Badge in Azure

Chapter 206: Starting the Hunt (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The swordsmen from the swordsman’s camp were already used to such a scene. All of them sat in their chairs earnestly, and none of them stood up. The ship Saleen was in berthed at a dock that was very far from the magic ship. This dock had been independently built, so it was far away from the ships belonging to Devil’s Horn.

Even so, that did not stop Saleen from observing the processes happening in the port. He saw a massive tower, and a slide laid on a metal bridge. Hooks hung from above, helping unload cargo from the ships.

Those metallic boxes were tied up and lowered from the ships before being stacked up on the port. Thereafter, five meter tall metal puppets would come and carry them away.

Some cargo was obviously special. Once that cargo was unloaded from the ship, horse carriages…

Those were not horse carriages. They were chariots being pulled by magic beasts! Saleen had only seen this type of event in murals, but now, it was unfolding right before his eyes. Saleen was extremely astonished. The hunting team consisted of mages from various empires. Even if the secrets of these processes were not so easily discovered, other people would already be able to learn a great deal just by observing the port’s structure and workflow. Were the people of Alchemy City really not worried at all?

The carriages pulled by the magic beasts were filled with cargo as they made their way inland. The port was constructed within a rock, and the many paved wide roads were also within the mountain.

In truth, Devil’s Horn was not suitable for building ports. The reason it was possible was completely due to the efforts of humans. It was still manageable on land as there were numerous puppets around to chisel the mountain, but what about the sea? Had the underwater area under the port also been cleared by humans?

Saleen witnessed a feeling of unparalleled resolution, looking at this metallic port. It was the type of unyielding heart that humans possessed in the face of nature.

“Let’s go. We’re going to rest on the island for two days before setting off on the hunt,” the sorcerer hurried everybody.

Behind the port, there were dozens of giant horse carriages waiting. All the mages boarded the carriage while the swordsmen from the swordsman’s camp rode on horseback and followed beside the convoy. The personal bodyguards of the mages also boarded the carriages with the mages. Most mages did not possess the energy to train their bodies as Saleen and Lex did. Unless they advanced to the grade of a sorcerer, they would be lacking in strength.

After a day and night of being on a ship with only chairs, the difference between two types of mages immediately became evident.

Wealthy mages had better physique. Their physique was already that of swordsmen. On the other hand, mages from poor backgrounds spent all their time practicing magic, so they did not get much rest during the journey and all of their faces were pale. By this time, it was already considered good if they had not vomited due to seasickness.

The horse carriages, with the hunting group inside, traveled along a road and arrived at a castle. Most of the mages were extremely exhausted, so after the rooms were allocated, they split up and went to rest. The swordsmen, however, were led to the diner so that they could consume their meals first.

Even though Saleen and Lex were not tired, they still took a nap. This castle was surrounded by a forest, and the crisp chirping from birds could be heard just outside the window. As Saleen laid on the soft bed, he had a sweet dream.

The dream was a little blurry, and Saleen only remembered the portion just before he woke up. Saleen dreamt that he was on the magic ship. He was standing on the bridge as he commanded the magic ship to launch an attack on a dragon. Just as the behemoth, which was on the ship’s bow, spit out a ray of blinding magic light, Saleen woke up.

“Master.” Saleen opened his eyes and saw that Nailisi was lying down beside him, staring at him with her pair of green eyes.

“What is it?”

“Juno sent someone to give you this item.” Nailisi took out a thin book and handed it to Saleen. When Saleen opened it, he realized that the book simply contained the details of the hunting mission.

The hunting program, as well as the habits of some dangerous magic beasts, were written in this book. All the important details and the mission specifically for Saleen’s group were stated very clearly.

Saleen frowned when he saw them. According to the briefing in the book, this mission seemed too easy. Could there have been a mistake?

Saleen climbed out of bed and put on his clothes before heading out to look for Lex. Lex and the rest of the group had woke up earlier than Saleen, so they were all eating in the diner already. The moment Saleen and Nailisi appeared, servants immediately came forward to serve them. Saleen did not even wash up. He simply cast a Cleaning spell and went to sit beside Lex straightaway.

This castle had obviously been built for the purpose of hosting hunting groups. The diner was massive, formed by a chain of smaller halls. The swordsmen which belonged to Saleen’s group were also sitting at the same table.

Including the swordsmen which Andrew and Keegan had hired, there was a total of fifteen people sitting at this table. Excluding Sika and Nailisi, the other hired swordsmen were not weak either. They were at least at the standard of a beginner swordmaster. Their sword auras might not have been very powerful, but their many years of killing magic beasts had caused them to have ferocious auras around them.

“Sir, you are here.” The swordsmen bowed towards Saleen. Saleen nodded, and asked the swordsmen to carry on with their meals.

“Lex, have you seen this?” Saleen took out the book containing the mission details and showed it to Lex.

“I have. Everyone has a copy.”

“Don’t you think our mission is too simple?”

“Isn’t that great?” Andrew replied, and continued, “There are always a few lucky mages in every mission. They don’t have to do much. They just have to follow the sorcerer’s ship and act as the reserve forces. Finally, my turn is here. Ha…”

Whenever Alchemy City hunted finless whales, at least four ships were deployed. Even though the target for this mission was not much, five ships were still going to be deployed. One of the ships would be a warship, responsible for protecting the fishing boats from any harassment by the pirates. The whalers were going to venture to the deep-sea and would not be under any protection from Devil’s Horn. Without the warship, the fishing boats would not be able to withstand much impact in the event that a magic beast which was grade-8 or above appeared.

Three of the five fishing ships were going to be the main combat force against the finless whale. On the other hand, Juno the sorcerer would take the fourth ship, and together with the warship, they would act as reinforcements. Saleen’s task was to follow the sorcerer. The moment the three fishing ships could not take down the finless whale, the fourth one would be activated. Of course, Juno would join in the fight by then.

Saleen’s task was equivalent to getting paid without needing to do anything. Under most circumstances, dozens of mages could easily kill a finless whale. This magic beast might have been grade-6, but its attacks were very simple. Furthermore, the fishing ships travelled slightly faster than the finless whale, so there was not much risk.

Lex did not say much. She had guessed that the people from Alchemy City had already ascertained her identity, so they had arranged such a simple task out of fear that she might get into trouble. Although Alchemy City did not hold the authority of the Grukos family in high regard, the people were well aware that if someone else had become the emperor, the city might not have been treated so well up until this point.

In terms of capabilities, Alchemy City might have been able to stand independently, but the price it would have to pay was too much to bear.

Aye, it was a pity Lex was not well-respected in Holy Rock City. Instead, people in Alchemy City were giving her privileges over the other mages. If Lex had been in Holy Rock City right now, how many ridicules and insults would she have to bear?

When Saleen looked at Lex’s expression, he finally understood the reasoning behind their mission.

Saleen had never felt that this mission had any danger whatsoever. There were more than thirty grade-3 mages in the group. Furthermore, Lex was a grade-6 mage, and there were two more grade-5 mages while the remainder were grade-4 mages. If the mission had not taken place at sea, just the one hundred and twenty beginner swordmasters alone would have been able to torture the magic beast to death. Since Lex was now receiving special care and would be on the same ship as the sorcerer, the mission would be even safer now.

“Andrew, how many times have you participated in this mission?” Saleen asked casually as he sipped on oatmeal porridge.

“Twice. I almost died the first time since I was inexperienced,” Andrew replied with lingering fear in his voice.

“Can I go and explore the island?”

“Of course you can. But when you are outside, the people from Alchemy City will not guarantee your safety.”

“What do you mean?”

“It is forbidden for you to go to the western, southern, and northern areas of Devil’s Horn. The eastern area is the sole region reserved for hunting, and there are stronger magic beasts here too.”

“Mm.” Saleen nodded, and thought to himself that perhaps Alchemy City was also researching the breeding of magic beasts. No matter how big this island was, it was still not big enough for many magic beasts to live on it. To have been able to allow people to conduct hunting for such a long time, the people from Alchemy City must have transported all the captured magic beasts to the east of the island. On one hand, it would provide a hunting ground, and on the other, they would be able do research on artificial breeding techniques.

It did not matter what kinds of magic beasts were bred on the island. Even if the magic beasts escaped, they would not be able to harm the Qin civilians either way. Devil’s Horn was extremely far from the mainland, but it was the best natural laboratory.

Saleen did not know how he was going to get information about this island. If his teacher had come from this place, then it would truly be impossible to inquire about anything in Alchemy City. The servants in the castle were under strict rules, so Saleen would not be able to find out much from them either. And, if Saleen wanted to venture elsewhere, Alchemy City would not guarantee his safety. This was indeed a frustrating issue.

Even if Saleen went out and did not face any danger, he could not possibly just grab a random a person and ask – do you know who Jason Statham is?

If Saleen had simply possessed the intention of looking for his teacher, it actually would not have been wrong to pose that question to a random person. However, Saleen was hiding something. He was afraid of making others aware of the hell of god’s punishment. Even after locating his teacher, Saleen would still have to conceal many things from other people in Alchemy City. If he acted too conspicuously, then future matters would be more difficult to resolve.

It seemed like the books were right. A person without any desire was the most powerful person in existence, and was undefeated. With this selfish desire of his now, Saleen could not do anything well.

When he thought of that, Saleen grew depressed. But if Alchemy City learned about the hell of god’s punishment, it’s highly likely that they’ll take the entire interdimensional space for themselves. Then what would be left for Lex and myself?

Saleen lost his appetite as he thought of this question. He simply stuffed a few pieces of bread into his mouth and did not bother spectating the ongoing magic battles which had been organized by the mages in the hunting group. Saleen decided to sleep for the full duration of the next two days.

When Saleen went back to his room, Lex followed him.

“Saleen, why are you fretting when I’m not even anxious at all?” Lex closed the door behind her and cast a Mute Enchantment.

“I miss my teacher. Yet, I have no clues at all. Do you think I should be happy?” Saleen threw a tantrum, just like a child.

“That can’t be helped. How about your white crystal ring?”

Now that the dragonshard was mosaicked into Saleen’s demonic bracelet, the white crystal ring did not have much of an effect anymore, so he had put it away. Upon hearing Lex say that, Saleen immediately replied, “No, I cannot take it out.”

“Why have you lost your wits now? I am not asking you to auction it off. You might not be able to find your teacher that way, or perhaps he’s not even back in Alchemy City yet. That white crystal ring looks precious. It seems to be part of an equipment set. You can announce your intentions to acquire more equipment belonging to that set, and it will look more normal.”

“Acquire?”

“Stupid, a set of equipment is bound to have special connections. Use the Figaro formula to find out what sort of features the other pieces of equipment should have. Then, acquire the rest of the pieces based on those features. Your teacher will definitely be concerned if he hears of this news.”