Azure Sky Appears

"Damn, that guy’s back again. I heard His Excellency from the West District had someone make a deal with him and gave him an ability above S-rank!"

"Keep it down…"

"What are you afraid of? Would a Reincarnator at his level really waste resources hunting small fry like us?!"

There were always rookie Reincarnators in the Slum Area who were this "brave," daring to face Mercenary Tao directly while discussing him in voices neither too loud nor too quiet.

Black Butler pressed down the brim of his black top hat, his brows twitching twice. He really wanted to go over and tell those two that Mercenary Tao might genuinely do just that.

But after several previous deals, and as one of the very few brokers able to establish contact with Mercenary Tao, Black Butler’s status had risen with the tide. He had begun to carry a certain "idol burden" himself.

After coughing twice, Black Butler stepped in front of their line of sight, preventing them from seeing Mercenary Tao’s mocking, cruel smile.

"What is it? Got something else to trade?"

Though Black Butler spoke in a questioning tone, his gaze had already turned toward the stall. He was certain Mercenary Tao was not the sort to make trouble for no reason. Since he had sought him out voluntarily, he had to have a new purpose.

Combining that with the intelligence from the Space over this period, he lowered his voice.

"For this Purge Mission, were you chosen as a Scavenger?!"

Bai Cangshu smiled and nodded. He appreciated Black Butler’s efficiency and alertness. If someone like this did not have to be sent into mission worlds, he would probably live quite well.

A red gleam flashed in Bai Cangshu’s hand. The Scarlet Drop Card, tinged with a faint golden radiance, was exceptionally conspicuous. A Drop Card with such features was likely something a considerable number of Reincarnators in the Space had never seen before.

It was a reward belonging only to the strong, proof belonging only to hunters.

Most stall owners in the Slum Area were powerful veterans. Some had never seen a Drop Card of this color, but they had heard of it.

They all rose abruptly, and information once again began spreading continuously among the Reincarnators.

Every Purge Mission almost always meant the deaths of many Reincarnators. In the deployment that had just ended, several teams indeed had not returned.

The team that drew the most attention was called White Sanctuary. Its Sage and captain, Lancer, had been highly regarded by many gatherings.

Lights continuously flashed through the Slum Area as many Reincarnators received the news and teleported over.

Several of them wore heavy cloaks, their edges set with all kinds of gemstones and precious metals.

Upon arriving before the stall, they removed their cloaks. The leader had short, tousled black hair, with angled bangs covering his left eye. He was a little over six feet tall and evenly built. There was no trace of any item on him, save for a golden sword medal hanging from his chest.

"Mercenary Tao, can you tell us whether Duke was killed by you?"

Black Butler frowned and informed Bai Cangshu through Space communication that these people belonged to an advanced gathering called Knights & Knights. It had few members, but all of them were quite strong.

Most had enhanced themselves with Kamen Rider- or paladin-type abilities. They were a group of idealists.

"Idealists…"

Bai Cangshu looked at them and nodded.

He took out several items and laid them on the stall one by one.

Modified Bloodline: Bloodline of Bai Shen Prometheus

Unidentified Belt

These items were undoubtedly proof that Duke had been killed.

The people behind the tousle-haired man simultaneously threw back their cloaks, their expressions furious. Two of them even had oddly shaped belts appear around their waists, cards in hand, as if they intended to transform on the spot.

Bai Cangshu tilted his head, his pupils focusing on the unfeigned anger in their expressions.

What wonderful expressions. Perhaps such intense emotions could also raise their combat state by quite a bit.

Jia Qi extended an arm to stop the others. Though he did not need to—in the Space, fighting would not occur—he knew very well that Mercenary Tao was a strange, demonic man with an unpredictable temper.

It was hard to guarantee that if these juniors offended Mercenary Tao now, they would not earn his grudge.

"Calm down. Duke entered that world as a Scavenger. Under normal circumstances, his Drop Card could never yield this many items…"

"There is only one answer. Duke… due to some circumstance, was judged to be a purge target, correct?"

Black Butler froze. He had not considered that possibility. He had assumed that Lightning Knight Duke had simply been unlucky enough to become a Scavenger in the same world as Mercenary Tao, only to be casually assassinated by him.

Bai Cangshu withdrew his gaze and scrutinized the other man seriously once more.

Jia Qi took a deep breath, suppressing the pain of his friend’s death as he said calmly,

"No matter what, please allow us to reclaim Duke’s belongings."

"Of course… in the form of a trade."

Black Butler added a reminder that this Reincarnator codenamed Jia Qi possessed the special title of Reiwa Rider. He was extremely powerful and simultaneously wielded multiple belts.

Bai Cangshu’s smile remained unchanged.

"Of course, of course. When I trade, I never care about the other party’s identity. As long as your offer is good enough, these things will naturally be returned to you."

Jia Qi could tell what Mercenary Tao meant. He was not merely saying he would not obstruct the transaction; he was also saying that he would accept only public offers for these items.

The Knights & Knights gathering had both strength and a good reputation. Many other Reincarnators would often be willing to do them a favor.

But Mercenary Tao was clearly not among them.

He merely nodded. Jia Qi had already accepted the Space’s assessment of Mercenary Tao’s strength. Being able to kill Duke during a Purge Mission proved that Mercenary Tao’s strength was far beyond those "mass-produced Title-level" Reincarnators of the Third Tier.

More and more people continued teleporting over, and news that Lightning Knight Duke had been purged by Mercenary Tao spread without wings.

The brokers quickly deduced that Mercenary Tao had used the Purge Mission to carry out a massive slaughter.

This made Mercenary Tao’s Fierce Reputation even more resounding.

Slap, slap, slap…

The sound of flip-flops dragging across the ground was exceptionally distinct. Though the Avatars of Reincarnators in the Space came in all varieties, few chose to dress in flip-flops.

Yet this dragging sound strangely overwhelmed every other Reincarnator’s voice, so clear that everyone present could hear it distinctly.

Bai Cangshu, Black Butler, Jia Qi, and the others all turned toward the source of the sound at once.

Theoretically, the public area of Infinite Dimensional Space could isolate nearly all abilities from affecting other Reincarnators.

But the scene of the Great Sun of Finality previously changing the weather in the public area, with a pitch-black sun hanging in the sky, had made it clear that some of the very strongest Reincarnators still possessed the ability to display special powers here.

And now, these flip-flops displayed an abnormal sense of presence.

"Yo, yo, isn’t this the guy who took our Roland’s Virtue…"

"You’re still not dead."

The man wore a floral shirt and floral shorts, his bronze chest exposed. The lineup following behind him was enough to open the eyes of the Reincarnators in the East District Slum Area.

Title-level—every last one of them was a Title-level Reincarnator.

"It’s Azure Sky! That group has appeared in the East District Slum Area!"

"Azure Sky’s boss is suspected to have appeared!"

All kinds of messages began spreading at an explosive pace.

Black Butler also turned away and began sending messages nonstop.

The cradle of idealists, Azure Sky, was about to make contact with Mercenary Tao, the representative of madmen and vicious fiends. The news began spreading like wildfire.