Chapter 347 - Choose
"Why were we lucky to find one at this time? Don't they have more than one ship there?"
Jin Wang shook his head, "I mean lucky to find room. Each of these ships is sold out months before it leaves for the journey to the Academy."
"Then how did you get us onboard? Don't tell me you..snuck us on??" Hao Xuan whispered the last few words with a deep frown. Was this why he wanted to be away from everyone to talk?
Jin Wang let out a wry smile, "I wish. You see those four over there?" he pointed at Alte and company in the distance.
Hao Xuan followed his line of sight and nodded, "Yeah. Why?"
"Well, we're kind of their servants at the moment. That's how we got on board. Those 4 are the personal guards of Princess Ceni, the youngest princess of the Edda Kingdom, which is where we came from. I paid everything I had to this guy I met, he is close to that fatty Vasu. He was the one who told Ceni that we were ex-slaves running from our masters."
"So if someone asks, tell them that. I told them our real names so don't worry about that. Just act...you know...like an ex-slave.." Jin Wang shrugged.
"Also I need money. We're broke and there's still a week left till we get to Sollertia. So unless you wanna share a room with 4 other sweaty guys, fork out some dough so I can buy a room from one of the other people."
Hao Xuan looked back at him blankly before nodding, "Gimme a few mins, I'll get the money. I have to check out my Mind Palace first, something strange is going on in there. Keep guard while I do that."
"Aight, go ahead."
Jin Wang moved a few steps back while Hao Xuan grabbed a hold of the barrier and closed his eyes, appearing in the central Mind Palace.
As soon as he stepped inside, the reason for that strange feeling became apparent.
His main mind palace which was originally just a few dozen meters in size had gotten a 'bit' bigger. The design and the layout was still the same, with a body of water surrounding the outside of the palace. The only difference was that it was now more than 500 meters in size and there was dense spiritual energy everywhere.
He felt like he had stepped into a giant hall where the ceiling wasn't even visible anymore. Shimmering purple and golden symbols were moving around on the walls non-stop.
In the middle of the hall was a crowd waiting for him. All of them stood up at once, other than one man. This was the 201st person and the one that was able to channel that person's spirit.
He had long white hair covering the entire front of the face as he slumped against one of the walls listlessly.
"Master!" Bo was the first one to run up to Hao Xuan followed by Ensis and the others. The 200 young Orc men and women simply stared at them from afar, not knowing what to do or say.
"Yeah yeah calm dow-" Hao Xuan waved at the excited Bo who was about to burst into tears but two rays of light suddenly shot towards his shoulders, one Black, and one White. The little snakes snuggled against his neck lovingly, using the top of their heads to affectionately rub against him.
"Haha, I guess it has been a while huh?" he responded by taking them into his hands and scratching the bottom of their mouths.
"Master," Ensis respectfully bowed from the waist as usual. Others simply nodded at him and the Scorpion King sat near one of the other corners furthest away from the entrance.
Hao Xuan nodded in response and looked at the 200 Orcs in the distance.
"Did you talk to them?" he asked Ensis. Ensis looked back at them and sighed.
"I thought it would be better coming from you, master. Something like this, it is not easy to hear from just anyone."
*sigh*
"Alright, I'll talk to them," he said while walking towards them. The others followed behind. Seeing the group coming towards them, many of the Orcs stepped back in fear. They had been stuck in this place for over 2 months with no answers and no idea what was going on.
He came to a stop just a couple of meters in front of them, looking at them with as gentle a smile as he could possibly muster.
"Hello, my name is Hao Xuan. I'm sure you all have questions but let me ask you something first, before you woke up here, what is the last thing you remember?"
He looked left and right for answers but everyone who met his gaze turned away, like students trying to hide from a teacher.
"U-Um," a young man stepped forward. He was pretty skinny with the same old worn-out clothes on. He had black hair covering his eyes.
"W-We were taken to the ancestral chamber to give Lord Ra our prayers, but suddenly an angry roar echoed in the chamber and we all lost consciousness. We woke up here next."
"Is it the same for everyone here?" he looked at the others for confirmation who all nodded, more or less.
"Well, I have some good news and some bad news. Bad news, you were attacked by an abyss monster that sucked away all your life essence, leaving you to die within minutes."
As expected, the expressions of all of the teenagers changed. Only the white-haired man by the side did not react whatsoever.
"Now the good news. I made a deal with one of your ancestors. As long as you're willing to follow me then you will not die, at least not as long as I do. Unfortunately, as soon as I sever my connection to your souls, they will return to the original state of near-death and you will be gone within minutes."
"Now you have a choice to make. You can either serve me willingly or choose to leave, in which case death is all that awaits you. What is your decision?"
Even though Hao Xuan wasn't planning on it but getting 200 Orc warriors was nothing short of a miracle.. He had seen their prowess first hand and knew how powerful they could become if given ample time and resources, which he was more than willing to provide.