Chapter 192: Continuing Westward!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Hao Ren and Vivian tried using various indirect questions on Becky as well as some of the other mercenaries there. They were trying to gleam information about the sirens or anything related to them, even a myth or a tale would have sufficed. But shockingly, no one from that world knew anything about the sirens. In conclusion, sirens did not exist there.
Raven 12345 had said something about the unusual creatures on Earth coming from The Plane of Dreams, and that led Hao Ren to believe that everyone in his group could publicly assume their original identities in the Dream Plane. He never thought Wuyue would be an exception.
Vivian was still checking with the mercenaries for more information about the mountain path. Hao Ren took the opportunity to pull Wuyue aside. "Seems like there are no sirens here at all. Where did the sirens on Earth come from then?"
"How would I know?" Wuyue pouted, her displeasure apparent on her face. "I pretty much thought I was back home."
Hao Ren realised that Wuyue was not happy about this, and he could empathise with her. Here, Vivian and Lily could disclose their identities without fear of being treated like a circus animal. Wuyue had the same intention as well, and thought she had arrived at Siren Shangri-la, but things now left her rather...excluded. Her disappointment was understandable.
"Oh, don't worry too much." Hao Ren had no idea how to comfort her, and tried clumsily to direct Wuyue's attention to another matter. "Look at Y'zaks, he needs to hide his identity too. In here, it's pretty much kill first, ask questions later for his kind as well..."
Y'zaks was not far away from the two and overheard the conversation. He gave Hao Ren an incredulous look and waved him off. Wuyue could only sigh in resignation. "Mr. Landlord...you really don't know how to console someone do you? Vivian's told you this before, right?"
"Ugh..."
"I'm fine." Wuyue gave him a warm smile. "Just a tad bit disappointed. I thought I would find more of my kind here. Seems like I'll just need to find them on Earth instead."
By then, the wounded mercenaries had recovered after a short rest. They were still wobbly and the streaks of dried blood that caked their armor were rather horrifying to say the least. As the mercenaries supported their wounded, the leader approached Hao Ren again. "We're leaving now... But, honour dictates that I repay your kindness. Pray tell, do you have anything that we can help you with? The lady there, Vivian, said you're the captain, and that I am to ask you."
"There's no need, really." Hao Ren waved his hands. He never thought of asking for any sort of compensation and he could not really think of anything this band of mercenaries could help with. His only goal at that point, was to reach the Beinz Blood Lake, and he already had Becky as a guide. If it was possible, the lesser the people who knew of his purpose, the better. "...If you insist... Have you seen a lithe looking lady in white robes along the way?"
Hao Ren told the leader about their search for this "foreign visitor". The leader frowned as he tried to jog his memory. "...Speaking of a lady in white robes, I do remember meeting another group of mercenaries who were returning from the Blood Lake. They mentioned meeting a strange, young woman who was travelling to the Blood Lake alone. That was two days back by the way."
"That means she's probably reached Leyton by now," Becky quipped.
"Is she an acquaintance?" the leader asked curiously as he pondered. "She would have been stopped by the sentries. The Beinz region is under lockdown at the moment. Only registered mercenary companies or the knightly orders are allowed to pass. A lone adventurer would not be granted access to the place."
Hao Ren simply nodded. He knew that the lady would have found some way to get pass this obstacle. He knew nothing of her, but his gut feeling was telling him so.
After all, it is almost impossible to stop someone who is determined to return home.
The rescued mercenary company decided that they had enough and would not be continuing on to the Blood Lake. While their wounds were healed, their equipment and morale were badly damaged. Thus, they decided to return to the kingdom's borders. The leader once again tried to dissuade Hao Ren and his group from continuing on the mountain path and to take a detour but, Hao Ren politely declined.
The mysterious lady was gnawing at his curiosity and whatever it was, happening at the Blood Lake gave him the jitters. Hao Ren was concerned that using a detour would cost them valuable time, time that they could not afford to lose. That said, it was not like the rock monsters were undefeatable. Based on their performance that day, Hao Ren felt that they were well equipped to deal with such threats.
Seeing that Hao Ren was determined to press on, the leader did not press the matter further. As he gathered his men around to prepare for their return, he took a gold medallion from his waist and pressed it into Hao Ren's hands. "We owe you our lives. Hold on to this. If you happen to be around the Royal City of Steinne and need help, look for the Iron Thorns Company. I'm their leader, Kastein."
Mercenaries had a reputation of being ruthless, money-minded thugs but, there were many among them who knew of honour as well. Hao Ren felt that it would have been disrespectful if he declined Kastein's offer, and so, he kept the medallion in his pocket. Then, he heard the leader asking him, "By the way, can I have your name? I suppose all of you are part of a mercenary company as well. Would be good for business when we cross paths next time."
Before Hao Ren had time to respond, Lily came roaring behind him. "We are the Dogs Have Gotten All the Good Names Mercenary Group! I'm the deputy, Lily! The leader is Hao... ughgughghughgh..."
Hao Ren used all his strength to restrain Lily from talking, but failed to stop her from blurting out that awful name. An incredulous look appeared on Kastein's face and he could only laugh drily. "That's a rather fancy name..."
Hao Ren was cursing inside. How could the name not be fancy? Thank goodness this was not an MMORPG, where your guild ID would be tagged to your name. Or else, you would be PK-ed¹ by your own guild members if they had to bring that guild tag out with them!
After saying their farewells, Kastein led his company down the moutain while Hao Ren and his gang continued on. Becky approached him to ask a question, her voice sounding concerned. "You sure you don't want to take a detour?"
"No, it'll just cost us time." Hao Ren nodded. "Sides, our combat strength isn't anything to scoff at. You've seen it yourself, we have the full set of paladins, warriors, priests, mages and thieves. All classes accounted for. Not a problem."
"...Right... I actually wanted to say this..." Becky could not hide her scepticism as she took a sweeping glance at them. "You're still going on that wizard schtick after all of this?"
Lily had not retracted her Frostfire Claws when Becky spoke, and the werehusky just squatted before she started to dig into the ground. "I usually just use these to dig holes, you know?"
Becky was of course, too intelligent to fall for that. Just look at Hao Ren's party: He was a shield-wielding tank, taunting everyone and their ancestors. Lily was your typical, sneaky rogue. Y'zaks was a full-fledged berserker with all skill points put into STR². Wuyue could not even as much as cast an offensive water spell. At the very most, Vivian was the only one who went about throwing lightning bolts and frost chakrams. Then again, the vampire also had to rely on her brute strength to take down the enemy. With such raw display of brute strength, they still tried to hide behind the facade of being wizards, who were studying the art of teleportation. Truth be told, even Hao Ren did not buy their story.
Lily finally realised that Becky was clearly not buying her excuse, and sheepishly retracted her claws. She quickly ran behind Hao Ren after she concealed her ears. "Mr. Landlord, say something convincing!"
"..."
Becky simply raised an eyebrow.
"To be honest, our situation is rather unique and we don't exactly fall into any fixed classes." Hao Ren sighed. "Just believe me when I say this, we are not the bad guys. It's not that I want to keep you in the dark... I don't even know how to begin explaining this to you. You can take this as the last time cooperating with us, and just forget about us once we're done."
Becky did have some reservations. Her life experience taught her that people who knew too much often ended up with a blade in their back. Even when she was working, she tried to avoid knowing anything that she did not need to know. The group in front of her clearly fit the bill of such insidious covens, but Hao Ren's words had somewhat allayed her fears.
"Well... I'll be damned if I don't do something that's worth the music box you gave me." Becky gave out a hearty laugh and went forward. "I won't poke my nose into your business. Who doesn't have secrets anyway?"
Hao Ren felt a little sorry for the lass. That MP5 and battery powered charger only cost him 600 Yuan...
Translator's Thoughts
Seraphica Seraphica
¹PK or "player killl" is used most often in online games such as MMORPGs;
²STR is a gaming term referring to strength.