by Cobyboy
"Wasn't I carrying the Demonic Carbine?!?"
Feihren reached for his sides and back only to realize that there was nothing strapped to him anymore.
"They dared to steal my weapon!?"
Chapter 51: Sechua City
Under the cover of the night, a group of mercenaries arrived near the city gates as they entered through an inconspicuous cellar door near the walls. These passageways were supposed to be an alternate route for soldiers and city guards to use.
Lucky for them, these mercenaries had already paid a hefty sum of money to some of the corrupt city guards who then gave them access to this place. It was a smoother and safer way to get in and out of the city without alarming the goody-two-shoes city guards that were loyal to the city lord Neil.
They had immediately fled the bloody scene back in the central woodlands as they decided that it was best for them to just stay hidden for a while.
"Do you think the man that was commanding that golem can find us?"
"It would be impossible you know? He was unconscious during our escape, and I highly doubt that the golem would even be capable of remembering our faces."
"Besides, how would he ever know that we are from this city? Even Myron doesn't know the exact name of that person we attacked. He was just paying us to kill him. And although it backfired, we got a little consolation prize."
"I have never seen this kind of magic weapon though? This looks odd, and I have no clue on how this functions."
"Ah, I'll look for a bit of information on the black market about this tomorrow, and we'll see if all the effort just for this thing was worth it. In the meantime, we should just rest for tonight and stay hidden."
Although some of the members of this large group felt that it was a very dangerous prospect to steal from someone strong enough to command something at the level of that giant golem, they could not voice out such opinions, as everything that was said beforehand made sense. That man would likely never find out where they were.
...
"Okay, enough with this 'traveling by foot' shenanigans, I'm a little-pissed off now. First, they dared attempt to abduct these snow cubs again which I so 'endearingly' saved back then, and by the same person nonetheless! Now, they even stole a piece of my equipment... They're just courting death."
Although Feihren was a bit mad right now, he couldn't help but blame himself a bit for what had happened. He was willing to admit that he was caught off guard by an ambush tactic that had relied on disabling him. In that regard, he was totally unprepared, and that would count as him being overconfident in his abilities.
Although it was a bit late for this lesson to be learned, he realized that he needs to find a way to deal with those annoying status effects, which didn't exist in the game.
Temporary blindness, mild paralysis, and many other things that either obstructs vision or proper movement were used often in the game. And although poisoning was never implemented in the game when in PVP mode, it was introduced within the RPG spectrum of it.
"Samael, let's go..."
Returning Samael into its gem mode, Feihren carefully clutched the two snow tiger cubs as he held them out slightly, changing his armor into the [Titan Cronus Heavy Gunner Armor] as he called out the Titan Slate.
There was no time to waste. Having lost a piece of his equipment was one thing, but what made it worse was that it was no ordinary item that Feihren could bear losing. It was simply too dangerous for a normal person to be playing around with a magic weapon that contains a fraction of the power of an Ancient Demon Lord!
"If that group is not within a 5 km radius outside the Sechua City, then they are definitely hiding inside."
Feihren had narrowed down that a group of 30 people could not run very far too quickly and would have to settle down for a bit one way or another. And the closest human settlement there was… Sechua City.
Blasting forward loudly through the night sky, the Titan Slate soared as they reached the outskirts of the city within just a few minutes!
The city was a bit lively compared to what Feihren had imagined. A good number of lit lamps could be seen even from the outside. The city glowed with faint yellow lights that seemingly mirrored the stars in the sky.
Using [Battlefield Scan], Feihren noted that the mercenaries should be within the city, as there were no other people, except casual beasts, that were roaming around the city. He had already noted the number of people he was facing and no such group was seen in the scan he performed. It was crude information, but Feihren had deduced that they might have purposely separated themselves to prevent themselves from attracting any suspicion.
"It seems that they are actually a bit well known, considering how alert they were for such a 'petty' thing. Although I must say, they still have balls to be stealing something in front of a giant."
His magic weapon would only be worth if it was traded into something that these mercenaries could easily use. This could only mean one thing.
"They are gonna sell it as soon as they find the price suitable for them, hmm... If it were sold in the ordinary markets, they wouldn't even get the time of day as that item is something that is alien in this place, but in the black markets on the other hand..."
Feihren understood that crude knowledge about guns already existed within this world, although it was highly underdeveloped. It seems that there are only a few experts here and there, such as old man Mendi, which could identify a gun when they see one. It would also be bad if it were to land in the hands of someone who not only knows what the gun was, but also has the knowledge on how to utilize it.
Feihren landed a hundred meters away from the city gates as to not grab any attention. He then changed out of his armor as he equipped the rugged commoner's clothes from before while wielding the elegant red crossbow.
He started walking towards Sechua City's gates, with the goal of finding the black market as soon as possible. It was akin to a 'search and rescue' mission for his dear Ancient Demon Lord.
Chapter 52: Registration
The Sechua City was quite serene and peaceful tonight as Feihren slowly approached the city gates.
He had thought about different ways of entering the city but it seems that there is nothing quieter and safer than just walking in the normal way. He walked with his head held high, and he carried an aura similar to a famed hunter who had gone through tough adventures in the wilds. The two tiger cubs were a nice touch to this made-up identity of his.
Killing the guards at the gates would just cause a commotion, even if he secretly killed them. A few people disappearing all of a sudden would really cause some 'noise', and those mercenaries might detect that something was amiss. Feihren was not confident that he could recover the Demonic Carbine overnight.
Entering the city using the Titan Slate was another bad idea. Although the slate was fast enough to be undetectable by the naked eye, it was not the quietest thing in the world. Its buzzing sound was so loud that Feihren had to land quite a distance from the gates just so that the guards wouldn't get alarmed.
Getting inside using his Stealth Armor was definitely something he had thought of trying. Considering that the armor was made for the purpose of stealthily sliding past normal human attention, but it may not be good enough if someone 'formidable' within these guards ranks suddenly appeared. This would lead to him just killing everyone so he could hide his identity, and that would just return to the first reason.
Besides, even if he could find another way past the gates or found a passage where only ordinary patrol guards passed by, the pitch black color of the armor would just highlight the snow white fur of the tiger cubs he was carrying. He couldn't just leave these adorable little things unguarded outside, so it was logical for him to bring them along with him. Living creatures such as the tiger cubs could not be placed in the inventory, although there was an exception for plants and herbs which makes it possible for them to be stored.
With all that in mind, Feihren just had to stick wit
h this 'normal way' as he would apply his many years of being a giddy old goat to act his way inside the Sechua City. He wouldn't really need to act too much though. He just has to be straightforward in lying.
...
"Halt, Please present your identification card and state your business within the city."
The city guards inspected Feihren's figure as he was approaching the city gates. Giving an identification card was enough for the city guards to allow people entrance to the city, but at night the guards would be a bit more vigilant and thus thoroughly do their inspection before granting entrance to anyone.
"Ah, I'm just a hermit from the central woodlands... I do apologize for not having an identification card, and as for my business in the city, I need to find proper food for my little companions here."
The shiny white fur of the snow tiger cubs immediately caught the guard's attention, as it contrasted with Feihren's nomadic appearance.
More guards went towards the man who was not able to submit any proof of his identity, although they heard that his name was Gama Feihren. Most were suspicious, while the others asked for different ways to prove his identity as someone that does not hold any hostility.
Although it has been more than a month since Feihren sat in the throne as the new king of Wolfenstein, only a few other kingdoms within the continent knew about what really happened. Almost nobody knew the true identity and name of the newly crowned king. Most were only informed from the traders on the west side of the Wolfenstein Kingdom. The other kingdoms within the Shodan Continent, such as the Ranustin Kingdom, had very few that were aware of the existence of a powerful new king ruling the border kingdom of the Blaz Continent.
A female city guard, who seemed to be someone of a higher authority, approached the commotion which Feihren was causing. This woman seemed to have a light blue skin tone that could barely be noticed this late at night. It was apparent that she was a demi-human, a half human half ice troll.
"Are those... Snow Tigers?" The woman interrupted the inspection as she approached Feihren.
"Ah, Chief Marie. This man could not produce anything that can be used as proof of his identity. What do you propose we do?"
One of the city guards inquired as he was not sure what to do with Feihren. He was newly assigned on this shift and had never encountered things like this. Usually, people who are approaching the city at night are either an adventurers who was coming home late, or hostile people that only exist to cause trouble. There was nothing in between, until now.
"Oh? You know what they are?" Holding both the tiger cubs with his hands, Feihren raised both of them for Marie to have a closer look. "Yes, they are indeed the cubs of a Snow Tiger."
Feihren continued as he inspected the woman who suddenly interjected in his inspection. Although it was not that clear, he could clearly see that this woman had a light blue complexion evident on her face, and it seems she was someone influential within these guards.
The woman carefully inspected the cubs as the tone of her words changed. "Hmm... These are indeed snow tiger cubs... A precious local beast within the Icy Tundra...How did you get a hold of these two?"
Although she had calmly asked Feihren this question, hostility was evident in her glaring eyes.
"Ah, you might have mistaken me for poaching them or something along those lines. It is a long story but..."
Feihren attempted to come up with a way to summarize the happenings within the forest, but that might be a little too unbelievable. These guards might think that he was just straight up lying.
'Blue complexion huh?' Feihren remembered one of the errands that elven chief Zow asked for him.
"Excuse me, Miss. I know that I have not explained about these snow tigers, but do you happen to know someone by the name of Mark?"
Feihren cut his first sentence short as he changed the topic. It would be best if this woman was someone related to one of his tasks. It would make things much easier.
Acting as if he was getting something out of his pocket, Feihren took a letter with a special looking seal on it out of his Inventory. He then presented it to Marie.
"If that does happen to be the case, I also have a request from an elven chief that I have to take care of. He asked of me to deliver this letter to a man named Mark within this city."
This time, everything that Feihren was saying was the truth. No point in lying about this.
"Hmm... this is indeed the official seal from an Elven tribe, and it seems that they have a business with my father..."
Marie took the letter and inspected it as she pondered what this letter might signify. It seems too important to neglect it, and it appears that his father was somehow related to it.
"Father? So you are indeed his daughter huh... So, could I please be allowed to enter the city for now?"
Feihren was growing a tad bit impatient about all this as he asked Marie whether or not he would be allowed entrance.
Signaling the other guards to fall back and allow entrance, Marie continued,
"I'll be personally escorting you to my father's house so you can personally deliver this message. As for allowing you to stay in the city, I will only give you tomorrow. First thing in the morning, go secure yourself an Identification card. I don't care if it is for being a merchant, trader, or an adventurer, your choice. All I need is one bit of proof for your identity. If not, then I'll personally kick you out of this city, understood?"
Marie said all this with a straight and serious face. She was indeed a professional in her line of work.
"Thank you." Feihren smiled in relief. 'Finally!'
But, his face changed into a serious one as he considered his pending registration into the adventurer's guild. He was pretty sure that getting this so-called 'identification card' would just blow his 'cover' during the search operation. His ridiculous titles, his level, his true role as a king, all of these things are absurdities that would cause a commotion if anyone were to find out. It was indeed a pain in the neck.
Chapter 53: Letters and Tigers
The lamps illuminated the path towards a beautiful looking mansion
Although none of the houses in this part of the city were shabby, this house had an extraordinary sense of elegance that would easily attract the attention of anyone who passed by. It was quite well designed and properly structured. This was the house of Mark Solit, a weapons-dealer, which is a businessman of some sort in this era. He was the ice troll that Zow had mentioned before.
Ice trolls are not known for being efficient in terms of creating the weapons they wanted. Although their bloodline makes them formidable during wars, especially when it is within their own icy territories, most of them are born to be excellent warriors. Many of them have gotten into the habit of gathering and collecting weapons that would suit their fighting style.
Having a long lifespan similar to that of elves, Mark and Zow have been friends for over a hundred years now, and had thus been together through many ups and downs. Their races had been on good terms, even before the destruction of the Fountain of Life.
"How did you and your father come to this city? And it seems that both of you have settled in for good here nonetheless." Feihren smiled and asked a few questions to break the silent awkwardness between them as they walked way too quietly towards the mansion.
"Ah, we've only been here for around a decade. It would be long considering the lifespan of humans, but for me and my father, it has only been a little while." Marie casually replied.
"But why Sechua City though?" Feihren added.
"It was the place where my father first met my mother, who was a human. She has already perished a few years past due to old age. Although we already had spent a good amount of time together, we decided to just stay here in the city to continue my mother's legacy." She simply answered.
Feihren nodded as he confirmed his suspicion. She was indeed not a full Ice Troll, but a demi-human. This was the second person Feihren had met that was of mixed blood, although Ma
rvin back then did not evidently have any dwarven resemblance.
...
An enormously tall wooden door with an intricate carving had opened immediately after the arrival of Feihren and Marie.
"Don't be so surprised, I have informed my father ahead before we came here." Marie immediately said to Feihren before he could even mutter his question.
'It seems that their race could easily use communication magic huh. I guess it is due to her being part human? Or is communication magic easy to learn? Hmm, if so then I should learn how to as soon as possible...' Feihren had random thoughts on his head before being jogged back to reality. A tall, thin person with a dark blue complexion walked towards Feihren.