Spice Box

"Spices aren't an issue," Bals said with a loud laugh, waving his hand. "Colin has already visited several large merchant guilds in the city, and I've sent people to follow up. They should be back soon. For a Prophet to be without spices is like a soldier going to battle without weapons; it's practically suicide."

Before Sart could respond, Bals turned to Alice. "So, Miss Alice, what are your plans?"

"I will personally sever the heads of the cultists," Alice stated icily.

"I'll be going into the sewers with Master Sart, so you can rest soundly on a comfortable bed. I guarantee that when you wake up, you'll see his head," Bals added.

Alice remained unmoved. "Only heads taken by my own hand hold meaning."

Hearing this, Aaron's lips twitched again. His fiancée seemed a bit too hardcore.

She was the daughter of a powerful noble family, appearing as a vibrant young beauty, but in reality, she was like a jungle warrior from the Amazon?

"Then, this gentleman..." Bals bypassed Ed and looked at Aaron. "Sir Aaron, what are your intentions?"

"Huh?" Aaron blinked, quickly calculating. "I'll tag along then..."

"We're facing a Silver Tier cultist this time. It's very dangerous," Alice interrupted, disregarding aristocratic etiquette, and gave him a pointed look.

Aaron cleared his throat and discreetly sent a glance at Sart. "I'll just come along to observe. After all, with Lord Bals here and Master Sart's protection, I don't think there will be any problems, right? What do you think, Master Sart?"

Although he didn't know what Lord Bals' intentions were, Aaron was acutely aware of his current predicament.

On one hand, the majority of the City Lord's Mansion's Transcendent users would be dispatched to the sewers to intercept the "Crawling Hand" cultists. On the other hand, he was being targeted by the "Rat-Face" cult.

He vividly remembered the threats made during his Awakening Ritual. The Rat-Face cult had vowed to find him.

He was just a weak, helpless, and pitiable Black Iron Tier individual. What else could he do?

Raiding enemy strongholds was fun, but what if his own stronghold was raided? That would be utterly demoralizing!

The most dangerous place was the safest place. It was better to go into the sewers with Sart.

Sart, understanding Aaron's unspoken thoughts, nodded and reassured Alice, "Miss Alice, I will ensure Mr. Aaron's safety."

This was the key difference between him and Alice; he would respect Aaron's wishes rather than reject them.

Well, he didn't quite understand why Aaron wanted to join the commotion in the sewers, but he had promised, so that was that.

"Master Sart, you must know how powerful a Silver Tier individual is. He's just going there to die."

"Dying there is better than dying at your hands..." Aaron muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" Alice looked at him, puzzled.

Aaron quickly shook his head. "Nothing, I was just still thinking about that guard..."

With lightning-fast reaction, he swallowed the rest of his words and forced himself not to look at Bals.

When Lord Bals arrived, he hadn't even mentioned the corpse lying on the ground!

He must have been observing from the sidelines. Only then could he naturally ignore the body.

Of course, it was also possible that he was simply cold-blooded and didn't care about the lives of ordinary people.

But Aaron preferred to assume the worst.

This meant that Lord Bals' supposed crackdown on cultists was likely full of holes, or perhaps he hadn't even been involved or had any such plan.

What a joke! Knowing that the opponent was a Silver Tier cultist with many means of escape, and as a Gold Tier Transcendent, not only did he let them escape, but he didn't pursue them, instead wasting time here chatting with them?

Regardless of Lord Bals' intentions, Aaron had already categorized him as untrustworthy.

Everyone in the room noticed Aaron's loss of composure, but their usual haughty demeanor had, to some extent, blinded them. None of them thought deeply about it.

Lord Bals naturally picked up the conversation. "Ordinary people are indeed powerless in the face of extraordinary events. This is why we must eradicate the cultists; they have no self-restraint..."

He paused for a moment and said with a heavy tone, "As for that guard, I will provide compensation to his family. It is what he deserves, and I apologize for his death."

Aaron remained silent, unsure what to say, and could only try his best to conceal his inner disgust.

He was clearly a burly, imposing man, but his way of speaking was too official.

"Lord Bals, are you sure you can capture that cultist tonight?" Alice, indifferent to the matter, steered the conversation back.

Bals nodded solemnly and said to Alice, "Of course, Miss Alice. This is our best chance to catch this cultist. In fact, we've already wasted a lot of time."

At that moment, footsteps were heard from outside. Captain Colin, drenched in sweat, entered with several attendants. He was carrying a rather large wooden box, which looked quite heavy. The faint sound of glass bottles colliding could be heard from within.

"Master Sart, we finally found you. Are these spices acceptable?" Captain Colin respectfully handed over the spice box and then wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I could have returned earlier, but the City Lord decided to prepare more spices for you, which took up quite a bit of time. Thankfully, thankfully..."

Sart nodded and casually placed the wooden box on the table. With a slight rummage, he opened it.

The wooden box appeared crudely made, but its internal structure was extremely intricate. When opened, it unfolded like a staircase into three layers.

The first layer contained several solids of different colors. The second layer held over a dozen separated powders. The last layer contained colorful gels, and at the bottom of the box were several unknown liquids.

At first glance, the wooden box resembled a painter's palette.

As the box was opened, numerous strange scents mingled together, causing Aaron, who had leaned in to look, to frown.

The smell was truly unpleasant.

However, Sart took a deep breath and casually remarked, "The purity of the Awakening Root powder is insufficient. The Dragon Scale Grass sap seems to have been contaminated. The Snake Eye Wood's scent is off. As for the others..."

He glanced at Colin with a half-smile before turning to Lord Bals. "Can a warrior go into battle with rusty weapons?"

Colin was speechless, his sparse hair completely plastered to his head by sweat.

Thanks to reader 20210120134819445 for the reward~

(I suggest a name change... kneels softly.jpg)

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