Chapter 17 - 17 - Sampo: Crap, The Joke's on Me

"No, no, no! I don't like being in a snowdrift! Big Bro! I was really wrong! It was I, old Sampo, who had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai and offended you all. Please, esteemed brothers and sisters, just treat me like a fart and let me go!" The blue "creature" once again poked its head out of the snowdrift, wailing and crying to the Trailblaze party with a miserable look on its face. "Oh? So now you know you've messed with the wrong people? Not going to struggle a bit more?" Wende asked, smiling as he stepped onto the snowdrift, the lightning needle in his hand glinting. "Exactly! My newly washed clothes! They're all dirty again because of your shoddy smoke bomb!" March 7th had initially felt a pang of pity seeing Sampo buried with only his head sticking out, but one look at her own dust-covered clothes and that tiny bit of sympathy was instantly thrown out the window. We just wanted to ask for directions! It would have been fine if you just ignored us, but you had to set up an ambush where we were passing! "That's right. If you don't give us a reasonable explanation, I'm afraid you won't be walking out of here so easily today." Wende stared impassively at Sampo, who looked like a freshly plucked radish sticking out of the ground. At the same time, he secretly winked at Stelle, who was standing beside March. Seeing Wende's signal, Stelle glanced at the angry March and then at Sampo in the ground. She instantly understood Wende's meaning. "March... don't be angry." Stelle thoughtfully walked over to March 7th's side, patting the dust off her clothes and comforting her in a soft voice. "Getting angry is bad for your health. Why don't we just let Wende take care of him?" Her golden eyes narrowed into slits. Stelle smiled benevolently at the distressed Sampo, uttering something truly terrifying with a kind expression. Wende, from a spot where Sampo couldn't see, gave Stelle a big thumbs-up. As expected of the protagonist. She can understand my thoughts with just a single look! "No, no, no, don't kill me! Esteemed heroes! I, old Sampo, really didn't do it on purpose! I thought you were those Silvermane Guards who came to arrest me! I never expected this to be a case of friendly fire! We're all in the same line of work, why must we resort to this?!" "Silvermane Guards..." Dan Heng silently committed the name to memory. It was likely the name of the army inside that fortress standing against the blizzard. From the lander, they could only vaguely see the fortress's silhouette through the snow. As for what it was like inside... "Oh? So according to you, this was all just a misunderstanding?" Wende raised an eyebrow. The lightning needle in his hand dissipated as he crossed his arms, feigning doubt. "It's true! It was a misunderstanding! I, old Sampo, swear on my reputation!" Sampo, who had somehow freed one arm from the snowdrift, immediately raised three fingers to his forehead, looking as if he were swearing an oath to the heavens. "Oh~ Then it seems we really did misunderstand you." A "sincere" smile appeared on Wende's face. "Yes! My good man! Please let me go! I can already feel my lower body going numb!" Sampo cried miserably. If Wende didn't know this fun-seeker was a Pathstrider, he might have actually believed him! "My good man, why are you just standing there? Hurry up and let old Sampo out of this cold, cold snow!" Sampo said, starting to panic as he saw Wende just smiling without making a move. "Oh, right. It was a misunderstanding. But you got my companions into this state. Do you think a simple 'misunderstanding' is enough to solve it?" Wende pointed at the grimy Trailblaze party, then squatted down and gently patted Sampo's cheek. The meaning was self-evident. "Ah... ah! Of course, I can't let you heroes suffer for nothing! It was I, old Sampo, who was foolish!" As a "shrewd businessman," old Sampo instantly understood Wende's meaning. He quickly nodded apologetically to the other three. "Everyone! I am truly sorry! It was my fault that you all were wronged. I, old Sampo, will absolutely not let you suffer a loss... however..." Sampo once again wriggled his body to face Wende, a fawning smile on his face. "Um, my good man, old Sampo didn't bring any valuables with me on this trip. How about you all follow me back to Belobog? I, old Sampo, guarantee it! Once we get to Belobog, I absolutely won't run, and I promise the compensation will be to your satisfaction! What do you... think?" He could see it clearly now. This man was the leader of the group! He had to get this guy on his side first, and then everything else would be easy. "Mm, let's do that, then." Seeing that was enough, Wende nodded in satisfaction and snapped his fingers. The lightning needles embedded in Sampo's limbs instantly vanished. Sampo crawled out of the snowdrift with tears in his eyes. Although his movements were a bit stiff, he had genuinely thought his limbs were about to freeze off! Little did he know, this was all an effect of Wende's lightning needles. The physical paralysis from the needles had simply caused Sampo to misjudge the situation. Honestly, if Wende hadn't controlled him like this, he wouldn't have been able to put on such a good show right in front of him. Now that they had a guide, the next step was to enter the city! That's right. Wende had gone to all this trouble just to get Sampo to lead them into Belobog through his "secret little path." Anyone who knew the story knew that the protagonist's party gets wanted posters issued for them just one day after entering Belobog. This was all because they used the main gate. This time, if they used a side entrance, they should be able to escape the fate of having Gepard personally draw their wanted posters, right? Indeed, the reason this guy put on such an act was entirely to avoid leaving behind a mortifyingly abstract portrait of himself as part of his history. After watching Sampo recover for a moment, Wende had him lead the group towards Belobog's interior via the "secret little path." Along the way, March 7th seemed to want to ask something, but she was stopped by Dan Heng and Stelle. In truth, she just wanted to ask why they weren't using the main gate. For Dan Heng, avoiding direct conflict with the powers of this world was the more prudent approach. After all... it wasn't the first time they had become wanted on other planets. There was another point: how would a city that hadn't had contact with the outside world for nearly a thousand years react to "visitors from the sky"? These were all unknowns. It was better to sneak into the city quietly first and slowly figure out the attitude of those in power. March 7th looked at Dan Heng, who stopped her and shook his head. She puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction but didn't say anything. In reality, she just wanted to ask Wende why he left a needle in that guy's back. And also, could he not feel it? If Wende knew what Little March was really thinking, he would have surely chuckled. Of course Sampo couldn't feel the lightning needle in his back. Moreover, it was a contingency plan, left there to prevent this "Elation fun-seeker" from suddenly trying to run away.