Chapter 18: Reward Settlement
Northwestern Desert.
The Kingdom of Nora spans an immense territory, encompassing a wide variety of geographical landscapes from south to north and east to west.
The Ninth Capital City, located in the northwest, serves as the stronghold of the Free Commune and was also the earliest established settlement of the Commune.
The original Free Commune was founded by a group of young men including Peter and Kane, who led the slaves and glass factory workers here in an armed uprising.
Since then, the Ninth Capital City has remained the heart of the Free Commune. Though not far from the royal capital—separated only by a few small towns—a vast, uninhabited desert lies between these cities, its harsh environment impassable for marching armies, acting as a natural barrier.
In order to outpace the pursuing forces and swiftly reach the royal capital, Toronto took a daring risk by venturing into the desert with only a handful of guards—three or five at most.
Besides his guards, Toronto was accompanied by five outsiders, each dressed distinctly.
They were Chosen Ones from the same guild, the Crimson Lotus Guild, hired to escort Toronto.
Within the realm of Sacred Geometry, the Crimson Lotus Guild is a relatively obscure and newly formed small guild.
Notably, the Crimson Lotus Guild places far greater emphasis on camaraderie and communication among its Chosen Ones than other guilds.
Mutual aid is one of their core principles. Although their numbers are few, their bonds are close, unlike the Iron Curtain Guild, which focuses solely on strength and rank.
This is a trait shared by many fledgling guilds, maintaining the purest form of their dreams.
Leading this escort mission was the guild master of Crimson Lotus, Akamine. It seemed Mo Xuanyu had terrible luck, encountering a guild master wherever he went.
The good news was that Akamine, codenamed Akamine, was clearly not on the same level as Wu Lian.
His stats were noticeably inferior: 17 points in strength and agility, 16 in constitution, and 10 in intelligence.
Besides Akamine, the Crimson Lotus Guild had two mages—a brother-sister duo who, although not top-tier in power, worked in perfect harmony.
The remaining two members were a healer and a tank.
Amid the vast yellow sands, the members of Crimson Lotus were growing weary; they had been trekking through the desert for two days and nights, having gotten lost multiple times along the way.
“It’s so hot... when will we get out of this desert?” the younger sister among the mages, cloaked, raised her staff and cast a wind spell, turning the staff into a makeshift fan.
“I’m about to be cooked alive,” the healer said, jogging over to share the breeze and casting a buff to help the mage conserve mana. Together, they managed to make the situation somewhat bearable.
Toronto, mounted on his camel, anxiously studied the map. “We should be close to the border between the desert and the Gobi Desert. The terrain should be much easier from there.”
At the front, the cloaked guild master carried a long spear. Hearing this, he turned around and sternly addressed the group: “Stay alert. This escort mission is rated A-level.”
Information about Sacred Geometry was automatically muted when overheard by locals, so the Chosen Ones could communicate freely without worry.
“Rona, don’t waste your mana on the fan,” Akamine called out to the mage Rona, who obediently shut off her staff’s breeze like a scolded pupil.
Within Crimson Lotus, Akamine was known for his strict and rigid demeanor as guild master.
Yet all members knew how much effort and dedication he poured into helping their small, struggling guild grow.
Rona’s brother, Luo Yan, smiled wryly at the scene. “The master’s right. An A-level task won’t be this easy. Everyone, hang in there a little longer.”
After an unknown number of kilometers, the Crimson Lotus party finally came upon a small oasis, marking the entrance to the Gobi Desert.
Toronto, being a novice-level superhuman, exhaled deeply upon leaving the desert and pointed to the oasis. “Let’s rest there for a bit. I need to double-check our route.”
Akamine actually preferred not to stop, but since Toronto was the mission’s initiator and they were only nominally hired mercenaries, they had to follow and make a brief rest near the oasis.
They moved cautiously, staying at the oasis’s edge rather than venturing deep into it.
Still, their presence was successfully detected by Mo Xuanyu.
Suddenly, Rona, who was resting, pointed toward the distance. “Master, there seems to be someone over there.”
Akamine immediately stood, eyes sharp as he scrutinized the approaching figure.
A man on horseback was slowly riding toward them, his horse laden with bolts of cloth and various goods, draped in a white cloak. Judging by his attire, he appeared to be a merchant.
“Be careful,” Akamine warned, wary of the unexpected visitor.
As the cloaked man came closer, he noticed Akamine and the others resting in the shade and stopped about ten meters away, removing his hood.
His face, brushed by the scorching sun, was strikingly handsome, framed by jet-black hair loosely tied back, captivating everyone instantly.
A thin sheen of sweat gleamed on his pale neck, and a gentle, faint smile played on his lips as he looked toward the Crimson Lotus members.
“Are you all resting here as well?”
When his deep blue eyes met theirs, even the stoic and straightforward Akamine found himself momentarily dazzled, unable to look away.
Rona, snapping back to reality, tugged her brother’s sleeve. “Watch your manners, big brother! Don’t stare like a lovesick fool—that really hurts your image!”
“Cough, cough…” Luo Yan’s face turned crimson as he sheepishly looked away.
He could swear that Mo Xuanyu was the most beautiful person he’d ever seen—not just in appearance, but radiating a gentle charm from his gaze that was utterly disarming, a surefire weakness for any straight man.
Fortunately, Akamine’s strong will soon had him regain his serious composure. He addressed Mo Xuanyu politely, “Yes, we’re just resting here briefly. Are you a merchant?”
“That’s right. Sorry to disturb you. I’m just passing through to fetch water and rest,” Mo Xuanyu replied with a slight nod before leading his horse toward the oasis’s central pond.
Once Mo Xuanyu had moved a short distance away, Akamine finally relaxed his guard.
“He doesn’t seem like an assassin,” he said.
“If he were an assassin, I’d be tempted to hand over Toronto’s head to him, see if it’d improve my favorability,” the healer teased, clutching her staff with a giggle.
“His base charm must be at least 15 points. Who wouldn’t be smitten?” Rona added with admiration.
Akamine shook his head in resignation. “Enough. Let’s focus on our own mission.”
“Mr. Toronto, how’s your rest?”
“Wait… where’s Toronto?”
Akamine turned, stunned to find Toronto’s figure gone.
One of the guards tending the camel exclaimed, “Sir, it seems Toronto went off to find that particularly handsome merchant.”
“Damn it! This is bad!” Akamine and the others immediately felt a chill in their hearts and sprinted toward the central pond.
It’s worth noting that Moravinas had always worn a mask, and before Mo Xuanyu took over his identity, no one knew his true appearance.
As for Toronto, all he knew was that Mora had become a spy for the Sun King’s faction.
Everything else—Mora’s current position or true face—remained a mystery, shrouded by wartime censorship and the fog of war.
Mo Xuanyu’s strategy was to exploit this information gap.
He had initially intended to disguise himself and approach Toronto, then find a chance to assassinate him. Unexpectedly, as soon as he reached the pond, Toronto followed on his own.
One cannot deny that no attribute in Sacred Geometry’s profile is useless—Mo Xuanyu’s impressive 20 points in charm were not for show.
Secondary attributes like charm and luck may seem trivial, but when properly utilized, they rival the importance of strength, agility, constitution, and intelligence—the four pillars.
When Akamine and the others arrived, they witnessed the scene:
Toronto was close to Mo Xuanyu, attempting to curry favor by offering large sums of money, clearly trying to use the pretext of purchasing goods to engage him, even attempting to bribe Mo Xuanyu into some “special transaction.”
In his mind, there was nothing money couldn’t buy. The hard-earned profits from this merchant’s trade route were mere pennies compared to what he could offer—ten or twenty times more!
After all, Toronto had made no small fortune during his tenure as the Free Commune’s financial officer, and he hadn’t forgotten to bring his wealth while fleeing.
Mo Xuanyu, feigning a shy and flustered demeanor, suddenly raised his right hand as Toronto leaned in, slashing across Toronto’s neck.
Blood arced beautifully through the air, staining the damp earth by the pond a dark crimson.
Mo Xuanyu calmly shifted his body just in time to evade Toronto’s collapsing form.
He flicked the blood off his hidden blade, offering a polite smile to the rushing Akamine and the others.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to deceive you.”
[System Notice: Your main quest stage one, “Trust,” has been completed.]
[System Notice: Crimson Lotus Guild, please be advised: key character Toronto has been killed! The A-level mission has failed!]
“The mission failed!” The Crimson Lotus members were completely stunned.
Akamine’s face turned even grimmer as he instinctively raised his spear.
But Mo Xuanyu had no intention of wasting time with them. Swinging onto his horse, he galloped swiftly beyond the oasis’s edge.
Akamine hesitated briefly, then chose not to pursue, sighing as he looked down at Toronto’s body.
With Toronto dead, their A-level mission was void, and their two days of effort wasted—no points, no rewards.
Chasing after Mo Xuanyu posed too great a risk; he could not abandon his teammates, and victory against Mo Xuanyu was far from guaranteed.
The healer, after the shock wore off, broke down sobbing on the spot.
“Waaah! I’ll never trust a beautiful, sweet-voiced NPC again! I had such a big A-level mission… my points, my new staff… Waaah!”
She wished she could instantly transform into a great angel and cast a resurrection spell to bring Toronto back to life.
While some grieved, Mo Xuanyu reaped rich rewards.
[You have gained 3 free attribute points.]