Book 10: Chapter 64: The Apostle Club

The Toril World was different from ordinary Mid-Magic Worlds. Qin Lun knew well that relying solely on himself was not enough to venture into a world of such martial level and participate in a highly rewarding Epic Quest. He had to find several companions who possessed both strength and wisdom.

Under the current circumstances, the other Serial Killers were obviously the best choice. Hill and the others should have already advanced to Second Order professions by now. Most of their Second Order professions were quite powerful. With the support of recovery items, they were sufficient to challenge high-level experts on Faerûn. Three to five of them, united together, could barely contend with low-level Legendary Creatures.

This level of power was considered to have a certain degree of self-preservation ability in the Toril World. It wasn’t like Qin Lun’s first entry into the Toril World, where he was almost instantly killed by that high-level Zhentarim infiltrator.

However, to drag Hill and the others into the Toril World, using a locator or a tracker wouldn’t work; only a World Token could be used. The Toril World was too vast. Locators couldn’t pinpoint the space-time point, and trackers couldn’t determine the target location.

These two things were generally only used for hunting down hostile Apostles, not as tools for team quests. Just like when the Fink team chased Hill and the others into the Nals World, they didn’t care whether they were in the same place as their enemies, as long as they could eventually meet.

“You are quite the schemer. Do you know how rare such World Tokens are? The Toril World has many Epic level storylines, making it most suitable for High-Rank Apostles to obtain high-level skills inside…”

Kelly rolled her eyes upon hearing this. She hesitated for a moment but still took a small item from her Storage Space and reluctantly tossed it to Qin Lun. “Fine, take it. This should clear all debts between me and you five guys.”

Qin Lun happily caught the item and examined it carefully. He found that this item was not the Uvellen Obelisk, but a miniature version of the Anke Elf Court – the Cloudtop City. The buildings inside were incredibly lifelike, and a thin layer of white mist lingered around the token. Its craftsmanship could be called artistic.

Most crucially, he had guessed correctly; this was indeed a World Token for team entry, though limited to a minimum team size of three people.

Qin Lun stored this World Token in his Storage Space and casually asked, “How did your high-rank team battle go this time?”

“Haha, it’s far from over that quickly!” Kelly was taken aback for a moment, then spoke somewhat helplessly. “Ten-person high-rank team battles are extremely dangerous. If there isn’t a death feud, both sides usually engage in repeated probing. Sometimes it can last across ten or so Quest Worlds, essentially testing the material reserves of large teams.”

“A war of attrition? Then isn’t Lost in great danger?” Qin Lun frowned slightly. The Order Front was originally the weakest among the three great Apostle Alliances of the Devil’s Horn. In a war of attrition, they certainly couldn’t match the Apostle Monument and the Chaos Alliance.

“We wouldn’t mind a big fight, but the other side isn’t willing!” Kelly shook her head with a bitter smile. “Their goal is to poach members, to replenish new recruits for their respective alliances and teams, not to eliminate Lost. They don’t really care whether the Order Front can hold on or not.”

“Then what are your plans next?” Hearing Kelly’s words, Qin Lun couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. The happy mood from winning in the last Quest World instantly disappeared.

Even though they had beaten the Chaos Alliance once, temporarily dispelling the doubts of those Apostles, if the continuous turmoil within the Order Front persisted for a long time, most people would start to waver again.

“If it can’t be resolved in the Quest Worlds, then of course it has to be resolved in the Star Void!” Kelly said with a calm expression. “Did you know that some time ago, the Moonlit Elf clan launched an offensive against another Suspended Continent?”

“Yes, I know! An Elder of External Affairs from the Moonlit Elf clan hinted to me about it. Unfortunately, I had my own problems and couldn’t offer him any help.” Qin Lun replied without changing his expression.

“Haha, the Sapient Races in the Star Void have their own principles for dealing with us Apostles. And we Apostles, especially large teams, also try our best not to get involved in racial wars and continental wars.” Kelly sighed and said, “But the current situation of the Order Front is very dangerous. We can’t withstand the successive encroachments by the other two alliances of the Devil’s Horn. The alliance leadership, comprising several large and medium-sized teams, has already decided to intervene in this continental war started by the Moonlit Elves.”

“You want to rely on the spoils of war from the continental war to sustain the war of attrition against the two major alliances!” Qin Lun was startled, and his thoughts quickly turned, understanding dawning. “This really breaks the rules. Lost could easily face internal and external attacks. You need to think this through clearly.”

Racial and continental wars were large-scale conflicts. There were always a few Apostles who accepted mercenary tasks for profit. However, these Apostles were few in number and low in level, generally not affecting the balance of power between the warring sides.

However, with the direct participation of large teams, it was different. In severe cases, it could lead to two or more Apostle Cities joining the war. This wasn’t just Lost’s problem. The other two major alliances of the Devil’s Horn certainly wouldn’t want to be dragged down by Lost. They might even unite with the opposing Apostle factions to attack Lost together. The situation would only get worse.

“We are just making a gesture first. If they don’t want to be dragged into the quagmire of a continental war, they must engage in a decisive battle with us as soon as possible.” Kelly gave a wry smile. “Of course, I think the leadership on both sides will ultimately compromise. The most likely outcome is using one large-scale battle to decide the victory.”

“A large-scale battle within a continental war? Wouldn’t that make things even more complicated?” Qin Lun frowned, lost in thought. He keenly sensed that something was amiss here.

Kelly smiled without speaking, sipping her wine and letting Qin Lun think for himself. After a long while, a trace of understanding finally flashed in Qin Lun’s eyes. He let out a bitter laugh, “You guys who call yourselves the Order faction aren’t good people either. This is basically shifting most of the losses of the Apostle teams onto the Sapient Races of the Star Void, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Kelly nodded softly, a faint bitter smile appearing on her face. “Transforming the high-rank Apostle team battle into a large-scale battle assisting Sapient Races means we and those two alliances can use the battle result to substitute for the team battle result, avoiding the life-and-death struggle between Apostle teams. At least the casualties among high-rank members would be much smaller, and the material losses would be covered by the Sapient Races.”

The two fell silent, looking at each other. However, presumably the Sapient Races on both sides of the war wouldn’t have major objections either. The Apostles were using them, but the continental war wasn’t started by the Apostles. Moreover, such large-scale wars wouldn’t end until one side was completely drained of blood. With the involvement of large teams, the war duration might be shorter, and the losses might actually be smaller.

“Alright then, I wish you good luck!” Qin Lun shrugged, raised his head to finish his drink, stood up, and prepared to leave.

“Wait a moment!” Kelly suddenly remembered something and stopped Qin Lun. “Last time I told you to save up more Shattered Crystals, have you prepared them?”

“What for? If you want to borrow money, no way! I’m planning to use this time to acquire some suitable equipment and skills!” Qin Lun looked at Kelly warily, his face resembling that of a miser. This woman had thick nerves and high combat power; there was no need to act aloof with her. Speaking plainly was the right way.

“Tch, I wouldn’t covet your little money. I was just going to point you to a spending channel. If you don’t want to know, forget it!” Kelly looked at Qin Lun with disdain and gave him the middle finger.

“Haha, what kind of channel?” Qin Lun smiled and sat down again, looking as sunny as possible.

Kelly rolled her eyes at him and rubbed her fingers together. “What about the information fee?”

“Oh…” Qin Lun’s expression didn’t change, and he sensibly transferred ten thousand Shattered Crystals.

“Not enough!” Kelly snorted coldly and turned her face away.

“Oh…” Qin Lun helplessly transferred another ten thousand Shattered Crystals.

“Continue!” A hint of a smile appeared in Kelly’s eyes as she teased him.

“…Alright, I was wrong!” Qin Lun smiled wryly and transferred again. Given his relationship with Kelly, an information fee of a few tens of thousands of Shattered Crystals was nothing. Kelly was punishing him for his earlier miserly behavior.

“I forgive you!” Kelly nodded with satisfaction and finally said seriously, “Come to the headquarters three days later. I’ll take you to a place.”

“Oh, can you give me a hint first?” Seeing Kelly’s mysterious manner, Qin Lun couldn’t help but feel curious.

“Okay, but you must keep it secret! This is a high-end club run by Apostles, located in a specific small dimension.” Kelly said quietly. “Most of the club members are High-Rank or above experts, with a few exceptional Second-Order Apostles like you. This club mainly releases some private cooperation projects, and also holds small auctions among members.”

“An Apostle Club?” Qin Lun asked, somewhat puzzled. “Apostle Cities have complete entertainment districts, mercenary hiring offices, team companions to rely on for cooperation, and the City Auction House and Demiplane Trading Floor for transactions. Why is there a need for this kind of club?”

“It’s different. The existence of such clubs is necessary.” Kelly said seriously. “Just like how the Devil’s Horn has the City Auction House but still needs the Demiplane Trading Floor. The City Auction House provides help for all Probationary Apostles, targeting low-end clients, while the clients of the Demiplane Trading Floor are all Professional Apostles.”

“The equipment in the City Auction House is mostly Blue, with a small amount of Dark Gold Equipment, but its applicability isn’t high. Bloodline Items and Apostle Skill Scrolls rarely appear. The goods in the Demiplane Trading Floor are mainly Dark Gold Equipment, and a large number of Bloodline Items and Skill Scrolls begin to appear. Of course, Legendary Equipment, high-rank skills, and high-rank Bloodline Items are still rare here…”

“Hmm, no wonder I seldom see Magic Scrolls above the seventh order in the Demiplane Trading Floor. High-rank Bloodline Items are even rarer.” Qin Lun nodded thoughtfully. “So, are Apostle Clubs trading venues above the Demiplane Trading Floor?”

“No, these small clubs don’t just have trading functions. They are also places for high-rank members from different Apostle Cities to communicate and cooperate. The high-rank team currently cooperating with Lost was someone we met in a certain club.” Kelly explained with a smile.

“This is also market dynamics. The number of High-Rank Apostles in a single Apostle City is mostly less than three digits. Their demand for equipment and skills can no longer be met by a single Apostle City, which gave rise to these cross-city high-end clubs.”