novelraw Chapter 74: The Price of Trust
Chapter 74: The Price of Trust
With Han’s elite summon now fully unleashed, it did not take long before the entire group of mercenaries were mauled to death.
The Leaping White Tiger moved like a streak of white light, its claws tearing through flesh and bone with a sickening ease that left the rocky ground of the Island stained a deep dark crimson.
"What took you guy’s so long? Things almost went south here." Xavier said angrily.
He was leaning heavily on his lightning spear, his chest heaving as he looked at Han and Verso. His gaze was sharp, but the majority of his sore anger was directed toward Han.
The green haired boy had shown up with his elite summon and ended the remaining mercenaries in mere seconds, which only proved to Xavier that this fight could have been over long ago if Han had bothered to help them earlier.
"We kind of got in some trouble down there. You won’t believe how strong those four mercenaries were even if we told you." Verso replied, taking the lead and saving Han the trouble of answering.
He spoke in a relaxed tone, shrugging his shoulders as if he had not just been in a life or death struggle with Han inside the collapsed cavern.
He turned to look at Han before continuing.
"To be honest, Han did all the heavy lifting. I just stood there watching like an idiot."
As farfetched as it may sound, this statement was entirely true.
Han was the one who had slaughtered the four mercenaries while Verso had only reached the center of the cavern in time to see the fourth one being munched on by the tiger.
While Verso spoke, Han was staring at him with his mouth slightly agape, looking as if he were genuinely startled by the boy’s audacity to act so casual after their insane scuffle underground.
"Can we... go yet?" A weak voice cut through the tension.
The group turned to look at Lua, who was in terrible shape. She was completely out of mana, her black hair was covered in dust, and she was bleeding badly from several slashes across her arms and torso.
Deciding that the team needed to head back to the gate immediately, Verso flicked his wrist.
He summoned his two remaining Stone Gargoyles that were still capable of flight, letting Xavier and Lua take one each.
"Are we sharing?" Xavier asked, turning to look at Verso.
Verso gave a short nod, but as he moved to mount up, a heavy hand slammed down on his shoulder.
Looking back, he saw Han looking at him with a wide theatrical smile.
"Brother Verso can share with me. Both you are injured and need your space." Han said in his usual tone, different from the one he had mere minutes ago.
’He is still not letting me go? Should I say no?’
Verso questioned if he should take Han up on the offer, but then Han shot him a piercingly serious look.
His lips moved without a sound, mouthing three words: ’We need to talk.’
Letting out a tired sigh, Verso looked back at Xavier and Lua, commanding the gargoyles to take both of them toward the Gate on the Main Island.
He waited until they were in the air before slowly turning back to the scion of the Feng Clan.
"So, are we fighting again or are we going to head to the Gate?"
Verso wasn’t particularly scared of Han at this moment.
Unlike the underground which was completely closed off, what surrounded the small rocky island was the ocean. Verso’s home playing field.
He knew that in case Han wanted a round two, he could dive into the water and escape this place unscathed with his Sea Serpent.
Han did not reply to his question, silently summoning his Giant Eagle as he climbed on. Verso just stood there, staring at the green haired boy as he narrowed eyes his eyes slightly.
"Are you planning to drop me into the infested water from the top? Because if you are, that is not going to work." Verso said in a taunting tone.
Han wore an eccentric smile on his face, similar to the one he always had on when surrounded by people outside.
"I advise you to cease provoking me further, Brother. My mind is very unsettled right now, and no I don’t plan on throwing you in infested waters."
Hearing this complete shift in tone and language, Verso felt a chill. It was kind of crazy how quickly Han could change his entire tone and behavior.
"You can drop the act, man. You are only creeping me out even more." Verso said as he made up his mind and finally climbed onto the giant bird.
The eagle instantly took off, its massive wings beating against the air loudly as they soared toward the Main Island.
"Okay then, I will ask you again and I want you to answer me seriously." Han said, his voice turning cold which seemed to be his actual normal tone.
"Are you a spy sent by my brother or not?"
"I assure you, my crazy friend, I am not a spy. I don’t even know who the fuck your brother is." Verso said in an irritated voice.
"Also, how did you even come to this crazy conclusion? You think everyone is out to get you?"
For a long moment, Han went completely silent. He looked down at the dark water below considering his options.
He had a gut feeling that Verso was actually telling the truth, because not only did the boy have multiple chances to kill him in the cavern which he did not do. But also because it turned out that he was telling the truth about Xavier and Lua fighting the mercenaries on the ground.
’I hope I don’t regret this.’ Han thought out loud.
Taking a deep breath, the Scion of the Feng Clan began to speak.
As they flew toward the Main Island, he told Verso everything about his life, his brother Yuan Feng, and the constant, bloody shadows that had followed him since the day he was born.