Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 505 - Hostage Situation

"Mr. Hamilton!"

The young nobleman dressed in a tailcoat called out to Shard, and only then did Shard somewhat reluctantly stop in his tracks:

"May I ask what you want?"

"Might I ask you to... speak with me over here for a moment?"

His face was somewhat troubled, but he still pointed to the southwestern corner of the courtyard in front of the Yordle Palace. Although that area was also part of the open area for the current banquet, it was a downwind location, so when fireworks were set off, a large amount of heavy smoke drifted over, meaning not many people were there.

"What would you like to discuss?"

Shard blinked and asked.

"I have some private matters I'd like to discuss with you. Please rest assured, this is the Yordle Palace, and I wouldn't play any tricks."

In fact, Shard wasn't worried about the other party playing tricks; he just didn't want to waste time on other matters. But seeing that Little Dimock was still quite sincere, he nodded:

"No problem, but it's best to be brief. Sir, this way please."

So, the two of them left the bustling area in front of the Yordle Palace, which was illuminated by the gaslights.

Little Dimock looked deeply troubled, and after they went around a flower bed, the two stopped behind it. The flower bed was trimmed to resemble an armed knight, so other people couldn't see them in the shade.

"Mr. Hamilton, please allow me to apologize. What happened earlier was my fault."

He hemmed and hawed for quite a while before saying this to Shard, always suspicious of outsiders in his heart, he first doubted whether this was another conspiracy against him, but the other person did seem sincere.

"Then I accept your apology."

Shard nodded and said, his mind on quickly ending this nuisance and returning to the second floor.

"I'm really sorry, I was not thinking straight. Before you came in, we were discussing matters regarding His Highness Prince Sax."

He even started to sob, and just as Shard thought he was mourning the girl who had planned the "Prophet's Society Assault Incident," the young man in front of him suddenly sobbed and said:

"If my father knew of my behavior today, he would definitely beat me. If he knew I didn't even have the courage to take your gun, he would certainly throw me out to a rural farmstead."

This man's image suddenly changed in front of Shard.

"Don't worry, I won't spread the word about this."

He kindly consoled.

"Mr. Hamilton, you truly are a good man."

Little Dimock wiped his eyes and raised his head:

"I'm really sorry about today, it wasn't because of some lady that I was angry with you."

It seemed the information provided by Lecia was incorrect.

"Then what was it because of?"

"It's because of Prince Sax. I heard you repeatedly obstructed the plans to rescue him..."

The fashionably dressed young nobleman was somewhat flushed:

"That's why I was angry with you. But actually, it has nothing to do with you, the Prince's capture, you're completely an outsider."

Shard felt as though he was beginning to understand but couldn't quite believe it:

"So, you..."

"I greatly admire His Highness."

Shard carefully took a step back:

"This world with this kind of background..."

He thought to himself, deciding to also keep his distance from the other party in the future, and then said :

"Since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, I think that should be the end of it, we..."

A dark figure suddenly darted out from the blue rose bushes on the side of the two. He moved swiftly, spotting the two standing behind the flower bed, he charged straight at them:

"Nobody move!"

The handgun was pointed at Little Dimock's head, but the command was directed at both of them.

Shard could understand this; Little Dimock's attire appeared more noble, while the formal outfit picked out for Shard by Miss Galina, although formal, didn't look as imposing as the other's.

"Sir! Calm down!"

Shard wasn't the one being aimed at with the gun, so he wasn't as hurried, but Little Dimock immediately raised his hands:

"Whatever you want, just take it from us, this is the Yordle Palace, if your gun goes off, you also... no, wait, you intend to rob in the Yordle Palace?"

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"Shut up!"

The butt of the gun struck heavily on Little Dimock's nose, and he screamed in pain, bending down while holding his face.

The stranger who emerged from the shadows, panting, then pointed the gun at Shard. Shard was stunned momentarily, then immediately raised his hands:

"Sir, we don't know each other, I don't think there's any need to go straight to shooting, right?"

[Six Rings.]

"I know about the Six Rings, do I not recognize Ivan Daknis?"

The person who had appeared before Shard was indeed Ivan Daknis, whom he had been waiting for a long time.

His yellowish-brown short hair was evident, and the outward-turning traces on his eyelids were very noticeable.

In the past few days, Shard had been pondering how to find the other party in the vast Tobesk; unexpectedly, the other party had taken the initiative to show up.

"Put down the gun, all can be negotiated."

A new voice emerged, accompanied by rustling from the bushes, and the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer of the Church of Creation, Mr. Sari Pirot known as "Iron Right Hand," also holding a gun, stepped out.

After glancing at Shard and Little Dimock, who was holding his bleeding nose, the gentleman turned to Daknis who was holding the gun:

"Ivan Daknis, hand over the item you stole from Yordle Palace."

Shard then realized that it was not by chance he encountered Daknis again, but rather that the other party wanted to gather some ritual materials from this place. Although the Royal Cavendish Family was not a Circle Sorcerer family, the rare treasures in the royal treasury contained many expensive ritual materials.

Recalling the Chosen One Ceremony, which required items related to the powers of the Ancient Gods, perhaps Daknis had received guidance from the "Puppeteer's Script."

"If I hand it over, will you let me go?"

The man possessed by a demon asked with a smile, his right hand still wearing the red glove, almost the same as when Shard last saw him in Coldwater Port City. However, unlike the black coat he often wore in Coldwater Port, Daknis was currently wearing a brown leather jacket that didn't match the summer heat, and his eyes exhibited a subtle red glimmer, even without the demon being released.

Seeing him again after half a month, Shard even felt somewhat nostalgic for the man.

"To be honest, we would not let you go,"

said Mr. Pirot, his tone very gentle:

"Come back with me to the church, and I can swear in the name of our Lady of Creation, that you won't be in any danger to your life."

"Oh, come on, do you think I don't know anything? Not to mention the power that resides within me, would you really be at ease letting me become The Chosen One? Do you think I am completely unaware of the 'Poem Chapter'?"

Daknis murmured, shifting the gun from Shard to Little Dimock:

"Let me leave, and I won't harm anyone here. But once I reveal things at a place like Yordle Palace that common people shouldn't know, you understand what will happen."

Around Shard and Little Dimock, the two of them had always avoided mentioning anything related to Circle Sorcerers.

"If you do that, then I can also break the church's secrecy agreement."

The Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer was still calm, looking Daknis up and down:

"You've been discovered by me; even if you escape this time, don't even think about leaving Tobesk."

"I never intended to leave Tobesk in the first place."

"I see,"

Mr. Pirot nodded and then looked towards Shard and Little Dimock. Shard was quite sure that the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer could definitely defeat Daknis, but the problem was that this place was Yordle Palace.

If it were not, even at the risk of being seen by hundreds of ordinary people, Shard believed he would not be standing here having a polite conversation with Daknis.

"Let's make a deal, put down the gun, and I will let you leave, but it won't be so easy next time,"

Mr. Pirot said after some thought.

Shard raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised, and Daknis was even more surprised:

"Let me leave?"

"Yes, isn't that what you wanted?"

Mr. Pirot simply stood there, looking at him:

"Now you can leave, please go."

His gaze on Daknis made the latter hesitate:

"You stay right there, don't move."

He waved the handgun.

"No problem,"

Mr. Pirot nodded.

"Put your hands behind your back."

"That's easy."

Mr. Pirot stood with his feet slightly apart and put his hands behind his back:

"See, you can go now."

"I can't let these two go right now, I need to ensure my safety... you, come with me."

When in danger, having slightly better luck than a companion is sometimes enough. It's foolish to take two hostages at once, and this time, Shard was obviously the luckier of the two, as Little Dimock was chosen.

The young nobleman, who understood nothing, looked at the stranger with a sallow complexion in shock, while Mr. Pirot directly addressed Shard:

"Mr. Hamilton, please stay here with me. After this matter is concluded, you will need to sign some papers."

Even though their conversation didn't reveal much, Shard still had to sign a confidentiality agreement.

"Okay, no problem,"

So Shard moved next to Mr. Pirot, while Little Dimock couldn't come to terms with the situation:

"Wait, why did you choose me?"

He asked Daknis in astonishment, and surprisingly, Daknis actually answered:

"That man is taller than you and seems smarter; judging by the way he stands and moves, he's likely received some degree of combat training. Also, his appearance is far too conspicuous. Taking him as a hostage would greatly increase the risk of being noticed by others, but with you, there's no such risk."

It was hard to determine whether for Little Dimock, it was the fact of being taken hostage that was more upsetting, or the comprehensive insult that was harder to accept.