Sige was shocked by Aldred's weapon. He had never seen something like it before, and that terrifying aura that he felt… It felt like a giant spider was crawling on his scalp.
The Phantom Doomblade vanished in Aldred's hand, but everyone in the tavern already saw it. Now, they looked at him with respect and fear in their eyes.
Not only do Aldred had a lot of soldiers with him, he also had beautiful wives, and all of them were very powerful. It was clear that Aldred was not someone they could mess with.
"S—sir… where are you from?" a female gnome asked. She sat beside Sige, looking like a cute, little girl with silver hair and dark brown eyes. She also had a small staff in her hand.
"I am from the Ceraisian Empire. Far away from here."
"Ceraisian Empire… I have heard of that nation. They said it once enslaved the whole continent, and even managed to conquer some territory in other continent."
"That story is probably too exaggerated. The continent has some powerful nation that could keep the Ceraisian at bay."
"So, what are you doing here, sir?"
"I am a treasure hunter."
The adventurers in the room gasped in shock after they heard that.
"At what phase are you now?"
"I am currently looking for the third phase."
"So that means you have passed the other two… I heard each phase took more than one hundred thousand lives because of its numerous, highly dangerous challenges."
"I don't know about the numbers, but the challenges are indeed dangerous."
The gnome's eyes lit up. "Can you tell me more about your journey?"
"What, are you planning to become a treasure hunter too?"
She shook her head. "I am too weak for that. And, I am too scared to join."
Sige nodded. "We also don't have enough money to travel outside the island."
Aldred sipped his drink. "Well, I won't recommend it. Unless you have enough resources, equipment, information, and allies, this treasure hunting is too dangerous."
Everyone gulped after hear that. Aldred was a powerful man, all of them could see that, but for him to say that the treasure hunt was dangerous meant that this was the real deal.
"Thankfully, we didn't join," Sige said.
The gnome nodded. "That's right. I forgot to introduce myself. The name is Bonde. I am a gnome wizard." She cutely pointed at her cheeks and smiled.
"I am Aldred."
"Hi, Bonde." His wives waved and greeted her with a smile.
Krista popped out from Mira's lap and her eyes lit up when she saw Bonde. She thought Bonde was at her age and wanted to play with her until Bonde said:
"Oh, a child. What a cute one. Would you like to play with big sister?"
"Krista is a child. Bonde is a child as well," Krista said.
Bonde shook her head. "I may look small, but I am actually 19 years old."
Krista showed a disappointed expression.
"Would you play with big sister?"
"No thanks." Krista turned around and hugged Mira.
Sige laughed. "You could have said you are a child, and she would play with you."
Bonde hit his shoulder. "How could I do that to her."
She looked at Aldred. "So where are you guys going now?"
Aldred was about to say Mount Savy, but stopped himself. "I am about to go to that mountain."
"What mountain?"
"You know, 'that' mountain." Aldred emphasized the word 'that' so they could understand.
Sige and Bonde was confused at first, but then they understood his meaning.
"Why would you go to that place?" Bonde asked.
"It's the third phase."
Bonde was terrified. "Whatever the promised treasure must be so valuable for you to be willing to go to that place."
"It is valuable. If I succeed, I can rule the Ceraisian Empire with my hand." But more than that, he could finally return and see his family again.
"Ruling the Ceraisian Empire?" Sige was in disbelief when he heard that. "No wonder people are willing to die over this."
"You don't know what people are willing to do for this treasure. I see childhood friends, spouse, and brothers killing each other just to pass a challenge."
"That's… shocking, and very sad at the same time," Bonde said.
Sige nodded as he chugged his juice. "It was nice talking to you. I would love to talk some more, but we have to leave now."
"Where are you going?"
"We have a mission to hunt for some Giant Deer in the forest." Bone hopped off the chair and patted her skirt.
"Wait," Aldred said.
Bonde turned around. "Do you need anything?"
"No. Never mind." Aldred shook his head.
Sige and Bonde walked towards the exit. Aldred stared at their back.
"What is it, Aldred?" Sophia asked.
They were 10 steps away from the exit.
"Aldred?" Kiara put a hand on his shoulder.
5 steps away.
"What's wrong, Aldred?" Ivette looked at him with worry.
The two of them stepped out of the tavern.
"Blood Field!" Aldred stood up and shouted.
Blood aura burst out of him and pulled his wives and his friend near him before creating a sphere of blood barrier.
At that exact moment, the whole tavern exploded with blinding blue light that shot from below the floor up to the sky. The blue light pierced through the table, roofs, glass, mana gem, and the people that were eating and drinking in the tavern.
When the blood barrier disappeared, the whole tavern was already wrecked with the customers and the servers lay on the ground, wounded. The roof fell on the corpses.
One man screamed in pain while his legs was stuck under a heavy wood. "My legs!"
Aldred approached, about to help the man. The man's head exploded.
Aldred halted his footstep and looked at the distance where Sige was pointing towards his direction. Smoke came out of his finger.
Blowing the smoke off his finger, Sige grinned. "The lord was right. Killing them is not easy."
Bonde pouted. "It takes a while to set that trap. I even spend some time to talk with them so they would stay in place."
Aldred frowned.
His wives stood beside him.
"Aldred, who are they?" Mary asked.
"They were send by a Ceraisian. A lord, but I don't know who."
Bonde giggled. "Are you surprised?"
Aldred's frowned turn into a smile. "I already expected it."
"Hoo… I thought that Blood Field was a reflex. How did you know?"
"You've been pouring mana on the floor while we're talking. Your plan is obvious."
Bonde laughed. "You knew, but you did not stop me, and let everyone else in the tavern die. I have to say, handling someone like you is more difficult than those hero wannabe."
"So are you prepared to die?" Aldred asked.
"Die? Do you really think the lord only send the two of us?"
"Whoever they send will be death in my hand."
Bonde grinned. "Not this one. Bur'alloth! Come out!"
Dark-ish red flame ignited from the ground and then revealed the figure of a demon with a long, black steel sword. The sword was wide, and in the middle, a red flame came ablaze.
