NOVEL WEB Chapter 108: Graves Ran Away?
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"Let's discuss this after I return."
Link Star pinched the bridge of his nose. During the events of Arcane, Camille had been overseas, busy with business matters.
Originally, she was supposed to shift her focus from Ionia to Ixtal, but Jinx's attack on the Council building forced her to change plans and return to Piltover earlier to restore order.
It seemed that the Ferros family's development plans for Ixtal had been in the works for a long time.
Now, Dakora was merely informing him of the situation.
Getting the Ferros family to abandon Ixtal was out of the question.
But Ixtal...
While the region was rich in minerals and natural resources, its jungles hid countless dangers.
It looked like after leaving Bilgewater, his next destination would have to be Ixtal.
"Alright, you'll only be in Bilgewater for a month at most. I can wait that long!"
"Mm."
Link nodded slightly. After dealing with the Harrowing, he would need to tie up loose ends in Bilgewater and prepare for his next steps.
A month was more than enough time.
"Also, go find Singed and have him assemble an alchemy team. The task is to produce high-energy nutrient solutions. Start with five thousand vials, ten milliliters each." Link added, "The formula is in the alchemy workshop in my lab. Check my safe for it."
"Got it—" Dakora agreed readily. "Anything else, my dear young master?"
"No, that's all. Get to work."
"Fine, fine—" Dakora rolled her eyes and cut the communication.
Link stared at the now-quiet mirror, took a deep breath, and was about to contact Irelia from the Project universe when—
Bzzzt!
The mirror surface of the communicator rippled with energy, and the device vibrated in his hand.
"Huh?" Link picked up the communicator, and Jinx's face appeared on the screen. "Hey, Link!"
"What's wrong?" Link frowned as soon as he saw Jinx. "Did something happen?"
"Nah, it's just that big-bearded guy you caught earlier..." Jinx twirled her blue braid, and Link's eye twitched. "Graves?"
"Yeah, him!"
"What about him?" Link tilted his head. Jinx grinned mischievously. "He ran away."
"Ran away?" Link raised an eyebrow. Jinx nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! While we were dealing with some stubborn folks, he grabbed some of the enforcers' gear and jumped into the sewers."
"Tch. Can't take my eyes off him for a second without him causing trouble."
Link waved his hand dismissively. "Keep working on your mission. I'll handle the rest."
"Alright—" Jinx drawled before cutting the communication.
Link closed his eyes, sensing the trace of magic he had left in Graves. He had made the enforcers feed Graves a capsule containing his blood.
But with everything else going on, he hadn't kept a close eye on the man.
And now, Graves had pulled this stunt.
"You're really digging your own grave."
Once Link located Graves through the magic, he used it to influence and control him.
"Link!" Nekko burst into the cabin, clutching a thick recipe book. "Nekko... Nekko wants to make this!"
She flipped open the book and showed Link what she had found.
Link glanced at it. "You want to make cheesecake?"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"Hahaha! Now it's freedom for me!"
Graves climbed out of the sewer, shaking off a razor eel he had pulled from his pants and slamming it against the ground to kill it.
He then pulled out the Hextech gun he had swindled from the Ferros enforcers and admired it for a moment.
Thankfully, his swimming skills and lung capacity were top-notch, or he never would have escaped.
Just thinking about everything he had seen while in that kid's presence sent a shiver down his spine.
The boy was a Piltie, but he acted like a devil.
Compared to him, even the two crime lords seemed downright friendly.
And the people around him? Not a single normal one in the bunch. That wolf-man hybrid creature aside, even the blue-haired girl with the long braids was trouble.
Luckily, the kid hadn't paid much attention to him, just tossing him to that monster and forgetting about him.
That oversight had given Graves the chance to escape.
"Hmph, just wait till I get the chance. Then I'll—"
Graves trailed off, unable to finish the thought.
What could he even do?
All he had now was this new weapon he'd tricked his way into getting. Whether he could use it effectively was another matter entirely.
Sigh. Better find Twisted Fate and team up with him to get out of here.
With that old fox around, at least he wouldn't keep getting screwed over.
Of course, he'd punch him first, then they could run off together.
Graves ran a hand through his wet hair, squelching in his soaked shoes as he walked forward.
What Graves didn't know was that every one of his thoughts was being read by Link.
4:00 PM, at a local bar.
"Another round!"
Graves, now in fresh clothes and a disguise, slapped a silver coin on the counter—stolen from the Ferros enforcers as travel money.
The bartender glanced at him and slid over a bottle of strong liquor.
"Hey, buddy, you seen a guy with a hat and a black spade on it? A card shark?"
"You mean Twisted Fate?"
"Yeah, that bastard. I've got some things I want to discuss with him."
Graves patted the Hextech gun on the table. The bartender eyed it and said slowly, "I've heard some rumors. Apparently, he was seen at the Fortune's Glory recently, won a big pile of cash."
"But in the end, someone crashed the party."
"I heard he got into trouble with some folks looking for revenge, but at the last second, he vanished—taking all the money with him!" Another patron chimed in, eyeing Graves' Hextech gun greedily.
"Hey, buddy, that gun looks pretty nice. Mind sharing where you got it?"
Graves raised his temporary weapon and pointed it at the man's head.
"Sure. But first, I'll blow your brains out and use them to write the address."
"Never mind, never mind!"
The man shrank back, quickly distancing himself from Graves. Graves glanced at the sky outside, downed his drink, and grabbed his Hextech gun, ready to leave and track down Twisted Fate.
"Heh, I wonder if that devil is looking for me right now."
Graves checked the time and chuckled.
"No way I'm going back. This kind of freedom is too good to give up."
He stretched and, for some reason, took off his shirt.
"Huh? I'm not even hot. Why did I take this off?"
"Wait, why am I taking off my pants?"
"What the hell is going on? I don't have any plans to run around naked in the street!"
"Stop! Stop it right now!"
Meanwhile, Link and Nekko were in the airship's kitchen, flipping through the recipe book and preparing to bake a cheesecake.
Sensing Graves' panic and confusion, Link smirked.
"Since you want freedom like the wind, I'll give it to you."
"Enjoy your little streak."
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 156 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 100 power stones I will publish the next chapter.