Chapter 154 Negotiation

"What if a Black Wizard decides to raid us while everyone is out?" Hugh didn't expect the Silver Rose to dispatch so many people. It seemed the upcoming situation was indeed reaching a critical level.

"How could that happen? What do you think the guards of Holy Round City have been doing all this time? Besides, our Silver Rose has a guardian plant; it's not that easily breached!" Brenda said, growing slightly impatient as she failed to reach anyone through her communication artifact.

"A plant?" This was the first time Hugh had heard of the Silver Rose possessing such an entity, but judging by Brenda's tone, the plant's strength must be extraordinary.

"It's a silver rose flower, which is actually how our organization got its name. It was cultivated by the very first leader of the Silver Rose. The original one has long since died, and the current one was later re-cultivated on the basis of the original. Its strength is at the Second Rank, but it possesses formidable regenerative abilities. Unless a Third Rank wizard takes action personally, it's extremely difficult to kill this rose!"

"I see!" Hugh hadn't imagined the Silver Rose would have such a hidden trump card, though it made sense. For an organization with such a long history, it would be a joke if they could be easily wiped out just because most of their members were away.

"Don't go telling others about this. Even within the Silver Rose, there are plenty of members who know nothing about it!" Brenda warned Hugh. After all, it was a wizard organization's ultimate card. Although many organizations were somewhat aware of each other's foundations, spreading it too widely was never a good idea.

"Rest assured, my lips are sealed," Hugh promised Brenda solemnly.

*Not really,* Hugh added silently in his heart.

"Well, the members of the various wizard organizations in Holy Round City will be leaving the day after tomorrow, and that's when our mission officially begins. You can come over the day after tomorrow, or whenever fits your schedule!" Brenda seemed to have something urgent to attend to; as soon as she finished speaking, she hurried out.

"The day after tomorrow, huh..." Seeing that Brenda had already left, Hugh headed over to the exchange area and traded all the contribution points he had just earned for advanced knowledge.

"I can contact them now..." Hugh thought of his agreement with the two female wizards. He believed they would be very interested in the intelligence he had gathered.

Once the exchange was complete, Hugh left the Silver Rose and first returned to his villa. Before contacting the woman, he still needed to make some preparations.

He intended to rid himself of the contract's binding force before getting in touch with her. Otherwise, revealing the Silver Rose's situation to the woman would be equivalent to acting against the organization's interests, thereby violating the contract's terms. He had no desire to experience the sensation of his soul being scorched.

Dispelling the power of a contract was not particularly difficult. The main reason was that Samuel had left quite a few good things in his spatial storage, among which were feathers from a defilement bird.

It was said that because they could sever the power of contracts, defilement birds had once been hunted on a massive scale and were now nearly extinct. Fortunately, Samuel had kept some in his collection.

"Here we go!" Hugh didn't refine the feather into the kind of defilement potion Gagaley had given him previously. The method Hugh was using now was one Mervis had taught him—it only required a single feather from a defilement bird and was far less troublesome.

"The evasion of the contract, the defiance of reality's truths, I beseech you to bestow the power of the fallen gods!" Hugh chanted the incantation in an eerie, otherworldly voice, communicating with the feather before him.

*Chirp!* A soft, clear cry echoed through the laboratory. A large gray bird materialized in front of Hugh, glanced at him, and then plunged directly into his chest.

Hugh could feel as though two heavy shackles had suddenly shattered, leaving his entire body light and unburdened.

"Is that it?!" Hugh checked himself over, feeling certain that the sensation he had just experienced meant it had succeeded.

"I really should ask Mervis more about these ritual methods!" Hugh thought Mervis's acquired rituals were fascinating. Although some of the procedures were rather complex, they were immensely useful and significantly reduced the risks.

"Now there are no problems left!" With the contract's power lifted, Hugh planned to contact the woman to see what her intentions were.

Brenda had mentioned earlier that the Black Wizards within Holy Round City seemed to have been purged, though it remained uncertain how much strength they still had left on their side.

No sooner had Hugh reached out to the woman than she responded. They agreed to meet inside Gute's shop to discuss the upcoming operation.

Arriving once again in front of Gute's shop, Hugh felt a momentary sense of unreality. He could still vividly remember the circumstances of his very first meeting with Gute.

"What a pity!" Hugh stood outside the door for a while, hesitating to go in, until Mervis spotted him from inside.

"What's a pity? Let me tell you, that old man hid quite a bit of good stuff in this shop, and besides..." Mervis, who had been chattering incessantly, suddenly clamped her mouth shut when she saw the expression on Hugh's face.

Without saying another word, Hugh stepped into the shop and swept all the items Gute had left behind straight into his spatial storage.

"Tch, still putting on an act!" Mervis was rendered speechless by Hugh's actions. Just a moment ago, he had looked utterly heartbroken, yet in the blink of an eye, he was pocketing the dead man's legacy.

"Get your preparations done over the next couple of days. The wizard organizations in Holy Round City are about to make their move!" Hugh said, looking at Mervis.

"I know, it's all the talk among people on the street these days!" Mervis looked back at Hugh with a smug expression, her eyes seeming to say, *You didn't think I was just wasting my time here, did you?*

"Alright!" With that, Hugh closed his eyes and waited for the woman to arrive.

"Boring!" Seeing that Hugh was ignoring her, Mervis walked off on her own to busy herself with her tasks.

"Hello, are you looking to buy something?" Mervis looked up and saw a woman standing at the entrance of the shop, so she quickly waved and asked. She had already earned quite a few magic stones selling items over the past few days.

"Who is she?" After confirming that this was the place Hugh had specified, the woman stepped into the shop, immediately spotting Hugh sitting with his eyes closed in meditation, before casting a questioning glance at Mervis.

"She's my subordinate; she knows about our affairs as well!" Hearing that the woman had arrived, Hugh opened his eyes.

"Our affairs?" Mervis widened her eyes at Hugh's words, looking at the two individuals with such a vast age gap. *Could it be that the two of them...* Mervis shook her head, thinking that she must have changed; she was clearly no longer her old self.

"How are the things I asked for coming along?" Ignoring Mervis entirely upon hearing Hugh's words, the woman demanded the items she needed from Hugh.

"This is the internal structural map of Holy Round City!" Hugh handed the pre-prepared blueprint directly to the woman.

The woman took it and immediately unfolded it. The details on the blueprint were exceptionally meticulous, with every single location clearly marked.

"Very good!" The woman stowed the blueprint away with a satisfied expression. This map would undoubtedly prove immensely helpful.

"Is this all?" The woman seemed dissatisfied that Hugh had only brought her a single map, crucial though it was.

"No need to rush. Before I tell you anything else, I want to know how many members the Black Cross still has left!" That was what Hugh truly wanted to know; he had no intention of tagging along just to throw his life away.

"Hah! Rest assured, we still have plenty of people inside Holy Round City. The ones captured by the city guards were all arranged by us intentionally. Not only that, but we also have another force lying in ambush on the outskirts of Holy Round City. This raid on the city is a certainty!" Hearing Hugh's words, the woman instantly understood what he was thinking—he simply didn't trust her.