Chapter 123: Who Dares Say I Am Not a Thief?!

"It looks just like him!" the old mercenary exclaimed. Muffled murmurs rippled through the mercenary guild as quite a few people began to notice the striking resemblance between Hanz and the magical projection.

"Get ready to move!" came the low, hissed command from among the mercenaries who had accepted the bounty inside the hall. Though quiet, the words were caught by Hanz, whose Dragon Emperor blood granted him acute senses.

"Hey! Old man, what are you blabbering about?" Hanz abruptly dropped his usual serene, god-fearing guise, swaying lazily with a slouching, hoodlum swagger. He sneered, "Damn it, old timer, didn't you hear my leader talking to you?"

"Andy, how can you speak to an elder like that?" Finally, after Dracula had announced the engagement between Hanz and Julia, Julia spoke to Hanz for the very first time. "Hurry up and apologize to the old man!"

"Apologize my ass!" With a nimble leap, Hanz vaulted up and sat cross-legged right on the table in front of the old mercenary. He snatched the magical scroll, glanced at it, tilted his head, and flashed a wicked grin. "Haha, who the hell is this kid? He actually looks almost as good-looking as me!"

"Humph! You're not even worthy to look like him!" Snatching the scroll back, the old mercenary gave Hanz another thorough once-over before raging, "This is His Excellency Vladino! You petty thief, get the hell out of here!"

"Oh? You mean that holy prelate?" Hanz chuckled as he leaned in close to the old mercenary. "How did an image of that asshole end up in your hands?"

"See for yourself!" Annoyed by the endless questions, the old mercenary grabbed a random parchment from the stack on the table and slapped it down. "Someone's offering ten million gold coins for His Excellency Vladino's head!"

*What the hell? My life is only worth ten million?* Hanz felt a twinge of annoyance. "Hey, old man, who's got that kind of money to throw around for a ten-million bounty?"

"Humph, boy, remember the mercenary code. Don't ask what you aren't supposed to know!" Hanz had clearly made a rookie mistake no seasoned mercenary would commit. On the Mirage Continent, unless the employer volunteered the information, mercenaries had no right to pry into their identity.

"Damn it! Keep it to yourself then!" Hanz curled his lip. "Can our mercenary band take the mission to hunt down Vladino?"

"Sure, there's no rank restriction on this task!" The old mercenary cast a dismissive glance at the low-level rogue emblem pinned to Hanz's chest. "You? With what skills?"

"What's wrong with me? Are you looking down on me?" Hanz rolled up his sleeves and brandished his fist under the old mercenary's nose. "Our mercenary band is taking this job!"

"Fine! Consider the mission assigned to you!" At the mention of business, the old mercenary briskly scribbled on a fresh scroll. "Though I should remind you, the hunt for the Holy Prelate Vladino is an open contract. Anyone can take it. If someone else completes the objective before you do, the reward is gone."

"Got it, cut the crap!" Hanz snatched the mission contract and shoved it into Locke's hands.

"Andy, what are you doing?" Locke was completely bewildered. Hanz's reckless behavior was a far cry from the gentle, refined demeanor he usually projected. "Without my consent as the leader, how dare you accept a mission on your own?"

"Ten million!" Hanz extended a single finger, waving it in front of Locke's face. "Leader, this is a ten-million gold coin bounty!"

"Andy, you..." Julia was furious as well. She turned her back on him, refusing to pay Hanz any more mind.

Hearing the sum of ten million, Locke visibly swallowed hard. Gritting his teeth, he took the contract back from Hanz and returned it to the old mercenary. "We're not taking this mission!" With that, Locke grabbed Julia by the hand and stormed out of the mercenary guild.

"Hey! Leader, that's a ten-million gold coin job!" Hanz watched Locke and Julia's retreating backs. Instead of chasing after them immediately, he darted back to the old mercenary, snatched the contract back one last time, and then reluctantly left the hall.

The mercenaries remaining in the hall watched Hanz depart with looks of utter contempt. A few began to whisper among themselves, "That thief must just happen to resemble Vladino. As if a holy prelate would ever stoop to becoming a petty thief, and such a greedy one at that!"

Hearing the murmured speculations fading in the distance, Hanz let out a long breath of relief. His little performance hadn't been in vain; at least he was safe for the time being.

Staring at the lifelike magical projection on the contract, Hanz muttered to himself, *They're even using magical projections on standard bounty scrolls now. Whoever wants me dead really does have deep pockets!*

Studying the image closely, Hanz couldn't help breaking into a grin: shoulder-length black hair, pristine white priestly robes, a white jade staff, and his trademark god-fearing expression—that was indeed what he looked like in the projection. Right now, however, the young master Hanz looked far more wretched: clad in tattered, coarse linen clothes, his face smeared with dust, a massive broadsword strapped to his back, and his messy hair tied back loosely with a rag. No wonder the old mercenary had only said he looked like him rather than recognizing Hanz outright.

Still, this wasn't enough to guarantee his safety. Hanz drew his Blade of Judgment, hacked off his long hair in one swift stroke, plucked out a few stray eyebrows with his fingers, and rubbed more dirt onto his face. Finally, finding a quiet pool of water, he inspected his reflection with satisfaction and confirmed that the person staring back was nothing more than an ordinary, slovenly rogue.

"Hehe, from now on, I am Andy, the novice rogue!" Hanz chuckled to himself.

By this time, Locke and Julia had already walked some distance ahead. Having completed his makeover, Hanz hurried after them. "Hey, leader, wait for me!"

"Humph!" Locke shot a disgruntled look at Hanz as he caught up. "Why did you accept the mission to hunt down His Excellency Vladino?"

*As if I want to hunt myself down!* Hanz cursed inwardly, but Locke's reprimand wasn't hard to deflect. Smiling brightly, he pulled the mission scroll from his tunic and handed it to Julia. "I know His Excellency Vladino is your idol. Since I can't afford a magical projection, I figured I'd at least steal this bounty scroll for you." He scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed chuckle, "Hehe, it has a picture of Vladino on it, too..."

Locke broke into a foolish grin. In his eyes, this prospective brother-in-law of his still cared deeply for his sister. Julia, meanwhile, froze in place. It took her a long time to recover before she accepted the scroll, blushing as she whispered, "Thank you..."

"Huh? Why do you look so different?" Julia suddenly noticed the sudden shift in Hanz's appearance.

"It's nothing." Hanz pointed vaguely at the massive sword on his back. "My hair got accidentally chopped off when I drew my blade just now, and then I took a tumble."

"Oh. Well, be more careful from now on," Julia murmured, keeping her gaze lowered.

Looking at Julia, who was still very much a young girl, Hanz didn't quite know what to say. Truth be told, he genuinely felt a pang of guilt about deceiving her. The little girl still had no idea that she was the descendant of a tenth-tier magical beast, nor that her grandfather had gone off to fight a duel with no hope of survival.

"Pardon me, everyone. May I have a moment?" The awkward silence was abruptly broken as a few men, dressed in mercenary gear far superior to their own, stepped up to Hanz and his group. Their attire and equipment were clearly leagues ahead of the trio's ragged state.

The leader, a middle-aged mage, stepped forward and said, "Greetings. I am Davis, leader and chief mage of the Gale Mercenary Band!"

"Ah! You're Master Mage Davis? It's an absolute honor to meet you!" Julia exclaimed with undisguised excitement. To a low-level intermediate mage like her, a master mage was a figure straight out of legends.

"Haha, the pleasure is mine as well, fair lady." Davis's response adhered strictly to the continent's aristocratic standards. Turning his gaze from her, he looked toward Locke. "You must be Leader Locke, am I right?"

"Ah, yes, that's me." Locke felt rather constrained. After all, he was merely the head of a modest rank-two mercenary band, while Davis was the commander of the largest mercenary group in the Grand Duchy of Rol. "Is there something you need from me?"

"It's like this," Davis said with a genial smile. "I'm tasked with escorting a shipment of goods to Lanton City within the duchy, but we're running a bit short on manpower. We'd like to invite your group to join us for the mission." Glancing down at their shabby gear, he added with a chuckle, "How does fifty gold pieces sound once the job is done?"

"Big brother, fifty gold pieces is enough to buy you a fine sword!" Julia whispered, visibly tempted.

"Wait... Master Mage Davis, why would you choose our tiny mercenary band of only three people?" Though tempted, Locke wasn't entirely foolish. He knew that gold coins didn't fall from the sky in this day and age.

"Ah, don't worry about that. It's just a rule of thumb for our guild," Davis explained warmly. "Whenever a newly formed mercenary band pops up within the duchy, we like to take them along on a straightforward job like this. It's nothing grand—we simply want to make some friends!"

"Very well, I accept." From Locke's perspective, a prominent group like the Gale Mercenary Band had no reason to lay a trap for a small fry like them. After a brief moment of internal debate, he agreed.

"And this gentleman is a rogue?" Davis's gaze shifted to Hanz, his expression turning curious. "Oh? Why is there no battle qi fluctuation coming from you at all?"

"Hehe, the name's Andy. Concealing one's aura is what rogues do best!" Hanz boasted shamelessly, entirely unbothered by the stunned gazes of the others. One had to keep in mind that Davis was a bona fide seventh-tier master mage; if even he couldn't sense any magical fluctuations from Hanz, then this "rogue's" stealth capabilities were truly terrifying.

Davis, of course, had no way of knowing that the reason Hanz lacked any power fluctuations was simply because the young master was an absolute double-idiot in both magic and battle qi. Consequently, Davis's expression immediately shifted from friendly to respectful. "I had no idea Mr. Andy's abilities were so profound."

Julia and Locke exchanged a peculiar glance, both entirely baffled. How on earth had a petty thief who could barely withstand a single low-level spell suddenly transformed into such a formidable rogue?

"Is there anything else you need to prepare?" Davis asked.

Both Locke and Julia shook their heads, but Hanz chimed in, "I have a pet." Hanz hadn't brought Whitey along when he took the open commission, because carrying a little white dog around had practically become the trademark of the Holy Prelate Vladino. Thus, poor Whitey had been left locked up in the inn.

"Andy, hurry up and go fetch your pet then," Locke urged, eager to get the mission underway.

"I'll be right back..." Before he even finished speaking, Hanz's figure blurred and vanished.

"He can move that fast without using battle qi?" Davis stared incredulously at the empty spot where Hanz had just been standing, a silent thought echoing in his mind: *Could he really just be an ordinary rogue?*

As he sprinted away, a cold smile crept onto Hanz's face. *Nice try, Davis. Locke and Julia might be clueless, but do you take me for an absolute idiot? The Gale Mercenary Band is the number one mercenary group in the entire duchy. Since when does transporting cargo and befriending tiny start-up bands require the head of the guild to travel all the way from the capital to some remote backwater town just to handle it personally?*