Chapter 86: Tiger Head and Snake Tail

"Great Faceless One, your face can be sorrowful and joyful at once; you are both merciful and cruel; you can embody ten thousand sinners, and also embody the whip of chastisement; you are the supreme light within the prison, you govern punishment and redemption……"

The monsters around the camp suddenly all knelt on the ground, crying out loudly; at first it was somewhat chaotic, but after two lines it turned into a neat, rhythmic chant.

Some young mercenaries were stunned frozen; only a few old hands still gritted their teeth and kept executing, one after another, the people Luge had knocked down.

Luge naturally would not act like in a Wandering Knight Adventure Novel, watching enemies perform before him; he sped up, weaving through the loudly chanting crowd, and for those slightly farther away he raised his hand and sent two Fireball Techniques their way.

If there really were enemies hiding in the dark, they must already hate him so much their teeth itch.

That fellow in the distance who was parrying left and right suddenly froze; the clever worm Zizi, poking its head out from underground, bit his ankle. The Companion Magic Pet obeyed Luge's order, not fully revealing its strength, just lending a small hand, but it still caused that agile fellow to be split in two by the greatsword Aijin swung after.

Until the last loudly chanting fellow fell, no new powerful enemy appeared.

This surprised Luge greatly.

Were they scared off? He thought.

Luge walked back to the camp at a leisurely pace; wherever he passed, gazes inevitably followed; people on the road made way for him, and some mercenaries even saluted him from afar.

It was the same when he reached Lorigo's side; this young noble who had just survived a life-and-death ordeal looked at him with shining eyes, his excitement already overflowing beyond words.

"Is this considered over?" Luge said.

Luge's words temporarily doused Young Master Lorigo's excitement; the red-haired woman at his side slowly shook her head.

Luge also felt a tiger-head-snake-tail sensation stuck in his throat; if he had not been here today, relying on that one agile fellow alone, I'm afraid even he would have struggled to get past the red-haired Motel.

Were they really scared away by his methods?

Then the next problem arises: whether to continue waiting here for that legendary ruin to manifest.

As for the so-called Atoners, and that assassin, and why they wanted to kill Lorigo, Luge did not care in the slightest.

Several Mercenary Captains also came to report losses; they glanced at the red-haired Motel, then looked at Luge with reverence, and actively saluted.

Then came suppressed, angry accusations; perhaps out of wariness of noble status, perhaps out of fear of the two Spellcasters, the three captains did not go too far, merely expressing dissatisfaction, believing this young master had concealed things from them, a deception hard to accept, and that tonight's damages were completely outside the agreed scope of ruin exploration.

Luge stepped back and watched quietly.

At the same time, he was waiting for that young master's decision.

Because these captains were not just demanding compensation; if it were only that, the young master would not hesitate; they were revealing in their words a willingness to withdraw.

From their talk Luge learned that the so-called Atoners were actually a mysterious cult, and had only appeared in the Ground Cave Domain where Fanxing City lies in recent years; the wretched people living in Yuanwo are bold enough to clash blades with these fellows, but if it were the people in the Numbered Dixue District they might already be scared into kneeling. The Atoners believe the Ground is a prison while fanatically worshipping a fellow called the Faceless One, revering him as the god who saves them.

The discussion lasted a long time.

Until Luge was almost falling asleep leaning against Dasha, a result finally emerged.

The employment continues, but the mission changes: abandon ruin exploration, change to immediately escorting this noble young master back, until they reach a Numbered Dixue District where light can be seen.

Luge was not surprised by this. He merely silently noted down this place; perhaps it will be useful later, or if there is a chance to meet again, he can tell Kalu.

The remaining hundred-odd people began the return journey; gone was the urgency of the initial push toward the target, but also unexpectedly, the mood was not dead silent. Many mercenaries talked and laughed along the way; learning the employer had added pay, their spirits were high. The biggest change was probably the reverence filling their eyes when looking at his Insect Chariot; passing by it, they all lowered their voices.

A tiger-head-snake-tail assassination, a tiger-head-snake-tail expedition.

Luge sat in the woven small carriage compartment, thinking about this first mercenary journey of his.

He lowered his head, pulled open his clothes, touched those circles of faint traces spiraling on his body; after getting used to them he felt these patterns looked quite good, as if some Tunbian was happening; after the battle just now, the spiraling patterns seemed to have deepened in luster a little. He recalled the Foul Skin mention that spells used for long would have a foul-odor residue as a near-permanent effect. But he had never experienced that situation; perhaps this effect has also undergone some slight change on him.

He recalled the various spells he had mastered.

Since Spiritual Boiling, after being Fixed, displays effects different from normal Casting, would there not be Wizards who specialize in experiments on this? For example, gather some newly promoted Wizard Apprentices, give them some benefits, let them sacrifice a bit, go through Fixed Zero-Circle Spells one by one, see what changes occur. However Zero-Circle Spells are very hard to collect completely; in Kalu Diary's words, who knows, in some corner of the world, the time it takes to eat a meal someone might dig out a new Zero-Circle Spell.

To be rigorous, one could also set up a control group; for example, find some newly advanced Wizard Apprentices with Spell Affinity and some without, to Fix the same spell. Without dedicated experiments it is hard to obtain certain data, because many Apprentices have some changes after Fixing a spell, yet do not actively publicize them.

After the initial excitement, a layer of gloom settled over the Mercenary Group, but as the return journey gradually neared its end, these fellows' emotions rose again.

Some camp-building supplies were discarded; theoretically the return route should be faster than the outbound one, but the wounded dragged the speed back to a normal level.

Rest time came again; the column gradually halted.

Luge looked at the nearby environment, recalling the road taken on the way in; perhaps this would be the last rest stop.

He had just entered the tent when the red-haired woman ducked inside.

"They may have succeeded……" she said in a low voice, "I've been watching all along; the people in the column seem to be increasing……"

Luge met her gaze, looking at her serious eyes, and gradually understood her meaning.

He smiled: "You mean those mercenaries can't even detect an extra person beside them? Then how dare you be sure I have no problem?"

She actually shook her head.

"Young Master Lorigo asked me to pass a message: he wants to invite you to Fanxing City as a guest." The woman stared at him without blinking.

(Chapter End)