Chapter 228

Ardis who separated from Fillia and Rona after the slave market gathered rumors around the town .

Walking down the streets lined with vacant stores, listening into the stalls that have fewer than usual customers and the conversations of the pedestrians on the streets .

What he came to know is the reputation of the Scyts Business Association is worse than expected . Forging documents to get themselves a better place in a deal, blackmailing their trading partners to gain more, crushing their opponents whenever they see a chance .

It seems like among ten slaves that the association takes away, there’re always one or two that 『Disappears without ever being seen again』, it’s a famous story between the merchants .

Including the questionable rumors about sounds of beast howling coming from the association’s grounds, the number of bad rumors surrounding the association is definitely not little .

Regardless if it’s the truth or exaggeration, there were also stories that they had been kidnapping refugees to sell as merchandises .

「There’s dirt everywhere without digging . Why is something like that still left alone……」

He thought they managed to secure their position by adhering to the feudal lord but, it seems like he was wrong .

「The investigation was in place originally . But then the civil war happened just as they wanted to make a move with the evidence . Being in the royal faction, there was no time to bother with a business association’s notoriety . After all, this town is right in the middle of territories under Lord Corpse’s faction . 」

It was the information he got from the information broker in a tavern that was open during the day . If it’s like this, Ardis decided to investigate more .

For Ardis, what he saw at the market was not something he could go by without feeling anything . However, it’s not like his sense of justice is so strong that he would be willing to commit a crime to save them .

If Fillia didn’t ask, he would’ve probably held back and let them go even if it felt wrong . But if the opponent is a villain already committing something illegal, it’s a different story . They’re people that the feudal lord wants to disappear as well .

Even if Ardis don’t personally bring them to ruin, he can just force the feudal lord and the soldiers to make a move .

「Well then, better do it quick . 」

Ardis immediately rode into the Scyts Business Association . With no magic barrier shielding the building, it was easy even with Ardis’s amateurish stealth skills .

There’s no need to make himself invisible if he just entered from above, and if he’s careful with the mana signatures, it’s easy to get into the deepest part of the buildings .

「It’s natural for places like this to have them underground but……」

Ardis’s mana detection caught many responses .

As expected of its scale, there were many employees, there seems to be several signatures in rooms, probably working on documents, but most of them are moving around busily .

Among them, there was a small mana signature underground of the biggest building . On the other hand, there was also another signature that’s too big to be considered a human’s .

「……That’s quite out of place . The smaller one is…… a bug? 」

The weak signature was almost disappearing . Ardis who felt like it might be a lead went there to confirm first .

Carefully advancing in the building to not get spotted by the employees, he then reached a study decorated with many luxurious items, finding a staircase hidden in the room .

「It’s here huh . 」

He arrived at a small room on one side of the hallway . Ardis’s nose was assaulted by intense blood and excretion odor . There’re a total of four isolated rooms .

Each of them had people with shackles fixed to the wall with chains . Ardis approached the only room that still had a signature .

There was a young boy chained there . Elongated bruises and red-burnt skin all over his body . The coagulated blood covered his entire body, there’s not even a way to tell his original skin color .

「So irritating . 」

Indignation rose within Ardis’s black eyes . Easily cutting open the bars of the isolated room with 『Skies of Myriad Colors』 called across the 『Gate』, he entered the isolated room .

Maybe noticing his presence, the young boy’s body twitched . Ardis paid no mind and swung his sword twice, cutting off the shackles fixing his two arms on the wall .

「Uugh……」

Was it that his senses are already too numb to feel pain, or not having any stamina to even speak, the young boy fell on the ground with a small groan .

「Endure for a little more . 」

Not knowing whether it was even heard or not, Ardis took off his hood and robe and laid it on the boy .

「It’s better than nothing . 」

Creating few fireballs in the room, Ardis raised the temperature of the chilly room . Then, taking out a high-grade medicine from the pouch on his waist, he raised the young boy’s body .

「Can you drink? 」

Placing the opened medicine vial at his mouth, the young boy’s lips moved a little . As the boy’s moist lips formed a smile, the mana signature in front of him disappeared into nothing .

High-grade medicines have the power to even heal dying people . However, that’s not always effective .

Ardis didn’t have enough of them to splash it all over the injured boy, and the boy was too weak that he couldn’t even ingest it .

He could’ve avoided death if Ardis was a day earlier . However, thinking about that now is meaningless . The little high-grade medicine that he managed to ingest had taken effect .

Majority of the wounds on the boy disappeared .

「………………Rest in peace . 」

Laying down the boy slowly, Ardis stood up . After closing his eyes for a while, eventually he opened them and muttered .

「So there’s not a single reason to be holding back . 」

In the cold isolated room, his voice was flat, albeit sharp as a blade . Needing to find a place to vent his emotions, Ardis left the isolated room, walking deeper into the hallway .

There was a mana signature with a scale abnormal to be under a safe town . Arriving at a dead end, there was a metal door that was tougher than metal bars .

It was a double door spanning over three meters . The strong mana signature was coming from within . Ardis broke off the lock on the metal door with Skies of Myriad Colors, and entered the room by forcefully pulling open the door .

「Giiieii! 」

At that moment, liquid were shot towards Ardis’s head at amazing speeds . However, Ardis who had been on guard from the beginning dodged the first attack and blocked the second with a magic barrier .

「Hell Mantis? How the hell did they get something like this? 」

The demonic being in the room was a 『Hell Mantis』 that inhabits in the Canobis Mountain Range normally . The old bamboo color reminiscing of a mantis, a lump of pure violence, said to be an opponent most mercenaries could never confront .

Capturing a demonic being like that and bringing it into the town, it surely isn’t an easy feat . However, his questions soon disappeared .

「Giiiii! 」

The Hell Mantis that wanted to attack Ardis unnaturally stopped, and a ringing metal sound reverberated in the room .

「Shackles? 」

Ardis saw the shackles restraining the foot of the Hell Mantis . Examining closely as he continued to defend against the attacks, he noticed the shackles were digging into its already thin leg, even deforming the shape of its exoskeleton .

The size didn’t fit . Seeing that, Ardis understood .

「They brought it when it’s still young huh . 」

Certainly, it’s very plausible to capture one when it’s still in its infancy . Of course, it was still tremendously dangerous, but it’s at least more realistic than capturing an adult demonic being .

As it grew up, the size of the shackles didn’t grow, as a result, the shackles dug into its body, deforming its legs . Naturally, shackles made from Heavy Iron wouldn’t be able to restrain a demonic being .

However, the shackles on the Hell Mantis’s legs and its connecting chains were different from normal metal, having a tinge of red .

「Even using Lesha powder, they had been splurging . 」

It’s the powder made from 『Lesha』, a jewel that had its manufacturing process long-lost . When processing the metal, adding it while injecting mana would increase the product’s toughness by folds, making the shackles possible to restrain demonic beings .

Ardis’s three swords, 『Skies of Myriad Colors』, 『Springtime Mist』 and 『Moon’s Blizzard』 were all made with the rare Lesha powder .

Since Lesha powder is a rare material that could never be made again, it’s traded at enormous prices . No one could’ve thought there would be people using Lesha powder to make shackles .

「What to do……」

Ardis was thinking for an idea while blocking the Hell Mantis’s spit . If the Hell Mantis’s presence get known, the Scyts Business Association would be done for .

It’s a serious felony to bring a demonic being into a town . Although kidnapping people and selling them illegally is already a serious crime, this is a league above that .

However, the problem was how to convey this to the feudal lord . There’s no way the feudal lord would believe a random mercenary .

On top of that, Ardis is a wanted person currently . Ardis can try going wild in this place, as their downfall will be confirmed if people knew about the demonic being the association reared .

It was at that time . Ardis who was thinking about what he should do while facing the Hell Mantis heard several footsteps approaching .

「Well, it’s weirder if they don’t notice it being so violent . 」

It’s not like the Hell Mantis would calm down with Ardis standing there . Thanks to the shackled Hell Mantis raging around, it seems like the people from the association noticed .

「Giiiieee! 」

Did it get excited hearing the footsteps, the Hell Mantis rampaged even more violently .

「Oi oi, calm down . 」

It’s natural why Ardis looked a little troubled . After all, the Hell Mantis was rushing forward with the momentum of lobbing his own legs off .

Cracks formed around the Hell Mantis’s legs . It wasn’t the shackles that had cracks, but the Hell Mantis’s own legs . Its own instincts might be overpowering the pain that it was feeling .

「What! What’s happening!? 」

「Who is this bastard!? 」

Five armed men arrived .

Naturally, for them, rather than the demonic being that they knew were here in the first place, they were on guard against Ardis who is an unwelcomed guest .

Pulling their swords out and forming a half circle, they were eyeing Ardis’s each movement .

「Gigiiiii! 」

It was at that moment . Along with an uncomfortable sound, the Hell Mantis’s legs were shredded, and both its legs were released from the shackles .

The Hell Mantis immediately charged at Ardis who was closest but, having its charge blocked with a barrier, it immediately changed its target to the people at the entrance .

「U―Uwaaaa! 」

In an instant, one of the armed men had his head sliced off by the Hell Mantis’s scythe .

「Hiik! 」

Another one had his chest stabbed through, but the remaining three managed to avoid immediate death . The Hell Mantis ignored the remaining three and Ardis, flying at a low altitude in the hallway .

「That’s bad news……」

As expected, he cannot allow the Hell Mantis to become free like that . Even if the Scyts Business Association is doing shady business, it’s not like everyone in it is a bad person .

Unlike the executives and these men who knew the underside, there should also be innocent employees who don’t know about it .

He wanted the Scyts Business Association to pay for their wrongdoings but, it’s not like he wanted even the employees to pay their lives .

Ardis slipped past the men standing shakily, chasing after the Hell Mantis’s mana .