Chapter 278: Another Deal and Following

Shaoke took out several Sixth-Rank protective scrolls and handed them to the White-robed Cleric beside him. "Take these. If anything unexpected happens, cast these on yourself first." After speaking, he stopped and stared intently at the Cleric before him; he could not tolerate her encountering any accident due to his negligence.

Without hesitation, the White-robed Cleric accepted the scrolls and stored them in a magic bag Shaoke had given her. She knew he was protecting her in the same manner as during their time in the army, and this made her feel very comfortable.

Since leaving the protection of the military, she never received that kind of treatment again; instead, she faced criticism and embarrassing encounters everywhere. This made her want to go back to the military many times, but various reasons led her to abandon that idea, until she met Shaoke again and once more experienced the treatment she had in the army.

After the Cleric stored the scrolls, Shaoke wrapped his cloak and walked toward the city gate. As soon as he exited the gate, over a dozen different kinds of detection swept around Shaoke. He immediately burst forth a large amount of mental energy to block those probes. Soon, after a few familiar mental fluctuations circled around, the mages' probing quickly vanished, and Shaoke noticed they were heading toward him quickly.

"Honorable Mage." The leader was the older middle-aged mage who first joined Shaoke's organization, followed by the two mages who joined last time. The older middle-aged mage performed a salute, then took out a magic bag and handed it to Shaoke, finally waiting quietly aside. The other mages stood behind, saying nothing, but their gazes were all fixed on Shaoke and the White-robed Cleric behind him.

Shaoke collected some useful magic materials, among which were a few tattered books. He glanced at them but found them useless, so he did not ask for them. "Twenty Sixth-Rank potions." This time, the magic materials the other mages had obtained were significantly more than last time, so Shaoke generously announced the final deal. Of course, this result greatly satisfied the older middle-aged mage and his slightly younger companion, and they agreed without hesitation. Then came the transactions with the other two mages; the potions Shaoke paid for these transactions were still quite reasonable.

After finishing all this, Shaoke turned his gaze to the dozen or so mages behind him and took out a book for them to fill in their names. This time, Shaoke did not add any rules, feeling it was unnecessary for now. After these later mages wrote their names, some took out magic materials to trade with Shaoke, but these materials were not very valuable, and Shaoke rarely needed them, so he refused most. However, he reminded these mages that he needed high-grade magic materials, not these low-grade ones.

Shaoke casually tossed a dozen cloaks to the mages and told them to put them on now. "I hope that next time, the number of mages gathering here for trade will be larger." After watching the mages inspect the cloaks and put them on, Shaoke encouraged them a little and took out potions to pay his previous promise: two potions per mage, based on how many people they had recruited. Of course, for the Fourth Tier mages, Shaoke paid with Fifth Tier auxiliary potions, which were a bit more than twice the amount of the Sixth Tier potions.

"Honorable Mage, do we have a stable place in the city where we can rest briefly?" The leading middle-aged mage expressed his thoughts a bit wearily. Spending long hours outside gathering magic materials had worn him out. He also needed a stable place where he could safely summarize and record his recent insights.

Looking at the mage before him, Shaoke hesitated for a moment and said, "I have purchased an estate here. If you are not afraid of danger, you can come with me." After speaking, he gestured for the newly arrived mages to leave, as they were not qualified to go to his place. The four mages who had joined earlier hesitated briefly and then followed Shaoke and the White-robed Cleric into the city.

"I think if we encounter danger, none of you may run away. Otherwise, I will kill you first." After entering the city gate, Shaoke suddenly stopped and stared intently at the four mages. "If you are worried about conflicts with others, I think you can still leave now." He then silently observed the four mages, scrutinizing their cloaks and robes, hoping to discern something from them.

"Honorable Mage," the leading middle-aged mage saluted respectfully and smiled wryly. "These magic materials were all looted by us. I think I am not afraid of conflicts with others." He then licked his dry lips and stroked the staff in his hand. Shaoke had already noticed that the staff was not the same as the one he had seen before. His younger companion had also changed his staff.

The words of the middle-aged mage shocked the other two mages. They finally understood why the two had obtained so many more materials than them. At that moment, they somewhat regretted joining this bandit-like organization.

"Those who regret can withdraw." The other mages had all noticed the regret of the two later mages, because such drastic emotional fluctuations could not be concealed by low-rank mages. Thus Shaoke and the others easily detected the mental fluctuations of these two mages. At this time, the first two Fifth Tier mages immediately gripped their staffs tightly and stared at the two mages. If Shaoke allowed, they would not mind killing these two who intended to withdraw.

"Honorable Mage, we have no intention of withdrawing," the Fourth Tier mage quickly explained after organizing his words. "It's just that we can't accept it immediately." He then took a small step back to show his compromise. Of course, his Fifth Tier companion did the same. However, that Fifth Tier mage was somewhat dissatisfied, feeling that this was no different from other mages and professionals who plundered others' belongings.

"If you don't plunder, can you obtain a large number of auxiliary potions to speed up your advancement?" the older middle-aged mage slowly rotated his staff. "As long as your own needs are met, don't care about others' opinions." Then he pointed to the Fallen Imperial Capital and added, "Everyone here thinks this way. I don't think I need to recount our past experiences in detail again!"

The two mages were silent for a long time. Finally, the Fourth Tier mage took a sudden step forward and then returned to his original position. "Honorable Mage, if all of us act together, we can obtain even more magic materials." He glanced at his Fifth Tier companion to signal him not to leave. "However, the distribution of potions in that case..."

"Killing one professional yields a potion one rank higher than your own." Shaoke felt his meditation space becoming uncomfortable, as if the silver light was much more active than before. "When acting together, the magic materials obtained are distributed according to each mage's achievements, and then exchanged for potions or other items for you." Shaoke added, "I don't need those magic items; I only want magic materials and some useful books."

Then the mages fell silent again. Finally, Shaoke did not want to wait any longer, so he led the White-robed Cleric toward his residence in the city. The White-robed Cleric also keenly sensed Shaoke's unease, as she was very sensitive to a mage's meditation space fluctuations, and having fought alongside Shaoke for over ten years, she easily guessed his situation.

She cast a simple support spell on Shaoke and then followed closely beside him, ignoring the other four mages entirely. The White-robed Cleric's action surprised the four mages behind; they had never expected that the silent white-robed woman following Shaoke was a Cleric.

Without any hesitation, the first two Fifth Tier mages followed Shaoke into the city. After a quick whispered exchange, the other two mages also followed. This made Shaoke feel somewhat relieved, but also a little disappointed. He had planned that if these two mages left now, he would use murder to enforce the organization's ruthlessness and other unspoken rules.

Under the White-robed Cleric's blessing, Shaoke felt his meditation space calm somewhat. Although the silver light was still rapidly splitting, the Cleric's golden light dispelled most of the pain.

"Honorable Mage, we should eliminate everything on the street." After walking less than a kilometer, the young Fifth Tier mage whispered to Shaoke, "Many people are observing us. I think we must show them our power." He lightly waved his staff. In fact, he had spotted several mages on the road, and following his new habit, he couldn't resist wanting to kill them for their belongings. Of course, he did not tell this reason to Shaoke.

"When killing, you must have a reason." Shaoke twitched the corner of his mouth. "They didn't block the way, nor did they show any hostility toward us." He then turned his head sharply and looked at the mage, saying, "If you have the ability to hold off a siege of some Seventh-order Practitioners, then go ahead and kill all you want."