Close Combat Mage
chapter-262

Nicole sighed and bitterly smiled, “I’ve been working hard to earn money, accepting any job that gives a lot of compensation. One of these jobs was to assassinate you. But despite this, I’ve only managed to gather 2 billion frads, I’m still missing 8 billion.”

Suo Jia glanced at Nicole in admiration. Although 2 billion frads wasn’t a lot of money to Suo Jia, he knew that it was extremely difficult for an average person to earn that much. This must’ve been even more harder than difficult for someone like Nicole.

Suo Jia wasn’t one that thought of money as easy to earn. Actually, if the Fourth Prince hadn’t been protecting him from behind the scenes, Suo Jia wouldn’t have been able to earn that much money either. Even if he did, he wouldn’t have been able to keep it. Nicole’s parents were the best example.

Suo Jia looked up and asked Nicole, “I don’t understand, why don’t you just secretly rescue your siblings out? Wouldn’t that be much more convenient?”

“Haha…” Nicole let out a strangled laugh and shook her head, “Those old, avaricious aristocrats are indeed very greedy, but that doesn’t mean that they’re lacking in intelligence. Every one of them is even more cunning than a fox; they guarded against a trick like that ages ago. They placed slave necklaces on my siblings’ bodies, so it would be meaningless even if I broke them out.”

“Slave necklaces!” Suo Jia couldn’t help but cry out in shock. Suo Jia had seen such things before; Dawn’s slave army had many people wearing such things. Unless unlocked by a key, they couldn’t be removed. It wouldn’t matter how far the wearer ran away, once the key was destroyed, the necklace would shot out a poisonous needle to instantly kill the wearer.

Suo Jia nodded helplessly, and contemplated the issue for a long time. If it were before, he wouldn’t necessarily be willing to spend so much money. But it was different now; to Suo Jia, Nicole was extremely important. Having her as a guide was the most suitable option. After all…she had 10 ancestors that had successfully passed through the Greater Trade Routes, and one of them had even become one of its hegemony. There was no one more appropriate than Nicole to become his guide.

In addition, he still hadn’t yet entered the Greater Trade Routes. Suo Jia knew that once he stepped into the Greater Trade Routes, nobody would guarantee that he’d be able to survive the ordeal. Moreover, money was just scrap metal there; only a certain type of currency was distributed throughout the Greater Trade Routes, and it couldn’t be exchanged.

Some people may wonder, although it couldn’t be used now, couldn’t one use it after leaving the Greater Trade Routes? But really, this train of thought was stupid. Suo Jia wasn’t going to play around; if he could come back alive from the Greater Trade Routes, that would already be an extremely famous feat. By that time, how could he possibly care for something a trifling as money? Even occupying an empire would be extremely easy to achieve.

Suo Jia resolutely came to a decision. He looked up at Nicole and said, “That means as long as I’m willing to pay the remaining amount of money for you, you can accompany me on the Greater Trade Routes, right?”

“What?!” Nicole jumped up in astonishment and said in disbelief. “What did you just say? You said…that you’d help me repay the remaining amount?”

Suo Jia nodded with a smile, and pulled out two amethyst cards from his pocket. As he tossed them over to Nicole, he said, “There’s 20 billion gold in here. Go exchange it into frads, then rescue your siblings. I believe…that I need you.”

Nicole tightly gripped the two amethyst cards in her hand, and said incredulously, “Heavens. You’re really willing to help me. I’m not dreaming, am I?”

Suo Jia smiled and replied, “Trust me, you’re definitely not dreaming. There’s no time to lose; you’d better start moving now and complete this task as quickly as possible.”

“But…” Nicole gave a conflicted frown and said, “But even if you’re helping me, there’s no need for this much money. I’ve already returned 2 billion frads. You only need to…”

Suo Jia shook his head and said calmly, “Don’t forget, after your siblings are released, they’ll need spending money as well. Just give them the remaining amount.”

Nicole stared deeply into Suo Jia’s eyes and after a long while…Nicole firmly replied, “Alright, I’m unable to reject your kindness so, from today onwards, I’ve sold my life to you.”

Suo Jia didn’t show any sign of approval or objection to Nicole’s words, and simply smiled. After experiencing so many things, Suo Jia could no longer easily believe anyone; in this world, loyalty didn’t matter. That so-called devotion was just a bargaining chip for betrayal that was too low. Suo Jia didn’t need much; he just needed Nicole to lead him to advance through the Greater Trade Routes, There, Suo Jia could increase his strength very quickly, and would also be able to find his father.

Suo Jia took a deep breath and smiled, “Ok, ok, don’t delay it any longer. Just go do it now. I’ll continue on this road, and wait for you at the most expensive hotel in the next city. After you’ve finished your matter, come by and pick me up.”

“No.” Nicole shook her head and said excitedly, “We don’t need to split up. All we have to do is slightly alter our path, and go in a somewhat roundabout way instead. That’s because…my siblings are in Kaya Empire’s capital, Brent City.”

Hearing Nicole’s words, Suo Jia was overjoyed at the turn of events. He urged Nicole to quickly lead the way. During the next half a month, the two of them swiftly progressed forwards without rest until they finally reached the capital city of Brent.

After staying in a hotel within the city, Nicole left excitedly with the money in hand, while Suo Jia waited in the hotel for a few days. After Nicole finished dealing with the matter, she’d return, and then they’d be able to head for the Greater Trade Routes.

During the next several days, Suo Jia stayed in the room and trained. He completely lost track of time as he immersed himself in his training. His growth had been extremely fast; every day, he could clearly sense that his relationship with the magical elements was getting closer and more harmonized.

Finally, on the evening of the third day, Nicole blankly returned to the hotel. She silently entered Suo Jia’s room and sat down hard on his bed with an expression of despair.

After seeing Nicole return, Suo Jia couldn’t help but stop his training and ask in concern, “What’s wrong, Nicole? How did the matter go? Did you rescue your siblings out?”

Nicole’s body shook. She slowly turned around and looked at Suo Jia, then…fat teardrops quickly gathered in her large eyes.

“They…cannot be trusted. They actually tricked me.” Nicole spat out resentfully.

“Hm.” Suo Jia gravely knit his brows together and said, “First, stop crying. Tell me clearly, what exactly happened? Believe in me; no matter what happened, we’ll definitely be able to think of a way to resolve it.”