Chapter 222: News Heard, News to Find (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 222: News Heard, News to Find (3)
“Two… no, three.”
Casimir spoke without turning his gaze. Alisa and Quicantel had already sensed they were being followed.
Only Kuzan, whose every nerve was focused on Beris, seemed to finally notice.
“We’re moving along a main road and we stand out, so it’s unavoidable,” Quicantel said, shaking her head as if it were a tiresome affair.
“The good news is that they aren’t Runcandel knights,” Casimir added. “If they were Guardian Knights or Enforcement Knights, they wouldn’t be tailing us; they would have ambushed us openly.”
This was Huphester, the land of the Runcandels. There was no reason for the family’s knights to resort to tailing Jin, a reserve flagbearer.
Had they been Runcandel knights, they couldn't have even considered saving Beris the moment they were spotted. Even Kuzan would have had to be sent back to Joshua. Such was the power wielded by the 2nd Flagbearer of Runcandel within Huphester.
Winning a fight was possible, even if a dozen or so Guardian Knights appeared. However, engaging in an all-out war with the family’s official knights—rather than their external ‘hounds’—was a burden they wanted to avoid at all costs.
In particular, Alisa, Casimir, and Quicantel wished to avoid having an ‘official record’ of combat against the Runcandels if at all possible.
“That means they’re Joshua’s hounds, or perhaps his informants.”
“What would you like to do, Young Master?”
After a moment of thought, Jin spoke.
“Our pursuers must have reported our presence the moment they saw us. They don’t seem skilled enough to report directly to Joshua, so there’s likely someone running their legs off right now. There weren’t three; there were four.”
Three people were currently tailing them.
But as Jin predicted, there had originally been four. One had started running like mad the moment the group was spotted.
Straight toward the Southern Teleport Gate.
“Alisa.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“You need to head to the Southern Teleport Gate first. To report, they’ll have to go somewhere with knights, whether it’s in the central or eastern regions. One of them is definitely heading for the gate.”
“I understand what you mean.”
Jin chose Alisa intentionally. In their current party, no one was more skilled at search and pursuit than her, a former member of the Special Task Force.
“What should I do when I find him?”
“He’s Joshua’s man, so he can’t be left alive. Make it clean.”
“Understood.”
Alisa didn’t move immediately. If she left first, the tails would sense that something was wrong. She had to wait until Jin gave the order for everyone to move.
“And Kuzan.”
“Yes.”
“It seems the time has come to test your skills. Assassinate the remaining three.”
“Shall I do it when we reach a forest path?”
“No, right now. Can you do it?”
They were on a crowded, bustling street in broad daylight.
To assassinate three people here, suddenly and silently without causing a scene, was a feat only a high-ranking assassin from Nameless could pull off.
However, Kuzan nodded without a hint of hesitation.
“I can.”
Jin was inwardly surprised by the answer.
“Really?”
“Fortunately, I have a suitable poison among those I’m carrying.”
Kuzan didn’t only deal in lethal poisons that melted people into unrecognizable black sludge. He could manufacture thousands of types of poison as long as he had the ingredients, and among them were those specialized for ‘natural-looking murder.’
“You must not draw any attention.”
“I understand. I will pretend to buy a drink from that stall over there and administer the poison. I’ll rejoin you afterward, so please just keep walking as if nothing happened.”
“Then what happens to them?”
“They’ll see me step out of line for a moment, but once they see me buying a drink, they’ll resume following you. They’ll continue walking without even realizing they’ve been poisoned, and they’ll collapse in about five minutes. If they don’t receive emergency treatment within ten minutes, they will die.”
“…What? You can perform an assassination of that level?”
This time, Jin couldn’t hide his surprise. Even Quicantel’s eyes widened.
“It seems you’re overextending yourself because of that woman’s life. Are you sure you’re not biting off more than you can chew—?”
While Quicantel was speaking, Kuzan broke from the group. He had already begun moving toward the drink stall with practiced naturalness.
The group looked at each other in silence for a moment. Then, Jin intentionally shouted toward Kuzan, “I want apple flavor!” and the others began calling out their own drink preferences.
While the stall owner prepared four drinks, the group continued on their way. The tails passed by Kuzan.
At that exact moment, Kuzan pretended to stumble, splashing the poisonous liquid on all three of them. It was a contact poison that absorbed through the skin, paralyzed the nerves, and eventually caused death.
Splash!
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
The tails glared at Kuzan for a moment before turning to continue following the group. Kuzan received fresh drinks and rejoined them.
“Finished already?”
“Yes. Looking at them up close, they seemed to be Joshua’s local informants. They weren’t particularly skilled, and I didn’t recognize their faces. I think it’s safe to send Alisa to the Teleport Gate now.”
Jin was about to ask if he was sure, but decided to send Alisa ahead as Kuzan suggested. He trusted that with Beris’s life on the line, Kuzan wouldn’t have handled the matter sloppily.
Besides, waiting five minutes for the tails to collapse might make them too late.
“Alisa.”
Alisa nodded and handed the robe-wrapped Beris over to Casimir.
Then, she immediately mounted the horse she had been leading and galloped away at full speed. The tails reacted instantly to her departure. One of the three broke off to follow her.
Exactly five minutes later.
“Eek!”
“Over here! Someone collapsed!”
Screams erupted from the commoners as the pursuers suddenly collapsed in the street. Their bodies were as stiff as statues, unable to move even a finger.
“It’s a neurotoxin made from Western Desert Spiders. It doesn’t work on martial artists above 6-star. In fact, it’s a weak poison that can be neutralized just by drinking water, but if you don’t know what it is, you fall for it easily, just like this.”
Kuzan spoke as if it were nothing.
The one who had broken off to report would also be lying collapsed somewhere by now.
…I’m really glad I have the Ten Thousand Poison Liquor.
Jin was fine because he had the liquor, but it sent a chill down his spine to think that his companions, who lacked such immunity, could be taken down just like that.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have at least one poison master in Tikan.
The main family had numerous poison masters alongside their knights, but they were only available to those who became flagbearers.
Amidst the sudden commotion on the street, the group moved slowly toward the Teleport Gate.
Two hours later, they reached the Southern Teleport Gate.
“You’ve arrived.”
Alisa smiled as she saw the group.
“It was just as you predicted, Young Master. One of them had already slipped away to the gate. I took care of him and buried the body. The guards will find it soon enough.”
This was only possible because the gap in skill between Alisa and the informant was immense. Had Joshua’s local informants been elites, they wouldn’t have arrived so safely.
Thanks to her efforts, news of them had not yet reached Joshua.
The Teleport Gate attendant initially refused to let them pass, but he opened the doors the moment he saw the token of the Delki Royal Family.
“You were of the royal family. Welcome. I wish you a pleasant journey.”
The group only managed to relax once they were inside the Teleport Gate.
“I’ve been noticing this for a while, but the people’s support for the royal family in this land seems to be sky-high,” Quicantel remarked with a shrug.
“After the royalist faction lost the old civil war, the prince’s faction—which became the core of modern Delki—always put the people at the center of their policies. It’s only natural their support is high. Though those friends were abandoned after the war ended…” Casimir trailed off, looking at Kuzan and Beris.
“Anyway, Kuzan Marius. It seems your gamble paid off, fortunately.”
“…Thank you.”
“I don’t need your thanks; I want compensation. If I don’t get valuable information about Joshua Runcandel, you won’t be staying with me. Do you understand?”
Kuzan nodded heavily.
However, Jin had no intention of discarding Kuzan. Even if the information wasn’t satisfactory, a man like him had many uses.
But since he couldn’t fully trust Kuzan yet, he intended to watch him closely.
“Well, regardless of the information, I’ll save your friend,” Jin said. “Just pray that the saints of Vankella don’t set difficult conditions.”
Soon, the attendant announced the opening of the Teleport Gate, and the group was enveloped in the light of mana.
*
As soon as they returned, every top healer in Tikan swarmed around Beris.
It was a major surgery, the likes of which Tikan had never seen.
Kuzan appeared restless, unable to leave the front of the treatment room. Jin didn’t force him to cough up information about Joshua until the results of the surgery were in.
It was exactly thirty-two hours later that the sweat-drenched healers emerged from the room.
“We were able to finish successfully thanks to the Young Master providing the missing medicinal ingredients as needed. She needs absolute rest for the time being, but we’ve treated her to the point where her life is no longer in danger.”
“However, unless she receives additional treatment from the saints of Vankella, she will no longer be able to use mana.”
“I see. You all worked hard.”
“Ah…”
The moment he heard Beris was safe, Kuzan slumped to the floor and burst into tears. A desperate wailing filled the hall, enough to make even Jin feel solemn.
Kuzan grabbed the handkerchief Gilly silently offered and repeatedly gasped out words of gratitude. It was a sight completely at odds with the man who had served under Taimun and Joshua.
While they waited for his crying to subside, Enya hurried over to Jin.
“Young Master! Julian just woke up. Alisa went down to the basement first.”
“Really? Gilly, are there any sandwiches left?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Good. Let’s go, Kuzan. If Alisa starts the interrogation, your friend Julian is going to be in for a world of hurt. Let’s talk while we eat. You must be starving; you haven’t eaten anything for two days.”
“…Was Julian here as well?”
“Yeah, I brought him here after neutralizing him at the Blue Bird Archipelago. Shall I tell you something even more surprising?”
Jin continued as he packed the sandwiches.
“I killed Joshua there. But you’re telling me the bastard is perfectly fine and even appeared at the investiture ceremony in the Schuteron Kingdom. One of you, either you or Julian, must know something about that.”
Julian sat tied up in the basement, a dazed expression on his face.
Jin set a sandwich down in front of him and smiled.
“You slept soundly, Contractor of Paitel. Whether this becomes your last meal or not depends entirely on your choice.”
“…Kuzan? You… did you betray Lord Joshua?”
“You should consider that Joshua was the one who betrayed us,” Kuzan retorted. “You almost died at his hands when you became an avatar, too. So, let’s start by throwing away your loyalty to that piece of shit.”