Close Combat Mage

Chapter 307 - To Reach Agreement Part 2

“Tch…” The person helplessly said through gritted teeth, “Alright. I just won’t participate in this matter anymore. However…I only represent myself. I can’t make decisions for any other people.”

“What!” Xiang Yun shouted in shock, “What’s that? You’re clearly cheating! We’ve already finished fighting, and only now you tell me you can’t represent everyone else. Why did I bother fighting with you!”

The tall and sturdy figure awkwardly rubbed his head and said in embarrassment, “You can’t blame me for that. I never said that I could represent everyone. From the beginning to the end, you were the one saying it. Think back, you were the one that said as long as you won, you’d hand the chariot over to us. You never said what would happen if I lost!”

“That…” Xiang Yun couldn’t help but sweat at this. That’s right…the reality was indeed like so. The other party really hadn’t said that he’d lead everyone away if he’d lost.

“Hey! What time do you think it is, just because you guys aren’t sleeping doesn’t mean you should interrupt others’ sleep, ok?” While Xiang Yun was unable to speak, a lazy voice rang out from behind him.

Hearing this, everyone curiously looked behind Xiang Yun and saw that the wooden door behind him had opened at some point. The drowsy-eyed Suo Jia was currently standing there with an impatient expression, muttering something.

After glancing at Xiang Yun, Suo Jia furrowed his brows and said, “What’s wrong with you? It’s only been a short while since I’d last seen you, yet you’re covered in blood. That’s right…whose blood is that? Is it yours or the enemy’s?”

“Hehe…” Xiang Yun chuckled in embarrassment and said, “It’s mine. I was careless just now and got scratched…”

Suo Jia frowned and slightly stretched out his right hand. A blue glow flashed a few times, and immediately afterwards…Xiang Yun felt a refreshing feeling disperse outwards from his wound.

Sensing the circumstances of his wound, Xiang Yun’s eyes lit up. He excitedly raised his head and said to the surrounding people, “Aha…alright, since you guys want to fight, then come at me. I’ll accept all of you!”

“Pa!” As soon as Xiang Yun finished speaking, Suo Jia unrestrainedly punched Xiang Yun’s head and said angrily, “You bastard, can you stop constantly thinking of fighting? Even if you aren’t sleeping, others are. Even if Roger and I can handle it, do you think Nicole can?”

Xiang Yun stuck out his tongue in shame, and didn’t dare say he’d continue fighting. Just as Suo Jia had said, Nicole was a female after all, and didn’t have the same resistance to sleeplessness that men did.

Suo Jia could tell that Xiang Yun had admitted his wrongs judging from his attitude, and he nodded in satisfaction. He turned around and said to the surrounding crowd, “Don’t bother encircling this place any longer. It’s impossible for us to give you the chariot, as we still need to use it. If you want to fight, do it again in the daytime. I won’t care if you all come together, or do individual challenges. It’ll be up to you!”

With this, Suo Jia dragged Xiang Yun back into the room. The crowd of people watched the house door get heavily shut, and couldn’t help but fall silent. After a long while, the tall and sturdy fellow said, “The brat is right. Even if we want the chariot, we can wait until tomorrow morning.” Everyone nodded, and the encirclement silently dispersed.

The next afternoon, Suo Jia’s group finally woke up from their deep sleep. After eating the bountiful lunch Roger prepared, Suo Jia led Roger, Xiang Yun, and Nicole towards the village’s small square, No matter what, the chariot matter had to be resolved.

By the time Suo Jia’s party had reached the square, hundreds of lodging adventurers had already gathered. When they saw Suo Jia’s party arrive, they all swarmed around.

Since he was familiar with them, the tall and sturdy fellow was pushed into become the representative again. He quickly walked up to Suo Jia and said, “Let’s not bother with pointless blabber. Just say it straight out, what must we do for you to be willing to hand the chariot over to us?”

“Papapa…” Suo Jia clapped in praise, “Words well spoken. If you wanted our chariot, all we had to do was properly discuss it. Using force can’t resolve it. Otherwise, you would only end up with a broken chariot.”

The surrounding crowds couldn’t help but gasp at Suo Jia’s words. Indeed…Suo Jia had the chance to destroy the chariot. Although there were blacksmiths in the village, they couldn’t possibly repair magic automatons. Without the automaton pulling it, how would the carriage alone be of any use?

Suo Jia was pleased when he saw everyone’s expressions. He knew that these guys wouldn’t dare to pull any more schemes. As long as they wanted to return, they had to sit down and properly discuss it.

Suo Jia opened his mouth to say, “We still need to use this chariot later, so we cannot hand it over. However…I can be responsible for using the chariot to escort you guys back!”

“Ah!” Everyone cried out in joy. Suo Jia looked at their excited expressions and continued, “Even if I gave this chariot to you guys, you would be unable to support it once you hit the desert. Thus, it doesn’t at all matter whether or not I give the chariot to you. But…”

Suo Jia paused halfway before chuckling, “We can help you guys, but we are neither relatives or friends. We haven’t even had any business transactions before. Since you want us to help, shouldn’t you pay some price?”

“Price?” A bearded man from the crowd looked at Suo Jia curiously and asked, “What kind of price do you want us to pay? Money?”

“Yeah…” Suo Jia nodded and firmly stated, “That’s right. Since you guys want to leave the Greater Trade Routes, keeping so much of the Trade Route currency is meaningless. You might as well leave them with us. As for currency from the outside world, there’s no reason to be afraid of being unable to earn it with your abilities, right?”

“No problem!” The bearded man nodded and resolutely declared, “We’ve already discussed it. When we leave this time, we’ll work together to create a super empire. We’re all nobles, so money is something we’ve never lacked!”

Seeing that the opposing party actually agreed, Suo Jia was extremely pleased. He took a deep breath to quell the excitement in his heart and continued, “Also, judging from your emblems, everyone’s mostly the boss from their group. Thus, I believe that you guys must know many secrets about the other three checkpoints. I hope that when you leave, you’ll leave these secrets behind, hehe…I’m not sure if…”

Before Suo Jia had finished speaking, the tall and sturdy fellow interrupted, “Not a problem. Either way, we’re not coming back. Since you want to know, we’ll just tell you. However, like this, doesn’t it seem too favorable to you guys?”

Suo Jia wryly shook his head and said weakly, “This counts as being too favorable for us? There are over 100 of you guys. Actually, I feel that you guys are the advantageous ones.”

Everyone pondered Suo Jia’s words. They knew that if he didn’t help, they wouldn’t be able to return within the next 1-2 years, and they’d just end up wasting their time here. In that case, they might as well return earlier. With their skills, they’d be able to earn back any price they paid by severalfold within 1-2 years.

The issue now was that they were requesting something from Suo Jia, not the other way around. If Suo Jia didn’t think it was worth it, Suo Jia would simply not cooperate. While this didn’t affect him, it was impossible for the adventurers to pay no mind to something like this happening. If Suo Jia didn’t help, who knew how much longer they’d be stuck here for.