A stay-at-home Dads Retaurant

1506 -look for next chapter-

Chapter 1506: The Evil Dragon Roars!!!

Bennett's hands and feet felt cold. Even though he was in a warm room, his back was soaked with cold sweat.

He had risen from the slums, and his status in Chaos City's underworld depended on these gambling dens and brothels, but they were all shut down by Gray Temple overnight. Furthermore, all their people were arrested.

This obviously wasn't a surprise raid which they could get out of. With the relationships that he maintained with money, he used to be able to make everything look law-abiding before the raids.

However, this time was different. The gambling dens and brothels were all sealed, and the news only reached him by morning. If they were doing things to such an extent, it meant that this was a huge Gray Temple-led operation that targeted him specifically.

Bennett couldn't help thinking about Mag, the restaurant boss who threatened him casually in the teahouse that day.

In order to thrive in the underworld and get along with the authorities all these years, he had indeed made many enemies.

However, even his big brother who was the head of the Marquises and wanted him dead couldn't lay a finger on him. Hence, he didn't even bother with the other small fries.

If it was Mag, how did he have the influence to make Gray Temple act against him as an insignificant restaurant owner? Moreover, it was such a big operation.

Bennett was feeling his heart and head ache now. Although he had been trying to whitewash his identity, getting himself out of those illegal activities and turning himself into a successful legal businessman for the past few years, maintaining this fake identity needed a lot of money, for example like that teahouse. Even though it was known as the number one teahouse in Chaos City, and received a lot of customers every day, it was still operating at a loss currently.

All this money came from the gambling dens and brothels.

Although he was trying to draw a clear boundary between the two of them, he had to admit that these things were what he deemed the most important to him.

Losing these two meant losing his source of income, which in turn meant losing everything.

"Are the casinos and the brothels clearly disconnected from me?" Bennett asked the manager.

"Yes. Apart from a few trusted ones, no one knew that these gambling dens and brothels belonged to you." That manager swiftly nodded.

"They were all caught too?" Bennett frowned.

"Please rest assured. They are the most tight-lipped, and they know what would happen to them if they told them about you," that manager promised with a pat on his chest.

Bennett heaved a breath of relief. As long as he wasn't implicated, then there would be enough room for him to maneuver. He gravely said, "Go and find out what's the situation now. Be careful, don't get yourself implicated."

"Yes." That manager quickly left.

"So what if the casinos are gone, I'm still a member of the Marquises. As long as the hot pot restaurant can successfully open, I will get the position as the head of the Marquis Family from Bowen one day. I should be the one to inherit the Marquis Family," Bennett murmured to himself in a low voice.

***

In a cold and eerie dungeon, all kinds of torture instruments hung on the walls.

Screams could be heard from the cells all around, accompanied by the crisp and loud sounds of whipping.

"Boss, the tight-lipped ones have all confessed. The secret boss behind these gambling dens and brothels is Bennett Marquis. Over 50 bodies were dug out from the gambling dens' backyards, and most of them belong to the gamblers who caused trouble at the gambling dens or had made a killing at them.

"A huge amount of illegal magical drugs was confiscated from the brothels. We followed the trail last night. We busted their drug manufacturing base, and arrested a bunch of drug-making magic casters. Their secret boss is also Bennett." A member of the Gray Temple's intelligence department strode into Borg's office and placed the testimonies on his table. With a proud expression, he reported, "There's no one that could hide secrets from us, the intelligence department. This is really a big fish."

"We really wouldn't have found out that such a formidable figure was hiding in Chaos City if we hadn't investigated. Moreover, he has almost completely whitewashed himself." Borg picked up those testimonies, and casually flipped through them with amazement too before looking up at that subordinate. "Do a thorough investigation to find out who is covering for them within the Gray Temple and the city lord's castle. I want to see who is so formidable to rear a wolf right under our noses."

"Yes." That subordinate left and closed the door.

Borg pondered for a while as he stared at those testimonies. He then proceeded to the lord of the Gray Temple's office with the testimonies. This was a huge case, and it wasn't just simply threatening Mag. He needed to ask the lord's permission. This involved many parties' interests, and the decision was above his pay grade.

However, he could be sure of one thing. That Marquis Family's bastard was going to be so dead.

***

In the patrol department's office, a middle-aged man punched the wall with a dark expression as he said, "Damn, I have no idea where the intelligence department got the high-level permission from, and why they bypassed me completely to raid Bennett's gambling dens and brothels. I still don't know what they are investigating now. The intelligence department is not saying anything. They claim that it's above my pay grade!"

"Captain, what do we do now? Will they find out about us?" two men in the patrol department's uniforms nervously said as they wiped the cold sweat off their foreheads.

The man that they called "captain" put down his fist and swiftly calmed down. He shook his head. "Don't panic. Not many people knew about this, and the talks are always conducted in Bennett's teahouse. As long as Bennett is not being investigated, we will be fine. Furthermore, we have only received a very tiny portion of that money..."

The two heaved a breath of relief after hearing that. Their eyes even lit up when they heard the last sentence.

The middle-aged man continued, "However, we need to find out what caused this surprise raid first. Even if we don't help get them released, we will be able to handle the situation better if we know what is going on."

"Alright. We will go and try to find out more from the intelligence department now." The two of them swiftly strode off after hearing that.

The middle-aged man paced around in the room with a serious expression, and mumbled to himself, "I have to report to that lord about this situation. We have to suppress this. I wonder how many people would get exposed otherwise..."

***

Mag woke up early as usual. He turned off the alarm clock on the bedside table, and just as he prepared to get up, the two little ones jumped onto his bed.

"Meow~"

"The evil dragon roars!!!"

Mag looked at the two little ones lying on either of his sides while seriously pretending to be fierce. He couldn't help but smile.

Grooowl~

Right then, the sound of a stomach's rumbling could be clearly heard.

"It should be the hungry dragon roars, right? I've heard the sounds of a stomach rumbling." Mag smiled at Amy.

"Aiyah. Stupid stomach, it rumbles without my permission." Amy's expression fell. She went under the blanket and snuggled into Mag's arms. She closed her eyes comfortably, and said, "Hmm~ It's so warm and comfortable~"

"Meow~"

Ugly Duckling also went under the blanket, and lay on Mag's stomach like a soft and warm quilt.

Mag lowered his head to look at the little one's cute face as he smilingly asked, "Say it, what do you want to have for breakfast? Father will make it for you."

Chapter 1507: Welcome To Mamy Restaurant

"I..." Amy looked up and seriously pondered for a moment before saying, "I want to eat rainbow fried rice today. The pretty rainbow fried rice."

"Alright. Father will make the rainbow fried rice for you shortly." Mag chuckled and kissed the hair on Amy's forehead.

"It's so itchy~" Amy snuggled into Mag's arms, and let out peals of bell-like laughter.

After breakfast, Mag sent Amy to school on his bicycle. He rode slower to take a couple looks at that teahouse when he passed by it. It looked no different from usual.

Didn't the operation already begin? Mag thought, but looking at Rena's expression in the morning, she mostly probably wasn't harassed last night. Hence, he didn't give it much thought.

He wasn't worried about Gray Temple not holding up their end of the promise. That fellow was very problematic. As long as the Gray Temple put in the effort to investigate, they would definitely find something.

A man who was trying very hard to whitewash himself would prize his reputation the most.

And, he would be the most afraid the stuff that he had hidden would be dug out again.

Mag had a lot of methods to handle such a person.

If the Gray Temple didn't work, he could still go to the city lord's castle. There were plenty of platforms and plenty of big bosses.

"Father, it will be our term break a few days later, and Anna and I have already rehearsed our performance for the variety show. Can you and Mother come and watch us perform that day?" Amy expectantly asked Mag when she alighted at the school's gates.

"Mm-hmm. We will all come." Mag smilingly nodded. The Chaos School would have their winter break next week, and Amy and Anna had spent a lot of time at the variety show's rehearsals, so of course he wasn't going to miss it.

As for Irina, he believed she wouldn't reject it, either.

"Fantastic. I love you all." Amy threw herself into Mag's arms as he crouched down. Then, she waved at him, and went into the school by herself.

"Good morning, Mr. Mag." Luna happened to return after having her breakfast outside. She smiled at Mag, who was looking into the school. "You sent Amy to school, right?"

"Good morning, Teacher Luna. I just sent her here." Mag turned and greeted Luna with a smile too.

"I wonder if Amy told you about the term-end party next Friday? We have invited the parents to come with their children, so I wonder if you will be free to join us?" Luna asked. She knew Mamy Restaurant was very busy, and Mag might not be able to come.

"Yes. Amy has already told me, and I will come to watch the show. After all, they have spent a lot of time rehearsing." Mag nodded with a smile.

"Alright. See you again then. I need to go and prepare for my lessons now." Luna nodded at Mag and walked into the school. Mr. Mag indeed loved Amy very much. He was still willing to come despite his busy schedule.

However, what arrangements should we make for her? Mag rode toward the restaurant, but he began to worry about the problem of Irina's identity.

After all, in the eyes of others, he was Amy's single father. The mother "character" had never appeared in their life.

Meanwhile, with Irina's identity and fame, she would be the center of everyone's attention no matter where she went.

If their family of three appeared at the party together that day, it would be equal to telling the world who he was.

Although he was also looking forward to that day when they could openly live together as a family, going out and having fun together, he wasn't powerful enough yet.

His 9th-tier level, together with his powerful sword techniques, had made sure that his power had entered into the very top realm of the Norland Continent.

However, the enemies that he needed to face were simply too powerful. His current capabilities weren't enough to protect Amy and Irina from harm. Once exposed, he would attract the combined attack of numerous enemies.

When he concealed his identity, he was the powerful dragon-slayer knight, Alex.

This mysteriousness was enough to put all his enemies in awe.

Before he completely recovered his power, he could only continue to hide his identity.

Of course, if it wasn't necessary, he would also like to continue wearing the mask when he appeared as Alex even after he recovered his full power. After removing the mask, he could be the boss of Mamy Restaurant—Mag.

He wanted his customers to come from afar because they heard that the restaurant's boss made excellent dishes, and not because they wanted to taste the dishes cooked by the world's number one knight.

"Seems like I have to get an appropriate identity for her," Mag murmured to himself softly as he rode away.

"Boss, you're so bad. It's all your fault!"

Connie looked at him aggrievedly as soon as he returned to the restaurant. She spoke as if she was pregnant with his child.

"Hmm?" Mag looked at her with a perplexed expression.

"Ever since you set up that 'Gentlemen's League', I can no longer find any work. Gentlemen are indeed all perverts!" Connie angrily said. "Those baddies are supposed to be all mine, and now they are all taken away from me."

Mag didn't know if he should laugh or cry. The Gentlemen's League had indeed taken care of most of the perverts in Chaos City. However, they did take away many of Connie's training resources. He smilingly said, "Those useless idiots no longer have any training effects for you. We still have a few days' time, you'd better go look for your master to learn about more sophisticated assassination techniques. If you want to kill your enemies personally, your current power is still far from adequate."

"Really?" Connie was taken aback. After pondering, she nodded. "Alright, I will go look for my master, and ask him to teach me new techniques."

Mag didn't bother with her anymore. His gaze fell on Anna, who was staring out of the window in a daze. He walked over, and gently said to her, "Don't worry, Blour will definitely come back."

"But... they have all returned. Why didn't he come back?" Anna looked up at Mag with worry in her eyes.

"Perhaps he was held up by something on his way back. I already asked someone to search for information on him. As long as we find him, we will go get him back," Mag consoled her. He was indeed a little worried that Blour hadn't returned to the restaurant. It was most probably because of his father.

Hence, he specially asked Michael and Rolan to help search for Blour's whereabouts when he met them previously. Up till now, they still hadn't received any news.

What they could confirm was that he wasn't in the grasp of the Wind Forest at least. They didn't know where he was currently.

"Mm-hm," Anna answered softly, but she still continued to stare out of the window in a daze.

Mag reached out to pat Anna's head gently. He flicked a glance at the clock, and then walked to the door.

Mag opened the door with a smile, and said, "Welcome to Mamy Restaurant."

Another busy day began again.

Chapter 1508: The Hot Pot Restaurant Can Do Without Her

After the breakfast service was over, Mag went to the factory in the north of the city.

Irina herself was supervising the work, and the 20,000 Night Elves personally built many fine-looking wooden factories in the empty plot of land in the north of the city.

If it weren't for those garish chimneys, Mag would think he had walked into an artistic garden.

Of course, the combination of the chimneys and wooden factories also showed a striking contrast.

"What are you doing here?" Irina, who had come to the factory early in the morning, asked Mag, who had just walked into the office, with surprise.

"I come to check on the building progress of our palaces of art." Mag chuckled.

"Aren't they factories?" Irina pushed open the windows. Her office was on the fifth floor, and she could see all the factories around here.

"Perhaps only the elves could build such exquisite factories." Mag also walked to the window to gaze at those almost completely wooden factories. The perfect marriage of industry and nature amazed him.

"I have a question for you." Irina pointed at those textile factory's chimneys giving out black smoke and frowned. "The smoke that is produced after burning coal is toxic, and has a very bad influence on the plants and animals. I think we shouldn't continue to release smoke like this or promote it at a grand scale."

Mag watched the black smoke emitted from those protruding chimneys fly toward the blue sky and taint it.

He didn't expect he would still get caught by the Environmental Protection Agency in the alternate world for random discharge.

However, looking at this scene, Mag was reminded of England during the First Industrial Revolution. Those protruding chimneys proudly declared the arrival of the steam age. However, humans still had to pay for all their actions. The environment deteriorated, the diseases ravaged, and the sky was no longer blue.

Suddenly, he began to doubt his rash decision of bringing the steam engine to this world.

If this world entered into the steam age because of his intervention, was it beneficial or harmful to this world where magic existed?

Mag couldn't have a confirmed answer now, nor did he have the ability to run a complete deduction, but he was sure that if the steam engines were to popularize and develop without an order, the blue sky would be lost forever.

"This is indeed a headache." Mag nodded. Coal that was not treated gave out a huge amount of exhaust after being burned.

The elves were always close to nature, so of course they were very sensitive to that.

"I will do an initial processing for the coal, and desulfurize the smoke to reduce toxic gas emissions," Mag said after a moment of silence.

"How much can we reduce?" Irina asked.

"Currently, the methods that we could use are limited. We can remove about half of it," Mag replied after thinking for a while.

"Alright. I will handle the remaining half." Irina smiled. "I was still thinking how to handle the other half. Now, we'll be able to achieve nontoxic emissions."

"Hmm?" Mag stared at Irina with surprise.

"I planted a lot of the plant called 'absorbing grass' in the new chimneys. It can grow in a very extreme environment, and has a very strong absorbing and purifying ability. I have tested it. It could effectively purify half of the toxic gases in a 50 meters long chimney, and then transform it into a harmless material."

"There is something like that!" Mag was really shocked by it. A super powerful biological detoxification method which could achieve a 50% detoxification effect just planting a kind of grass in the chimney.

This grass was really born for detoxification.

"Is this why you wanted to build the factories yourself?" Mag asked. He had previously suggested getting the dwarves to come build the factories as they were very efficient and precise, but Irina had rejected it.

"Yes." Irina nodded. She gazed down at those busy elves down there, and said with a sense of mission, "We believe in the God of Life and the nature that nurtures us. We also love the existence of other lives. We definitely couldn't accept gaining wealth through the destruction or oppression of nature."

"However, the metals which could move after burning the coal are not just used in our factories, right?" Irina turned to look at Mag.

"Yes. This is a collaborative project between me, Miss Scheer, and the city lord. The initial motive was to introduce the steam engine trains, and then utilize the steam engines into the production so we could increase the productivity." Mag nodded. These few factories could be considered as pilot programs. Large-scale and wide-spread promotion most probably would not take too long. The steam engines would sweep across the world, and drag it into the Age of Steam.

"Can you control it?"

"No." Mag shook his head. Nobody could stop the high-efficiency solutions from replacing the low-efficiency ones. He had already released the monster, the steam engine. He no longer had the power to keep it away.

Irina furrowed her brows tightly.

"However, maybe I could make them reduce the emissions and reduce the harm done to nature," Mag replied after a brief moment of pondering.

"But, it is still harming nature." Irina continued to frown.

Mag fell into a silence. Although he believed it was inevitable, just as Irina said, less harm done was still harm done.

The humans were not able to love and treasure nature and lives like elves.

"Is it alright if Amy can never see a blue sky like this one day?"

Mag suddenly felt his heart constrict. Amy had a soul that was as pure as an elf's. She loved nature and all lives fiercely just like the elves. She would definitely be crushed if the blue sky and fluffy clouds were to disappear one day.

"I will try my best to stop this day from coming," Mag promised solemnly.

"I will do that together with you." Irina smiled at Mag.

Mag looked down at those green factories and smiled. "That would be much easier."

***

"Boss, we couldn't get any information at all. The people who were arrested last night are still being held up. Even the girls from the brothels were not released." The manager nervously peeped at the grave-looking Bennett.

"Who the heck is messing with me?" Bennett slammed his palm on the coffee table with a dark expression.

Who was able to mobilize such a large-scale Gray Temple's operation? He couldn't remember when he had ever made such a terrifying enemy.

"Could it be that Mamy Restaurant's bo—"

"It cannot be him!" Bennett shook his head with conviction. Mag wasn't even in the top 100 on his list of enemies.

He was just a chef. What power and status would he possibly have to make the Gray Temple mess with him?

"However, since the gambling dens and brothels are all gone, it seems like I have to take some serious actions now." Bennett got up, picked up the hat at the side, and put it on. In a low voice, he said, "I will go see Miss Rena again. The hot pot restaurant can do without her, but we have to get the formula..."

Chapter 1509: It's My Honor To Collaborate With Someone Like Mr. Mag

Before the brutal industrial development could even begin, it was subjected to the strict scrutiny and requirements of the alternate world's Environmental Protection Agency. As Mag really couldn't win against Irina, he made a trip to Buffett Manor after the lunch service was over.

"Miss Scheer, after running the factory in the north of the city for a while, we realized there is a very deadly flaw in the steam engine. Perhaps we should make some changes to it," Mag said to Scheer, who was dressed in a red dress as usual.

"Dead flaw?" Scheer sat up straight immediately. Her relaxed expression immediately became solemn and intense.

"Yes." Mag nodded with conviction. With an equally solemn expression, he continued, "If we continue to mass-produce and utilize the steam engines according to the current design, we would cause an immeasurable catastrophic impact on the entire world in the future. We could even cause the extinction of all life forms."

Scheer was shocked. After thinking about it seriously, she hesitantly asked, "A small steam engine is going to cause the extinction of all life forms on the Norland Continent?"

"If the use of steam engines gets out of control, such a situation is entirely possible." Mag nodded.

"I would appreciate further details," Scheer said.

"You knew that I happened to recruit a batch of elves who just came to Chaos City when my factory was just completed. Furthermore, I was fortunate to get to know Princess Irina. Because she had a huge number of elves under her, and I also wanted to try to diversify, we established a deeper partnership, built a series of factories in the north of the city, and began to utilize the steam engines."

"Yes. The Night Elves' affair in Chaos City recently wasn't a secret, and Mr. Mag had also created quite a stir in the business world by being the first to establish a business partnership with Princess Irina." Scheer nodded with a smile. The issue of Mag and Irina building factories together in the north of the city was widely discussed in the business circles. After all, that was a labor force that consisted of 20,000 elves who had all had a keen mind and dexterous hands, and everyone wanted a part of that.

However, they didn't expect that before they could receive any replies for the invitations for collaborations, the news of Irina working with Mamy Restaurant's boss already got out. They were going to carry out diversified cooperation on the foundation of one small textile factory.

Moreover, the city lord's castle supported their move by selling them a piece of land to be used for the factories at a low price.

Although Irina looked rather wretched after escaping from the Wind Forest with the Night Elves, she was Irina after all. She was a powerful and legendary elven princess.

She returned victoriously after battling against six opponents on that rainy night in Rodu.

At first, no one believed she could lead the hundreds of Night Elves to repel the sudden attack of Borg and the Wind Forest. In the end, Alex and she slew Borg, and repelled the Wind Forest's allied forces, proving many people wrong.

Then, she crashed the Wind Forest's conferring ceremony alone, and raised a fight for freedom that shocked the whole continent. She led the escape of the elves who were arrested, and another 20,000 slave elves, out of the soul-binding Wind Forest.

This was Irina. She was a woman that you couldn't ignore no matter what situation she was in.

Even though she was in Chaos City now, with only 20,000 weak elven slaves, nobody could say for sure that the Wind Forest wouldn't belong to her in the future.

As a woman who was also highly praised, Scheer still believed there was no way she could be on par with Irina right now. Their outlook and the things they did had a very wide gap in level.

Hence, collaborating with her now was a gamble on the future. A chance to collaborate with the elves.

Even Buffett Bank was planning on how to negotiate with Irina before Mag suddenly appeared to take the prize.

A restaurant's owner took Irina and the 20,000 elves.

The entire Chaos City's business circles erupted into chaos after this news got out.

After all, in the eyes of those powerful businessmen with tons of connections, Mag was just a chef who could cook wonderful dishes. Perhaps he won over Princess Irina with his scrumptious food?

Scheer was also rather shocked about that news at first, but she soon let it go. After all, Mag was the man who invented the steam engine and successfully collaborated with Buffett Bank with only a drawing and a roughly made sample. If this news got out, it would perhaps cause quite a big hoo-ha too.

The steam engine was the future, and Scheer wasn't doubtful about that at all.

Now, Mag was saying that the steam engine could destroy humanity's future. What did this have to do with Irina?

Mag solemnly said to Scheer, "In my collaboration with Princess Irina, she has given me feedback that the steam engines gave out a large amount of toxic gas during the process of burning coal. If this toxic gas was released into the air without any treatment, it would cause deadly damage to living beings after it accumulated to a certain amount and affected the environment.

"Once steam engines are widely popularized, coal will become the source of energy that is most commonly used in this world. Huge amounts of toxic gases will be released into the air, and soon this world will be filled with the toxic gases in the air, and our future will be pitch dark."

"Is it that serious?" Scheer frowned. Now that she recalled, she always had a feeling that she couldn't breathe properly every time she went to inspect the base. The black smoke had indeed made her uncomfortable after she breathed it in.

"In this area, Princess Irina's opinions should be authoritative. No one knows nature and lives better than her." Mag shrugged.

Scheer nodded, agreeing with Mag's point of view.

After all, apart from the elven queen, Princess Irina was the only elf guarded by the Tree of Life.

"Then, how should we handle this flaw?" Scheer asked Mag. She wanted her name to be engraved into Norland Continent's history in the future, but not by being called the "Devil's Releaser" one day in the future.

However, she also wasn't willing to give up on the steam engines. This was an invention that was going to change the layout of the Norland Continent and a chance for Buffett Bank to cross into another realm and become the leader.

"We need to solve the problem of the release of the toxic gas, and increase technical barriers on the steam engines to make its promotions and developments orderly so that we could greatly reduce the harm on the nature brought upon by the use of the steam engines. We have to be responsible for this world's future." Mag took out a drawing, and pushed it in front of Scheer gently. "I have already come out with the preliminary solution. However, we need Miss Scheer's and the city lord's castle's full cooperation when we implement it."

Scheer picked up the drawing to read through it carefully. She would sometimes frown, or her eyes would light up. She only put down the drawing in her hands about 10 minutes later, impressed, and said, "It's my honor to collaborate with someone like Mr. Mag."

Chapter 1510: Let Her Have A Taste Of What Is Worse Than Death Itself

The negotiation went unexpectedly smoothly. Initially, Mag had thought he needed to use his gift of the gab to persuade the biggest capitalist in the world in order to make her give up the greatest benefit for this world and its future. He hadn't expected he only needed to give her a planned solution, and everything was solved.

"Miss Scheer's forward environmental awareness is impressive," Mag said sincerely. A capitalist like her was rare.

"Mr. Mag's sense of responsibility is equally impressive." Scheer smiled as she looked at Mag with the same appreciation.

Mag didn't want to remain here and continue praising each other. He was also very sure that Scheer was 100 times busier than him, so he swiftly concluded the topic. After asking Scheer to communicate with the city lord's castle, and then inform him for a formal three-party docking, he returned to the restaurant.

"Boss, Rena is missing." Yabemiya came up to Mag urgently as soon as he returned to the restaurant. "She's not at the dormitory, either. Normally, she would come to the restaurant to prepare for the hot pot by now. Could the man from the teahouse have grasped her?"

"I have checked on that teahouse. Rena isn't there," Elizabeth said.

"Could that fellow be so stupid? How dare he even kidnap her?" Mag furrowed his eyebrows, and his expression became cold.

Mag flicked a glance at his watch. It was already four o'clock. He went out with his bicycle, and at the same time said, "I'm going out for a while. If I'm not back by 4.30 pm, we will cancel dinner service."

"I'll go with you," Elizabeth said in a cold voice, and then followed after Mag.

"We will go with you too! We will go save Rena!" Yabemiya, Babla, and the rest also followed him out angrily. They displayed great anger at the fact that someone actually dared to kidnap their companion.

Amy happened to return to the restaurant with her school bag on her back, and saw Mag and the ladies who were about to leave. She let go of Krassu's hand, jogged over, and curiously asked, "Father, where are you all going?"

Mag looked at Amy with surprise before looking at Krassu. "Why is Little Amy back so early today?"

"Boss Mag, I have something urgent today, so I have to send little Amy back 30 minutes earlier. I got to go." Krassu urgently left on two fireballs after saying that.

"Rena was kidnapped by baddies, and we're going to rescue her now. Are you going to come with us, Amy?" Yabemiya asked Amy.

Amy nodded with worry on her face. "Big Sister Rena must be in great danger now. Let's go and save her! I am very fierce at beating up baddies!"

Mag looked at all of them filled with righteous rage with resignation and gratification. After pondering for a while, he said, "Alright, let's split up. I'm going to find out where Rena could be. You ladies go watch around the dormitory and teahouse to see if there is any news. If I get any news, I will come back and take action together with you."

"Mm-hmm." Everyone nodded as they followed after Mag's arrangement.

Mag left on his bicycle. He had wanted to act alone at first, but after thinking about it, Miya and the gang also wanted to show their concern for Rena. Furthermore, they could get rid of the other party easily with Elizabeth, an 8th-tier Frost Dragon, taking charge. He didn't even have to find an excuse to cover it up afterward.

The bicycle stopped at the Gray Temple's back door.

"My employee is missing. It should be connected to Bennett Marquis. I hope Gray Temple could explain to me how she could have gone missing under your people's watch?" Mag asked Borg with a serious expression.

"Seems like it's the people who guard her that are a problem." Borg also frowned when he heard that. With a serious expression, he continued, "Don't worry. We, Gray Temple, will find her quickly and send her back safely."

"It's fine. I just need you to tell me where she is, and we will get her back ourselves." Mag shook his head.

Borg stared at Mag silently for a while before nodding. "Alright. Give me 20 minutes, and I will tell you her location." He turned and left immediately after saying that.

Mag waited at the door for approximately 15 minutes before Borg returned and passed a note to him. "She is at this location right now."

"Thank you." Mag threw a glance at that note. On it was written, "The basement in the small courtyard at the end of the 13th lane in the west of the city." He then left on his bicycle.

Seems like the Gray Temple needs to do thorough internal cleansing too. How dare they interfere with my, the chief of the intelligence department's, affair... Borg went in with a dark expression.

***

"Now you have two choices. One is to write out the hot pot's recipe honestly. I will let you go after I make sure that it's correct.

"The other is to die in this basement with humiliation. Perhaps someone is going to find a naked body here many years later," Bennett, who sat on a chair with legs crossed, said in a low voice to Rena, who was tied to a pole.

Only an oil lamp was lit at the stone wall in the dark basement. Apart from Rena, who was tied to the pole and Bennett, there were another two orcs and three strapping men.

"Hehe."

The orcs and strapping men all began to smile with evil intentions as their gazes roamed up and down Rena's body unscrupulously. Although this maiden looked weak, she was still rather good-looking.

"Y-you people are committing a crime!" Rena struggled to back off, but both her hands and feet were tightly bound. She was on her way to the restaurant earlier, and she suddenly lost consciousness after she smelled a strange fragrance. She found herself in this basement after she regained consciousness. She didn't even know where she was.

The ropes that were tightly bound and those evil-smiling strapping men caused a thick fear and helplessness to creep up Rena's heart slowly.

Since Bennett didn't bother to hide his identity, this meant she wasn't going to leave this cellar alive today.

Fear didn't make her lose her rationality. Instead, she calmed down after she was certain of that.

She was going to die with dignity if she was definitely going to die. She didn't want to die with humiliation at the hands of these fellows.

"I can write out the hot pot's recipe for you, but you've got to promise you will never come and harass me again," Rena said to Bennett.

Bennett's eyes lit up, and he uncrossed his legs. He began to smile warmly as he nodded. "Sure. As long as the formula is correct, not only will I not make things difficult for you and your mother, I will even give you a huge reward that will make you wealthy for the rest of your lives."

"Alright, I will write it out for you." Rena nodded.

"Release Miss Rena, and then bring the pen and paper over," Bennett smilingly said.

Two orcs came forward to untie Rena's hands, and gave her the pen and paper.

Rena thought about it briefly, and began writing on the paper. All the names of spices and condiments were written with her neat and tidy handwriting.

I didn't expect this lass to wisen up. It's such a waste. If she had agreed to my terms two nights ago, she wouldn't have ended up like this. Bennett's smile got brighter as he looked at the increasingly interesting recipe. As long as the hot pot restaurant could open, he wouldn't have to worry about money.

Just as the people in the cellar gradually relaxed while they watched Rena write the recipe calmly, Rena suddenly turned the pen around and stabbed it toward her throat.

"Grab her!" Bennett's expression changed instantly.

However, just as the tip of the pen was one centimeter away from Rena's throat, Rena's hand was caught by the orc next to her. His other hand took the pen, crushed it, and tossed it onto the ground.

"How dare you fool me? You have no idea whom you are dealing with!" Bennett's face darkened, and he kicked Rena's stomach. He saw Rena struggling to grab that broken pen and waved his hand. "Let her have a taste of what is worse than death itself."

"Hehe. Allow me." That orc who was two heads taller than a normal person walked toward Rena with a smirk, and reached out to grab Rena's hair.

Crack! Crack!

Right then, sounds of ice forming could be heard. Frost suddenly appeared on the cellar's walls, and rapidly spread to the floor and toward their feet.

Chapter 1511: Useless Brother

"This is?" Miya asked.

Everyone from the cellar was stunned when they saw such a sight.

At that moment when everyone was stunned, the frost had already reached their feet, and was already spreading quickly up their legs.

"It's ice magic! Someone's here!" the orc exclaimed as the first one to react.

Bennett was also shocked. He pointed at Rena, and shouted, "Capture her, we'll leave using the secret passageway!"

The orc smashed the fairly thin frost around his legs with a stomp, and reached towards Rena's collar. However, his movements had become much slower.

Meanwhile, Bennett was already making way towards the opened secret passageway with the help of another orc.

Is someone here to save me? Rena was equally stunned, but her eyes shone brightly. She subconsciously took a step backward.

Bam!

Just then, the cellar's stone door exploded into tiny fragments as though it had been dealt a heavy blow.

The tiny pieces of crushed stone, however, suddenly froze at that moment, hovering in the air eerily as though someone had pressed on the pause button.

"Take this!!!"

Just then, a small red silhouette jumped out through the crushed stones, and kicked the orc in his face.

A wind fire wheel was pressed on the orc's face, and a burning smell wafted over. The temperature and strength made the orc's face twist. He flew backward uncontrollably, and smashed into the wall behind him.

Amy landed on the ground and looked with concern at Rena, who was sitting on the floor with her arms wrapped around her tummy, asking, "Big Sister Rena, are you alright?"

"Amy!" Rena was surprised and overjoyed to see Amy suddenly appear. She almost could not believe her eyes.

"Trying to run away?!" Babla appeared at the entrance of the cellar, and looked at the several people who were scurrying towards the secret passageway. She waved her hand, and the smashed stones that were suspended in mid-air flew towards the secret passageway. Before those several people could even enter the secret passageway, the exit was already completely blocked.

The orc that was helping Bennett lifted an arm and smashed the rocks. What followed was the sound of shattering and the orc holding his deformed hand as he took two steps back.

"A 7th-tier spatial magic caster!" The orc looked at Babla in shock and fear.

Now that the secret passageway was blocked, Bennett turned back to look at the ladies that had arrived successively through the cellar door, followed by Mag, who was very well-protected at the back. The veins on his forehead popped out as he pondered in shock.

How did they find this place? He'd already avoided all the spies from the Gray Temple, and kidnapped Rena very stealthily to this cellar that almost no one knew about.

What shocked him the most was that all these people were employees from Mamy Restaurant, but why was there a 7th-tier spatial magic caster among them!?

Why would she settle for serving dishes in a restaurant if she was so capable, even having the rare ability of space distortion!?

His two strongest subordinates were captured in last night's ambush. Now, these two orcs were barely at the 6th-tier. They were completely unable to defend themselves against a 7th-tier spatial magic caster.

That seemingly insignificant little four-to-five-year-old half-elf girl was even more shocking. A 6th-tier orc was easily sent flying by her single kick. With such horrifying capability at that age, she had to be that talent that made the two great magic casters want to make her their disciple.

Bennett suddenly lost control of the entire situation, and his expression changed. He quickly put on a smile, and told Mag, "Hey, what brings you here, Boss Mag? I've only invited—"

Bam!

Before Bennett could finish his words, Yabemiya smacked his face with a pan that she pulled out from somewhere. She used so much force that he was embedded into the mud wall.

"Did... Did he still have something else to say?" Yabemiya asked embarrassedly as she kept the pan and looked at Bennett, who was knocked out.

"It's alright. You did well, Miya." Mag looked at Bennett, who was still slightly dazed. He walked to Rena and helped her up as he said with concern, "It's alright. We're here."

"Boss... and everyone..." Rena looked at everyone, and her eyes reddened. She thought that she would die right here today after all the humiliation and hopelessness. She didn't think that they would actually appear in the nick of time.

Of course, what she didn't expect the most was that everyone was actually so powerful!

Whether it was Amy, who sent the scary orc flying with one kick, or Babla, who could control the stones, and even Yabemiya, who could embed Bennett into the wall with a pan, their capabilities were all beyond her imagination.

So Boss wasn't lying to her at all. She really had a strong restaurant behind her!

"You're injured. We don't have a healing magic caster here, so we can only treat your wound simply first." Elizabeth went up to her, and took a look at Rena's abrasion on her pinky. She tapped at it gently with her finger, and a small stream of water flowed past the wound, cleaning all the sand and gravel on it.

"We can go back very quickly." Mag handed Rena over to Gina while he walked towards Bennett.

"Ah!!!"

The two orcs and three strong men came dashing towards Mag as they shouted loudly. This fellow appeared the weakest out of them all. If they could get him under their control, they might have a chance to leave.

"Ice seal." Elizabeth spat the two words out coldly.

Crack...

The frost on the ground slowly extended, automatically avoiding Mag's feet, towards the orcs and strong men, freezing them into ice sculptures.

Bennett, who was dazed from being smacked by the pan, happened to regain his senses then. When he saw his subordinates turn into ice sculptures, his expression changed immediately. That ice beauty seemed even more powerful and horrifying than he thought.

How many scary people are actually hiding in this restaurant? Why would they be willing to work for him?!

"I've mentioned it. Don't touch my people. Otherwise, you will lose everything," Mag said coldly in front of Bennett.

"Y-you cannot kill me! I am Bennett Marquis! The younger brother of the head of the Marquis Family!" Bennett said with fear written on his face.

"You're such a useless brother. You have no idea how much your older brother wishes that you could die earlier," Mag scoffed.

Bennett's face turned pale. He knew very well that Mag spoke the truth. His big brother, just like him, hoped that the other party would die earlier every day.

Mag raised a leg and kicked Bennett between his legs. The sound of something crushing echoed around the cellar together with a terrible scream.

"Don't worry. I won't kill you. As a law-abiding citizen, what I'm going to do is not to send you to God, but to leave you in the hands of the law." Mag retracted his leg and watched Bennett shrink into a ball on the ground as he twitched in pain. He slowly bent down, and said, "After all, you haven't witnessed yourself losing everything important to you."

Chapter 1512: Go, Little Fire Lotus!

"Let's go, the people from the Gray Temple will be here soon to clean up." Mag held Amy's little hand as he turned to walk out of the cellar.

"But he..." Gina, who was holding Rena, turned her head back to look at Bennett. There was fear in her eyes. If this fellow was let off just like that, would something similar happen again?

"Don't worry, the lifetime membership in Bastie Prison is already open for him. He can only stay in the dark cell for the rest of his life and await his death." Mag paused in his tracks, and looked at Rena with a smile as he said, "Rena, don't worry, he won't appear again."

Rena looked at Mag's warm smile and felt the uneasiness disappear. She nodded, and said, "Mm-hmm."

"That's so easy. I only whacked him once, and all the bad guys are settled." Amy felt a little unsatisfied. She looked back, and even cutely told Bennett, "Hey, Uncle, you got to buck up a little, okay? Bring more people along, otherwise you don't look impressive at all. That's really disappointing."

Bennett looked up at Amy furiously. Is she kidding?

"Let's go." Mag brought the others out of the cellar, and climbed out from the abandoned well at the corner of the yard.

"Stand right there! You are already surrounded. All of you! Hands up and go to the corner of the wall!"

The moment Mag and the gang came out from the dried-up well, they heard someone shout at them, and a group of Gray Temple inspectors surrounded them. The knights drew their swords, and the magic casters pointed their wands at them as they got ready to attack.

The leader was a tall and slim middle-aged man. He looked at Rena for a while before he solemnly said, "I am Captain Blaze from Gray Temple Inspection troop. All of you are involved in a kidnapping and assault case. Please cooperate with our investigation!"

Mag looked at Blaze through slightly squinted eyes. He thought the people waiting outside would be here to arrest Bennett and the others, but it seemed the communication within the Gray Temple was not very effective. This so-called captain was probably not under Borg. Smiling, Mag said, "Sir, I wonder what made you think that we're involved in kidnapping and assault? Whom did we kidnap? Whom did we assault? Did someone report the case?"

"You..." Blaze was stumped for words. He looked at Mag for a while, not knowing what to say.

He was also shocked by Bennett, that dumb teammate. He lured the inspectors away so that Bennett could escape, but that stupid guy actually targeted the restaurant employee, and even kidnapped her.

That was fine since she was just an employee. He was already ready to wipe his *ss for him, but he didn't expect this matter to alarm the intelligence department. The person who was supposed to handle this matter never came back after he was called out, so he brought men and rushed over.

He could already feel the strong magic waves from the cellar before he even reached the place. After that, he saw Mag and the gang come out.

He could already guess what happened down there. While he was shocked that this restaurant owner could find such powerful aides, he also spontaneously decided to frame Mag. Otherwise, if Bennett was arrested, he would definitely buckle under their interrogation and rat on him.

Blaze regained his composure quickly, and seriously said, "We've received a report that the owner of the teahouse "Ben" had gone missing, and before that, an employee from their shop heard you threatening him. The owner and employees of Mamy Restaurant, I am giving all of you a strict warning. All of you better stand properly against the wall and not resist the arrest. If you dare to go against the law, we will take the necessary actions!

"You, bring a team of people down to take a look." Blaze waved his hand, and a small team of five went down to the cellar.

"It's not like this. He was the one who kidnapped me, and Boss and the rest came to my rescue. It's not like what you said," Rena explained anxiously. She felt so aggrieved that tears started welling up in her eyes. Wasn't the Gray Temple supposed to be the guardian angel of Chaos City? How could they malign people like that?

"Ma'am, you have the right to remain silent, but everything you say will be used in court as evidence. If you're suspected of defamation, that would be an added sentence!" Blaze glared coldly at Rena.

"Don't worry. If we want to leave, they won't be able to stop us." Elizabeth stood in front of Rena and looked equally coldly at Blaze. Her icy cold aura made Blaze retract his gaze subconsciously. It was the 8th-tier ice magic waves that she used previously.

Not long later, the inspectors from the Gray Temple crawled out with the pale Bennett and five other ice sculptures from the cellar.

"Save... Save me... I was kidnapped by them... they killed my subordinates, and even wanted to kill me..." Bennett's face was pale. He lifted a finger limply and pointed at Mag with clenched teeth as he said, "He... He is the mastermind."

The corner of Blaze's lips rose. He waved his hand as he said, "Arrest all of them!"

"Father, are these people baddies as well? I remember that they are the ones who maintain the law and order," Amy whispered to Mag with doubt and also a little excitement.

"Maybe." Mag scoffed. Since they were already charged, adding a few crimes on top of the existing ones didn't matter. This captain was obviously on Bennett's side. If that's the case, there's no need to hold on to any hopes for them.

Even though they had over 30 people on their side, with this Captain Blaze being an 8th-tier knight and having several 7th-tier magic casters, Mag was not very worried about the situation. Judging from how it looked, they could still easily win even if they were to really get into a fight.

As for how this should be settled, that would be up to Rolan and Borg.

"Then do we just beat them to death, or do we go according to the protocol?" Amy asked.

"We are law-abiding citizens, after all. Let's go according to the protocol," Mag replied with a smile.

"Mm-hmm." Amy nodded. She took a step forward, pointed at them with her wand, and said, "I am the little boss of Mamy Restaurant, the disciple of the Lord of Ice and Lord of Fire, a student from Chaos School. Let me now warn all of you to give up resisting and surrender. Otherwise, I'll punish you in the name of the moon."

"Although I don't know why the moon wants to punish you, I'll agree in the name of the moon," Babla added.

"Young lass, it's not a good thing to be overly confident. Even the Lord of Ice and Lord of Fire have to abide by the laws and rules of Chaos City and kneel before the Gray Temple. All of you are going to pay a heavy price for going against the Gray Temple in enforcing the law!" Blaze laughed coldly. It would be great if they decided to resist because things would tend to go out of hand when violence was involved, and it would not be anything strange if there were a few deaths as a result.

"You should say that in front of my masters. Really," Amy suggested sincerely. "Go, Little Fire Lotus!"

Amy flung out more than 10 glass bottles containing two-colored little fire lotuses from her magic caster's staff space, aiming straight at Blaze.

Chapter 1513: Dare To Trifle With The Gray Temple?!

"My Lord, according to the latest news, Blaze had already led a group to the 13th lane in the west of the city without my orders. He must have something to do with the kidnapping. Furthermore, that fellow from the inspection troop said that Blaze had been keeping in very close contact with Bennett," Blaze reported quickly as he handed a classified letter to Rolan.

Rolan skimmed through the letter, and fell silent for a while before he asked Borg, "Does this have anything to do with Godala?"

"There is currently no evidence to prove that Godala is involved in this case." Borg shook his head before continuing, "But he had been in charge of the inspection troops all this while."

Rolan put the letter down, and ordered Borg, "Bring men over to settle this matter. Don't alarm Krassu and Urien. Things will get complicated once they get involved. Bring Blaze back and find out how many others are related to this incident."

"Yes." Borg nodded and quickly left.

Tap~ tap~ tap~

Rolan tapped on the table gently, seemingly deep in thought. After a long while, he stood up slowly and walked towards the door.

"Godala, you'd better don't disappoint me..."

***

"Explode, Little Fire Lotus!"

As Amy commanded, the two-colored fire lotuses in the bottles she threw exploded.

Blaze's expression changed, losing its initial calmness. He wielded his sword forward and spit the fireball coming at him in half, while at the same time taking several steps back to avoid the flickering tongues.

"Going against the law enforcers. That's another crime! Subdue them!" Blaze shouted before quickly adding, "Don't hurt that kid!"

He might say that he was not afraid, but he really didn't want to suffer from the rage of the Lord of Ice and Lord of Fire. The two of them were, after all, really powerful. They were a source of headache even for the lord of the Gray Temple. He wouldn't dare to ruffle their feathers.

The people from the Gray Temple started attacking Mag and the ladies upon receiving the instruction. The knights dashed in front, while beams of light shot out from the magic casters' wands at the people from Mamy Restaurant.

Elizabeth took a step forward, and softly chanted, "Ice and frost."

The temperature in the yard dropped suddenly, and a pale blue magic field appeared around them, blocking the magic attacks out.

Elizabeth raised her hand, and frost started speeding towards the knights, extending up from their legs to their bodies. They were almost instantly turned into blocks of ice, freezing in place with their horrified expressions preserved.

"I respect Chaos City's laws and rules because they bring dignity and safety to the weak. However, if the law enforcers are a bunch of scum, that would be too much of an irony." Elizabeth walked out from the magic shield as she moved closer to Blaze step by step with disappointment in her eyes.

"Darn!" Blaze's expression changed. He underestimated this woman's capabilities. He looked down and saw the frozen ground under his feet. His eyelids twitched. As an 8th-tier knight, he knew very well what it meant when he stepped into her realm.

A giant dragon specializing in spatial distortion. That was very difficult to handle!

"If I didn't guess wrongly, you should be the Frost Dragon Tribe's Princess Elizabeth. If you don't want the Frost Dragon Tribe to be on bad terms with Chaos City, you'd better know what you're doing now, and know if you're pushing the boundaries of the Gray Temple and Chaos City!" Blaze said sternly.

"Whatever you're doing has already crossed my boundaries," Elizabeth said coldly. She took a step forward, and suddenly disappeared. When she reappeared, her right hand, which was covered in frost dragon scales, had already landed a punch on Blaze's face.

Bam!

The punch sent Blaze flying immediately. He only managed to stop himself after digging his longsword into the wall, creating a five-meter-long gash.

However, before he could steady himself, a foot covered in dragon scales appeared and kicked his lower abdomen, sending him flying again.

Elizabeth kept disappearing and appearing in the frost realm, thrashing Blaze easily.

The rest, who were already prepared for the fight, watched in shock with their mouths and eyes wide open.

"Big Sister Elizabeth is so powerful." Connie swallowed. She suddenly felt embarrassed of her own assassination which she prided herself on.

"Big Sister is so powerful." Yabemiya was also stunned. Although she had always known that Elizabeth was very powerful, she never knew she was this powerful.

"Sigh... I have no share in this baddie again." Amy sighed a little unhappily. She started to rub her little fireballs secretly, throwing one at Blaze from time to time.

Is she so powerful in her realm? Mag was also a little shocked. The fighters were both at the 8th-tier, but an 8th-tier knight was thrashed by Elizabeth in her realm without being able to fight back at all.

The talent of a Frost Dragon tribe's royalty was indeed awe-inspiring.

Of course, that did not mean that she was undefeatable.

As long as you were fast on your feet and sword, and had enough capabilities, you'd be able to slash into any realm.

Just like how Alex slashed open Lance's frost realm, which was known to be the strongest realm, and proceeded to thrash that dragon.

Mag was naturally very happy that Elizabeth alone was enough to settle the problem. If he had to fight, it might cause some unnecessary troubles. He would definitely stay still if he could.

Blaze was badly beaten up in the frost realm, and his face was crushed into the ice, leaving the lower half of his body above ground. The ice quickly covered up the hole, and he turned into an ice sculpture.

Elizabeth landed on the ground gently and raised her hand. Immediately, the frost realm disappeared, leaving only a yard full of ice sculptures.

Ice sculpture Bennett was staring with his eyes wide open, as though he could not believe his eyes.

These fellows even dare to trifle with the Gray Temple?!

"This..." Borg arrived with the intelligence department at that moment. When he saw the scene, he was bewildered.

"Are you with him?" Elizabeth turned back and saw Borg. She felt danger coming from this human. He was a 9th-tier powerhouse much more powerful than Fox.

"No, no, you've misunderstood." Borg quickly waved his hands. He looked at Mag, and said, "Boss Mag, we heard that someone had kidnapped your restaurant's employee, so we came over to save her."

"That's different from what we heard just now. After all, we were the bandits who kidnapped a rich merchant, and were going through a very strict interrogation from the Gray Temple," Mag told Borg with an ostensible smile.

Chapter 1514: Heh, Delayed Opening? Serves Him Right!

The atmosphere in the yard was a little awkward.

The people from the intelligence department who came over with Borg more or less knew something about the situation, so they all looked at Blaze and the others disdainfully.

Borg glanced at Blaze and Bennett, who were frozen, and squinted. He really did his best when it came to ruining the reputation of the Gray Temple and the justice it aimed to uphold.

"My apologies. The Gray Temple will give all of you an explanation on this matter. I guarantee that the Gray Temple will deal with those that displayed questionable conduct strictly, and bring the real culprit to justice."

Mag looked at Borg, and solemnly said, "I hope this will not happen again. After all, the citizens of Chaos City rely on the Gray Temple's law enforcement for protection. If we can't even trust the Gray Temple, it will not be long before the system that the city prides itself on collapses."

"I've already reported this incident to the Lord of the Gray Temple. Those involved will be dealt with severely to ensure the fairness and power of the Gray Temple." Borg nodded. Judging from how much the Lord of the Gray Temple respected Mag, the latter could not be an ordinary restaurant owner. Besides, what he just mentioned was what worried him as well.

"Elizabeth, let them take over from here on," Mag told Elizabeth, whose back was facing him.

Elizabeth hesitated for a while, but still put her hand down. The chill in the air disappeared all of a sudden, but the ice statues did not thaw.

Borg heaved a sigh of relief. He looked at Rena for a while, and noticed that she was holding her tummy. He said, "Medic, treat this young lady."

"Yes!" A female magic caster came forward, and checked Rena's injuries. After that, she started chanting a spell, sending a few waves of white light onto Rena. Rena's pale face finally regained some color, and her knitted brows eased out.

"Thank you. I'm all better," Rena thanked the magic caster. It felt a little miraculous. It was her first time being treated with healing magic, and it was wondrous. Princess Irina and Big Sister Xixi had also treated her mother with such powerful healing magic.

Mag looked a little more relieved seeing that Rena had been healed, and was not so angry at the Gray Temple's unprofessionalism. After that, he brought all of them out.

"Sir, don't we have to take their statements?" a small official asked softly.

"If you're not afraid of Krassu and Urien tearing the Gray Temple apart after finding out that their beloved disciple got attacked, and the attacker was even from the Gray Temple, go ahead," Borg spat out as he walked towards Blaze.

"Then..." The official took a deep breath of cold air in and shrank. "Let's forget it. The intelligence department doesn't really need any witnesses. The culprits are the best witnesses."

***

"Boss, I'm sorry we had to delay the restaurant's opening hours because of me," Rena mumbled reproachfully as she walked behind with her head hanging low.

Night had already fallen. It was too late to operate tonight.

Mag, who was holding Amy's little hand, suddenly stopped and turned around. Rena, who was following behind, was caught off guard, and walked right into him. Luckily, Mag blocked her with his hand, so she did not hit his chest.

"It's alright if we can't open for the night. You don't have to vent your anger on me," Mag said with a smile.

Everyone laughed along.

"Argh..." Rena took two steps back embarrassedly. Her face and ears were red. As she looked at the group of smiling people, who did not seem to blame her at all, she felt a stinging sensation in her nose, and her eyes reddened.

"I'm sorry, Rena. This incident happened because of the hot pot soup base recipe. I caused you to be targeted, and it was also because of my carelessness that you were endangered." Mag looked at Rena in the eye, and seriously said, "I am very touched by your character, and I admire it a lot. However, I hope that if something similar happens in the future, promise me, nothing is more important than you are."

"Boss..."

Rena could not hold her tears in. She ran into Mag's embrace, and let out all the emotions that she had been suppressing—grievance, fear, gratefulness...

She had been a very timid person since she was young, growing up with her mother in fear in the slums. She had been trying her best to live her insignificant life while protecting her mother.

She did tiring and laborious jobs for meager pay, and grew as lowly as the dust and dirt amidst her employer's scoldings.

But right now, when she was put in a hopeless situation, just as she thought she was about to die, Boss, Amy, Miya, and the rest appeared.

They stood in front of her and defeated all the baddies, and were even concerned about her.

That was when she knew that there were people other than her mother who actually cared for her.

That there would still be someone who would tell her that she was more important.

On the dark, chilly, long street, Mag patted the young girl on her back gently. He could understand the fear she was feeling after going through such an ordeal. Letting it all out might make her feel better.

Miya and the rest stood silently, blocking out the chilly wind on the long street.

"Big Sister Rena, don't cry. We're all a family. If there's any baddie who dares to bully you again, Little Amy will beat them up." Amy tugged gently at Rena's sleeve and tip-toed as she passed her a purple floral handkerchief.

"Yes. The restaurant is just like our home, and we're all a family," Yabemiya said with a sincere smile.

Everyone had a similar smile on their faces. To them, the restaurant was indeed a very special place.

Rena received the handkerchief and looked at Amy, and then at everyone else. She tried to hold back her tears and nodded. "We're all a family."

"Let's go. If we don't go back, the customers are going to tear the restaurant down. It's rude that we didn't even put up a notice in advance," Mag said with a smile. He walked to a bigger road and flagged a horse-drawn carriage, and then he got Miya and the rest to send Rena home first while he brought Amy, Gina, and some others back to the restaurant on a second horse-drawn carriage.

When they were almost at the restaurant, Mag could already feel the rage from all the chowhounds.

"Boss Mag! Open up!"

"We're starving!!"

"If you don't open up, we'll die right here!!"

"Did this Boss Mag do something heinous? Why are there so many people causing a ruckus?" the coachman muttered under his breath curiously.

"No, he was just held up by something, so he was a little late to open his restaurant." Mag coughed softly as he tried to hide his embarrassment.

"Heh, delayed opening? Serves him right!" The coachman laughed at his misfortune. "Back then, when I could still wield a knife, I was still a presentable person until I started standing my customers up... Look at my right hand and left leg. They were maimed."

Mag glanced at his bent left leg and awkward right hand, and shuddered.

They're not to be trifled with. Not at all.

Chapter 1515: Vampires Eat Things Raw Precisely Because They Can't Cook

"I suppose you won't be able to eat today. Do you want me to send you somewhere else?" the coachman asked Mag as he turned back and lifted a corner of the curtain up.

"It's alright. Here will do." Mag handed the coachman three silver coins, and got off the carriage.

"Boss Mag is over there!" Someone spotted Mag very quickly, and with his shout, all eyes were on Mag.

"Boss Mag, we demand an explanation from you!"

"An explanation won't do. We will need at least two bowls of tofu pudding. Hmph."

"Boss Mag, I brought my whole family here for hot pot. You're not going to stand us up tonight, are you?"

The crowd exploded with complaints and dissatisfaction for waiting so long outside.

"Hm?" The coachman turned to look at Mag. He did not expect this situation.

"Actually, I..." Mag looked at the agitated customers, and attempted to explain today's situation.

A strong lady lining up in front waved her hand, and interrupted Mag. "Alright. Speak no more. Just go back and cook."

"Yes, yes, yes, hurry along."

The customers all agreed. They almost picked him up, and stuffed him into the restaurant.

Because of all the enthusiastic customers, Mag really could not bring himself to announce that the restaurant would be closed for the night. He thought for a while and nodded, saying, "Alright, please wait 10 minutes. Our restaurant will start its operation soon. However, because we didn't do any preparations beforehand, we won't have many of the dishes on the menu, including hot pot, which requires us to prepare the soup base beforehand."

"Sigh..."

There was a sudden sigh from the crowd.

"Alright, I'm happy as long as you open for business," someone muttered begrudgingly, and a group of people immediately nodded in agreement.

"Be good, okay. Don't cause trouble. If you do, I'll beat your heads off," Amy said with a gentle smile as she jumped out of the carriage.

The crowd was suddenly silent. They wanted to laugh, and at the same time wanted to cause a ruckus, but they were also worried that the little boss might be serious, so they could only hold it in.

"That's it?" That coachman was shocked when he saw the calm customers. How can this batch of customers be like this? Customers back then weren't like this at all!

"Thank you, sir," Mag thanked the coachman, and carried Amy to the restaurant.

Gina and Firis also alighted.

"My masters didn't come today?" Amy exclaimed as she turned back to look at the long line.

"Maybe they have something on today?" Mag was a little shocked as well. Krassu said that he had to drop Amy off early because he had something on. Urien was not around, either. Maybe the two had gone out to duel.

Mag opened the door, put Amy down, and told Firis, "Firis, start preparing the ingredients for tonight. Skip the dishes that require a long cooking time..."

"I've already prepared the ingredients. Where did you all go?" A gentle resentful voice sounded.

Mag looked towards the kitchen, and saw Camilla standing by the door with a malcontent look.

"Yeah. You left us at home without anything to eat." Irina also came out from the kitchen, and leaned against the other side of the door. With disappointment, she said, "The food she makes is horrible. Indeed, vampires eat things raw precisely because they can't cook."

"That's... That's not true..." Camilla's face flushed red. She embarrassedly said, "We just got better things to spend our time on. Time is very precious for vampires."

Mag looked at Camilla pitifully. He could have guessed what happened when Camilla and Irina were alone while they were all gone.

"Is that what the lamb thinks too?" Amy asked Camilla curiously.

"How can a lowly lamb be compared to a noble vampire!" Camilla said sternly.

"But a lamb eats grass too," Mag said with a smile.

"You..." Camilla was stumped. She did not know what to say in reply, and could only turn her head away angrily with a huff.

"Something cropped up this afternoon, so we all went out, and didn't prepare the ingredients. I'll go up to change, and we can start business operations. Let's all get ready," Mag said as he walked upstairs quickly.

"What happened?" Irina asked.

"A baddie kidnapped Big Sister Rena, so we all went to beat the baddie up and save her," Amy answered quickly.

"That's right, Your Highness," Firis affirmed.

"Something like this happened, and no one called me. How could you?" Irina sighed. "Chaos City is too peaceful. There isn't even a single piece of big news around."

"It was quite urgent, so we didn't have the time to inform anyone." Mag came back down in his chef's uniform. He looked at Irina, and said, "Besides, the opponent was too weak. We've agreed that you wouldn't attack unless necessary."

"Alright." Irina pouted, but very quickly and enthusiastically said, "When are we going to settle the Twilight Forest's matter?"

"Now that I think about it, we should be setting off the day after tomorrow," Mag said.

"That's great." Irina nodded. She walked towards the stairs, and said, "I'll go up and take a rest."

"Sure, Your Highness. I'll send your dinner up later," Firis said automatically.

Irina paused in her steps, thought for a while, and turned back to say, "Steak, medium-well."

"Alright," Mag and Firis said, almost at the same time.

Irina's lips curled upwards, and she turned to go upstairs.

When Irina disappeared upstairs, Camilla pulled Mag over, and said, "I want steak as well. Raw."

"Alright. I'll pan-fry the surface for you." Mag walked into the kitchen, and took out two slices of steak from the fridge.

***

"I can't believe Blaze actually did something like this behind my back!" A golden-haired middle-aged elf looked at Rolan in shock. After a while, he lowered his head, and said, "My Lord, I was not strict with the inspection unit, and didn't notice the problem with my subordinates in time. I am wrong."

Rolan looked intently at Godala, and remained silent for a while before saying, "The problem with the inspection unit is very serious. As the supervisor and the deputy lord, you have to be partly responsible. The Gray Temple enforces the law. We represent the power and might of Chaos City. We carry with us the trust and faith of the citizens. If a pest like that appears in the Gray Temple, that will be a very huge blow to the Gray Temple's authority once word gets out.

"From today onwards, you will not need to supervise the inspection unit. The reserve division has no leader. You can lead them for the time being."

"I will follow your arrangement," Godala answered. A chill flashed past his eyes, but his gaze remained the same.

"The Gray Temple was set up to ensure that we can better serve and protect the people of Chaos City, not to give us power over others. This is the first rule of the Gray Temple. Do you still remember it?" Rolan asked Godala.

Godala hesitated for a while before nodding in reply. "Yes."

"Good." Rolan turned to leave.

Chapter 1516: Good Person Card +1

Mamy Restaurant rushed to open for service. It was fortunate that Yabemiya and the gang all returned shortly, and swiftly got back to their work to allow the restaurant to barely continue with the service.

"How is Rena?" Mag found a chance to ask Miya.

"Rena was traumatized, but she has already settled down. We've sent her back to the hostel. Her mother is taking care of her, so we came back to the restaurant," Miya said.

"That's good." Mag nodded. Today's events would be difficult for Rena to digest; it would be better to let her mother take care of her.

Due to the lack of hot pot and many dishes, the restaurant's ability to receive customers was lowered dramatically.

However, the customers surprisingly didn't complain too much. Instead, they began to try dishes that they had never tried before, and then they discovered all kinds of new delicacies.

"Mmm. This batch of customers are very good." Mag nodded with satisfaction as he tossed the six woks around one by one. The fried rice and steaks were tossing around as helpings of delicacies were sent out one after another.

***

"Child, tell me, what happened today?" Clarince softly asked as she sat on the bed and hugged Rena gently.

"It's nothing. I just bumped into a small hooligan, but Boss and my colleagues resolved the issue for me." Rena shook her head, and then rested her head on her mother's legs. She closed her eyes to sense the warm touch on her neck and on the back of her head.

Clarince lowered her head with an uneasy expression to softly ask Rena, "Does it have something to do with that precious gift that day?"

Rena didn't look right since she had returned home last night.

"Mm-hmm." Rena nodded. She opened her eyes and smiled at her mother. "He's just a useless hooligan, and was already arrested by the Gray Temple. Boss said he will never be released for the rest of his life. We will never have to worry about him again."

"Good. It's good that he was arrested." Clarince also smiled with relief after hearing that. She had been worried for the whole day yesterday. She always felt the fellow who sent the gifts that night wasn't a good person. She was worried that Rena would get hurt.

"Boss and my colleagues protected me. We will never have to worry again, because the restaurant is really very powerful." Rena nodded. She sat up, and solemnly said to Clarince, "I will also get stronger so I can protect Mother."

Clarince smilingly patted her head, and consoled, "Silly child. As long as you can protect yourself, that will be fulfilling my greatest wish."

"Oh, yes. Yesterday, the boss said he was officially making me the supervisor of the designated hot pot area. I will be in charge of everything in the Mamy Restaurant's hot pot area. He even raised my monthly salary to 20,000 copper coins a month," Rena said with a smile.

"20,000 copper points!" Clarince's voice rose up a few notches, and she stared at Rena with disbelief. "So much money per month?!"

"Yes. Boss increased everybody's salary to 20,000 copper coins. He will continue to give us a pay raise every year." Rena nodded with conviction. She couldn't hide the joy on her face. She wasn't in the mood to contemplate the pay raise previously. After thinking about it carefully today, 20,000 copper coins was a huge sum to her. It was almost equal to a year of her previous salary.

"Isn't it too much? You have just started working there for less than two months, and Boss is already letting us stay at such a nice place and providing us with food," Clarince said with concern.

"Mm-hmm. I also think it was a little too much." Rena nodded too before saying, "However, Boss said the restaurant's profits were very good, so he decided to increase our salaries."

"Boss Mag is really a very good person. Meeting him is your good fortune." Clarince sighed.

"Yes." Rena nodded gently. She blushed a little when she recalled how she threw herself into Boss's warm arms and cried.

***

"'Good Person Card' +1!"

"Hmm?" Mag listened to the reminder tone that appeared in his mind puzzledly. This wasn't as pleasant-sounding as the reminder tone of the three dollars that was checked into his Alipay.

However, he had to admit that he was indeed a good person.

"Come. Give this super insanely spicy grilled fish to that orc gentleman who was seducing his lady over there." Mag gave a freshly done grilled fish with extra ingredients to Miya.

"I need to go out for a while, and might be home a little late." Irina appeared in the kitchen, and swiftly disappeared after finishing the steak.

"Hmm?" Before Mag could ask her, she had already disappeared. He couldn't help complaining, "Where is she going in the middle of the night?"

***

480 km to the west of Chaos City was a place called Thunderstorm Mountains. It was covered in a dense forest that was filled with magic beasts and animals. It was off the beaten track.

What was the most amazing about this place was that thunder could be heard throughout the year there. Lightning was striking off branches every now and then. The lightning element was extremely irascible, so this place was named Thunderstorm Mountains.

The Thunderstorm Mountains were covered in snow after winter arrived. The thunderstorms died down, and they had a short respite of silence.

Meanwhile, in the deep part of the mountains, a gigantic crater that was over 500 meters in diameter and 10-odd meters deep suddenly appeared. All the trees around the crater seemed to be struck by lightning as they were all burnt, black and dead.

And right in the middle of the crater, there was a dark bottomless hole that was about two meters in diameter. It was so deep that even the moonlight seemed to be engulfed by it.

At that moment, two figures were crouching around that crater and looking in.

"Icy old man, can you see what is it? I seem to have sensed the presence of the evil spirit." Krassu tossed a fireball into the crater, and it didn't touch the bottom even as it fell all the way until it disappeared.

Urien, who was standing at the side, closed his eyes and pointed into the crater. Frost began to form at the opening, and then rapidly crept downward.

About three minutes later, Urien suddenly opened his eyes, violently retrieved his finger, and then took three steps back at the same time.

"Did you scare yourself?" Krassu looked at Urien doubtfully before looking down into the hole again.

Boom!

An explosion sounded in the deep crater, and a powerful black airflow gushed out of the deep crater together with countless icicles and shattered ice.

"Holy f*ck!"

Krassu also quickly took a big step back, and stared at that black airflow that gushed upward to the sky and then exploded into countless icicles. He angrily said," Icy old man, did you do that on purpose?!"

"It's the evil spirit's aura. That evil spirit that was subdued under these Thunderstorm Mountains seemed to have got itself out of a part of the seal. That's why it could release its aura to attract its subordinates and descendants," Urien replied in a hoarse voice.

Krassu spat after hearing that. He angrily stared at the black airflow that lingered for a long time in the sky. "These old fogeys that won't die or disappear are really so irritating."

Chapter 1517: The Great Old Ones... Really Exist

"Once the Evil God gets out of its seal, it will harm the world, cause widespread death, and even end the entire Norland Continent." Urien looked up at that airflow. He raised up his hand and clenched his fist in the air. Frost quickly formed an iceball, and froze that airflow before falling back into the deep hole. Layers of ice began to form rapidly, and sealed that hole instantly.

Krassu stared at the iceball sealed in the deep hole with a grave expression as he shook his head. "Your seal can only prevent its aura from escaping for a month at most. Once he gains control of others or attracts the believers of the Evil God, he can escape very quickly."

"It's better than doing nothing." Urien retrieved his hand and coughed twice loudly.

Krassu pursed his lips, and a ball of flames circulated around his body. He rubbed his hands together, and said, "Regarding the legend of the Evil God, we, too, only have that half a piece of parchment that we got from the cannibal tribe about 100 years ago. I didn't expect it to be real. This aura is indeed evil."

"The cannibal tribe only became bloodthirsty and violent after their whole tribe was bewitched by the Evil God. They already lost their rationality, and lived by depending on their twisted instincts. That's why we annihilated their tribe." Urien waved his hand gently to smooth this huge 500-meter-wide crater. The snow covered it, and apart from not having trees on top, it looked just like a normal area.

"Nobody knows what happened in the ancient times, and how many gods were sealed and hibernating in this world. However, with our power alone, we are definitely not their match," Urien said. The wrinkles on his face seemed to have gotten deeper.

"Hehe. I don't think the same as you. Fighting the Evil God seems exciting. Why don't we go down into this hole to have a look? Let's see what that Evil God looks like, and if it is really that powerful." Krassu chuckled.

"Sure. Count me in. I also want to see what these so-called gods look like." A white figure suddenly appeared on the snow and smiled at Krassu. "I will be responsible for digging it open."

"No, no, no, my lady. Please don't take it seriously. I am just joking around." Krassu quickly stopped Irina, but he soon recovered. Surprised, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

Irina pursed her lips, and matter-of-factly said, "I can also sense the thing that you guys could. My spiritual power is only a little below old Urien's. It's even more powerful than yours."

"Hehe. That's true." Krassu scratched his head, actually feeling rather speechless.

"Is it really the Evil God that is sealed underneath?" Irina curiously asked. She wasn't in a hurry to remove the ice.

She was familiar with the remnant of the aura in the air. She had encountered this mysterious aura twice: once on Borg and the evil aura that was entangling the Tree of Life, and the other time was the eerie black fog that Mag and she encountered when they went to the Boundless Sea Realm.

It was a dangerous aura that made people feel uncomfortable. Even its remnants could mess up a person's mind.

"It's an unexplainable existence, so we called it the Evil God or the Great Old One." Krassu nodded and then smiled. "Given these guys' power, they definitely ruled over a wide territory in their days. I simply wondered why they were sealed up."

"Since there is an Evil God, that means that the God of Life and other gods possibly really existed too. In this case, could there have been a war of gods, then? The evil gods lost, and were all sealed?" Irina asked curiously.

"That is a possibility. After all, besides gods, I could think of nobody else having the power to place them under a seal." Urien nodded, agreeing with Irina's deduction.

"After saying so much, why don't we go down and have a look for ourselves? I want to see what the Evil God looks like. Is it really invincible?" Irina began to get enthusiastic again.

"We can't even reach the bottom of this hole after going downward for more than 2,000 meters. Going down further, the evil aura will be so thick that it could penetrate the ice and affect my spiritual power. If we forcefully enter this hole, we will become the evil god's puppets even before we could reach the bottom," Urien calmly replied.

"There's something like that..." Irina immediately halted. She had personally seen what Borg and Alfred looked like after they were bewitched by an evil god. They sold their souls, and were no longer normal beings.

"This is the parchment that we found under the cannibal tribe's shrine after we annihilated their tribe. There's a record about the evil god. Of course, according to their belief, that was a god who could bestow upon them a very powerful strength. But they didn't know that the god that they believed in had also given them greed and bloodthirst at the same time." Urien took out a piece of parchment, and tossed it to Irina.

A bunch of red words crowded on the parchment. She read through it seriously, and apart from the spaces between words, she didn't understand a single thing.

"We have translated this parchment on and off for the past 100 years," said Krassu.

"What does it say?" Irina asked curiously. What did the whole crazy cannibalistic tribe experience?

"It listed a whole series of evil gods, and recorded their achievements. There's one last sentence..." Krassu's voice became lower.

"What is it?"

"The Great Old Ones will return one day to rule this world again!"

They fell into a complete silence.

After a moment, Irina chuckled. "They're a bunch of losers, and yet they still want to return to control the world again. Aren't they worried that they will get suppressed again?"

"Many things had disappeared since ancient times. For example, the teleportation portals that could lead to anywhere, all the complex spell formations, and the power spell formation magic casters. No one knows what can matter if the evil god breaks through the seal." Urien continued to shake his head with a grave expression. He didn't relax a bit because of Irina's words.

"Since that's the case, we will still be fighting them sooner or later." Irina kept that parchment. A light green beam appeared beneath her feet as she said, "Lend me this parchment to play with for a few days. I will return it to you a couple of days later."

"Bring me—" Before Krassu could finish speaking, Irina already disappeared together with a slowly dissipating teleportation portal.

"I don't want to take the flying steed with this old fart." Krassu flicked a disdainful look at Urien.

"You can fly back yourself." Urien waved to summon a big white eagle, and then leaped onto its back.

"Why should I fly back when there is a free flying steed for me to take? I'm not flying." Krassu snorted, and then leaped onto the eagle's back too.

***

"The Great Old Ones... really exist." Mag was staring at the parchment that Irina brought back with a surprised expression.

Chapter 1518: Teppan Grill Squid Sounds Quite Good

"You knew about the Great Old Ones?" Irina was also staring at Mag with surprise. She switched her thinking, and said with realization, "No wonder you knew how to kill Borg and Alfred who were bewitched."

"I simply happened to read a little record about it in an old parchment book. I thought it was an unofficial history that was randomly written. I didn't expect them to really exist." Mag touched his nose. He indeed didn't expect the Cthulhu Mythos to really exist in this world.

He had almost read through everything about Cthulhu Mythos recently, and had absorbed many works of imagination from the authors on Earth.

He also couldn't differentiate how many of them really knew the Great Old Ones, and how many of them were reimagined after they were influenced by the mythological system that Lovecraft established.

However, after being baptized by these classics, he had a basic understanding of the Cthulhu Mythos.

The Great Old Ones who possessed terrifying strength once ruled the world in the ancient times, but they were placed under a seal by the ancient gods, and went into a deep sleep.

Numerous interesting works were born under this system, and many Great Old Ones appeared.

Mag had a lot of doubts about the Great Old Ones' existence on the Norland Continent. His previous two encounters were also very brief. Be it the stone statue in the black fog, or the throne in the stone temple, he couldn't find correspondence between them and the Great Old Ones that he recently read about.

After the system translated the parchment that Irina got from Krassu, he knew it was a sorcerer's prayer that was praising the power and legend of an evil god named Meredith. It had also mentioned a few other evil gods, and showed their fanatical adoration.

The last paragraph attracted his attention. "The Great Old Ones will return one day to rule this world again!"

And did all the anomalies that suddenly appeared in this world mean that their return had already begun?

"What are the Great Old Ones? Can they be eaten? What do they look like?" Irina asked Mag curiously.

"The Great Old Ones in the legends are perhaps indescribable beings that have all kinds of tentacles," Mag answered after seriously pondering for a while.

"Tentacles? That sounds rather gross? Can you cook it?" Irina furrowed her brows.

"Teppan grill squid sounds quite good," Mag said after thinking for a while.

"Alright. Let's catch a Great Old One in the future to try it out. I just wonder if its meat will be too rough to chew after a few million years." Irina was already tempted to try.

"After all, this world was once theirs, we have to give them some respect, right?" Mag didn't know to laugh or to cry. She said it as if they could defeat them easily. He wasn't even confident that he could cut the tentacles from the Great Old Ones who were sealed up and make them into teppan grill squid.

"With regard to Blour, I still haven't received any news about him yet. But I am certain that he didn't end up in Helena's grasp." Mag changed the topic.

Irina already knew that Blour was Shirley. She shook her head. "I, too, haven't received any news from him. Currently, I don't have many sources for information, but I will definitely go rescue him if he is captured by Helena."

"Maybe he was affected by the news of his father's death. I hope he will calm down." Mag sighed. He watched Blour's father fearlessly charge toward those people who surrounded Irina to buy them some time.

"Sooner or later, I will make them pay for this," Irina said with a cold expression.

Mag remained quiet. He naturally knew about Irina's character.

"I will continue to get people to help us find him as soon as possible," said Mag.

"You said you will be leaving for the Falk Tribe two days later. Have you already got a plan?" Irina asked, changing the topic.

Mag nodded slightly. "I don't have a detailed plan currently. The number one objective is to rescue Connie's brother. The second is to find a chance to disrupt the kingslayer Gary's conferring ceremony, and neutralize the possibility of the alliance of the Falk Tribe and the Aug Tribe. The orcs will be standing on the prowar side once these two tribes form an alliance."

"No plan is usually the best plan. Isn't it just stirring up trouble so bad that there is no way to calm things down? I am very good at that," Irina smilingly said with brightening eyes.

Mag secretly sighed for the Falk Tribe as he looked at Irina who had a bright glow in her eyes. People usually didn't end well if they got targeted by this lady.

"Little Amy and Anna are already asleep. Shouldn't we be doing something interesting on this quiet night?" Irina asked as she leaned against the door. Her long and slender leg was revealed from her loose sleeping robe, and her smooth long silver hair was let down on her back.

Mag coolly considered it for a while before taking out the tablet. "Why don't we watch Tom and Jerry together?"

"You can watch it yourself." Irina turned and walked into the bedroom angrily. She instantly slammed the door shut.

"Phew~ What a close shave."

Mag heaved a breath of relief, and then wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead. He seemed to have been targeted by some big shot at that instant.

It was fortunate that he was quick-witted.

"Tom and Jerry is so interesting." Mag unlocked the tablet, and enjoyed two episodes before he switched off the lights and turned in.

***

The night was getting very late, and the majority of the people in Chaos City were already sleeping. The suspicious people who were roaming around had greatly decreased after the Gentlemen's League went through with them. Even the homeless men went back to hide under the bridge. They no longer dared to come out to frighten the young ladies.

Even the slums in the north of the city hadn't had any vicious events for a long time. All the known thugs were sent to Bastie Prison by the Gentlemen who had transformed into Sherlock Holmes as they gathered the evidence against them.

Because of a shortage of prison cells, the population density of Bastie Prison increased instantaneously. Apparently, it even triggered the dissatisfaction of some original occupants.

Meanwhile, the Gray Temple and the city lord's castle's patrols increased their frequency, and really achieved the objective of letting the residents have a good night's rest.

***

In the dark prison of the Gray Temple no light could reach, there was no difference between day and night.

Terrifying screams reverberated throughout the empty and eerie corridor from the segregated cells. They formed echos at the far end, and only disappeared after a long time.

There was a dimly lit oil lamp at the end of the corridor. Borg was standing under the lamp as he snuffed some fine tobacco into his bamboo smoking pipe. He used a flint to light it up and then take a deep breath as he asked his subordinate who hurried out of the cell with a piece of paper, "How is it?"

"Chief, we have used all kinds of torture, but Blaze still insists that he did everything alone. He confessed about everyone under his supervision, and there was nobody above him." That subordinate handed the piece of paper to Borg.

Borg took the paper and glanced through the contents quickly before smirking coldly. "Is there really no one else above him, or he was still hoping for something?"

Chapter 1519: Hey? Master, Are You Lost Too?

"Master, why are we going to Chaos City? Is it just for the fat head fish?" Joey softly asked as he helped Master Rom remove his thick jacket.

Joss, who was making the bed at the side, also looked at Rom. Although they had set off one month later than in their original plan, the news of Master Rom leaving Issen Castle still created a big hoo-ha. Many came to send them off on the day they left, including those visitors who had been lining up at the door for a long time.

Master Rom, who had never left Issen Castle, left the workshop that he had lived in for hundreds of years. This event itself was strange enough.

Moreover, his destination was Chaos City, which was even more surprising.

Master had never had any special experience there.

Joey and Joss could roughly guess the reason. Ever since Mr. Mag visited them previously, Master Rom had been planning to move.

"Fat head fish has given me a clear idea. I have lived my whole life for forging, and I have forged highly sought-after weapons one after another. They have given me fame, but apart from endless orders and requests, I didn't receive any real benefits.

"While I am still clear-headed, I would like to go live at a new place. I only want to make one last weapon for the rest of my time. A weapon that is different from those I've created before." Master Rom sat on the bed and smiled.

"What about those requests that we have received previously..." Joey softly asked.

"Turn all of them down. I already don't have time to make those things for them." Rom shook his head and smiled. "They're not what I want to do. This is my last weapon, and they are not fit to receive it. It's going to the person who is meant for it."

"Yes." Joey nodded with sadness in his gaze.

Joss was also standing at the side quietly as he had no idea what to say.

"Dwarves have to die one day. I've lived for over 400 years, and it's long enough." Rom smiled at the two of them. "Speaking of it, I have never taught my disciples properly, and you two have suffered quite a bit with me. Try to learn as much as you can in the coming days. As for how much you can learn, it will have to depend on your abilities and perseverance."

"Yes." Joey and Joey swiftly acknowledged with glowing eyes.

***

Connie was trailing after Rex in Bastie Prison. She looked at the fully packed prison, covering her nose, and trying to keep the stench at bay in vain. "Master, we have too many baddies here. Why don't we just kill off some of them? After all, we will be simply wasting food and air to keep them alive."

Rex broke the wrist of a prisoner who was trying to open the lock. He pushed the hand back, and then continued on his way as he said, "Killing a person is the most merciful punishment for the crimes he has done."

"Then, what's the point of keeping them alive here?" Connie was perplexed.

"So they cannot have a quick and easy death," Rex calmly answered.

Connie flicked a glance at that cell that was in the midst of fighting. A cell that was originally meant for two had seven or eight prisoners stuck in there. No matter what, they were not going to have a comfortable and easy stay.

With an expectant gaze, Connie quickly caught up with Rex, and softly asked, "Master, I will be going home the day after tomorrow. Do you want to come with me?"

"No." Rex's answer was succinct as usual.

"Master, you may lose your disciple forever like this." Connie rolled her eyes.

"It's alright. I always think like that every time you go out."

"Goodbye then!" Connie turned and left in a puff.

10 minutes later.

"Hey? Master, how did you appear in front of me?"

20 minutes later.

"Hey? Master, what a coincidence?"

30 minutes later.

"Hey? Master, are you lost too?"

"..." Rex.

***

In an opulent hall in the Marquis Manor, Bowen was pacing around with elation as he murmured to himself, "Ha. That fellow has indeed sent himself in."

"Master, Bennett is one of us Marquises, after all. Will this incident affect us negatively, or even get us into trouble?" the old butler asked worriedly.

Bowen relaxedly smiled. "He is the lowly bastard son of a prostitute. He wanted the whole world to know his identity, and he went around telling everyone that he was one of the Marquises because he wanted my position as the head of the family. However, I knew for a long time that his money came from illegal sources. I was worried he would get us in trouble one day, so I made sure our family's properties and people drew a clear line with him. It will have nothing to do with us, the Marquis Family, even when he committed heinous crimes."

"Master indeed has foresight." The old butler quickly buttered him up. After pondering, he continued, "Master, although Bennett's brothels and gambling dens were sealed, he has whitewashed many of his properties in the past few years. For example, that teahouse and those jewelry shops and pharmacies. They are valuable properties and businesses. The gambling dens and brothels are definitely gone after he went in, but regarding these shops and properties, we could..."

"Since he is already in there because of such a big crime, he most likely is never going to get out. These properties naturally are going to belong to the Marquis Family." The smile on Bowen's face became brighter and brighter. He stopped pacing, and then told the old butler, "You will go and assemble the accountant and his assistants now. We will take over those properties and shops early tomorrow morning."

"Yes," the old butler answered, and then left.

"Heaven is really helping me. Not only did it get rid of Bennett this scourge, it even gave me such a big gift. Although that Mag from Mamy Restaurant isn't a good man, I really have to thank him for this incident." Bowen laughed out loud. The Marquis Family's potential would get a great boost after absorbing Bennett's properties, and the gap between them and the Moretons and Buffetts would be narrowed.

"Those gambling dens and brothels are a pity. They're the real cash cows," Bowen lamented. He knew very well how Bennett got rich.

***

The city lord's castle. The lights in the secret chamber were still lit.

"I'm not getting involved in the Gray Temple's internal affairs, but we have to properly handle the Mamy Restaurant's incident. Although the two of them seemed to be more even-tempered, and began to leave people alive recently, they are heading to the Twilight Forest very soon. That is the event that concerns the situation on the entire Norland Continent. We've to make sure we've got their backs," Michael said to Rolan with a grave expression.

"I will investigate the Inspection Troop. Although there is no evidence that Godala is involved, I'll transfer him to an unimportant post in a backup unit. The investigation works on all the departments will be carried out swiftly too." Rolan was drawing circles with his finger on the table. He said with self-reproach, "We've spent too much effort and energy on external affairs as we thought the system will make everything run perfectly, but we cannot see through a person's heart."

Chapter 1520: Hot Pot Partners

Bennett huddled in a corner of the prison cell on the icy-cold floor. He was covered in wounds, so he had no idea which parts of him were in pain and which parts were intact.

However, he was already numb to this pain. His heart was as cold as his body. That fear of losing everything even covered the pain from his body.

He'd never thought he would end up in this pathetic state. He only wanted to get a hot pot recipe from a small restaurant's employee.

But he had lost his gambling dens and brothels because of that, and even got himself imprisoned.

The Gray Temple knew everything—those fellows who were buried in the backyard and the forbidden magical drugs that were sold in the past years. All the previous deeds were dug up, and the testimonies were all written down in black and white, which he had to confess to.

Those subordinates who always acted loyal and trustworthy all loosened their lips at the hands of the Gray Temple.

He most likely was never going to get out of here. His reputation was already tarnished, and that big brother of his had to be deliberating how to strike off his name from the Marquis Family's genealogical record.

Bennett was a little dazed, and he couldn't help thinking about Mag.

All these things were obviously caused by him. His employees and his connection with the Gray Temple all gave him a shock.

He was even a little regretful. If only he hadn't been so greedy to have designs on Mamy Restaurant and its prosperous hot pot business, or had stopped his actions when Mag came to look for him that day, all these wouldn't have happened.

"Bastard..."

Bennett's hoarse roar reverberated in the cell, and all it got was a stern warning.

***

Mag had a good sleep. He turned off the alarm clock, and went downstairs to make breakfast.

There was a knock on the door soon. Mag opened the door, and besides Firis and Camilla who came to prepare the ingredients early, Rena was also standing at the door.

Mag stepped aside to let them in. After greeting Firis and Camilla, feeling rather surprised, he asked Rena, "Rena, why are you here so early too?"

"I have something to discuss with you, so I come early," Rena smilingly said. She looked rather good.

"Sure, take a seat over there first," Mag said.

"Alright." Rena nodded, and went to sit down near the door.

Mag went into the kitchen to get a glass of warm water. He placed it in front of Rena and smiled. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Mm-hmm. I slept with my mother, and I slept very well." Rena nodded. The baddies were all arrested, and she did indeed have a good sleep in her mother's arms.

"What do you have to tell me early in the morning?" Mag asked.

"Hmm, I have an immature idea..." Rena looked at Mag with hesitation.

Mag encouraged, "Just tell me whatever idea you have. I'm willing to listen."

Rena looked at Mag's warm smile, and gathered up her courage. "I am thinking... maybe we could set up a new hot pot restaurant away from Mamy Restaurant?"

"Set up a new hot pot restaurant?" Mag was staring at Rena, feeling a little shocked. After pondering, he said, "Judging from the restaurant's current situation, I'm afraid it can't be done easily. Why do you want to open another hot pot restaurant?"

"I think that hot pot is a very great invention. It has a special cooking and eating method and a unique ambience. At the same time, it's very delicious. However, it is a little expensive for normal people to come to our restaurant to eat hot pot now. The per capita consumption is over 1,000, which is unaffordable for most people. I know you always use the best spices and ingredients to create extreme scrumptiousness. I hope to open an affordable hot pot restaurant by lowering the ingredients' standard so more ordinary people can taste the authentic hot pot," Rena asked Mag with a sincere expression.

Mag pondered briefly before nodding at Rena, who looked nervous and expectant. "This is quite a good idea. Do you have a concrete plan?"

"Did you agree?" Rena was obviously taken aback.

"I agree with your idea, but I still need to listen to your plan on how to implement it." Mag wasn't in a hurry to agree.

"I am very familiar with the market in the north of the city. Every morning at 3 am, we can get very good and fresh pork bones from the vendor at a very cheap price to make the bone broth. We can also get fresh tripes and other ingredients at the market too. Through selecting the suppliers, we could obtain good quality ingredients that are fairly priced.

"As for the spices, I can find replacements for the majority of them. There may be a slight difference in the taste and texture, but the taste will still be above the passing grade. Just that I will have to get a few of the spices from you.

"Spending about 100 copper coins per person will be enough for the normal customers to fill their stomachs. After my calculations, after deducting the cost of the ingredients and manpower, we still have more than half of the profit margin. If we have a high volume of customers every day, we should be able to obtain a very good profit," Rena explained clearly.

"This is indeed a very good idea and is very operable." Mag looked at Rena, impressed. He'd indeed made the right choice then. If Bennett had managed to poach her, she would have definitely been an excellent manager and partner.

The hot pot was the general population's favorite. Mag had never intended to price it out of reach. Expensive-and-out-of-reach wasn't compatible with the hot pot at all.

However, Mamy Restaurant was already busy enough, and there was plenty of other stuff. He simply didn't have the luxury of time to consider the normal people's feelings.

Just as Rena said, the ingredients that he bought from the system were naturally expensive because they were of excellent quality.

Doing as Rena suggested, they could find local suppliers, and then use normal ingredients for the hot pot to greatly lower the cost, making it affordable for the common people.

"This is just a bit of my immature thinking." Rena blushed. She thought her suggestion would be seriously rejected by Mag. She didn't expect to get his approval.

Mag smiled at Rena. "This idea is quite good. The idea of opening a hot pot restaurant and taking the middle-to-lower-end market is also very commercialized. Furthermore, that market is big enough. However, I don't have the time to manage that currently, and you are already in charge of the designated hot pot area now, so do you still have the energy to open another new hot pot restaurant?"

"Our restaurant only supplies the hot pot in the evening, so I'm quite free in the morning. But..." Rena looked at Mag as she hemmed and hawed.

"For the new hot pot restaurant, I will give you 2,000,000 copper coins as the start-up fund. You will be the manager, and will be responsible for every aspect of this restaurant from the ground up. We will no longer be superior and subordinate, but partners. I will not get involved in any matters or decisions of this hot pot restaurant. You will have half of the equity of this hot pot restaurant, and I will only be in charge of supplying you with the funds and receiving the dividends in the future." Mag smiled at Rena. "Are you confident enough to do it?"

Chapter 1521: Queen Of The Hot Pot

"Half of the equity rights?" Rena was shocked to hear that, and she quickly shook her head. "No, you created the hot pot and provided the funds. I didn't do anything, so how can I take so many of the equity rights? I simply want to let the ordinary people try the scrumptious hot pot."

"Allowing more people to try the scrumptious hot is a good idea itself. It's also the spirit that a chef should have. Moreover, how could you say that you have done nothing. It's not easy to open a hot pot restaurant. You have to choose the location, renovation, and the ingredient suppliers, and manage the daily operation. You need to invest a great deal of time and energy into every aspect of it." Mag smiled at Rena. "To me, this is an investment of money and skills, and Rena, I feel you're a very suitable partner. Half of the shares is the foundation of our collaboration and what you deserve."

"But..." Rena was still hesitating.

"I hope your hot pot restaurant will not be confined to Chaos City. Why not let everyone in the world fall in love with eating hot pot?" asked Mag.

"Let everyone in the world fall in love with eating hot pot..." Rena's eyes slowly lit up as she felt the world in her mind suddenly expanded.

The world beyond Chaos City was once very far for her, as she had to work hard for her survival, but now her boss was putting the whole world in front of her.

Let the hot pot get out of Mamy Restaurant, get out of Chaos City, and make everyone in the world fall in love with eating hot pot!

Rena felt her heart begin to race just thinking about it.

"We can plan this slowly. There's no need to rush. I will go prepare breakfast for everyone first." Mag got up to walk to the kitchen. He knew that Rena could grow into a very good manager. Of course, his expectation for her was to become the Queen of the Hot Pot.

As for him...

He would be the man behind the Queen of the Hot Pot.

Just thinking about it, Mag felt it was a very cost-effective angel investment.

This was a completely empty area, and the extreme popularity of Mamy Restaurant's hot pot area had already proven this market's extensity.

Rena sat on her seat, and considered Mag's words seriously. Although she felt that the terms that the boss had given were too wonderful, she didn't want to miss this opportunity to change her life.

Opening a hot pot restaurant with Boss and being forced to join Bennett brought two completely different feelings. She didn't have to bear the name of a traitor, or go against her principles. Furthermore, they even had the exact same goals and purposes.

As a person who had dreamed of becoming a chef and offering her customers delicacies since she was young, Rena was indeed very tempted by Mag's suggestion.

Constrained by its ingredients, the restaurant's extremely exquisite hot pot was destined to be unable to achieve a large-scale promotion.

How to create a down-to-earth hot pot was to be what she and the new hot pot restaurant got to do.

But if I don't do it... then nobody is going to do it. Rena turned to look at Mag who was busy in the kitchen. Boss was a chef who sought perfection. Apart from the restaurant's daily operation, a lot of his effort was spent on developing new products.

Boss was the most talented chef that she had ever met. The speed of his releasing the new products was astonishing. His new and creative methods of cooking always gave a shock to the industry.

If a person like him wasted his energy on hot pot, that would definitely be a loss to the culinary world.

As for her...

She liked hot pot, and also knew that her capability was limited, so she could only focus on the hot pot. Making it affordable and retaining most of its taste was already not an easy feat. Her gaze gradually became resolute as she thought of that.

***

After the breakfast was over, Mag had nothing else to do, so he continued to teach Harris and Chapman how to make "husband and wife lung slice".

Chapman's "husband and wife lung slice" had already reached 80-90% of Mag's standard. His control of the details was also getting more and more mature.

Meanwhile, Harris forcefully closed the gap between him and Chapman that was created by Mag's tapping with his rich experience and culinary skills that far exceeded normal chefs'.

"When do you intend to leave Chaos City?" Mag asked curiously after tasting their "husband and wife lung slice".

"Chaos City is an interesting place. We don't mind staying here for a while longer." Harris smiled at Mag as he buttered him up. "If Master doesn't mind, you can also teach us a few more dishes. I have very great respect for that 'Buddha jumps over the wall'."

Mag couldn't help laughing at Harris after looking at his luscious black hair. "Your hair has almost all grown out, so why are you still looking at 'Buddha jumps over the wall'?"

"Isn't this once bitten twice shy? It's one thing that it has grown out, but it's another matter to prevent it from falling out again." Harris chuckled.

Mag rolled his eyes. It wasn't that he was unwilling to teach, but this dish was so complicated and demanding on its ingredients that it was destined that nobody else could replicate this 'Buddha jumps over the wall' exactly once it left Mag's kitchen.

As for the hair-growing effect, Mag guessed it was most probably due to one or a few of its ingredients' characteristics. This effect might disappear if they changed to ingredients that came from another location.

However, he, too, had gained a great deal after spending these few days with Harris, especially on the cutting skills. He learned many practical techniques from him. Harris' understanding of the ingredients' characteristics had also amazed him.

***

"Mother, Boss is letting me..." Rena returned to the dormitory and repeated Mag's suggestion to her mother.

Clarince shook her head after pondering. "Boss Mag is a nice person. He just saved you yesterday, and he's going to help you set up a restaurant now. He is providing the techniques and the skills, and you're taking half of the shares simply by doing some stuff. We will be ashamed to accept that."

"Mm-hmm." Rena nodded. After a moment of hesitation, she continued, "But, if I don't do it, then nobody is going to promote the hot pot. Boss has more important things to do, and the others are busy too. I really want to let more people try the hot pot. People in Chaos City, and even beyond Chaos City, could try the affordable hot pot."

Clarince looked at the spark in Rena's eyes, which resembled a tiny sun, and smilingly nodded. "Then, you will go and do it. Boss Mag supports you, and I support you too."

***

"Boss, I'm done thinking. I am willing to go and open a new hot pot restaurant." Rena stayed back to talk to Mag after the lunch service. Mag was removing his apron as she gravely said, "But I only want 10% of the hot pot restaurant's equity."

Chapter 1522: The Apology Gift From The Gray Temple

Mag looked at a determined Rena silently for a while before nodding. "Alright, if you only want 10% of the shares, then I will not force you. I will take out 40% out of my 90% shares to set up a hot pot foundation in both our names to help women and children."

"Alright." Rena heaved a breath of relief, and a smile returned to her face.

Even though she didn't know if the new hot pot restaurant could bring in profit and expand, she completely agreed with Mag's suggestion. The women and children were the vulnerable ones. Their survival was even harder in the slums. It would be very meaningful for her to do something for them.

Mag went to the counter, and took out a stack of banknotes from the cashbox. He put them into a small money bag, and gave it to Rena. "These banknotes are worth 2,000,000 copper coins. Take them first and tell me if they are not sufficient."

Rena stared at that money bag, and hesitantly said, "I-I will take the money from you in installments. I will also report to you about the spendings at all times."

Mag shook his head. "No. You don't have to report to me about anything as long as you invite me over for a meal after the restaurant is up and running. This restaurant's management rights belong to you completely, including how to use this initial investment of 2,000,000 copper coins."

"But..." Rena hesitated as she met Mag's trusting eyes. She eventually accepted the money bag and solemnly nodded. "I will use every single coin properly."

"Just go ahead. There's no need to worry about the budget. I can add onto it if it isn't enough. I'll also help you if you encounter problems in selecting the restaurant's location. As for the other matters, you will have to do them yourself." Mag smiled. He didn't know if Rena wanted to open a big restaurant. If it was meant for 1,000 diners, then it would cost more than 2,000,000 to buy the shop alone.

Of course, given Chaos City's population of 1,000,000 people, and being the one and only affordable hot pot restaurant, they wouldn't have to worry about filling up those 1,000 seats.

If Rena could control the taste well, she could even attract some of the high-spenders from Mamy Restaurant.

"About the shop..." Rena frowned as she pondered. It would naturally be the best if the restaurant could be open in Aden Square as the location was convenient, and there were plenty of restaurants.

However, the rent of commercial properties in Aden Square was extremely high. She wanted to open a huge hot pot restaurant that could accommodate more than 1,000 people so that the customers wouldn't have to line up and eating hot pot would be an easy and relaxed affair.

Mag also began to seriously consider. Mobai, his neighbor, had reserved a few shops for him. They were rather big, and could accommodate a hot pot restaurant.

However, it would be rather weird to have the new hot pot restaurant next to Mamy Restaurant.

Ding!

Right then, the bell at the door rang.

"Who is it?" Mag walked to the door puzzledly. He opened the door, and saw a man wearing a black hat and black trench coat standing out there. Although the man wore his hat low over his face, Mag could recognize who he was.

Borg looked up at Mag, and said in a low voice, "Boss Mag, I would like to explain to you yesterday's matter and resolve the issues."

"Come on in. Rena's here too." Mag stepped aside to let him in.

"Boss, I will leave first since you have matters to discuss." Rena prepared to leave after she saw Borg who was dressed rather mysteriously.

Borg removed his hat, and said to Rena, "Miss Rena, right? I'm from the Gray Temple. Today, I am here to apologize to you and Mr. Mag on behalf of Gray Temple, and to discuss the matter of compensation."

Rena was taken aback. She recognized the man as the official from Gray Temple who'd brought his men to arrest the bad guys last night, and swiftly nodded. "N-nice to meet you."

Mag closed the door and shook his head. "I don't need compensation, but the Gray Temple should really apologize to Rena, and compensate her for the shock and harm that she had suffered. Such an incident shouldn't have happened."

"Miss Rena, on behalf of the Gray Temple, I solemnly apologize to you for what happened yesterday," Borg sincerely said, and gave Rena a 90-degree bow.

"I-it's fine..." Rena waved her hands in panic, and looked at Mag for help.

Mag was also staring at Borg with surprise. He knew very well that Borg was the department head of the Gray Temple's Intelligence Department, and could be considered a big shot in Chaos City too. He was actually willing to humble himself and apologize to Rena.

Borg straightened up, and continued to Rena, "Yesterday's events happened due to our negligence, and we have also failed in our duty to discover and eradicate the deprivation and corruption of the Gray Temple's personnel. Being the law enforcement agency of Chaos City, the Gray Temple had failed to perform our duty to protect the residents, so we had to reflect on ourselves and apologize."

Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Rena quickly nodded, and said, "Mm-hmm. Thank you for coming to rescue us that day and heal me."

"What about the compensation?" Mag asked smilingly. He was rather curious what compensation Borg would offer after coming here to apologize personally.

"No need. There's no need for compensation... That lady has already cured me completely yesterday." Rena swiftly shook her head.

"Regarding our mistake yesterday, the Gray Temple decided to compensate you with a commercial property under the perpetrator's name. This is the full set of documents, including the property and the land's title deeds. After the verification of the Gray Temple and the city lord's castle, from now onward, that shop belongs to you." Borg took out a thick kraft paper envelope from his trench coat, and gave it to Rena with both his hands.

"This..." Rena panicked and looked at Mag.

"Take it. This is the price that bastard should rightly pay for what he did to you. The Gray Temple is simply passing it onto you," Mag said with a smile.

He was rather curious which commercial property the Gray Temple gave to Rena. However, as long as it was situated in Aden Square, it would be worth hundreds of thousands of copper coins. It was quite a big sum to Rena.

Rena accepted that envelope, and then said to Borg, "Thank you."

"You deserved it." Borg was also smiling. Then, he bade his farewell and left.

Borg pressed his hat down, and said to Mag in a soft voice, "That was the apology gift that the Lord of the Gray Temple meant to give you."

"You know I do not need a commercial property like that," Mag replied with a smile.

"Perhaps you might regret it." Borg smiled and strode away.

"Regret?" Mag raised his eyebrows. He turned around, and immediately saw Rena staring at the title deeds in her hands with shock on her face.

Rena looked up at Mag, and said in a quivering voice, "Boss, this is... this is a 3000 square meters commercial property..."

Chapter 1523: If Erguotou Is Available Too

"3-3000 square meters?"

Mag was also stunned to hear that, and then he suddenly understood the meaning of Borg's words.

Mamy Restaurant, including the designated hot pot area, was only about 500 square meters, while this property that the Gray Temple used as the apology gift was actually 3000 square meters big.

"Furthermore, it's situated right in Aden Square, about 300 meters to the left of our restaurant," Rena continued.

Mag did a rough calculation. This apology gift was worth more than 30,000,000.

Mag couldn't help chuckle. "The Gray Temple is really very generous." Apart from being astonished, he didn't have any jealousy and regrets.

"T-this is too valuable..." Rena finally regained her wits. The stack of title deeds in her hands felt like a hot potato. She couldn't wait to toss it away.

"No. You deserved that." Mag smiled at Rena. "Furthermore, with this commercial property, you don't have to look for a place to set up the hot pot restaurant anymore. If I remember correctly, a rather big restaurant has been undergoing renovation over there for a long time. It could be the hot pot restaurant that Bennett wanted you to be the manager of."

"But..." Rena was still feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Even if you decline and return it to the Gray Temple, it will end up in someone else's hands in a minute, so why don't you just accept it and just set up the new hot pot restaurant," Mag said to Rena solemnly. "Maybe you're not sure about the value of this property. Due to Mamy Restaurant, the commercial properties' prices in the northwestern corner of Aden Square have been shooting up. The price per square meter is already above 10,000 copper coins, which means that property's value is above 30,000,000 copper coins. Even if you don't want to operate a restaurant in the future, your mother and you could have a carefree life with the annual rental alone.

"30,000,000!"

Rena's eyes widened as she couldn't imagine what a huge number that was.

Furthermore, such a valuable commercial property was now hers?

Mag smilingly continued, "Of course, if you could open hot pot restaurants all over the Norland Continent, the 30,000,000 store would just be the beginning. The world beyond Chaos City is very huge."

"Mm-hmm." Rena looked at Mag as she solemnly kept the title deeds in her hands and nodded. "I will put it to good use."

"Let's go. Since we have nothing to do now, let's go and check out your new property." Mag put on his jacket and walked to the door.

Rena hugged the title deeds in the kraft paper envelope tightly in her arms, and quickly caught up with Mag.

The shop that Rena received was indeed very big. It had two stories. Apart from putting up the signboard, the renovation was basically completed. Marbles were inlaid on the walls, giving out an opulent glow.

However, it was in complete silence, and the workers seemed to have evacuated overnight. The door was ajar and unlocked.

"Let's go in to take a look." Mag straight away pushed open the door and went in.

The spacious hall was set up with many custom-made hot pot tables which were based on the Mamy Restaurant's hot pot tables. This made Mag suspect that this world also had measuring tapes.

The restaurant's interior renovation was basically completed, and only some building materials were left behind.

The resplendent decor style suited Bennett's style to a T. It should have been designed by the same designer as his teahouse. It stunk of the nouveau riche.

There were two rows of private rooms at the two sides apart from the spacious hall, and were even more opulently decorated.

If they counted by the numbers of seats alone, just the first floor alone could accommodate about 1,000 people at the same time.

"Is the kitchen on the second floor?" Mag walked one round on the first floor, and he couldn't find the kitchen. Hence, he went up to the second floor.

There weren't any private rooms on the second floor. It only had a 500-square-meter-big great hall which was also filled with custom-made hot pot tables.

Passing through the great hall, he came to a super huge kitchen that was about 1,000 square meters big.

The renovation was already completed. They only needed to install the kitchenware.

Mag walked one round, and then smiled at Rena whose mouth was agape the entire time till now. "It is a giant hot pot restaurant that is ready to open any time. This saved you quite a lot of trouble."

"I-it's huge. Can I really open such a huge hot pot restaurant?" Rena shrugged, but her gaze began to fill with anticipation.

"I think there will be no problem at all." Mag smiled. If this restaurant could run smoothly, even if they only charged 100 copper coins per customer, the daily sales could match up with Mamy Restaurant's.

Rena stayed back in the restaurant to take note of the items that they needed to add or take away, while Mag returned to the restaurant first.

He decided to wash his hands completely from the new hot pot restaurant and be a good investor.

Bennett was never going to get out for the rest of his life. It could be considered that Mag had removed one menace from Chaos City.

As for how the Gray Temple handled their internal affairs, that wasn't his business. He believed Rolan wouldn't let the maggots survive in the Gray Temple.

What he needed to prepare now was the trip to the Twilight Forest tomorrow, and how he could complete the mission, and ensure everyone from the restaurant could get out of there safely.

The Falk Tribe was still the second-largest orc tribe. Even though their power had greatly diminished after going through an internal strife, they still had dozens of 10th-tier powerhouses and a group of 8th-tier and 9th-tier powerhouses.

Mag received the latest intel about the Falk Tribe and the orcs from the Gray Temple soon after he reached the restaurant. He also got a name and a rendezvous location.

"If you encounter an emergency at the Falk Tribe, you could go to the Stone Alley to look for Old Sim, the boss of Sim Tavern. He will provide you with assistance." Mag stared at that piece of paper for a while, and then he rubbed the paper between his fingers, and reduced it to dust.

"Ding! Old Sim, the boss of Sim Tavern in the Stone Alley, is the top master brewer of rum. The Host has triggered a hidden mission. Please ask Old Sim to take you as an apprentice, and learn how to brew rum.

"Mission reward: master the brewing techniques! You will receive three new alcoholic beverages' brewing techniques.

"Punishment for failing the mission: becoming allergic to alcohol!

"Mission time limit: complete it within three days!"

Just then, the system's voice rang in Mag's head.

"Learn to brew rum?" Mag was taken by surprise. This mission was rather interesting. After pondering, he asked, "System, am I able to choose the brewing methods of any alcohol beverages? Including Maotai and Erguotou?"

"Yes. You could choose any three from all the alcoholic beverages."

Mag cocked an eyebrow, and murmured to himself with a smile, "If Erguotou is available too, then I have a new idea."

***

Next morning, Mag hung a notice on the door. "Out to obtain ingredients. The restaurant will be closed for a few days."

Then, he brought everyone along from the restaurant, met up with the orcs who were sent to bring them to the Falk Tribe, and left on the flying steeds.

Chapter 1524: Who The Heck Do You Think You Are?

The Gray Temple.

Rolan kept the secret missive, and said to Borg, "Give him the highest level of authority, and tell all the informants in the Twilight Forest to accommodate his actions. Make sure he and his entourage are safe."

"Yes." Borg nodded and then left.

"The demons in the Boundless Sea Realm are still in a mess and disarray. I wonder what kind of mess this pair of husband and wife could create on their current trip to the Twilight Forest. They really make me rather expectant," Borg murmured to himself as he walked to the window.

***

"Holy f*ck!"

"Without any warning, Boss Mag is out to look for ingredients again!"

"I specially traipsed over half of the city to have a helping of soybean milk and youtiao here, and it's closed!"

At Mamy Restaurant's entrance, the customers were all whining when they saw the notice.

"Ha. Such an irresponsible boss. Even after he comes back and releases a new item, I will never..."

"If it's very delish?"

"I will also never... just have a small portion!"

Everyone consoled one another before they went on their own ways.

What else could they do?

The scrumptious new products deserved to be patiently waited for.

This had become a kind of common consensus.

***

Amy lay in Mag's arms, and curiously asked, "Father, do we really not have to apply for leave from Masters? Will they be angry?" However, she didn't look worried at all.

"It's alright. I already asked the delivery courier to send the written request for leave to the school. Master Krassu should have received it by now," Mag smilingly replied. As they had applied for too many leaves of absence, he was too embarrassed to see Krassu personally, so he asked Connie to send a written request for leave over before they left. It could be deemed as making good use of resources.

"Then... what if she gets lost?" Amy worriedly asked.

"Chaos School is such an easy place to find. She shouldn't get lost, right?" Mag cocked an eyebrow.

"But the Bastie Prison is just next door, and she can still lose her way," Amy continued.

"Hmm..." Mag was actually lost for words.

***

"Didn't that master say that to go to Chaos School, I have to go straight, turn left, and then turn right? In that case, wouldn't I be back to the same place again?" Connie seriously pondered as she stood at an alley.

That was already the 15th pedestrian that she had asked. Unfortunately, it seemed like she was getting further and further away from Chaos School.

However, she had obviously followed those pedestrians' instructions, so why was she getting further and further away?

"Those fellows must have given me the wrong directions, and I've trusted them." Connie stomped her feet in annoyance. She simply went into the alley on the right without thinking. She had initially intended to go to the west gate as planned to leave Chaos City on a flying steed after she delivered the request, but now the problem was that not only did she fail to find Chaos School, she also didn't know how to go to the west of the city.

"Sigh. Why did I accept a disciple who can't even locate the north, and even try to groom her into being an assassin..." Standing on top of a wall, Rex sighed deeply before looking toward the sky.

***

The black giant eagle's wingspan was over 50 meters. Rows of seats were secured on the eagle's back, which allowed the passengers to enjoy their journey in comfort. The windshields that were installed kept off the cold wind, and made the winter travel feel less chilly.

Everyone from Mamy Restaurant, apart from Rena, was invited to the Twilight Forest.

Of course, Camilla chose to make her own way there because of her status and ego. She would get in touch with them secretly after they reached the Falk Tribe.

Firis had to stay back to train more elven chefs for the Night Elves, so she didn't make the trip, either.

Hence, the spot that she left vacant was filled by Irina who had disguised herself.

Miya, Elizabeth, Babla, Gina, and Anna, together with Mag, Amy, and Irina. The eight of them, plus one fat cat, were prepared to go to the Twilight Forest to create a big mess.

Apart from the beastmaster on the eagle's back, that envoy from the Falk Tribe, Klaur, was present.

The black eagle took off, and soon left Chaos City behind very quickly. Klaur, who was sitting in the first row, stood up with a lecherous expression. His slightly cocked eyes were roving all over the ladies as he began to grin lecherously.

"Hey, Mister. Your saliva is going to drip," Amy reminded him with kind intentions.

Klaur glared at Amy, and coldly said, "Hey, imp, you've got to call me Lord Klaur!" Then, he haughtily told everybody, "Let me tell you all this. Chaos City's rules don't work once we're out of it, and the Falk Tribe has Falk Tribe's rules. From now on, you all have to serve me. You will only have a chance to return home if you please me, otherwise..."

Klaur sneered. He didn't finish his words, but the hidden meaning was very clear.

Mag looked at Klaur piteously. Who gave him the courage to say such big words?

One had to know that everyone sitting on the eagle's back, including Amy, could toss him down 100 times.

Everyone was also staring at Klaur with befuddlement on their faces.

These fellows are not following the plot? The weird silence and all their unexplainable gazes made the expression of Klaur, who was preparing to take in their fearful expressions, slowly freeze. He couldn't help but angrily say, "Let me tell you. I am the real master on this eagle's back now. All you fellows are going to stand up for me right now—"

"Meow~"

Ugly Duckling suddenly jumped out from Amy's arms, and launched a back kick to Klaur's face.

Klaur wasn't on guard, and was sent reeling back a few steps by Ugly Duckling's kick. He fell onto his seat with a bloody scratch on his face.

Ugly Duckling flicked a backward glance at Klaur disdainfully before it sashayed back to Amy gracefully. It purred at her as if it was asking for praises, and then rubbed its head against her calf.

This funny scene made everyone burst out in laughter.

Amy smilingly said to Klaur, "Mister, even Ugly Duckling doesn't accept what you are talking about."

"Y-you damned fellow! I'm going to kill you!" Klaur stared at Ugly Duckling furiously as a dagger appeared in his hand.

"Lord Klaur, that is a holy beast. You cannot hurt it." The beastmaster at the side quickly stopped Klaur while looking at Ugly Duckling reverently.

"It..." Klaur stared at Ugly Duckling with a rapidly changing expression, and he eventually kept the dagger angrily. His gaze turned onto Mag, and he coldly ordered, "I order you to make them serve me!"

"We're invited to the Twilight Forest to prepare for the banquet for the conferring ceremony of the new chief of the Falk Tribe. There isn't any content about us serving anyone." Mag smiled at Klaur. "Who the heck do you think you are?"

Chapter 1525: Little Amy Has Protected The World's Peace Once Again

"Y-y-you... I-I-I..." Klaur stared at Mag as he almost couldn't believe that he dared to speak to him like that.

What rights did he have to be so arrogant in front of him after they were out of Chaos City?!

What made him even angrier was the beauties' unfazed expressions. They simply had no reaction to his warning and order!

"Mister, don't be nervous. Just say whatever you want to say quickly before you go down," Amy smilingly said.

"We will not be responsible for passing on your last words." Irina flicked a glance at Klaur, and then calmly said, "Therefore, don't bother to say too much. Anyway, it will be a waste."

"I..." Klaur choked on his words, but he soon smirked coldly. He removed a long whip from his waist, and cracked his neck as he told all of them, "Seems like you all won't know who is in charge here if I don't make you suffer."

Miya and the rest all looked toward Mag. They would be going to the Falk Tribe to save Connie's brother. Whether they should tolerate this chap's humiliation depended on Mag's plan.

Amy looked up, and asked Mag, "Father, do we still need to keep this baddie here?"

"His use here is not even bigger than this stupid eagle's underneath us." Mag shook his head with a smile.

"So, he's useless then." Amy pondered, and her gaze turned toward Klaur as she revealed a brilliant smile. "Mister, in what posture would you like to crash-land?"

"I think I will teach you a lesson first, sharp-tongued imp!" Klaur raised his whip in preparation to strike at Amy.

"Since this is the case, I will have to choose a fancy spiral face-landing for you then," Amy said seriously. She tapped gently on the eagle's back with her toes, and the eagle, which had been flying smoothly, suddenly dipped a little.

Amy's tiny figure shot out. She did a half-turn in midair, and her right foot kicked Klaur's face almost with the exact method and angle as Ugly Duckling.

Klaur glared with wide eyes, and a fearful expression appeared on that ugly face before swiftly changing shape under that dainty foot. He had just lifted the whip up.

Whoosh...

Klaur almost instantly disappeared from the eagle's back, and fell with his head down first like a spinning top.

The giant eagle was about 300 meters in the air, and about 10-odd seconds later, a dull thud could be heard from down below together with the echoes of rocks rolling off.

The beastmaster controlling the giant eagle exclaimed, "Lord Klaur!!!"

"Phew... I wonder if Uncle Baddie is still alright?" Amy landed back on the eagle's back gently, and poked her head out to look down below.

Irina flicked a glance downward, and then calmly said, "The life aura is slowly diminishing. He's not going to be alive for much longer."

"Little Amy has protected the world's peace once again." Mag also gave her a thumbs-up calmly.

He didn't want to butter up that fellow during the journey, and there was no way he would let Irina and the rest serve him. As Klaur was one of Gary's not very trusted cronies and a participant in the rebellion, getting rid of him before they arrived at the Falk Tribe wasn't going to affect the plan from moving onward.

They simply needed to find an excuse to explain this after they arrived.

That beastmaster was staring at Mag and the gang with shock and fear as he said in a trembling voice, "Y-you all killed Lord Klaur!"

"He fell off himself. You should have seen it with your own eyes." Mag stood up and smiled at that beastmaster. "Wasn't that so?"

The beastmaster shivered, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead immediately. As if he was looking at the devil, he nodded at Mag, "Y-yes... I saw it. It's Lord Klaur... he jumped down himself."

Mag continued to smile as he nodded. "Now, we're going to continue on our journey to the Falk Tribe. Are you able to bring us there?"

"Yes! I will definitely bring all of you lord and ladies to the Falk Tribe before the sun sets." The beastmaster swiftly nodded.

"Very well. Let's continue on our journey." Mag nodded.

"Yes." The beastmaster quickly turned around, and continued to navigate and accelerate the giant eagle forward. He didn't dare to turn his head around.

Irina threw a glance at Mag.

Mag shook his head slightly, hinting at her to stay still and not act rashly.

Without Klaur around, the beastmaster just became their sole means of travel. The atmosphere on the eagle slowly became relaxed. It almost transformed into another one of Mamy Restaurant's group outings. Mag even took out his kitchenware, and began to cook in the open air.

***

The Twilight Forest.

In a resplendent tall, great stone hall, a strapping orc with an obvious scar on his right eyebrow was sitting on the throne. With a dark expression, he said to the orcs standing below, "You all still failed to catch that girl Connie?"

A stocky orc said, "Chief, we have searched through the Twilight Forest, and also sent many people to search in Chaos City, but we still couldn't find a trace of her. According to our estimation, she most likely has died during her escape. After all, she is famous for losing her way. There's simply no way for her to reach Chaos City safely."

Another tall and lanky orc continued, "Yes, Chief. She doesn't know magic, nor is she good at cultivation. Even if she is alive, there's no way she could affect the invincible you and your status and disrupt the conferring ceremony. If she dares to appear at the conferring ceremony, we can even execute her together with her big brother, and completely dash the hopes of those fellows."

Gary—who was sitting on the throne—remained silent for a moment before curling a corner of his mouth and revealing a sinister smile. "Then we will get the news out there. I really want to see if she will bite the hook for her beloved brother and the few of her remaining relatives."

"Yes," the three orcs acknowledged, and felt relieved at the same time.

Gary then continued to ask, "How is the preparation for the conferring ceremony? All the orc tribes will send envoys to participate in my conferring ceremony, so we have to make sure nothing goes wrong. Don't disgrace me."

"The venue of the conferring ceremony is already all set up according to the conferring ceremony of Chief Auster of the Aug Tribe. I have let Klaur go and invite Chef Mag from Mamy Restaurant in Chaos City to take charge of the banquet on that day. They should already be on their way here now," the stocky orc quickly replied.

"A chef from Chaos City?" Gary furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yes. That chef has received the title of the best chef at the king of the Roth Empire's court banquet. He is one of the world's top chefs now. It certainly looks good for us having him in charge of the banquet." The stocky orc smiled happily. He had spent a lot of effort trying to collect this information. It was not easy to find a good chef like him.

"You all will be duly rewarded after you do a proper job." Gary's gaze swept across the orcs who were already smiling excitedly, and then coldly said, "You know what would happen if you messed up."

"Yes!"

The three orcs shivered together and quickly acknowledged.

Chapter 1526: There Are No Tigers In The Mountains, And The Orange Cat Calls The Shots

The journey to the Twilight Forest was long, and although the giant eagle was not flying slowly, it was still only a 3rd-tier magic beast. Therefore, the group of people only saw the tribe appearing on the horizon when the sun was about to set.

The valley was very wide, and the tribe was right in its mouth. Two 200-meter-tall columns stood in the mouth of the valley with several big and small caves in it.

There were big and small stone huts scattered across the valley, and in the center of the valley was a square stone city. The city walls stood at more than 10 meters tall, and there was a stone temple within the stone city.

On the way here, Irina had already altered the beastmaster's memory. She erased the part where Amy kicked Klaur off the eagle's back, and substituted it with a memory of Klaur not returning to the tribe for a while because he had something on.

That beastmaster was just an ordinary orc, so doing such things for a magic caster of Irina's level was a piece of cake. Besides, it would save them a lot of trouble explaining things.

"Sir and Ma'ams, the Falk Tribe is right ahead. The sacred city in the center is where the chief and the nobles live. The ones living on the periphery are ordinary tribesmen," introduced the beastmaster with a smile. As they got closer to the valley, he even lowered his voice as he said, "Those two stone columns are where the sacred beasts live. We must not be loud when we pass by in case we alarm the sacred beasts and cause them to attack us. The Falk Tribe sacred beasts are all very ferocious. Once they set their eyes on you—"

"Meow..."

Ugly Duckling suddenly leapt out from Amy's embrace, and stood on the eagle's head as it let out a long meow.

Just then, several pairs of eyes of different shapes and colors appeared in the caves on the two stone columns. Then, they started meowing together as though they were replying to their leader.

"What's that?"

The orcs on the ground all looked up when they heard the noise, and their gazes landed on the orange cat standing on the eagle's head. As the setting sun cast its golden rays on the cat, it looked as though it had a golden layer over its coat, making it even more eye-catching.

On top of that, the meowing coming from the two stone columns made the cat appear even more mighty.

"Could this be the one in a million, golden legend, the heavenly beast!" an old orc called out agitatedly. He bent his knees and knelt on the ground.

"It's the heavenly beast!"

The orcs all started kneeling on the ground as they looked up at Ugly Duckling, which was standing on the eagle's head, passionately.

Mag looked at the orcs kneeling on the ground, and mumbled to himself, "C-could this be the cat slave phenomenon of the alternate world?"

It's true: there are no tigers in the mountains, and the orange cat calls the shots.

Those animals coined as sacred beasts were just feline animals of various types and species hiding in the caves. There were indeed very ferocious felines among them.

"Why are these orcs so agitated seeing a duck that's a little plump?" Amy looked down with bewilderment. It was the first time she saw Ugly Duckling so popular.

"That's because we have been taught to look at the big picture," Mag said with a smile.

"Meow~"

Ugly Duckling meowed at Amy proudly as though it was trying to boast about its popularity.

"Ugly Duckling, stop boasting. Look, the little eagle's head is already swaying because you're standing there. Its neck is going to break because of you," Amy said with contempt.

The giant eagle's head was swaying a little unnaturally for some reason. It might be due to the shock, or because it just couldn't handle the weight.

"Meow!" Ugly Duckling let out a cry of grievance before going down from the eagle's head and returning to Amy, albeit unwillingly. It rubbed its head against her calf, and then lay by her feet.

"You must be an extraordinary person to have the heavenly beast's trust and love." The beastmaster quickly started bootlicking Amy.

Ugly Duckling's meow caused quite a commotion at the Falk Tribe. Most of the orcs came out upon hearing news about the heavenly beast to take a look.

However, the giant eagle landed right in the city center after gliding through the sky.

"Mr. Mag, ladies, this is the end of the journey. Thank you for riding with us. Remember to bring your luggage down. We welcome you to ride with us again," the beastmaster told everyone with a smile as he stood beside the laying giant eagle.

"Thank you." Mag nodded slightly. He led the group down, and a big orc led a group of orcs towards them from not far away. Based on the information Mag got beforehand, this orc was Jeremy, Gary's trusted aide and a 9th-tier orc. On the day of the rebellion, he was the one who opened the inner city gates for the rebel army.

This orc was one of the top few on Mag's to-kill list. However, he was the one who allowed the people from the Gray Temple to come over openly.

Jeremy looked at Mag, who was walking in front, before looking past him, at the ladies from Mamy Restaurant. His eyes lit up, and he gave a perverted smile. He glanced over everyone before frowning, and loudly saying, "Where's Klaur? Why don't I see him?"

"Lord Jeremy, Lord Klaur had some personal matters to handle, so he stayed back in Chaos City. He said he would come back a little later, and told me to bring Mr. Mag and the rest over first," the beastmaster quickly answered with his head hanging low, afraid to look at Jeremy.

"That rascal. How dares he be so sloppy with the mission I gave him. You. Go get him to come back immediately!" Jeremy shouted coldly.

"Yes..." That beastmaster quickly hopped onto the giant eagle and rode off.

Jeremy looked back at Mag and sized him up. He looked just like an ordinary human. Jeremy asked, "You're Mag from Chaos City?"

"Yes. I am Mag. I was invited to prepare the banquet for the coronation ceremony of the Falk Tribe's new chief," Mag said calmly.

"Do you really cook that well? So well that the king of the Roth Empire had nothing but praises for you?" Jeremy looked at Mag with doubt. He was just a normal human, and even looked very young. Could he really cook up a feast?

"He didn't have praises for me." Mag looked at Jeremy with a smile, and said, "Because the king of the Roth Empire was so busy eating he had no time to praise me."

Jeremy's lips twitched. This fellow is so shameless when it comes to self-praise.

"Aright. This banquet is very important. As long as the chief is satisfied, you won't need to worry about the pay." Jeremy looked at Mag and walked two steps closer to him. He lowered his voice, and said, "But if you ruin it, you will know what it means to live a life worse than death."

Chapter 1527: That's The Symbol Of Nobility

"I am a chef with professional ethics. I will naturally do my best since I am paid to do so," Mag said with a smile.

"Very well." Jeremy took a step back. He glanced over the ladies from the restaurant before turning around to leave. He instructed the orc beside him, "Bring them over to the main kitchen. Give them whatever they want. Remember, nothing is more important than the banquet tomorrow."

"Yes." That orc nodded and watched Jeremy leave before turning back to say to Mag and the rest, "Follow me."

Mag nodded slightly, held Amy's hand, and brought everyone along.

If one would describe the valley outside the city as a litter of orc tribes, the inner city would be a small yet bustling city.

The ground was paved with flat black stone. The street, which was around 10 meters wide, had black buildings lined neatly on both its sides, forming a stone temple that stood tall, with scriptures and cat-like statues everywhere.

"This really is a tribe full of cat slaves," Mag lamented to himself after looking around. He swept a glance at the right hand of the orc walking in front. As the orc walked, Mag could see a blackened hemp rope on his wrist as his hand swung. Mag raised his brow, and retracted his gaze naturally.

The coronation ceremony was the most prestigious event of the entire tribe. There were orcs decorating the streets everywhere, bringing up the festivity there.

Mag and the gang attracted quite a lot of attention, especially the beautiful ladies, who attracted it even more.

"This is the chef in charge of tomorrow night's banquet. All of you better be more respectful," the orc walking in front said sternly, making the other orcs with a nasty grin back off.

When they heard that these people had to do with the banquet, the orcs immediately backed away embarrassedly. None of them dared to ruin the chief's joyous event, because that might cost them their head.

"These people have cat ears." Amy looked around curiously, and softly said, "Big Sister Connie's pink ears look way better than theirs."

"That's the symbol of nobility," Mag said softly with a smile. The breeds of orcs from the Falk Tribe could be distinguished by their ear colors. Black and gray were the most ordinary and common, while pink ears belonged only to female orcs from the royal family.

"I see." Amy nodded thoughtfully. She looked at Ugly Duckling, which she was carrying in her arms, and curiously asked, "Then what about Ugly Duckling? Its ears are uniquely orange."

"I guess it signifies the weight of its existence." Mag raised his brow. The feline magic beasts were behaving a little strangely just now. Ugly Duckling was just a magic beastling of a few months old, but those magic beasts appeared willing to bow down to it. It seemed like Ugly Duckling was really quite special.

"Oh." Amy nodded. She put Ugly Duckling on the ground, and disdainfully said, "No wonder it's so heavy."

"Meow~"

Ugly Duckling looked up pitifully at Amy, and meowed with grievance.

"Haha, then let me carry Ugly Duckling. It's so soft and cuddly. I feel so warm when holding it," Yabemiya picked Ugly Duckling up happily, and carried it in her arms happily.

"Meow~"

Ugly Duckling closed its eyes, and lay in Miya's embrace comfortably.

That orc probably had some status around here. He led them through a gantry, and finally stopped in front of a door to a large yard. He turned around, and sternly told Mag and the rest, "This is the main kitchen. All of you have to stay here for today and the subsequent days. No one is allowed to leave the premises. Otherwise, we won't be able to guarantee your safety."

"May I ask what's the most dangerous place here?" Mag asked with a smile after looking around.

"For you all, the most dangerous place has got to be the chief's palace and the prison in the north of the city. You are not allowed to go near these two places," the orc said even more sternly.

"If that's the case, we'll just act according to the agreement." Mag nodded.

The orc brought them into the main kitchen. The yard was very spacious. There were several large and small kitchens on both sides, with many orcs hurrying in and out busily while holding ingredients or cooked food.

Mag watched the scene, and thought of the royal kitchen in the Rodu's palace. The royal kitchen was way larger in scale, and they had even more chefs. However, both had the similar role of providing food for many people.

"Wow, what a huge kitchen. Are they making food for the entire city?" Amy looked around in shock.

"Yes. I think this is the kitchen of this city," Mag said with a nod.

The orc shouted for the gatekeeper, and a greasy-faced orc with a potbelly very quickly came over. He looked at the orc, and said, "Lord Kernen, you're here."

The orc, called Kernen, pointed at Mag and the rest, and said, "This is the chef, Mr. Mag, and his helpers that Lord Jeremy personally invited from Chaos City. They will be in charge of the most important main banquet for tomorrow. All of you have to do your best to cooperate with them, and do what they order as much as possible."

"Yes, yes." The greasy orc nodded quickly, and smiled at Mag and the rest.

"Settle their accommodation and give them the best," Kernen said. After that, he turned to tell Mag, "Mr. Mag, the main kitchen will settle your accommodations and food. If there's anything you need, you can tell them to look for me."

"Alright. Thank you." Mag nodded and watched Kernen leave.

"Are you Mr. Mag, the one who was titled the best chef by the king of the Roth Empire during his banquet? I've been seeing news about you and your restaurant in magazines recently. I didn't think that we would manage to invite you over to helm the banquet. It's such an honor to be able to see you." That orc looked at Mag with gleaming eyes. He quickly introduced himself. "I am the person in charge of this main kitchen. My name is Heyman, and I am in charge of managing the main kitchen, and providing the meals for all the royals in the inner city."

"Hello," Mag answered with a smile. This plump orc, who seemed to weigh at least 150 kg, didn't sound like he was bootlicking him on purpose, and also did not seem very arrogant. He was the first person Mag felt good about since arriving at the Falk Tribe.

"All of you must be tired after traveling such a long distance over here. I'll bring you all around first before getting the kitchen to prepare your dinner." After saying that, Heyman brought Mag and the rest over to their accommodations.

There was a little independent yard beside the main kitchen. It was not lavish, but it was still considered clean and elegant. There were four rooms where Mag and the rest would split up to sleep in.

After that, Heyman brought them back to the main kitchen and towards the dining area.

"Have you heard? Although the main kitchen would be in charge of the banquet for this conferring ceremony, the main banquet would be done by a chef from outside. It seemed like we were abandoned," a short and skinny chef began in the dining area.

Chapter 1528: Only Real Delicacies Can Conquer A Chef

"Were we?" The orc's words attracted a lot of attention from the other chefs who were eating.

"The main kitchen has always been in charge of all the banquets in the tribe regardless of scale. This has been the rule for so many years. How could it change just like that? We have so many impressive chefs in the main kitchen. How can those from outside be better than us?!" a middle-aged chef said furiously.

And that aroused a wave of angry agreements.

The chefs' ego made it difficult for them to accept such an arrangement.

"What's this ruckus about? Don't you know yourself? If the things you make could be put on the table, Lord Jeremy wouldn't have to go through all the trouble to invite Mr. Mag over from Chaos City." Heyman walked into the dining area, and looked at the chefs with exasperation. Heyman took a step to the side, and introduced, "Let me introduce to all of you. This is Mr. Mag from Mamy Restaurant in Chaos City. He will be in charge of tomorrow night's main banquet."

"And why was he chosen? It's because Mr. Mag's dishes were titled the best at the Roth Empire's royal banquet, and he was even praised by many well-known gourmets. Are you all convinced?" Heyman swept a glance at all the chefs in the dining area.

The dining area suddenly fell silent. The chefs all looked at Mag with a complicated mix of resentment and skepticism.

Mag glanced across the dining area. It seemed like no one prepared dinner for them. He couldn't be bothered to be calculative with them over that, so he said, "We'll settle our own dinner. May I know which kitchen we can use to prepare our food?"

"Mr. Mag, this way, please. Your kitchenware has been transported to Kitchen One. If you need to make dinner, I can bring you over," Heyman said with a smile before bringing Mag over to Kitchen One.

"Let's go take a look too. We'll see if this guy is really that impressive and has what it takes to replace us." The short and skinny chef, who incited the anger, put his bowl down and followed them out.

"Let's go, let's go take a look."

The other chefs also followed along.

The news of Mag's arrival had spread across the main kitchen. The news that they were going to be replaced caused quite a commotion.

More and more chefs started gathering at Kitchen One the moment they heard the news because they all wanted to see for themselves if this newly invited chef was that impressive.

"Father, why do all these chefs seem so unfriendly towards us? Are they baddies?" Amy asked softly because she could not understand why the chefs were so hostile.

"I don't suppose they are considered baddies. Every chef has their pride. If you cannot convince them, they will not be happy about it." Mag shook his head with a smile. He could understand the reason behind the resentment.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Mag. I didn't manage them well," Heyman said apologetically.

"It's alright. As a chef, I can understand what they're feeling." Mag shook his head. Of course, understanding didn't mean that he should just let them do whatever they wanted to.

Kitchen One had the largest area in the main kitchen. It had the most complete and the best kitchenware. Other than the existing facilities, Mag's kitchenware was also moved to the kitchen. The other chefs had not seen most of it, so the kitchenware was not arranged.

Mag confirmed that all his kitchenware was around before instructing Miya and the rest to put it in places that would be convenient for them to use.

"So this is the new chef? He looks so young, just like an apprentice."

"Yeah. He doesn't look like he can cook up any delicacy. All our chefs have decades and even centuries of experience in cooking. How can such a young human whip up anything good?"

"Is the kitchen a place for women? He actually got a group of women as his helpers. How lavish."

"I'm just curious how a chef can find so many beautiful ladies..."

There were more and more chefs gathering inside and outside the main kitchen, conversing softly. There were voices of doubt, jealousy, and envy.

Mag ignored the noise calmly, and asked Amy, "What do you want for dinner, Little Amy?"

"I want grilled fish and rattle off," Amy answered without even thinking.

"What about the rest? Any other dishes you want?" Mag asked as he looked around.

"I want eggplant with garlic sauce," Miya said.

"I want beggar's chicken," Gina replied softly.

"Actually, I'm not really craving for beef kebab," Babla said arrogantly.

"Alright. Hold on for a while. I'll make dinner," Mag said with a smile. He took out the ingredients from the fridge, and got started.

The chefs started to quiet down as they watched Mag.

Mag started by preparing the ingredients. He washed, cleaned, and cut them in a series of smooth actions. Although he was cooking alone, he was highly efficient, and was not flustered. That made the other chefs start to see him in a new light.

Efficiency was important in the main kitchen. The different chefs were in charge of the different parts of the cooking process. Although those were all very basic work, it was from the details that one could tell how strong a chef's basics were.

The fish was sliced into even slices of identical sizes, and the preparation of the side dishes made the chefs in charge of cutting ingredients shut up.

Firis stayed back in Chaos City, while Camilla was not involved in the mission, so Mag could only do the cutting and chopping himself.

Mag first put the red braised pork into a pot to stew before putting the cleaned fish into the oven to grill. After that, he put the beggar's chicken, which was covered in mud, into the other oven to bake in medium-high heat. Then, he started to skewer the beef in preparation to grill it.

"Why did he put the fish into that rectangular container? What kind of kitchenware is that? Does he really not need to heat it up with fire?"

"He wrapped the chicken up with mud. Can the chicken still be eaten? It doesn't look clean. How can the food we serve to our distinguished guests be so dirty?"

"Just look at the stewed meat. Most of the chefs in our kitchen can make a dish of that standard. His meat is chopped in such huge chunks. The food that our royalty eats is way more exquisite."

After Mag started cooking, the chattering from the chefs increased. They were all critiquing Mag's strange way of cooking, and they did not even try to hide their disdain.

"These fellows are so noisy," Irina said as she pulled out a high stool from somewhere, and glanced at the chefs.

"Do you need them to shut their mouths?" Amy rubbed her hands together excitedly.

"Only real delicacies can conquer a chef." Mag shook his head with a smile as he placed the skewers on top of the flaming charcoal grill.

Ding!

Just then, the oven rang to signify the end of the cooking.

Mag put on a pair of thick gloves, and opened the oven.

The strong scent of the spicy grilled fish suddenly wafted out.

Chapter 1529: No! Shut Up! It Was Not Me!

The moment the oven was opened, the tangy fragrance of the spiciness spread across the entire Kitchen One.

"Smells so good!"

The chefs in the kitchen all opened their eyes wide.

"It's the smell of spiciness, but it's such an irresistible smell. I can't believe that a fish could smell so good after staying in this rectangular container for a while. What magical apparatus is it?"

"This is grilled fish? Why don't I see the grill or the charcoal? How was this fish grilled? And how can it have such a rich and delicious smell?"

Gulp.

The moment the smell of the grilled fish wafted out, it caused a sudden uproar and exclamations.

This smell was so irresistible that even the old chefs that had been in this kitchen for decades could not resist it.

Of course, what made them even more surprised was Mag's cooking style, and also this intrusive fragrance that totally changed their perception of how a grilled fish should be.

"This fragrance..." Other than shock, Heyman was also filled with admiration. As he looked at Mag's back, he muttered to himself, "Indeed, he is the man who is worthy of claiming the title of the best chef at the Roth Empire's royal banquet."

"Put this aside first." Mag pulled out the grilled fish from the oven, and put it on the lit charcoal grill at the side. The plate was already furnished with various vegetables and hot pot soup base powder. Grilling the fish on the grill for a little more could enhance its smell, and the vegetables also played an important part in creating the grilled fish's delicious taste.

The orc chefs swallowed their saliva several times as they watched the grilled fish steaming and sizzling on top of the grill.

"It looks like grilled fish, but why does this grilled fish contain gravy? Shouldn't grilled fish be as dry as possible?" one chef questioned softly.

"Hmph. This isn't a professional grilled fish. A real grilled fish should be crunchy and taste a little burnt. A fish that's soupy and watery like this isn't even fit to be called grilled fish," a big-sized senior chef said with disdain. He was the master chef in charge of grilled fish in the main kitchen.

Several other orc chefs agreed with him because that grilled fish was different from what they knew.

Mag walked to the stove, and started the fire to cook the eggplant with garlic sauce.

This dish was the easiest one out of the rest for tonight. After stir-frying the spices in an iron wok, the fragrance came out quickly, drawing all the chefs' attention.

Stir-frying wasn't a common technique in this world, because humans tended to stew their food, while orcs loved to grill.

It was the first for most of the chefs to see the ingredients being cut into such tiny pieces, and then thrown into a strange-looking iron wok to stir-fry.

What was frustrating was that they actually could not tell what were the spices Mag threw into the wok. The dish had a rich smell of meat, not losing to the grilled fish.

The eggplants were put into the wok to stir-fry for a while until they became a little burnt, and had a thick and shiny layer of red gravy covering them. After that, they were scooped out and plated. It was a dish with aesthetics, taste, and smell.

Mag passed the eggplant with garlic sauce to Miya before turning off the fire under the high-pressure stewing pot beside him. Then, he poured the red braised pork in the pot into a black stone pot.

The rich fragrance of pork wafted out. The smell of pork was something orcs were very familiar with, but no one had ever made pork smell so enticing.

"Oh my God... Although I have no idea what he made, I have never seen any food that smelled this good," a young chef muttered involuntarily as he swallowed his saliva.

"The smell is so enticing, so I'm sure the taste wouldn't be any worse. This is what my master taught me," a young apprentice agreed with a nod.

"No! Shut up! It was not me!" a middle-aged chef behind shouted with a blush.

Although he did not want to admit it, the fragrance filling the whole Kitchen One made most of the orc chefs who came over to watch the show change their perception of Mag.

As chefs, they naturally understand how difficult it was to make food with such an enticing smell, and food that smelled this enticing would have no reason to taste bad.

Everyone looked at Mag complicatedly. The man in front of them was a young human chef who held several titles and glories. He was the one who was invited by the chief to helm the banquet.

He could make such delicacies for just a simple dinner.

Miya took out the beggar's chicken, which was baked until the outside was golden red, and placed it on a tray. She took out a little hammer which she brought with her everywhere, and gently hammered the mud casing at the center. Thin lines of cracks soon spread throughout the casing, and the casing opened up like a flower with a soft and crisp crack, revealing the beggar's chicken which was baked to a nice golden brown within.

"The mud and chicken separated perfectly, just like an eggshell. I didn't think that there was such an extraordinary way of baking chicken!"

"I can't believe that you can make chicken taste so delicious with mud. I am going to give it a try later."

"Every dish smells different, but they are all equally enticing... This fellow is showing off too much!"

After the fragrance of the chicken wafted out, it caused another wave of commotion.

The voices of skepticism slowly faded away. Even the most stubborn and traditional old chefs could not say anything negative with all these fragrances enshrouding them.

"Supervisor Heyman, have you had dinner? Do you want to join us?" Mag asked with a smile as he looked at Heyman who was secretly swallowing his saliva at the side.

"I was too busy today. I just realized that I haven't had din— burp." Heyman covered his mouth and laughed awkwardly. "I haven't had dinner. I'm so hungry I burped. If Mr. Mag and the other ladies don't mind, I will be thick-skinned and have just a little."

"Uncle Crayman, you must mean what you say. You said you were going to have just a little, so it's just a little. Don't eat too much. Otherwise, we're all going to go hungry," Amy said seriously as she looked at Heyman with a slightly worried look.

"I'm Heyman, not Crayman..." Heyman corrected Amy with a laugh. He had long heard of this adorable little mistress who appeared harmless. She was the precious disciple of both the Lord of Ice and the Lord of Fire, as well as a genius magic caster. With all those identities, she was far more precious than her father.

Even the Falk Tribe wouldn't want to enrage the two legendary magic casters.

"Mm-hm. I will control myself." Heyman nodded seriously. He actually had his dinner, but the smell was so enticing. Besides, he would never get the chance to try Mag's culinary skills without leaving the Falk Tribe, so he would never let such an opportunity slip even if he only could have one mouthful of each dish.

There was a set of tables and chairs in Kitchen One, and Mag could not be bothered to bring the food out to the dining area, so they made do with eating in the kitchen.

The group sat around the table, and Heyman got someone to pass him a little stool as he sat cautiously at the corner of the table.

"Let's eat." Mag picked up his bowl, and ate a mouthful of piping hot rice first. He felt the soft rice become sweeter in his mouth as he chewed, and that made him happy.

"This grilled fish..." Heyman picked up his chopsticks. He had set his eyes on the grilled fish.

The other chefs all looked at Heyman. It already looked and smelled good. As for the taste, they would only know after Heyman tried it.

Chapter 1530: May I Ask, Do You Still Take In Disciples? The Kind That's A Little Older

Heyman had spent his life in the main kitchen. He came in when he was 11, and the first time he got to touch the knife was at 18. Afterward, he spent 30 years to become the head chef of Kitchen One. He spent another 100 years in the main kitchen, and took over the role of the supervisor from his master. That made it 120 years in total.

The chief and nobility had an exceptionally high expectation for their everyday meals, so he could not afford to make any mistakes. The lives of hundreds of chefs from the main kitchen depended on him.

Entering the main kitchen was akin to going to jail. Unless you died or lost the chief's favor, there was no going out.

Heyman had been trying to innovate and create new dishes to come up with new flavors to satisfy the chief and nobilities' taste buds so that they did not get tired of the food.

All the well-known chefs in the Falk Tribe were in the main kitchen. In addition, Heyman even searched around the other tribes in the Twilight Forest for chefs. However, because the tribes were all close by, the dishes that these chefs made were similar.

Therefore, Heyman turned to the gourmet magazine and the trends in the culinary world for inspiration.

Mamy Restaurant was no doubt the one all gourmet magazines vied over to feature in their series. Whether it was the eggplant with garlic sauce that revived the vegetarianism trend, or the red braised pork that made a hit in Meatatarianism, Mamy Restaurant had already shown its prowess in the culinary world. Moreover, it had even attracted a group of gourmets to plan or make their way to the restaurant.

Mag's creative way of cooking could make one look forward to the dish's taste with just the description of the dish. There were rarely any chefs in this world that could achieve that.

Besides, Heyman even heard that the legend of the culinary world, the Invincible God of Cookery, Harris, lost to Mag from Mamy Restaurant just a few days ago, and even became his disciple according to their agreement.

That really shocked Heyman.

It was important to note that Heyman's idol had always been Harris. The one who had always been leading the trend and conquering peaks actually fell in defeat at Chaos City.

It was something the world did not expect.

The man who caused all this was sitting right in front of Heyman right now. He made a table full of food, and even invited him to join.

To be honest, other than feeling a little agitated, Heyman also felt slightly nervous.

When he brought a piece of the fragrant fish in front of him, he could see the slightly charred fish skin and the soft meat. Heyman watched it for a while as though he was looking at a rare treasure. It was difficult, even for the best grilled fish chef, to create two entirely different textures separated just by a thin layer of fish skin. It really displayed a shocking level of skill and heat control.

"The supervisor is very picky. Can this grilled fish satisfy his taste buds?"

"The supervisor started as an apprentice in Kitchen One's grilled fish section back then. In the Falk Tribe, no, even the entire Twilight Forest, no one can make grilled fish as good as his."

"In that case, since no one knows grilled fish better than the supervisor, this fellow won't be able to make it, either."

The chefs started conversing softly in the kitchen. Their expressions and gazes all had a hint of nervousness and anticipation.

Everyone watched Heyman intently as he cast all the noise aside, and put the piece of fish into his mouth.

The moment the numbness and spiciness hit his tongue, Heyman couldn't help but shudder.

It was a shudder that shook even his soul. What were the spices? That's extraordinary!

But before Heyman could taste it in detail, the fish had made its grand entrance.

After biting into the slightly charred fish skin, beneath it was the tender meat. The taste of the spices and gravy was already infused into the meat. The spiciness and the freshness of the fish complemented each other perfectly to give the taste buds layer after layer of scrumptious attack.

Heyman was indeed the one who made the best grilled fish in their village, their tribe, and even the entire forest.

Back when he was young, he thought that no one could make grilled fish better than him, and he merely stopped saying so all these years, but he still thought so.

Until... today.

This piece of grilled fish had flung him into the ground.

Even for an old chef who had grilled fish for 120 years, and was constantly coming up with new ways and improvements, he had to admit that this was the best grilled fish he had ever tasted.

This was a completely different way of making grilled fish. It beautifully infused grilled fish and stewed fish together, and the outcome was exceptional.

Rip!

The sound of cloth ripping caught everyone off guard. Heyman's shirt actually ripped, revealing his jiggling fat.

"Ah... this is such an incredible taste! It's not too much to call it the best grilled fish in the world!" Heyman complimented. He looked at the grilled fish as though it was a shining gemstone. He could not help but reach his chopsticks out for another piece.

This time, he closed his eyes to feel the deliciousness explode on the tip of his tongue in detail. He could not help but smile with happiness.

It was indeed a form of happiness to be able to enjoy such a delicacy.

Moreover, Heyman could not wait to try this innovative way to grill fish. Just one little stove, and the way the grilled fish was eaten changed entirely.

On top of that, he finally understood the reason behind Harris wanting to become Mag's disciple, a story that shook the entire culinary world. It was because... he also wanted to become Mag's disciple right now!

It was impossible to learn how to make grilled fish so delicious anywhere else!

"The supervisor actually praised him so highly!"

"The world's best grilled fish! In that case, the supervisor has already admitted that his grilled fish isn't better than that fellow's?"

A commotion suddenly exploded in Kitchen One. The chefs were all shocked.

As the figure of power in the world of grilled fish, the Twilight Forest's grilled fish set the bar for how the dish was made. Even Heyman, who was very picky, gave such a good review. It was difficult to imagine how delicious this grilled fish actually was.

At this moment, the chefs standing in front had already swallowed their saliva umpteen times as they watched Heyman try the dish with happiness written all over his face.

"Uncle Crayman. You can try the vegetables under the fish. It's super good," Amy suggested.

"Aye, alright," Heyman replied. He looked at the vegetables all around the grilled fish. There were cucumber slices, translucent cellophane noodles, and a vegetable that he did not know of which was sliced thinly and had many small holes in the middle. He thought for a while, and picked up a strand of cellophane noodle.

The slippery cellophane noodle slid into his mouth. It was submerged in the gravy, so the chewy cellophane noodle became exceptionally delicious as well.

Spicy and refreshing with a lingering fragrance in his mouth!

Heyman tried very hard to control his hand. He put his chopsticks down and stood up, looking at Mag, and saying, "Mr. Mag, I really admire your culinary skills. It is really the best choice to have you in charge of the banquet."

"Thank you," Mag said humbly.

"I still have a question. I don't know if I should ask you."

"Please do."

"May I ask, do you still take in disciples? The kind that's a little older."

Chapter 1531: Which Little Slut's House Is This?

Mag was most afraid of the sudden silence in the air and his colleagues asking to be his disciples...

Mag looked at Heyman, who had a sincere and expectant expression, and all the cooks who were staring at them in a daze, and decisively shook his head. "No. An old one is more than enough."

"Sigh..." Heyman sighed regretfully, dejected by Mag's refusal.

The cooks present all heaved a breath of relief. Many of them were Heyman's disciples and disciples' disciples. It would be rather awkward if they suddenly gained such a young grandmaster.

However, everyone was already looking at Mag differently. He was a person who could make Heyman want to be his disciple, so Mag's culinary prowess was obviously very impressive.

"Although I am older and a little rotund, my brain still spins rather fast. Are you sure you don't want to consider it again?" Heyman was still trying to convince Mag.

"We will be returning to Chaos City after tomorrow's banquet. If you really want to learn how to grill fish, come and look for me at Chaos City. I can teach you." Mag continued to shake his head, but he made a promise.

"Really!" Heyman's eyes lit up, but he soon sighed deeply. He most likely could never leave the big kitchen. He wouldn't be able to go and look for Mag to learn how to grill fish even if he wanted to.

"Since that is the case, all of you please enjoy your meal, and we shan't bother you any longer." Heyman soon smiled again, and chased all the cooks gathered in Kitchen One out, leaving Mag and the rest to have their dinner.

Irina waved her hands to set up a soundproof barrier before putting a piece of red braised pork into her mouth. After chewing and swallowing it, she ate a mouthful of rice before asking Mag, "Are we taking action tonight?"

"We have to wait for Connie to rendezvous with us before we act together. However, I need to go out to look for a person," Mag replied.

"Look for a person?"

Everyone began to look at Mag. Perhaps he knew someone in the Falk Tribe?

"Yes. A very important person. It could perhaps change the situation to a certain degree." Mag nodded. It was very difficult to explain about the system's mission, so he didn't bother to explain further.

"Father, can you bring me along please?" Amy asked with anticipation.

"Not tonight." Mag shook his head. Looking at the pouting Amy, he smilingly patted her head. "Because Father needs Amy's help for something more important."

Amy's eyes lit up again, and she expectantly asked, "What's that? Please tell me, and I will do my very best."

"I will tell you later." Mag smiled, and then said to the rest, "According to the intel, Connie's brother is being held in the dungeon under the chief's palace. That palace has at least two 10th-tier powerhouses, so rescuing him under their noses obviously isn't going to be an easy feat..."

"It's just two low-ranked 10th-tier orcs. Isn't it simply rescuing a person, I think it's rather easy." Irina was looking at Mag with a relaxed expression. "Why don't we just do it after dinner?"

"Including Gary, there are four 10th-tier powerhouses in the Falk Tribe now. Tomorrow is the conferring ceremony, and they're most probably in the inner city now. If we acted rashly, not only would we fail to rescue Connie's brother, we could even get ourselves in trouble." Mag shook his head, and looked at Irina with resignation. "Let's wait for Connie to arrive first. Otherwise, we can't really get her brother out even if we meet him."

"I hope her brother will be more normal," Irina said with pursed lips.

According to the intel, even though Gary had done a few rounds of cleansing in the Falk Tribe, and killed or imprisoned the majority of the orcs who supported the former chief, many in the Falk Tribe still hadn't really chosen to stand on Gary's side, as the former chief was a benevolent leader, and was rather popular among his people.

With Irina present, it wasn't difficult to kill Gary.

However, killing him wouldn't resolve the problems within the Falk Tribe now. The Aug Tribe could always support a new puppet in order to control the Falk Tribe, and achieve their objective to influence the entire orc species.

Connie was the Falk Tribe's princess, after all. Only when she and her brother could regain control of the Falk Tribe and get it out of the Aug Tribe's grasp could they take their stand with the anti-war faction.

Camilla suddenly appeared at the dining table, sat down, and said to Mag, "I can be responsible for scouting the way in and sneaking in. The night is my face veil."

"Mm-hmm. You're more trustworthy than that assassin without a sense of direction," Mag agreed with Camilla.

The Gray Temple's intel didn't tell him exactly where Connie's brother was held. It only roughly deduced that he was in the prison and secret cells underneath the chief's palace.

Before they started with the rescue mission, it was indeed necessary to have a deeper understanding of the area.

"Then, what do we need to do?" Miya asked. Babla, Elizabeth, and the rest were also looking at Mag.

"You all just have to have a good rest tonight. We have to appear professional so we won't arouse suspicion easily." Mag smiled. The more people were involved, the easier their cover would get blown.

After dinner, Mag spoke to Camilla alone for a while, and gave her a map that marked out a few of the possible locations so she could investigate them.

"Did Connie mark them out for you?" Camilla gazed at Mag suspiciously, holding the map in her hands.

"No. I'd spent some money to buy a little intel, but I'm not sure about its accuracy." Mag shook his head.

Camilla left with the map, and Mag also brought the ladies back to the small courtyard that they were assigned to after cleaning up the kitchen.

From the moment they arrived in the inner city, Mag could sense a spiritual power spying on them. Its power was about 5th-tier or 6th-tier. It wasn't very powerful, but it was ample enough to spy on them.

Irina looked toward the spiritual sense with furrowed eyebrows, and said, "Do we need to erase it?"

"There's no need to. Let him watch, he's a blind man after all." Mag shook his head with a smile, and closed the courtyard's door.

The night was getting late. A black shadow darted out of the tall wall of the small courtyard, and disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.

Approximately three minutes later, Mag appeared beyond the city. He swiftly hid within the shadows of the buildings and moved quickly. He soon arrived at an alley whose ground was fully laid with pebbles.

"It should be here, right?" Mag walked into the alley, and he smelled a rich alcoholic aroma in no time. It was the scent of rum.

Following the scent, Mag came to a rather spacious yard. He could even smell the rich alcoholic aroma beyond the courtyard's walls. It was an aroma that made people feel happy, the aroma of rum.

Mag lifted his hand up as he prepared to knock on the door.

"Which little slut's house is this?" Irina, who suddenly appeared on the courtyard's wall, asked him smilingly.

Mag looked up at Irina as he shrugged, and innocently said, "A master brewer's. I would like to learn how to make rum from him."

Chapter 1532: I Thought You Don't Want Me Anymore...

"Are you sure you're here to learn how to brew rum?" Irina turned to look into the yard with a dangerous smile.

"Yes." Mag nodded with conviction. He came to look for an old male brewer in the middle of the night. Apart from learning how to brew alcohol, what else could he do?

"Very good. Then, I will watch you learn." Irina nodded and gestured at Mag to knock on the door.

What is she doing? Perhaps there's something unusual in this courtyard? Mag couldn't help feeling suspicious after seeing Irina's behavior. Following the secret signal given to him by the Gray Temple, he made three long, one short, two long, and one short knocks on the door.

"Haha, you even have a secret signal." Irina smirked coldly.

"Erm... It's an occupational hazard, occupational hazard. Actually, it's my first time here too." Mag smiled awkwardly as he had forgotten the details.

Mag took two steps back and waited for the movement in the yard. He wondered if this Old Sim was like many other elderlies who slept early or a drunk drunkard. That would rather be troublesome.

The system's mission was very crucial. Additionally, Mag wanted to acquire some information from Old Sim. Even though he had already obtained a great deal of intel from the Gray Temple, including a secret missive he received before he left the house in the morning, it would naturally be the best if he had someone on the ground to lead him. It could save him a lot of time needed to verify the information.

Mag waited for a while before he prepared to knock again.

Right then, the yard's door opened suddenly. A fragrant figure dashed out from the yard, and then hugged Mag.

"You finally came! I thought you don't want me anymore..." a coy and aggrieved voice said as if she was an abandoned woman.

"⊙▃⊙??"

What is the situation now?

Mag didn't know if that hug was too warm and soft, or he was startled by the sudden words, but he was stunned for three whole seconds. After hearing a vague murderous sneering, he quickly regained his wits, pushed the hands that were entangled around him off, and took two steps back.

"Miss, have you got the wrong person?" Mag swiftly said after throwing a glance at Irina standing on the wall. Although she looked calm, her eyes were already full of killing intent.

With the light from the lantern hanging by the door, he saw the looks of the maiden that dashed out clearly. It was a tall and voluptuous maiden in a dark green long dress. Her chestnut hair was tied into a ponytail and casually flicked over her left shoulder. She had snowy white skin and a delicate face. Her glowing purple eyes were staring at Mag as if she was a little wife gazing upon her husband she had not seen for a long time.

Mag was certain that he didn't know this beautiful maiden, and he couldn't find any information about her in his memory. Hence, the only possibility was this maiden had recognized the wrong person.

Mag's face turned dark completely.

What the heck is this!?

He really came here to learn how to brew rum... Due to his tight schedule, he could only come here at this time.

And then a maiden came out, and threw herself at him when he knocked on the door.

It was fine if Irina wasn't present. A simple explanation would solve the issue.

But now... wasn't this a show about a wife catching her husband having a rendezvous with his mistress in the middle of the night!?

There would be no way for him to clear his name now.

Mag felt that the sword was already hanging above his head. It would only take a slight move, and he would be dead.

However...

This was the rendezvous location given to him by the Gray Temple. Perhaps this maiden was related to Old Sim?

"Got the wrong person? How could that be? I've been waiting here forever for you to knock on my room's door..." That maiden was gazing at Mag with aggrievement and sadness. "I've been waiting for you for so long. How could you be so heartless..."

"I..."

In that instant, even Mag felt as if he was a jerk who had dumped an innocent maiden and left her pining for him.

However, a murderous aura began to permeate in the air, and that swiftly calmed him down.

After calming down, he panicked even more.

This was f*cking even more misleading!

How was he going to explain now?

If he acknowledged it, he would be a heartless jerk. If he didn't acknowledge it, he would be a jerk who was fooling around.

On one side, it was a teary brunette maiden who almost threw herself into his arms and cried.

On the other side was Irina, who already had her magic caster's staff out, ready to dish out the punishment.

Mag felt very hopeless...

It was so difficult to be a man.

No. I cannot take this lying down! Mag made himself calm down, and cleared his throat at that maiden. "Miss, you should have recognized the wrong person. I came to look for Old Sim the brewer."

"See, you still remember me. I knew you came to look for me." That maiden burst out in tears suddenly, and was about to throw herself at Mag again.

"Wait a sec!!!"

Mag took a huge leap backward, and stared at that maiden in a shock.

Wtf!!!

System! Why didn't you f*cking tell me that Old Sim was a woman! And such a young woman furthermore!!!

Mag couldn't help roaring in his mind.

"Whether Old Sim is female isn't an important piece of information. The ancient people said, 'When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers—'"

"Shut your trap! Go and die! I'm going to cut off your internet fees!"

"Host, useless angry yelling can't resolve the problem. We have to look at this matter dialectically. Old Sim is just a code name. An old man who stinks of alcohol can be called Old Sim, while a sweet-smelling beautiful maiden can also be called Old Sim. Who would you choose when you have a chance to have a deeper interaction with one of them? Furthermore, you haven't paid for your family's internet fees this month. Remember to pay it as soon as possible after you get back," the system replied calmly.

"I..."

Mag furrowed his brows deeply. The intel from the Gray Temple didn't mention anything about this at all, so he naturally took Old Sim to be an old brewer.

Of course, the biggest problem now was this maiden in front of him.

Even if she really was Old Sim, she shouldn't be treating the person who came to meet her like this!

What the heck was this?!

A friend who came from nowhere?

Mag flicked a glance at Irina, who had already raised her magic caster's staff above her head and poised to strike them, the adulterous pair, down from the wall. He felt if he didn't set the record straight now, he would be killed dubiously today.

"Comrade Old Sim, I am the person that the organization sent here to meet you. After your earlier performance, I've already verified your identity," Mag said to that maiden with a grave expression before stretching his right hand to her. "I am Mag and I need your assistance now."

Chapter 1533: You're Really An Outstanding Informant...

"Hmm?" Irina suddenly stared at Mag, and then at that maiden with furrowed brows.

That maiden looked at Mag's outstretched right hand, and her expression got very agitated. She grabbed Mag's hand and immediately nodded with satisfaction. "Yes! It's this feeling!"

Mag's mouth twitched, and then he quickly asked, "What feeling?"

"The feeling of finding the organization," that maiden replied with conviction.

"Yes. Welcome back." Mag heaved a breath of relief. That's right. That's the right way to conduct a conversation.

"And, the feeling of man." That maiden revealed an impish smile.

Mag quickly retrieved his hand. He took out a Gray Temple amulet and passed it to her. He cleared his throat. "Comrade Old Sim, this is my identity amulet. I wonder if you have received the organization's notice."

"Yes. I already received the organization's notice that told me to give you my full assistance." Old Sim took the amulet and had a closer look. She then looked up at Mag with befuddlement. "Do you have any special request for any position?"

"It's not that kind of position." Mag speechlessly retrieved his amulet, and resignedly said, "There could be people watching us here. Let's go in first."

"Yes, yes, yes. Please come in." Old Sim nodded and stepped aside to let Mag go in.

Mag looked up and nodded at Irina, using his gaze to show her that everything was under his control, and he would explain to her later before he entered the courtyard.

After entering, the aroma of alcohol greeted his nose. The buildings on both sides of the yard should be wine cellars.

There were some dresses and skirts hanging in the yard, and a cute swing was set in the corner. Feminine decorations and ornaments could be seen everywhere.

Mag suddenly realized why Irina was making those comments.

Indeed, it was already a miracle that she didn't kill him on the spot.

Old Sim closed the door, dashed over to Mag, and expectantly asked, "Did the organization give me a special assignment? I've already waited 10 years for this day. I am willing to give up everything for the organization, including my life!"

Mag wasn't in a hurry to tell Old Sim the mission, and instead he doubtfully asked, "Miss Old Sim, are you the best brewer in the Falk Tribe?"

This maiden only looked to be around 23 or 24 years old. She didn't look like an experienced brewer or the best rum master brewer in this world that the system had mentioned.

"After my grandpa passed away, I became the best rum brewer in this world." That maiden nodded confidently before shaking her head with a smile. "Old Sim is my grandfather. Actually, my name is Hannah."

"You're not Old Sim!" Mag got a shock again. Wasn't he freaking exposed then?!

"No, I am Old Sim." That maiden shook her head again.

"Then, your grandpa..." Mag was a little confused.

"Old Sim is my grandpa's name. It's also a code name. After my grandpa passed away, I took over his position in the organization, and retained Old Sim as the code name." Hannah smiled. "Therefore, I am Hannah and Old Sim as well."

Mag's eyebrows twitched. He couldn't pinpoint where it was wrong, but he felt it shouldn't be like this.

"Gray Temple?" On the wall, Irina was looking at Mag and Hannah with ponderment on her face.

Although she was still feeling hostile toward this woman who threw herself at Mag, judging from their conversation, it shouldn't be that kind of relationship that she had imagined.

As for whatever organization, apart from Gray Temple, she couldn't come up with any other organization that Mag was close with.

Mag collected his emotions, and calmly said to Hannah, "Alright. Since this is the case, the first mission that the organization gives you is: teach me how to brew rum."

"Huh???"

Hannah was taken by surprise, and she hesitatingly said, "It's simply just to teach you how to brew rum?"

"Yes. This is a very important mission." Mag nodded with conviction.

"I've waited for so many years. Is there a more exciting mission?" Hannah tried to ask. "For example, poisoning the new chief on the conferring ceremony banquet, or burying the son of the chief of the Aug Tribe who will come to participate in the conferring ceremony tomorrow..."

Yo, this lass knows what to do. Irina, who was slightly bored and prepared to leave first, suddenly looked at Hannah with great interest. That was how they should stir up trouble.

Mag was slightly stunned to hear that. With a weird expression, he asked Hannah, "Judging from your identity, you're an informant that provides intel?"

"No. I am an undercover agent," Hannah replied with a puffed-out chest.

"Sure. I will retain your first suggestion, but we're not considering the second one yet." Mag nodded, and continued, "Besides that, another important objective for our current trip is to rescue the former chief's son who is imprisoned."

"Ferdinand. I know him. He's the prince that is even shyer than his sister." Hannah's eyes lit up. "Are we going to act right now?"

"No, no, no. We still require accurate intelligence and planning for the specific operation. That's why I came here to verify some positions and information with you tonight." Mag quickly stopped Hannah, who was already rushing off to get her weapons, with exasperation. This lass was really an impatient informant. It was fortunate that they'd never had to utilize her all these years.

"I know where he is locked up." Hannah looked at Mag perplexedly.

"Errrr..."

Mag retracted his hand that was grasping Hannah's sleeve awkwardly, and then stared at Hannah with befuddlement. "Do you really know where he is locked up?"

"Yes. The people from the Falk Tribe's inner city love to buy alcohol from me. This is also one of the methods that I obtain information with." Hannah nodded her head, and continued, "A head guard was drinking here, and I added a little of talkative water to his wine. Then, he told me where Ferdinand is locked up. If I remember correctly, he is in the dungeon underneath the northern city wall of the inner city. He is locked up alone."

"The dungeon underneath the northern city wall?" Mag frowned as he thought gravely for a while. The information that Gray Temple gave him didn't include that dungeon.

"I have never heard about this dungeon before, either. However, that fellow yesterday was really a big mouth, so he told me the exact position." Hannah smiled.

"You're really an outstanding informant..." Mag already had no idea what else to say.

"Then, should we act right now? I even have my camouflage clothes ready. I have been waiting for this day that the organization's orders arrived." Hannah already began to unbutton her collar.

"Wait!" Mag stopped her immediately. Resigned, he said, "Although that fellow might have told the truth after he was drunk, we're not sure about the actual situation in that dungeon yet, including the interior's map, the guards' condition, the change of shifts, and the actual lock-up situation. If we acted recklessly, not only would we fail, we could also endanger ourselves."

"Sigh... what a disappointment." Hannah was deflated instantly. She frowned and pouted at Mag. "Then, what else could I do?"

Chapter 1534: Are You A Brewer With A Pharmacist Background?

"Tell me everything you know truthfully," Mag told Hannah solemnly.

"Then, that would be a very long story. According to what I know, my grandpa was hung up and beaten for an entire day and night by my great grandpa because he wet the bed..."

"Stop, stop, stop... I am talking about the intel on Ferdinand and the dungeon that holds him." Mag held his forehead as he felt a headache.

"Oh." Hannah pondered seriously for a while before saying, "Ferdinand is 23 years old this year. He looks rather adorable, and resembles his sister. He isn't as tall and bulky like normal orcs. He looks very lean, and has a pair of pinkish ears." Hannah swept her hair aside to reveal a pair of white beast ears underneath her hair as she perplexedly said, "Didn't they say only the royal females will have pinkish ears? See, even mine are white. His are actually pink."

"Mm-hmm." Mag nodded. This was basically in line with what he knew. He continued, "What about the dungeon?"

"The dungeon is situated right underneath the northern inner city wall. The entrance is at the 38th brick of the northern city wall. There are no guards on the exterior, but there are always four guards standing watch at all times inside.

"Apparently, this is a new secret dungeon that the new chief got his trusted subordinates to build on the night that he attacked the inner city. All those who are imprisoned there are the former chief's important relatives and loyal subordinates. Besides Ferdinand, his famously loving uncle and auntie are also held there," Hannah replied.

"Thank you very much for the information." Mag nodded. To obtain such difficult information in such minute detail showed that Hannah was indeed very talented as an informant.

"Then, when will we be taking action?" Hannah still continued to ask relentlessly.

"We will send special people to investigate the actual situation. The specific rescue plan and time are still not—"

Boom!

Before Mag could finish speaking, a loud bang suddenly sounded in the inner city. A fiery red flame rose upward after that, accompanied by heated battling sounds.

"Did those fools really decide to act on their plans?" Hannah looked toward the inner city. She didn't look very surprised at all.

"What plans and act?" Mag was a little stunned. Judging from the magic waves that just came over, it should be a magic done by at least one 9th-tier fire magic caster, which meant Camilla was not involved.

"They're the former chief's followers. Although Gary has been eradicating the orcs that are loyal to the former chief, some of them still managed to go into hiding. Furthermore, Gary has already let out the news that Ferdinand will be executed at tomorrow's conferring ceremony, which will end all the hopes and expectations for the former chief's followers. Hence, these people decided to break Ferdinand out and rescue him the night before." Hannah shrugged. "I heard about this two days ago from an old man. I didn't think they were serious."

"You should have mentioned such important information first." Mag frowned. Judging from the magic waves and battling sounds coming from the inner city, there should be quite a number of orcs taking part in this rescue mission. They most probably were the last batch of the former chief's loyal followers.

"I thought they were just talking about it casually. I didn't expect they would create such a big hoo-ha," Hannah said innocently.

Mag looked toward the inner city, and thought hard with furrowed brows before turning around to ask Hannah, "Are you providing the spirits and wines for tomorrow's banquet?"

"Yes. The spirits and wines specially supplied for the banquet are already prepared in the warehouse. Someone will be here to get them tomorrow morning." Hannah nodded.

"Is there a way to make the people who drink your alcohol get drunk easier or lower their power?"

After thinking for a while, Hannah answered, "If you want them to get drunk faster, I could add in a little confounding drug. While adding to the texture of the alcohol, it would get a normal person drunk with just one cup at the same time. Even a 10th-tier magic caster can't drink more than five cups of it. As for a potion that will lower one's power, among the few potions that I have researched and came up with currently, only the magical activity lowering drug can lower a magic caster's power obviously. However, it doesn't affect the orcs who depend on their strength."

"Are you a brewer with a pharmacist background?" Mag looked at Hannah with suspicion. Talkative water, a confounding drug, magical activity lowering drug... Were these things that a brewer should know?

"I researched and came up with all these things when I was bored while brewing the spirits and wines. After all, brewing is really very boring after a while." Hannah shrugged.

"In this case, add in a little of confounding drug into all the spirits and wines for the banquet, and add in a little of magical activity lowering drug for the spirits and wines intended for the main table," Mag instructed Hannah. He flicked a glance toward the inner city before saying, "We will postpone the mission of learning how to brew rum. I have to go and check out the situation in the inner city now."

"It only takes me 10 minutes to add in the drugs. Can you please bring me along to check out the situation in the inner city? I know the inner city very well too," Hannah said expectantly.

"No. It's very dangerous in the inner city now." Mag shook his head. He solemnly said to Hannah, "Comrade Old Sim, being a good informant, what is the first rule?"

Hannah's expression became solemn as she answered, "Obey the organization's orders at all times!"

"Very good. Execute your order!" Mag turned and walked to the door.

"Yes!" Hannah replied to Mag's retreating back with an excited glow in her eyes. "Yes, yes, yes. It's this feeling! I like this feeling where I'm part of the organization, and have to follow orders! I'm so excited!!"

"We already grasped the basic situation now. I just wonder if Ferdinand has been transferred in the past two days. Moreover, Gary decided to let out the news in advance, so most probably he is trying to catch all the remaining forces who oppose him on the night before the conferring ceremony," Mag said to Irina, who landed softly next to him, after leaving Hannah's small courtyard. "These orcs are most likely the last batch of orcs loyal to the former chief. If they all perish, then Connie and Ferdinand will have a very hard time at reestablishing a stable and strong political power."

"All these things are not important." Irina looked into Mag's eyes quizzically. "Say it. When did you join the Gray Temple? Furthermore, you seem to be doing very well. Did you come clean with Rolan about your identity?"

"My relationship with Gray Temple could be considered as a partnership. I only have an unofficial position, so I didn't join them formally. They increased my level of authority at the last minute before I came to the Falk Tribe." Mag shook his head. "As for my identity, I think Rolan and Michael are already suspecting me, but since they decided to play along, then we don't have to tell them the truth ourselves. Anyway, this will make things easier for all of us."

"These two old wily foxes. They're indeed not easily fooled." Irina pursed her lips. Her gaze landed on the inner city, and an expectant smile slowly appeared on her face. "If we want to save these fellows, then naturally we'll have to create something even bigger."

Chapter 1535: Lord Flerken Will Never Forgive You All For What You Have Done!

"Falk, I, Connie, am back!"

In the dark, a figure was descending slowly down a cliff. The petite figure was making gentle landings on the cliff's wall's protruding rocks every time.

"Meow~"

Right then, a black cat suddenly dashed out from a small cave on the cliff.

"Mamma mia!"

The agile figure got a shock, and she lost her footing on the rock. She fell straight down from a three-meter-high cliff.

"You fellows. To think that I have always brought meat for you guys in the past!" Connie got up from the ground, and patted away the soil on her body as she looked at those heads that popped out from the cliff with annoyance.

Right at this time, sounds of explosions and fighting could be heard coming from the inner city.

"Why did they start fighting? I wonder where Boss and the rest are?" Connie looked over there with befuddlement. After a brief moment of pondering, she dashed toward the inner city.

The black figure was dashing in and out in between the buildings. She didn't reveal herself, nor did she make any sounds. She got close to the inner city rapidly.

"Seems like tonight will be very boisterous." Rex appeared at the top of the cliff, and looked down at the small city that had many fights breaking out right now. His expression remained unfazed. His gaze turned to the northwest. He narrowed his eyes, and whispered to himself, "I wonder if that fellow Auster will appear?"

After standing on the cliff for a while, Rex's gaze landed on the inner city below again, and he gently sighed with a complex expression. He took one step outward, and fell straight down the ravine below.

Having a disciple without any sense of direction was really depressing.

***

In the west of the city, dozens of orcs in black clothes were in an ambush.

The grounds were full of shattered rocks, and a giant hole was blown out. A dark pathway going downward could be seen.

An orc used all his force to bump away a giant rhinoceros, and addressed a tall and lanky orc, who was performing fire magic continuously while he stood among the shattered rocks, as he said, "Lord Durward, we couldn't find Young Master Ferdinand. We might've been tricked!"

After he chanted a complex spell, a giant fiery beast dashed repeatedly into the surrounding crowd, giving the orcs in black who were surrounded a brief moment to regroup.

"How about the other places?" The tall and lanky elderly orc called Durward had worry written all over his face.

"I haven't seen any signals of success rising up. I guess their situation could be worse than ours," the first orc answered.

Durward groaned for a moment before he decisively said, "Get our brothers to charge at them and leave here first!"

"Durward, I'm afraid it's too late for you to decide to leave now?" A sneering voice sounded in the dark, and a fat and stocky orc wearing a tiger-skin coat astride a giant black beast slowly walked out from the dark.

Bone-chilling coldness began to rush over from a seemingly endless darkness, and the fiery beast that was running amok among the orcs seemed to be frozen instantly. It struggled a little before it was extinguished completely.

"Durward, you've actually hidden very well, and completely fooled me and the chief. I didn't expect you to lose your cool at the very last moment." Jeremy looked down on Durward on his giant beast and sneered. "A loyal fellow like you is rare. I wonder if the old chief would be touched if he knew about what you did?"

"Jeremy, you traitorous lackey! How could you repay His Majesty's trust in you like this?!" Durward scolded Jeremy sternly. A faint light appeared on his magic caster's staff again.

"I was always loyal to Chief Gary. You could only blame the old chief for being too stupid, and giving such an important job of guarding the city gates to me." There was a hint of glee in Jeremy's smile. However, his gaze that was fixated on Durward began to get increasingly ruthless. "However, Durward, you old fool, Chief Gary has been very good to you. He even gave you a domain recently, and you actually committed such an act. How dare you call me a traitorous lackey?"

"The old chief had devoted himself entirely to our Falk Tribe, which allowed us to survive the racial war. He even made the Falk Tribe become the second-biggest orc tribe. Gary is nice to me, but my morals cannot accept what he has done. Only Young Master Ferdinand can inherit the chief's position. Gary is the kingslayer, and death is his only end. And it would forever be nailed to the pillar of shame!" Durward said clearly and righteously.

"Ha. History has always been written by the victors since the ancient times. Only you losers will be nailed to the pillar of shame." Jeremy smirked, and raised his black magic caster's staff at Durward. "Since you want to see that little bastard Ferdinand so much, then I will arrest you and execute you together with him tomorrow."

"Although you're called the top powerhouse just below the 10th-tier in our tribe, if you think you can manhandle me easily, you have thought too little of me." Durward pointed his magic caster's staff at Jeremy, and a red fiery dragon shot out from the staff and charged toward Jeremy.

"Ice barrier." Jeremy pointed the magic caster's staff at the giant dragon, and layers of ice barriers like mirrors stacked up in front of that dragon.

Bang, bang, bang!

Accompanied by the sounds of ice shattering, the ice barriers were crushed by the giant dragon. However, the red flames on the dragon were slowly diminished as it crashed through them.

The red giant dragon was so dimmed that it almost disappeared after it crashed through the last ice barrier.

The giant black cheetah underneath Jeremy swung its tail, and smashed that red giant dragon into sparks that scattered in the air.

"Durward, you're already old, and are no longer the Falk Tribe's fire god." Jeremy smirked, and struck the ice barriers into the ground. Those orcs in black were still attempting to resist, but were frozen instantly. The other orcs rushed forward and arrested all of them.

"Lord Flerken will never forgive you all for what you have done!" Durward released three fireballs to force the orcs who rushed toward him back, and then dashed toward the gap that he had forcefully blasted out.

Jeremy moved the giant beast underneath him forward to chase after Durward as he nonchalantly said, "Lord Flerken doesn't care who is the one that makes the offerings to him."

Boom!!!

Right then, a loud bang that reverberated throughout the Falk Tribe came from the north of the city. The entire inner city's ground seemed to shake along with it.

"What's that!?"

Jeremy looked toward the north of the city in a shock. Could there be an even stronger existence that took part in this disturbance?

"What a terrifying commotion!"

All the orcs were shocked too. Some even had no idea how to react.

Chapter 1536: Nobody Will See Me If I Kill All Of Them, Right?

Mag looked at the dozens of meters of city wall that were demolished in front of him and Irina, who was slowly retracting her right foot, and his Adam's apple moved unconsciously.

This was the city wall that was over 10-odd meters high and over five meters thick!

He guessed only a few people, besides the dead, knew that Irina's close combat ability was so scary!

"I wanted to kick you two gently like this when I saw that woman throw herself at you earlier tonight." Irina turned around and smiled at Mag.

"I had a mission, so I had no choice, either," Mag lamented lightly as he felt his calves tremble.

Who could withstand a gentle kick like this?!

"However, we're just going to enter the city, there is no need to demolish the city walls, right?" Mag quickly diverted the topic.

"Didn't you say you wanted to help little Connie keep some useful fellows? They were most likely entangled in an ambush or a melee right now. If we don't create something big, they won't be able to get away," Irina replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"That's right too." Mag pondered for a moment. Diverting attention—Irina had gotten the crux of the military strategy that he taught her.

"Since the wall has already fallen, why don't we just go and check if Ferdinand is really imprisoned in that secret dungeon?" Mag asked Irina. "Are you confident that we can leave before their people arrive?"

"I have sent up a fixed teleportation portal on the cliff earlier. As long as I want to leave, nobody is able to stop me," Irina replied confidently.

"Alright. Let's go and take a look." Mag nodded and took out a black square cloth. He covered his face, and only showed his eyes.

"Don't you need to cover yourself a little?" Mag looked at Irina, who had already reverted to her own looks.

"Nobody will see me if I kill all of them, right?" Irina looked at Mag who had covered himself up completely, with befuddlement.

"Errrr..."

Mag was actually lost for words.

***

"The north of the city?" At the top of the majestic palace tower, Gary was looking toward the north of the city with furrowed brows. Not many in the Falk Tribe were capable of making such a big hoo-ha. One was next to him right now, and the other two were also in the inner city now. He had their support and help when he started the rebellion and slew the king. They wouldn't do this on the night before the conferring ceremony.

An orc in golden armor standing three steps behind him asked, "Chief, do you need me to go and take a look?"

"Go, Basil. See who is the one that dared to come to our Falk Tribe to make trouble. Twist his head off and bring it back to me." Gary smirked.

"Yes." That orc in golden armor called Basil turned and left.

"Get Darryl and Kurt here. I have something to discuss with them," Gary continued to issue an order.

"Yes," a subordinate answered, and he, too, strode off quickly.

"Big Brother, you have been staying in this position for long enough. I'm simply taking back what is rightfully mine. You shall go in peace then. I will make the Falk Tribe the number one tribe, and we might even rule the world one day." Gary looked up into the sky and revealed a mouthful of gleaming fangs. He turned and walked down the tower while leaving behind a cold order. "Kill all the rebels on the spot today."

***

Following Hannah's intel, Mag and Irina found the location of the secret dungeon very quickly. However, this part of the city wall looked exactly the same as the other parts.

"Seems like we need to find the door or perhaps something like a switch—"

Boom!

Before Mag could finish talking, the wall in front of them disappeared again. Only a hole in the ground was left, as well as an orc guard in a shock with his mouth agape.

"What are you looking at? Have you never seen a beauty before?" Irina simply waved her bench, and sent him flying into the wall. He became a splatter of blood on the wall, just like a mosquito.

Seems like I've watched too many TV serials... Mag raised an eyebrow, and then leaped into the hole after Irina, without even sparing a glance at that 8th-tier orc that she had sent flying.

Since he was sent by Gary to guard this place, he had to be his trusted subordinate. They most probably had to kill plenty like him later.

A change of regime was usually brought upon by bloodshed. Gary killing the old chief was through that. Now, how they wanted to kill Gary and return the control of the Falk Tribe to Connie and her brother was the same too.

The underground passage was very narrow. Its width could only allow two people to pass through at the same time. Its height was also less than two meters, and it went all the way downward. There was a wall lamp lit every few meters. The ground was excavated into the rock.

The movement on the ground alerted the guards. A few heavy stone doors dropped down, and sealed the passageway airtight.

However, these stone doors that weighed tons seemed to be made of paper under Irina's legs. She kicked her way into the deepest part of the dungeon.

As for those orc guards who tried to resist, every one of them was sent flying through the air, and became a decoration on the wall horribly.

Mag followed after Irina calmly, and was content to be a little lamb protected by a big boss. He went in without lifting a finger and killing anyone.

The guards in the dungeon were basically all cleared. Mag rescued one from under Irina's feet. He placed the cleaver at his neck, and fiercely asked, "Where is Ferdinand imprisoned?"

That prison guard was already scared out of his mind, so he replied in a quivering voice, "Ferdinand is not here! Please don't kill me... He really isn't here..."

"He's not here? Then, where is he now? I heard he's right here." Mag pressed the cleaver closer, and the razor-sharp blade sliced open the orc's skin.

"He was held here during this period of time! B-but... he was brought away last night. I have no idea where he was brought to... The chief gave the order personally..." The orc almost cried out in a panic, but his lowered hand slowly moved toward his waist.

"A conversation without any value." Irina sent him flying away with a gentle kick, and he became a splatter of "mosquito blood" at the end of the passageway dozens of meters away.

Mag wasn't sure if that orc had spoken the truth, so he asked Irina to wait for a moment while he walked down the dungeon's walkway with a torch.

There were 10-odd cells lining both sides of the walkway. He could see the prisoners huddling in a corner through the cells' doors. Their clothes were in tatters, and they had wounds on their bodies. At first, they were startled by the sounds, but they still looked out instinctively after seeing the light from the fire.

"Where is Ferdinand? We've come to rescue you," Mag said loudly with a frown when he saw those orcs who were already unrecognizable.

"Save me... Save me please. I am loyal to the old chief and Young Master Ferdinand!"

"Save me... Please save me..."

After hearing Mag, everyone in the cell dashed to the doors, extended their arms out in between the metal rods, and yelled at Mag hysterically.

"We're the uncle and auntie of Young Master Ferdinand. Please save us. We might know where he was transferred to." Right at that moment, an urgent voice spoke up in a cell at a corner.

Chapter 1537: Come Out Now. I've Already Seen You

"Huh?"

Mag walked straight to that cell after hearing that. He had heard Hannah mention that Ferdinand's lovey-dovey uncle and auntie were locked up in this dungeon too. Looking at it now, her intel's accuracy was very high.

"Do you know where Ferdinand was brought to?" Mag brought the torch forward, and saw the situation in the cell clearly.

This was a cell that was only five to six square meters big. He could smell a horrible stench as soon as he got close to it. A middle-aged orc couple with messy hair and clothes were leaning against the metal bars. The wounds all over their bodies clearly showed how they were treated inhumanely.

"I am Romeo, and this is my wife, Juliet. The chief's wife was my elder sister. We're also not sure where Ferdinand was brought to. We're very worried now too." The middle-aged orc shook his head with a pained expression. "Ever since Gary rebelled and slew the king, we became his prisoners, and then were rotated around a few prisons and dungeons. We were brought here to this newly built dungeon about 10 days before, and that's when we saw Ferdinand for the very first time. He looked thinner, so he must have suffered during this time. Someone went into his cell and brought him away soon after. We don't know where he has gone."

These names... Mag raised his eyebrows as he felt something was not right.

Juliet was calmer, and analyzed, "We've heard those fellows say they're going to kill us on Gary's conferring ceremony, and the banquet is around these two days. Maybe Gary took Ferdinand to the palace where they have the most powerful and secure guards. That is also the safest place."

Mag frowned. Romeo and Juliet's words had confirmed that Ferdinand was no longer in this cell. They were still late, and missed the opportunity.

"Someone's coming," Irina deliberately said in a lowered voice.

"Can you bring us with you, please?" Romeo looked at Mag, and then at the end of the passageway before he said with clenched teeth, "If it's not possible, please bring my wife with you. Help her out of this dirty and dark place. Please."

Mag turned around to ask Irina, "Can we make it?"

"It's not a problem to kill them all, but there's a possibility that we might expose ourselves. The other three 10th-tiers would come here very quickly." Irina threw a glance at Romeo and Juliet with furrowed brows, and said, "We could only bring one of them with us. The teleportation portal is very small."

"Then..." Mag looked at the two people in the cell. Their original plan tonight was to rescue Ferdinand, so there wasn't any extra space for a second person.

"Please bring her along with you. She's a graceful woman. She shouldn't be staying in this damp and dark dungeon. A beautiful flower should blossom at a place full of sunshine," Romeo said lovingly.

"You're my sunshine. If I left alone, this world would become much more cruel even when I was not in this dungeon. We have promised each other. How can I leave you here alone?" Juliet shook her head, and smiled at Mag with a dirty and tired face. "Leave us be. He would not leave me alone, either. Go now and don't get caught."

Mag saw calm and happiness in that smile. After a moment of silence, he nodded. "Alright."

Mag walked to Irina, and gently said, "Let's go."

"If we work together, it's not difficult to kill those two fellows out there." Irina looked toward Romeo and Juliet.

"If those two fellows died, then Ferdinand would be dead before we found him." Mag shook his head.

"I'm indeed not good at playing hide-and-seek." Irina rolled her eyes. She only wanted to flip the tables.

Sounds of footsteps could already be heard coming from the end of the passageway. The orcs who were locked up in the cells quickly exclaimed for Mag and Irina to save them.

When Mag stepped into the lit up circle on the ground, he saw a little girl who was squeezed to the edge of the cell extending her little arm to him. That pair of eyes seemed to be very dull in the dark. The little arm that was extended out was also limp, as if she no longer had any hope for anything.

Irina's gaze also landed on that little girl. The champagne golden teleportation portal lit up under their feet, and both of them disappeared in a blink.

Almost at the same time, the orc in golden armor, Basil, dashed in from the walkway with his iron rod tightly clenched in his hands, and sized up his surroundings warily.

His gaze landed on those stone doors that were damaged, and he narrowed his eyes.

With his immense strength, it wasn't difficult for him to crush these stone doors. However, Darryl had placed inscriptions personally on these stone doors. Even if he wanted to damage them rapidly, he had to transform into his beast form.

Meanwhile, these damaged stone doors didn't have traces of magic, nor were there any traces of powerful magical elements in the surroundings.

Which meant the other party had terrifying power, and smashed through these stone doors with brute force, entering the dungeon with the most simple and direct method.

The dungeon guards were all killed, and they died in a very direct manner too. They should've been smacked to death instantaneously with some kind of blunt object.

After making this judgement, Basil's expression became grave, and his approaching steps became even more cautious.

The other party was most likely like him, a 10th-tier powerhouse who had great strength.

There wasn't another one like in the Falk Tribe, so the only possibility was that the other species wanted to interfere in their Falk Tribe's affairs.

Deducing from the time frame, the other party should be still in the dungeon now. He had sealed the exit, so there would most probably be an intense battle later.

However, they were in the Falk Tribe after all. He only had to ask Gary for help, and they would be here immediately.

"Come out now. I've already seen you." Basil bluffed.

The walkway was in complete silence. The scent of blood permeated the air, and the orcs in the cells were all shivering in a corner, as if they were all terrified.

Nobody answered Basil.

***

A golden beam lit up on the cliff. Mag couldn't help addressing Irina with surprise when he saw the little girl who appeared next to them. "Y-you brought her out."

That little girl appeared to be around 10 years old. Although she was looking at the whitish surroundings with a dazed expression, and was shivering due to her thin clothes, her eyes began to light up gradually as she breathed in fresh and free air.

Irina looked at that little girl, and piteously said, "She's the one that shouldn't be in there. Those fellows indeed deserve to die."

Chapter 1538: It's Indeed Rare To See An Assassin Like You

"Let's find a place to settle her down first." Mag flicked a glance at that timid girl, and after a moment of pondering, he looked into the Stone Alley.

"Old pal, we will leave this child with you. Please take good care of her." Five minutes later, Mag knocked on Hannah's door again, and handed the child to her while she was in a daze. Then, he closed the yard's door for her.

"Seems like tonight's upheaval is one of Gary's plots. He wanted to do a complete cleansing before the conferring ceremony," Mag said with furrowed brows. "In this case, Ferdinand is most likely not held in the other prisons or dungeons. He's most probably in the palace."

"Should we attack the palace tonight?" Irina's eyes glowed a little.

"We're not familiar with the palace, so we shouldn't sneak in. Moreover, the other party has at least four 10th-tier powerhouses, so it's not a good idea to attack head-on." Mag shook his head.

"Then, are we just going to sit back and watch?" Irina frowned.

"Connie should have already arrived by now. According to our agreement, she will come and look for us. We could give her the job of sneaking in and assassinating. She knows the palace better than any one of us."

"Is that really so?"

"Perhaps... it's so." Mag suddenly lost his confidence.

"Since her bald master dares to let her out, we should give her a chance and place to prove herself. I don't believe that the Hairless Monk will let the disciple that he took in after his hair regrew go to her death." Mag chuckled. "If I have guessed correctly, he should be following after Connie closely. No one could let out a disciple like her in peace."

"You've become treacherous." Irina looked at Mag.

"The world has changed."

"I like it."

"Errrr..."

***

Main kitchen... Main kitchen... Where is the main kitchen? They usually sent my meals to the palace, so how would I know where the main kitchen is? Connie crouched on the top of a tree and poked her fingers aggrievedly. She didn't expect to get herself lost as soon as she got into the city.

After staying on the tree for a while, and making sure that there was no way she could locate the main kitchen in the night with her eyes, she slid down the tree trunk, and grabbed an orc from a heated fight close by.

"I have something to ask you. I will let you go if you tell me properly, but I will kill you if you lie to me." Connie, who had covered her face, placed her three razor-sharp claws on that orc's neck.

That orc felt the chill on his neck, and said in a quivering voice, "I-I will tell you everything. Don't kill me..."

"Tell me. Where is the main kitchen?" Connie asked coldly.

"Huh?" That orc was obviously taken aback. Everyone that he met tonight had asked where Young Master Ferdinand was; why was she asking where the kitchen was? Perhaps this petite but ruthless orc in black simply wanted to have a meal?

"I will kill you if you don't tell me." Connie retracted her claws a little, and the sharp blade scratched his neck.

"I'll tell you! The main kitchen is in the west of the city. Walk westward along this road, and the biggest yard there is the main kitchen," that orc quickly replied. He was afraid to get killed out of the blue over a kitchen.

"Westward?" Connie looked around her and pondered seriously for a moment. Then, she pulled that orc out from the wall, and pressed her claws against his back. 'Bring me there!"

"I..." That orc had an innocent expression. Why did all this have to happen to him? First, he was sent to quash those fellows who broke out of the prison, and now he was being kidnapped out of the blue. However, due the bone-chilling coldness behind him, he had to bring Connie westward.

She learned how to get someone to lead the way. That's a good start. Rex stood on a faraway wall, and nodded with satisfaction as he watched Connie hurry away as she made that orc lead the way.

About 10 minutes later, that orc stopped in front of an alley, and pointed at a big courtyard in front of them. "That is the main kitchen. Can you let me go now?"

"There's a smell of food." Connie smelled and nodded with acknowledgement. After some thought, she removed her claws from that orc's back, and deliberately coldly said, "You can scram now!"

That orc immediately turned and ran after he heard her. He soon turned into an alley, and disappeared from her sight.

"Why are you running so fast? I'm not going to kill you." Connie threw a glance in the direction where that orc disappeared with wonder before she walked toward the main kitchen. Everywhere in the Falk Tribe was in a mess right now. She had no idea where or what she should do now, so she had to find Boss to get her mission first.

"Phew..."

That orc ran across almost half of the inner city and detoured around seven or eight alleys before he leaned against a corner of a wall and panted harshly.

"That woman earlier should've been Princess Connie, right? Pinkish-white ears and a petite figure, there's no one else besides her in the Falk Tribe." There was a hint of excitement on that orc's face. "Her bounty is as high as 10,000,000 copper coins. I'm going to make a report, and get someone to arrest her now!"

"There's no need for that now." A tall and strapping black shadow appeared at the end of the alley, and walked to him slowly.

"W-who are you!?" that orc asked nervously as he drew his broad sword hanging on his waist out in panic.

"I hate to waste my breath with the dead." That man appeared in front of that orc, and then gave him a punch.

The broad sword shattered under the iron fist, and that orc's terrified face was also shattered at the same time.

"This lass is still too soft-hearted." Rex kicked that orc into a pile of rocks, and then left.

Connie flipped over the wall and went into the kitchen agilely. She ran one round on the rooftop with light footsteps, and after deciding on a direction, she was about to dash over there.

"I say, where do you want to go?" a deep voice spoke out.

"Woah!"

Connie got a shock and her sharp claws sprung out. She only heaved a breath of relief after she turned to have a look. With surprise, she asked Mag who was sitting on the rooftop, "Boss, what are you doing there? Don't you feel cold in the wind?"

"Of course I am cold." Mag rubbed his hands as he stood up. He went up to the roof in the middle of the night because he was afraid that this fellow would get lost again. He was about to get off the roof, but he couldn't help curiously asking Connie, "Where did you go and look for us earlier?"

"The kitchen. Don't you usually stay in the kitchen? I'm a professional assassin, so I still have that little bit of judgement," Connie replied confidently with a smug "ain't I smart" smile on her face.

"It's indeed rare to see an assassin like you." Mag nodded with a complex expression. He suddenly couldn't understand why Rex would take in this disciple. Was he really to tarnish his reputation in his old age?

He wouldn't be surprised if she freaking killed her employer by accident!

Chapter 1539: What A Cute Little Bat!

Mag brought Connie down the roof, and walked to the small courtyard under the cover of the night. They made small talk as they walked. "Do you have any special feelings after coming back to the Falk Tribe again?"

"It feels... a little strange." Connie's emotions seemed to be rather down.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Those..." Mag quickly consoled her. She was originally the tribe's little princess, and she became a downtrodden assassin in the blink of an eye. Her loved ones were either killed or imprisoned. She had to have felt terrible coming back to this place again.

"I felt the buildings and roads have changed a lot. I'm afraid I will get lost again," Connie said gravely.

Mag choked on the words that he was about to say. He only managed to clear his throat after a while, and said, "I-it's fine. Take things slowly."

"Oh, yes. Do you all know where my brother is imprisoned? I want to go and save him tonight!" Connie asked Mag with concern.

"We have already been to a secret dungeon tonight. Your brother was held there before, but it's a pity that he had already been transferred out when we arrived. Meanwhile, the other prisons were also attacked tonight. This should be Gary's plot to eradicate the last batch of orcs who are loyal to the former chief. Hence, your brother is most probably in the palace right now," Mag told her as they continued walking forward.

"The palace?" Connie halted and her eyes lit up. "That is the place which I am most familiar with, including all its secret passages and dungeons. I hid in them when I played hide-and-seek with my brother when I was young. I will go and rescue him right now."

"He's right there, so what's the hurry?" Mag grabbed Connie, who was about to turn and leave. He said, "Gary is in the palace right now, and there could be another two or three 10th-tier powerhouses with him. Are you able to kill them all?"

"I-I am very professional." Connie opened and then closed her mouth. She was obviously not very confident.

"Come here, we need to make a detailed plan." Mag opened the yard's side gate, and pulled Connie into the big room in the center.

In the room, everyone had changed into black camouflage clothes. Including Camilla who had returned from her failed investigation, everyone was present.

"Big Sister Connie, did you get lost on your way home too?" Amy asked Connie curiously.

"I-I was not lost. This is my home." Connie quickly waved her hands.

"The situation is basically clear now. We couldn't find Ferdinand in all the prisons and dungeons that we know of. Right now, there are more than 500 people trying to attack the prisons and rescue Ferdinand, causing the current chaos." Mag took out a Falk Tribe's map. The few prisons that were still involved in fighting were marked with a red pen. He used a pen to point out the palace in the center of the inner city, and said, "Now, this is our target. We have to sneak into the palace to search for the possible locations where Ferdinand could be imprisoned, and rescue him while making sure that we're safe."

Camilla slumped in a chair lazily as she asked Mag, "I just made one round at the periphery of the palace. There are at least three 10th-tier powerhouses in there, two of them are even magic casters. It's not an easy feat to bypass the cordons that they set up and sneak into the palace to rescue a person. How are we going to achieve that?"

Everyone frowned with tension and uneasiness after hearing that.

Irina was the most powerful among them without a doubt.

Apart from her, it was Camilla who had a 9th-tier power, followed by Elizabeth and Gina who had an 8th-tier power.

Babla was a 7th-tier spatial magic caster, and Yabemiya's combat power was roughly around 5th-tier, but they had never been in a real battle before.

Anna and Jane were negligible in the area of combat.

Amy, with her little fire lotus, could hold her own against a 7th-tier opponent for some time when she gave her all.

Even including Mag, who had hidden his power, they had no chance of winning at all.

It was very important to Gary to execute Ferdinand in front of everyone. It meant the end of an era, and also signified that the Falk Tribe had entered into his era formally.

He didn't even trust the dungeon that he had just built today, so they could see the importance that he placed on Ferdinand.

"Perhaps one or even two of those 10th-tier powerhouses are already guarding next to Ferdinand right now," Elizabeth said in a cold voice.

Everyone's gaze landed on Mag. The huge difference in their power and the uncertainty of Ferdinand's location had made this rescue mission extremely difficult.

"Earlier, we attempted and successfully lured a 10th-tier powerhouse out of the palace by creating a commotion in the inner city. If we want to get into the palace to rescue Ferdinand, we have to lure all the 10th-tier powerhouses out of the palace first to ensure the safety of our people who are responsible for sneaking in." Mag looked at Irina.

"You can give this job to me. It's not difficult for me to even demolish the entire inner city." Irina nodded with a relaxed expression before continuing, "However, I cannot promise that all those fellows will be lured out of the palace."

Mag looked at Babla. "Babla, I need you to set a single-use instantaneous teleportation portal between the interior of the palace and the canyon 10 kilometers away. Once we found and rescued Ferdinand or the mission failed, we would be able to evacuate safely and quickly."

"Alright." Babla stood up, and said to Yabemiya, "Miya, bring me out of the city, please."

"Sure." Yabemiya swiftly got up.

"Be careful. After you set up the spell formation beyond the city, come back to this small courtyard to rendezvous with us, and we will sneak into the palace together," Mag reminded them.

Both of them acknowledged before Babla used a short distance teleportation spell to get Miya and herself out of the main kitchen.

Mag said to Camilla, "Camilla, I need you to locate the four 10th-tier powerhouses, conduct real-time surveillance on them, and report to me in real time. This concerns the safety of our frontline personnel."

Camilla hesitated for a moment before she waved her hand. One small black bat flew out from her wide sleeve, and landed on Mag's shoulder.

"What's this?" Mag flicked a glance at the little bat on his shoulder with confusion. Compared to usual shifty-looking bats, this bat looked rounder and prettier.

"Wow, what a cute little bat." Amy kneeled on stool and reached out to pat that little bat.

"Yes. It looks really cute." Mag also couldn't help reaching out to pinch that bat's face. It was soft and very comfortable to pinch.

"D-don't touch!"

Camilla, who was initially slumping in the chair lazily, instantly sat up and pressed her legs together. Her face also flushed red instantly.

Chapter 1540: Please Respond If You Hear Me!

"Huh?"

Everyone was looking at Camilla, who reacted strangely, with befuddlement.

"This is my personal bat. I can talk to you all through it. It represents me, so you all have to respect it!" Camilla said unnaturally.

"Oh." All of them were wondering.

Biotechnology. Mag was equally surprised too before he said in his mind, "System, I'm refunding one walkie-talkie."

"Host, the walkie-talkie is a custom-made item, so no refunds once sold!" the system replied solemnly.

"Ha. I am an esteemed PLUS member, so I enjoy a 7-day unconditional return policy. If you don't refund me, then I am not going to continue with my annual plan!" Mag smirked coldly.

The system was silent for a long time before a merchandise credit slip slowly moved across Mag's mind. One custom-made walkie-talkie—1,499 copper coins.

Mag looked at that bat who looked a little obtuse, and used a finger to poke its armpit as he doubtfully asked, "Is this personal bat stable?"

Camilla shot up from her seat immediately and clenched her right arm instinctively as she walked to the window. She said with an unnatural expression, "I'm setting off now."

Camilla stopped next to Mag, and gravely warned him, "And, I am warning you again. Don't touch it casually, or else I'm taking it back!"

Mag put his palms upward. He simply thought that this bat was rather dumb and cute. He again reminded her, "Remember to conceal yourself and be careful."

"The dark night is my veil. We, vampires, are the real rulers of the dark night."

Camilla snorted with an unknown emotion. She pushed the window half-open, transformed into a black bat, and disappeared into the dark.

"Why is she so fierce?" Mag cocked an eyebrow before poking at that little bat's armpits twice.

"Hahaha..."

Nobody noticed that a bat suddenly let out a weird laughter in midair. It lost its stable flying stance immediately, and crashed into a shrubbery directly.

After a while, the bat flew out from the shrubbery again and let out an angry roar. "Mag, you bastard!!!"

Mag didn't bother to irritate that obtuse bat after seeing that it didn't react. He said to the rest, "We will have to sneak into the palace after those 10th-tier powerhouses are lured out of it. Connie, you're good at stealth and know the palace well, so you will be responsible for searching for the places that Ferdinand could be imprisoned in. I, Amy, Elizabeth, and Gina will be responsible for responding to you and assisting in the search."

"Yes." Connie nodded. After looking at the bat on Mag's shoulder, she asked, "How am I going to contact you if I find him?"

"This is a micro walkie-talkie. Everyone, put it in your ear, and we can have an unobstructed conversation within a 10 kilometers' range." Mag took out a box, and gave them an in-ear micro headphone each from the box.

"Like this. Wear it in your ear. Press on the on/off button gently, and we can get into our shared communication channel." Mag demonstrated to them how to wear the micro walkie-talkie, and then pressed it on.

Everyone followed Mag's example, and put on the walkie-talkie. The contact surface was smooth and comfortable, so there wasn't any discomfort after they put it on, and it didn't affect their hearing at all.

"0101, I am 01. All combat units, please respond if you hear me," Mag said with a deliberately lowered voice.

"Oh?"

An amazed look appeared on all of their faces at the same time immediately.

"Father, how did your voice get into my ear?" Amy looked at Mag with surprise.

Gina and Elizabeth shivered at the same time as they blushed.

Will... my ears get pregnant like this? Gina thought worriedly. She had never listened to a man talking to her at such a close distance before. It was almost like he was speaking with his mouth pressing against her ear. Her heart even seemed to tremble when his voice appeared.

Elizabeth also had an uncomfortable expression. Such an intimate whispering sensation made her a little uncomfortable, even though it was simply verifying her equipment with everyone else.

Meanwhile, Connie already began to make conversation. "0101, I am 02. Please reply if you hear me."

Her voice also appeared in everyone's ears clearly.

"Haha. This is fun." Amy's eyes lit up, and her voice also appeared in everyone's ears too.

Everyone soon got rid of their embarrassment, and began to have fun talking to one another.

The microphone had a great reception. Furthermore, it muted the miscellaneous ambiance noises apart from the person's voice, making the conversation sound less disrupted.

"Alright, let's give one another code names. There will be strictly no chatting during the operation. Observe discipline..." Mag began to establish order and arrange the division of labor.

***

"10th-tier orc?" In the resplendent great hall, Gary was listening to his subordinates' report with furrowed brows. He had a surprised and puzzled expression.

Darryl, wearing soft black armor, got up, and said, "Chief, since Basil already had him trapped in the dungeon, should Kurt and I go there together as well to apprehend him?"

The orc with a scar on his fleshy face also got up, and angrily said, "How dares he make trouble on the night before the chief's conferring ceremony? He is disrespecting the Falk Tribe. We will catch him and execute him together with that kid Ferdinand so they will know that our Falk Tribe is not meant to be trifled with!"

Gary frowned, still deep in thought.

Right then, a huge bang came from the south.

"What's that?" The three of them in the hall were shocked. This disturbance was as loud as the previous one.

A guard rushed in very soon. He knelt on one knee, and nervously reported, "Chief, all the guards and the reinforcements sent to the prison in the city's south were annihilated by a mysterious person. No one survived!"

"What?!" Gary raised his voice.

"Perhaps there are more than one 10th-tier powerhouse!" Shock could be seen on Darryl's and Kurt's face at the same time.

The prison in the south of the city was the Falk Tribe's largest prison. It held a lot of prisoners, and the majority of them were the former chief's followers and family members. Many of them would be executed at tomorrow's conferring ceremony.

That was also the largest trap that they set. They let out news that Ferdinand was being imprisoned there, and then arranged for a troop of powerful reinforcements to mop up most of the troublemakers. The ones who led the operation were even two 9th-tier magic casters.

And such an elite force was annihilated right under their noses!

"Darryl, Kurt, bring our people to the prison in the city's south, and kill all those attacking and escaping fellows!" Gary ordered with a sinister expression.

"Yes!" The two of them acknowledged together, and then strode out.

"Where did all these fellows come from? Perhaps Auster wants to change his mind?" Gary paced two rounds in the hall before he went to press a block of wood that was protruding out from the side of his throne. The throne began to turn toward inward, and revealed a narrow passageway.

Gary strode in.

Chapter 1541: In Action!

Outside the city south's prison, the orcs in black, who were surrounded, watched a man kick the ceiling cover of the jail cell away in awe. Their hopelessness turned into joy and a little bit of fear.

Even ghosts and devils could not be compared to him. He simply appeared from above and landed among a group of orcs, just like a wolf appearing in a flock of sheep. Even the 9th-tier magic casters could not keep up with him, and were all beaten up into minced meat.

He alone could go against 1000 opponents.

The scariest part was that after the end of the fight, the orcs in black just watched the man disappear into the distance without having seen his face clearly.

He only left them with a sentence. "Connie told me to save you all."

"It's Princess Connie!!!"

"Princess Connie did not die!"

"She's back with formidable help!"

Everyone suddenly let out cries of surprise and joy after being stunned for a moment.

All this while, there had been news that Princess Connie had been killed, and therefore Young Master Ferdinand was the chief's only child left.

They didn't think that Princess Connie even found such a formidable helper to reinstate the Falk Tribe instead of dying.

Now that the prison was destroyed, the orcs that were held captive could escape with the help of the orcs in black.

Little fellow, I can only lure these old things out so you have some more space. Rex rushed towards the noisy battlefield. These orcs might be a little stupid, but they were still the building blocks of the future government. He had to save some of them.

He had always been good at killing.

Of course, after staying in Bastie Prison for more than 100 years, he was no longer so temperamental.

However, the moment he set foot on this piece of land, his blood started to boil with passion. He wanted to kill. He longed to kill.

This piece of land was her hometown.

He once set foot here and sat by the cliff to watch the sunrise.

And at that time, she was sitting somewhere not far away, watching him quietly.

She was a kind lady.

She should not have passed away so quietly just like that.

He had to kill these people. These people drove her to her grave.

There were too many people here, all of them looking abhorrent, so the only thing he could do to calm his raging heart was to kill them.

***

Just as Mag was about to set off, the black bat that had been sitting quietly on his shoulder suddenly spoke, and Camilla's voice came out from it. "There is an intense fight in the city's southern region. Two 10th-tier powerhouses came out from the palace, and they are rushing to the southern side with people with them."

"Hm?" Mag was a little surprised. Irina had yet to set out, so this sudden movement seemed a little strange.

Could it be that the Hairless Monk has already taken action? That was the only method that Mag could think of that could successfully lure the two 10th-tier powerhouses out.

"If that's the case, we should get started too." Mag smiled. With the Hairless Monk's participation, the difference in capabilities between both sides narrowed down.

"Then I'll go to the city's western region to loiter around. I'll try to get close to the palace. If you meet with any danger, I'll rush over immediately," Irina told everyone. She stood up, and a large spell formation that was almost the size of the entire room appeared underneath her. With a flash of light, everyone in the room disappeared, and the fire on the oil lamp on the table also went out.

Mag and the rest could only see a flash of light, and they were already outside a grand and imposing palace.

"When you run into danger, give me your location," Irina told Mag again before disappearing.

Mag looked at the palace that gleamed as the fire lit it up. He squinted slightly. There was a light shield three meters away. It was like a bowl cupped downwards, covering the palace.

"Follow me. I know how we can avoid all the traps and sneak in through the protective shield." Connie rushed over and beckoned everyone over. After that, she went into the bushes on the left.

"Let's go." Mag was the first to follow behind Connie. This was her house, after all. Even though the owner of the house had changed, they could not possibly change everything.

After walking nearly halfway around the palace, Connie brought everyone through a secret passageway that was hidden by some dried shrubs, and only entered when she was certain that they would not cause too many changes to the dining area.

"Doesn't this place look like a hole for little dogs?" Amy asked softly.

Everyone had a strange expression. That was what they were worried about too.

"The cats we rear in the palace would occasionally go in and out through this hole. We do not have dogs in the palace," Connie explained. After that, she walked towards the hole, and said, "I'll go in first. We can communicate via the walkie-talkie if there's anything important."

Everyone saw Connie disappear into the passageway very quickly. They hesitated for a while, and also went ahead through the tunnel.

The other side of the passageway was an inconspicuous tree hollow.

This passageway brought them into the palace without causing any changes to the protective shield.

Mag looked around, and could quickly pinpoint their location based on some landmarks. "This should be the garden. There's no rush to go in deep. We can start our operation when Gary is also lured out." He told everyone to calm down, stay put, and wait for instructions.

Irina's and Rex's operation had already successfully lured 30 powerhouses away. Once Gary couldn't take it and left the palace, they would be able to search the place freely.

The strong magic waves from the western region quickly spread over. Even at the palace, Mag and the others could clearly feel how terrifying the impact and the strength of the initial wave of shock must have been.

***

"There are even 10th-tier powerhouses?" In the passageway to the secret chamber, Gary paused in his tracks and looked to the west as though he had a premonition. His gloomy face changed a little as he pondered deeply for a while. He turned around decisively and walked towards the exit.

"Send my orders out. Get Basil back to the palace!" Gary ordered once he returned to the hall.

"Yes!" A loud response came from outside the hall, and two orcs quickly left after receiving the orders.

"You want to lure me out so that you can come in to search the palace, eh? I do want to see if you can snatch him away from me," Gary scoffed, and turned back towards the passageway.

The interior of the passageway was adorned with luminous gemstones. The gentle lights from the stones lit up the 10-meter-long passageway which led to a spacious room.

A young orc was sitting by the table. In front of him was a boiling pot of tea.

"Someone's here to save you," Gary said sarcastically as he sat in front of the young orc.

"I didn't think that there would still be people that would come to save me." The young orc laughed in self-mockery. He suddenly coughed violently twice, and quickly used the white handkerchief in his hand to cover his mouth. He slowly tightened his grip on the handkerchief as a spot of red started spreading outwards.

Chapter 1542: Ay The Assassin, Ready In Position!

"Attention all! Attention all! The 10th-tier orc in the northern region of the city has started advancing towards the palace. It's not going towards the west! It's not going towards the west!"

Camilla's voice suddenly came out from the bat on Mag's shoulder.

"Are we going back straight to the palace?" Mag frowned. This was a little different from his plans.

"They might have already seen through our target." Elizabeth waved her hand, and several crushed ice crystals flew in all directions to form an ice screen in front of everyone. Scenes from several places appeared on sections of the ice screen, just like on a big screen displaying scenes taken from several surveillance cameras in a monitoring room.

They could see that the level of defense had increased rapidly from the various screens, and there were more patrolling troops. The entire palace seemed to have gone into defense mode.

Mag was shocked that Elizabeth could still pull something like this out of her sleeve, but other than that, he also agreed with her judgment.

Everyone knew that the target for tonight was Ferdinand, and because Ferdinand was in Gary's hands, the latter had the last say.

The commotions happening in the northern, southern, and western regions of the city were just distractions amidst all the chaos so that they could use the chance to take action.

However, Gary seemed to have seen through their plan right now. He simply ignored their provocations, and chose to guard the palace and Ferdinand.

"That's tough." Babla kicked a small pebble by her feet and looked around. "Then where should I set up the teleportation portal? If it's two 10th-tiers, do we still want to give it a try?"

Everyone's brows were tightly knitted. This situation was indeed nerve-racking.

"That fellow will not make it back to the palace," Irina suddenly said.

It was a very confident proclamation, but it seemed as though that was only right since she was Irina.

"Let's go. We should set off too." Mag walked towards the exit of the tree hollow. If it was just Gary alone, they could still give it a try.

Even in the worst-case scenario, he had the confidence to send everyone to the teleportation portal to leave, albeit risking revealing his identity.

He had not really gone all out to test out the upper limit of a 9th-tier when in top form.

"Elizabeth, you're in charge of monitoring and directing us to avoid the patrolling orcs while infiltrating the palace in the quietest way possible," Mag told Elizabeth. The use of icicles to capture images was too handy. It had turned most of the palace grounds into their territory.

"Okay." Elizabeth nodded. She grazed her finger on the ice screen, and the two-meter-long screen quickly shrank to half a meter square, and it hovered in the air diagonally in front of her to the left. After that, she walked in front to lead the way.

"Let's go. Don't make a sound," Mag told the rest. He let them walk in front, while he followed at the back.

The group darted around quickly under the cover of the night. With Elizabeth as their guide, they could avoid all the patrolling troops very nimbly, and infiltrate the inner palace silently.

Although the Falk Tribe's palace could not be compared to the Roth Empire's palace in terms of scale, it was still a rather large place. It was built with giant black stones of equal size. The interior was very spacious, and the intersecting long corridors dissected the place into several sections and rooms.

After Mag and the gang entered the palace, they started to check the rooms according to the information from the Gray Temple.

There was a tense and dangerous atmosphere around the Falk Tribe. That was why so many people were unable to sleep despite it being so late at night. This made their search a lot harder.

"The palace maids in this room have fainted. They'll be fine tomorrow morning after a night's sleep," Babla said softly as she put her hands down slowly.

The group had accidentally gone into a palace maids' room. Luckily, they were settled before they could let out any sound.

Mag reconfirmed their current position, and asked Babla, "Are you sure none of them will wake up tonight?"

"I've imposed a second spell. If anyone wakes up beforehand, they will be knocked out again." Babla nodded confidently.

"Then set up the teleportation portal here. This place is almost equidistant from our three targets. If anything happens, the time we take to escape will be similar. This is the best spot to make our escape." Mag looked around and pointed at the space in the middle as he told Yabemiya, "Miya, you'll be in charge of helping Babla."

"Mm-hmm." Yabemiya nodded. She was very aware that she might not be able to provide much help during the fight.

"Alright." Babla nodded. She pulled out a pile of materials needed to make the teleportation portal from her spatial bracelet. A one-time-use teleportation portal would require very good quality materials and top-notch skills in terms of setting up. The specificity and accuracy in skill level required would have to increase for the start-up time to decrease. A normal top-notch formation master would require several days to finish the setup.

However, for Babla, a genius formation master who could fix ancient teleportation portals, a teleportation portal of this standard was a walk in the park.

After serving dishes in Mamy Restaurant for several months, the world would probably have forgotten that she, Babla Niohuru, was the princess of the Moon Nation, the youngest top-notch spatial magic caster and a genius formation master.

"These are the three places that we will need to search tonight. They are a royal secret chamber, a possible underground cell, and a treasure vault." Mag pointed at three points on the map, and looked at Elizabeth, Yabemiya, and Gina as he said, "We're going to split into two groups. Amy and I will search for the possible underground cell. Elizabeth, you bring Gina over to the secret chamber. Remember, do not get into fights if possible. We want to ascertain Ferdinand's location before the enemies are alerted. Otherwise, the plan would fail.

"The moment someone triggers a trap or if anyone's identity is exposed, return here immediately. We have to leave this place before the opponent's 10th-tier powerhouses find us.

"Safety first," Mag said seriously as he looked straight into Elizabeth's eyes.

"Okay." Elizabeth looked back at Mag and nodded slightly. She looked at Amy, and then at Mag, and hesitated a little before saying, "It'll probably make more sense to change the groupings."

Everyone looked at Mag as well. Although they roughly knew that he was quite strong, he was not a real knight, after all. Therefore, they were also a little shocked that he would join and even personally direct today's operations. Now, he even wanted to do the search with Amy, and that made them a little worried.

Mag also seemed to have realized that he appeared overly confident, and that did not match his kind and dignified restaurant owner image. He smiled, and said, "Don't worry about me. It's just a storeroom over there. We still can't be certain if there's a secret chamber there or not. If there really is one, I will come back quickly to get help."

"Safety first." Elizabeth knew that Mag wasn't one who would risk Amy's safety. After thinking for a while, she left with Gina.

"Let's go, Little Ay, we should get going too." Mag straightened Amy's night camouflage clothes, and took her hand as they walked out of the palace maids' room.

The place that they were going to was a real jail cell. Judging from the Gray Temple's information, there were several very important criminals locked up there, and he wasn't sure if Ferdinand wouldn't be one of them.

"Ay the Assassin is prepared!" Amy replied softly as her eyes shone with excitement.

Just like her mum, a troublemaker. Mag could not help but chuckle to himself.

Chapter 1543: Attack!

"Those foolish fellows think that they can overthrow me and reestablish a legitimate Falk Tribe once they save you," Gary scoffed at the frail-looking young orc sitting in front of him.

"One must always have a dream," the young orc said in a self-mocking way. He suddenly started coughing violently again, and the veins on his forehead popped out as his thin body started curling in pain.

"To a certain degree, I should thank you." Gary looked at the young orc pitifully, and said, "This position should have been yours, but you will never be able to have it."

"You know that I've never wished for it." The young orc looked up at Gary.

"You will die tomorrow. I will let you die nicely. It will be my last gift to you as your uncle." Gary stood up and walked out towards the stone temple.

The door to the stone temple closed slowly as the sound of the footsteps faded.

The young orc, who was curled up and coughing in pain, slowly straightened his back. The pain and sorry look on his face vanished without a trace. He looked towards the door, and his lips curled into a cold scoff.

"Uncle, I hope you would not be too shocked by the extra big present I'm going to give you tomorrow..."

The soft words echoed in the secret chamber.

***

"Little Ay. There are 30 guards in the prison ahead, including a 9th-tier orc and two 7th-tier orcs. I will open that door, then we will use 30 seconds to kill or subdue them all, and after that I'll close the door again. Can you do that?" Mag stopped by a long corridor. He took out a small mirror and used it to look at the situation outside the corridor. There were two alert orcs guarding by the door, and behind them was a heavy stone double door.

They had been standing there for quite a while. The patrol troops would pass by here while patrolling to and fro at intervals of 10 minutes, and they could still hear the footsteps of the last patrol troop.

"Mm-hmm." Amy nodded hard.

"Very good. Now I need you to use your ice magic to freeze those two orcs. It's best if you could make them maintain this current posture and expression," Mag said.

"Okay." The magic caster's staff appeared in Amy's hand, and she started to chant her spell silently. Thin invisible threads of ice started rushing from the long corridor towards the two orcs in all directions.

"Do you hear movement outside? Is someone attacking our tribe?" an orc asked softly.

"Don't worry. The Falk Tribe is the second-largest orc tribe, and Chief Gary is invincible. No one's attack can reach the palace," the other orc said relaxedly.

"That's true." The first orc chuckled. He suddenly shuddered, and mumbled, "Don't you find it a little cold suddenly?"

"A little. Someone probably forgot to close the door." The other orc nodded in agreement.

Just then, a slightly unstable and extremely cold realm started forming in the area where the two orcs were. Before they could even react, they were turned into ice statues.

"Settled." Amy put her magic caster's staff down, and the chill subsided. She happily said, "I've frozen them!"

"Let's go." Mag looked at the two frozen orcs, and brought Amy to the prison.

The two orcs guarding the door were only at the 5th-tier. They stood stiffly in front of the stone door, and it was impossible to tell from the outside that they'd already been frozen. It was enough to trick the patrolling troops tens of meters away.

"Little Ay, after we get through this door, you will be responsible for slowing them down, and preventing them from making any sound. Leave the rest to me." Mag pressed gently on the dented part of the stone door, and a bluish-green light lit up. The light surrounded Mag's palm, and the stone door gradually opened inwards.

"Alright. I will do my best to cooperate with you." Amy nodded obediently. She raised her magic caster's staff again, and chanted a spell softly.

The highest-tier warning order had been disseminated to every part of the palace, and the only openly set-up prison in the palace naturally received the order too.

The warden, Yiri, kicked the prison guard who was leaning against the wall sleeping, and only felt better after waking all the prisoners up with his shouts and screams.

There were quite a lot of prisoners locked up here. Most of them were the courtiers loyal to the former chief and the relatives who had yet to be put to death. There were a total of more than 100 of them.

What Yiri was glad about was that all of them would be put to death tomorrow.

As long as they died, he would not have to be so jittery when keeping watch on them. He would finally be able to have a good sleep.

"All of you better buck up! After tonight, I'll bring you all to the flower alley to drink and have fun with women!" Yiri shouted loudly.

A motivation like that was received with a chaotic cheer immediately.

Yiri smiled. Gary had promised him that after the conferring ceremony tomorrow, he would get a promotion, and would not have to continue staying in this dark prison every day.

Back then, he made a small mistake, and the former chief demoted him to become the warden of this prison. In the blink of an eye, he had been here for 50 years, and he would always need to report to the chief if he wanted to leave the place. Even though he was the prison warden, he was actually not much different from a prisoner.

Therefore, when Gary found him, Yiri promised to stand on his side almost immediately without thinking.

On the day when Gary brought the troops in, he was the one who released the criminals in the prison. They destroyed the palace's final line of defense with their strength, and opened the palace door to welcome Gary as the new owner.

Yiri felt that this was probably the best decision he had made in his life. He did not want to live underneath the glamorous palace like a rat anymore.

Crack, crack...

The prison door opened inwards slowly. Everyone looked towards the door in shock all at once. Other than the warden, the only people who could open the prison door from outside were the chief and his special envoy. It was so late at night. Could the chief have some other orders?

However, when they saw the silhouettes of an adult and a child standing at the door, they were all shocked.

"Now."

Mag spat the word out coldly, and he was already moving as fast as a cheetah, heading towards Yiri.

Amy raised her magic caster's staff high in the air, and chanted, "Frost, listen to my orders, freeze everything..."

The moment the chill descended, the white frost on the ground spread quickly, and the air almost stopped moving because of the cold.

"Enem—"

As Yiri took a step back, he wanted to warn others loudly and pull out his long saber.

Chapter 1544: Father, Is This A Flying Sword?

Ding!

There was a crisp sound of metal and rock clashing. Yiri's long saber, which he just pulled out, broke into tiny pieces of saber-flakes.

At the same time, a sword landed right in the middle of his face as he watched in horror.

Blood and an unknown substance squirted out in all directions. Yiri's body, without half of his head, fell gradually to the ground. He did not even have the time to finish his words.

"Sir!"

The prison guards all stared in disbelief. The best swordsman in the Falk Tribe was killed before he could even block an attack!

However, they did not have time to make a sound, for that man in black turned towards them immediately after killing Yiri.

The warden was killed in a single blow, but that did not quench their desire for survival. They pulled out their swords and sabers, while a low chant sounded in the background.

This was the underground prison beneath the palace, after all. As long as they made a loud enough commotion for the chief to detect, no matter who this fellow was, he would be a gone case.

And no matter how powerful this man in black was, he was just one person.

However, the temperature in the prison seemed to have gone down by a lot. The air seemed to have come to a standstill as though it was frozen. This also made it difficult for them to move.

Just then, the man in black flung his longsword out.

The longsword flew out and glimmered, reflecting the light from the oil lamps. It went one round around the long prison corridor at a terrifying speed, and landed back in Mag's hand.

Blood dripped from the tip of the sword as the heavy stone door closed slowly behind them.

At that moment, all the prison guards stared wide-eyed in horror as they fell limply to the ground before losing all signs of life.

"How impressive!" Amy's mouth was wide open as she watched Mag keep his sword. Her little face was filled with shock and admiration.

Amy could not help but curiously ask, "Father, is this a flying sword?"

"This is a kind of sword technique," Mag answered with a smile, and did not go on further. He reached out for a torch on the wall, and walked towards the jail cells.

The commotion caused by the fight and the pungent smell of blood in the air around woke the sleeping prisoners. The prison guards that had always verbally and physically abused them were all killed!

"Was the scoundrel, Gary, executed?"

"I knew it! The one who killed our leader would never become the chief. Even Flerken would not agree to it!"

The prisoners all rushed to the door of the cell excitedly.

"I am here to save Young Master Ferdinand. Is he here?" Mag asked in a low tone.

The prison fell quiet for a moment before someone exclaimed, "Could Gary still be in control of the outside world?"

Terror overwhelmed them once again, and some even begged Mag for help.

"Is Young Master Ferdinand held captive here?" Mag repeated, ignoring the orcs who were begging him to save them.

"Young Master Ferdinand is not here. Young hero, please save him. The Falk Tribe depends on him. If he dies, the lineage of the old chief will be broken," an old orc pleaded after squeezing his way to the front.

"Isn't there still Princess Connie?" Mag said with a frown.

"Young Master Ferdinand is the only one because Princess Connie cannot inherit the position, and cannot become chief." The old orc shook his head.

"Since he's not here, bye." Mag kept his sword disappointedly. He threw the torch aside, and took Amy along with him as they walked toward the stone door.

"Save me!"

"Please save us!"

The orcs started to scream for help frantically. They'd already heard about the execution tomorrow countless times. Right now, they were clinging on to the last lifebuoy.

"Another peep, and I'll kill all of you too," Mag said coldly.

The prison suddenly became dead silent.

The stone door opened slowly, and Mag brought Amy out as the stone door closed again slowly.

The two ice statues at the door were still standing tall. If nothing went wrong, they would only find out that something happened in the prison during the shift change.

"Location two is out. There's no dungeon here," Mag said to the walkie-talkie in a deep voice.

"Location one is out. There are only three orcs in the dungeon here, and their physical appearance is too different from Ferdinand's." Elizabeth's voice came from the walkie-talkie quickly.

"Gather at location three." Mag held Amy's hand and turned into a passageway at the side. Just after they left, a patrolling troop walked past where they were.

***

"Who are you! How dare you cause trouble at the Falk Tribe!" Basil, who was injured in several areas, looked around with frustration and anger.

He was stopped and attacked by an unknown person on his way back to the palace.

The opponent was so fast and strong that he didn't manage to get a clear look after exchanging several blows.

Most of the stone pillars around had fallen, and the crushed giant stone was the best evidence of the intensity of the battle.

There was no reply. His only reply was a giant stone the size of half a human.

Basil waved his black metal rod, and smashed that giant rock into tiny stones raining down.

And just at that moment, a long leg came thrusting down amidst the dust and stones, kicking Basil away.

"Darn! Have a battle with me openly if you have the guts!" Basil howled angrily after he jumped out from the pile of stones.

All was still other than the wind rustling the tree leaves in the distance, as though it was mocking him.

***

"Who are you! How dare you kill a Falk Tribesman!" Darryl and Kurt held on to Rex, looking and hurling curses at him.

"Who am I? Is that important?" Rex laughed in a self-mocking way.

"It's no longer enough. I don't care who you are, you have to die here tonight!" Darryl raised his magic caster's staff and started chanting a spell. A deep blue glow started forming at the tip of the staff.

Kurt pulled out his double knife again, and rode towards Rex on his magic beast.

"That sounded a little familiar." Rex shook his head. Instead of retreating, he went ahead and clashed head-on with Kurt. He did not have any weapons with him. He lifted his arm, and landed a punch right on that black magic beast's head.

The blade of the knife grazed his head, while his iron fist landed a solid blow on that magic beast's head.

Kurt, who was sitting on the magic beast, flew back as its head caved in following the crisp sound of skull cracking.

"Hairless Monk!"

Darryl looked at Rex, and shouted in horror.

"It... It actually is him?!"

Kurt, who struggled to stand back up, was also in shock when he heard Darryl.

Chapter 1545: This Doesn't Make Sense

The Hairless Monk!

His existence should be banned.

He was a half-orc, born to an orc and a human, but could annihilate the entire Urba Tribe.

This incident once caused an uproar in the Norland Continent, and every orc tribe knew about it.

The Urba Tribe used to be one of the top 10 orc tribes, but it was reduced to nothing within a night. It was said to be such a horrifying scene that most of the orcs who witnessed it committed suicide after going back.

There were many versions of that story still being told in the Twilight Forest up till now.

And the Hairless Monk's notoriety spread across the Norland Continent after that particular night as well.

Back then, there were two 10th-tier orcs in the Urba Tribe and several 8th-tiers and 9th-tiers.

For Rex to be able to wipe out the entire Urba Tribe with no survivors left meant that he had to have been extremely powerful.

However, after that, all the powerhouses from the different races joined hands to subdue him, and locked him up in Bastie Prison. He should've been locked up in Bastie Prison's inescapable prison cell at this moment. How did he appear here?

Darryl and Kurt watched Rex warily. They heard that Rex seemed to have some grudges with the Falk Tribe, but all the information about that had been wiped clean since Rex was so notorious back then.

What could be the reason behind Rex's sudden appearance at the Falk Tribe on the night before Gary's conferring ceremony?

Of course, the most shocking thing was that the Hairless Monk... actually grew his hair out!

"Hairless Monk, the Falk Tribe has not offended you in any way. Why must you slay the warriors and people of our tribe on purpose? Do you want to annihilate another tribe again, and become foes with the world?!" Darryl shouted. A secret letter flew from his hand towards the palace under the cover of a dark grayish glow.

"So only you are allowed to kill, but not me. This doesn't make sense," Rex said calmly as he looked at Darryl.

"Although I don't know how you managed to escape from Bastie Prison, don't think that the Falk Tribe is a pushover like the Urba Tribe. If you can't give us an explanation for your doings today, don't even think about leaving this place!" Kurt howled. His hand, which was holding a knife, was shaking. Although the previous blow did not land on him, he could already feel its terrifying power. His ride already died from that single blow.

"I'm not here to kill today. I'm here to save someone." Rex looked at Kurt, and calmly said, "If I need to kill in order to save someone, it should still make some difference."

"Whom do you want to save?" Darryl asked solemnly.

"The same person as they." Rex looked at the orcs in black that were still around in the distance.

Darryl and Kurt exchanged glances. Their expression turned a little grave.

"Hairless Monk, let me warn you again. This is the Falk Tribe's inner affairs. You have no right to meddle in our affairs," Kurt shouted.

Even though there were two of them, they were still not very confident in being able to stop an opponent as strong as the Hairless Monk.

The message was delivered to the palace. As long as Gary or Basil came, it would be three against one, and they would have a higher chance of capturing their opponent.

If they could execute the Hairless Monk at the conferring ceremony tomorrow, it would be another event that could raise the reputation of the Falk Tribe.

There would be representatives from various tribes coming over to watch the ceremony tomorrow, but the Falk Tribe was now in such a sorry state. If they still could not capture the culprit, they would not even have the cheek to face their visitors.

Rex was in no rush to take action. He continued walking along the long street. Two out of the four 10th-tier powerhouses came. His goal was to lure one more over.

***

"Hairless Monk." Gary looked at the secret letter that was sent by Darryl. He frowned. "Wasn't this fellow at Chaos City? Why did he suddenly appear here? Could the rumors be real?"

After putting the letter down, Gary asked, "Where is Basil?"

"Sir! Lord Basil was attacked by an anonymous opponent on his way back to the palace. I'm afraid he will not be able to shake the person off any time soon!" A guard walked in briskly through the door.

"An anonymous opponent? You didn't see who he was?" Gary's brows were knitted even tighter together.

"No, sir. He moved too quickly, and no one could tell who was the one who attacked Lord Basil, not even Lord Basil himself." That guard's forehead was filled with perspiration.

"A Hairless Monk and an anonymous 10th-tier powerhouse. I didn't expect my good-for-nothing nephew to be so popular." Gary stood up slowly. He paced about in the hall with a gloomy face.

"Chief, after this sudden attack, the Falk Tribe is in ruins. When the representatives from the other tribes arrive tomorrow, I'm afraid they would think that we're a pushover if we can't even capture one of them, and that would be a blow to our prestige," said an advisor who was dressed in black as he took a step forward.

"Whoever tries to ruin my joyous occasion has to be prepared to pay the price." Gary stopped in his tracks. His gaze became sharp and cold. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Fetch my prized saber. Let me go meet that Hairless Monk!"

Gary quickly put on his gold and silver armor. He picked up his jewel-studded long saber, and took large strides out.

That advisor stood by the door of the hall for a while, and watched Gary ride off on his horse before turning around to walk towards the huge throne.

***

"I've only been away from home for a few months, and so much has changed..." Connie walked around the palace with gentle steps. Her pinkish-white ears shivered slightly, picking up sounds that could warn her of approaching enemies. She weaved around the palace stealthily just like a black cat moving in the dark.

However, as she walked, her confidence slowly disappeared, and her heart became heavier.

It was a familiar yet unfamiliar scene. She could not help but recall the night where fire and blood terrorized the place.

She was still asleep then, but was quickly woken up and brought away by the guards in a hurry.

The rebel army slaughtered everyone in the palace, including the young palace maid that grew up with her.

To ensure her safe escape, her father was surrounded and died. There were also the guards who threw themselves at the rebel army fearlessly...

Those memories that she tried so hard to forget still came flooding back.

The dim passageway suddenly became a little cold, and Connie unknowingly quickened her pace as she started searching for possible places where her brother could be locked up in.

However, her brother was not in any of those places that she once hid in.

"Grandma's room." Connie stopped in her tracks when she reached the end of the corridor. She looked at the room with run-down doors and windows in front of her. She hesitated for a while, and quickly went in.

The huge room looked as though a burglar had broken in. The beautiful ceramics that her grandmother treasured and kept lay on the floor in broken pieces. The wooden stands where those ceramics were put on were all taken away, along with anything valuable in the room. Even though she was stepping on the broken ceramic pieces, Connie did not make a sound.

Connie looked around the empty room, and her gaze stopped at a beam a section of cloth was still hanging from. Her eyes reddened all of a sudden.

Chapter 1546: He Became More Powerful And Bald

"Little Connie, you got to go out to see the world and the people out there in the future."

"Why?"

"Because the world outside is far more interesting than the tribe, and the people out there... are far more interesting too."

"But... I'm afraid I will get lost."

"Don't worry. One day, you will meet that person who will always find the way for you. Then, you have to grab him tight."

"Why? Is he a thief?"

"Haha... Yes, he's a thief. A thief who steals the heart."

***

The cold moonlight was cut into gentle strips by the window, and landed on the floor that was full of shattered porcelain.

Connie seemed to have seen her grandmother who used to sit next to the window with her on her lap, and talk to her about the world out there and counting stars.

She still hadn't found that person who could always find the way for her, but her grandma was already gone.

The shattered porcelain shards were razor-sharp. She could no longer see the warm and exquisite room. That bunch of robbers took everything that they could take with them.

Connie walked to the crushed wardrobe, and bent over in an attempt to pick up a piece of porcelain, but her gaze landed on a tiny piece of cloth that extended out from the wardrobe.

What's this? Connie reached out to grab a corner of that piece of gray cloth, and lifted that wardrobe to pull it out.

The dust flew up. On that piece of uneven cloth, there were two lines of messy words written with dark red blood, and the scent of blood was still on it.

However, Connie already didn't care about that now. She stared at those words on the cloth with shock and disbelief in her eyes.

"Connie, stay away from Ferdinand. Stay away from him! Go, go far, far away and never return to this place again!"

Although the handwriting was a mess, Connie could recognize that was her grandmother's handwriting.

The fresh blood seeped through the cloth. What could have made the usually calm and collected grandma leave such a line of words as her last words in a panic?

Connie looked at those words, and she was suddenly plunged into a huge fear.

Ferdinand... her elder brother. The elder brother who was closest to her in this world.

But now, her grandma wanted her to stay away from him and the Falk Tribe. Why was she asking her to do that?

What deeper meaning was hidden in these words?

Why did their grandma want her to stay away from her big brother?

Connie didn't have the answers. Her body became colder as she looked at those dark red words.

She tried her best to escape from the Twilight Forest, and ran to Chaos City. She wanted to go to sleep forever after falling to the ground numerous times. Her only faith was to survive and then return to rescue her brother after she became stronger.

Now, she had already become strong, and had the help of her friends. She had already returned to the tribe and the palace.

She was only perhaps one step away from rescuing her brother.

But she had found the last words that her grandmother had left for her now.

In this world, no one was nicer to her than her grandmother. Even her parents didn't treat her like her grandmother.

Therefore, she couldn't ignore these last words—these last words that were specially written for her.

Yes, the diary! Grandma's diary!!! Connie suddenly remembered one important clue. Grandmother had a habit of writing a diary. She noticed that Grandma would write in a diary every now and then ever since she could remember things. Perhaps she could find related information there.

Her diary... Connie's gaze swept around the room, and then she quickly strode to where the wooden bed was. She swept the porcelain shards aside, and then knocked on the floor. She heard a different sound that came from a wooden floorboard, so she extended her razor-sharp nails out a little, and pried that floorboard up.

It was a small secret compartment underneath that floorboard. There were three dark yellow parchment booklets that were wrapped with exquisite silk in there.

They weren't found! Elation flashed across Connie's face as she carefully took the three thick diaries out from the secret compartment. She had seen her grandmother put these diaries in there when she was young, but her grandma had never let her read what was written in them.

The bloody message left by her grandma made her lose her ability to think for a moment. She didn't know what to do.

If she chose to let things go, then her big brother would most probably be executed tomorrow.

But she strongly believed her grandma would never harm her. The latter even thought of leaving her this bloody message during the rebellion. She had to have had her motive, or she saw or knew something, and wanted her granddaughter to avoid that.

Connie had to look for the answer. Otherwise, she couldn't convince herself to leave and watch her big brother being executed.

The three parchment diaries were very thick, and they were numbered chronologically.

Connie picked up the diary that was labeled "1". She went to sit down with her legs crossed next to the window, and flipped open the first page.

A line of words was written with a juvenile handwriting on the title page: "Father said, 'Memories will fade, but words will be preserved forever.'".

Connie remembered her grandmother had told her the same words before. The former had persevered at writing a diary for three days before she gave up due to her laziness.

Her grandmother's diary writing habit had started earlier than Connie thought. It started when she was around six years old.

At first, the diary recorded the things that she had seen and heard in the tribe. As the young mistress of a prominent family in the Falk Tribe, she had a blessed life since she was young.

However, with the repeated life events and the tribal life set in stone, even the grandest ceremonies became boring after appearing in the diary repeatedly.

Meanwhile, all this changed when she was 13 years old.

That year, grandma who was bored in the tribe decided to leave home and the tribe on a certain night.

In the vast Twilight Forest, even the air seemed to be sweeter than the air in the canyon.

Then...

She got lost.

She, who had never left the tribe, got lost in the Twilight Forest.

A young and pretty girl who was defenseless. She was the most tempting food no matter where she went in that chaotic era.

In her despair, he came.

That was the first time that she saw him. His simple and straightforward strikes got rid of those fellows who were surrounding her.

However, he left before she could even thank him.

That year, his hair was still very long. His lean figure, slightly curly long brown hair, and sad eyes all made her heart ache for him, but they mesmerized her at the same time too.

After that, she followed after him for years.

She went on a journey to search for him. He was obviously near, but she always had difficulties seeing him.

However, every time when she got lost and almost burst out in tears, he would always appear inadvertently, and then lead her out with a disdainful look. He would only disappear again after he got her to a place where there were people around.

Connie could almost see the excited maiden who was happy about their reunion again and the maiden who was melancholic about their separation from the chirpy and light words.

And then, he became increasingly powerful, and his hair became increasingly sparser.

He gained a nickname: "Hairless Monk".

"Master!"

Connie was so shocked that she almost threw the diary out!

Chapter 1547: An Indescribable Thing

The diary was very long. It recorded her grandmother's journey growing up as an innocent maiden. That indescribable feeling made Connie's emotions float along with it too.

Grandma and Master's connections and separations didn't resemble a pair of lovers. It looked more like a competition between a wanderer and his follower.

They had never told each other their feelings. Even their conversations were limited.

Every conversation was recorded in the diary in detail, even his mannerisms and tone of voice, as if she was trying to remember his voice and looks.

Her grandmother was lowly and humble.

But she was doing all this happily and blissfully, as if she was chasing after her faith.

Connie had heard her grandmother talk about the Hairless Monk when she was young, and more than once at that.

It was just that she had no idea in the stories that grandma told her, even if she didn't go through it herself, she was also a close observer.

And the Master who was getting increasingly powerful in her diary was once unparalleled and dominant, yet he also was gentle at times.

Connie could only regain her wits after reading through half of the first diary. Judging from the time frame, perhaps she should start reading from the back so she could find out more about her brother.

However, just as Connie was about to close the diary, she came to a page that was written with a messy handwriting and full of corrections.

Grandma's words were very delicate, and there were rarely corrections in the diary.

However, this page was very confusing and messy, and there were many lines that were completely corrected. The tip of the pen seemed to be piercing through the pages like in that bloody letter.

What's happening here? Connie looked at that messy handwriting. She could almost sense her grandmother's fear as she read on.

"Crazy! Crazy! They were all crazy...

"They were dancing a terrifying dance around the altar, and making weird sounds in their mouths.

"Many people who died horribly were hanging on the gallows. Everyone had a weird and excited smile on their face... including children. With their blood-red eyes, they seemed to be possessed by the devil as they danced and shouted tirelessly.

"The terrifying shadow engulfed the entire Urba Tribe. I seemed to have seen an indescribable thing in that shadow. It had a head that looked like an octopus. It had... (It was a patch of messy corrections. Ink had covered almost every word).

"That had to be the devil!

"They were worshiping the evil god, and selling their souls to the devil before they descended into madness.

"They discovered us, and started to dash toward us...

"They wanted to eat us. Through their eyes, I was certain that they had seen us as food.

"Rex stood in front of me to make them back off.

"However, they were not fazed by him. They continued to pounce at us like hungry wolves.

"I saw that scary existence in the shadow. It seemed to be staring at us. I seemed to have seen death in that instance when we looked into each other's eyes. I also saw an unparalleled ancient and vast world. There... (It was still a patch of heavy correction. Only a few terms like huge city and sea surface could be vaguely understood).

"Dead...

"Everyone was dead...

"They began to kill each other in their madness while Rex brought me to the high ground.

"We could hear the scary sounds that came from the canyon. I could sense his fear. We huddled together, but we could only sense fear and coldness from each other.

"The scary noises continued till the next morning before they slowly went away. The shadow that engulfed the Urba Tribe also disappeared.

"We returned to the canyon again and saw an extremely terrifying scene...

"Almost everyone in the tribe was dead, and they had died horribly. Most of them had died from biting and tearing into each other. Not one complete body could be seen.

"But some of them were not dead. They detected our scent, and launched a crazy attack on us again.

"Rex didn't run this time.

"He killed those orcs who had descended into madness before he lit a fire and brought me out of there...

"The devil in the shadow killed everyone in the Urba Tribe...

"This was a terrifying trade... terrifying trade..."

"..."

The diary stopped suddenly. Connie lowered the diary to her knees slowly. She could only feel her back and forehead were soaked by cold sweat. Fear flooded her heart, and that horrible scene kept gushing up in her mind.

So, the Urba Tribe wasn't massacred by her master. It was annihilated in a mysterious and terrifying sacrificial ritual.

However, the only two witnesses had never told anyone the truth.

Perhaps what they saw in the shadow was too terrifying, so they didn't dare to tell the world. Rex even rather carried the notorious name of a mass murderer.

What was the devil in that shadow? Connie frowned. She hesitated for a moment before she continued reading the diary.

The diary wasn't updated for many days after that day. The occasional records were only: "I dreamt about that horrible place again...".

The diary didn't record what the dream was about, but her grandmother was bothered by that dream for almost a year. She only resumed writing a new diary after that.

The Hairless Monk became notorious after annihilating the Urba Tribe. Even in the chaotic tribal war times, he became the orcs' public enemy.

Grandma was grounded by her father because of that. She was not allowed to leave the tribe.

Her three-year journey of pursuing Rex seemed to have ended there.

Just like the words that he said to her when he sent her to the cliff beyond the tribe: "Perhaps we will not see each other ever again".

From then on, Connie's grandmother had never seen him again.

Of course, very few people had ever seen him again too.

Another three years later, she married the tribe's youngest and bravest warrior. That warrior later became the chief, who was also Connie's grandfather.

Her married life was calm and graceful. There was no more craziness and danger, and she had never left the tribe again.

The diary flowed on like a river, with a hint of blissfulness among the calmness, but it seemed to lack some kind of flavor when compared to before.

The huge events in the Falk Tribe and names that Connie was familiar with one after another began to appear in the diary. However, she seemed to be like a visitor who was recording all this down calmly, without any heart throbbing.

Rex's name, together with that terrible night, never appeared in the diary again.

Connie put down the first diary, and then picked up the third diary. She flipped to the center right away.

She read that her grandma seemed to be rather happy when Connie was born. However, the diary recorded as such: "She's such an ugly and dark little thing. However, what could I do, it's my granddaughter after all. Let's hope she will get prettier as she grows up. Little Connie, Grandma gave you this name. Grow up soon, and then you must go and see the world out there."

Erm... Connie looked at that dark and ugly description in silence for a long time before she flipped over to a new page quietly.

In the rest of the diary, she became the character who appeared the most frequently. The first time that she spoke, the first time that she walked, the first time that she lost a tooth... all these could be found in her grandmother's diary.

Tears dropped from the corner of Connie's eyes before landing onto that graceful handwriting on the parchment.

She continued reading. Suddenly, the style of the page changed again, and the messy handwriting appeared once again.

"He killed that dog, and then hung it on the gallows. The existence in the shadows appeared... once again..."

Chapter 1548: Host, Your Shamelessness Has Indeed Exceeded My Expectations

Mag only found treasures that filled the treasure vault to the brim. He didn't discover the secret dungeon.

"Woah. There are so many precious stones and gold here!!!" Amy threw herself onto a stack of gold with glowing eyes. She turned her head back to ask Mag, "Father, are we going to take these all away?"

Mag sized up the treasure vault that was hundreds of square meters huge. The treasures casually stacked up showed off the wealth that was accumulated by the second-largest orc tribe for the past thousands of years.

"Speaking of it, these treasures belonged to Connie's family, after all, so it's too much if we took all of them." Mag frowned in a dilemma. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Let's take as many of them as we can. They belong to the bad guys now, so we don't have to feel guilty. If the operation fails, we can still give this money to Connie for her to start her resistance. Oh yes, take the valuable ones. Amy, don't take the copper coins. They're the least valuable."

Everyone flicked a glance at Mag to make sure that he was sure before taking out all their spatial equipment, and began to harvest the treasure vault.

It was after all an accumulation of a big tribe over thousands of years, and they only had limited spatial equipment with them, so the treasure vault didn't seem to be short of too many treasures after they were done.

"So... Boss, are we here to take the money?" Yabemiya asked with a weird expression.

"How could that be? I just think that the treasure vault is a well-guarded and very safe location, so it would be great to keep our prisoners here." Mag cleared his throat. "Of course, we have traveled with our own expenses, so it's only right that we take some payment for it."

"Attention. The last 10th-tier powerhouse in the palace has left, heading toward the south of the city!" Right then, the bat on Mag's shoulder spoke in Camilla's voice.

Everyone's eyes lit up. This meant there were no 10th-tier powerhouses in the palace right now. They could start to take over the palace now.

"Let's go. We can start our operation now." Mag pocketed a gem with excellent color before walking to the treasure vault's door.

"Wait for me, Father..." Amy called out, and skipped after him. Glowing copper coins scattered all over the floor accompanied by clanging sounds.

"Little Amy, the copper coins were worth the least." Mag looked at Amy with resignation.

"But, it could be exchanged for one pancake." Amy held one copper coin, and smilingly looked up at Mag. "It's also very precious."

Mag looked at Amy, and suddenly seemed to have seen the little one who had skipped to buy the pancake with two copper coins when he had just arrived in this world.

At that time, one copper coin was indeed very precious.

"Let's go. Father will help you carry this." Mag placed a bunch of copper coins from Amy's pocket into his pocket. The little one dropped one every two paces, and it created quite a stir.

"02, 02! Please respond if you hear me, please respond if you hear me!" Mag said into the walkie-talkie.

There was only pitch silence in the radio channel. Connie didn't reply even after he waited for quite a while.

Mag furrowed his brows before he repeated, "02, 02! Please respond if you hear me! Please respond if you hear me!"

The channel was still silent.

"Why isn't Big Sister Connie answering?" Amy whispered.

Yabemiya worriedly asked, "Could something have happened to her? However, we didn't hear her asking for help earlier?"

The unplanned silence made everyone begin to feel uneasy.

"Connie, if you were kidnapped, blin— squeak once," Mag said in a slightly louder voice. There were no 10th-tier powerhouses in the palace now, so it was a good chance for them to search the palace thoroughly.

However, it was right at this time that Connie suddenly disappeared, and halted the original plan.

"Connie, the palace has entered into a defensive mode without the top combat forces. Tell me your current location now. We will conduct a thorough search after we rendezvous!" Mag repeated again.

There was still no response from Connie.

"What's happening now?" Mag furrowed his brows tightly. He also couldn't grasp the current situation.

Although Connie wasn't very dependable most of the time, she was still the Hairless Monk's disciple. She wouldn't have died without making a sound.

Moreover, today's operation concerned her big brother's life. How would she, who was the most enthusiastic, suddenly lose contact?

Connie was after all the person who was the most familiar with the palace among them. According to the plan, once the palace no longer had a 10th-tier powerhouse, they would take this chance to conduct a thorough search.

"What will we do now? Should we look for Connie or Ferdinand?" Elizabeth asked Mag.

"Let's find Connie first. We only have limited time, so let's split up for action. Retreat to the palace maids' dormitory if you encounter any danger. Don't stay and fight," Mag immediately replied without much thought.

"Alright." Elizabeth nodded, and led Babla and Yabemiya out of the treasure vault. They chose the route on the left.

Meanwhile, Mag led Gina and Amy out of the door, and took the passageway on the right.

"Scanning of the treasure vault is complete. There are 561 cubic meters of all kinds of treasure. Are we taking all of them?" The door of the treasure vault was closing slowly behind them as the system's voice appeared in Mag's mind.

"Taking all... seems to be a little too much... Let's just round it down," Mag muttered. "How about... we just take 500 cubic meters of them?"

The system was silent for a while before replying, "Host, your shamelessness has indeed exceeded my expectations."

"Even though I've not reached middle-age yet, I already felt a mid-life crisis. Opportunities that allow me to save money like this are rare," Mag calmly replied.

"Tsk." The system made a disdainful sound. However, it still quickly made an announcement. "Collection of 500 cubic square meters of treasures complete. Deduction of 500 copper coins for takeaway charges! 500 copper coins of management fee/day!"

Mag the price slasher made his move again. He slashed the fees from a high-class space management to the fees of a warehouse.

500 square meters of treasures!

So happy.

Mag couldn't even imagine how large that amount of money was.

"Alert! The existence of the black fog was detected within five kilometers!

"Emergency mission: could the host please locate the source of the black fog within 24 hours and eradicate it and the black fog!

"Mission reward: you will receive a face-altering mask and the ability to change your appearance within a short time.

"Punishment for failing the mission: your real identity will be known to the world!"

The system's voice suddenly appeared at this time.

"Black fog!" Mag halted with astonishment on his face. The black fog existed in the Falk Tribe too? Perhaps someone here made a deal with the devil too?

Chapter 1549: You Should Repent

The system issued the mission so suddenly that it took Mag by surprise.

After returning from the Demon Islands, Mag had been studying the information about black fog and the Great Old Ones. Currently, he could only deduce that there was a batch of powerful and mysterious existences in this world in the ancient times. They could still exist till now in some other form.

The black fog should be a form of representation for some of these mysterious existences. They bewitched people who were not strong mentally, and made them become their servants willingly.

Furthermore, the black fog had been appearing more and more frequently recently, so this wasn't a good sign.

Mag wasn't sure if those mysterious existences had the power to break through the seals, or if they were already awakened from their slumber, and were trying to gain the control of this world again.

The emergence of man or even the much older giant dragons were still very young when compared to the long passing of time.

If the Great Old Ones really existed, and were attempting to regain control of the world, this could be a terrible disaster for every existence in this world.

Could it be Gary? Mag frowned as he pondered. Gary was Connie's uncle, who was her father's younger half-brother with different mothers.

And it was such a trusted person who was given important tasks by Connie's father that planned that horrible rebellion. He led his troops into the palace, and slaughtered the chief and most of his family.

The desire for power was enough to drive one crazy, and it wasn't surprising that Gary wanted to kill the chief for the position himself when being a bastard child who was treated differently since he was young.

However, to commit such a crazy crime, there had to be some kind of juncture.

What Mag needed to ascertain was whether this juncture had anything to do with the black fog.

If that was true, he would have to kill Gary, and then eradicate the black fog.

"Father, what's wrong?" Amy asked Mag who had stopped walking.

"Nothing. Let's go." Mag moved on. It was easy to ascertain if Gary was the source of the black fog. Mag, who had encountered the black fog twice, only needed to meet him to judge whether the black fog existed on his body.

"However, where are we going to find Connie?" Gina asked worriedly. The complicated palace building made her a little uneasy. Her family's palace was much simpler than this.

"We can only try our luck now," Mag replied with resignation. Because there was no internet, he couldn't pinpoint their locations using the walkie-talkie.

Furthermore, Connie had lost contact without any signs. She also didn't make any special sounds through the walkie-talkie before, so there could only be three possibilities: 1. Connie dropped the walkie-talkie; 2. Connie turned off the walkie-talkie herself, and went out of contact; 3. Connie's walkie-talkie had malfunctioned.

"This system promised with my integrity that the products that I manufactured have a guaranteed quality!" The system's solemn voice sounded.

Then, did the walkie-talkie drop, or did Connie have a mishap? Mag pondered with tightly knit eyebrows. He could only proceed on with Gina and Amy to search all the possible locations that Connie could be found.

Besides looking for Connie and Ferdinand now, Mag had an additional mission of searching for the black fog.

The black fog would reveal distinct characteristics and aura after it developed to a certain level. For example, the small island that was engulfed by the thick black fog in the Boundless Sea Realm. The people who were corroded by the black fog would have distinct changes on their bodies, like Borg and Alfred whom he killed.

However, the black fog in the Falk Tribe most probably had not developed to that level yet. Otherwise, Irina and he should have already sensed that evil aura's presence.

He needed to locate the source of that black fog within 24 hours and eradicate it. This was most probably not an easy task.

***

What a boring game. Irina appeared on the top of a high wall and looked down at Basil, who was sizing up his surroundings with an alert expression and not making any move. She shook her head boringly, and looked toward the south of the city with a pondering expression.

If she worked together with the Hairless Monk, she was 80% confident that they could kill those three 10th-tier orcs first before getting rid of that 10th-tier orc down there, completely eradicating all the Falk Tribe's top combat power easily.

However, before they set off, Mag had a deep discussion about the orcs' situation with her. The Aug Tribe had six 10th-tier orcs and a huge number of orc troops, so it was very powerful.

Currently, the Falk Tribe could check and balance the Aug Tribe in the orc species with their similar numbers of high-end combat forces.

If the Falk Tribe lost all its 10th-tier experts overnight, that meant it would fall out of the top 10 from its second place, and become a normal orc tribe.

This was not in accordance with their plan of balancing the power between the orcs' pro-war factions and the pro-peace fractions. It would even allow the Aug Tribe to be the one and only tribe in power and speak for the entire orc species.

What a bother. At most I will go to the Aug Tribe and chop down a few rotten fellows. Irina furrowed her pretty eyebrows as she kicked a boulder toward Basil below.

***

Gary, wearing a set of gold and silver armor, appeared from the dark night on a giant purplish-gold lion, and coldly said to Rex, "Hairless Monk, how dare you appear in Twilight Forest and kill so many of my people again?!"

Two squads of heavy cavalry in black armor neatly marched out with the same spears in unison, in full preparation.

Rex looked at Gary with narrowed eyes, but he still said in a calm voice, "So, you are that kingslayer."

"I am only taking back what belongs to me rightfully. The position of chief should be mine." Gary laughed loudly, and pointed the almost-two-meter-long golden saber at Rex. "Are you, this lowlife who massacred your father's tribe, trying to lecture me?"

"You killing your king has nothing to do with me, but you shouldn't have forced her to her death. She was a kind girl." Rex looked at Gary calmly as he clenched his fists slowly.

"I've killed so many people, I don't know whom you are talking about." Gary pursed his lips with disdain before chuckling. "However, this isn't important. I will be killing you too tonight. In this case, you can rest in peace with that kind girl of yours."

Darryl and Kurt laughed together with him. Gary had arrived, and it was three against one on the same level. They were confident to make him stay even when he was the Hairless Monk.

"You should repent." Rex disappeared from where he was standing, and a terrifying crater appeared on the ground. A sonic boom of the space being torn apart appeared in midair, and he was already in front of Gary in the next moment. His giant fist smashed toward the latter's head.

Chapter 1550: Who Else?

Gary only used one second to change his smug expression to a terrified one. However, the 10th-tier ability gave him a powerful enough reflex, so before that as-huge-as-a-claypot fist smashed into his face, he raised his long saber in front of him, and activated all his defense shields at once.

Three layers of magical screen shattered like bubbles under that fist before it smashed hard into that long saber across his body.

This long saber that was forged by a famous weaponsmith began to visibly warp under that fist.

The majestic giant golden lion groaned, and then bent its knees to kneel on the ground straight away, as if it was bowing to Rex.

"Chief!"

Darryl and Kurt got a shock at the same time. The former began to chant spells and display his magic in a panic, while the latter quickly dashed toward Rex with his sword, aiming the longsword at his back.

Rex's sudden burst had completely exceeded the trio's expectations, and the terrifying speed and strength that he displayed even caught them off guard.

Just as that long saber was about to reach its limit and break, the last magic shield finally activated its function, and took the last tinge of power from that terrible fist.

Darryl had already set up his magic, and three ice walls rose up around Rex simultaneously, and trapped him like a prison. Three thick icicles fell from the sky like heaven's punishment and crashed toward Rex.

Kurt's longsword also began to stab toward Rex in the space that Darryl deliberately left for him. The sword's body was already engulfed by the crazily spinning sword projection, and the space seemed to almost shatter, and made horrible screeching sounds.

Gary was pushed a few steps back, and he used his right leg to stabilize himself. His numb and shaky arms raised the long saber above his head, and he leaped up high. He slashed toward Rex behind the ice walls.

The three 10th-tier powerhouses formed an effective combined attack after a brief moment of chaos.

There was a gleam in the trio's eyes. No matter how powerful Rex was, he had no way out facing the combined attack of three opponents of the same level.

This was their confidence as pinnacle powerhouses. If they hadn't reached the very best at certain domains, they wouldn't be able to break through the 10th-tier shackles.

Trapped on three fronts with no way of escaping, Rex seemed to be plunged into an extremely difficult situation.

The knights in black armor watched this scene with anticipation and excitement. If the powerhouse of an era, the Hairless Monk, died in the hands of the chief and the two lords, the name of the Falk Tribe would definitely shock and awe people.

The calmest person on the scene was in fact Rex, who was in dire straits.

He flicked a glance at the reflective ice wall in front of him. The head of dark black hair made him look much younger, less aggressive, and more mature than in the times when he was bald.

However, many people seemed to have forgotten that even though his hair had grown out, he was still that Hairless Monk.

Therefore, he lowered his head and crashed toward the ice wall in front of him.

Bam!

The thick ice wall shattered into ice flakes instantaneously as Rex dashed toward Gary again like a human armor-piercing bullet.

The long saber slashed toward Rex's head vertically.

However, Rex didn't hide or evade. Instead, he dashed toward the sharp blade and terrifying strength.

"You're courting death!" A cruel smile appeared on Gary's face. Since Rex was dashing toward Gary's blade, then he shouldn't blame the latter for being ruthless.

Ding!

However, the blade seemed to hack on an indestructible rock when it slashed at Rex's head.

A few black hairs began to gradually fall to the ground, while tiny cracks began to appear on the blade like on cracked eggshell. They spread rapidly outward before the blade shattered into pieces of metal.

"This..."

Gary glared with wide eyes as he stared at the half of the long saber left in his hands in disbelief.

What happened earlier?!

This fellow used his head to smash his saber into smithereens!!!

He suddenly remembered a rumor that he heard when he was young. The most powerful part of the Hairless Monk's body was his head. He became bald because he wanted to be even more powerful.

But he didn't believe that rumor was in actuality real. There really was an indestructible head in this world!

Rex took one step forward to crash through the ice walls before evading the sword strike from behind and the giant icicles from the sky.

"My power isn't dictated by the length of my hair." Rex brushed off the metal shards that were stuck on his hair lightly as he smirked at Gary, who was glaring at him in a daze. He appeared in front of him in the very next instant. He grasped his neck, and smashed him into the ground.

Bam!

With a dull thud, a huge sunken crater appeared in the ground.

Rex smashed his fist into Gary's face, and Gary's head sunk into the ground immediately.

The fists landed on his face one after another, and Gary sunk deeper and deeper. Only his exposed arms and legs could be seen trembling.

"R-release the chief!" Kurt shouted in a quivering voice as he watched Gary getting hammered. He was afraid to act in case he hurt the chief by accident.

Meanwhile, that squad of heavy cavalry were also watching their chief getting pummeled into the ground, but they had no idea how to stop that terrifying man at that moment.

About three minutes later, Rex got up slowly. He shook his head as he looked at Gary, who was half-buried in the ground. "I don't want your life. She would have regrets if she cannot kill you with her own hands."

He threw a glance at the palace before he turned to calmly address Darryl, Kurt, and those heavy cavalry knights with spears. "Who else?"

The heavy cavalry actually took a few steps back instinctively.

Darryl and Kurt also averted their gazes cowardly.

They might have a chance to keep Rex here forever if they fought to their deaths. However, they would have to pay a huge price—maybe even their lives.

After the other party indicated he wouldn't kill Gary, Darryl and Kurt chose to give up on their idea of fighting to their deaths.

Cowardice was a reluctant choice sometimes.

Rex turned and slowly went away.

There was an invincible lonely feeling about his lone back in the street.

"Chief!" Darryl and Kurt swiftly rushed up and carefully dug Gary, who was beaten till he was unrecognizable, out from the crater.

The medic quickly came over to treat Gary.

"L-lock down the news..."

Gary could only get a few words out before he blacked out completely.

"Quick! Bring the chief back to the palace!" Darryl swiftly said, and all of them carried Gary to the palace in a hurry.

***

"Attention, all units. The three 10th-tiers are already making their way back to the palace now." Camilla's voice appeared next to Mag's ear again. With a tinge of surprise, she said, "But one of them was seriously injured, and is unconscious."

Chapter 1551: The Enemy Will Arrive In 30 Seconds!

"Is it an utter three to one defeat?" Mag raised his eyebrow when he heard Camilla's report. This result was indeed beyond his expectation.

The Hairless Monk was actually so scary?

However, this battle with an unexpected result did indeed gain them some very precious time.

They had searched many places in the palace that could possibly hide a person, but they still couldn't find Connie and Ferdinand. They also couldn't find any clues about the black fog, either.

About five minutes later, Camilla warned them that the 10th-tier powerhouses had already returned to the palace, and asked them to be careful.

"Enemy attack!"

"Enemy attack!!!"

Right then, a shrill alarm suddenly sounded in the palace, and many orc guards rushed in immediately.

"The prison was hijacked, and all the guards were killed"

"The treasure vault was robbed! More than half of the treasures were taken!"

Shocking news soon spread in the palace, and caused a lot of commotion.

No one had expected anyone would attack the Falk Tribe on the night before the chief's conferring ceremony. They even snuck into the palace to destroy and steal!

"Bastard! They are disrespecting our Falk Tribe! Lock down the palace. I want to flush these fellows out!" Kurt led his soldiers out in a fury after he heard the report. He began to search the palace.

"Attention, all units; attention, all units. Immediately retreat to the palace maids' dormitory as planned. Eradicate all troubles along your way as fast as possible!" Mag grabbed Amy's hand with a grave expression. He opened the door slightly, and he could see the orc guards scurrying around like headless chickens through a small gap.

"Father, there are many people out there. How are we going to make our way out?" Amy asked Mag worriedly.

"If there is no choice, we've got to fight our way out then," Mag replied with furrowed brows. They had to return to the palace maids' dormitory immediately. They wouldn't be able to retreat if the dormitory was discovered.

"I can hide our tracks with bubbles," Gina softly said right then.

"Hmm?" Mag and Amy looked at Gina simultaneously.

Gina puffed her cheeks up slightly before blowing hard. A colorful bubble swiftly became bigger, and engulfed the three of them.

"Will this do?" Mag poked at the bubble surrounding him doubtfully. It felt similar to a balloon.

"It should." Gina nodded.

"Then, let's set off. If there's an emergency, you two have to follow me closely. We need to return with our fastest speed." Mag didn't hesitate. He opened the door while no one was out there, and led Amy and Gina out.

Two orcs came toward them as soon as they left the room.

Mag was already pressing on his cleaver. However, those two orcs only looked at that slowly closing door perplexedly. They went over to push it open to have a look, and then walked right past them. They didn't even give them a second look.

It really has the invisibility effect. Mag couldn't help being amazed. The little bubbles that Gina blew out actually had an invisibility effect.

"Let's quickly go." Mag was glad for it as he swiftly led Amy and Gina toward the palace maids' dormitory.

Right then, an orc ran past Mag and the ladies as he loudly shouted, "Intruders were discovered in the cellar! Quickly assemble!"

The orcs who were scurrying around in the hallway all ran in the same direction after they heard him.

Seems like Elizabeth and the rest were discovered. Mag frowned. A large number of orcs were beginning to assemble, and many of them 7th-tier and 8th-tier. They were a big threat to Elizabeth and the ladies.

Of course, the more terrifying enemies were those two 10th-tier orcs who had already returned to the palace.

"Am I allowed to kill?" Elizabeth's cold voice came through the headset.

"You do not have to be merciful to the enemies who want to kill you," Mag replied in a low voice.

Boom!

A loud bang sounded somewhere in the western area, and the entire palace shook along with it. The orcs who were rushing forward halted obviously.

Mag brought Amy and Gina through the crowd. He simply kicked those orcs who blocked his way. Because of their invisibility, they managed to return to the palace maids' dormitory safely even though they had caused some commotion.

Four orcs were already trying to break down the door and enter the dormitory.

Mag quickly followed them into the dormitory. Before they could make a sound after discovering the teleportation portal, he already knocked them all out with a brick.

"We've already arrived at the teleportation portal. How is your situation?" Mag asked after he dragged the four orcs into the dormitory and closed the door slowly.

"W-we are blocked. There are so many people. The walkway is completely blocked..." Yabemiya's nervous voice came through, and messy fighting sounds could be heard vaguely.

Camilla's voice followed after that. "The enemy's 10th-tier powerhouse will arrive in 30 seconds!"

Mag gave Gina an order. "Gina, you and Amy will stay here. Guard the door, and don't let anyone through. I'll go and bring them back."

"Father, I'll go with you. I can protect you..." Amy looked at Mag worriedly.

"Little Amy, this is our only way out of here. If the teleportation portal is damaged, none of us will be able to leave. Are you confident to guard it together with Big Sister Gina?" Mag said to Amy with a grave expression.

"Mm-hmm. I will guard it together with Big Sister Gina." Amy nodded her little head seriously.

"Very good." Mag patted Amy's head with a smile before he asked Gina, "Gina, how long can this bubble last?"

Gina blew another bubble for Mag before she answered, "It can last for three minutes."

"That's enough." Mag nodded. He tilted his ears to listen for sounds out there. He cracked open the door and dashed out of the dormitory. He followed the crowd to the location where Elizabeth and the ladies were trapped.

"Do you need backup?" Irina's voice sounded.

"Not at this moment," Mag replied on the private channel, and drew out his Tian Du sword slowly, but he put it back after thinking for a moment. He took out the "Fat Head Fish" instead.

Sounds of fierce fighting could be heard, and all the guards and soldiers in the palace were running in the same direction. Mag moved along with the crowd as he rushed to the combat zone.

The fighting in the long corridor was unusually fierce. Dozens of orc guards were already frozen into ice sculptures. There were also dozens of orcs who were banging up and down against the ceiling and floor uncontrollably.

The other party only had three people in black, and they could roughly gauge that they were female based on their figures.

However, their ruthlessness and powerful abilities had shocked them.

They couldn't do anything to them within a short period even when they had the absolute advantage in number.

"Lord Kurt has arrived!"

Right then, an agitated voice sounded, and all the orcs parted to welcome the arrival of Kurt.

"Damned fellows. Does everyone think that our Falk Tribe is a soft target?!" Kurt stared at the three people in black in the corridor with a ruthless gaze, and dashed toward them with his sword.

Chapter 1552: That Person Is Boss?

"Leave from the back with Miya. I will stop him," Elizabeth told Babla in a cold voice as she looked at Kurt with a stern expression. Although she wasn't sure if she could stop this fellow, she had to create a chance for them to escape.

Babla threw a glance at Kurt, and then pursed her lips. "You will die."

"No, I won't." Elizabeth's reply was sure and resolute.

"Alright." Babla backed off as she pulled Miya along. With a wave from her, those orcs behind them seemed to be sent away with a giant hand, and a path was created for them.

"Sister, no." Miya turned to look at Elizabeth with panic and fear in her eyes. She couldn't imagine what would happen after she left Elizabeth here. Those scary orcs would tear her apart.

"No one can be spared. All of you have to die!" A cruel smile appeared on Kurt's face. He had suffered a huge setback due to Rex tonight. Encountering such weak opponents was rare; he had even decided how to torture them to death after he caught them.

All the orcs had already parted. Lord Kurt was one of the Falk Tribe's strongest powerhouses. With him around, all intruders had no way to escape.

"Ice Seal Domain." Elizabeth used her most powerful technique with a grave expression. Frost spread out from all sides along the corridor, and everything within it was sealed with ice.

"Ice magic caster? Interesting." Kurt slashed his sword across, and the cold air that moved toward him seemed to be slashed open by a sword. It couldn't stop him at all.

All the orcs lit up their eyes. The ice magic that set them back was negligible in front of Lord Kurt.

A smug smile appeared on Kurt's face. He loved to be the center of attention. Slaughtering his opponents was indeed very exciting.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. The great power of a 10th-tier had exceeded her expectations. This orc was so much stronger than Fox. The Ice Seal Domain couldn't even slow him down.

A lot of solutions flashed across her mind. She had obviously no winning chance if she chose to attack him head-on. She would have to reveal her giant dragon identity so the other party wouldn't kill her, and she could wait for Mag to rescue her.

However, she wouldn't want to depend on the Frost Dragons' reputation if she could help it. This wasn't in her character.

"Then, let's fight my way out first!" Elizabeth stared at Kurt as a long ice-blue spear gradually consolidated in her hands. The crystal clear spear gave out a coldness. Instead of retreating, she dashed toward Kurt, stepping on the ice.

"You're seeking death!" Kurt smirked and pursed his lips as he looked at Elizabeth's actions. How dared an 8th-tier fellow launch an attack at him. She really didn't know what was good for her. He simply swung his sword as he began to think about how to toy with this woman who had quite a good figure.

However, just as Kurt went past a T-junction, a gale suddenly blew in the side corridor. A cold gleam flashed and crashed into him.

"Who is that?!" Kurt got a shock, and he swung his sword toward his side instinctively.

Ding!

The crisp sound of clashing metal could be heard in the long corridor.

Kurt's sword was actually cut in two in the clash. Everyone stared at that broken blade that flew through the air and got stuck in the ceiling with wide eyes.

Meanwhile, Kurt slammed hard into the wall. He had a 10-cm-wide cut on his lower abdomen, and blood stained his clothes instantly. He stared at the empty long corridor with shock.

"Lord Kurt!" All the orcs rushed forward and protected Kurt in the center as they stared at their surroundings in fear.

They, too, only saw a cold gleam. They didn't see who attacked Kurt, either.

Elizabeth also had shock on her face. Although she also didn't see who attacked Kurt, she could sense that person's presence. He had an incredibly terrifying speed and an awe-inspiring burst of energy.

"Elizabeth, retreat. Go straight down the third corridor at the back." Right at that moment, Mag's orders sounded in her ears.

That person is Boss? Elizabeth raised her eyebrows slightly. However, there wasn't much time for her to ponder. She halted her advance, turned around, and dashed toward the back. Next, she tossed the ice-cold blue spear forward hard in an attempt to skewer those orcs who tried to block her.

"Babla, bring Miya into the corridor in front of you. Go straight through it, and I will be waiting for you all at the juncture." Mag's voice appeared again.

Babla was taken aback, but she still obeyed his instruction, and brought Miya into the corridor in front of them.

The attack on Kurt caused fear and panic among all the orcs, and nobody could bother about Elizabeth and the ladies at that moment.

Lord Kurt was a powerful 10th-tier orc. However, his sword was actually severed, and he was injured. The other party had to be a formidable opponent.

The most terrifying thing was that the other party could actually conceal himself. They only saw a cold gleam the whole time. They couldn't see who the other party was.

Kurt leaned against the wall, still in a shock, but he still loudly ordered, "Damned fellow! Find them! I want to kill them!"

All the orcs could only force themselves to pursue Elizabeth, the ladies, and that invisible killer.

Mag took out a piece of cloth as he stood at the juncture. He wiped the blood on the cleaver away carefully before he kept it. He then kicked the orc whose leg was revealed back into the room.

His peak 9th-tier power gave him a rather good explosive power. With Gina's invisible bubble, he found the other party's moment of weakness, and gave him a dangerous strike.

However, the other party was a 10th-tier orc who was well-versed in close combat, after all. His sense of danger and basic instincts were all excellent. Therefore, it was a waste that he could only sever his sword and deal him an inconsequential strike.

If Mag had used the Tian Du sword, that strike would have pierced through Kurt.

However, it would've been very hard for him to hide his tracks then.

Mag couldn't help muttering, "That lass Gina is really a natural assassin assistant." The invisibility bubble was simply too practical. It was a waste that it could only last for three minutes.

Footsteps appeared in both the corridors very soon, and Elizabeth, Babla, and Yabemiya appeared in his sight.

And right behind them were even more intense sounds of footsteps.

Miya was delighted to see Elizabeth come from another corridor before she nervously said, "Boss, there are many people after us. You'd better run quickly!"

"Let's go. Little Amy and Gina are already waiting for us." Mag smiled at the three of them.

Elizabeth gave Mag a meaningful look before waving her hand. A long wall of ice appeared behind her and sealed the corridor shut completely.

Chapter 1553: Are They Thinking Of Regaining Control Of This World Again?

Mag and the ladies returned to the palace maids' dormitory unscathed. Amy and Gina were attacking a badly beaten orc guard when they arrived. There were orc guards lying around everywhere around the door.

Mag cocked an eyebrow. This fighting capability had indeed made him proud.

"Let's go. Let's leave here first," Mag said to everyone after kicking that knocked-out orc aside.

"How about Big Sister Connie? We're not waiting for her?" Amy asked Mag after checking her surroundings.

"Yes. Would it be very dangerous to leave Connie alone here?" Miya was also looking at Miya worriedly.

Everyone turned to Mag in unison.

"There are many orcs closing in now," Elizabeth said softly as she waved the door closed, and added a few layers of ice wall at the same time.

"Connie's walkie-talkie is no longer in use, and we cannot find her. We have to leave here immediately now that we are exposed, otherwise we will be in grave danger." Mag shook his head at everyone. "Connie is very good at hiding and stealth, and she grew up here, so it's not difficult for her to evade the search party. Even if she was caught, given her identity, she would not be executed immediately. She would most likely be executed together with her brother at tomorrow's conferring ceremony, and we would still have a chance to save her."

Bam! Bam!

The sounds of breaking down the door had already appeared.

"Let's go. Our plan will fail if we get caught." Mag walked into the teleportation portal first.

After hesitating for a moment, everyone followed Mag, and entered the teleportation portal.

"Babla, activate the teleportation portal," said Mag.

Babla touched the bangle on her wrist. A silver starlight lit up, and landed on the teleportation portal underneath their feet.

Dazzling light shone brightly instantly. After three seconds, the light disappeared, and all of them in the teleportation portal disappeared along with it too.

Bam!

The dormitory's door and ice walls were smashed to smithereens by a great impact. All the orcs rushed in, but they only saw the knocked-out palace maids. There were no intruders in sight.

Darryl and Kurt, who was grasping his waist, walked through the door.

Darryl stood in the center of the dormitory, and crouched down to swipe his finger across some white residue on the floor. After smelling it, he got up with a sinister look. "Those fellows had set up a teleportation portal here!"

"Damn it! They actually have a formation master among them!" Kurt smashed his fist into the wall angrily. His agitated movement pulled the wound on his waist, and made him snarl in pain.

"First, it was the Hairless Monk, followed by the mysterious powerhouse in the west of the city. Then, a bunch of people snuck into the palace. There could even be a 10th-tier powerhouse among them. Seems like many people are against our Falk Tribe," Darryl said with furrowed brows.

Right then, an orc jogged over, and reported, "My lords, the chief is awake!"

"Let's go. Let the chief decide on this matter." Darryl's eyes lit up, and he strode off immediately.

"Things are easier to settle now that the chief is awake." Kurt swiftly caught up with him.

***

Why is the little one not out yet? Is she in some trouble? Rex stood on the roof of a stone palace as he worriedly gazed at the palace.

After hesitating for a moment, he halted, and muttered, "If my disciple couldn't even get out of a place like that, she would have failed badly."

***

"Attention, all units; attention, all units! Apart from losing contact with Connie, everyone has evacuated safely. Tonight's operation has ended, and we will return to our individual courtyards according to our plans," Mag spoke into the walkie-talkie as he looked toward the palace on the top of a cliff. He couldn't help feeling worried.

He didn't know where that lass Connie was, or whether she was in danger.

Elizabeth and the ladies were also silent. It felt bad to leave their companion behind.

"Let's go back first." Mag held Amy's hand, and walked down the cliff.

Elizabeth looked at Mag's retreating back with doubt and wonder. Was he the mysterious person who suddenly dashed out in the corridor and stabbed that orc?

That speed and explosive force must be already very close to 10th-tier, right?

Everyone easily returned to their courtyard amidst the darkness and chaos.

Irina had also returned to the courtyard with a grave expression, and told everyone, "I went to the palace on my way back, and I didn't find Connie, either. Her presence doesn't seem to be in the palace now."

"Seems like she has already left the palace on her own. That's good news," Mag said with brightened eyes.

Everyone visibly relaxed after they heard that.

"If Big Sister Connie has already left the palace, why is she not contacting us? Why doesn't she come back here?" Amy asked perplexedly.

"Perhaps she has found something in the palace," Mag murmured. It was indeed weird for Connie to suddenly lose contact with them. Given her hyper character, she should be the most active one in the walkie-talkie channel.

"She will definitely appear tomorrow. Ferdinand will be executed at the conferring ceremony. She's not a person who easily gives up." Mag smiled and concluded today's operations and conversations. He asked everyone to return to their rooms and rest.

After everyone left, Irina stayed back, and asked Mag, "Do we need to look for her again?"

"There's no need to. We won't be able to find her if she wants to hide from us." Mag shook his head. Connie was someone who could enter and leave Bastie Prison at will, so she was naturally invincible at hide-and-seek.

"However, somebody in the Falk Tribe has made a deal with the devil. The black fog may be present. Did you find any suspicious areas when you went into the palace earlier?" Mag asked in a lowered voice.

"It's here too?" Irina raised her eyebrow slightly. After pondering for a moment, she said, "I did feel a little uncomfortable when I entered the palace. I didn't pay much attention to it then, but now that I think back about it, that could've been my basic reaction to the evil presence. However, that feeling was very faint. I didn't even think about that because of it."

"Seems like the source is indeed within the palace." Mag nodded thoughtfully. At least, they could narrow down the target now, and the possibility that it was Gary had greatly increased.

"The Wind Forest, the Boundless Sea Realm, and now the Twilight Forest. What do those evil gods want? Are they thinking of regaining control of this world again?"

Mag shook his head with a grave expression, and said, "We are not certain about their motives yet. However, evil breeds wherever the black fog appears. If this situation spreads all over the continent, then civilization and order will be completely destroyed, and this world will be destroyed too."

Mag could still remember that small island shrouded in the black fog in the Boundless Sea Realm. Allowing the black fog to develop would have a disastrous impact on this world. No one would be able to escape.

"They're really a bunch of nauseating fellows." Irina frowned. After a moment of silence, she told Mag, "I'm afraid we are not able to eradicate all the black fog that could appear in this world with just the two of us alone."

"This is a matter that every species has to face. The two of us aren't enough." Mag nodded slightly. "Hence, I decided to report this matter to all the people in charge of the species during the peace negotiations, and let them know about the existence of black fog. We will try our best to combine our efforts to fight against evil."

"This is impractical."

"How do we know if we don't give it a try."

Chapter 1554: I Need The Lungs From A Pair Of Loving Husband And Wife

The night attack destroyed the Falk Tribe's celebratory ambiance of the conferring of new chief. Fights seemed to be taking place everywhere from inner city to outer city.

The ordinary orcs were hiding in their houses with their doors tightly shut, trying their best not to make any noise.

Meanwhile, the orc guards were striking everywhere, trying to maintain order again.

The fighting in the canyon only died down gradually in the second half of the night. However, the majority of those orcs who were imprisoned in all the prisons had already escaped.

The damaged city walls resembled disturbing scars. The people couldn't believe such affairs actually happened in the Falk Tribe.

An orc soldier gulped as he stared at the city wall that looked like it was crushed by a giant beast, and asked, "Captain, will tomorrow's conferring ceremony take place as planned?"

"Maybe." That middle-aged captain, too, gulped with uncertainty in his reply. He had never seen anything like today in his life. Even the new chief hadn't created such a huge scene during his rebellion then.

An order was sent out from the palace and passed onto every orc in the Falk Tribe soon.

The ordinary orcs were asked to stay at home, while all the orc warriors and guards were told to clean up and repair the damaged buildings overnight.

***

Mag had an uneasy sleep. He woke up a few times to check if Connie had returned or replied to his messages. However, there was still no sight of her. She had simply vanished.

Early next morning, Mag was awakened by knocking on the door in the yard.

Mag got up and changed before he opened the yard's door, and Heyman was standing there.

"Mr. Mag, I am really sorry to wake you up so early," Heyman said apologetically.

"It's fine. What's the matter?" Mag asked, completely unfazed.

"It's like this. The tribe will be holding the chief's conferring ceremony tonight, and we need to decorate the entire tribe. Orders have been issued that no one is allowed to leave their homes this morning, so I specially came here to notify you all about that to prevent unnecessary troubles," said Heyman smilingly.

"Oh, I see. We will obey that." Mag nodded. He had roughly guessed that the palace needed to urgently repair last night's damages to prevent losing their pride in front of all the other tribes.

Heyman continued, "Apart from that, since Mr. Mag is in charge of the main banquet's dishes, the main kitchen needs to discuss with you the ingredients, kitchenware, and manpower they need to prepare for you. The authorities have given you the highest permission, so we will try to get you whatever you need."

"Regarding the ingredients..." Mag was about to reject Heyman when he suddenly remembered something. He paused, and hesitatingly said, "I indeed do need some help from you, but this request might be a little overboard and bloody. However, this dish is the banquet's main dish..."

"Please say it. Although our main kitchen doesn't look like much, it has everything it needs. Even if you need a special ingredient, I will be able to get it for you before tonight's banquet," Heyman said, slapping on his chest.

"I need the lungs from a pair of loving husband and wife," Mag replied.

"Erm..." Heyman was obviously taken back. He only said with hesitation after a while, "Are you talking about the lungs from a pair of live husband and wife? Orcs?"

"Yes. And I have to cut out the lungs personally to make sure that they're the freshest." Mag nodded seriously.

Heyman suddenly remembered something, and exclaimed, "Are you going to make the 'husband and wife lung slice'!?"

"I didn't expect you to know that." Mag was surprised.

"I have seen the report about your and Master Harris' duel. You defeated Master Harris with the 'husband and wife lung slice' eventually, and ended his undefeated record." Heyman nodded with excitement in his eyes.

"I was just lucky." Mag shook his head humbly.

"So, this dish 'husband and wife lung slice' is really made with the lungs of a pair of husband and wife?" Heyman pondered as he looked at Mag hesitatingly.

How did he dare to kill a couple at Chaos City, a place that was so orderly?

He would be labeled as a devil chef even if he really created an extraordinary delicacy using such a cruel method to extract the ingredients, right?

Mag seemed to have guessed what Heyman was thinking, so he smiled. "I used the lungs from a bull and a cow in Chaos City to create the dish. However, if I could use the lung slices from a pair of real husband and wife, especially a pair of loving husband and wife, then this dish could be considered perfect. Although killing a person for a dish is naturally unreasonable, I heard your tribe is going to execute many criminals today, so I wonder if there are a pair of loving husband and wife among them, and if you can provide them for me."

"Oh, I see." Heyman understood. After pondering seriously for a moment, he remembered two of them had matched Mag's requirement. They would be executed at the conferring ceremony today, so if he could get them to the main kitchen, he would be able to provide a set of satisfactory ingredients for Mr. Mag. He replied, "There is a pair of them, but I can't make the decision. I have to ask my superior."

"Then I will have to bother you. I am confident that today's highlight, 'husband and wife lung slice', would be stunning if we could find a pair of truly loving husband and wife." There was a hint of craze in Mag's gaze and a hint of excitement on his face.

Geniuses are indeed all crazy... Heyman mumbled in his heart. After confirming the 10 dishes for the main table with Mag, he quickly left.

Let's hope we can save that loving pair of husband and wife first. Mag shook his head smilingly as he looked at Heyman's retreating back, and closed the courtyard's door.

Miya had also gotten out of bed to come to the yard, and worriedly asked Mag, "Boss, has Connie returned? Did she contact you?"

"No. However, if there are no accidents, she will definitely appear at tonight's banquet." Mag nodded. Still, he wasn't too worried, as Connie had a powerful master protecting her after all. She wouldn't be harmed easily.

"I need to go out for a while, and I will be back by the evening," Irina said to Mag as she came out of her room before a champagne-golden beam lit up under her feet, and she disappeared immediately.

"If there's nothing else, I am going back to catch up on my sleep." Camilla walked one round in the courtyard before she yawned, returned to her room, and closed the door.

"I am going over to the kitchen to have a look and check for information too. If you all want to eat something, then follow me." Mag pushed open the yard's door and walked out.

"Father, wait for me!" Amy stumbled over with Ugly Duckling, and threw herself into Mag's arms.

Chapter 1555: System, What's My Calling?

Mag spent the entire morning integrating with the chefs of the main kitchen, and got some information from them.

The majority of the information was already in the Gray Temple's intel. However, as the main kitchen had always been supplying the food for the chief and the nobles in the inner city, they knew the secret history of the palace very well. Under Mag's enticement, they told him many stories about the former chief.

Gary and the former chief, Isaiah, were half brothers. Gary could be considered as a bastard, but because he had the same exceptional talents, he was brought into the palace.

Meanwhile, Connie and Ferdinand were most likely half-siblings too. Connie was the queen's child, but as for Ferdinand, there were still arguments about if he was in fact the queen's biological child.

Apparently, the queen couldn't get pregnant after marrying the chief for many years. One day, the chief consummated with a palace maid after he was drunk, and a child was conceived. The queen killed the mother after the child was born, took the child as hers, and told everyone that he was her son—Young Master Ferdinand.

Two years later, Princess Connie was born.

Of course, this matter was never verified, and could be most probably just a rumor.

There also weren't any related reports in the Gray Temple's intel.

Anyway, this romantic history of the palace was simply a piece of lousy palace soap opera. These royal chefs really dared to talk about anything.

However, Mag had verified from them that Connie and Ferdinand did indeed have a great relationship. They grew up together, and Ferdinand took great care of Connie.

As for Gary, these chefs were obviously very wary. They basically evaded all the questions about him. Even if they did talk about him, it was all praises.

Mag bumped into Hannah in a corner just as he was about to return to the small courtyard.

Mag raised his eyebrows slightly, and then quickly pulled Hannah into a corner to evade two servants who had just passed by.

Hannah's face was pressed against Mag's chest. She blushed immediately when she felt that warm chest and strong heartbeat.

Mag only took a step back after he heard the footsteps went far away. When he saw Hannah's flushed face, he couldn't help saying with surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"I-I came to deliver the wines and spirits," Hannah replied innocently.

"Oh, I see..." Mag smiled embarrassedly. He thought Hannah had snuck in to look for him.

Hannah whispered, "I've already added in the drugs, and I prompted them that this batch of alcohol is more potent, so it wouldn't attract much attention even if the tester got drunk."

"Great." Mag nodded in response.

"I treated a mister with some alcohol on my way here, and I heard him say something terrible happened last night. Powerful enemies attacked the Falk Tribe. Was it the organization?" There was a glow in Hannah's gaze.

"No, it wasn't."

"Oh..." Hannah's emotions obviously became more depressed.

"..." Mag curled his lips a little. He felt a little like laughing. This maiden was really a good comrade that was loyal and expectant to the organization.

"In this case, when will you bring the girl away with you then? Although she is rather well-behaved, she can really drink. She finished a big vat of my rum last night in one go, and she's still knocked out in my house now," Hannah said to Mag with difficulty.

"That happened..." Mag was rather shocked to hear that. He knew very clearly that the rum in Hannah's house was of a very high concentration. Even adult orcs couldn't drink too much of it, and yet that little one had drunk an entire vat. Her resistance to alcohol was astonishing.

Mag murmured, "Please take care of her for another two days. I will decide where she will go after this event blows over. Perhaps her parents are still alive."

"She said she no longer has any parents," Hannah replied right away.

"Then, you'll have to wait for my arrangements."

"Alright." Hannah nodded slightly. She squeezed into Mag's arms instinctively when she heard some footsteps closing in.

"You have to press against the wall." Mag pressed Hannah against the wall with resignation while he tilted to his side, and used the withered vines on the wall to hide them from sight.

"Let's go. Be careful and don't expose your identity," Mag said after the footsteps went far away.

"Mm-hm." Hannah nodded, and quickly strode off with a blushing face.

Mag waited for a brief moment before he continued on his way to the small courtyard.

Walking along the small walkway, an orc who looked like a servant came toward him with a bundle of firewood. Mag stood to the side to let him pass.

However, perhaps the bundle of firewood was too big, but he bumped into Mag accidentally when he walked past Mag.

That middle-aged orc quickly put down the firewood, and slapped away the wood dust that got stuck to Mag's sleeves apologetically. He also stuffed a bamboo container into his hands.

"It's alright. You may go." Mag kept the bamboo container knowingly, and waved his hand in a friendly manner before he turned to leave.

Meanwhile, that orc also picked up his firewood and left.

Mag returned to his room in the small courtyard, and opened the bamboo container. It was the latest intel provided by the Gray Temple's informants, including updates on last night's incidents. The Hairless Monk battled Gary, Kurt, and Darryl and left after injuring Gary. The incident of the mysterious person blocking Basil from returning was recorded. There was also a list of the VIPs who would be here today. It included the chief of the Aug Tribe, Auster.

This fellow Auster is indeed coming. Mag frowned. As the pro-war fanatic in the orc species, Auster always wanted to start a total war.

There was also a hint of Auster and the Aug Tribe behind Gary's rebellion. He could be here to support Gary today.

Once The Falk Tribe and the Aug Tribe had a unified stance, then the orcs would be a race that was going to try their best to start the war, and could no longer check and balance themselves from within.

Seems like I will have to do something tonight. Mag tossed the bamboo container and the secret missive into the burning stove, and started to pace around in the room as he inwardly asked, "System, are you selling the 'Be a man for three seconds'... ptui, the technique bag of returning to my peak power for 10 minutes?"

"Not selling!"

"I'm really paying you. With cash and not Elephantpay."

The system gravely warned, "It's no use even if you pay with cash. Returning to your peak power for 10 minutes is a very important reward. If it happens too frequently or becomes available for sale, it will greatly diminish its value. Furthermore, before the host's body strength could completely recover, a certain damage would be done to your body every time you used this ability. If you used it too many times, it could even cause you to forever lose the ability to recover to your peak strength."

"Then, you should freaking give me the exact location of the black fog. I know it's in the palace roughly, but how am I going to ascertain its position and eradicate it in the remaining few hours?"

"This is the mission's content. Without some difficulties, how could it be called a mission?"

"System, what's my calling?"

"To become a true God of Cookery in this world."

"Then, why am I freaking required to come here to save the world? I am just a chef!!!"

"A true chef has to learn how to save the world besides making delicacies that touch people—"

"Shut up! Piss off!"