310 Williams Part 1 (2/2)
”How would you know?” Saleen questioned.
”These people don't give me killer vibes. Out of maybe a dozen of these swordmasters, only one or two have actually killed people,” Nailisi replied lazily as she yawned, confused as to why Saleen would take interest in a bunch of weaklings. Why couldn't he just capture them and ask them on his own? Nailisi thought.
Saleen did not know whether to laugh or cry at Nailisi's response. He had come across too many opponents that were far too powerful for him to handle. In fact, he had gotten so used to fighting them that being faced with a group of people he could probably eliminate in one blast had thrown him off guard.
Technically, it was normal for a group of adventurers to be of this caliber. To be able to involve just one low-level mage on their adventures was already pretty good. Out of the one hundred and eighty people, there were two mages and around a dozen swordmasters. Under normal circumstances, this team of people would be considered relatively strong.
Now that Saleen was more powerful and enlightened, he regarded these people with contempt. He had two grade-4 mages by his side at all times, as well as countless low-level mages and probably an infinite number of mage apprentices. Perhaps the words ”countless” and ”infinite” were a bit of stretch, but he did have a lot of people beneath him. Even if he did not have two-hundred-plus swordsmen, his army was a force to be reckoned with. Any noble with that many mages under their command would likely be able to build an entire city on the ground they were standing on. That noble would most certainly rise to fame as well.
Even the head noblemen in all the cities of the Qin Empire had only one mage at most under their command. The magic towers located in the outskirts of the city were a magical force that not even the noblemen could control.
At that moment, Saleen's men equipped the coastal areas with some defenses. Some of the brick houses already had alchemy crossbows fixed on top of them, and these crossbows were aimed directly at the ocean. Even if these people did flare up, they would not dare to actually come close to shore. As expected, a young bloke emerged from the group and started walking towards the coastline, pushing the two swordmasters away as he did so.
The young fellow was tall, lanky, and apparently malnourished. He was clad in clothing made up of black fur. He was not decked with any valuable items. In fact, he did not have anything on him except for the black fur clothing. He did not look like someone who lived the life of luxury. Fur clothing that was actually brand-name and expensive was made from the skin of magic beasts. The lighter the color of the fur, the more expensive it was. Most noblemen would not be seen donning this pure-black animal skin clothing. This outfit was usually worn by businessmen and merchants.
Saleen did not enter any of the brick houses, as the environments there would put a mage at a disadvantage during battle. He had just started getting the hang of the crystal finger, and he could not use it to fight yet. He ordered his men to set up a tent. Once that was done, he stepped into the tent along with Nailisi and took a seat in anticipation of the young man's arrival.
The young man did not seem to exude the arrogance of a typical nobleman. As soon as he reached the shore, he climbed the ladder that the Sregl Island swordsmen had built and made his way towards the tent that Saleen was in. Before he could enter though, two advanced swordsmen stood in front of him, effectively blocking his path.
”Drop your saber,” one of them ordered.
The young nobleman furrowed his brows as the two swordsmen stared at him, showing no signs of backing down. He chuckled and muttered lightly as he took off his saber, ”There are so many of you and only one of me. Is this really necessary? Are you guys really that scared of me?”
”We're not scared of you. You don't have the right to hold a sword in Master Saleen's presence,” the same swordsman replied bluntly, not caring about the need to be tactful. They had come from Sregl Island, and according to the rules there, mages held the most authority. These two swordsmen would essentially be trapped in their current ranks for their entire lives, unless they somehow managed to work their way up to the rank of swordmasters. In their hearts, they had already deemed Saleen to be infinitely more respectable than the young fellow standing in front of them.
”Master?” the young nobleman said thoughtfully. He wanted to say something else, but chose to hold himself back. As soon as he walked into the tent and made eye contact with both Saleen and Nailisi, the simmering anger that had been ignited after being treated so disrespectfully vanished.
Saleen was clad in a grey magic robe. Even in the harsh weather, Saleen had decided not to put on any additional clothing. All he had done was tie his long hair up into a bun to make it easier to don his hood.
Only archmages were fit to wear grey robes. Anyone else who was caught wearing them for the thrill of it could be punished by death. He finally understood why the swordsmen outside had said what they did earlier. Saleen looked about the same age as him, yet the former had already been promoted to the rank of an archmage. Any ounce of arrogance and pride left in him had completely vanished by now.
”Master Mage, please excuse me for being rude,” the young fellow lowered his head in an attempt to apologize to Saleen. Yes, it was true that there was nothing to fear about an archmage.
Saleen was observant enough to notice that the young nobleman had no Adam's apple. He was certain that the young male standing before him was a female in disguise. He chuckled before motioning for him to sit down.
The tent was huge, but it was not furnished with a single table or chair. All it had was a piece of animal skin which covered the floor. The noble(wo)man laughed lightly. If Saleen had not noticed their lack of an Adam's apple, he would not have be able to tell that the nobleman was actually female. She took a seat and said, ”Sir, how can you be so petty? We are but disaster victims.”
Saleen was not about to be tricked into revealing anything. He smiled slightly and asked, ”You must be a lady. A female noble… that's something you don't see everyday. I assume your clan is very powerful. Why would you be here, looking so pathetic?”
Saleen had detected a Qin accent in the young female's voice. Thus, he had no qualms about asking her about her background.
The lady, upon realizing that Saleen had seen through her disguise, let out a hearty laugh before saying, ”You're not a Qin, Master Mage, so it's very hard for me to answer your question. Am I considered your prisoner now?”
The young noblewoman's words had many hidden meanings. She knew that Saleen could not be a Qin from his mixed accent. When she had spoken to the swordsmen outside earlier, she had not been able to identify their strange accents either. She could only guess that they were from a remote place to the south, far away from here. These people had come all the way north to set up camp here. If they were enemies of the Qin Empire, she could technically be considered a prisoner by now. If she were to be incarcerated, all she could do was wait for her tribe to fork out the ransom money in exchange for her freedom. However, being a prisoner did not mean that she had to answer all of Saleen's questions.
”I don't usually keep people as prisoners,” Saleen replied without an ounce of humor in his voice. If he's not going to keep us as prisoners, does that mean he's going to kill us all? the young lady thought in alarm. Even pirates were not that brutal.