"Oh? With that mysterious look, you are making me curious. Tell me the details of the mission," Ricky asked, his eyes lighting up.
"There is an area called the Black Marsh. A gang named the Rats has recently appeared and is growing rapidly. It's likely, warriors who go to the Black Marsh for toughening and improvement would be their targets. Going by their aggressive activities, they would fancy taking over the area, and they would kill with abandon anyone who ventures into their territory. Besides, the mob also preys upon organizations and ransack their treasures, resources - whatever they have," Kristen started to elaborate the mission.
"A few groups of warriors have combined force and gone to the Sky Manor, requesting for the destruction of this mob and hoping the Sky Manor would help. Our Chief was glad to accept their request. Now the second phase of the plan has been assigned to Tyson and me. The purpose of the mission is to exterminate the Rats within half a month.
Now that you are a member of this team, the task ahead lies on our shoulders. Of course, this is a rewarding mission. The bonus is one-tenth of the treasures of the mob, and each of us will receive two thousand gold coins from the Chief!" Her excitement was palpable as she spoke of the reward part.
"You said that this gang killed lots of warriors and robbed quite a few many organizations of their resources. Oh, there must be tons of treasures in their hands. One-tenth of the treasures, and two thousand gold coins… Hmmm, that's quite a generous offer! I'm in, guys!" Ricky replied, doing a quick math of the benefits in his head.
If the Rats was some kind of righteous faction, probably Ricky would think twice about the offer. But after hearing what they had done, he inferred that it was a wicked gang of robbers. In that case, he would show no mercy. Besides, the task was a great deal. He could not only improve his skills by fighting against them, but also harvest a great deal of wealth.
"You are right, buddy! They have amassed quite a fortune! You know what? Even if the Chief would only give us one-tenth of those treasures without the gold coins, I'd still gladly join this mission!" Tyson was itching to have a go.
"That's cool! So do you have any idea about the gang's strength? Like how many people they have?" asked Ricky with a serious look.
"Sure. Our men have already dug out some crucial information about the group. The leader is a guy at the sixth grade of Bone Reinforcement, and has two assistants to deputize him. One is at the fifth grade of Bone Reinforcement, while the other is at the fourth grade. We take down the three guys, we take down the Rats. We have three, and they have three; perfect matches! What's your thought?" Kristen explained in details.
"So I'm going to deal with the one at the fourth grade of Bone Reinforcement, right?" Ricky inquired, delighted at the prospect. "Hope he is strong enough and won't disappoint me!"
"I'm glad to hear such confident words, Russell! I know you must be eager for a fighting chance against a strong, established warrior to reinforce your skill! I can assure you that this particular deputy at the fourth grade would not disappoint you. As far as I know, he is stronger than Rupert, the man you defeated in the Water Fire City," said Tyson, beaming a delighted smile.
Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex.
To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him.
"As long as I'm alive, I'm still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses."
She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women.
Eventually she stormed off after she learned that he had betrayed her again.But life brought her back to him a few years later, to his astonishment.
ll nowhere to be found," replied Tyson, his heart growing heavier as he recalled his companions.
"Oh, Jesus Chris! Can I regret it now? Can I quit and leave?" Ricky blurted out in great shock.
Five professional spies at the fourth grade of Bone Reinforcement lost their lives for merely trying to sniff out the Rats' camp. That sounded like a bad-ass gang for a team of three to on. Besides, Ricky had merely the combat power of a warrior at the fourth grade of Bone Reinforcement at most! Was this a safe bet to take? Ricky was not sure whether he wanted to be a part of this mission at this point.
"Of course you can!" Kristen nodded.
Tyson added the next second, "Sorry to say this, but right now as we stand, there's no turning back. You just have to grow balls, coz there's no other way about it. If you don't man up, I'll either throw you into the restricted circle around one of the trees or force you into the sucking black spots where you'll meet your slow torturous death. Which one would you prefer?"
"Uhm. I think I'd better go with you and try to work at my best to take the Rats down!" Ricky made the choice immediately. He knew that they were friendly to him, but he also knew they would be merciless, if he decided to quit and abandon them at this very crucial moment.
"Ha-ha. That's what a smart guy would do!" Tyson laughed out again.
"How will we tell which part of the marsh is safe? How will we avoid those dangerous places where we may be sucked in?" asked Ricky. From his keen assessment, he noticed that both Tyson and Kristen did not appear to be shaken about the dangers, at all.
"That's a good question! It all depends on her!" Tyson replied before he turned to Kristen. "Show him!" he said.
"Oh?" Immediately, Ricky turned his eyes to Kristen, curious.
Kristen, on the other hand, let out a confident smile. She looked rather different with that proud face. She looked so dignified, radiating spiritual energy around her halo.
Soon, something began to change around her eyes. The meridians near the canthus gradually stood out, and then her black pupils suddenly turned red!
Ricky almost dropped his jaw at her change. In an instant, he felt the blood power emitting from Kristen.