The events of last night, so significant, could not be concealed. In fact, no one dared to hide them. The higher-ups were desperately seeking scapegoats, so much so that they might drag people off the streets to appease the populace. The assassin's league, with irrefutable evidence pointing to their involvement in the conspiracy, became more notorious than a rat fleeing a cat by morning.
"Isn't that Kasserro? How could a barbarian, whose head is filled with nothing but muscles, be part of the assassin's league?"
"Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"And who is this mercenary? So arrogant!"
Might makes right, and in novels, anything can be questioned.
Li Xi didn't bother to argue. He stepped forward and with a slap, woke Kasserro up.
As soon as Kasserro opened his eyes, he saw Li Xi right in front of him. The trembling, an unstoppable force that shook his very soul, still lingered. Kasserro hadn't seen Li Xi's move at all. His entire jaw had suffered a comminuted fracture, rendering him unable to speak. Instinctively, he tried to evade Li Xi, someone he couldn't defeat.
Kasserro's state confused the other mercenaries. Kasserro was a renowned figure in Cardo City, yet he now looked at Li Xi like a mouse fearing a cat.
Li Xi lifted his foot and placed it on Kasserro's chest. With a slight press, it was as if he had placed a heavy blacksmith's hammer on a mouse, immobilizing him.
"Don't make me look down on the blood of you barbarians. The noble children of ice and snow disdain to lie; they dare to admit what they have done."
Honor was paramount. Li Xi, who had defeated him with a single move, held his bloodline and identity in such high regard. Kasserro's hatred for Li Xi actually faded. Instead, he felt a sense of kinship.
Seeing the hostility diminish, Li Xi smiled inwardly. These muscle-bound men were the easiest to fool. Beat them down relentlessly, from the heavens to the mud, and a simple word of praise would send them into a frenzy.
"Speak, are you a member of the assassin's league?"
Li Xi looked Kasserro in the eyes. "Don't let your actions dishonor the barbarian bloodline."
All the mercenaries turned their gaze to Kasserro. For some reason, Kasserro wanted to conceal the truth, but looking at Li Xi's hopeful gaze and his words, he nodded as if possessed.
"I'm going to kill you! You killed all my parents."
"Kill him."
One moment, Kasserro was the center of attention; the next, like a spark igniting gunpowder, all the mercenaries in the hall surged forward, intent on tearing Kasserro apart.
Kasserro might have forgotten that almost every household in Cardo City had lost someone last night. The survivors were scouring the world for the culprits, even flipping over every rat hole. And he dared to admit in public that he was from the assassin's league. This was why men with muscles in their heads were so easy to fool.
Enraged by the crowd, Kasserro wouldn't have fared any better even if Li Xi hadn't subdued him.
Li Xi hadn't expected such a frenzied reaction. He quickly threw Kasserro towards the service desk, hoping Kasserro would reveal some information about the assassin's league. He couldn't let these people kill him.
But even after Kasserro was thrown toward the service desk, some mercenaries couldn't restrain themselves and lunged forward to kill him. Swords, spears, clubs, and sticks were brandished, and a few mages even drew their staves, the air vibrating with magical fluctuations. The people inside the service desk were no match for so many mercenaries, and the mercenary hall itself would be torn apart if this continued.
At the critical moment, Li Xi grabbed the closest mercenaries, one in each hand, and flung them away. Then, he let out a thunderous roar:
"Stop."
Thunderbolts could not adequately describe the volume of Li Xi's voice. The people nearby were left with ringing ears, disoriented, and the mages nearly dropped their staves.
"Get out, all of you! I caught him, and how he's dealt with is my decision. What business is it of yours?"
"He killed our loved ones."
"Yes, the hatred for our parents must be washed away with blood."
Li Xi looked back at Kasserro and bared his teeth. "Killing them is the greatest mercy. I believe the Mercenary Guild and other temples will give us, and everyone in Cardo City who lost loved ones and friends, a satisfactory explanation."
A priest, hearing the commotion below, rushed out. "Please believe our Mercenary Guild. Killing one of them is useless. We need to find more clues from him and strive to capture all members of the assassin's league."
Kasserro watched all this unfold. Even with his mind full of dung, he now understood he had been tricked. Endless torment awaited him. Even if he revealed everything he knew, they wouldn't let him go. It would be worse than death.
Looking at Li Xi, who had just praised him, he saw no admiration in his eyes, only a rage that could scorch the world.
"Don't worry, I will bring all your comrades to accompany you. If I don't annihilate them, I will be a disgrace to the help and protection my master and Andy have given me over the years."
The business at the Mercenary Guild concluded with Kasserro being taken away by guards. However, the impact of this event was just beginning.
Everyone would remember Li Xi, a formerly inconspicuous mercenary, who could defeat the near-level five Kasserro head-on. He was also the first and, so far, only person to capture a living member of the assassin's league.
While the mercenary hall was still clamoring for Kasserro's death, in a hidden basement in Cardo City, devoid of light, a man in a stand-collar trench coat was reporting on Kasserro's situation.
After a long pause, a hoarse voice echoed from the darkness: "I know. But Kasserro is insignificant. What he knows is what we wanted him to know. Tell the other members to carefully conceal their tracks. The plan is about to begin, and we must pay more attention to our own safety."
"Yes. And what about this Li Xi?"
"This is indeed a troublesome matter. Since his strength is so great, and he can notify that Mourinho Dragon-kin at any time, we can use him in reverse. Since he hates us to the bone, let him find us before the plan begins. As for who 'we' are, you arrange it."
The man in the stand-collar trench coat understood immediately. "My lord, I understand. I guarantee that I will lure him out of Cardo City without disrupting our plan."
Nevar didn't follow Li Xi's advice to wait at home. Within the mercenary hall, he had expected it to take several days for results. To his surprise, Kasserro was captured alive in just over an hour and had admitted his identity in front of so many witnesses. At the time, Nevar had wanted to rush forward and strike a blow. Several of his friends had died in yesterday's red smoke incident. However, his feeble strength had simply pushed him out of the hall.
When things settled down, Nevar had time to return to the hall, his heart pounding as he looked at the priest. With Kasserro's confession, his two hundred gold coin commission was secured. Even if the masked man didn't pay in full and only gave him half, one hundred gold coins would make Nevar laugh in his sleep.
His current mood was like being on the way to cash in a lottery ticket, filled with anxiety and fear, time dragging on. His mind raced with possibilities: should he buy a new house? Should he marry two wives? Should he open a general store? But what if that masked man didn't acknowledge the intelligence he provided?
"Nevar, come with me."
As Nevar was lost in thought, Rainer found him.
He led him into a small room and congratulated him with a smile. "You are the mercenary who has received the highest single commission I have ever seen among all F-class mercenaries."
"Congratulations."
Nevar's mind was entirely focused on the final amount of commission. He barely registered Rainer's words, nodding and bowing repeatedly. "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir."
Rainer had seen many people strike it rich overnight and understood Nevar's reaction perfectly. Even if he fainted on the spot, it would be understandable. The sum was so large that even he felt tempted. He took out a piece of paper and handed it to Nevar. "Sign it. Once signed, you can collect your commission."
Nevar took it with trembling hands. He didn't even look at the lengthy terms and conditions. It was only the last conspicuous word that made him freeze, his mouth agape in disbelief as he stared at Rainer, as if instantly struck by lightning and turned into an idiot.
"Hurry up and write. The commission is too large. Do you want to take it all at once or deposit it in the Mercenary Guild and take it multiple times?"
"I'll take it multiple times, multiple times."
Nevar had never signed so quickly, terrified that a moment's delay would mean the money wouldn't be his. As for why he wanted to take it multiple times, fifteen hundred gold coins appearing openly on the street would have his flesh torn apart in the next second.
That's right. For his intelligence commission, Li Xi had paid fifteen hundred gold coins, not two hundred. When Li Xi posted the task, it was agreed that the commission would be unlimited based on the importance of the intelligence. Nevar's information was easily obtained and straightforward, allowing Li Xi to directly pinpoint Kasserro, hence the high price.
Not to mention Nevar's imminent ascent, Li Xi was currently instructing the priest of the Mercenary Guild. "You must share any intelligence you extract from him with me."
"Certainly, certainly. We guarantee not to hide a single bit."
Before, they had only known that this inconspicuous mercenary had captured their guild's most beautiful priestess, Aisi. They had often spoken behind her back about her poor judgment. Now, they saw that Aisi's judgment was truly sharp.
No one knew he was so strong. Capturing Kasserro unharmed – such strength was possessed by B-class mercenaries. There were fewer than five mercenaries of B-class or above in Cardo City, and each was highly sought after for missions. This was no ordinary person, but a towering tree hidden in a small forest.
Li Xi left the mercenary hall and went to a secluded spot.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
"Bang, bang, bang."
Nearly a hundred shadow clones appeared. Once these hundred shadow clones materialized, they immediately used the Transformation Technique, instantly transforming into a hundred different individuals.
"Go, follow the scents you detected earlier and find clues."
Li Xi regretted not having signed summoning contracts with any ninja hounds; otherwise, he wouldn't have resorted to such a clumsy method. Fortunately, his dragon bloodline had given him a more acute sense of smell than normal humans, allowing him to detect scents others couldn't. While not as good as a dog's, it was certainly half as good. (Sudan Novel Network)
The hundred shadow clones dispersed into Cardo City, like a few drops of water merging into the ocean, causing no ripple.
These hundred shadow clones had consumed all of Li Xi's chakra, plus that of Matatabi, the Two-Tails, to reach this scale.
If he didn't kill these scumbags from the assassin's league, Li Xi's heart would not be at peace. They must die. Li Xi was determined to fight them to the death.
With three assassin's league tokens, Li Xi had drawn two rewards, bringing his mission progress to six. The two rewards were the first three gates of the Eight Inner Gates: 'Open,' 'Rest,' and 'Life.'