29 The One Who Should Not Have Been Killed Part 2 (1/2)

”What shall we do?” Everyone looked at Canghong. This devilishly handsome man had lost his composure at the moment. He could not respond to Saleen’s question.

”From what I see, since the deed is already done, what we need to do now is think about how we will escape from being killed by Holy See,” said Saleen who was unsurprisingly calm. He had planned to go to the Qin Empire anyway, so he simply needed to bring up his plans. He had registered as a mercenary only to earn some money to pay for his expenses while practicing magic.

Canghong was speechless. He had family back home. If this matter were to leak out, the inquisitors would attack his family, regardless of whether they were involved in this. He would not be able to stay in the Sikeqinya Empire and if he ran away, he could only go to the Qin Empire where there were no unions. By doing so, the five thousand gold pieces would go down the drain along with his own savings, as they were all placed in the Sikeqinya Empire’s bank. While the bank would not confiscate his assets because of his crime, he would be too afraid to return.

All of his savings from the past few years and the deaths of five close-knit mercenaries in exchange for the status of a fugitive? The relics at the Chaotic Swamp would either be of some consolation, or he would end up with nothing.

”Let’s complete the mission at hand first. Regardless of what we find in the relics, after we have completed the expedition, Sika and I will go to the Qin Empire. All of you might as well take the boat to the Cloudflow Empire. If the Holy See cannot find any of you, it will not be impossible for them to conclude that it was done by you,” Saleen said eloquently, as though he had not been involved in the killing of the holy master.

”This is the way things have to be then,” said Canghong agonizingly. He could only hope that the relics from the Chaotic Swamp would not disappoint.

”Let me rest for twenty minutes. Once I have regained my magic chords, we can continue to advance,” Saleen said. He did not want to aggravate Canghong and the others but wanted to remind them that there could be unknown enemies up ahead. This was not the time to be upset and nervous.

”Everyone enter the fork road and get some rest. We will leave in twenty minutes.” Canghong gave a simple order, feeling a little dejected.

While Saleen appeared to be calm on the surface, he was, in fact, panicking inside. The consequences of offending Earl Sufonso were nothing compared to those of offending the Holy See. It was bound to end badly. Even if he were a Grade 6 mage with a magical tower, the lunatics from the tribunal would still attack him anyway.

Any contradictions involving religion only resulted in a situation without an end. The Holy See did not have any churches in the Qin Empire but the religious inquisition was everywhere, which would make it difficult for Saleen to practice in seclusion.

Saleen continued to maintain his outwardly calm composure and focused hard on absorbing the magic nuclei to recover his magic chords. The situation had reached the point of no return. There was no use being vexed over it, and the only way forward would be to improve his abilities. After killing the son of Earl Sufonso, Saleen finally understood the importance of a person’s capabilities.

If he were a mage master, Earl Sufonso’s son would have released Decca on his account. He would have not have needed to run away, would not have met Canghong, and of course, would not have killed the high priest from the Holy See.

This was destiny – an insignificant beginning had determined the outcome. Canghong was influenced by Saleen and had unconsciously calmed down. It was very clear to him that from now on, he would not be able to return to the Falcon Regiment. While they were a Grade 4 regiment, they would not offend the Holy See over a squad leader like him. The most important thing right now would be to kill his way through this tunnel and eliminate everyone ahead of them so that his squad was not exposed. Once he obtained the relics from the Chaotic Swamp, he would leave and never return to Sikeqinya.

The Cloudflow Empire had many islands and it would be impossible for the claws of the Holy See to reach any of them there, much less find him. However, there were four squads ahead of them, of which two were from the Vulture Regiment, one was a fugitive squad, and the last was a hunting squad. The combined strength of these squads was more than that of his squad. In addition, Cook was dead; Lucas had used up half of his eagle plumes; Pino was hurt and one of Sarah’s arms was injured. Would such a squad be able to reach the relics successfully?

Canghong looked at Saleen. More than half of Saleen’s magic chords had recovered and the fluorescent light had returned along with the Fog of Confusion, placing the entire team under the protection of his magic. Canghong could not feel any fluctuations in the emotions of this young mage. It was as though the person they had killed was only a normal person, and not a Grade 1 high priest under the seven oracles. Canghong was relieved that he at least had a Grade 1 mage who could allow the squad to display their extraordinary fighting capabilities.

This young mage knew a thing or two about assassins. Therefore, the remaining four would only need to deal with the archers and holy masters, which were comparatively easier opponents. Saleen raised his gaze and looked at Canghong with his blue eyes, smiling and saying, ”Do not worry. If this were the wilderness, we would have no chance of winning. However, in this environment, unless there is a mage of a higher grade, we will not meet with any danger. Let us continue.”