Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
After Han Jin had fallen into a deep slumber, the shimmering glow of the Black Crystal Thread faded. However, Harley had already gained complete control over Betty. Observable with the naked eye, Betty’s body had begun withering little by little.
A gust of cold wind blew past as Betty suddenly wrenched herself free from the pit. She then searched around suspiciously, opening her mouth and releasing an ear-piercing howl. A faint circle of gray smoke suddenly swept around Betty’s body.
* * *
A figure suddenly appeared within thin air. It was Jocelyn, holding a dagger in her hand. She stared blankly at Betty, “Ma … madam?!”
Now that Betty had become dry and thin, her facial features still barely had changed, and her former appearance was still rather recognizable.
Betty quickly strode towards Jocelyn. Both her legs were severed and only her thighs were left, making her appear like a dwarf. The way she walked with her thighs was strange and creepy.
“Madam?!” Jocelyn could not help but take a few steps back.
Betty then propped her hands on the ground, and with a forceful push, she leaped onto Jocelyn. Jocelyn suddenly broke out into a cold sweat, entering into a fast retreat, almost forgetting that her goal was to assassinate Han Jin.
Betty missed Jocelyn’s body, lying on the ground on her stomach like a frog. However, she still refused to give up, her pupils began to turn blood red, as she glanced forward intensely towards Jocelyn. Pushing her hands on the ground, she leaped once again.
Jocelyn was not a great thief in the first place; she was good at other kinds of skills. Noticing that Betty’s expression was gradually turning more and more menacing, a wave of fear quickly filled Jocelyn’s heart. She still managed to gather up some courage, and with the dagger in her hand, she stabbed towards Betty’s chest.
Poof … Jocelyn’s attack hit the target, and her dagger penetrated deep into Betty’s heart, with Betty’s forward force lifting Jocelyn onto her back. In the next moment, Betty began riding on Jocelyn, her hands tightly clutching around Jocelyn’s throat.
Jocelyn’s eyes bulged as she lost all her air. Struggling, she stabbed continuously with her dagger in her right hand, leaving several bloody holes in Betty’s body. However, Betty seemed to feel nothing at all, and even began gripping tighter.
“Keep her alive.” Han Jin murmured in a low voice as he was awakened by the sounds of the fight.
Betty then lowered down her head and howled right in front of Jocelyn’s nose. Jocelyn’s cheeks which had become crimson due to difficulty breathing suddenly turned pale, as blood began flowing down from her mouth, nostrils, eyes, and ears. Jocelyn then thrashed around for a few more seconds before she never moved again.
* * *
The atmosphere in the Reapers’ station was very depressing. There were only six members of the Red Vanguard Mercenary Team in the first place. Now, Hayden and Charles were killed. On the way back, Edwina had stopped breathing as well. Her death hit the remaining members hard. It could even be said that the famous Red Vanguard Mercenary Team in Isolated Cliff City could no longer reproduce their glory from the past. Gibran originally held the principle of placing quality before quantity, and thus each member he scouted was a high-level professional. But now, half of his team had been killed. Where could he possibly find more like-minded and trusted high-level mercenaries? Besides, he was not in the mood to recruit people.
Han Jin laid quietly on the bed. The usual nonchalant smile often hanging on the corner of his mouth had long disappeared and was replaced by oppressive solemnity.
Soon after Harley subdued Jocelyn, Guevara and Gibran finally came for the rescue. Jocelyn’s tricks did not fool Gibran, who was well deserved for the title of the best thief in the entirety of Isolated Cliff City. Unfortunately, the battle was already over and there was nothing that they could do to recapture the lives already lost.
At that moment, Han Jin had been introspecting himself. In the beginning, his “One Stone Splashes A Thousand Waves” technique displayed his mighty power, and then the Eight Gates Heaven Lock Matrix that he laid killed countless attacking mercenaries. When he returned to Isolated Cliff City, all he heard were words of praise, and all he saw was expressions of awe. For a long time, he felt very powerful, even thinking that he was unparalleled; except for his superiors such as Guevara, no one else could win against him in the world. He loved to finish off opponents with powerful and dazzling spells, just like the ones he used when killing the magician in Cold Shadow City. Not only were the spells effective, but they also created awe in the hearts of the onlookers.
After discovering Hayden’s abnormality, he still decided to journey on. He was not afraid of any challenge, and he did not hesitate when using his vital energy to activate his flying sword, of which was one of his most foolish moves, one that caused him pain just at the thought. If he saved up his vital energy, he could do lots of things, and he would not be left in such a desperate situation.
Han Jin wanted to mock himself out loud. In the past, whenever he accomplished something that made himself proud, he would show off in front of his Master. His Master never praised him, but instead preached to him with a worried tone. At that time, he thought it was because his Master’s expectations of him were just too harsh. But now, he finally realized that there were things in life that could not be learned merely by slaying a few ghosts. Whenever he did something right, he thought of himself as an extraordinary person; but when he did wrong, he used his young age as an excuse. What a childish, superficial, and ridiculous mindset!
Maybe it was true that the enemy’s conspiracy was not under his own control, however, he had numerous options to deal with the task at hand, and he trusted himself that he could do much better. For example, after discovering Hayden’s peculiarity, he could have immediately subdued Hayden and joined forces with the others; even if he was trapped, he could choose other strategies rather than using all his vital energy and releasing the flying sword.
His master reminded him countless times that the so-called Master did not refer to a person who could make opponents fly away with a single blow. Instead, only those who could always choose the correct technique within the corresponding time constraints could be called a Master. If he could go back in time, he had confidence that he could protect both himself and Edwina, but unfortunately, time would never rewind.
When he gained the ability to release the Three True Flames, he was just too over-ambitious and immediately shifted his attention to the Red Lotus Hellfire. Over the past few days, he absorbed many fire element magic crystals in an attempt to create the Red Lotus Hellfire charm, but the making of the Red Lotus Hellfire charm required just too much fire element. Before the incident had occurred, the charm was only a few percent of the way to complete. With the current speed, it would take hundreds of days before the charm could finally be completed. The most absurd thing was, he believed that his choice was correct, and was so deeply immersed in the thought of the astonishment on everyone’s face when he could finally release the Red Lotus Hellfire. Ridiculous! Ridiculous! If he prepared several more Three True Flame charms, even if he only prepared one, he could definitely reverse the situation of the battle!
Han Jin was a person who had the courage to take responsibility for his own actions. He did not look for any excuse to console himself. Admittedly, he did not know his opponents, which led him to make mistakes repeatedly. However, his opponent did not understand him well either, so a lack of knowledge was no excuse!
In constant self-accusation, Han Jin’s breathing gradually deepened, and Sunier, who was resting at the edge of the bed, had awakened. Her eyes swept all over Han Jin’s body with concern, “Raphael, are … are you in pain?”
“I’m fine.” Han Jin said softly, “You don’t need to accompany me, Julia needs you more.”
“Gibran is with her.” Sunier sighed, taking out a handkerchief and gently wiping the beads of sweat from Han Jin’s forehead.
Both of their gazes collided, and Han Jin suddenly became a little confused with Sunier. When he first met her, he believed that she was a strong-willed and capable elf. After spending a long time with her, he realised that Sunier was actually very delicate. Now, Edwina’s death must have dealt a great blow to Sunier, but she did not cry at all. Maybe, during the war launched by the Silver Pegasus Regiment, Sunier had already learned that it is better to bleed than cry.
“You don’t blame me?” Han Jin said slowly.
“Blame you?” Sunier was caught off guard, “Why would I?”
“If I didn’t decide to leave, Edwina wouldn’t …”
“You did right.” Sunier slowly shook her head, “Guevara said that if Caroline and Betty had found something wrong, they could release the transfiguration spell to escape at any time, allowing them to hide in the dark. If that’s so, more of our people could’ve died. ”
Han Jin smiled bitterly, Guevara’s advice made sense, but the problem was that when he decided to chase after the two, he had no idea who his opponents were, so whatever Sunier said was the right thing to do had nothing to do with him.
“Don’t think too much about it, you should get some rest,” Sunier said softly.
“Where’s Steelberg?” Han Jin suddenly asked.
“You need him for something?”
“Um.” Han Jin nodded.
Sunier didn’t want Han Jin to move at all. When she saw Han Jin’s resolute expression, she hesitated for a moment, then stood up, “Then wait for me.” After she spoke, she turned and quickly fled from the room.
Only moments later, Sunier and Steelberg both walked into the room one after another. Steelberg looked very agitated and his eyes were very red, but he did not make any moves. He then stood still and whispered, “Young Master, are you looking for me?”
“Cessacioun is back, isn’t he?” Han Jin asked. With such a big event, how could Cessacioun still have the heart to study alchemy in Cold Shadow City?
“Yes, they’re all at the front.”
“Call him out alone, I’ll teach him my magic.” Han Jin paused, “Tell him not to worry about anything, practice with peace of mind.”
“Young Master?!” Steelberg’s mouth widened with surprise.
“Go.”
Steelberg froze for a moment before he turned and left the room.
“Raphael, have you really decided to teach Cessacioun your magic?” Sunier hastily asked.
“Not only Cessacioun, all of you have to learn.” Han Jin slowly continued, “One tragedy is enough.” He did not expect other people to have great achievements in the Taoist Art, especially since the fact that many things are not explainable in the language of the world, however, it would at least be reasonable to know how to release some of the charms he had previously made. If Edwina had an Earthmeld charm and she was able to release it by herself, she would have never died. And so, he let Cessacioun cultivate first as he was concerned that the Taoist Art and magic may conflict.
“Can I learn too?”
“Of course.” Han Jin sighed, “Sunier, are those earth element magic crystals with you? Give me some.” Han Jin then noticed another of his own shortcomings, his personality tends to go to the extremes, and he was too strict on the others. Yalina’s magic sentries did not work in front of Manteco, and as a result, the group was almost attacked. Fortunately Han Jin’s Eight Gates Heaven Lock Matrix exerted its effect. In the end, he not only lost trust in the power of Yalina, he also lost trust in the power of the others. Therefore, he concentrated on making himself stronger. He had not even blessed Moxinke with the Art of Faked Earth Corpse which he had promised ages ago. He believed that he could protect everyone by standing at the frontline alone in the face of danger. It now seemed that he was gravely mistaken, the enemy would not foolishly stand right in front of him.
Sunier stared at Han Jin blankly. She felt that Han Jin had seemed to have suffered great emotional shock from the previous events. Previously, Han Jin’s magic was a taboo that he never talked about to anyone. Even if someone asked, he would just smile blankly. Now, he suddenly wanted to teach the others, not to say teach the whole group, which would be just too unbelievable.
