Chapter 531 - Impressive Background
With just this thought in mind, Charles’ attitude changed drastically in a flash. He lowered his high-raised chin and bent down his straightened back humbly. His lofty and arrogant expression was replaced by shock and fear. In a trembling voice, he asked, “C-Captain Sienna, can you please tell me… tell me who this esteemed Mr Mage exactly is…?”
Sienna was afraid of that Mage Felic from the bottom of his heart. Though Felic hadn’t shown any signs of displeasure, Sienna knew very well that Felic could kill him easily with the tip of his finger. Whatever powerful emerging talent or top mercenary corp in Roland City was nothing to Mage Felic. A Lich summoning a Humerus Wyrm was enough to destroy Sienna’s entire mercenary corps which he had so painstakingly built.
Sienna hated Charles wholeheartedly. Although Sienna appeared to be polite all the time, he couldn’t care less about the Seven Leaf Grass herb store once he was burdened by it. Seeing that Charles asked him so humbly, Sienna’s emotions exploded like a volcano. He yelled, “If you f*cking want to die, don’t drag me down with you! You think that your stupid herb store is very amazing? Once you’ve offended Mage Felic, that herb store of yours also can’t save that life of yours! You understand?”
Charles was a man of status in Roland City. However, even though he was scolded right in his face by a junior who was only 20-plus years old, he didn’t dare to show any signs of discontentment. He had to put on a smile no matter what Sienna said and agree with a string of “yes”.
It was indeed impressive to serve noble pharmacists. However, these pharmacists wouldn’t help to escort Charles’ merchant caravan. In fact, those pharmacists had paid for the herbs they bought from Charles, so they didn’t owe him any favor. He had only spoken of his relationship with these pharmacists to elevate his status, but whatever path-blocking bandits wouldn’t care about this.
Charles had no other choice—he was the one asking for help. Only Sienna’s mercenary corps was capable of providing this escort service. Charles had tugged many strings, and finally got Sienna to agree to accept this commission. Moreover, though Sienna was a warrior by occupation, he was Castellan Arathor’s favorite. Be it ability- or influence-wise, Sienna was not to be overlooked by a merchant like Charles.
The harsher Sienna scolded, the more Charles felt afraid. He knew very well that Sienna’s reaction revealed his innermost, uncontrollable fear. Fear, not caution. There was a big distinction between the two. If the person Charles had offended had been merely someone to be cautious of, Sienna would have asked Charles to be more humble and make peace between the two. However, Sienna was trying so hard to separate himself from Charles, fearing that he had the slightest connection with Charles. Who were those four Mages dressed in humble clothes? How could they make Sienna so fearful?
With these thoughts, Charles’ face turned as white as sheet. His back was drenched in cold sweat. When he finally found a chance to speak while Sienna was taking a breath, he replied in trembling voice, “Captain Sienna, it’s all my fault! Please don’t be angry. Looking at our friendship in the past, can you please tell me the backgrounds of these four esteemed Mr Mages so that I can die without doubt in my heart?”
“Friendship? Don’t even mention this word! If I’d known that I’d be burdened by a stupid fella like you, I wouldn’t have agreed to this commission no matter what. I’m too damn unlucky!” Sienna didn’t want to care, but since he was already involved, he could suffer as well if things really reached an irreconcilable stage. So, for his own sake, he had to care.
“Captain Sienna.” Charles looked at Sienna with pleading and bitterness, not daring to shift his vision an inch.
“Damn it, Charles. Listen to me very carefully!” Sienna cautiously peered at Lin Li and his companions on the other side, and made sure his actions didn’t displease that terrifying Mage Felic. He then clenched his teeth, and said to Charles, “Where’s your wit? Why did you choose my mercenary corps out of all in Roland City?”
“Because your mercenary corps is the best in Roland City. The difficulty of this commission is very high, and only your mercenary corps can ensure the safety of my merchant caravan.” Charles quickly flattered him.
“Good. Since you know that only my mercenary corps is capable of escorting your transport, do you know who I was a year ago? Do you know how I turned from an unknown mercenary to who I am now?” Sienna asked, sticking his finger close to Charles’ nose.
Charles didn’t dare to step back. He forced out a smile, and said, “It’s definitely because of your capabilities, Captain Sienna…”
“Stop putting on that stupid smile! You think I don’t know what the others say about me? They say I got to where I am because of the castellan’s support. They are right, the castellan supported me to my current position. But why did he support me?”
“Many bards are reciting now that you’ve saved the castellan’s son and daughter from the hands of the Syer Bandits cleverly together with your loyal subordinates.” Merchants were all capable of speaking what others liked to hear. Charles had listened to almost all the versions sung by the bards in order to please Sienna so that he would agree to escort his caravan. Now, these bard songs were finally useful.
“What the f*cking sh*t! Let me tell you, if I hadn’t met Mage Felic, my brothers and I would have been beast sh*t by now! Save other people? You should know what an Ice Howler is with your knowledge.” Sienna still shivered even now when he thought of the incident that day.
“Ice Howler! Do you mean the magical beast Ice Howler?” Charles shivered. That was a terrifying descendant of the legendary ancient beast that had savagery flowing in the blood vessels of its body. Though Charles had never seen an Ice Howler before, many accounts had recorded its horror. Its incredibly strong muscles and inborn ice element magic made it a nightmare for anyone who chanced upon it.
The most recent and credible information came from the diary of a soldier from Roland City. The diary recorded that a few years ago, Castellan Arathor led an army deep into the Dragon Mountains to encircle the Syer Bandits. However, their mission failed because they had encountered an Ice Howler on their way.
Charles knew that not to mention Sienna a year ago, even if Sienna gathered all his powers now, he wouldn’t be able to defeat an Ice Howler. So how did Sienna manage to survive the attack a year ago? Could it be… Charles thought of why Sienna told him this story. Was Mage Felic the one who’d saved them?
“Do you mean that Mage Felic defeated the Ice Howler?” Charles asked in a soft voice, feeling incredulous. How could a 20-odd years old mage defeat the Ice Howler which even Castellan Arathor and his elite army couldn’t overcome?
“No, Mage Felic didn’t do it,” replied Sienna, shaking his head.
Hearing Sienna’s reply, Charles heaved a sigh of relief. He thought that it was impossible for someone as young as Mage Felic to defeat the Ice Howler given its terrifying power. Maybe Felic had used some trick to lure the Ice Howler away. After all, no matter how powerful the Ice Howler was, its intelligence couldn’t be compared to that of humans.
Charles’ slight change in facial expression didn’t escape the eyes of Sienna. Sienna sneered, “The person who defeated the Ice Howler was Mage Felic’s attendant. The one who caught Larry just now.”
“Cough!” Charles barely caught his breath. That pale fella had defeated an Ice Howler? What kind of joke was that! He had to have been mad to demand for Larry from that fella. Charles felt a gush of cold air behind his throat. If he had known that fella had defeated an Ice Howler earlier, he wouldn’t have cared about that bastard Larry’s life.
“What? Now you are afraid!? Do you think this is all?” Sienna looked at Charles with mockery, and slowly said, “Do you know what a Humerus Wyrm looks like? Do you know how powerful a Lich that can summon a Humerus Wyrm is?”
Charles’ body shivered more intensely as Sienna threw out more questions. Even the sound of his teeth chattering against one another was audible. Although Charles had never seen a Humerus Wyrm before, everything in this world that was associated with Wyrms had the common characteristic of being powerful. Charles didn’t have a clear idea of how powerful a Lich that could summon a Humerus Wyrm was, but the possession of a domain meant the abilities of Legendary-realm. In the eyes of ordinary people, Legendary powerhouses were like gods.
“You… You mean…” Charles couldn’t believe it. According to what Sienna said, didn’t it mean that the Humerus Wyrm and Legendary-realm Lich were all defeated by that Mage Felic!? That had to be a joke. Was it so easy to defeat a Legendary powerhouse? How old was that Mage Felic? How could he defeat a Legendary powerhouse so easily?! Oh God, did he just offend an incarnation of a god? Was that bastard Larry dead by now? If he wasn’t, Charles would kill Larry himself.