Chapter 2575 Dawn <TOC> Chapter 2577 Competitor
Previous page password is bold portion: Blf8sida!EwR
Translator: SumTLMan
This is the campsite of the Fire Adventure Group, specifically, the plaza outside the camp.
The actual camp is located in a collapsed tunnel.
Above the plaza, members of the Fire Adventure Group are moving supplies, which are stored in several large boxes secured with chains. Standing next to these boxes are six oddly dressed masked individuals.
These six masked individuals are all dressed in uniform red robes, with masks that only have holes for the eyes, completely sealed elsewhere. The expressions on the masks are all different, employing a highly exaggerated and even somewhat distorted style of painting. Each mask is topped with characters that represent “Traveling Merchants,” written in the common script of the continent.
“Are there six Traveling Merchants?” Daus, perched atop a tree, gazes toward the plaza in confusion.
Marsha shakes her head: “Those wearing masks are just low-level members of the Traveling Merchants, mainly responsible for moving supplies. They don’t have much authority. It’s only the maskless members of the Traveling Merchants who are the core of the organization.”
“Are there any maskless Traveling Merchants here?”
Marsha falls silent for two seconds: “No. The garments of the Traveling Merchants are very uniform, distinguished only by the embroidery.”
“I see.” Daus squints towards the distance, and after a moment, his eyebrows raise in a typical spectator’s expression: “I see that garment you mentioned, though it has been taken off and mixed with a red dress.”
Daus turns to look at Marsha: “Guess what I saw?”
Marsha sighs: “I know. I once infiltrated the Fire Adventure Group as a hunter who got lost. Miss Red and some male Traveling Merchants indeed maintained… intimate relations. But it wasn’t by her choice, it was just to better protect her team members. Please believe me, she…”
“She’s a good person? Okay, I know what you’re about to say.” Daus interrupts: “Every time you infiltrate an adventure group, you say their leader is a good person. It’s the same with Dawn, and Miss Red. Considering how empathetic you are, it’s amazing your husband is still comfortable letting you infiltrate all these adventure groups; he really is broad-minded.”
Meanwhile, Angel and Black Count say nothing. In fact, they had already used their mental powers to detect the indescribable affair happening inside the campsite before Daus spoke up.
But one being young and modest, and the other considering himself mature and prudent, neither felt it appropriate to speak, so they let Daus take the lead.
This conversation between Daus and Marsha also reached the ears of the two apprentices.
Although they are not inexperienced in the world, the idea that such a scene was unfolding before them was still tantalizing.
Following Angel, Black Count, and Daus, Vai and Kael also extended their mental powers to probe what was happening.
However, this probe startled the man inside, who was turning the world upside down.
Vai’s mental power was still strong, thanks to decades of cultivation and the protection of the Black Count, making him undetectable unless he acted rashly. However, Kael was different; he recklessly peered into the bed.
Though his mental power had not yet penetrated the bed curtains, the man inside suddenly moved, pushing away Miss Red, whose face was flushed, and stood up, holding a cup: “Who is it? Who is spying?”
As he spoke, a blood-red aura emanated from him, and in an instant, the mental tendrils of Vai and Kael, hidden in the room, became visible.
“Two of you, how daring!” the man exclaimed, preparing to use his blood energy to attack the mental tendrils.
But Vai and Kael were quicker; upon realizing the man was a transcendent, they began to retract their mental powers.
Fighting this man wasn’t out of the question for them, as they might not lose, but mental powers are generally fragile without protective spells, and even those a level lower could potentially shatter them.
Thus, they retracted quickly, and aside from Kael being slightly affected by the blood energy, turning a bit pale, they were otherwise unharmed and made a clean retreat.
After withdrawing their mental powers, Kael and Vai both cast resentful looks at Daus.
The man’s intense blood aura undoubtedly identified him as an apprentice of the blood branch. Being of the same branch, how could Daus have not noticed? And yet, he had given them no warning during their investigation!
Daus knew exactly what had happened; he had watched the entire scene unfold. Seeing them look his way, he quickly waved his hands: “I didn’t know you were so curious, just some team exercise, what’s there to see? Besides, you can’t blame me for not telling you, didn’t Angel and the lord of Vai’s family also say nothing?”
The Black Count snorted coldly.
Angel responded calmly: “Since you’ve already spoken up, why should I add more?”
Daus turned to Kael and Vai, shrugged, and spread his hands: “See, I told you, they knew as well.”
At this point, Kael and Vai didn’t know what to say; after all, they had been involved in the wizard circles for so long, they understood the implications here.
Daus, Angel, and the Black Count knew they would be discovered during their investigation, but they had tacitly allowed it to happen, simply because they wanted to disturb that Traveling Merchant and draw him out.
And indeed, the Traveling Merchant did not disappoint. Startled by Kael and Vai, he quickly dressed and, without even bothering about Miss Red, dashed out as if flying.
He continued to shout angrily, appearing utterly relentless.
“Great performance,” Angel commented. The Traveling Merchant seemed furious, but as a master of emotions, Angel didn’t feel any genuine anger from him, rather a sense of wariness.
After all, the Traveling Merchant had only just broken through to the third level, and the two externalized mental powers were also from apprentices, capable of externalizing and relatively solidifying their mental tendrils, at least at the top of the second level. He could handle mental powers, but direct confrontation was another matter.
Thus, his bluster was fierce, but it was just a pretense; if they didn’t show themselves, the Traveling Merchant would certainly not come looking for them.
As expected, Angel’s comment was spot on.
The Traveling Merchant, grumbling under his breath, approached the man in the mask: “What bad luck, running into two peeping toms today. No idea where these clueless rule-breakers came from. They’ve run off now, but they must have come from the Bylron Tree Court. When I get back there, I’m definitely going to find them!”
Having said this, the Traveling Merchant began to hurry things along: “Is the trade done yet? Hurry up! It’s just some basic supplies, and yet there’s such dragging of feet.”
Clearly, the Traveling Merchant was running out of patience and was preparing to leave.
However, Angel wouldn’t just let him leave so easily.
As the Traveling Merchant urged them on, they flew down from the treetop in the distance.
Accompanied by the gusts from Speedling, the Traveling Merchant also heard a whooshing sound behind him, prompting him to turn around swiftly.
Upon seeing the newcomers, his pupils shrank in recognition.
He didn’t recognize the others, but how could he not recognize “Red Sword” Daus? Although a wandering wizard, Daus, as a bloodline formal wizard, was exceptionally strong, stronger than many formal wizards in wizard organizations at his level.
“R-Red… Lord Red Sword.” The Traveling Merchant’s throat moved awkwardly as he spoke.
“Just now you were shouting quite boldly. Now that we’re here, you said you wouldn’t rest, didn’t you? Come on then,” Daus taunted, his hand motioning provocatively toward the Traveling Merchant.
At this moment, the Traveling Merchant was visibly shaken, and his speech trembled: “I-I was just, just joking earlier. If you and your companions would like to visit, I can take you to the Bliss Pavilion in Bylron Tree Court, and I’ll cover all the expenses.”
When the Traveling Merchant mentioned “covering all the expenses,” a pained expression crossed his face, showing that he wasn’t wealthy at all.
Thinking about it, if he really had some money, why wouldn’t he enjoy himself at the Bliss Pavilion? Miss Red, after all, was just a common person so he couldn’t fully enjoy himself.
“Mr. Merchant, they are…” At that moment, Miss Red also adjusted her clothes and came out from inside.
Still dressed the same, her face flushed as if she were a flaming phoenix. ——This was from Daus’ perspective.
“It’s none of your business, just go away.” The Traveling Merchant, however, dismissively waved her off, signaling her not to come over.
This gesture, though seemingly dismissing Miss Red, was actually a form of protection for her.
In the end, their relationship was a mutually agreed one without much emotion involved. The fact that the Traveling Merchant could act this way showed a level of decency.
Seeing this gesture, Angel decided not to let Daus continue mocking the Traveling Merchant, stepping forward to say: “I overheard you talking to yourself earlier about going back to Bylron Tree Court to trouble those two youngsters. So, the Bylron Tree Court stands behind your merchant organization? The Bylron family?”
As Angel spoke, Daus naturally stepped back, making Angel the lead. This detail did not escape the Traveling Merchant opposite them, making his scalp tingle even more.
This signifies that the person speaking before him is at least a formal wizard!
With two formal wizards appearing before him, was today the day he reached his end?
Although the Traveling Merchant felt pessimistic, he wasn’t ready to give up and nervously said: “Lord, it’s not that I’m unwilling to answer your question. After joining the organization, we all signed a death oath not to reveal any details about the organization.”
The Traveling Merchant thought his response would surely anger the other party, but he felt he had no choice but to say it.
Unexpectedly, Angel showed no emotional fluctuation and simply said quietly: “Is that so… Then let me ask in a different way, do you know them?”
With a gentle wave of his hand, Angel conjured an illusion before the Traveling Merchant.
The illusion showed a young couple holding hands, the very apprentice couple who had used the teleportation formation before together with them. They had introduced themselves earlier, hailing from the Bylron family.
When the Traveling Merchant saw the apprentice couple, a flicker passed through his eyes, realizing that the wizard was gathering information without violating the oath.
This indicated that the wizard didn’t intend to kill him immediately; otherwise, there would be no need for such subtlety.
The Traveling Merchant was not overly loyal, so seeing that Angel was taking a gentle approach, he was willing to cooperate.
“I do know them, not only know them but have known them for many years,” the Traveling Merchant said, even before Angel asked, starting to share information about the apprentice couple and some interesting incidents that had happened between them.
Throughout the conversation, he did not mention anything about the organization, but Angel and others had already gotten a rough idea.
The Traveling Merchants organization was indeed linked to the Bylron family, even if the Bylron family wasn’t the direct creator of the Traveling Merchants, they were certainly one of the decision-makers.
This was inferred because behind the Bylron family, there lurked a shadow representing royal authority, and sharing power was not uncommon.
After the Traveling Merchant had spoken at length, he looked anxiously at Angel and Daus, silently awaiting their judgment.
Life or death was truly at their whim.
Angel: “We came here specifically to find your Traveling Merchants organization.”
Traveling Merchant: “May I know what you require, lord?”
“We want to meet someone who claims to be the ‘Magic Craftsman,'” Angel stated plainly.
In his heart, he also wanted to buy sensitive information directly from the Traveling Merchants organization, which they surely knew. However, this could also make the organization aware of their movements, although they weren’t afraid of being known, especially with the Black Count and Angel’s “calling” ability, anyone who came would die; but still, it was best to avoid complications if possible.
After all, this was still Guman Kingdom’s territory, and attracting the attention of King Guman would complicate matters further.
“The Magic Craftsman? I know him, he’s just a beginner alchemy apprentice.” The Traveling Merchant mentioned the Magic Craftsman with a hint of disdain, not for the person but for the ill-fitting title.
“Where is he now?”
The Traveling Merchant said hurriedly: “The Magic Craftsman has long been stationed at the organization’s branch here at the ruins to supply the local adventuring teams, and he lives in a magical cottage, which also serves as his smithy.”
“Do you want to go to the organization’s branch, or shall I send a message and have him come out to meet you, lord?”
The Traveling Merchant’s survival instinct was stronger than Angel had anticipated; he didn’t really need to make suggestions, yet he did, and they coincidentally aligned with some of Angel’s thoughts.
This made Angel regard the slick-dealing merchant in a new light.
“Send a message, let him come meet me, and… bring his magical cottage along.”
In Angel’s presence, the Traveling Merchant wrote the message, a gesture of survival instinct or perhaps a show of goodwill.
Of course, messages could also be used to secretly convey information, but the Traveling Merchant did not do so. He wasn’t foolish; even if he did reveal information, with two formal wizards present at the Garden Labyrinth, what could possibly happen?
Surely the Bylron family wouldn’t send formal wizards to siege them?
Impossible. The Garden Labyrinth wasn’t a particularly rich ruin, nor was it private property of the Bylron family; they would definitely not risk offending other wizards over it.
Besides, they didn’t yet know who this wizard was, the one who made Red Sword Daus step back.
The unknown signifies lack of absolute control.
Thus, in this situation, the Traveling Merchant wouldn’t resort to any trickery; what he needed to do was simply follow the orders of the two wizard lords, wait for the matter to conclude, preferably initiate a request to erase his memory, and then act as if nothing had ever happened.
“Lord, should we wait here for the Magic Craftsman to come, or should we move to another location?” the Traveling Merchant asked as he wrote down the location information.
Angel replied: “Let’s stay here.”
The Traveling Merchant immediately marked the location and then, deliberately in front of Angel, displayed the message content again to show that he had not tampered with it. Then, he enclosed the message in a ball of blood essence, a communication method favored by bloodline wizards, an adapted version of magic flying messages, preferring blood essence for sending messages over magical ones.
The ball of blood essence rose into the sky, hovered for a moment as if positioning, and then, with a flash of crimson light, sped off toward a more southern direction.