Night had fallen and the city was now shrouded by darkness.
This was especially true for the slums where only the bravest of souls dared to light a torch.
The only source of light inside the tavern was the single candle brought to the table where the hunting party was seated.
"He… he… was murdered! Killed by the angel of death!" a youthful voice echoed through the room.
There was a brief moment of silence as even the elegant middle-aged gentleman behind the bar stopped polishing the shot glasses.
"Angel of death?" one of the hunters asked in confusion.
"Yes… yes… it was terrible… a female paladin sent directly… from… from the capitol by… by… the order of the po…pope... himself!" the youth stuttered as his hands trembled.
The fear in his voice was no longer fake as he recalled Claire's night of bloodshed that ended the lives of several notable figures in the underworld.
"A paladin? Why would a paladin come to this god forsaken shithole?" the leader questioned with a raspy whisper.
"No… no… one… no one knows…" the youth faltered as he spoke.
He gestured towards his companions and the two warriors stepped forward to create a space between himself and the hunting party.
The leader ignored the youth's small movements and furrowed his brows in confusion. Paladins were the elite holy knights trained by the Varion Church.
To become one required both a tremendous talent in mana training and a sincere devotion to the Lord of Light.
Both conditions were hard to meet and as a result the number of active paladins did not exceed one thousand across the continent.
One thousand may seem like a high number but the continent was a vast place, so the church strategically placed their knights in areas of high revenue.
The City of Galrannor was a poor border city located near the outer regions with residents too poor to donate generous sums of wealth to the church.
Why was a paladin here?
Would her presence affect their plans?
Slavery was banned both by the royal family and by the church. It was for this reason why all the transactions had to be done under the table.
Priests were the easiest to bribe while knights on the other hand were considerably less flexible.
The leader's careful thoughts were interrupted by the sneering voice of Sir. Gideon who puffed out his chest in arrogance.
"A mere paladin has you so frightened?" the knight hoarsely laughed as he touched the hilt of his longsword.
"The only kind of paladin sent to this place must be one severely lacking in talent or punished by the church."
"I… she… she… rumors say… she's a tier one knight… she managed to kill…." the youth tried to explain.
"Tier one? Nonsense!" Sir Gideon chuckled as he downed another drink.
"An ordinary tier two knight is enough to clean up the trash in this city but even then… I am unmatched in the same realm!"
The other hunters sitting around the table visibly relaxed and stared at the knight with looks of admiration and respect.
"No one can defeat the mighty Sir. Gideon!"
"Paladin?! Those self-righteous bastards can all suck my…"
"Ay barkeeper! Bring another round of drinks for these brave heroes!"
Their loud voices echoed through the room which caused a pretty waitress to walk over while holding a large platter with several drinks on top.
One of the hunters pinched the bottom of her skirt and she turned around to give him a flirtatious wink.
The atmosphere was merry and lighthearted as the hunters put down their worries and focused on enjoying the night ahead.
Only the leader was still feeling a bit hesitant.
He was a person specially cultivated by the duke and tasked with leading the expedition.
Naturally his personality was rather cautious, and he wanted to keep a low profile but was there a need for concern?
There should be no direct conflict between them and this powerful paladin since they did not plan to return to the city after they caught some foreign race slaves.
"Enough of that matter…" the leader finally spoke as he addressed the representative of the Scarlet Rose.
"Do you have the information that we seek?"
The youth snapped his fingers and one of the warriors next to him stepped forward and pulled a small wooden box from the bag attached to his waist.
He stepped forward and placed the wooden box on the table with a dull thud. The leader reached into the sack next to his feet and handed over a bag of coins.
The youth nervously smiled and then left the tavern while accompanied by his two fearsome guards.
The box was slowly opened by the leader and inside was a piece of parchment paper that displayed a map of the surrounding area five miles north of the city.
There was a certain location circled in red that caught the leader's attention.
He read the words on the bottom of the map and could not stop the smile from flashing across his grizzled old face.
A tribe of nomadic orcs had been last seen resting in the area and with any luck they would still be there.
Orcs were not as popular as some of the other foreign races but there was always a market for muscular hunks of meat.
"Men… let us leave tomorrow at dusk," the leader ordered as he placed the map in his pocket.
Most of his team immediately responded with the exception of those who were now partially drunk.
"Yes captain!"
"You got it boss!"
"Drink up! Drink up!"
Sir Gideon leaned back in his chair, but his attention was no longer on the leader's sudden command but rather the story of the powerful paladin.
A tier one knight? Utterly ridiculous.
Those powerhouses were all stationed around the capitol or neighbouring city states. They were the equivalent of one- man armies and even the royal family had to pay them respect.
Maybe he should meet this so-called paladin and beat her to death?
Sir. Gideon narrowed his eyes as the thought briefly flashed across his mind.
He hated the paladins who were able to cross the barriers so easily due to the holy aura given to them by Lord Varion.
It was cheat.
They weren't real knights. They didn't deserve that strength…
The dark thoughts of jealousy and hatred surfaced in Sir Gideon's heart and made his guard temporarily relax.
What Sir. Gideon and the rest of the hunting party did not notice at the time was the strange sight that occurred in the corner of the tavern.
The elegant middle-aged gentleman behind the counter continued to polish the shot glasses uninterrupted but…
His eyes briefly flashed crimson.