"It's incredible", Liza muttered, looking up at the huge city walls from a wide dirt road filled with the traffic of carriages trying to get into the city.
She was wearing a black hood to hide her appearance and standing next to Ali, who wore the same but had a gold and black mask covering his face.
'From the border up to here is patrolled by fifteen men platoons led by rank two knights; they're taking me seriously now…', Ali thought, looking at the icy guards along the edges of the busy roads, their eyes watching the merchants, refugees, and strange people who were trying to get inside.
Everyone was hoping to get inside the famous IronPeak, the city of ore and opportunity, famous for its massive market and tall magic tower at the heart of the city, along with having a ton of contracts for adventures to complete since the forests surrounding this side of the kingdom were left unchecked for years and monsters festered.
"Liza, remember you are to act as my slave; don't talk, don't walk away, and don't act on your own. Also, show fear towards me; make it look like I'm very strict with you to sell the act more.", Ali reminded Liza, who reached up to her neck to touch the metal choker and the chain that led into Ali's hand. The choker was padded with soft leather on the inside for her comfort, but she still hated it.
"You can trust me…'Master Ali'", she said cheaply, and Ali tugged her chain, making her stumble. She looked back at him, eager to pay him back somehow for that.
Ali looked around to see another dirt road with carts moving into the city much faster. 'The ore road goes straight into the iron district where thousands of blacksmiths process the ore and produce products for the merchants to buy cheap and sell big. It's also where the slaver caravans smuggle in high-quality slaves, making sure to hide them from local gangs who would try to steal these slaves.' Ali moved forward with the traffic and contemplated all the information Rook had sent him about the city so far.
'The Slave master in the city doesn't offer protection on purpose to the caravans so he could buy cheap from the gangs who steal the slaves and sell them to him. Sometimes he even pays them to rob certain caravans on the way here or after they enter the city. Sometimes he pays the city guards…', Ali secretly handed Liza an apple to eat and pass the time. After coming here with her, he realised how restless she could be.
'Now one asks why the caravans don't act against him. Well, that's because the Slave master is part of the merchant council and has direct contact with the Viscount's advisor. And he's a favourite of the Viscount's heir, who's famous for his obsession with slaves. And with that, he is protected from the caravans. Who wouldn't dare raise a hand on him? Because if they did, then they would be ostracised from the market along with their mercenaries and slaver knights, who wouldn't be welcomed anymore and would also have bounties on their heads.', Ali walked forward again. They were getting closer to the gates, and several guards along the roads had eyes on him now, his frame hard to miss.
'And he makes sure the caravans don't join up. He keeps conflict between them, fuelling it with his own money. He is cunning and knows his business well. It is cut-throat, and only the smartest and most ruthless survive, and also the most well-connected, of course.', Ali thought of the trickiest part of the city. The slave market was his target after all.
'Then comes the guild, who have called in a platinum squad to deal with me. Platinum being the highest rank given to adventurers before the legendary rank of hero. Oh, and the mages are interested since the merchants promised them magic crystals if they supported them against me. And the knights in the city are all very loyal to the Viscount. Most of them resist the gold of the merchants even. They see him as their lord and hero. There's stories of his Aura armour, making his knights stronger too…', Ali thought as he stepped forward to the guard's desk.
That's when Ali froze. His interface had sent an alert to him.
[Personal Mission: Conquer IronPeak]
[Reward: Level Four Aura, 0.5 Strength attribute points]
[Interfere with the demonic activity in IronPeak]
Ali saw the two missions, but that wasn't what made him freeze and ignore the guard calling for him and Liza whispering to him nervously and anxiously as to why Ali suddenly froze.
[Personal Mission: Demolish the city of IronPeak in fifteen minutes]
[Reward: Level Five Aura, 2 attribute points]
[The timer starts now]
Ali saw the mission, and his black eyes went past the guard waving at him and onto the busy street of the city. There, he saw a child tugging his father to buy him a fruit from the stand, but the poor parent shook his head and pulled his child on the way to their home before the night sets in.
Ali's hand reached out in his Spirit Realm towards the gigantic Dragon Gate in his Spirit Realm that was now fully healed. He opened his mouth to say the word.
[Miles: Ali, I can confirm that the Platinum adventurer squad are actually the Fire Guild, led by the Fire Guild's leader, and their apostle is among them. They're in the city.] Ali read the message, and his black eyes that were exuding heavy cold killing intent closed. He breathed out, releasing the tension.
'One message saved half a million people,' Ali thought as he walked forward and looked down at the guard who had caused a fuss about Ali for ignoring him. But he quieted down when he saw Ali's eyes behind the mask.
"What business do you have in IronPeak?", the guard asked, his eyes moving to Liza whose chain was visible from under the hood.
"Business, I'm here to buy a slave and sell this one. I'm bored of her now…", Ali said, tugging Liza's chain, making her get closer to him.
"I see, well, your in luck, we have the best slaves to offer in the dukedom. Now, I just need you to give me your name, proof of identification, a silver coin for each of you, and take off that fucking mask", the guard said, looking up at Ali. His confidence came from the knight leaning on the city wall behind him and the guards watching Ali from every side.
'It's a shame there's no cover around the city and there are scouts and archers all around it watching out for my dragons. Else, I would have teleported in…But oh well…', Ali thought as he pulled back the hood, showing his mask.
"Name's Zeek", Ali said, surprising Liza as he'd used her brother's name. Well, he was her brother in all but blood. "Here's proof of identification for me and papers for my slave. Oh, and as for my face…", Ali reached up slowly, taking off the mask.
He showed a small part of his left side that was covered in horrible burns and mangled skin that looked like extreme third-degree burns that reached up to his covered eye. "Oh, I understand, you can put that back on", the guard said, disgusted as he read the paper Ali gave him and nodded before stamping Ali's papers and taking two silver coins from him.
Ali took two copper nameplates from the guard and his papers before walking into the city under the watch of the fully armoured knight.
Liza was tense from the heavy atmosphere just now and was very nervous thinking of what to do if their cover was blown, but her eyes remained fixated on Ali. She didn't know Ali had done that to his own face.
"Ali, your face…", she said with concern as they walked through the Main Street, and Ali didn't answer, dragging her behind him into a dark alley, making sure nobody followed.
"Turn Around", Ali said to Liza, who nodded and looked at the bustling street from the alley as Ali took off the mask and tore off the skin on his face with his own hands. The sound of skin tearing made Liza shiver, her sensitive rabbit ears folding down.
"Ali…", she said, turning around to see him already with his mask back on and the hints of blood on his hands fading fast. "Didn't it hurt to do that? I'm sure there was another way", she said softly, looking up at him with her big brown eyes.
"It did, but now that's in the past. Come on, we have a city to discover, ah?", Ali rubbed her soft hair and ears, making her smile with a blush as he walked forward.
'That mission was really fucking tempting. Wiping out a city in that time wouldn't be easy, but I was sure I had a high chance of succeeding. But the players stood in the way, and now that I know there are demons around, then it's dangerous to kill so many since that could fuel them.
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