Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Pelan held Lou Guanyue's wrist as the two of them slipped through the narrow spatial rift.

Their quarry was very cautious, changing locations several times using spatial jumps.

On their third step out of the dimensional gate, they reappeared somewhere outside the gates of Kaiva City.

This time, Pelan did not use teleportation magic again. Lou Guanyue tilted his head to look at him and asked casually, "What's wrong?"

"The mark's gone."

Pelan raised his fingertip; the wisp of gray energy that had been guiding their direction began to sway violently and, the next second, was completely erased as if wiped away by an unseen force.

He leaned against the chilly stone wall, rubbed his throbbing temples, and said, his words slow, "I saw a black silhouette. They noticed me immediately and erased my spiritual imprint."

"They?"

Lou Guanyue raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised.

Pelan nodded gently and said solemnly, "I sensed a trace of divine aura, though it was very faint."

The other side had detected his little trick. Pelan did not teleport to the last location of the mark. A hint of disappointment flickered in his beautiful eyes.

"At least we've learned a few key pieces of information, like a deity possibly hiding behind the Secret Cult," Lou Guanyue comforted him, glancing at the rising full moon overhead. "It's getting late. We should head back."

Pelan nodded, clasped Lou Guanyue's hand, and passed through the dimensional gate, returning to the forest where the ambush first happened.

The landing point was close to the ambush site. Isadel's team wasn't there; they had gone to Horace's hiding place. Pelan and Lou Guanyue followed the path cut open by the sword and returned to the area where the red-robed mage had eliminated the witness.

From a distance, they could still see the flickering firelight through the dense forest and faint, indistinct voices.

"What are we still waiting around here for? Trying to wait for reinforcements from the Anbesal Empire?" Carlos said, frowning impatiently.

Sipo said flatly, "Carlos, I've already explained. Pelan and the others went to pursue the person behind the puppets. So we should just ditch our teammates and go?"

"Who knows if they went to catch the mastermind or if they ran away like cowards! After all, they've been gone so long, and there's not even a shadow of them. Oh! They might have already been crushed to dust in the crossfire." Carlos couldn't resist his habit of sarcasm.

"That's not possible. I can still locate their positions." Isadel held the magical item distributed to the team members in advance, carefully sensing Pelan and Lou Guanyue's location.

The metal plate in her hand grew slightly warm. Isadel turned to look in the direction of the dense forest and, seeing familiar figures, said joyfully, "Pelan, Yue! You're back!"

Pelan gave a slight nod, and a shrill voice cut in: "Well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Our brave vanguard returns."

Carlos leaned against a split boulder, arms crossed. "You disappeared without a trace before the battle was even over, without leaving a single message. I thought the two of you were scared off by the golems and ran back to the inn, abandoning your teammates. Now that it's safe and the mission is complete, you've snuck back from the inn to claim the rewards?"

Pelan offered no explanation. Having cast multiple super-tier spells in succession and having his tracking mark erased, his mental energy was severely depleted. His originally pale face was now as pale and cold as ice.

After drinking a potion to restore his energy and mana, he closed his eyes and began to rest, taking the chance.

Seeing Pelan silent, Carlos became even more convinced of his guilt and sneered, "Hey, even though we're in the same team, deserters don't have the right to share the spoils."

Lou Guanyue glanced at the others—these fortunate survivors, blissfully unaware of their luck—and let out a low, ambiguous chuckle.

Hearing this 'apprentice's' deep laugh, Isadel's gaze quickly swept over him.

Apart from that one sword strike in the duel arena, Lou Guanyue had always appeared elegant and gentle. Yet, Isadel felt he possessed an innate, bone-deep coldness.

Only when facing Pelan did this cold, ruthless feeling lessen somewhat.

"The corpse of that insect is still right here. Didn't you see it?"

"What corpse?" Carlos immediately retorted warily. "You're not going to say you killed the person controlling the golems, are you? Where is he?"

Lou Guanyue quirked the corner of his mouth and said in a mock-helpful tone, "Isn't Mr. Carlos stepping on him?"

Carlos's legs stiffened. He subconsciously swallowed hard, took a few steps back, and finally saw the black, charred lump beneath his feet.

"...Light God above!"

His heart gave a violent lurch, and his face turned deathly pale.

Isadel and Sophia also realized what it was, their expressions instantly turning blank as they hurriedly looked down to check if they were stepping on anything they shouldn't.

The atmosphere immediately grew tense. Sophia made a few light gestures over her chest. "May God grant him peace."

"This is too cruel!" Carlos swallowed again, regretting his words as soon as they left his mouth. Seeming afraid of angering the suspected 'executioner,' he carefully added, "I, I mean..."

"He was silenced by his accomplice," Lou Guanyue said in a flat tone, his beautiful, narrow eyes fixed on Carlos. "You didn't think *we* killed him, did you, Mr. Carlos?"

"The other party used a forbidden spell-level magic—Judgment Sword," Izavel calmly analyzed the magical traces left around, glancing at Lou Guanyue as he spoke. "He isn't even a mage. He couldn't possibly cast such a high-tier spell."

Lou Guanyue smiled slightly. "I didn't expect Mr. Izavel to actively defend me. How touching."

Hearing his words, the elf gentleman fell silent again.

In this oppressive and peculiar atmosphere, the group quietly returned to Kaiva City, heading straight for the Mercenary Guild.

The Mercenary Guild in Kaiva City was not as grand as the one in Colunt Harbor. Its walls were built from thick bluish-gray stone, covered with marks of weathering and magical impacts. The massive iron-bound wooden doors stood wide open, with many adventurer teams coming and going.

The hall was furnished with rough, sturdy long tables and benches. Many adventurers sat together in groups, discussing missions in low voices or polishing and maintaining their armor and weapons. The entire guild was enveloped in a tense atmosphere.

Most of the people here were adventurer teams who had taken missions related to the golems. Normally wary of competitors, they were now strangely gathered together.

Pelan's group passed through the somewhat crowded hall and went straight to the quest counter.

Several staff members sat behind the counter, busy handling tedious paperwork.

When Isadel placed the completion seal marked 'Hunt Flesh Golems' and the adventurer badge on the counter, the young clerk responsible for receiving them visibly paused.

"Flesh golems... a B-rank mission? This is the first team to come turn in this mission in days!" The clerk suddenly exclaimed, picking up the seal and badge to carefully verify the mission details, an expression of disbelief spreading across his face.

His voice wasn't particularly quiet. Adventurers at several nearby tables who had been conversing instinctively stopped talking.

"Yes," Isadel drew herself up slightly and said with a smile, "We're here to submit the mission."

However, not all the looks they got were of awe and admiration.

At a nearby table, a burly warrior with sharp, hard features drank a mouthful of ale and said disdainfully, "I saw you guys at the temporary reception area at noon. You arrived in Kaiva City less than a day ago and completed a golem mission? Who's gonna believe that? Those are flesh golems! Not some common metal puppets you find everywhere."

A mage with a fine mustache added, "Not to mention that the golems are impossible to find after the army's offensive ended. Even if you were lucky enough to intercept a straggler flesh golem, it wouldn't be easy to bring back. They self-destruct! A few mechanical parts can't possibly serve as proof of mission completion."

"Hahaha, they didn't think they could just pick up a few random golem limbs from the battlefield and claim the reward, did they?"

Not far away, Field coldly watched the center of the crowd. "They're here too, as expected. How much longer until my brother arrives?"

The paladin beside him whispered something, and Field's expression improved slightly.

These discussions were not deliberately lowered and clearly reached the ears of everyone in the team.

What a racket.

Pelan sighed to himself.

He'd lost the mastermind's trail and expended so much mana and mental energy; all he wanted now was to return to the soft bed in his inn room and get a good night’s sleep.

The smug look on Carlos’s face froze, replaced by anger. The hulking Malo remained silent, but his clenched fists showed he was anything but calm. Lou Guanyue and Izavel stood to the side with indifferent expressions, paying no mind to the unfolding spectacle.

Isadel turned to face the many onlooking adventurers and smiled slightly. “It’s easy to check. Maybe hold off on the mockery until the results are in?”

After speaking, she untied an unassuming dimensional pouch from her waist—inside were the golems brought back from Enkat Peak.

Isadel placed the bag on the ground and uttered a few short syllables. The next moment, three nearly intact golem bodies appeared in the empty space beside the counter.

These constructs stood nearly twice the height of a person, made of dull metal and unknown black materials. Their torsos were covered in battle damage, and though their heads and other core components were damaged, their overall structures remained largely intact.

Without a doubt, these were the terrifying flesh golems from the battlefield.

And not just one—they had brought back a full three! This couldn’t be explained away as mere “good luck.”

The entire guild hall seemed to have been struck by a silencing spell.

Following Isadel's cue, the clerk was the first to recover. He and several other staff members crouched down to carefully examine the golems, growing more astonished the longer they looked.

After comparing them with the officially issued identification guide, the clerk took a deep breath, stood up, and announced in a clear, firm voice, “Inspection complete—confirmed! These three are all remains of flesh golems. Mission rating—Perfect! Congratulations to the Dawn Squad for being the first to complete the mission!”

“Impossible!” Field shouted in shock from the crowd, though no one paid attention to his outburst now.

Because everyone was thinking the same thing.

How could a regular adventurer squad, without a single A-rank member, complete a task comparable to an “S”-rank mission so easily!

Even though the mission was only listed as B-rank on the board, its difficulty far exceeded its rank!

Defeating one golem wasn’t hard, but with a Golem Legion of thousands standing together, even if they only used low-tier magic, it would be enough to trouble even a Magic Saint.

Let alone bringing back three of them!

Though Isadel tried to restrain herself, the corners of her mouth twitched upward slightly. Of course, she knew this was all thanks to Pelan and that taciturn elf.

None of that dampened her good mood now. She nodded to the clerk and smiled. “Since the mission is completed, may we leave?”

The clerk’s attitude was even more respectful than before, even carrying a hint of admiration. He said solemnly, “The reward and points have been recorded, but we’ve just received an urgent notice from above. Please do not leave the guild for now. Shortly, several important figures will arrive—they have extremely important matters to announce to all elite adventurers present.”

Pelan’s brow furrowed slightly. Wasn’t the Mercenary Guild supposed to be the freest? How could they forcibly keep people here?

As if reading his expression, the clerk apologized, “It won’t delay you for long. In the meantime, the guild will provide free food and drinks to all adventurers.”

With that, he brought out fragrant roasted bread, biscuits, and pastries.

Pelan’s stomach growled traitorously.

Fine then, might as well stay for dinner.

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Author’s note: Lou Guanyue: Slacking off, slacking off—another day of slacking off.

Pelan: So annoyed (ー`´ー). Want to sleep. Hungry.