Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The autumn nights started to get colder and colder, though Isolated Cliff City started to become more and more lively. Spring and summer were the two prime seasons for holy animal hunting because most mid-grade holy animals mate during the start of spring and give birth at the end of summer. Both took great tolls on the strength of holy animals which made the mercenaries’ hunt much easier. Sometimes, one could even stumble upon something valuable without even lifting a finger.
Meanwhile, winter was a season reserved for celebration. At least for the mercenaries, mere bone-chilling winds weren’t enough to extinguish their lust that had been pent up for a year. Besides, since they didn’t need to hunt, there wasn’t any need to preserve stamina. It was understandable that everyone would want to enjoy their lives for a while after more than half a year of hard work.
Bars that dotted the entire city like the stars in the night were filled with mercenaries. It didn’t matter if you knew anyone there or not; every patron cheered and drank in celebration of their holiday and to celebrate that they had survived through yet another year.
The other half of the picture was women. The number of prostitutes in Isolated Cliff City would always peak during this season, and many new faces could be seen. It was honestly very easy to earn money from mercenaries. As long as you caught their attention, these men that spent most of their life walking the thread of life and death were never stingy.
Of course, luck cannot exist without tragedy. Every profession had its own unique rules and methods, and prostitutes were no different. If a girl of above-average look decided to sell her body because of financial issues, she would be turned into a ruined flower by a swarm of mercenaries within one or two months. If she was lucky though, she might get herself into a more prestigious institution, and not only would she earn tens or even hundreds of times more than if she had become an ordinary prostitute; her employer would also invest in protecting her beauty and youth.
Every situation needed luck, and luck is luck, no matter how cruel!
Eva, for example, felt that she had been very lucky lately as she sat in a luxurious private room, across from a handsome, gentle, and well-mannered man, with a smile brighter than the sun. Even though she didn’t really like the sun, she had to admit that smiling suited the man very well.
Just as Eva was staring foolishly at Hallister, someone knocked on the door. Eva instantly snapped out of her daydream. Although Hallister’s guards were supposed to go out and check, Eva’s mind was a little muddled. She also knew who was waiting outside, so she opened the door first.
“Brother? Why are you here?” Eva appeared shocked.
“I saw you just then, though I couldn’t be sure because I was too far. I just had the time to come check,” Manteco said. “Why are you here? Care to invite me in?”
“Well… you can come in I guess.” Eva looked at Hallister and playfully stuck out her tongue.
Though Manteco’s visit was a bit abrupt and rude, it was within reason. As Eva’s brother, he had enough reason to protect his sister when he found out she was on a date.
“Mr. Manteco? Eva mentioned you before. My greetings.” Hallister again put on his signature smile.
“Greetings.” Manteco’s gaze swept past Hallister and moved toward Majordomo Gail. He had no interest in the weak son of some noble, and besides, Eva had promised she could take care of that man.
Majordomo Gail was resting with his eyes closed in a chair behind them, and as if sensing the gaze, he suddenly opened his eyes. Manteco’s heart jumped a bit and he hurriedly moved his eyes. Eva had very seriously informed him that a powerful man of unknown strength accompanied Hallister, and Manteco had to agree that she was right. He had been through countless life and death situations before, and if those brightly lit eyes could make him feel uncomfortable, it was enough proof that this was not someone who should be taken lightly.
After a few rounds of chatter, Manteco stood up and bid his goodbyes, but Hallister insisted that he should stay. The former finally reluctantly agreed. Hallister very warmly invited Manteco to his seat, then rung a bell. A moment later, a beautiful female server walked in.
“What would you like to drink, Mr. Manteco?”
“Rum would do,” Manteco replied casually.
“Gail, anything for you?” Hallister turned his head and asked.
“I will pass on the drink this time, Young Master. You shouldn’t drink too much either; it’s bad for your health,” Gail said nonchalantly.
Hallister smiled, snapped his fingers, and the server stepped out knowingly. However, she did not go get the wines, and instead turned a corner and took the stairs to the second floor. She knocked on a door and entered the room where Han Jin, Moxinke, Gibran, and the rest were waiting the whole time.
Just as the female server stepped into the room, Chipango walked out from the room across from them, looked around, and followed the server. The situation here was complicated, and Yalina couldn’t freely cast detection spells. They had to rely entirely on his eyes to detect enemies.
“Everything is in order, My Lord,” Chipango said in a confident tone.
Han Jin nodded and turned toward the female server. “What did he order?”
“Rum, My Lord,” the female server said in a low voice.
“Hm.” Han Jin gave Chipango a look, and the latter hurriedly took out a small vial of faint red liquid and handed it to the female server. “Go tell your lover to put this into the rum. It’s easy.”
The female server took the vial, bit her lip, but didn’t leave immediately. She instead looked at Han Jin with a hopeful expression.
”放心,只要事情成了,大人会为你赎身的,然后你和你的情人就自由了.”奇藩克的口气放得重了一些:”看什么看?还不快去?!”
“Don’t worry. If this works smoothly, My Lord will free you, and then you can be free with your lover.” Chipango then said in a heavier tone, “Well, what are you staring at? Hurry up and go!”
The female finally stepped out timidly.
“Chipango, are you sure the potion will work?” Han Jin asked in a low voice.
“My Lord, Master Yalina personally mixed it; there can’t be an error.”
“I meant your recipe.”
“I promise, My Lord; even if Manteco only drinks half a glass, he will still lose the ability to summon the Abyssal Ghost Snake and use interspatial scrolls!” Chipango said confidently.
“Very well.”
Gibran walked beside the window, pulled apart the white curtains, and closed the black layer behind it. That was the signal to commence the operation, and groups of mercenaries immediately started to appear in the street to quickly establish roadblocks.
“We didn’t really need to spend this money, right?” Hayden, who stood next to Gibran, said. “Any female server from the Mercenary Association would have been enough.”
“Manteco is a very vigilant individual. It would be very suspicious if he sees an unfamiliar face at a place he frequents,” Gibran said flatly.
Inside of the other private room, Manteco was trying to subtly gather information on Hallister’s background. Suddenly, the door opened, and the female server from before walked in, lightly set the tray on the table, and stepped out.
Hallister recounted the things he had seen during his travels. He was a good storyteller, and he seemed to have endless interesting encounters he could talk about. He also frequently raised his glass to motion for Manteco to drink, but his performance only charmed Eva, who started to think even more highly of him. However, Manteco was not a wine enthusiast, and neither did he come here to drink. Ultimately, he couldn’t refuse Hallister’s invitation anymore and finally raised the glass to take a sip. As the liquid touched his lips however, his face instantly turned ugly.
Manteco’s composure was not calm enough. Had he pretended like nothing had happened, there was a chance he could turn the situation around. Unfortunately, he had placed too much hope on Hallister, and the emotions going through his mind instantly bared themselves on his face.
Hallister was very bright and immediately shouted as he saw Manteco’s expression change, “Gail!” He then immediately flipped backwards with his chair.
Gail sighed. This was the younger generation’s problem; he had simply joined for the fun and didn’t want to interfere, but at this point, it wasn’t really up to him anymore.
In the next instant, Gail’s body turned into a streak of light and shot forward with a speed that an old man shouldn’t possess. Turning in mid air, his right foot landed on the dumbfounded Eva’s chest, while a dagger appeared in his left hand as he stabbed at Manteco’s neck with lightning speed.
If Han Jin were present, he would probably comment that Majordomo Gail was getting old, or at least getting too used to a peaceful life. It had been pointless to sigh before he had struck, and he had only given Manteco more time to react.
Manteco unsheathed his long raven black sword and crossed it in front of his chest. The sword and dagger clashed, causing an immense ring. Countless sparks exploded outward while the dozens of candles in the room were extinguished by the wind. Manteco then immediately dove out the window, completely disregarding Eva’s life.
Crack… the window was shattered to pieces and Manteco landed on the street. Before he could take a step, a crisp green arrow flashed past, and countless vines crawled out of the ground and instantly wrapped him tight.
Julia? Manteco’s heart turned cold. He barely managed to turn around, and he used all of his strength to swing his sword. After a giant booming voice, an arrow was shattered by Manteco’s blade, and the unleashed wind elements were swept all around them like a tidal wave. Manteco’s body shook around like a wing while the sword flew from his hand and landed in the distance.
Edwina! Manteco clearly saw figure, and saw those hatred-filled eyes even clearer.
Han Jin and the rest had already noticed the fighting below, and likewise had violently jumped through the window.
“Ha… I knew this was a trap.” Manteco laughed. “Until next time, everyone…” Before he could finish however, a curtain of dark light covered him.
“Abyssal Projection!” Yalina shouted before releasing a streak of lightning as fast as possible.
Han Jin sensed something was wrong as well and opened his mouth. A flash of red light shot out and flew directly toward Manteco.
If everything were to be put into slow motion, one could see that lightning had just started to gather in the sky, Han Jin’s flying sword was only starting to return to its normal shape, and Julia and Edwina were still pulling on their bows. Manteco’s body, however, was starting to become a blur and he had definitely had enough time before Han Jin and Yalina’s attacks had even approached his body.
Gail’s body suddenly disappeared, and the wall beneath the window suddenly exploded outward. A shallow trench suddenly appeared on the street and started to extend toward Manteco at an amazing speed. A moment later, a puff of blood spilled out of Manteco’s body with Gail standing behind him, the dagger in his hand covered in blood.
“The left hand…” Gibran’s face suddenly showed a startled look. “He’s the…”
