Chapter 108: Cannon Fodder

Ryu swam back to where the others were—not taking any time to pause to catch his breath. There was a cave totally devoid of water. A cave within a cave! They could take their rest and cooked some food there.

He got to tell the others fast so they could explore it right away.

Ryu's excitement soon died in the face of three people standing at their meeting place. Based on the dagger at Jane and Theodore's neck, it was apparent that the three were not friendly.

"Hello, there," said a lethargic man. Ryu remembered him. He was Vein from the auction house, the leader of the mercenary group Lethal Poison. 

"If you don't want anything to happen to your friend, I suggest you don't do anything funny. This dagger is coated with a lethal poison that only I have the antidote," Vein said, pushing the dagger against Jane's throat.

Jane wasn't the least bit intimidated despite the threat, but her face was paler than usual. "You'll pay for this Vein. Marcus would never let this go."

Vein's sleepy face didn't change. He was handsome if only it weren't for his sickly appearance. "But first, he had to find and catch me. And who knows, he might be dead somewhere already."

Jane clamped her mouth shut when she felt the dagger pressed her neck while Theodore burst out crying.

Vein was a poison master. A rank-A poison master with affinity to shadows. The worst possible combination. Because of it, he was an extremely skilled assassin and the most wanted man in some of the Mortal Realms cities.

"Shut up, kid," said the only woman in Vein's group and held Theodore's collar tightly enough to choke him.

Ryu knew her too from the auction. It's not hard to remember since only the two women have dark skin and white hair at that time. If he remembered correctly, her name was. . .

"Masha, don't be too hard on the kid," said another man that was unfamiliar with Ryu. He was tall and had a sturdy built.

"I didn't know that the reputable Griffin Wings would alley themselves with thugs like lethal poison," Jane spat.

Masha grinned, canine on display. "Reputation doesn't mean shit here. You have to ally with the strong if you want to stay alive."

Jane sneered. "I wonder if your older sister knew about what you're––!"

Slap!

Jane didn't finish her sentence when Masha slapped her. 

"Stop talking about my sister!" Masha snapped. With lean muscles lining her body, Jane was bound to spit blood from her busted lips.

"Sis!" Theodore cried out.

A ramble vibrated in Ryu's chest, and Vein shouted, though his voice was still lethargic as his face, "Everyone, calm down. Let's not start a fight here."

"What do you want?" Ryu asked. He was going to stall for time. Maybe Kai and Seraphina would notice the commotion just now.

"Man. .. no luck with that path. It just led to another dead end."

"Same here."

Ryu's shoulders slumped when both Kai and Seraphina emerged from the sandy path. Their faces were dejected, but soon their eyes popped from their sockets when they saw what was happening.

"Who are you guys?" Kai asked, and Ryu wanted to smack his head.

Didn't they hear the commotion? Or at least took a glimpse of what was happening? 

Ryu couldn't entirely blame them, though. The spot where Vein and the others were hidden by rocks, and not until you emerge from the other side that you'd have a full view of what they were doing.

"Hello, my name's Thall," said a tall man that Ryu didn't recognize. "And if you don't want anything to happen to your companions, then we suggest that you do as we say."

Kai and Ryu looked at each other. Frankly, they didn't care about Jane and Theodore, but. .. they couldn't also bring themselves to just leave them for dead. Though they weren't friendly, they weren't antagonistic to them either. Except for the occasional disgust in Jane's eyes when she looked at them.

"And what made you think that will do as you say?" Kai said in false bravado. 

Vein raised a brow. However, the large dark circles under his eyes prevented his face from forming any expression except being sleepy and sick. "And what made you think that you have a choice in the matter?"

Kai grinned, ignoring the acid laying waste in his stomach. "There's five of us and only three of you."

Masha chuckled. "Five?" she then looked at Seraphina. "You mean to say four."

Ryu's heart fell in the pit of his stomach as he looked at Seraphina's beautiful face. 

Kai's cool facade cracked, and his eyes watered. "N-no. .. N-not darling Seraphina."

Seraphina sadly smiled. "I'm sorry, guys. I made a seal of promise with Griffin Wings. I don't have a choice."

"Are you in on this? Did you set us up?" Jane spat.

Seraphina didn't answer. In truth, she didn't expect to see Masha so soon. But whatever she said at this point was pointless in Ryu and the other's eyes.

"Are you sure about that one?" Thall asked Masha as Seraphina went to their side of the group.

Masha nodded and said without a care. "It's fine. She made a Seal of Promise to my sister and me that she'll obey our every command in exchange that we help her search an item in the Nightmare Sea."

Masha's demeanor was like that of a young girl, and her voice also sounded the same. "She's a healer and at the same time a mage with a rare affinity to plants. Since we lack both, she'd be a great addition to our temporary team."

"Traitor," Jane spat.

Seraphina didn't comment and just gave an awkward smile. She belonged in Griffin Wings in the first place, though temporary. So being a traitor wasn't exactly the case. She couldn't do much since the Seal of Promise bound her.

"What do you want?" Kai was in a bad mood. He was upset not because of Seraphina's betrayal but more on the fact that she might be forced against her will because of the Seal. "If you want treasures, unfortunately, we haven't come across one."

Thall smiled like he wasn't doing anything wrong. "We want you guys to be our personal checker."

Kai's scowl deepened. "A what?"

Masha heaved a heavy sigh. "A checker, you dope. You know, check every area and room to see if it has traps and enemies and stuff."

Ryu and Kai get it now. "In short, your servants to take the brunt of the danger for you. A cannon fodder."

Masha's face crumpled in confusion, and her canines sparkled when she gave Kai a wide grin. "Yeah. That's exactly what I said. Sadly, even though I'm a hunter, my companion pet couldn't breathe underwater, so you guys would have to do."

Comparing them to pets, Ryu wanted to rip Masha's head when he was reminded of that word. While Kai's face twisted in anger that his veins pulsated hard against his head. 

"And what made you think we'll do it?"