Mercenary Wars

Chapter 192 Impersonation
Gaucano frowned: "The seller told me that you bought that box from him."

Niels' clone was silent for a moment, then pointed to his stunningly beautiful face: "Many people want me, and many want to be me. I'm probably the most frequently impersonated person in Southshore. I've even heard that one of the services in Pleasure Street is to become like me..."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "In fact, my numerous imposters have played a significant role in my notorious reputation."

“Behemoth, I have heard some stories about Him. If you unfortunately get involved with Him, I can only say good luck…” His voice gradually weakened.

At the same time, his figure also became blurred.

Before long, the three Niels clones slowly dissipated without a trace, leaving only the already dead Niels lying motionless in a pool of blood.

Gaucano remained silent for a long time.

Niels is right. As the most beautiful woman in Southshore who transcends gender, he has the looks that countless people dream of. It is perfectly normal for him to be impersonated.

People who pretend are usually not up to any good.

This also contributed to Niels's bad reputation.

Perhaps, Niels himself was not as wicked and perverted as the legends portray him to be.

Thinking about this, Gao Jiano suddenly had some thoughts of self-reflection.

After all, he had always had a bad impression of Nils, and in recent months he had become even more convinced that Nils was the buyer of the Behelit Oracle Chest, a human demon who was likely planning a large-scale blood sacrifice.

His decision to take action today was largely based on this preconceived notion.

Now, Nils has revealed a truth beyond his wildest imagination: Nils never bought Behelit's Oracle Chest. The buyer was simply someone who had disguised himself as Nils, and there were hundreds or thousands of such people.

Gaucano believed that Nils was not lying, after all, it would be pointless for a person to lie when he was about to die.

So, if Behelit's Oracle Chest isn't in Nils's hands, then who is it in?

The scope of suspicion is too large, even larger than the Duchy of Nordanron. After all, the Mosas at the South Muradin Fortress were a diverse group, including many fanatical believers who had traveled thousands of miles "inspired by the Lord."

Thinking of this, a dark cloud couldn't help but rise in Gao Jiano's heart...

There was silence in the room.

The two corpses remained motionless, and all three people remained silent.

After a while, Casca asked, "What do we do now?"

Colin also looked at Gaucano.

After a moment of silence, Gao Jiano said, "Now that things have come to this, let's... pack up the spoils first."

Regardless, as the top two leaders of the Iron Fist Brotherhood, Lohar and Nils's wealth is undeniable. Even if this only represents a small fraction of their fortune, it would be enough to make most people envious.

The three immediately began looting and distributing the spoils.

Lohar's storage ring belongs to Gaucano, and Nils's storage ring belongs to Colin.

This is roughly equivalent to their contributions in the battle. Gaucano was the main force in the entire battle and the one who directly killed Lohar, while Colin killed Nils and contributed two crucial attacks.

Lohar's storage ring contained over five thousand gold coins and various other items.

Niels didn't have that many gold coins, only a little over a thousand, but he had quite a few miscellaneous items, including the level ten oak tree he had obtained in the Tidelands.

"As expected." Colin suddenly said when he saw the level 10 oak tree.

"What's wrong?" Gao Jiano asked.

Colin: "I went into the Tidelands blindfolded and picked some special mistletoe—the very thing I just used to kill Nils. They look unremarkable, but they are actually powerful projectile weapons."

“However, the reason these mistletoe plants were able to hit Nils so accurately and kill him was mainly due to the curse on him. He cut down the oak tree that the mistletoe had once parasitized, and thus became cursed by Hoddle,” he added.

Gao Jiano nodded in sudden realization.

In this light, Nils's acquisition of the oak tree not only failed to bring him any advantage, but actually sowed the seeds of his own demise...

Compared to Gaucano and Colin, Casca played almost no role in the battle, and she wisely refrained from asking for any spoils of war.

However, she was still given several hundred gold coins. Lohar and Niels had a total of over six thousand gold coins in their storage rings, and several hundred were only a small portion of that. But for a boxer struggling to make ends meet, several hundred gold coins were enough to completely change her situation.

Of course, in exchange for receiving the money, Casca had to fulfill Gaugano and Colin's demands.

“Once you get out of here, leave South Sea Town immediately,” Gao Jiano repeatedly instructed.

Colin added, "Leave Nordalon."

The two looked at each other and saw the same worry in each other's eyes.

They all shared the same opinion about Casca: she was a reliable person, but her intelligence was questionable.

That's already pretty good. After all, there aren't many smart people fighting in underground boxing rings; not being very smart is the norm.

Based on their distrust of Casca's intelligence, both Gaucano and Colin hoped she would leave as soon as possible to avoid being exposed and getting into trouble.

Colin thought for a moment, then said, "Let's leave the South and go to a northern country."

Casca blinked. "The Northern Kingdom...you mean the Kingdom of Norton?"

“There’s no need to be so northern.” Colin was a little speechless. After all, “northern countries” is a conventional term, and most Southern Mosas’s first reaction upon hearing it is to think of the Kingdom of Saen and its vassal states.

"Is that the Kingdom of Sain?" Casca asked again.

Colin nodded and said, "Immediately."

Casca lowered her head: "But I have a friend who works on Pleasure Street, and we swore to help each other regain our freedom..."

Colin frowned.

Gao Jiano then said, "Then you should go and redeem Ellie first, and then leave—leave together, and if anything happens, you can ask her for her opinion."

Casca breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "I will. I know she's smarter than me."

After distributing the spoils, the three began cleaning up the scene.

Lohar and Nils's bodies were collected by Gaucano, and the bloodstains nearby were absorbed by the Blood-Summoning Sword.

The damaged furniture, decorations, and items were all collected. There was a lot of stuff, but fortunately, there was enough storage space.

Lohar and Niels carried several high-level storage rings with them, and Gaucano had also cleaned out his storage rings after learning from his experience of insufficient space. Therefore, after a flurry of activity, the room was almost completely emptied, making it impossible to tell that a deadly battle had just taken place.

The three of them sat on the ground and rested for a while.

“I’m also planning to leave here,” Colin said, then looked at Gaucano, “What about you?”

“In fact, I’ve been considering leaving Southsea Town for a while now,” Gao Jiano said.

Casca suggested, "In that case, let's go to the Kingdom of Sien together!"

Gaucano didn't answer, but changed the subject: "Colin, how long do you think it will take for this to be discovered?"

Colin: "It could be soon. Niels doesn't show up much in the Brotherhood, but Lohar watches boxing matches all the time. If he doesn't make a public appearance for several days in a row, it will definitely raise suspicion."

Gaucano: "Is there any way to stall for time as much as possible?"

How long will it drag on?

“At least a month,” Gao Jiano added. “After all, you know that low-level tracking spells usually don’t cover a range of more than a lunar cycle. At least for Southsea Town, it would be very difficult to find any clues after a month.”

Colin pondered, "I can come up with a plausible reason to explain Lohar's disappearance as an extended absence. But that probably won't explain why Nils is also missing; after all, normally at least one of them would stay with the Brotherhood."

As he was speaking, he suddenly remembered something and looked Gao Jiano up and down again: "What kind of disguise magic did you use? I didn't recognize you at all."

“A disguise magic that may have been lost,” Gaucano said only.

Colin thought for a moment: "If you can transform into Nils and communicate with Peter as Nils, claiming that you will leave with Lohar, you should be able to keep it a secret for a long time."

Gaucano frowned: "You think I can pretend to be like that androgynous guy?"

Colin: "As I've said, Niels doesn't show up much and interacts very little with others. In fact, within the entire Brotherhood of Iron Fist, only Lohar is someone he knows well."

He continued, "Although Peter is the third in the Brotherhood, he's not very familiar with Nils, maybe even less so than with me, so he probably won't notice the flaw. Besides, that guy becomes slow-witted in front of Nils, for reasons you know."

Gao Jiano fell silent for a moment.

Disguising himself as Nils... what's the difference between that and disguising himself as a woman?
However, in order to avoid risks as much as possible, a little shame is naturally insignificant.

After some consideration and discussion, Gaucano decided to follow Colin's advice.

He then took some of Nils's blood, smeared it on his face, and chanted a spell to cast a blood disguise.

As the magic took effect, his appearance and voice became exactly like Nils', turning him into a stunningly beautiful woman whose gender was indistinguishable.

Although he had expected it, he still couldn't help but feel a little ashamed when he took out the mirror and looked at himself.

Next, he not only had to transform into this effeminate man, but also imitate his speech and behavior.

However, he didn't say anything, but instead followed Colin and Casca's instructions to make his disguise as perfect as possible.

Colin pointed and gestured: "His facial expressions when he speaks, the corners of his mouth turned up a little more, and the way he walks—Niels walks with very light steps..."

Casca seemed to have a unique and profound opinion about Nils: "Your eyes are too feminine. I think Nils is still a man at heart..."

Under the guidance of the two, Gao Jiano's disguise gradually became perfect and lifelike, so that at least for the time being, it would not reveal any flaws.

A few hours later.

Colin said, "There aren't many people in the boxing ring at this time. Let's go outside."

Gaucano and Casca nodded.

Colin then carefully opened the door, looked outside, and then waved back.

Casca left the room, and Gaucano also went out after adjusting his camouflage cloak.

Colin locked the door and said, "Cassgar, you go find Ellie and get her released. Nils and I will go find Peter."

"Okay." Casca left the boxing ring.

Gaucano, led by Colin, traveled through several roads to Peter's location.

There were no spectators in the boxing ring; he only encountered a few people.

Several people bowed and greeted him.

However, behind their respect, Gao Jiano also sensed some hidden and subtle emotions in their eyes.

Of course, there is reverence.

But more than anything, it was admiration, or rather, lust.

Although Gao Jiano occasionally experienced similar emotions from the eyes of some women, the intensity was far less.

As for this kind of emotion in men, he had never experienced it before.

Niels lives under this kind of gaze every day...

Gaucano found it unimaginable.

After a while, he came to a door and knocked.

"Are you there, Peter?" Gaucano said, his voice naturally being Niels's unique androgynous voice.

The door opened quickly, and a slightly overweight man with a short beard stepped out with a warm smile: "It's Nils!"

Gao Jiano also saw that indescribable emotion in the guy's eyes.

He immediately showed a look of disgust.

This was his genuine reaction, and it was also Niels' genuine reaction.

Seeing this expression, Peter's enthusiasm didn't diminish at all: "Come in and have a seat, Nils, my room is quite spacious!"

Gaucano said calmly, "No, Peter, I've come to tell you something. I'm planning to go out with Lohar, and we might not be back for a few months."

Upon hearing this, a hint of disappointment seemed to flash in Peter's eyes.

Then Gaucano said, "During this time, you will be in full charge of the Brotherhood's affairs."

(End of this chapter)