Chapter 12: The War
Translator: Wuxia Dog Editor: Wuxia Dog
“After hearing what you said… I don’t think Beitman is a safe place, either.” Han Jin changed the topic naturally.
“That’s a paradise for adventurers. If it’s safe, then there is no adventure to talk about.” Came a voice.
Han Jin looked up. A hatchet-faced man aged 20 was standing in front of him, his straight eyebrows slanting upwards and outwards, under which there were a pair of bright eyes and a straight nose, a pretty good-looking young man even though he was not very tall. The gray robe of the young man seemed quite ordinary, and the chest of him was still heaving along with his rush breath in and out. Obviously, he was also among the fleeing crowd who had just run a long way.
“It’s you, Mr. Cessacioun!” Steelberg jumped up.
The young man was stunned and asked: “Do you know me?”
“This time last year, I was always listening to your story, don’t you remember me?”
Cessacioun studied Steelberg up and down, then shook his head: “I’m sorry, you are…?”
Steelberg jumped next to Han Jin: “This is my young master Raphael! Do you remember?”
“Oh … …” Cessacioun showed an expression as though he had recalled everything and said: “Young master Raphael, long time no see.”
“Long time no see.” Han Jin smiled, he knew this young man said this just for politeness.
“You are a magician?” Moxinke interrupted them.
Cessacioun was dumbfounded, then slowly nodded his head: “Yes, you are…”
“Moxinke, a high grade swordman.” Moxinke bent down slightly: “Are you from Radon Town?”
“Hum.” Cessacioun made a wry smile: “I have just arrived at Radon Town last night. Who thought I would come across this sort of thing today.”
“Young master, look! The town … … It’s on fire!” Steelberg exclaimed.
Hearing this, all of them turned around and looked at the direction of the town, where puffs of black smoke were swirling into the sky like hurricane. Most houses in Radon Town were made of woods, only the rich could afford a brick building. If someone set the town on fire deliberately, the fire would grow extremely fierce in the blink of an eye.
Cries echoed again, many of the fleeing crowd ran to the edge of the jungle, standing there and staring at the town. Their expression anguished. This fire had not only burned up their homes, but also all their hopes.
“It seems that we have to go to Beitman now.” Han Jin sighed: “What about you, Mr. Cessacioun?”
“Me? I’m going to Beitman, too.”
“Then why don’t we go together?” Moxinke made the invitation.
Cessacioun gazed at the sword of Moxinke and nodded outright.
They both understood that a swordman was fragile, the same was a single magician. But if the two go together, it would not be as simple as one plus one. Their strength could be tripled or even quadrupled. Win win.
“Let’s return to the town tonight and set out tomorrow morning.” Han Jin said in a slow voice.
“No, we must leave right now!” Cessacioun said resolutely and decisively.
“Why?” Han Jin was astonished.
“What are you going to do to return to the town?”
“To find something useful for us, like money.”
” What use of money if you lost your life?”
“You mean … … the Knights will not leave?”
“It has nothing to do with them.” Cessacioun hesitated for a moment and continued: “To tell you the truth, the army from the Black Raven City is coming.”
“How do you know?” Moxinke was very startled.
“I planned to see a friend in Black Raven City, but came across the army of the city. If it was not my alertness, I would have…” Cessacioun made a wry smile: “The army of the Black Raven City is well known for its rapid speed. If we wait here till tomorrow morning, we will be caught or killed.”
Han Jin nodded thoughtfully, then turned around and saw his old butler Barbato and some members of the enforcement were coming into the woods. “Steelberg.” Han Jin said suddenly as though he had come up with something: “Inform them the news and let them bring it to others.”
“Yes, young master.” Steelberg run towards Barbato.
Cessacioun’s eyes lit up, but he didn’t say anything.
Deeper into the mountain, the woods got thicker. It was dark and chilly without suns.h.i.+ne penetrating through. Han Jin and the other guys were walking through the woods and chatting. Cessacioun was a very talkative man, and unlike Moxinke, he didn’t conceal his past. Through his words, Han Jin could get a lot of information.
Dismark, the owner of the Holy Crown City, and Zaganide, owner of the Black Raven City, were sworn enemies. Their beliefs and religion were antagonistic to each other to the extent of not to live under the same sky. This hatred could be traced back hundreds of years ago. And due to their contradiction, Dismark and Zaganide had started battles for dozens of times. They attempted to wipe out each other, but neither of them had taken advantages from these battles.
Lord Zaganide was descendant of the Darkness Druid. He was not only possessed with powerful strength, but could also control evil creatures. Within the Black Raven City, thousands of mutated ravens would form dark clouds whenever Zaganide were going for battles. Though the ravens’ fighting capacity was not that strong, they could hover over the army and acted as skyguards, monitoring every motion of their enemies. When opportunities came, they could also cut off the straggling scouts.
The core forces of Zaganide consists of vampires, the Darkness Druid and a small amount of Knights of Darkness and sorcerers. They boast both mighty fighting capacity and extremely rapid speed.
This time, Zaganide abandoned his habitual style of frontal attack and led his army to cross the mountains, attempting to stab Dismark in the back. That strategy pushed the tranquil Radon Town to the top of the storm. However, for residents of Radon Town, everything was meaningless now, for that their town had already become a heap of rubble.
When the dusk was coming, Han Jin and his companions found a camping place. They settled down. Moxinke was responsible for hunting. Steelberg went to find some branches for fire. Han Jin and Cessacioun had nothing to do. They cleaned their place and sat down to rest.
Han Jin was interested in Cessacioun. In fact, he was quite found of this experienced man. Cessacioun had visited many places on the mainland as a bardlet and the knowledge that Steelberg had got was also from him. Han Jin thought if he could chat with this man more often, he could obtain lots of information and fill in the blank of his memory.
“By the way, since you’ve already known that the Black Raven’s going to attack Radon Town, why did you came here?” Han Jin asked lightly.
“I have a friend here. He’s a merchant. If the war broke out all of a sudden, he will sure suffer a lot. And, Dismark is a man with good reputation, I wanted to inform him about the attack.”
“You get quite a lot of friends, don’t you…” Han Jin bantered: “Then why did you decide to go to Beitman with us? I guess you haven’t seen Lord Dismark yet?”
“Hump, I never thought the owner of Holy Crown City should be such a person. Since he’s so brutal, what’s the meaning to inform him? To be honest, I am quite disappointed.”
“What about your friend? Don’t you care for him?”
“What a coincidence, I had met him in Radon Town.”
“Cessacioun, you wanted to bring information for Dismark just because he has a good reputation?”
This question stunned Cessacioun. He then cracked a smile and replied: “Of course not, I thought it would be a good chance for me to recommend myself. If I am lucky enough to be appreciated by Lord Dismark, I can no longer wander here and there.”
“So you attempted to work for Dismark?”
“Dismark is old, but I am still young. If I can settle down in Holy Crown City, who do you think I will be obsequious to?” Cessacioun asked back.
“That brutal guy today is son of Dismark?”
“Er.” Cessacioun nodded.
At this moment, Steelberg came back with a huge bouquet of branches in his arms. Hanjin stood up and helped Steelberg to frame the branches on the ground. But suddenly he turned around and asked: “Cessacioun, you said you have met your friend in Radon Town? Is your friend a man or a woman?”
“A man, why do you ask this?”
“Nothing. I thought your friend was Miss Keeley.” Han Jin didn’t want to mention Miss Keeley, but since Cessacioun was so outspoken, there was no need to hide this from him.
“Miss Keeley… of the Holy Crown City?” This time Cessacioun was startled: “Did she also in Radon Town?”
“Yes.”
Cessacioun stood up slowly, his face revealed a hesitated look.
“Rest a.s.sured, Miss Keeley has left the town last night.” Han Jin said with a smile while he was observing Cessacioun’s expression: “Dismark’s son was angry because he couldn’t find Miss Keeley, that’s why he ordered to kill us all. Do you know Miss Keeley?”
“How would I possibly know her?” Cessacioun shook his head: “But my friend told me that she is a nice girl, a good person, like you.”
“Like me? Why would you think I am a good person?” Han Jin couldn’t help but laughing.
“You informed others about the invasion of Black Raven as soon as you got the news, indicating that you worried about their safety. And you are the first n.o.bleman I have known that would do a servant’s work. Anyway, you surprise me.”
“What a s.h.i.+t n.o.bleman. I am just a homeless refugee now.” Han Jin said in a self-deprecating tone.