Clockwork Bride

Page 62

Hayden has lost much of his magic.

Therefore, if he wants to win, he has to use something other than his own magic.

In other words, he has to burn money.

It's a waste of money! He works as a mercenary to earn money, not to spend it!

However, since I started this act, I have to finish it, even if I'm crying.

So Hayden put down his bronze scepter and took two small glass vials from his robes. The first vial contained a bright green liquid, clearly a powerful potion infused with Angela's scent.

However, the second bottle contained about two grams of phoenix liver.

Before the white werewolf could pounce on him, Hayden opened the bottle and poured the green potion onto the phoenix liver.

The bottle shattered instantly.

A dazzling flash followed immediately.

Just as the giant wolf's sharp teeth were about to bite Hyden's neck, a vibrant flame burst forth from the shattered glass bottle. Its bright, golden-red wings shone with the sunlight and burned with intense heat. The phoenix opened its beak, letting out a resounding cry, and slammed the white giant wolf away.

Hayden stepped back a few paces, watching the semi-physical phoenix fight the giant wolf that the human had transformed into.

This phoenix, recreated by a magic potion, is real, not an illusion—of course, that depends on your definition of "real." But it's real enough to defeat the werewolf, and it can remain so for over ten minutes.

Therefore, the outcome is already decided; Hayden has already won.

The only minor problem is that the phoenix liver alone, the main ingredient of this potion, cost Hayden a full two thousand gold coins. Adding in the various auxiliary ingredients, it will cost at least three thousand.

Hayden is smiling, but his heart is bleeding.

On the bright side, at least the potion was successfully developed. After all, it was a practical test; you can't test something without spending money. And this also shows how important it is to have a reliable apothecary. Without connections, even money couldn't buy a phoenix liver for Hayden.

Looking at Eric's expression of awe and respect, Hayden felt that he had come out on top today.

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In this way, Hayden essentially single-handedly took over the entire Russian mafia's armed camp. Even more astonishingly, he killed almost no one; of the thirty-odd gangsters, fewer than five were killed by the ricocheting bullets.

Angela quickly flew over with the blonde girl who had been knocked unconscious, to congratulate her master on the victory.

Normally, Hayden could notify his employer at this point and have them send people to take over the camp and the smuggling route immediately. However, Hayden didn't plan to do so so quickly this time.

Russian thieves are unlike ordinary criminals; they possess extremely stubborn minds, and interrogation and torture are rarely fruitful. Hayden didn't have the time to take his time. But having spent so much on medicine, he had to find a way to recoup his investment. So, he decided to personally search the camp to see if he could find the secret to these Russians' wolf-transformation witchcraft.

How was your mercenary training experience today?

As he checked Boris's computer, he asked Eric,

"Still want to be a mercenary?"

This is the crux of Hayden's problem.

Having witnessed Hayden's insane solo attack on the armed camp, and his claim that this was the way to become a legend, shouldn't this young man reconsider?

"I benefited greatly."

As Eric answered, he helped Hayden strip the gangsters of their spoils.

"I do realize that I still have many shortcomings. I hope you will continue to guide me in the future."

Looking at his knowing expression, Hayden was a little confused: What could this guy possibly learn from the battle just now? Shouldn't you avoid casting Moonlight Spell on the werewolf?

However, Eric did learn a lot. For example, how to adapt to changing circumstances, how to hack communications before a fight, and how to make decisive decisions in critical moments... Eric's magical tricks were far less varied than Hayden's, but he was still an enhanced human, and his strength was not lacking. He had begun to wonder if he could pull off similar tricks himself.

Hayden, however, had no idea what his fan was thinking. After hacking into the lawyers' computers and copying all their data, he casually began inspecting the smuggled goods. When he opened the packages and found them full of cosmetics and skincare products, even Hayden was speechless.

"Have the gangsters in the city all fallen on hard times lately?"

He picked up a pack of eyebrow pencils and examined them closely, completely baffled. These items all appeared to be from Europe, but other than that, they seemed to have nothing in common or that was particularly special.

However, Eric then said something that Hayden didn't expect: "That's not true. Cosmetics and skincare products have always been very important items in the market. Cosmetics, in particular, are very important magical items, and the market demand is huge."

what?

Hayden paused for a moment, then immediately realized: he had just used the magical rules of contact, similarity, and synchronization to take down a group of werewolves, so how could he not think of the magical needs and significance of cosmetics?

The history of makeup is countless. Ultimately, the act of "makeup" itself is actually an ancient magical ritual.

Why did ancient humans want to paint their bodies with those bright colors? Why did they want to paint those exaggerated patterns on their bodies? Why did they want to wear the feathers and furs of birds and animals?

In short, makeup is a way to become stronger, and it's also a classic form of magic that aligns with the principles of witchcraft.

Even today, the essence of this behavior remains in modern society.

Thinking about this, Hayden recalled Eric's ex-girlfriend, Andrei's current fiancée, the reason behind all these recent events. Hadn't Karen previously mentioned that "Madina's Magic House" mainly sold perfumes, cosmetics, and skincare products?

It was still midday, so the bar was probably closed. Hayden thought for a moment and decided to go find the little witch and ask her for more details after he got back to town. Abigail had been busy yesterday, and Hayden had only exchanged a few words with her on the phone, which wasn't very reliable.

...But to say that all these things are related is just too far-fetched, isn't it?

068: Do you want to get a dog?

The history of makeup is really long.

Even before the advent of writing, humans used mud, ash, and grass juice to paint on stone walls. If they could paint on stone, they could certainly paint on their bodies. Therefore, the oldest form of human makeup consisted of patterns and designs applied to the body and face.

Those patterns are the totems and idols of those primitive tribes. They painted the images of their worshipped deities onto their bodies to make themselves more similar to the tribe's gods. "Similar things tend to be similar in nature," this is the law of similarity in magic. Therefore, by "makeup" to make oneself more like the worshipped god, one is more likely to obtain the god's power. Not only can it enhance oneself, but it can also ward off evil spirits.

From that ancient era, makeup has been a magic that makes people "stronger." Moreover, different tribes and clans have their own secret makeup methods, different makeup patterns, different cosmetic formulas, and unique lipsticks, rouge, and so on.

This makes people realize even more that "makeup" is indeed magic, and cosmetics are indeed magical items, right?

Even today, the magical nature of cosmetics remains unchanged. They are still magical tools that can make users "stronger" than they originally were. The essence of makeup still carries ancient magic.

So Hayden certainly wouldn't be polite with these magical items. In fact, he always carried a large trunk with him to store his spoils, and now he opened the trunk and began stuffing in valuable cosmetics and skincare products.

"Uh...do you really have to go to this extent?"

Although Eric came from a merchant family, he had lived a relatively comfortable life in the past, so he was still speechless at Hayden's actions.

"Since you want to be a mercenary and even want to make money from it, you should go this far."

Hayden calmly said as he packed his spoils.

"Being a mercenary is actually very expensive. Not to mention you have to take care of your own body, consumables cost money every time, equipment needs to be bought or repaired, and professional mages like me have to buy or research new spells. You can't do anything without money—wasn't that potion that summoned the phoenix cool? One bottle cost me more than three thousand gold coins. And that only includes the cost of materials."

The reward for this mercenary job was only 20,000. Hayden did the work and earned the money all by himself, and he made all the consumables and potions himself, only needing to calculate the cost of materials, so it seems like the profit is quite good.

Normally, even top-tier mercenaries would need three or four people to successfully complete this kind of task. How much money would each person have left after the division?

Hayden can make his own medicine, and if he's injured, Angela can heal him with just a breath, so he doesn't need any medical expenses. But other mercenaries, even if they only suffer minor injuries, would have to spend at least several hundred dollars on medicine, right?

Therefore, being a mercenary is not a lucrative profession.

A year ago, Hayden certainly couldn't have soloed this camp; he would have needed at least two or three companions to work together carefully to have any chance of winning. Now, he has actually begun to transcend the category of so-called "first-class mercenaries" and is gradually climbing to higher levels of power.

"People should not be obsessed with money, nor should they be blinded by it, but they should earn money legitimately."

Hayden said seriously,

"For example, what's wrong with me robbing these gangs' smuggled goods right now?"

Most of the Russian lawyers had already woken up by this time, and upon hearing Hayden's words, they were immediately enraged and began to curse loudly.

While they were unconscious and unable to resist, Hayden used his remaining magic to cast several complex curses, binding all twenty-odd of them in a corner of the street, leaving them no chance to escape. Now they could only watch helplessly as Hayden stole their belongings.

"It's all over, it's all over! Waaaaaaah!"

Several burly men, who wouldn't have flinched even with steel knives pointed at them, broke down in tears, sobbing uncontrollably. This sight left Eric speechless. Just ten minutes ago, he had seen this Russian powerhouse face the unstoppable Hayden without flinching; how could he be crying like this now?

"They're crying over money too."

Hayden glanced at the man who was crying his eyes out, but his hands didn't stop moving at all.

"I wonder what percentage of the Volkov family's monthly income this smuggling route accounts for? I bet it's a lot."

That was indeed harsh, and it was absolutely true. The family's food and drink expenses, the hard-earned money from traversing the wilderness and staying in this godforsaken place, all gone to Hayden—what kind of nonsense was this?

It's not surprising that she cried.

Of course, just as some people react with sadness, others react with anger. Take, for example, the blonde girl who was knocked unconscious by Hayden at the beginning. She, along with several men, weren't foolish enough to yell at Hayden with unoriginal curses; instead, they remained silent.

However, Eric happened to catch a glimpse of their resentful and angry gazes, all focused on Hayden.

Mercenaries wear protective masks while on duty to avoid being recognized. That said, the infamous "Wizard" of New Seattle, this legendary mercenary capable of conjuring and manipulating countless ancient spells, is still far too famous. If these gangs truly hate Hayden, tracing his address wouldn't be difficult.

what can we do about it?

Eric couldn't help but ponder.

Is he going to help Hayden eliminate this hidden danger and eradicate it completely?

Eric wasn't afraid to kill. But killing in the heat of battle felt quite different from executing a helpless prisoner.

Don't even think about it.

So while Eric hesitated, Hayden had already seen through his thoughts.

"This is a lesson in itself. If you want to become a legendary mercenary, you can't be without enemies, and you certainly can't kill them all. You have to get used to living with the possibility of enemies attacking you at any time."

Hayden said calmly,

"Making a living through fighting will inevitably make enemies. Even if you don't kill anyone in a fight, you're still disrupting other people's lives. Everyone in this world has a hard time. If you help family A steal goods from family B, the latter's whole family might starve, which isn't much different from killing someone. That's the way of the martial world."

That was a slight exaggeration, but Hayden was saying it on purpose for Eric to hear.

Fortunately, Eric had his background as a member of the middle class, and after a moment of hesitation, he quickly understood: "The business world and the battlefield are actually quite similar. The same principles apply to the world."

It seemed he wasn't going to be deterred by such a trivial matter. Hayden shrugged and continued with his work.

Even among the gods, there are always enemies watching each other's backs, looking for an opportunity to attack.

Who wouldn't want to kill all their enemies? But who can actually do it?

"Some mercenaries are foolish enough to want to kill all their enemies and silence everyone who has ever seen them—but that is actually impossible."

He casually explained further to Eric.

“Fighting has a cost, and finding and killing your enemies one by one is even more costly. We’re not gods in a big company; we don’t have that many resources. Even if we wanted to silence them, it would be difficult to silence everyone.”

Additional battles require time, effort, and real money. Eliminating witnesses requires locating each target individually, and they will tend to fight to the death or flee.

In a typical battle, mercenaries would be satisfied once one side's morale collapsed. However, in a battle of annihilation, the cost increases dramatically, and the mercenaries have to pay out of their own pockets. There's also the risk of being overwhelmed by a desperate struggle.

Hayden might not be afraid of fighting back and hurting himself, and he might even be able to wipe out the entire Mafia family. But he can't set a bad example for Eric like that!

Therefore, in Hayden's view, the choices of "avoiding killing as much as possible" and "eliminating all witnesses" are simply choosing between two risks. Given this, why couldn't he choose the option he preferred (which was also cheaper and less strenuous)?

At least that's what Hayden himself thinks.

Moreover, this can actually bring potential benefits.

"Alright, it's about time we went."

He turned to the Russians, some crying and some angry, and began to speak.

“My employers will be coming to take over the land soon, and who knows what they’ll do to you then. If you run back to the city now, you’ll have a chance to take the land back from them in the future.”

Hayden made those words lightly, but he managed to absolve himself of all responsibility.

“Mercenaries are just knives that employers pay to rent. If you want to hate, hate the rival gangs that are stealing your business—but then again,” Hayden said thoughtfully, “why have you fallen so low that you have to rely on cosmetics smuggling as the lifeblood of your family business? How did the market in New Yatu become like this?”

Isn't that all because of the "Bo Xun" incident you got involved in half a year ago?

But these Russians obviously had no idea about this. So they all stared at Hayden, not understanding what the wizard was trying to say.

"Oh, right. It's because all the money-making jobs you usually do, like selling drugs, prostitution, running casinos—all those businesses have been taken away by other big companies that just entered New Asia."

Hayden spoke in a nonchalant tone,

"In the end, we're all victims of big corporations. How about next time you hire me to take this camp back, I'll give you a 20% discount?"

Only he would dare to say that. But who can say that Hayden definitely can't make money from both sides?

He's the top mercenary in New Yatu, bar none.

So after these Russians gradually calmed down, although they still glared at Hayden with hatred, they were also somewhat at a loss.

What should I do next? I don't know.

Is it really necessary to recklessly risk your life? It's not impossible, but is it truly necessary?

Should we return to the city first and report to the clan leader before making any further decisions?

No matter how much discussion there is, no matter what choices are made, in an environment where large companies are seizing market share and oppressing the lower classes, there is certainly no absolutely reliable solution. The market will only bring them difficulties and doubts, not hope or a way out.