67 Robbery

"Isn't this entertaining?" Han Jin grinned. "There are even better ones." This said, two paper charms appeared in his hands and turned into two wisps of thin smoke. Ten ghosts emerged on the battlefield, cooperating with the wooden giants, who were on the defensive, to launch counterattacks.

"My gods... Ghosts!"

"That guy is a wizard! A wizard!!" The guards were a mess. Though they had no experience in fighting with a wizard, they knew how terrifying one could be. Before the ten ghosts had even displayed their power, the group of guards had already started to collapse. Leopold suffered even worse as he had already fainted.

For this group of low grade professionals, a combination of wooden giants and ghosts was exceptionally horrible. As long as the ghosts closed up and attached their bodies, the knights would lose their sight and could only swing their weapons at random. But the wooden giants were not affected; their punches remained solid and accurate.

"Go to hell..." The captain of the guards swung his sword straight down toward the head of one of the wooden giants while it was chasing his teammates, and forced the giant back a few steps. AFterwards, he waved his sword and dashed toward Han Jin.

Shoot the horse before the rider, catch the boss before the thugs. Though the tactic was reasonable, speed was required. The captain was unfortunately not fast enough, and was quickly surrounded by two ghosts.

But the captain was truly a brave man and conducted himself as such. Despite the fact that two ghosts were wildly striking his body and blocking his sight, he continued rushing toward Han Jin. He wielded the sword vigorously in his hand like a fierce tiger.

Han Jin reached out his hand and pulled out the dagger at Leopold's waist. The dagger was beautiful with exquisite workmanship. Its hilt was made from the teeth or bones of some kind of holy animal with a smooth and silky touch, and decorated by a row of small rubies. It was more like a piece of artwork than a weapon.

Han Jin weighed it in his palm and darted out toward the side. The tips of his toes slightly touched the wall of the tunnel, making his body change directions all of a sudden. Everything was performed in a gentle and agile movement. He landed down behind the captain without making any sound, and stabbed the dagger into his neck.

"Plop!" The point of the dagger pierced the captain's neck, and his body quickly turned stiff. His hands unconsciously struggled for a while, and the long sword fell down heavily onto the ground. Then the body softened, hanging wobbly on the dagger.

The guards' counterattack crumbled in an instant, and they all fled in desperation. A glint appeared in Han Jin's eyes, but soon dispersed into his usual calmness. He didn't hunt down the guards because it was meaningless to do so. Holy Crown City could hire another dozens or hundreds of guards. If he really wanted to bring his enemy a great loss as revenge, nothing would be more effective than robbing them of their supplies.

Under the command of Han Jin, the two wooden giants worked as his slaves and tidied up the disorganized wagons. Meanwhile, the ghosts served as his carters, driving the wagons toward the fork.

Soon, they entered a darkness in which one couldn't even see his own fingers. But ghosts didn't need light, and Han Jin didn't have a destination except for moving forward. Therefore, he just let the ghosts go on as they wished.

Leopold's breath became heavier and heavier. Han Jin waited for a moment, but the man still laid motionless, playing dead. "Are you awake?" Han Jin smiled at him.

"Please, don't blame me, My Lord!" Leopold suddenly cried. "The knights forced me to do it, My Lord..."

His voice echoed far through the pitch-dark tunnel. Maybe because of his shrill cry, the horses nervously neighed.

"Keep your voice down," Han Jin lightly said.

"It's really not my fault, My Lord. I didn't want to do it either. They forced me. I had no choice," Leopold whimpered.

"Well, I know. Haha..." Han Jin said. The smile on his face was as warm as the spring wind. "I'm not going to kill you. If I really wanted to, you would be dead by now."

Leopold fell into silence, as if he was pondering the credibility of Han Jin's words.

"By the way, did you dig all these tunnels?" Han Jin changed the subject.

"No, I heard that these tunnels have existed for a very long time. It's said that they were dug by the Cryptmen," Leopold replied cautiously.

"The Cryptmen? "

"You don't know?"

"Yes, I've heard of them," Han Jin said in a low voice. "When did the knights from Holy Crown City find the tunnels?"

"I don't know either. They won't tell me. If not for the fact that I helped them purchase military supplies, I would have no right to enter here at all." Leopold hesitated for a long time and asked at last, "Where are we going, My Lord?"

"I don't know. Anywhere the ghosts take us."

"You... don't know?" Leopold couldn't believe his own ears. Since Han Jin had acted very friendly thus far, Leopold mustered up some courage. "We can't walk randomly here, or we will get lost, My Lord!"

"Better lost than being caught, don't you think?" Han Jin said with a smile. How could he be afraid of getting lost? A charm of Earthmeld could help him easily leave here, unless the vertical distance between the tunnel and the exit had exceeded ten kilometers.

"This is not the right way, My Lord... I... I have a suggestion, if I may?" Leopold said with a stutter.

"Go ahead."

"I swear... All of this is just a misunderstanding, My Lord. I can vouch for you!" Leopold said in a hastily, fearing that if he slowed his words, he would lose his courage to speak. "I have dealt with people from Holy Crown City many times before, and General Quincy is my good friend. As long as I talk to him about..."

"Answer a question," Han Jin interrupted him. "If you saw a cliff in front of you when you were walking, would you jump down?"

"Of course not."

"Me neither," Han Jin softened his words.

"Oh..."

"You might not know yet, but I already killed the man named Mario." Han Jin laughed.

Leopold was totally dumbfounded. If this mercenary even dared to kill Mario, he was for sure not afraid of Leopold either, who was only a merchant. But why was he talking to him this whole way as if they were old friends? No matter how hard he tried, he still couldn't figure it out.

The sound of hooves resounded in the tunnel, making Leopold even more nervous and uneasy. Find a chance to run away? The moment this idea flashed across his mind, he ruled it out. Who knew where they were at the moment. How would he even find his way back?