Chapter 349

: Are You Asleep
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After escaping, Benjamin and the rest of them took the small pathway, left the desert city and hid in the vast eastern desert.
The four thieves were very familiar with the terrain of the desert, therefore, they made it out easily. They redeemed themselves for the trouble that they caused by navigating and preventing them from getting found.
However, Benjamin did not forgive them so easily.

Who are they?
While they hid under a huge boulder, Benjamin looked at the four of them and said coldly,
What did all of you do, why is such a large group of mages chasing after you?
The four of them replied,
They… they are one of the largest mage forces in the desert, they are called the ‘Desert Shadow’.

Benjamin frowned,
Why did not you not tell me about it previously?


There are a lot of small mage organizations across all regions in Ferelden.
One of them replied weakly,
Their activities are mostly based around the desert city. We had wanted to tell you about it, but, it was too dizzy in the sky, so we could not tell you about it.

… So, are you blaming me?


No! Please do not kill us! Sorry! It’s our fault! We’re so sorry!


…

Benjamin shook his head helplessly.
However, if it was like what the thieves said, they were just a group of mages who were entrenched in Desert City, come to think of it, there were just twenty to thirty of them. In fact, there was nothing to be afraid of.
If Benjamin had enough preparation, they would not have been hard to deal with.
Thinking of this, he pointed at the masked women who was still unconscious on the floor and asked,
Why did she go crazy when she saw all of you? Are they your enemies?
The thieves shook their heads and replied,
No, we are their enemies.

…Oh?
Benjamin had something in his mind.

Anyone who hides themselves in the wilderness of the desert has lived in the desert city at some point in their lives.
The thieves continued to explain,
But… … the desert city is the Desert Shadow’s territory and they are very arrogant, even the authorities can not do anything about it. Every other mage that’s passed through this city has a feud with them. Although the hermit mages are living in the wilderness, they still need to go to town occasionally to stock up on their resources. Their relationship had always bad, but, after the elder gathered all the hermit mages together, their relationship got worst and they almost started a few fights.


Then all of you …

The four of them said bitterly,
This group of people had been our enemies since a long time ago, recently, they particularly hated the elder because they thought that the elder gathered all the secluded mages to go against them. However, the desert was too big and they could not find the elder, so, they were picking on us. Every time we enter the desert city, we had to carefully disguise ourselves or it would be very troublesome if they found us.

Hearing up until here, Benjamin finally nodded his head.
So that was the reason.
Even after living in seclusion, it was still inevitably to avoid drama and friction. Even in such a remote area like the eastern desert, as long as there were people, there will be endless battles, even those who lived in solitude could not avoid it.
What if some people thought that they could live here in seclusion and came all the way here for retirement, how disappointed will they be?
While thinking about that, he adverted his gaze and looked the unconscious masked woman.

Do you know her?

The thieves nodded their head.

She seems to be related to the leader of the gang, her rank is quite high,
One of them said angrily.
She was the one who threatened to kidnap the elder.

Hearing that, Benjamin was quite happy,
Since I have settled her, would your elder be grateful about it?

They were stunned and hesitated for a moment before saying,
This… I think, according to elder’s character, he would not grateful. He would not care even if she was dead or alive.


… okay,
Benjamin was a little disappointed.
He thought that he could use her as leverage in exchange for some designs or recipes. But now it seemed like the masked woman was of no use to him.
He should kill her soon.
Moreover, since it dragged on for such a long time, the masked women should have been at her limits, even the healing water balls could hardly save her. He was being merciful by doing so, killing her could be considered as ending her misery.
Look, he was a moral man!
Therefore, he used an ice blade to gently slit her throat, the masked woman who was on the verge of death crooked her neck and passed away.
Most importantly, after killing her, Benjamin did not forget search her body.
Unexpectedly, in addition to a few bottles of strength increasing magic potions, he found a weird bracelet in the masked woman’s pocket.
The bracelet was silver in color and it was cold to touch, it seemed like it was made from some kind of unknown metal, the whole bracelet was radiating mysteriously. Benjamin held it in his hand and looked at it carefully, he felt a faint magic disturbance coming from it.

This is … a magic tool?

Benjamin could not help but frown.
The bracelet felt strange, it was unlike typical magical tools, it seemed to reverberate with a strange sense of an ancient relic.
Unless, it was an ancient relic?
Benjamin tried invoking some energy into it, but just like throwing a hot chick into a crowd of gay men, it had no effect.
Strange…

Do you know what this is?
He studied it for a while, and show the bracelet to the four thieves.
Unfortunately, four thieves also shook their heads.

Maybe the elder will know about it, he’s an expert in this.
One of them suggested.
Hearing that, Benjamin could not think of a better way, so he kept the bracelet and said,
Ok, let’s bury the body and immediately bring me to your elder.

Not to forget, that was the whole purpose of this trip!
The four of them hastily nodded their heads.
Therefore, after burying the masked women, Benjamin followed the four thieves and gradually entered the vast desert. They quickly moved forward, on the way there, they fought five to six magic beasts, and finally, they arrived at their destination an hour later.
As though an oasis amongst the desert, there was a crude but rather spacious house behind a rock riprap. There seemed to be a mysterious energy protecting that place as it was not affected by the swirling sand grit. There were even a few green trees grown safely there, it seemed like the whole place was alive.
Seeing that, Benjamin thoughtfully nodded his head.
This was the power of magic tools.
Not much people were able to create such magic tools. Being able to produce magic tools of such quality, he was even more excited to meet the elder.

Mr. Mage, we are here.
One of the thieves came over and said.
Benjamin nodded his head, walked towards the door and when he was about to knock on the door.

Mr. Mage, wait!
The thieves hastily stopped him and weakly reminded,
The elder has a weird temper. It’s only one in the afternoon now, he most probably has not woken up yet, so we better not bother him.

Benjamin was speechless.

…so, I have to wait until he gets up?

This situation, why did it feel so familiar?
If he was a very talented person, he wouldn’t mind waiting. As long as he was willing to join his team, it would not be a big deal. But, someone who was living in seclusion in such a place, and based on the description of the four of them, Benjamin subconsciously felt that this Elder was going to be an extremely troublesome person.
Even if he were to wait for him, he would probably not appreciate it.
Benjamin hesitated for a while and activated the water element sensing technique. He was planning to use it to scan through the insides the house first, then decide whether he should wait or not.
However, a voice suddenly came from the house and interrupted him from peeping.

There’s nothing here. Since you have come, come on in.

Benjamin was surprised.
… He found out that I was peeping?
When the four thieves on his side heard it, they were pleasantly surprised, they quickly ran over there, and said while running,
Elder, we are back. You woke up early today!

After being silent for a moment, the voice once again came from the house.

No, I have not slept.