Translator: Wuxia Dog Editor: Wuxia Dog
Han Jin had thought it would be desolate inside Black Raven City. The truth was that Black Raven City was no different from other places, except that the sky was much darker. It was without sunshine or glimmering starlight. Whenever he looked up, he saw nothing but layers of clouds with an uneven depth of color.
Around the towering castle was a field of neat wheat, which surprised Han Jin. Logically, plants shouldn’t grow so well without plenty of sunshine, but the wheat here was flourishing. However, this was not the right time for him to research phytology. Soon, his body sunk down into the ground slowly.
A few minutes later, Han Jin popped up from a clump of withered grass. It was a cell, obviously, as the air was foul and rancid. In the front was a closed iron gate, and in the rear was a solid iron window. A man whose age couldn’t be told from appearances was pinned to the wall; two iron nails as thick as a child’s arm pierced through his palms deep into the wall. The man stretched both his arms and his legs but strangely, no blood was dripping down from his palms. The muscles around the nails had turned into dark grey, on which were some white dots moving around. Han Jin took a close look at the dots, only to find that they were living maggots.
The moment Han Jin popped out, the man noticed and raised his head. Even though his head was raised, Han Jin still couldn’t clearly see his appearance for that his hair and beard were too long and tangled on his face and body, making him look like a dirty, hairy monkey. The only part of his face exposed to the air was his eyes, which were as sharp as the edge of a blade. But soon they lost their focus and turned muddy, like those of an old dying man who was curling up at the corner of a street, looking up dully at the vast sky.
“Shhh…” Han Jin put his index finger in front of his lips and was about to walk towards the iron gate but suddenly, a shrill scream came from outside and startled him.
He came here to gather information and had been well prepared to cope with unexpected situations. He really shouldn’t have been startled so easily, but the sound was too strange and harsh.
Han Jin pushed his ears against the iron gate to listen to it more clearly and flicked a little black beetle away in the process. Soon, the scene outside the cell made him dumbstruck. At the end of the corridor, a lustful woman was lying on a wide iron table with her face down and her body almost naked. Behind her stood a big fellow taller than Moxinke, waving a long whip heavily on her body, making her shriek after each lash.
All males would observe some parts of her instinctively when seeing this, and Han Jin was no exception. He saw that the woman was only wearing a pair of soft leather boots, and a leather belt around her waist, on which hung a long sword. Nothing else covered her body! Was she the guarder of the cell? She dressed more like a character in adult movies! A good looking one at that, with her white skin, lithe body and long, flowing hair.
The man whipped faster and faster, and the woman’s shrieking became louder and louder and turned into a long trill at last along with her trembling body. Her palms pounded the table randomly, while the big fellow uttered a weird laugh.
Han Jin found himself wordless and turned around. “That’s an Abyssal Siren,” the prisoner said when he saw the shocked expression on Han Jin’s face.
“What?” Han Jin was stunned.
“Abyssal Sirens. Their favorite pleasures include being beaten and having sex. Their bodies are very tough, second only to vampires among all creatures of the Abyss. Oh, they also look as good as elves. One hundred Abyssal Sirens can satisfy ten thousand soldiers, but conversely, it may not be true…” the prisoner continued in an elderly and hoarse voice, “People say that Zaganide commits all manners of crimes, which really isn’t true. His soldiers are only responsible for destruction–they would never bother with anything else.”
Han Jin looked at the prisoner blankly and didn’t know what to say.
“Are you surprised that I know so much?” the prisoner said in a self-mocking tone.
“No. I am surprised that you can still laugh in your current situation.” Han Jin realized that the man in front of him was by no means an ordinary man. He didn’t want to disturb the civilians of Nuremberg, for that the civilians would provide no significant information. He targeted the cell because he knew that no matter what, the enemy of his enemy was his friend. In a cell, he might meet someone with a common goal, however, he never thought that he would meet a man who talked and acted like he did not have an ordinary past.
“What should I do? Cry?” the prisoner said slowly, “Are you from Beitman, or Holy Crown City? Are you… planning an attack on Black Raven City?”
Han Jin was shocked out of words when he heard this. He looked at the prisoner up and down. “How do you know? Who are you?” he asked back in a low voice.
“Zaganide would pay me regular visits since I failed during my mission to assassinate him. But he hasn’t come for a long time… He must be very busy and has even forgotten the joy of torture.” His voice turned icy when mentioning the name of Zaganide, “And you, little guy, barged in here in disregard of the danger posed by the Dark Barrier. Could you be so reckless unless you knew Zaganide, Caroline, and the like aren’t here?”
“Little guy?” Han Jin snorted. He disliked those who took advantage of their seniority. Besides, he wasn’t the one locked up, so he had no need to pay concession.
“I am also human, over seventy of age in fact. Is it too much for me to call you a little guy?”
“Well… old sir. How do you know that we are going to attack Black Raven City?” Han Jin asked smilingly. Now that he revealed his age, Han Jin didn’t feel like having an argument over it.
“Black Raven City is not a good place to visit. Even trade caravans rarely pass through. Why would you be here? Suicide? I seldom see strange faces here. You appeared so abruptly and acted suspiciously with no good intentions. Combined with the fact that Zaganide has been missing for a long time, I guessed that you must be staging an attack.” The prisoner lowered his voice, “Do you have free time, little guy? Could you tell me about the outside world…?” His voice seemed sad and mixed with a sense of begging.
“Don’t you think I should get you down first?”
“No need. I have been imprisoned here for over ten years, and my fighting strength had shriveled along with my body. Even if you set me free, I would be a useless man. Besides, you would alarm the guards.” The prisoner sighed, “I would be grateful if you could tell me news of the outside.”
“What do you want to know?”
Unexpectedly, such a simple question stumped the prisoner. His hair and beard trembled slightly. “It’s been ten years…” He let out a long sigh after moving his lips for a long time.
“By the way, I don’t even know your name. Do you have any family or friends?” Han Jin knew the old man was not an ordinary man if Zaganide placed so much emphasis on this prisoner.
“Forget it. I… I have nothing to ask about,” the prisoner said in a bitter tone. “Why not tell me about yourself, little guy. Where do you come from?”
“Could you call me something else?” Han Jin frowned. He felt uncomfortable being called little guy since he used that name to call the little iron bull. “My name is Raphael.”
“Well, Mr. Raphael. Where are you from? What are you going to do in this place?”
“I come from Beitman.”
“Beitman? When did Beitman muster enough power to attack Black Raven City? Did… Conrad lead his Riptide Regiment here?”
“Not Knight Conrad. He died of illness two years ago.” Han Jin was stunned. “You know him?”
“He was just in his early forties! How did he die of illness?” the prisoner asked in a shocked tone.
“Because he was too tired.”
The prisoner sunk into silence, and let out a long sigh after a short while, which was full of sadness and grief. But Han Jin didn’t see the expression on his face, because his hair and beard were so long that they were acting like a mask.
“So… Mr. Raphael, you have come to Nuremberg to destroy its defense?”
“No, I am not that powerful. I just came to scout,” Han Jin replied.
“Scout? By the way, I saw you came from the underground. Is that magic?”
Han Jin smiled but gave him no answer.
“If you have such an ability, it would be much easier. Most of the soldiers here are of the Abyssal Race. They are not afraid of attacks coming from the underground, that’s why they built their defensive magic matrixes underground.” The prisoner narrowed his eyes and looked outside from the iron window. “Do you see the huge statue in the center of the city? It is hollow under it. You can try to destroy it, but you’d better wait for your army first. You can’t destroy their defense matrix on your own. Even if you succeed, they have ways to repair it.”
“You are very familiar with Nuremberg, aren’t you?”
“Yes, very familiar… Even if I close my eyes, I can remember every corner of this city.”
“I observed for a long time outside just now, and found that Nuremberg is not under tight defense,” Han Jin continued, “how many soldiers do you think we need to occupy this city?”
“That is not important. You just need to make sure Zaganide and Caroline are not in Black Raven City.”
“They aren’t. Even if they get the news, they won’t come back to defend it.”
“If so, it will be much easier. If you can destroy their magic matrix, several thousand soldiers would be enough to break through Nuremberg.”
“Oh, really?” Han Jin cast a glimpse at the prisoner. “I am leaving, old sir. Are you sure you don’t need my help?”
“No… Thank you, little guy–sorry, Mr. Raphael. You are a kind man for caring about me. But, kindness is not always a good thing nowadays.”
