Chapter 17 (1/2)

Chapter 17: He Must Be Stopped!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Gladstone City, the Flower District.

A monstrous black hound sniffed the ground as it ran, followed by the Dark Elf Magician, Holmes, and some Dark Elf Assassins.

Tracking was a meticulous art—it couldn’t be rushed. Only after one full hour, did the Dark Elves trace Link’s path to the port where Link had set out on boat.

Then, they faced a problem—Link’s scent had ended there.

The Earth Hound went in circles outside and around the port, letting out small howls. It seemed to be quite frustrated.

“Master, he must have gotten on a boat. What do we do?” Terry asked.

“Obviously!” Holmes sneered. He stood by the dock and stared into the waters, thinking.

The next step came to him quickly. “Go, follow the river downstream. He can’t have stayed on the river. He will have embarked somewhere.”

“Master, what if he went upstream?” Terry asked, unsure.

Holmes felt that that the Warrior was downright stupid. Throwing him a sideways glance, he retorted, “There is probably a 100:1 ratio of Magicians who don’t know how to row a boat versus a single one that does. So, do you think that we should look for him upstream or downstream?”

“Downstream.”

Terry was convinced. Rowing against the currents was a skill, and hard work at that. Even he as a Warrior wasn’t particularly good at it, let alone a weak-bodied Magician.

The Dark Elves followed along the riverbank, ignoring the people running amok in the Flower District. Truth be told, no one dared to approach the Assassins anyways.

About twenty minutes later, the Earth Hound let out a low howl and picked up its pace. It lowered its head and began to sniff the ground again.

“We found it!” Holmes cried out in glee. Tracking was actually a gamble. No one could tell how it would turn out, but this time he’d won.

Holmes could feel the respect and awe in the gazes of the other Dark Elves. He rather enjoyed it.

Without even realizing, he straightened his back and held his head higher.

Tracking Link has led them to the entrance of the marketplace. Though some figures darted around, the streets were, for the most part, desolate. But, the less people there were around, the less scents there were that could possibly impede their task. The Earth Hound tracked at a much faster speed than before.

After another hour, Holmes and the Dark Elf Assassins stood at the entrance to the Old City Quarters.

“This isn’t good. He headed to the Old City Quarters. Could he have come here to save the female leader of the MI3?” Holmes frowned slightly. He knew that the Commander of the MI3 was another one of the Dark Elf Assassins’ main targets. Their superiors had asked for her to be kept alive, not dead like the rest.

“Hurry up!” Holmes shouted. He had a bad feeling about this.

There were even fewer people around the Old City Quarters. As a result, the Earth Hound ran faster. Ten minutes later, Holmes reached the fountain square.

What they saw there was appalling.

The buildings around the square had been reduced to rubble by a fire. Smoke still rose from the buildings’ remains, a sign that it hadn’t been long since the flames had died.

More than ten bloody, mangled corpses laid on the square. Though it was difficult to tell from the bodies themselves, their build and rags of clothing that still remained on them identified them as Dark Elves.

Holmes, seeing the puddles of water, went up for a closer look. Using the back of his hand to touch it, he found that it was icy cold, some ice sludge still remaining.

“The power of magic… of the Lesser Hailstorm Spell. He was here!” Holmes frowned yet again. Not just because the other Magician had been here, but also because he sensed the power of high-level magic.

The Lesser Hailstorm was a Level-2 Spell. The young human Magician was a Level-2 Magician, not a Level-1 Magician as he had thought!

He’s the same skill level as myself. This made things a little trickier.

But Holmes was confident in his Magic. The human Magician is young. He has no experience. Perhaps he has mastered the spell, but he definitely doesn’t have superior magic abilities. I will definitely be able to beat him if I face him!

Dabbling in magic for as long as he had, Holmes had his own understanding of the art. That, was the source of his confidence.

Footsteps rang out behind him. He turned. It was Terry, with another Dark Elf Assassin. Holmes instantly recognized that the elf before him hadn’t been part of his tracking team from earlier. That meant that he must have seen the battle at the fountain square!

“What happened here?” Holmes asked.

Shock and fear were still apparent on the Assassin’s face. “It was a Magician! Dreadful Magic! He summoned a Hailstorm and killed the leader! He escaped with Annie Abel. Dark Mother above, it was horrible!”

“Which way did they go?” Holmes pressed on.