Chapter 26: Knight Commander Chloe
Page (1/3)
Cohen and Nephtys chatted in an easy, relaxed manner, completely ignoring the man beside them.
Watching the usually aloof Nephtys behave so intimately with a strange man, Bogus felt the muscles in his face twitching uncontrollably. His features twisted into an expression of utter fury and viciousness.
“Nephtys, is this the man you mentioned—the one who signed an employment contract with you?
“A lowly mercenary?”
Cohen had deliberately changed into mercenary attire today in order to keep a low profile.
Besides, only a small number of people had witnessed yesterday’s match in person. Bogus therefore failed to recognize the masked man before him as the “Lord of Shadows,” whose name had shaken the arena yesterday.
The badge on Cohen’s person, which displayed his record, had not yet been replaced. It was still the badge issued yesterday, representing a record of zero victories.
Nephtys’s face was already aflame with anger.
“Bogus, I demand that you apologize to this gentleman at once!”
Seeing the woman he worshiped so fiercely defend a complete stranger, Bogus lost all the composure and dignity expected of a nobleman. Rage and jealousy consumed him.
“You vile woman! You betrayed me for this lowly first-rank mercenary?”
Nephtys shook her head at Cohen, as though afraid he might misunderstand her, and said softly, “Sir, I have nothing to do with him. I’ll explain everything to you in detail later.”
Bogus completely lost control. Beside himself with fury, he roared, “Guards! Guards! Throw this commoner out!”
The competition had yet to begin, and the surrounding spectators had nothing better to do. Hearing the commotion, they gathered around to watch the spectacle.
Bogus wore his family crest, while the admission token in his hand identified him as a distinguished guest from the second tier.
Cohen, meanwhile, was dressed like an ordinary mercenary, his face hidden behind a mask.
A mercenary, a nobleman, and a beautiful young woman—
Those ingredients alone were enough to inspire countless twists and entertaining stories in the spectators’ imaginations.
The crowd continued to grow. Before long, the arena’s security knights arrived.
“What’s going on? What’s all the shouting about?”
When Bogus spotted a familiar face among the knights, his confidence immediately swelled. Pointing at Cohen, he said, “Chloe, this commoner stole something of mine. I demand that the arena expel him immediately!”
The knight captain named Chloe came before Cohen and said stiffly, “Sir, please leave.”
Cohen raised an eyebrow, his tone calm. “Give me a reason.”
Chloe replied impatiently, “This gentleman has accused you of stealing from him. A place blessed by the God of War has no room for thieves.”
Cohen chuckled. “You’ve decided I’m guilty based solely on his word?”
“Are you questioning the reputation of a noble?”
Cohen smiled faintly. “Don’t you find it rather odd to put ‘noble’ and ‘reputation’ together?
“Or is the captain of the security knights at the Transcendent Arena actually a subordinate of the Dupont family?”
Chloe’s expression turned completely cold. With more and more spectators gathering, he had to demonstrate the dignity of the arena’s security captain.
He stepped forward and laid a hand on the sword at his waist, shouting coldly, “Clearly, people like you don’t deserve courtesy or respect. I’ll count to three. Get out of here immediately!”
Beside him, Bogus wore a triumphant smile. He cast a vicious glance at Nephtys and sneered, “Hurry up and leave. This is not a place for someone of your station.”
Driving away his “rival” in front of the goddess he loved—there could be nothing more satisfying.
Cohen let out a soft sigh and slowly said, “Becoming the captain of the knights at the Transcendent Arena must be a rather decent job.”
A cold glint flashed in Chloe’s eyes. “What do you mean?”
Cohen replied indifferently, “Unfortunately, you’re about to lose it.”
Chloe flew into a rage and waved a hand, signaling the knights behind him to attack.
Cohen gave a cold laugh and turned his gaze away. Some distance off, Raymond had appeared at some point and was watching the development of events with great interest.
Chloe looked back at the motionless knights, about to reprimand them, when he suddenly realized that all their eyes were fixed on the same place.
Following their gazes, Chloe looked over—and his heart lurched.
His employer had arrived without him noticing.
After straightening his clothes, he hurried over with measured steps and bowed respectfully.
“Boss, we’ve discovered a thief here. I’ll deal with him immediately.”
Raymond ignored Chloe. He merely looked calmly at Cohen, as though waiting for him to speak.
Raymond had actually arrived long ago. The reason he had remained silent and allowed the situation to escalate was so that Cohen would be forced to speak first and owe him a favor.
He knew perfectly well about Chloe’s connection with the Dupont family. How could someone become the captain of the knights at an arena in the capital of a kingdom without some kind of backing?
Of course, Raymond also had a small ulterior motive. He wanted to use this incident to suppress his young partner and remind Cohen of his own presence.
As a legendary-ranked expert, he could certainly cooperate with a first-rank youth—but he had to be the one in charge.
Through this incident, he intended to warn Cohen not to assume that a little talent entitled him to stand on equal footing.
That was the pride and dignity of a legendary-ranked expert.
Page (2/3)
He waited in silence, waiting for Cohen to speak, waiting for him to lower his head.
Cohen did speak, but the content of his words displeased Raymond slightly.
“So this is the cooperation you spoke of—having your subordinate drive me out?”
Raymond narrowed his eyes and turned toward Chloe. In an indifferent tone, he said, “Chloe, this gentleman is no thief. He is the Lord of Shadows—the man who achieved ten consecutive victories yesterday.”
His words caused an uproar around them. No one had expected the protagonist of the day to make his entrance so suddenly, and in such an unexpected manner.
Bogus, standing nearby, also changed color slightly. He had heard of the Lord of Shadows.
The scenes that had unfolded in the arena yesterday had even earned lavish praise from his distinguished uncle.
He had never imagined that Nephtys had managed to attach herself to this young man. No wonder she had seemed so fearless.
A vicious glint flashed through Bogus’s eyes. No matter how great his talent, the boy had only just entered the supernatural realm. A genius? Hmph. Every year, countless geniuses perished across the Demon Tide Continent.
Chloe’s expression shifted when he heard this.
Damn it—he had been set up by that idiot Bogus.
As the arena’s knight captain, Chloe naturally knew how highly his employer regarded the Lord of Shadows after yesterday’s events.
What was more, this man’s relationship with the northwestern inspector of the Pale Wings was shrouded in ambiguity. Clearly, he had powerful connections.
At that thought, Chloe instantly replaced his cold expression with a warm smile.
“Oh! So you are the illustrious Lord of Shadows. My sincerest apologies. I was momentarily confused and offended you.”
The speed with which his expression changed left even Cohen slightly stunned.
So this was what nobles were like?
A fourth-rank knight captain had just apologized to a first-rank supernatural being. The spectators immediately felt that the exorbitant price of their tickets had been well spent.
The competition had not even begun, and they had already witnessed a magnificent drama.
Raymond was smiling as well.
“All right. Chloe failed to recognize your identity, and ignorance is no crime. The competition is about to begin. Let’s go—everyone is waiting to see your performance today.”
Cohen, however, remained where he was, not moving an inch.
He had sensed Raymond’s arrival long ago, but Raymond had not come to his aid at the beginning.
Cohen understood perfectly well what Raymond was plotting. He harbored the same thought himself: cooperation was possible, but he had to be the one in charge.
The smile on Raymond’s face gradually stiffened.
“Is there something else you wish to say?”
Cohen replied indifferently, “I believe I said earlier that I would make this knight captain lose his job.”
Page (3/3)