Translator: Wuxia Dog Editor: Wuxia Dog
Moxinke walked toward Han Jin step by step with a weird posture. Those with good eyesight could clearly see that both his hands and legs were still slightly trembling and his eyes were erratic as if he were pondering upon something.
“What… happened just now?” Ronning couldn’t help asking.
Moxinke did not reply to him. He directly walked past him and stopped behind Han Jin, reaching out to pat him on the shoulder. Somehow, his hand froze midair. After a while, he slowly took it back.
“Raphael, from now on, my life is yours,” Moxinke said in a hoarse voice.
“What?” Hearing this, Han Jin shifted his eyes from Sunier, who was standing in the distance, then to Moxinke in surprise.
“What??” Ronning was also astonished but he soon realized that Moxinke’s narrow escape from death must have had something to do with Han Jin! Otherwise, such a carefree man like Moxinke would never say something in such a serious context.
“From now on, my life is yours!” Moxinke repeated. He didn’t know how to express his shock of returning to life from death. All his excitement and impulse turned into surging gratitude toward Han Jin. He felt that he could only express his current feeling by swearing an oath.
Han Jin looked at him seriously and showed a smile after a long time. “You are… putting me in an awkward position like this, Moxinke.”
“Am I?” Moxinke scratched his head and felt embarrassed. There was no need to put it into words because it could have been done through actions. Moxinke grinned. “If so… can you give me another life, Raphael?”
“You…” Han Jin didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. “Have you learned a lesson from this?”
“Yes, of course!” Moxinke nodded seriously. “Damn him! I should have directly cut him instead of bullshitting with him!!”
Sunier walked towards them. She looked Moxinke up and down and smiled. “Are you… really alright, Moxinke?”
“Can’t be any better than this!” This said, Moxinke made a sword flower. “See!”
“You created a miracle, Raphael,” Sunier exclaimed. “To be honest, I had really doubted you about this magic when you had released it on Moxinke. I didn’t believe there was really such miraculous magic in this world. You have… overthrown the common knowledge of magic that is known to most!”
Everyone turned quiet as they all stared at Han Jin. If her words were heard by others, they would take her as a traitor or a blasphemer. How could one’s existence break the rules of the common knowledge of magic – God!
Suddenly, a loud crash attracted all of their attention. All the guards of the trade caravan had been killed, so now the soldiers were examining the overthrown carriages. When they opened the lids, dozens of pairs of heavy armors rolled out from inside.
The expression on Ronning’s face turned solemn. The soldiers hurriedly checked the other carriages, only to find that they were all filled with military supplies. There were bundles of arrows, swords, war pikes, and even strange metal parts for which the usage of was unknown to the soldiers.
“My god… General! General!” A soldier standing on top of a carriage suddenly shouted and even forgot to keep it a secret. “Magic crystal cannons! There are magic crystal cannons!!”
Upon hearing the shout, both Sunier and Ronning inhaled a chilly breath. They were both soldiers once, and they clearly knew the power and usage of magic crystal cannons. They hurriedly strode to the carriage without thinking.
Ronning jumped onto the top of the carriage and rudely pushed the soldier aside. When he looked into it, he saw two magic crystal cannons hiding in the darkness. Their neat and smooth bodies, as well as the pitch-dark muzzles, made Ronning feel dizzy.
“General! There are also magic crystal cannons here!” Around twenty meters away, another soldier shouted.
“Shut up!” Ronning yelled with all his strength. His eyes involuntarily fixed on the two businessmen. What were they going to do? Where did they get these military supplies?!
* * *
That night, the encampment of the first and second groups of the cavalry were heavily guarded. At every corner, there were at least ten well-armed soldiers who were on patrol walking up and down.
Han Jin, Sunier, Cessacioun, Reg, and Ronning were all sitting by a long table, discussing in a low voice. The atmosphere in the room was very solemn.
Berger and Justin had come clean under the interrogation after being tortured by the military law enforcement team. Afraid of missing any information, Han Jin and Reg had respectively interrogated them again. They were both men who were not easily deceived. The only difference was that Han Jin was much milder and had more humanism, while Reg adopted a bloodier approach.
Under the cruel torture, both Berger and Justin leaked out world-shaking information!
After getting to know Reg and helping him regain part of the military power, Han Jin had once thought to lay his foundation in Beitman and to expand his own force by relying on Reg’s troops. He couldn’t do this in other territories, because the territory owners respectively held the supreme power which was not to be undermined. But here in Beitman, the four castellans were covertly contended with each other, so their contradiction was the chance for Han Jin!
However, he was not the only clever one in this world. There was another person who had thought of Han Jin’s thought and had seen what Han Jin had seen! And that person had already started his secret mission for over ten years!
This person was Woodrow, the chief sheriff of Beit City. Berger was his eldest grandson and knew lots of his secrets. When Berger told all of this to Han Jin and the others, they were all shocked and even felt a sense of chilliness.
Woodrow’s plot was as complete and sinister as his plan was thoughtful, containing both meticulous details and complicated arrangements. This stunned them all.
The government affairs of Beit City, the capital of Beitman, were managed by the four castellans in turn, whereas the position of chief sheriff had always been occupied by Woodrow. He was very good at dealing with interpersonal relationships and kept a good relationship with all four castellans. He would appropriately show his prestige and potential on the one hand and seem obedient on the other. Thus, no matter which castellan was governing the city, he would only try to get along well with Woodrow to get the most benefits out of Beit City, instead of trying to change the chief sheriff.
Woodrow had prepared for his plan for over ten years, during which he had reached his hands to each field but had never brought anyone the feeling of being threatened. Even the Regimental Commander, Conrad, had often praised Woodrow when he was still alive. The four castellans all had a good impression of him. Therefore, Woodrow was regarded as a good person; a very good person indeed when people were talking about him!
To deceive Regimental Commander Conrad was not difficult. A decent and gentle man was easily deceived, but to deceive the four crafty old scoundrels was by no means easy.
Han Jin and the others were all shocked; not only by the power that Woodrow had obtained at present but also by his strong endurance. He had lurked around the city like a viper waiting for its prey.
Rudolph was one of Woodrow’s trusted followers and the internal candidate for regimental commander of Riptide Regiment. It was true that someone was in collusion with Zaganide, and that person was none other than Woodrow! When the four castellans launched full attacks against Zaganide, it would be the best chance for Woodrow to seize control of the four acropolises. As for Beit City, he had already been the uncrowned king for a long time.
All of this then became clear! It was easy to understand. The territory owner, Malith, the former ally of Zaganide, had sensed the danger and had shown signs of separating with Zaganide while eager to find a new ally, so Zaganide found Woodrow.
Everyone knew the devastating damage that Zaganide would bring; why was it that only Woodrow didn’t see it? The answer was simple: because this was his only chance. When he manages to take control of the whole city, he can immediately part with Zaganide. For Zaganide, who just wanted some time for rehabilitation, he had never expected a long term relationship with Woodrow either.
The more astonishing thing was the real strength that Woodrow held, which he seldom showed or had the opportunity to show. Thus, people only knew that he was a magician, a warlock, or at best a sage, but never thought he would be a tenth-grade archmage.
When Reg put the red-hot iron on Berger’s male member, not only did some filthy liquid leak out, but all of the confidential information came together as well. After Rudolph’s death, Chasel, Berger’s father, the eldest son of Woodrow, was responsible for this. He was eager to create some earth-shattering event, but Berger was even more anxious. If Woodrow became the owner of the whole city, who would be his successor? The answer called for a fight at all prices.
Woodrow had planned this for over ten years, but now his eldest grandson had leaked out his secret even before he could start to put it into practice. At present, though the damage to be caused to him was hard to predict, one thing was for sure: the importance of education…
As for the other questions such as how Berger could release ice pitons and who created the magic crystal cannons, they were easily answered. Even Cessacioun, an industrious man, could only reach the level of a sixth-grade warlock with Han Jin’s help. That was already very impressive, so how could Berger, a playboy that was good for nothing, become a seventh-grade sage? Did talent really determine everything??
“What should we do?” Ronning asked in a low voice. He was looking at Han Jin, the calmest one among them all.
“We are going to Black Raven City anyway. This will have no impact on us.” Han Jin paused. “But… we may be back one day. Which situation do you think is better for us? To see that the four acropolises are still controlled by the four castellans, or that Woodrow is the sole owner of the whole city?”
“Of course, the former,” Ronning replied.
“If so, then it’s easy. Ninth Town is under the government of West City. We can send someone to invite Lord Winston here and show him the things we have confiscated. Get him to question Berger. He should know better on what to do next.”
“But Woodrow is an archmage!” Cessacioun exclaimed.
“Do you think Chasel will tell Woodrow that?” Han Jin laughed. “Would he want to be replaced by his brothers? While he would still be trying to hide the truth, we would have already left.”
The situation did not seem urgent to them. Their discussion lasted for a long time and lots of suggestions were put forward…