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Viert had only walked halfway when the Great Alchemist pointed his Golden Staff at his face. No one could discern the expression on Gailte's face hidden beneath the Golden Mask: "Mercenary, you have two choices."
"Our transaction is complete; you could charge ahead and taste the consequences of attacking an Imperial Grand Alchemist."
"Or, you could follow me into the Deep Mine District. Once the task is done, I'll pay you a new commission, and it will be in real gold. I can guarantee it with my reputation."
"I'll give you two minutes to decide."
The Blood Axe Mercenary Corps was helpless. Faced with offending the Great Alchemist or gambling once more on his reputation, the Blood Axe had no choice but to choose the latter. From start to finish, there was only one possible choice.
"Alright, we accept." Viert thought it was fortunate that Amelia had already packed up and left; otherwise, she would also be dragged into this whirlpool. Wizards are all proud, especially the Great Alchemist before them, who was only responsible to the Emperor of the Empire and the Imperial Royal Chief Grand Wizard.
The mercenaries packed up their things and followed Gailte into the Deep Mine District.
The damp and dark tunnels made the mercenaries feel extremely uncomfortable. They always tried to stay as close to Gailte, who stood at the center of everyone. The golden light at the tip of the Great Alchemist's staff seemed to be everyone's lifeline.
Gailte held a large map in his hand, carefully identifying where those complex tunnels led.
Marinburg's underground Deep Mine District contained two of the world's most precious metals: Vibranium and Mithril, buried in some of the deeply situated places. Gailte, by chance, obtained a map from a Dwarf. Despite its age, the Great Alchemist wanted to see if those treasures were still buried deep within the mines.
As for why he didn't notify the Imperial Army or other powerful individuals to join him, it was because Gailte didn't want partners to share the precious Vibranium and Mithril, nor did he want those treasures to be taxed.
The Alchemists operate differently from typical Casters. Alchemists never like to find partners; they prefer to act alone because each of these Wizards is an expert with firearms and various mechanisms, and they carry countless terrifying potions. In solitary battles, they are by no means at a disadvantage.
Gailte is even stronger since this Great Alchemist also possesses excellent swordsmanship.
Interestingly enough, it wasn't long after delving into the Deep Mine District that the group came upon the corpse of a Demon Hunter. This Demon Hunter looked as if he had fought his way out, riddled with Fire Cannon and Crossbow Arrow shots, dead for quite some time.
"Great Alchemist! It's a Demon Hunter!" Viert motioned for the mercenaries to halt, inquiring Gailte's opinion.
"A Demon Hunter? How long has he been dead?" Gailte's voice remained steady, but his figure stopped.
"Dead... maybe a day or two, Great Alchemist. What should we do?" The mercenaries felt frightened in this place.
"Let me see." Gailte paused, inspecting the dead Demon Hunter's wounds.
After a while, the Great Alchemist slowly stated, "It's the Chaos Sect! This Demon Hunter was killed by the Chaos Sect's attack."
The mercenaries looked at each other, and a young mercenary tentatively asked, "Then... what do we do now?"
"... The task is temporarily halted. Let's first look for traces of the Chaos Sect." The Great Alchemist never lost his head over matters of principle; he discerned clearly what should come first and what should follow.
Eliminating the Chaos Sect was always more important than his own private interests.
So, on that afternoon, the Marinburg Upper House announced an emergency meeting.
In the luxuriously decorated council chamber, representatives from the Ocean Church, the Wealth Church, several Great Nobles of Marinburg, and the High Elf were all present.
A piece of fabric stained with blood-red Chaos Marks was thrown in the middle of the silk-covered conference table. The angry voice of the Duke of Marinburg, Schultz, resounded throughout the meeting room: "Tobias! I need an explanation! Why is the Chaos Sect appearing beneath Marinburg's Deep Mine District?! Why is this known to the Empire's Great Alchemist?! Why has the vice president of the Demon Hunter Guild, Jacob, become a headless corpse in Marinburg's underground?! I need answers!"
The target of the Grand Duke's wrath was named Tobias Schwaben, a nobleman in his fifties holding the title of Count Gent, and was the General of the Marinburg Iris Guard.
The defense of Marinburg was divided into two parts: the Imperial Army stationed outside the city, responsible for external security, and the Marinburg Iris Guard stationed inside, mainly responsible for security and patrols. If necessary, they would also act as troops, although such situations were rare. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel-fire.ɴet
"I am very sorry, Your Grace the Duke. I have already sent people to thoroughly investigate this matter." Count Gent, sweating on his forehead, hastened to reply.
"This is not the answer I want. Tell me, my General, how am I to account to the Empire?" Schultz said, annoyed and angry.
Everyone knows that the Emperor of the Empire has always wanted to reclaim Marinburg's sovereignty. The Empire has constantly sought ways to intervene in Marinburg's internal affairs. Still, due to Ludwig incorporating Marinburg's independence into the founding ceremony, the Empire has repeatedly failed.