NOVEL WEB Chapter 27: How Did You Do It?
Chapter 27: How Did You Do It?
The room was dim, filled with a heavy stench of blood.
The fugitive was dragged in front of him, his breath weak.
"What were you looking for at my place?" Wu Heng asked.
The fugitive coughed up a mouthful of blood and gritted his teeth. "If I tell you, will you let me go?"
"Do you think you can still walk away?"
"A fair trade: you let me go, and I'll tell you what we were after."
They had come to his place to kill him, yet now they were talking about a fair trade.
"Were you after that ticket with the snakehead on it that was on Basen?" Wu Heng continued.
When he first killed Basen,
The only thing that stood out was that ticket with the snakehead on it. He didn't know what it was for, but it was the only thing unique enough.
The fugitive didn't respond, but the slight stiffening of his body confirmed Wu Heng's guess.
There was nothing else to ask. "Kill him," Wu Heng ordered.
"No...!"
Thud!
Sword One's blade fell, piercing the fugitive's throat with the iron sword.
【Gained Experience +30.】
【Summon - Skeleton Swordsman Gained Experience +10.】
The body slumped to the ground as the notification appeared.
Tonight had earned him and his skeletons quite a bit of experience.
Wu Heng glanced at the bodies on the floor, then at the skeletons waiting in the room.
He decided not to send them back to the portal, just in case there were more accomplices.
Basen, who had been stationed outside, hadn't returned yet.
He turned on his flashlight and started searching the bodies.
He found three money pouches, each filled with heavy silver and copper coins. Even as fugitives, they carried quite a bit of money.
It seemed these people still had a base in the city.
Besides the money, there were the weapons and armor of the three men.
The weapons were set aside, and the armor left untouched to avoid more blood spilling out.
Thud, thud~!
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Peering through the gap, he saw Skeleton Basen standing outside.
He opened the door, "No one else?"
Basen shook his head, indicating there was no one.
Leaving Basen, his highest-level rogue, outside was a precaution against someone playing lookout, like last time.
If someone had escaped again, it would have been a never-ending problem.
Now it seemed they had timed their entry perfectly, with no lookout.
"Move the bodies to the living room, then return to the portal," Wu Heng ordered.
The bodies were placed on leather sheets and carried to the living room.
The skeletons in the room then returned to the portal.
……
Morning.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed outside the door.
Bang~!
The door was kicked open, and Captain Oteluk, Karvina, and several members of the adventurer squad burst in.
Weapons in hand, their eyes scanned the room warily.
When they saw Wu Heng sitting in a chair with three neatly arranged corpses at his feet, they all froze.
"Wu Heng, are you okay?" Oteluk immediately asked.
"Yes, nothing major," Wu Heng replied, his gaze shifting to the others.
Standing behind Oteluk, besides Karvina, was a woman in leather armor with tan skin and brown hair braided into a plait, holding a staff with a sword at her waist.
Wu Heng had seen her before. He didn't know her identity then, but now he could guess: she was the second squad's leader, 'Tulesa.'
The only female leader among the four squads.
Behind her were several men—one in silver armor with a shield and sword, and three others in leather armor, some with bows, some with swords, all members of the second squad.
Seeing that Wu Heng was unharmed, they first breathed a sigh of relief, then quickly turned from relieved to stunned.
Their eyes fell once more on the three bodies on the floor.
"These three were fugitives? Did you kill them?" Tulesa asked.
Last night, the second squad's mission was also to capture a fugitive.
They made thorough arrangements, had the guards seal off the area, and even asked Oteluk and Karvina to help.
Only then did they successfully kill the target.
Yet here was this rookie, who the squads had little faith in, only chosen by Oteluk out of necessity, having killed three fugitives.
How was that possible?
One of the second squad members stepped forward to examine the bodies, then nodded, "They’re all on the wanted list."
After speaking, silence fell over the room once more.
Tulesa, still in disbelief, asked again, "You killed them?"
The group’s eyes shifted back to Wu Heng, and then to the figure in the round helmet standing beside him.
The recent string of fugitives had caused quite a stir in Blackstone Town.
For a new member of the fourth squad to kill three fugitives, he was sure to draw significant attention.
If she had known, she would have recruited this necromancer herself, even as a reserve member.
Oteluk finally spoke up, introducing, "Wu Heng, this is Tulesa, the second squad leader. If I'm not around, you can go to her if you need anything."
It seemed Oteluk and Tulesa had a good relationship.
"Nice to meet you, Captain Tulesa," Wu Heng said.
"Mm, if you ever feel that the fourth squad isn't the right fit, you can join our squad. I’ll find you a spot," Tulesa smiled.
"Thank you, but the fourth squad is fine."
"Tulesa, we’ll need your help to take these bodies back. Karvina, take Wu Heng to the guild to get checked out, make sure he's not injured," Oteluk quickly intervened, cutting off any further attempts at poaching.
Tulesa nodded, and one of her men pulled out body bags to wrap up the corpses for transport.
Karvina went outside to call a carriage, taking Wu Heng back to the guild.
……
In the carriage.
Karvina crossed her legs and looked at him. "You should consider renting a place in the central district. It’s safer there and closer to the guild."
He had thought about that.
After all, he had some money now, and renting a better place with a better living environment wouldn’t be bad.
But this idea had remained just that—a plan he hadn’t acted on.
The crowded area wasn’t as good, but it was less noticeable. No one cared what he brought home.
It made transporting things back and forth easier.
In the central district, it would be easy to draw attention.
"I'll save up a bit more," Wu Heng replied casually.
"When you're ready, you can ask the captain to help you find a place."
"Sure!"
……
Behind them.
In another carriage.
Tulesa glanced at Oteluk opposite her and said, "You’re pretty lucky!"
"Last night’s mission earned your squad quite a bounty."
"No, I mean you’re lucky to have recruited such a reliable member," Tulesa said with a smile.
The second squad was fully staffed.
But the third squad had the chance to recruit him, yet they chose someone else.
When word of this got back to the guild, who knew if the third squad would regret missing out on someone who could take down three fugitives alone.
"Mm."
Oteluk responded casually, but inside he was quite pleased.
Bringing back three fugitives would certainly give the fourth squad some recognition.