A Sorcerer's Journey 271 The Search

Grimm and Nina York forfeited their original plans to visit the rest of the sorcerers that they knew. They hurriedly left Black Isotta Sorcerer Academy.
They flew across the sky at high speed, swiftly and gingerly brushing the Vicious Thorn Forest beneath their feet.
Grimm's loose black sorcerer's rope was fluttering about in the wind. Beneath the Mask of Truth, he bore an expression that was lost, anxious, and sad. Nina was riding on a broom. She turned and looked at Grimm with concern.
"Grimm, if we really do find Lefay, what do you plan to do? There's a bounty on her, now that she's become an apprentice of the Black Sorcerer."
Nina asked worryingly. A thought crossed her mind that Grimm might do something stupid.
Grimm bit his lips tightly. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, I know Lefay! She's not that kind of person. There must be some reason for it. I must see her personally."
Nina sighed.
"No matter the reasons, there's no turning back once she stepped into the path of the Black Sorcerer on the Sorcerer Continent. She can only hide in the corners of shadows like a rat. She could be hunted down by bounty hunters anytime."
With the wind blowing in their faces, Grimm shouted out in a deep tone. "I know all this! I just want to ask her why she's acting this way! Even if she were to be hunted down in the Sorcerer Continent, I still want to see her for one last time!"
Sigh…
Nina replied, "Okay, Bone Bell Tower Academy has mobilized most of their sorcerers and elite sorcerer-apprentices. They've hunted down quite a number of black sorcerer-apprentices, but there's still no news of Lefay. Let us first get to the site where news of the dark sorcerer apprentices had frequented and circle around from there."
"Ok."
Grimm replied and followed in Nina's lead.
...
This was a city located between the Black Isotta Sorcerer Academy and the Ivory Castle Sorcerer Academy—Versailles City.
Versailles City had a population of about seven hundred thousand people. Traders and knights passed through the city in huge numbers. It was an important transportation hub that was famous for its bristles, leather skins, cotton, and quartz.
Hundreds of castles, small and large, were erected within and outside the city walls. Its bustling market streets painted a scene of prosperity, while its crossroads and junctions were filled with slums and dilapidated huts that housed the weak, the poor and peasants.
The slum was a breeding ground for sinister triads and villains from all walks of life. Stabbing incidents were frequent in this area. No law enforcement would set foot in here.
Ursulus was an orphan born in the slums of Fansail City.
Like most orphans, Ursulus did not know much about his own background. He relied on his cunning mind and his fit body to survive in the dog-eat-dog world. Gradually, he too became one of the thugs on the street.
At nineteen years of age, Ursulus was one point seven-five meters tall. He had a head of messy, brown hair. Sporting a greasy, hardened face, his eyes were like those of a venomous snake. There was always a creepy smile at his lip. He always carried a sheathed dagger. Seven or eight other thugs followed him everywhere as he casually strolled around his territory.

The thugs stopped at a rundown tailor shack.
"Hehe! Old man! You should thank your daughter that I didn't charge you any money last month. If you dare to complain again this month, hehe, hehe…"
Ursulus played around with the blade on his hand. He had the eerie smile of a villain.
The old man at the tailor shack raised his head which was quivering in fear. It seemed that he would not be able to live for more than a few days. His hair had thinned to a few pathetic strands.
But Ursulus didn't care anyway. The old man had always been this way for years. All the residents here have had a tough life.
A woman in her thirties, who still had some beauty left in her features ran across hurriedly.
"Ursulus, my father will no longer give you any money! Not even a copper coin!"
Ursulus glanced at the woman as he coldly chided, "You're but a maid of the viscount, don't even dare think that you are his lover…"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Slowly, from the alleyway, a stout knight approached full-clad in metal armor. Beneath his helmet, his eyes were stern.
"These people are the subjects of the viscount. The lord's faith in the beacon of justice shall spread into each corner of the subjects!"
As the woman saw the approaching knight, she quickly leaned against him. Her posture strut up considerably straighter as he glared at Ursulus.
A knight clad in full armor wasn't something that the thugs could toy around with.
Ursulus clenched his teeth. It's that justice bastard again. How did this woman manage to seduce him? Hmph!
Ursulus turned around and winked at the thugs. Instantly, one of the thugs caught the hint and ran off in a cold smile.
The denizen always had his ways!
Shing!
The stout knight pulled out his longsword and coldly declared, "I am the Lord Viscount's escort knight. I will uphold justice by executing you guys right now. Not even the peacekeepers could touch us. Do you want to try it, boy?"
"Hahaha, this was a misunderstanding. How could we ever offend Lord Viscount's faith in the justice system? We were merely…"
After a quick while, another knight quickly approached them on horseback.
"Izu! The butler has summoned you back to your position right now. The viscount is departing to his son's house. We heard that a sorcerer had come over to the city and the city gates have been shut. Something big is probably happening!"
The horse stopped between the two people as the rider passed the message to the knight who had a strong faith in maintaining justice.
"Conspiracy, this is a conspiracy, my lord…"
The woman begged at the armored knight. After hesitating for a moment, he saw a group of peacekeepers running across the street. Something had really happened. Finally, he shook his head and dared not delay any further.
The armored knight sighed and rode off with the other rider to the distance.
Slam! Ursulus pushed the woman away and slapped her hard till she was flung to the ground. He shouted at her, "Bitch! I will let you know who's in charge of these streets. How dare you call someone over! Why don't you call him back right now! Call him! Call your justice here!"
The woman covered her head and wailed.
The thugs gathered around and flogged the maid of the viscount as well. They were careful not to hit her face though.
"Stop! Stop! Here, these are all my copper coins…"
The old man in the tailor shack tried his best to pull the men away, but it was all but futile.
There were too many people looking. The hoodlums had to do something to show their power. However, they were just beating a female maid and they therefore didn't use too much strength.
A while later, Ursulus held up his coin pouch smugly as he arrogantly led the thugs away. The denizens collectively shook their heads and sighed before slowly dispersing.
...
Dusk descended and the skies began to dim. Within the filthy alleyways of the slums, Ursulus held onto his coin pouch and laughed. "Da*mn, justice almost got served today! What a bitch."
The rest of the thugs joined his laugh.
Only one of them looked around suspiciously. In a low voice, he said, "Boss, this street ain't peaceful! I've heard that quite a lot of people have been stabbed by dark blades and have gone missing!"
"Bah! We are the bosses here... who dares to touch us?!" Ursulus slapped the guy smugly.
The thug then nervously joined in their laughter.
Huff, huff, huff…
From a distance, the thug who ran away earlier tried to catch up with them. Ursulus burst into laughter. "Hey, Two Mud! That was some fine work! The messenger sure threw the knight off quickly."
The thug who was still catching his breath looked surprised. "Boss, I didn't even see the messenger. I couldn't even get into the viscount's manor today!"
Huh?
The thugs looked puzzled.
At this moment, a chilling voice came out from the dilapidated house beside the thugs. "Hehe, I was just looking for a fresh batch of ingredients for my experiment…"
A water elemental aura soon emanated out of it.

Chapter end