The City of Marronligar

Like any other profession, bounty hunting relies heavily on apprenticeships and teacher-student relationships.The mentor teaches the apprentices not only practical skills such as how to fight, how to find a job, and how to bargain, but also the most important knowledge of "how to survive", together with their special way of life.

But such a process cannot withstand careful consideration: the emotion between bounty hunters can hardly cross the gap called "interest".Even if they come from the same school, once there is a conflict of interest, they may face each other with swords at any time.

This is not "comparison with peers", but a real struggle that cannot tolerate opponents.

——Miscellaneous Notes of Silver Bay Tower: Light and Darkness of the Bounty Hunters Association

It's not that Louis hasn't fought Chu De before.

Long before Chu De regarded himself as a utilitarian radical and tried his best to lift Louis up, they were all apprentices under the old president.

Chu De entered the industry late, followed the old president only for technology and contacts, and formed his own social circle early on, and he was not very familiar with Louis.In the eyes of Louis when he was young, Chu De was a junior with an eccentric personality, with a strange chill in his eyes, as if he was always thinking about things that others couldn't figure out.

When the old president taught them swordsmanship, he always practiced in pairs with blunt wooden swords.Leaving aside differences in innate abilities such as physique, strength, and speed, the two have equal control over weapons and bodies, and both have excellent fighting skills. .

In the past, because it was just swordsmanship training under the supervision of the old president, and the two sides didn't have much friendship, Louis and Chu De each reserved a little bit of energy, and it was enough to be polite.

And when the wooden sword in his hand is replaced by a real sword with a sharp edge, those short, old times that have not been sincerely paid have changed.

"Do you want to let go of your hands and feet for a long time, Louis?"

Chu De sneered, the snow-white long sword was extremely dazzling in the dancing flames.

Around this duel on the fireboat, Chu De did not gamble on anything, including the life of Adrian, who was tightly held in the hands of the Kurmans.At this moment, he just wanted to fight Louis, anyway, no matter what the result was, his plan would continue.

Chu De didn't want to die, and he didn't want Louis to die now.What's more, Chu De now has no shortage of bargaining chips to threaten Louis - this is not an equal gamble.

After boarding the fireboat, Louis immediately understood a fact: Chu De did not intend to take his own life easily.With Chu De's behavior, if he really wanted to kill himself, he would not put on a show of a duel to delay time.

Since Chu De wants to fight with himself with a sword, whether it is to remember the past or simply enjoy the thrill of fighting with his peers, as long as it does not hurt Adrian's life, Louis will accompany him.

The air in the center of the fire is scorched for reasons other than burning wood.

Two long swords with almost the same shape and weight collided suddenly, and there was a sharp neighing between the friction of the blades, which made people's scalp tingle.The two blades separated immediately after the impact, followed the owner's dexterous and powerful wrists to attack the next opening, but met the opponent in mid-air, it was like a strictly matched mortise and tenon move.

After all, they are students taught by the same bounty hunter. Even though it took a long time to forget the past, and they each have different combat experiences, some habits that cannot be changed are still engraved in their bones. A very ironic way is reflected in this duel.

Chu De knew very well that as long as Adrian was in his hands, Louis could not fight as he wanted.

Louis understood that even if he defeated Chu De, the current situation would not change in any way, and there was not even a bit of killing intent in Chu De's eyes, but more of a vile self-confidence in manipulating the situation.

The light of the sword is like lightning, and the sound of the sword is like thunder.

As soon as he saw the scene of Adrian being held hostage, Louis became angry. Not only did he look a little bit harsher, but the weapon and the body that controlled the weapon no longer listened to reason.

With a flip of his wrist, he fended off Chu De's sword, and at the same time took a sudden step forward, only half a stroke away from grabbing Chu De's collar.Louis then changed his strategy, leaning on the base of the mast to turn around and aim at Chu De's arm.

Chu De almost didn't dodge, and quickly fell to the side, rolling on the spot, holding the sword behind his back to resist Louis's attack with [-]% force, and a series of screaming sparks exploded from the blade.

In front of the furious Louis, even Chu De, who is in peak form, has little chance of winning, unless the Kurmans present are allowed to do it, relying on the superiority of numbers to consume Louis' physical strength.

But that's not interesting.

"What exactly do you want?" Louis asked through gritted teeth, the sword in his hand kept pressing down until Chu De, who was pinned to the ground, couldn't move.

If you only rely on strength to fight the knife, you will only suffer losses.Chu De tilted his sword to the side, taking advantage of a gap and quickly escaped from Louis' suppression.Out of the corner of his eye, he quickly glanced towards the edge of the deck, and instantly had an idea.

It's time to end this playful duel.

Before Louis realized his intentions, Chu De rushed to the unconscious Adrian, grabbed the wet skirt that was about to be covered with sea salt, and dragged Adrian to him, holding the long sword against Adrien. Derian's throat.

As Chu De expected, Louis immediately stopped attacking.

The poisonous scorpion raised a dangerous smile: "Of course you know what I want." The pulse of Jianfeng and Adrian's beating became tighter and tighter. "And, you must have brought it."

Louis stared straight at the sword in Chu De's hand: "Adrian is from the Flying Lion Mansion, you dare not kill him."

"That's not necessarily the case." A mocking look appeared on Chu De's face. "After a while, people came to this ship, and I had already left. The warm-hearted citizens can only see you alive and him dead. What do you think they will think?"

It is a golden opportunity to directly threaten Louis with Adrian.Even if it is full of flaws, Chu De believes that Louis at this moment will make an impulsive decision due to "impulsivity".

"Where's Linka? What happened to her?"

The corner of Chu De's mouth twitched, and he lied casually: "I didn't do anything to that woman, I just happened to know when she left, so I used her name to ask you to meet."

"..."

Louis stood still and looked at Chu De with a stern expression.Under the light of the fire, his complicated eyes were dismantled by the reflection, making it even more difficult for others to interpret.

Then, Louis put away the sword, and the soft sound when the sword was sheathed hit Chu De's heart heavily.

He knows he has won.

The Kurmans on standby around were eager to move, as if the knife in their hands was inseparable from blood for a moment.But Chu De stopped them: "Don't kill him, this Master Cormac has a more suitable way to die."

Louis ignored Trud's words.He lowered his head, took out a flat package from his pocket, opened the sheepskin wrapped outside without saying a word, and took out the paper bound with twine inside.

On the crumpled paper, the ink that wrote the contract document was somewhat blurred, but Chu De could tell what it was at a glance.

In addition to the slave ship account book that has not been handed over, there is also the employment contract he signed with the slave trader, which is an important evidence linking Chu De to the slave hunting incident, and it is also a "stain" that he tried his best to erase.

Louis raised his eyes, stared at Chu De expressionlessly, and threw the scroll in his hand into the fire without hesitation.As soon as the stacks of yellowed paper touched the flames, they curled up, crumpled into a scorched piece, and soon turned into ashes dancing on the flame head, and it was hard to find when the wind blew.

That was the last physical evidence he and Linka used for "self-protection".

Once it is burned, Louis will lose his bargaining chip with Chu De, and Chu De no longer needs to save his life.

But now Louis can't care so much: to save Adrian, he can only destroy the other party's evidence in front of Chu De - this is the scene Chu De wants to see the most.

Chu De licked his lower lip, suppressing the indescribable excitement and agitation: he finally waited for the day to bury the past.

After the things were burned, Louis approached Chu De step by step, his voice hoarse from the fire said without any warmth, "I don't care what you want to do, just return Adrian to me now."

Now that this is a deal, Louis has given the answer Trud wanted, and now it's time for Trud to fulfill his promise-although he hasn't promised anything.

Regardless of the incomprehensible or dissatisfied complaints from the surrounding Kurmans, Chu De removed the sword from Adrian's neck, who was still awake, and flung him to Louis by his collar.

"Louis Cormac, you've changed a lot," Trud said, laughing. "There is such a terrible pain, how can this be done? I have to sympathize with you."

It's not like a qualified bounty hunter.

Louis didn't speak, and ignored the existence of Chu De and others. He just looked down at Adrian who was lying in his arms, and tightened the arms around his waist.

The drenched clothes were like a shell of ice, tightly wrapping the unconscious Adrian in it, and it was shockingly cold at first touch.But fortunately, he was still alive, and Louis's suspended heart finally let go of half.

Chu De gave Louis and Adrian a meaningful look, then turned around: "Let's go."

Before the city guards could arrive, the Kullmans put down the boat hanging on the outside of the light sailing ship, and left the few corpses lying on the deck together with the fire behind them, and left the dock by water.

On the boat, the leading Kurman asked Chu De why he didn't kill the two people who opposed him.

Chu De shook his head and smiled, and said, "If you really want to explain, the words are too profound, you can't understand."

Just now, he conceived a "best ending" for Louis.

When Adrian woke up, he found that he was still lying on the light sailing ship that was on fire. It seemed that it hadn't been long since he fell into the sea, but he had been moved to the other side far away from the fire and was safer. Dry clothes that don't belong to him.

If you look closely, you will find that it is a tunic stripped from the corpse of a Kurman.

The deck is near one end of the plank road, and the fire is still burning, but the stamina is not enough.The sky is still dark, with a lone moon hanging high above the head, and the white is not so pure, as if separated by a layer of red gauze.

"It's obviously a city built on water and relying on the sea to survive, but it's really ironic that it has formed a relationship with fire several times."

Louis sat cross-legged next to Adrian, and seeing Adrian open his eyes, the tight corners of his mouth finally relaxed.

"Master..." Adrian blinked his eyes in confusion, only feeling as if there were three blurred moons hanging in the sky at the same time. "Looks like I'm still alive..."

Louis sighed softly: "Do I look like Death?"

Adrian struggled to get up, but felt his whole body was limp and numb. Although the knife wound soaked in seawater had been bandaged briefly, it was still burning hot, and even his head was groggy, unable to control himself.

It's rare to recover from the wind and cold of the past few days. It would be ridiculous if he became sick again in a blink of an eye.

"Why are you here?"

"While walking around the pier, I happened to see a fire here." Louis lied lightly. "What about you, why did you run to the pier in the middle of the night?"

"Someone tricked me here in the name of General Lucien. The general is probably in the same situation." Thinking that he was almost killed by a mysterious person, Adrian was very annoyed, but fortunately, Louis descended like a magic soldier. appeared in front of oneself. "You saved me?"

"Well, sort of." Louis' answer was subtle, and he looked away after speaking.

Adrian suddenly remembered something more important: "By the way, did you see General Lucien when you came? How is he doing!"

It was only then that Louis remembered that he had indeed saved two people just now: "Oh, I seem to have saved his life."

"...Like?" Adrian didn't know what to say.

Louis waved his hand and said, "There are already people at the pier, and they will remove you from the boat soon."

The plank road has become "lively": the fire was first startled by the nearby underground gangs, General Lucien, who had escaped from the sky, quickly called the city guards, plus the ordinary citizens living by the pier, all of them joined hands Eight-footed to extinguish the fire on the plank road, trying to find a way to board the burning light sailboat and rescue the survivors stranded on board.

Louis was about to stand up so that he could cooperate with the rescuers under the boat, but Adrian grabbed his cuffs.

"Master, it was the Kurmans who attacked me and the general."

"I know, I have fought them a few times just now."

Adrian immediately asked: "Besides them... have you seen anyone else?"

Louis was silent for a moment, shook his head, and replied calmly: "No, I only saw the group of Kullmans. They jumped into the sea and left when they saw that there might be guards coming on the plank road at any time."

Afraid that such an on-the-spot statement would appear perfunctory, Louis added: "They argued for a while before they left, but I can't understand the language of the Kullmans."

"That's weird...why would they do that?"

Adrian frowned, unable to find a reasonable explanation for a while.

The courier who sent him a message in the name of General Lucien and invited him to the pier was obviously not a Kurman, and Adrian couldn't think of any problems between the Flying Lion Mansion and these fighting peoples from the north.The appearance of the Kurmans in Marunliga is itself a bizarre thing.

But in any case, both Adrian and General Lucien narrowly escaped unharmed, which is considered fortunate.

"When I fell into the sea, I thought I was going to die." Adrian finally regained the leeway for reflection.

Louis looked down at Adrian's pale cheeks, and said a few words of relief: "It's your fate, Torreso's pedigree is indeed unusual. Being able to confront a group of attackers at the same time, it seems that your swordsmanship has improved again .”

Having received Louis's approval, although it was a bit inappropriate, Adrian still wanted to humbly say a few words of self-effacement, but unexpectedly his voice became hoarse, and he choked out half a mouthful of bloody sea water from his throat.

Louis still had a helpless smile that was too faint to be seen.He held Adrian's back so that he could sit up on his own and slowly resume his breathing.

The citizens who guarded and helped had already boarded other ships connected to the fire ship, and were frantically putting long planks on the side of the ship that was not on fire, paving a passage for Louis and Adrian.

"Look, the consciences of Maren Liga are here." Louis patted Adrian on the shoulder.

For some reason, Adrian always felt that Louis seemed to be hiding something, but he couldn't figure out the details, only an indescribable worry hung in his heart.

The author has something to say: You'reImmortal? -MarcinPrzybylowicz