"As wizard apprentices, our strength is indeed a bit weak. That despicable guy with gray eyes attacked so fast, we couldn’t react at all. By the time we were ready to act, you had already killed him," said a waiter.
"Yeah, yeah," another waiter echoed.
"Hmph," Annie wrinkled her nose, noncommittal, quickly walked away, and the two waiters followed her out.
Kneeling on one knee, Commander Gao Wen slowly stood up, walked over to Sed, and extended a hand to pat his shoulder.
Sed wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, gritted his teeth, and explained, "Commander, listen to me, this incident was really not my fault, it was Miss Annie who..."
"Alright, alright, Sed," Gao Wen waved his hand, stopping Sed from saying more, "I absolutely trust your abilities and loyalty, and I believe you did nothing wrong this time. However, you must understand, we are still just subordinates.
As subordinates, it’s not only when we make mistakes that we get punished. In fact, our punishment has no actual relation to mistakes; it’s all about the mood of those above us. Recognizing this is important, and recognizing our identity as subordinates is also crucial. So just to be safe, take a break for a few days, so Miss Annie doesn’t see you again. Return once Miss Annie forgets about this and is no longer upset, just consider it a little break."
Gao Wen patted Sed on the shoulder again, "That’s settled then, relax a bit, spend some time with Katrina, she always wanted to visit the Soma Alliance, right? This is the perfect opportunity. If you lack money, or encounter any problems, come straight to me, don’t be shy. Remember, we’re brothers."
With that, Gao Wen walked away.
Sed watched Gao Wen’s back, then looked down, appearing a bit sad, mumbled to himself, "Just a subordinate, huh, merely a subordinate..."
After a moment of murmuring, Sed stood up straight, along with his magic knights, cleaned up the scene, and returned into Saint Louis City.
Outside the city, peace and order were restored.
The heavy iron gate was hoisted up with ropes, and the city gates of Saint Louis City were reopened to let outsiders in after inspection, but it was obvious that the inspecting soldiers were much more serious, with numbers several times larger.
Richard rejoined the crowd, turned slightly, glanced at the place where the magic knights and the wizard battled, still seeing scorch marks from the flames, and muttered to himself, "So this is how magic knights fare against wizards? With enough numbers and cooperation, they can forcibly kill wizards, indeed formidable." The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⁂𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚⁂𝙣𝙚𝙩
After a pause, Richard raised an eyebrow, thought of something else: "Speaking of which, aside from the magic knights, this Saint Louis City is quite complicated. Didn’t even enter the city yet, and encountered such an assassination plot; the real situation is probably worse, hope it won’t affect acquiring the ’Void Book’... hopefully..."
Saying that, Richard walked into the city.
Richard appeared in a room of an inn in Saint Louis City, calculating the time.
Including the departure, it had already taken two days to get to Saint Louis City, and the return journey would likely take about the same time. To fit the seven-day plan previously set, the ’Void Book’ must be obtained within the next three days.
"Can’t waste much time, need to act quickly," Richard murmured, thought for a moment, then stepped out of the inn, preparing to meet the intelligence agency contact that the black-faced elder Oscar mentioned, to gather more information about Saint Louis City, avoiding setbacks right at the start of the operation.
A dozen minutes later, Richard stood in front of a tavern called "Poets and Wine."
Hearing the faint noise coming from inside, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, the next moment, he reached out and pushed open the door.
With a "whoosh," the lively atmosphere inside rushed out like a beast, enveloping Richard’s body, and a few seconds later, Richard found himself inside the bustling tavern.
In the tavern’s hall, most of the seats were occupied by people, male or female, old or young, most of whom were staring at the wooden stage in the middle of the tavern.
On the wooden stage, three minstrels were performing. Two of them plucked oddly shaped lyres to create accompanying tunes, while the one in the middle was beating a hand drum with a "thump, thump, thump," reciting a legendary tale of a hero with a youthful yet compelling voice.
As the tale reached its climax, the minstrel deliberately stopped the drum, casting a mysterious and brazen gaze upon the audience in the tavern.
The audience immediately erupted in clamorous calls of urging, as if lighting a hundred barrels of gunpowder, nearly tearing off the tavern’s roof, with a few impatient individuals almost standing up, ready to beat the minstrel, only held back by companions.
After whetting the audience’s appetite, the minstrel was content to resume beating the drum, continuing with the tale.
The noise in the tavern slightly calmed down, yet it remained extraordinarily lively.
Richard glanced at the minstrels a few times, couldn’t help but gently shake his head, lacking the interest to appreciate the stories being told, and strode towards the bar.
The waiter standing behind the bar was also engrossed in the story, though continuously wiping glasses with a clean white cloth, his eyes kept drifting towards the stage. It wasn’t until Richard reached the bar that he snapped back to reality.
A bit flustered, the waiter put down the glass, looked at Richard, and asked, "What can I get you, sir? We have excellent bread, steak, and wine here, guaranteed to satisfy you."
"I’ll have a mushroom soup, one of your special sausages, and..." Richard paused, glanced at the food on the table beside him, then added, "and a vegetable salad."
"Is that all?" Seeing Richard stop, the waiter asked a bit doubtfully.
Richard replied, "That’s all for now."
"Want something else?" The waiter enthusiastically suggested, "You definitely need a main course, right? Our jam bread and pies are quite good, or if you want something special, you can try our pancakes with honey, fresh cream, and butter, they pair perfectly with the sausage you just ordered."
"No, thanks." Richard declined the waiter’s offer, waved it off, "Just bring me what I ordered before, that’s enough; I’m not very hungry, so no main course for me."
"Alright then." The waiter spread his hands in disappointment, "Please pick any seat you like, and once your food is ready, I’ll bring it over."
Richard nodded and moved towards a small square table in the corner.