The Path of Ruin

Chapter 81: Noble Trafficking

Dazul and his gang followed Hasron until they got quite deep. They passed through long tunnels and corridors. Finally, they reached the front of a room with two doors almost three meters tall.

They were a bit nervous going in. The gang, or group, or whatever it was, they had made a deal with, was really big!

They had hit the jackpot.

And that thought was multiplied when the door to the room they were going to enter opened.

The room was... huge. The walls were covered with eye-catching artwork and paintings. The carpet on the floor was of such high quality that Dazul normally would not have dared to step on it.

But he didn't care when he saw Hasron walking over it, not even caring its presence there, and approaching the center of the room. He swallowed involuntarily as his eyes fell on the person sitting at the table at the end of this sumptuous room.

It was... a woman. It was surprising, he couldn't lie. Normally, it was strong men who were involved in 'gangsterism' and the like.

But this person... she looked quite fragile.

And beautiful at the same time.

Her blonde hair was neatly braided and loose over her shoulders. Her blue eyes, like the sky, were brilliant. She was wearing one of the one-piece dresses worn by nobles, a beautiful red one.

As they entered, her blue eyes were on them. Then, her pink lips curved upwards slightly.

"Welcome, Mr. Dazul and his gang."

Even her voice was pleasant.

'I... want this woman.'

It was a thought that Dazul could not get out of his mind, no matter how much he suppressed his desires and instincts. He wanted this woman... absolutely.

Not now, maybe.

But when he was strong enough... he definitely would.

"Thank you for being kind enough to include us in your group..."

For now... he would respect and put his desires aside. The person in front of him was, after all, the leader of an illegal group operating in an entire county. He was not going to underestimate her just because she was a woman and looked fragile.

There must have been a reason for her to be where she was now.

"I like respect. Respect is one of the things that separates humans from barbarians."

She smiled after her own words.

"I've heard about your activities in Ghran, and I've looked into it. Rather than trying to develop things quickly, you secure yourselves first, make sure you have a place to run to in case of emergency, and try to grow slowly. And that... I like that."

'Ah...'

Why was she praising him like that?

With each passing second... he wanted her more and more.

"My name is Feria Lockhend, I am the leader of the Red Feathers, the largest organized gang in Uhron County."

But the moment he heard her name... Dazul suddenly went rigid.

'Lockhend...? Wait...'

"At the moment, we are dealing with a relatively big business. I'd like to make you a partner in it, in a way that you'll be quite happy with your share in the end..."

Lockhend... was a name he knew.

A family name.

And... if he remembered correctly...

'The daughter of Count Uhron? And… if I'm not wrong…'

Dazul tried to collect his thoughts. If he remembered the name Lockhend correctly... He was involved in something much bigger than he thought.

He asked gently, trying hard not to change his expression or tone of voice.

"Of course, we would be happy to accept a big business. But... can we find out what kind of business it is, by any chance?"

Feria Lockhend widened her smile.

"The trafficking of a few nobles."

Human trafficking... but with nobles?

'That's... really big business right there.'

As surprised as he was that the person he was working with was a noble... and a really big one at that… hearing what the business was had an even greater effect on him.

And yet...

"I see."

He did nothing but widen his smile.

"We accept, of course."

How and why would he turn down such an opportunity...?

Of course he would jump at it!

After all... getting involved in a human trafficking business where nobles were used as products as long as they were not caught would bring him too much money and fame.

The only thing he didn't know...

They were already caught.

*******

'Damn, using the ability on more than one person really consumes a lot of eon.'

The ceiling of the room they were in was fortunately extremely high. That way, Kael could listen to the whole conversation without getting caught, even though he had deactivated his ability after getting up there.

He turned his eyes to the still-talking duo of Feria and Dazul, narrowing his eyes.

The task of taking down a gang in a simple barony had reached a point where... it was completely out of his league.

'Feria Lockhend... good to know her name.'

He had no idea who she was, but it was always good to know people's names. Especially criminals.

Now, he had to go back and report this to Count Uhron quickly.

"Some of the nobles to be sold are downstairs, they will leave for their destination in half an hour. Accompany them, and in the meantime, you can learn a little about the city."

But Feria's next words left him frozen in place.

'In half an hour...?'

Was it... possible for him to make it in time?

It would probably take him an average of twenty minutes to sneak out of here in the first place.

He narrowed his eyes, lost in his thoughts.

Just then... Feria announced to Dazul and his team the whereabouts of the captured nobles. Kael paused at this moment.

'All right...'

He had... an idea.

Something a bit stupid, but something that could make it work.

*******

Dazul couldn't stop smiling for a second as he walked along the long underground tunnel with a guard leading the way.

'I've heard that some of the nobles are involved in illegal activities... but to come across one - now that's luck!'

Nobles always had the perfect connections to facilitate this kind of work. So doing business with them was both simple and profitable.

When the guard who was leading the way stopped, so did he. Then he saw the door leading to a dungeon.

Together, they stepped into the underground dungeon and Dazul could not help being surprised again.

The dungeon was... quite full. There was someone in every cell. They were pretty filthy, but they seemed to be taken care of enough to survive.

So, they came to one of the cells at the end of the dungeon. And Dazul took a look inside.

There were two females and three males. One of the females looked to be in her teens, the other in her mid-twenties. One of the males was in his late forties, while the other two were quite young. They were dressed in simple pieces of cloth, just like those in the other cells. But... they looked much cleaner.

'Well, they are nobles after all...'

Even in captivity, they were valuable.

The guard with him opened the cell door, approached the five, and then stopped when one of them was in front of him.

Dazul frowned when he saw what the guard was doing.

"Is there a problem?"

The guard nodded, not taking his eyes off the noble standing in front of him.

"There were... four nobles here. I didn't hear anything about the fifth."

Dazul's eyes narrowed. He walked over to the guard and looked at the boy standing in front of him.

His black hair was dirty and disheveled, just like the others. His brown eyes, meanwhile, flickered with fear, his face twitching with horror.

But just then, he opened his mouth.

"I- I am Baron Halve's nephew! Y- you will definitely pay for this!"

Even his voice was full of fear. But it was something else that caught Dazul's attention.

'Halve...?'

Just then, he remembered the town that was said to have been destroyed about a month ago.

"He was just captured on a journey to the county, and it seems he doesn't know what happened to the Barony of Halve."

Dazul and the guard slowly turned around and found another guard standing before them.

He was wearing a helmet, so they couldn't tell what color his hair was, but... he had relatively blue eyes.

"Oh, strange... they would have told me about a newcomer to distribute the food evenly."

But then he paused.

If he was a newcomer... he didn't need to eat anyway.

That would explain why he hadn't been informed. He wasn't even a guard in this dungeon in the first place... he was just bringing food.

"Anyway, understood."

"Let me go! I- I said let me go quickly! Hey!"

Dazul sighed slightly. He approached the young noble, then struck him hard on the neck.

The boy collapsed to the ground, drooling.

"He was making too much noise. And I only knocked him out... so he'll be fine."

He didn't really need to explain himself. The guard next to him was thinking of doing something like that.

The guard shrugged his shoulders, then tied each of the captured nobles' hands with a chain, and tied the chains together with another one.

The five nobles were led out of the cell in a line.

As they left the dungeon, Dazul took one last look inside.

'Strange... there are quite a few guards in the dungeon.'

Apart from the guard who had just told them the situation, he could only see two others. One was resting on the edge, almost looking asleep, while the other was leaning against the far wall. It was impossible to see his face because of his helmet and the distance between them.

'Three... I would have put at least five.'

With that thought, they left the dungeon.

Silence quickly took over the seconds after they left.

...

It was in this silence that the two guards Dazul had seen both collapsed. There was a flash of blue between their clothes and their backs.

Experience new tales on M V L

Swords... that were flying.

Swords that made them look like they were standing.

Then, the swords slowly turned to dust and disappeared, while the third guard in the dungeon stretched his back.

"Huuugh...! Kael's ability is quite useful, huh?"

He was pretty good at hiding the glow and eon of swords.

A smile appeared on his face. He dragged two of the guards into a corner that was relatively hidden and left them on top of the other guards who normally worked here.

As he made his way towards the exit of the dungeon, he saw all the captives in the cells staring at him, and widened his smile.

"Don't worry, we will free you as soon as we finish this gang. Thank you for your silence."

Then, with a lot of hopeful eyes looking at him behind his back, he left the dungeon.