Chapter 101: Invitation
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The burly man with a scar was swept away by the sword, but he was not at all flustered; he had already seen through the fact that the kid was merely a brute and his fighting skills were not worth mentioning. With the double-edged sword in his hand, all he knew from the start was only chopping. Although it looked impressive, it was actually not fatal.
He knew that what he needed was a little patience…
The burly man with a scar had thought it through—as long as there was a chance, he’d order his men to attack the mage.
The corridor was narrow; without the protection of this brute force kid, he might not be able to resist the siege of more than a dozen people even if he was formidable enough. Besides, he should be a mere low-level mage; otherwise, he would not have exhausted his mana with a single spell. Now he had to rely on this kid with brute force to buy time for him to restore his mana.
What was the difference between killing a mage who had exhausted his mana and killing a chicken? That was what the burly man with a scar thought…
Then…
He heard Sean’s howl.
The howl that was full of rage awoke half of the Sylvan Inn. Sean no longer had the simple and honest demeanor at this time; his originally strong body similar to that of a black bear was further thickened at once. His tanned face was frenzied and ferocious; the initially honest youth was full of bloodthirsty aura at that very instant.
The scar on the burly man’s face began to distort as he witnessed this astounding scene. Although he held the machete tightly in his hand, he had involuntarily taken a step back. It was a subconscious action—just like wild animals involuntarily taking flight when faced with stronger predators.
All of this was far beyond his comprehension.
From a rookie with mere brute force to a monster emanating a terrifying aura—all had happened in the blink of an eye…
“Go… All of you, go!” In the face of this unprecedented fear, the voice of burly man with a scar had become hoarse.
There was a dead silence in the corridor; only the hoarse holler of the burly man with a scar and Sean’s heavy breathing that was like that of a magical beast could be heard. The dozen robbers seemed to be scared dumb—nobody dared to move a step. They just gawked at Sean, watching as the monster approached them step by step.
And then, there was an outright massacre…
How threatening and aggressive the dozen robbers were when they’d rushed into the inn earlier on? However, in just the twinkling of an eye, half of them were wiped out. After the furor, Sean was just like a violent and ferocious magical beast.
It was merely brute force and disorganized chops, but when the brute force was increased to the extreme, the power brought on by it had turned out to be so appalling. Every sweep of the huge double-edged sword in his hands was accompanied by the sound of breaking the air. Every strike contained endless power—there was no struggle and no resistance; it was only the purest of killing and the sound of chopping that would drive anyone mad. In an instant, the blood that was spattered had dyed the Sylvan Inn into a sea of red.
Everyone felt suffocated, having witnessed this horrible scene with their own eyes.
The burly man with a scar was utterly dumbfounded; he could only watch the killing helplessly.
The guests in the inn stared with their mouths agape as they kneeled at the doors, completely forgetting to stand up.
The middle-aged man who claimed to be a Felan aristocrat did not even blink. His mouth, which the gold tooth was knocked out from, was wide open. His chin was covered with blood, but he was too dumbstruck to stretch out his hand to wipe it.
There was an incredulous expression on the coquettish maidservant’s face. Looking at Sean who was in a state of rage and then looking back at Lin Li who was nothing but relaxed… was like seeing an elephant getting banged by a mouse.
As the bloodstained sword fell once again, the last survivor fell down at last too. The previously clean corridor was filled with corpses now, most of them still holding onto their incomplete weapons. Blood gushed from the huge wounds and slowly flowed along the corridor and down the stairs…
Only the burly man with a scar was left of the dozen people who had charged to the second floor earlier.
He still could not believe that all of this was real.
He had always been proud of his strength, but in front of this monster holding the double-edged sword, he had turned out to be weak and frail. Boundless fear surged from the bottom of his heart. For the first time, he felt that he was so close to death…
The burly man with a scar broke down thoroughly when Sean began to approach him slowly.
Plop…
Then, everyone saw the imperious robber kneel stiffly on the ground. “Don’t kill me… Don’t kill me…”
The double-edged sword hung around his neck, but it did not come down heavily on him.
The Rampage Potion only strengthened the physical strength and stimulated the desire to kill in the heart, but it would not blind the mind of the user. Although Sean had killed more than a dozen people, he was still lucid. After he had halted his sword on the neck of the burly man with a scar, Sean cast an inquiring glance at Lin Li once more.
The burly man with a scar was not stupid. Upon seeing the monster’s gaze, he suddenly realized that the mage who had been standing at the door was the one who would decide his own life and death, so he quickly turned to Lin Li to beg him for mercy.
Unfortunately, he did not understand what kind of person Lin Li was…
That was the man who killed a level-fourteen Magic Shooter without hesitation.
“Your plea for mercy came too late.” After leaving this sentence behind, Lin Li walked down the stairs without even turning back. The Sylvan Inn was uninhabitable—too many people had died overnight, and the smell of blood was too strong. He’d have nightmares staying at such an inn.
“Ah!”
When Lin Li walked to the side of the carriage, another scream rang out from the inn…
After a while, Sean emerged from the inn.
After the previous slaughter, his clothes had been soaked with blood, but Sean had been hunting magical beasts with his father since he was young, so he was used to blood. Moreover, he came from a poor family and couldn’t bear to throw them away. Hence, he left the inn wearing the sticky, bloodstained clothes.
“Sean, change into these first.” Lin Li searched the Ring of Endless Storm, but could not find clothes suitable for Sean. In the end, he chose a Rune Robe for Sean to make do with it for the time being.
“Oh…” Sean received the Rune Robe meekly and looked at it with some curiosity. Then he quickly pulled off his bloody clothes and put on the large Rune Robe. However, his black bear-like strong figure was very unkind—what was originally a loose Rune Robe looked like a burglar’s night tights on him…
“Just make do with it first. I’ll get you new clothing in the day.” There was nothing that Lin Li could do about it at the moment. The two men’s statures were vastly different. Presently, Blackstone Town was unlighted and dark; even if they had the money, they couldn’t find a place to buy clothes.
“Mr Felic… The two bottles of potions you gave me…” After Sean had put on the Rune Robe, there was a hesitant look on his face again. He wanted to ask what the two bottles of potions were, but he was afraid to anger Mr Felic once more.
“The yellow one was Stoneskin Potion, which can make your skin tough; the red bottle was Rampage Potion, which can greatly enhance your physical strength and stimulate your inner desire to kill.”
“Oh…”
“You know why I made you fight them?”
“I don’t know.” Sean shook his head frankly. “I only know that anything Mr Felic says is definitely right.”
“…” Lin Li chuckled resignedly, and did not continue.
Even Gerian couldn’t help admiring the gift of this simple young man. He shouldn’t be merely a low-level adventurer.
Although he was hired in name only, Lin Li, either intentionally or unintentionally, was constantly offering Sean opportunities. There was no reason for it, nor did he expect any returns from it; he simply could not bear to see Sean waste his talent. It was just like how Andoine had helped him back in the Sunset Mountains.
Sometimes, the improvement of strength was that simple.
Constantly fighting, and constantly honing.
It was a long night for Lin Li. First, he was tormented by Sean’s snoring for most of the night. Then, he was woken up by the knock of the coquettish maidservant at the door. Before he got to return to his room, the members of the Bloodwolves Thieves had come… Lin Li thought it was not far from daybreak, and he was too lazy to find another place. So, he leaned his head on the carriage and intended to spend the night like that.
“Mr Mage!”
He was just getting a little sleepy when someone tapped on the carriage.
Lin Li poked his head out of the carriage and asked angrily, “What?”
Then, he found out that the fellow who had disturbed his dreams was the fat man who had his gold tooth knocked out. Lin Li recalled that he had called himself a Felan aristocrat earlier on.
The fat aristocrat showed some fear at once when he saw Lin Li’s hostile expression. He had witnessed the mage’s companion kill more than a dozen people in the twinkling of an eye. He did not want to irritate the two men who could kill without batting an eyelid because of something wrong he’d said, so he carefully considered the words with a pleasant smile on his face before asking, “Hello, respected mage, may I take the liberty to ask if you’re going to Alanna?”
“Mhm.”
“That’s great!” Despite Lin Li’s indifferent attitude, his affirmative reply delighted the fat aristocrat. The latter leaned forward mysteriously. “Mr Mage, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dugar, an aristocrat of the Felan Kingdom.”
“What’s it got to do with me?”
“Because I’d like to hire you. Of course… your powerful companion too.”
“H-hire me?” Lin Li almost choked on his saliva.
“Yes, Mr Mage. I’m willing to hire both of you for a high price. After you’ve escorted me safely to Alanna, the remuneration will definitely be at least a four-digit sum…”
“…” Lin Li rolled his eyes. A remuneration of at least a four-digit sum? Is that 1,000 or 2,000 gold coins?
“Well, that’s a decent reward, isn’t it?” The fat aristocrat sounded rather pleased. He thought he couldn’t have read it wrong. Although these two men were strong, they had to be quite hard up. Look at the mage—the mage robe he was wearing was so worn and old, and he couldn’t even take out a decent wand. Even more so his companion, who was more powerful than a magical beast; the leather armor on him had to be worn for at least ten years. The huge double-edged sword had killed more than a dozen people, but how could the fat man not see that it was entirely due to his strength? He could stab the dozen robbers to death even with a wooden stick.
How could they not be tempted by a 1,000 gold coins with their financial situation?
Mr Mage did not respond, and the fat man was not in a hurry to rush him. In his opinion, this was just a means of raising the price.
“3,000 gold coins, what do you think?”
“3,000 gold coins? You’re so generous…” There was some derision in Lin Li’s smile, but when it fell into the eyes of the confident fat man, the very same smile seemed full of elation.
“You agree?”
“Mr Aristocrat…”
Just as Lin Li was about to reject his offer, someone else was approaching the carriage.
“Mr Mage!”
This time, it was the low-level adventurer who had a few of his teeth knocked out. This fellow had it worse than the fat aristocrat. The latter only had a golden tooth pulled out, but he actually lost several teeth. When he shouted “Mr Mage”, it was leaky and indistinct, which made Lin Li all the more uncomfortable listening to it.
Bloody hell, would you all let me sleep? Lin Li cursed inwardly. The dissatisfaction on his face was apparent.
“Greetings, respected Mage.” The Blackstone Town was enveloped in a curtain of darkness, and it was pitch-dark around the carriage. The mercenary who had his teeth knocked out could not see clearly the look on Lin Li’s face. He rushed forward and ignored the fat aristocrat beside and introduced himself, “My name is Hank, a member of the Silver Hand Mercenary Corps.”
“What?” Lin Li clenched his teeth as he struggled to suppress the urge to punch someone.
“It’s like that, Mr Mage. May I venture to ask if you are interested in joining the mercenary corps?”