Chapter 58 (1/2)

Chapter 58: What a Tenacious Young Lady

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

The Red Leaves Cove was about two miles north of River Cove town. There were many maple trees in the area and every fall season the whole cove would be covered in red leaves, giving it its name.

The shape of the cove was long and narrow, with a small stream flowing through the middle. Because it was fall, the stream was almost dried up, exposing a big area of the riverbanks.

In a grove beside the riverbank, stood a solitary log cabin.

Surrounding the log cabin was a thick blanket of darkness. These were where all the thieves of the Syndicate hid. They were experts of camouflage. Even the birds, and other small creatures there had no idea of their presence.

The interior of the log cabin was sparse. Hanging in the middle of the room were two iron chains where Lucy’s hands were each hung. Her hair was messy, the leather armor was stripped off from her body, and her whole naked body was marked with bruises and bloodstains from lashings. In some places, her skin was whipped into minced meat; you could almost see the bones inside.

The Syndicate had always been extremely brutal in the treatment of their captives. Lucy had only been captured two hours ago, but already they had tortured her to the brink of death.

A dark shadow stood at the corner – this was the executioner in charge.

“Well, pretty lady, are you still unwilling to speak?” His voice was exceptionally calm and gentle, it sounded like he was conversing with old friends.

Lucy’s head drooped weakly, she let her fiery red hair fall on her face. Streams of blood trickled down her body, forming pools of blood on the floor.

Once she heard the voice of the dark shadow, her body automatically started to shiver. In the past two hours, every time the voice emerged, it was accompanied quickly after with whips.

As expected, a black whip conjured out of the darkness like a venomous snake from the dark shadow’s hand. Smack! It hit Lucy’s chest, and the whip coiled back immediately, bringing with it a piece of her flesh.

The thrashing this time was especially heavy-handed. With an incredible force, the whip penetrated Lucy’s chest. Lucy felt a sweet taste in her throat as blood rushed up, but she swallowed and forced it back down.

Her face contorted slightly, then it carved out a wry smile, “Don’t you have any other tricks apart from whips?” Lucy said weakly.

Lucy could handle the pain just fine. She had been a mercenary for such a long time and had suffered through much worse than this. Once, they were catching magma spiders on the volcano of Blackstone Hill in the North. The fire spider had spurted its acidic saliva on Lucy and the pain she felt then was immeasurable—she could recall it vividly even now.

But she didn’t make a peep from that kind of pain, so even if the whip was doused with salt water, it would still be nothing she couldn’t bear!

As soon as she finished the sentence, the whip came again. This time it was on her face. But because her thick layers of red hair covered her face, the whipping was not so bad, but still, it did leave a deep bloody line.

“Why do you have to keep it a secret?” the black shadow’s voice finally showed a slight change in tone, “If it’s money you want, I can give you 1000 gold coins right now, you can take the money and go wherever you want, and live the rest of your life in luxury….”

“Stop dreaming!” Lucy spat out blood in the direction of the corner, “I’ll come back and kill you all!”

She was no damsel in distress who could do nothing but cry and wait to be rescued. Her nickname among the mercenaries was Fire Rose. She would pay whatever debt was due, whether it was a debt of gratitude or revenge. She vowed that if she ever escaped this place, she would come back and repay what these cowards hiding in shadows did to her in kind!

“I hate to disappoint you, but you will never live to do so. No one will come to save you. I should, perhaps, inform you that we are members of the Syndicate. Your two mercenary friends stand no chance against us, not that they would even risk it, hehe,” the black shadow mirthlessly laughed, and continued, “After all, your torture has only just begun. If you don’t talk now, I will teach you what hell on Earth is like!”

The moment she heard the word Syndicate, her heart sank. Of course, she knew the Syndicate. It was a venomous snake entrenched in the Firuman continent. The southern part of Girvent Forest was their main territory.

Their power far outweighed that of the Dark Brotherhood by ten, maybe a hundred times over. This is much beyond what the Flamingo Band of Mercenaries had the capability of fighting against. Even if Jacker and Gildern came to save her, they would only be meeting their end here.

If the one who captured her was the Syndicate, then it seemed she had no chance to survive after all.

She laughed bitterly, in her mind there flashed a picture of a thin and frail figure – that of the genius young Magician. The Lord she had just recently sworn her allegiance to; would he come and save her?

She wasn’t sure.

In her memories, the young man’s attitude had always been calm and indifferent. His eyes did not seem to ever move; they were dark and black, deep and quiet, as if nothing would ever rouse his feelings.

When she cleaned his room, he never even set his eyes on her. Her sensational figure, her beautiful face, none of it ever attracted him. His eyes were forever fixed on his spells and magic. The most reaction she got was a simple “thank you” when she was done, and nothing more.