dtnovels Chapter 292 Interlude 2
Chapter 292 Interlude 2
A suffocating, terrifying pressure suddenly erupted from Caesars' body. His once ordinary shadow arrows transformed into death scythes, reaping lives. He precisely controlled dozens of shadow arrows, each one piercing the throats of the men in black like a venomous snake. With a muffled "puff puff" sound, the powerful impact directly blew off the heads of many men in black. The headless bodies fell one after another like cut straw, and dark red blood flowed into streams on the bluestone slabs.
Among them, the black-clothed leader wearing a bronze crow mask hurriedly raised the shield engraved with defensive magic patterns. The moment the shadow arrow hit the shield, it exploded with a dazzling purple-black light.
"Dang—" Amidst a deafening metallic explosion, spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread across the shield's surface. The man in black was pushed back by the immense force, blood oozing from the corners of his masked mouth. Just as he turned to flee, the gray magical light from Caesars' fingertips clung to him like a thorn in his flesh. The weakness curse instantly drained all his strength, and the once invincible killer collapsed to the ground like a puddle of mud.
"A great magician dares to act so presumptuously in front of me?"
Caesars sneered as he stepped on the crow-masked man's chest, his boot soles crackling his ribs. He glanced greedily at the corpses scattered across the ground. The Night Ravens' assassins had always been lucrative, but this month's soul-absorbing quota had been filled, so he could only pocket the spoils. The soul gem glowed hungrily in the leather pouch at his waist, devouring any remaining soul energy.
This one-sided massacre lasted only half a minute. As the last man in black was pinned to the courtyard wall by a shadow arrow, the sound of iron boots clattering could be heard in the distance. The armor of the leading city guard commander clanged, and before he even arrived, he shouted, "Who dares to cause trouble here?"
When he rushed into the courtyard with twenty heavily armored soldiers, he saw a figure in a dark gray robe, accompanied by a little girl and a sleek Ao dog, checking the spoils among the corpses wearing bird-shaped masks all over the ground.
"Over thirty people died on the eve of the Magician Competition..."
The commander gasped before he could finish his words, interrupted by a crisp "crack." Caesars roughly pried open the crow-masked figure's fingers and removed the storage ring. Then, like peeling a dumpling leaf, he tore off the magic-marked robe, jeweled belt, engraved dagger, and staff one by one. The bronze mask was removed, revealing a wrinkled, gaunt, old face with a snow-white goatee. In those bulging, triangular eyes, a look of unbelievable terror was frozen, as if he had died with his eyes open.
"Watch your soldiers!"
Without even looking up, Caesars swung his staff, and a shadow barrier forced back the city guards who tried to approach. "These are my legitimate spoils of war!"
The fat puppy bared its fangs at the right time, and the low roar rolling in its throat made the soldiers grip the hilts of their swords at the same time.
"This guy also signed up for the Magician Challenge!"
Kaisas flipped through the man's storage ring and took out a golden nameplate from it. This was the certificate for the Mage Challenge.
"The Great Magician's Entry Certificate!"
The middle-aged man in armor exclaimed in surprise. A contestant died before the competition even started, and the key point was that the opponent was a great magician.
"I need the number on the voucher. This needs to be notified to the Kingdom's Mage Tower immediately!"
"Number 13!"
Caesars looked at the nameplate and reported the number engraved on it.
"These corpses..." the city guard commander said, pointing at the corpses.
"I want to exchange it for rewards... These should all be people from the "Night Raven", and they should be able to exchange them for tens of thousands of gold coins!" Caesars said casually.
"The bounty from the Executive Office is high, but the bounty from the Mercenary Guild is lower!"
The middle-aged man in armor said something and then left with his men.
The Caesars siblings busied themselves swiftly, sorting the captured spoils into categories and stuffing them one by one into their storage rings. The sounds of metal clashing and cloth rubbing echoed throughout the courtyard, and Caesars' eyes gleamed in the firelight.
"Emily, the gold coins are coming to my door!"
Kaisas patted his spatial ring, his voice filled with unconcealed joy, and continued, "We'll set up a stall in the Grand Plaza tomorrow. Our old rule is: you take 10%!"
Emily was squatting on the ground packing up medicine bottles. When she heard this, her fingers trembled and she almost knocked over the glass bottle in her hand.
"Brother, I... I didn't help at all this time." She bit her lower lip, thinking of how miserable she was when the poisonous fog filled the air - she couldn't even find her gas mask in her panic. If Caesars hadn't intervened in time, the consequences would have been disastrous.
"Then work harder at the stall tomorrow!"
Caesars smiled cheerfully, his eyes searching the yard. Suddenly, his brows furrowed. "Hey, where did that greedy ghost go?"
Turning around, I couldn't help but feel angry and amused - the chubby puppy had been squatting beside the big stew pot, its wet black nose twitching, and it was drooling as it waited for the stew bubbling in the pot.
"You damn dog, these are all yours!"
It was a pile of dry food and dried meat scavenged from the men in black. The plump puppy immediately whimpered and trotted over, its front paws scooping the food into its storage ring like digging a hole in the dirt. After finishing, it wagged its tail and ran back to sit by the stew pot, eagerly waiting for the bubbling broth.
"Emily, look at this greedy dog. He's starving, and now he won't eat anything but salamander meat!"
"How could this happen?" Emily opened her eyes wide in surprise, even stopping what she was doing. "Didn't it eat anything you gave it before? Last time, it even ate moldy bread..."
Kaisas shrugged, looked at the puppy's greedy face, and said with a smile: "This dead dog's tongue has been spoiled! When there is delicious food, it doesn't want to eat bad food!"
Half a quarter of an hour later, the puppy stretched out its front paws and gently tapped the large stew pot. With its keen sense of smell, it knew that the stew was ready in color, aroma and taste.
"You idiot, take out your magic steel food bowl! There's so much salamander meat stewed today, I guarantee you'll be so full you'll drag on the ground!"
As soon as Caesars finished speaking, there was a "clang" sound, and the puppy had already prepared his own "plate".
The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight pierced the gray mist of Redstone City, explosive news spread like a plague through the marketplace, taverns, and streets. The dreaded "Black Crow," third in command of the notorious assassin organization "Night Crows," had been beheaded in the city the previous night. The coroner at the Executive Hall had confirmed that the corpse, pierced through the neck, lying in the morgue was indeed the demon that had kept the nobles of the southern kingdoms awake at night.
Black Crow is not only a cold-blooded assassin, but also a rare master magician of the dark sphere. Unlike other assassins, he never conceals his crimes. Whenever he carries out a mission, he parades through the streets with a group of black-clad followers, carrying out assassinations openly as if performing some unholy ritual. Even more horrifying, he always deliberately leaves behind a few terrified witnesses, who, like rats spreading the plague, spread the bloody scenes and terrifying stories to every corner of Roland Continent.
Meanwhile, Caesars was busy arranging various magical materials at his stall in the central square. He also noticed the strange expressions on the faces of the vendors around him. Meanwhile, in a dark valley less than thirty miles from the Redstone Kingdom, within a cave meticulously disguised as a rock face by an illusionist, the leaders of the Night Raven were holding a secret meeting.
Suddenly, the defensive barrier surrounding the meeting hall rippled. A lame old man in a black robe stumbled in, his bony fingers clutching the wall tightly, his cloudy eyes filled with panic.
"Something terrible has happened!" The old man's hoarse voice echoed in the cave, "Black Crow was killed in Red Stone City!"
A deathly silence fell over the stone hall. The gray-haired, black-clad man sitting at the head of the table abruptly stood up, the scars crisscrossing his face contorted in shock. "This is impossible!" His voice was like a blunt knife scraping across stone. "Black Crow is signing up for the magic competition, not carrying out an assassination mission!"
The lame old man wiped the sweat from his forehead and continued, "The spies in Redstone City reported back... Black Crow has taken a fancy to a magician's dragon bloodwood staff. The staff is blood-red and crystal clear. It's said to be crafted from the heart of a dragon blood tree over five thousand years old, a dark treasure..." The old man suddenly coughed violently at this point. "Last night, Black Crow led over thirty elite soldiers to rob it, but... everyone was slaughtered in two minutes."
Gasps echoed through the stone hall. A woman wearing a bronze mask suddenly crushed the crystal cup in her hand. "Over thirty skilled warriors... in two minutes? Even two great fire magicians can't do that!"
The gray-haired leader slowly sat back on the stone chair, his knuckles rapping against the armrests with a dull sound. He ordered coldly, "Spread the word first. Say that Night Raven will pay with blood. If that man flees in panic after hearing the warning, he's just a lucky fool..." A cold glint flashed in his single eye. "But if he remains indifferent... mobilize all members of the Dark Ravens. I want to know the color of every hair on this man's head!"
Within half an hour, these murderous rumors had reached Redstone Square. Caesars listened to the vendors' trembling discussions and casually placed a shimmering magic crystal on the hide. A subtle smile curved his lips as he continued to tidy up his stall as if nothing had happened, as if the warnings about the Night Raven's revenge were but a gentle breeze brushing past his ears in the early morning.
"Brother, aren't you worried?"
Emily's face tightened when she heard these rumors.
"Emily, don't worry. This is a good thing where gold coins are automatically delivered to your door. I wish all the Night Crows would come!"
Caesars patted Emily's shoulder gently, signaling her not to worry.
"Brother, you are really capable of dealing with the Night Crow killer..."
"Don't worry, dealing with the Night Crow killer is as easy as eating and drinking water!"
Caesars smiled and patted the puppy that was lying on the animal skin, lazily basking in the sun. Since following him to the square, this guy has never moved, just occasionally wagging his tail and squinting his eyes to enjoy the warm sunshine.
At that moment, several dark-robed magicians slowly approached Caesar's stall. As they paused, their gazes were captivated by the dazzling array of magical items and the mountains of high-quality herbs. They couldn't help but express astonishment. One young magician, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, even pushed his glasses up, seemingly unable to believe his eyes. Even the largest magic shop in Redstone City had never displayed such a large number of high-quality items at once.
"How are these herbs... sold?"
An old wizard with graying hair and a goatee spoke first. His trembling fingers gently stroked a stalk of ice grass that glowed with a faint blue light, his eyes gleaming with excitement. These herbs were of a rare quality, with plump leaves and abundant magical power, making them ideal ingredients for refining high-level potions.
"Look at the inventory here, the price is marked on it!"
Emily looked up from behind the stall, her golden hair striking in the sunlight. She greeted the magicians enthusiastically and put away the books she was holding.
Upon hearing this, several magicians turned their gaze to the upright oak board beside Caesars. On it, neatly written words densely listed a variety of goods: from wands inlaid with various gems to magic robes embroidered with intricate magic patterns; from shimmering magical accessories to rare herbs arranged in different categories, each clearly marked with a price. Even more surprising was the presence of several sealed wooden boxes stacked behind the stall, clearly indicating that there was even more inventory not yet on display.
"Thirty stalks of Ice and Snow Grass, fifty stalks of Thorn Grass, and fifty stalks of Dream Leaf Grass!"
A serious-looking middle-aged magician suddenly spoke up. He wore a dark purple robe embroidered with star patterns and a high-level alchemist badge on his chest. Although these high-grade herbs were expensive, their quality was definitely worth it.
"Seven hundred and twenty gold coins in total!"
Emily fiddled with the brass abacus in her hand quickly, a shrewd gleam in her emerald eyes, and she quoted the exact total price almost as the customer finished speaking.
The middle-aged alchemist took out his gold coins and selected the agreed-upon quantity of high-quality herbs. The elderly magician stared at the inventory and saw a complete set of alchemical equipment marked for a reasonable price.
"Can I see the alchemical tools?" asked the old magician.
"Okay, you guys just move aside a bit, otherwise we won't be able to put down the alchemy table!"
Several magicians quickly stepped aside. Caesars reached out and touched his interspatial ring, and a massive metal table covered in intricate magic patterns appeared in front of the stall. The alchemy table required corrosion-resistant metal, engraved with various defensive magic patterns.
This is an alchemy table that is about 80% new and has all the tools needed for alchemy.
"Two hundred thousand gold coins?" asked the old wizard.
"Yes, we'll sell it for the price of rotten iron!"
"I bought it!"
The old wizard said impatiently.