Kells’ skills were all self-taught. This guy, if he were to go to the Thieves’ Guild for further training, would absolutely be able to obtain the title of expert before the age of thirty. However, because of his old dad’s teachings, he used all his talents on his particular hobby.

  That black shadow’s speed was not as fast as Kells’. After Kells had hidden himself good and proper, she only then carried Eliya out of the big gate. Kells was hiding right there at the doorway; he held his breath and entered a stealth state. The black-clothed person didn’t notice him at all, but right at that instant when she passed by closely, Kells smelled a different body fragrance.

  He sniffed hard with his nose, “Grandma’s, the smell isn’t the same, it’s a woman’s. The one who kidnapped Eliya is actually a woman, no wonder her figure is so petite. Damn it, what am I thinking about these things for, hurry up and follow!” Thinking of this, he sneakily followed that black shadow. For the sake of caution, Kells always followed at a distance of a hundred meters behind her. An ordinary person, at this distance, would have lost the target long ago, but Kells wouldn’t. His nose was as sensitive as a hound’s, but it only worked for women.

  Lucky thing the one who abducted Eliya was a woman…

  “Where is this place? It seems like some noble’s castle!” After following for a stretch of time, Kells discovered that the target stopped in front of a castle. To own a castle, one must definitely be a noble with a title, but Kells hadn’t seen much of the world. He didn’t know what kind of title one needed to have to possess such a big castle.

  But these things were of no importance. He had to rescue Eliya. This guy had already regarded the little cutie as his future wife! “There’s no one guarding the castle! Strange, it’s locked, but she went inside. But this can’t stump me!” Kells waited until the black-clothed person entered the castle, and only then did he sneakily slip near the big gate. It only took him one minute, and this guy had already opened the gate. If any high-ranking thief saw Kells’ performance, they would absolutely use every method to take him as a disciple, ah! Such formidable ability, the iron lock on the castle gate was obviously very complex, and it only took one minute, ah!

  Opening the castle’s big gate was an adventure. Although Kells didn’t see a single guard, opening the gate so casually like that could easily attract the attention of the black-clothed person. She might be right there at the door. Just as Kells bitterly at a loss for a plan—he thought of Fat Dragon. He patted the backpack a few times to wake Fat Dragon up.

  “Fat Dragon, you transform into a wild cat and open that big gate. It’s fine, the wooden one isn’t too heavy, you can manage it!” Kells whispered his instructions. Fat Dragon obediently transformed. Recently, Kells had figured out a way to deal with Fat Dragon: if this guy didn’t cooperate properly, he would reduce its rations. This move was poisonous, ah. It seemed that hunger didn’t count as damage; no matter how madly hungry Fat Dragon got, Kells didn’t feel a single thing, so now Fat Dragon was very well-behaved…

  It obediently turned into a wild cat. This big gate seemed like it hadn’t been maintained for many years; the wood of the door body had long dried out and become lighter. Fat Dragon bumped it once and opened the door. Kells hid in the shadows and peered inside; there was nothing, that black-clothed person wasn’t in the first-floor hall.

  Kells, seeing there was no danger, brought Fat Dragon along and sneakily entered the castle interior. “No way! How can it be so dilapidated, there are spider webs everywhere. Does anyone live here? Oh, there are footprints left on the ground…” Kells suddenly realized he had made a fatal mistake. The floor full of dust made it extremely easy to leave footprints. If the black-clothed person discovered them, she would definitely know she was being followed.

  “Never mind, her footprints are left here too. First, follow them over. No matter what, I have to save my woman!” Thinking of this, Kells no longer cared. He followed the footprints deeper inside. The torches on the castle walls were all lit up, probably done by the black-clothed person. The footprints disappeared at the underground level. This place was like a prison, with iron cages everywhere, but this seemed to be the only place that had been cleaned. The floor didn’t have a thick layer of dust piled up.

  That black-clothed person was beside the innermost prison cell. Although it was a prison cell, it looked like it had been tidied up. The inside was decorated like a room, suitable for living. The black-clothed person carried Eliya and placed her on the bed inside the prison cell. Kells hid in the shadows not far behind her, quietly observing.

  “Sorry, miss, completing this task will get me a year’s living expenses. The delivery date is tomorrow. You’ll just spend one night here, and by tomorrow, there will be a noble young master to dote on you, haha!” The black-clothed person’s speaking voice was indeed a female voice, and it sounded pretty good too, but this tone was like that of an underground mercenary doing dirty work.

  Kells had heard early on that there were some tasks that couldn’t be registered at the Mercenary Guild. These kinds of tasks had higher rewards but were prohibited by law. If a regular mercenary was found to be engaged in such tasks, they would immediately be expelled from the guild. If it involved national laws, they would also be pursued by the local lord!

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  However, there were always people who couldn’t resist the temptation of money. Just like the official guild, the underground guild for dirty work was equally prosperous. They even formed organizations similar to the regular guild, and their discipline was strict. But without exception, to register a task in the underground guild, one needed several times or even hundreds of times the amount of money!

  Tasks like kidnapping and assassination seemed to be the most common jobs in the underground guild. This black-clothed person should have accepted the task of kidnapping Eliya. From her words, Kells also guessed who the evil person behind it was. “Damn it, it must be that today’s actions were made too big, and Eliya was noticed by some noble young master! Damn it, which bastard did this? I’ll cut off your that!” Kells hated it so much his teeth itched, ah. There was actually another man daring to have designs on his wife. This was something no one could tolerate. But speaking of it, this guy really didn’t treat himself as an outsider, ah. Clearly, he and Eliya had only known each other for one day, is all!

  Kells decided to severely—punish this clueless black mercenary and take back Eliya. “But that little girl seems pretty formidable—I don’t know any martial skills at all, is all. A direct confrontation would absolutely have no chance of winning, ah. She even slept on the same bed with Eliya. Wanting to secretly rescue Eliya seems impossible too. I have to deal with that little girl first. Hmm! She took off her mask!” Just as Kells was thinking of a strategy, that girl removed her mask, and a head of clear and beautiful hair fell down. She looked pretty good, but there was an ugly mark on her face.

  “Hmm! That seems to be a criminal’s tattoo! Is this person an escaped convict or something?” Kells recalled the origin of that tattoo.

  After removing her mask, the black-clothed person seemed to kneel down in front of an altar in the center of the prison cell. She was saying something with her mouth, “Spirits of the Ryan family, please bless your last bloodline to be able to kill Charlotte! Now, as long as I earn enough money, I can hire the underground guild’s number one assassin, Gries, to help me blood-blade my enemy! Today is the last task. After delivering this little girl tomorrow, I can get that last sum of money I’m short of. I don’t know which noble young master offered so much money. An unexpectedly good job, haha, even the Heavenly Father is helping me get revenge!”

  “Still talking about the Heavenly Father, since when does the Heavenly Father cover for bad guys? There’s no opportunity to exploit, ah. I need to think of a more sinister idea, hehe. If it were a man, I couldn’t deal with you, but I don’t believe I can’t handle a woman!” Thinking of this, Kells knocked on Fat Dragon a few times again. “Fat Dragon, go transform into a more powerful monster to attract that guy’s attention. I’ll set a trap. Later, watch my gesture, and when it’s done, you come close to where my finger is pointing.” Fat Dragon poked out its fat head and nodded a few times; it understood.

  Kells discovered that ever since that whatever lousy contract was established, he and Fat Dragon had become more and more in sync. Most of his words, Fat Dragon could understand. At this moment, he bent down, sticking close to the ground, and moved to a spot convenient for setting a trap and not far from the black-clothed person. Kells took out the rope he always carried with him. Why would this guy carry a rope? It’s an essential tool for home, travel, and going out, ah!

  Soon, Kells set up a rope snare. As long as the target stepped in, they would be hung upside down. This was a prison cell, and the terrain was very convenient for setting this kind of trap. He pointed to the spot in front of the trap, and Fat Dragon quietly moved over there. It turned into a miniature lion. In Fat Dragon’s memory, this was probably the most powerful animal.

  “Hehe, preparations are ready, ah!” Kells chuckled sinisterly in his heart and began the entire plan. He imitated a lion’s roar and called out a few times. Upon hearing the sound, the black-clothed person immediately became alert and looked around everywhere. She saw a miniature lion squatting in front of her. This definitely wasn’t a little lion; its appearance was undoubtedly that of an adult lion, just this size…

  “Could it be some rare animal or something? After the castle has been abandoned for so long, even strange animals show up. Haha, today’s luck is really good. If I catch this little guy, maybe I can sell it for a good price in the underground guild. Little guy, don’t move around, big sister will take good care of you!” Saying this, the black-clothed person tiptoed closer to Fat Dragon. Her attention was completely drawn to Fat Dragon, and she didn’t notice the trap under her feet at all. Right at that instant when she got close…

  “Ah!!” Her entire person was hung upside down. “Who is it! Who! Bastard! How dare you make trouble on my turf!” The black-clothed person didn’t seem panicked at all. How could such a low-level trap trap her? She drew a dagger from behind and bent over to cut the rope. Of course, this was also within Kells’ expectations. He didn’t think such a trap could trap the black-clothed person in front of him.

  Just as the black-clothed person bent over to prepare, Kells took action. He leaped toward the black-clothed person, his speed astonishingly fast. Right as the black-clothed person’s dagger cut the rope, he accomplished his goal!

  After the rope was cut, the black-clothed person flipped over with a somersault and landed. In front of her, Kells was smiling wickedly, looking at her.

  “Who are you! Why are you here?” Kells’ aura stunned the black-clothed person. That guy’s smile was too eerie, and she didn’t dare to act rashly.

  “Who I am isn’t important. The girl you captured is my woman.”

  “Hmph, once she’s in my hands, you still want her? You’ve got some guts! This little girl, I’m determined to have. If you want her, you’ll have to take me down first!” Kells’ arrogance angered the black-clothed person.

  “Haha, you’re not worthy of me making a move. Look at what this is.” Kells took out something from behind. When the black-clothed person saw what was in his hand, her entire person was dumbfounded!