Chapter 220: Spoils of War
Chapter 220: Spoils of War
Thud!
A bloody hole suddenly appeared in the forehead of the Black-robed Sorcerer.
Deep red blood mixed with white brain matter slowly oozed from the hole, trickling down his face.
Although the third AE bullet fired from the Desert Eagle had its momentum greatly reduced when penetrating the barrier, it still pierced through the sorcerer’s skull, turning his brain into pulp!
The Black-robed Sorcerer trembled uncontrollably, his sinister eyes filled with confusion and despair.
Crackle!
The lightning wrapped around his staff flickered and then vanished instantly.
He could no longer hold his weapon, letting it drop helplessly from his hand to the ground.
Then, he exhaled his final breath and died standing, head bowed before he fell!
Before his death, the Black-robed Sorcerer was filled with too many regrets.
He hadn’t unleashed his more powerful witchcraft; he hadn’t used his Witch Artifact or his scrolls.
Instead, he was severely wounded and killed almost instantly by Gao Jing’s strange weapon.
He truly died with great grievances!
Gao Jing walked forward, waved his hand, and stored the Black-robed Sorcerer’s corpse into his Storage Space.
He didn’t leave the staff on the ground either.
He then stored the burly warrior’s body into the Storage Space as well, and then calmly closed in on the last enemy.
“Ah!”
The middle-aged man tried to flee the alley. The path to the alley entrance was blocked by Gao Jing, and the other end was a dead end, so he attempted to climb the high wall.
But without equipment like the Weaver’s Wrist, his futile climbing effort appeared very ridiculous.
Seeing Gao Jing approaching, the man let out a woman-like shriek of terror.
Overwhelming fear caused him to have a mental breakdown on the spot. He fell to his knees with a thump, crying and begging pitifully: “My lord, I beg you, spare me! It wasn’t me who wanted to act against you, it was all the sorcerer’s idea!”
Gao Jing stopped in front of him but didn’t immediately swing the Flame Blade. He said sternly: “Tell me.”
As it turned out, this middle-aged man had been hired by the Black-robed Sorcerer. He’d been stationed outside the Alliance Branch in Abyss City, waiting for Gao Jing to appear.
Or, to be more precise, waiting for the person who’d posted the lucrative task to collect the Guru Idol!
After Gao Jing had retrieved the task item, the man had immediately approached him to probe for information.
The man had never actually possessed the Guru Idol; his real purpose was to lure Gao Jing out.
Things had gone unexpectedly wrong when their conversation soured.
Faced with this, the man had contacted the Black-robed Sorcerer immediately, leading to their pursuit and ambush.
According to the man, this Black-robed Sorcerer was likely a Witchcraft Scholar, and he was intensely interested in the Guru Idol.
The reason for this interest, however, was unknown.
“It should be around here!”
Right at this moment, hurried footsteps and chaotic voices came from outside the alley: “Quick, check it out!”
Clearly, the gunshots from the Sandy Eagle had drawn attention and been reported to the patrolling Enforcement Guard.
A Enforcement Guard unit had arrived to investigate.
The Enforcement Guard was the armed unit belonging to the Steward Hall of Blackwater City. Quite powerful, their patrol squads were responsible for maintaining order within the city.
However, most of the time, the Enforcement Guard only patrolled the Upper District and the Middle District.
This alley was tucked away in a remote corner of the Middle District, so the Enforcement Guard’s arrival had been a bit slow.
But the middle-aged man seemed like he’d grasped a lifeline. His face twisted into ecstatic relief, and he opened his mouth to cry for help.
However, the next moment, Gao Jing’s fist crashed heavily into his skull!
Whump!
By the time the fully armed Enforcement Guard patrol rushed into the alley, all they found were scattered spots of blood on the ground. There were no bodies, nor any sign of those involved.
They stared at each other, baffled.
Gao Jing, by then, had long since scaled the alley’s wall and, using the Weaver’s Wrist to cling to eaves and traverse walls, had slipped away silently.
He hadn’t gone far. Finding a secluded, deserted corner, he dumped out the corpse of the Black-robed Sorcerer.
Time to loot the body.
Besides the staff, Gao Jing found two rings, three animal skin scrolls, one inscribed stone slab, and a copper key with a wooden tag attached!
As for the scattered bits of silver and Copper Coins, they weren’t worth mentioning.
The two rings were likely Witch Artifacts; Gao Jing could sense the power within them.
Uncertain of their function, he didn’t recklessly inject Totemic Power to test them.
The animal skin scrolls and the slab covered in Totemic Runes were obviously the sorcerer’s tools.
He stored those all separately, planning to study them later.
The wooden tag attached to the copper key felt oddly familiar to him.
About the size of a baby’s palm, both sides of the wooden tag were covered in complex Totemic Runes. The front side had the characters “上居” (Upper Residence) carved in the center, while the back had the numbers “五七九” (Five-Seven-Nine).
After a moment’s thought, Gao Jing immediately realized why it looked familiar.
He’d seen similar wooden plaques, though larger, hanging by the doors of many shops and houses throughout Blackwater City.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this plaque showed an address number – 579 – and the key was undoubtedly the key to that door!
And “上居” probably referred to the Upper District.
Thoughtfully, Gao Jing stored the corpse away again, returned to the bustling main street, and headed towards the Upper District.
A boundary river also separated the Upper District from the Middle District within Blackwater City.
This river, however, was clean, with clear water where you could see the bottom.
A long wooden bridge connected the two banks, guarded by a sentry post and its wardens.
Gao Jing observed by the riverside for a moment before walking over.
He showed the Upper Residence tag to the guard at the post. The latter didn’t bother to scrutinize it closely; he immediately bowed respectfully and let Gao Jing pass.
Gao Jing quietly let out a sigh of relief.
He’d already planned that if the guard sensed something amiss, he would bring Zhiqi’s name up as protection.
But the guard recognized the tag, not the person, saving him the trouble.
The Lower District, Middle District, and Upper District of Blackwater City felt like different worlds – slums, ordinary neighborhoods, and luxurious estates – with massive differences between them.
The environment in the Upper District was even better than the Middle District.
Most buildings here were standalone houses with private yards. There were no bustling commercial streets. The pedestrians on the roads wore more elaborate clothing, and their general bearing was completely different from the people down in the Lower District.
Squads of fully armed warriors patrolled the streets regularly.
Gao Jing walked slowly, noting the door plaques of the houses along the road.
Following the address, Gao Jing spent nearly an hour before finally locating the house matching the tag’s number.
It was a three-story villa situated near the edge of the Upper District, close to a moss-covered rockface. Dark green thorn vines grew around its base wall. The gate was firmly shut, looking rather desolate.
Gao Jing took out the key, inserted it into the lock on the door, twisted it left and right a few times, and successfully unlocked this thick door!
Without a doubt, this was the Black-robed Sorcerer’s residence in Blackwater City.
Gao Jing knew a house in the Upper District like this definitely didn’t come cheap.
And now, he had it all.
It all came to him.