Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The men from the Mercenary Association were clearly hesitant to follow the order. Since the group of mercenaries they were supposed to arrest had completely ignored Cromwell, it was obvious that they held influence within the association. However, they couldn’t very well disobey orders from a superior either, so they very reluctantly closed in on Moxinke, while one of the warriors whispered, “Sir…”
Moxinke casually pushed the warrior a few steps back. “This doesn’t concern the lot of you; just watch from the side. Hey, old man, didn’t you say you wanted to arrest me? Why don’t you do it yourself!” Moxinke curled his finger into a taunting gesture.
“How arrogant of you. It seems like you don’t respect the authority of the Mercenary Association at all.” Cromwell sneered, “A quick defeat will serve the likes of you well!” Before he finished speaking, he unsheathed his sword with a crisp ‘shing’.
Moxinke slightly frowned a little. The matter would escalate quickly if they used actual weapons. Since neither of them liked the other, it was unlikely that they would show mercy during a fight.
However, Han Jin nodded at Moxinke which immediately made him more confident. He casually pulled his greatsword out of the ground and stared coldly at Cromwell.
“You dare resist? Then don’t blame me for what’s about to happen!” Cromwell sneered again and slowly approached Moxinke. As the distance between them shrank, Cromwell started to release his fighting strength. The already cold air suddenly became even colder as snowflakes started to swirl rapidly around Cromwell.
When the distance between the two were less than ten meters, a ball of red light suddenly dove down from the sky. Cromwell’s pupils instantly constricted as he raised his sword to meet it. With a loud boom, two swords clashed unceremoniously in the air, and the fighting strength that was released during the clash dispersed everywhere. The snow around Cromwell was swept clean, exposing the slate underneath, while countless snow and ice pieces were stirred high into the air, making a few unfortunate spectators flee with their hands on their heads.
Cromwell had to retreat a few steps before he could stabilize himself. His attacker flipped in midair, then landed agilely on the ground. Cromwell’s expression turned slightly ugly as he finally saw his attacker’s face. “Saxon, what’s the meaning of this?!”
“Aren’t we having a fight here? I’m here to help. What, is that not allowed?” Saxon said with a smile.
As he spoke, the windows on the neighboring inn were opened one by one, and a dozen shapes jumped down from them. There were warriors and thieves, but the warriors didn’t have their weapons, and the thieves weren’t invisible; the group simply surrounded Cromwell and his subordinates with smiles on their faces.
Winston and Dwightsteel appeared by the window. Dwightsteel looked quite strange; his hair was mostly black, but those by his temples were pale white. His brows were wrinkled, but his eyes and eyebrows appeared youthful. Combined with his beard that was a mix of black and white, it was impossible for one to guess his true age.
“Master Cromwell, long time no see. What have you been dealing with lately?” Dwightsteel said flatly.
“Master Dwightsteel, I had to take care of some business in Fatto City and only returned a few days ago,” Cromwell said in a humble tone. Even though he worked in the Mercenary Association, he still did not dare disrespect the famous Dragonoid Knight.
“Was it for a long time?”
“Two months or so.”
“Ah, that’s why.” Dwightsteel paused as if he suddenly remembered something. “Weren’t you in the middle of a fight? We can talk after you finish with that.”
Cromwell froze. It was obvious that the men from the Reaper Mercenary Team were not the only ones that were unfriendly; there were men from Dragon Singer Mercenary Corp who opposed him as well. He realized there must have been a misunderstanding, and thought it would be fine once he explained it to Dwightsteel, but Dwightsteel showed no intentions of listening.
In reality, Dwightsteel had assumed that there must have been a split within the Mercenary Association if Cromwell had decided to publicly disrespect Moxinke, but after a few sentences of conversation, Cromwell had made it obvious that he was just acting from ignorance, not because he was obeying someone’s order. After realizing that, Dwightsteel decided it wasn’t worth it to waste his time.
“What’s happening here?” Gibran, who was walking in the front, returned with the members of the Red Vanguard.
At this point, Cromwell’s face was livid. He almost couldn’t believe his eyes; why were the Reapers, Red Vanguards, and Dragon Singers all helping this bastard in front of him?! Truthfully, he didn’t really fear Dwightsteel nor Winston; the former was known to be a benevolent man, while the latter was known for his honorable demeanor. He had ways for dealing with them. Gibran, on the other hand, was completely different. The first thing that came to anyone’s mind when it came to Gibran was always his ruthlessness and his ability to hold a grudge forever; never offend him, because it would always end horribly! In other words, if Cromwell didn’t resolve this incident in a manner that made Gibran happy, God knows when a knife would end up in his back!
“Master Gibran!” Cromwell smiled reluctantly. “There must be a misunderstanding.”
“Old man, where was this ‘misunderstanding’ when we were were talking? Now that my friend is here, it’s suddenly a ‘misunderstanding’… Don’t you think that’s a bit too late?” Moxinke smiled coldly.
“How did this guy offend you?” Gibran said in a low voice. “Doesn’t he… work for the Mercenary Association?”
“What? Are you scared?” Moxinke glanced at Gibran.
“Scared?” Gibran let out a laugh and gave his team a look. Hayden and Charles casually approached and joined the group which surrounded Cromwell, while Edwina started to nonchalantly clean her longbow. The hostility from the Red Vanguards was quite obvious at this point.
Cromwell’s heart sunk instantly. He noticed that Gibran and the big man in front of him spoke casually and as equals. Earning the respect of Gibran was no easy feat, and he knew instantly that he had poked the hornet’s nest this time!
Cromwell’s subordinates, who had their sword unsheathed a moment ago, quickly sheathed them again. Holding unsheathed weapons in front of this many powerful mercenaries? Don’t be absurd! Swords were not only useless in that situation, but they would probably be the prime target if a fight did break out!
Winston and Dwightsteel had walked out of the inn at this point, and Dwightsteel smiled at Han Jin. “Master Raphael! Where are you going today?”
“I heard that a caravan from Cold Shadow City just arrived. Thought it was a good time to go have a look.” Han Jin smiled.
“How fortunate, we were planning the same thing. Should we go together?”
“Of course.”
Dwightsteel turned his head and saw that both sides were still staring at each other. He said with a frown, “Is this how you ‘fight’? Come on, be a man! I don’t want to stand here forever.” Dwightsteel truly lived up to his reputation as a benevolent man, but the thing was, Cromwell hadn’t really given him any reason to be nice. It wasn’t a matter of strength either; even if Cromwell were a civilian, Dwightsteel wouldn’t have bothered him for no reason, but the Dragon Singers saw everything that had happened in the alley. If Moxinke hadn’t made a move, they would have charged down themselves.
Cromwell followed his subordinates and also sheathed his sword. His face showed an icy indifference, while his back was straight. At this point, indifference was the only thing that was protecting his self-esteem. However, this forced indifference was soon shattered by an oncoming fist. No matter who you were, your face would twist after your nose was hit!
A flock of eighth, ninth, and tenth-grade mercenaries, all using their fists and ganging up on one man like common tavern brawlers, was truly a sight to behold! On top of that, none of them had a serious expression on their face, and swung their fists around like laughing children playing games. Cromwell was on the ground at this point, and could only try his best to protect his head and bear the full brunt of the kicks and punches. He looked even more pitiful than the girl that had been being beat up, but no one showed him any sympathy. Dauncy’s desperate cry of ‘uncle’ was full of joy, but also exposed their relationship.
Moxinke didn’t just idle around either. He found Dauncy and promptly smashed him into the ground with his fist once again.
Cromwell’s subordinates weren’t targeted, but naturally, they didn’t dare speak a word either. A streak of tigers toying with a sheep; what could they do? And even if they weren’t sheep like their boss and were wolves, they would still have had to run as far away as possible!
“Alright!” Dwightsteel said. “Since he isn’t fighting back or talking, we shouldn’t be such bullies! This should be enough.”
The mercenaries weren’t going on a vendetta either and stopped upon the command, while Cromwell was still curled up in the snow. Normally, he should be expressing his anger with his eyes at this point and not curled up on the ground like a turtle in its shell, but he truly did not have the guts to do so! As far as he knew, at least a dozen unsolved murders were related to Gibran. In other words, it was basically common knowledge among the mercenaries that Gibran had done it! But without any concrete evidence, there wasn’t anything they could do. If they spoke up, who knew when Gibran might shift his attention to them?
“Cessacioun, escort this girl home,” Han Jin slowly said.
Cessacioun blanked, then understood the meaning behind Han Jin’s words. After suffering such an insult, Cromwell and Dauncy might not dare seek revenge on them, but they could very well shift their anger onto the girl. Han Jin had made his stance clear, while also warning his enemies.
“Of course,” Cessacioun smiled.
The girl was shocked from the whole ordeal. Not even in her wildest dreams did she think she could cause such a commotion. She still couldn’t process what had happened even by the time Cessacioun walked beside her and started speaking.
The crow left, leaving behind a humiliated Cromwell. After they walked out thirty meters or so, Gibran suddenly stopped. “Chipango.”
“Master Gibran, you called?”
“Go follow him.”
Chipango looked at Han Jin. He wasn’t under Gibran’s command, and details like this were great ways to show his loyalty.
Han Jin hesitated, but nodded in the end. Dwightsteel let out a small sigh, but didn’t say anything. Bored mercenaries often commented on Dwightsteel, but no one dared to insult Gibran. This was because Gibran was a man that liked to walk in the darkness and was also more likely to employ less than moral methods. But after this whole ordeal today, his friendship with Han Jin had obviously deepened, and stopping Gibran would ruin the harmonious atmosphere; he wasn’t dumb enough to make such a stumble.
