Information from Black Hat

Morlock was staring at Serea, and seeing this, Lola scolded him.

“Human, put away that scrutinizing look.”

Upon hearing this, morlock quickly lowered his head. After all, now he was at their mercy.

“Are you their leader?”

“Yes, I am Morlock, the leader of the White Blade Mercenary Group, we…”

“Don’t rush. Answer when I ask you something. But I advise you, you’d better not lie.”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

Morlock nodded hurriedly, and to be honest, he was just a mercenary driven by money. In a situation where his life or death was uncertain, how would he dare lie?

“The White Blade Mercenary Group, is it? Why did you attack my camp?”

“Uh… we… we…”

The very first question stumped Morlock, because if he told the truth…

Rip!

Little Black flexed his claws. Glancing at the terrifying Undead monster revealing murderous intent toward him, morlock quickly said,

“We were planning to attack the camp, then kidnap the non-humans here, and sell them as slaves to human nations.”

As soon as he said this, the werewolves and elves in the wooden cell all became cold-faced, and even Maro, leon, and the other blood slaves frowned slightly.

“Then why did you pick this place?”

“We got information saying that a newly migrated group of non-humans was here, that the camp hadn’t even been set up yet, and it would be easy to strike, so…”

Morlock did not finish his sentence, but having heard the answer, Serea showed a look of “just as expected”.

“Who gave you this information?”

“It… it was an information broker named ‘Black Hat.'”

“Describe that person’s appearance.”

“That man often wore a mask and a hood, so I never saw his face, but he was very short.”

Morlock described, and upon hearing this, Serea turned her head slightly to look at Leklis.

“Is it the same person?”

“Reporting, my lady, judging by the outfit and height, that ‘Black Hat’ is exactly the ‘short man’ who hired me to attack the Xiyun Merchant Guild back then.”

Leklis explained, making the situation quite clear.

“So, it’s really him again…”

Serea said, and then she questioned Morlock again.

“Can you get in contact with that man called ‘Black Hat’?”

“Yes, if the honorable Queen is willing to let me go back, I’m willing to help you find him.”

Morlock seemed to grasp at a lifeline, and now he more or less understood that the so-called ‘Black Hat’ had just been using him. This made Morlock quite angry as well.

“You’re pretty cooperative.”

“I can not only help you find him, but there are also plenty of gold coins and jewels in my residence. If Your Majesty will let me return, I am willing to offer up my life’s savings to you.”

“Heh, you want to use this to atone for your crimes?”

“This…”

Morlock was left speechless. He knew very well that, as a mercenary who hunted non-humans, falling into their hands meant a grim end for him. Even though he was now fully compliant, even so…

“But, I am quite merciful. I’ll give you two choices for your own fate. The first is simple: all of you die here. The second…”

“I’ll take the second!”

Morlock interrupted quickly, his desperate desire to live evident in his voice.

“I respect your choice. Now drink this, and then take me to find Black Hat.”

As Serea spoke, she handed Morlock a vial of Blood Spring (Corruption). Seeing this, Doluka untied Morlock’s ropes, and Morlock, trembling, accepted the Blood Spring (Corruption).

“This… what is this?”

“Drink it.”

Serea did not answer his question, her tone pure command.

Hearing this, morlock knew he had no choice. He drank the contents of the bottle in one go.

After he finished, he wiped his mouth, and then felt a surge of wild power spreading through his body.

Amazed, he looked at his own hands.

“From now on, you must drink at least one of these potions every two days, or you will become a bloodthirsty monster and die a miserable death. Of course, if you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to try resisting.”

Serea finished, a playful smile on her face.

Sensing that power, morlock certainly didn’t dare risk his life to test it.

“I wouldn’t dare. I will obey Your Majesty in everything.”

“Very good.”

With that, Serea turned to look at Leon.

“I’ll leave this man to you. I have a special task for you and your group.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Leon accepted the order. As for what Serea needed to do…

She needed to connect with the humans as well, because now that she had dealings with the Xiyun Merchant Guild, not only could she gather information while interacting with humans, but Leon could also help escort the Xiyun Merchant Guild’s caravan.

After speaking, Serea tossed five more vials of Blood Spring to Morlock.

“Pick the five subordinates you trust the most. After they drink this, they can go free, but the rest must stay.”

Serea said. Morlock took the vials and looked back at his companions, troubled…

Even though everyone knew that drinking that strange potion meant they’d be controlled, the promise of freedom made many look at Morlock with pleading eyes.

“This…”

“Take your time, but your choice is limited to tonight. Those who drink may leave; those who stay, I won’t harm, but you’ll have to use your labor to atone for your crimes.”

Serea finished speaking and left with her people.

“Think it over tonight. Tomorrow, someone will come for you.”

Morlock was bound up again and guarded by Eighty and ten fully armed Skeleton Warriors. When they stepped outside, Serea addressed the others.

“All right, no need for you to follow. Everyone, go rest.”

“Yes.”

Everyone answered, and except for Serea’s handmaiden, the rest went their separate ways—though this did not include Avril and her family.

“Hm? Do you need something?”

“My Queen, I came to bid you farewell.”

Avril spoke up, and Serea looked relaxed.

“You’re leaving, then?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, Your Majesty, this trade went very smoothly, so I’ll head back to prepare for the next one. This time, after I return, I plan to set up a trading post on the jungle’s outskirts. When the time comes, I might trouble you again, Your Majesty.”

“No problem. I’ll have Maro and Leon help you. Do you have any other requests?”

“No, thank you for your help, Your Majesty. Do you need any special goods this time?”

“Quite a few. I’ll give you a list tomorrow.”

“All right.”

“In that case, I’ll go rest.”

“Safe travels, Your Majesty.”

After bidding farewell to Avril, the Queen walked languidly toward her treehouse. Lately, she felt more exhausted by the day…

Watching Serea walk away, auna withdrew her gaze and looked at Avril.

“Is Mama leaving?”

Hearing this, avril turned and gently stroked Auna’s head with motherly affection.

“Don’t worry, mama will be back soon.”

As she spoke, she felt her nose begin to tingle with emotion.

“I’ll come see you off tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Aruka wasn’t good at expressing himself, so he could only say this much.

“Auna wants to come too.”

“Yes, auna can come too.”

The three agreed, then the family of three walked toward their wooden house. Looking at Auna and Aruka at her side, avril made a decision in her heart.

This time, she must fight for the sake of herself and her family!

(To be continued…)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep