Chapter 216: Clues
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Your spell feels so much better than light magic,” Guevara said as he leaned back in his chair with his eyes half closed. Judging by his expression, he was enjoying himself quite a bit.
“You often dealt with priests in the past?” Han Jin said with a smile as he lightly knocked on Guevara’s back with his hand. At the same time, he also gave Steelberg a look.
Steelberg started to quietly chant something and wiped the surface of a bowl of water with his finger. Sparkles of light appeared out of nowhere, then disappeared into the water.
“Mhm.” Guevara nodded. The army he had served in had a whole corp of priests. Of course he had dealt with them often.
“For you, sir.” Steelberg walked up with the water.
Guevera took the bowl, drank all of the water in one gulp, then leaned back on his chair and sighed, “Once upon a time, I thought this was all I would accomplish in life… never expected to meet someone like you. Ha… is this what they call fate? Oh, one more thing, Raphael. What did you need those Dark Crystal Threads for?”
“To make a magic artifact,” Han Jin slowly said.
“What kind of magic artifact can you make with Dark Crystal Thread?” Guevara blanked. “Don’t experiment so recklessly with something so precious! If Zaganide didn’t have Dark Crystal Threads, he would never…”
“Rest a.s.sured, sir, I know that.” Han Jin helplessly smiled, then walked beside Guevara. “Your health is rapidly recovering. It seems Steelberg hasn’t been slacking off.”
“Young Master, how would I dare?!” Steelberg objected.
Guevera looked at his own hand as he clenched and unclenched it, then said, “At this rate, I will recover my prime state in only a few years… ha, that is, if I can live that long.”
“With your health, you can easily live for a few more decades, let alone a few years.” Han Jin smiled. “Right now, I can’t cast more powerful healing spells, or else you would be recovering even faster.”
Guevara suddenly frowned. When it came to foresight, no one here could compete with him. Even though Han Jin consistently hid behind the guise of “magic”, Guevera could feel that the power Han Jin controlled was drastically different from every school of magic that existed on the continent! He possessed close quarter combat capabilities similar to warriors, extremely powerful, modified versions of fireb.a.l.l.s, ‘teleportation’ that could be casted without rest, healing spells that were not only more powerful than light magic but could also be used to attack from a distance, and much more; all of that combined could completely destroy the established system of power on the continent. Not disrupt, destroy!
Right now, Han Jin wasn’t powerful enough, nor influential enough, but as time pa.s.ses and as he matures, his unique body of knowledge will alert some extremely powerful forces, like the dragons, the church, or the Magician’s Guild and the Knight’s Alliance. In short, he would have no shortage of troubles in the future.
Guevara wanted to have a detailed conversation with Han Jin about the matter, but when he saw the relaxed smile on Han Jin’s face, he held back the urge. After all, Han Jin carried too much on his shoulder already for someone as young as him. It would do him no good to see the truth of this world. The conversation could wait; at least, now was not the time.
“One more thing. I want Yalina to craft a spear for you – a true dragon spear.” Han Jin suddenly remembered.
“Oh?”
Han Jin waved his hand. A two meter long dragon’s horn suddenly appeared in front of him.
Guevara narrowed his eyes and carefully inspected the dragon horn. After a moment, he smiled. “I’m an old man now. Do you really have the heart to order an old man to battle?”Any normal knight would be beyond themselves if they heard someone wanted to give them a spear made out of dragon’s horn, yet Guevara thought of the implication behind it first.
“Sir, now you are just being harsh.” Han Jin smiled.
Guevara grabbed the dragon’s horn. As he gently stroked it, half-heartedly said, “I forgot to tell you. Hallman wants to meet you; prepare yourself over the next few days.”
“Hallman? The president of the Chamber of Commerce? I thought he wasn’t in the city?” Han Jin said with a surprised face.
“He is.”
“Then what’s the meaning of this?” Han Jin blanked. “He’s intentionally avoiding me?”
“Not intentionally, per se. They simply haven’t reached a consensus yet.”
“How big of a chance… do you think we have?”
“If it were before, who knows.” Guevara hesitated a moment. “But with the arrival of Cold Shadow City, they must be nervous too. If they want to continue to live life as it… ha, that’s impossible. If they let Cold Shadow City freely develop, then Isolated Cliff City is bound to become fat prey for Chesam.”
Just then, Gibran hurried in from outside. His expression looked ugly. “Raphael, Charles has disappeared!”
“Disappeared?” Han Jin blanked.
“Yes, he didn’t come back last night. Me, Julia, and Winston searched the whole city today. We couldn’t find him.”
“Could it be… he had some business to deal with?”
“Impossible! Even if he did, he should have at least returned at night.” Gibran shook his head.
“What about Hayden and the rest? Does no one know where Charles went?”
“No.”
“It could be nothing.” Han Jin stood up. Even though he said that, he had a bad feeling about this. But now matter what, Charles was a ninth-grade warrior; even if he did encounter trouble, he could handle himself. Besides, as the weather got colder, more and more mercenaries were now living in the city. It would be extremely difficult for someone to quietly defeat Charles.
“This whole thing just doesn’t make sense.” Gibran coldly said, “Could it be… that Eva returned? Manteco didn’t die??”
Han Jin thought for a moment. “What were you all doing yesterday?”
“Me and Julia left early in the morning. Hayden was helping Saxon check on the slaves. Edwina was in her room the whole day.”
“When was the last time you saw Charles?”
“During breakfast. You were there too.”
Han Jin tried to remember the scene. “At that time… Charles looked normal.”
“Which makes it even more suspicious. He wouldn’t disappear for no reason. There must be…” At that, Gibran clenched his teeth.
“I will go find Juventus in the Mercenary a.s.sociation. You go register a task. Remember to a.s.sign a substantial reward.” Han Jin slowly said, “With this many mercenaries in the city, I refuse to believe that no one has seen Charles.”
“Alright.”
“Manteco? That Abyss Mercenary Team?” Guevara asked.
“Yes.” Gibran was so anxious he forgot to use honorifics.
“Where is everyone else? Still searching for Hayden?” Han Jin suddenly asked.
“Of course.”
“No! We can’t let them! Tell everyone to come back!” Han Jin’s face paled. “If it actually is Eva returning for revenge, Charles will not be the last one.”
Gibran’s expression changed too. Right now, Julia, Edwina, and the rest were all split up in the city, which would be a prime opportunity for Eva! Sparing no time to even reply, Gibran turned and dashed out at his fastest speed.
The whole atmosphere in Isolated Cliff City suddenly became tense. The Dragon Singers, Red Vanguards, and the Reapers, were growing increasingly close to Han Jin and the Mercenary a.s.sociation. Charles’s disappearance wasn’t a simple matter that involved only one group; it was everyone’s problem.
Juventus of the Mercenary a.s.sociation was an expert when it came to this, as he was responsible for the city’s public safety to begin with. In a short amount of time, Juventus had issued a series of orders. Group after group of mercenaries arrived in the a.s.sociation’s headquarters; part of them sealed off the three gates to the city, and the rest started searching the city, especially focusing on the inns. All guests who arrived within the last ten days were questioned in detail, especially the high level professionals. Eva’s ally must be extremely powerful if he or she can make Charles disappear without a trace.
The ‘landlords’ who had rented out places to live were also part of Juventus’ plan. Everyone who rented a place without the last month must register at the Mercenary a.s.sociation. Even more mercenaries charged into inns, not even sparing the upstairs portions, which disturbed countless ‘couples’. Of course, they were there to find clues, not to catch prost.i.tutes. If they found nothing, they would compensate and apologize for the trouble.
Charles, Eva, and Manteco’s magically painted portraits were pasted across the city. All who could provide clues would be substantially rewarded.
Han Jin was truly surprised. Normally, Juventus acted like any ordinary man – to the point where he appeared una.s.suming. Yet, when an emergency happened, Juventus could be described as nothing short of shrewd. He thought of everything you could think of, as well as everything that you couldn’t.
But even so, as the searches continued from the evening to deep into the night, no clues were found.
In the morning, Han Jin, Sunier, and Edwina walked out of a bar. The men from the Mercenary a.s.sociation had to rest, but none of the three could sleep. Even though they searched the whole night in different groups, they were still disappointed.
“Isn’t that Hayden?” Edwina suddenly shouted and pointed to the other side of the street.
Han Jin and Sunier both turned and saw Hayden hurriedly running toward them from the other end of the street. He was holding a sheathed sword.
“Why are you by yourself? Where are Gibran and Julia?!” Han Jin sharply asked.
“They… ran after them!” Hayden said breathlessly.
“Ran after? Ran after what?”
“Sword! This is Charles’ sword!” Hayden waved the sword in his hand. He took a deep breath, then continued, “We saw a caravan leaving the city. One of the horses got startled and flipped a cart. We didn’t notice then, but when the caravan was gone, we found this sword in the snow. This is Charles’ sword! Gibran told me to inform you, while he and Julia ran after the caravan!”
“What are they trying to do?! Why didn’t you inform the Mercenary a.s.sociation?! Aren’t they responsible for guarding the gates?!” Han Jin was frustrated.
“Gibran said that the caravan had several high level professionals with them. He didn’t want the guards to die for nothing. Besides…” Hayden unsheathed the sword. “There’s no blood on this, so Charles must have been subdued before he could even draw his sword. Gibran guessed that he’s still alive and wants to follow them to find an opportunity for a rescue!”
“Master Raphael, we…” Edwina looked anxious. If they truly had several high level professionals, both Gibran and Julia would be in danger.
Han Jin wanted to ask more questions, but right now, every second was precious. He paused. “Sunier, go back and tell Yalina to come help. Hayden, Edwina, you two follow me!”
“My Lord, what if there are more enemies in the city? It’s too dangerous for Sunier to return alone. Have Edwina go with her.”
Han Jin blanked. He thought Hayden’s suggestion was reasonable. However, before he could speak, Edwina said with a determined tone, “No, I’m coming with you two!”