Chapter 17: The Ambush
The entire hall of adventurers association had pin drop silence.
"You.." the blonde guy got up and charged with his sword pointed towards Kahn's abdomen.
Kahn quickly sidestepped and sent out a punch in the guy's abdomen instead. His reaction time and the attack were very fast, many couldn't even see it properly.
Bang!
The sound of metal and floor colliding rang.
The blonde man lied on the floor five meters away from Kahn. That one punch alone was enough to fling him back.
The blonde guy got up, his body trembling and barely managed to stand up. He looked towards his armor and saw a big fist-like dent that was caved in.
This punch would've put him close to death if not for the metal armor.
"Just you wait here! I'll see if you can stand on your feet after I'm back!" said the blonde guy and ran out embarrassingly.
"That wasn't very wise, young man. He's the younger brother of the leader of Groundhog Adventurer's team. They're very powerful and barely 2 other teams can rival them. This guy won't let this incident go. It's better if you leave now."
Said the old receptionist with concern on his face.
"What about the registration?" Kahn asked as if what happened just now didn't bother him.
"Come some other day. It's not safe for you to be here any longer. We can't protect you as soon as you leave the premises of the association. It's better to get a head start and hide." said the old receptionist.
"Do me a favor, at least give me some money for these. I don't have a single coin on me." said Kahn and passed over half a dozen red monster cores to the old man.
Understanding his situation, the old receptionist didn't preach about rules. He too liked Kahn for standing up against the blonde princess guy who was badmouthing them both. He quickly took out a pouch with dozens of coins in them and passed them to Kahn.
"Go find some inn or guest house to stay out of trouble. They won't go searching around through the entire city just for one person." said the old receptionist.
"Thanks." said Kahn as he grabbed the pouch and left the building.
He didn't think about waiting for Nikola & Elanev as this incident wouldn't bring anything good to the Father & Son duo. They were honest merchants after all.
After watching the old receptionist and people across the hall, Kahn got the hint that he had picked up a fight with someone he shouldn't have messed with just by the expression of the people present there.
He wasn't stupid enough to get an innocent bystander mixed in his fights.
Kahn went to a nearby clothes shop and brought himself some clothes. A brown shirt and black pant combo. With boots that perfectly fit him.
He was no longer a half-naked man. He finally felt like a normal human being again.
His next stop was none other than the city library.
What he needed first was information about the world of Vantrea. Otherwise, he'd be out of the loop many times, and won't be able to answer many questions of his origin or basic knowledge that was already in the populace. That'd raise many suspecting eyes.
After asking around many citizens, Kahn finally reached the city library. The place was half the size of the Adventurer's Association but already too big for a library.
After paying a small fee, Kahn entered inside and asked for books related to the history of countries and information about the demographics of the place he was in.
Kahn found his Eidetic Memory from his previous life kicking in again. Kahn was relieved to notice it and sped up his search for all the useful information. He spent the next 4 hours reading through all the books about countries and general knowledge-related records.
Kahn had no words to describe the information he gained. This wasn't just random Isekai World. It transcended beyond anything Kahn had heard or read in his previous life.
Vantrea had a total of 15 Empires. Each one was as big as a continent on Earth.
11 of these Empires worshipped different Gods. None worshipping God of Darkness at all.
All these Empires were ruled by different species and had the doctrine of these Gods practiced throughout their history & cultures. Elven Empire worshipped God of Life, Dwarven Empire worshipped God of Fire, Beast Empire served God of Earth, etc.
The remaining 4 Empires did not worship or serve any God on the paper.
One empire was ruled by the Mythical and mountain-sized Dragons who were the strongest beings in the entire world. They did not get mixed in with other Empires and didn't allow any form of contact with outsider species as well.
One empire was literally underwater as it was the sea itself. No different than Atlantis from the Aquaman movie.
The most recently formed Empire was none other than the Demon Empire which served and worshipped the Demon God. It was formed around 500 years ago. However, Kahn did not find any detailed information on it. This empire was currently at war with four neighboring empires.
And then the last one was none other than the empire Kahn was sent to by God of Darkness..
The Rakos Empire.
Even in the Rakos empire, Kahn was currently situated at the edge of the empire. And what Kahn found about the history of his current whereabouts surprised him even more.
The forest he was sent in was the biggest forest in the entire world, spanning more than 80 thousand kilometers. Yet no empire dared to take control of it. As it had too many monsters and according to some rumors, few Godbeasts living in it.
The Rakos Empire wasn't ruled by any particular race or had no Royal Family controlling it. It was based on a Democratic structure for governing similar to many countries on Earth. And that's why there were no limitations on any particular race, species and ethnicity.
God of Darkness indeed sent him to a place he could gradually fit in and grow stronger.
In Rakos, preaching or creating any Religious organization such as Churches and Temples were prohibited and punishable by death. There were no exceptions as the empire believed in equality regardless of origins and bringing in factors such as Religious views and beliefs regarding the supremacy of a particular species or class of people would breed nothing but chaos. The empire had gone through many wars and coups to reach where it was now.
This was just very convenient for Kahn who needed a place to hide and build his strength over time until he could protect himself even against the entire world.
The language they spoke in Rakos Empire was Flaven, a language derived from the first-ever empire that existed in the world of Vantrea but now forgotten by history. And the established currency was Dramus.
As the sunset fell, Kahn finally left the library and decided to look for Nikola's Black Griffin merchant enterprise. He needed a place to stay after all.
But after walking few miles, he suddenly stopped. His expression turning somber and his eyes turning wary on the spot.
His face turned that of rage. Because at this moment, his Survival Instinct ability was warning him. He had a couple of eyes looking at him from the shadows, full of killing intent.
Kahn could not see anyone in his surrounding that exuded any malicious intent towards him. Yet he couldn't afford to be careless either.
Kahn changed his direction and headed towards the outer areas of the city. After finally exiting the city from one of the gates, Kahn started running towards the dense tree lines and grounds that weren't occupied and were out of reach for city security to interfere.
He finally stopped amidst these tall trees as he found a suitable place big enough to contain a fight.
As soon as he stopped, several footsteps could be heard from behind him.
A couple of people appeared out of nowhere as if they were invisible before.
Assassins!
These people took out daggers and surrounded Kahn, not letting him escape. Kahn on the other hand simply waited as if he was expecting someone.
Just a couple of minutes later. More than 10 people joined the assassins. All of them looked just like the Adventurers he saw earlier today.
"Master Illya. Bringing so many people just for one guy.. Don't you think that's a bit of a stretch?" a man donning Mage robes asked. From behind him, a familiar figure walked in, covered fully under metal armor and a well-crafted sword in his hand.
"Did you really expect to live long after provoking me, you bastard?" said the figure.
It was none other than the blonde guy Kahn beat inside the Adventurer's Association hall.
"I'll give you a last chance. If you lick my boots and cut off both of your legs, I might let you live." said the blonde guy with a condescending look on his face.
Kahn didn't falter or was scared in any way. He said
"With just you guys? You don't have the skills to make me beg in front of you."
"Hahaha. This guy must be so scared that his brain doesn't work anymore." said one of the adventurers.
The other armed men started circling Kahn and took out their weapons. Kahn however stood firm and had no hesitation in his eyes. His broad shoulders and warrior-like built appeared akin to an immovable mountain.
"Can't you see that you're surrounded by us?" said the Blonde guy as he took out his sword and pointed it at Kahn.
Kahn only smirked, his eyes full of murderous intent as if he had already declared these people surrounding him as dead. Since he was out of the sight of public eyes, he had no reason to hold back anymore.
WAR DOMINANCE!
Kahn released his War Dominance aura and covered everyone in his 20-meter radius.
A pressure strong enough to make a grown man fall on his knees was released from his body.
Every single one of these men started shuddering in fear, their bodies barely managing to stand up. Some already fell on their knees and started looking at Kahn as if they saw a monster.
"You don't get it, son. I'm not surrounded by you..."
Kahn said as he walked menacingly towards the group of men, releasing his dense aura full of chaotic energy and killing intent as if a War God was looking down on all of the creations.
"You're all surrounded by me!"