Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
A ray of white light flashed by, and Han Jin, along with the others, appeared on the open ground while rapidly changing their formation. Moxinke was in the front with Reg on defense. Han Jin, Sunier, and Yalina stood in the center. This was entirely instinctive. Rays of Magical Detection Aura appeared all around and instantly shrouded the surrounding area for nearly a hundred miles.
The dozens of mercenaries who were guarding the transmission coordinates, had a sudden change in countenance and grabbed on to their weapons. It was strictly prohibited to cast magic in the vicinity of the Transmission Magic Array and the Transmission Coordinates; the oscillating magical vibrations sent across may affect the Transmission Magic Array and the Transmission Coordinates, and may even cause deviations. It is a known fact to all, that unless it is deliberately done, under normal circumstances, no one is to unleash magic around the Transmission Magic Array. Their duties were to supervise for any similar abnormal phenomena, and to punish the troublemakers.
However, when they were able to clearly see who the one unleashing the magic were, they abruptly stopped. They looked at each other in dismay and spread out immediately without any prior agreement, as if nothing had happened.
For the past two months, the black mission had been the most popular topic in Isolated Cliff City. Even if they weren’t clear about the appearance of the target, they could definitely recognize the peculiar-looking magic wand. Who would be crazy enough to punish a magus?!
Moxinke carried his great sword and coldly stared at the mercenaries as they had shown some hostility.
Facts had proved that rules were not unbreakable, and that responsibility, at some point, had to be disregarded. Some of the mercenaries were either looking up at the sky or looking down at the ground. Others were eagerly conversing with each other, but no one was looking back at Moxinke.
“Humph!” Chipango snorted and took the first step forward
Ever since that night where he had made major contributions, Chipango knew that he had met an extremely scary enemy. Due to this, he simply decided to follow Han Jin, and Han Jin did not treat him badly. During practice, Chipango and Cessacioun, just like Reg and the others, were able to enjoy the effects of the Charm of Spirit Refreshment. When Han Jin set up the Eight Gates Heaven Lock Matrix, he had even allowed Chipango to be the main star of the array of 128 stars.
Especially the latter action, the feeling of being put in an important position, caused Chipango to be more unswerving towards Han Jin. He knew deep down that he was different from Moxinke and the others; they were Han Jin’s friends – the core members – while he, at most, would only be second to them. Therefore, whenever there was an opportunity, he would rush forward to prove himself.
While Han Jin and the others slowly appeared at their designated coordinate point, Gibran, along with the members of the Red Vanguard, appeared at another coordinate point. Both teams naturally merged together. Hayden and one of the soldiers, Charles, guarded the sides, and Gibran and Reg stood side-by-side. Both Julia and Edwina walked behind Han Jin.
The square in front of the Mercenaries Association was just as lively as it used to be, and was filled with people. Over the past few days, many mercenaries had been focusing mainly on the black mission, which had resulted in an accumulation of routine missions, since they had been mostly ignored. This had led to an overall increase in the market price of magic crystals, causing an artificially-created golden trading season.
In fact, there were only a handful of mercenaries who had encountered Han Jin and the others, because the Tarasha Mountain was just too vast. There wasn’t any difference between finding a group of people in this area and finding a needle in the ocean. There were only small groups of unlucky mercenaries who had entangled with them. Most of the mercenaries had actually ended up empty-handed after wandering around in the jungle for a month. Well, of course, these were undoubtedly luckier than those who had lost their lives.
As Han Jin’s team got closer to the square, the commotion suddenly become miraculously quiet. All of their gazes gathered together; they were shocked, fearful, envious, and even confused. Yalina’s features were too obvious. As long as one wasn’t blind, they would be able to clearly see what was happening. But… hadn’t the Mercenary Team of Red Vanguard been completely annihilated? How did they end up together?
“Move aside, brother,” cried Chipango.
The crowd immediately moved to the sides and created a wide straight road in the center. Looking from above, it looked as though the square was a huge piece of cake that had been cut into two halves with a sharp blade.
Han Jin was a little confused as countless of them were observing him, but whenever he turned his gaze around, all of them would fearfully shift their eyes elsewhere. What was the matter? Do I look like a horrifying beast?
Han Jin was only aware about his progress. When he had broken through, there had been a tremendous change in his temperament. Of course, these changes had not happened overnight, so it wasn’t surprising for Sunier and the others who had been by his side all the time. But for those who were seeing Han Jin for the first time, they could distinctly feel the sharp aura from him, not to mention that Han Jin was walking in a star-studded position. Sunier was on his right and Yalina on his left. Besides a dragon slayer, who would have the qualifications for a magus to follow him side-by-side?
Han Jin and the others quickly walked across the square. It was only until their shadows disappeared into the distance that the mercenaries started becoming active and enthusiastically talking to each other. The central topic of the conversations were all about Han Jin; not only his strength, but also how young Han Jin was.
Han Jin let out a sigh of relief. Although Gibran had mentioned that the chances of starting a fight in Isolated Cliff City were minute, the value of three dragon crystals would be enough to drive people up the wall. They had to be alert and prepared to cope with any accidents that may occur.
“Keep it, it’s too conspicuous.” Han Jin whispered. “Let’s look for a hotel first and get some rest before taking a spin around the Mercenary Association in the evening.”
Yalina smiled and returned the magic wand to her space ring. She could have kept the wand in before this, but she had exposed herself on purpose in order to test the attitudes of the mercenaries in the city.
At this moment, Moxinke suddenly stopped and let out a small sign of surprise. The others then looked over in the direction of where Moxinke was looking at, and they saw two groups of men having a confrontation in an alley.
One of them was the Reaper Mercenary Team, which Han Jin had encountered before. The impression that they had given Han Jin was pretty good; well, at least they were sincere.
Just then, the Reaper Mercenary Team also noticed Han Jin and the others, and were instantly shocked. One of them called Saxon even surprisingly walked toward Han Jin.
Han Jin smiled, and Moxinke, along with the others, greeted him as well. Although they didn’t want to deliberately create any problems here, they couldn’t just ignore what they had seen. After all, the Reaper Mercenary Team was pretty good. If they could help, they should, as there may be times in the future where they would need help from others as well.
However, Yalina stayed in her place. She had no good impressions of these mercenaries, because if it wasn’t for them, Scott wouldn’t have found her.
“I thought you guys would never make it back!” Saxon said with a big laugh.
Moxinke chuckled and said, “No way, you still owe me wine. Why would I not come back?”
“Sure, no problem! Let us solve this problem first, then we’ll go right away.”
Han Jin’s gaze met with the gaze of the leader of the Reaper Mercenary Team, Winston. Winston smiled, saying, “We were in a rush last time. This time around, you have to have a drink with us. Take it as an apology from us.”
Han Jin nodded and smiled. “Don’t be so polite. It wasn’t entirely your fault last time.”
The group of people who had been confronting the Reaper team, suddenly rioted. The head soldier sneered and said, “So it turns out that you have helpers. I was wondering how you had suddenly become this courageous?!”
Winston looked at him awkwardly. “Watch your mouth. These are my friends. They have nothing to do with this.”
The soldier coldly replied, “Then get them out of the way. I’m telling you Winston, if you aren’t able to give me an explanation today, don’t even mention wine – having dinner will also be a problem for you!”
A thief walked out from among the mercenaries and arrogantly stood in front of the group. “Move along and do what you’re supposed to. Don’t be an eyesore here!”
Han Jin looked at the badge on the thief’s chest. Sixth-grade. He wanted to laugh. Ever since the Forest of Holy Animals, he hadn’t met such a close-minded character for a very long time.
Upon seeing someone provocative, Gibran who was at the back, walked forward. Saxon giggled and told Reg, who was by his side, “Did you hear him? He told you to leave. Why aren’t you leaving?”
Reg smiled and turned over to Moxinke screaming, “He’s talking to you. Why aren’t you leaving? That is a sixth-grade thief! You want to stay here and die?”
Moxinke had always been one who was never afraid to cause more trouble, and seeing that they had already started the fun, he was excited to continue the game. But as he turned around, he saw Sunier, and immediately swallowed back the words that were already almost out of his mouth.
Looking further to the sides, there was Han Jin on one side, and Yalina on the other. Moxinke had always lived by the motto of always saying what he wanted to, and drinking whenever there was wine. To forcefully swallow back all that he wanted to say, made him feel like he was at a loss.
“Get out of my sight!” Moxinke yelled at the thief. He could only release his anger on that guy.
The thief’s face changed and he smirked. “You ungrateful people, you are bringing trouble upon yourself…”
Before he could complete his sentence, their leader rushed forward and kicked him away. Then, turned his sight to Gibran and hesitantly said, “Gibran? Aren’t you already…”
“What happened to me?” Gibran asked faintly.
The soldier became speechless as he couldn’t just bluntly say that Gibran should be dead. He looked over to Gibran, then turned around to face Winston, looking uncertain. He already had to summon up courage just to confront Winston, or else it would be shameful for him to stay in Isolated Cliff City, but now, with Gibran in the picture, it wasn’t something he could handle anymore. Furthermore, the opposing party had a somewhat familiar feeling, yet he couldn’t figure out where it was from.
Han Jin didn’t even care about the ranging expressions from the opposite side and turned over to Winston, smiling while saying, “Is Isolated Cliff City such a boring place? How come we found you entangled with these nobodies as soon as we got here?”
Nobodies? The men of the Reaper Mercenary Team were speechless for a while. If the Twilight Mercenary Corps were nobodies, then the Reaper Mercenary Team was barely anything better.
Hatred grew in the eyes of the soldier at the front when he heard Han Jin’s words. There must be a reason as to why one could be so arrogant; it was either they had overpowering skills or they were being backed by someone with a strong influence, and the group in front of him was obviously the latter. He became hesitant. They would definitely be at a disadvantage if they fought, but he was unwilling to just walk away.
“Cervantes, you haven’t been back to Isolated Cliff City for the past few months and wouldn’t know what has happened here. My advice to you is to just walk away,” Winston slowly said. He wasn’t a ruthless person, and he was saying it for the sake of the opposite party.
“Are you Moxinke?” one of the mercenaries suddenly called out.
“Ah?” Moxinke was stunned and couldn’t help but touch his beard. “Do you recognize me?”
Upon hearing the name Moxinke, chills ran down Cervantes’ spine, and his face became extremely weird. He looked at Winston seriously, and said, “Fine! We’re done as for today. I will come back for you!”
In a blink of an eye, Cervantes, along with the Twilight Mercenary Corps, left without leaving any traces behind. Their speed was compatible with the evacuation of a fire line. Moxinke stared at them and said with a strange look on his face, “Unbelievable! Since when did I become so famous?”
Winston held in a laugh as he said, “You’ll know soon enough. If we were to go to a bar now, there may be a lot of people trying to buy you a drink. We may not even get a chance.”
“Really?” Moxinke was overjoyed, but immediately realized that he was no longer the poor mercenary that he used to be and proudly exclaimed, “Just because they want to buy doesn’t mean I’ll drink. Wine is good stuff, but I’ll have to see who it is from!”
“Rest assured, we’ll discuss about wine after this. We won’t leave you out of it,” Winston said with a serious note :”Well, you guys did come back at the right time, otherwise it would have all been a waste of effort.”
“You were looking for us?” Han Jin asked.
“There is a friend who has been waiting for you, and in order to keep it a surprise, I apologize for having to hide his identity for the time being.” Winston laughed as he moved to the side. “This way.”
Han Jin and the others looked at each other. They weren’t worried about what conspiracy Winston had – they were just trying to guess who it could be for it to be a surprise for them.
“How about we do this: Reg, bring them to the hotel first. I’ll go ahead with Sunier and Yalina,” said Han Jin.
“That’s not necessary. You can all come together.” Winston smiled and said, “Our station is spacious enough to accommodate all of you; it would be enough for all of you to live comfortably. Plus, the environment there is much better than staying at a hotel. I may not be able to guarantee your safety, but at least you won’t be disturbed by the idlers. My guess is that none of you are clear about the situation here? All of you are celebrities now, haha!”
“Celebrities? What do you mean?” Yalina frowned.
“I’ll thoroughly explain it to you once we are back at the station.”
Since Winston insisted, Han Jin was in no position to refuse. Everyone turned and followed Winston as they walked towards the Reaper Mercenary Team’s base. According to Winston’s explanation, they had originally wanted to expand the team, so they had saved up enough money to get enough land to accommodate more than a dozen houses. However, they had decided to simply maintain it. They had realized that once the team expanded, it would be inevitable for there to be internal conflicts, some of which may even destroy the strong bonds which they had cultivated through blood and fire.
It wasn’t long until they arrived at the station. Behind the conspicuous lacquered black door, there was someone who was discussing something. Yalina’s expression changed as she rushed to the front and pushed the door open.
