Chapter 177: Rumor
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“We were betrayed” was Hank’s opening remark.
It wasn’t complicated. Last evening, Serena brought them to Blackhills Town to collect a lot of supplies. However, their carriage was ambushed just as they were halfway through their journey. Hank vividly remembered that it was Rode who had attacked them.
It was simply too much of a coincidence—just as if it had been planned. It happened when Serena brought only a few of them to Blackhills Town for the handover.
Serena took only six people at that time, including Hank, all of whom were low-level adventurers below level-ten. Moreover, Serena did not bring the Gryphon along. The Silver Hand had suffered a big loss in this sneak attack. The battle was almost one-sided; the men that Rode had brought along were all around level-ten, and it was a surprise attack to boot. They had killed two of Silver Hand’s men upon appearing.
Fortunately, Serena’s reaction was quick. Once she saw that the situation was far from good, she led the rest of them back to Blackhills Town immediately.
While escaping, Serena also laid several traps, which helped to leave Rode and his men behind for the time being.
After the party from the Silver Hand fled to Blackhills Town, they immediately found an inn and hid in it. They had planned to wait until after dark to sneak back into the Fire Plume Ridge. However, nobody expected that the men from the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp were lurking in Blackhills Town. Although there were only two bandits, they immediately informed Rode of the Silver Hand’s whereabouts.
When Serena discovered the two bandits, it was too late. Hence, they had to play it by ear and pretend to know nothing. They continued to stay in the inn, but at the same time, Serena slipped out and found Aragon and others nearby.
However, perhaps even Serena did not realize that, this time, not only Rode and his men came, but also the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp’s most famous figure—Thuzadin, the Necromancer!
If it weren’t for Lin Li’s abrupt help, the Silver Hand would be in big trouble this time…
Lin Li nodded his head when Hank finished speaking, agreeing with his earlier speculation.
The matter was too obvious. If someone hadn’t let the cat out of the bag, how could Rode’s men be so smart, blocking them on the road? Furthermore, they could even foresee their escape, and planted two bandits in Blackhills Town on watch duty…
“What’s the origin of that Thuzadin?” However, how the two mercenary corps fought had little to do with Lin Li. He did not even ask Hank why the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp was so bold to fight against the Silver Hand.
What he wanted to know the most was about the Necromancer, Thuzadin. The words left by that fellow before his death were so frightening that Lin Li feared he would not be able to sleep soundly if he didn’t figure it out.
However, it was obvious that Hank did not know much about Thuzadin. He frowned and pondered for a long time, but still could not explain it. “This Thuzadin is very mysterious. Many people know that he is a member of the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp. However, no one knows when and for what reason he joined them. We, the Silver Hand, investigated him two years ago, but the results of the investigation are not very clear to me…”
“Oh…” Lin Li nodded, and did not continue his questions, because he knew that even if he continued to ask, he wouldn’t get anything out of Hank—after all, he was only a junior member, and was far from getting access to the core secrets of the Silver Hand.
It seemed that he should find an opportunity to inquire Serena about it.
Lin Li was hesitating on what excuse he’d use to look for Serena when someone else entered the tent. Lin Li looked up, and saw that it was Captain Elijah, who hadn’t paid back the money he owed!
“You’ve finished the discussion?” When Lin Li saw Elijah come in, he knew that this fellow had to have come to standardize their stories. He said nothing, but smiled and motioned him to find a place to sit first.
“I’m just running errands, and what to do depends on Captain Serena’s opinions.” Elijah found a place to sit down, then looked at Hank hesitantly.
Hank was not a fool, either. He saw Elijah’s hesitant look, and knew they had something to talk about to each other alone. He stood up quickly, and said, “Mr Felic, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave first. If you need anything, you can come to me anytime. My tent is just in front.”
“Mhm, go and do your stuff. I’ll come to you later if I need your help.”
“Then, see you later.”
“This… Mr Felic…” After watching Hank leave, Elijah paused for a while, then asked with a bitter smile, “How much should I owe you?”
“You can’t owe me too much. I’m a level-five warrior. I won’t be able to take out too much of a loan…” Lin Li considered, and said a number. “If not, you’ll owe me 500 gold coins. You can say that I sold you a batch of herbs last time, but you haven’t had time to pay yet.”
“Alright, 500 gold coins it is then…”
“Oh, right…” Lin Li thought for a moment, and took out three bottles of Bull’s Strength Potion he had long prepared from his pocket. “This is the reward I promised at the beginning.”
“Thank you, Mr Felic.”
“Right, Elijah, how’s your relationship with the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp?”
“Rising Sun Mercenary Corp?” Elijah put the three bottles of Bull’s Strength Potions in his pocket gingerly. “I don’t have many dealings with them; I’m not exactly on good terms with them, but we’re not exactly on bad terms, either. We’d probably just greet each other if we meet, and then turn around like strangers…”
“Then, are you familiar with Thuzadin?”
“I know a little about this.” Elijah mused for a moment, then continued, “Thuzadin joined the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp last year. As far as I know, this man has quite an unordinary relationship with Glavev, the captain of the Rising Sun Mercenary Corp. He helped Glavev clinch several big deals just after joining the mercenary corp. And I heard that this man fled from the Ledin Kingdom…”
“Ledin Kingdom?!” Lin Li started. The Ledin Kingdom in Elijah’s mouth, as he had heard, was one of the strongest military powers in Anril. It bordered with Felan in the north. In recent decades, the contradictions between the two countries had been constant. Perhaps a war would be completely triggered between the two countries next time.
The Ledin Kingdom was a typical country of faith. There were numerous churches in the Kingdom, and their dominant religion was so powerful that the whole kingdom had almost become a theocracy.
If this Thuzadin was really from the Ledin Kingdom, then his escape was quite logical. The Ledin Kingdom was not the Felan Kingdom. Although Necromancers in Felan were abhorred, they could at least appear openly in front of people. If it were the Ledin Kingdom, Necromancers would be regarded as blasphemers, and burned on the cross.
A person from Ledin Kingdom coming to Felan to tell me ‘so it’s you’… The more Lin Li thought about it, the more confused he was. The initially puzzling matter became even more confusing with the information that Elijah brought him…
“By the way, Mr Felic, why have you come to the Fire Plume Ridge? And even… even…” Elijah looked at the red leather armor on Lin Li, and then shifted his gaze to the crossbow on the latter’s back. After uttering “even” for a long while, he couldn’t find the words that would follow. This get-up was too bizarre—bizarre to an extent that Elijah couldn’t imagine the fellow had been wearing the long, black robe a few days ago and was going in and out of places like the Alanna Guild of Magic.
“It’s a long story…” Lin Li did not try to hide it in face of Elijah’s confusion. He recounted the incident at Blackhills Town, choosing only to tell him the crux of it.
“The Rising Sun Mercenary Corp wanted to kill Captain Serena?” After listening to what happened in Blackhills Town, Elijah opened his eyes wide, and was stunned for a long time before he finally said, “Are they looking for death?”
“Who knows…” Lin Li shrugged, and smiled indifferently. The two mercenary corps could kill all they wanted. As long as it didn’t hinder him, Lin Li was willing to stand by and be part of the audience.
“I didn’t expect Glavev to be so brave, daring to lay his hands on Captain Serena. Is he not afraid of revenge from the Silver Hand?” Elijah contemplated for a long time with mixed emotions on his face, but he still couldn’t understand it.
“Let’s not talk about it.” Lin Li was totally uninterested in this kind of fighting and killing. After a few casual words, he took the topic elsewhere. “Elijah, what’s your mission this time? Why do I feel that all of you seem to be mighty nervous…?”
“This…” There was some hesitation in Elijah’s eyes.
“Never mind, I was just curious.” Seeing the look on Elijah’s face, Lin Li guessed that it was probably some secret mission this time, so he didn’t force it. “If you can’t say it, you don’t have to tell me.”
“It’s not that we can’t say…” Elijah gritted his teeth as if he had made up his mind. “Mr Felic, to tell you the truth, this mission was actually entrusted to us by the president personally…”
“The president?” Lin Li was a little stunned at first, but then remembered that Elijah was an adventurer. Then, wasn’t the president in Elijah’s mouth the legendary warrior who was at the same level-21 as Aldwin, the president of the Adventurers Guild, Sword Sage of the Storm, Al’Akir?
“You mean, Sword Sage of the Storm?”
“Yes.”
“No wonder there are so many people…” It was then that Lin Li finally understood—the mission this time turned out to be issued personally by Sword Sage of the Storm. This old man was a legendary level-21 warrior, and was the one in charge of all the adventurers in Felan Kingdom. Which mercenary corp in Alanna would not rush up to him desperately with a mere word from him?