197. Elemental Laws

Atop a hill overlooking a lake, Tarihk and his fellow Moon Elves are walking towards a tree where a man is currently having a meal.

Half an hour ago, they have eliminated two 3RD Circle mages with ill intentions towards their client and after killing a few more who had been lurking around the perimeter, they finally decided to approach Clay.

When they were at least a hundred meters away, Tarihk signaled everyone to wait so he could speak to Clay alone.

Tarihk could just fly over but he decided to walk and when he was a few feet away, he stopped his tracks.

“Some fake Elves dared to covet your possessions.” Tarihk took out six fresh dead bodies from his spatial ring and have them laid on a patch of grass for Clay to see.

“I’m eating. Can you put those away?”

Tarihk was confused and turned his head to his side a where another dead body is lying not from far from him.

Earlier, when the trio of hostile mages flew past them, the group’s leader telepathically sent a message and warned them not to meddle then even instructed his subordinates to stall time.

At that time, his primary focus was to ensure the safety of the Elder Breed mix within his group and after ensuring there was no significant threat, he decided to make a move. It took them less than a minute to kill two 3RD Circle Mages and when they were done, he immediately levitated to check if Clay needed help but to his surprise, there was no ripple of clashing energies which meant Clay had already killed the leader.

And now that he is looking at the 4TH Circle mage lying on his own blood, Tarihk became even more curious as to how strong Clay is. There is no trace of fierce battle nor hints of Elemental Laws in the area and seeing that clean hole punctured at the mage’s head, that is more than an indication Clay should not be underestimated.

“Do we get incentives for eliminating these type of threat as well?”

“I remember instructing you to wait three days. Hungry?” Clay casually responded as he took out another bowl from his spatial ring and used his mana to bring it closer to Tarihk.

Tarihk meanwhile did not hesitate and took the ceramic bowl and filled it for a taste then after taking sip, he positioned himself on the protruding root of a tree and took a seat.

“If you are here because of what I think you are here for, I would like propose trade.”

Clay was enjoying his soup but the next instant, Tarihk released a sliver of aura imbued with Dao-like power causing Clay to circulate his mana for any surprise attack. As far as he is concerned, he had not tell a soul about his plans nor objectives but the fact that Tarihk revealed the power he is after, it means he missed something.

“What makes you think I’m after what you’re thinking?”

“It’s a speculation and correct me if I’m wrong but I believe our mission is to hunt down Caudal Xenomorphs.”

“Oh?”

“I came up with this conclusion as yesterday, someone told me that you have spent so much money investigating Druidic Shrines and did you know that Ebicar Country gave you name? I think they call you Kou Kuwu.”

“You’ve been following me?” Clay forced a smile and released a sliver of his mana as well. What he hates the most are people going after him in secret. Here he thought he had done everything carefully to not attract attention yet here he is, in front of another mage who might turn into an enemy any second now. If he is not careful, he may lose the chance to gather information about Dao.

“Not me and I’m too old care. Somebody tipped me about your little expedition. Originally, I came solely for the rewards and I’m willing to work for it but yesterday, I was instructed to clear their suspicions of you. Apparently, they think of you as a potential threat.” Tarihk sensed the change Clay’s countenance so he secretly circulated his mana. He did not want to resort to violence but if things do escalate, then he will perform a forbidden technique and forcefully raise his level then eliminate Clay.

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“I don’t recall misbehaving.”

“Says the guy who killed an Awakened Mage. If that mage belongs to us Elves, even if that man is in exile, someone will still hunt you down. Let me reintroduce myself. I am Tarihk Ekr, one of the many protectors of Elven Lands.”

“I come in peace.” Clay activated his Godly Eyes and observed Tarihk for any hints of sudden attacks. He had come a long way when dealing with sneak attacks and he refuse to fall for one today.

Looking at Tarihk’s mana circulation he can tell this man is an inch away from being an enemy.

Clay calmed himself. While he is confident he will come out victorious, the fact that everyone will die means he will have to completely go off radar. He can only rely on luck to convince this old man.

“I don’t know what secrets you have to have been able to kill an Awakened Mage and that fake Elf out there but at least I know a threat when I see one.” Tarihk lowered his guard upon seeing the calm and compose human before him. Honestly, it would have been easier if he had been ordered to kill Clay and loot all his belongings.

“What do you want?”

“I’ve brought in another member like you requested. He’s wearing a brown coat. We consider him a prodigy. What do you think of him?”

Clay felt relieved Tarihk lowered his guard. It should be a good sign for a negotiation.

As for the new added member, Clay already had a glanced of everyone before they approached the area and while the original eight all have superior Elemental Affinity, only one of them caught his attention and it is the woman with four Mana Centers.

“His Mana Affinity is barely acceptable but better than I.”

Tarihk carefully assessed Clay one more time. He had purposely brought someone with low Mana Affinity and had him wore an artifact to make his potential look beyond average but Clay managed to see through his tricks. And the reason he did this is to further assess Clay’s strength. He is certain Clay is 2ND Circle Mage but the information he received suggest Clay is a 5TH Circle. Regardless of what level Clay’s strength is, his mission is to determine if they are dealing with a friend or a foe.

“So if I brought in someone with superior Mana Affinity, would it then move your interest?”

“What do you want?” Clay asked again. For as long as it something he can produce, it won’t really be a loss.

“What I want is to have you use your resources to nurture a mage to a level of 5TH Circle.”

“And in exchange?”

“The power I showed you is called Elemental Law. It is a well guarded secret among high ranking mages and someone is willing to trade information about it for resources.” Tarihk finally revealed his objective.

Clay contained his surprise upon learning what Dao is called in this world. He then smiled then walked towards the boiling pot and as he refilled his bowl, he said, “He he he. It is true I am interested in learning more about Elemental Laws but I am not that wealthy as you think I am.”

“I don’t know how you define wealthy but surely is not someone giving away a barrel of Mana-infused Mimic Ale.”

“Let’s say it was an overlook on my part but I consider it necessary. Since you know what Caudal Xenomorphs are, then you should how tricky capturing one is. The test I conducted was an exaggerated version of how energy fluctuations are during Spatial Tear Outburst. As I’ve said, I don’t misbehave so I have to be careful in choosing mages who will be helping me with this mission otherwise somebody might think I sent them to their death beds. And while I’m generous with rewards, it does not mean I am that wealthy. “

Clay took out a spatial ring then tossed it towards Tarihk. “Why don’t you take a look what the actual rewards are going to be? And since we are on the subject, I need to collect at least five intact and live samples and it should be self explanatory why I need reliable people like your race.”

Tarihk can’t help but get disappointed and at the same time, he is tempted to scan Clay’s body and search all his spatial rings but he is not that careless like the Terrestrial Elves lying nearby. At least the contents of the ring Clay just tossed him is satisfactory in some ways.

Since Clay is not willing to make a trade, he may as well just accomplish what he was here for and go home.

“You don’t need to come with us and we will gather what you need and deliver it to you in a month. “ Tarihk placed the ceramic bowl on the ground then got to his feet. “And a fair warning, after this is done, don’t overstay your welcome.”

Clay watched as Tarihk turned around and walked away. In truth, he would give everything in exchange for knowledge about Elemental Laws however, this might invite more troubles for him in the future.

Earlier when he asked if he was being followed, he deliberately allowed a sliver of his mana leak out of his body but Tarihk’s reaction reflected a hint of killing intent, a decisive action to immediately retaliate. There is a thin line between being careful and being trustworthy and instinct is telling him not to trust the old man especially the fact that someone knew he killed that mysterious gang two years ago. As far as he knew, he incinerated the area leaving no traces of his involvement. If they knew that incident, then what guarantee that his trade with Tarihk will not be known?

Greed works in mysterious ways.

While he is forgoing an opportunity to know more about Elemental Laws, he should first break the image of being a fat sheep and make it look like he is a lucky itinerant mage. For now, he should be satisfied he now knows what the Dao-like power is called.