Chapter 515: Dark Souls
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
“My name is Charles. Would you please be so kind to take me to Lothar’s camp? It’s not very far from here.” Charles said.
“We are heading towards the Jade City, and we are not planning to veer off too far from our course.” Duo Lun said reluctantly. The stranger didn’t seem to be a warrior type to Duo Lun, so he would only be a dead weight if the situation got hairy.
“Jade City? Lothar’s camp is on your way. If you can take me there safely, I can get you guys a maglev. That should save you at least a few days worth of time, considering what you are using now.” Charles pursed his lips towards the run-down old maglev the group was using.
“Well, if it’s on the way, we might as well escort you there free of charge. We can get by with this old clunker.” Wang Tong said.
Charles was delighted after hearing Wang Tong’s decision. He turned to Ye Zi and said, “Thank you so much, my beautiful lady. I will reward you handsomely for your trouble.” Charles exclaimed.
After the group started their journey again, they found that Charles was a very talkative fellow, and a very funny one at that. The conversation revealed that the Jade City had been victorious in the recent series of skirmishes against the Zergs, although it was on the defensive side during every assault.
Although they had to sidetrack slightly to get to Charles’ destination, they conceded that saving a man’s life should be their priority, particularly when they were not in a hurry to get to Jade City.
They had been walking in the direction that Charles pointed out for a day and still didn’t see the sign of any human activity.
“Tan Bu and Duo Lun, scout ahead and see what’s going on.” Wang Tong commanded.
“Yes, captain.”
Charles stood up and volunteered to join the two.
“Mr. Charles, we are on a mission. We can at most escort you until tomorrow noon.” Wang Tong said politely and assertively.
“No problem! We should be there before noon.” Charles replied, and then he started off with Tan Bu and Duo Lun.
Ye Zi heaved a sigh. “I like him. He is a goofball.”
Charles had a great sense of intuition when carrying out a conversation, and it didn’t take long for him to catch the subtle reluctance in Ye Zi while she was talking to Wang Tong. So, Charles added a joke here and there and quickly made Ye Zi open up to Wang Tong after waves of lighthearted laughter. Wang Tong appreciated his help, and therefore, he had decided to escort him for another half a day after the next dawn.
Who wouldn’t try to suck up to his or her savior out of desperation?
After the three scouts walked for a while, they arrived at the bottom of a hill. Against Tan Bu and Duo Lun’s will, Charles insisted on getting to the other side of the hill.
“Please help me out. I remember that there should be an outlook post on the other side. If someone happens to be on duty, it will save you guys another half a day worth of walking.”
Charles was able to convince the two soldiers, and he led the way through the jungle to the other side of the hill.
After thirty minutes of walking and climbing, there still was no sign of any lookout tower.
“Are we close yet?” Tan Bu was losing his patience.
“Almost there… Look! there is a light!” Charles pointed to the distant and smiled,” We are lucky today!”
“We are finally here!” Duo Lun heaved a sigh of relief. Behind him, Tan Bu saw something in the shadows of the trees and shouted, “What was that?”
Duo Lun turned towards the direction where Tan Bu was looking, and from the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of a dagger in Charles’s hand. The dagger went towards the unsuspecting Tan Bu and slashed a large opening on his belly.
“Charles, are you crazy?” Tan Bu shouted out, hands cupping over his wound. Suddenly, he noticed a few dozen dark shadows emerge from under the trees.
Charles flipped and twirled the flat dagger in between his fingers as he smirked at the two young soldiers. The band of outlaws that had surrounded them sneered at them.
“Idiots! Our boss Charles is not crazy. He is just going to kill you.”
“Haha! I was waiting for the merchants to pass by, but I ran into a racy little medic. It’s even better! Haha! ” Charles laughed pruriently.
“What a great catch, boss! I have heard many good things about the medics from the Divine Mastery Sect.”
“Don’t worry! I am not going to let you guys hang two blue balls in between your legs. Everyone will have his turn after I am done with her! I am sure she will fetch a good price on the market too!”
Another burst of laughter erupted among the group of vile men.
Tan Bu and Duo Lun’s faces were taut; they knew that their situation was dire. Not only their opponents had the edge in number, but some of the outlaws were of a higher level than them.
“The dagger is poisonous.” Tan Bu spoke under his breath. Despite the peril they were in, he had kept his calm. Duo Lun gritted his teeth and let out a few words between his clenched jaws. “What should we do?”
“Can you fend them off for a while? I need to bring the poison under control.”
Charles didn’t mind the two’s quiet exchange of murmurs. “Haha! Have you heard of the X-593 nerve agent? I have never heard of anyone who was able to expel the poison by himself.”
Tan Bu’s face twitched slightly, as he could feel the position getting out of control and attacking his sea of consciousness directly.
Charles slowly took out a bottle and announced, “Here is the antidote. Follow me from now on. We have everything here! I bet you wish to taste that little spicy medic too, don’t you?”
Despite the fury inside of Tan Bu and Duo Lun, they didn’t lose their calm. Duo Lun scanned their surroundings and conceded that they were trapped. If Tan Bu were not injured, they might have had a chance at breaking the encirclement. They had been walking for a long time, and therefore, Duo Lun didn’t expect Wang Tong to notice the commotion this far away.
“Who are you? Why do you want to kill us after we saved you? Do you have any shred of humanity left in you?” Duo Lun chastised Charles.
“Humanity? Haha! What a joke! I just want to live… No, I want to live like a king! Haha… Hurry up and make your decision. I have already drugged the other two. I have a nice curvy body to enjoy after I am done away with you!”
“Charge!” Tan Bu’s voice boomed.
With that, the two young soldiers charged at Charles at the same time.
“You are courting death!” Charles didn’t flinch, and summoned two mastery fireball which he hurled at the two soldiers. The two fireballs were meant to stagger the two soldiers, but not to kill.
Tan Bu was still struggling with the poison inside his system, so he was not fast enough to evade the attack. Duo Lun, on the other hand, quickly veered to the left and dodged the attack. Without any hesitation, Tan Bu corrected his course and continued his charge.
By then, Charles had already unleashed the second mastery attack: the Fire Drake. The rest of the outlaws swarmed at them as well.
Despite being outnumbered and outclassed, Tan Bu and Duo Lun fought bravely and didn’t show any signs of backing down.
A cold sneer found Charles’s lips. “Kill!” He issued a command.
The attacks from the bandits that surrounded Tan Bu and Duo Lun suddenly gained both speed and vigor. Life was draining out of Tan Bu’s face by the second. Every time he used his soul energy, the poison would gnaw at his sea of consciousness.
“Leave, Duo Lun! ” Before Tan Bu could finish his words, he was dealt another blow.
“Buzz off! We will get out of here alive together!”
Suddenly, Tan Bu shouted and charged up all of the remaining GN force with abandon.
“KOM!”
In a blink, his eyes had become bloodshot, his face pale like a piece of paper. “Go!”
He snatched Duo Lun by his shirt and threw him over the crowd. And then, he charged at Charles despite the excruciating pain from the poison.
By then, Tan Bu had fallen deep into a battle trance and unlocked his full potential as a level fourteen warrior. But, Duo Lun didn’t leave the battlefield either; he charged at Charles after he gathered himself from the fall.
Charles cursed quietly. He wanted to finish the two as quickly as possible, but the fight had been dragging on for too long.
“Kill! Just kill them all!”
A few dozen sharp blades hewed towards Duo Lun and Tan Bu.
“Aim at the head. Don’t damage their METAL suit!” Charles put in.
Suddenly, a flare shot out from nowhere and disoriented the bandits. When they opened their eyes again, the two young soldiers had disappeared.
