Chapter 266: A Gamble That Paid

The Jackal Chief’s eyes widened slightly at the human’s audacity. His claws gripped the arms of his throne, cracking the bone beneath.

But he did not attack.

Something held him back. Something more than simple curiosity.

This human had information about his daughter’s pendant. That pendant meant more to him than revenge or pride.

“Where is the pendant?” the Chief demanded, his voice barely controlled.

“I have it,” Thoren said simply. “But information is not free. You made a promise, and I am here to collect.”

The tension in the hall reached its peak. The Jackal Chief stared at Thoren for a long, agonizing moment.

Then he threw back his head and laughed. It was a deep, rumbling sound that shook the walls.

“You have courage, human. I will grant you that,” the Chief said. “Speak your terms. But know that if you waste my time, I will feed you to the sand hounds myself.”

Thoren smiled slightly.

Against such a powerful savage brute, any sign of weakness would mean losing an edge. An edge he could not afford to miss.

Now that they were on the same page, he could finally lay out his cards. All that had come before was just a test. Now the true negotiation has finally started.

“What I want is simple,” Thoren began, his voice calm and collected. “I want information on the Vorlath Blood Compass. As long as you give me enough information about the compass, you will find your daughter’s jade pendant returned to you.”

To Thoren, he did not believe the Jackal Chief would have never heard of the Vorlath Blood Compass. He might not know the exact location, but he would have a general idea or some useful news.

And that was exactly what Thoren needed right now.

At this moment, he did not have any clue about the location of the Vorlath Blood Compass. As long as the Jackal Chief pointed him in a general direction, half of his trial would be solved.

When the Jackal Chief heard Thoren’s demand, his big fiery eyes widened to the size of his jaw. He had expected the human before him to ask for wealth or a partnership with his race.

Some humans might have demanded a permanent residence in his town.

He could have demanded an array of valuable resources. Yet he demanded something the Chief never expected.

More importantly, he did not know how this human had learned of such an ancient legend from the depths of their history.

“How do you know about the Vorlath Blood Compass?” the Jackal Chief asked in a deep voice as he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“Jackal Chief, that is not for you to know,” Thoren shook his head. “Do you have the information or not?”

Seeing his expression, the Jackal Chief knew it was impossible for him to pry the information out of the human before him.

For a moment, the hall was quiet as a graveyard. The two stared at each other before the Jackal Chief opened his serrated teeth and began to speak.

“I do not know how you, a human, managed to find out about such an ancient legend,” he paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. “Since you humans arrived in our world, our world has never been the same. Many of our dormant ancient legends have been unearthed one after another.”

“And now, you want to find the Vorlath Blood Compass,” his voice trailed off into a thoughtful silence.

Thoren merely stared at him with no intention of speaking, waiting patiently for him to continue. Inwardly, he was glad.

This proved that his gamble to ask the Jackal Chief about the Vorlath Blood Compass was the right call.

“I have an old map,” finally the Jackal Chief continued, as if he had made a huge decision. “The map leads to one of the locations of Lord Vorlath’s residence. If you manage to find it, you might find the answers you seek.”

“Do you have the pendant or not?” he asked directly.

To the Jackal Chief, that was the most important thing in this exchange.

“Of course. If I did not have the jade pendant, why would I trouble myself by coming here?” Thoren replied calmly.

The Jackal Chief nodded and rose to his feet.

“Wait a moment,” he commanded.

With that, he left the main hall through a side door. Looking at his back, Thoren narrowed his eyes slightly but chose to remain where he was standing.

Mentally, he was preparing for an ambush or trap. But to his shock, the Jackal Chief returned shortly with a folded parchment in his hand.

“Show me the pendant, and I will give you the scroll,” he demanded, leaving no room for argument.

“Very well,” Thoren nodded and brought out the pendant from his inventory.

Seeing the pendant, the Jackal Chief could not help but breathe a deep sigh of relief. Many had promised to have the pendant before, only for them to be lying.

He had lost count of how many humans he had fed to his Sand Hounds over the years.

Today, his expectations were not high. But the promise he had made to his daughter made him continue searching for the Pendant.

And now, he was finally going to fulfill that long awaited promise.

“Here,” he threw the parchment to Thoren.

Swiftly, Thoren caught the parchment with his left hand and threw the pendant with his right hand in one smooth motion.

With the parchment safely in hand, Thoren unfolded it and saw the crudely drawn map. His eyes brightened a bit, and he raised his head to look at the Jackal Chief.

“With this, I will take my leave,” he said calmly and turned to leave the hall.

The Jackal Chief stared at the strange human’s back without any thought of stopping him. The cooperation had gone more smoothly than he had ever imagined.

“That cursed place,” he whispered to himself. “Can that human return alive?” He shook his head dismissively.

Either the human lived or died had nothing to do with him now. Filled with anticipation, he left the hall as he could not wait to show his daughter the pendant.

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