Chapter 957: The Three Teams Gather Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales Translated by XephiZ Edited by Aelryinth — “Dark Noble Mantle?” “What is that? It sounds pretty cool.” The team had gathered in the hall. They listened to the new arrangements from the advisors and heard them mentioning the bonus reward of the mission. The bonus reward was a Magic Equipment, something like a magic mantle. It was a very rare type of equipment, as it was a piece of supportive equipment that could be worn together with Magic Armor or Shields. Apparently, equipment like a mantle or a windbreaker might have similar uses to Magic Wings, as they could also spread into wings. However, both Mantle-type or Wing Magical Equipment were considered luxury goods among Magicians. If the two combined into a single piece of equipment, it was no doubt an extremely rare find. It was impossible to find anything like it even after visiting all the auctions being held! “They say it was a piece of equipment that a Forbidden Magician used in the past. He has now donated it to the World Magic Institution to motivate young Magicians. We are now competing for the Dark Noble Mantle with two other countries, Japan and India. They are close to the Caribbean Sea, and they will team up with us to take out the Red Ornaments Guild,” explained Nanyu in detail. “Is it really necessary to team up with them when we’re only going up against a bunch of bandits?” Guan Yu said disdainfully. “You’re wrong; the Red Ornaments Guild isn’t just a bunch of bandits. When the guild was first established, it was a guild of corrupted Magicians. Its influence was comparable to a magic clan, with thousands of Magicians under their lead. Their average strength is in the Intermediate Level, and they also have a lot of Advanced Magicians, too. They use the resources and money they steal to train new members, forming a complete family chain!” Nanyu had already researched the Red Ornaments Guild. “We’ve fought them recently; their overall strength isn’t weak,” Jiang Shaoxu stated seriously. It was obvious that the group led by Xi Ge and Oni was only a small branch of the Red Ornaments Guild. There must be someone even stronger supporting them behind the scenes. Otherwise, the governments of the nearby countries would not be so helpless against them. “We’ll wait here in Lanshi Town. The Japanese and Indian teams are making their way here. We should see them fairly soon,” said Nanyu. — In the afternoon, the Japan and Indian teams arrived in Lanshi Town. The group of thirty people decided to meet at Sea Gull Park. Since there were so many people, and not everyone was fluent in English, the teams only sent their representatives to discuss at a table. The others waited on the grass and walkway. “It’s B at most,” said Zhao Manyan confidently. “Maybe it’s C?” Mo Fan hesitated. “B, trust me; if it’s C, the shape should be a capital ‘I’. If it’s B, and the bra is pushing them in to form the cleavage, the shape resembles a ‘Y’,” stated the experienced Zhao Manyan. The two were sitting on a bench. They were bored, so they decided to identify the cup sizes of the girls instead. Their target was a female student from the Japanese team wearing an ocean-blue sailor uniform with a short skirt. She was most likely a fan of cosplay. She was even wearing a pair of alluring stockings. If she wasn’t standing in a national team, most people would simply assume her to be a girl with a hobby of dressing up in costumes. No one would think she was a powerful Magician. A Japanese man in a hoodie suddenly walked toward Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan, speaking in a serious voice. “You two, don’t you think that I have no idea what you were talking about. It’s not gentleman-like to dishonor a woman verbally!” He was talking in English, and the girl in the sailor uniform could understand him too. She glared at the perverted Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan with a hint of shock. The man in the hoodie was over-exaggerating it. The girl in the sailor uniform had no idea what Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were discussing. As a normal woman, she quickly assumed they were having lewd thoughts, so her glare at Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan was immediately filled with hostility. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan were experienced with shameless acts. Zhao Manyan was the first to voice his disagreement. He slowly rose to his feet and said, “We are discussing our admiration of a beautiful girl. Why did it sound so wrong and lowly in your mouth? I was saying that I like her stockings, and her figure. How is it any of your business?!” Zhao Manyan was indeed oily tongued. He immediately corrected the bitchy Japanese man’s accusation. “Akira Matsuki, forget it, they mean no harm!” The girl in the sailor uniform was a reasonable person too. She did not seem too bothered after hearing the explanation. She even gave them an apologetic smile. “They were saying... damn it!” Akira Matsuki obviously cared a lot about the girl in the sailor uniform. Even the slightest disrespect to her would infuriate him. Mo Fan and Zhao Manyan brazenly ignored the man’s accusations. Akira Matsuki was having trouble explaining. He could only swallow his words and glare at the two. — Meanwhile, Nanyu had reached an agreement with the representatives of the Japan and Indian teams. They proceeded to allocate the tasks. “I’m really impressed by your ability to collect information. The information that can easily be obtained by searching Google wasn’t of any value to us. Even though our advisors have asked us to work together, I have no intention of sharing our information with you,” Shou Watani of the Japanese team said. Shou Watani was the representative of the Japanese team. The way he acted and spoke implied that he was most likely from the Japanese military. “Which means you’re already found where their nest is?” asked Nanyu. “Something like that. You Chinese and Indians only need to support us. I’ll lead the team and complete the mission in no time. After that, we’ll go our separate ways and meet again in Venice,” said Shou Watani. “If you do have some intel, we are more than willing to support you,” said Nanyu. Fang Bingji of the Indian team nodded, too. {TL Note: Not sure why the author gave an Indian a Chinese name. Maybe it’s a Chinese from India?} The biggest problem the teams currently faced was the fact that they did not know where to start. They had all been here for a short period of time, and the Red Ornaments Guild had always been cunning and good at hiding themselves. Even the Sacred Hall of Liberty was having trouble locating them. They would not be able to make a breakthrough anytime soon. However, the Japanese team seemed to have some intel, so the other two teams only needed to provide support to complete the mission. It would be a win-win situation for everyone. “I’ll make it clear first; since we’re offering the important intel, the Dark Noble Mantle will be ours when we are done with the mission!” Akira Matsuki immediately reminded the teams about the important condition. Nanyu and Ai Jiangtu exchanged glances with one another, before Nanyu said, “If everything goes smoothly, and the intel is accurate, we won’t mind you taking the reward.” “Are you sure about that? Are we going to give up on the bonus just like that?” Li Kaifeng immediately challenged. “Safety first, we’re taking on the Red Ornaments Guild, they are a bunch of corrupt Magicians that kill without blinking. It’s more important to focus on completing the mission instead,” said Ai Jiangtu. The Indian team was having the same thought. If the Japanese team had enough intel to guarantee they could complete the mission without casualties, why would they bother taking any extra risk? As for the Dark Noble Mantle, the Japanese team was offering their intel, and coming up with the strategy. They were also willing to be the forward team, so it was reasonable for them to take the bonus. “The advisors are going to scare the crap out of us if they know we didn’t even compete for the Dark Noble Mantle,” said Li Kaifeng. “But I think nothing is more important than our safety. Besides, it’s true that we didn’t have any useful information,” said Nanyu. Intel was a lot more important than strength in an operation. The Japanese team did secure the upper hand this time! — Taking down the Red Ornaments Guild was a lot simpler when they only needed to provide support to the Japanese team. The Japanese team even knew where and when the members would be gathering. It was truly surprising, as if they already knew that they were going to take down the Red Ornaments Guild a long time ago. The three teams went back to rest. They would set out at night. Nanyu and Ai Jiangtu remained silent on their way back. When they were close to their accommodation, Nanyu said, “Although it looks like the mission was only decided recently, it’s obvious that the Japanese team knew the details way earlier than us.” “Mmm, I bet even the advisors never thought this would be the case,” said Ai Jiangtu. They had received the mission less than two days ago. If every team was given the mission at the same time, there was no way the Japanese team could acquire the intel in such a short period of time. The place and time the members of the Red Ornaments Guild were gathering was obviously kept confidential. Even the people of the Enforcement Union or Hunters would need years of investigation and infiltrating into the organization to learn the information. “We’ll tell the advisors about it, but the Red Ornaments Guild is indeed unforgivable considering the crimes they have committed. We’ll help the Japanese team take them out for now,” said Ai Jiangtu. Nanyu nodded. Something was fishy about the operation, but since their main goal was to eliminate a malignant tumor, they would place their doubts aside for now. The advisors would do them justice if the Japanese team was actually cheating. — “Since we’re setting out at night, I’ll go shopping around Lanshi Town then!” declared Jiang Shaoxu. “You seriously have to shop wherever you go?” grumbled Mu Tingying. “Of course, it’s easier to find rare loot in a place like this! Are you going too?” asked Jiang Shaoxu. “I’m planning to buy something too,” said Mu Tingying. The two girls soon left the team and headed for the town. When Zhao Manyan saw someone suggesting they visit the town, he raised his brows at Mo Fan and said, “Want to go take a look?” “No, I’m going to practice,” Mo Fan rejected him immediately. “I found a strip club,” Zhao Manyan told him. “Let’s go!” — When Jiang Shaoxu and Mu Tingying were walking down the street, the former suddenly turned around and glanced into a long alleyway. “What’s wrong?” Mu Tingying was confused by Jiang Shaoxu’s strange reaction. “Nothing.” The two continued along the street. Meanwhile, in the alleyway, a pair of eyes glittered cunningly...