Chapter 193: Chapter 172, The Consortium Can Protect You_1

The man in the portrait looked somewhat different from the Anel of Black Stone Town that he remembered.

The beard he now wore, his longer hair, but the outline of his facial features could still clearly identify him as Anel.

Having stepped down as team leader, had he fallen into hard times for a while? Or was this look deliberately assumed as a disguise?

But one thing was certain, he was indeed his former colleague, Anel.

His time at Black Stone Town’s association wasn’t lengthy, and many of his interactions with Anel had been quite minimal.

The crux of their disagreement lay with a man named ‘Yazde’.

At the time, ‘Yazde’ had targeted him. The plan had failed, and Anel, who was standing at the entrance, attacked him.

It was clear that Anel was a trusted compatriot of ‘Yazde’.

He was privy to some of the plans.

Anel’s attack did not succeed. Fearing exposure, he left a letter for the team and promptly left Black Stone Town.

He claimed he was returning to his hometown.

But now it seemed, he hadn’t done as he said in his letter.

He’d come to Lundham City.

Having left Black Stone Town earlier than himself, he might have arrived in Lundham City much sooner too.

This forced Wu Heng to question his motives for coming here again.

And if the previous assassination attempt was a chance encounter or intentionally planned.

“Captain, do you recognize him?” asked the leader of the Scorpion Gang, after studying the portrait, turning to Wu Heng.

“No, haven’t you all met him?” Wu Heng shook his head and returned the question.

Anel was linked to the incident of his possession.

In Black Stone Town, he had never wanted to make this too obvious, his opinion remained unchanged now.

The leader looked at his underling, “Don’t fucking draw random portraits.”

“Boss, what are you talking about? If you don’t know the guy, just say you don’t, why make up a random person?” the underling defended at once.

“Hmm, you’re right.”

Having given it some thought, the Scorpion Gang’s leader finally said, “Captain, this issue is definitely related to this guy. I’ll trouble you to go and let the head priest know. Tell him we’ve discovered clues and want to capture the culprits to atone for our crimes. Once we’ve caught this guy, won’t it ease your worries too?”

Wu Heng raised an eyebrow, but didn’t refuse.

“Hmm, you’re right, I’ll inform the head priest. How this all plays out, depends entirely on you,” he agreed.

“Thank you, Captain.” The other party instantly expressed his gratitude.

Wu Heng left the dungeon and headed towards the head priest’s study.

He briefed the head priest ‘Gomez’ about the recent events in general terms.

Subsequently, Gomez met with the gang’s leader and listened to his perspective.

He examined the portrait.

But to the inhabitants of Lundham City, Anel was clearly a stranger.

After some discussion, they decided to release the gang’s leader to continue the investigation into the matter.

Of course, they wouldn’t just let him leave without any conditions.

He was required to capture the person in question or gather concrete information about him within a week.

Without a name or specific information, an arrest warrant could not be issued.

Hence, more detailed information was needed.

Upon hearing he’d be released, the Scorpion Gang’s leader thanked them profusely, promising to turn the entire outskirts of the city upside down, if necessary, to apprehend the person if he was still there.

The head priest couldn’t be bothered to banter with him.

After stating a few straightforward facts, he let him leave.

As noon approached, Wu Heng and the Scorpion Gang’s leader left the association premises together.

“Keep me informed if anything comes up,” Wu Heng declared.

“Sure, Captain, don’t worry, I’ll make sure to capture this punk for you,” the other man affirmed.

Wu Heng nodded, “Alright, get going now.”

The other man nodded, gathered his underlings, and hurriedly left.

…

Wu Heng stood at the gate for a moment, watching.

Instead of returning to the association, he went directly to the consortium.

Presently, two main threats were looming over him.

The first was Anel, who had been unsuccessful in his assassination attempt.

The second was the Secret Cultivation Hall, keen on getting back the artifacts in his possession.

Wu Heng had suspicions that these two were somehow linked, otherwise their timelines wouldn’t align so closely.

But, all these were only his conjectures.

There was no substantiated evidence.

In the consortium’s lounge.

Wu Heng sat on the sofa, taking a rest. The door to the room opened and the Officer in Charge ‘Laisia’ walked in slowly, her demeanor still stunningly beautiful.

“Good afternoon, Captain Wu Heng,” Laisia greeted with a smile.

Wu Heng returned the smile and said, “Has there been any progress regarding the Skill Book commission?”

“Give me a moment.” Laisia responded and summoned a staff member to check the commission’s records.

The staff member soon returned, holding two Skill Books in his hands.

Laisia first glanced at them, then passed the books to Wu Heng, “Seems like your commission has been successful.”

Wu Heng took the books and started browsing through them.

[Bone Armored][Corpse Cage]

[Bone Armored]

(Description: Utilizes Necromancy to form White Bone Armor around the user (it can coexist with physical armor, but cannot coexist with magic shielding skills). This armor provides both magical and physical defense for its own.)

A magical skill that can form armor-like protection.

There’s no record of such a skill in the Book of Necromancy.

It is either a quite unique ability or a skill developed after the Book of Necromancy was written.

But in the skill set of the “Mage” camp, there is a skill called [Mage Armor]. Its effect is to provide a magical force field to increase defense.

The skill before his eyes is obviously similar to this type of magic.

It’s probably developed based on it by using Necromancy.

In Wu Heng’s opinion, this skill is quite useful.

The Necromancer, though it sounds evil and intimidating, still belongs to the fragile profession.

Once in danger, it’s hard to protect oneself and survive.

A magic skill that can generate armor largely compensates for this disadvantage.

It can reduce certain dangers.

He continued to check the second skill.

[Dead Bones Cage]

(Description: In the casting range, it turns a specified location into a fixed cubic bone prison. The caster can control the magic energy to adjust the bone density. If the trapped target can’t break the prison state with physical attacks, both the body and soul will not escape. The cage will persist if the casting area has ample bones. If there’re no bones, the cage made by Necromancy will continue to consume the caster’s spiritual power until the spell is terminated.)

Another rare skill.

It seems like it was mentioned in the Book of Necromancy, but he can’t recall the details. It seems to belong to advanced skills.

He doesn’t know whether he’s high enough in level to learn it.

The things this group has collected are really helpful.

The two skills obtained are more practical and advanced than the last time.

The effect of [Dead Bones Cage] is also straightforward.

Using Necromancy, a bone prison is formed in the casting area.

Once a target is trapped, it won’t be able to break the cage physically. Not only can its body not leave the cage, but even its soul can’t escape.

That is, the target can’t escape the cage even in soul form.

This also means it can trap spirits.

This is quite powerful. Once the opponent is trapped, it’s hard to have any chance to escape.

It has to be said, this skill is quite powerful.

Especially when it comes to trapping souls.

Even abandoning the body and trying to escape is impossible.

After reading the two skills, he put them back on the table.

With her legs folded and sheer, soft skin hidden under her skirt, Laisia asked softly, “Team Leader Wu Heng, are you satisfied with the skill books?”

Wu Heng glanced over and nodded, “Quite satisfied.”

“This commission took a bit more time than expected, I was really afraid you would be dissatisfied.” Laisia lightly patted her well-rounded chest.

“No one intentionally delayed this matter.”

“Hmm.” Laisia bent forward, revealing a deep crevice under her low-cut dress. She spoke in a somewhat coquettish manner, “Team Leader, the balance of the payment is 330 silver coins. These two skill books aren’t easy to come by.”

Wu Heng smiled and handed over the corresponding amount of silver coins, then continued, “Continue to collect skill books for me in the future. Money is not an issue, just try to shorten the time.”

“Yes, Team Leader.” Laisia took the money and filled out a new commission form.

Lifting her head, her beautiful eyes met his, “I heard you’ve encountered trouble lately?”

Wu Heng was taken aback, then realized she was referring to the incident with Anel.

He nodded and said, “Yes, while completing a task, someone shot an arrow at me. I still haven’t found the person.”

“Actually, the ‘field special envoy’ of the association faces high risks, dealing with fugitives and criminals. To reach the team leader level, one invariably has some enemies.” Seeing his puzzled gaze, Laisia continued, “I’m curious, given your financial means, it seems unnecessary to hold this position. Why take such a risk?”

Wu Heng understood what she meant.

Actually, he has considered giving up the position in the professional association.

Opening a small store, with a maid to attend to him, life could be quite nice.

But on second thought, it’s not that simple.

This world is chaotic with fights, robberies, and even warfare between the Beastman tribes.

Every day, many people are killed in these situations.

If he loses the status of the association’s team leader, he will encounter even more trouble.

Perhaps today he can open a store, but tomorrow, all gangs might come and cause trouble.

It seems that he’s taking a big risk working for the association.

But at the same time, being a team leader of the association is his backup.

Unless one is dying, nobody wants to get a warrant easily.

Without this status, he has to face every enemy by himself.

Then it will be really a situation of either fight or die, with no room to manoeuvre.

Wu Heng looked at the woman who was still waiting for his answer and smiled, “The association took me in when I was in trouble, so I can’t just leave.”

“The team leader is quite sentimental,” Laisia professionally complimented him before continuing, “If you’re ever really in danger and the association isn’t willing to protect you, you can come directly to the consortium. We can ensure your safety.”

Wu Heng looked up with a surprised and puzzled look in his eyes.