A Steel Seed with a numerical value reaching eighty could be considered valuable no matter how it was used.

Most importantly, this person's background inevitably involved numerous interested groups with substantial stakes.

Though the individual himself had escaped and those with clear issues had been captured, those without evidence had retreated into the shadows, temporarily securing their safety.

"After all, they rightfully monopolized the goods trade in the Northern District." Naimes understood the underlying schemes perfectly.

The Northern District was where nobles and wealthy individuals resided—most people living in this area had status and influence. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel(ꜰ)ire.net

Although the trade volume here couldn't compare to the Southern District's market, the goods traded in this area generally yielded high profits as they consisted of premium items.

The wealth contained within these transactions wasn't something ordinary people could obtain, much less maintain securely.

Great Knight Sibin not only obtained this wealth but maintained it for over a decade.

Coupled with his connections to the cult, a hidden network had essentially surfaced—the trade of prohibited goods.

Most nobles and wealthy merchants in the Northern District had some degree of involvement in questionable activities.

Some nobles, for instance, maintained private 'breeding grounds' in wilderness areas. These facilities might house valuable dangerous creatures or secretly produce other prohibited items under the guise of breeding operations.

Similar to prohibition laws, the stricter the ban, the higher the price of alcohol soared.

The same principle applied to these prohibited items—the more the church forbade them, the higher their prices climbed on the black market.

Naimes felt certain that Great Knight Sibin likely served as the key figure in these prohibited goods transactions.

Before the incident, he and his interest groups essentially controlled most trade caravans in the Northern District.

Only he possessed the capacity to sustain the entire Northern District's prohibited goods trade.

"Therefore, most people actually don't want Sibin captured now, which probably explains how he managed to escape from the Judgment Squad."

"Of course, if Sibin truly lacked capability, they wouldn't have helped him escape—they would have simply eliminated him instead."

"This represents a pivotal point that could reshape Wavetail Town's entire structure." Naimes possessed almost natural advantages in this situation.

"Come, accompany me on a patrol round." Naimes subsequently called for Kru to join him outside.

"Certainly, Lord Naimes. Would you prefer a carriage, horses—"

"Horses!" Naimes had learned the technique for communicating with Kru—ignore his rambling follow-up questions and directly state the initial choice.

True to form, though Kru tended to be talkative, he handled matters with remarkable efficiency.

Following Naimes' instruction, he immediately closed his eyes and connected to the internal grid.

Because Wavetail Town's church was sufficiently large, with numerous sacred statues and inscriptions surrounding them, the nearby grid had developed minor branches.

Accompanying priests possessed authorization to directly communicate with various church departments, thereby transmitting the commanding officer's instructions.

By the time Naimes and Kru exited through the doorway, several horses stood waiting nearby for Naimes' selection.

After brief observation, Naimes chose a relatively spirited horse and departed with Kru.

They soon noticed both the Southern and Northern Districts had become unusually quiet.

The church stood in the Northern District but occupied area bordering the Southern District.

The dividing line between north and south was a river named Weizhong.

Radiating outward from this river, small church outposts stood at regular intervals along both banks, extending deep into both districts.

These outposts housed trainee holy knights, trainee priests, and knight attendants, with more crucial outposts even staffed by formal clergy members.

Unlike Jacques and Isabella, who held trainee titles but actually underwent scrutiny, the trainee clergy here genuinely served as trainees.

Once their numerical value exceeded six, they could generally become formal clergy members.

As for attendants, most were ordinary civilians.

The majority lacked resources and talent, unable to access complete breathing techniques or cultivate them successfully themselves.

Thus they could only become attendants, following knights to maintain order and support their families.

Compared to ordinary struggling civilians, though their work involved miscellaneous tasks, this already represented an enviable occupation.

"Greetings, Great Knight!" People at each outpost saluted Naimes whenever he arrived.

Within a remarkably short time, Naimes' reputation as a Great Knight had spread widely—at least within the church system, even attendants knew of Naimes' arrival and recognized his general appearance.

This resulted from Naimes' previous actions: upon arriving in Wavetail Town, he immediately dismantled a gang organization.

Then he dispatched all holy knights to patrol everywhere, strictly investigating illegal activities.

Meanwhile, the previously chaotic voices in the market seemed to vanish instantly.

Through the clergy's own interest groups spreading information, virtually everyone in the city quickly learned about these events.

Though some reckless individuals existed among them, none dared disrespect the church's authority.

Another factor was the overwhelming deterrence Naimes brought with him.

Those wanting to target Naimes found no immediate opportunities to strike.

He seized upon minor issues and directly assaulted their strongholds—most importantly, he succeeded, completely obliterating the gang and capturing its leader.

This level of initiative, this uncompromising approach, this combat capability—who wouldn't fear such capabilities?

First, Naimes arrived alone for his appointment while his family connections led back to the uncooperative Dartmanley family, whom nobody could afford to provoke, making approaches through his associates virtually impossible.

Second, Naimes had only been in Wavetail Town for two hours—even if someone sent prostitutes to frame him, they would need to wait until nighttime. His arrival was too recent, leaving him essentially uninvolved in any matters and within a 'protection period.'

Third, upon careful consideration, these people realized they currently had no reason to oppose Naimes.

Thieves couldn't oppose officials, especially without clear conflicts of interest.

Previously, some clergy members succumbed to gang intimidation through despicable means, essentially representing struggles between interest groups where gangs served as white gloves using these methods to suppress and balance opposing forces.

While Naimes appeared to challenge Wavetail Town's entire structure, he actually opposed nobody—he merely implemented minor security measures. Due to the cult incident, certain activities couldn't proceed during this period anyway.

"This selection proves somewhat subtle." Naimes immediately identified the crucial issue—the Black Viper represented the Dartmanley family's influence.

The Dartmanley family, due to their circumstances, maintained an ambiguous stance toward Naimes, yet Naimes preemptively struck and stunned them.

As a newcomer without his own interest groups, Naimes naturally avoided provoking rejection from other interest groups.

Laying low temporarily caused minimal losses for those parties, resulting in this strangely calm situation.