System's POV
chapter-128

"Young Master, I have something to report," Cristopher said after he received Jubei's telepathic message. "Harry and that bastard, Colbert, have met up with Rianna outside the city."

"Oh?" Thirteen arched an eyebrow after hearing Cristopher's report.

He was half-expecting that Harry would make his way to Gronar City along with his team, not ruling out the possibility that the teenage boy would focus on strengthening himself and his team in the Houdini Desert.

Cristopher continued his report. When the chubby boy told him that Rianna had excluded Colbert from Harry's group, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

He didn't say anything and simply listened until Cristopher finished his report. When the chubby boy was done, the seven-year-old pondered for a bit before an evil smirk appeared on his face.

Cristopher, who saw the change in his Young Master's expression, also smiled evilly.

He did not have a good impression of Colbert after he instigated a mutiny in the past, so Cristopher was more than happy to see the bastard suffer under his Young Master's machinations.

"Come, Vassago," Thirteen said.

A moment later, the dumb-looking bird landed on the table in front of Thirteen and tilted its head.

The younger boy whispered something in the Pocopoco's ears.

When he was done, the bird flapped his wings and flew away to complete the task that Thirteen had asked of him.

"Cristopher, meet up with Rianna and Harry in my place," Thirteen said as he returned to grinding the rough edges of his bow, sending sparks flying as the metal and grinding tool met. "I'll meet with him after I'm done here."

"Yes, Young Master." Cristopher bowed respectfully before heading to the entrance of the warehouse to wait for Rianna's return.

Meanwhile, in the Slave Market…

"There is a teenage boy named Colbert hanging around the outskirts of Gronar City," Vassago said using Thirteen's voice. "I intend to buy him for 1,000 Silver, so please catch him as soon as possible. I will visit you tomorrow morning to personally deal with him."

Vassago then lifted its claw and dropped a White Coin on the Slave Master's table, which was equivalent to 1,000 Silver Coins.

"Very well," Norris replied. "Tell your Master to pick this Colbert boy tomorrow."

The Pocopoco tilted its head as if it didn't understand what the Slave Master was talking about.

"Dumb bird, just tell your Master that I agree to his request," Norris said before shooing the bird away.

The Pocopoco flew away, but not without hurling insults at the Slave Master, making the Drow, who was also in the office, chuckle.

"That boy sure knows how to use his slaves," Adira commented. "As far as I know, Pocopocos are very hard to tame. He just bought it recently, yet it seems that he already understands how to make it send messages."

"This isn't the first time I've seen something like this." Norris shrugged.

"Then how about the boy named Colbert?" Adira asked. "Want me to fetch him for you?"

"You will personally go?" Norris looked at his acquaintance in surprise. "Are you that bored?"

"Yes," Adira answered before standing up. "I was planning to make the kid owe me a favor by buying the Five Leaf Clover for him, but it seems that he has other plans. Might as well do this task to relieve my boredom a bit."

After saying those words, the Drow left the Slave Master's tent to look for Colbert, who was desperately thinking of how he could enter the city without being captured by the Barbarians.

As a Drow and a Champion, it would be very easy for her to spot the teenage boy, even if he was a mile away from the city.

Norris leaned back on his chair and sighed.

The Auction had just ended a few hours ago, and he was already dead tired from thinking about the potential backlash of Adira's confrontation with the City Lord.

Of course, there was a chance that Arthas wouldn't make a move against him, especially since Adira was a Champion who might just be stronger than him.

Even so, he planned to smooth things over with the City Lord tomorrow to prevent any problems from arising in his business.

Outside of Gronar City…

'That b*tch!' Colbert gnashed his teeth in anger after remembering Rianna's disdainful expression when she looked at him. 'It seems that she had really become that seven-year-old's subordinate. If I ever get my hands on him, I'll show him that he is messing with the wrong person!'

He couldn't believe that, in just a short period of time, Rianna had managed to become the leader of her own Hunting Party.

But, that was not all.

The High Orc who was following them was a Rank 3 Monster.

He didn't know what happened after Zion, Cristopher, and Rianna arrived in the Barbarian City, but a single glance was enough to tell him that the teenage girl was now in a position of power.

The teenager had felt the killing intent of the Wanderers following Rianna when they looked at him, which was also why he didn't dare to follow behind their group in order to enter the city.

Colbert had no doubts that if he were to really try to sneak inside the city by forcing his way into their Hunting Party, they wouldn't hesitate to cripple him and leave him behind to become Monster food.

Left with no choice, he only did what he could do at that time.

He demanded that Harry and the two other Wanderers, who were part of their team, leave all their food and water behind.

Harry didn't hesitate to agree to his demand, knowing that as long as he was able to meet up with Thirteen, he knew that he would find food and water.

The two Wanderers were more reluctant, but after Rianna told them that they didn't have to worry about food and water, they decided to trust her and leave their resources behind as well.

If Colbert ate and drank sparingly, he'd have enough food and water to last him a month in the Houdini Desert.

'Damn it!' Colbert pounded the ground with his fist out of anger.

He had been thinking for a while now about what his next course of action needed to be, but the more he thought, the more he realized that unless he was able to find a lone Rank 1 Monster wandering in the Desert, his chances of survival were slim.

"I hate that b*tch!" Colbert growled. "I hate that bastard Harry! I hate that pig, Cristopher! But the one I hate the most is that brat, Zion! If not for him, none of this would have happened!"

The teenage boy wasn't aware that he was saying these words out loud out of anger.

But he no longer cared. He was cold, hungry, and alone, and the only thing he could do was vent out his frustrations.

"Oh? You know Zion? Tell me more about him."

Colbert's body immediately froze when he heard someone speak behind him.

His entire body froze as if he was trapped in a block of ice.

Even so, he gritted his teeth and slowly turned his head to look behind him.

There, he saw a pair of ruby-like eyes and a set of pearly white teeth.

A moment later, his eyes rolled in their sockets as he fainted on the spot.

Adira chuckled as she looked at the unconscious boy who was lying on the ground, and peed himself.

"What a disappointment." Adira sighed. "The boy you hate so much can look me straight in the eyes as if I were his equal, despite being weaker than me. You, on the other hand, only held my gaze for a few seconds and lost your consciousness."

A second sigh escaped Adira's lips as she grabbed the shirt of the boy and dragged him towards the City Gate.

She was truly curious about Zion, so before the seven-year-old could pick up Colbert in the Slave Market the next day, she intended to wring some answers out of the unconscious boy, who would soon suffer a trauma that he would carry for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, inside the City Lord's Mansion, Arthas was also busy venting out his anger by destroying the training dummies inside his training room one by one.

He was very tempted to confront the Drow who mocked him, but he couldn't afford to be injured at this point in time.

The Tigerkins were starting to stir, and he would soon be called to the front lines to join the fight against them.

Because of this, he had no choice but to bottle up the anger he was feeling.

Suddenly, he thought of the boy back in the auction, who had looked at him with a calm expression on his face.

As much as the seven-year-old tried to look calm on the surface, Arthas had seen the tinge of anger in Zion's gaze.

Remembering the boy, whom he bullied earlier, the City Lord forced himself to calm down.

"Hahaha… so that's how it is," Arthas said after taking a few deep breaths. "This is what Netero spoke about earlier, huh? I only won a bow, but he won fame. Because of that fame, people sympathized with him.

"There's no doubt. That Drow's reason for bidding against me was to gain that same sympathy."

A few minutes later, Arthas finally regained his calm.

He then walked towards his room and glanced at the glowing Five Leaf Clover inside the jar that was placed on top of his desk.

Arthas stared at it for a few more minutes and noticed something on the glass' surface.

The City Lord took a closer look and traced his finger on the spot that didn't feel right.

He was a Master Tracker before he became a City Lord, which meant that his duty was to track down Monsters, Criminals, and other people in order to capture or kill them.

Because of this, he was very familiar with tracking skills and abilities.

Since his skill set revolved around tracking, it only grew stronger when he became a Champion.

In short, Arthas was the best tracker in the Barbarian Race, so he would be able to recognize the marks of those who practiced the same craft.

A moment later, a sinister smile appeared on his lips before he took a step back to look at the Five Leaf Clover in front of him.

'It seems that people like to underestimate and look down on me even now,' Arthas mused. 'Very well, let's play a game. Let's see just how good you really are. I can't wait to see you face to face.'

With that thought, Arthas left the room in order to prepare for the arrival of his guest, who hadn't received any invitations from him.