Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83 - Cry-Baby And Ugly-Faced Woman
Chapter 84 - The Situation Took A Turn For The Worst
Chapter 85 - The Blood Clan’S True Form (One)
Chapter 86 - Blood Clan'S True Form (Two)
Chapter 87 - Your Blood Is Quite Nutritious
Chapter 88 - Awakening (One)
Chapter 89 - Awakening (Two)
Chapter 90 - Awakening (Three)
Chapter 91 - Return
Chapter 92 - Sin Of Hell’S River
Chapter 93 - Don’T Do It, It’Ll Hurt
Chapter 94 - All The Blood In This World Belongs To Me
Chapter 95 - The Charm Of That Shield
Chapter 96 - I Definitely Will Not Let You Suffer
Chapter 97 - Our Inland Sea
Chapter 98 - Arracca Murkh
Chapter 99 - Uncertain Fate
Chapter 100 - Ramon (One)
Chapter 101 - Ramon (Two)
Chapter 102 - Eckstedt’S Welcoming Ceremony
Chapter 103 - Gamble (One)
Chapter 104 - Gamble (Two)
Chapter 105 - The Kingdom’S Wrath
Chapter 106 - The Failed Bet
Chapter 107 - Mystic Gun
Chapter 108 - Chapman Lampard
Chapter 109 - Remnants Of Magic
Chapter 110 - Paid Homage
Chapter 111 - Kaslan’S Tavern
Chapter 112
Chapter 113 - The Intersection Of Fate
Chapter 114 - The People In Hell (One)
Chapter 115 - The People In Hell (Two)
Chapter 116
Chapter 117 - Star Killer
Chapter 118 - The Unexpected Guests
Chapter 119 - A Marquis From Camus
Chapter 120 - Bait
Chapter 121 - Clue
Chapter 122 - Until Dawn Came (One)
Chapter 123 - Until Dawn Came (Two)
Chapter 124 - Queen Of The Sky
Chapter 125 - The Female Warrior
Chapter 126 - Heroic Spirit Palace
Chapter 127 - The Born King (One)
Chapter 128 - The Born King (Two)
Chapter 129 - A Duel
Chapter 130 - The King And His Archdukes
Chapter 131 - The Strange Swordsman
Chapter 132 - Who Are You?
Chapter 133 - Hunt And Chase
Chapter 134 - Little Rascal And Alex (One)
Chapter 135 - Little Rascal And Alex (Two)
Chapter 136 - Stabs
Chapter 137 - Kidnapping The Archduke?
Chapter 138 - Numb Hands
Chapter 139 - A Unique Welcome Banquet
Chapter 140 - The Red Witch
Chapter 141 - Reunion
Chapter 142 - Who’S There (One)
Chapter 143 - Who’S There (Two)
Chapter 144 - The Sword Of Baptism’S Death
Chapter 145 - The Wait
Chapter 146 - The Culprit
Chapter 147 - The Northland Road
Chapter 148
Chapter 149 - Not Even Worth Half A Penny!
Chapter 150 - The Beloved Former King, Nuven
Chapter 151 - Veteran
Chapter 152 - Shadow
Chapter 153 - Have A Drink
Chapter 154 - The Secret Of ‘Triumph’
Chapter 155 - A Bargaining Chip You Cannot Refuse
Chapter 156 - Horrifying
Chapter 157 - The Death Of Soria
Chapter 158 - Betrayal
Chapter 159 - The Fateful Night
Chapter 160 - The Invitation
Chapter 161 - The First Mystic Declaration
Chapter 162 - Letting Go Of A Suspicion
Chapter 163 - Monster And Monster
Chapter 164 - Chaos Begins
Chapter 165 - Just Speak
Chapter 166 - Surprise
Chapter 167 - Flee
Chapter 168 - The Tragic End Of Weaklings
Chapter 169 - Air And Blood
Chapter 170 - The Desperate Dash
Chapter 171 - The Outcome Of The Civil War
Chapter 172 - Elimination
Chapter 173 - The Blade Of Purification
Chapter 174 - The Truth About Elimination
Chapter 175 - Same Kind (One)
Chapter 176 - Same Kind (Two)
Chapter 177 - Sudden Entrance Into The Battlefield!
Chapter 178 - True Form
Chapter 179 - Silence And Darkness
Chapter 180 - Knocking On The Door
Chapter 181 - Phantom
Chapter 182 - A Gentle Kiss
Chapter 183 - The Cost Of Victory
Chapter 184 - The Paradoxical Assassin
Chapter 185 - Thunder Rumbles In Winter
Chapter 186 - End Of Arc: A Good Name
Chapter 187 - The Night Ends, The Day Breaks
Chapter 188 - It Is You
Chapter 189 - Symphony Of Blood (One)
Chapter 190 - Symphony Of Blood (Part Two)
Chapter 191 - Stop Meddling Into The Matters Of Elders
Chapter 192 - Six-Fifty
Chapter 193 - Choose Who You Want To Become
Chapter 194 - Ice-Cold
Chapter 195 - Spirit Of The Contract
Chapter 196 - The Manipulator (One)
Chapter 197 - The Manipulator (Two)
Chapter 198 - Price
Chapter 199
Chapter 200 - Encounter
Chapter 201 - The Prince’S End
Chapter 202 - Really Bad Luck (One)
Chapter 203 - Really Bad Luck (Two)
Chapter 204 - Understanding
Chapter 205 - Execute On The Spot
Chapter 206 - Guest From Barren Bone
Chapter 207 - The Prince’S Doubts
Chapter 208 - The Black Prophet From The Other Side
Chapter 209 - Code Name: Dragon’S Blood
Chapter 210 - The Importance Of Dragon’S Blood
Chapter 211 - A Gamble In The Dark (One)
Chapter 212 - A Gamble In The Dark (Two)
Chapter 213 - The Curse Of The Witch
Chapter 214 - The Scorching Blade
Chapter 215 - Stall
Chapter 216 - The Latecomer
Chapter 217 - A Very Big Problem
Chapter 218 - The Blade And The Wing
Chapter 219 - Trust And Loyalty
Chapter 220 - Nicholas’ Bargaining Chip
Chapter 221 - Shelter
Chapter 222 - A Critical Decision
Chapter 223 - Failure
Chapter 224 - Little Rascal’S ‘Consolation’
Chapter 225 - Save This Country
Chapter 226 - King Slayer
Chapter 227 - Creating Trouble For Ourselves
Chapter 228 - The Strongest Chess Piece (One)
Chapter 229 - The Strongest Chess Piece (Two)
Chapter 230 - The Strongest Chess Piece. (Three)
Chapter 231 - Lampard’S Plan
Chapter 232 - The Archduke’S Fight
Chapter 233 - It Has Been A Long Time
Chapter 234 - A Great Threat
Chapter 235 - Contention
Chapter 236 - The Inextinguishable Starlight
Chapter 237 - The Virtuous King
Chapter 238 - Centuries Of Strategic Planning (One)
Chapter 239 - Centuries Of Strategic Planning (Two)
Chapter 240 - Centuries Of Strategic Planning (Three)
Chapter 241 - Genuine Patrols
Chapter 242
Chapter 243 - Seize Control
Chapter 244 - Chad Vlad
Chapter 245 - Severing Souls With A Slash!
Chapter 246 - A Game Of Chess
Chapter 247 - A Chance Encounter
Chapter 248 - I Am Very Honored
Chapter 249 - When Swords Cross (One)
Chapter 250 - When Swords Cross (Two)
Chapter 251 - Arduous
Chapter 252 - I Am So Relieved
Chapter 253 - I Can Help You
Chapter 254 - The Black Knight’S Death
Chapter 255 - Changing Hands
Chapter 256 - Counter-Attack
Chapter 257 - Check
Chapter 258 - Checkmate
Chapter 259 - A Speculation
Chapter 260 - The Reason For Battle (One)
Chapter 261 - The Reason For Battle (Two)
Chapter 262 - Twist Of Fate
Chapter 263 - A Child Who’S Not Able To Drink Alcohol
Chapter 264 - You Northland Barbarians!
Chapter 265 - Two Minutes
Chapter 266 - What A Shame (One)
Chapter 267 - What A Shame (Two)
Chapter 268 - We Won
Chapter 269 - The Archduchess
Chapter 270 - The Blood-Stained Crown
Chapter 271 - The Day Before The Bitter Cold Winter
Chapter 272 - Yc
Chapter 273 - End Of Arc: The Destiny They Missed
Chapter 274 - The Quiet Prince
Chapter 275 - A Game Of Chess (One)
Chapter 276 - A Game Of Chess (Two)
Chapter 277 - First Lesson
Chapter 278 - The Truth Brothers
Chapter 279 - Traitors
Chapter 280 - Target
Chapter 281 - An Awkward Dinner
Chapter 282 - Upset
Chapter 283 - Riot
Chapter 284 - The Familiar Guest
Chapter 285 - The Honor And Humiliation Of The Great Dragon (One)
Chapter 286
Chapter 287 - The Mystery About Putray
Chapter 288 - The Dragon’S Blood Has Yet To Dry
Chapter 289 - Dragon Breaker (One)
Chapter 290 - Dragon Breaker (Two)
Chapter 291 - Meryl Hicks
Chapter 292 - The Boundaries Of Governance (One)
Chapter 293 - The Boundaries Of Governance (Two)
Chapter 294 - What Is Magic?
Chapter 295 - An Unforeseen Invitation
Chapter 296 - The Game In The Carriage
Chapter 297 - The Former King’S “Present”
Chapter 298 - The Prince’S Shackles
Chapter 299 - Friend And Foe
Chapter 300 - Victory And Defeat
Chapter 301 - A Duel
Chapter 302 - Not Too Bad?
Chapter 303 - Leave
Chapter 304 - A Storm Is Coming
Chapter 305 - The Creation Of The Two Empresses
Chapter 306 - Raven Of Death
Chapter 307 - Ian The Nuisance
Chapter 308 - Collusion
Chapter 309 - The Writers Of Legend (One)
Chapter 310 - The Writers Of Legend (Two)
Chapter 311 - The Day Of The State Affairs Hearing
Chapter 312 - The Hatred For Stealing His Sister
Chapter 313 - The Beginning
Chapter 314 - For Dragon Clouds City
Chapter 315 - The Archduchess And Her Vassals
Chapter 316 - Plan
Chapter 317 - A Romantic Story
Chapter 318 - Are All Of You Coming?
Chapter 319 - Not According To Plan
Chapter 320 - Releasing In “Installments”
Chapter 321 - The Price Of Saying “No”
Chapter 322 - The Moral Of The Story
Chapter 323 - Good Morning
Chapter 324 - Returning The Favor
Chapter 325 - Send Reinforcements
Chapter 326 - Five Archdukes
Chapter 327 - The Prince’S Whereabouts
Chapter 328 - Just Like Chapman Lampard
Chapter 329 - The Final Journey
Chapter 330 - Assassinating Lampard?
Chapter 331 - Bumping Into A Ghost
Chapter 332 - Headquarters
Chapter 333 - Smooth-Sailing
Chapter 334
Chapter 335 - The Confusion While Going Back Home
Chapter 336 - The Veteran On The Wheelchair
Chapter 337 - Double The Amount?
Chapter 338 - The Point Of Contact
Chapter 339 - His/Her Eyes
Chapter 340 - The Magical Therren
Chapter 341 - You Son Of A *Censored*
Chapter 342 - Which Will You Choose?
Chapter 343 - Exterminate Them All
Chapter 344 - Black Track
Chapter 345 - Join Us
Chapter 346 - Silver Shadow
Chapter 347 - You Will Fail In The End
Chapter 348 - You Fell Into The Trap, Eh?
Chapter 349 - The War Of The Deceased Souls
Chapter 350 - Never Lost
Chapter 351 - The Pulse Of The Ground
Chapter 352 - God Knows
Chapter 353 - The First Rule
Chapter 354 - Pursuers
Chapter 355 - The Hardest Fight
Chapter 356 - Unique Only To One
Chapter 357 - Just Die Here
Chapter 358 - The Three-Second Fight
Chapter 359 - Surpassed Kaslan
Chapter 360 - The Raven And The Snow Blade (One)
Chapter 361 - The Raven And The Snow Blade (Two)
Chapter 362 - The Black Raven’S Eyes
Chapter 363 - Who Does Your Loyalty Belong To?
Chapter 364 - Turning Against One Another
Chapter 365 - Saber Or Crossbow?
Chapter 366 - Prince In The Desert
Chapter 367 - Sellsword
Chapter 368 - Dante’S Greatsword
Chapter 369 - Desert Threat
Chapter 370 - There’S Someone
Chapter 371 - Barren Bone People
Chapter 372 - Bloody Thorn Lizard
Chapter 373 - Young Cub
Chapter 374 - Foreign Blood
Chapter 375 - Coming-Of-Age Ceremony
Chapter 376 - Flag
Chapter 377 - The Destructive Army
Chapter 378 - Freaks
Chapter 379 - Welcome To Constellation (One)
Chapter 380 - Welcome To Constellation (Two)
Chapter 381 - Ghost Prince
Chapter 382 - My Home (One)
Chapter 383 - My Home (Two)
Chapter 384 - Age Of Mercenaries
Chapter 385 - Confrontation And Stalemate
Chapter 386 - Prince Versus Prince
Chapter 387 - So Many Tricks
Chapter 388 - You Have To Laugh
Chapter 389 - Shackles Of Power
Chapter 390 - Perhaps I Have
Chapter 391 - Happily Ever After
Chapter 392 - Technical Skill
Chapter 393 - Intention
Chapter 394 - New Guest
Chapter 395 - Shadows And Swords
Chapter 396 - The Dark Side
Chapter 397 - Emergency Mission
Chapter 398 - Alliance Of Traitors
Chapter 399 - The Mole
Chapter 400 - As Bad As Can Be
Chapter 401 - Affectionate And United
Chapter 402 - F*Ck You
Chapter 403 - H.N. Jadestar
Chapter 404 - Stupid Idea
Chapter 405 - Sinner
Chapter 406 - The Intruders
Chapter 407 - Head Towards Omniscience
Chapter 408 - Black Prison
Chapter 409 - Behind The Iron Curtain
Chapter 410 - Hallucination
Chapter 411 - Seven
Chapter 412 - People Whom History Has Forgotten
Chapter 413 - The Mourning Of The Guards
Chapter 414 - Where Is He?
Chapter 415 - Fall Out
Chapter 416 - Disaster Sword’S Battle
Chapter 417 - The Knight Of Judgment
Chapter 418 - A Different World
Chapter 419 - The Queen’S Dowry
Chapter 420 - The Greatest King
Chapter 421 - Knew Clearly
Chapter 422 - Nameless
Chapter 423 - Awaken
Chapter 424 - Loyalty
Chapter 425 - Peer
Chapter 426 - He Was Probably Old
Chapter 427 - A Stalemate
Chapter 428 - Dusk
Chapter 429 - The Man At The Proximal World
Chapter 430 - The Second Declaration Among Mystics
Chapter 431 - The Anchor Point
Chapter 432 - Taurus Mill
Chapter 433 - Decision
Chapter 434 - Correcting The Mistake
Chapter 435 - Malicious Flower, Malicious Fruit
Chapter 436 - Moriah Returns
Chapter 437 - Old Self
Chapter 438 - The Prince Is Not Here
Chapter 439 - Scheme Between The Thief And Bandit
Chapter 440 - Seven To Three
Chapter 441 - Missing One
Chapter 442 - Quick Wit
Chapter 443 - Not Just You
Chapter 444 - Someone Needs An Answer
Chapter 445 - A Forbidden Name
Chapter 446 - Three Calamity Allies
Chapter 447 - Enemy Of The World
Chapter 448 - 1 Vs 8
Chapter 449 - Chaos Of Armies
Chapter 450 - Two Hands
Chapter 451 - Xx Films
Chapter 452 - Fratricide
Chapter 453 - It Was Not A Coincidence
Chapter 454 - More Than Half
Chapter 455 - I Hated Him
Chapter 456 - Nothing At All
Chapter 457 - The Person Who Supported Him
Chapter 458 - Where The Sun Does Not Shine (One)
Chapter 459 - Where The Sun Does Not Shine (Two)
Chapter 460 - Rebirth (One)
Chapter 461 - Rebirth (Two)
Chapter 462 - Rebirth (Three)
Chapter 463 - Rebirth (Four)
Chapter 464 - Rebirth (Five)
Chapter 465 - Truth Swords
Chapter 466 - Beheaded
Chapter 467 - Revealed In Flames
Chapter 468 - The Silent Demon
Chapter 469 - So Naïve That You Are Adorable
Chapter 470 - The Fate Twins
Chapter 471 - The True Essence Of The Power Of Eradication
Chapter 472 - Leaving The Prison
Chapter 473 - I Am Not A Devil, After All
Chapter 474 - Much… Higher
Chapter 475 - The Warden
Chapter 476 - Life, Safety And Freedom
Chapter 477 - Something Lighter
Chapter 478 - Get Me Something To Eat And Drink
Chapter 479 - Exclusive Possession
Chapter 480 - Kill Them
Chapter 481 - A Different Way Of Living
Chapter 482 - Get Yourself A Girlfriend
Chapter 483 - Make Me Even More… Excited
Chapter 484 - You Are Good-Looking
Chapter 485 - Too High
Chapter 486 - You Are Good-Looking
Chapter 487 - Too High
Chapter 488 - That Night
Chapter 489 - Usurp Power
Chapter 490 - Do Something
Chapter 491 - Power Comes From Violence (One)
Chapter 492 - Power Comes From Violence (Two)
Chapter 493 - The Third Party
Chapter 494 - Destiny Is Like A Poem
Chapter 495 - Raven Leader
Chapter 496 - Never
Chapter 497 - His Majesty’S Blessing
Chapter 498 - Black Lion
Chapter 499 - I Have Come In Peace
Chapter 500 - End Of Arc: Duke
Chapter 501 - Everything Will Be Better
Chapter 502 - Six Divisions And Seven Attendants
Chapter 503 - Divided Western Desert
Chapter 504 - Only One Day Left
Chapter 505 - Protection
Chapter 506 - This Is Just The Beginning
Chapter 507 - Hometown
Chapter 508 - A Small Spark
Chapter 509 - Anxious
Chapter 510 - Fifteen Minutes
Chapter 511 - King In The Mist
Chapter 512 - Crazy
Chapter 513 - A Small Favor
Chapter 514 - Like A Fleeting Cloud
Chapter 515 - Timetable
Chapter 516 - Coincidence?
Chapter 517 - Went To High School
Chapter 518 - Discovered?
Chapter 519 - Let’S Fight
Chapter 520 - Not Just The Power Of Eradication
Chapter 521 - World Class Battle Worthy Of Being Written In Historical Poems
Chapter 522 - Continuous Fights
Chapter 523 - Mutant
Chapter 524 - Self-Reliant
Chapter 525 - Lustful Woman
Chapter 526 - Knowledge Of People
Chapter 527 - Holiness Exorcism
Chapter 528 - Fight Between The Eldest And Youngest
Chapter 529 - Privacy
Chapter 530 - Alien Star
Chapter 531 - Guest
Chapter 532 - The Young Kingdom
Chapter 533 - Calm On Iron Spikes
Chapter 534 - Sorry To Keep You Waiting
Chapter 535 - Polaris
Chapter 536 - Times Have Changed
Chapter 537 - Pretty Boy
Chapter 538 - Magnificent Scene Of Hell
Chapter 539 - Side Story 7: Joint Council
Chapter 540 - Never Kneel
Chapter 541 - A Piece Of Cake
Chapter 542 - Merciless
Chapter 543 - That Gaze
Chapter 544 - Watchmen’S Code
Chapter 545 - The End Of It
Chapter 546 - To Not Perish As Foes (One)
Chapter 547 - To Not Perish As Foes (Two)
Chapter 548 - To Not Perish As Foes (Three)
Chapter 549 - To Duke Thales
Chapter 550 - What Rationality
Chapter 551 - Better
Chapter 552 - Sacrificing A Pawn (One)
Chapter 553 - Sacrificing A Pawn (Two)
Chapter 554 - Sacrificing A Pawn (Three)
Chapter 555 - Unfulfilled
Chapter 556 - Chess Player
Chapter 557 - Relieved
Chapter 558 - Punishment
Chapter 559 - Eight Arteries
Chapter 560 - Imperial Style
Chapter 561 - Cannot Escape The Sheath
Chapter 562 - Want Everything
Chapter 563 - Cause And Effect
Chapter 564 - Blazing Blood
Chapter 565 - Of Course—Not
Chapter 566 - Crown Jewel Of The Kingdom
Chapter 567 - Head Over Heels
Chapter 568 - As Truthful As Possible
Chapter 569 - Hand In Marriage
Chapter 570 - What Do I Need You For
Chapter 571 - Defects
Chapter 572 - Heart Of The Guards
Chapter 573 - You’Re A Real Dog
Chapter 574 - Antecessors
Chapter 575 - The Years Have Caught On To Me
Chapter 576 - Shooting Yourself In The Foot
Chapter 577 - Lie
Chapter 578 - The Wine Merchant
Chapter 579 - Damn The Prince
Chapter 580 - The Prince Likes Them
Categories Genre: Action, All, Drama, Fantasy, Mature, Ongoing, Psychological, Seinen, Tragedy Status: Ongoing Alternative names: Wang Guo Xue Mai, 王国血脉, ______
Total Chapters in book: 580
Estimated words: 2362673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 11813(@200wpm)___ 9451(@250wpm)___ 7876(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 2362673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 11813(@200wpm)___ 9451(@250wpm)___ 7876(@300wpm)
______
LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 580 Page No. 579 Page No. 578 Page No. 577 Page No. 576 Page No. 575 Page No. 574 Page No. 573 Page No. 572 Page No. 571 Page No. 570 Chapter 384 - Age Of Mercenaries
Chapter 384: Age of Mercenaries
Translator:
EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor:
EndlessFantasy Translation
Thales sat at the bar counter and looked at the Western Desert Altbier in his hand. He was in a gloomy mood for quite some time.
During this period, Quick Rope, went back and forth in the tavern while drenched in sweat. He flipped through his ledger, checked the numbers, and was busy dealing with the property Kant left behind. During that time, Louisa, Dean, Mickey, and Dante’s Greatswords came one by one into the tavern and went up to the first floor to have a meeting with Simon and Old Hammer.
“Wya, are you sure you have no problem sitting here?”
Dean squeezed his way into the noisy tavern to cast a puzzled a glance at the pouting Thales sitting at the bar counter before he went upstairs.
“Yes.” Thales lifted his face out of the glass, burped, then, with an unpleasant look, glared at Tampa standing on the other side of the counter. He gritted his teeth furiously. “I am very familiar with the tavern owner.”
“That’s good.” Dean cast Tampa a skeptical look. “Tampa is one of the more reliable mercenary agents. He knows a lot of people. If you are looking for a way home, maybe…”
Thales nodded stiffly.
Dean shrugged and went upstairs to attend the mercenary group’s internal meeting.
Time passed, and soon, night visited Blade Fangs Camp.
The people in the tavern come and went. They toasted to each other.
Many people noticed Thales sitting at the corner, but most of them were forced back by Tampa’s stare.
The bards smiled and sang songs to attract businesses while watching their competitors warily. The girls who were dressed scantily sashayed their way between the tables, revealing the curve of their breasts to attract money from time to time. There were people with their faces hidden or with mysterious gestures hidden behind their tables. They gestured wildly and argued in whispers where they sat. Perhaps they were negotiating to make certain unlawful trades which Thales did not know and did not dare to know.
Thales has seen how Sunset Pub in the streets belonging to the gangs operated. Just like this place, that pub was also always filled with noise and people coming and going, but everyone knew that was the Brotherhood’s territory. Even if the place was chaotic, not many people dared to stir up any trouble.
My Home was a completely different case.
When Thales saw guests at the third table fighting because of an unfair business trade, even smashing the entire table, he finally could not help but open his mouth to speak to the owner. “You’re just going to look?”
“What else am I supposed to do?”
Behind the bar counter, Tampa waved his hand lackadaisically and waved, gesturing to a worker to deal with the mess and settle the bill.
“This is Blade Fangs Camp. The people here only care about their personal interests. This place is full of schemes, opportunities, and dangers, and law as well as morality will only occasionally appear. It would be strange if people don’t fight.” Tampa opened his ledger and quickly recorded something. “Don’t worry, the people in Blade Fangs Camp are simple and honest folks. Don’t you see that they still paid after smashing the tables and chairs?”
‘Simple and honest folks…’
Thales cheek twitched.
“What if they don’t pay?”
Tampa looked up, and the scar on his neck moved.
“If they don’t pay?”
Tampa’s eyes shone with a freezing glare.
“Everyone knows that I know a lot of mercenaries and adventurers in the camp and often introduce them to some business opportunities,” said the tavern owner with a polite smile. “And among them, there are many professional debt collectors who would only charge a small fee out of respect for my feelings, and they help clean up the aftermath too.”
Thales nodded slightly with a face of understanding. “I see. So you have a lot of talented personnel here.”
‘Simple and honest folks my foot.’
As he thought about his next move, Thales asked the tavern owner absent-mindedly, “So, Kohen saved money here? Why?”
“This used to be the practice. At the end of the Bloody Year, the soldiers who went for war asked the rear personnel to keep their monetary rewards, and they would later come back to take them… If they managed to come back alive, that is.”
Tampa sat behind the bar counter with an agreeable look. He watched his workers working themselves hard while Tampa himself had an air of superiority that made him seem as if this had nothing to do him. “Later, Baron Williams promised to double the savings of those who died in order to motivate the warriors. After the Battle of Elimination was over, I also retired. Hence, I took upon this practice and hoped to make a business out of it.”
“But judging from the current situation…” Tampa sighed helplessly as he watched Quick Rope sit in front of a merchant and count coins.
“Battle of… Elimination?” Thales asked, “Is that a part of the Desert War?”
Tampa snorted.
“I guess you haven’t seen the Desert War ten years ago?”
Thales shrugged. “Obviously.”
Tampa nodded with a look as if to say he knew it. “Then it’s only logical that you haven’t seen the Battle of Elimination that lasted for several years after the Desert War. The fights during that time ranged from skirmishes to full on battles.”
“What do you mean?”
Tampa narrowed his eyes and casually glanced at a pair of customers who were drinking in the distance. He watched them throw their arms over each other’s shoulders and acted like brothers before they started hurling insults at one another while fighting with their fists. He seemed to have already grown used to this sight.
“The overwhelming victory of the Desert War has always been exaggerated. The ruined Constellation motivated the mourning soldiers and the remaining heroes to march into the desert boldly. They faced the Barren Bone tribes and orc tribes who marched east en masse during the Bloody Year…”
He snorted coldly and said,
“But you know, for us, the hardest part was not how to defeat the mixed breeds and the Barren breed. If you can chase them out once, then you can chase them out many times. The difficulty lies in how to constantly remain the victor of the war after defeating them, how to hold on to the army flags they left and handle the exaggerated boasting of the main force who returned home to their children after their glorious victory, how to clean up every single enemy that is hiding in the deep sand dunes and caves bit by bit, and annihilate those remnants of the brave soldiers belonging to our enemies waiting for a moment to strike, how to use minimal military force to guard our travel routes, how to fight back against the mixed breeds who will grit their teeth and fight back desperately time and again, how to make the tribes in the desert, especially the stubborn orcs, get used to your existence, to respect your strength, like rogue hyenas getting used to the new territory of the lion king.”
“This requires a process.” Tampa’s eyes slowly drifted into the distance. “There were no decisive battles worthy of being written into historical books during this process, no final battles where the soldiers march forth to war, completely unafraid of death, no earth-shattering bloody battles… but the level of devastation and the number of sacrifices we suffered is as great as those historical battles.”
“The victory is won with blood,” he said faintly, “And in order to secure our victory, we have to pay with more blood.
“This is the Battle of Elimination.”
Tampa pointed at the wall behind the bar. There was an old but still sharp axe hanging there.
“Were you also in it?” the prince asked with a solemn expression, “In the Desert War and the Battle of Elimination?”
Tampa nodded.
“The Blade Fangs Camp then was not the Blade Fangs Camp now. During that time, we have yet to recover from the Bloody Year, but the main force of the Desert War had already withdrawn. We do not have recruits who would come from all over the country as if they have too much time in their hands. There are private soldiers belonging to nobles with their glittering and sparkling armor, no logistics and food for the military by merchants and the royal family. There was no groups of cavalries with their thunderous horses, and there was no confident and encouraging voice to lead the whole army into the desert.”
“We only have ourselves, Constellatiates of the Western Desert. We were an army made out of farmers. Mercenaries came together to form shock brigades. Suicide squads were composed of scums… Even the main force of the Duke of the Western Desert, the Skull Guards from the Ruins were all so poor you couldn’t hear any coins in their pockets. Our Crow Guards had more saddles than people who knew how to ride a horse. The first row of the Black Lion Infantry Battalion only had one row of fully trained veterans. The Baron of the Stardust Unit even has to replenish his manpower using the prisoners from the Prison of Bones. There are many aristocrats exiled for their crimes after the Bloody Year, and quite a few of them have quite the influential family background, and were trained.”
“But we could only clench our teeth, depend on a scarce amount of medicine and small amount of supplies, and venture into the barren, endless sand dunes. We had to search every corner from Blade Fangs Camp to the depths of the desert. We had to fight against small groups of mixed breeds and Barren breeds who try to return without caring about the number of men we sacrifice. We had to keep fighting until they felt the pain of sacrificing their people, experience the price they have to pay to return to their land, and admit to the fact that they have lost. We had to fight until they no longer dared to send their people here to die, much less strike back in a big group.”
Thales stared at the axe on the wall in a daze.
It was hard to that the barren wilderness wrecked by wind and sand he had trudged through had experienced such a devastating war.
“In this battle, silly Kohen is a weirdo,” Tampa said with a snicker, “An aristocrat who is so stupid that people wouldn’t even want to hurt him.”
“Kohen?” Thales said, slightly surprised. “He fought in the desert? The Battle of Elimination?”
Tampa snorted through his nose and seemed to find what Thales said quite funny.
“He is a fighter as tough as nails.”
Nostalgia appeared in Tampa’s eyes.
“A tough man who was born for the battlefield. In three years, he beat up those bunch of orcs until they were half dead and were panicking mess.”
“Why?” Thales asked in surprise, “Kohen’s identity… He’s the heir to the noble Karabeyan family. He had the entire Walla Hill waiting for him to takeover, right?”
“How would I know how those nobles work?” Tampa said with a chuckle, “I don’t know what screw went loose in his head that he would come here and suffer instead of living a good life.”
The image of that silly man emerged in Thales’ mind, and he sank into his thoughts.
“You know, we were ambushed once.”
Tampa seemed to be quite emotional. “The gray mixed breed of the Deadly Iron Tribe waved its hammer-and-chain like a storm, leaving only stumps of meat and torn limbs wherever he passed. When it brought its mixed breeds—so many that they covered every inch of the land—to charge at us…”
Thales remembered the orc Kandarl as well as its nigh unstoppable night raid, and he instantly felt lingering fear in his heart.
“We were separated. We lost contact with the light cavaliers. We panicked, and fled.” Tampa sighed. “That stupid man and the others were forced into the desert by those orcs, and we lost all contact with them for half a month.”
“We all thought they wouldn’t come back.”
“The battalion even collected the things they left behind. According to Frank, the baron even had a headache figuring out how to write a letter to Kohen’s noble father announcing Kohen’s death. ‘Our deepest condolences and apologies, your boy died, and we can’t find his body.”‘
The noise in the tavern was as chaotic as usual, but Thales just listened intently to Tampa’s story.
The boss exhaled.
“Then one day… a dozing guard outside the camp suddenly noticed that in the distance, on the horizon between the setting sun and the desert… was a figure.”
Thales’ gaze focused.
“A lonely figure walking in solitude. His body swayed as he moved, and he was covered in injuries.”
Thales sucked in a short breath. “Kohen?”
Tampa nodded slowly.
“The whole Blade Fangs Camp… all of us, including the guards of Baron Williams, stood there in a daze and watched the aristocratic young man wobbling all the way back to us absent-mindedly. He was limping, but in his hands he held the damn head of the gray mixed breed, the infamous killer, Meat Grinding Hammer Xisa Deathiron.
“Just like that, with a bare conscious mind, with blood all over his body, and with a trembling body, he walked into the camp. He couldn’t even recognize Felicia, who was the prettiest woman among us, when she stood in front of him.
“He just walked forward without stopping. He was in a daze, and he continued mumbling to himself, until his strength ran out and he fell.
“The baron took Xisa Deathiron’s ugly head from Kohen ‘s hands and tied it to a flagpole.”
Time seemed have frozen at that moment. Both Thales and Tampa fell silent.
Then the owner grabbed a bottle of wine, and casually took a big gulp from it.
“From that day on, no one in the camp called him ‘Young Master’, and no one spat into his kettle again.” Tampa put down the bottle, took a deep breath and sighed before he said, “From that day on, he became a stupid boy among us.
“Stupid Kohen, great warrior of Blade Fangs Camp, a real man.”
Thales remained silent for a long time.
He did not expect that the big man who laughed in such a carefree manner and who seemed to be a simple-minded idiot would have such a thrilling and exhilarating past.
“It’s good story.” The prince nodded. “It’s worthy to be written into a song for the bards to sing.”
Tampa snorted. Thales had no idea whether he was in a good mood or whether the alcohol had gone to his head, but he actually took the initiative to bring out a plate of food and placed it between himself and Thales before he began eating. “How is he doing now?”
‘Now?’
The image of Kohen promising that he would support Thales to fight his way back into Heroic Spirit Palace while they were in Bright Moon Goddess’ temple six years ago appeared in Thales’ mind.
“As far as I know, he didn’t go home. He was still a police officer in the capital, but I haven’t seen him for a long time.”
“The capital…” Tampa pondered.
“I know that he is an aristocrat, and the nobles are very complicated creatures. They have a whole lot of issues with them.”
He shook his head.
“I guess that stupid boy has his own responsibilities and troubles as well.”
Thales did not speak.
In the end, the boss sighed slightly. “I hope he is still that real man, and is as stupid as always.”
Thales nodded and finished the slightly bitter beer in his glass.
“He will definitely be the same.” The prince showed an energetic smile.
“And he will be a fool for a lifetime.”
Tampa stared at him for a long time before he finally laughed.
“Yeah, I hope so.”
“So,” Thales coughed. “After the war, Kohen went to the capital, can you come here to open this tavern?”
“No, I just took over… Did you see the words on the sign board? My Home has been opened for two or three hundred years.” Tampa waved his hands.
“When you are tired of seeing blades flash and their shadows on the ground… You know? Ordinary life is much more attractive.”
Thales snorted sarcastically.
“Ordinary life?”
The prince said brusquely, “Believe me, based on my experience and the people I know, a guy who can be a tavern owner in this place is not leading an ‘ordinary life’.”
“Enough with it. It’s just a ‘first lesson’, don’t take it to heart.” Tampa glanced at him disdainfully. “You’re like a sissy… You sure you aren’t Quick Rope’s girlfriend?”
“I just don’t like people scheming against me…”
“Hah, looking at your face, I can tell you must have been duped a lot growing up.”
Thales also gave him a polite and fake smile, then looked down at his food.
“Say, are you going to stay here for good?”
Tampa furrowed his eyebrows. “You know that you have to pay for the food, right?”
“I am waiting for Dean and the rest… Wait, pay?” Thales choked. “But you served this!”
“So that’s why you have to pay, if you brought your own food, why would I want money from you?”
Thales looked at the boss, flabbergasted.
“A Mindis silver coin, thanks for your patronage,” Tampa smiled and said, “On behalf of that idiot, I gave you a special discount.”
After reluctantly handing over a few Shawlon silver coins, Thales helped himself and took a vicious bite of the food—it was already served, it would be waste if he did not eat it. He watched the tavern slowly quieting down, frowned, and asked, “It is just me, or are the number of guests dwindling?”
“Usually, the later it is into the night, there will more customers in the tavern.
“But it’s different recently. Every single part of Blade Fangs Camp became more complicated, and we have a curfew every night.” Tampa yawned, “If you stroll around the streets during the curfew, you’ll be caught by the soldiers who are patrolling… you know, this is the first time many of the temporary recruits arrived in Blade Fangs Camp. They will take charge of the defense when the regular soldiers of the royal family are not on duty. They don’t know what it means to turn a blind eye. You have to either to pay a princely sum or to go to jail.”
Tampa shook his head. “Just last month, many of the members of the famous hundred-man mercenary group Blood Whistle were caught. It’s useless even if I spoke to those people on that side. Those new soldiers refuse to show even the slightest bit of consideration.”
Thales frowned. “So you must be pretty reputable… that you could plead mercy for someone in jail?”
“My Home has been providing supplies for the Prison of Bones for years, so it’s only natural that we have our own ways.” Tampa snorted with a smug air. “Just who do you think got that foul-mouthed Quick Rope out of prison?”
“And then you introduced Quick Rope to Dean and he joined Dante’s Greatsword?”
“You know, they weren’t going to accept that kid with that Camian accent of his.” The tavern owner smiled. “But he seemed to have a friend who knew the old Dante family…”
“So, Quick Rope and Kant…” Thales asked, though no one knew whether he did it deliberately or not. “Did Dean get into Dante’s Greatsword because of your recommendation as well?”
Tampa shook his head.
“Dean was saved by Old Dante in the desert. Many of them in the team joined this way. Because of this, Dante’s Greatsword has not disbanded even after so many years, and even if Old Dante had passed away.”
Thales became absorbed in his thoughts.
“He seems very smart… I’m talking about Dean.”
Tampa seemed to agree with him.
“To tell the truth, it’s a waste for people like him to be a mercenary. With his talents and insights, if he was in the army, his performance wouldn’t be far off from those noble commanders with their big bellies. In just a few years, he made Dante’s Greatsword earn a good reputation.”
A thought struck Thales’ mind.
“You seemed to know these mercenaries very well?”
“After all, this is ‘My Home’,” Tampa said quite arrogantly, “The mercenaries come here to search for business deals, or businesses will come here to find these mercenaries.”
Thales looked around. He looked at the fierce and aggressive guests, and he seemed to be thinking of something.
At this moment, several armored figures walked into the noisy tavern.
Tampa’s eyebrows rose upwards.
“My dear Ricky!”
The boss happily reached out to the guests who were walking towards him. “How long has it been since you dropped by?”
“It’s just been a few months.” The mercenary named Ricky said faintly, then extended his hand and held Tampa’s.
Tampa grinned as he stared at Ricky, then turned his attention to the middle-aged man with a saber. “Newcomer?”
“This is Klein, he’s from the north, and he’s good with the sword. By good, I don’t mean just your average level of being good.” Ricky pointed at Klein casually, and the middle-aged man nodded slightly at Tampa amiably. “Don’t even think about it. He’s already with us, he won’t take on personal jobs.”
“A pity.” Tampa shrugged regretfully. “You know that there are a few jobs where we lack a person good with a sword.”
Thales shifted his gaze away from the middle-aged man. Ever since he fought in the Land of Barren Rocks, his senses had improved due to the Sin of Hell’s River, and it provided him with rare information right then. There was a strange and restless energy surging in the middle-aged man’s body.
As he watched the new mercenaries, Thales suddenly felt the center of his brow twitch.
The masked man to Ricky’s left was staring at the prince coldly. The wrinkles on his forehead were deep, and they seemed to have been there for some time.
He swept his gaze past the Crossbow of Time beside Thales, and he narrowed his eyes.
Thales felt his heart jump.
“As for this one… best that you don’t know him. He just came to the camp, but he has a criminal record. He doesn’t have a clean past.” Ricky sighed and shrugged at the masked man to his left. “It’s not convenient for him to show his face.”
In the end, the masked man slowly moved his gaze away, and Thales felt a chill etch into his bones while he stared at the man.
‘These people… are very dangerous.’
Thales suppressed the uneasiness in his heart.
“Of course. I only care about my business.” Tampa raised his eyebrows, completely unconcerned. “How many tables do you want? Are you here to negotiate businesses or to look for girls?”
Ricky shook his head.
“Honestly, several tables aren’t enough.” Ricky fished out a money pouch from his waist and signaled the other people to sit down at the tables. Only the middle-aged man and the masked man remained behind him. “We’ll be booking the whole place tonight. Tampa, I’ll give you two hours to clear the place. That includes your employees. Besides wine and food, leave nothing behind.”
Tampa furrowed his eyebrows.
“But there’re only three hours left before curfew.”
Ricky smiled faintly. “Then we’ll drink till daylight. We won’t be leaving. We’ll only be leaving when curfew is over the second day.”
Tampa narrowed his eyes and looked at him.
“It’s impossible.” The owner shook his head resolutely. “You know that I still have to conduct business. And tomorrow morning, I still have to send replenishments to the Prison…”
Ricky placed his money pouch on the counter. His smile remained.
“Twenty silver coins, one night. You have to understand, we have around a dozen people here.”
Tampa’s expression froze.
“This place is My Home.” He lifted his head and became stern. “We have principals—”
“Which is why we gave you a huge leeway of two hours.” Ricky continued putting on a look that he was very open to negotiations, but he did not back down at all. “Thirty silver coins. We need your place to speak about certain things.”
Tampa cast a glance at the money pouch, then shrugged. “We have to close shop and rest. It’s impossible for us to remain open for so long…”
The middle-aged man behind Ricky smiled.
“But the slogan on your sign reads ‘We will never close.'”
Tampa looked towards him, then he lifted a finger. “You know, if the words written on slogans had always come true… then they would never be written on slogans.”
The middle-aged man cocked an eyebrow. “Makes sense.”
As if he could no longer bear with their dilly-dallying, the masked man took a swift and firm step forward, fished out his money pouch, then slammed it on the counter.
“Fifty silver coins. No more than this.”
*Snap!*
Tampa snapped his fingers.
“Done!” He put away the money pouch swiftly.
By the side, Thales sighed and rolled his eyes.
‘I knew it.’
Ricky shook his head, and in a resigned fashion, he brought his comrades to one of the wooden tables.
“So, you got yourself a major business deal?” Once he rented off his place for a good deal, Tampa looked at Ricky’s back with a grin. “You intend to party all night?”
Ricky did not even turn his head around. “On the contrary, after tonight, we will leave Blade Fangs Camp. You saw it as well, the Constellatiates are sending their army to the desert as if money is nothing to them. There’s no longer any business to be conducted in this place.”
Tampa shrank behind his counter, then shook his head regretfully. “Really? That’s really bad news, to me and to you.”
Thales stared at their backs, then asked in puzzlement, “They are…”
“Blood Whistle.” Before he finished asking, Tampa said airily, “They’re the same as Dante’s Greatsword, also mercenaries, but it’ll be best if you don’t provoke them. That is a group numbering to the hundreds. Their top leaders and goons number to a total of three hundred men. There are more than one hundred of them who are warriors fully equipped for battle. They are not militia. All of them are like Dante’s Greatsword. They are professional killers.
“They will only take on work involving battles or businesses specially approved by the royal family merchants. Even the baron has to regard them with respect.”
“Blood Whistle? Hundred man group?”
Thales was shocked. He stared at the few people from Blood Whistle, and somewhat understood where that shocking murderous aura and threatening feeling came from.
Thales seemed to be deep in thought. “The likes of Dante’s Greatsword and Blood Whistle gathered here… So, the borders of the desert is really a heaven for mercenaries, huh?”
“Heaven?” Tampa was momentarily stunned. “It was once.”
The owner sighed and said, “About twenty to thirty years ago, when I was still young and foolish and before I took an arrow to the knee[1], that was the golden age of mercenaries. Constellation’s army kept to their own business, the tribes in the desert kept to their principles. There was a constant stream of merchants, adventurers who came searching for treasures, brilliant bounty hunters, and priests who came to spread their religion. Everyone tried to search for a chance here.
“But now?”
Tampa shook his head. “Even the brilliant Dante’s Greatsword suffered such a great loss, and the powerful Blood Whistle is searching for another way to survive.”
“Times are changing.” Thales said quietly, “And so is the world.”
“That’s right. Twenty to thirty years ago, Constellation’s army cannot come into the depths of the desert.” There was nostalgia and a yearning look in Tampa’s eyes. “This was a unique privilege to adventurers and mercenaries. They generously came into the desert in great excitement, and those who survived and returned would tell their wondrous tales or wait for bards to weave their stories into songs, spreading it to the entire world.
“I still remember that there was once a very good mercenary group around the desert. They moved from Blade Fangs Camp to the Three Kingdoms of the Lost Ocean, from Revol City to Steel City, from Dragon-Kissed Land to Thornland. Be it the desert or the forest, lakes or rivers, their footprints spread through the mercenary’s heaven. I wanted to join them as well, in the past.”
“Oh, really?”
Thales was not really paying attention. He saw Dante’s Greatsword coming down the stairs.
“What was the name of that mercenary group?”
Tampa was immersed in his own world. He sighed nonstop. “Name, huh? Heh, they only had nine people in the start, and they gave themselves an incredibly stupid name…
“They were known as the Nine Powerhouses.”
Translator’s Note:
1. Took an arrow to the knee: A reference from Skyrim.
Total Chapters in book: 580
Estimated words: 2362673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 11813(@200wpm)___ 9451(@250wpm)___ 7876(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 2362673 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 11813(@200wpm)___ 9451(@250wpm)___ 7876(@300wpm)
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