Wayne and his companions were not too familiar with the local area, but thankfully, the weather was clear tonight, so they wouldn't lose their way.

The carriage followed the road, taking several turns at forks in the path, essentially making a circle, and the individual who had been accompanying the carriage was still there, which could be preliminarily identified as a "tracker."

There's a slight difference between "people of unknown origin" and "definite enemies."

The overall public security on the East Coast, after all, isn't like the West where you can casually encounter gangs. If the other party was merely ordered to track them, then apprehending them or giving them a beating would suffice—most of the "little Demons" here have backing, and they themselves don't necessarily harbor malicious intent.

So, Wayne, after preparing his weapons, temporarily had no intention of firing the first shot. The spacing between the three carriages had subtly widened, intending to draw the enemy into a trap.

"Bang! Bang! Bang bang!"

Unexpected gunshots rang out from further away, not from the discovered tracker, and it didn't feel like they were aimed at Wayne and his group.

Lina poked her head out in that direction, "Should we go take a look?"

"Yes, it's not far anyway."

Sanders, who was driving, received the command, and the carriage began to deviate from the road, heading straight towards the sound across the flat ground.

The gunshots were sporadic at first, then became dense, and after that, the intervals gradually slowed.

Inessa, with her rich experience, said, "It seems to be a skirmish or an ambush, and the outcome is already close to being decided."

Wayne felt the same way and was about to knock on the partition to tell Sanders to speed up, so they wouldn't miss the initial scene by arriving too late.

But before he could act, the carriage's speed already began to slow down.

What's happening?

Hoofbeats on the grass approached from a distance. Wayne half-opened the carriage door and peered out, only to see a steward and an overseer from the Plantation riding towards them.

The other party probably recognized Sanders, who was driving, and shouted towards them, "Run! There's a Demon!"

Even Inessa seemed to be interested now, her body pressing closer. With Lina and Emma also crowding, the carriage door almost burst open.

As the two parties approached and stopped, Wayne and his group quickly got out and surrounded them, "Explain it clearly, what kind of Demon is it?"

The steward was still panting on horseback, a little incoherent, "We thought they were slave thieves, but they're actually Demons. They tied up the slaves from our Plantation. We shot, but they're unkillable. Things grow out of their wounds, and several of our men have been knocked off their horses."

Wayne barely understood, guessing that the other party must have encountered an Extraordinary Person. He half-pulled and half-helped the steward dismount, "It's alright, you two rest in the carriage first, we'll go take a look."

"Don't go! They really are unkillable!"

"Don't worry, we're professionals."

"Really, Mr. Wayne, believe me!"

It's not that I don't believe you... I just want to ride your horses over to confirm the situation.

After comforting the steward and helping him into the carriage, the other equally shaken overseer, seeing that the steward didn't object, also got into the carriage.

Leaving Lina to hold the fort, Wayne and Inessa successively mounted the horses and headed towards the direction where sporadic gunshots could still be heard.

Before he even felt like they had reached the initial scene, Wayne saw someone who appeared to be another Plantation overseer, now tackled to the ground by a "Treeman."

The overseer's hunting rifle seemed to have just fired, but it had already been swatted away by a "big slap" from the Treeman, complete with branches and leaves, spinning in mid-air. The Treeman, on the other hand, seemed to have been shot, swaying its "treetop" in place, while its other "arm" was still raising.

"Bang!"

The sound of the bolt-action rifle was more powerful than the hunting rifle. The branch that the Treeman was about to use to strike someone's head snapped.

Sounds of fury, panic, and continuously calm gunshots.

The overseer scrambled backward on all fours across the grass, screaming. The "Treeman" looked intimidating, but it wasn't actually that powerful. With one leg shot, it angrily fell halfway through its charge, stabbing a branch directly into the grass with one hand.

Wayne moved slightly forward, Inessa stood behind him with her gun, and the muzzle of his revolver lifted, pointing at the opponent's forehead from a safe distance—actually, Wayne wasn't sure, this thing didn't even seem to have a "neck," so he could only choose a position that "looked like" it:

"If you still have your sanity, transform back. You clearly can't defend against Hunter bullets."

A voice of response came from another direction, "Wait! Are you Exorcists? We are also from the Church. He is injured now and cannot release his state until he recovers."

Wayne's simplified vision scanned his surroundings, and he slightly turned his body, "Proof."

The person's attire did not belong to a monk, nor did he have the "collar" around his neck that priests wear to identify themselves when in plain clothes.

But the man seemed cooperative, slowly approaching with his arms half-raised, "I don't have proof on me, but I can go with you to the parish church in the city, where there are people who can verify our identities."

"Hands behind your head, stand still. We need to secure the scene first."

...

After a rough inspection of the vicinity, besides the overseer from earlier, the "Treeman" on the ground, and his accomplice,

they also found two slaves tied up and "draped" over the backs of horses, as well as three corpses and a group of dead dogs.

Combining the steward's account and the scene's condition, the entire sequence of events could be preliminarily reconstructed—

The steward and overseers from the Beaton Family Plantation, guided by hounds, found this location and encountered these two individuals with slaves. The slaves were tied up, which matched the steward's description of "slave thieves."

Perhaps to prevent them from escaping further, a conflict occurred, horses were shot down, and the Treeman was likely also shot. Then came the struggle between the two parties.

Hmm...

Defining this kind of case is quite troublesome...

It seems like the Beaton Family Plantation steward probably fired the first shot. Even if the "Treeman" acted in self-defense, a slight overreaction in self-defense is easily understood by a jury in this era.

However, the two slaves clearly didn't leave voluntarily with them. If it's considered theft, with property damage occurring first, then the Plantation side would be the one acting in legitimate self-defense. Now, with people killed in a counterattack, the "Treeman" and his accomplice would be even more culpable.

But then again, they both seem to be from the Church, and the idea of Church members stealing slaves doesn't align with the simple understanding of the America public at this time.

Furthermore, it's uncertain whether the land they are currently on is "public domain" or someone's "private property."

The former would involve clauses like "intentional homicide," while the latter might involve unlimited self-defense rights for one party, which are fundamental conditions that can directly influence the verdict.

Wayne pondered for a moment and decided to package both groups and send them to the Police Station.

As for the parts related to the Extraordinary Person, the Church would likely handle it proactively, so he wouldn't need to worry.

Just as he happily made his decision, he heard a "Help—" and a small fireball rose into the sky a little further away, followed by a "boom" as a red signal flare exploded.

Wayne's pupils constricted. This was the Detective Agency's default signal for an attack.

Something had happened over there.