Warlord of Chaos

Chipango wandered aimlessly around the streets with a frown on his face. He mentally went through the few circles of friends he had, but couldn’t remember any that had dealt with the Abyss Mercenary Team before. The Abyss Mercenary Team was simply too mysterious and only stayed for a few days in Isolated Cliff City every year. Even if they wanted to, ordinary mercenaries did not have the chance to approach them at all.

As Chipango was walking, a door on the side of the road was suddenly smashed open, and a figure stumbled out. Chipango was great startled. He immediately stopped and was about to activate his invisibility before remembering that he was in Isolated Cliff City, not the Tarasha Mountains. Smiling at his own foolishness, Chipango took a few steps back to see what was going on.

Before the shape could run far, he tripped and fell. Chipango almost laughed out loud. The person was holding onto his pants, which only went up to his knees. His junk could be clearly seen from under his crotch, which in turn caused a few of the female bystanders to scream.

A brutish man immediately followed him outside with a gleaming battle axe in his hand. Without any words, he hacked at the man on the ground with great speed and accuracy, seemingly going straight for the kill.

However, the man on the ground was quite agile; he rolled to the side, avoiding the fatal axe that was going straight for his face, and promptly jumped up as if his body were made from a spring. During this whole sequence, Chipango could clearly see that this man somehow still had the effort to lift his pants up.

But the brutish man with the axe seemed determined to take care of him while he was distracted. The brutish man followed up his first attack with a horizontal slash. The man hastily retreated backward, but since both of his hands were still holding his pants, he lost his balance and slammed into a stall on the side of the street.

The man reacted quickly and kicked the various sundries at the brutish man as he slammed into the stall. His pursuer, however, was confident in his strength and charged through the flurry of oncoming projectiles. Just then, the man kicked a bag of flour and sent it flying toward the brutish man’s face. The brutish man ran head-first into it and was instantly blinded by the swarm of white powder.

With this opportunity, the man finally lifted his pants up and let out an obvious sigh of relief. At this point, Chipango was absolutely certain this man was a thief; there was no way for those with other professions to be as agile as him.

“Kalt! I’m going to fucking kill you!!” The brutish man charged out of the swarm of flour and roared in rage as he swung his giant axe at the man.

The thief hurriedly turned and jumped onto a nearby roof. His figure turned blurry as he activated his invisibility, but to Chipango’s amusement, the guy somehow still had the time to shout, “Lile! It’s your wife who seduced me first; it’s not my fault!”

The brutish man called Lile roared in anger, but could only stare as the thief disappeared into thin air. As he heard the mocking laughs of everyone around him, Lile’s face turned livid. He turned and returned through the door which he had originally come out of. The cries of a woman and the angry roars of a man could be heard from inside.

This was a common occurrence within Isolated Cliff City. The Tarasha Mountains devoured countless lives every year, and every day there were people who would be forever left to become fertilizer for the forest. This meant that, naturally, the lonely wives of these unfortunate men would become the prime target of playboys who were looking for an opportunity. Like a spark flying into a pile of dried wood, the situation usually escalated quickly. The only thing that could be said was that this thief named Kalt was just unlucky, for his target’s husband had returned safely.

Chipango laughed and went on his way. It wasn’t the first time he had witnessed incidents similar to this, and it was only an amusing distraction to his day. The most important thing he had to worry about was how to find a way to gather intel on the Abyss Mercenary Team.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Chipango’s head as he was reminded of a certain person. If there were grades for playboys, this guy would definitely be among the best – at least tenth-grade. On top of that, this guy was audacious to the extreme; there were ever only woman that didn’t meet his standards, and none that he was too scared to seduce. Chipango remembered that the bastard had even had the galls to seduce the wife of a manager within the Mercenary Association a while back, but Chipango didn’t know what had happened after. But since the guy had been doing this for years, he was probably fine.

As he thought about him, Chipango walked faster as a plan formed in his head. That Eva who was with Manteco didn’t exactly dress like a moderate woman. Besides, men are usually more cautious, and directly coming into contact with the mercenaries under Manteco could easily raise suspicion. When it came to a woman, however, that was not usually the case.

Soon, Chipango arrived in front of a tightly shut door. Just as he was about to knock, he heard a faint moaning from inside. Chipango wearily shook his head. This bastard always had a woman by his side, and God knows where he got all his energy from.

Under normal circumstances, Chipango would have left, but since he was on a mission for Han Jin, he had to prove his worthiness by completing the mission in an efficient manner. Without thinking about much else, Chipango loudly shouted, “Hallister! Open the door! I have something urgent! If you don’t come out right now, I’m coming in!”

The moment he finished, there was an unhappy mutter and the sound of people putting on clothes. After a moment, the door finally opened, and a woman with bright red face came out. She walked passed Chipango with her head lowered, and her beautiful face that looked like it had just gone through a rainstorm made even Chipango stare.

“Hey! Don’t tell me you just called me out just because you wanted to stare at a woman!” Hallister said with a lazy expression. He was standing at the door with his arms crossed. His collar was partially open, exposing his tanned skin, and his faint blue eyes looked deep as usual. He had a straight nose, thin lips that looked like they were permanently raised into a faint smile, and a light stubble under his chain that gave an absurd feeling of mystery.

“This bastard does have the looks to seduce women,” Chipango thought in his heart.

“Bro!” Hallister felt uncomfortable under Chipango’s stare, and waved his hands in front of him. “Are you sick? What are you staring at me like that for?”

Chipango finally pulled back his mind and laughed embarrassingly. “Ah, sorry for interrupting your good fortune.”

“Good fortune?” Hallister shrugged and walked inside the house. “If that counts as good fortune, I would be living in heaven every day. This is only a game… yes… game, brother.”

Chipango twitched his mouth and followed him. “Stop making me jealous. When can you introduce me to some of your acquaintances? Can’t let a brother down like that while you swim in pleasure, right?”

Hallister slumped into his soft bed and took out a bottle of wine from seemingly nowhere. He took a big gulp, then closed his eyes in enjoyment as if he had just drunk the ambrosia of the gods. After a long pause, he finally reopened his eyes and looked strangely at Chipango. “When did you become interested in this? What, did you earn enough money and plan to settle down?”

Chipango sat on a chair across from Hallister and sighed as he looked at the messy bed that was filled with napkins. “I don’t want to be as useless as you. I’m telling you, you’ll eventually die while lying on a woman one day.”

“Is that so?” Hallister completely ignored Chipango’s mockery of him. “That would be my life’s dream.”

“我和你说点正事.”奇藩克严肃了表情,”这次你可真的要帮我.”

“I’m here for a serious matter though.” Chipango’s face turned serious. “You have to help me this time.”

“Ah,” Hallister sighed. “I knew you weren’t going to bring good news. I thought you had suddenly earned a crap load of money or something. Alright, just say the word, how much do you need this time?”

Chipango’s face turned red. “When did I say I want to borrow money?!”

“Not money?” Hallister was even more curious. “Do you actually want me to introduce me to girls? That’s easy; I can introduce you to as many as you want.”

“Why would I need that many?” Chipango rolled his eyes. “One is enough.”

Hallister rubbed the stubble on his chin and stared at Chipango with squinted eyes. “You sound like… you already have a target? I’m curious as to who’s the lucky girl that made you fall head over heels.”

After a moment of consideration, Chipango finally told him the reason for his visit. Even though he felt bad about dragging a friend into this, Chipango would have a place among Han Jin’s team if he did this well, which would, in turn, benefit Hallister. Not everyone could have the honor of working for a team with a magus.

“Do you know Eva?” Chipango said in a low voice.

“Eva?” Hallister scratched his head. “There’s too many. Which one are you talking about?”

“The one from the Abyss Mercenary Team.”

“What?!” Hallister jumped up on his bed as though a sharp knife had just stabbed his butt. “The one with Manteco?!”

“Yes, yes, her!” Chipango was so happy he felt like he had just won a lottery. He hadn’t expected this guy to actually know Eva.

“Yes my ass!” Hallister said in an irritated tone. He grabbed Chipango’s collar and attempted to throw him out, but unfortunately, they were not on the same level when it came to strength. After multiple failed attempts, Hallister could only tiredly sit back on his bed and stare venmously at Chipango. “If you want to commit suicide, go ahead, but I still have a life to live!”

“Don’t be so angry,” Chipango said with a smile as he carefully straightened out his clothes. As long as Hallister knew Eva, everything would be easy with the bastard’s skill. He didn’t need him to actually seduce Eva, just invite her out, which shouldn’t be a problem for him.

“How do you know her?” Chipango asked.

“When did I say I know her?” Hallister didn’t even look at Chipango and stared at the ceiling instead as if there were a flower there.

“She would accept an invitation from you, right?” Chipango continued as if he hadn’t heard Hallister.

“I said I don’t know her!” Hallister stood up in anger, his forced calmness instantly disappearing.

“Do you know where she is now?” Chipango was still smiling and ignored the angry face right in front of him. “Can you invite her out tonight?”

“I said I don’t know her!” Hallister stood up in anger, his forced calmness instantly disappearing.

“Do you know where she is now?” Chipango was still smiling and ignored the angry face right in front of him. “Can you invite her out tonight?”

“Damn you!” Hallister stared right into Chipango’s eyes and said through gritted teeth, “What do you want? They aren’t people we can touch! Don’t tell me you don’t know about Manteco’s background; it’d take only a single finger from Eva to kill both of us, and that’s if we ignore Manteco!”

“Of course I know how powerful Manteco is, but who cares? Why should we be nervous because of a dead man?” Chipango calmly said.

“Dead?” Hallister froze. “Manteco died?”

“He’s about to be.” Chipango shrugged as if he were describing some trivial matter.

“What do you mean?” Hallister stared suspiciously at Chipango and felt that there was more to Chipango’s words.

“Do you know who Manteco just offended?” Chipango said in a mysterious tone.

“Who?” Hallister’s curiosity was matched only by his lust.

“He offended a magus, and that magus is the daughter of the Duke of the Capital of Elements.”

“Even if you are telling the truth, that magus wouldn’t dare attack Manteco in the city, right?” Even though Hallister wasn’t powerful, he understood how the world worked.

“Oh, and one more thing. There is a dragon slayer who is working with the magus!” Chipango threw out a big smoke bomb; no one would be able to stay calm after hearing this.

“Dragon slayer?!” Hallister was shocked. “How is that possible?! If Manteco had really offended a dragon slayer, how had he even returned to Isolated Cliff City alive?”

“Ah.” Chipango sighed. “How were we supposed to know that Manteco had specially made a teleportation scroll. Our boss was distracted for a single moment, and they got out.”

“Your boss?” Hallister snorted and stared at Chipango like he was staring at a madman. “That captain of yours…”

Chipango waved his hands and interrupted Hallister, “I forgot to tell you that I joined a new mercenary team. The captain is the dragon slayer, Master Raphael, and the vice captain is the magus, Master Yalina.” Chipango purposefully made it sound like Han Jin and Yalina were close acquaintances. It was the only way to clear Hallister’s doubt.

“Is this a joke?” Hallister looked up and down at Chipango. “Can you tell me how you managed to convince a dragon slayer and a magus to take you in?”

“What do you mean ‘take me in’?!” Chipango’s face turned red, but he knew Hallister wouldn’t trust him if he hadn’t said that. After all, no one would believe he had just happened to run into a dragon slayer – people who usually only exist in legends.

“You must know about the black task from a while back, right?” Chipango cleared his throat and told Hallister the important parts of the story. Basically, Manteco offended Master Raphael, and Master Raphael was very angry. Master Raphael then promised that there would be consequences, and Manteco came back and started to spread a rumor to stop Master Raphael. After that, Master Raphael finally decided to send Manteco straight to hell. Things like that.

After listening to the story, Hallister nodded. It was impossible for everything to have been made up by Chipango, and besides, he wouldn’t gain anything from it; Chipango was a trustworthy person, at least to his friends.

“Then, according to what you said, that dragon slayer…”

“Master Raphael!” Chipango emphasized.

“Yes, of course. Then why didn’t Master Raphael just kill Manteco inside the city?” Hallister asked.

“Exactly. I’m here to gather intel on the Abyss Mercenary Team. Seeing as you know Eva, everything else is easy.”

“But you know the rules in Isolated Cliff City; how can they just commit murder in here?” Hallister was still worried.

“Is this the first time someone has died in the city?” Chipango laughed coldly. “Besides, do you really think the Mercenary Association’s rules can stop a dragon slayer?”

Hallister thought about it and came to the conclusion that Chipango was right. As long as the dragon slayer, or Master Raphael, wasn’t trying to destroy Isolated Cliff City, it wasn’t likely for the Mercenary Association to stop him. On top of that, there was a magus with him! That was another immensely powerful person.

“Did you really join Master Raphael’s team?” Hallister asked carefully.

“What do you think?” Chipango smiled. “You think I would dare plot against Manteco by myself?”

Hallister was silent for a moment before he spoke again, “Chipango, can you introduce me to Master Raphael?”

“Brother!” Chipango patted Hallister’s shoulder and said in a teaching tone, “Do you think Master Raphael is an ordinary person? Someone you can meet just because you want to?”

“Then…”

“Have you forgotten about the beginning? How you first came to Isolated Cliff City?” Chipango slowly said, “If a dragon slayer had supported you back then, who would have dared to touch your Natasha?”

“Stop!” Hallister abruptly jumped up and angrily interrupted Chipango.

“Brother, this is for your own good.” Chilango’s face didn’t change. “You want to meet Master Raphael when you haven’t done anything yet? Nothing good will come out of that! But, if you do this well, it would be different. At least, you would give Master Raphael a good impression. Now, it is up to you if you want to take this once in a lifetime opportunity or go on living mindlessly!”

Hallister thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “Alright, what do you want me to do?”

“That’s what a brother would do.” Chipango smiled. “Do you know where Eva is? The news of the master’s return has spread across the whole city, and Manteco must be in hiding. It won’t be easy to find him.”

“Finding Manteco might be hard, but to find Eva… haha.”

“You are confidant?” Chipango’s face lit up.

“You don’t understand women.” The lazy expression returned to Hallister’s face. “For a woman, there are some things they will never give up, even if it means they have to die.”