Chapter 1030: Counter-Kill
At the banquet—
Wine flowed freely, and the atmosphere was smooth and cordial.
All the Ascenders had held their noses and signed five-year cooperation agreements with major associations and guilds.
This meant they were now bound to work for these organizations for the next five years.
On the flip side—
These guilds would take that time to evaluate their potential.
If any proved to have top-tier talent, they'd be nurtured heavily.
The organizations also understood that under these conditions, forcing them into servitude was out of the question.
So for the sake of long-term cooperation, they loosened their terms a bit.
Of course—
Human Ascenders were treated better this year.
All five human Ascenders managed to sign contracts with magic guilds or adventurer associations.
Time would tell if they'd soar in the coming years.
As the night wore on, the banquet finally drew to a close.
It was now 9:30 p.m.
Will looked over the emptying hall with a satisfied grin—he'd earned at least 500,000 sacred coins today.
Don't underestimate that number.
In Kost City, that was no small haul.
Sacred coins held enormous value in the Upper Realm.
In the Lower Realm, currency like Sacred Crystals came in tens of thousands or even billions.
But sacred coins were on a different level altogether.
And one of their core materials was indeed Sacred Crystals.
But they also required an extremely rare secondary component.
Because this rare material was produced in very limited quantities each year, sacred coins had immense value and served as official currency in the Upper Realm.
In poorer regions, even the amount a Professional could exchange each month was strictly limited.
So yes, 500,000 sacred coins was a serious windfall in Kost City.
But then—
"Why haven't those guys I sent out come back yet?"
Will frowned slightly.
Two whole hours had passed.
Logically, they should've returned to report by now.
Could something have gone wrong?
That didn't seem likely…
The Professionals he'd sent out were all over level 300.
And the target was just a level-200-plus Ascender.
Should've been an easy stomp.
Maybe the guy was just annoyingly good at running, and the chase took longer than expected?
That was at least plausible.
Some Professionals were terrible fighters but great at running away.
With all kinds of movement and teleportation skills.
However—
Another full hour passed. It was now past 10 p.m., and still no one returned.
"Could something really have happened?"
Will's disbelief deepened.
The idea was absurd.
Level 300s getting counter-killed by someone at 200? Who would believe that?
"Someone!"
At last, Will couldn't sit still.
"Take a level-300 elite adventurer squad and search outside the city!"
"Sweep the nearby area thoroughly!"
"Find Sacks—no matter what!"
The assistant nodded quickly and left.
Even he thought the situation was strange.
But orders were orders.
Soon—
Less than twenty minutes later—
"Lord Will, we found Sacks!"
The assistant came running.
"So?"
"What the hell was Sacks up to?"
Will scowled.
The long delay had already ruined his mood.
"Lord Will, it's bad news…"
"We found Sacks and the others… but they're all dead!"
"Hung right outside the city gate, on the main road!"
As those words landed—
"What?!"
Will's eyes flew wide open!
His face twisted in disbelief.
The assistant fell silent.
Yeah…
He'd felt the same shock Will was feeling now.
He couldn't believe it either.
He knew how strong Sacks and the others were.
How could they have died to a single Ascender?
No matter how hard it was to believe, it had happened.
All they could do now was accept it and find a solution.
One thing was certain:
Lord Will had picked the wrong person to mess with!
Or rather—
That Ascender had terrifying potential!
Will clearly realized this too. His expression shifted from disbelief to a deep scowl.
If someone with only level 200 power could wipe out his 300-level team, there was no doubt—Ling Zhan was the strongest among all Ascenders.
And he'd pissed off that very person!
Damn it…
"Humans…"
"Always humans!!"
"First Qin Fan, and now Ling Zhan?!"
Will was deeply unsettled.
"Lord Will, what do we do now?"
the assistant asked.
"What else can we do?"
"There are only two options with someone like that."
"One—kill him outright. Two—make nice and avoid provoking him further."
"But since we've already provoked him, all that's left is either apologizing publicly or sending more Professionals to kill him."
"So tell me…"
"Which one do you think we should pick?"
Will stared hard at the assistant, waiting.
The assistant trembled, unable to answer.
Smack!
Will slapped him across the face. "I asked you a question, damn it!"
"Y-yes…"
"Lord Will, I think the best approach might be to apologize…"
Will raised a brow. His voice dropped. "Publicly? And where would that leave my dignity? Even if we did, how can you be sure he wouldn't still hold a grudge?"
The assistant paused. That… did make sense.
"Then… keep trying to kill him?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Will snorted. "Spread my orders—tomorrow morning, every guild and association in Kost City needs to bring out their strongest!"
"I want them all to hunt down Ling Zhan!"
"While he still doesn't have an identity permit and can't stay in the safe zone long—we need to strike now and take him out!"
The assistant quickly nodded.
Lord Will was clearly dragging the entire adventurer scene down with him.
If they all joined the hunt, Ling Zhan's grudge wouldn't just be against Will anymore.
But regardless—it was the vice city lord's order, and he'd carry it out.
Meanwhile—
Ling Zhan's party, having wiped out their pursuers in under 30 seconds, had already reached a small town named Helen.