Chapter 96: Meeting Crasher(2)
Luke, together with Liam and Bell, teleported to the coordinates that Tina sent. After teleporting and the light fading away, Luke and the others see themselves inside what seems to be an underground base. At the center of that base, there was a large table filled with assassins that seemed to be discussing something but had been interrupted by their arrival.
Tina puts down the map she's holding and approaches Luke, who is also slowly walking towards her. Luke nodded at Tina and Tina immediately understood what he meant.
"Everyone get out."
The assassins nodded and disappeared without a trace in the shadows.
•Wow! Their steps are so clean and quiet! I can't almost sense them!
Luke ignored Nash's impressed comments and sat at the table with Tina. Bell and Liam also sat down.
Bell looked at Luke with nervousness and a tense face. He then suddenly remembered what Luke said to him before they came here.
'We'll be taking the first step to fuck the empire up.'
Bell's heart has been beating wildly since then. A mix of happiness, nervousness, and anger is what he is feeling right now. Happiness because Luke didn't lie to him, nervousness because they might fail, and anger as he remembered how the empire treated witches before, flashed before his eyes, fueling his anger more.
Luke glanced at Bell for a moment before speaking to Tina.
"First, the meeting of the nobles. So are all the nobles mentioned on the list present there?"
Tina answered casually.
"Yep, but we can't stay there for long enough to eavesdrop. The amount of security and traps they put around the room are so crazy that even us can't easily get through."
Luke crossed his arms while listening to Tina.
'Of course, the security will be heavy, the nobles inside can not bring in some knights because of the chance of being eavesdropped, so they need to be alone inside defenseless.'
Luke nodded as if he understood and asked Tina some questions.
"How about the slave trade? Did you finally find out who did it?"
Tina sighed and brushed her hair back in frustration. She then started to speak.
"We didn't know who exactly did it yet, but we knew the merchant guild that was operating it."
"What merchant guild was it?"
"The Minos Merchant Guild and I also found something interesting. They became into gambling and used the slaves as bets. According to my subordinates, the head of the merchant guild found gambling for slaves easier than abducting one, which led him to regularly gambling for children."
"Disgusting..."
Luke looked at his side and saw Liam and Bell's darkened eyes. They looked disgusted, and even though he couldn't see him, he could also feel Nash on his shoulder being filled with anger and disgust. Luke just sighed and shot the next question.
"Have you had any contact with the witches by now?"
Bell flinched and started to pay more attention. Luke ignored him and looked at Tina. Tina then nodded her head and brushed back her hair. She seemed tired, which made Luke feel kinda guilty. Tina noticed this and chuckled.
"Are you feeling guilty?"
"... A bit."
"Pft, don't worry boy, I am not tired, I am just stressed about the fact that there are so many dark things that are happening here on this continent, and I am actually glad that you came to show me the dark sides. I am doing this for Lina's safety after all. Anyways, yes, I got in contact with one of the witches there and found out about their situation. I also knew that you'd go to them eventually today, so I warned them just in case."
Luke nodded and sighed. He needed to arrange what he needed to do now. After a while of thinking, he glanced at the serious-faced Bell and decided.
"We'll go to the witches first. What time is the meeting again?"
"Exactly midnight. You still got five hours left."
Luke nodded and started to walk out. He then started to speak while slowly walking out.
"Bell, lead the way."
Bell immediately stood up and walked behind Luke. Liam also followed behind them and finally left the base. When they left, they were greeted by assassins who offered them cloaks. Luke and the others accepted it and finally walked out of the building. Once they got out, a bustling marketplace greeted them. Luke and the others looked around the area to find out where they were located.
"Ah, over there."
Luke turned around and saw Bell pointing towards the eastern side. Luke then saw a giant tower that was painted pure white. There were also light orbs floating around, which made the tower completely stand out.
Luke thought that adding lights was a bit too far and fancy, but scoffed after he heard what Nash said.
•Dad, those are recording orbs. They seem to be recording every part of the tower.
"Hah... How ridiculous."
Luke thought about how ridiculous the empire's mind worked. Having ominous orbs floating around the tower would surely make the civilians suspicious, so they covered it with flashy lighting to tell the civilians how 'lively' the witches' lives are and to cover their surveillance. Thinking about the reason behind those flashy lights and designs made Luke even more disgusted.
Luke then glanced at Bell. He then saw him looking at the tower with dark eyes. It seems like some traumatic memories came back to Bell as soon as he saw the tower. Well, he can't blame him. Trauma is really hard to shake off.
They then started to walk towards the tower. On the way, they could see a couple of guards walking around looking at every nook and cranny. Luke clicked his tongue and lowered his robe even more.
After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached the tower but had to distance themselves because of the surveillance orbs flying around.
Luke clicked his tongue. The number of orbs flying around the tower is starting to get really annoying for him.
For any ordinary person, they might give up in this situation, but luckily, Luke got a powerful beast on his side.
Luke then tapped Nash's fluffy fur on his shoulder. He then felt Nash nodding. After a few seconds, some of the orbs went off near them and fell to the ground. After that, Luke immediately made a hand signal to rush in.
Bell and Liam understood and started to sprint towards the door near them. Liam got to the door first and opened it for them. Bell and Luke then immediately went inside, then Liam closed the door.
When Liam closed the door, they started to look around. It looks like they are in a dark hallway. While being clueless, Luke immediately heard Bell's voice stating where they currently are.
"This is the hallway heading towards the kitchen. This... This was the so-called food they were giving us were made."
Liam looked at Bell's darkened face. According to Bell's expression, his experience in this tower must be really bad. He wanted to ask more about his past, but they didn't have time to talk about things like that.
Liam then saw Luke slowly walking forward with a straight face. As expected of Luke, he knows no fear at all.
Bell and Liam then slowly followed behind Luke. It was a dark and cold hallway. The only light source they had was the torches hanging on the walls. The only sound they could hear was their footsteps.
After walking for several minutes, they finally reached a room filled with kitchen wares and utensils. This seems to be the kitchen that Bell was talking about.
•This... This place looks horrible dad...
Luke looked around the area and frowned. The condition of the kitchen and the tools were very worn out and bad. Some tools were fully rusted but it seemed like they were forced to be used. The maintenance was also bad. He could see unwashed plates and utensils and Luke could also see rats walking around.
"You call this a kitchen? Looks like a junk shop... "
Bell chuckled at Luke's commentary. He then looked at the kitchen with bitter eyes.
'This place looks worse than before...'
"It seems that as the day passes, the more and more my fellow witches are neglected..."
Luke and Liam glanced quietly at Bell. His face was filled with anger and sorrow. They couldn't blame him. They only saw the kitchen and they could instantly tell the situations that the witches were going through.
Luke silently sighed and started to walk forward. Bell and Liam noticed this and kept moving forward. While walking, Luke asked a question.
"How did you manage to escape?"