Supreme Magus novel Chapter 4449

Chapter 4449: Dread Link (Part 1)

"The one wearing a camouflage suit, white rabbit gloves, and snow deer boots." Arno said.

"Is he telling the truth?" Lith asked, and all the other bandits except the one Arno had singled out nodded like frenzied parrots. "I’m inclined to believe you, but this was all too easy. How do I know you’re not framing a poor idiot?

"Maybe you are the one I’m looking for, and your loyal subordinates are covering for you. You friend Ygar was quite tight-lipped, after all."

"Screw Ygar! He was a moron." Arno spat as if speaking that name left a bad taste in his mouth. "Ask Nadrim if you don’t believe me. He always brags he knows more about the gang than anyone else."

"Who?" Lith furrowed his brow.

"The bald one with the white rag on his face." Arno replied. "He’s been a recruit for a bit longer than me, and claims that during the years he’s learned a few things."

"Well, Nadrim, you’d better talk fast, because I’m getting bored of this already." Lith brought the man matching the description to him, and removed his gag with a flick of the wrist.

"Arno is right." Nadrim had a grizzled beard and the cold eyes of someone who would do and had done anything in his life to survive. "Kharam is a lieutenant of the Blood Axes. If someone knows where to find Mak, that’s him."

"Again, proof?" Lith said with a flat voice.

"All the real members of the Blood Axes must get a tattoo of the gang somewhere on their bodies." Nadrim replied. "Low-level grunts must put them in visible places like hands or forearms as a show of loyalty.

"High-level executives, instead, must hide the tattoo so as not to draw the attention of the constables in the event they get arrested. Mak is the one who pays to get a Healer to remove the grunt tattoo and make you a new one once you enter his inner circle."

"How do you know all this, and why should I care about this story?" Lith asked.

"Only a young idiot like Arno or Ygar enters a gang without doing their due diligence." Nadrim said. "I’ve lived to my ripe age because I avoided those who would use me as cannon fodder and always got insurance.

"As for your second question, feel free to strip everyone. You won’t find any tattoos on most of us. Kharam, instead, has a tattoo on his right hip, where no one would find it unless they force him to take off his pants."

Lith nodded and brought Kharam to him. He found the tattoo depicting two crossed red axes right below the waist.

’This ink is years old and enchanted.’ Lith thought. ’It’s enchanted with a weak spell that makes the tattoo hard to remove and keeps it from fading. It must be a deterrent to keep trusted people from running away and starting a new life.

’Taking the tattoo off would require a skilled Healer. Even if one burns the flesh, the enchantment would make the ink resurface.’

"Nice to meet you, Kharam. Let’s cut to the c-" The bandit spat in Lith’s eye the moment the gag came off.

Unfortunately for him, a mere thought sent the lump of saliva back into Kharam’s face as if he had spat towards the sky.

"You’re a cheeky bastard, aren’t you?" Lith said. "Either that, or you’re just stupid. Didn’t you see what I’ve done to that other guy, Igor?"

’I’d call his bluff since I can’t sense a communication amulet, but there is more than one way to deliver a message.’ Lith scanned the area with the Eyes of Menadion, spotting a messenger bird that kept itself in proximity to the bandits, ready to answer the right call.

’He wasn’t bluffing, and without the proper command, I can’t send the bird to Mak and follow it.’

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