novelraw Chapter 268: The Tavern’s Sudden Silence
Chapter 268: The Tavern’s Sudden Silence
On the street, a young woman was racing with her heart pounding heavily against her chest.
She frequently looked over her shoulder and saw a young man with flowing silver hair and deep blue eyes following her calmly.
She gasped in terror.
Fear gripped her heart like a cold, unrelenting vice.
’Why did I even come back to this place in the first place? Damn it,’ she cursed inwardly.
Her plan had been simple. Trick their foolish captain into following her and perhaps use him as a human shield.
With how lustful he was for her body, she knew he would never reject her offer. More importantly, he would come running when he learned that she could finally belong to him.
Alas, she had been terribly wrong.
Not only did she not find her loyal lap dog, but she found the Grim Reaper himself waiting for her.
She knew very well what awaited her if she fell into the hands of that devil. Death would be a luxury she would never receive.
Thus, she did the only thing that came to her panicked mind.
Run.
’I need to stall him somehow,’
her mind raced with various desperate plans.
She thought about running out of the town deep into the deadly desert, but she quickly shook her head.
Unless she had absolutely no other choice, she did not want to leave the relative safety of the town.
Just then, she saw a human tavern at the edge of the street to her right. Seeing it, a faint, desperate smile crept up to her face as she increased her speed toward the door.
Behind her, Thoren followed with a moderate, unhurried pace. Not too fast and not too slow, just enough to keep her backside in his sight.
Just then, he saw her rushing toward the building on her right. He did not need to ask what she was planning, as he could already guess her intentions.
He sneered coldly.
’Since you were unfortunate enough to appear before me, you can forget about escaping,’ he thought. A sharp, deadly glint flashed deep in his blue eyes.
He continued at the same pace, following toward the building. When he arrived before the entrance, he summoned two of his undead servants.
The sudden appearance of two hooded figures stunned those walking on the street, and many could not help but widen their eyes in shock.
The Jackal Beastmen widened their serrated teeth and stared at Thoren’s back with a flash of greed and dark interest.
Many of them rushed off to report such a strange human to their Chief immediately.
As for Thoren, he did not know nor care about what others thought about him and his dark profession.
His sole goal was to capture Cressida at all costs. On entering the building, he quickly realized it was a human tavern filled with drunks.
But that did not stop him from searching. His cold gaze wandered around the group of people drinking from their mugs.
"Where is the woman who just entered this place?" Thoren asked in a low, cold voice that cut through the noise.
"Who are you?" one of the patrons demanded coldly, rising from his seat. "Do you think we keep anyone here? Fuck off now before I throw you out myself."
Instantly, five more men rose to their feet and stared at Thoren with open hostility.
"So this is how we are going to do it," he mused quietly. A smile that was no smile appeared on his face.
He turned his head and looked at the bartender, but the man ignored him as if he was nothing at all.
Thud! Thud!
The undead servants behind him stepped forward, their weapons glistening under the dim tavern lights.
Seeing this, a thick, suffocating tension rose inside the room. Everyone looked at Thoren with narrowed, wary eyes.
"If you dare cause any trouble in my tavern, I would not mind selling you to the Jackals. Follow the rules or pay the price," a sturdy young man said as he came from behind the counter. He narrowed his eyes at Thoren.
Too lazy to care about this foolish man, Thoren summoned five more undead servants.
The presence of seven additional hooded figures stunned everyone inside the tavern.
What was going on here?
Was he a Necromancer or a Summoner?
But a Necromancer could only control four undead servants at most, while a Summoner could only call a single beast to aid them in battle.
While the people were trying to wrap their heads around Thoren’s strange and terrifying ability, the seven undead servants marched toward the five men who had stood up earlier.
Under the intimidating pressure of the seven undead servants, the man who had spoken earlier sucked in a cold, shaky breath.
His previous arrogance was long gone, replaced by sheer terror. He looked around and saw that nobody was ready to assist him and his team.
"Fine. Fine. You win," he threw up his hands and returned to his seat.
A collective sigh of relief escaped from his team members. Most of them already had their backs drenched in cold sweat.
They realized they had kicked an iron wall that could not be moved. Even the tavern owner’s expression had changed completely.
His previous haughtiness was long gone and was replaced with dread and submission.
Although fighting was not officially permitted in the town, that rule only applied to the weak. Against a strong awakener, both the humans and Jackal Beastmen would choose to ignore it.
Seeing that they were all on the same page, Thoren asked his question once again.
"Where is she? This is the last time I will ask," he said quietly.
His voice sent a cold, chilling dread straight down to their spines. They knew the figure before them was not bluffing, just from his deadly tone.
"She escaped through the back door," the owner said without any further hesitation.
Just for a few silver coins, he did not want to lose his source of living. He could earn many silver coins in the future, but he only had one life to spend.
"See, that was not so hard, was it?" Thoren said casually and walked toward the back.
His undead servants clad in black hooded robes walked behind him in perfect silence.
Their heavy footsteps were the only sound in the still, terrified quiet of the tavern.
Coming out of the back door, Thoren arrived at a narrow, dark alley and creased his brow for a moment. Then he sensed Cressida’s lingering scent.
Without any hesitation, he followed the scent into the shadows.
The alley twisted and turned, reeking of decay and filth. But Thoren’s senses were locked onto his prey.
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