<h4>Chapter 47: Linston</h4>


    Lyle and Adam were covered in blood and cuts could be seen on their bodies as they appeared in front of the city gate. The guards immediately tensed up after seeing them, but after sensing their strength, they eased up a bit. Neither Lyle nor Adam were even Tier I beings, and the guards were all Bronze Knights.


    Having such powerful guards be gatekeepers would seem ridiculous, but that was just how important the city was for the empire, sometimes there would even be a Titled Knight was stationed there, while a couple of Golden Knights were almost always present.


    Lyle and Adam appeared as distraught travelers and Lyle quickly started narrating a story.


    The story was mostly true as he was telling them of the caravan he was traveling with and how a powerful monster suddenly appeared and forced them all to scatter in hopes of surviving.


    He never mentioned who he was, or who Adam was, and after being asked about it, he simply replied by saying that they were adventurers that were staying in Olswan right before the system appeared.


    He told to the guards about the changes in the forest close to Olswan, only to be told by the guards that the same thing had happened here as well.


    Lyle told them that neither one of them had their adventure guild''s badge as they had to run with all of their might when the monster arrived before being ambushed by some Snarks.


    Snarks were monsters that were indigenous to the region.


    They could be mistaken for goblins at first nce, and they might even be rted to goblins in some way, but nobody ever bothered to try and study them.


    They had the same green skin and short bodies, but the biggest difference would be seen up close. The bodies of the Snarks were not covered by skin, but by small scales.


    Their ws were sharp and they could easily tear through leather while their leg muscles were powerful enough to let them jump as high as almost 3 meters. They were fast and deadly, and most newbies would get serious injuries if they underestimated the small monsters.


    The guards were met with a small issue after Lyle had told them that, but after he gave them some gold coins and monster cores as a bribe, they allowed them in.


    Neither one was powerful enough to do anything to the city, which was enough for the guards to take the generous bribe.


    "For an adventurer, he sure does have money, are you sure they didn''t lie?" One of the guards asked the one that had taken the bribe before dividing it to the others.


    "They definitely lied about who they were, but not the caravan, lord Song has just returned from the road to Olswan, there was a Golden Core monster that had killed tens of people and destroyed a couple of caravans."


    ( Author: I will be using core instead of knight for monster tiers, so Bronze Knight – Bronze Core monster … )


    "Hmmm, they''re probably minor nobles that fled the city, I heard that his majesty Sieg has taken control over the castle, the nobles are probably sending off their children away in case something happens to them, don''t forget about the news we receivedst week, the noble house of Johanson has been annihted."


    "True, the other nobles are probably in fear of the same thing happening to them."


    "Hmph, they deserve it, I heard stories of what was going on there after the death of the previous duke, his son was a bad leader, and an even worse fighter, truly a misfortune for such a man to get such a son."


    All the guards nodded at those words.


    One would have to look very hard in the empire to find people that had anything bad to say about the old duke, but when it came to Orsted, most had a negative opinion.


    Lyle and Adam went inside the city and they first went to the adventurer guild branch.


    It would be annoying if they had to constantly make stuff up, so Lyle was going to get them a badge each from the guild.


    He already had two, but those showed him as a Bronze Knight and Silver Knight, and he was none of those right now.


    He could of course use his aura and killing intent to make it seem like he was as powerful as that, but when going to cities that were as well-guarded as Linston, it was far too dangerous to do that since a Golden Knight or Silver Knight could be nearby and would perhaps sense him.


    Lyle went inside the adventurer guild located inside Linston and went to the reception.


    There were already 2 men that were in line, so he and Adam queued up and waited for their turn.


    After some time had passed, their turn arrived and Lyle simply brought out a small badge and showed it to the receptionist.


    "Sorry to bother you miss, we need two badges, two in ones, with three stripes."


    Upon seeing the badge, the receptionist''s eyes widened slightly before she politely nodded at Lyle.


    She took out two badges that were made out of normal metal and had three stripes on their left side.


    There was a sword and a head of a monster on the badge, the symbol of the adventurers guild.


    "Have a nice day miss," Lyle said warmly before turning around.


    "You too sir." The receptionist replied as she stared at the backs of Adam and Lyle.


    She then quickly called over a girl and told her to take over as she needed to do something meaningful. The receptionist quickly left and went to the higher floors of the guild.


    She quickly climbed up the stairs before reaching the top floor.


    Walking forward, the receptionist only stopped after reaching the end of the hall and stood in front of a door.


    Collecting herself, the girl took a deep breath before knocking on the door.


    "Enter." An old voice was heard and the handle of the door turned by itself.


    The girl, Katherine, entered the room and closed the door before turning around and bowing down.


    "Branch Leader, a person bearing the ming cross has appeared."


    "Oh, the ming cross you say?" The man that was standing with his back turned to Katherine eximed before turning around.


    He looked like he was about 60 as his hair and beard were gray, but his sharp eyes and chiseled face were a far cry from what an old man should have.


    His body was the same, even though he wore a uniform, it was unable to hide away the muscles that made up his body.


    "Yes, sir, a young man carrying the ming cross appeared and presented it to me, he wanted two in badges with three stripes for himself and for the young man that was apanying him."


    "It''s good that you have informed me, you are excused now, there is no need for further action." The man said as Katherine bowed and left the office.


    ''A ming cross, either you are a scion of one of the major families, or a member of a powerful organization, whichever it is, I hope you don''t try to do anything suspicious, otherwise, even that badge won''t save you.'' A cold glint could be seen in the eyes of the old man as he looked outside the window and observed the city.


    His name was Karlington, a Golden Knight that was in charge of the Linston branch of the adventurer guild, he had been an adventurer for a long time before retiring and taking the job.


    In the circle of adventurers, he was called the ''Raging Bull'' thanks to his fighting style.


    As for Lyle and Adam, the two had left the guild and were making their way to where the caravans usually stayed and recruited people.


    "Sir, what was that badge you gave to the receptionist?" Adam asked Lyle who smirked.


    "The ming cross, it''s a rare badge that the adventurers guild rarely gave to others, only the powerful noble houses and organizations have ess to them, as well as powerful individuals that have reached the Titled Knight realm," Lyle said as he showed Adam the badge briefly before putting it back in the spatial ring.


    "This badge shows that the person that owns it is an important person in the empire and is considered to be a part of the adventurers guild''s upper echelons, each empire has its own version of the cross, and the owners have multiple benefits, such as getting any kind of guild badge, as long as they are powerful enough, that is."


    Lyle didn''t tell Adam that the only people in the organization to get this badge were those that managed to be part of the upper echelons, nor did Adam know that Lyle was part of an assassin organization.


    He nned on telling him before they entered Orsvald, but he wanted Adam to focus on his training before that.


    He also knew that the receptionist would probably alert the leader of the branch of his appearance, a ming cross was not amodity just anyone could have.


    The only reason he had it when almost half of the members of the organization that stood in the same position didn''t, was thanks to the old man that had brought him into the organization.


    The backing of a ''Shadow'' was not a small thing.