39.1 Magic Scrolls Transaction
Nian Bing was a smart person, and after experiencing all that had happened at Ice Snow City, he definitely didn’t want to stir up any trouble. If the other person had just humiliated him, he would, at most, regard them as a despised housefly. However, that middle-aged man dared to insult his mother, his most painful wound. In an instant, Nian Bing’s expression had changed, but the smile was still on his face.
The middle-aged man suddenly felt a chill run through his body, an icy cold clenching his heart without a cause. “What the f.u.c.k are you smiling at.” To conceal the rising fear in his heart, he removed his hand from Nian Bing’s shoulder.
“f.u.c.k you.” A hazy blue light flashed, and blood spewed everywhere. The mercenary a.s.sociation echoed with the ear-piercing squeal of a pig being slaughtered.
A twitching hand fell to the ground. It was the middle-aged man who shrieked, holding a stump where blood was spurting out wildly. His face had paled, and his legs weakened. He immediately tumbled to the ground while shrieking.
Nian Bing kicked the severed hand to the side, then looked at Ma Rui as if nothing had happened. In a head-on confrontation, Nian Bing could not defeat a third rank mercenary, but his knife was too quick. For many years, his hand and Demonic Engraving had achieved unity. With his lightning-like knife skills and the sharpness of his blade, he could accomplish many things when he caught people off guard.
Silence. Abnormal silence. The entire mercenary a.s.sociation had been sucked into a deathly still. The cold and cruel move had completely intimidated the entire hall. Ma Rui watched the handsome man in front of her dumbstruck with her hands trembling.
With a soft voice, Nian Bing, reminded Ma Rui, “Miss, please continue looking for me. Thank you.”
His gentle voice seemed very clear in the hall. Just now, almost no one had seen what he had done. They only saw a small knife appear in his right hand that was being twirled between his fingertips.
“You, how could you harm someone in the a.s.sociation?” Mar Rui’s voice was clearly trembling.
Nian Bing’s face showed a rascally smile. “I harmed someone? Did you truly witness it?”
Ma Rui was shocked for a moment. Her heart couldn’t believe what Nian Bing had just did, but the facts were laid before her eyes. Nian Bing’s smile made her heart feel very cold. The cold was like frost encasing her heart. It seemed that the person in front of her was not a handsome youth, but a devil, a murderous devil. “Come here, guards, get over here.” Ma Rui hysterically shouted, the fear in heart made her retreat backwards. Tripping over the chair leg, she fell to the ground.
Nian Bing creased his brows and shifted his sight at the middle-aged man with a severed hand. No doubt he was a third rank mercenary; he knew something about treating wounds. But at the moment, he was desperately clutching his wrist, trying to prevent further blood loss.
The mercenary crowd automatically parted, and three guards wearing black warrior clothing walked in. When they saw the situation, the three people’s faces simultaneously changed. The leader of the three, a thirty-plus-year-old warrior wrinkled his brows at Nian Bing. “I am the captain of the guard here. Did you do this?”
Nian Bing smiled, but did not answer his query. Instead he knelt by the body and asked the middle-aged man with the severed hand, “Was I the one who cut off your hand?” His smile was gentle, but just like Ma Rui, the middle-aged man saw the smile of a devil. His entire body shook, and due to the blood he had lost, his pale face took on a green tinge. He desperately shook his
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head. “No, no, no, no.”
Nian Bing stood up and looked at the guard captain with a provoking expression. “He’s lying. It was really me who did it, because he insulted my mother.” His left foot fiercely took one step forward, and with his full strength, he swung his right leg in a circle, kicking that forty-plus middle-aged man in the face. At this moment, the middle-aged man didn’t have enough time to scream. Under a drizzle of blood, he lost consciousness.
The guard captain didn’t block Nian Bing, but his expression became colder. “Young man, you are very arrogant. You need to understand what kind of place you are in.”
Nian Bing smiled indifferently and replied, “I know what this place is. Isn’t this the mercenary a.s.sociation?”
The guard captain snorted coldly. “I will reclaim the honor on behalf of this mercenary.”
Nian Bing pointed at the pa.s.sed out middle-aged man with his index finger. “People like him have honor?”
White qi was emitted by the guard captain. The ability to use qi confirmed that he had entered the swordmaster realm. It appeared that the strength of this guard captain wasn’t any worse than Xue Jing’s.
“You will become the same as him.” With a lift of his hand, the surrounding mercenaries cleared a s.p.a.ce for them.
Nian Bing shook his head at the guard captain and extended his hand. A fireball immediately appeared in his palm. “Since you have confidence in yourself, then come. However, I cannot guarantee that no one will get accidentally hurt.”
Looking at the flame in Nian Bing’s hand, the guard captain’s expression immediately changed. Surprised, he asked, “You are a mage?”
Nian Bing smiled thinly. “To say precisely, I am a mage from the Ice Moon Empire Mage a.s.sociation.”
Was the guard captain afraid of a mage? No, he was not. He didn’t believe that the young mage in front of him could be stronger than him, a martial artist. But in a one-to-one confrontation between a warrior and a mage, although they didn’t hold an advantage, due to their numbers being smaller, mages had a higher position than martial artists. They were the target of every country’s coaxing. Especially when he heard that Nian Bing was a member of a mage a.s.sociation, his hesitation had disappeared. Even a stick-thin camel is greater than the horse. Even if the Ice Moon Empire Mage a.s.sociation was weak, in the end it was still a mage a.s.sociation, something that a low-levelled mercenary a.s.sociation could not afford to offend.
“Sorry, honorable mage sir. I had thought that you were a mercenary. Please forgive my rude behavior.” The guard captain dispersed his qi and spoke to Nian Bing differentially.
Nian Bing didn’t desire to expose his status, but in order to lessen the trouble, this was the best decision. With an indifferent smile, he pointed at the middle-aged man on the ground and said, “If you don’t want him to die, you should carry him out.”
The guard captain turned to his subordinate guards. With a look, the two other guards rushed to lift the unconsciousness middle-aged man out. With a look of suspicion, the guard captain asked, “Sir mage, since you are from this country’s mage a.s.sociation, could you provide some information as a confirmation?”
Nian Bing creased his eyebrows and asked, “Is this necessary?”
The guard captain’s gaze switched to Demonic Engraving sandwiched between Nian Bing’s fingers. Nodding his head, he said, “This is necessary because I must explain this to the mercenary a.s.sociation.”
Nian Bing smiled indifferently and replied, “What you want is this.” With a flash of light, a plaque appeared in his right hand. This was what Long Zhi had given him several days before he left as a emblem of his ident.i.ty.
The guard captain took the plaque from Nian Bing’s hand and scrutinized it carefully. Immediately, his facial color changed. “You, you are…”
Nian Bing took back the plaque and sent it back into his s.p.a.ce ring. “There is no need to say anything. I think you understand it well enough. I came here to find a necessary task.”
The guard captain’s face had already become pale. Although he couldn’t believe that the youth was an elder of a mage a.s.sociation, that plaque was definitely not fake. How could something from a mage a.s.sociation be so easily imitated. Hesitating for a moment, he walked in front of the desk and told to Ma Rui, “Quickly help sir mage find a task. Don’t be too slow.” After dropping this sentence, he quickly left.
The surrounding mercenaries concentrated their attention on Nian Bing. For him to be able to scare the guard captain, they knew that this youth was not so simple. Moreover, he was a mage.
Ma Rui snuck a glance at Nian Bing and immediately turned, flipping through the mercenary tasks. It was just that her hands were still quivering.
Nian Bing sighed in his heart. The weak become the food of the strong. That was the rule of society. In front of Xi La De, he was weak, but in front of these people, he was strong. It seemed that no matter where he was on the continent, he would never be able to live a day in peace.
“Okay, I found it. There really is one.” Ma Rui, as if relieved from a burden, lifted up the record of the task. “Sir mage, the task you were looking for was strange so there was only one. Here, the owner of the city’s personnel guard wants rank 5 magic scrolls. There is only one stipulation: Each scroll is fifty gold coins. For every rank higher, the task reward will double. It’s a third rank task. Moreover, there were many people who took it on, currently there are seventy-three mercenaries. However, there were only two people who completed it successfully, finding a rank 5 scroll.”
Nian BIng was happy. The personal army of the city owner should have a lot of money. With a source of wealth, he immediately asked, “How do I contact the employer?”
“That is…” Ma Rui hesitated and then said, “After mercenaries have completed a task, they only have to hand over the task to us. We will contact the employer, after verifying that the task has been completed. We will then give the reward to the mercenary, while taking out a ten percent processing fee. We keep the employer’s contact details a secret.”
Nian Bing smiled casually and said, “Since it’s like that, tell me the contact details. I can complete the task.”
Ma Rui went blank for a moment, then replied, “But you are not a mercenary, and you are not even a member of this a.s.sociation. This is against regulations.”
Nian Bing smiled and said, “Then it is simple.” He looked at the surrounding mercenaries. The one closest to him was the brute from the Orchid Fire Mercenary Group that had received the task. After taking on the ask, he had not left, but stayed to watch the commotion. Nian Bing waved him over.,“This big brother, please help me.”
The stocky man went blank for a moment. Of course, he knew about the respect garnered by mages. “Me? I can help you?”
Nian Bing said, “Take on this task, and then get the gold from it.”
The st.u.r.dy man didn’t understand what Nian Bing was saying. “Our mercenary group just got this task, so we haven’t completed it yet.”
Nian Bing said with a smile, “Then you can switch tasks right now. I have a source of magic scrolls. Miss Ma Rui, this should be in line with the rules. I am staying at the Orchid Fragrance Inn not far from the a.s.sociation. Once the employer comes, you can send him to room 3 to find me. Just tell them that I have a few scrolls over fifth rank that I can sell.” After the exchange was complete. He turned to the burly man and nodded, then headed out.
“Sir mage wishes to sell scrolls? Have you completed the task yet?” A deep, vigorous voice spoke. The hundreds of mercenaries in the hall parted like a tide, forming a corridor. At this moment, Nian Bing had reached the entrance. Looking along the path, he could only see a blank faced, slender old man heading towards him with the guard captain following behind him.
Nian Bing halted his steps and turned to the old man. After some time the old man had come, stood in front of him. With a smile, he greeted, “Sir mage, I am the president of this mercenary a.s.sociation. Could I engage you in a chat?”
Nian Bing smiled and replied, “Of course you can. I am very happy to see you, mister president.” He knew it was because of his status that he had attracted the president. Hearing his tone, he seemed to have interest in buying magic scrolls. If he could sell them all here, it would simplify matters. So, Nian Bing naturally had no reason to refuse his request.
The mercenary a.s.sociation president made a gesture to follow him, then led Nian Bing to the back of the a.s.sociation. As they pa.s.sed through the hall and entered into the back room, the surroundings immediately became quiet. The mercenary a.s.sociation president stopped and told the guard captain, “There is nothing for you here. Go busy yourself elsewhere.” The guard captain made a noise in agreement and returned to the main hall.
“Mister mage, please come with me.” While saying this, the mercenary president brought Nian Bing further inside. While walking, Nian Bing observed his environment. The mercenary a.s.sociation was connected from front to back. He discovered that he was at a courtyard. The inside of the a.s.sociation was decorated very simply. Everything was plain, with its main focus on functionality.
Following the mercenary a.s.sociation president’s lead, Nian Bing arrived at a large office at the back of the a.s.sociation.
“Please take a seat, sir mage. I would like to introduce myself first. I am the president of this a.s.sociation, Ka Luo. I heard from my guard captain just now that you are actually an elder of this country’s mage a.s.sociation. For such a distinguished guest to make an appearance, excuse me for not going out to meet you.”
Nian Bing smiled and said, “Mister President, there is no need to be polite. Actually, I am not such a high-ranked mage, but because of my master is the president of the mage a.s.sociation, master gave me elder status to make things more convenient while I travelled outside.” Letting people look down on him was his best defense.
Ka Luo’s expression did not change. It seemed he had guessed as much. “For such a young mage to have reached the realm of an advanced mage, it’s definitely not easy. Just now I heard you say that you wanted to sell magic scrolls, yes? Rather than inconveniencing others, it would be better to sell to me. Since I don’t know what rank scrolls you have, we can discuss the price. I want them all.”