Chapter 33: Headquarters and High-Ranking Members
Four items appeared at the very top, with dozens more below them. Overall, they were all quite good, but the top ten items were very expensive, none costing less than 1000 World Reputation points.
Originally, Su Xiao thought his remaining 2646 World Reputation points were already a considerable amount, but now it seemed they were far from enough.
He still didn't know what a [Soul Crystal Core] was, but as for the World Core (Fragment), he needed to find a way to get his hands on that.
The [Uncrowned King] title required over 3000 World Reputation points. As a combat-type Seven-Star title, Su Xiao planned to exchange for it. Even if his trigger probability in battle was very low, if he could obtain six Seven-Star titles, he could smelt them into an Eight-Star title. Whether an Eight-Star title existed would have to be tested later.
As for [Hatred of the Sealed King (???)], Su Xiao was completely taking a laissez-faire attitude. 57,000 World Reputation points was simply too expensive. He even suspected that the Void Tree had put this item out just to show it to him.
Su Xiao looked at the gradually brightening sky outside the window. It was time to head to the Watch Guild headquarters. To deal with the Ancient God, their power was necessary. At the very least, the Watch Guild needed to break the 'Realm Barrier.' If the 'Realm Barrier' wasn't broken, there was simply no way to fight that Ancient God.
After washing up, Su Xiao went to the warehouse on the first floor. The steam car was still there. Adelie and the others hadn't dared to blow up the shelter house, which was a wise choice. Once the shelter house was destroyed, the Pest Control Company would discover it immediately. Then the entire Sodo City would be locked down, and the surrounding Hunters and the military of the Rhine Kingdom would conduct a thorough investigation layer by layer.
Bubu Wang jumped into the driver's seat, and Su Xiao was in the passenger seat. Although this position wasn't safe, Amu was in the back seat. Fortunately, Ta Balder wasn't there, or the steam car would have been crushed out of shape.
The steam car drove out of the slums in a wild manner. Before long, it left Sodo City and headed straight for the location of the Watch Guild headquarters. The headquarters' location was somewhat special; no civilians lived within 20 kilometers of the surrounding area, a result of attacks by large groups of Dark Demons.
After leaving Sodo City and crossing a vast wilderness, a wide gravel road appeared ahead. Many warning signs were erected along the roadside. This area was not only a restricted zone of the Rhine Kingdom but also marked as a dangerous material storage point.
Following the gravel road, in less than two hours, a building dozens of meters high appeared ahead. The building had a large footprint, similar in style to Baroque architecture.
The Watch Guild headquarters had arrived. The surrounding defenses seemed lax, but over 300 Hunters were permanently stationed here. If attacked, all Hunters in the surrounding area would receive a signal and return at full speed. Furthermore, the Rhine Kingdom would dispatch its military to provide rapid reinforcement.
Although Su Xiao was a God Hunter, no one came to greet him at the entrance of the Watch Guild headquarters. This was because there was no clear superior-subordinate relationship between Hunters and the Watch Guild's high-ranking members.
The Watch Guild high-ranking members were responsible for handling relations with various countries and financial management, while Hunters specialized in hunting Dark Demons and Wraiths, ignoring everything else.
The steam car parked in the open space in front of the headquarters. Su Xiao stepped onto the stairs and soon entered the main entrance of the headquarters.
The hall on the first floor of the headquarters was very spacious. On the left side was a row of display windows, which were the supply collection point, Hunter registration point, and supernatural incident reporting point. At the moment, a few Hunters were resupplying, seemingly preparing to handle a First-Class supernatural incident.
There were many cracks in the marble floor, indicating that the headquarters was not a completely safe place. Some crazed and hysterical Dark Demons would come to attack here, basically just throwing their lives away. Only a level like Haogui could possibly fight their way into the main hall.
"Mr. Kukulin, the four Guardians are already waiting for you in the conference room, including Mr. Ta Balder. Everyone involved in this matter has generally arrived."
A woman with a white ID badge, missing one eye, and four ugly scars on her face spoke softly. From her features, one could tell she had once been a beauty, a gentle and refined one. She was just an ordinary person, a survivor whose entire family had died in a supernatural incident. Homeless, she was taken in by the Watch Guild to work as support staff.
Led by the female staff member, Su Xiao climbed the stairs to the fifth floor and pushed open the door to enter a conference room.
The conference room was nearly full of people. The smell of tobacco and wine permeated the air. The Watch Guild high-ranking members, the Guardians, were not all austere. They were also human and wished to enjoy themselves. They lived each day without knowing about tomorrow. The Dark Demons and Wraiths deeply hated these Guardians.
"Kukulin, you're too slow."
A burly man with a thick beard sitting by the round conference table spoke. His laughter was exceptionally hearty. A cigar was pinched between his fingers. Although he was only in his early forties, his hair was mostly white. He was one of the Watch Guild's high-ranking members.
"Your voice is too loud. Do you think Kukulin enjoys himself every day like you do? There are countless Dark Demons waiting for him to kill."
A man with an aura like a cobra spoke. Although he was just an ordinary person, he gave off a cold and sinister feeling. Even veteran Hunters would feel uncomfortable meeting his gaze. This was his presence.
"It's good that you came back alive."
An old man who seemed like he could breathe his last at any moment spoke in a voice like sandpaper scraping. His body was covered in transparent tubes, and behind his seat was life-support equipment. He was the type to die the moment the tubes were pulled out.
This old man was named Commons. He had lived for 219 years. His brain was priceless. All of the Watch Guild's secrets, combat knowledge records, weapon structure blueprints, etc., were stored in his mind. He was a living library. If his breathing or heartbeat stopped, his head would instantly explode.
"Ginse was killed last night."
A noblewoman sitting by the conference table spoke. A long, slender smoking pipe was pinched between her fingers, with a black lady's cigarette inserted. As blue smoke rose, a strange fragrance spread.
The four Watch Guild high-ranking members each had different auras and were responsible for different areas.
The hearty big-bearded man was named Go, responsible for finance.
The man like a cobra, whose real name no one knew, was called Viper. He was an ultra-scheming man, responsible for personnel deployment.
The old man was the Living Library, Commons. His very existence was a form of value.
The noblewoman's name was also unknown. It was said her fiancé was a hereditary duke, but because her soul was special, emitting a fragrance that only Dark Demons and Wraiths could smell, her entire family died, and her fiancé also died protecting her.
After she joined the Watch Guild, everyone called her Duchess. However, because she personally disliked this title, as it often reminded her of her deceased husband, everyone changed it to Madame Fragrance.
Please do not harbor any fantasies about her because of the title Madame Fragrance. There was a case of an out-of-control old Hunter who kidnapped Madame Fragrance with obvious intentions. As a result, the old Hunter was poisoned to death halfway. In daily life, accidentally touching her could lead to poisoning. Madame Fragrance was waiting for the day she would be devoured by a Dark Demon, so she could poison that Dark Demon.
Madame Fragrance was responsible for diplomacy and the preparation of supply potions, etc. Her assistant was the Beak Doctor, a famous doctor in the Eastern Ancient Federation, not for good deeds, but for his notorious reputation.
Go, Viper, Commons, and Madame Fragrance—none of the four Watch Guild high-ranking members seemed normal. Or rather, normal people couldn't deal with Dark Demons. Every decision they made was crucial, facing numerous choices and pressures, with too many things to consider. As for the last person, Ginse, he died last night, killed in a near-suicidal attack by Wraiths.
As for the other people in the conference room, there were too many, each responsible for different duties. With them, the Watch Guild could function normally.
Su Xiao sat down in an empty seat and looked around at the five people present. In this conference room, only eight people were qualified to sit. Two had already passed away, both recently.
"Since Kukulin is here, everyone quiet down. Kukulin, Ta Balder said you have a complete plan. If the situation allows, feel free to speak up, and we can discuss it together."
Go, his face full of beard, tossed a cigar over. Su Xiao caught it and placed the cigar upright on the conference table in front of him.
"Baha."
As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, Baha landed on the conference table and began to speak:
"Ahem~, everyone, I'll make it brief. Let's start with what an Ancient God is. This thing, if left unchecked, you might not even see tomorrow morning's sun. That's not a metaphor; it's a physical fact. Where there's an Ancient God, even basking in sunlight is a luxury. The world is shrouded in darkness. The more you know, the more miserable your fate."