Chapter 251: Becoming Famous

Mt. Ordas was high above sea level and covered in clouds all year round. The headquarters of the Dark Mantle was located in the middle of the mountain's belly, guarded by all kinds of experts. The security here was even tighter than that of the Imperial Palace.

Han Shuo passed through the entrance using the magical transportation matrix. Identity tag in hand, he moved unhindered deep into the belly of the mountain. After a few turns, he reached the transportation matrix that led to Candide's place.

"Wait a moment, Lord Candide is not at headquarters at the moment. I'll go tell him, the Lord should be back shortly." It wasn't until then that the Dark Star guide who had led Han Shuo from the transportation matrix to Candide's place explained, neither quickly nor slowly.

"Is that so? All right." Han Shuo nodded in understanding.

"Mhm, then I'll take you to the waiting area and notify you immediately when Lord Candide returns!" The Dark Star emissary also nodded and then turned on the transportation matrix.

A white light flashed and Han Shuo appeared in a wide, square stone chamber the size of four basketball courts combined. Many soft chairs and tables were set up, with dazzling displays of various fruit desserts and some books on the table. Many people of various appearances surrounded these places, patiently either eating or leafing through the books on the tables, seemingly waiting as well.

Except for the transportation matrix where Han Shuo was standing, soft carpets covered the surrounding floor. A dozen or so glass lanterns hung above it, illuminating the entire stone chamber.

"Hey! Hello, you look strange! Are you here for the first time?" A short-haired, young and pretty girl stood in front of Han Shuo and greeted him cheerfully.

"Mm, this is my first time here. How do you do?" Han Shuo walked over to the vibrant young girl with a smile on his face, eager to hear the latest news from the Dark Mantle headquarters.

"I'm Chrissie, a fire mage. I'm currently a rank three Dark Star, nice to meet you." This girl named Chrissie was quite talkative. She smiled at Han Shuo and greeted him warmly in a familiar manner.

"Hehe, I'm Bryan, also a rank three Dark Star like you. I'm a Necromancer." Han Shuo smiled as he walked over to Chrissie and introduced himself.

The last time he'd left Valen City for the Valley of Sunshine, Han Shuo had already learned from Emily that his rank was already Dark Moon.

However, since Candide was in charge of Han Shuo, only he could upgrade Han Shuo's badge to officially confirm his rank as Dark Moon. Han Shuo hadn't reported in for half a year, so even though he had advanced to the rank of Dark Moon, it hadn't been made official yet.

"Haha! So you're also a rank three Dark Star! Which Lord do you follow?" Chrissie giggled and pulled up a chair for Han Shuo.

"Chrissie, you're on the bench with no missions. Why do you have to keep chatting up random people? Are you trying to hurt them?" A burly swordsman next to Chrissie rolled his eyes.

"Allis, what nonsense are you talking? Who wants to hurt people?" Chrissie turned abruptly and glared at the journeyman swordsman.

"And yet you deny it! You fire mages make a mess of everything. On our last mission, you burned down half the village and ruined my mission. The boss gave me an angry lecture. I'm already miserable thanks to you, so don't go around hurting people. Allis smiled wryly and shook his head. He turned to Han Shuo and winked, as if to tell him to be careful.

Han Shuo lifted his head and smiled benevolently, then furrowed his brow and read the book in his hand. As it turned out, the books on the tables were actually the latest secret intelligence reports circulating within the Dark Mantle. They contained everything from the most recent period, including news on every aspect of the Empire. The topics ranged from the big ones, such as border battles, to the small, petty gossip about some aristocrat's strange quirks.

With Han Shuo's current brain capacity, he only needed to leaf through a book once to memorise its contents. The petty gossip didn't interest him, but the ones about Valen City and the Valley of Sunshine caught his attention.

One of the highlights was the betrayal of the Empire by the head of the Gryphon Legion, Bob Ascher. According to the Dark Mantle's intelligence network, Bob Ascher had long been in league with the Kasi Empire. After betraying the Empire, Bob Ascher had led a group of trusted associates to join the Kasi Empire and become one of its senior military officers.

Han Shuo's name appeared again in the Dark Mantle's intelligence network. According to the books, it was Han Shuo and Emily's efforts that exposed Bob Ascher's misdeeds. After receiving their report, the Dark Mantle rushed to Valen City. They took advantage of Bob's lack of rebellion to bring the situation back under control.

Otherwise, if Bob Ascher had been allowed to abuse his power and create holes in Valen City's defences for the Kasi Empire, which was eyeing the city like a hungry tiger, to invade, the city would have fallen quickly. Unknowingly, Han Shuo, as a rank three Dark Star, had become a rising star within the Dark Mantle. Han Shuo's description was attached inside, and it even included his first mission where he'd uncovered the plot of the Wind Archmage Duke of the Kasi Empire.

Furthermore, this information also contained news of the chaos in the Valley of Sunshine. The four strongest powers are fighting overtly and covertly, resulting in daily bloodshed. This time, even the Butcher and Janet's powerful forces seemed to have entered the fray, joining the struggle for power in the Valley of Sunshine.

Among them, the Soul Destroyer mercenary group founded by Han Shuo and Trunks was gradually emerging from the fray. Under Trunk's charisma, along with their abundant resources, they had taken advantage of the chaos to attract experts to join their mercenary band. Since the Soul Destroyer mercenary group appeared in the internal intelligence of the Dark Mantle, it showed that the group already had some standing.

As Han Shuo concentrated on the book in his hands, Chrissie stood in front of him and asked again, "Right, Bryan, which Lord do you follow?"

"Hehe, I follow Lord Candide." Han Shuo put down the book and lifted his head smiling to answer Chrissie.

"Lord Candide, but you're only a rank three Dark Star, how could you possibly follow Lord Candide? Mm, your name is Bryan... can it be that you're this Bryan? Oh my gosh!" Chrissie shook her head in confusion at first, then suddenly remembered something. She looked at Han Shuo and exclaimed in surprise.

As the patiently waiting members around her heard Chrissie's cry, they all put down their fruit or books and looked at Han Shuo in amazement.

"He's Bryan? So young!"

"What a lucky young man to have Lord Candide fancy him. It would be hard for him not to be promoted quickly, even if he doesn't want to be!"

"Hehehe, his looks don't disappoint. If I could go on a mission with him, it would be so sweet!"

Chatter erupted from the surrounding members who happened to be idle at the time. All sorts of astonishment, admiration and strange looks were projected at Han Shuo.

"Oh my god, my luck is really not bad. Bryan, if you have a mission that requires more people, can you please take me with you? Don't listen to that brat Allis' nonsense, I'm a fine fire mage! I promise I won't be a burden to you!" Chrissie recovered immediately after her surprise cry. She grabbed the corner of Han Shuo's clothes and begged pitifully.

"Bryan, Lord Candide has returned. Please go to the transportation matrix!" A transport member next to the matrix suddenly announced in a loud voice.

"If I need more people, I will consider you. See you!" The clothes Chrissie was holding slipped from her fingers like oil as Han Shuo twisted his body. After giving her a friendly smile, he stood in the transportation matrix to the surprised looks of the crowd.

A white light flashed and Han Shuo appeared in Candide's private room. As always, the old man had a sombre expression on his face. He looked at Han Shuo without showing any particular expression, just saying in a low voice, "I remember telling you a long time ago that even if you don't have a mission, you still have to report to the Dark Mantle headquarters once a month. You brat disappeared for half a year, no discipline at all!"

"To be honest, I was delayed by a few things. I have come into possession of something in the past half year that I think Lord Candide will be very interested in!" Han Shuo's expression didn't change. He smiled faintly and replied.

Whether it was Han Shuo's strength or his experience, both were vastly different from the past. After half a year, the growth of his strength and experience had accelerated greatly, and all aspects had developed significantly. Han Shuo felt no fear even in front of a figure as powerful as Candide, and instead spoke to him as if he were talking to a friend of equal status.

"You really are different from before!" The old fox Candide seemed to see through his changes. He gave Han Shuo a stunned look for a while, then flashed an odd smile, "What things? Will I be interested?"

Han Shuo took out the handwritten notebook he had received from the forbidden land. It didn't contain any substantial knowledge of magic, just a few experiences along with an obscure understanding of dark magic from Ayermike Cotton. Han Shuo had already copied some of the magical texts written in it. He had intended to give it to Emily along with the staff , since she practised dark magic.

After careful consideration, Han Shuo had decided that it would be best to give the notebook to the Dark Grand Magus Candide. Since Han Shuo couldn't fully understand the magic texts, the reflections on dark magic from Ayermike's notebook were useless to him.

In addition, Han Shuo felt from his many encounters with Candide that this old, suspiciously cunning looking man was really protecting him. Giving this notebook to Candide would definitely bring great benefits and a bright future in the Dark Mantle.

"Take a look." Han Shuo smiled mysteriously before ceremoniously handing the ancient handwritten notebook to the Dark Grand Magus Candide.

"What is this? It seems to have some history!" Candide took the handwritten notebook and said uncertainly. After his eyes caught a small row of letters, he was immediately stunned. His eyes and mouth were wide open, as if he had been struck by lightning.

That little row of letters read, Ayermike Cotton!

Candide was one of the three heavyweights of the Dark Mantle and had the power of a grand magus, but his hands couldn't stop shaking as he held the notebook. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets and his face showed an expression of extreme shock.

This state lasted for a few seconds until Candide suddenly turned his eyes to stare at Han Shuo and asked in a trembling voice, "Is this, is this?"

Han Shuo nodded his head and confirmed, "That's right! This is the notebook of the legendary dark magician of the Lancelot Empire, the demigod Ayermike Cotton!"

Candide was ecstatic when he heard these words. He couldn't stop shaking like crazy. His mouth was mumbling something that Han Shuo couldn't make sense of. As for Candide's two eyes, they wouldn't leave the notebook. His trembling hands turned the pages one by one, his whole body falling into a sluggish state.

This went on for a long time, until Candide sighed: "Too unfathomable, too wondrous. The value of this notebook is simply incalculable!"

After uttering these words, Candide took a few more deep breaths. Waiting until he had calmed down from his excitement, he looked at Han Shuo with shining eyes and asked with some hesitation, "What do you mean by bringing me this notebook?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Han Shuo chuckled, "I'm giving it to you, of course!"

"Bribery! Damned brat, this is despicable bribery!" Candide shouted, but then suddenly shook his head and then quickly nodded, "Forget it, I'll take it even if it is bribery."

Using some force to smooth his hair, Candide spoke somewhat blankly, "Alright, I'll take it, what's your condition?"

Han Shuo shook his head and said smilingly, "No conditions. This thing originally belonged to the empire. You are my boss, and me giving it to you can't be considered bribery, so don't worry about it!"

"Haha, right, this is Ayermike Cotton's notebook, so of course it belongs to the Empire. I, Candide, am one of the few Dark Grand Mages of the Empire. As long as I explain a little about it to His Majesty the King, he will definitely allow me to read it, so how can that be bribery?"

Candide muttered to himself and laughed out loud, then he quickly flew in front of Han Shuo and patted him on the shoulder in appreciation, "Well done, brat, not bad at all. You have done another meritorious deed! I remember that you're already a one-star Dark Moon? Give me your badge, and I'll promote you to a four-star Dark Moon right away. For finding the relics of Ayermike Cotton, no one would dare speak out against you moving up two ranks. Lucky you, you will become a legend in the Dark Mantle!