Her reaction startled everyone around them.
As the Dragon Vein Mage’s anger flared, a faint crackling filled the air, and sparks materialized out of thin air.
"I really don’t know... I only saw that a few of them were pale, tall, and had blue eyes and blonde hair. I really don’t know anything else..." the hoodlum stammered, his words becoming unintelligible by the end.
"Those are definitely northerners," Colin concluded.
Yuri pulled the last metal fragment embedded in his body.
He pointed at the hoodlum and said, "Give me a hand and throw this guy in a cell."
Kase and Colin promptly tossed the terrified hoodlum into the cell, putting him in with the captured refugees.
Yuri tore open the envelope and held the letter before his eyes.
The moment the envelope was torn, a stench of sulfur wafted out.
Next, Colin saw the script on the letter begin to glow red. The light shone through the back of the paper like a red-hot branding iron.
It revealed the Demonic letters on the page for all to see—a bizarre collection of sharp, angular lines, barbs, and triangles.
Just looking at it for a moment made Colin feel deeply uncomfortable.
His eyeballs felt dry, sore, and itchy. The sensation only eased when he looked away.
Kase, sitting beside him, ducked his head and rubbed his eyes. "Damned script. Feels like someone just farted in my eyes."
"What does it say?" Ale asked quickly.
Yuri slowly recited, "Preparations are complete. Help the Giant Dragon gather Gold and supplies, and transport them to the Sunset Mountain Range. Watch the goings-on in Westbound City. Stay hidden. Summon Demons, expand our ranks of believers, and be ready for anything."
’The Sunset Mountain Range? That really is east of the Supreme Forest.’
Colin noticed Ale’s expression becoming increasingly grave.
Orelia recoiled slightly. Even she could tell something was wrong with her companion.
Ale was panting, her face flushed beet-red.
She looked as if she was about to explode with rage.
"Are you okay?" Colin asked.
Ale didn’t reply, just stared fixedly at the letter in Yuri’s hand.
"Alright, I need to take this letter in as evidence." Yuri put the paper away and rubbed his eyes. "The world is in chaos right now. It’s only natural for scum like this to crawl out of the woodwork."
With that, he stood up and began to inspect the bodies on the floor.
Colin and Kase exchanged a look, and both rose to begin taking a full inventory of the loot in the room.
After a while, Orelia also trotted over to help out.
After working for a bit, they slowly finished cataloging the loot.
The most valuable items were the Cultists’ equipment.
These included three sets of Cotton Armor, two sets of Long Chain Armor, and one set of Leather Armor, as well as two Short Swords, two Hand Axes, and a Swift Sword.
After a careful inspection, Colin confirmed that the Hand Axes and Short Swords were all Ordinary weapons. The trick those Samurai used to summon their weapons must have been their own ability.
In addition, there were the gang members’ four Light Crossbows, seven Daggers, and some wooden sticks.
Typical gangs don’t have many lethal weapons, preferring things like clubs and batons. The Fish Eye Gang actually had a surprising number of deadly arms.
This stuff, of course, wouldn’t fetch a high price.
Finally, Colin picked up the handsome youth’s Swift Sword to examine it.
The sword was quite beautiful. The intricate, interlocking handguard resembled interwoven vines. The hilt, made from some kind of animal horn and wrapped in leather, was accented with silver decorations.
"You wanna keep that sword for yourself?" Kase looked over and asked.
"Well... I’d better pass."
Colin picked up the scabbard and sheathed the Swift Sword. "A Swift Sword is a weapon designed specifically for dueling. It’s like a combination of a Short Spear and a small shield. It sacrifices slashing power and concentrates all its force into a single type of attack: the thrust."
"It’s pretty effective when dueling a single human opponent, but once you’re facing multiple enemies or a large beast, it’s not so useful. The sword I have now is more reliable."
Kase said, "Then let’s sell it. Shame, though. I think it looks pretty nice."
"Let’s skin these Dragon Beasts. I doubt the hides will be worth much, though. They feel just like any ordinary animal hide," Colin said, looking at the corpses on the floor.
"How about we butcher some of the meat?"
"Won’t it be poisonous? These Dragon Beasts are probably related to the Green Dragon. It wouldn’t be worth it if we ended up poisoning ourselves."
"Then how about we cut off the heads? I feel like someone would buy ’em."
"I... guess that works."
The two of them started working on harvesting materials from the Dragon Beasts as they talked.
After all, he had helped out with skinning many times since his adventures began. Colin was now barely competent at the task. Or rather, as long as he was patient and took his time, he could probably handle it.
The group busied themselves for a while.
Ale came out from a back room.
Colin, busy processing a Dragon Beast, didn’t have time to look up. After working for so long, all he wanted was to get back to their hideout and sleep.
As Colin was bent over, processing a corpse, a pair of boot tips appeared in his peripheral vision.
The slightly muddy Leather Boots shuffled toward him in small steps, the two boots very close together. It was obvious at a glance that their owner was nervous.
"Sorry, I was a bit worked up earlier," Ale said, breaking the silence.
"Hm? What about?" Colin stopped what he was doing, wiped his forehead with his sleeve, and looked up at her.
Ale kept her eyes downcast, not daring to meet his gaze. "I shouldn’t have spoken like that earlier."
"Don’t worry about it. I didn’t even give it a second thought."
’Seeing her like this reminds me of myself right after graduation. I used to get hung up on the smallest, most insignificant things, while completely ignoring the major issues that could actually affect my relationships. I was such a clueless greenhorn.’
"Here, this is for you." Ale held out a waterskin with both hands, then carefully uncorked it for him.
"Not right now..."
Ale glanced at his bloodstained hands and understood his hesitation. She held the mouth of the waterskin and carefully brought it to Colin’s lips.
The familiar, clean fragrance wafted over him, completely chasing away the metallic stench of Dragon Beast blood.
Colin froze for a moment, then opened his mouth and took a sip.
He could clearly taste a familiar fragrance in the water.
He suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, "Wait, this isn’t your waterskin, is it?"
"Yes, it’s mine."
"That’s not right. You shouldn’t let another man drink from your waterskin after you’ve used it. An act like this carries a lot of weight. You shouldn’t do it so lightly in the future," Colin said seriously.
Ale, at a loss, nodded her head.
Colin sighed and then asked, "About the Dragon Worship Cult, do you need to inform the Silver Star Court? Speaking of which, do you have any idea what they’re up to?"
"Right now, if the Dragon Worship Cult is using Demons to help them gather riches, their plan could be any number of things. And none of those possibilities are good news for us."
Ale stroked her chin. "I’ll send them a warning soon... Hm, I’ll go do it right now."
"Hmph, look at you." Kase shook out a fresh hide and shot Colin a provocative grin. "You’ve only skinned a few and you’re already red in the face. Colin, my boy, you need a lot more practice with this kind of work."
"Mind your own business!"
Orelia asked worriedly, "Is it because I didn’t heal your wounds properly?"
"No, I’m not injured."
Seeing Colin’s reaction only egged Kase on. "I’m gettin’ the sense you’re not too happy right now, hahaha! Colin, my boy, you’re just a small fry!"
"One more word and I’m really gonna punch you!"