Chapter 586: A Very Pleasant Name

Chapter 586 A Very Pleasant Name 

When dawn arrived, Tom Huggins got out of the sleeping bag.

Chen Xiaolian was partially leaning against the cave entrance and Lin Leyan rested against his chest.

Chen Xiaolian made a ‘keep quiet’ hand sign to Tom Huggins, who revealed a slightly peculiar smile on his face. Next, he stepped out of the cave.

The snowstorm had stopped sometime last night. However, the snow deposit on the ground had grown thicker. It had almost blocked off the entrance to the cave.

As he was moving out, Tom Huggins cleared the snow outside the cave. Feeling the cold air blowing over him, he was unable to stop himself from shivering. After that, he knitted his brows and looked around.

All was white.

The sky was the colour of a cleansed blue, the clouds having cleared away.

Chen Xiaolian, too, stepped out from the cave behind Tom Huggins and patted him on the shoulder. “How is Jenny?”

“She should be all right. She was just not used to the environment of this place. Her body is in good condition.” Tom Huggins replied calmly. This man had a very calm demeanour. When he turned serious, he gave off a slight air of restrained manliness.

“I had not the chance to ask you before… … Tian Lie had said that you are a knight. I believe he said your name is Ivan?”

“That is all in the past.” Tom Huggins sighed. He hesitated for a moment before slowly continuing, “Fine, since we are all in the same boat, I need to trust you. It won’t be good to hide anything from you. I suppose I can tell you a little about my identity in the past.”

Chen Xiaolian cast a smile at Tom Huggins.

“Back then, I used to be a member of the Knights of the Holy City Guild.”

The instant he heard the name, Chen Xiaolian’s brows jumped.

It was only natural for him to remember that name.

Profound hatred!

…

“Eat it.”

Soo Soo handed a pack of hardtack biscuits to Tian Lie; she also handed him a bottle of water.

Nicole had jumped up to the treetops again.

“There is not much food in my storage equipment.” Soo Soo puffed up her face and said in a rather vexed voice, “I don’t usually bring much supplies when I follow Xiaolian oppa out. That is why, the food on me is probably enough to last the three of us for only a week… … no more.”

Tian Lie said nothing. He silently finished up the hardtack biscuits; then, he stood up and rubbed his palms. “One week, is it? Well then, let us hurry.”

“This is a forest. Can’t you go catch some prey?” Soo Soo looked at Tian Lie.

Tian Lie sighed. Suddenly, he shouted loudly, “Hey!”

“What is it?” Nicole, who was standing atop a tree, replied with a frown on her face.

“You have been on the lookout for so long now. Have you seen even a bird?”

“… … no.”

“There you have it. Last night, I went to check a nearby river. There is not a single fish in the river. I dug a hole beneath a bush, trying to find something like a rabbit or a rat. But even after digging a hole the standard of a well, I could not find anything at all.” Tian Lie smiled wryly and continued, “Prey… … those things do not exist here.”

Soo Soo stared at Tian Lie with widened eyes.

“To be exact, this world is ‘fake’. We are now in a world within an instance dungeon. According to the original rules, the area for this instance dungeon should be limited to that castle. However, who knows what methods the two monsters used, they actually expanded the area for the instance dungeon to such an extent… … I really do not know how they accomplished that.

“However, one thing is certain. They do not have the ability to create matter – that is something that only the system can do.

“So, they may have opened up some areas that the system had sealed up. However, these areas are all under the ‘original template’. In other words, the mountain ranges and terrain here have all been constructed, but not filled with anything else. For example, organic life forms such as humans. Of course, that includes the ‘prey’ that you are talking about. 

“In short, we are now inside an empty world. The only thing drawing breath here may be only us and the two monsters.”

Nicole jumped down from the treetop and walked to Soo Soo’s side. After accepting a pack of hardtack biscuits from Soo Soo, she tore off the pack and began eating. She also drank a little.

“Since our supplies are limited, we will have to control our intake.” Nicole thought about it and said, “Following an extreme plan of rationing, we will be able to last for around half a month. However, that would affect our combat power.”

“Thankfully, Xiaolian oppa brought a lot of food with him. He should not be having hunger issues. Are we 800 kilometres away from him? We should be able to reach him in a few days’ time, no?”

Looking into Soo Soo’s eyes, Tian Lie suddenly smiled. “Little girl, rather than worrying about food, I feel that you should be worrying about something else regarding Chen Xiaolian.”

“What?”

“That companion beside him is no ordinary character.”

Nicole, too, frowned at that. “You mean that Ivan? He… … there is a problem with him?”

“The present him will not be an issue. The present him is like a tiger that has had its fangs pulled out. That is why we could so easily subdue him back in London. However… … that fellow is a bona fide tiger. He is not some cat who only knows how to scare others or catch mice.” Tian Lie shook his head and sighed.

A serious look washed over Nicole’s face. “I didn’t hear you say anything about this along the way… … Ivan, Ivan… … I have heard this name before, but… … in the past, when he was with the psychos of the holy city, was he very powerful?”

Tian Lie pondered it for a moment and said, “Others have always viewed those fellows from the holy city as a bunch of madmen. However, those other people do not quite have a proper understanding of their strength. Thankfully, I know a little bit more compared to ‘others’.”

Nicole then sat down. “Tell us a little about it.”

“Shen had informed me that back then, he had once cooperated with those madmen from the holy city,” Tian Lie said with a very serious tone. “Be clear about this. It was not Thorned Flower Guild that cooperated with them. Rather, it was Shen himself, who stepped forward to cooperate with them, once. That cooperation also led to a serious internal strife and division within the Knights of the Holy City Guild.”

Nicole’s expression turned serious as well.

It only took a moment for her to understand the meaning behind Tian Lie’s words.

It was not Thorned Flower Guild that cooperated with them. Rather, it was Shen himself, who stepped forward to cooperate with them.

If Thorned Flower Guild had wanted to cooperate with an ordinary guild, even if that guild possessed considerable strength, all Thorned Flower Guild needed to do was send one of their stronger subordinates.

For Shen to personally step forward would signal two possibilities.

The first possibility: That cooperation was extremely important to Shen.

The second possibility… … the other guild possessed extraordinary strength, so much so that Shen had to personally step forward and treat the other side as equals.

This was simple reciprocity.

Let us take America for example. Assume America wanted to cooperate with another country. If that other country was just some small country, there would be no need for the President to show his face. He could just send a representative to negotiate on his behalf.

If there was a need for the President to personally step forward… … this other country must likely be a fairly powerful country.

After that, Tian Lie slowly continued.

“At the time of the cooperation, the Guild Leader for the Knights of the Holy City Guild was not Mene. The Guild Leader then was Ivan. He is the only ‘holy knight’ in the Knights of the Holy Knights Guild. Shen had even commented that his strength should have reached the standard for [S] class. Back then, that Mene, who is now the Guild Leader, was just a minor character… … back then, he did not even qualify to fight beside Ivan. He could only be Ivan’s squire.”

Nicole was stunned.

“How… … could that be?”

…

“The madmen from the holy city? Mene and his gang, I have had some dealings with them before,” said Chen Xiaolian with a frown.

“Doesn’t seem like fond memories.” Tom Huggins noted the hostility within Chen Xiaolian’s voice and said gently, “However, I do not care about that. My relationship with those fellows turned upside down years ago. I used to be one of them, but due to some special reasons, I left that organization and the guild. Ivan was my name before I left.”

After saying that, Tom Huggins paused and muttered slowly, “Ivan, Ivan? Hossein. To be exact, people back then call me… … Knight Hossein.” 

Hearing that, Chen Xiaolian nodded his head. “Mm, Hossein. It is a rather pleasant-sounding name.”

Hossein appeared somewhat puzzled. He gave Chen Xiaolian a glance, his expression turning somewhat strange. “I am now certain of one thing… … surely, you have only recently become an Awakened.”

“True, it has not even been a year,” replied Chen Xiaolian with a frown.

“No wonder. You appear very unfamiliar with my former name. It would appear you have never heard of it before.”

Chen Xiaolian became curious. “You… … your former name, is it very famous?”

A complicated expression appeared on Hossein’s face and he whispered, “You could say… … it is very famous.”

Chen Xiaolian was silent for a moment. Then, he said, “So… … Mene is a former comrade of yours? That fellow… … he is someone I really want to kill.”

“Me too.” Hossein smiled. However, there was a hint of sorrow in his smile.

Next, this tall and sizable man turned to look at Chen Xiaolian. “A pity, I cannot personally kill him. If you are willing to do it, I would be happy to see it happen.”

“… why?” Chen Xiaolian probed. “I can feel it. Your strength, you should be very strong, no weaker compared to Mene.”

“Because he is my younger brother. I cannot be the one to kill him.”

…