Read Novel Full Chapter 671: A Thousand Faces and a Covenant (2)
Chapter 671: A Thousand Faces and a Covenant (2)
"A deal, you say? What do you mean?" Erkan narrowed his eyes.
Thousand Faces gave a faint smile and clasped his hands behind his back.
"There’s no such thing as a free lunch. It’s a well-known saying—I’m sure you’ve heard it," he said calmly. "The same goes for this job. I’m not going to do it for free, am I?"
Crosmon frowned. Just as he was about to speak, Erkan raised a hand to stop him.
"Didn’t we already agree on this? We’ll pay you fifty million Rune coins upfront. Why are you suddenly adding conditions? Are you trying to break the deal?" Erkan asked coldly.
A faint pressure surged from his body and bore down on Thousand Faces.
But the man didn’t flinch. He kept smiling and replied calmly, "That’s a different matter. Earlier, you only said we were searching for two important people. Who would’ve thought they were Nolan Lorian and Seira Lorian?"
His gaze turned sharp. "If I help you, it’s the same as putting myself on the Great Velmora Empire’s most-wanted list. They’ll hunt me across the entire continent, and my peaceful life will end right then and there. So..."
His eyes flashed with meaning. "I want to add two more conditions. What do you think?"
"Tch..." Erkan gritted his teeth.
He hadn’t expected Thousand Faces to be this shameless.
But he had to admit the man wasn’t wrong. The condition Erkan had offered earlier was simply to locate two important people—he hadn’t mentioned their names.
Erkan had already expected that once Thousand Faces learned their identities, the man would seize the chance to demand more.
And his hunch was right. That bastard was taking full advantage of it.
He steadied himself, then said in a heavy voice, "State your two conditions. If they’re still reasonable, I’ll accept them. But if not..."
A murderous intent seeped into his voice. "Don’t expect to walk away freely after this."
Although he needed the man’s help, the fact that Thousand Faces was a high-profile fugitive was undeniable.
Erkan wouldn’t mind killing him right then and there.
Thousand Faces seemed unfazed by the threat. He raised two fingers and said, "What I want is a pay raise. Before, you offered fifty million. Now, I want a hundred million. What do you say?"
At that outrageous sum, Erkan and Crosmon were stunned.
"One hundred million!? Are you trying to drain the royal treasury!?" Erkan snapped.
His hand moved to the hilt of his sword, as if he were ready to draw it and cut Thousand Faces down on the spot.
"Why are you so angry?" Thousand Faces frowned in dissatisfaction. "Isn’t my request still reasonable? It’s only a hundred million, and I’m sure the royal palace has far more than that."
He spoke as if the number meant nothing.
"Besides, the risks of this job are enormous—especially since it involves Nolan Lorian, Elina Lorian’s brother. That woman is connected to the Singularity of Chaos. You must understand how heavy this burden is."
Thousand Faces was extremely confident in his abilities. Even if his opponent were another Celestial Mage, he was certain he could defeat them.
However, if his opponent were one of the Seven Singularities—let alone the Singularity of Chaos—he wouldn’t dare to take it lightly.
In the face of a madman capable of defeating a catastrophe-level monster as easily as swatting a child, surviving would already be a miracle.
Erkan’s anger slowly subsided. He hadn’t considered that possibility before.
Nolan Lorian was Elina Lorian’s twin brother—and Elina was a woman who had already secured a leading position in the battle for the throne of the Great Velmora Empire.
Most importantly, Elina had the indirect support of the Singularity of Chaos—someone who had been quietly clearing her path from the shadows.
Once he calmed down, Erkan spoke in a softer tone. "Your request is excessive. The truth is, I’m hiring you without His Majesty’s approval. But since this matter is urgent, I’m sure he’ll agree. Give me two days. I’ll get you the money then."
Thousand Faces had no objection. "No problem. I’ll wait."
Erkan let out a sigh of relief. Although Thousand Faces was irritating, he was surprisingly reasonable. Erkan’s impression of him rose slightly.
"State your second request," Erkan said.
Thousand Faces didn’t answer right away. He stayed silent for five long minutes, then finally said, "I want you to remove my name from the wanted list."
Erkan and Crosmon’s eyes widened.
Erkan’s gaze turned cold as he growled, "What did you just say? You’ve committed unforgivable crimes, and now you want your name removed from the most-wanted list? What a beautiful dream."
Thousand Faces smiled mockingly. "Don’t be such a hypocrite, Erkan. Do you think I’m naive enough to be fooled by you? In this world, the lives of ordinary people are worthless."
His tone sharpened. "Once, you slaughtered an entire city—hundreds of thousands of souls—during a conquest mission in the southwest of the southern continent. The number was far worse than those I sacrificed."
Erkan’s expression froze. Cold sweat broke out along his neck and forehead.
That massacre was real. He had indeed done it in the past. At the time, His Majesty had ordered him to conquer a small kingdom in the southwest.
But when the inhabitants of one of its cities refused to submit, Erkan had responded with brutality—slaughtering everyone, including women and children.
He couldn’t understand how Thousand Faces knew about it.
"That was my second offer. Think it over carefully."
Thousand Faces’ cold voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
Erkan took a deep breath and replied, "That matter is beyond my authority. But I’ll try to make it happen once I return."
Thousand Faces nodded in satisfaction. He didn’t need a guarantee—Erkan’s words alone were enough.
"In that case, I’ll begin," Thousand Faces said, turning and walking a few steps away. "Prepare your troops to move."
He raised his staff and began drawing a magic circle on the ground.
Erkan didn’t waste a second. He grabbed Crosmon and immediately ordered the soldiers to ready themselves.
The soldiers were clearly startled. They hadn’t even rested for an hour, yet they were already being forced to move again.
Unfortunately, none of them dared to protest. They hurriedly prepared themselves.
In just fifteen minutes, twenty thousand troops stood in neat formation.
Erkan remained at the front, watching Thousand Faces, who had already finished his preparations.
The soldiers grew even more confused at the sight of the cloaked man. They exchanged glances, silently questioning each other.
But none of them recognized him, so they could only keep their doubts to themselves.
Thousand Faces raised both hands toward the sky and shouted in a thunderous voice, "Signum Umbrae, Errantium... grant me your guidance!"
Whoosh!
The magic circle on the ground blazed with crimson light. It shot upward like a beam, and in the next moment, two giant eyes appeared in the sky.
Each eye was nearly ten meters wide, staring down at the troops with a sharp, terrifying gaze.
The soldiers trembled. They were hardened warriors who had survived countless battles.
Yet now, a fear they had never felt before crept into their hearts—and it came from those two eerie eyes.
Suddenly, the eyes swiveled and locked onto a point in the distance.
Thousand Faces smiled and pointed in the same direction.
"Exactly one hundred kilometers from here," he said. "That’s where the two of them are."