novelraw Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Chapter 24. Shadow Guild
“My lord, the task has been completed.”
Isos’s hollow voice echoed through the karst cave as his figure slowly seeped out from the rock wall like spreading ink.
“Well done. Make preparations over the next few days. Also call back Alvaro and Montoya. In three days, I’ll take you to explore a newly appeared secret realm.”
Kyle still stood silently before the coffin, occasionally adjusting the flow of energy within Adrian’s new body.
“Yes, my lord.”
Beren’s massive skeletal head tilted slightly toward the direction where Isos had left. The ghostly flames in his eye sockets flickered uncertainly, filled with envy.
His strength was only at the high Master level, and his large body made him too easy to target. Missions that required exploration or combat were basically unrelated to him.
Although he looked extremely “mighty and domineering,” among dark creatures he was actually one of the easiest to deal with.
Seeing his “child” beginning to let his thoughts wander again, Kyle helplessly flicked the spider silk. Only then did Beren refocus on the task at hand.
“If you want to adventure with me, work hard to break through to the Transcendent level and become a Bone Spider Lord. By then your weakness will completely turn into an advantage. Combined with your talent for formations, you’ll be a walking mobile fortress.”
“My lord, I will definitely work hard!”
Beren’s skeletal jaws clicked loudly. The blue flames burned like torches, illuminating the entire spiderweb formation a little brighter.
Although Kyle himself was still some distance away from the Transcendent level, that did not stop him from “encouraging the child.” Besides, he truly thought highly of Beren. Being able to independently control a transformation ritual formation at the Master level—there were probably very few on the Kalor Continent who could match such talent.
However, raising a Bone-Bound Spider consumed enormous resources. They ate tremendously yet grew painfully slowly—a classic gold-devouring beast.
Kyle could not help rubbing his forehead.
Since he had picked it up himself, he would just have to raise it slowly.
***
Early the next morning, the news that the three gang leaders of the western district had collectively disappeared spread through the streets and alleys of Coral Thorn City like a whirlwind.
The near-total destruction of the Poison Scorpion Gang and the Blood Hand Brotherhood became the hottest topic in the taverns of the slums.
As the real controller behind the three major gangs, the Shadow Guild naturally dispatched large numbers of people to investigate.
Yet the investigation results sent chills down everyone’s spine. Aside from the headquarters of the Blood Hand Brotherhood, where signs of a fierce battle with an external intruder remained, the other missing individuals had seemingly vanished from the world without leaving a single clue.
At the top floor of the most luxurious “Black Swan” hotel in the western district—
“These are all the results of your investigation?”
Bettis, the vice president of the Coral Thorn City branch of the Shadow Guild, lounged lazily in a leather sofa. Her long legs rested casually on the solid wooden desk as she held a cigarette in one hand and flipped through the report submitted by her subordinate with the other.
A masked subordinate dressed like a typical thief knelt on one knee and respectfully lowered his head.
“This subordinate has used all hidden channels. There are indeed no further discoveries.”
“Alright, you may leave.” Bettis exhaled a ring of smoke.
“Yes, my lady!”
After casually flipping through a few more pages, she tossed the report onto the desk.
“The intelligence merchant…” Bettis frowned slightly, her beautiful brows knitting together. “What exactly is this lord trying to do?”
Any slightly thoughtful person would know that such a strange incident was absolutely related to extraordinary species. The most likely possibility was mysterious dark creatures.
And the “intelligence merchant,” as the strongest dark creature in Coral Thorn City—no, even across several surrounding principalities—and the leader among dark creatures, must certainly be related to this incident. It might even have been carried out under his orders.
This inevitably forced people to think about the deeper meaning behind it.
After all, no one wanted to offend a “true big shot.”
Although their major factions also had powerful figures backing them—for example, the branch president above her—if a fight really broke out, the unlucky ones would only be small fry like them who handled the work.
As long as the other party acted within the “rules,” if anything went wrong, the blame would only fall on people like them below. Those high and mighty “lords” would never stand up for them.
Moreover, for so many years everyone had cooperated quite pleasantly.
The existence of the intelligence merchant had pushed Coral Thorn City’s trade to its peak, and there was still potential for growth.
Everyone earned enormous profits from it—even the lowest “mud-legged” laborers had spare money to buy wine and food.
Because of that, all factions turned a blind eye to the intelligence merchant.
After all, everyone was sharing the same meal, not smashing the rice bowl. No one would push away meat already in their mouth.
Now the disappearance of the three gangs pointed directly toward the intelligence merchant. But the problem was that the three idiots had crossed the line first. Being killed in retaliation was nobody’s fault but their own.
“What exactly were those three idiots trying to do? Rob a bankrupt adventurer team? What a bunch of worthless trash!”
“And now they’ve been wiped out in one go. Leaving me to clean up your mess!”
Bettis flipped through the information related to the Rock Adventurer Team, her brows tightening further.
“It seems this adventurer team not only clung to the intelligence merchant’s support, but also connected with another mysterious powerhouse. Not simple.”
Although there was no detailed information about O’Brien, records of his meeting with Zack had been collected. But that was all. In a place full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, intelligence gathering had to be done carefully. Offending a big shot would lead to consequences too terrible to imagine.
“Interesting…”
Her slender finger circled the name “Rock Adventurer Team” on the document.
“Looks like their value needs to be reassessed.”
The numbers on the loss report gave her slight relief—at least the core territory was still intact. But when she thought about answering the inquiries from the cunning elders at headquarters, she still could not help rubbing her forehead.
“Sigh… what a headache.”
***
Aboard the Wavecrest on the way to Coral Reef Island—
A group of people huddled together beneath the edge of the cabin roof, watching Dean continue training in the heavy rain.
“He vomited like the end of the world last night, and he can still get up to practice swordsmanship this morning. Tsk! That adaptability alone is impressive!” Grek widened his eyes, gripping the waterproof cloak tightly to keep the rain from soaking everyone.
“No, no, no—it’s that kid’s willpower that’s strong.” Old Owen wiped the rain from his face and carefully observed the boy training in the storm.
“Didn’t you see his face is still pale? He’s obviously still seasick!”
“That’s true. This storm is rocking even me enough to feel uncomfortable. Boss Zack is still lying in bed like a pile of mud, vomiting bile!”
Vivian, who had just replaced Zack’s bucket with a new one, strongly agreed.
“Anyone who can become the disciple of a big figure can’t be simple!”
“Just wonder what his other talents are like?”
“Hey? Do you think we’re witnessing the rise of a future big shot?” Vivian suddenly proposed.
“Hiss—! That makes sense!” Old Owen’s cloudy eyes suddenly lit up. Excited, he shoved aside the sailors behind him and rushed toward the resting room. “Wait, I’m going to ask him for an autograph! When I retire later, I’ll have something to brag about!”
“Right, right! I want one too!”