"Mr. Pasfield, my apologies. No one in our guild is fluent in the Vichy language, but I did find someone among the Seaweed Blade prisoners who speaks it." The bearded Bich spoke as he led a man with a somewhat fierce countenance into the room.
"This is Sylte. He was the translator for the Seaweed Blade hunters. His primary task was to infiltrate the Vichy tribe and coordinate with the rest of them from the inside," Bich introduced.
Despite his rugged exterior, Sylte looked utterly cowed at the moment. He couldn't help it. The second he stepped inside, he saw a dozen Vichy tribesmen mercilessly beating Bubuta. Bubuta's current state was so gruesome that it made Sylte's skin crawl; he nearly wet himself in terror.
Too cruel, too tragic, too inhuman!
In his heart, Sylte cursed the brutality of the noble-looking man before him, but his face reflexively twisted into a stiff, fawning smile.
"I am at your command, my Lord. Sylte is at your service at any time." Sylte acted like a perfect lapdog, and somehow, he managed to look quite serious about it.
Honor? Dying before surrender? Non-existent.
For sea hunters like them, survival was everything. Betraying a guild was a small price to pay for drawing another breath.
Pasfield seemed momentarily taken aback by Sylte's shameless display.
However, he quickly and calmly accepted the flattery. As a scion of the Dori family, he had been fed sycophancy since childhood, though he had never met anyone quite as brazen as Sylte.
"You speak the Vichy language?" Pasfield got straight to the point.
"Indeed, my Lord. Not to boast, but in the entire Seaweed Blade guild, if I claim to be the best Vichy translator, no one would dare claim second," Sylte said, thumping his chest with practiced confidence.
Ur: "..." Are you sure you aren't at the bottom of the list?
Desperate to find the Azure Water, Pasfield ignored the holes in Sylte's bravado. "Fine. You will act as my interpreter and translate what the Vichy say."
"What? That... well..." Sylte's expression shifted instantly. He shot a terrified look at the dozen tribesmen who were still enthusiastically pummeling Bubuta and began to hesitate.
"What is it? Is there a problem?"
"Heh... My Lord, the translation isn't an issue, but I hope you can guarantee my safety." Sylte's smile was as desperate as it was sycophantic.
Pasfield blinked, not quite catching the subtext of Sylte's fear.
Suddenly, one of the Vichy tribesmen beating Bubuta caught sight of Sylte. With a furious roar, the others noticed him too. Their eyes turned a shade of crimson even deeper than when they were looking at Bubuta. A primal rage, far more intense than their hatred for their former captor, ignited as they began to close in on Sylte.
Cold sweat poured down Sylte's back. Yet, he stood his ground. He knew his life didn't depend on these tribesmen, but on the noble standing before him.
As the tribesmen drew closer, the beads of sweat on Sylte's forehead multiplied.
Finally, Pasfield spoke. "Stop!"
Pasfield didn't like the Seaweed Blade thugs, but Sylte was currently the only bridge to the Vichy. Unlike Bubuta, he couldn't afford to let Sylte be harmed, at least not yet.
However, despite Pasfield's command, the Vichy ignored him. Whether due to the language barrier, deep-seated racial hatred, or simple momentum, they continued their advance, hands reaching out to seize the translator.
Anger finally flickered across Pasfield's face. For the sake of the Azure Water, he was willing to tolerate a certain amount of willfulness from these people, but that didn't give them a license for anarchy.
To put it bluntly: to Pasfield, these tribesmen were no different from the Seaweed Blade members. They were all just prisoners.
"I said, enough!" Pasfield barked.
The Vichy paused for a fraction of a second at the tone of his voice, but then suddenly lunged at Sylte. They couldn't understand the words, but they could guess the intent, and they chose to ignore it.
The consequence of that choice was Jangson's intervention.
Thud!
They might have been able to put up a fight against low-level mages, but against Jengerson, they were helpless. In a blur of motion, Jangson's leg swept out, and the lead tribesman was sent crashing to the floor. The remaining Vichy roared and charged him in a frenzy.
Ten seconds later, they were all sprawled on the ground. Their eyes burned with malice and resentment as they glared at Pasfield, spitting out curses he couldn't comprehend.
"Ask them," Pasfield said, his voice tight with frustration. "Do they know the location of the Azure Water?"
To get what he wanted, he suppressed his rage and signaled Sylte to translate.
"Lugi!! @￥..." Sylte began, following Pasfield's lead.
As they heard the translation, the tribesmen's expressions froze for a heartbeat before they shouted back an angry response.
"My Lord, they say they've never heard of the Azure Water. Furthermore, they 'advise' you to release them immediately, or the Great Elder of their tribe will come to seek bloody vengeance," Sylte translated in real-time.
Pasfield's face turned an ashen shade of green. As an aristocrat, he found himself at a complete loss on how to handle these "uncivilized" people who lacked any sense of diplomatic tact.
Just as Pasfield was floundering, a flash of cold steel whipped through the air.
The next second, blood sprayed.
The room watched in stunned silence as one of the Vichy tribesmen collapsed, his eyes wide with disbelief. Blood pooled on the carpeted floor as the life drained out of him.
Everyone's pupils contracted in shock. Even the other tribesmen were dazed for a moment before they erupted into a cacophony of screams and curses directed at Ur.
Ur remained expressionless. He simply flicked his long blade, and with another flash of silver, a second tribesman slumped into a pool of blood.
In an instant, the room fell dead silent.
Ur finally sheathed his blade with a cold, mechanical click. He turned his gaze slowly toward Sylte.
"Translate this for them," Ur said, his voice devoid of emotion. "If I don't hear about the Azure Water within one minute, another one dies. Two minutes, and two more die. I'll keep going until they're all gone."
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