff!”

“That’s right. This is how the Trent family does things. They only give us instructions, but they never inform us of their motives…”

Based on their frightened expressions, Locke was certain that they were telling the truth.

‘Dickens was right, the Trent family is indeed a cunning bunch.’

After thinking for a moment, Locke asked again, “Tell me more about the family. Don’t you dare tell me you don’t know!”

The two of them nodded repeatedly. “We’ll tell you what little that we know!”

The one in charge spoke first. “The Trent family’s ancestors were originally bandits! They amassed their fortune selling slaves! They’re very rich! I don’t know what kind of shady methods they used, but they managed to obtain the title of Viscount, as well as a portion of Gold City’s territory!”

“Yes! The current head of the family is Barrette Trent, a 53 year old man! However, perhaps due to all the crimes they’ve committed, their lineage is dying off, and all that’s left of the Trent family now is the perverted father and son duo!”

“They’ve already become one of the top nobles in Gold City by relying on their old connections. They’re very powerful, and they have full control over Gold City’s underground forces! That was how they recruited us!”

“However, the Trent family’s business has since expanded! They’re not just selling slaves now, but low-level Beastmasters as well! To them, Beastmasters like us who have been exiled and lost our identities, are nothing more than mutts! If it wasn’t for my Battle Beast’s ability to escape quickly, the two of us would’ve been sold to Wind City a long time ago!”

Following this, the two of them actually started crying.

“Why did you call them perverts?” Locke crossed his arms and asked.

“Barrette likes to play with women of all types! And that son of his is even more perverted!”

“His name is Armstrong! He likes to do research on slaves and Daemons! He often concocts strange potions and makes the slaves drink them! You wouldn’t know this, but many slaves have died due to his experiments!”

“However, that’s only the tip of the iceberg! He also likes to collect human bones! He often invites the nobles in the city to come and admire them! He calls the bones works of art, and he even holds human bone auctions from time to time!”

‘This is indeed abnormal.’

Moreover, Locke felt that Armstrong was responsible for both the Boosters and the ketchup.

‘But what’s his goal?’

Locke needed to locate new clues.

Upon this thought, Locke then headed towards the academy via his Gale Wings. He intended to consult the medical instructors regarding the matter.