The God of Jesters
Chapter 308 - 5.11.1 Malidi.

Chapter 308: 5.11.1 Malidi.

Things were going smooth, or one should say, they were going too smooth.

The information on the ruins they obtained was good enough. Learning the dancers in it, the taboos that one needs to be wary of, they have learned everything they could in their circumstances without giving out any details to their enemies.

But it all still required some insurance.

"Start the engine..." One of the insurance companies was the group of Radiant Eye members who were currently trying to start a boat while eyeing their surroundings.

"They scammed us."

"You just don’t know how to do it." A bit of bickering and infighting, before they finally left the shores of Phuket, but they can vaguely feel a couple of eyes staring at them from the distance. "Go below deck and kill as many rats as possible, I will do something about those seagulls."

And they were not ignorant to know who these glasses came from. It was obviously either Jester, their enemy or just paranoia talking. But they did their best to get rid of any kind of tracking that might be possible on them.

Going so far as to use some rituals to ensure that their boat was not marked in any way. And it took from day to night until one of the men finally spoke up. "Do you think they would buy it?"

"It doesn’t matter what they think, we did as was asked of us." The old man said, looking toward the direction of Phuket, which was not even visible to them anymore.

"We can’t go back.. Right?"

"You can go back if you want to be jailed or tortured." The old man reprimanded. "Forget about them, in our work, once we get caught, surviving is already a big miracle. And you plan to go back?"

"Old man, unlike you, I had a family there."

"Should have thought of it before signing up for this life."

Their bickering continued until they reached a dwarven merchant ship that had been waiting for them. But this few hundred meters was still the difference between the international waters and the water belonging to Yethel.

But none of that mattered as this was an end to their story.

"We are here." The only Gray eye among the group said, taking a sign of relief and looking at the dwarfs that had gotten out and were turning their ship to them. Though just a few hundred meters away from the dwarven ship

But before the dwarfs could reach the boat, a bad premonition came to the heart of the old man who was the leader of this group.

A premonition that was still slower than the explosion that started from down below, before causing the whole ship to splinter in all directions, including the Radiant Eye members, some of whom had already turned into fish feed as their bits and pieces spread around in the area.

They were inconsequential in this whole game, their death held no value other than punishment for their treachery which in a way was led by their own hubris of daring to buy a boat knowing full well that I was active in the city.

Did they really think I won’t do anything about it?

Or was it really that hard to hide some timed explosive inside the boat, while calculating the time by which you people will reach the international waters?

I am getting emotional again.

Well, let’s go back a few hours ago, back to the time when these people were leaving on their final cruise.

"Just us?" Rashid kept asking such a stupid question while he walked and made countless twists and turns until finally left the city.

"The ruins are dangerous, there is no need to involve a third party and put them at risk," Remira explained, not fully telling what her intentions were or what she had been planning since last night. Which included the path she was taking toward their target.

But Rashid was not the kind to do it all one-sidedly. Although a bit weaker when it came to facing Remira, he, in a soft voice asked. "But aren’t we already at risk, considering that giant woman..."

"There is no need to worry about her, just focus on your trail and don’t stumble." The path they walked was old with weeds growing all over the place, showing its age and how less frequented this path had become.

’They might have already expected what our target is.’ Remira thought to herself, before hastening her steps and dragging Rashid along with her.

Although there was no one around her, she knows that it’s virtually impossible to escape from Jester’s eyes once he ingrains himself in a city. She can’t trust anything, from rats to birds to insects, anything can become his eyes and she is probably under his surveillance. Which is not bad when one has to think about it.

’As for why the drama of running around the city in circles before?’

It was all to give an illusion that the group that consisted of Radiant Eyes might be carrying out a mission and she was a mere distraction. Which would prevent Jester from harming them in any way.

But considering the time and how far they might have gone, it was time to take things seriously.

"Put your mask up." She ordered, and Rashid followed without questions. His overbearing nature when he led Henry was not present at the moment. He was just a headless chicken following Remira and doing what he was told to.

An act that might be considered demeaning to someone of his pedigree. But this was not the past when the Vybain family was something akin to royalty. But a present where his name means nothing more than letting people recall the old tales of the Vybain family and nothing more.

Making him just a mere reminder for most people. People who never cared what he did.

******

Unlike the old times when the ruins were directly connected with the city, which was done in an effort to support the adventuring industry that was slowly forming in Phuket a few decades ago.

The present-day ruins were a couple of kilometers away from modern-day Phuket. Considering the danger the ruins possessed by being so close to the common population, the newly elected government of the Republic of Sarvilla had opted to bar all these ruins and danger spots by either building walls around them, or just closing all the roads going to such places.

In the case of the ruins in Phuket specifically, they completely overturned the city planning and opted to expand their city in the opposite direction of the ruins, while they leveled the old building and planted the trees to hide the rubble and the ruins behind them.

But that was the limit to the protection they have employed. They just did enough to prevent people from accidentally setting foot on it, but they never went as far as to stop those who kept seeking their death purposefully.

Even the army that was stationed in the outer zone of the ruins was barely active in their duty. They just wasted their days doing simple patrols and then going back for rest. Nothing more.

Making it easier for Remira to bypass their loose defense and enter the ruins.

Or at least, stand in front of it in awe for a while.

"It really does look like a small street." Unlike the outer area which was a mixture of old houses and trees, the true state of the ruins in front looks more like an old street filled with some broken statues and shops on the side.

While at the furthest end was a small pantheon.

"??" Which confused both Remira and Rashid for a bit. "That steel, it’s not here," Rashid asked with some worry, before wondering if he was at the right place.

But Remira just shook her head and said. "Remember what we learned, nothing is ever the same in the ruins." She said, handing him a small buckle connected with a steel wire. "We can only confirm it after we get in."

*****

"I can’t expect this one to be a distraction as well. Kanha, handle all the work while I am gone."

"Yes leader."

With those words, he left with a small entourage of team two, which consisted of curse two curse users and a single mage.

A mage that can be considered rarer than a phoenix feather when it comes to my small church. But this mage, instead of going to look for a better life elsewhere, had opted to work for me.

Though it would seem that the first place he would be going to will be a tough one.

"Malidi, oh Malidi. This time bomb of yours is proving itself to be quite an annoyance to me."

Recalling the past and the man that had forced Yethel’s hand from not harming these ruins, I couldn’t help but curse him.

Now one of those very ruins was being used as an arena for a disgusting game where my life was at risk.

Did he expect this?

Considering that mad man, no way he ever thought of it. In his head, there is nothing more important than learning about these ruins and the secrets they hold. A pure researcher that lives for learning more of the world.

And he did find some special things in those ruins.

And it is due to those special things that I know how impossible it would have been for Yethel to achieve his desired result. Not to mention, the political scrutiny he might have faced from a certain church.