Chapter 504: Chapter Four Hundred Twenty-Three, The Tracker_2
“Well, it’s fine, I think you’ve done a good job. Pick some people to go with me to Lyss City later,” Fang Hao continued.
“Alright, master.” Millie nodded.
Her arms still held Fang Hao tightly, with no intention of letting go.
“Go on, we’re leaving soon.”
Under Fang Hao’s urging, Millie finally let go and started gathering people.
Soon, Millie assembled 20 people, and they set off for Lyss City on horseback.
Fang Hao chose to ride on a purple-scaled horse to Lyss City instead of using teleportation.
He had his own reasons for this.
Lyss City wasn’t a city under his control, and more often than not, teleportation would end up in the city center or the City Lord’s mansion.
Fang Hao wasn’t sure if he could teleport directly into his recently purchased residence.
So, he chose to teleport to the Gray Bear Fortress and then ride the rest of the way, providing a proper reason for his entrance into the city.
Otherwise, it would be quite difficult to explain his travel times to the Lyss City authorities.
…
By three in the afternoon, Fang Hao and his group had entered Lyss City.
First, they delivered a batch of new clothes to a clothing store.
Then, they headed to the City Lord’s Manor.
He had yet to claim the reward for assisting Rebecca with the Faceless last time.
Additionally, he wanted to build a relationship with her, which would make it easier for him to develop and conduct business in the city in the future.
Under the guidance of a maid.
As Fang Hao walked along the long corridor, he noticed a change.
Starting from the courtyard of the City Lord’s Manor, there were significantly more patrolling guards than before.
And even this previously deserted corridor was now guarded by armed soldiers every few meters.
The distance between guards was carefully arranged, so that even if a guard was at a corner, he could still see his companions to his left and right.
If one of them encountered any trouble, the others would be alerted immediately.
It seemed that during his absence
Some problem had arisen within Lyss City.
And this problem had threatened Rebecca’s personal safety.
If it could affect the ruler of a city,
The situation must be quite serious.
The maid led Fang Hao swiftly to a study room.
She gently knocked on the door, “Madam, Mr. Fang Hao is here!”
“Let him in.” Rebecca’s voice came from inside the room.
The maid opened the door, “Mr. Fang Hao, please.”
Fang Hao nodded and walked straight into the study.
Inside the study, Rebecca, dressed in a beige gown, was sitting at her desk reviewing a stack of documents.
Only when she saw Fang Hao enter did she put the documents aside.
“I haven’t seen you for quite a while.” Rebecca began.
“I was dealing with some issues. I just arrived,” said Fang Hao, sitting down opposite her.
Rebecca revealed a slight smile and pulled open a drawer. She pulled out a few heavy money bags and pushed them in front of Fang Hao, “This is the reward for the last mission, I’ve been keeping it for you.”
Fang Hao took it without hesitation.
Although the money meant nothing to him now, these gold coins were the agreed reward for their collaboration.
“Has it been unsafe in the city recently? I noticed you’ve increased your manpower.” Fang Hao asked straightforwardly.
Ah!
Rebecca sighed softly, not intending to hide anything, “The day before yesterday, I was attacked on my way to a banquet, I suspect the Faceless are responsible, so I’ve increased my guard.”
The relationship between Rebecca and Fang Hao was more like friendship, although they also collaborated.
Though she held the power in Lyss City, she didn’t have anyone she could truly trust within the city.
No one could be sure where the Faceless had planted informers.
But she was certain that she and Fang Hao were on the same side.
After all, they had cooperated in killing quite a few Faceless.
So, when her whereabouts were revealed and she was attacked, she was willing to tell Fang Hao about it.
“What? They’ve become so bold as to dare to assassinate you?” Fang Hao was quite surprised.
In the Hundred Cities Federation, each city governed itself. So, essentially, each City Lord was the supreme ruler in the city.
The decision of the Faceless to assassinate the City Lord signified a declaration of war.
It was no longer a matter of secretly kidnapping residents and gathering intelligence.
“Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal, but you should also be careful in the city to avoid any danger.” Rebecca gave him a word of caution.
“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. Let me know if anything comes up.” Fang Hao nodded in agreement.
The two didn’t talk for too long.
Rebecca had many documents that needed to be reviewed, and Fang Hao also had his own matters to attend to.
…
He left the City Lord Mansion while it was still early.
He met up with Anjia outside the gate.
He hailed a carriage and directly headed to the mission hall at the east gate of the city.
The mission hall was a specific place where tasks were distributed to mercenary groups.
Fang Hao had previously registered his mercenary group and had received several tasks.
The carriage stopped on the street, and Fang Hao led Anjia straight into the hall.
The hall was as bustling as ever, filled with personnel from various mercenary groups.
It was already approaching dusk, and he wondered if there were still any good tasks left.
Fang Hao was just trying his luck.
He also took the chance to stroll around the night market in the area.
Items like Multi-Headed Fire Python and Undead War Drum, as well as some rare resources, were all purchased from the night market.
Occasionally, he would also come across some good finds.
Upon reaching the counter, he asked for a list of reward tasks from the receptionist.
He started to check each task one by one.
After flipping through a few, a certain task caught Fang Hao’s attention.
[Map: Demon Manor]
[Type: Single-page Map]
[Remark: A manor that has little contact with outsiders. A demon with huge wings on its back has been spotted, hunting any passerby.]
(Description: A map drawn and task information posted by the Wave Mercenary Group.)
This was the only map that looked quite decent.
It mentioned a demon with large wings on its back sighted in a manor in the wilderness.
Quite a few possibilities could be derived from the description of having huge wings on the back.
Because of her Blood Clan lineage, Rolana could also spread out her large wings, just as his Demon Doll could.
Asserting that it was a demon based on this line of reasoning was rather far-fetched.
But among all the tasks, this one seemed decent, certainly better than tasks like accompanying a noble’s son to practice swordsmanship or investigating a man’s affair.
“I’ll take this mission, representing the Windmill Mercenary Group.” Fang Hao told the staffer.
“All right, sir,” the staffer said, registering for Fang Hao.
Apart from this map, Fang Hao didn’t find any other maps interesting.
Lately, even tasks to wipe out mountain bandits were decreasing.
Mercenaries were also facing a shortage of tasks.
After completing the registration, Fang Hao left the mission hall with Anjia.
They visited the market outside the door to see if there was anything they needed.
They stopped at a roadside stall, and Fang Hao squatted down, “How much for these materials?”
“20 silver each,” said the stall owner, without lifting his head.
“Okay, I’ll take all of them.” Fang Hao paid and collected all the materials.
They continued to look around the stalls.
However, in a casual glance over his shoulder, he noticed something off.
He was being followed.
As his strength grew, Fang Hao’s senses also improved.
Not far behind him, two men were squatting in front of a stall.
He had seen one of them when he left the mansion, and the other had appeared across the street when he left the City Lord’s Mansion.
This was definitely not a coincidence. Even if it was, how come these two men were together again?
Fang Hao’s nerves instantly tensed.
Rebecca’s words of caution suddenly flashed in his mind.
The Faceless might have already known that Fang Hao was helping Rebecca.
It was highly likely that these people were arranged by the Faceless.
Otherwise, he couldn’t think of a second enemy who would monitor him in Lyss City.
With this thought in mind, Fang Hao casually draped his arm around Anjia, adopting an intimate pose like a couple.
“Don’t turn around, someone’s following us.”
The two of them moved through the crowd without showing any unusual behavior.
The two followers not far away put down the items on the stall, got up, and started to trail behind Fang Hao.
“It’s those two men. Their strength isn’t high. They should just be ordinary spies. It won’t be difficult to deal with them.” Anjia also noticed the two men behind them.
“Let’s go, we should find a quiet place,” Fang Hao said.
The two of them walked straight out of the market and turned into a dark alley.
The alley was filled with rubbish and swarming with flies.
Behind them, the two followers stood at the entrance of the alley, frowning as they watched the alley.