Chapter 150: Greed
Translator: Wuxia Dog Editor: Wuxia Dog
As the young magicians started feeling exhausted after a long walk, Han Jin and the others didn’t hurry on forward. On the contrary, they continued casually chatting.
“Can you find the nest, Reg?” Moxinke asked with his voice lowered.
“Be patient. It must be here somewhere. We’ll find it,” Reg replied.
“When?”
“I saw it about 6 months back, but I can’t clearly remember the road. There are so many hills in this forest, and they are all almost the same. How can I recognize it immediately ?”
“I told you not to take the task. It’s so troublesome!” Moxinke grumbled.
“You did not!” Reg corrected.
“I told it to you in my heart.”
“Fine…” Reg finally knew how formidable Moxinke was in terms of arguing and felt at a loss for words.
Suddenly, a scream came from upstream of the spring. The young magicians jumped on their feet and rushed upward along the spring. However, they were not as fast as their headmaster. The genius female magician, who was flying instead of running, left her students behind in the blink of an eye.
Compared to the magicians, Han Jin and the others’ reactions were much slower. Their contract clearly stated that Reg’s only task was to lead them to the nest of a Hydra. Anything else beyond that was none of Reg’s business. This also meant that even if the young magicians were killed, it had nothing to do with Reg.
The young man named Asa was very inexperienced even if he was the leader of his companions.
When Han Jin and the others went through the contract, they were all shocked by how evil Reg was. All the terms stated in the contract were in Reg’s favor. It was difficult to believe that he could be so manipulative since Reg acted so upright in the army, but as soon as he had left the army, he had become totally different. Which Reg was actually the real him? Moxinke lazily grabbed his giant sword. “Let’s go have a look?”
“Yes, maybe we can help them,” Sunier replied.
“You’re going to help a magus?” Moxinke burst into a weird laugh. “How honorable would it be … Well, I have to remember this. When I have a son in the future, I will tell him that his father was not an ordinary fighter, but he was a hero who once saved a magus…”
The others were in no mood to listen to him anymore. All of them went upstream, leaving Moxinke, who was still indulging in his own fantasy, alone.
“Hey! Wait for me!” Moxinke recovered from his thoughts and shouted after them.
Upstream, there were about seven or eight mercenaries who were confronting the young magicians. The reason for this was simple: the female magicians initially wanted to wash off the mud on their robes and feet. Somehow, one of them decided to bathe in the river, and the rest of them joined as well. While they were enjoying this, a group of mercenaries appeared, and the situation took a wrong turn and went out of control.
As young girls, all of them felt embarrassed. The girls were weeping and venting with shame and resentment. Their robes were messy, and they were all barefooted. There were also numerous undergarments that were lying on the riverside nearby. It was obvious that they had hastily put on their robes and hadn’t managed to wear anything else inside. The male magicians, on the other hand, were angry and were shouting while raising their magic wands in preparation for a fight. Their companions had been humiliated, and if their headmaster or Asa gave the command, they would definitely start a fight.
But the opposite party’s mercenaries stood quietly and kept making eye contact with each other. Three of the soldiers stood in the forefront with two magicians behind them, and two archers beside them. At the back of the group was a soldier holding a giant sword which was in no way inferior to Moxinke’s sword.
They were in a strategic form, and their faces were emotionless, showing that they were an experienced mercenary team. On the other hand, the young magicians looked unbridled. After all, they had a strong support behind them. They weren’t even afraid of a tenth-grade holy animal; why would they be afraid of these mercenaries?!
“You guys have been shouting for a very long time. Can you at least listen to us now? Come on! Be reasonable!” The soldier who stood in the rear grinned. Seemed like they had made up their minds.
The young magicians were even more triggered. They were the humiliated party, but now the mercenaries wanted to reason with them! This was unacceptable!
“Shut up!” One of the soldiers suddenly roared. “Don’t quack endlessly like ducks! If you want to reason with us, step forward one by one!”
“Reason?” Asa gave a cold snort. “You insulted our companions – what reasoning is there to talk about?”
“Reason?” The soldier cast a glance at Asa. “Tell me, are the Tarasha Mountains yours?”
“What?” Asa didn’t understand.
“Do you own this place?”
“No.”
“Is this Forest of Holy Animals yours?”
Asa didn’t want to reply anymore.
“Since none of these are yours, why can’t we walk freely around in this free forest?”
“You… You insulted our companions!” Asa roared.
“Ridiculous!” The soldier laughed. “If I take off my pants and pee on the street, can I condemn that the pedestrians have insulted me?”
From a near distance, Han Jin laughed. “Moxinke, that guy is definitely a qualified competitor of yours.”
“What do you mean?” Moxinke asked in surprise.
“Raphael meant that you two are very much alike.” Cessacioun grinned.
“Fuck you! I have never peeped at any woman bathing!”
“We meant that both of you are good talkers.” Cessacioun rolled his eyes at Moxinke.
On the other side, Asa’s face turned red with anger, while the soldier opposite him showed no sign of stopping as they continued to rebuke the young magicians. “The spring water belongs to all of us. We haven’t blamed you for dirtying the water by bathing in it. How dare you blame us first…”
The young magicians couldn’t help but start cursing, submerging the last few words of the soldier.
The genius magus slowly raised her wand. All the young magicians stopped when they saw their headmaster move. She said in an icy voice, “Humph! Looks like it is necessary to punish unregenerate and irrational bastards like you.”
“Punish?” The soldier showed a scornful smile, and in the next moment, his face changed. “Do it now!”
The weeping girls suddenly screamed, as two figures had already appeared beside them without any trace. By the time they had realized it, two cold daggers were being pressed up against their necks.
The other mercenaries moved forward to cooperate with their partners, while the two thieves carefully retreated while controlling the two girls with their daggers. They didn’t retreat in the same direction to avoid losing both hostages at the same time in case their opponents launched a sudden attack.
Asa’s facial expression changed, while their headmaster’s face also became pale. It was extremely depressing for one to be overtaken by misgivings and fears. Other than the genius magus; all of them were novices who had come for the experience and did not know how to cooperate with each other. There was nothing that they could do now except watch their partners become hostages while they ground their teeth in anger.
The soldier showed a sinister smile when the two thieves came to safety. “Now, who is the one being punished?”
All the noise suddenly died down as all the magicians turned silent. Han Jin was expecting the genius magus to react but felt disappointed when he saw that she didn’t take any action at all; they had actually overestimated her potential. Due to different intelligence levels, all professionals would progress at different speeds in their own fields. However, there were still things that intelligence could not make up for, such as experience and alertness. If Guevara or Zaganide were here, they would have already launched a fierce counterattack or even made the decision to sacrifice their companions, but the genius magus could never do that.
The soldiers knew that they had made the right decision after seeing their reactions. They no longer hid their greedy eyes and stared at the magic wand in the woman’s hand. “Lay down your magic wands! Right now!”
The young magicians were in tumult. They looked at Asa and waited for his order. Asa hesitated but ended up throwing his magic wand to the ground. The other magicians followed.
“And you!” The soldier pointed to the genius magus while his eyes cast a glance at Han Jin and the others on the other side. “And you three over there, lay down your weapons.”
Cessacioun looked at his magic wand as he looked up and smiled. He didn’t say anything and showed no intention of obeying his order. While Moxinke, on the other hand, shouted indifferently, “Are you talking to your grandfather?”
The soldier paused but soon realized their relationship. He said in a deep voice. “Dude, I know you have nothing to do with this, but you’d better not make it difficult for me! Otherwise, don’t blame me for my impoliteness!”
“Ha… How impolite can you be?” Moxinke laughed. “Are you going to bite me?”
The soldier sneered and suddenly grabbed one of the girl’s hair. The girl screamed and struggled, but she was so weak that her struggle had no effect at all. The soldier even pinched her right little finger off her hand.
A faint sound of snapping came. The girl moved her head, and her face became distorted. How could a spoiled girl who had even complained about being tired from walking through the forest endure the pain of a broken finger? Tears rained down all over her face, while her mouth opened wide enough to stuff a fist. Her tongue was shaking at a high frequency, and what followed was a heartrending howl.
“Remember that my patience is limited,” The soldier repeated with an icy voice. “I said, put down your weapons!”