Chapter 186: Passive vs Aggressive
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Here.” Yalina picked around for a while, but even with the ones from Gail, she could only find six or seven magic crystals. She handed all of them to Han Jin.
Han Jin took the magic crystals, but he didn’t know what to say; they made him feel uncomfortable. He wasn’t actually in desperate need of these magic crystals since, out of the nearby areas, Isolated Cliff City was the largest marketplace for magic crystals. Seeing as they were back in the city already, there was no shortage of magic crystals as long as they had enough money. But as the saying goes, although the gift might be simple, the intention behind it is what matters. Yalina had remembered his need, and had almost immediately asked for magic crystals after she met her brother; although it was a simple change of hands, this favor was what made Han Jin uncomfortable.
Edison suddenly thought of something and looked at Han Jin and the rest of the group. “Yalina, Winston told me you were fighting with a powerful dragon slayer. Did he not come back with you?”
“Dragon slayer?” Yalina blanked.
“Yeah.” Edison saw that Yalina’s expression was strange, and probed, “Don’t tell me you had an argument with him? Did you… throw a tantrum again?” Edison had grown up under the ‘tyrannical’ rule of his father, and assumed that a powerful dragon slayer would be fearsome and imposing – like his father – which was why he hadn’t paid much attention to Han Jin and the rest of the group.
Winston and his companions looked at each other, while Scott whispered something into Edison’s ear. Edison’s expression promptly twisted a little as he finally noticed Han Jin. He coughed unnaturally and said, “Ahem… Master Raphael, please forgive my rudeness. I did not expect you to be so young.”
Yalina and the rest of the young magicians had no idea where the name ‘dragon slayer’ had come from. They were a little confused by why Edison was treating Han Jin like a dragon slayer, but then they promptly remembered the enormous and powerful magic matrix!
Of course, the power Han Jin had personally displayed was far from enough to slay a dragon, but the magic matrix he possessed was horrifyingly powerful. They had fought under the protection of the matrix before, and the feeling of becoming one with nature was so liberating that they felt like they didn’t need to fear any enemy. Even if a Giant Dragon attacked, they would have the courage to fight it. Besides, who could be sure that Han Jin possessed only one magic matrix? Slaying a dragon was definitely a possibility.
But Moxinke and the rest that knew Han Jin from the beginning were thoroughly confused. They stared at Edison and thought, “When did Raphael become a dragon slayer?”
Majordomo Gail. as well as the warriors Nildac and Myran, all stared at Han Jin with shock and curiosity. To be frankly honest, it was mostly shock.
“Let’s not chat in this courtyard. Come, come inside first.” Winston smiled. “Coincidentally, there was some drama that happened a few days ago. I’ll tell you about it… Ah, I assure you that it’s going to be interesting.”
With Winston in the lead, the group of people that were either thoughtful, confused, or enlightened, walked into the hall. The hall was simple, to put it nicely, but could also be called shabby. Judging by this, Winston didn’t seem to be a man that liked to be pretentious. The chairs and tables in the hall smelled old, but they were clean. Besides two kids scrambling about, there weren’t any servants in the hall. According to Saxon, they had adopted a few orphans, and they took care of things around the house.
Winston described Dwightsteel and his meeting of mercenaries in the fastest manner possible, which made Han Jin frown; this was a problem they had to take care of, or it would eventually cause them trouble.
Cessacioun laughed scornfully. “Who does he think he is, expecting all the mercenaries in the city to listen to him?”
“But the important part is, would we have a chance to explain?” Reg said flatly. “And what happens if blood is shed before we can explain ourselves?”
Cessacioun sighed. Reg was right; if blood was shed, even if the whole thing was a misunderstanding, nothing would be able to stop the conflict at that point. Maybe that was what Manteco had wanted all along!
“Chipango, do you have any friends in the city?” Han Jin asked.
“Not many.” Chipango thought about it. “Just a few, but they are true friends. If I asked, they’d help me the best they could.”
“Then I might have to trouble you to contact your friends. You must find out where the Abyss Mercenary Team is staying.”
“Raphael, what’s your plan? Don’t forget that the Mercenary Association has strictly forbid killing for revenge,” Reg said. “They don’t care about fighting, but if someone dies, the Association will definitely interfere.”
“Who said I’m going to attack?” Han Jin smiled. “I just thought that it would be too passive of us to just wait for the other to attack every time. This time, I want to be more aggressive.”
“I understand, My Lord.” Chipango stood up.
“I’ll go with you,” Gibran said.
“You have friends?” Julia was clearly talking to Gibran, but her eyes were looking elsewhere.
Gibran froze, then smiled bitterly. Julia was definitely the person that knew him the most, and she was right; he didn’t have many friends, just a few friends that have gone through hardships with him who he could call brothers.
“You are too big of a target,” Reg said in a quiet voice. “If you ask about where the Abyss Mercenary Team is staying, it would raise too much suspicion. Even if they did know, they wouldn’t tell you, because if something happens, they would be partially responsible.
“Chipango should be fine by himself,” Han Jin said. He didn’t want Gibran to alert their enemies either. “Chipango, Manteco knows what you look like. Be very careful. Do you understand?”
“Rest assured, My Lord.” Chipango lifted his chest and ran out excitedly, but as soon as he ran out, the excitement on his face disappeared. That was just to show he was happy to follow Han Jin’s order, but an act wouldn’t help him finish his mission satisfactorily. “Who should I talk to for this?” Chipango thought to himself.
“What? Still mad about this?” Winston smiled.
“Before, I thought that if I didn’t bother other people, they wouldn’t bother me.” Han Jin smiled self-mockingly. “That was naive of me. Sometimes, things can’t be resolved without death.”
“Maybe I can’t compete with you in much else, but when it comes to connections, I’m the one that has the most here.” Winston thought about it. “Give me three days, and I promise I’ll give you everything about Manteco.”
“No need for that.” Han Jin shook his head. “No one knows how this is going to play out, and I don’t want to drag you all into this.”
“Don’t talk like that if you really consider me a friend,” Winston said seriously. He then turned his head. “Saxon.”
“Understood.” Saxon jumped up with an evil smile. “I’ve hated that guy for a long time. Now it’s his turn to suffer! Haha…”
Han Jin was about to stop them, but then realized that refusing Winston’s gesture of good will wasn’t proper either. As the saying goes, one more friend meant one more road, and one more enemy meant one more wall. Besides, since he knew nothing about the situation in Isolated Cliff City, he needed as much help as could get. Ultimately, after these considerations, he chose to stay silent.
“Oh, and Master Raphael, there’s some things… that I want to discuss.” Winston hesitated.
“If we are friends, drop the title.” Han Jin smiled. “Or do I have to start calling you Master Winston as well?”
“Ha…” Winston laughed a little. “You see, Captain Dwightsteel of the Dragon Singer Mercenary Corps really wants to make your acquaintance. If you think that’s acceptable, could you…”
“Not much is going on right now anyways; just name the time and place.” Han Jin agreed to it happily, and hid his suspicions deep in his heart. Something didn’t feel right. The mercenaries’ attitude toward them had been suspicious when they had walked out of the square, then he became the ‘dragon slayer’, and now, the captain of one of the top mercenary corps in the city suddenly wanted to make his acquaintance. In the words of Moxinke, when did they go from unknown to being famous enough to be the hot topic of the day?
“Wonderful!” Winston’s face lit up.
Winston’s face was ecstatic, which made Reg and Cessacioun look at each other. But because of the different circle in which they lived in, they couldn’t guess what Winston was thinking, and looked to Gibran instead for an answer.
Gibran’s mind had been pondering over the situation the entire time, and only reacted when Cain elbowed him slightly. He let out a dry cough and said, “Dwightsteel is ready to give up on Manteco?”
“Not really giving up, per se.” Winston sighed. “You know what kind of person Manteco is. No one would want to be associated with him at all, if possible. The friendliness he normally shows is only a facade. You must pay for your own actions, and nobody’s happy that he’s dragging everyone else into this. If it were up to me, I would have taught Manteco a lesson right then and there, but Dwightsteel stopped me; something about not taking advantage of others during their worst times. That guy just… cares too much about honor. He won’t get mad unless you push him to his limit.”
“Dwightsteel getting mad?” Cain smiled. “The last time that happened was a decade ago, right?”
“He’s getting old,” Reg said flatly.
“Yes, old…” Winston sighed.
“Sorry about the interruption, but is he… is this Manteco the one responsible for encouraging mercenaries to attack the Lady?”
“That’s him.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about this before?” Edison was instantly enraged and stood up abruptly. “Where is he now?”
Winston smiled helplessly. The reason why he hadn’t mentioned this before was because he was worried that this young master would cause trouble. Isolated Cliff City had its own rules, and although a black task was not exactly ethical, it was still an issue that needed to be taken care of internally. If an outsider started to cause trouble in Isolated Cliff City, it would anger everyone. Even though Han Jin hadn’t registered yet, Moxinke and Reg were both registered mercenaries, and had their records in the Mercenary Association. If they were they ones to attack, the Association would more or less allow it, but they would never allow an outsider to do the same.
“Second Brother, this is my own problem. I don’t need you to meddle in this!” Yalina said.
“Your problems are my problems!” Edison replied anxiously.
“No! I want to take out that bastard Manteco personally!” Yalina said determinedly.