Chapter 2690: Chapter 2690: Raphael Su

Ahead of Zen and Gant was the silhouette of a tall, imposing wall. It was over a hundred feet high.

As they moved closer, they saw that the wall was being patrolled by grave-looking Oneness Guards in military attire.

Zen and Gant continued walking. But they soon found their way blocked by a Oneness Guard.

“This is a restricted area. You are not allowed to get any closer,” he said stiffly.

Gant had no choice but to leave with Zen.

The two of them walked alongside the high wall, trying to find another entrance. However, they were forced to conclude that the area was entirely enclosed by the wall.

Since they kept their distance, the Oneness Guards didn't pay any attention to them. Gant came up with the idea of using his spiritual sense for exploration. He stood motionless outside the wall and allowed his spiritual sense to expand towards the wall. But as his spiritual sense probed the top of the wall, about to go inside, a yellow light curtain rose from the surface of the wall. It blocked his spiritual sense completely. A Oneness Guard noticed what he was doing and came over to reprimand him.

“Fine, we'll go somewhere else,” Gant said with some frustration.

Many of the buildings near the center of the Blue Cloud City had sustained some degree of damage. Soldiers had commandeered some of the structures for their temporary use.

Meanwhile, enterprising locals set up makeshift booths and sold daily necessities and other items.

Zen and Gant wandered around the impromptu marketplace, taking an interest in some of the things displayed. There were long swords, fragmented runes, and unknown ores for sale.

Gant could identify most of the items, but they were of inferior quality, so he and Zen had no interest in buying anything.

As they turned a corner, they heard a man shouting, “Swords from the Su Clan! Swords from the Su Clan are on sale. Come take a look!”

In the next street, there was a middle-aged man with a unibrow perched behind a booth containing three swords. The swords caught Zen's and Gant's attention immediately. The surface of the blades emitted a faint green light, and each sword was embedded with a magnificent gem. At a glance, they seemed to be extraordinary, peerless weapons.

Then Gant noticed the middle-aged man, and his eyes narrowed.

Zen noticed his expression. “Do you know that man?” he asked.

“Yes, yes, I know him. He is... Well... He is...” Gant hemmed and hawed for a moment, and Zen waited patiently. Finally Gant admitted, “He is one of my uncles.”

Zen smiled. “That's good, right? Since he is your uncle, then we can ask him for some news. And as an elder of your clan, he must have knowledge.”

To Zen's confusion, Gant looked even more awkward and unhappy at his words.

Gant clenched his teeth. In a low voice he said, “My uncle is not a reliable man. Look at the swords he's selling.”

Not all the members of the Su Clan had attained success. This uncle of Gant's, for instance, had been born with good talent, but instead of developing his skill, he devoted his time to tricks and troublemaking. His name was Raphael Su. The elders of the Su Clan had often expressed their worry at the direction he had chosen to take in his life.

Now, having reached adulthood, Raphael remained a lazy, good-for-nothing bum. He refused to work until he ran out of divine crystals, whereupon he would resort to scams and deception to get some more.

The Su Clan was widely renowned for its superior ability to forge and refine weapons, so Raphael often capitalized on those skills to fool others into buying weapons from him. ℞ÅŊO͍𝐛ĚⱾ

Zen and Gant studied the swords in front of Raphael. They now found them all ordinary. They wouldn't even rank as primary Profound Blood Treasures.

During refinement, Raphael had added some unknown runes and gadgets to the swords to improve their grade.

Indeed, he had once succeeded in selling an ordinary long sword for the price of a premium Profound Blood Treasure. He had made over ten million divine crystals in that sale, by swindling a credulous young man from a large clan in the Bloom Divine Province.

But although Raphael had managed to deceive the young man, he couldn't deceive everyone else.

The first time the young man showed off his sword, others immediately informed him that it was fake and ordinary, not worth the stupendous price he had paid for it. The young man was humiliated. He went to the elders of his own clan, who then confronted the elders of the Su Clan to demand compensation.

To save face, the Su Clan compensated them for the price of the fake sword.

Even worse, by the time the Su Clan found Raphael, he had already spent every single one of the divine crystals paid to him by the young man.

Like many in his clan, Gant disliked Raphael and looked down on him. Unfortunately, he had run out of options. As things stood, Raphael was the only other member of his family who was with him now in Blue Cloud City. He had no choice but to put his trust in him.

With a heavy sigh, Gant walked up to his uncle, Zen following closely behind him. Raphael kept talking without looking up, “Sirs, please examine my wares. Look as closely as you want! The swords of the Su Clan are famous throughout the land. These exceptional swords I have here were crafted before my very eyes, by our master who is renowned for—”

Gant cut off the endless flow of words. “Uncle Raphael!”

At the sound of his own name, Raphael looked up. He squinted at his nephew. “Gant, is that you? What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Dragon City?”

Gant grinned wryly. “I'm trying to earn some merit points outside Dragon City.”

“So you're here to earn merit points? Gant, do you have a death wish?” Raphael said. For once, he looked wholly serious.

He had been in the Blue Cloud City for some time now. He was well protected by the Oneness Guards by virtue of his membership in the respected and wealthy Su Clan.

However, the Oneness Guards had been dealt a severe blow, and many in their ranks were dead or incapacitated. Neither he nor Gant was safe here now.

Raphael knew that his brother, Gant's father, had initially refused to allow Gant to go to Dragon City. Father and son had a blazing row about it. If Gant's father found out that his son had somehow ended up in Blue Cloud City, he would be even more furious.

In general, despite his disagreements with his father, Gant was very respectful towards the elders of the Su Clan. Well, except for Raphael.

He didn't even bother to answer Raphael's question. Instead, he went straight to his own concerns. “Uncle, do you know where Eira is?”

“Why do you ask?” Raphael retorted. He waved his hand at Gant. “I know nothing. Leave. I have swords to sell.”

He pointedly turned away from Gant and resumed his shouting. “Swords by the Su Clan!”

Gant scowled. “Uncle Raphael! Hey! Uncle Raphael!”

But Raphael stolidly ignored Gant, no matter how much his nephew tried to catch his attention.

Gant was getting exasperated. His uncle kept shouting over him. Then suddenly, another voice joined the cacophony. A cold voice shouted from behind them, “You mongrel! What is this rubbish you sold to me yesterday?”

Gant, Zen, and Raphael turned in unison. Three Oneness Guards were coming towards them. They were all in military uniform, led by a three-star Oneness Guard.

One of the guards looked furious, and he was carrying a broken sword. Gant raised an eyebrow. He had no difficulty guessing where that inferior weapon had come from.

The three-star Oneness Guard had bought the sword from Raphael yesterday. He had been convinced that it was a Profound Blood Treasure, bought at a bargain price. Unfortunately, when he flaunted the sword in front of the other guards, it had broken almost immediately. Angry at the ruse, he went to confront Raphael.

Raphael quickly put on an ingratiating smile. “Sirs, calm down. I can explain...”

A blade swished in the air.

Most of the Oneness Guards were quite short-tempered. The one who had bought the sword from Raphael was especially impatient. Grabbing Raphael, he swung the broken weapon across his body, and it was damaged even further, splintering into several pieces.

The other guards chimed in to support their leader. “How dare you sell that kind of stuff here! It's fraud!”

“It's very bold of you to trick Oneness Guards. Bold, and foolish!”

The third-star Oneness Guard threw the broken sword in front of Raphael and sneered, “I know you are a member of the Su Clan, so I won't put you on the spot. I paid you three hundred thousand divine crystals yesterday. Return them to me.”

All things considered, the demand for compensation was a very reasonable request. But it was a request Raphael could not accommodate. Looking somewhat ashamed, he admitted, “I have spent all of what you paid me. I don't have any divine crystals to pay you back.”

The three-star Oneness Guard stared at Raphael. “What is your solution, then? How do you think we should solve this problem? Do you want me to go straight to your elders? Or can you find a way to return my divine crystals?”

Raphael smiled bitterly. During his years in this city, he had become notorious among many of its inhabitants. He would not be able to borrow or obtain three hundred thousand divine crystals any time soon. Going to the Su Clan was not an option. They had bailed him out too many times before. They would not hesitate to punish him, and in fact might outright refuse to help him, if they discovered this latest misdeed.

Under the hard stares of the Oneness Guards, Raphael fidgeted anxiously. He regretted ending up in this dilemma. He should have gone into hiding as soon as he sold that sword yesterday. He hadn't expected them to discover it was a fake so quickly.

Watching from the sidelines, Zen and Gant exchanged meaningful glances. They each knew what the other was thinking. Zen nodded at Gant to indicate he agreed.

Gant stepped forward. To the guards he said, “This man is my uncle.” Then he turned to Raphael. “Uncle, I can give you three hundred thousand divine crystals right now.”