Chapter 327: Fiery Tower of Babel
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“My Lord, are you leaving now? Aren’t you going to have a meal with me before you leave? I’ve received a lot of care and attention from you over the years. I have a batch of gold-tier herbs, and I’ve made them into medicinal wine. It can help to increase one’s strength.”
The pharmacy owner escorted Blake to the back door and urged him to stay.
“Maybe next time.”
Blake looked up into the sky and was ready to push the door open and leave. A hint of melancholy flashed in his eyes. Perhaps there would not be a next time.
He had been in the City of Steel for a few years. He was a captain who adored Christina. He often had conflicts with Claude, who also liked Christina, but that was to help his disguise. His real ident.i.ty was the kingdom’s a.s.sa.s.sin. There were many other a.s.sa.s.sins like him. Most of them were placed with various dukes and n.o.blemen. They did not know each other, and each only had a few subordinates and a set of methods to contact the king.
The shop owner was his subordinate. He was responsible for gathering intelligence and pa.s.sing it to him. After that, he would carry out the mission. Usually, an a.s.sa.s.sin would have one or two secret informants working for him, and people would only answer to him. If the ident.i.ty of the a.s.sa.s.sin were exposed, the informants would also be eliminated. That was also the reason why the shop owner was so respectful toward him.
Blake admired the King for coming up with such an idea. None of the a.s.sa.s.sins would recognize each other, so they would not be able to form cliques for personal gain. At the same time, if there were any problems, they would be eradicated. They would not leave any clues, and none could affect the work of other a.s.sa.s.sins.
Of course, occasionally, a few a.s.sa.s.sins might work together. In that case, then the King would arrange for them to meet. He had met a female a.s.sa.s.sin named Adele. At that time, he was carrying out a mission to infiltrate a n.o.ble’s territory. Initially, he planned to have pa.s.sers-by pretend to be his parents and let the bandits kill his parents in front of that n.o.ble to arouse their sympathy. Then, he would sneak in as a refugee.
However, before his plan could be carried out, the n.o.bleman was dead. When he arrived at the scene, he discovered that the man had died in Adele’s arms in the bedroom. There was a stack of doc.u.ments that proved his collusion with other countries. A few maids had also died in the same bedroom. Their deaths were very tragic. Their stomachs had been cut open, and their intestines and blood were scattered all over the floor.
The strange thing was that the eyes of those dead people were wide open, and there was a hint of a happy smile on their lips.
That was the first time he had seen another a.s.sa.s.sin, and they had left a deep impression on him. He did not know if the name of the female a.s.sa.s.sin named Adele was real or even if her appearance was genuine. At that time, he had been a.s.signed to the City of Steel. He was in charge of infiltrating the Holy Sword adventurer team to monitor Christina. He did not know if it was because he did not complete the mission first, which led to that punishment.
The mission was boring.
‘With Lady Swordmistress’ strength, I’m afraid that she might not be able to clear the dungeon in ten or twenty years. His Majesty sent me to monitor her to clarify their clan’s movements. However, I feel like I might have to spend the rest of my life in the City of Steel.’
At first, he was somewhat dissatisfied with staying in that small city. After all, that place was not as prosperous as the royal city. The women were not as beautiful, and the alcohol was not as good. However, after a long time, he had gotten used to it. It was just like how he had fallen in love with that woman after playing the role of Christina’s suitor for a few years.
Unfortunately, all of that would end on that day. He had used the person he liked to obtain information. Presumably, Christina had already discovered it.
With a deep sigh, Blake pushed the shop’s backyard door open. Just as he was about to step out, he suddenly froze; a familiar face had appeared in front of him outside the door.
“Blake, I’m not in a good mood right now. You’re the only person I can confide in the entire adventurer team. Do you want to go for a drink?”
As he looked at the familiar face in front of him and heard the familiar tone, Blake’s face twitched a few times before he calmed and smiled. “In that case, I’ll do as you say, Lady Swordmistress.”
….
“Are you leaving, Young Master Watson?”
Annie’s face was hesitant as she looked at Watson, who was gathering his belongings, inside the Golden Quill Pavilion.
“Yes, you know that my original intention was to go to the Royal Academy to study. “I am merely traveling through the City of Steel,” Watson explained as he tidied his clothes.
“Young Master Watson, can’t you stay? Why don’t you bring us with you?” Clyde said.
Even though he knew such a day would come eventually, he was also hesitant to part with them when he heard that. They had yet to conduct a proper excursion since forming an adventurer team with Watson and achieving gold-tier. Plus, Watson had explored the underground maze by himself. Watson had clearly done so much for them, yet they had little to give him in return. That made them feel a little ashamed.
“You don’t have to bring us along, Young Master Watson. I can be your servant, but your subordinates are angels, so I’m not sure—ouch!”
Arthur was the one who spoke. Leon smacked him on the head before he could complete his sentence. “Great Master Watson, your humble servant, has just helped you administer a lesson to a disrespectful person,” Leon said as he approached Watson and knelt respectfully with his arms wide open.
“As your servant, I don’t expect you to always keep me by your side. As long as I see your face and hear your voice occasionally, I will be satisfied. Now, may I kiss your toes?”
“Leon, you fraud, you are too disgusting.”
Arthur rubbed his head in embarra.s.sment. Then, Annie said, “Even though Leon’s actions are too exaggerated, he is right! And Arthur, you’re too shameless. Young Master Watson has done so much for us, and you’re still not satisfied. I know that you want to become Young Master Watson’s subordinate not to serve him but to become an angel. With your behavior, if you become an angel, it would be a complete disgrace to that race.”
“There’s no need to go that far.”
“I’m just telling the truth.”
Watson, who had already tidied his clothes, showed a helpless expression as he heard the two quarrel. “Okay, everyone, please stop arguing. Not only are you reluctant to part with me, but I am also hesitant to leave you. After all, I have to go to school. It is not appropriate for me to bring too many people! While I am gone, why don’t you challenge the Tower of Babel? I will grant you the ability to become platinum-tier angels if you complete the Tower of Babel challenge before I graduate.”
“Really, Young Master Watson? Don’t lie to us.”
When they heard that, the four of them, including Leon, grew thrilled and moved in front of Watson.
“I am not looking to become an angel. But if I’m from a different race, I can better propagate the faith and Young Master Watson’s teachings.” Leon elaborated.
“I mean it. The requirement is that you must clear the levels. If you can’t do it, then what I said will be invalid.”
“Don’t worry, Young Master Watson. We heard that the Royal Academy is a four-year program. We’ve obtained a lot of knowledge from you. After we absorb it, it won’t be difficult for us to clear the Tower of Babel in four years.”
The four of them began to study the Tower of Babel early in the morning as if they were on stimulants, striving to get a good result on the first day.
Watson looked at them knowingly. He had confidence in them. After all, the knowledge he had imparted to them was enough for them to reach the peak of platinum-tier. As long as they continued to fight the Blackmoon Knights, they would be able to improve rapidly in a short period.
“The Royal Academy is a four-year study. Four years is not enough to return home. Thinking about it, it’s quite a long time,” Watson muttered to himself.
At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind him. “Four years is a long time, but I will always be by your side.”
When Watson turned around, he discovered that Nightingale and Globe had appeared behind him. She ran forward to take his hand and said coquettishly, “And then there is me, Honorable Master. The rest of the world will be there for you as well.”
Turning around, Watson found that Nightingale had appeared behind him at some point, and the world had also appeared. Globe rushed forward to hold his hand and said coquettishly, “And me, Honorable Master. I will also be with you.”
“Didn’t you two go back to Mount Creation to train the Blackmoon Knights? Why are you back so soon?”
“Globe had cloned all of the Blackmoon Knights. Since none of them could defect their clone in a short time, we decided to come back here,” Nightingale explained. Globe shook Watson’s arm and said, “The clones I created can work without me around. Aren’t I great? I’ve told your subordinates that whoever defeats me will get the chance to meet you through me. Now they’re very energetic.”
Watson was speechless. The Blackmoon Iron Knights might be full of energy, but he felt terrible. His head hurt when he thought how the Blackmoon Knights would line up to meet him in the future.
“What’s wrong with Annie and the other three? Why are they so happy? What happened when I returned to the mountain?”
After talking with Watson for a while, Nightingale realized that Annie and the other three were so happy that they almost jumped up and down. She was confused.
“Nothing. They just found their target.” Watson said with a smile.
Time pa.s.sed quickly. The next morning, Watson, Antonio, Nightingale, and Denise put their luggage on the carriage. The Heaven-devouring Rat King had been disguised as an ordinary horse to pull the carriage. Then, they left the City of Steel. Their second stop to the royal city was the Floating City of Stanley, which was a famous and prosperous city in the kingdom.
The carriage did not go fast because Watson wanted to see the Tower of Babel before he left.
It was the first day of opening for the Tower of Babel. Hundreds of thousands of adventurers surrounded the new dungeon early in the morning. They had gathered in the street below, and everyone was looking upward eagerly.
At a particular moment, the Tower of Babel let out a loud rumble. An illusory staircase fell and landed in front of everyone.
Swoos.h.!.+
Hundreds of thousands of people swarmed forward. Those who were at silver and gold-tier used their combat aura wings to fly into the sky. At the same time, those bronze or iron-tier elites hugged each other and climbed up the ladder. It had felt like a lollipop had been plopped into the ground vertically, and countless ants were climbing it.
Many people were stepped on before they could enter the Tower of Babel. Some climbers had walked over other people’s heads instead of the ladders.
“Don’t squeeze, one at a time.”
“Aiyo, who stepped on me?”
“I’m going to fall, help!”
Even if he fell, he would be fine because there were paddings all over the ground.
The people who rushed up the Tower of Babel were not much better because there was only one gatekeeper at each level, leading to thousands of adventurers fighting for the first level.
“I came first. I should be the one to go first.”
“Stop lying. Everyone rushed in like a swarm of bees. Who knows who came in first? If you want to count, I think you’re still behind me. If you’re not convinced, let’s compete. Whoever wins gets to go.”
When Watson saw that, he pulled down the curtain and covered his face. Then, he said to Nightingale, who was driving the carriage, “I didn’t expect the Tower of Babel to be so popular. I only brought 100 Blackmoon Knights. That is insufficient! Nightingale, please contact Allen later via Globe. Tell him not to battle his clone and to send the first legion of Blackmoon Knights to a.s.sist those at the tower.”