by Zhuang Bifan
Wait… a woman?
This sudden thought gave Lin Li a shock. The woman that the fella mentioned… could it be Ina?
Before Lin Li could ponder more, the bandit had a gloomy look, and asked, "Just these few?"
Just when the thief had finished his sentence, another adventurer came out from room beside. "Captain, this room is empty. I fear the woman has already…"
"Understood…" The thief nodded, and walked to Hank with a gloomy face. "Let me ask you, where is that woman?"
Hank cooly laughed. "Rode, do you think you can hide that tiny bit of shrewdness of your's from Captain Serena? Wipe your a*s and wait, the end of your Rising Sun Mercenary Corp is coming!"
"When did Serena escape?" The thief's face was as black as the base of a pot. He did not imagine that this surefire operation would go wrong at the most crucial part. Serena escaped. What was the point of catching these small fishes?
"Heh…" Hank had a proud look, and he pointed at the two thieves at the entrance of staircase. "It was when these two idiots were only watching us."
"…" When Hank's voice just fell, the two thieves' face were immediately as white as a sheet. They messed up in such a crucial situation, so the only fate that awaited them could only be…
"Trash. I will deal you with later…" Rode stared at those two thieves menacingly, and then ordered his underlings. "Bring them away."
"Yes!" The thieves voice had just befallen them when a group of fierce and aggressive adventurers rushed over.
"Hey, Hank, how could it be so coincidental?" At this point, it was improper for Lin Li to continue watching the events unfold. In any case, Hank had helped him before. If it was not because he had provided information, Lin Li would be clueless about the trouble that Ina had run into.
"Fel… Mr Felic?" Hank eyes were instantly wide open. He could not imagine that he would run into this young mage again at Blackhills Town. Although he was surprised, his suspended heart finally descended into place at the same time. He was clear that if this young mage were here, his life would be safe…
"Guys, how about some negotiations?" Lin Li looked at the thief that was called Rode, and smiled politely. "Anyhow, capturing Mr Hank is useless. Why don't we strike a deal?"
The thief was stupefied initially, and stared at Lin Li for a while before murmuring, "What kind of deal?"
"This…" Lin Li scratched his head, and thought about it agonizingly before probing, "Why not just using your lives?"
…
Chapter 173 - Silver Storm
"The… The deal you speak of, is to exchange us for them?" The thief had a bizarre expression; it was as though his mouth was filled with frogs. This suggestion was too amusing. He could not imagine that this guy that appeared to be normal had brought forth a suggestion that only a lunatic would suggest.
"Yes, think about it. This deal is really worthwhile." Lin Li nodded his head seriously; his facial expression was very earnest.
With this sentence, it was not just the members of the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp… even the guests that had been chased out of their rooms looked at Lin Li in a queer manner. Nobody thought that this young man would say it so naturally. It was as though he was asking if the radish were to be sold for 5 copper coins per kilogram…
"F*ck, I met a lunatic…" The thief stared at Lin Li for a while before coming to a conclusion. At that moment, he felt angry and amused. After all, he was part of important personnel of one of the top three mercenary corps in Alanna. He felt unlucky as he even had to seriously discuss with a lunatic for such a long time…
"Take them." The thief had no interest in discussing with him anymore. After he gave out the orders to the underlings, he turned and started walking downstairs.
"You really don't want to think about it?" Lin Li did not give up, and shot another question towards the back of thief.
"Think your f*cking ass…" The thief spewed vulgarities. He was about to be driven mad by this lunatic. The thief felt that if this were to continue, he might become a lunatic as well.
"Why…" Lin Li shook his head, and some mana started to undulate.
It was at this moment when there was the sound of heavy footsteps coming from the outside of the inn.
At the moment when this sound descended, even Lin Li's facial expression changed.
The sound of these footsteps was heavy. It sounded uniform. Lin Li knew that this was an elite force that was equipped with armor. If not, such a sound would not be produced.
The Felan Kingdom's production of ores was not abundant. It was usually the army that could be equipped with armor made from refined iron. Normally, a mercenary corp could only put together a team of armored warriors with difficulty no matter how rich it was. From the sounds of footsteps, it seems like it was a contingent of more than a hundred people. With so many armored warriors, could it be that imperial guards have arrived?
"Good evening, idiots of the Rising Sun!"
Just when Lin Li was feeling incessantly puzzled, there was the voice of a woman travelling from the skies.
This voice was crisp and sweet. When it fell on the ears of the members of the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp, their complexions immediately changed. It was as though this was not a greeting, but a magic spell full of killing intent.
As for those from Silver Hand, their faces had even weirder expressions almost similar to that of Rode's. They had expressions that seemed like they wanted to smile yet they did not dare to.
"Serena, shut up!" This voice came from the skies, and Rode screamed like a cat that had its tail stepped on. His calm expression had immediately become distorted.
"Idiot, save some strength. No matter how you stomp, you are going to die today! Really. If stomping had any use, why would we need assassins…" After Serena sentenced Rode to death in two sentences, it was as though she murmured the rest to herself.
Rode was very close to losing his sanity…
Unfortunately, he could not do anything to Serena.
The whole Alanna knew that this damned woman was a Sky Knight. She had a level-15 gryphon as a mount. Nowadays, she mostly rode that damned gryphon, circling around the top of people's head in a commanding manner.
Rode got more depressed the more he thought about. It was as if he was so angry that he was about to vomit blood.
It was not easy to seize this chance where the damned woman did not bring her gryphon along, yet two idiots wrecked the whole situation. Now, not only did she bring the gryphon, she even brought along the armored soldiers from Silver Storm. The victory that was supposed to be in hand had now been turned over. He could be torn into pieces by Silver Storm at any given time, not to mention allowing this damned woman flaunt her prowess above him…
The footsteps outside the inn got heavier; it seems like the armored warriors were about to reach the entrance of the inn.
Rode thought he was going to die when he heard heavy footsteps.
That was Silver Storm, the strongest one-hundred-men squad amongst the mercenary corps in Felan.
Accordingly, the members of Sky Knights were retired soldiers from the Sky Knights corp. The weakest amongst them had the strength of at least level-seven. One of the main captains was said to have reached level-fifteen and above. The combat power of Silver Storm was almost comparable to that of the Felan Imperial Army. It was said that when Silver Storm had just been set up, they relied on the strength of these one hundred members of Silver Storm to slay a level-18 magical beast in the Nightmare Mountains before establishing their position in one fell swoop as one of the top three mercenary corps in Felan.
With such a monstrous strength, which mercenary corp in Felan would not be envious of them?
"Idiots of the Rising Sun, I'll give you two choices. One: jump out of the window yourselves. Two: wait for someone to throw you out. Think carefully, you don't have much time left!" It could because the inn was too quiet, but the captain that was circling in the air on his gryphon started to agitate Rode with words.
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"F*ck, this crazy woman. If I catch you, I will definitely sell you to a brothel!" Rode harshly scolded.
"Captain Rode, what do we do?" With the most elite mercenary corp in Felan in close proximity, the more cowardly mercenaries from Rising Sun started to panic. They would be able to bully unarmed traders, and if they had bigger numbers, they could also bully low-ranked mercenaries like Hank. However, if they were to face Silver Storm, they did not even have the courage to resist…
"What's there to panic about!" Rode fiercely glared at them. It was these two fellas that were unable to accomplish anything. It was something that should have succeeded in, but they messed it up. Now, they even dared to speak so much. Do you think I do not know that we are in deep water?
If it was not because of the impending troubles, Rode wanted to kick them both to members of the Silver Hand first to let them vent their anger…
Unfortunately, not only was Rode unable to kick them out, he even had to calm them down. Under such circ.u.mstances, an additional member was another bit of strength. Rode was clear on this principle.
"Don't panic, we have hostages. I don't believe that Serena will dare to come in strong. If she were to let Silver Storm charge in, we will kill of these fellas. Let's see how she can keep a foothold as a mercenary!"
Rode's solution that he hastily came up with did indeed made some sense.
They had four or five members of Silver Hand under their control. Furthermore, there were two that seemed like their positions were not low. If Serena were to come in strong, then at most he would just destroy them all and see how Serena could still establish herself as a mercenary.
Such things were a great taboo.
The profession of a mercenary was already very dangerous, and nobody knew when they would lose their lives. So why join a mercenary corp? It was because people wanted to live longer. If a mercenary corp captain were to betray his own members, who would be willing to follow him?
It was a pity that Rode forgot about something…
Inside here, not only were there a few members of Silver Hand, there was a fella that seemed like a lunatic.
Of course, he had yet to know the origins of this fella.
But, Hank knew…
As for how powerful this person was, Hank had seen it twice—once at a Blackhills Town inn, and the other time at the Thousand Leaves Bar—so he was not worried at all. He believed that if this young mage were here, his own life would be safe.
The trust that Hank had in Lin Li was at level of being blind. He even had the leisure to chat with Lin Li, who was beside him, while facing Rode who would become reckless in desperation at any given time.
"Mr Felic, why do you have the time to come to Blackhills Town?"
"I planned to go to the Fire Plume Ridge. I did not think that I would be involved in this…" Lin Li had no choice but to smile. He started to question his morals as he had run into the same type of encounter twice at Blackhills Town.
"You want to go to the Fire Plume Ridge?" Hank was surprised when he heard it, and then he hurriedly asked, "Are you going tomorrow?"
"Yes, what's up?"
"That's great! Mr Felic, we are heading to the Fire Plume Ridge as well. Are you interested in going together?" The previous time at Blackhills Town, Hank wanted to pull Lin Li into Silver Hand. This fella refused to give up, and started to prod Lin Li in a roundabout way.
"This…" Lin Li hesitated for a moment.
Lin Li was very clear on what Hank was thinking about. Frankly speaking, he was rather tempted by this suggestion. A place like the Fire Plume Ridge was going to be more dangerous as they ventured further in. At any time, a level-15 and above magical beast could appear. If he could rely on a power like the Silver Hand, it would be much easier getting around.
The problem was…
Relying was one thing, but if he were to owe them a favor, it would be hard to return it.
Just when Lin Li was hesitating, Rode had already rushed up to the top of the roof, and screamed at the top of his lungs, "Serena, don't forget that I still have your Silver Hand members in my hands. Do you still want them to live?"
"Nonsense. How can the people of the Silver Hand be caught trashes like you? Trust you? Do you think I am as idiotic as you—"
"Ok! Just wait, I'll prove it to you now!" Seeing that Serena did not believe it, Rode started to feel fl.u.s.tered. He pointed at Hank. "You, come over here. Speak to your captain."
"Don't disturb me, I'm busy…" Hank was busy recruiting someone, so why would he even bother about other things? Rode was screaming, yet he did not even turn around.
"F*ck…" Rode was so angry that his lungs almost exploded. Forget about the woman swaggering around on a gryphon above him. Now, even a low-ranked mercenary did not even care about him. Was there any more justice in this world?
Just when Rode was raging till he trembled, Lin Li realized something unusual.
Those footsteps were too far just now, and he did not take notice. But as time passed by, Lin Li started to feel something was wrong…
Chapter 174 - You lied to me
There were many people in the corridor, but besides Lin Li, others were either shivering with fear or cold. The only one who was not shivering, Hank, was busy poaching Lin Li from Jarrosus Guild of Magic. So, out of the many people present, only Lin Li was aware of the anomaly.
Those heavy footsteps sounded really abnormal—they were too precise, as if measured with a ruler. The rhythm of each step was exactly the same, and there was no murmur in the midst. Accuracy was not a problem, but it seemed fake if it was this accurate. Even if the Silver Storm was well-trained, it could never be so precise. It was even neater than the best guard of honor…
As the heavy footsteps approached, Lin Li gradually understood. He was absorbed in thoughts as he looked up at the ceiling. The female captain of the Silver Hand was very interesting…
"Serena, you'd better not mess around!" Rode finally panicked as he saw the Silver Storm about to charge into the inn. The night's encounter was completely out of his control. He had yet to figure out what had gone wrong. It was well-planned at the beginning, so why was the execution full of loopholes? Not only did Serena escape, but also brought the Silver Storm.
At this point, Rode was afraid to think about what would happen. At present, he was just trying to figure out a way to get out of here. Otherwise, it wouldn't be any fun if he fell into the hands of that woman…
These few people from the Silver Hand were the only ch.i.p.s he had to get away…
Unfortunately, these people were not willing to cooperate, especially the fellow who was still chatting away. The more Rode thought about it, the angrier he felt. Did the damned fellow have the consciousness of being a prisoner? He thought he was going to the vegetable market. The knife was on his neck, yet he still had time to engage in small chit chat with others. If the darned woman hadn't pushed too hard, he would have knocked off a few of his teeth again!
"F*ck, you're kidding me, aren't you?" As he listened to the approaching heavy footsteps, Rode could not wait any longer. He pulled out the dagger in his boots with one hand, and grabbed Hank's collar with the other, glaring fiercely at Hank. "There's nothing here of your business now. Get out of here!"
"…" Hank was startled. This guy really hadn't died before?
But to Hank's surprise, Lin Li didn't have any intention to make a move at all. He merely touched his nose, and stepped aside as he was told, for he knew he didn't need to make a move anymore…
Through the vision of the Warlock's Eyes, Lin Li could clearly see several dark shadows sneaking into several open rooms…
"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"
The shadows in the room moved just as Rhode grabbed Hank's collar with one hand. In an instant, a sharp crack tore through the air; a wisp of cold light flashed across the corridor, and then he saw a spatter of blood—the clean corridor was filled with hot, gushing blood in a flash…
Screams ros
e up, and the quiet corridor fell into a terrible mess at once. Confronted with an enemy of unknown origins, the men from the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp were scared out of their wits as they desperately tried to hide themselves in the corners.
However, where was there any corner along this corridor?
Those arrows were like poisonous snakes hidden in the dark. Wherever they ran with their heads in their arms, they'd end up spattering blood even if they stopped for only a little while.
In a mere moment's time, a large group of men from the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp were shot down.
As this one-sided massacre fell into the eyes of Lin Li, he knew at once that it was over for the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp.
In fact, they were not without opportunities.
All the dozen of mercenary corps present had decent strength—the weakest of them were at least of level-nine, and the strongest were above level-12. Even if Lin Li had personally made the move, it wouldn't be easy for him with such a force. Moreover, at the entrance of the inn stood a figure close to the rank of an Archmage. As long as he could find a way to get the message out, the situation of battle in this corridor would be reversed immediately.
Unfortunately, all of them had been thoroughly scared out of their wits. The famous Silver Storm in Alanna was keeping watch, and there was a level-15 Gryphon hovering in the sky. In this critical time, they were met with archers stealthily attacking from the dark. Right now, they hated their parents for not giving them two extra legs to run faster, so how could they still have the leisure to judge how many enemies were hiding and ambushing them from the rooms?
In the face of this sudden attack, the only one who could see the situation clearly was probably Rode, but what role could he play alone? All his men were running around in panic, leaving Rode yelling at the top of his lungs desperately, "There are not many of them, don't panic!"
