Warlord of Chaos

Cessacioun shook his head. “Raphael, if you plan to give these dragon scales to those alchemists, you might as well give them to Yalina. Even though the condition here is crude, Yalina’s enchanting techniques are not something an ordinary alchemist can match. I’m really confused… why would you believe them?”

“Alchemists sometimes fail and create garbage?” Han Jin asked with a surprised expression.

“Of course. The techniques involved in crafting enchanted armor are extremely complicated. Even if you are on the last step, you still have to pay the utmost attention, otherwise a small mistake can ruin everything,” Yalina answered.

“If… we fail, what happens to the dragon scales?”

Yalina shrugged. Clearly, she thought the answer was obvious: there wasn’t going to be any dragon scales left if the process failed.

“If I hand you the dragon scales right now, can you craft the enchanted armor for them?” Han Jin softly asked.

Yalina’s face was weary. She glanced at Han Jin, then shifted her attention to everyone else.

“Attitude! Watch your attitude!” Reg elbowed Han Jin and whispered.

Often times, the owners of excellent magic materials would find a sufficiently skilled craftsmen to craft enchanted equipment for them in order to minimize the chances of failure. They would try to remain extremely modest throughout the process and would promise all kinds of rewards, because crafting enchanted equipment wasn’t a simple task. The process was not only taxing, but also very dangerous; the craftsman must pour all of their effort into it to succeed.

Alchemists crafted enchanted equipment for a living; they naturally would not turn down a job, nor could they afford to, but Yalina was different; she wouldn’t care about that little amount of income. Of course, she would be happy to contribute to the team, but Han Jin’s attitude was distasteful. The question sounded like a demand, and the hopeful expression on his face looked like he wanted a promise from Yalina. What could she do, promise she wouldn’t fail?!

“I would recommend against that,” Cessacioun said. “Raphael, I don’t think you realize how lucky we were. We basically looted a dragon for free! Do you think this kind of thing will happen again?”

Everyone else nodded in agreement. Opportunities like that depended purely on luck and shouldn’t be wasted so carelessly.

“Besides, it’s too hard on Yalina. We can’t very well… build a magic lab here right?” Cessacioun smiled wearily. “And what if we fail? Destroying the dragon scales is only a secondary concern. What if Yalina hurt herself?”

“He is right, Raphael,” Moxinke said in his booming voice. “We have the dragon scales in our hands anyway, it’s not like someone can rob us of it. We should decide what to do once we settle down in a safer place.”

Han Jin hesitated for a moment. “Then we still need to send someone back.”

“To do what?”

“Do you still want the stand-in puppets? Do you still want to speed up your cultivations?” Han Jin decided he might as well tell the truth. “If you still do, then we need to send someone back. I need magic crystals – a lot of them!”

Yalina still didn’t understand, but Reg and the rest were instantly excited as though they had just gotten a shot of a stimulant. They were especially excited about the stand-in puppets; everyone knew full well what that meant!

One more chance, one more life! In the long and arduous road to become powerful, countless people had failed in their early years. Some died in disgrace, some died with regret, and some died for no reason at all. If everyone had an extra life, God knows how many of them would have matured? It was even entirely possible that there would have been another pivotal person that could have affected the whole continent!

The stand-in puppets did have its own glaring weakness, namely its lack of ability to protect its owner in a truly desperate situation. When faced with an unbeatable foe, even if someone had a hundred stand-in puppets, he or she would simply be killed a hundred more times. A mere inconvenience for the killer. But even then, Reg and the rest were satisfied. One opportunity was truly enough for them!

“Let’s do it this way. Moxinke draws too much attention, Cessacioun needs to stay here, and Sunier would attract people with or without mask. I say… I might as well go back myself,” Reg said.

“You think you don’t attract attention?” Sunier smiled.

“Me? What would they notice me for?”

“You still remember the first time we met Yalina?”

“Of course.”

“The innkeeper was so bothered by everyone that he decided to write down everything he knew and posted it in front of the inn. Even then, people still constantly tried to sneak into the inn, and some even tried to obtain secrets through violence.” Sunier sighed. “Nowadays, our looks are no longer secrets. Especially Moxinke… You grew up in Isolated Cliff City, and you were the first one to be spotted. Luckily, we didn’t bring Sylner along. Who knows what would have happened to her.”

“They know about me?” Moxinke rubber his nose.

“Mhm.” Sunier nodded. “Gibran knows your name, knows about your past, and even knows your teacher. Do you honestly think he’s the only one who’s that resourceful in the entire Isolated Cliff City?”

“Julia told you all that?” Han Jin asked.

“Mhm.”

Moxinke’s face was a little pale. He had always wanted to be a famous warrior before, but only now did he realize that fame was not always a good thing. He felt like there was a pack of wolves all waiting for a bite of him. It was honestly a bone-chilling feeling.

“But there’s no way they know about me right?” Reg frowned.

“They might not know where you came from, but your profession, looks, personality, and powers, are no longer a secret. Julia told me that when the black task was first published, some mercenaries spent all of their efforts on gathering our information and selling it. Intel about us even sold for a hundred gold coins at the start.” Sunier paused. “I promise you, if any one of us appears in Isolated Cliff City, we will be instantly spotted.”

“Then… what should we do?” Reg asked with a stutter.

“We should send Sister Edwina,” Sunier said. “She’s really smart, and we can trust her with whatever we need.”

Han Jin looked at everyone else and saw Cessacioun nod. “Good idea! People in Isolated Cliff City wouldn’t know what happened here, and naturally, would not notice Edwina.”

“If you really need it that bad…” Yalina took out a few magic crystals from her space ring, which obviously weren’t ordinary if she kept them like that. Even the smallest was as big as a child’s fist, and all of them were bright red and blue. “I can give you a few.”

Han Jin wearily shook his head. “I can’t use them. It has to be fifth-grade.”

“Has to be fifth-grade?” Yalina asked in a baffling voice.

“Third and fourth will do, too.”

“I’ll go ask Sister Edwina.” Sunier stood up and walked toward the door while smiling. “The more the better?”

“Of course.” Han Jin took out the few magic crystals from the Earth Bear and the Treefolks, hesitated for a moment, and then also grabbed the ones Yalina had taken out. “Sunier, give these to Edwina. Tell her to sell them and buy new ones!”

“No need.” Sunier shook her head.

“Wait…” Han Jin called out as Sunier walked out. He didn’t want to owe anyone anything.

By the time Cessacioun had chased her out of the door, Sunier had already walked into the distance. He walked back and put the magic crystals on the table. “With the position Sunier has among the elves, it shouldn’t be a problem if she moves some money around. And, like you said, you will eventually have to use eighth-grade magic crystals. You should keep these.”

Yalina’s eyes brightened. She seemed to have noticed something important from Cessacioun’s sentences.

“Raphael, what should we do with those people from the Red Vanguard?” Reg softly asked.

“Do what?” Moxinke asked.

Reg saw that everyone was looking at him and waved his hand. “Don’t get me wrong. I know we can trust Julia and Edwina, but Gibran… He has a horrible reputation of cruelness and betrayal. He’s worried about Julia now, but what if he gets desperate one day? I fear he will be detrimental to us!”

“Ha… the reputation of a thief!” Yaliana laughed coldly. “There are wise magicians, and just knights, but have you ever heard of a respected thief?”

Reg ignored her. “I think we should find a way to force him away, but… I’m worried that it will make Sunier unhappy. Raphael, what do you think we should do?”

“I think they are decent people,” Moxinke said.

“Are you mad?” Reg looked at Moxinke with astonishment.

“Like you said, if we had seen the black task, we would have taken it,” Moxinke plainly stated. “What right do we have to fault them?”

Reg smiled bitterly. “Moxinke, don’t forget that we were the ones who got attacked! And we will suffer many more similar attacks in the future. How can you speak for our enemy?”

“I’m just being logical.” Moxinke stood and swung his great sword onto his shoulder. “Besides, have you noticed how that elf named Julia has been sullen the past few days? If she really wanted to, she would have kicked Gibran out a long time ago. Do you really think we should interfere in this?”

“Moxinke is right. We should just observe for a while.” Han Jin lifted his head. “Where are you going?”

“Going to Hayden.”

“Hayden…” Han Jin thought he found the name familiar, but couldn’t remember exactly who it was.

“The warrior from the Red Vanguards.” Reg’s expression was still weary. “Moxinke, he’s a ninth-grade swordsman. You are no match for him! I say, you should stop being so hard on yourself.”

“Eventually…” Moxinke paused, then said in a low voice, “I will be.” Having finished speaking, he stepped out.

“What’s with this guy lately?” Cessacioun asked in confusion.

“Who knows what provoked him.” Reg shrugged.