Chapter 1069: Deal
Translator: Legge
Ren Xiaosu understood the deal Sorcerer Melgor was referring to was for him to become his servant in exchange for not killing Zhang Jinglin.
Disregarding everything else, this sorcerer was probably overestimating himself if he thought he could kill Zhang Jinglin. As the sorcerers had not fought any wars with Fortress 178 in a long time, their impression of the Central Plains people’s combat strength was likely still stuck at the time when they were normal people.
The sorcerer had said that Ren Xiaosu was stronger than all the gladiators in the entire nation of sorcerers. Thus, Ren Xiaosu roughly estimated that the strongest people in the Kingdom of Sorcerers probably had physical fitness equivalent to that of a T4 combatant. Compared to the Central Plains, it was far inferior.
Of course, this was not the other party’s fault. The appearance of superhumans had only occurred in the past ten years. During the early days, the number of superhumans, such as Zhou Qi, Wang Congyang, and some others, was still very low. Therefore, it was only normal that there was a time lag in their intel.
When Sorcerer Melgor saw Ren Xiaosu not saying anything, he said with a smile, “Since you’re his loyal servant, shouldn’t you exchange your life for his?”
Ren Xiaosu sneered, “You can try to kill him, but see if you can get past me first!”
With that, Ren Xiaosu started struggling violently again. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not break free from the Earth Bind spell cast by Sorcerer Melgor.
Within a short minute, Ren Xiaosu was sweating profusely from exhaustion. In the end, he gave up struggling.
After all, it was really quite tiring for him to act so realistically.
When Sorcerer Melgor saw Ren Xiaosu could no longer break free from his Earth Bind spell, he said with a laugh, “How can physical strength match the strength of willpower? I’ll give you ten seconds to decide. If you still don’t agree to become my servant, I’ll go and kill your master.”
Ren Xiaosu panted as he looked at Melgor. “Don’t kill him!”
“So? Have we reached an agreement? Think about it carefully. When danger approached, he abandoned you and ran away by himself, yet you’re willing to die for someone like that? Is it worth it?” Melgor said with a smile. His expression was shrouded under the hood of his gray robe, but his tone revealed the unbridled smugness he was feeling.
Ren Xiaosu stayed silent for half a minute before saying, “What is in it for me?”
“What’s in it for you?” Sorcerer Melgor carefully sized up Ren Xiaosu. “In the nation of sorcerers, anyone who can follow me into the Sorcerer’s Tower can consider themselves greatly honored. Even members of the secular world’s royal family yearn to become a member of our magus order, the Eye of True Sight. You’re actually asking me what’s in it for you?”
“Without any benefits, why should I risk my life for you?” Ren Xiaosu said, “If you don’t offer me anything that matters to me, why would I become your servant willingly?”
Melgor scrutinized Ren Xiaosu’s stubborn look and became even keener on making him his servant.
Loyalty. Since this young man was willing to sacrifice himself to cover his master’s retreat, there was no need to doubt his loyalty. If he could make the other party submit to him willingly, this young man would become his last line of protection in the future.
Capability. This young man was blessed with great strength even though he was still so young. With the potential to fight against the strongest gladiators in the nation of sorcerers, it would be wholly worth investing in him.
For some reason, the worse Ren Xiaosu’s attitude was towards him, the more he wanted him as his servant.
This was probably a bad trait common among humans. The more they could not get something, the more they would want it.
Melgor thought for a moment and then said, “I can pay you a 100 gold coins every month. Furthermore, I’ll appoint you as my steward, and you’ll be allowed to move around freely in my Sorcerer’s Tower. Within the Kingdom of Sorcerers, you’ll receive the same equal status a prince does.”
When Sorcerer Melgor said that, his servant next to him stared with wide eyes. He looked at Melgor, then at Ren Xiaosu. However, he could not understand how this captive young man’s status had suddenly surpassed his.
Ren Xiaosu was stunned. It seemed that being a steward was a higher rank than a servant.
Moreover, the status of the magi in the nation of sorcerers was way too high. Even their stewards were on par with a prince of the monarchy?
But then again, Ren Xiaosu wondered if he had infiltrated the magus order this way. Although he was still unable to determine what kind of organization the “Eye of True Sight” was, he should at least be able to find some clues by being at Melgor’s side every day.
Didn’t the Great Hoodwinker say that infiltrating their organization was extremely difficult? Why was it so easy for him then? Ren Xiaosu could not help but wonder if the Great Hoodwinker did not conduct his operations diligently!
Ren Xiaosu said to Melgor, “Alright, I’m willing to be your steward, but I have a condition.”
Sorcerer Melgor said with a smile, “State your condition.”
“Turn this guy back into a sheep again. I find him easier on the eyes as a sheep,” Ren Xiaosu said.
The servant was confused. ‘What the fuck does this have anything to do with me? Are you messing around?‘
But before he could say anything, he saw the purple sigil on the stone in Sorcerer Melgor’s hand glow. The servant was turned back into a sheep again.
Ren Xiaosu said, “I have another condition.”
“Go ahead.” Sorcerer Melgor gave a restrained smile.
“I’m very hungry right now. Make me a meal and I’ll agree to be your steward,” Ren Xiaosu said.
Sorcerer Melgor shook his head and said, “My patience has its limits. You’re just trying to buy time for your master to escape.”
With that, he dispelled the sheep enchantment on his servant and took out a set of black shackles from his sleeve. He threw it to his servant. “Cuff his wrists.”
After that, he even smiled at Ren Xiaosu. “I already knew you wouldn’t agree to be my steward so easily. But it’s alright. You’re just ignorant about the powers of us sorcerers. After you learn all about it, you’ll naturally be subdued by this power that transcends the mundane.” But Melgor would have to influence and reform him through goodwill as well.
Ren Xiaosu quietly watched as the servant shackled his wrists. These shackles were not much different from those in the Central Plains, but they seemed to be made of a different material.
However, regardless of what material the shackles were made of, Ren Xiaosu could definitely unlock them as long as there was a keyhole. Because he had the nanomachines.
Almost everyone in the Central Plains knew that the future commander of the Northwest, also known as the Stronghold Destroyer, was famous for wearing armor composed of nanomachines. However, they only knew it could be used in combat; they did not know it was actually the most powerful skeleton key in the world.
Although, Ren Xiaosu had never used it this way before. Any locks in the face of the black saber would just end up getting shattered anyway.
At this moment, Sorcerer Melgor was feeling very proud of himself. If Ren Xiaosu had agreed to become his steward so willingly, he would not feel at ease.
Melgor was not angry with Ren Xiaosu for repeatedly trying to help his people stall for time. As there were still long days ahead, he would have plenty of time to reform this young man he caught from the Central Plains.
“Let’s go.” Melgor smiled proudly and said, “Although we didn’t find what we were looking for, we’ve reaped an unexpected harvest instead. That’s good enough.”
Actually, Melgor was not considered part of the highest-ranking sorcerers in the Eye of True Sight. Just like how there were different ranks in the secular world, there would also be a hierarchy within the magi.
With Melgor’s power, he was actually considered to be at the bottom rung of sorcerers in the Eye of True Sight. That was why he had been sent here to observe the movements of Fortress 178 more than two years ago.
At the end of his two-year term, Melgor, who was preparing to return to the nation of sorcerers, suddenly sensed a similar source of power as his emerging in the Central Plains. This was an extraordinary situation, and the intensity of that power was very high level!
Therefore, Melgor stayed behind for another month to see if he could find any clues regarding this phenomenon.
But he had given up on searching. Fortress 178 was not a place where a sorcerer of his level could barge into, so he thought it would be better to pass the information back to the Eye of True Sight. There would be a reward of equal value waiting for him if he did that..
