ALL NOVEL Chapter 167 – Aurora & Sion (1)
Sion and Aurora arrived at the scene only a few days later. They didn't bring a big group; only three of their direct subordinates followed along for each of them. When they came near where Melody marked their findings, they had already noticed the sentries around the forest. They were oblivious to the Misfits' approach as their strength was below theirs.
"They ain't the strongest." Aurora signaled as the group communicated only via hand signs.
"They are at best only in the 3rd Tier… The feeling I got from most of their sentries is feeble. They are not properly trained or taught mages!" Sion answered her.
"Makes sense." She continued, looking at the rest, "We are going to make noise, approach in a way they discover us ahead of time. Try to act… normal. If they probe us, ensure they only sense our strength up to Tier 3!"
"Yes!" Their subordinates answered with the same sign, like a well-oiled machine.
Everyone in their group was people who graduated from the Institute, and their strength, even if it was at Tier 4 at a minimum, was something that normal mages couldn't compete with. When they continued their approach, making sure they were noticed, the sentries quickly surrounded them.
"Stop!" A tall, slender woman in leather armor came forward, wearing her brown hair in a bun, watching them with wary, black eyes. "This place is closed off from civilians!"
"Do we look like civilians?" Sion smiled, crossing his arms questioningly, looking at the rest. They were all wearing a bit different clothes, mostly made out of leather with reinforced metal parts above their vital organs. What was telling was the colored strips of cloth tied to their arms. He quickly deduced it must be so they could identify which adventurer group they were from so nobody could sneak past them too easily.
"Same goes for adventuring groups!" The woman declared firmly, "This is the business of House Marduk! Stay away!"
"Is it now?" Sion's grin grew wilder, "You know… it is interesting… I was told there is a hidden ruin in the vicinity that the Houses have yet to put their hands on… filled with treasure! You do know that masquerading as a House is a capital offense, no?"
"...?" Aurora subtly flinched, unnoticed by the sentries, before she started moving her fingers, signaling directly to Sion, who caught it in his peripheral vision. "Your lie hit a nail on the head! The woman knows something about being 'informed' of a ruin!"
"Really now?" Sion thought, surprised but started to press on, "I know very well that you reported shit to the Hosues and want the treasure for yourself! Ah, don't try to say anything!" He raised a hand, stopping her from voicing her thoughts, infuriating the woman. "We won't say nothing as long as you let us in on the hunt!"
"And you think you would be able to say anything?" She sneered as their mana surged to the surface.
"Yes." He retorted, overwhelming them all with his own strength, letting it climb to the 4th Tier, shocking them for a moment. Sion couldn't help but form a smug smile as he was not even displaying his full power at that moment.
"Fuck…" The woman with the brown hair cursed while measuring the rest and nodded with her head, "I'll take you to the camp… that fucker there promised no one who knew about this…"
The Misfits remained silent, following her, only looking out for their leader's orders, staying in a strict formation, unbothered by the watchful eyes stabbing into their backs.
"We now know there is a mysterious informer. Who is probably dead?" Aurora signed with her fingers, and Sion replied similarly.
"I'll make sure they don't realize we didn't meet another one. But we have to relay this information to the camp; they must go out and try to find information about him… or her. And about the groups. From this alone, the people here are already sentenced to death..."
"I already sent word." She nodded, tapping her bracelet, doing it stealthily. "Directly forwarded it to Simbad; he should be a good hound to send on the trail."
After a little trek, they came to a clearing that was clearly built via magic. The trees were cut down immaculately by wind blades, the soil hardened and reformed by earth magic, and an extensive campsite had been erected, housing around two to three dozen people from multiple adventurer groups. Four, in fact, going by the colored armbands they were wearing.
"What's this?" A booming voice traveled from afar as a tall, gorilla-faced man walked forward, shaking the earth with every step. He radiated bestial energy, a telling sign of a wild beast folk. He was towering over Sion, looking down at him with his small, black eyes, when he stopped before them. His hair was like a black wire brush, same with his messy beard, smelling of sweat and alcohol while wearing a red armband.
"The Greens were lying! These lot here met with an informer and got a tip about the treasure!"
"Greens?" Aurora raised an eyebrow, turning towards the people in the camp, watching their armbands and connecting them quickly. "They are hiding their groups' names behind the colors. They do have some brain, after all..."
"And they must be relatively unknown around here then. Most groups in this region must know about each other! They are not locals..." Sion agreed, "Greens, Blues, Yellows and the Reds. What are we going to be?"
"Blacks, of course." She signed back with a half-smile. "Bringer of their eternal night."
"Greeny!" The man roared in the meanwhile, and another beast folk appeared, lanky, his skin dotted with green scales randomly, all around his face, resembling a mix between a human and a lizard with his elongated skull. "You fucker, you said you offed the source! Then why are we having a new group appear, knowing about it?!"
"No way!" He hissed, immediately measuring Sion and the rest. "I watched him bleed out from my poison!"
"Who said there is only one tattler?" Sion interjected, sounding proud and smug even when the two tried to push him down with their aura in the 4th Tier of magic. The fact that he could withstand it was already speaking of his strength, making the two more wary and a bit more cordial. "They are not angry, but they are impatient that you still didn't find anything…" He continued, spinning an elaborate lie from out of nowhere, "Well, I'll be honest, I don't really give a fuck! I am here for profit, and tell you what! The way they approached us told us they were aiming to use us! It didn't occur to you?"
As he was saying it, the rest of the leaders, a scarred, human woman with a shaved head, walked up to them, wearing a blue armband, followed by a small, stubby, wrinkled old man with a yellow strip of cloth around his arm. They were clearly the other leaders, just as annoyed with the newcomers as the beast folk.
"Shit…" The snake-like man cursed, realizing they were being played, going by Sion's tale… forgetting to even question it as their minds were solely focused on the supposed treasure.
"Look!" Sion chuckled, "I accepted the task of coming here because I already knew people were present! Look, we can work together and escape in the end because I am telling you this now! Take it as my good faith and show of sincerity! I could have lied!"
Listening to his words, Aurora couldn't help but turn away, holding back a laugh, wanting to pinch her fiance in the butt. Luckily, she managed to reign in her face before it got suspicious, and the other leaders were hurried about what to do next. In the end, their group was let to join in, even if they were clearly not keen on accepting the fact that they would have to divide the treasure even further.
"As latecomers, you will get less!" The leader of the Greens stated with a sharp voice.
"If you don't like it, you can scram!" The stubby, old man added, sneering, "We have been here for a week already; don't think you can waltz in and reap the benefits!"
"Yeah!" The others agreed before the gorilla-like man with the red armband overpowered them with his voice.
"What's your name?"
"You can call us… blacks." Sion answered slyly, but then he just snorted, throwing a long, white strip of cloth at him.
"Black is hard to see! You will be whites!"
"Fine!" Sion grunted, rolling his eyes as they tied it around their arms, "So? How's things?"
"Blue, show them the entrance! If they are brave, they can wander down a little!"
"You ain't my boss to order me around!" She spat at his feet but then nodded at Sion, "Follow me, pretty boy! If you are as brave as you look, you can descend and take a look for yourself!"
"Heh, you would let us down just like that?" He asked back, showing he wasn't as naive as he looked.
"Oh yes!" Cackled the bald woman with the blue armband, sounding like a harpy with a sore throat. "It's a real labyrinth down there! Multiple routes with traps lying in the dark, waiting for their prey! Do you think we will tell you which routes are safe? Dream on! Go pick one for yourself, and explore at your own expense! The first to find the treasure gets the biggest chunk of it!"
"Fine by us!" Sion nodded, looking back over his shoulder and exchanging glances with Aurora.
He really wanted to ask more, but they couldn't do that. It would be the easy way to reveal that they were lying. They didn't need to go far as only a few meters away from the campsite, they found the ruins of something ancient. The knee-high remains of a wall were covered with moss and shrubs, cleaned out by the present groups, revealing the steps leading underground. It was like a basement with its doors removed, leading to an ancient cellar.
"You will explore at your own leisure and build your own tents and lodgings! Don't even try to ask any of us for help, food, or resources!" She explained, wanting to get done with it and return to her own people, "Also, leave four of your men up; they will help with the guarding of the perimeters!" She said, making her voice sound like she was ordering them.
It was clear that she found it satisfying and was gloating at their small numbers, halving their force with one move. What she didn't expect was that Sion just smiled, nodding. Two from his and two from Aurora's branch simply stepped forward, ready to be 'instructed' without them having to be ordered.
"Work together with our friends after you set up a camp! I assume we are doing it in rotation?" Sion continued smiling at the woman, "I bet that not all four of our people will be stationed outside of camp at once… or I would start thinking you were singling us out!"
"Hmph… Keep it up, and you will be singled out…" She spat, but this time not at Sion's feet but directly onto his boots. "You-?!"
She didn't really have the chance to say anything as she was grabbing at her throat, watching the bloodstain appear on her fingertips with fear and shock. She felt nothing, not even the pricking sensation of the skin being opened up. It was only a thin, minuscule cut, something that would be healed in a moment's notice, but it still bled onto her clothes. Before her, Aurora was holding a curved, black dagger, releasing black smoke made out of pure mana, its edges dripping with blood, watching her unblinkingly like a cat playing with its prey.
"You know…" Sion whispered, walking past the stunned woman down the stairs, "You would lose that fight."
Aurora was the last to leave, dispelling her dagger and smiling at her, but it was anything but a friendly gesture, reinforcing the chill she was feeling. Grabbing against her blue armband, she felt she couldn't stand up to her, not even with her own 4th-tier strength. She knew that speed was not her forte, but Aurora was faster than anything she knew… faster than the leader of the Greens.
"Who are you?" She asked those who remained on the surface, but they simply ignored her, continued to talk with hand signals, and started to build up their own campsite, completely calm and collected as if none of them were feeling the pressure of being surrounded by others who weren't really welcoming.
