《Rise Of The Infinite Sovereign》


 Chapter 1 Betrayal

    A battle raged on, warriors in bloodstained armour rode horses, their body riddled with injuries, as they shed against each other across a vast in in the dead of night.


    Along this battlefield were corpses, lots of it, strewn all over the ce. Most of them were mangled up, either losing an arm, a leg or severed in half, but all their facial expressions were ones filled with fear and deep terror.


    One could only imagine what sort of ordeal these men had gone through till theirst moments.


    The battle was still ongoing, yet with one look, anybody would see that the end of this battle was near, and with only one possible conclusion to it.


    Nevertheless, the sight of the current scene would shock any onlooker. Heck, mostmoners might just fall dead, due to the sheer intensity alone.


    Rocks shattered and the ground parted as a man in ck armor swung his two short swords, taking ten lives with it.


    Yet, the rest didn''t bat an eyelid, before continuing their relentless assault, with neither side willing to give in.


    The most eye-catching was a man facing an encirclement of the strongest twelve and giving them a run for their money.


    His hair was ck with blue eyes, his face fierce but also aged, 50 years old to be exact, wearing an armor ck as night and two swords, one with an emerald glow, the other with a neon color.


    The terrifying amount of pressure he emanated would have made most think twice before attacking, but with enough gold, even an old man would confront a lion barehanded.


    For mankind''s greed had always been insatiable, and it held true even more so right now.


    In a nutshell, that is the summary of this particr situation.


    With rows of enemy knights amounting to 700, and this was after the death of two thousand knights.


    It would be wise to note that this was the weakest link, thergest unit but also the weakest bunch, the dispensable, the disposable, but mostmonly known as, cannon fodder.


    With fifty middle ranked knights at the adept stage and twelve more at the expert stage.


    You can now understand why any bystander coulde to a conclusion and also deem it urate when such a force is pinned against formerly a hundred, now thirty knights on the defending side.


    But of course, history has seen the likes of, and will continue to see, a variable that can turn a situation deemed hopeless into something not thought of, and create what some call a miracle.


    Such was this situation, with the assants attacking with overwhelming numbers which they had deemed as overkill.


    So you can imagine the shock of the assants upon discovering that the defending leader was on the cusp of bing a master rank Knight.


    The significance of such might still be vague at the moment, but know one thing.


    This was the bare minimum qualification to be established and fully recognized as a powerhouse throughout the three known continents in this world.


    A world named Orion.


    Now, back to the main topic. The attacking knights were shocked at such ack of information and quickly lost five hundred fodder knights before regaining a sense of cohesion and cordiality. The enemy leaders also had to promise a substantial increase in remuneration before all the expert knightsunched an attack on the leader, aka the knight in ck armor.


    But the assants could only be inplete dismay when both sides shed, as they discovered that the weakest members of the hundred man team had the strength of an intermediate rank knight.


    Nevertheless, the assants surrounded the hundred man group, making sure to seal all escape paths.


    The battle had been going for five hours now, and the casualties on each side kept stacking like a deck of cards.


    Especially considering that half the expert knights had died fighting the ck armored Knight, whose eyes had be bloodshot.


    For the assants, the cannon fodder had reduced to 440, with the intermediate knights having it worse with only 11 out of the fifty left.


    But the other party wasn''t much better, with only 19 members still alive.


    "WHY?!"


    As the battle raged on, and the remaining party members kept dying, the defending leader questioned the attackers with his anger apparent.


    But none of the attackers gave a damn, as they made sure to continue cornering him.


    At present, his armor was practically in tatters, with many parts chipped or broken, his skin cut on multiple sides, because at the end of the day, he was still just a half stage master, not a fully fledged one, and that had been the assant''s saving grace.


    He could feel himself losing, gradually bing weaker. He was bleeding a lot and couldn''t heal himself.


    The concentrated attacks of the remaining six hadn''t given him a moment to breathe or focus to heal his injuries.


    But he just had to know who those who wanted to take his life were, and if possible, why they had to do so.


    s, all the assants wore helmets and armor of good quality, with no specific markings or emblems to identify them, well, except for the cannon fodder, for they would be most likely killed after the battle was over, to keep things under wraps as much as possible.


    Going forward, the battle''s momentum tilted in the assant''s favor, with the ck knight witnessing the annihtion of his group of loyalrades, whose bonds were like family.


    In desperation, he broke out of the encirclement a few times to render help to the others, and even killed one more expert knight, but he could only do the bare minimum with the relentless knights on his heels.


    A wave of powerlessness hit him, as hisrades died without him being able to assist, with himself about to fall at enemy hands.


    He thought about how his life had been till now.<novelnext></novelnext>


    He was brought up from a humble household, neither rich nor poor, a home of pure hearted fellows and with his name being Kevin. The story of knights and mages excited him, as he yearned for adventure.


    And so, at the tender age of 16, he enrolled in the army, only to witness the cruel reality mostmoners face.


    From injustice to betrayal and all sorts of horrible things. His talent was neither mediocre but nor was he a genius.


    Yet, it was good enough to be recognized, for he had been practicing with various weapons while at his hometown, but with his naivety and innocence, he had most of the merits that should have been assigned to him either snatched or stolen, and because of this, his dream of adventure kept dying as the years passed by with only hope holding it.


    Then, fate shined upon him as he obtained four artifacts from an endeavor meant to see him dead.


    As a now veteran soldier, his thoughts were very clear about his fate as to whether to go back and curry favor with someone in a higher position.


    But he quickly shot such an idea into the ground.


    The nobles would never let him keep it, choosing to snatch it using all sorts of flimsy excuses, and would likely kill him to keep the existence of the artifacts a secret.


    With a clear answer, he never returned to the army and traveled across the continent to a ce far away, to start anew and hopefully gain higher ground in society.


    And it worked out, well obviously not everything, but enough to make him feel proud of achieving something.


    Yet here he was, with hisrades killed before his eyes as he watched on, powerless to do anything about it.


    "Ughh!" Kevin groaned, as a wave of pain finally hit''s him and he fell to his knees, the adrenaline coursing through him dying out.


    The ground on which he kneeled was cracked and burnt. He looked to the side, and he saw the corpses of his closestrades severed and the surroundings destroyed, the mana in the area whirring chaotically.


    Had they fought a little more, they might have created a mana vortex.


    This was when a knight began to talk.


    "What a monstrous bastard" the knight said as he kicked Kevin, making him spurt a lot of blood.


    "To think he was ying a pig to catch a tiger all this time"


    Truthfully, said knight was terrified after seeing Kevin''s horrifying strength as well as his weapon mastery, for his swordsmanship was bone-chilling, with no shy moves nor feints.


    No, each strike aimed at maximizing killing efficiency, and if not for them watching each other''s back, and he was still able to kill eight of them, they would have been the ones annihted instead.


    As of now, he had already reached a conclusion, and that was¡­


    ''We can''t let him live''


    And he was sure that the other three were thinking along those lines as well.


    But then¡­


    "Why?!" Kevin asked again.


    A question simr to a scream resounded, and a wave of killing intent they thought had been extinguished had been reignited from Kevin''s body.


    Yet, they lowered their guard upon seeing his state.


    His armor destroyed, his hair disheveled, with his hands to ground supporting his body from falling face t while holding on the swords whose glow seemed to have dimmed.


    Nevertheless, the will of a man of war wouldn''t break that easily.


    Kevin, who was waiting for either his death or an answer, had a hand move his chin up, to make him look at one of the attackers.


    Then¡­


    "Hello Kevin" one of the knights said as he removed his helmet.


    Kevin''s face shook and quivered, before regaining his calmness and he slowly spoke.


    "So it was you?"


    And the knight, who wanted to see Kevin in despair, could only be disappointed when he kept staring silently, before speaking again.


    "Why did you do this?" Kevin asked, as though seeing someone from the same empire hadn''t bothered him at all.


    A few seconds passed with both sides staring at each other before the knight dropped his chin, stood straight and answered.


    "Because of you"


    "What are you-" Kevin''s questions were cut-off with another answer.


    "Because of those two swords" he said, pointing at the emerald and neon swords, before pointing right at Kevin, and saying¡­


    "Because, you refuse to yield" he said.

 Chapter 2 I Was A Fool

    "Because you refused to yield" he said.


    At this moment, a light of understanding shone in Kevin''s eyes.


    ''So¡­it''s like that'' Kevin thought as he began to connect the dots. Things were bing clear, including who had sent them. Then suddenly, he raised his head and stared at the knight in front of him, before questioning him.


    "But¡­what does it have to do with you?" he asked the question he was most baffled about. For he couldn''t find anything linking the empire with the man he was currently looking at.


    "Tch" the knight clicked his tongue with a look of disdain, as if he had never seen a bigger fool. And then he replied.


    "We both survived that ordeal and both gained life-changing artifacts"


    He stopped and stared at Kevin, before continuing his monologue or whatever he thought he was doing.


    "But¡­I had to surrender mine to the empire for the chance to obtain riches and be a noble, yet, surprisingly, instead of following in my footsteps, you did the exact opposite".


    "What''s worse, you kept soaring to the skies and didn''t die through a multitude of ordeals that should have killed you. Don''t you know¡­that was an indirect p to the empire''s face as well as most noble''s, but most importantly, to my face?"


    At this point, his face was filled with rage. Nevertheless, he kept on talking.


    "Nobles of all statuses began to look at me, not envying my luck or my wealth, but like I was the worst of fools they had ever seen. But worse yet, evenmon soldiers began to do the same. AND IT WAS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" he suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs. After which, there was an audible sigh of relief.


    Even the surrounding knights moved back a little, so one could imagine the rage he was feeling at the moment.


    He looked back at Kevin, who remained motionless throughout the monologue and began speaking again.


    "So¡­you can imagine my lividness when I suddenly received a letter detailing an attack to get rid of you once and for all. And the funniest part¡­it was signed by the emperor himself!" he stopped with a mocking smile on his face, letting Kevin digest all he was hearing.


    At this point, Kevin was thoroughly shaken. A formerrade hade to take his head, and the man whom he pledged his allegiance to nned his death.


    ''And all because of this'' he thought as he looked at the swords in his hands, various thoughts going through his mind as different emotions set in.


    He first wondered.


    ''Did I fail my duty?'' but he immediately shot it down, that wasn''t it. He had obtained enough merits in war to make himself a noble at the very least, yet¡­''I was only promoted twice'' he thought, smiling with a hint of understanding.


    ''Did I harm my people?'' he asked himself again, but no, he hadn''t harmed his people, rather, he protected them as much as he could. In fact¡­


    ''I was a leader who was always in front of my people''


    That was it, he led his people into the heat of war headfirst, with himself at the forefront.


    He tried to think of excuses as to why such a thing had happened to him, but there was none.


    It was then that his mind went through a transformation, scenes of the great empire and all those so-calledrades of his shing before his eyes.


    He thought he had grown to the antics of all sorts of men, but he had been terribly wrong.


    He thought he had be wise, for he was aged. Rather, looking at things now, he had been a fool of epic proportions.


    He then looked at the knight in front of him, no longer having doubts or thoughts about where he had gone wrong.


    No, now, he was just ANGRY!


    His thoughts having be clear, in all intents and purposes, he could now see.


    See the world for what it was, and what mankind was. And thinking like this, he suddenly had an epiphany.


    The Emperor wasn''t as great as he always thought!


    If it hadn''t been for him, the current emperor would most likely not have be the emperor. And yet¡­


    ''This is how he repays me?'' he thought and then looked at the knight in front of him, recalling memories from years ago.


    "This bastard!" was the only thing he could muster, for he felt stifled, at himself, at this shitty situation, at his entire life.


    He felt so angry, because he had gained enlightenment on his ways of foolishness only at death''s door.


    ''It would have been better to have not known at all'' this was the answer he came up with, as he discovered that, as people sometimes say, ignorance is truly bliss.


    He had been looking at humans as sunshine and rainbows, not forgetting the dark side, but subtly ignoring it, and now it had bit him in the back.


    The nobles he respected and dignified, looking at it now, had always been looking at him like an animal to be spectacled in a zoo, with wonder and awe like a unique species, something which had always been bothering him, but he hadn''t been able to understand at all at the time, yet now, he understood.


    They were awed by how such a fool could exist, by how foolish his mentality was, for it was worse than amoner.


    He recalled having jokes with officers of a lesser rank, but looking at it now, they were always insulting him indirectly, with amicable smiles on their faces and with a yful tone.


    To take it a step further, he remembered how he had toiled far more than any other, only to get meager rewards. And yet, he never stopped to think of why it was so.


    No, rather, he worked harder only for the same thing to happen again, and that was how he lived till now.


    "Hah¡­I was a fool all my life" he said, sighing with regret beyond words, but, reality was unforgiving, there was no second chance, for milk spilled wasn''t worth crying over.


    "Baam!" a loud sound rang out as Kevin was kicked a few meters away.


    "So how does it feel to know that your stubbornness killed all of yourrades" he asked Kevin, as he pulled his hair up and looked at his bloodied face.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But what he saw wasn''t what he was expecting.


    ''I thought he would be angry or he would be crying, but to think he would be¡­smiling''


    That''s right, Kevin''s bloodied lips slowly curved in a wicked smile, and then¡­''


    "Hahaha, my stubbornness you say, MY STUBBORNNESS?!"


    "Are you REALLY saying that this was my fault?" Kevin asked.


    His abrupt shouting had put the surrounding knights on guard, with their swords drawn. Even the one holding his hair had hastily backed away, quickly going behind two knights of the same rank.


    For they had seen his strength, and learned not to underestimate him the hard way, after 8 of them died.


    But contrary to their expectations, Kevin hadn''t even moved from where he had been, whether he liked it or not, his body had severe injuries that would take at least half a month or more without any supplements before healingpletely.


    Since he knew this, he had given up the possibility of leaving here alive, but maintained the fa?ade of healthiness.


    But with a deep cut in his chest, as well as numerous other injuries out in the open, not to mention, thepletely destroyed armor, he couldn''t really fool anyone. But he continued talking nheless, his finger lifting up and pointing towards the knight now hiding behind two others.


    "You came to kill me because of an inted ego, which was the same reason you were so quick to hold hands with those bastard nobles at the first chance you had"


    "And that weasel who calls himself the emperor now wants to get rid of me, one of the greatest contributor to what he became today?!"


    He then looked at the battlefield before pushing on.


    "You killed my team, the ones who looked after me, and ALL BECAUSE OF WHAT!?"


    He asked as he raised the two glowing swords and shouted.


    "THIS? IS THIS WHY MY COMRADES HAD TO DIE?"


    His rage had turned into deep resentment and hatred, at the deceiving and conniving nobles, but mostly, at his own existence.


    At that moment, tears began to drop slowly, his only thoughts were¡­


    ''If only¡­if only I had known''


    But he quickly wiped such thoughts along with his tears away, before staring resolutely at the knights, which had once again startled them, and then¡­he looked at his hands.


    To be precise, he looked at what he was holding, the two glowing swords, raised them up and then spoke again.


    "This is what you want, is it not? THIS WAS WHY MY FRIENDS HAD TO DIE?"


    "Then, try taking it" he whispered, but the expert knights heard what he said.


    Kevin mustered thest of his strength and stood up, taking a battle stance.


    The others had put up their shield or a defensive stance and all of sudden, Kevin''s mana levels began to skyrocket, baffling the surrounding knights.


    It wasn''t until a voice rang out from afar.


    "NOO, STOP HIM" said another knight approaching on a horse with shining blue armor and a cerulean great sword hilted to his horse with about fifteen knights behind him.


    ''Hmm, as expected, I guess he saw through my bluff, well, I wasn''t nning on running anyway''


    Steadying his resolve, Kevin mana continued rising, and seeing this, the expert knights understood what he wanted to do and attacked to destabilize his mana.


    But¡­


    "Too Late" Kevin murmured as he overloaded his meridians and directed all the mana he could muster to the two swords.


    Specifically, their mana circuits, as destroying the core part would render it useless, well, they could be used as ornaments.


    And then¡­


    BOOOOOM!


    The swords blew up, which caused the mana in the area to react, blowing the knights away and simultaneously killing most of them.


    With this, one didn''t need to ask about Kevin, who initiated such an attack, his body was practically blown to pieces.


    The explosion has caused the approaching knights to stop in their tracks and start retreating, with the horses trying to run away, as well as distorting the mana in the area and, because the artifact had been destroyed, their mission was already a failure, so there was no need to stay anyway.


    What? Those still alive but injured? The kingdom thanks them for their services and shallmemorate them with a grand funeral.


    After all, only the expert knights were actually worth anything, but they were all dead or gravelly injured with missing limbs.


    With such a mindset, the team of knights retreated with utmost haste. For they didn''t know it, but they were unbelievably lucky.


    Had they stayed, they would have seen the two swords, now turned to scrap, begin to glow and levitate, which caused the extremely chaotic mana to begin warping like a whirlpool.


    A phenomenon that would make the knights who had retreated turn pale at the sight.


    A mana vortex.

 Chapter 3 Sign Of A New Era

    A mana vortex.


    Basically, a worm hole that forms when the mana in an area is extremely unstable or when it has been rung dry.


    Exactly like a rotating tornado, but ten times more deadly.


    Its purpose is to absorb mana towards it like a ck hole, but this also means that any nearby object or creature would be sucked into it, before being shredded to pieces as their mana reserves coalesce with those in the surrounding.


    It is a surefire way to die for any novice mage/knight, not to talk of normal humans.


    The viciousness and ferocity is determined by how much damage initially caused it, or, even better, how big the wormhole is.


    So, what about one that forms when both conditions are met? That would be downright catastrophic, sort of what was happening right now.


    The wormhole expanded in the span of a minute, and began to suck in everything on the surroundings, starting with the air, which instantly killed two-thirds of the already-injured knights that were still alive.


    And as if that wasn''t enough, it began shredding all nearby objects, granting the suffocating knights a quick death as it turned them into mush, their mana forcefully taken and added to the wormhole, which made it increase noticeably in size and speed.


    ? Yet, the two levitating swords stood firm at their position and began to rotate under what was left of Kevin''s body, pinning it to the ground.


    The sword''s rotating speed kept increasing, and would have caused a whirring sound if the wormhole had not sucked all the air away.


    Now we see something translucente out of Kevin''s remains, causing the body to decay at a speed visible to the naked eye before bing ash, which were sucked into the vortex.


    The swords, whose hilts were now broken, shattered, and their pieces fell like raindrops, leaving behind miniscule crystals the size of raindrops in ce of each sword, which then came together to form two crystals the size of a fingernail, which then came together once more to form a rhombus shaped ocean blue gem that gave the feeling of serenity, which shined like a star before its light faded.


    All this while, the translucent object was floating just to the side, and if a master rank mage could see it, he would be astounded, for it was a soul.


    A soul with a familiar face, Kevin''s.


    The still blue gem suddenly moved, embedding itself into the soul and causing a ripple of blue energy on the soul.


    Kevin''s soul opened its eyes, which were shining blue, but remained motionless with its face facing the mana vortex that threatened to swallow it.


    That''s when it moved, but very unexpectedly, it went into the wormhole headfirst.


    We now see something shining with a greenish-blue color in the chaotically swirling body of the vortex. And then the vortex begins to shrink and slow down, with its body bing smaller until it bes as small as a wisp of smoke beforepletely vanishing, or rather, being absorbed. Because of that, Kevin''s soul was now shining, so much so that he was blinding, then his soul moved again.


    This time, it simply raised its right hand and shed down slowly while leaving a trail of green light, before using his two hands to open it up and enter into it.


    It enters, only to arrive outside the, yes, you heard me, it arrived in space, and then he connects a strand from the blue gem to the world.


    The soul started absorbing terrifying amounts of mana, giving it an obese look, like a ballon on the verge of bursting.


    The soul then stops and begins to wear it on the soul''s exterior, shaping it like a piercing de. It then filled its inside''s with mana and began moving opposite the''s orbit.


    Its speed began to noticeably increase, from 400 km/h to mach 3 and above. A speed that would rip even grandmasters to shreds multiple times.


    By now, it was practically invisible, moving lightyears in minutes and going faster, as we begin to see changes.


    Nighting before the day, the stars bing disarranged, everything was moving backwards.


    After an unknown amount of time, a green line bes visible as Kevin''s soul abruptly stopped moving, but failed to do so, as it did not know thews of motion.


    Like a Ferrari going at its fastest speed when the driver pulls the handbrakes (not sure if it has one, but you get the point), it cannot immediately stop, but slows down drastically as the tire screeches to a halt.


    The same thing happens here as we see Kevin''s soul, which had now deted with its luster having dimmed, some parts of the blue gem (tire) having been lost due to the abrupt stopping (screeching), and it wasn''t stopping, it kept cracking every second, and would most likely, dissipate in a minute.


    rmed at the situation, the crystal dives into the atmosphere of Orion, as people worldwide see a shining star in all its glory for a split second before passing on, as it was moving at crazy speeds, and unfortunately that was also increasing the rate of dissipation.


    Mages all over the world felt something wherever it passed through, the mana in their bodies reacted in an unexinable manner, and when asked, they would say¡­


    "Like a child jumping in joy" for some, while for others¡­


    "Like a starving beast given food"


    Mages of different origins gave different answers, but the event waster agreed upon as a sign of theing of a New Era.<novelnext></novelnext>


    As for whether it was a good or bad thing? No one knew.


    While at the present, the object of discussion kept falling, searching for a suitable vessel for Kevin''s soul.


    And as the clocking was ticking, time was running out, but fate shined on the soul as the crystal sensed a vessel, though not 100%patible, it would do the job.


    It didn''t have the luxury of being picky after all. there was no guarantee that it would find another beforepletely dissipating, and as so, it made the decision in a split second and took a dive into a particr room in a majestic castle where it lodged itself in the body of a newborn baby, with just three seconds before itpletely dissipated, and became dormant.


    The maids didn''t notice anything because it was too fast for their eyes, but the mother of this particr baby felt it, but wasn''t sure of what she had felt. For it was neither fear nor apprehension, just that something had happened to the baby in her arms.


    After pondering for several minutes, she gave up.


    ''Maybe it was just my feeling'' she told herself, and looked at the baby in her hands, reminding herself that she had be a mother.


    A smile of inexplicable meaning formed on her lips, as she looked at the child, something so fragile, something to be protected, and she would do just that.


    That was when a maid came with ink and a piece of paper, writing down several things before asking¡­


    "Mydy, what is his name?"


    The woman looked behind the maid instead of answering, at a man with golden hair and beards, who sat on a shiny piece of furniture with his eyes closed and his hands folded, as if asking¡­"Well?"


    The maids, including the one writing, noticed this and all kept quiet, which caused tensions to rise, the atmosphere reached a breaking point when the man suddenly opened up his eyes, and said¡­


    "Ezra"


    It was then that the dormant crystal woke up, and began the second part of its mission. Sealing up Kevin''s soul with the exception of miniscule amount that was added gently and carefully to the fragile soul of the newborn.


    The man''s body was constantly moving, either the feet moving up and down, or he looked at the clock on the wall every passing minute.


    One could tell from all this that this man was dying to get away from this gathering, and it was disheartening, especially to the baby''s mother, that he hadn''t even held the baby in his arms, and seemed to be concerned little about the boy.


    She was used to this sort of treatment, even though she wished he would treat her better, but that was mostly wishful thinking, of which she also knew.


    The clock ticked as the door clicked, signaling the arrival of someone, a man slender but graceful, revealing an aged but wizened face with little white hair and a long beard of the same color.


    His body covered in a draping white robe holding a staff with a gem carved skull at hand.


    He takes a look at the newborn and its mother, examines them for any anomaly, and fails to detect anything. He does this once more before giving a statement.


    "The boy is healthy, with no diseases found. As for his aptitude to be a mage, that is yet to be seen"


    He said while facing the man with golden hair. Which asks¡­


    "Are you sure?"


    "Absolutely, your majesty" he replied without hesitation.


    "Then thank you, Sebastian" he says with no real change in expression.


    "No, thank you, your majesty, and once again, congrattions" Sebastian bowed slightly before standing straight and saying¡­


    "I will be on my way then, your majesty" Sebastian says and leaves the room.


    The man seated suddenly stood up, took a few nces at the mother and her newborn, before leaving the room.


    Other wives might have called him back to ask about the celebrations and family gatherings, but she knew that it was a blessing that she got to keep her son. And she was unbelievably happy with this alone.


    What she didn''t know was that karma had paid off, fate would be on her side. For her son would shock the world more than once.


    This was the (re)birth of Kevin Reed, now Ezra Miller.


    This was the beginning...of the rise of a great Sovereign.

 Chapter 4 Growing Up

    It''s been four years since the birth of Ezra, and the blue crystal kept at its job, as Ezra''s soul was being continuously transferred, although in small amounts into the child''s, all year round.


    But as they say, small drops make an ocean, the souls were beginning to intertwine andbine, a phenomenon which would not have urred had the vessel matured. But being the fragile baby that it was, the soul was still very unstable, but also very suggestive to change''s, as it does not have a fixed form, hence the current situation.


    Because the vessel hadn''t gained a sufficient level of sentience, it didn''t know how to differentiate friend from foe, except when hurt, which the crystal had taken care of.


    And unlike a virus, the souls aren''t damaging but overwriting and adding to each other.


    Like water and seawater, they aren''t the same, but are also not that different, for their origins are the same, and so, in cases like this, therger one automatically absorbs the smaller one.


    To take it further, when you empty table water into the sea, it is instantly eroded, bing sea water. Likewise, when a bottle of seawater is poured into a tank of drinking water, you find that the external attribute (salt) is wiped away, only to be found at the tank''s bottom, but the level of water increases.


    Such was the current phenomenon, with Kevin''s soul constantly eroding and absorbing the baby''s soul, which in turn, shapes the boy''s character after Kevin''s.


    This in turn made Ezra gain awareness faster than his peers, including astounding cognitive abilities. He could think faster, read faster, and rarely forgets things.


    His most prominent feature would be his size, for physique and age were disproportionate. He was only three years old but looked like a seven year old.


    He learned a lot of things as he grew up, first of them, he is the son of Emperor Andrew Miller, with three older siblings, all of which are boys. He lives in the miller castle, a four story-building with a lot of hidden doors, as well as magical artifacts, which is located in miller city, which is also the capital of the empire.


    The most notable would be that he is the son of a maid, though of a fallen noble house, because the people say it a lot, like, a lot!


    He is the fourth prince of the Niton Empire, thergest empire in the three known continents. Of course, bigger doesn''t always equate with better.


    The names of the three continents are, the Puton continent, the Lexon continent and the Hellison continent. The Niton Empire along with few other kingdoms were in the Lexon continent.


    It had to be known that he had been poisoned thrice since age 1 and grown to be cautious around others, except his mom.


    With his peculiar characteristics and behavior, his mother had be the object of envy to many, both wives and children of noble birth.


    And so, multiple time''s had the maids witnessed the baby doing strange things, but also the fact that he was bing smarter than most his age.


    At three months, he had begun to crawl.


    At eight months, he said his first words.


    At fourteen months, he started walking.


    At sixteen months, he started to clean himself, while hadn''t been potty trained.


    At his 20th month, he said apletely correct sentence, which was: "My mom is the best in the world". This in particr drove many moms mad, especially the king''s other wives.


    As for the king himself, he had never taken action toward this son of his, whom most called mana''s child, so whether he hated or adored him was still up in the air.


    At his 23rd month, he wrote his first word.


    At his 26th month, he wrote a page full of words.


    At his 30th month, he could read (though slowly).


    At his 33rd month, he could hold simple conversations.


    And by his 36th month, which was the most notable, he began to feel mana.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Actually, he had been absorbing mana since he was born because of the blue gem that had been absorbing mana to function. It had naturally opened Ezra''s mana pathways, or meridians for short, giving him a mana enriched physique, which is mostly the reason for his growth spurt. And with a mental age of 55, his cognitive ability wasn''tcking at all. But the best royal magician could only sense it when he grew up, and this was because he had the physique of a seven years child.


    One should know that the fastest known age to ever begin to feel mana was six years, which signified the birth of a super genius, most people feeling it when 9-13 years old.


    Do note that these were just the most notable circumstances, and many others also happened.


    Like he saved his mother from being poisoned multiple times, or that he learned basic etiquette, or that he was very handsome.


    But from fame and fortune, came hatred and envy. His three brothers in particr, Triton, Connor and Jordan, were at the forefront. For them, Ezra was bing an eyesore, and more than once, had they tried to harm him. At a point, Ezra''s mother refused to let Ezra out her sights, also had someone taste her food before she could eat it, for she knew that many were after hers and her son''s life.


    Luckily, she was assigned an Expert-rank knight and her room was magically fortified from all sorts of things ever since she was almost killed in a failed assassination. As for the perpetrator, the assassin killed himself to avoid questioning after being caught, so they were never found.


    Every week a new poison or a maid would be caught and executed, for sometimes trying to harm Ezra. Most times though, the maids die when the other queens are furious or in a bad mood.


    But with every attempt to kill Kiara Miller, which was the name of Ezra''s mother, she grew cautious and her sunny demeanor had changed to a cold one. She had ustomed herself to the attitude of other Nobles, hiding devilish intent behind a radiant smile.


    So did things go, for the first years of Ezra''s life, as he noted down his enemies, for when he became strong enough, they would be paid back their kindness in full. And with a little bit of interest added.


    He began to recover his past-life memories in bits and pieces when he was three months old.


    At first he had been spooked by it, thinking that it was a curse, but as time went on, he figured that it wasn''t a curse. And as the bits and pieces came, it filled Ezra with the curiosity to know more.


    He developed a reading habit, though he didn''t exactly love reading books, but grew to like it because it filled a lot of gaps for him, evolving his brain in many ways.


    Especially when his past-life memories assisted him greatly, and without anybody telling him, he grew aware of situations around him and the dark side of humans that parents hide from their children.


    Hisst memory in particr, where he gained enlightenment was constantly refreshed in his mind, all those mixed up emotions, anger, relief, sadness, regret and most vivid was hatred.


    Like so, a boy no more than three years of age had begun to grow into a man, mentally.


    As he recovered more bits of his memory, his demeanor kept changing, but since he was just a three years old kid, and since he hadn''t been talking to people much, his mother was the only one who noticed these little changes in habit, and like all mothers, she became worried.


    Ezra began to talk less and less, mostly reading books in the castle''s library day-in and day-out in utmost silence.


    He stopped ying games, like others his age, and actively sought a tutor to teach him things of which he didn''t understand and another teacher to teach him noble etiquette.


    At first, she thought someone might have cursed him, and panicked, as she didn''t know who to tell, and Ezra seeing this genuine act of care was deeply touched, because most of his memories didn''t have anyone like her.


    He reassured her multiple times to get her to calm down, and exined that her son (him) was all right, before she could sleep with peace of mind.


    Such an attitude was out of ce and very abnormal, but she had always known that he was different from his peers, and seeing him mature faster left a bittersweet taste in her mouth.


    She was happy that he was growing into a very capable man, but sad that she hadn''t spent enough time with her little boy before he grew up.


    Like before, his actions had put his brothers on edge. Because they sought to inherit the throne, they could not allow Ezra to have an overwhelming gap, which in turn caused them to be more serious regarding books, which made them mature faster than their peers, though not as exaggerated as Ezra.


    Like so did things go for another two years, with Ezra bing five years old.


    Kevin''s soul had fully merged with his new body, the blue gem finallypleted its mission, and dissipated while he was sleeping.

 Chapter 5 First Objective

    The instant the blue gem dissipated, Ezra''s body went through a qualitative change while he slept.


    His past-life memories were nowplete and began to arrange in a sequence from the earliest to thest events before his death.


    His soul had be very stable and solid, Kevin Reed and Ezra Miller had truly be one and the same.


    The next minute, Ezra began to grunt while clutching his pillow, ck liquiding out of every pore ever so slowly, his white body became red hot with veins very visible all over his body.


    "Mmmm" Ezra bit his lips so hard it got punctured, but he muffled his grunts of pain and instinctively endured it until he fell unconscious due to the increase in pain.


    ...


    ..


    .


    "Ouch!" Ezra said, immediately clutching his head as it was aching severely. At this time, a familiar voice called out to him.


    "Ezra! You''re awake!"


    Ezra couldn''t register the voice before he felt two arms embracing him.


    The person turned out to be a woman in a noble gown. She had a round face, small jaw, golden long hair, deep blue eyes, moderately endowed in both sides and with a height of 5 foot 7. She was¡­


    "Mom?"


    His mother. The only person who had sincerely cared for him without ulterior motives. The one person he had vowed to protect with this life.


    He looked at her as his head cooled down, and saw her with ck circles under her usually radiant blue eyes. Nevertheless, she didn''t seem to care about such things at all as she barraged him with questions.


    "How is your body?"


    ? "Are you hurt anywhere?"


    "What about your head?"


    "What happened to your eyes and hair?"


    She looked seriously worried asking these questions to an Ezra who was still disoriented. After all, he had his memories as a 52 year old man along with his memories of the past five years cramped up in the mind of a young kid.


    All of these memories were scrambled all over the ce in bits and pieces, and now they wereing together like a puzzle, but instead of a single puzzle, it was like attaching pieces of paper to make a book, and you were to arrange an entire bookshelf!


    This would normally be impossible to do without causing permanent mental damage to even a beginner mage, not to talk of a normal person.


    But Ezra was no normal person, his cognitive abilities were on par with intermediate knights, being mentally 57 years old now, as well as the fact that his brain was enriched with mana stupendously, and his past-life memories had given him enormous mental fortitude.


    This was why his body was still in one piece, but it took all his mental capability to prevent his brain from burning out due to information overload.


    Hence making his brain''s processing speed very slow, like opening ten games at the same time on a single phone. The phone would have to use some portion of its processing power to make sure the games don''t crash the phone, but it causes the phone''s response to be annoyingly slow.


    After a whole minute since his mother asked him questions, he finally answered.


    "My body feels better than before, thank you"


    "My head is the only thing still aching"


    "I''ve answered this question"


    "What happened to my eyes and hair?"


    Ezra answered slowly with his small body still very hot, causing his mother along with the royal healer, who stood patiently waiting for me to get myself together, and a lot of maids to sweat at the increase in temperature.


    A maid brings me a mirror at the order of my mother.


    One look at it and Ezra grew astounded.


    His ck hair became silver and his blue eyes became ck. This happened due to the umtion and condensation of mana in his head, as well as the residue of the dissipated gem.


    Ezra suddenly felt his head be a lot lighter, like a boulder had been cleared from his brain.


    His hot body began to cool down slowly, and as if a thick fog had being lifted, his sight became clear, his earing became clear, and most notably, he felt his body at a degree that it felt surreal, but he was taken out his reverie when the royal healer spoke up.


    "Your Highness, can you exin how you ended up in this state?"


    To which, Ezra replied¡­


    "I''m sorry, you are?"


    "Where are my manners, Hamilton Winc at your service" he said while slightly bowing before standing straight.


    Only then did Ezra take notice of his surroundings, but the first thing that hit him was a nauseating smell.


    He grips his nose and mouth, forcing back the urge to vomit, before looking at his mother and Mr. Hamilton with an incredulous expression, wondering how they could breathe such a horrible smell and still be fine.


    The healer noticed it and chuckled before addressing the matter that seemed to baffle the child.


    "I used a cleaning and detoxification spell on this room, but you have to clean up thoroughly topletely get rid of it"


    I nodded, because the origin of the horrible smell was my body.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Without replying, Ezra ran to wash and cleanse his body.


    His mother couldn''t help but chuckle seeing her son act in such a way, before moving out of Ezra''s room along with the healer.


    -----------


    "Haaah"


    Ezra couldn''t help but sigh in relief after washing his body of the nauseating smell before hastily moving to dress up.


    While doing so, he began to examine his body and couldn''t help but feel energized, invigorated, like a car whose engine was upgraded. And it didn''t take him much to figure out why.


    His mana pathways had opened up, allowing him to passively absorb mana, albeit in little quantities, and like a chain reaction, his physique was further elevated in numerous ways.


    His skull became harder, his hearing became better, his eyes allowed him to view things from further away, his bones, harder, and his skin, unblemished.


    Yet, the best of all was his cognitive ability increase, his brain became better, and more importantly, he could now remember his past-life memories in chronological order without as much as a hitch.


    Upon discovering it, his eyes became nk and his body stiffed for more than a minute before reverting back to its ck color.


    "Haaa¡­Haaa¡­Haaa"


    Ezra breathed heavily with sweat all over his forehead and his hand on his chest before sitting on his bed, his brain going through all sorts of thoughts which caused his demeanor to constantly change for over five minutes before gradually settling down.


    His eyes had a dangerous glint and his mouth formed a wicked grin soon after with multiple thoughts going through his head.


    ''Those guys, if I am right, should be around my age, no, maybe younger, hmm, wait, what year is this?''


    He grabbed a book nearby, quickly flipping the pages beforeing to a halt.


    ''It''s 1705'' he thought, before it suddenly hit him.


    ''1705!''


    ''But I was born five years from now in my past life, right?'' he thought, trying to make sense of what he was seeing before suddenly face-palming himself.


    ''I''m such an idiot. I was born five years from now, but I also wasn''t born in a castle in myst life. Let''s go over this again just to be sure''


    Ezra closed his eyes, as he uses his newly upgraded cognitive abilities to view the events of his past-life as if he was watching a movie, only that it was being fast-forwarded at a breakneck speed before turning ck and resuming with the vision of a baby.


    Ezra opened his eyes as he ascertained many things but questioned many more.


    Firstly, counting his current age, he had somehow ended up being born ten years before he was born in hisst life.


    Moreover, he found that he was born in this same empire in hisst-life, but as the son of a peasant in a rural vige.


    Do note that although he had his past-life memories since age 1, he couldn''t make any sense of most of it at the time, as it came like pieces of a page. Only with his memoryplete did he now understand.


    At this moment, he wanted to scream, to look for his subordinates which had died while fighting alongside him, to head out and behead both the friend as well as the one whom he pledged his allegiance to that betrayed him, but he kept it in, he kept it all in.


    His brain filled with thoughts once again.


    He had somehow reincarnated, that he was sure of.


    He was now a prince of the world''s biggest empire, yes, but that wouldn''t stop him from taking his revenge on all those who betrayed him.


    He now had a mother, one who would go to any lengths for him and this was the most concerning. He couldn''t just leave her, for he had seen her cry, smile, andugh so many times because of him.


    If he did go to take revenge, would his mother follow him? And if she didn''t, would he abandon her?


    All these thoughts and many more were going through his head at this moment.


    If he did leave, would he be able to guarantee sess in his revenge?


    After all, these were nobles of the most powerful empire in the world, and worse, at the top of the list was a man who was an Emperor, well he would be a prince as of now. But that didn''t change the fact that he was a bonafide member of the royal family.


    Thinking up to this point, Ezra couldn''t help but sigh.


    He was getting way ahead of himself at this point. A five year old boy trying to kill a prince of the most powerful continent. Anyone who knew what he was thinking would call him out as a King of madmen.


    ''Hmm, the fact that he is a member of the royal family is extremely unnerving'' he thought before something clicked.


    ''Wait a minute, aren''t I a prince too? Am I not also a member of a royal family? Of the biggest Empire to boot?''


    His mouth once again stretched into a wicked grin as he changed his way of thinking.


    ''As a prince, I can seed the Emperor bing one myself and use this empire to fulfill my revenge''.


    ''With the knowledge I have of the future, I''m sure I can raise the empire''s fighting power at least three-fold''


    At this moment, Ezra Miller set his first objective, which was to be the next Emperor of Niton.


    At that moment¡­


    *Knock¡­Knock*


    Someone knocked on his room''s door.

 Chapter 6 Relatives

    *Knock Knock*


    The sound of someone knocking got Ezra out of his reverie, prompting him to action as he dressed up with haste.


    After putting on a ck coat and trousers, he told the guest toe in.


    "Oh Mrs. Isabelle, it''s you?"


    An elderly maid in her 30''s, not short but not tall either, came into view. She had brown hair with strands of white and brown eyes to match.


    "Huh? What''s that supposed to mean?" She asked with a scowl on her face.


    Seeing such a thing, Ezra began to make amicable expressions.


    "Why, I just thought such a hardworking miss such as you would by mother''s side"


    "Tsk, your tongue is better at sweet talking everyday" she said, but her facial expression softened up a little.


    "Anyway, I came by to inform you that breakfast would be served in ten minutes. Now that you know, my work here is done".


    She said so and, without waiting for anotherment from Ezra, went out of the room.


    Ezra could only chuckle bitterly at the sequence of events.


    That was Mrs. Isabelle, his mother''s personal maid and most-trusted advisor, a woman who could read and write, as well as a teacher/disciplinarian to Ezra. And most importantly, one of the few people who actually cared for him.


    A caring woman who acts harsh on the outside but is very soft on the inside.


    As a child, she was the one who took care of him along with his mother from day one. One of the few he would help when he had built up enough strength, as for how? He was already making ns in his head.


    *aaak!*


    We see a tall white door pushed open to the view of an expansive hall whose floors wereid with red carpets with golden embroidery, an adequately long table with a white color lighter than that of the doores into sight. Laid on it were golden utensils as well as t silver tes and some covered tes with a pleasing aromaing from them.


    Yet, despite such a sight of grandeur, Ezra''s face scrunched up as if he had stepped on shit.


    Why so?


    Well, that had to do with the six people seated in pairs on the white chairs at each side along the table.


    They were his so-called step-mothers and brothers, to him though, they were disgusting individuals whose arrogance and greed knew no bounds.


    They had tried to kill him and his mother multiple times since birth, through poisoning, bribing maids to kill him when the opportunity came and many more, but he managed to foil them.


    Tension was rising in the air as they all looked at Ezra, his three step-moms especially, their eyes mirrored out their hatred, a thing which Ezra had yet to understand till this day.


    After all, weren''t they the ones trying to kill him for no good reason? Shouldn''t he be the one that''s angry? The ones at fault were the ones angry, it couldn''t be more baffling.


    ''They were probably wishing I died of the illness'' Ezra was sure as he thought so, for these mothers were doing whatever it took to put their son as the next Emperor.


    Then he looked at his three elder brothers, who had eyes full of hostilities.


    Triton, the son of the first wife, the crown prince for short, was just ten years old, with the height of 4''7, short gold hair, round jaw line and blue eyes like his mother''s.


    Next to him was Connor, the second prince at eight years of age, with a height of 4''6, long brown hair, golden eyes and a round jaw.


    Andstly, we have Jordan, the third prince, with a height of 4''5 at seven years of age with short light yellow hair, brown eyes and a curved jaw line.


    And then there was him, Ezra, the fourth prince and the most popr child in the Empire, the boy with many names like "Child of mana" because he felt mana from age three, the young man, because of his unnatural mature behavior and the most notable being, "Genius of a millennium".


    With a height of 4''6 at five years of age, with newly gained short silver hair, ck eyes and a curved jawline.


    All in all, the four princes of the Niton Empire were handsome to a fault.


    ''Now that I look at it, I look nothing like father, hmm, unless I tell someone, they most-likely wouldn''t make such a connection''


    ''This might prove useful for my future ns'' Ezra thought to himself.


    Thirty seconds went by with Ezra and the three pairs staring at each other, the air being silent as if scared, an eerie silence filled the dining hall, before¡­


    "Ezra"


    A voice Ezra couldn''t miss called out.


    He looked away from the disgusting pairs and saw his mother seated a length away, before hastily moving towards her and taking a seat at the opposite side of the table.


    Her eye bags were nowhere to be seen as she beamed a heartwarming smile at Ezra.


    "How are you feeling?" she asked with a toneced with concern.


    "I''m feeling a lot better, so you need not worry"


    She stared at him for a few seconds, before yielding with an "Ok, but be careful".


    He nodded to affirm her words.


    ''She must have been very scared those three days, because I''ve only ever been ill twice since birth, though it wasn''t so surprising considering I felt mana at age three and both times had been the result of food poisoning. She must have thought the same thing happened this time as well, before the healer reassured her''


    I thought about all this with my eyes darting around, I could see my brothers doing the same.


    You see, we don''t normally eat like this, separate smaller dining rooms are what we use on most days, because if I had sat with these disgusting people every day, we would have strangled ourselves at this point.


    But the only reason why all the sons and mothers woulde to sit at the same table on a day without any special events¡­there was only one.


    As my thoughts got to this stage¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Rise for the Emperor" the royal-advisor cried out to get our attention as we hastily stood up.


    A man with long gold hair and beard which were filled with strands of white, indicating his old age, wearing a coat made from a feral lion, which was practically reeking of majesty, stepped into the dining hall, before taking a seat at the table''s extreme end.


    Only then did we sit down, with maids removing the te covers to reveal a variety of dishes, after all, the Emperor eating wasn''t amon asion.


    This was due to his level of power.


    ''Has he be a grandmaster? No, it''s¡­maybe a great knight or Grand knight'' Ezra thought, after all he had seen the power of a grandmaster once in his past life, and the aura he emanated wasn''t anywhere near it.


    For the next five minutes, only the sound of cutlery moving and cutting could be heard as we all waited for the real reason for this gathering.


    After all, even if he wanted to eat, there wasn''t any real need to have called for everyone toe together.


    So that meant he either had something to announce or a verdict to give.


    The other wives were thinking the same thing, while the other boys hadn''t grown enough to think suchplicated thoughts.


    I was carefully watching the Emperor''s movements, trying to see if I could discern any sort of behavioral pattern like I did with my mom, step-moms and brothers, but I couldn''t find any trace of such a thing, only grace and regality.


    It sounded absurd for sure, but this was the only way to describe it.


    ''I need to find out more about the Emperor, it''s going to be needed if I am to seed him'' I thought as I kept stealing nces every once in a while.


    The silence continued until the Emperor spoke, or should I say, called out.


    "Ezra"


    ''My name? Why is he calling me?!'' I almost freaked out before I calmed down and answered, after all, I knew I hadn''t done anything wrong and it''s not like he could read minds right? Well I hope he couldn''t.


    "Yes, your Majesty"


    "Call me Father"


    "Yes, Father"


    "Good" he said as he continued.


    "The royal healer informed me of your illness, and that your body released a ck substance, is this true?"


    ''Why are you asking me a question you know the answer to?'' I asked inwardly and answered.


    "Yes Father" I said, wondering where this was going before I saw something crazy.


    My father had a smile on his face.


    This was something I had never seen on his face, though I should mention that I had only seen him five times in the past five years, well, six with this encounter.


    My father, who had no idea what I was thinking, continued.


    "Well, you might not know the significance of such a thing, but that''s expected" he paused, then continued¡­


    "That body of ours is unique and the envy of others, so I cannot allow it to rot in this castle any longer" he paused again.


    "How would you like to begin the study of Magic?"


    When the Emperor dropped this question, I momentarily froze with my mind going into overdrive, multiple thoughts went and came as I stood expressionless for a good thirty-seconds before¡­instead of answering, I threw a question of my own.


    "Will I still be able to practice swordsmanship if I do so, Father?"


    When I looked at the faces of my mom and step-moms, they all had shocked expressions, which only made me sure that the situation wasn''t normal, nevertheless, I forged on. I had already said this much so I couldn''t stop now.


    Yet, contrary to my expectations, I didn''t hear any scolding, nor did I see him frown, instead¡­


    "Hahahaha" a boisterousugh like thunder echoed throughout the Miller castle causing the knights, maids and anybody else nearby to almost have a heart attack.


    "Hmm, that''s a very good question" the Emperor answered in a loud tone, oblivious to the havoc he caused, but well, even if he knew, he wouldn''t bat an eyelid at the death of a few nobodies. His thoughts churned as he gazed at the boy who looked nothing like him, but was his son, no doubt.


    ''Most children jump at such offers because they are easily captivated by the grandiose illusion of magic. And yet¡­he wants to practice swordsmanship?'' he thought, baffled by it all.


    ''Well then, shall I test him some more?'' the Emperor hadn''t got such a goodugh in years, and he hoped that this wasn''t the end of it.


    "What do you think is the answer to such a question?" he asked.


    ''If I knew, which I do, would I have asked you?'' Ezra couldn''t be more annoyed at the question and answer session before it clicked in.


    ''He most likely doesn''t expect a mature answer, soo, he''s testing me?'' As Ezra got this point, heposed himself, before throwing out yet another question.


    "I do not know father, as I have yet to rue any experience beyond the people of this castle, and the books of the library, which is why I need someone as knowledgeable as you to help show me the way, Father"


    And then¡­


    "Hahaha, of course you do, you''re definitely my son, that''s for sure" he said in another thunderous echo that caused those nearby to curse.


    The Emperor finally settled down, gazing at the boy for a minute, because he saw his younger self in him, well, not the five year old him, but eighteen years old him.


    A five year old child talking like an eighteen year old.


    ''It seems my days won''t be too boring after all'' he concluded, before clearing his throat as he moved to exin things to his ever-so-curious child.


    "You see¡­"

 Chapter 7 Mana, Mages And Knights

    "You see, master mages and master Knights are like two sides of a coin"


    "They both essentially utilize mana, but their way of utilization is what makes them different" the Emperor said before pausing, as he saw his other sons listening with rapt attention but with weird faces, before it suddenly clicked.


    ''They''re essentially kids at the core, so I''ll have to make the example simple, but¡­how exactly?'' the Emperor found himself stumped as something that should be theoretically easy became very hard.


    ''Hmm, this should work''


    He paused to check his idea and it seemed simple enough, and like so, the Emperor began lecture 101.


    "Do you know what mana is?" he probed, wanting to know how much he would have to exin, as well as check on how knowledgeable they each were.


    "It is a basic form of energy that exists in all things living" a sharp answer came shortly after and surprisingly it wasn''t Ezra, but Triton, who was currently ring at Ezra feelingpetitive.


    "It''s what mages use to cast all kinds of spells and a bunch of other stuff" Connor answered before beaming a proud smile.


    "It''s what makes people stronger" Jordan said, as the Emperor''s first three wives eyes darted towards the silver-haired boy who had now sat down, waiting for which answer would this so-called geniuse forth with, and thankfully, they didn''t have to wait long.


    "It''s a tool for all uses"


    Surprisingly, they didn''t hear an entire paragraph of words from the library books he used to read, but a sentence with concise words that left even the Emperor baffled yet again.


    "Ezra, can you repeat that statement and exin it?" the Emperor asked out of curiosity.


    "Yes, father, I can" he paused after saying so before moving on.


    "I said that mana is a tool for all intents and purposes"


    "As I said, it is a tool with theoretically infinite uses, it can make a Knight powerful enough to y a demon king, and make a mage powerful to defeat that already powerful knight"


    "It can be used to smoothen houses, make better food and to a point, extend your life-span"


    "It can be used to elerate the human healing process, saving uncountable lives"


    "It can be attached to a piece of weaponry, taking many lives in the process"


    "But at the end of it all, it is but a tool without a mind of its own, and anyone can use it. Talent, wealth and effort are what determine how much a person can use, and how well he can use it"


    "How did I do, father?"


    He looked to see his father nkly staring at him slowly opening his mouth.


    "Hoooo¡­" he slowly exhaled before answering.


    "You did well, very well" he said while monitoring Ezra''s response.


    "It is an honor, father" Ezra answered while lightly nodding.


    "Hmm, seeing as how you understand mana so well, it seems I won''t need to make unnecessary examples"


    "Now, what is a Knight?" he asked.


    ''He seems a bit flustered, I guess it would be normal considering that I answered his questions beyond his expectations. I''ll have to limit myself so I don''t scare him too much. This should be enough to show my worth and potential" Ezra thought while making a gesture as if he was remembering something.


    "Well¡­they are people who use swords, shields and other types of hand-held weapons, who are appointed by nobles to guard their territories" he said, answering it half-way, and lo and behold, the Emperor smiled, thinking that his monstrous son was still a child after all.


    He then proceeded to exin.


    "Son, you are half-right and half-wrong" he paused before continuing.


    "They are what you say they are, but that''s not what makes them Knights, like you said, mana is a tool, a means to an end, but you need some qualifications to use it. Those who meet those qualifications and advance their mastery over mana using hand-held weapons are then termed knights" he paused to allow his son to digest the information, at this point, he had forgotten about his other sons since it was easier to exin it to Ezra.


    "But don''t forget that even within Knights, some are strong enough to split mountains in half while some can only cut a tree in half, do you know the cause of this?"


    Ezra nodded but before he could talk, someone else answered.


    "Father, is it because the mana they have isn''t the same?"


    Ezra looked to the side only to see Triton ring at him with his chest puffed out.


    A ridiculous expression appeared on Ezra''s face after which heughed, before going back to his normal demeanor. But what he did only served to enrage Triton further. Before he could do anything stupid, the voice of the Emperor was heard.


    "Triton" was the only word he said, and Triton''s anger immediately deted as if it was never there.


    Seeing that the situation had settled, the Emperor picked up where he left off.


    "Triton, your answer is correct, and because of that, the list of stages was made for both Knights and Mages, starting from the Novice stage, all the way to Grandmaster stage, or ranks as some call it."


    "Hmm, what stage is father at?" Ezra asked, trying to get some information, s he was bound to be disappointed.


    "Oh, you''ll get to know in due time, just know that your father is VERY strong" the Emperor said, particrly stressing the "very" part.


    Ezra knew asking twice might ruin the mood, so he changed the question.


    "So father, would I be able to be a Mage and a Knight?"


    "You can, but it''s not advisable. A Knight''s ultimate path is to be one with his weapon, while a mage''s path is the study of magic and seeking of the ultimate truth"


    "It has been said that there was once a man who had seeded inbining the two, but that was centuries ago and no one knows what technique he used. All those who tried after him ended up with a wide range of attacks but very low mastery, so they ended up being mediocre, which is why such a thing is strongly discouraged"


    "Do you now understand?"


    "Yes, father" both Ezra and Triton answered simultaneously.


    "Now that you have understood, which path do you wish to take, a Mage or a Knight?"


    "Can I think about it some more, father?" Triton asked.


    "Of course, but you have at maximum a year to decide" the Emperor said, before turning towards his most intriguing son, waiting for a response.


    "Father" Ezra called out slowly, to which the Emperor quickly answered.


    "Yes, son?"


    "I have made my choice"<novelnext></novelnext>


    When Ezra said those words, the Emperor couldn''t help but frown, as he thought¡­


    ''Hmm, it seems at his core, he''s still a child. I can''t let him make such an important decision on Impulse. I''ll test and then correct him, yes, that should make him understand how important a decision he his making''


    "Ezra" the Emperor called.


    "Yes, father"


    "Do you understand what you''re saying?"


    "I think I do, but maybe I don''t, would father care to exin it to me" Ezra said his carefully crafted words to avoid ruining the mood.


    All this time, the Emperor''s wives hadn''t said a word, only watching the duo of father and son converse while their minds were calcting possible consequences of things.


    But a thin smile could be seen on the face of Gwendolyn, the second and Valencia, the third wife, whose sons were not old enough to understand such topics, while Ezra''s mother, Kiara, and the first wife, Beatrice, sat with nk expressions, their thoughts unknown.


    "Ok, this is a decision that once made, you would most likely stay on throughout your life till the day you die"


    "It affects everything about you, your reputation, your public image, your way of life to be exact. Do you now understand?"


    "I think I do, father, but can I ask a question?"


    "Of course you can"


    "Ok father, is a Mage stronger than a Knight?" this question only deepened the Emperor''s frown even more, which in turn deepened his wives'' smiles.


    Yet, nevertheless, the Emperor still provided an answer.


    "Such a thing is only applicable at the lower stages of power, because once you reach a certain level, there is no determiner of who is stronger except through a demonstration of ability and talent"


    "Do you understand?" Ezra noticed the Emperor didn''t say son at the end, which meant he was displeased or disappointed or both, but that wouldn''t stop him.


    "So I just have to be powerful enough, is that it?"


    "Excuse me?" the Emperor couldn''t understand.


    "Reputation, public image, money and all that stuff, I just have to be powerful enough to have it all? Is that what you''re saying?"


    The Emperor becamepletely silent for a whole minute before¡­


    "Hahaha¡­Hahaha, you are definitely my son!" another boomingughter echoed out, this one louder than thest, causing multiple deaths by heart-attacks, which in turn caused chaos in the streets of the capital.


    "Haaa" the Emperor finally stoppedughing as he flicked away a tear drop on his left-eye.


    Honestly, this youngest son of his was too interesting, there was only one person he knew to answer such a question in an unexinable manner, and that was¡­


    ''Me'' the Emperor himself, at the time of his youth.


    Heughed because Ezra reminded him of himself at a young age.


    ''I thought he chose on impulse, but it seems that he has matured beyond his age'' as he thought this, he looked at his three other sons who were all staring at him before looking at his youngest.


    ''Things are going to get interesting soon'' he thought.


    Yet, what he saw was not the look of a five year old boy, but that of a man with utmost conviction, and that broke the camel''s back.


    The Emperor was now sure, yet baffled at the same time, that¡­


    ''He has chosen his path, and is ready to follow through with it''


    His son had taken his first step to bing a man.


    "Hooo" the Emperor couldn''t help but sigh deeply. His youngest had surprised him one too many times today, and he couldn''t remember thest time heughed.


    He didn''t know at the moment, but his mouth had formed a wicked grin, exposing his white teeth with the look of a predator.


    He was about to continue when the royal advisor stepped to his side and whispered in his ear.


    As he did so, the Emperor''s grin slowly vanished till his face formed into a deep frown.


    "Can''t you postpone it?" he asked out loud.


    "But sir, you had done so four times already, it wouldn''t do the Empire''s image any good to do so again" the royal advisor whispered, before taking a step back and standing behind him.


    The atmosphere slowly froze as the Emperor wondered if he should just break the table, fortunately, patience pulled through as he decided against it, before issuing an order to the royal advisor.


    "Tell him I''ll be there in ten, no, fifteen minutes"


    "Yes, your majesty" the advisor said as he went to deliver the message.


    ''I only called for a family meeting to check their progress, but to think I''d find something this interesting, well, I guess it''s time to wrap this up''


    "Son, it seems my time is up, but before I go, I want to hear your answer?"


    Ezra took a deep breath before answering confidently.


    "I choose the path of a Knight"


    "Very well then, you''ll have to stick to it till you die"


    "I know and I ept"


    The Emperor nodded at his youngest as a sign of approval.


    He figured that words were no more needed at this point as the father and son duo stared at each other.


    "Well then, I guess I''ll have to go, make sure not to disappoint me" the Emperor said, standing up from his seat as he moved out of the dining hall, before abruptly turning to face Ezra.


    ''Did I have too much fun? Oh well, I think I should give him a gift for making meugh so well'' he thought.


    "Ezra, since you have chosen your path, you are allowed into the treasury to pick anything of your choice"


    The hall became as silent as a graveyard at this moment.

 Chapter 8 The Gift

    *Gasp*


    Loud gasps were unterally heard from all three Empresses, shock evident on their faces, even the first wife.


    They looked at the Emperor, before facing Ezra with scrutinizing gazes of envy.


    But the boy himself waspletely silent with multiple thoughts going through his mind.


    You couldn''t me him, the offer was just that good.


    The treasury the Emperor mentioned was like the bank of the entire Empire and much more.


    Royal heirlooms from generations, mana techniques and artifacts up to tinum rank, tinum and gold coins of an unimaginable amount, mana and magic weapons of different types, all were kept there.


    It was in and of itself a literal goldmine, and while Ezra''s head was busy calcting how to get the best out of such an opportunity, the Emperor''s voice rang out once more.


    "You are allowed to take a single mana technique of your liking, as for what that is, yourbat instructor will teach you"


    Ezra raised his head and asked¡­


    "Combat Instructor?"


    The Emperor was almostughing once again. His son didn''t think about the treasures or techniques, but the word "Combat instructor". He was too much like his younger self, and this was why he was willing to give him such an opportunity.


    "Yes, I forgot to mention, you are going to start training that body of yours from next week" he said before a baffling reply came.


    "Can it be shortened to three dayster?"


    "Ha-ha, of course, and I wasn''t done talking" the Emperor said before pausing to build up tension, and it worked.


    The empresses were already thinking of ways to make sure Ezra failed by stagnating his growth or killing him whenever the opportunity showed itself, while also marking out powerful nobles they would call to pressure the Emperor into giving their own son''s such treatment, but their thoughts came to a standstill hearing the emperor''sst words.


    The emperor, who didn''t even spare them a single nce then continued.


    "You have the ability to ask for one thing to be given to you, while I hold the right to determine whether or not such a thing shall be granted" he paused again, before turning towards his three wives and saying¡­


    "All my sons shall have the same treatment of picking anything in the treasury as well as a suitable mana technique when they chose their path, whatever it may be"


    Only then did the tumbling hearts of the three empresses calm down to a suitable level, but the emperor had already ignored them and was awaiting Ezra''s answer to his third gift.


    The boy in question had his thoughts be chaotic as it was just too much, but managed to calm down, before rationally dissecting the situation and came to two conclusions.


    ''It''s a test as well as a trap''


    Yes, this was the meaning of this whole scenario. Ezra had seen from all his conversations so far that his father was always testing him, throwing different hurdles to ovee.


    He almost failed when he was picking his path, but luckily pulled through by giving an answer that wasn''t an answer.


    Now he was given three so-called gifts that would spike the greed of man, making it hard to think, but what he knew was¡­


    ''Father is ruthless in his evaluations''


    Yes, that was it, his fathers was testing him relentlessly to know the limit of his insights or short-sightedness. One wrong answer could spoil the image he had built up till now.


    ''If so¡­then I''ll just use the same trick'' Ezra firmed himself and stood up to face his father with a confident gait, before answering¡­


    "I thank the emperor for his offer, but I have to say that all three gifts are life-changing and with immeasurable importance"


    "Hmm" the emperor only nodded as a sign for him to continue.


    "And so, such life-changing matters are to be dealt with patience and knowledge, with this, I ask for the emperor''s permission to postpone the day I collect each gift" Ezra replied, and a boomingughter came right after.


    "Hahaha, of course you do, very greedy, I see"


    "Aren''t we all? The weak can only make the best of every opportunity after all"


    "Hmm" the emperor nodded, neither affirming nor denying the statement, before he spoke¡­


    "You have two, no, three months to select or decide on your three gifts, meet the royal advisor for the third gift, and if you''re still hesitant after that, the three gifts will be forfeited" the Emperor ced down his verdict before finally going out of the dining hall.


    "Thank you, father"


    "Don''t thank me, it is the fruit of your efforts and your worth that won you those gifts, and if you want more¡­well, for one, try not to disappoint me, and do not forget that I can take those gifts within the next one and a half year if I see fit. So, I''ll say it again, try not to disappoint me, for I''ll be looking forward to your progress these next few months. Surprise me well enough, and I might surprise you"


    "I will do my- no, I will do as much as is needed to be done to avoid bing a disappointment" Ezra said with a small pause.


    "Farewell, father" but he never got an answer as the Emperor walked out like he hadn''t heard, but had someone looked closely, they would have seen a thick smile on the Emperor''s face.


    As soon as the Emperor left, the wives and children looked at each other. This dinner had be so eventful that the empresses forgot their appetite, and so, without saying a word, each empress hastily stood up, took her son''s hands, before moving out of the hall to their respective rooms.


    Schemes and plots going through their minds as to make use of any means necessary to slow down Ezra''s growth.


    For the first five years, the empresses were looking at him as a slightly talented boy who experienced a mental growth spurt. Now, they had designated him a threat to their ns going forward, and they would have to do something about him.


    He couldn''t be allowed to develop freely, else their sons would be in serious danger by the time he grew up.


    And so, they set out, each using her own means to create different schemes, as well as brush up their sons, because with such an anomaly as youngest, their son''s future was now at stake, so they would have to mature faster in hopes of not allowing the formation of an insurmountable gap in levels of power.


    As for the mother of the child being schemed against¡­


    She was moving hastily to her room while pulling Ezra by his arm.


    *Click* *Baam*


    The door was opened, then closed with force.


    Ezra looked at his mother''s face, only to see a face full of wrath and worry.


    It seemed she wanted to say something, but didn''t know where to begin.


    Seeing his mother in such a state, Ezra pulled her close and embraced her, well, just her hips because he was short.


    "You! You! What do you think you''re doing? Do you have any idea what you have gotten yourself into? Those witches already hate you, but now you gave them a reason to kill you? Why did you do it? Answer me!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    She spoke in an aggrieved tone, as tears came out from her eyes towards the end of her sentence.


    "I don''t have backer''s like they do, I only have one person in all of nobility, I-I"


    Her voice quivered but she continued on.


    "I don''t know if I can protect you from ''them'', but I don''t want to lose you, like I lost everyone else"


    She said with her eyes red from tears, but when she looked at her son with her face plunged in the depths of despair¡­she found her son smiling.


    Smiling, as he used his finger to wipe away her tears. He made her sit beside him on the bed, before he began to talk¡­


    "Mom, you know what is not fair?"


    His question perplexed her, but she answered no less.


    "What is?"


    "Well, everything. Different demarcations that themon man is ruled by, talent, skill, wealth and so on, but what it mostly not fair is that my mother doesn''t believe in me"


    "You want to protect me with every fiber of your being. Why don''t you let me do the same? You want to avoid the pain of losing me at any cost. Why do you think I want anything different?"


    "But mother, do you really think this is the best way we can live?"


    "Running from fear of our enemies every time, avoiding their gazes, taking their insults and attacks when we did nothing to deserve it?"


    "No, we can''t keep living like this, because this isn''t living, we''re only surviving day after day"


    "Being patient is a virtue, but can only be a virtue when used in moderation"


    "Mom, we''re done being patient, scared and hopeless"


    "It''s time to take the fight to them. So tell me mom, are we pushovers that''ll allow any street rat to walk over us?"


    "No"


    "I can''t hear you?"


    "No!"


    "What did you say?"


    "Nooo!"


    All her inner fury came out as she screamed till she was satisfied.


    "Are we country bumpkins that''ll let some dirty old hags turn us down?"


    "No"


    "So, mom, we can''t be afraid of tomorrow, or we will never really live, we need to embrace it"


    "Em-Embrace it?" she asked bewildered. She never had someone to teach her such things because of her background as a maid.


    "Yes mom, embrace the future, as it takes us throughwns and thorns, but even then, there is only one thing that can grant our survival"


    He paused.


    "Which is?" his mom asked, annoyed at the suspense.


    "Strength, mom, overwhelming strength"


    "Only with more than enough personal strength will we be able to survive in this world of hyenas"


    "Personal strength, financial strength, and an outstanding reputation"


    "These three things are the only things that can guarantee our survival in the days toe"


    "Yet I know it won''t be easy, not at all, but with enough talent, effort and a little luck, I shall gain these three things and protect you. And this¡­this is just the beginning"


    "We shall pay back our pain twofold when the timees, so I need you to-mmm" before Ezra could say thest word, he found his mother covering his mouth with her hand, her tears had dried, and her beaming smile back in its ce, before she started speaking¡­


    "I trust you Ezra. I always did and still do, but I guess even I forget how special a boy you are. Would you forgive your mother for acting so embarrassing and uncultured?"


    "Mmmm" Ezra grunted while nodding his head.


    "Oh, sorry about that" she said, quickly releasing his mouth.


    Yet, he hugged her again with his head on her stomach before saying¡­


    "Of course I do mom, after all, it''s your job to worry about me"


    "Hmm, is that so? I didn''t know"


    "Mom, we''ll survive thising storm, I promise you"


    "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say"


    He detached the hug before taking a serious demeanor which caused his mother tough.


    *Clears throat*


    "So, this is what we''ll need to do¡­"


    And so Ezra began to break down his ns to his mother.


    ------------


    This is the beginning of Ezra''s journey, as for where it would lead to? We can only read to find out.

 Chapter 9 A Mothers Conviction

    "So, mom, this is what we''ll need to do¡­"


    Ezra began to exin key things needed for them to survive theing storm.


    "You need to start building a faction in earnest, and what we need isn''t necessarily powerful nobles, look for wives and concubines like you, who are being suppressed because of their humble background, the key qualification being their loyalty"


    "This will act as a body for us to influence the circle of nobles" Ezra said.


    "But those witches won''t just sit down and watch us create such a thing, not to mention that the noble wives won''t stand for it, and what would be the aim of this faction?"


    His mom pointed out the obvious problems in such a n, after all, the empresses treated her like trash, it was easy to imagine them using all sorts of schemes to stop women who they deemed as peasants from establishing a stable foothold, especially when one imagined what such a faction would mean.


    It would be giving peasant wives as well as concubines power and backing they sorely needed, which the nobles never wanted to see.


    "Son, if the nobles get a whiff of such a thing, we could be beheaded!"


    Low-ss Nobles were scared, if anything, of the strength ofmoners, which was why they oppressed and suppressed them at every turn.


    So such a faction could easily give them a reason to start a mass killing in the name of culling a rebellion before it started, or some other crazy excuse, just to make sure it never happens.


    "I know and I have thought of all those things. The process will naturally be slow, because we wouldn''t want a traitor in our midst, as for how we would take action without arousing suspicion, I naturally have a n for that too"


    "But the first thing thriving faction needs is a strong and capable leader, because that is the bridge that would hold the various members together"


    Ezra then pointed at his mother as he continued.


    "You will be that leader, and thankfully, there is no better candidate than the wife of the emperor to take the reins in a faction, but to make sure that the formed organization is firm, you need to be stronger"


    "That means¡­"


    "Yes, you need to start learning bothbat and mana techniques. While it is true that you have long past the age for such a thing, it is very much possible for you to be a Peak-rank Expert with appropriate measures, as for what measures those will be? I''ll handle it. And before you ask, no, it''s not something evil or rted to demons in anyway, do you believe me?"


    "Of course I do, if I don''t, who else would?"


    "Thank you for trusting me, you only need to choose a weapon, and I''ll look for an appropriate technique. As for a trainer, I will naturally handle that too, in two months maximum"


    Ezra assured his mother with utmost confidence, yet paused to see her reaction.


    His mother could only smile at the insight and ingenuity of her son, yet also worry at the same time.


    Seeing this, Ezra asked worriedly.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "If I start trainingbat and mana techniques, those three witches won''t stand still"


    "Ah, right, first, I''m going to re-arrange all of your knight guards and maids. Most of them are working for those witches"


    "Hmm" his mom nodded in affirmation. Naturally, she wasn''t stupid, how else could poison get into their foods time and time again?


    "The witches might try to make a fuss, but in the end, it''s your business not theirs, and if they take it a step further, we''ll hit back twice as hard"


    "For now, you just keep a low profile, keep doing what you normally do, and take some Viernguage sses as well as noble etiquette while preferably reading a lot of books"


    "You need it if you are to go head to head against those three in the future. I will also pick out a new etiquette teacher, you need to start acting like an empress, so your temperament and behavior need to take a massive change. You need to make those three very ufortable, so that they might overthink things, which would lead to taking rash decisions, which will cause them to make mistakes"


    "The more mistakes they make, the more weaknesses we can exploit, the better thing are for us, and it will also provide a smokescreen and pull their attention away from what we are really doing"


    "It won''t be easy, but it''ll be worth it, because by the time they get a glimpse of what we are up to, it''ll already be toote"


    At this point, his mom''s mouth had formed an O, at the grand schemes his son was cooking up.


    Well, she couldn''t know that her son hadmanded knights as well as used mind boggling tactics in various wars.


    Nevertheless, Ezra also felt pride seeing how awed his mother was, before he continued speaking¡­


    "Naturally, I''ll do some things on my part to provide assistance"


    "So, I guess that''s all, I''ll look for a suitable mana technique during the next two months. If I don''t find one, we''ll have to ask the count to provide assistance"


    "I need to organize some things on my part, I''ll be leaving now"


    Ezra said as he stood up slowly and walked to his personal room. He figured his mom would need some time to herself, after all, the n he proposed was so grand that it was literally mind-blowing for someone like her.


    But he also understood that the stakes were sky-high, like she had said, should the noble ss catch a whiff of what they were nning, they were sure to be killed.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Yet, she also knew that the rewards should she seed would make the sheer amount of effort worth it.


    She had spent too many years scared of those bitches who keep trying to kill her and her son even though they did nothing to warrant it. And now, her dreams were about toe true, she could break the chains that the name "Maid" had bonded to her.


    She knew that such an opportunity was one in a hundred, if not one in a thousand. Who knew when such a chance woulde again? And of course, the one who had brought forward this daring n was none other than her son. How could she let him brave such dangers alone? She wouldn''t be able to live with herself if she did so.


    She had shown a pathetic side of her to her son once already, how could she do it again?


    And in this moment, she made up her mind, she would rather die standing than live kneeling. It was time for those three bitches to know who they were messing with.


    She had been oppressed and terrorized for too long, and enough was enough. And so the words of her son rang in her ears.


    "Strength, I need strength"


    Yet, for her dreams to even remotelye true, she needed enough strength to demand respect, fear and authority.


    She clenched her small fists as she said¡­


    "It won''t be easy but¡­"


    When she said these words, she suddenly had a thought¡­


    ''It''s better than living like this''


    Yes, anything would be better than living like she currently did. She had no purpose, no cause, no friends, always scared, always hiding.


    Well, until she gave birth. She could remember vividly like it was yesterday.


    She had known, something within her had known that her boy would be special, but as he grew up, it seemed even that something hadn''t known just how special he would be.


    She remembered his small body that seemed more fragile than ss, and she felt her will ignite on that day.


    A will to protect the fragile child in front of her, yet, she didn''t think that her child would have the same feeling.


    As she thought of this, sheughed.


    ''Who would believe that he''s just five?''


    It was absurd that a five year old boy could out-scheme some of the Empire''s best schemers.


    But she could only ept it, for he was her child, and her child was just that special.


    It left a bittersweet taste in her mouth though, that the world hadn''t been good to him, causing him to grow too quickly.


    ''But this isn''t the time for such thoughts'' she shook her head as she reminded herself.


    She could only look forward to the future, while trying not to leave any regrets. And there couldn''t be a better way to do that, than to support her son.


    Yet, at that moment, something came to mind.


    ''Why did he ask me to study Vier?''


    She could understand the rest, but she couldn''t understand why she needed to learn thenguage of another empire, and one on another continent at that.


    ''Oh well, I don''t know what''s going on in that head of his, but he must have said so for a reason'' she thought, throwing the question to the back of her mind.


    What mattered was that her son said to do so, and that alone was enough.


    Now she needed to also do her part, but where should she start from?


    ''He said he would provide the mana techniques as well as an instructor. Should I go to pick a weapon? No, I can do that at any time. Etiquette sses? I''ll start tomorrow. Then¡­ I guess I''ll begin reading books? Hmm, I''ll do that''


    She thought, quicklying to a decision as she called a maid to follow as she went to the library to begin reading.


    Her uneventful days were going to be far less uneventful from this moment on.


    Yet, strangely enough, she wasn''t bothered, on the contrary, she was excited.


    Things were taking a big turn, and she would be one of the big yers in the future.


    And so began the busy yet exciting days of Kiara Miller.

 Chapter 10 Making Plans

    *Click*


    Ezra entered his room after leaving his mother''s.


    He knew it might take her some time to ept the situation, some might even say that he was manipting her.


    Ezra sincerely thought that this was the best way to protect her, by making her stronger, emotionally, mentally and physically, so she could stand on her own two feet.


    After all, with his ambitions, he was bound to have enemies. He couldn''t allow his mother to be a weakness to be used against him, and he already started formting a n.


    But first¡­


    ''I need to systematically arrange my knowledge of the future while my memories are still intact'' Ezra thought.


    His past-life memories were practically intact since his body was cleansed of impurities.


    This was initially why the emperor had told him to beginbat training, because normal people awake their mana by neen-twenty-five years of age.


    Talented people, or gifted one''s as some call them, awaken mana by age fourteen-seventeen.


    While geniuses awaken theirs at ten-thirteen years old.


    Yet, Ezra awakened his at only three years old. You can now imagine the shock of various powerful individuals, because it was something only theoretically possible till Ezra''s arrival.


    If not for the position of his father, being the emperor and all, he would have been kidnapped and experimented on by power-hungry people.


    This is part of the reason why he has never been outside of the royal castle since age 1.


    Most people, both nobles andmoners, didn''t even know what he looked like. The three empresses had given his descriptions but his body cleansing had changed his hair and eye color.


    ''Come to think of it, father never asked about it''


    Now that he thought about it, he was sure that the royal healer had been the one to inform, maybe not the emperor directly but the royal advisor, who then informed the emperor that his body had developed enough to use mana without even training.


    ''Well, that''s happened'' he thought, throwing such things to the back of his mind.


    He took a pen and a nk book, and began recording all his past-life memories and knowledge of the future in anguage not yet formed, so others who saw it wouldn''t be able to understand it.


    Major events, then minor events, then rumors or word of mouth in taverns and inns, to changes in weather and trivial details that may prove useful, down to thest detail.


    ¡ª-------


    After an unknown amount of time¡­


    *Yawn*


    He voluntarily yawned as he felt his eyelids be heavy, his tongue as dry as a desert.


    He closed the book after making sure he was done, his bones snapping every time he moved.


    He couldn''t help but wonder how long he had been writing, because though he hadn''t felt it before, his hand had gone numb from writing so much.


    As he turned his head towards the window, a bright yellow light hit his eyes.


    "Ahhh!" he screamed for a few seconds before rubbing his now red eyes as he saw the sun rise, an indication of a new day.


    "No way!"


    The magnitude of such discovery was enough to jolt his groggy brain.


    He started writing a little before noon, and now the sun was rising.


    No wonder he felt so sleepy, so tired.


    He had been writing for almost twenty hours, an absurd amount of time for sure.


    ''Well, whatever. I''ll just take a quick nap'' he thought as he pulled his heavy body and slowly closed his eyes.


    The book he wrote had been too immersive, it was his story after all, and he ended up writing for almost an entire day without knowing it.


    ¡ª------------------


    *Yawn*


    A loud yawn was heard as two clenched fists rose from a bed, as Ezra woke up and looked outside, trying to estimate how long he had slept.


    Thankfully, he hadn''t slept too long considering the sun was still shining.


    ''Hmm, give or take two hours after noon'' he thought as he moved to clean and dress up.


    After which, he sat down in a lotus position.


    A few minutester, mana started converging on his surroundings, before it seeped into his skin.


    "Haaaah" Ezra made a moan of relief.


    "This feeling is addictive" he said as he refined the particles of mana in his body.


    This was one of the secrets only known to Ezra.


    It was a relique from his past-life to be precise.


    A mana technique of Gold rank he found in a ce while hiding from demons who had killed the rest of hisrades.


    Along with it, he also found two swords.


    He had destroyed the two swords at the brink of death in his past-life, but the mana technique seemed to have ingrained itself into his soul.


    He found it out when he was six months away from turning two. He was very happy when he tried to use the mana technique to absorb mana to clean his meridians and it worked.


    Since then, he started practicing it, absorbing only small wisps of mana, then a teardrop, till he was now able to absorb enough mana to fill half a bucket.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It allowed his body to contain mana wisps in only three and a half years.


    His body then went through the first cleansing three days ago, expunging umted waste and erging his meridians.


    This substantially improved all his bodily functions.


    As of now, it could be said that his body had reached the minimum required to start Knight training.


    Which was most likely his father''s conclusion, hence, thebat training.


    ''Which would start tomorrow, and I''m still sleeping'' he thought, quickly resuming his focus as he thought about theing cmity that would strike all Oranians unprepared.


    ''Since I was born ten years earlier than before, I have about¡­thirty-three years before it begins''


    His eyes shone a dangerous light as he thought of the event that schrster termed "The Great Cmity" or "Era of Disaster", or as someter said, "The Apocalypse".


    This was, or was going to be, the biggest and the most tragic event of the century.


    But from it, a whole new ecosystem wille into ce.


    As he thought about the dungeons and the horrible monsters that infested and invaded Orion, he couldn''t help but shudder.


    At the time, anything human below the Master rank would be killed like cannon fodder, unable to put up suitable defenses, and this was why¡­


    ''I have to grow stronger, far stronger than I was before''


    He had to gain strength fast if he wanted to make the best use of his past experience and new life.


    ''At least, I need to reach the grandmaster stage''


    He strengthened his resolve and in doing so, set a goal for himself.


    Grandmaster rank wasn''t easy to reach, but with his past experiences and knowledge of special ways to increase his strength, it was very much doable.


    So, to even be able to change the oue of the apocalypse and prevent billions of deaths, he needed the minimum of Grandmasters strength in thirty three years. Not because such strength would suffice, but because getting stronger in the apocalypse was rtively easy, especially when you had knowledge of the future.


    But millions of humans still died, thousands of ns and guilds were destroyed, numerous kingdoms fell, as well as some empires.


    Newnguages would arise, well they would be amalgamations of differentnguages, like the one he used to record his knowledge of future events.


    All this before humans could mount a proper defense and begin to fight back.


    It was truly a terrible time.


    Yet, trying to save everyone was unrealistic, and well, he wasn''t actually going to save everyone even if he could do so.


    The betrayal that caused his death had shown him just how stupid, greedy and self-centered humans could be.


    Some people deserved to die, and those sorts, he wouldn''t waste an iota of energy to save them. Heck, he would even kill them if he had the chance.


    He smiled ruefully as he thought like this. The past him would never think such thoughts, but¡­


    ''I guess betrayal can change any man''


    He pushed the topics of thirty-three years in the future to the back of his mind as he thought about the present, and how to use it to prepare for the future.


    ''What is my biggest strength?'' he asked himself inwardly, but the answer was easy.


    ''My knowledge of the future'' he affirmed.


    ''So how can I use it in the best way?'' he asked rhetorically.


    ''By making the best use of everything I know'' he answered.


    ''But¡­how can I make use of everything I know, while not arousing the suspicion of others?'' he thought.


    He began to think of different solutions, but he couldn''t get an answer.


    Then, after thinking for over thirty minutes, he came to a conclusion.


    ''It''s impossible''


    It could not be done, there were just too many ces to go and too many people to meet.


    But he was only one person. He couldn''t split himself into two or three now could he?


    As he thought this, he couldn''t help but facepalm at his own stupidity.


    ''Who said I have to do it myself?'' he thought as a wide grin formed on his face.


    He immediately picked up the book he recorded his memories in and flipped the pages to a part that contained different organizations.


    His hand moved rapidly as he searched for one in particr.


    While it was true that he could simply search his brain, that might cause him to miss some details, unlike the book, for it contained any and every amount of information that might prove useful.


    And also, if he kept using his memories, what was the use of writing the book in the first ce?


    He kept scrolling through the pages, while his mouth kept muttering different names.


    "Bloodhound Mercenaries, no, shing Sword n, no, Red Spawn"


    When his hands reached here, he unknowingly stopped as anger shed in his eyes, but quickly shook his head and continued searching.


    "Blood Merchants, no, Water des, no, Gentle Bane n, no, Silencers Guild¡­Yes, this is it!"


    Ezra shouted as he felt ecstatic at having found what he was looking for.


    Nothing said you couldn''t borrow someone else''s ideas, especially when they might not yet have had those ideas.

 Chapter 11 Information Agency

    ''Yes, this is it!''


    Ezra shouted inwardly, his hands on a particr page, on which there were three boldly written words.


    The Silencers Guild.


    Judging from the name alone, they didn''t seem to be anything special, in fact, they were rated among the lowest in the middle ranking guilds because their fighting power wasn''t anything special.


    No, what was special about them was the real nature of the guild that only someone like him, a man from the future, would know.


    It wasn''t known to the public until the great cmity struck, thirty-three years from now.


    The leading powers at that time were able to absorb the guild, which was how Ezra met the Silencers Guild master and learned about it.


    He could say that it was the day that his already widened horizon widened beyond belief, and it was all thanks to meeting the guild master, Sebastian Steel, because, for all intents and purposes, the man was crazy.


    Crazy about information like no other.


    At first, he started listening to secret conversations due to curiosity. He would act like he was sleeping or dress as a beggar to find secrets, but as he grew older, he found that he loved to discover, to tread the unknown, to connect multiple dots before arriving at an answer.


    He became curious after turning his entire city upside down, discovering different things and the power of information.


    No thief or assassin guild could hold a candle to them in terms of information, well, ording to him.


    He wanted to know what was outside his city, what was above the sky, and with such a mindset, he started an information organization that used the Silencers Guild as a front, recruiting members in secret, mostlymoners, and used them as agents across all three continents.


    What goods are sold in each region? How many nobles were in each town? How does this particr noble behave? When did it rain in certain ces? How many roads could one use to get to a particr city? How big was each continent? Which one had stronger forces? And so many more questions.


    He made a map of all three continents that was so detailed that the total number of ns, guilds, towns, cities, kingdoms, and empires were on it, and much more. Or so he said, because the apocalypse had destroyed all his maps at the time.


    Questions that few knew the answer to,moners being too busy working to care while nobles were just full of ignorance and arrogance on any matters that didn''t concern them.


    Ezra now had his answer, he would do the same, but not for the same purpose.


    He would make an Information organization that would spread its influence across the three continents. This would help him keep track of future events, while also allowing him to act by recruiting loyal members.


    Sebastian had told him excitedly how he structured his organization when Ezra asked in the past, because, at the time, the apocalypse had broken up thergework he built for over thirty years, with much of the information forever lost.


    Yet, the little they found caused even the army general a great deal of fear as the level of information was just that detailed, but equally terrifying.


    Some wanted to propose that he be killed at the time, if not for the desperate situation back then, they might have. No, they would have definitely done so.


    But it was because he knew they couldn''t that the guild master could dare to present it to the generals.


    ''Thinking about our conversation that day, he said he was born in a city on the west side of Quarzet kingdom''


    ''He said he was the son of a merchant, and that he left home at the prime age of twenty, and traveled to the Hellison continent, where he was unknown, before registering the Silencers Guild in the first Mssionary he came across''


    ''I don''t know how old he was at the time when I met him, but I don''t think he had clocked fifty''


    Well, he told Ezra a great deal of things, but he never told him his age at the time, and Ezra didn''t bother asking because such a question was irrelevant.


    Especially considering that one could quite literally die at any moment.


    ''Hmm, I can only hope that he hasn''t left Quarzet yet. At least I''ll have a chance to recruit him if that is the case, but if he already left for Hellison¡­then I''ll just start a new organization from scratch''


    Ezra thought as he organized his ns.


    He would send someone to bring him to Niton, though it might cost a bit of money, but he was a prince now, he could afford to splurge once in a while.


    Such thought also reminded him of another one of his objectives as to making the best use of his knowledge.


    ''I have to buy goldmines before their value is discovered and recruit hidden gems into Niton''


    Simply put, he would buynds whose value had yet to be known to the world, from dungeon spawning areas to ruins with artifacts and mana stone mines, while also recruiting powerful people of the future while they were still weak and turn them into a force to be reckoned with as his small personal army.


    But¡­


    ''I have to do it while making it seempletely unrted, I can''t arouse any sign of suspicion or people will look into my identity, and while they might not be able to do anything to me, it would make my work much harder and I won''t be able to make the maximum profit''


    *Deep breath*


    Ezra took a deep breath as he thought of the massive amount of work in front of him, but grinned immediately after.


    ''The rewards will be very much worth it''


    And to do that, he would have to register a merchant organization and use it as a proxy to fulfill his objectives, as well as a shield from prying eyes. And thankfully, he knew where to find a hidden gem which would most likely be within the city, city of Kingsmere or Miller castle as they say.


    Now, he had found solutions for the most important matters.


    The gift from the emperor?


    He had already made up his mind, but he was going to wait for the third month to choose.


    Well, firstly because he had a lot of things to do within two weeks starting tomorrow.<novelnext></novelnext>


    From sending someone to find both hidden gems for his future ns, to visiting the ck market for an item amoner found in his previous life, which made him as rich as a middle-ss noble. Though, it was said he mysteriously died shortly after.


    That item would help him when he goes to the treasury two months from now.


    ''Hmm, I think I''m done, now what?''


    He now had ns to solve his most pending issues, so what should be done now?


    Lo and behold as the answer quickly came to him immediately after he stopped cultivating.


    He gripped his stomach and rolled on the ground while trying not to shout.


    He was hungry! Really hungry! His stomach was protesting its treatment as the dyed pangs of hunger hit Ezra all at once.


    He was crying, but fortunately managed to bear it.


    But when one looked at the facts, it was impressive that his body held out this long.


    You shouldn''t forget that he''s just five years old with an eight year old physique.


    He hadn''t eaten anything since breakfast with his father a day ago.


    After breakfast, he wrote down his memories for approximately twenty hours, slept for another eight hours and then cultivated for three hours straight.


    It was a wonder that he hadn''t copsed sooner, but that was precisely because he cultivated mana, which was raw energy.


    But it only takes you so far, before you have to eat real food.


    At higher levels, not eating for five years bes possible.


    Do note that it''s not like you won''t feel it or that you would remain healthy if you did do it.


    It only meant that you would still be alive. Whether or not you would be able to move is unknown, but it is sure that your body would lose an unhealthy amount of body fat, which might irrevocably damage your physique and might leave you with a body half-a-step away from death.


    Anyway, that''s the gist. One can survive without food for longer the more powerful they be, but they still need to eat once in a while, after all, our body organs aren''t meant for decoration.


    A lesson that Ezra was learning the hard way, as he endured the hunger pangs and slowly stood up with one hand on his stomach.


    He quickly opened the door and rushed into the private dining hall meant for him and his mom.


    Screams of maids were heard when Ezra bolted past them in the form of a short blur, causing some to drop delicate items they held before vanishing immediately after.


    Luckily, the dining hall wasn''t far away, and Ezra ran into it, shocking the kitchen maids as they were varying levels of panicking from just screaming to outright fainting.


    Yet, none of that was in Ezra''s eyes as he randomly took a seat beside a table twice as small as the one in the main dining hall and ate any and all food in front of him.


    *Munch* *Munch* *Munch*


    The sound of chewing food echoed in the private dining hall for a good forty-five minutes before the sound slowed down considerably before finally stopping after another fifty-five minutes.


    "Haaaah" Ezra rested his back to the chair and sighed in relief after he noticed the hunger waspletely gone.


    *Yawn*


    He yawned as he saw his belly had bulged after eating so much food.


    "I''ll just take a little nap¡­"


    Ezra was saying as he unknowingly fell asleep with a table full of leftovers and bones.


    Only then did the maidse in. They had been peeking ever since Ezra ran past them, only to be ck jawed as they found their horizons expanding on how much a five year old boy could eat.


    They entered the dining hall taking graceful steps, as they looked at Ezra with his silver hair and eyes closed in an expression full of bliss.


    They couldn''t help but find him rather cute while they felt a little envious and wanting their own.


    But of course, it wasn''t everybody. Some were watching as spies for the empresses and they took in every detail they could, while thinking at some corner of their heart that the empresses had been overreacting.


    How could such a cute kid be a threat to them?


    And so, without doing anything, Ezra was fooling his enemies into underestimating him.


    A few minutes went by before Ezra''s mom came to take him to bed, carrying him in her arms.


    She had been reading when a maid came to tell her what her son had done because she had restricted all her maids from touching Ezra.


    It was one of the desperate precautions she took when there was an assassination attempt on him almost every week.


    She smiled as she looked at her son''s blissful expression while he slept.


    She quickly put him in bed and covered him with sheets before heading to her room to do the same.


    The day had gone and tomorrow woulde.

 Chapter 12 Combat Instructions [Bonus]

    *Knock* *Knock*


    A door was knocked.


    "Come in"


    *Click*


    The door opens up to show a roomrger than the private dining room but smaller than the main one.


    A maid walks in with a medium sized tray with food in it.


    She finds the boy she came to serve looking in a mirror dressed in all ck adjusting his silver hair.


    This boy is of course Ezra, and he had woken up early because he was starting his training today.


    His body was in good shape for a five year old, but ording to his past-life''s standard, it was terrible.


    His stamina, constitution, and reflexes were the best, thanks to him consistently cultivating.


    Mind you, this was ording to the standard of a five year old.


    To begin his journey to Grandmaster level, he first and foremost had to build a solid foundation.


    One which could be built onto multiple times over. His mana cultivation was helping, but he needed a fit body to bring out the full potential of his mana.


    Else, it would be akin to giving jewelry to swine.


    Thankfully, his father had gotten him abat instructor.


    ''It''s a knight from Niton, but I don''t know any of them''


    Ezra thought as he hastily finished eating, as the maid informed him that his teacher would be waiting in the training grounds.


    ''Ok'' Ezra affirmed as he moved to the training grounds for new members located a fair distance away at the back of the castle.


    The sounds of swords shing greets him as soon as he enters, but it suddenly bes silent.


    Turns out his silver hair was quite eye-catching, because he found all eyes gazing on him while muttering and whispering, but Ezra was able to listen in into a few of theirments.


    "Is that him? The fourth prince"


    "I think so. Look at those clothes, he''s a prince alright, but I don''t know which one"


    "People said he was five years old? Is that true?"


    "Yeah, I think. The biggest rumor is that he sensed mana at age three, is that even possible?"


    "They say he''s a genius only seen every thousand years"


    "Yeah but he''s still a greenhorn, maybe I can get him to call me senior"


    "Stop having stupid dreams, but yeah, who''s going to teach him?"


    "I don''t know, it could be Sir Michael or Sir John? They the best around after all"


    Comments like these were heard from the trainees as well as older knights.


    A hoarse and gruff voice rang out at this moment.


    "Oi, are ye the toddler I''m training"


    From the trainees to the official knights, they instinctively froze, before turning their heads slowly upwards to affirm their deepest fear.


    "It''s the demon trainer!"


    No one knew who talked, but it set off a chain reaction once their fears were confirmed, especially among the official knights.


    "Damn it! Why is he here?"


    "Didn''t he retire?"


    All sorts of exmations were heard, with the knights and trainees acting like it was the end of the world.


    Ezra stood unmoving and tried to grasp the situation, especially since the man who talked stood right behind him.


    He was baffled at the scene unfolding before him.


    The trainees'' reaction was still eptable, but what could he say about the two dozen adept and six intermediate knights who were acting even worse than the trainees.


    Thankfully, the one''s he could identify as Expert ranks weren''t acting disgracefully. Everyone stood still, till a voice called everyone to order.


    "SHUT UP!"


    Everybody suddenly calmed down, gradually gaining their senses, but not before a nice dose of words.


    "Look at how you''re all behaving, AND YOU CALL YOURSELF KNIGHTS?"


    "One hundredps around the courtyard, then you''ll do three hundred sword swings right after"


    "Sir, isn''t that a little-"


    "NOW! And thest person does fifty more!" the knight shouted as a pressure erupted from his body.


    And I instinctively know what it is.


    ''Aura''


    Which meant his sword mastery was very high.


    "Shit, move it, I can''t best"


    "Move faster or get out of the way, damn it!"


    Of the official knights and the trainees, none remained as they picked up the pace and began to run around the courtyard, leaving four white armored knights.


    All of them at the same rank as the one who just issued out punishment.


    There were all Expert ranks.


    From the moment the voice was heard till now, I hadn''t moved an inch.


    Only watching like a kid in shock as I assess the situation.


    Then I see the four Expert knights walking towards me, or not, because they passed me by like I was invisible.


    I turned backwards to see who had caused the ruckus, but I saw the Expert knights paying their respects as they bowed lightly to a man who was either in histe 30''s or early 40''s.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Sir John greets Sir Fredrick"


    He was the one who issued out the punishment, but then¡­


    "Hahaha, John, this ye? You''ve grown, acting like a man now"


    The man who was called Fredrick eximed whileughing as he pped Sir John''s back, who momentarily flinched but managed to maintainposure before speaking¡­


    "What brings you here, Sir?" he asked.


    "Ah that, I was called to teach a genius and bring out his full potential, or that''s what I was told anyway"


    Sir Fredrick replied nonchntly.


    "And have you found him?" he was indirectly asking if he needed assistance.


    "Of course, that''s him right there" he said with his hands pointing in my direction.


    The knights who already had suspicions on my identity were wide-eyed when it turned out to be true.


    All four of them were gazing at me for a whole minute, like they were burning my image into their memories, but I noticed something else.


    Their eyes seem to contain a bit of¡­pity?


    Why the hell are Expert Knights gazing at me with pity?


    But I didn''t get any answer as I looked at mybat instructor, getting a better view.


    He had brown eyes with long brown hair tied up nicely, his body was fit to an absurd degree.


    Hisplexion was tanned brown, not tall but not short either at 5''7, and on his face was a very friendly smile.


    I couldn''t help but wonder what such a man had done to be named "Demon Trainer", but with the way things are, I''ll find out in due time.


    "Ezra Miller greets Sir Fredrick" I said bowing at a ny degree angle before raising my head.


    After all, I have to give a good first impression.


    "Hahaha, nice to meet ye too, it''s good to know ye still have such toddlers these days"


    Sir Fredrick answered with his tone like cowboys who would hit a horse and go "Yee-hah" riding into the sunset.


    "So, when are we going to start swordsmanship training?" I asked expectantly, but got a reply I wasn''t nning for.


    "You can''t swing a sword with ye skimpy hands, so, we start with body training"


    ''Oh, I guess he does have a point'' I thought while examining my body.


    In truth, my hands were actually quite good considering that it was expanded and strengthened with mana, but it seems it''s still too low ording to his standards.


    Meanwhile, Sir Fredrick was having thoughts of his own.


    ''Though I said that, he''s actually good enough, but if he''s like this now, it just means that there''s a lot more room to for him to grow''


    ''I''ll make sure to squeeze all the potential out of him. It seems I''m gonna have a lot of fun training him''


    His eyes glinted a dangerous light while looking at Ezra.


    *Shiver*


    ''What the hell? Why did I feel a shiver down my spine?'' thought Ezra.


    "Well, little toddler, your training starts now"


    "Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, wondering if he wanted to ask to spar with the expert knights.


    Yet, I couldn''t have been more wrong.


    "Follow me to ye new training ground" he said, getting into a running stance.


    "Huh? We''re not training here?"


    It seems my new teacher is bent on proving me wrong.


    "Of course not, if I''m gonna bring out all your potential, we''ll have to go to a training ground for geniuses"


    "I guess?"


    "Good, so try and keep up" he said as he sprinted out of the training ground.


    "Let''s do this!" I said enthusiastically before running after him.


    ------------------


    Iy on a barren ground with my chest heaving rapidly.


    I am dead tired right now.


    I was excited at first when we began sprinting, but my enthusiasm quickly died down as we kept sprinting all over the ce.


    I waspeting at speed at first, but I slowed down as we continued sprinting after nearly two hours and began to conserve my energy.


    This made me move a little slower, but I was able to catch my breath, which came with its own disadvantages.


    It took me all my concentration to not lose Sir Fredrick''s tail while storing little bits of mana, which in turn caused me to deplete stamina at a very fast rate.


    An hour after that, we finally reached our special training ground.


    Yet, I just fell on my back the moment Sir Fredrick came to a halt, before my mind slipped into the darkness.


    *Ssh*


    "Rise and shine sleepy head, rise and shine"


    Water pours on my body, waking me up as I open my eyes to meet a pair of brown ones of Sir Fredrick.


    I had slept because of how tired I was, and thankfully, Sir Fredrick allowed it.


    I try getting up as I feel my body aching, especially my legs and my head.


    I got up after a minute, my eyesight got clear enough to see the training ground in its entirety and¡­


    "What the heck is this?"

 Chapter 13 Hellish Ordeal

    "What the heck is this?" I screamed with my parched throat, taking the scene in front of me.


    It was a dpidated wooden fence demarcating a piece ofnd about the size of a lord''s manor? I wasn''t sure because my eyes couldn''t see the fence''s end.


    While all this wasn''t actually very surprising, it was the eerie silence akin to that of a graveyard.


    It also raised the question¡­


    ''Why aren''t the knights training here?''


    This was the most baffling question on Ezra''s mind.


    While the first training ground was far better in quality, it was only about half of this one''s size.


    ''And if it''s renovation, I highly doubt the Empire iscking money''


    Seeing he couldn''t do anything about it, he threw it to the back of his mind as he went in slowly with his legs aching all over.


    *Screech*


    The door was screeching when I pushed it in, but that wasn''t on my mind.


    I look inside and I find it just how I pictured it, big but empty, disappointing to say the least.


    Everything looked old and spent. Sacks of different types were hung on the wooden fence that looked like it would fall off at the slightest hit.


    Training dummies and archery targets were covered in dust and cobwebs, so was the weapons shack on the right.


    The ground itself was dusty as hell, making me cough multiple times, yet surprisingly, no leaves or nts grew on the ground.


    As I examined the ce, a voice I knew all too well called out.


    "Ohohoho, ye up already? Figured ye sleep till dusk, but this works too"


    It was Sir Fredrick, whose hands were filled with cleaning items as he beckoned me toe over.


    Then he drops the cleaning equipment at my feet and begins to speak¡­


    "Alrightd, it''s time for bodybuilding and the first task I have for ye is to clean this whole yard before going back to the castle, any questions?"


    "Of course I do! Isn''t this too much for a five year old kid? How am I supposed to do this in a day?"


    "Hmm, fair enough, you have three days to clean every nook and cranny of this ce"


    "What the? Can''t you call someone else to do it?" I asked, visibly annoyed.


    "I can do that, but the queens said I could train you in any way I want in order to stimte your enormous potential"


    As soon as I heard those words, everything clicked.


    Actually, I had been wondering what schemes those three witches would use to dy my progress.


    I hadn''t expected this though, because he wasn''t their style.


    As for what they were trying to do though, I''ll find out soon enough.


    "Yes, sir" was all I said as soon as I knew it was the work of my step-mothers.


    Also, the fact that father didn''t object means he''s testing me again, well, that''s most likely or he couldn''t be bothered.


    ''Either way, he''s mybat instructor for who knows how long, I have to make the best of this opportunity''


    And so began one of the worst events of my life.


    -------------------


    -Three dayster-


    "Huff¡­Huff¡­Huff"


    We see Ezra breathless as his chest heaved up and down while lying on his back.


    Dirt and dust all over his clothes and body.


    A shadow loomed over his body before a voice rang out not long after.


    "Well done toddler, ye did a good job"


    At this moment, Ezra''s face scrunched up which made him look very unsightly.


    "What are ye looking at me like that for? I said you did a good job, didn''t I?"


    At this point, Ezra really wanted to curse and yell, but held it in by closing his eyes and taking deep breaths.


    The past three days had been hellish, to say the least.


    It took all of Ezra''s willpower to endure such an ordeal.


    He had cleaned the dusty sacks, which heter found filled with sand and removed the patches of grass across a ser field size training ground.


    Not to mention the training dummies and archery targets and the myriad weapon''s along with the weapons shack.


    He also learned a little carpentry by changing the ones that couldn''t hold out any longer.


    Thankfully, the new nks were already cut out by a professional, so he only had to put them in ce after removing an old one.


    This also caused him a great deal of pain and energy because some nails were hammered wrongly, cutting his fingers in the process, which was all cured by the healers.


    If his legs had been protesting when he sprinted on the first day, they were now crying for mercy.


    That was how much his entire body was aching.


    It was thanks to cultivating mana and the fact that he was being attended to by the castle''s healers that helped his body recover from fatigue much faster and kept him healthy through it all.<novelnext></novelnext>


    That, coupled with the firm resolve to get his revenge helped him the most, because the magic could heal his body but not his mental fatigue.


    He was assured that no one his age could have ever done such a thing, but then again, most children started theirbat training at ten, or eight at earliest.


    Ezra was an anomaly, and he knew so too.


    ''Seems I was asking too much when I thought he would actuallypliment me, and yet, he said "You did a good job"''


    Ezra''s face soured once he thought about it.


    The ground waspletely free of grass, the sacks and dummies looked almost unused, the weapons were mostly sparkling and neatly arranged on the polished shack.


    But no, it was only "a good job".


    It then suddenly struck him that he was acting like a kid, so he forcibly threw it out of his mind and got up slowly while reminding himself why he put up with it.


    ''I''ll have my revenge, just you wait'' he thought as his tired eyes looked like a me was lit in them.


    Meanwhile, Sir Fredrick''s mind was churning with multiple thoughts while his face remained impassive.


    ''Damn, I think I see why those arrogant queens are agitated because of him, even some ten year olds would be bedridden for a week at least, but this guy¡­this guy''s a monster in his own right!''


    ''Then¡­I should increase the training to the maximum to know his limits, which I''ll use to make the most suitable bodybuilding guide for him'' Sir Fredrick nodded as he thought of this idea, while also a little excited.


    "Alright, toddler, is seems you are able to move, let''s begin real training then"


    By now, Ezra didn''t even have the energy to argue, merely nodding, before being told to do a hundred push-ups.


    He firmed his resolve while ignoring his crying bones and began, but in a slow manner that looked like he would fall at any time.


    Yet, slowly but surely, he kept going gradually while counting inwardly.


    ''1, 2, 3¡­41¡­53''


    When he got here, he had to actively use mana to stimte his muscles into moving before continuing.


    ''54, 55, 56¡­67¡­78¡­83''


    At this point, he was as slow as a snail and his body was seriously hot with small drops of blood falling from his nose, causing Sir Fredrick to sweat while standing seven meters away.


    This was the result of overworking his muscle while overloading his meridians.


    Yet¡­


    ''I can''t give up here! Because it''s always easier the second time, I must never allow the FIRST!''


    His motivation was sky-high. Too bad his motivation wasn''t going to move his body.


    So he froze and started thinking.


    No matter what he wanted, at the current rate, he wouldn''t do more than two before his body gave up on him.


    ''But¡­what can I do?''


    He thought about a few things but shook his head, there weren''t any ''ifs'' in life. He had to use what he had right now to achieve his goals.


    But for that, there was only one viable solution.


    ''I have to go all out''


    As soon as Ezra found a viable solution, he picked it, because staying still could be more fatal than continuous movement.


    He stared at the ground filled with his sweat and in one thought, steadied himself.


    And then¡­he put his body in overdrive.


    Like a car with little fuel left but not enough to make the finish line in hindsight.


    Ezra put his body on Nitro by using the wisps of mana left to coat his hands'' muscle''s, numbing the pain a little and then moving fast.


    ''84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97¡­''


    He exhausted his mana at this very instant, and the pain hit him like water trying to break a dam.


    ''Not yet! Damn it! It''s not enough!'' he thought as a wave of despair came about.


    But before he could sumb to it¡­


    ''Then, I''LL JUST MAKE IT ENOUGH!'' he shouted inwardly, like a dead caring back to life, a silver light shined in his eyes and he moved.


    ''98, 99, 100!'' he thought before his sight was engulfed in darkness.


    *Bam*


    His body hit the wet floor with a "bam" that echoed throughout the empty training grounds.


    As Ezra''s head was about to do the same, we see an open palm appear under it, saving it from directly hitting the stoned ground.


    "Hah, ye one crazy toddler aren''t you?" Sir Fredrick said.


    "Ye could have stopped half-way and I wouldn''t have been- huh?" he suddenly stopped when he saw something iprehensible.


    The five-year-old boy whose body was so hot it would melt rubber, with blood trickling down his nose, was slightly quivering from overuse.


    There¡­was a smile on his face, a smile of fulfillment. But that is exactly why it was more baffling.


    ''A smile of fulfillment¡­on a five year old? What the hell happened to you?'' he thought, but no answer came to mind, so he could only sigh.


    ''It seems everyone has a secret'' he thought, as he carried Ezra in his arms with his head on Sir Fredrick''s shoulder, and walked slowly towards, not the royal castle, but somewhere else.


    A lot of thoughts went through his mind while doing so.

 Chapter 14 Cultivation

    ''Where am-'' "Ahhh!" Ezra screamed as he felt an iprehensible amount of pain throughout his entire body.


    He remembered doing push-ups till he felt like he was going to die, but continued nheless and finally achieved the one hundred mark.


    ''Yeah, I did it, I did-'' "Ahhh!"


    He couldn''t move an inch without feeling immense pain.


    ''After that¡­everything went dark. Oh, I fainted'' he thought, quicklying to a conclusion.


    ''But then, where am I?''


    He opened his eyes to a wooden roof. He couldn''t see anything else because he couldn''t move his neck at all. He felt stifled, to say the least.


    ''Should I bear it and move my head?'' he asked himself.


    He needed to understand his current situation, but he couldn''t do so because he couldn''t move.


    A door was opened, Ezra deduced from the sound, and he closed his eyes immediately, acting like he was still sleeping.


    ''I have to know who put me in here and what he or she wants.''


    Ezra calmed down and began to rationally deduce the situation.


    ''From the sound of the door and the way the roof was constructed, it seems I''m in a medium sized cottage''


    But his worries became null after he heard a familiar voice.


    "Sheesh, when''s this kid gonna wake up?"


    It was¡­


    "Sir Fredrick?"


    "Ho, ye awake already? How ye feeling?" he asked seemingly concerned.


    I thought for a split second if I could trust him, but quickly gave up such thoughts.


    After all¡­


    ''He could have killed me or whatever it is he wanted to do fifty times over, and it''s not like I''m in any condition to move''


    ''No, even if I was in my peak condition, I don''t have any way to escape an Expert Knight''


    I thought all this in mere seconds, before quickly answering.


    "My whole body is aching like hell"


    "What did ye expect? Ye overused em while overclocking ye mana. Ye quite lucky if you ask me"


    "I don''t understand" I said, listening attentively, though it was only my eyes that were moving.


    "Of course ye lucky, what ye tried yesterday was downright reckless. If an official knight tried it, his meridians would have been crippled"


    "Ye only lucky that ye barely a one-star novice, so thank ye stars kid"


    "I can understand that I''m lucky to be alive, but why does it seem like there''s something else?" Ezra asked.


    "Nothing gets past ye does it? Alright, close ye eyes and concentrate" he said and I did.


    "Now focus on yer mana and try cultivating?"


    ''Cultivating?'' I almost lost my concentration because of his absurd request.


    This was quite a simple process, depending on how one went about it.


    Whether it be mages, knights, shape-shifters, psychics or martial artists, they all had one thing inmon.


    They used mana to enhance their fighting power.


    Mages construct something called a magic circuit within their bodies which affects their amount of mana and how effective their spells are.


    Knights use mana to enhance their physique by cleansing their meridians and erging them, whichter allows them to use mana externally.


    Shape-Shifters are people with the ability to turn into a certain beast and gather mana from their naturally formed mana cores, going through evolutionary stages.


    Psychics are people born with a special ability rted to the mind. They use mana to refine their mental ability in a variety of ways. Not much is known about them.


    Martial Artists are very simr to Knights, but they use martial techniques to influence mana.


    Each has their own ways of cultivating, which is simply using mana to increase their strength.


    Mage''s study mana.


    Knights cultivate mana in their veins.


    Shape-Shifters refine their mana cores to contain more and be purer as they increase in strength.


    Physics use mana to increase their mental capabilities.


    Martial Artists cultivate their bodies but through their diantians.


    There was much more to be said, but Ezra didn''t know much about the other paths.


    So cultivating for a Knight meant using his mana to clean impurities, something Martial Artists also did, but in different ways and with different techniques.


    He had met many Knights, Mages, Martial Artists and Shape-Shifters when he traveled cross-continent in his past life, but only three psychics.


    This showed how rare Psychics werepared to the others.


    Ezra pushed such thoughts out of his mind as he did as sir Fredrick instructed.


    ''Well, my mana seems to have recovered quite a bit. Now, what was the reason? Oh! This is why!''


    Ezra was only a little expectant, but he found himself pleasantly surprised.


    Sir Fredrick naturally didn''t miss it, his smile deepening.


    ''My meridians¡­they grew at least three times bigger!''


    My face visibly showed shock, but I still had my eyes closed, maintaining concentration as I examined my body to assess my gains.


    My meridians have gained a significant enhancement with its ergement.


    I can hold more mana within my meridians, my senses have be far more sensitive, and my range of perception has be much wider.<novelnext></novelnext>


    While I moved mana throughout my body, an idea popped up into my head as I looked at my aching body.


    I was going to use mana to reinforce, and possibly enhance, my physique to match that of my meridian.


    My meridians were now the size of an Adept Knight.


    I reckoned that the reason was because I used up every bit of mana I had in me.


    So when I absorbed pure mana from the atmosphere, it allowed my meridian to erge.


    ''Which means¡­I should be able to widen my meridians after using up this small amount of mana to reinforce and enhance my physique''


    But I couldn''t do it by myself, and so, I informed Sir Fredrick about it, and thankfully he agreed.


    "I can only help when things are either bing critical or dire, as well as being the one to stop your mana from overloading, apart from that, ye on yer own"


    Ezra was about to nod when a few things came to his mind.


    "Sir, where am I exactly?"


    "Oh that? Ye in my house. I didn''t take yer to the castle because I surmised that those queens might try something"


    As soon as he said that, I became fully alert. It was something I overlooked before, but those witches are trying to slow down my progress at any means, and they changed mybat instructor to Sir Fredrick.


    Surely, it wasn''t out of goodwill, and although his temperaments didn''t hit me as the scheming type, that''s not to say he didn''t have something nned.


    ''Well, I know I can trust him to some extent, but I still need to know why those witches allowed him to teach me-'' Ezra suddenly thought of a very likely possibility.


    ''Are they trying to get me to give up from the start? Hmm, it''s a very likely possibility though. If I was an ordinary five year old, I would''ve most likely ran away from such hellish training, but¡­my ambition for revenge won''t allow me to miss a path to bing stronger''


    Ezra thought as a deep smile formed on his face, before bing a pained expression.


    ''Damn it, I can''t even smile without my bones aching'' he thought, before he tried to rationalize the implications of the current situation.


    ''Mother would have been really spooked if she saw me in this state, which might weaken her resolve or make herin to father, and that would be even worse'' as he thought about this, he sighed in relief.


    ''Thank goodness, he didn''t take me to the castle, but those he-'' as his thoughts reached this part¡­


    *cough* *cough*


    Sir Fredrick lightly coughed, pulling Ezra out of his reverie.


    "Oh Sir, sorry about that, I was thinking about something, about two things actually" Ezra said, noticing his mistake.


    "What ye thinking about then?"


    "Sir, didn''t the royal pce send an envoy or such?"


    "Oh yeah, they were here about an hour ago. I told them ye said ye wanted to stay to finish training beforeing back to the castle"


    "O-okay, that works, but they didn''t ask how long?" I inquired.


    "I told them ye said at least three weeks from now, then they asked if they could see yer, and then I told them ye were sleeping, but they insisted and thankfully yer body was looking nothing like yesterday and they didn''t bring a healer.


    After that, they left to deliver ''your message'' to your mom" he replied.


    "Damn" was the only thing that came out of my mouth, as this man was a very crafty liar. That was a useful ability in many ways.


    I regained my bearings before asking the most crucial question I needed to know.


    "Do you have magical herbs or pills here?" I asked expectantly.


    "Hahaha, who do ye think I am, of course I do" heughed before replying with a proud gaze.


    "Ok then, do you have any sapphire leaves?"


    "Of course"


    "Moon grains?"


    "Yes"


    "Mana recovery potion?"


    "Yes"


    "What grade?"


    "High-grade"


    "Ok"


    "Moss powder?"


    "Yes"


    "Bristle roots?"


    "Yes"


    "Septic kes?"


    "Yes"


    "What types of poison do you have?"


    "Hmm, not much, but the best is rosewood venom"


    That name made Ezra''s pupil widen.


    "I didn''t know it was easy to get?"


    "Of course it wasn''t. I only have three bottles. Also, what exactly are you going to use all those things for?"


    "Oh, and what about a special type of water?"


    I saw Sir Fredrick give me a dangerous look, and suddenly, he pulled a dagger from gods knows where and put it to my neck.


    He then moves his head near my ears and asks in a whisper.


    "How''d you know about that?" Sir Fredrick said with killing intent oozing out of him.


    At this moment I instinctively knew something was very wrong.

 Chapter 15 Sir Fredrick

    ''Shit, what do I say?'' I slightly panicked, but soon regainedposure.


    "Are you actually trying to kill a prince right now?" I asked with a toneced with mockery.


    This was the best way to stall while also judging the situation, but instead of the fear I was expecting¡­


    "If so, what about it?" he asked, pushing the knife closer to my throat.


    "Wait, I know this might sound crazy, but I don''t understand what''s going on here" I said frantically before he did something stupid. But he didn''t change, only looking at me with a nk face before asking¡­


    "And you expect me to believe that?" he asked.


    "Sir, does it make sense to you that your enemies would send a five year old child to attack you?" I asked, trying to get to him rationally.


    "Of course it is, I would let my guard down in the midst of a five year old, allowing him to assassinate me with ease"


    ''Damn, he''s more paranoid than I am!'' I shouted inwardly. My heartbeat started rising because I was sure, a single mistake and my head would fly off.


    But I can''t die here. I also have people to take revenge on. And so I steeled myself and calmed down, before pushing forth another question.


    "If what you say is true, then why did I use my energy to clean the training ground?"


    "Maybe because you were trying to gather information about me?"


    "And that''s why I incapacitated myself like this?" I asked.


    "Who knows, you might be making it all up" he said.


    "Ohe on, are you serious? You examined my body yourself, didn''t you?" I asked him.


    I knew he observed my body because he already knew about the erged meridians by the time I woke up.


    Luckily, I was right, because he seemed to recall that too and his hold on the knife softened slightly, his radiant killing intent also dimmed.


    Seeing this, I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, but it wasn''t even over yet, I couldn''t rx.


    "Hmm, how do I know you''re not part of ''them''?"


    "Sir, if I really was a part of ''them'', then you would have died by now" I said with a firm gaze and Sir Fredrick red up.


    "What is that supposed to mean?" he said with the knife once again pressed against my neck, the killing intent also ring up.


    But I wasn''t backing down now.


    "Sir, who told you to train me?" I asked and the answer came fast.


    "The three queens"


    "So, if I''m part of the ''them'' you''re talking about, doesn''t that automatically mean the queens are with them too?"


    "But what-"


    He wanted to talk but I cut him off.


    "Doesn''t that mean that this entire city is a trap for you? After all, those people won''t want their enemy getting away now will they? And yet you''re still fine after so many years? Either they found what you took, or wanted to take, not worth the trouble of mobilizing an entire city''s worth of fleets to kill you, which, based on your current actions, seems highly unlikely or¡­"


    "You''re not one of ''them''" he answered.


    "Eqlicent (synonym of bullseye) " I said, after which his killing intent receded back into his body and he removed the knife from my neck.


    "The strength I felt just now wasn''t that of an Expert rank. Why is a Master rank like you hiding around here?" I asked before he moved away from sight.


    He stopped moving when he heard my question and stared straight at me for a whole minute.


    Seemingly wondering whether I was friend or foe before releasing a sigh with deep meanings.


    "It''s because of this" he said, removing his shirt for me to see the left side of his stomach, which was covered in thick ck lines.


    It was something I saw a lot of in my past-life.


    "Who ced such a curse on you?" I asked.


    "Oh? You recognize this?" He asked in a surprised tone.


    "More or less" I couldn''t have my secrets known to others, so I let out an ambiguous answer.


    "This is why I have to hide" he paused, then carried on.


    "It was inflicted on me by my enemies who I stole the special water from, it-"


    "Why didn''t you try to get rid of it?" I asked impulsively.


    "Did you think I didn''t try?! This is the result of my efforts" he said while pointing at the ckness on his stomach.


    I immediately understood what he meant, but it made me all the more apprehensive.


    "How valuable was such a thing that a grandmaster cursed you?"


    "Hmm" his eyes widened as I said so, probably because I was spot on.


    "And if it is so valuable, why can''t it help with the curse?" I asked another mind-boggling question.


    "Because that''s not what it''s meant for"


    As soon as I heard the answer, my brain went into overdrive.<novelnext></novelnext>


    This was an opportunity, and I was going to make the best of it, so I asked another question.


    "Say, if I could do something about your curse, what would I get in return?"


    Sir Fredrick suddenly looked at me as if he had seen a madman, before bursting into aughter that wasn''tughter.


    "Hahaha, if you can, I''ll give that special water I was talking about, heck, I''d swear loyalty to you on the spot!" he said whileughing boisterously.


    "Do you think a grandmaster''s curse is some kind of joke? Well, go ahead and try"


    "Hmm, ok, but tell me the effects of the curse so that I know how to go about it"


    He stoppedughing as soon as he realized I wasn''t joking.


    But before he could say another word, I spoke up.


    "Tell me, have you ever seen a five-year-old like me?"


    He suddenly looked at me with raised brow, wondering what that had to do with anything.


    "A five year old kid who knows magical herbs, curses, is this cunning and can use mana better than an adept knight"


    When Sir Fredrick heard this, his brain quickly reyed the past four days.


    Ezra was able to keep up with him by putting mana in his feet, something which he only achieved after clocking twenty.


    He knew about curses and magical herbs, well this was debatable, but the part of his cunning was what really got Sir Fredrick the most.


    Because¡­


    ''It was like I was speaking to a mate rather than a five year old''


    But still¡­


    ''That doesn''t mean he can remove the cure that healers couldn''t understand'' he had his doubts. He wasn''t going to put much faith in it working, just for it to fail.


    That had happened too many times already.


    Yet¡­


    ''Could he really be telling the truth?'' he thought, as he stared at the boy lying still on the table. But instead of seeing the usual uncertainty, he saw confidence instead.


    ''No'' but Sir Fredrick shook it off.


    ''This isn''t happening again'' he wasn''t going to look for any non-existent hope.


    He was about to say something when Ezra hit him with a question.


    "That curse¡­does it affect your soul, mind or body?"


    The answer came immediately.


    "The body"


    "Hmm, does it block your meridians?" Ezra asked, but he looked, only to see Sir Fredrick frowning deeply.


    "Yes, it does"


    "Does it suck in your mana, does it leech on it, so when you try to chase it away, it grows instead?


    Sir Fredrick''s pupil''s widened upon hearing this.


    "Yes¡­it does" he answered.


    "Hmm, this might be easier than I thought, I think I know how to cure you, but first bring all the herbs I mentioned earlier as well as the special water"


    Ezra said like he was ordering his servant.


    "And what makes you think you have the right to order me about?" Sir Fredrick asked with angerced in his tone.


    "Well, because I''m the only one who can help in Niton for small sum, and don''t forget, you promised me your loyalty if I could cure you"


    "No, that was just an ident. I didn''t actually mean it!" Sir Fredrick frantically denied, but Ezra was quick on his counter.


    "So you''re saying, a valiant knight at the Master rank can''t keep his words? Is that what you''re saying?"


    "No I didn''t say that!" he denied again.


    "Ok then, that means you should start getting used to calling me lord then, cause you are my Knight as far as I''m concerned"


    Sir Fredrick wanted to refute but couldn''t find the right words to say. In the end he gave up and went to get what Ezra asked for.


    "Oh, bring all of them inrge quantities too" Ezra suddenly added.


    At this moment, a terrible foreboding feeling hit Sir Fredrick, who didn''t argue or shout, only nodding as he moved into a different room with a look of despair.


    Why did he go running his mouth like that? He could only hope that Ezra wasn''t able to cure the curse, but he couldn''t do that either.


    He resigned himself to his death, but he would definitely take a cure if given.


    ''Oh man¡­was this what they called "stuck between a rock and a hard ce"?'' Sir Fredrick thought.


    It seemed his days were bleak.

 Chapter 16 Un-Limiting Dew

    "Here it is" Sir Fredrick said, as he put a myriad of different things on the floor.


    "You don''t expect me to see it from here, right?" Ezra asked.


    His body was still aching and his bones were still screaming. If he was to rest till the condition waned, he would have to stay still for at least three days.


    At least!


    "So then what do you suggest I do?" Sir Fredrick asked.


    "First, sit me up slowly, as slow as you can" Ezra replied.


    "I''m not so good at it so I''ll just do this" Sir Fredrick said with his hands reaching for Ezra''s body.


    "Hey, what are you doing? Listen to me, don''t do that, you have to be really care-AHHHHHH!"


    Ezra was still trying to stop Sir Fredrick from doing something stupid when he felt so much pain assaulting him he thought he would die.


    Fortunately, Sir Fredrick put his hands on Ezra''s mouth to stop his screams while quickly sitting him up.


    For every bit of movement, a cracking sound was heard from multiple ces throughout Ezra''s body.


    By the time he was seated (mind you only seconds had passed), his eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Sir Fredrick, trying with all his will not to let tears spill.


    After one and half minutes, with his ragged breathinging down to a suitable level, he swore to himself inwardly that he would have revenge some day.


    Revenge is a dish best served cold after all.


    He looked at Sir Fredrick with a piercing re, which unfortunately did nothing.


    He took another thirty seconds to calm himself, before calmly inspecting the magical herbs one after another.


    He saw the High-grade mana recovery potion, a radiant blue potion in a white beaker.


    The moon grains, these were grains that came from the petals of the moon flower, a flower that passively absorbs energy from the moon.


    It hadn''t been said, but Orion had one moon of ocean blue colour with a sun of ivory (reddish-yellow) colour.


    The next was a small pile of tiny pieces of a snow-white substance, only that it was lightly shining. These were septic kes.


    After that were dark-green roots with small but numerous spikes on them. These were bristle roots.


    Then we had a beaker with green-colored liquid, which was most like the rosewood venom.


    Two crystalline leaves with one blue and the other green. These were sapphire leaves.


    Behind it was what seemed like a pile of sand, only that it had a greenish yellow colour that looked disgusting enough to make one nauseous. This was moss powder.


    Then he saw a small vial filled with a red liquid.


    He didn''t know what it was, and that meant it was what Sir Fredrick had mistook for what Ezra called special water.


    Looking at all these ingredientsid bare to him, he asked Sir Fredrick for the use of the special water.


    "It''s called the Un-limiting Dew"


    Unlike the others, I had never heard of such a thing in my previous life. And it seemed Sir Fredrick noticed it, because he exined its use soon after, and I couldn''t help but be astonished.


    "For every person, there is a limit to how much they can grow, when talent and effort no longer cut it. This dew is one of the few things that can raise the person''s limit to an unprecedented level, or maybe even remove it entirely, allowing a person to go higher than the rank of Transcendent"


    Yes, Transcendent!


    It was a rank only ever achieved by a single human in all of oranian history in the year 600''s to 800''s. It was a very long time ago.


    Yet up till now, no one had been able to aplish the same feat.


    And now, one of the few artifacts allowing someone to achieve such a rank, or with more luck maybe even surpass it, was in front of him.


    No wonder he was cursed by a grandmaster.


    No wonder he overreacted over the slightest suspicion.


    After all, with enough resources, that grandmaster wouldn''t have to worry about bottlenecks on his path to power to at least mythical rank.


    The fact that they were still looking for him confirms that the grandmaster is never going to give up on it.


    That was how powerful it was.


    But¡­


    ''Why is he giving this to me?'' was the first question that came to Ezra''s mind, as his face remained impassive even in front of a diamond rank artifact.


    This was because a tool of such use was given to every human in his past-life thirty-three years from now.


    It was the tool that prevented oranians from going extinct, because those otherworld creatures were¡­too much.


    The duration might seem long, but was extremely short in the eyes of real powerhouses.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Sir Fredrick saw the questioning nce in Ezra''s eyes and proceeded to exin.


    "I never used it because the curse would diminish its effectiveness by almost sixty percent, and that was as good as wasting it in my opinion"


    "I wanted to use it to bargain for the cure of my curse, but I knew I would be killed without hesitation if word about it got out, so I couldn''t do that either"


    "I thought of returning it to the grandmaster that cursed me, but just like the first idea, I would be killed to make sure no word of its existence was found out"


    "So now that I found someone who could cure me, while not wanting to get rid of me but rather make use of me, I decided to give it to you" he said calmly, then paused and looked at me.


    I could see he was being sincere. It must have been regretful to say the least, for him to have risked his life for a priceless treasure, only for it to be an antique or ornament, something absolutely useless to your current plight.


    He looked at me for a few seconds before killing intent came forth in all its glory and spoke once more.


    "But should you be deceiving me right now, I swear on my soul to kill you, even at the cost of my death" he said while looking like a demon.


    "Ok, alright I got it, can you stop now?" I wouldn''t have said I could help him if I couldn''t.


    What about the killing intent?


    It was child''s y for me who had felt the killing intent of otherworld monsters.


    "Now, let''s get back to business. Do you have a sk, mortar or cauldron?" I asked as if I hadn''t heard what he just said.


    "I have a silver rank cauldron" he answered.


    "That''s even better, which means you know a little about alchemy, right?"


    "Right"


    "So here''s what I need you to do"


    "You take the septic kes and spread it thin in the cauldron, put the sapphire leaves on it and then pour the moss powder on the leaves. Take those bristle roots and the moon grains and mash them both into powder, after which you will add it all on the others" I said, while he nodded.


    Yet after I finished, he was looking at me as if waiting for something else.


    "What about the rosewood venom?" Sir Fredrick asked.


    "Oh, I''m going to drink that, what about it?" I asked, only to see him looking at me with his eyebrows raised, like he was looking at an exotic animal.


    Iughed, immediately understanding the meaning of his look.


    The potion naturallyes from the poison nd of a snake whose skin canpletely match any tree it is climbing to stay hidden.


    When it''s found though, its scales immediately rise up as needle like thorns coated with lethal venom show itself, hence the name.


    "Don''t worry, Sir Fredrick, I know what I''m doing" I said, trying to give him some assurance, only to see him nod halfheartedly before releasing a depressing sigh before moving to do what he had been told.


    He took the herbs and the reagents away, leaving only the High-grade mana recovery potion, the rosewood poison and the Un-limiting Dew.


    --------------------


    -Four hourster-


    Sir Fredrick appeared in front of Ezra with a beaker filled with a transparent color fluid.


    Ezra smiled as he saw this. It meant this man in front of him was also good at alchemy, even if not by much. The level of impurities in the vial couldn''t be more than thirty percent.


    Considering this was a silver rank potion, he should be a rank 2 alchemist.


    ''Hmm, seems I found a hidden gem as my first knight''


    Ezra smiled brightly at the thought of it, for it made Ezra''s future nning much easier.


    "Alright, it seems you did a pretty good job, old man" Ezra teased, and sure enough, Sir Fredrick got furious.


    "Good job, you call this a ''mere'' good job?" he asked.


    "Now you know how it feels" Ezra suddenly said, which made Fredrick''s face turn ugly.


    "Anyhow, thanks for the potion"


    "What''s the name, and how did you know how to make this?"


    "It''s called the Poison Dehydration Potion, and as for your second question, that''s a secret"


    Ezra couldn''t possibly tell him that it was invented by a friend who loved alchemy, someone he met thirty years from now, and he had told him the ingredients in passing because it wasn''t a big deal at the time, now could he?


    Fredrick immediately understood that it was one of his secrets and got on to the next question.


    "So what are you going to use it for?"


    "To make an elixir that will erge my meridians while strengthening my physique"


    "And how are you going to do that exactly?"

 Chapter 17 Elixir [Bonus]

    "So what are you going to use it for?" Fredrick asked.


    "To make an elixir that will erge my meridians while strengthening my physique" I replied.


    "Do you think elixirs are that easy to make?" Fredrick asked.


    "Don''t worry, I know what I''m doing, and it''s a potion that barely qualifies as an elixir, but for people at my stage, it''s indispensable" Ezra answered.


    "And how are you going to do that exactly?" he inquired while giving me the exotic monkey look.


    "By ingesting the rosewood poison and the potion you just created"


    "Is that so?"


    "Yes it is, so listen carefully"


    "I can''t move, which means I won''t be able to drink them with my own hands, so you''ll have to help me with that"


    "But how am I supposed to know which order it''ll be? Or how long do I have to wait before giving you the next bottle?" Fredrick asked in quick session.


    "That''s why I''ll give you signs to know when to do what. As for the sequence¡­"


    "It''s the rosewood venom, then the poison dehydration potion, andstly, the mana recovery potion"


    "What about the Un-limiting Dew? Aren''t you using it?" he asked with a surprised tone.


    "Of course I am, but that''s far in the future. You said it yourself, the more powerful I am, the closer I am to my limit"


    "If I use it now, it might only allow me to sail smoothly to grandmaster ranks, instead of surpassing sage rank"


    "Here''s what you''ll do¡­"


    Ezra proceeded to exin the signs and sequence the potion would be poured in his mouth.


    "And that''s how you do it, do you understand?" Ezra said, ending the minute long exnation.


    "Alright, I think I got it" Sir Fredrick replied.


    "Good, let''s begin then" Ezra said as he opened his mouth wide while slightly raising his head, a very painful process, but Ezra endured.


    Once he did so, he gave Sir Fredrick the go ahead.


    "You may begin"


    "I can''t believe I''m following through with such a crazy n¡­" Sir Fredrick muttered, before opening the vial containing rosewood poison and emptying it in Ezra''s mouth.


    It was the catalyst to make the elixir.


    Elixir. What exactly did such a thing actually mean anyway?


    Well, it was basically a high-ranking potion, but made mostly throughbining exotic minerals and herbs which in turn grants extraordinary effects.


    Some are man-made, while others were a result of unique natural urrences.


    Some increase affinity with a particr element. Some can restore the health of a body on the brink of death. Some, like the Un-limiting Dew, could allow easier pathways to power. Some could be even more miraculous.


    So why had Ezra put together a bunch of silver rank herbs and said he was making an elixir?


    Well, it was because, in his past life, he saved someone from a situation where they would most likely have died, and that person became a high ranking alchemistter on.


    He repaid Ezra by giving him five different recipes to make an elixir, and this was one of them.


    As for the others?


    The things needed to make those were rare and expensive. Sure, the pce might have it, but they will definitely want to know what he used them for, and Ezra wasn''t about to lose one of his advantages.


    Even the current elixir wasn''tplete, with some key herbs missing, but it would get the job done. Ezra was sure of this much.


    If other powerhouses saw this too, he would have to face some serious problems, because his whereabouts would be monitored from then on, something he desperately wanted to avoid.


    ''I was going to buy it after setting up my merchant organization. Who knew I would find it here?'' Ezra thought as the rosewood venom went down his throat.


    Ezra started counting inwardly while doing his best to move his body.


    ''1''


    Heat began to build up like a grown forest fire as we see Ezra''s skin start to turn dark green, building up from his stomach to his lungs and to all other parts of his body.


    ''2''


    He could feel the little amount of mana in his body burning up, trying to push back the venom, but was used up before it could do anything substantial.


    ''3''


    His already weak bones were hit with searing heat as the poison rapidly spread.


    ''4''


    His hands rapidly became green as the poison spread through his vein at an abnormal pace.


    ''5''


    The poison had spread to his calves.


    ''6''


    His abdominal area was fully dark green in color, while his nervous system began to slow down.


    ''7''


    The poison had entrenched both his arms in dark green.


    ''8''


    The poison had spread throughout his legs.


    ''9''


    The poison was burning his blood like a furnace.


    ''10''


    The poison covered his head in its entirety. Ezra was plunging into darkness, but getting out of it was unknown.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Fredrick looked on anxiously, waiting for the sign with the vial of transparent fluid in his hands.


    After a moment, he saw Ezra''s body unmoving, and multiple thoughts shed by his mind, but he remembered the words Ezra said.


    "When the timees and my body ispletely filled with poison, you''ll need to trust me and wait"


    ''He said I needed to trust him. You better not die on me'' he thought with his heart beating out of his chest.


    A few seconds passed¡­but nothing happened.


    ''No, you said I needed to trust you, so you can''t die on me'' he thought as he looked at the potion in his hands with multiple thoughts conflicted in his mind.


    He should pour the potion into Ezra''s mouth, but Ezra had severely warned him against doing so without seeing the sign.


    And when it seemed all hope was lost¡­


    Ezra''s body twitched. He had delivered the sign.


    Fredrick immediately popped the vial and emptied the potion in his mouth.


    As thest of it entered Ezra''s throat, his body started quivering, vibrating at a minimal level as the vibrant dark-green colour on his skin began to dim.


    Like the potion''s name, it was a drug that literally dehydrated poisons or toxic impurities.


    With the effectiveness being based on the rank of the poison versus the rank of the dehydration potion.


    It sucks the poison and other impurities dry of their essence, causing the poison to stop functioning.


    Ezra''s body, whose green skin color was vibrant, now became dim like rapidly cooling rubber.


    The poison stopped, but the damage was already done, but that''s why Fredrick emptied the High-grade mana recovery potion into Ezra''s throat right after.


    What happened next¡­was like turning on a forest fire within Ezra''s body.


    His body might have beenpletely infected, but with his mana recovering at an absurd speed, the now dead poison was erased, literally burnt off, along with all the toxic waste and foreign elements in Ezra''s body.


    To put it inyman terms, Ezra''s body was like a ce with a little bit of water, then fire came there and turned the water to vapor, but without any fuel, fire died out, then a literal tsunami swept through the ce.


    This should give you an idea of what was happening in Ezra''s body, with his mana being water, while the poison, along with every other toxic waste, being fire.


    Simply put, the poison was burnt up as the green skin rapidly cracked and fell off, revealing light skin with no blemishes.


    Silver hair seemingly more vibrant than before, glowing eyes now taking on a silverish-ck color and¡­


    *Crack* *Crack* *Crack*¡­


    The sound of numerous bones cracking sounded as we see a smile form on the face of this being as he spoke out.


    "You did well waiting for my sign, it must not have been easy"


    Ezra said as he looked at the ck-jawed Fredrick, who no longer looked at Ezra like an exotic monkey, but like a shining dragon.


    Well, maybe not exactly like that, but you get what I mean.


    ''I knew he wasn''t bullshitting when we talked earlier, but to think it worked just as he said''


    Fredrick couldn''t help but be amazed.


    ''A five-year old making an elixir'' the thought itself sounded preposterous, and yet here it was in front of him.


    When Ezra was showing him the signs, he had shown a bit of his knowledge by naming a lot of magical herbs, but seeing it in action and being told werepletely different things.


    When Ezra saw the look on Fredrick''s face, a thought came to him.


    ''I''ll need to get used to such looks in the future''


    *Cough* *Cough*


    Ezra coughed, pulling Sir Fredrick out of his reverie.


    "Ah, yes, what is it?"


    "The cure for your curse"


    Fredrick moved closer as he heard that, after all, this was the reason he gave up a Diamond ranked artifact.


    "Yes, what about it?"


    "Do you know where to find amethyst nt?" Ezra asked.


    He knew the cure because it was poprly used at a time in his past-life.


    The curse wasn''t at all lethal to those who knew how to cure it, but for those who didn''t, it was one of the most deadly.


    It was said to be created in Houston Empire, thend of mage-killers, or anti-mages, in war against mages.


    Which proved brutally effective, because of the attribute of eating mana, but only for a time. Once the cure was found out, it wasn''t half as effective anymore.


    "I don''t think it''s sold in the empire" Fredrick seemed to know the nt but answered gloomily.


    "Hmm, what if I get it for you? But you''ll have to wait two months for that" Ezra said.


    "Huh? I said It''s not sold in the Empire, what are-" Fredrick began saying before Ezra cut him off with two words.


    "Royal Treasury"


    "Huh?" Fredrick instantly became dumbfounded. Of course he had heard about the treasury.


    ''But what did this kid want there?'' as he thought this, a terrifying assumption came to mind.


    Yet, he couldn''t be sure, so he probed Ezra with a question.


    "You''re not going to steal from the treasury, are you?"


    "Of course not!" Ezra answered with a snort, before continuing¡­


    "Why would I need to do that when I was granted permission to take something from there?"


    Fredrick breathed a sigh of relief before his eyes abruptly opened wide.


    "Huh?"

 Chapter 18 First Subordinate

    "Huh?"


    "You heard me, I''ve been given permission to take something from the royal treasury"


    "So, you''re going to use that chance to get me the Amethyst nt?"


    "Well, I''m going to steal it actually"


    "What did you just say?" Fredrick looked like he lost his mind at this moment.


    "I''m stealing your cure from the treasury, and I need your help to do it"


    Fredrick seemed like he would shout at any moment, so Ezra hastily exined.


    "I''m not asking you to infiltrate the royal treasury, but to get me out of the pce"


    Fredrick calmed down after hearing that, but his thoughts were still in turmoil. Who had he offended to be hit with more surprises in the span of a day than in thest ten years?


    Did this boy want him to have a heart attack?!


    "What do you mean by that?"


    "I need you to file a report saying that you would like for me to enter the city while you ensure my safety to bring out my potential" Ezra said.


    "How many guilds or ns are you associated with? And also, how many loyal people do you have under you?"


    Ezra shoots a barrage of questions to Fredrick.


    "For the first thing, I can definitely do that, though, whether or not it''s approved is out of my hands"


    "Leave that part to me"


    "I have a few guilds I could contact, but no ns"


    ? "That''s good enough"


    "As for loyal people, as a former trainer, I naturally have students. Also, do they have to be Knights?" Fredrick asked.


    "No, evenmoners work fine, their loyalty andpetence is all I need"


    An astonished look appeared on Fredrick''s face, which Ezra naturally saw.


    "What''s the matter?" Ezra asked.


    "Well, it''s nothing, but you''re the only noble I know who doesn''t speak aboutmoners in a condescending manner"


    "I guess I''m special then. Hahaha, it feels weird to say that about myself"


    "Hmm, so why are you asking these sorts of questions?"


    "Well firstly, you''re my subordinate from now on"


    "Second, I need you to use your connections to find me some people. It will better if it''s made a secret between you and other party"


    "Thirdly, well-" *Deep Breath*


    "I can see the future" Ezra said while staring at Fredrick, wondering how he would react.


    Yet, the scream he was expecting never came. Or any sound for that matter.


    Sir Fredrick didn''t show any reaction, only holding his chin in a thoughtful expression.


    "So that''s why you know about the Elixir?" Fredrick asked.


    "Yes, something like that" Ezra answered.


    "In it I saw a lot of things, but the most important was the arrival of otherworld monsters to our world, wiping out half of the human race. But the future isn''t set in stone, and I want to change it"


    "Sir Fredrick, would you pledge your allegiance as my knight?" I said.


    Just like before, Sir Fredrick didn''t say a word for a whole minute, his mind in turmoil trying to interpret the meaning of my words.


    He finally looked at me with a piercing gaze, which was child''s y in my opinion.


    "Why should I believe you?"


    "That''s very simple though, you don''t have to. As long as I cure you, just follow me while trusting me and the answers will naturallye" I said.


    "Ok, but¡­why me?" he asked, and I wasn''t about to lie to him.


    "It''s the same reason why you haven''t been able to cure yourself of that curse" I said cryptically.


    He looked, wondering what I meant before his eyes suddenly shone a dangerous light.


    The reason I chose him was because other powerhouses would rather kill me or try to monopolize what I knew.


    But Sir Fredrick was a man of good character and he was far easier to get rid of if he ever tried to betray me.


    After what happened in my past life, I definitely wasn''t trusting anyone all the way. Maybe 80% trust while the rest was doubt.


    Sir Fredrick suddenly knelt before me, and said¡­


    "I, Sir Fredrick, pledge my allegiance to serve prince Ezra till the end of my days"


    "Hmm, I didn''t expect you to be so decisive?" I answered surprised.


    "I don''t know what impression my lord has of me, but I''m not one to scheme" he said as if reading my mind.


    "Hmmm, I hope so, and it seems like you are already calling me Lord"


    "Yes, it is only appropriate that I do so"


    "It''s fine, besides, we can''t have those three witches finding out about this or they''ll try something else" I told him.


    "So we act like teacher and student in front of others, is that what you''re saying?" he asked, already understanding what I meant.


    "I like you even more now. Anyhow, write the letter about escorting me outside. I''ll write one to my mother to make sure it goes smoothly"


    "But aren''t we outside already?" he asked bewildered.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Afterall, we were in Sir Fredrick''s cottage, which was outside the castle.


    Both new and old training grounds were also situated outside the castle, but were situated directly beside it.


    Sir Fredrick told me the old training ground was abandoned because they nned to renovate it into a farm.


    "I need to visit the city"


    "Ok" he answered and I smiled, he had already stopped calling me lord.


    While the elixir has already done its job, I hadn''t actually moved since then, but I was about to do so.


    *Crack* *Crack*¡­


    My bones cracked into ce, like a machine being turned on, as I moved my legs to the ground, before getting off the bed and standing straight.


    *Yawn*


    Guess I was actually far more tired than I thought.


    After a few stretches, I closed my eyes and concentrated on using mana to observe my innards.


    I found it to be better than I expected.


    ''The poison tempered my muscles, which were purified when I drank the mana recovery potion, which should increase my mana capacity by a substantial amount''


    ''I should have a decent amount of poison resistance or maybe even developed an immunity, though that might be asking for too much''


    ''I should also have that attribute'' I thought as I picked up the knife Fredrick held to my throat from the floor and gave myself a small cut on my thumb.


    A ck and red drop of blood fell on the wooden floor and then¡­


    *Sizzle*


    The wood was melting from the poison''s potency.


    ''I actually got it, blood poison''


    It was an ability used by almost every member of a fairly Mid-ranking n known as ''poison souls'', and its uses were numerous.


    A deep smile formed on Ezra''s lips as he confirmed it, but it was something to be expected.


    After all, the rosewood snake was typically found in dense forests with an average rank of D, and sometimes C.


    Beasts, or simply monsters as some liked to call them, were ranked from Rank F to S, with C and B rank beasts having power equal to that of an Expert rank Knight.


    But it seems this one was either D or C rank considering the potency of its poison.


    As he felt the changes in his body, he found himself amazed by the effectiveness of the Elixir, or rather, by the one who gave him the recipe as a gift.


    ''I have to bring him to my side'' Ezra affirmed to himself.


    His ears heard things more clearly.


    His eyes could see further.


    His bones had been tempered with the poison''s searing heat and the mana reinforced it.


    ''To think my meridians erged enough to take me to four star Intermediate Knight''


    His skin had been cleaned of impurities and imbued with poison, making it poison resistant.


    Though the most notable was his body''s affinity with mana.


    Unlike before, he could move mana throughout his body easily.


    ''I can temporarily amplify any part of my body'' he thought, while concentrating mana in different parts in his body, from the fists to the feet, to the entirety of his legs, which gained a dimmed blue glow.


    He felt the activities in those parts being enhanced and wanted to test his improved body to measure his new limits.


    That would have to wait for ater time, as he converged mana into his skull and concentrated it in his eyes.


    He wanted to see if he could get even a semnce of a skill he used in his past-life.


    As his silver-ck eyes glowed intensely, Ezra''s eyes went through a transformation.


    Instead of the view of a wooden cottage, he saw interwoven strands of mana connected in different ways.


    He looked at his own body only to see not skin, bone or blood, but mana moving akin to a body of water, with a vibrant cerulean color, flowing through his body.


    A deep smile formed on Ezra''s face at this moment.


    Although it wasn''t as good as the one he used, it could be called a lesser version of it.


    An ability named ''Mana Eyes''.


    He went on to study the pros and cons for fifteen minutes before¡­


    "Ugh!" Ezra cried out as he canceled the skill, with sweat visible on his forehead.


    Nevertheless, his grin never faded.


    ''It uses up a decent amount of mana, so I''ll have to regte its usage, but it''s definitely worth it'' Ezra thought, as he found himself smiling after getting his old skill back, well a lesser version, but it still had a variety of uses.


    For one, he could see mana react when a skill was about to be used or a technique was about to be executed. With this he could predict the movement of the target.


    He could see how vibrant mana was in a person, which allowed him to see how talented, gifted or dangerous someone was, depending on who he used it on.


    His perception of mana also allowed him better control over it.


    Ezra clenched his fist in joy of how much he had grown, and how much he could still grow.


    Now, he would begin the preparations for his revenge.


    But first, he had to write a letter to his mother, who must have been worried sick by now.

 Chapter 19 Setting Out

    In front of a wooden cottage a few meters away from the training ground stood a fit old man with brown hair beside a boy with eye-catching silver hair.


    These are Fredrick and Ezra of course.


    "Is everything ready?" Ezra asked.


    "Yes, for the third time, it is" Fredrick said, exacerbated.


    It had been a day since Ezra drank the elixir, the effects bing more pronounced as time went on. Ezra knew that he might experience a growth spurt in the near future, but he would cross that bridge when he got there.


    ? Ezra had sent a letter to his mother, informing her of his three-weeks stay at Sir Fredrick''s ce in order to get stronger. He assured her of his well-being, after which he told her about the visit into the city to experience what it was like outside the castle.


    Right now, as Ezra expected, the spies of the three witches must have begun to sense that something was up. They might have wanted to stop him, but they couldn''t do anything because they were the ones who assigned Sir Fredrick as hisbat instructor, most likely because of the way he trains people.


    Especially when one considered the reaction of the recruits and even some official knights.


    Since they couldn''t stop him, they wanted to monitor him by using the excuses of taking along some guards, which would be spies, but Ezra''s mother vehemently refused, as did Ezra, stating that he had Sir Fredrick and that he didn''t want to go around the city with such an eye-catching envoy.


    Ezra then asked for a cloak and two disguise potions for himself and Sir Fredrick from the royal advisor, who promptly gave it to them.


    He was given a pouch with one hundred gold coins, which he was already making ns for.


    One has to know that in Orion the currency goes copper, silver, gold and tinum in increments of a hundred fold.


    Simply put¡­


    100 copper = 1 silver


    100 silver = 1 gold


    100 gold = 1 tinum


    This was the normal exchange rate within each state, but the exchange rate from state to state varied greatly.


    For example, the Houston copper goes for three Niton copper, and this was between two empires. The exchange of kingdom to empire was naturally more inted.


    "Then let''s drink up" Ezra said as he and Sir Fredrick drank the transformation potion in one go.


    The effects began to show as Ezra felt a light dizziness, while Sir Fredrick seemed immune to it.


    Ezra''s silver hair became ck, a much moremon hair color in Orion.


    He was using a dress that was not too good but too bad either, just ordinary in all senses of the word. He asked Fredrick to buy it yesterday as he wanted to maintain secrecy, so naturally he couldn''t wear noble clothes that were far too eye-catching now could he?


    "Sir Fredrick" Ezra called out as he looked to see a man whose eyes had turned green and his hair ck.


    His clothes were also ordinary with a fine sword strapped to his waist, but concealed with a worn-out scabbard.


    The hundred gold coins were also strapped to his waist.


    "Hmm, all''s good except for those muscles of yours, but what can we do?" Ezra said as he assessed the look of his guardian. Well, that was the story they were going with anyway.


    "Good, now that we''re set, let''s get a move on shall we? There''s a lot of things to be done" Ezra said as he raised his hand, which Sir Fredrick held unto, like anyone would hold a five year old boy.


    And so began Ezra''s training experience, a tour through the city. Well, that''s what Sir Fredrick gave an excuse anyway.


    The disguise potion was used for mainly two reasons. To blend in with the crowd, and to escape the spywork of the three witches.


    He absolutely couldn''t let them get a whiff of his ns.


    --------------------


    Ezra and Fredrick roamed around for a while to cut off anyone tagging behind them, before they saw a long line of people.


    Some crying, some gloomy, some wore unreadable expressions which caused Ezra to inquire about them to Sir Fredrick.


    "It''s the people who lost their family members due to the Emperor''sughter a few days ago"


    They were beingpensated thirty to fifty silver each. It was such a sum that no ordinarymoner would earn it throughout his life.


    After walking around aimlessly for a good forty minutes, Ezra begins the first stage of his n in earnest.


    That would be¡­


    ''I''ll have to find the hidden gem within this city before nightfall''


    Ezra could only sigh at the endeavoring his way.


    From his past-life, he knew that this person was someone mediocre, but was either lucky or smart enough to survive and flee to safety at the start of the apocalypse.


    One thing led to another and he became an official in an organization, who took the apocalypse as an opportunity to rise to prominence and gain astronomical wealth.


    He was a high-ranking official of that group, earning the name "The Miser", because he couldn''t be cheated in anything pertaining to money.


    But there was a slight problem¡­


    ''I don''t know his real name or where he stayed before the apocalypse arrived'' Ezra thought as they moved through the city.


    Speaking of the city, it was built in the form of a circle, but one of epic proportions.


    A stone palisade enclosed the city all around. On it were archer towers made of stone along with two watchtowers at the north and the south ends of the city.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Buildings made of wood lined the street with a variety of uses, from bars to hotels, motels, guild houses, cksmiths, tailors and merchant offices.


    A river cut through the lower half of the city, and two stone bridges were constructed above it, short but wide enough for two carriage''s to go through side by side.


    One would hear many voices bargaining, some advertising, and others, mostly nobles, yelling at the top of their voices.


    The shops and houses owned were also arranged using the quality of the goods sold as a benchmark.


    The cheapest shops owned bymoners were located nearest to the walls. They sold grains, copper artifacts, defective products and clothes for peasants. Along with them were houses barely standing and the most popted area in the city, the slums, a ce filled with unfortunate children, beggars and degenerates of society. This was called the outer ring.


    After those were houses and shops of good quality, but nothing too out of the ordinary. In these shops you could find copper and bronze artifacts, as well as mana techniques. These were shops owned by merchants, barons and viscounts and some luckymoners. This made up the inner ring.


    Andstly were the shops meant for the rich nobles and high-level merchants. These shops had no copper artifacts, as they deemed it an insult, but had a variety of bronze, gray and even a few silver artifacts, as well as more advanced mana techniques.


    The identities Ezra and Fredrick were using were neither a high-level merchant nor a noble, as that would make them too high-profile and hinder Ezra''s objectives.


    That meant they had to journey to the outer ring, which they did by boarding a carriage manned by two horses for thirty bronze coins.


    Well, not before the carriage man looked at them with a condescending gaze, which became a smile at the sight of a silver coin.


    -------------------


    Sir Fredrick had been following the instructions of Ezra through whispers, but he couldn''t understand what the prince of an empire wanted in the worst part of the city.


    Nevertheless, he made noment. He still had his doubts about this "seeing the future" stuff Ezra had told him, but if that could cure him of his curse that has been growing more vicious by the day, then it was nothing much.


    The carriage arrived in a ce that contrasted with its quality.


    The people couldn''t help but raise an eye and question what someone who could afford such a carriage was doing in the slums.


    Children in particr looked at the carriage with undisguised longing as they burned the memory in their hearts.


    Their clothes were no different from rags in terms of filthiness. Their bodies had be so pale and dried up that their ribs were almost sticking out.


    Ezra looked at this scene and felt pity, but wiped it away the next second.


    He couldn''t save these people, and he didn''te here to do so. He had to be able to protect himself first and build enough strength to even think about it.


    Deluding himself into ying hero would be a fatal weakness, one that would surely cause his downfall, and because he knew this, his resolve firmed once again.


    That said, he could definitely make some of their lives better if he thought they could be useful.


    Make no mistake, them looking so sorrowful they warrant pity doesn''t mean they''ll actually be useful. Many of the adults here weren''t born here, were they?


    He only felt sorry for the children who didn''t have the right to see their parents.


    After a minute ofplicated emotions, he cleared his mind and moved towards his goal.


    How did he suddenly know where the hidden gem was?


    Well, he didn''t, but ever since he had the idea of making an information agency, a lesson had stuck to his mind.


    ''I don''t have to do everything myself when I can have someone else do it for me'' he thought as he and Fredrick went through different alleyways filled with garbage and filth, while observing the beggars there.


    And after going through twelve alleys, Ezra stopped as he slowly observed a particr beggar among the five lined up along the alley.


    The beggar in question didn''t have any distinguishing feature. His body was terrible, his hair and eyes horrible, except¡­


    ''He''s still young, and he''s not drowning in despair''


    Yes, these two things, well, the first one wasn''t exactly it but the second one had to be there.


    Ezra had never been to this city even in his past-life, so it was basically uncharted territory.


    Yet now, he needed to find a hidden gem. You didn''t expect him to use weeks or months, which he didn''t have, to search for him did you?


    Why do something so strenuous when there is a better, more efficient and cheaper way to go?


    Ezra''s answer?


    ''I only need to find someone familiar with thend''


    But he couldn''t just pick any riffraff on the sidewalk for the job, and that''s why he came here.


    These guys were the cheapestbor he could hire. They were also auspicious and ignored by most people.


    Like a born spy, this was part of Sebastian Steel''s idea and how he had infiltrated all three continents right under the noses of the emperors, kings and nobles.


    And now, Ezra was going to use the same tactic.


    The beggar in question had a smile on his face, and that was enough for Ezra as an indicator.


    An indicator that unlike the four others who were either dead drunk or looked lifeless, this man hadn''t fallen into despair.


    He was someone still looking for sunlight to shine his way.


    ''Well, it seems your hopes have been answered'' Ezra thought as he moved to the beggar in question.


    The beggar looked up to meet Ezra''s eyes, when Ezra then squatted and shifted his mouth to the beggar''s ear before whispering a word, after which he retracted his head and moved along to the next alley.

 Chapter 20 James Opson (1)

    "What the?" was the only thing I managed to muster after an inexplicable encounter.


    My name is James, James Opson to be exact. I was born from a family ofmoners with a younger sister, Ruby Opson.


    A few years ago, my parents'' farms were burnt and they died in an unexpected raid from a group of bandits.


    Due to the efforts of my parents, I managed to flee with my sister in hand as we ran for an unknown amount of time.


    My days had be darker since then.


    We (my sister and I) didn''t have a home to go to after that, and so we began to travel about with no guarantee of food and water.


    Other viges didn''t take us in due to a bevy of flimsy excuses, while those that did, mostly wanted my sister as a sex ve and gave us ruthless conditions to ept.


    Hope was running thin as we kept moving about for over a year, until I heard about the capital, a ce thatmoners, people like my sister and I, could actually survive, and with enough luck, maybe thrive.


    I decided that day that we had enough rejections and that we should go to the capital.


    After all, it wasn''t like I knew any ce better, and thankfully, my sister agreed with a little persuasion.


    Another year passed while we made our way to the capital.


    Our food was fruits found on trees. Our water, if we even found some, was any running river we came across. Our beds were trees and nkets were leaves.


    If we were lucky, we might eat meat once a month, if not, we''ll just keep moving as we look forward to our life in the capital.


    It wouldn''t be easy, and I never expected it to be, but I just needed to work hard enough to get myself a good life, or so I thought.


    A week till we arrived in the capital, tragedy struck again.


    My sister was bitten by a snake.


    Luckily, it was an infant, which meant the venom was less potent.


    Hope burned within me as I swore to get my sister cured, she was my reason for living.


    I couldn''t let her die, I just couldn''t.


    Yet, upon getting to the city, I felt disillusioned.


    The venom wasn''t very potent, which meant it would take a long period for it to really do damage.


    But if we flipped the description around, this meant my sister would die very slowly and in agonizing pain if I didn''t do something about it.


    I remembered the times we had to move through the woods, escape from ve traders, and run throughout the night to get away from some monster.


    All of that to get to this city in front of me, the capital.


    I couldn''t sumb to despair at this stage. I''vee too far for me to fall over and cry over my pitiful fate.


    So I steeled my will, as I begged a noble with ttering words to use his authority to get inside the city.


    One had to pay a penny to enter, but I didn''t have money on me. I couldn''t even remember when I saw coinsst.


    Thankfully he didn''t get angry, only slightly amused as he did what I asked, and I went into the city.


    Another month went by as I learnt the ins and outs of the capital.


    I got a job at a restaurant which gave me a very pitiful amount, but one that got my sister and I fed at least.


    We found a ce to stay in the slums temporarily till I could get an antidote for my sister.


    That is, until my bad luck struck again and I lost my job, not due to ipetence or tardiness, but by suggestion of a low-level merchant.


    The shop owner reced me to get on the merchant''s good side.


    And from then on, life hadn''t been easy. I could only buy a potion to suppress the venom, the antidote was too expensive.


    The house, or piece of shack, that should be temporary was bing permanent.


    Yet, I held on, always smiling, so much so that others thought I had gone mad.


    It was easy to drink oneself to a stupor with the cheapest alcohol in town, or to give up on life and ept fate the way it is.


    But that was exactly why I couldn''t do so.


    I had a sick sister waiting for me to cure her so we could watch each other''s backs.


    I couldn''t give in to the darkness, despair and the unfairness of it all like most had done.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But my situation wasn''t getting any better, only worse as time went by.


    Now, six months after entering this city, I''ve be a beggar, the smiling beggar to be exact.


    That''s what they call me.


    Yet today, a man and his child were passing along when suddenly, he came right in front of me, squatted, and whispered¡­


    "You''re waiting for a way to turn your life around, right? Then follow me"


    My eyes shook when I heard this, but before I could say a word, he stood back up and walked away with the old man, leaving me at a loss for words.


    I seriously began considering it.


    ''Should I follow him? What if it''s a trap? What if he wants something from my sister?'' My thoughts suddenly took an abrupt halt, as my thoughts changedpletely.


    ''What if it''s a trap? Can I do anything about it?'' I asked myself.


    ''No''


    ''What if he''s a noble that wants my sister? Will I be able to stop him from taking her by force?''


    ''No''


    ''What if I follow him? Would life be better or worse?'' I asked myself, before looking at my current state.


    Ragged clothes, sunken eyes, filthy teeth and tarnished skin are what I see before making out a bitterugh as I thought.


    ''What could be worse than this?'' I thought, and while there were such things, it couldn''t be that much worse.


    ''But if he actually wanted to help?'' I asked myself.


    Then my thoughts changed as I quickly realized how stupid it was of me to think such thoughts in the first ce.


    If that person was actually a noble who wanted me dead on a whim, I would die then and there, but nothing would happen.


    ''Also, the fact that he saw, talked to and personally scouted me, when he could have someone take me away by force only meant this¡­might actually be an opportunity!''


    The moment I reasoned like this, I immediately stood up like a needle and rushed in the direction I saw the boy go.


    Unfortunately, all that reminiscing had taken me about thirty seconds, and now, I couldn''t find either the boy or the man he was with.


    For the first time since his parents had died, despair began to set in my heart because he knew he might have just lost the opportunity of a lifetime due to my carelessness, or carefulness as it is.


    But I made sure to keep moving, as the embers of hope burnt in my chest ever so brightly and he kept moving from alley to alley.


    Five minutes passed with James still moving to find them, when a man flew out from a particr building.


    Yells and screams were heard as all those who valued their lives moved away from the scene, not wanting to be in the crossfire of who or whatever were fighting.


    Yet James stood still. He didn''t know why, but an unknown sense in him tingled. He wanted to find the boy as fast as possible, but he would forever regret it if they had gone this way.


    As my thoughts conflicted and my emotions becameplicated¡­


    I see a boy, no, I sees THE BOY!


    Yes, it was the boy I was looking for.


    I wanted to shout and leap with joy, butI stopped myself, and hurriedly hid behind empty baskets stacked on top of each other, and began to focus more on the situation going on.


    The boy I had just met was holding a sword stained with blood in his hand as he moved to the man lying unconscious on the floor and gave a resounding kick.


    "Ugh!" a loud groan sounded out, along with the sounds of bones breaking, which was most likely his ribs.


    Yet, the man two times bigger than the boy looked unbelievably fearful, as he began sweating buckets, before quickly kneeling down with a hand on his broken ribs.


    The boy then says something I couldn''t hear, all the while cries resounded from within the building.


    As I stick my head out to look again¡­


    ''How did he get here?'' I inwardly screamed seeing the boy suddenly arriving in front of me, with a sword motion aiming to cleave me in two.


    "WAIT! IT''S ME! THE SMILING BEGGAR!" I shout with all the energy I could muster.


    Only to see the sword only a few inches away from my body.


    I fainted right after.

 Chapter 21 Beating Up A Gang

    ''Hmm, was I wrong about him?'' Ezra thought as he moved through alleyways.


    He looked behind him but didn''t see the beggar.


    ''Maybe I was mistaken and he was actually crazy?'' thought Ezra, it seemed no one was perfect. While he was wrong about the beggar, it didn''t mean there weren''t others like that.


    So¡­


    ''I just have to look for them'' Ezra thought as he moved along, when three mean looking guys wearing armless clothes stepped in his way. Two of them had daggers attached to their clothes and the third had a sword, all of which were trash by the way.


    "Good Sirs, I would like it if you could excuse me, I have somewhere to be" Sir Fredrick said when the three guys simultaneouslyughed.


    "Hahaha, did you hear what he said?" one said whileughing.


    "It doesn''t seem like he knows who we are" the other said.


    "Then we''ll just have to exin it to him, right boys?" the one who seemed to be the leader of the group said.


    "You see, we''re part of the Dark Tooth group, and we''re the overlords of these parts of the slums" one said.


    "So, you need to pay up before you can go through here"


    "Hmm, I see, and how much is this fee exactly?" Sir Fredrick asked.


    "Everything you have on you, of course" the leader said.


    "Hmm, is that so? Then I guess discussions are useless, right?"


    "Of course. You just have to give us everything you''ve got and we''ll let you go" the leader reiterated.


    Sir Fredrick was about to ask what he should do when¡­


    *Bam*


    A punch resounded, as we see the boss smash into a nearby building.


    Sir Fredrick saw Ezra''s movements clearly and was shocked.


    The boy was already at adept rank in terms of both skill and mana usage!


    But he was pulled out of his reverie when he heard¡­


    "We take out the trash"


    It was a confirmation from Ezra to kill the two.


    "Ugh!" turns out the leader wasn''t dead, because he stood up while shaking up the rubble and dizziness from the first attack.


    "What kind of cowardly knight hits his opponent without a proper warning?!" he yelled, trying to gauge his opponent and also stall for time.


    After all, everyone knew that Knights mostly loved fair challenges so as to adequately demonstrate their might while talking some bullshit about righteousness and all that.


    Yet, he couldn''t have been more wrong, for at the next moment a figure that couldn''t be more than ten years old appeared before him, his fist already going for the punch as he said¡­


    "One doesn''t need righteousness when taking out the trash"


    *BAM*


    We hear a resounding boom, louder than thest one, as we see the boss pounded into the ground with his hands in an "X" shape, but his eyes had turned white.


    He passed out from the impact alone.


    ''Did I hit him too hard¡­or is he just that weak?'' thought Ezra, annoyed.


    He wanted to test out his improved physique, but it seemed he had to find better opponents.


    As he thought this, he looked at Sir Fredrick, only to see the other two bowing and begging to be spared.


    It seems the old man couldn''t bring himself to kill those who had surrendered.


    Ezra quickly nned his next move and was about to go back, when he suddenly looked at his empty body and took the leader''s sword.


    And true to Ezra''s expectation, it was trash. Even the swords he used in the army as a greenhorn wouldn''t be this bad.


    "Well, it''s another form of training I guess" Ezra thought, trying to convince himself as he reached Sir Fredrick before speaking¡­


    "Oi, you" he said, pointing to one of the two boys.


    "Yes, Sir?"


    "Take us to your base" I said and the boy''s face became pale in an instant.


    "Sir, if I do that, I''ll die" he said, acting pitifully.


    "And if you don''t do so, you''ll also die. I implore you to think carefully" Ezra said as he put the sword against the boy''s neck.


    "I''ll do as you say" he said hurriedly when his life was threatened.


    "Any funny business and your head rolls, got it?" Ezra said, stressing thest part.


    The boy made an awkward gulp before leading us two alleys away and stopped at a wooden building.


    He knocked and said the password as I, along with the second guy and Sir Fredrick, went in.


    Inside was a boisterous atmosphere filled with men of different types that had one thing inmon, they had a ck tooth symbol tattooed on some part of their body.


    It was exactly the same as the ones on the boys neck.


    Theughter suddenly stiffened as they saw one of their owne in along with three others.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Who are these guys Wily?" someone asked.


    But before he could answer¡­


    "People who came to take out the trash" Ezra''s voice resounded, causing those in the bar to look each other in the eye for a few seconds before¡­they burst into deliriousughter.


    "Hahahaha, it seems everybody''s going crazy these days. A ten year old already has the guts to speak to your elders in such a manner" one said.


    "Madness must run in their family, Hahaha, I mean, how else do you exin this? Hahaha" another said


    Laughter rained in the bar, until a sound was heard.


    *Swish*


    That was the noise of a sword when used to strike, because the next moment, we see the first guy who talked decapitated.


    His head was in the air with a look of utmost unfairness, before¡­


    *Dum Durum* the head resounded on the floor along with¡­


    "Swishhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*


    All the people in the bar drew their weapons simultaneously because most of them had not seen the de until the man''s head was in the air.


    Those whose eyes did follow it saw something only veterans should have.


    There was no hesitation in the boy''s eyes when the man was beheaded.


    The boy didn''t even seem to take it as something huge because the next moment he lightly flicked his sword, throwing the blood in the faces of those seated.


    He looked like he had just killed a cockroach, something perfectly normal, and he looked at the now headless body before saying.


    "My elders? What aughable piece of trash" he chuckled bitterly before facing the rest in the bar and pointed his sword at them with a leisurely expression, like someone drinking afternoon tea.


    "Who''s next?" he asked as the others hesitated, before someone said¡­


    "Boys, we''re almost thirty and he''s only one person. We can take him. Who''s with me?!"


    The formerly hesitating were now having a change of heart once they looked around noticing they were many in number. They began to radiate hostility and outright killing intent.


    Seeing this, Ezra could only shake his head lightly with a disappointed expression while different thoughts went through his mind as he calmly assessed the situation.


    ''About thirty, no, twenty-nine. They might have useful information, so¡­I can''t kill them all. I''ll cripple the weakest ones and kill the strongest link''


    ''Most of these guys aren''t even four star Novice Knights, while the one that riled them up seemed to be an adept, most likely one or two stars''


    As he finished assessing the situation, it was time to implement the n and so he did, because in the next moment, he concentrated mana in his feet and sprung forward.


    The first person was hit with four punches before the person beside him could even understand the situation. The man''s four limbs were turned in an awkward position as the sudden rush of pain made him faint.


    The one beside wielded twin daggers as he crudely tried to cut Ezra, only for a hand to pull and fling him as he breaks the door andnds loudly on the ground.


    By now the morale of the others had begun to waver and the weaker were retreating.


    Who were they kidding? They never even used a proper mana technique before and they were only stronger than the average man.


    They, who didn''t even properly know how to distribute mana, could never hope to stand a chance against the typhoon called Ezra that kept crippling people even now.


    When the eighth person was crippled, the camel''s back broke and then¡­


    "I-I surrender" a man said before dropping his sword and lying on the floor.


    "W-What the heck d-" another wanted to forcefully change back the situation by killing the one who surrendered when his view suddenly turned upside down, before it turned dark.


    Silence! Pin drop silence at this moment as the other members took the situation in fully and the weaker ones quickly surrendered.


    "What are you all doing?! We can still take him, we just have to-"


    The man at the Adept rank wanted to rile them up for a second time when a voice interrupted.


    "Oi, why are you pushing yourckeys to their deaths while you stay behind?"


    Surprisingly, it wasn''t Ezra but Fredrick who spoke up. Beside him were a few people lying unconscious on the floor, the stupid enough to think of him as a target.


    After watching the battle, no, the massacre, Fredrick was sure his lord would kill them all as soon as they tried something funny without batting an eye.


    So he stepped in to stop an unnecessary massacre and flex his muscles a bit.


    Ezra took it as Fredrick''s cue to take over, so he turned his gaze and went to see the goon he threw outside.


    He saw the idiot was unconscious and gave him a good kick, but it seems he was far stronger than he thought because he broke some ribs.


    As the man''s senses came online with a loud groan, Ezra sensed a pair of eyes watching from behind a pile of stacked baskets.


    He didn''t know if the person was waiting for an ambush, and he wasn''t going to entertain him.


    And so he applied mana to his feet and moved in the direction of the baskets with his sword in a cleaving motion, when the person resounded¡­


    "WAIT! IT''S ME, THE SMILING BEGGAR"


    It was the beggar I saw earlier. It seems he was looking for me.


    I immediately halted my swing which was about to divide him and moved to apologize when he suddenly fainted.


    I scratched my head at the awkward situation, before putting him on my back like a sack of potatoes and going back into the building where cries and screams echoed out.

 Chapter 22 James Opson (2)

    *Whack*


    "Ugh, who hit me?" said James as he opened his eyes to a surreal scene.


    "What in the world?" was the only thing he could mutter.


    The base of the Dark Tooth gang waspletely wrecked and its members were in an even worse state, groans and cries were heard as theyy on the floor.


    Some had their four limbs fractured and the slightest movement made them feel a lot of pain. Some had their faces disfigured with swollen eyes and broken teeth.


    They looked so pathetic that he almost felt sorry for them.


    ''Wait a minute, where am I anyway?'' he suddenly thought.


    ''Thest thing I remember was-''


    As his thoughts reached this part, a voice called out to him.


    "Oh, you''re awake. Sorry for scaring you like that"


    The boy he saw before he fainted was in front of him. And then everything suddenly became clear.


    ''Right, I almost died'' James thought, smiling bitterly before looking at the seemingly-harmless boy staring at him.


    James was sure¡­


    ''He doesn''t seem a day older than my sister''


    Yet what he had seen, that small disy of ruthlessness, was vivid in his mind and also¡­


    ''What''s with that level of skill?'' he couldn''t help but ask.


    The little bit of swordsmanship he had seen was enough to leave him in awe.


    It wasn''t something a boy this young should be able to do, as well the fact that¡­


    ''He never hesitated''


    James was sure that if he hadn''t screamed at that moment, he would have most definitely died.


    ''But enough of that'' James thought, throwing the event to the back of his mind, before taking a closer look at the boy who could give the opportunity he dearly needed.


    When he noticed that the boy was still waiting for a reply while he got lost in his thoughts, he immediately became flustered.


    "I-I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to cause sir any trouble"


    But the answer he got was something he never expected.


    "What are you talking about? I''m the one who acted impulsively and almost killed an innocent bystander, so I''m the one who''s sorry"


    The boy said before bowing lightly.


    Seeing such a scene, instead of having a calm expression, James looked as if he was about to die-


    ''Oh my god, what have I done?'' he thought as he hurriedly replied.


    "No Sir, there''s nothing to apologize to a lowly beggar like me" he answered, before bowing deeply with his body quivering.


    Ezra, who saw this, knew his intentions had been misunderstood because he sincerely meant all he had said.


    After all, he was about to kill the person he called due to his impulsiveness. The boy deserved at least an apology, if not anything else.


    Yet, now he only became more fearful because of it, and Ezra couldn''t just leave him that way, it would weigh on his conscience.


    Ezra wasn''t a hero or even a good person, but he followed the principles of "do to others what you want them to do to you".


    Well, at least when the situation allows it, sort of like now. And so to make sure the apology was felt, Ezra tried visualizing what he would want by putting himself in the beggar''s shoes and the answer came right after.


    ''Money''


    He would appreciate money, and so he would give the beggar just that.


    "Sir John" Ezra called the codename Sir Fredrick agreed upon, as the man in question was sitting with the Adept rank, as well as some others, kneeling in front of him while begging.


    "Yes, my lord" said Fredrick, or John.


    "Give this man a coin from the ones we brought" Ezra said while pointing to the still-bowing James.


    "Huh?!" James muttered surprised, as a middle aged man straightened his back before removing something James had never seen up close in life and handing it over.


    ? "The lord told me to give this to you" the man said, dropping a gold coin into James'' hand.


    The man in question began to shake heavily as if he was having a seizure, and what he was having might not be too far from it.


    ''I-It''s a g-gold coin'' James'' brain grew unstable and his body temperature increased.


    His rationality was almostpletely gone when the image of his most treasured wish came to mind.


    ''I can''t be doing this, my sister is still waiting for my arrival''


    The moment his thoughts reached this point, his body stopped quivering, hismon sense returned and his mind regained tranquility, well almost.


    "Sir" James called out.


    "Hmm?" Sir Fredrick who was going back to deal with the riff-raff suddenly stopped and looked behind as a frown formed on his face.


    Ezra also looked at the boy but didn''t say anything.


    ''Don''t tell me he''s already bing greedy? Is he really going to ask for more?'' Sir Fredrick thought but refrained from saying anything that might lead to a misunderstanding.


    "I don''t want your gold" James said with his face down and his hand outstretched with the gold coin on it.


    "Oh? What do you want then?" Sir Fredrick asked.


    "Treatment, treatment for my sister" James proimed.


    Both Sir Fredrick and Ezra were taken aback at the request.


    "A gold coin should be more than enough for almost any treatment within the city, so use it for the treatment" Sir Fredrick answered.


    "I don''t want to, because I never did anything to deserve it" James once again refused.


    At this point, Sir Fredrick was sure that he either wanted to make a good first impression or¡­


    ''He''s the real deal'' before he could speak, Ezra spoke.


    "If all you say is true, then what is it you want?"


    "I want to work for Sir in return for my sister''s treatment" James answered, still in the same position.


    James couldn''t see it, but Ezra''s eye''s slightly glowed.


    ''He¡­seems to be telling the truth'' Ezra said while utilizing mana vision, that''s what he named the lesser version of mana eyes.


    Ezra then took the gold coin, before asking James¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    "How are you sure I''ll have a use for you?"


    "Because you wouldn''t have noticed or talked to me otherwise" James replied.


    "Kid, you seem smart, do you know how to read and write?" Ezra suddenly asked before adding¡­


    "You can stand straight now"


    Which James immediately did.


    "I only know how to read. I do not know how to write" James answered.


    "Hmm, it seems you''ll be even more useful than I hoped" Ezra said before continuing.


    "You still haven''t told me your name yet"


    "S-sorry Sir, it''s James, James Opson"


    "You may call me Kevin" Ezra couldn''t use his real name, so he used the name from his past life.


    "I have a job for you, one of many, but before that, can your sistere here?"


    "She can but it''s not advisable for her to move in her current state" James answered.


    "I guess it can''t be helped. What illness is your sister suffering from?"


    "It''s venom from an infant vine snake"


    "Do you know the cure?"


    "Yes I do, and it cost fourteen silver to buy it, only¡­I couldn''t afford it" James paused when a hand hit his back.


    "Don''t worry, you have me now, so rejoice" Kevin/Ezra said.


    "Sir John, you will follow this boy to buy whatever medication his sister needs for treatment" Kevin/Ezra said.


    "Yes, lord" Sir Fredrick said as he moved away, before abruptly turning and asking¡­


    "If I go, what about them?"


    "Oh, these guys? They''re free to act up. I can still use some exercise" Ezra said while cracking his knuckles.


    Sir John/Fredrick nodded in affirmation before leaving with James.


    "Come on, kid, let''s go, your sister''s waiting isn''t she?" Sir John said, pulling James out of his reverie.


    "Y-Yes she is" James said and began to move while Sir Fredrick followed.


    Sir Fredrick didn''t actually know why Ezra was doing all this, but Ezra had already told him.


    "You don''t have to. So long as I cure you, just follow me while trusting me and the answers will naturallye"


    And while Ezra hadn''t cured him yet, he pledged his loyalty because he had told Ezra about the Un-limiting Dew, while Ezra trusted him enough to tell him his biggest secret.


    So he would follow and watch just like Ezra said, while also trying to understand the type of man, or boy, Ezra was.


    ''It seems things are going to get interesting very soon'' Fredrick thought while moving through alleys to reach a potion shop, where he bought the most expensive healing potion.


    Well, to the shopkeeper it was outrageously expensive, to him though, it was just half a gold coin.


    A few minutester, they arrived at James'' home, which was a tent in a sorry state with filthy torn clothes as a bed.


    Laying on it was a girl of 4''3 wearing torn clothes identical to James. Her skin was all dirty and her hair so unkempt that its color couldn''t be known.


    James rushed in front of her and knelt before calling out her name.


    "Ruby"


    The girl then opened a pair of tired eyes to look at her brother with a smile forming on her face.


    "Ruby, I''m here with a cure" James said.


    "What are you talkin-*cough* *cough*" She tried to talk but she coughed out blood.


    "It''s worse than I thought, she won''tst long like this. Help me sit her up" Sir John/Fredrick said.


    "Ok" James said as he raised his sister into a sitting position, as she couldn''t muster up the strength to even talk.


    *Cough* *Cough*


    Only blood came out.


    "Ruby, don''t try to talk, it''ll all be fine soon" James assured her.


    "Open her mouth" said Fredrick, who had arrived beside them.


    James nodded and did as he was told.


    Sir John/Fredrick removed the potion cap and emptied the shining yellow liquid in Ruby''s mouth as she looked on weakly.


    A minute passed since the potion was administered but there were no signs of recovery.


    "Sir, I-Is this supposed to happen?" James asked, already going into panic mode.


    "Calm down kiddo, it''s just taking a little while longer" Sir Fredrick said. True were his words, Ruby''s body soon began to glow a yellow color.


    Her unhealthy body started to show changes. Her face brightened up and her bones made crunching sounds, which Sir Fredrick said were her bones growing stronger.


    After two whole minutes, the light died down and Ruby opened her eyes groggily.


    "Ruby, Ruby, talk to me, how are you feeling?" James asked worriedly.


    "I feel-"


    She said as she slowly stood on her feet while her brother was left in a daze.


    "-perfectly healthy"


    *pop* *pop*


    Tears rushed down her face as she was overwhelmed with happiness.


    Her brother hugged her tightly as no words were said between the two, but the tearsing out of their eyes spoke volumes.


    ''A way to turn my life around'' James thought as he remembered what Sir Kevin had first told him.


    He clenched his fist as he swore in his heart to do all he could to repay this kindness.


    A decision that would have the biggest impact in his life going forward.


    Whether it was a good or bad thing? No one knew.

 Chapter 23 Boss Fight

    -Two minutes after Fredrick and James left-


    "What the hell happened here?!"


    A man with short brown hair, brown skin, a scar running through his left eye and wearing a ck-leather jacket came into the now-wrecked bar with two guys behind him, both wearing armless clothes with a dark tooth carved on their shoulders, one bald and the other having small dark hair.


    The appearance of these three men caused the meek men to start making a fuss as one of them called out.


    "Boss, help us! Some crazy guys killed Mart and Ortiz" one said, panicking.


    "Yeah boss, you gotta take revenge for us" another added and before long¡­


    "Boss, you gotta make these guys pay"


    "Yeah, show him who''s boss, boss!"


    "Boss¡­"


    "Boss¡­"


    "Boss¡­"


    The others began to do the same, until¡­


    "SHUT UP! SHUT THE HELL UP" the ''boss'' had almost gone crazy with so many people calling him.


    "I LEAVE YOU GUYS ALONE FOR THIRTY MINUTES! THIRTY FU**ING MINUTES AND THIS HAPPENS?!" he shouted out in rage seeing his men act so dumb and weak.


    The men quickly shut their mouths or they might die.


    Nevertheless, he was the boss for a reason, part of which was that he knew how to calmly rationalize a situation, like he was doing now


    ''Who the heck did this?'' he thought as he looked at his men in a sorry state.


    His brain started to churn the names of those he had offended and were capable ofunching such an attack.


    ''Green Snake? Red Hook? No they wouldn''t go this far, then who was it?''


    As he tried toe up with an answer, Ezra, who had been seated at an inconspicuous side of the bar, stood up and spoke.


    "I take it that you''re the one leading this group of degenerates"


    One of the men lying down began to think¡­


    ''Hmm, he must be acting tough since boss is stronger than us here''


    ''Which means he wouldn''t touch us and go away quickly'' thought the man as began to speak. He was going to make sure that the boy was killed or crippled before he was allowed to leave.


    And with such thinking, he spoke up to try and rile the others up, after all¡­


    ''If we attack together with the boss here, he wouldn''t stand a chance''


    "Hey, we aren-"


    The man didn''t get to finish before he found himself flying as he felt his bones breaking, then¡­


    *Bam*


    He smashed into the side wall filled with liquor.


    Silence! Complete and utter silence!


    "This is why you shouldn''t leave trash littering the floor. They make stupid noises"


    The voice of the culprit echoed out as the others had their rising morale fall back to zero in an instant.


    The meaning of the demonstration was clear, no words needed.


    All the men lying down understood this, before looking at their boss who had yet to say a word.


    Because it meant¡­


    ''He doesn''t give a damn about the boss''


    ''He''s not afraid at all''


    Others had simr thoughts as the question on their minds was¡­


    ''Is he actually stronger than the boss or is he just crazy?''


    They all thought before opting to use the ''wait and see'' approach.


    After all, it wasn''t toote to beg for mercy after the fight was over, rather than risk dying a dog''s death over something stupid.


    Everyone eventually came to the same conclusion. They would wait until the big dogs were done rather than risk being coteral damage.


    Meanwhile, the top dogs in question were currently in a stare down as they tried to figure out their opponent.


    ''He sent Rigo flying with a kick to the side, but is he at the Adept rank or higher?'' the boss thought.


    ''Hmm, most of these guys are knuckleheads. The fact that he thinks before attacking is disconcerting'' Ezra thought.


    ''Hmm, I guess I''ll have to find out'' the boss thought before lightly waving his hand and saying¡­


    "Go and take care of him"


    The two boys behind him immediately went into action as they unsheathed their daggers and attacked.


    Seeing this, Ezra pulled out a sword nearby, holding dual swords as he entered his fighting stance while thinking¡­


    ''These two are slightly above average in skill and use a mana technique specialized in speed''


    He assessed them in a brief instant before¡­


    *Chang* *Kin*


    The two sides collided, a flurry of sparks came into view as both sides moved faster than a normal human and were getting faster by the second.


    The sound of metal hitting against metal was the only thing to be heard in the wrecked bar.


    The boss chose to stay behind as he observed the boy''s fighting skills, only to be amazed at the fluidity of his movement.


    Normally, in a dagger versus sword fight, the sword user uses its length to keep the dagger wielder froming closer, while the dagger wielder tries to close the distance.


    Yet this boy confronted his men at arm''s length while brazenly attacking without a change in expression.


    They fought for close to a minute, moving from ce to ce when the boss suddenly realized something.


    ''He''s not growing tired, but he''s not attacking either, only dodging, blocking or deflecting the attacks''


    A thought suddenly popped up in the boss''s head.


    ''Is he using them to train?'' the thought was so absurd that even he found it unbelievable.


    But when one looked closer¡­


    ''He''s not increasing his speed at all. He''s going just fast enough to keep up with their attacks'' realization dawned upon him.


    ''They aren''t on the same level, they can''t win''


    And with that thought¡­


    "Kyle, Mike, withdraw"


    He said as the two men immediately distanced themselves from Ezra and went back to the boss''s side.


    Ezra watched them without doing anything before speaking to the boss.


    "You figured it out?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Haaa-"


    A dryugh escaped the boss''s mouth.


    "-you were really using them as practice"


    "Hmm" Ezra nodded when¡­


    "Sigh-"


    A loud sigh escaped his mouth as he walked forward.


    "-what did we do to anger the likes of you?" he asked.


    "Hmm, your boys tried to take money from me"


    "Huh?" the boss halted with an astounded expression.


    "You did all this-"


    He said while pointing to the wrecked base.


    "-because someone almost took your money?" he said.


    "Yeah, that''s pretty much it. I didn''t know you liked to talk so much" Ezra replied.


    "Hahaha, I must be growing old it seems" the boss said, throwing away his leather jacket, making way for bulging muscles and dark knuckles.


    "Oh, I see, shall we get started then?" Ezra said.


    "With pleasure" the boss said before springing to action, as he neared Ezra in an instant with his hands, fists headed for his face when a voice rang out.


    "Intermediate huh?"


    Ezra said before bending to the side just enough for the punch to miss.


    *Bam*


    The punch left a small ripple in the air as Ezra quickly assessed the situation.


    ''He''s a fist fighter of the Intermediate rank, with a mana technique that gives destructive punching power''


    Ezra''s mana vision had helped in dodging the punch because he predicted it.


    ''He''s also not your average fighter'' Ezra thought while dodging a flurry of punches that came at him with terrifying uracy.


    ''He has power and uracy butcks the necessary speed to make it whole''


    He was evaluating him with the standards of his past life, because even though Ezra thought like this, he was only narrowly escaping the man''s punching rage.


    "You can''t dodge forever you know" the boss said to Ezra before taking a different approach.


    He was too slow to hit him with pinpoint uracy, then what about spreading his attack range?


    And so he did.


    He coated his fists in ayer of blue mana.


    It was a skill that amplified his punching power, increasing damage for a reduction in uracy.


    Ezra was being pushed back as he lost the contest of strength.


    ''Hmm, I want to go all out, but then everyone here might die'' he thought, before changing his approach.


    ''I''m sure now, I''m at the level of a three star Adept and he''s an Intermediate rank'' Ezra thought.


    Ezra knew that he, an Adept, could never beat the boss, an Intermediate, in a contest of raw power.


    But then¡­


    ''Who said I had to y by the rules?''


    This was a fight, dying was not umon, so there was no need to y fair, rather, one should level the ying field with the opponent.


    And Ezra''s way of doing that was¡­


    ''Mana techniques''


    The mana technique from his past-life. And so¡­


    ''I''ll use maximum efficiency and overwhelming technique to supplement myck of raw power''


    And with such thoughts, Ezra''s movement immediately changed as he dodged another punch by moving only his head to the side, before kicking the boss in the chest.


    A move that sent the boss a few steps back and gave Ezra a moment to breathe.


    He looked at the boss whose face had a smile on it and instead of waiting, attacked first.


    "Hahaha, that''s how you do it, now show me whatcha got"


    The one-sided fighting quickly evolved to a heated battle while most of the gang members hurried away trying to not get hit in the crossfire.


    Ezra used his swords to parry the boss''s strike and redirect them while the boss had to be a lot more defensive than before.


    *Deep breath* *Deep breath*


    Both Ezra and the boss had run out of stamina, as they both took panted breathes.


    Seeing that they were evenly matched, Ezra thought of a way tond a winning blow.


    ''I could use my poison blood, but it might kill him before I can get an antidote''


    ''Hmm, what to do, what to do? Wait I can try "that"''


    Ezra suddenly thought of a despicable tactic, but¡­


    ''There''s no rule saying it''s not allowed. Plus, he can heal himselfter''


    Ezra thought as he looked at the panting boss a few meters away.


    ''Let''s do it'' he thought, as he confirmed his n before setting his stance.


    Both Ezra and the boss instinctively knew.


    ''This is thest attack''


    And they sprung towards each other, most only seeing a blur of ck colliding with one of blue.


    At the moment of thest attack, Ezra activated mana vision as he parried the flurry of punches from a blue fist.


    He knew he couldn''t win unscathed, so he attacked the boss with the cleaving motion of his sword as the boss chose to face on and punch.


    Only for Ezra to suddenly drop the sword and pull the boss with his hand forward while the other fist hit his ribs.


    *Crack*


    Yep, something was definitely broken, but he had to win first.


    As Ezra pulled him, he swung the sword in his right hand and the boss put up his spare hand to guard against it when¡­


    *Crack*


    Ezra kneed his little brother, breaking an egg in the process, which caused the boss to faint on the spot.


    "Whew, one heck of a boss fight I must say" Ezra said as if he hadn''t just destroyed the boss''s baby maker.

 Chapter 24 Another Objective

    "Ugh!" Ezra groaned as he felt his fractured ribs, before looking to the side to see the gang members quivering with faces full of dread. Their hands were both used to cover their baby maker.


    When they met Ezra''s gaze, they subconsciously shrunk their neck trying their best not to be noticed.


    Even the two boys that acted like the boss''s bodyguards carefully concealed their existence by stayingpletely still.


    What? They were just a rag tag group of thugs that their boss gathered. Now said boss was lying face-t on the ground without moving, and it didn''t seem like he was getting up anytime soon.


    Ezra nodded inwardly at this sight, because their pride was destroyed and their morale had shattered to pieces.


    He didn''t want to kill too many of them because they might prove usefulter on.


    Especially the boss. Ezra wanted to kill him at first, but after seeing that he was a man with enough brain cells to control a gang, he changed his mind.


    Getting the members in order would be a waste of time if he did it himself, so he needed to bring the boss to his side and turn him into a subordinate to do his bidding.


    And he already formted a n on how he would convince him to do so.


    For now though, Ezra left the boss on the floor as he called out to the gang members who looked as if they wanted to enter the ground.


    "Oi, where are the two guys following the boss?" Ezra asked, and the gang members immediately parted to reveal the two men who were sweating buckets.


    But what could they do? They had just seen him knock out the boss. There was no running away, otherwise their heads might just fly off.


    "S-Sir, here w-we are" the bald one said, stuttering immensely before Ezra calmed him down.


    "Stop fidgeting, I''m not going to kill you. I just want to ask a few questions" Ezra said as the two men made audible sighs of relief.


    "You two are the closest to the boss, am I right?" Ezra said as the two hastily nodded to confirm it.


    "Then, you should know where the money is stashed?" Ezra asked as the eyes of the two men widened in disbelief.


    Ezra chuckled seeing their expression before asking¡­


    "What, did you think I was some sort of white knight trying to y hero?"


    The expression of the two men turned to shock as Ezra had correctly guessed what they were thinking.


    "Well, what are you waiting for? Take me to the storage" Ezra urged them, pulling the two out of their reverie as they hurriedly directed him.


    "I-It''s right here sir" they said, before moving a little and stopping as they bent down to pick something up, or rather push it open.


    Arge separated piece of wood reinforced with a hardening liquid to make sure it didn''t break when walked on.


    The removed wood gave way for a small staircase with only four steps, after which I saw a door made of iron with four locks on it. It was neither big nor small, just enough for one person to go through at a time.


    I was silent for a few seconds, but the two men scratched their heads before the one with low ck hair told me what was up.


    "Well, you see, the boss never let anyone other than himself go in, and only he knows where the keys are"


    "Oh, so we have to ask the boss for the keys?" I asked with my gaze still on the door.


    "Y-Yes that''s right, I could go and-"


    The ck haired one replied nervously-


    "There''s no need for all that"


    -but I cut him off mercilessly.


    Nevertheless, he didn''t show any hint of displeasure, only choosing to keep mute. It seemed my earlier fight had more effect than I thought.


    "Move back, I''ll be breaking those locks" Ezra said as he moved an arm''s length away before stopping.


    The two men did as they were told and moved back a little, inwardly looking forward to seeing what was behind that door.


    ''Concentrate'' Ezra thought as he closed his eyes and extended his mana to his sword.


    The sword''s edges began to glow in a dark hue, it was¡­


    ''Sword Aura'' thought the two boys as their eyes widened and they held their breaths.


    They once again breathe a sigh of relief while wiping non-existent sweat from their foreheads, thanking their star they hadn''t tried on pulling a fast one.


    Meanwhile, the boy pulling off the crazy skill was¡­disappointed.


    ''It''s severelyckingpared to before but it''s enough to do the trick'' thought Ezra as looked at the (in his opinion) weak glow emanating from the sword.


    It was part of his trade skills that came with the moniker of the dark knight.


    Of course, the effectiveness of his past sword aura couldn''t bepared.


    Nevertheless, the fact that an adept knight was even able to feel a glimpse of it, let alone manifest it, was something almost deemed impossible.


    Except in the case of Ezra, that is.


    Normally speaking, Ezra could destroy the door a lot more easily, but he needed to show these two, the boss''s men, his prowess and potential.


    The effects of such a thing would be that these two would spread the information to the rest of the gang and especially the boss, causing him to think twice before rejecting Ezra''s future proposal.


    Seeing he had achieved his first aim, Ezra lightly swung the sword on his right hand. And then¡­


    *Zeeehinng* *BAMM!*


    The door split in two and started falling slowly, scratching the ground, before hitting the floor.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ezra and the two men easily avoided the falling door as the two looked to see how much treasure the boss had stashed away.


    They weren''t disappointed with what they saw, but one couldn''t say the same for Ezra whose face had scrunched up in an unsightly manner.


    It was a small hill made of coins. And before you ask, no, it wasn''t gold. It was mostly copper and a little bit of silver, along with a lot of copper artifacts and a few bronze ones. There was also a substantial amount of low quality potions and very few mana techniques of copper rank.


    Basically, to Ezra who was given one hundred gold as pocket change, these guys were dirt poor, no they were beyond even that.


    But when Ezra reminisced about his past life, he acknowledged them as rich.


    One had to know the market values to urately make sense of this topic.


    Of all things in the Niton Empire, food was abundant because of therge amounts of fertilends and arge poption to farm.


    A loaf of bread at the cheapest rates cost five copper. This loaf was enough for one to use as breakfast too.


    Naturally, as this was the capital, the prices were inted, so the cheapest bread would go for fifteen coppers.


    The cheapest bag of wheat was usually sold for twenty-two copper, while being thirty copper in the capital. It was enough tost a man an entire month if rationed.


    Capital being as it is, also meant that the amount of money passing through the city was immense, through both legal and illegal means.


    A beggar sitting by the side-walk could at least fork out the minimum of ten copper each day.


    But all this is about the food.


    Clothes, shoes, weapons and armor were pricier the farther they were sold from the capital.


    The production of all the items mentioned above varied greatly. Their source channels were controlled by either High to Mid-level merchants or nobles of varying statuses, whose ambitions was their topmost priority.


    Looking at this, one could easily begin to guess why the items were expensive.


    The nobles had made it so.


    Peasants bing farmers, butchers or cobblers was rtively easy, while bing a tailor, cksmith or carpenter had almost be an insurmountable task and might be if not for the new era setting in.


    In fact, bing a soldier was far easier than these things.


    Peasants who did be one, either did it through luck or sold themselves to a noble to gain sponsorship as we call it.


    But it was in most cases daylight robbery, extortion to no end.


    The peasant would have to sign a very one-sided agreement, sometimes willingly, most times forcefully. If he is indeed able to learn the profession of his choice, he would pay for it by working for said noble family ording to the agreement, which might be a set of years or till he could pay back the money he was ''borrowed'', while the noble made sure he couldn''t pay up and be a dog on a leash.


    At times, the person''s descendent would have to continue working for the same noble family under the excuse of paying debt.


    Most peasants didn''t even have the opportunity to learn how to write, but reading was fairlymon due to the influx of books in the past century, but illiteracy was definitely there.


    These days, mana techniques were bing more and moremon to the public, something which the nobles were trying their very best to stop. When they realized they couldn''t do so, they began releasing multiple defective mana techniques that would eventually cripple peoples cultivation, while making sure to price it at least several silvers.


    ''Those guys were so arrogant yet so scared of peasants at the same time'' Ezra thought before he suddenly became angry.


    ''And I worked for them and trusted their words like a dog. Man, how was I so stupid?''


    Ezra found himself questioning all he had done in his past-life. He was trying to be righteous, but was that what he actually did? He stood for the weak when necessary, while giving utmost loyalty to his superiors, but now that he thought about it¡­


    ''I was a bigger fool than I thought, huh?''


    Ezra breathed a depressing sigh, wondering how he had gone so wrong, before shaking his head.


    ''I never went wrong, I was just taken advantage of by those smarter than me. I only followed things to the letter because I thought I was doing good and I never questioned myself¡­and that was my mistake!''


    He subconsciously remembered a lot of faces from his past-life, those who plotted his deaths as his resolve was once again ignited.


    ''They will all die, that I promise myself'' he said inwardly before his thoughts came back to the coin pile in front of him.


    He looked behind him, only to see a yellow puddle form below the two men who hadpletely frozen, their eyes gone nk.


    Ezra immediately understood.


    ''How much killing intent did I release to put them in such a state?''


    He must have unintentionally released killing intent while thinking of the bastards who betrayed him, but that was that and Ezra made a mental note to have someonee to clean up their mess.


    Examining the above situation of the Empire, the fact one of the weakest gangs could acquire this much meant...


    ''How much were those top dogs earning daily?'' Ezra couldn''t help but be curious as a dangerous thought came to mind.


    ''Should I pay them a visit too?'' Ezra thought but immediately shook his head.


    He had to maintain a very-low profile till he umted enough strength and spread his influence.


    So, that meant¡­


    ''I just have to wait a few years while their treasury increases in size before iming it''


    And like so, Ezra assigned himself another objective as a n was already being formed.


    ''It''s only a matter of time, let''s hope they keep it safely till then''


    Ezra concluded.

 Chapter 25 Bone Snapping

    Ezra tossed the gang conquering objective to the back of his mind as a thing ofter deliberation.


    After all, it was a long term goal, and so long as he kept up with his ns, achieving it wouldn''t take much effort.


    ''Now, what to do with this?'' Ezra thought while staring at the coin pile, but the answer came to him an instantter.


    He picked up multiple low quality healing potions and went up the stairs into the wrecked bar where the gang members were as meek as mice.


    Not a single voice could be heard as they watched Ezra''s every action nervously.


    It was quite aical scene to see the eyes of more than Twenty men carefully follow the movements of a small boy.


    Ezra stopped in front of one gang member that had his four limbs dislocated by him, put the potions a safe distance away before¡­


    *Crack* *AHH-Mm* *Crack* *Crack*


    The sounds of bones snapping echoed out, followed by a scream that was muffled by the snapping sounds that continued until Ezra stood straight, looking at the gang member whose eyes were bloodshot, not because of anger, but because of pain.


    Before he could wonder what else that little devil wanted from him, a warm liquid flowed through his mouth and he felt inexplicably refreshed, before¡­


    *Craaaack* *Craaaack*


    Another round of bone snapping sounds echoed, this time more vicious and louder than thest.


    The victim was in so much pain that he couldn''t even scream. His body bent in awkward angles before settling down after a good three minutes of bone snapping.


    The spectating gang members were already sweating bullets as they looked at each other''s faces while saying no words, because the meaning was immediately understood.


    The members were about to bow and beg, when one of them spoke out in a surprised tone.


    "Hey, look over there, Joss is getting up"


    The other members quickly narrowed their eyes to see if it was actually true, even though the person wasn''t far away.


    Lo and behold, the man''s chest heaved up and down as his bloodshot eyes gradually regained its luster, before¡­


    "UGH!" the man, Joss, groaned heavily, before taking deep breaths to calm himself and taking a look at his healed body, when a familiar sound rang out again.


    *Crack* *Crack* *Crack* *Crack*


    The nostalgic sound of bones snapping into ce sent chills down Joss''s spine as he turned his head backwards to see the boy who had healed him do the same for others, and his hands were moving faster.


    The standing gang members now understood what he was doing. No, they had seen the healing potion but they thought the boy was ransacking their storage.


    Instead, he started healing those whose bones he broke by snapping their bones back in ce, before pouring a healing potion in their mouths.


    Within minutes, Joss was able to stand, although groggily. He only had to rest his bone for a while, a long while, but he wasn''t going to live as a cripple.


    The gang members felt a bit moved as they saw this, but when they remembered the way he had killed some of theirrades, different thoughts came into their minds as they wondered why he was healing them.


    After all¡­it couldn''t be that he wanted to beat them up all over again, right? Maybe he would send them to the city''s knight squad and have them put in the prisons?


    Thoughts like this flew into their heads as they found themselves bing more terrified rather than calm.


    By now, Ezra was picking out ss particles from the body of the gang member he kicked when the boss woke up.


    He had healed the bodies of ten fractured members, only a few were remaining, and while the gang members were thinking of terrifying things, Ezra''s thoughts and reasons were actually very simple.


    ''If I want them to work for me in earnest, I''ll have to carefully apply the carrot and the stick''


    Ezra wanted them as his minions who would do his bidding, but he couldn''t force them or use fear to do so, because that would only worsen the situation.


    No, he had to make them understand that he could be as bad as a devil and as good as a saint depending on how they behaved.


    The process seemed tedious, but it would bepletely worth it, considering that he nned to expand the group into a temporary base and an organization to fulfill his ns.


    As he finished removing the ss particles, which thankfully were mostly stuck at the back, buttocks and legs, he quickly emptied a healing potion in the goon''s mouth as he moved on to the next person, when three figures entered the bar.


    Ezra looked over, only to smile thereafter.


    It was Sir John/Fredrick along with James and a girl who he would presume was the sister James was talking about.


    James and the girl approached Ezra bowing at the same time. Tears dripped from their eyes for a few seconds before they cleaned it off and raised their heads to look at Ezra.


    ''Would you look at this? My eyes weren''t wrong after all''


    Ezra thought as he lightly nodded while holding his chin. He saw neither fear nor joy projected in the faces of the two siblings, but conviction, determination and resolve.


    They hadn''t said a word, but Ezrapletely understood them as well as the meaning of their expression.


    They had learned that there was no such thing as a free gift in this world, and they were ready to do whatever it took to repay such gratitude.


    Ezra''s manners had also granted them an insight on how cruel and benevolent he could be. A ruthless killer and a kind healer.


    Ezra thought of these things in seconds before the two siblings unterally opened their mouths to speak¡­


    "Don''t worry, there is no need for words"


    Ezra cut them off but¡­it seemed they misunderstood his intentions, because¡­


    "No, Sir, we wish to pledge our loyalty to you, please don''t turn us down" James hurriedly said while staring downward.


    "Who said anything about turning you down? I understand your feelings and I ept it, but you''ll have to prove it with action" Kevin/Ezra said.


    "Then¡­what do you need me to do?" James asked straightforwardly.


    "You shall be told in due time. For now¡­hmm, you have many beggar friends, don''t you?" Ezra asked.


    "Yes, My lord" James said.


    "Good, then- wait, don''t call me lord or master or any of that, big brother''s good enough. We can''t have you drawing needless attention now can we?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I understand, b-big b-broth-er" James said.


    "Good. Now, you''ll go round up your beggar friends, the younger they are the better, and bring them here, got it?"


    "Yes, my-"


    "Big brother" Ezra corrected him.


    "Big brother" James said as he stood straight to begin the work he was assigned, but his "big brother" abruptly called out.


    James, you never introduced her to me" Ezra said, pointing at the girl.


    "What a blunder. She''s my sister and her name''s Ruby" James said.


    "Hmm, I guessed as much, but weren''t you bedridden before?" Ezra asked.


    "She-" James wanted to answer but was interrupted.


    "I''m sorry big brother, I became better thanks to Sir John''s potion. I insisted on seeing the face of my benefactor" Ruby said with a meek voice.


    "There''s no need to be sorry, after all, you''re my little sister from now on. And you''ll be working for me just like your brother" Ezra said.


    "Then I''ll be in your care from now on, big brother" Ruby added.


    "Likewise" Ezra said, lightly bowing.


    Meanwhile, James could only look on dumbfounded by the sudden turn of events. Hadn''t they just met? Why was she talking to him so naturally, when normally she acted shy in front of others?


    ''Well, I guess it''s a good thing they get along so well, but why am I feeling a little left out'' James thought, before saying¡­


    "Since you two are getting along fine, I''ll be heading out" he said, leaving no room for argument as he dashed out of the wrecked bar.


    Ezra looked at Sir Fredrick, who hadn''t said a thing since he got back. He seemed to be in deep thought about something when Ezra asked¡­


    "Fredrick, do you think this healing potion can repair teeth?" Ezra asked while pointing at the next guy whose jaw he shifted with a kick, not noticing he had started calling Fredrick without honorifics.


    Fredrick was pulled out of his reverie, before staring at the person and answering¡­


    "It might heal his bones back into shape, but I doubt it can stick removed teeth back. He can wait for it to re-grow"


    "Hmm, that makes sense, but that means¡­" Ezra''s voice trailed off as he looked at the boss with a slight wince.


    Needless to say, the potion which couldn''t restore a tooth couldn''t restore an egg, maybe mid-level healing potions would do it, but those were worth several gold coins, which would essentially blow his cover.


    ''He''ll just have to manage with one for the meantime, maybe something in the treasury would help'' Ezra thought, before suddenly remembering the reason why he entered the city.


    ''I''ve wasted too much time, better make things quick'' Ezra thought before emptying a healing potion in the mouth of the gang member and mover subsequently faster.


    But the remaining members would never forget the pain they felt.


    *CRACK* *CRACK* *CRAA¡­*


    Bones snapped so loudly that the onlookers looked away, while the remaining gang members couldn''t even scream and mostly fell unconscious due to the unbearable pain they felt because of Ezra''s rapid bone snapping.


    Ten minutes passed and Ezra was done with that, so he called a gang-member who began shivering, with his teeth ttering like it was ice season.


    "Hey"


    "Y-Yes sir"


    "Go down there, and clean up the mess" Ezra said as he pointed to the stairs leading to the gang storage.


    "Yes, I understand, what else?"


    "Don''t you dare steal anything, or else¡­"


    "I-Is that all?"


    "Of course it is, what were you expecting?" Ezra asked with a raised brow.


    "N-Nothing, of course"


    "Good, you can go" Ezra said as the gang member sighed in relief, quickly moving away before the boy changed his mind.


    Seeing that the pee would soon be taken care off, Ezra darted his eyes towards the gang members and asked¡­


    "Where are the secret files kept?"


    The answer came immediately.


    "I don''t know, please don''t kill me"


    "I swear I don''t know anything either"


    "Only the boss and his two boys know where it''s kept"


    The gang members answered and Ezra didn''t think they were lying, especially considering the current situation.


    ''Do I have to wake him up?" Ezra thought, looking at the unconscious boss.


    At that moment¡­


    "UGH!"


    A loud groan of agony echoed.


    The boss had woken up.

 Chapter 26 Sponsorship

    "UGH!"


    A loud groan resounded as we see the boss slowly getting to his feet.


    His eyes had be bloodshot, his left hand was still holding his baby maker. The gang members made unsightly faces.


    Yet, as if all those things didn''t exist, the boy who had been the cause of such a problem didn''t even bat an eyelid before saying¡­


    "Oi, you should be careful, it won''t do you any good to have the other egg broken"


    *STOMP*


    The boss stomped the ground in rage, causing it to cave in and resound.


    Nevertheless, the boy only yawned as if bored, causing three veins to pop up on the boss''s head.


    The boss looked at the boy before making a decision.


    ''I''m going to kill him no matter what it takes'' he promised himself as he unleashed his aura and killing intent.


    The boy looked at him as an amused smile formed on his face. He then moved his hands as if trying to swat a fly, which dispersed the killing intent that caused most in the bar to freeze.


    The boss was about to take action when the boy calmly called out a name.


    "Fredrick"


    Immediately another aura more oppressive was unleashed and, like a tsunami, washed the boss''s aura as well as his killing intent away.


    The boss, whose rage had almost blinded him, quickly came to his senses as fear and apprehension hit him.


    The person who had unleashed the thick aura was standing behind him, so the boss looked back and saw a fairly old man with brown hair and thick muscle in peasant clothes.


    The boss could tell the aura was around Expert rank, an expert that could quite literally sweep the floor with him, and considering the earlier events, he seemed to be working for the small child.


    The boss quickly connected the dots, showing he was the boss for a reason, before quicklying to a few conclusions.


    ''The boy should be from a noble family, but why is he wearing peasant clothes? Hmm, maybe he is an heir in hiding or one from another continent!''


    ''He has a single knight apanying him to keep a low-profile. Which means others might be nearby! But what is he doing around here? What kind of bad luck is this?''


    The boss wanted to cry at the turn of events. He had been turned into a half-eunuch and he couldn''t dare to retaliate or even run-away!


    ''Damn it!'' the boss cursed, before retracting his killing intent and aura as he calmed down and began thinking rationally.


    ''I was unconscious for quite some time. He could have killed me easily if he wanted to, as well as the other members with ease. The fact that he didn''t means¡­he might want something from me!'' the boss realized.


    ''But what could it be? I don''t think I have anything of value that would warrant a noble''s attention'' the boss thought before heaving a depressing sigh.


    His life was turned upside down in the span of barely two hours. His gang and his bar were almostpletely destroyed.


    He didn''t even know how he would start another business.


    Thankfully, it seemed he could survive with enough luck on his side, but he would have to find out what they wanted first.


    The boss took another deep breath to calm his heart, before grabbing and wearing his jacket.


    He looked at the two people, as well as a girl in torn clothing, which he decided to temporarily ignore as he faced the two men and said¡­


    "It seems you want to have a chat, follow me" he said, as he moved to a door beside the bar table, whose liquor were now broken to pieces, and entered.


    Ezra and Fredrick followed him into a small office with a single table and three chairs, one for the boss and two of them.


    As they did, the boss went into action.


    "It seems my boys had greatly offended you and for that, I''ll offer my deepest apologies" he said, bowing his head.


    Ezra nodded nonchntly as if it was no big deal.


    The boss inwardly smiled at the reaction.


    ''If I can y my cards right, this could be a massive opportunity''


    "That aside, the fact that you spared both I and my men''s life doesn''t seem to be an act of kindness. So I''ll get straight to the point, what do you want from us?"


    Ezra nodded without saying anything. He liked this kind of person.


    ''It seems keeping him alive was the right choice'' Ezra thought.


    ''The way he''s treating us, he must have realized that I''m from a noble family¡­but he doesn''t know which one''


    ''Then¡­I''ll have to act my part impably'' Ezra affirmed.


    The boss didn''t know who they were, and was probing them with questions to see if they were impostors, or maybe something else entirely.


    "Fredrick, give him a coin" Ezra said to Fredrick who sat with an aloof expression, and without saying anything, he tossed a coin onto the table.


    The boss''s eyes almost popped as he looked at the gold coin thatnded on his table.


    He quickly regainedposure and asked¡­


    "Can I check the authenticity?"


    "What an ingrate! Do you think I would waste time tricking a wastrel like you?" Ezra said with an awfully arrogant tone.


    "Forgive me, great Sirs, this untrained one is only trying to see the extent of your greatness" the boss answered with a ttering tone but wasn''t backing down.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "The extent of greatness is beyond what you can imagine, but if you insist, then so be it and make it fast" Ezra answered.


    The boss immediately took the coin in his hand and used mana to appraise its quality.


    A momentter-


    *GASP*


    A gasp was heard as the boss unintentionally dropped the coin before standing up and bowing as a sign of apology.


    Multiple thoughts went through his head as he did so.


    ''It''s a genuine gold coin and¡­it''s Nitonian''


    ''So, he must be the bastard son of a Niton duke, or viscount at least''


    ''I have to make sure to please them well'' the boss thought.


    "Humph, at least you''re smart enough to understand, then again, if you weren''t, you would have died already" Ezra said as the boss sat back down.


    "What is your ambition?" Ezra asked the boss out of the blue.


    Nevertheless, the boss quickly answered.


    "Hmm, well for my gang to be one of the top dogs in this city, that''s it"


    "Such a small goal?" at this moment, the boss and Fredrick had iprehensible looks on their faces.


    "Why can''t you aim higher? What is stopping you from aiming for the first? What is stopping you from aiming for being the best?"


    The boss felt his heart sting at the ridiculous question.


    Of course he thought about such things, but that was all it was, thoughts.


    To actually seed would require too many things, from the money involved to the man power and individual strength.


    All these were the least of the problems. There were many more that one would have to think about before trying such an endeavor.


    Yet this boy is saying it like it''s child''s y. The boss was about to berate him on his ignorance when the boy continued.


    "Is it money? Manpower? Mana techniques? What if I said I could give those to you?"


    Fredrick could only look on while his own thoughts churned, trying to figure out what his lord was trying to do.


    After all, weren''t they supposed to be looking for someone? How did things suddenly take such a turn, or had he seen something?


    Numerous questions, yet no answers.


    Fredrick could do as Ezra said.


    ''Watch me''


    Meanwhile, the boss suddenly took a nk look as he cupped his hands and began muttering some things under his breath, before looking at Ezra and sighing.


    Then he spoke¡­


    "What do you want from us?"


    The boss recognized it as an opportunity. It was too good to be true!


    But this was exactly the problem, it was¡­


    ''Too good to be true. Are they thieves or bandits?" the boss thought.


    Honestly, he couldn''te up with a reason why a nobles would want to sponsor him.


    He didn''t have any special qualities, well except his above average intelligence and he knew it, so this was the question.


    ''Why?''


    Ezra, who understood what the boss was thinking, spoke up.


    "Hmm, you don''t think it''s for free, do you?"


    The boss raised brow in an expression of "What kind of (stupid) question is that?"


    "Hmm, it seems you get it, Mr¡­?"


    "Cabrera"


    "Mr. Cabrera, you see, I am an ambitious man and I have grand ns, so it''s normal for me to sponsor you rather than the top dogs"


    "What I want from you as payment for my support are numerous and dangerous. Are you up for it?" the boy said with cold eyes, the arrogance nowhere to be seen.


    The boss quickly understood that this was the breaking point. His next answer would either mean this man went to another gang to sponsor or made his, and that if he epted. There was no backing out.


    Now, what would he choose?


    To retreat or to advance?


    To stay on the safe ground or fly into a sky full of predators?

 Chapter 27 Mr. Cabrera

    At the juncture of taking a decision that would irrevocably change his life.


    Cabrera couldn''t help but think of his life till now.


    He was born in the slums of this city from a mother who had been abandoned by her husband.


    His first eight years were tough but full of warmth, thanks to his loving mother.


    In his ninth year, she was killed as coteral damage of a fight between two gangs. Losing the only emotional pir he had killed something in him.


    After two weeks of mourning, he set his thoughts on getting revenge and grew up embracing the dark side.


    This made him mature faster, and by ten years old, he joined a gang. One of the gangs that caused his mother''s death.


    By channeling his grief and anger, he aplished different feats good enough for the leader of the gang to take him as a sessor.


    He suppressed his emotions and killing intent, and managed to not get caught.


    Using his wits, he continued to perform stunning feats, killing and destroying a lot of things belonging to the second gang that killed his mother.


    It was the gang leader that gave the mana technique that got him to the Intermediate level.


    He waited till the age of sixteen, which was when the gang leader appointed him as the second inmand.


    His joy knew no bounds that day. His acting, scheming and lying had paid off. He could now begin his revenge in earnest, and so he did.


    The next few years, he brought people who would be loyal to him into the gang inrge numbers, while slowly disposing of the thorns in his side by sending them on missions and ambushing them.


    During this time, he used his power topletely destroy the other gang that killed his mom.


    Only the old members, as well as the gang leader, were left.


    Six monthster, he poisoned the unsuspecting gang leader and killed him, before making up an excuse to kill all the old members of his gang in an all-out internal war.


    The day it was done, he cried as he mourned his mother.


    After some time, he realized he didn''t have any intention to stay in a gang any longer, and so he left.


    Only toe back a weekter unsessful.


    He found that he wasn''t good at doing most things except running a gang, and thatpared to the measly pay, gang work paid better, so he decided to stick around by bing a gang leader.


    Years had gone by and he felt mostly empty. He wasn''t able to go past the intermediate stage and could only sharpen his techniques. But even that hit a wall eventually.


    And with age came wisdom¡­as well as leniency.


    He had be inactive, and his gang members were no more than street thugs with how much their skills had regressed, as they hadn''t fought or trained seriously in a long time.


    Yet, someone beat up his boys and himself. He was also offering to sponsor the gang.


    To make it better than it was in its heyday.


    Cabrera felt his blood boil with ambition and expectation.


    A feeling that he hadn''t felt in a long time.


    So what should he choose?


    ''I could say no, and he leaves''


    Say no and the man leaves. The Dark Tooth gang would go back to their normal lives drinking and sleeping daily while robbingmoners of change in their spare time.


    Or¡­


    ''I could say yes and nosedive into unknown danger''


    Say yes and his life wouldpletely change, for the better or worse, he couldn''t be sure.


    He would be very busy and might even die. Surely he should back out, right?


    But why was his blood pumping at the call to danger? Why would he risk it?


    Then he realized. It was because he had always loved dangerous situations. Because beside risk lies reward, and beside danger lies opportunity.


    If he wanted to rise, then this was a chance.


    After all, people said¡­


    ''Opportunitiese only once''


    And with such thought, his answer was made clear.


    He looked at the boy before saying slowly.


    "What do you need me to do?"


    Ezra grinned widely at this moment before asking¡­


    "Do you have soul paper or a mana contract?"


    Cabrera''s eyes dted slightly before he answered.


    "Yes, but only two copies of Silver rank"


    "The fact you have that much is impressive in its own right" Ezra said as Cabrera brought a white scroll onto the desk


    Ezra took and opened it, showing scroll wide rune markings.


    ''It''s the real deal'' Ezra thought.


    It was a soul contract. Which is a paper that would witness the transaction of two beings and bind them.


    The terms and conditions of the contract would be written out, as well as what sort of punishment should be executed if one party fails to uphold the agreement.


    Naturally, it had its own limits and disadvantages, but was widely used across the three continents.


    The disadvantage was that people could leave loopholes in the agreement, which they wouldter exploit if the other person didn''t discover them before signing it.


    The types of punishments one could state were also limited ording to how high the quality (rank) was.<novelnext></novelnext>


    While the grade of soul paper determined who could break off from it.


    An Expert Knight could forcefully break off a silver rank soul contract, while a Master Knight could break off a Gold soul contract. But not without facing repercussions, which depend on the other party''s cultivation stage, the rank of the soul paper and the designated punishment.


    A mana contract was basically the same, except for the fact that the one who breaches such a contract would have their mana stripped from them for a set amount of time, a set amount of mana or even a rank regression.


    The fact that Ezra asked for such a thing to be brought out meant the details of their deal would be kept a secret.


    And without saying anything, Ezra took a feather dipped in ink with runes carved on it and began to write the details of the contract.


    After five minutes, Ezra handed it to the boss for confirmation.


    It basically said Ezra would sponsor them by giving them money and mana techniques to help increase their strength enough to rise to the top. In exchange, they would safeguard his interests.


    The boss couldn''t help but frown deeply. What did ''interests'' mean?


    There was no indication. This was one of the things he would never ept.


    It was one of the fatal ws of a contract, never allowing an ambiguous word.


    The word ''interests'' meant a lot of things.


    It could be that they wouldmit treason, that they would kill a noble, or maybe something worse.


    After all, he was only meeting the boy for the first time.


    Heck, he didn''t even know his name yet.


    It might be that the so-called ''interests'' was but a trap where they would finish a very crazy mission and be killed as scapegoats for whatever he was nning.


    So no, Cabrera would never sign such a contract as he handed it back while asking¡­


    "Are you joking?"


    "I thought you were desperate for my help?" the boy asked.


    "Yes, desperate, not stupid" Cabrera pointed out.


    "So outline the meaning of ''interests'' while stating the amount of sponsorship you will be giving us weekly"


    Another trap was the fact that Ezra hadn''t specifically stated the amounts of money he would send, only that he would sponsor them.


    After all, giving them one silver a month was also sponsoring, was it not?


    "Per month, not week" Ezra said.


    "Fine" Cabrera conceded.


    Ezra used mana to erase all he had written, before writing again.


    Another thirty minutes passed while Fredrick only watched them without making a sound.


    He was also reading the details of the contract Ezra was writing, and once again felt awe when he connected the dots of what he thought Ezra was trying to do.


    After a whole forty-five minutes of writing, erasing and cross-checking, Ezra gave the contract to Cabrera.


    "Hmm" was the only thing Cabrera muttered as he stole nces at Ezra from time to time with incredulous looks on his face.


    A question was seriously buzzing him.


    ''How?''


    How is it possible for a kid to write with such insight and decisiveness?


    The contract was unbelievably long this time and filled a lot of things.


    It said Ezra would provide two Silver rank mana techniques, three Gray ones and fifty Bronze techniques as a down payment and starting sponsorship.


    Subsequent sponsoring would include: an entirely new building to be used as headquarters, five Bronze rank armors, ten gold coins a month, and at least five new members, but the gang leader would take care of that.


    The gang was required to register as a guild with the name "ck Jaws" and act as a proxy for Ezra to spread his influence across "THE THREE CONTINENTS". The n on how to do it would be provided by Ezra.


    The guild would have to guard other organizations he would build in the future by sending men and other needed resources.


    Thanks to the multitudes of ns, guilds and mercenaries, aw had been enacted which grantednd owners the right to sell it, and the new owner would only have to make sure that taxes were paid to the royal family.


    This meant that nobles would be able to sellnd to other nobles, merchants, ns, guilds, lone mercenaries or evenmoners if they could fork out the cash.


    Ezra would use thisw to his utmost advantage considering his future ns.


    The gang, or soon to be guild, would have their members move on Ezra''s order to buy unearthednd or soon-to-be dungeon zones.


    Sure, there were limits to the feasibility of his n, but he already made ns for those.


    Things like, the nobles couldn''t sell theirnd secretly or else the royals had the right to charge the person with treason, confiscate hisnd and behead him and his family.


    This was why Ezra needed to make a merchant organization, as well as an information organization, and it couldn''t be just one.


    He is going to use this gang as a springboard for the rest of his ns.


    It was also written that Ezra''s authority superseded Mr. Cabrera.


    Ezra''s decision would have to be carried out to the letter.


    Of course, Ezra couldn''t chase Cabrera away and he never nned to.


    Ezra needed his expertise, experience and reputation, or why else would he want to work with him?


    Neither Ezra nor Cabrera could speak a word of this contract to anything or anyone.


    If one tried to, their brains would be fried and they would die.


    Cabrera was never to tell anyone the name of his sponsor, and would do everything in his power to mislead them.


    A lot of things were also written, but these could be said to be the main points.

 Chapter 28 In Six Months

    The sound of paper moving was the only thing to be heard in the office as Cabrera read the contract carefully, scrutinizing each word trying to find any loophole, but till the end he didn''t find any.


    Nevertheless, he found something unsettling.


    "It says here that you would be the owner of ck Jaws in secret"


    "Why, yes of course. I''m granting you an opportunity by making you the guild leader, and I''m the one paying, or sponsoring as is it stated"


    "So, I''m just supposed to be a puppet?" Cabrera asked.


    "No, you''re getting my intentions wrong" Ezra said, calming Cabrera down.


    "I am essentially hiring you and your boys to work for me. I chose you as a guild leader because I see you as someone capable enough to be one, and to also make use of your expertise and reputation to open closed doors. Tell me, was I wrong in doing so?"


    Ezra was indirectly telling Cabrera that he was the boss and Cabrera was but an employed worker, and if he couldn''t ept that, Ezra would withdrawpletely.


    "No¡­you weren''t" Cabrera answered, which meant he now understood his ce.


    "Good, then let''s have a good working rtionship" Ezra said, extending a handshake.


    "Likewise" said Cabrera as he shook the extended hand with the contract being finalized at this moment.


    The soul paper turned into particles before entering both their bodies and imprinted itself on their soul.


    While Cabrera had asked questions as if displeased, inwardly he was excited.


    He already knew that the gang, or soon-to-be guild, would be owned by the sponsor, and he would have epted more stringent requirements.


    The contract had a lot of things, but its meaning for Cabrera was simple.


    He was to manage the resources he would be provided, while following the orders of his new boss in expanding his influence around the three continents.


    Cabrera was sure he wouldn''t find a contract as lucrative as this anywhere else. And while it wasn''t up to what the top dogs were earning, it was enough to take them to the high ranks.


    ''I''ll have to start making ns'' Cabrera thought.


    Ezra was obliged to give him two silver mana techniques every eight months after the down payment.


    Ezra also held the rights to determine the guild''s rules and regtions.


    As Cabrera''s thoughts churned on multiple possibilities, Ezra''s voice rang out.


    "All these benefits are just the beginning. The contract can be revised ording how good you perform from now on"


    "Ok"


    "Good, now let''s get down to business. Bring me the information on theyout of this city and which gangs upy what territory"


    Cabrera quickly brought out a book and handed it to Ezra.


    "Hmm, I like organized people" Ezra said as he nodded.


    *Flip* *Flip* *Flip*


    The flipping of pages was the only sound to be heard in the office as Ezra read on, his expression changing a couple of times before dropping his head on the table as his brain boiled with multiple nsing into existence.


    It turns out that, including Dark Tooth, there were seven other gangs in this city.


    Dark Tooth, Red Hook and Green Snake were the lowest three.


    Raven Skull, Ivory Knives and Gold Moles were at the middle level.


    White Kings and Fire Scar were the top dogs.


    ording to the notes, the top dogs had intricate connections with nobles backing them, as they sold ves, stolen goods, beast parts and more.


    Ezra had to admit¡­


    ''I underestimated them''


    He had his horizons broadened again as he read it.


    ''It''s not going to be easy, especially considering that this information is outdated'' Ezra thought.


    Rather than saying that it wasn''t going to be easy, it was on the border of being impossible to uproot the two top gangs, especially after seeing their firm foundations.


    But for Ezra, who knew of future events, hidden gems and goldmines, it was only going to be a little difficult.


    The pros of being reincarnated would soon shine.


    ''And this is only one city. What about the others?!''


    Yes, he had nned to infiltrate multiple cities in different continents. And he had nned on which action would be taken, but¡­


    ''I''ll have to revise my ns''


    And¡­


    ''Get that guy here as soon as possible''


    He needed to make haste before Sebastian left Quarzet, and bring him over to his side.


    "Hmm, I see why the top gangs haven''t being removed or even shaken since"


    "It''ll be a bit difficult, but it''s definitely doable" Ezra said nonchntly.


    *WAAA!*


    Cabrera couldn''t believe his ears or his eyes.


    The two gangs had almost one-quarter of the city as their territory, with at least seven hundred members each with different ranks and abilities.


    Yet this boy said it would be a "little difficult". He was so filled with certainty and confidence that Cabrera was wondering what exactly gave him such, but he would never know as Ezra spoke again.


    "It might seem absurd, but all you have to do is follow my directives and it''ll only be a matter of time"


    Cabrera only nodded dumbly as he chose not to argue at this moment.


    After all, experience is the best teacher.


    "Enough about that, what other gang''s do you have connections with? And in what city do they reside?"


    Another ridiculous question that only caused more questions to sprout in Cabrera''s mind, but he quickly answered.


    "Azure Moss in Oxfield, Crimson Fangs in Ubradena and Scarlet Horns in Qunchester"


    Ezra''s eyes peak at the mention of a particr city.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Hmm, Oxfield and Ubradena can wait. Tell me, those Scarlet Horns, howpetent are they?"


    "Oh, the Scarlet Horns is a guild, and its leader is a colleague of mine who left this city and moved there. So it''s a rtively new guild"


    "Perfect, I want to sponsor him with the exact same contract I gave you. Based on what you know about him, would he ept?"


    "I''m¡­not sure, it depends"


    "But can you convince him?" Ezra asked.


    "Yes, I can"


    "Good. In six months, you''ll send a letter along with a soul contract to him"


    "Hmm, why six months?" Cabrera asked.


    "Well, a lot of reasons actually"


    "Firstly, I''ll need credibility, after all, talk is cheap. All this talk about monopolizing the influence of a city under a single gang could, for all you know, be utter bullsh*t that a rich kid is spewing"


    "In six months, my Informationwork should epass at least the nearest four cities, if not more. As for what that is? You''ll naturally know when it''s time"


    "And in six months, this soon-to-be guild would have grown tremendously"


    "I have 1001 ns in my head and I''m putting them to use step by step" Ezra said, giving a little insight of how grand his ns were before continuing.


    "Now that that''s done, give me all the information you have on the ck market, the big yers among the nobles and the list of chance stores around"


    "Ok" he nodded, before dipping his hands into a smallpartment at the side and pulling it open to reveal organized but dusty books.


    *Cough* *Cough* *Cough*


    Cabrera coughed as he dusted the books and ced them on the table¡­which caused dust to erupt near Ezra''s face.


    Ezra looked at the now-cleaned books and looked at Cabrera before asking¡­


    "How long have these been recorded?"


    "Three years ago" Cabrera answered.


    "Then it''s mostly useless. You need to start recording current information. All these books have be relics of the past"


    Ezra said with annoyance in his tone.


    "I understand" Cabrera answered.


    "Do you have a connection to some missionary personnel?"


    "Yes, I do"


    "Good. John, give him half the amount we brought" Ezra said as the silent Fredrick dipped his hands into a pouch strapped to his waist and brought a handful of a material that made Cabrera involuntarily shudder.


    It was gold! A handful of it was dumped onto the table.


    Although Cabrera had seen it once before, dropping gold coins like sand was unbelievable.


    Ezra saw the look on his face and used it to increase in value.


    "There''s more where that came from. You just need to do your job well"


    Cabrera looked at Ezra and nodded heavily before speaking.


    "By the way, you never told me your name"


    "My name¡­is something for another time, call me Kevin instead"


    Cabrera''s eyes shed dangerously as he heard Ezra''s answer along with the implications of trying to find out.


    "I''m from an organization named Shadow Expanse, and as it name entails, we are those who influence the world while staying in the shadows"


    Ezra lied through his teeth while shing Cabrera a cold smile.


    "I see" Cabrera understood that it was a warning not to try any funny business.


    Fredrick looked at Cabrera as if he had just seen a sucker, but Cabrera didn''t notice it.


    "It''s for your transition fee into a guild. I want it done as soon as possible"


    "I want you to coordinate with a few¡­children I''ll be employing, as they rapidly bring you information"


    "You will buy a literate ve to teach them reading and writing. All future guild members must also be able to do so"


    "You will expand your sphere of influence in theing months, while cing an organized system to collect a stable amount of ''protection fees'' from the residents"


    "You are to put the slums on your priority list. It a goldmine just sitting there"


    Cabrera raised a brow wondering if he heard right, the "slums", a goldmine?


    "Hmm, it seems like every gang in this city is blind. I''m quite surprised that no one is managing that ce"


    "That''s because it''s a waste of effort. Those guys can barely source out food to eat, not to mention collecting taxes, that ces would suck one dry" Cabrera protested.


    "But, looking at it in reverse. It means that''s where you''ll find the cheapest workforce" Ezra said in a matter-of-fact tone.


    "Yes¡­that is true, but what are you getting at?"


    "No matter how small the number is, there must be some children who have talent. But due to their life style and theck of opportunities, there live a mediocre life and die the same way"


    "It might be, but how would you know which is talented and which isn''t?" Cabrera asked.


    "I have my ways, and that''s all you need to know" he said, then continued.


    "You want to know why I called that ce filled with trash and hopeless people a goldmine, right?" Ezra asked and Cabrera nodded.


    "Tell me, what if you could find jobs for those people, and the money earned would be split 50-50?"


    "Now, I know it sounds outrageous to you, but having a thousand people working everyday as they give you¡­let''s say five coppers each" Ezra paused waiting for Cabrera to understand, but it seems he didn''t because¡­


    "It doesn''t seem all that eye catching though"


    Ezra couldn''t help but facepalm.


    It seemed even the cunning gang leader didn''t know his numbers much.


    ''This is going to be a long day''

 Chapter 29 The Gold Slums Movement

    "It seems you don''t get it yet" Ezra said.


    "*Cough* I''m not good with big numbers" Cabrera said embarrassingly.


    "Hmm, are you good with the number hundred?" Ezra asked.


    "Of course"


    "Good, if one hundred people give you five copper each, what is the total amount?"


    "Hmm, that is¡­five hundred copper!" Cabrera said with a slightly proud expression.


    It took all Ezra had not to burst intoughter as he saw the man acting like a child, only regainingposure after a few seconds.


    "Which is five silver in one day. Now, what if those hundred people keep giving you five silver for a hundred days"


    "That''s...give me a moment¡­hmm¡­it''s five hundred silver!"


    "Good, and five hundred silver is¡­?" Ezra asked Cabrera.


    "Five¡­gold coins-"


    He looked at me incredulously as he seemed to have realized why I called the slums a gold mine.


    "-Whoa!" he suddenly eximed.


    "How did you think of something like this?" he asked, while looking at me like I was some sort of monster.


    Truth be told, it was one of the many ideas I had once I saw the efficiency of the art of "using people to work for you"


    Of course,bined with some of the memories from my past life that is.


    Nevertheless, I replied.


    "It was from a member of our organization" I lied again as Cabrera seemed to have epted it.


    I had raised the value of the non-existent organization, while adding another dose of mysteriousness around myself. A form of deterrence in case he would ever try to betray me.


    "The project is termed ''The Gold Slums Movement'', and I am handing its immediate execution to you" I said.


    "You must be quick yet discreet about it. Not even your gang members should know"


    "A merchant guild will be registered as a partner guild to ''ck Jaws'' in due time, to help you with money counting and the rest"


    "I will send you notes on how to handle it, as well as the members of the organization, in the future. Of course, you can also rmend people you know"


    "Also, can you buy the slums?"


    "Eh?"


    Thest question put Cabrera''s mind in disarray.


    "Thend that the slums are situated on, can it be bought?" Ezra rified.


    "Hmm¡­I doubt it has ever been done before, so there are no references to look at, but ording to thend ownershipw, it should assumably¡­be possible"


    "Good, be ready to file for its ownership in theing months"


    "Ok"


    "Firstly, you will send some men there to clean the entire ce up for a decent amount. After that, you will make a guild branch there, which we will use to recruit anyone talented. Thenter, buy literate ves to teach the recruits reading and writing. All these are to be done in a matter of two months as I send more members and more directives" Ezra stated.


    "That will be all for now" I said, before I facepalmed myself when I abruptly remembered why I came to the city in the first ce.


    "Which one of your boys is a regr at a chance store?" I suddenly asked.


    "Which one of them is a gambling addict?" Cabrera looked at me with a raised brow.


    "Yes, if you would call it that" Ezra said.


    "I know just the person, let''s step outside" Cabrera said, as the three men stepped back into the wrecked bar after almost three hours of discussion.


    The gang members were already cleaning up the ce and had thrown away the majority of the broken ss and wood.


    "Randy! Get over here" Cabrera shouted and anky man ran over, sweat forming on his forehead as he looked at Ezra then Sir Fredrick.


    "Y-Yes boss?"


    "How many of those chance stores have you been to?"


    Randy as well as the members listening in made weird faces at the sudden question.


    "Hmm, I know almost every chance store in the city, boss"


    "Very good, take them there" the boss said, pointing at the two devils beside him.


    "B-But boss, th-these guys are go-"


    "They''re not going to do anything to you. Right, Sirs?" Cabrera asked while looking at them.


    Ezra simply nodded.


    "They will not harm you" Cabrera said, which made the gang members mutter.


    "Did they do something to the boss?"


    "Maybe he''s being controlled"


    But¡­


    "You brats, you think I can''t hear what you''re murmuring. I and Mr. Kevin have be allies and have solved the misunderstanding between us"


    "From now on, you are to treat Mr. Kevin as you do me. Is that clear?!" he said, his voice reverberating throughout the bar.


    The murmurs finally died down. Their boss was still their boss. But how did the one who killed some of their members be an ally? No one knew.


    "I''ll be heading out, you boys should get ready for action, and tell the world that the Mad Fist is back!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Shocked words were heard one after another as thoughts went through the gang members'' minds.


    They immediately understood it. The gang leader that had been inactive for a long time wasing back into action.


    Things¡­were about to be fun.


    As they realized this, they felt their blood pumping and their hearts racing.


    Gang wars would soon ensue, as all sides fight to protect their territory and interest while sabotaging the others.


    Cabrera headed out without saying anything else, leaving the gang members lost in their thoughts. Some embraced what wasing, while others wanted things to stay the way they were.


    Meanwhile, Ezra and Fredrick motioned Randy to lead them towards the chance stores.


    Ezra left a directive to feed ruby, whose brother was still gathering people, before going out.


    -----------------


    "We are here Sir" Randy said as a small wooden shop came into view.


    "Let''s go" Ezra said as he entered a shop filled with different wares that had one thing Inmon.


    They were mostly defective.


    Chance shops were shops that did exactly what their name said.


    The customer could pick any item for the low price of fifty copper to two silver, with the quality being entirely on luck.


    It is mostly filled with defective products, or an item whose functions couldn''t be discerned, which should sell for three to four copper.


    But you might also find artifacts of gold rank, or even relics of the ancient era.


    You were given a ''chance'', hence the name.


    What Ezra was looking for was exactly that. He told both Randy and Fredrick to wait outside before going in.


    ''Amoner found a dimensional ring in a chance store in this city, before selling it to a noble for unimaginable wealth''


    Ezra thought as he looked around, when a voice called out¡­


    "This isn''t a ce for kids, go somewhere else to y" a man standing at the counter said with annoyance.


    He was abnormally fat with small eyes and a small nose.


    Ezra didn''t take it to heart as he reached the counter and spoke.


    "How much for the stuff?"


    The fat man scrutinized Ezra in hopes of intimidating him, but he remained undeterred.


    "The average is forty copper, while the highest is two sliver" he said.


    "Thank you" Ezra said, before going back to scrutinize each object carefully. The shop worker only gave him a nce before going back to his book.


    Ezra noticed this, and¡­


    ''Shall I begin in earnest?''


    He thought as he activated a skill he acquired recently.


    ''Mana Vision'' Ezra called out inwardly, as mana concentrated in his eyes and the view around him changed.


    He could see which way mana was flowing in an object. A broken flow meant it was a defective product, while anything with dark green mana in them was cursed.


    ''I have fifteen minutes to search everything'' Ezra reminded himself as he moved with haste and started separating the items, putting the ones he would buy aside.


    After all, he didn''t know the specific shop in which the ring had been found, else he wouldn''t need Randy to lead him.


    Nevertheless, this was an opportunity to clear this ce of its best artifacts, and that''s exactly what Ezra was doing.


    Ezra''s hands were moving so fast that the fat man could only see blurs as his equipment was gradually arranged into two neat piles.


    By the eleventh minute, Ezra was done picking the items he saw had potential. He deactivated mana vision and counted them, getting surprised that the number was in the double digits.


    There were twenty items, ranging from bronze rank up to a damaged tinum rank.


    Although he didn''t find the ring. It was nevertheless a bountiful haul.


    Ezra wiped the non-existent sweat off his face as he cashed everything in for five silver, paid immediately, and had a carriage take it to the broken bar, before taking another carriage to another chance store.


    What if the goods were stolen? The man in the carriage would reimburse Ezra for it.


    What if the carriage man stole it? Then he must be able to flee the city before the next morning, leaving behind everything he built till now, or else he would be imprisoned and very possibly, executed.


    After all, all shops had what was called a Mana Mark. It was akin to a stamp, and the seller ced it on bought goods to indicate they weren''t stolen.


    ---------------


    On a moving carriage with three people watching on silently.


    The trio had visited three stores so far, with the same sequence of Ezra robbing them of their best items right under their noses and paying almost nothing for it.


    At the moment, Ezra was looking at amunication amulet he found in the store they had just ''searched''.


    It was a ne the size of a pendant that had a Mind Stone in it, with three different runes intricately carved on it to allow smoothmunication.


    The formerly golden chain had all but faded, only to leave a cheap looking pendant in its wake.


    Such things didn''t matter to Ezra as long as it waspletely functional, which it was.


    He was nning out multiple scenarios and uses for it.


    ''What if I could make this inrge amounts?'' Ezra thought to himself as he looked at the pendant, before a name popped up in his mind.

 Chapter 30 Chance Store

    ? ''Evan Neil, yes, wasn''t he a mage specialized in runes?''


    Evan Neil, a mage who brought runes to a whole new level in the future.


    ''Where did they say he came from again? Was it Hellison or Puton? Hmm, I''ll have to check once I get back to the castle'' Ezra thought, setting another objective forter, beforeing back to the present.


    ''This will definitely make some noise¡­but I can use another disguise tomorrow. As for the carriages, I''ll just leave them be, as long as they don''t recognize me as a prince, things should be fine'' Ezra thought of the implications of his current actions, while making a mental note to notify Cabrera of the attention he would soon be receiving.


    People are definitely going to hear about a ten year old boy who cleared out all the chance shops soon, and while he could drink a disguise potion to change his outlook, the coachmen of the carriage''s he sent would be questioned.


    Which would lead them to the Dark Tooth gang, and then nothing.


    As long as no one knows his real face, everything would die down soon. There were almost thirty thousand people in Kingsmere, the number of children too many to keep track of.


    At this moment, he suddenly remembered his past life, before looking at himself and thinking¡­


    ''Was I always this good at scheming?''


    Now that he thought about it, he wasn''t anything like he was currently, or was he?


    In his previous life, he didn''t know how to scheme, or to say it better, he never had a reason to do so.


    At the time, he was struggling to survive, trying to get stronger each day. He didn''t have any grand goal or ambition, only to journey the world, and he did so.


    Yet now¡­


    ''I''m more scheming than the ones who betrayed me, more ruthless than someone at war, and suspicious of almost everything and everyone''


    Ezra said this not as a bad thing, but to remind himself who he was and who he is.


    He shouldn''t change who he waspletely because of the betrayal.


    Of course, he would adapt and grow, but he had to remember that, like his mom, not everyone was bad. If he didn''t draw a bottom line to his deeds, he would most likely end up like the people who betrayed him and¡­


    ''That can never be allowed to happen'' Ezra thought with renewed resolve.


    ''I will give back what is given to me twofold'' this was his principle, twofold.


    Any goodwill given will be given back. Same thing for any ill will.


    Ezra calmed down after setting a bottom line and a principle. He could never be like those nobles, ever.


    At this moment, the carriage came to a halt, pulling Ezra out of his reverie as the trio got off in front of an alleyway.


    They moved into it, going through aplex path before arriving at another chance store. Ezra, like before, asked the other two to stay outside while he went in to buy some items.


    After all, who could say the seller wouldn''t recognize Randy.


    The owner of this shop was a drunkard, seeing he was drinking when Ezra came in.


    Yet, unlike the others, he was fit and packed with muscle, with a snake tattoo carved on his left arm.


    "Hmm" was all he said as he looked at me with interest before focusing on his drink.


    Like before, I rapidly searched for hidden treasures while using mana vision.


    I could feel the strain in my eyes increase as I kept doing this. It was reducing the amount of time it could be used for.


    But just like the strain in my eyes had increased, my hand movements had gotten faster and I was bing more proficient at sorting things.


    Nine minutester I finished sifting through all his merchandise and it was the best haul I had gotten thus far.


    Thirty-four items, with none less than silver rank!


    I was exhrated at the sight of such a bountiful haul. Who knew this ce was a literal goldmine just waiting to be found?


    Yet, at this moment, I saw the seller''s eyes widened¡­and I knew that was never a good sign.


    He slowly got up and looked at me with interest before speaking¡­


    "Tell me, what ability did you use just now?"


    "Wait, what now?" I acted dumb.


    "Don''t try anything stupid kid" he said, pulling a knife out, but I wasn''t tall enough to see from where.


    "Come sign this contract and I''ll let you live" he said, before pulling a familiar piece of paper.


    It was soul paper.


    I immediately connected the dots and understood.


    He wanted to enve me using the contract so that he can use my powers to elevate his business. He wasn''t nning on letting me go.


    The minute it clicked, I threw away all the acting. I released killing intent, causing him to stumble, before falling on his butt.


    I was really angry at this moment so I jumped on the sales desk and looked him straight in the eye.


    I saw his body quiver as he held the dagger forward like an amateur, while staggering before shouting¡­


    "D-Don''te any c-closer I''m warning you, o-or else-" he tried intimidating me with the knife, but he only looked more pathetic.


    "Or else WHAT?!" I suddenly hammered. He shut up but kept his stance, looking at me like a cat driven into a corner.


    It was hrious to say the least.


    He was stuttering and shaking while looking at me, then I suddenly remembered that he just had alcohol, he was still drunk.


    He was the one who wanted to force a seemingly harmless kid into signing a ve contract just moments ago, yet now¡­any bystander might think he was the victim.


    "Tell me, do you have a child?" I asked.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "What does that-"


    "Just answer the question" I said as I increased the intensity of my killing intent and continued speaking¡­


    "Who knows I might just spare your life"


    Thest part must have gotten to him, as I saw hope in his eyes, before he suddenly became gloomy as he said¡­


    "I did, but not anymore" there was immense sadness in his voice, but why would I care?


    "So that''s why you''re willing to turn other kids into ves?" I asked and he hurriedly answered.


    "N-No, that''s not it. I-I needed something to boost my sales. When I saw you pick things so fast, I guessed you must have an appraising ability or something like that. So I thought I could have you work for me¡­" he said with a regretful expression, as he couldn''t believe the absurdity of the situation.


    "For the rest of my life?!" I asked.


    "No, It''s because-" he wanted to protest but I cut him off immediately.


    "Enough" I said as my voice resounded.


    I looked at the soul paper and a brilliant idea came to mind.


    I took the soul paper and quickly scribbled a very one-sided contract, before stretching my hand to take a defective sword in his pile.


    It was one of copper rank, but it was enough to threaten.


    *Kang*


    I hit his knife with the sword and sent it flying, then I put the sword to the man''s neck and threw the soul paper towards him.


    "Sign it" I said, leaving no room for arguments.


    The man quickly caught it and only read a little as his face turned immensely ashen.


    But I didn''t give any chance to speak as I pushed the sword closer to his throat and said¡­


    "Sign it or die. You have three seconds to choose."


    "But-"


    He wanted to plead but I didn''t bat an eye.


    "1"


    "Plea-"


    "2"


    Seeing that he might really lose his life, he hurriedly cut his index finger on my sword and dripped his blood onto the soul paper.


    I didn''t want to kill him because he might prove useful in the future, but I wouldn''t leave him with only a lecture after he wanted to enve me.


    So I did the next best thing and enved him with a lot of unfair terms.


    There was no end date, so he would work for me for an indefinite amount of time.


    I could decide not to give him any wages for his work and there was nothing he could do.


    I called Fredrick and Randy in and told them to take all the merchandise I had hand-picked and call a carriage to take it away.


    I would love to let him rot and die, but his luck was useful, and I wasn''t one to be wasteful.


    And so¡­


    "Take this" I said, flipping him a gold coin before adding¡­


    "Fill your shop with such wares. I''lle by every week to pick it up or I''ll send someone to do so"


    The man was in a daze as he stared nkly at the gold coin in his hand, before looking at me and nodding dumbly.


    I would make use of his luck to get even better items. This was the best way I could think of to maximize the profits.


    "Yes Sir" he suddenly said as I turned and left, before giving him a message¡­


    "Tomorrow, you will go to the gang called Dark Tooth and tell the leader that Kevin sent you" I said, before boarding a carriage to the next chance store.


    "Let''s go" I gave the coachman the go ahead and we went on.


    Meanwhile¡­


    "I''m not dreaming! It wasn''t a dream!" the man shouted in his shop as he stared at the gold coin.


    After all, he didn''t earn that much in a year, at most twenty silver.


    But now he became a ve with the worst conditions ever.


    A day that was supposed to be the worst day of his life, yet now¡­he was jumping in joy with a gleeful expression.


    "Maybe this might not be so bad after all" the man said as he calmed himself down and went to take a ss, when unbearable pain hit him.


    "No, don''t tell me¡­he didn''t, right?" he said as he tried to drink again, but the same thing happened.


    "NO!" he shouted as his gleeful expression became unbelievably gloomy.


    That bastard, or his new master, had stopped him from drinking alcohol.


    Which meant that, from this moment on, he couldn''t get drunk.


    What followed was a man cursing in everynguage he knew at an unknown existence throughout the night.

 Chapter 31 An Ancient Relic

    Ezra was riding the carriage oblivious to the curses being rained upon him, and wouldn''t have cared even if he knew.


    Multiple ns went through his head as he called the mute Knight beside him.


    "John" which was Fredrick''s codename.


    "Yes, Kevin?"


    "Why didn''t you ask for a soul contract back then?"


    "I¡­honestly don''t have an exact answer. What I can say is that I saw the sincerity of your words, as weird as it may sound, and decided to follow you on instinct"


    "How should I say this? My instinct is what allowed me advance to the Master rank despite being from amon household"


    "Hmm, that reminds me, you haven''t told me your life story yet. And how is it that you crossed paths with a grandmaster?" Ezra pointed out.


    "All in due time my lord, it shall be known in due time" Fredrick said.


    Ezra simply nodded and veered away from the topic since Fredrick didn''t want to talk about it.


    "But what about you? My lord" Fredrick suddenly said.


    "What about me?" Ezra didn''t get the question.


    "Why didn''t you ask for a soul contract?" Fredrick rified.


    "That''s simple actually. I hold your weakness while you hold mine, and with the little I''ve seen, you don''t strike me as a person who would betray or renegade on his promises" Ezra said.


    "Hmm, that is indeed true, but does that mean my lord now trusts mepletely?" Fredrick asked.


    "Fredrick, we all have our secrets that make us who we are. For me, there is no such thing aspletely trusting, for I always have a corner in my heart that suspects the intentions of everyone around me" Ezra paused before continuing.


    "Yet, you are ever so close to letting mepletely trust you, as you remind me of a man I once knew, and hopefully one day I mightpletely trust you" Ezra said.


    "Hmm, I am thankful my lord thinks of me that way" Fredrick said.


    "One more thing, did that ability of yours tell you to follow me?" Ezra asked.


    "Yes, my lord. That was exactly so, as it seems I will see a lot of great things by your side"


    "Then it was right, because I am nning great things to show you in the future, but for now, we must tread carefully, because one misstep could be our downfall"


    "Hmm" Fredrick nodded, them both ended their conversation and the carriage drowned in silence once again as they moved to the next victi-*cough* chance store.


    ¡ª-------


    In a small shop filled with antiques was a boy with ck hair and the attire of any normalmoner.


    This boy was looking at a dusty and slightly rusted ring with a scrutinizing gaze as a blue glow shone from within his eyes.


    "I''ve found it" Ezra said as he breathed a sigh of relief after aplishing his objective.


    In his hands was the reason why he even came to the chance stores in the first ce.


    ''A space ring''


    Yes, just as its name suggested, it was a ring with its own separate space that reduced the weight of the goods stored within to practically nothing.


    It was the item amoner had discovered and sold to a noble for a hefty amount of gold.


    This was because the ring was an ancient relic.


    A relic from a time that was termed the golden era because of the state of things back then.


    Mana was abundant in the air and numerous scarce resources weremonce at the time.


    It was said that oranians witnessed the greatest advancement in all fields of knowledge during that era.


    Yet, it was all snuffed out following an event called the great devouring.


    The contents of that event had the knowledge of the golden era mostly destroyed, while what remained was spread across different continents.


    This led to a rapid decline in the mana present in Orion''s atmosphere, as well as greatly thinned down the number of ablebatants for a time.


    But¡­


    ''It''ll all change soon. Twenty¡­twenty-two years from now''


    Yes! Twenty-two years from now, the world would witness the opposite of the great devouring, but that was an issue forter.


    Right now, Ezra knew that the only ones who could use space rings were Royals, Top-ss Merchants, Great Nobles along with a few others.


    The amount of those made was very low, because the resources needed were unbelievably exorbitant.


    Yet¡­


    ''If I''m right, then those rings are failurespared to this''


    This was the shocking truth, as well as the reason why the noble didn''t hesitate to take out almost all the money in his family to pay for it.


    Items made during the ancient era were far more advanced than anything of the current age.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was said that the inventor of the magic circuit used by mages had done so by researching rune pathways of ancient relics.


    Which meant¡­


    ''This ring should be worth¡­fifty thousand tinum? Or maybe even more?'' Ezra thought, before shaking such thought out of his head.


    He would never be stupid enough to sell such an item, especially when he was a prince.


    ''Now, my preparations to enter the royal treasury arepleted''


    Yes, this was the main reason why he asked for the gift day to be postponed.


    The treasury was filled with too many things, but was also the most fortified ce in the empire.


    (Un)Fortunately, Ezra knew a way around it.


    The empire didn''t have many defenses against spatial magic, since it wasn''t at allmon due to the exorbitant amount of money and research needed for it.


    They would definitely have some, but Ezra was betting that they didn''t have anything that could detect an ancient spatial relic.


    He needed capital to fund his organizations before they could make any money. Hence, he nned to fill the ring to the brim with gold and tinum.


    Ezra felt exhrating at the thought.


    What if the ring was discovered? Ezra would hate his bad luck, because he already has plenty of ns for the ring.


    Why would he only think about taking money when there are so many things there? Tell me, do you think the ones who made the treasury were idiots?


    When even defective merchandise is stamped with a rune mark to indicate that it wasn''t stolen, what do you think would have been done to the variety of priceless books and artifacts kept In the Empire''s treasury?


    After all, you think it hasn''t been broken into before? It has! Multiple times in fact, across different centuries, with the royal magicians fixing the ws used each time.


    Mind you, more than half of the people who broke into it died. So you can understand just how many times it would have been fortified. All by peoples of at least Master rank.


    Nevertheless, Ezra had a few ns that might be assumably feasible, but only that, assumably.


    Nothing had been tested, so nothing was certain.


    Ezra could only hope his hunches were right as he cashed in the other items he found to be valuable.


    Eye bags could be seen under his eyes due to hisck of sleep.


    He had woken up very early, met James about two hours before noon, before fighting Dark tooth members for a good ten minutes, then the boss and his minions for about twenty minutes.


    All this before conversing with the gang leader and signing the soul contract, which took another three hours. By the time they were done, the sun had set.


    Then he started clearing out chance stores for close to five hours now.


    This was the fifteenth chance stores he would rob-*cough*, I mean, buy items from.


    He nned on going to all the popr chance stores before stopping for the night, because he wouldn''t be able to do this again anytime soon.


    Especially considering that the news of a small boy taking all the items in chance shops overnight would spread by morning.


    He needed to move with haste and caution, well he was already doing so, but he needed to move even faster, and so he did.


    He quickly bought the things he wanted from the shops, then called one of the few remaining carriages to take it to the Dark Tooth bar, before boarding the same carriage as Randy, who pointed the way to the next chance store.


    Ezra decided to pay the coachman carrying them all around the city from chance store to chance store a gold coin, which apparently motivated the coachman as he hadn''tined since.


    Ezra had Randy and the coachman drink a rejuvenation potion to push back his urge to sleep, as he did the same.


    Fredrick was a Master Knight, so he could go on without sleeping for a week. Of course, it had side effects, but nothing too nasty.


    It would soon be midnight and the criminals, as well as the degenerates of society, would soone out to y.


    It was also the time gangs were most active. They didn''t like having people witness their bad deeds after all.


    The horses were also given potions, which made the trip go smoother and faster, as Ezra sped through the city, clearing out every chance store he came across. He even destroyed a store because the owners misbehaved and enved another one.


    Giving him two ves in one night.


    Themotion he caused would be handled by Dark Tooth once various guilds poked into the matter.


    Ezra almost felt sorry for the amount of work Cabrera was going to have to deal with in theing days, but when he remembered that he was the one sponsoring them¡­


    All that melted away, after all, what else were they being paid to do?


    And so the trio of Randy, Fredrick and Ezra zed through the city with a coachman and horses on steroids as they cleared out more than half of the city''s chance stores, before finally stopping as they had the coachman take them directly to Fredrick''s house.


    Randy was dropped at an inn with two silver as payment for services The coachman was given an additional gold coin as Ezra advised him toy low for a while before he continued doing business, to buy a new carriage and sell his current one.


    Thankfully, the man, who seemed to be in mid-forties, readily agreed before Ezra could even borate.


    Ezra didn''t want people who were looking for him to cause this man harm, and it seemed he wouldn''t need to worry


    Ezra fell into his bed immediately after he entered Fredrick''s cottage and slept off before he knew it.


    While he was innd, things were ying out in the city just as he expected.

 Chapter 32 Setting An Example [Bonus]

    *Yawn*


    Ezra woke up with a deep yawn as he made sping noises with his dry mouth.


    He looked around, only for sunlight to pierce his eye-


    "Ah!"


    -giving him a good sting.


    "Oh, you''re finally awake it seems" Fredrick''s voice rang out, pulling Ezra out his drowsiness.


    Ezra looked at him, before asking a question that had been bugging him.


    "What happen to your peculiar ent of using ''ye''"


    "Huh? It was just a cover up, I thought you would have figured that out by now"


    "Oh" was the only thing Ezra said before asking¡­


    "Say, what time is it?"


    "It''s almost noon"


    "Huh? I slept that much?" Ezra was doubtful.


    "Yeah, you did, because I was here the whole time"


    "Ok"


    "So, what are we doing today?" Fredrick asked.


    "What we initially wanted to do yesterday" Ezra answered.


    "So, we are going to the gang house again?" Fredrick asked.


    "Yeah, but with different disguises this time"


    "I know that"


    The face transformation potionsted for eighteen hours, so Ezra''s hair had turned back to silver and his eyes back to their ckish-silver, or dark silver, color.


    "Alright, I''ll go clean up. We leave in forty minutes" Ezra said as he sprung up and headed for the bath. While it wasn''t as good as the one in the castle, it was very much usable.


    ''Right, I have to find an etiquette teacher, a mana technique and abat manual for mom. I wonder how she''s faring'' Ezra thought.


    Although it had only been two days since he wrote a letter to her, she had written back saying she had started taking etiquette sses and had chosen the rapier as her weapon.


    ''A rapier was it¡­so she''s going to need a lot of movement skills to maneuver, as well as a mana technique that strengthens sharpness, swiftness and speed, rather than raw destructive power.''


    Ezra thought as he organized the things he needed to do for the day.


    ''I can''t go asking the royal advisor for more gold without saying how I spent this one¡­sigh¡­there should be about thirty five to forty gold remaining''


    But¡­


    ''That''s nowhere near enough''


    He couldn''t dilly dally with his ns, but the starting capital was bound to be huge, no, it was going to be astronomical.


    The only reason why he dared to take the steps he took was because of the chance to enter the royal treasure within the next two months, as well as his knowledge of unearthed goldmines.


    ''Financing ck Jaws, the information agency, and finally, the gold slums n, which would bring four to five times the money I spend, but that is long term'' Ezra thought.


    He had so many ns, and he couldn''t let theck of resources hold him down, but he also couldn''t rush things, but all this meant¡­


    ''Do I have to go to the treasury before two months?'' he wondered.


    He already knew what gift he would ask from the emperor, but he needed to put a lot of things into motion before the third month arrived.


    He couldn''t go to the treasury too early or it would mess up some ns, so that left¡­


    ''The merchant guild. It seems I can''t put it off any longer'' Ezra thought as he nned what he needed to achieve before today''s end.


    ''Is there anything I''m forgetting?'' he wondered, but it didn''t seem so.


    And with such thoughts, he got dressed in different peasant clothes, before chugging down a transformation potion. His hair and eyes turned brown, while Fredrick''s turned ck, and their facial muscles became a little bloated, but unless a Master rank tried to pry, the only thing that made them simr to the real Ezra was their unchanged physique.


    "Let''s go" Ezra said as the duo walked out and boarded a carriage to the Dark Tooth bar.


    ------------------


    *Clip* *Clop*


    A carriage could be seen stopping in front of the slums.


    Ezra and Fredrick took this path to throw off suspicion, as they navigated their way to the bar on foot.


    Ezra knew that his actions would inevitably cause chaos. What he couldn''t know was how big it would be.


    When he arrived in the vicinity of the gang''s bar, he found the ce clean of all the ss shards and splintered wood, but not repaired.


    Which was obvious considering that they would relocate soon enough.


    What he did find surprising was therge number of beggars in the bar.


    Their bodies were stinky, but not to an absurd level. Their clothes looked rtively new, for beggars that is. It wasn''t torn for the most part, but the clothes Ezra wore still trounced theirs.


    He entered calmly and heard an ongoing conversation that included the boy he had sent on an errand.


    "James, when is he going to be here?" a beggar asked James.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Soon, Erwin, soon" James said.


    "You''ve been saying that since midnight!" someone protested and James did the same.


    "Oi, you''re free to leave if you want, so better stopining" James said, before he continued¡­


    "I already bought those clothes to give you as proof, and as I said, he''s my benefactor. You can''t expect him to tell me his whereabouts. If he isn''t here, then he will be soon" James paused again as he looked at the varying looks on their faces.


    "I brought you here because I wanted you to have a chance at a life-changing opportunity, but if it doesn''t matter to you, you''re free to leave" James said, hammering it in their heads.


    They needed him, not the other way around.


    Ezra stood quietly at the side as a wide grin formed on his face.


    ''He''ll make a good leader'' Ezra thought as he made his decision, before¡­


    *p* *p* *p* *p*


    He started pping, which called the attention of the beggars.


    "James, that was-no wait, give me a second" Ezra quickly said as he realized his voice was different.


    "Hmm, okay, that''s better *Clears throat* James, that was an exemry speech"


    James, who realized who was talking, immediately got on his knees and said¡­


    "It''s an honor, big brother" which made Ezra''s smile even wider, before the mood was cut short by¡­


    "Are you joking? James, don''t tell me that''s him. He''s merely a kid who looks younger than my sister"


    James was about to retort when¡­


    "And if I am?" Ezra suddenly asked.


    He liked this sort of situation the most. Because he didn''t have time to talk, he would show them and¡­


    ''I will use the chickens to warn the monkeys, or is it the other way around?'' thought Ezra as he scrutinized the young male, who had a body more nutritious than the rest, butnky nheless.


    "Then I''m out of here" the boy stated as he moved to storm past Ezra, then his body froze and a fresh hot liquid poured out from between his legs.


    He subconsciously felt that the earth should open up and swallow him, not to save him from the disgrace, no, he couldn''t care about that, but from the devil in front of him.


    He was the devil or how else would one exin such thick killing intent!


    Ezra released just a little, but still very potent, killing intent.


    The boy subconsciously freeze. A look of dread in his eye as a pool of yellow water formed below his feet.


    Ezra smiled, but it was like a devil''s grin from where the boy was standing, before moving toward the boy ever so slowly.


    Meanwhile¡­


    ''I knew he was powerful, but this¡­this is on another level'' James thought as he swore to himself never to provoke his lord or big brother.


    ''Although I felt it yesterday, It still just as mind blowing how a five year old kid can release such killing intent and even control it masterfully'' Fredrick thought as he looked at the small monster in front of him.


    All the other children were thinking along the same line as James when Ezra''s voice rang out.


    "Kneel" the word resounded in the ears of all, except Fredrick, like the verdict of a mighty king.


    Amand demanding respect as all the beggars found themselves kneeling, even the muscr boy knelt in his pee.


    Then the dreadful atmosphere was withdrawn in the next instant like it was never there, the day of doom passed away and gave way for the morning air.


    Yet, no one in the bar moved, all of them so still one might think them dead. They still had nk expressions on their faces until¡­


    *p* *p* *p*


    A familiar p resounded, pulling the children out of their traumatic reverie as before they could scream, a voice rang out and an ironic statement was heard.


    "Don''t be afraid"


    All the beggars could only look at the devil in front of them with weird expressions.


    Seriously?! You released a killing intent that made our bodies go numb and caused our brain''s to freeze, and you''re saying "Don''t be afraid"?!


    Ezra, who realized his mistake toote, made a bitter chuckle, before calling¡­


    "John" Erza called Fredrick.


    "Yes, Kevin?" he answered immediately.


    "Take this boy and get him cleaned up. Give him some new clothes too" Ezra said, pointing at the boy still kneeling in his pee.


    "You heard him, get up" Fredrick said as the boy quickly stood with his body quivering.


    Seeing this, Ezra thought¡­


    ''Was it too much?''


    He was only trying to set an example, but it seemed he broke the boy''s mind.


    ''No use crying over spilled milk'' Ezra thought.


    After all, it was the boy who put himself on a tter to be ughtered. He would reap the consequences of his actions.


    ''Now that I''ve used the stick, it''s time for the carrot'' thought Ezra.

 Chapter 33 The Carrot

    Ezra thought of what would take these kids'' minds off the past event and the answer came to him easily.


    So he called one of the gang members, who told him that the boss had taken most of the members to do something.


    Ezra then told him what to do and that he should be quick with it, before giving him twenty silvers for the job, as he turned his attention to the meek set of beggars who were eyeing him curiously and called¡­


    "James"


    "Yes, big brother?"


    "Come here" Ezra beckoned him and James did so without hesitation.


    "Good, now I know you''re curious about why I asked you to call these people right?" Ezra asked.


    "Hmm" James merely nodded, paying rapt attention to what his brother would say.


    "There are a lot of reasons, but first, I need you to find someone for me. I don''t know where exactly he is in the city, only what he does for a living and how he looks" Ezra said, letting James digest it, who then spoke with a thoughtful expression.


    "So¡­you want us to help you search for him?"


    "Exactly" Ezra gave a thumbs up.


    "I need you and your friends to search the whole city, and don''t worry, you shall be paid ordingly" Ezra said.


    "Big brother doesn''t need to worry about the pay, healing my sister is more than I can ask for" James dered, just for Ezra to hit him lightly on the head.


    "Silly boy. What kind of older brother lets his younger sister starve? Also, I haven''t done anything to earn their loyalty" Ezra said while pointing towards his friends.


    "But-" James wanted to protest, but Ezra cut him off.


    "No but''s"


    "Ok" James nodded weakly before saying¡­


    "Shouldn''t we head out as soon as possible to look for him?"


    "Wait a little, and besides, I haven''t given you details yet"


    "Oh right, you haven''t" James said, before asking¡­


    "But why do we have to wait?"


    "You''ll see" Ezra said as a carriage stopped right in front of the door-less bar.


    "Would you look at that, it''s here" Ezra said as James quickly looked over to see what exactly it was.


    Lo and behold, the carriage arrived swiftly and began offloading a snack, one he tasted only once thanks to a lucky encounter.


    It was a pheasant fruit cake with enchanted coconut lime!


    James was almost frothing when he saw this. It had to be known that just one of these pheasant fruitcakes cost around forty copper each, while the enchanted lime delight cost another ten.


    Naturally, Ezra didn''t know this. He had only asked that the gang member buy a delicacy the kids would love.


    James looked over at the other kids, only to see most of them doing the same thing. Those who didn''t were looking at the others with weird expressions.


    At that moment¡­


    *Grrrllr*


    James'' stomach protested by growling, which in turn spiked James''s hunger.


    Yet, as he was about to ask what was going on, he heard his brother''s voice.


    "Bring it in and drop it over here"


    James: (+_+)


    Other kids: (+_+)


    All the kids turned their gazes to Ezra at this moment.


    The boy in question feigned ignorance and directed them to put the food packs by the wall.


    They were counting the number of packs inwardly as it was offloaded, and it was a whopping thirty!


    ¡­!


    The kids were about to go crazy, but they remembered the devil in disguise near them and quickly controlled themselves. Well, they tried, because the froth never stoppeding out of their mouths.


    After five minutes of offloading, which seemed like three days to the kids, Ezra went to the first wooden crate and opened it expertly, letting out an aroma that blew the minds of the kids.


    But he then started to move things slowly for another minute, until¡­


    "Oh,e on! Just open the damn thing already!"


    One of the kids couldn''t take it anymore and shouted, but quickly covered his mouth when he realized who he was talking to.


    Even James was on the verge of crying from all this teasing.


    Ezra didn''t feel offended at all, he was rather happy that his n was working perfectly.


    ''Good thing kids are easy to deal with'' he thought as he took out the light-gray colored fruit cake, before taking one of the wooden bowls the restaurant had given them and adding a whitish-yellow liquid that was very thick.


    It was the pheasant fruitcake and the coconut lime, before beckoning James, who ran like a boy being chased and expertly snatched it out of Ezra''s hands.


    Ezra could only be bbergasted at the sight of the boy taking away the cake with such expertise. He had his horizons broadened once again.


    ''Never push people to their limits or they will do impossible things'' Ezra thought, making a mental note of today''s lesson.


    James didn''t know any of this, and neither would he have cared, as he dipped his hand into the fruitcake and used it to rub the coconut lime, before throwing it into his mouth.


    Ezra looked at the others who were watching in extreme envy, while some were greedy for it.


    He waited for a good thirty seconds for the others to burn this scene in their minds before speaking out.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Two people"


    "W-What?" the others couldn''t understand.


    "Pair with a partner ande to take a te" Ezra had served another ten on the table.


    The children quickly looked for partners but didn''t immediatelye forward.


    ''They''re being cautious even in this situation'' Ezra observed as he nodded.


    They were still afraid of him, and so, each one was looking at the others and waiting for someone to take the lead.


    But how could Ezra let them do as they pleased?


    "Only the first ten pairs will get to eat"


    Immediately after he said that, all the children dropped all pretenses and ran forward, and though the distance wasn''t actually long, a lot of idents happened midway as they pulled each other back, trying to get to the arranged tes.


    Ezra who saw this, amplified his index finger and rapidly drew a line, before saying¡­


    "The first ten who pass this line will get to eat"


    Which immediately intensified thepetition before adding¡­


    "Oh, and only one member of the a team has to pass for the other to get a meal"


    The battlefield once again changed as children who were meant to be slow and dim-witted rapidly understood the meaning of those words and acted upon it.


    *p*


    "Ouch" James shouted when he realized he was caught.


    He had eaten one but it wasn''t anywhere near enough. So he thought¡­


    ''It''s just one more, big brother wouldn''t get angry over it right''


    As he stretched his hand to grab a te, it was immediately pped away by something he only saw as a blur, but the pain was very real.


    He looked to see Ezra, who was watching the progress of the battlefield, as the children used whatever they could to slow down theirpetitors.


    Ezra then said¡­


    "Watch carefully, and you might learn something" he said, without turning his head, but James knew he was the one being addressed.


    And as his brother said, James pushed the hunger away as he looked at the children who weren''t able to get to the finish line because they were dragging each other down.


    Nevertheless, they kept progressing as blood, screams, curses and cries resounded, with none of them staying down.


    As James looked at this scene, wondering what exactly his big brother meant, it hit him like a hammer strike, and he suddenly found himself losing his appetite.


    As he looked at the chaotic scene in front of him, he thought¡­


    ''I''m the same as them but the only reason why I''m not fighting is because¡­I was lucky enough to meet big brother. If I hadn''t¡­let''s not think about it''


    As he realized this, hepletely forgot about the food as he watched the others fighting with rapt attention.


    A few minutes passed, with all of them employing different ways to fight while holding their partners at the side.


    It turned from a solo battle to a duo battle, with all the pairs at a standstill watching each other, waiting for another to react, when¡­


    "Ahh!"


    A cute scream rang as a short girl flew over with breakneck speed, straight above the heads of the kids closest to the finish lines. Flying past the finish line, as all others watched, the girl braced herself for impact when¡­


    "Ehh?" she suddenly found herself unmoving, before slowly opening her eyes to see the figure of the boy who had bought the food.


    Thinking she had made a mistake, she immediately began to apologize with tears threatening to leak out of her eyes, but Ezra put his hand on her mouth and asked¡­


    "Why are you apologizing?" he said, which calmed her down enough for Ezra to release his hand.


    "Hmm, w-well I was about to fall and pour all the food away with what I did, so I thought I would be punished" she said while looking at the floor.


    "What? Of course not. I asked you to cross the line and you did so. Call your partner and stand behind James" Ezra said, lightly patting her head.


    She beamed a smile at Ezra, before happily moving away. Her partner, who was a tall boy, quickly came out too.


    The rest, who heard what Ezra said, quickly acted upon it by throwing their teammates.


    Unfortunately, the ones at the front weren''t going to allow it to happen twice, as they caught every single one of them, before throwing them at others to slow down their pace.


    Seven minutes passed before all ten teams were chosen.


    The tenth being the most brutal of all.


    As soon as the numbers wereplete, Ezra pped twice to get the attention of the kids who were still fighting.


    "That''s enough" Ezra said as they stood straight, cleaning the blood from their bodies, while others were crying over a fracture or something along those lines, before Ezra said¡­


    "Line up in pairs ande to take a te"


    Everyone with the bar was dumbfounded, especially the five pairs, or ten members, who had won.


    They wanted to protest and shout at the unfairness, but they chose to stay quiet so as not to anger Ezra, while tears threatened to spill from their eyes.


    The bystanders, who were naturally the few remaining gang members, and even James couldn''t fathom what Ezra was nning.


    Nevertheless, the children quicklyplied, as Ezra had the gang members give the ones with serious injuries a healing potion.


    The children lined up numbered twenty-four, meaning twelve tes were given to them as they ate hungrily.


    After this, Ezra then turned to look at the five winning teams.

 Chapter 34 Buying Slaves

    Ezra looked at the five winning teams that stood behind James. As he observed their faces, he noticed anger, unfairness, helplessness and sadness.


    Ezra saw this and then¡­


    "Hahaha, did you think I wouldn''t reward the winners?" Ezra said while facing them.


    "Haven''t you heard that you save the best forst" Ezra said with a grin, before continuing¡­


    "Each one of you will get two tes as reward for striving, thinking and winning"


    Upon hearing this, the sad looks on their faces immediately took a u-turn, as proud smiles reced them.


    Immense happiness and joy coursed through them as they moved to take their tes, before ultimately wolfing it down. The losers, who were secretly happy at their plight, became envious.


    s, that was all to it, nothing would touch their mouths.


    Ezra gave James another te, along with two for his sister, the gang member who bought the food got two tes, gave Fredrick two tes, and eat thest one himself.


    One hour had passed since Ezra''s arrival when everyone was finally done eating, so Ezra told them to assemble and moved to address them.


    "James has called you all here for an immense opportunity, as for whether you are really deserving of such opportunity¡­we shall soon see"


    "I want to hire you as minions to do my bidding in exchange for stable food and shelter. As you have seen, I can either be heartless and cruel or kind and benevolent depending on the situation" Ezra said.


    "So, you need to choose. Will you ept or decline? After this, any who defect will be killed ruthlessly"


    "So¡­will you stay or leave? Be warned that your jobs will not be easy¡­but that also means your reward will not be small"


    "You have one minute to choose. Those who decide to leave, go back to wherever you came from. While those who choose to stay, just remain here"


    A minute passed and the number of those who left were¡­none!


    What a joke! Only idiots would leave after listening to such a thing.


    After all, whenpared to starving daily, sleeping all over the ce, and having to constantly think of how to survive each day. Working for food and shelter was far much better. Not to mention that there were hundreds of beggars looking for such a thing.


    How could they let such an opportunity slip by?


    Ezra nodded in approval seeing this. In fact, it was the reason why he made them y that game just now.


    "Hmm, very good. From now on you shall work as shadows, carrying out my assignments. Do you understand?"


    While most nodded and some didn''t understand, a hand was raised. It was a short girl, the same one who had first crossed the finish line.


    Ezra nodded for her to speak.


    "Hmm, what does ass-in-mint mean?" she said as the word seemed tooplicated for her tongue.


    "You''ll naturally be toldter. For now, I have a job for each of you"


    "I need you to find a boy not younger than twelve but not older than eighteen that had brown hair, green eyes and works at a restaurant. I don''t know his name or where the restaurant is, so you''ll have to split in pairs and spread over the city looking for him" Ezra said, giving them their first task, before adding¡­


    "You have to make sure no one knows what you''re doing or there will be no reward. The team who finds him will be given one silver and a te of pheasant with coconut lime each"


    Ezra said thest part to spike theirpetitive spirit and it worked as intended.


    "Know that fighting between teams is forbidden and those caught will be given adequate punishments. Do I make myself clear?" Ezra said as the children nodded, before¡­


    "You are to report to James and he will report to me"


    "Ah, yes. None of you can tell anyone about me, or else¡­"


    Ezra didn''t need to borate, the sentence alone caused the kids to shiver before they quickly nodded.


    "You can go" Ezra said as the children gathered in teams of two before going in different directions and vanishing from sight.


    "Whew, dealing with kids isn''t easy" said Ezra as he remembered other things he needed to do. Especially with how the girl had pronounced assignment a moment ago.


    ''The information agency needs to be started soon, since, if I''m lucky, Sebastian shoulde to Niton by next month'' Ezra thought as he remembered that he had already tasked Cabrera with sending someone to Quarzet along with a letter Ezra had personally written.


    ''Now I need to find a literate ve to teach these kids. Although I tasked Cabrera with it¡­let''s just do it now'' Thought Ezra as he called one of the remaining gang members to take them towards a ve trader.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    They moved at a moderately decent ce in the city, going through alleys like usual until they got to the back of a restaurant. There, the gang member knocked on a wall, which turned out to be a door, and said a password. The door was opened up to reveal stairs made of stone.


    The stairs had ten steps at most, with two buff men standing on each side. They searched us and Fredrick was told to drop his weapon.


    He hesitated a little beforeplying and we were led down stairs by two of the men. At the bottom, rows of cages filled with both beasts and humans could be seen in a very expansive room.


    The two men lead them across this room into another one of identical size. On the way, Ezra saw that all of the ves had faces of despair as they were pass by.


    Ezra felt an emotion of pity swelling up within him, but he killed it off instantly.


    ''Might is always right'' was a basic principle that ran through Orion.


    The strong trampled the weak, getting away with horrifying atrocities so long they had sufficient strength.


    In fact, the only reason why Ezra dared toe here in person was because Fredrick would be taking the lead.


    He had Fredrick change from his previous peasant clothes into silver rank armor while the gang member led them here.


    In the third room, Ezra and the others saw an obese man standing in front of one of cages, before he abruptly turned to face them.


    "Sir, they are here to purchase merchandise" one of the two men said, before they both left to head back to their positions.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The obese man suddenly had a mischievous smile on his face as he introduced himself.


    "Wee, esteemed guests, the name''s Darren Fodder. What kind of goods can I interest you in?"


    "Thank you, Darren, I''m looking for one that can read and write fairly decently, preferably female, do you have such?" Fredrick inquired.


    "How lucky you are Sir¡­?"


    "Neil"


    "Sir Neil, as I was saying, you are a very lucky man foring at this moment. Our stock was replenished just yesterday and I think I have just what you''re looking for"


    "Sir Neil, this way please" Darren said as he led us through this hall and towards a hidden door. He was about to open it when he turned around and said¡­


    "*Clears throat* Esteemed Sir, this is the room filled with our best merchandise, and while Sir Neil seems fairly influential, there is a need to know your purchasing power"


    "Oh, is that so? Catch then" Fredrick/Neil said, flipping him a gold coin which the merchant hurriedly caught before bowing deeply.


    "So sorry for such inconveniences. Shall we be on our way?" Darren said as he hastily opened the hidden door, revealing apartment that seemed twice, if not three times, bigger than the others.


    I saw multiple beasts as we passed them by, with Darren exining some things to us.


    "Those are beasts whose meat increases one''s mana quality, cultivation speed, or better yet, allows for a stronger and faster constitution" Darren said giving me an idea, but I would have to wait till we got to where we''re going.


    And I didn''t have to wait long, as Darren arrived at a cage in the deeper section. In it, I see a girl sitting silently that was definitely older than twenty but less than thirty.


    She had short crimson hair, or at least she did now. Looking closely, it had been trimmed roughly when she was captured.


    She was wearing peasant clothes that reached her knees as she looked at us with dead eyes. The eyes of a person who resigned herself to her fate.


    "Oi, get up and talk, and you might find an owner" Darren said.


    "Yes" was the only thing she said as she stood up and bowed slowly before saying¡­


    "Hello Sirs. I''m good at sewing, cleaning, I write well and speak fluently" she said with a nk expression.


    When I saw her, I silently nudged Fredrick as a sign to buy her.


    "Sir Darren, how much?" Fredrick said.


    "Eh? I mean, she''s just fifty silver" Darren said as his nasty expression quickly took a turn around and a smile came to his face.


    From this, I understood that all that talk about replenishing stock was bullshit, and that many others hade but none had bought her.


    But it seemed Sir Fredrick realized so too.


    "Surely you jest Sir Darren"


    "No, she''s an-"


    "Ten silver, that''s the most I can pay for her"


    "What? That''s too small, especially when considering-"


    "Sir Darren, please stop this farce. The fact that I''m even paying ten silver to take such defective merchandise off your hands is to bring goodwill between us, but if you take me for a fool, I''m afraid I''ll have to excuse myself"


    Fredrick said in quick session, while releasing the aura of an Expert Knight, as Darren''s amicable face became ashen.


    "I''m deeply sorry about this, I-"


    "That''s what you said before, actions speak louder than words, so prove it with your actions"


    Fredrick said with distaste in his tone.


    "Y-Yes Sir I will do so¡­" Darren said as he began to think of something suitable, when his gaze went back to the girl and said¡­


    "¡­Sir Fredrick, as an apology, this girl will handed over to you for free if you buy any others"


    A bitter chuckle escaped Fredrick''s mouth, with Darren sweating bullets.


    "Alright, to build goodwill, as well as the fact that this is our first meeting, I ept" Frederick said, before adding¡­


    "Though, I hope you don''t try to y me for a fool next¡­because things might not end so amicably. Now, take me to the actual good merchandise so I may know if I will ever step foot in here again" Fredrick said, as Darren wipedrge amounts of sweat from his face and took them to another room filled with rare beasts and his ''good merchandise''.


    As Darren took them here, Ezra was using Mana vision on all the ves, trying to see which one was actually a hidden gem by looking at their mana pools.


    The amount of mana contained in one''s mana pool was used to measure someone''s initial rank and potential as a mage.


    Though the measurement had been proven wrong more than half the time, it worked about 10% of the time, for Ezra, maybe 8%, because his mana vision was just an inferior version of the real deal.


    After spending close to two hours there, Fredrick bought seventeen ves for twenty gold and took the girl for free-mostly because, most of them were capable men at the adept rank or higher with a certain.


    Darren had them branded and washed, before being given to Fredrick.


    After which, Fredrick bought new clothes for each one of them.


    A carriage was called and we headed towards the bar, which I found being repaired.


    James came to me a momentter and told me the news I wanted to hear the most.


    The children had found the person who would be ''The Miser''.


    I would begin my merchant organization soon.

 Chapter 35 The Miser

    Ezra, Frederick and James were in a moving carriage going towards the part of the city where the miser was said to be staying.


    *Click*


    A door was unlocked as they left the carriage and entered a wooden building.


    It was a restaurant on the outer ring. An establishment not too shabby but nothing special either.


    They took a seat and ordered a te, camly observing the situation as Ezra waited for the hidden gem to show himself.


    A tall butnky boy with brown hair came out the backdoor with wooden tes in his hands as he went to deliver it.


    Ezra signaled Frederick to do as they had nned.


    The boy in question was about to serve the tes when Fredrick came near him and whispered in his ear, before moving out with Ezra and James in tow.


    The boy stood still for a few minutes as he hesitated, not knowing what it was that they wanted from him.


    The man, Fredrick, only whispered into his ear "We would like to talk to you outside" before leaving.


    He thought about anything bad he had done for someone toe looking for him, but nothing came to mind.


    Then he wondered if it was a matter of years ago, but still nothing, because as far as he remembered, he was working in this restaurant for almost four years now.


    So why did someone suddenly pop up and look for him?


    Did they mistake him for someone else? Or someone incriminated him in something he knew nothing of?


    Yet¡­there was no one to give him answers, and¡­


    ''If I don''t go, I''ll never know and it might make things worse¡­sigh¡­why is my life this way?'' he thought as he left the tes on a table and went after those guys.


    *Click*


    He opened the door, only toe face to face with the same big old man who whispered in his ears.


    His head churned with all the bad things that could happen as he gulped, but contrary to his expectations, the man simply turned around and said¡­


    "Follow me" and walked on without even ncing back once.


    I quickly followed after him because I knew he could have taken me by force and I wouldn''t have been able to do a thing about it.


    The man led me to a nearby tavern, before going to a table as a brown haired boy beckoned me from the moment I entered.


    The big man sat along with one other boy whose clothes seemed far more decent than what I wore.


    I looked at both boys, burning their faces in my mind as I tried to think where I may have met them before¡­but nothing came to mind.


    I was rather inconspicuous as the tavern had enough people to make the ce rowdy but not stuffy.


    "Sit" the brown haired boy said and I did.


    "H-Hello" I was stuttering because of the oppressive atmosphere, when the brown haired shed a smile before saying¡­


    "You don''t have to be afraid, you haven''t done anything wrong"


    My heart calmed down a little as I asked the question bogging me¡­


    "Then why am I here?"


    "Because I heard about you and wish to give you an opportunity, and no, it''s not something illegal"


    "O-okay" I said before asking¡­


    "Hmm, what do I call you?"


    "Ah, sorry about that. I''m Kevin, the big man''s John and the other boy is James. Alright we told you our names, what''s yours?"


    "It''s Williams, Williams Hull, Sir Kevin" I said as he nodded before speaking¡­


    "So Williams, let''s just say I came to give you an offer to work for me, with sufficient pay of course"


    "Hmm, what kind of work?" Williams asked, without stuttering this time.


    "It''s simple actually. I give you an assignment to carry out and you do so. Assignments like finding out how much mijnip bread is being sold in this city and what''s the average price"


    "That''s it?" Williams asked bewildered, that wasn''t too hard, especially for someone like him.


    "It''s far more than that, but you''ll have to start from there first. You''ll be given one silver once you''re done"


    At the mention of one silver coin, William''s head abruptly jerked up as he asked¡­


    "What if I already know the answer? I worked in that restaurant for years now, so it''s fairly easy to find when I checked"


    Kevin/Ezra''s mouth revealed a grin before he answered the question.


    "Naturally, you''ll get the money. So tell me, what''s the answer?"


    "Only twenty-two bakeries make mijnip bread due to its cheap nature and easy processing. A few others substituted it with kavicot bread, which Is also cheap in nature but the processing is more stressful than mijnip. The five best restaurants in the outer ring also stopped selling it after Istrucan bread came into the market two years ago, which then allowed other cheap restaurants to start making mijnip bread, which increased the production and avability but reduced the market price by a substantial amount. It costs an average of twenty-two to twenty-five copper depending on the season and the yearly yield" Williams answered in one breath.


    James and Fredrick only looked towards Williams with weird gazes, before turning even weirder gazes towards Ezra, who sighed in relief.


    Truthfully, he was afraid that even if he found the young ''Miser'', he wouldn''t have developed an interest in money at this point in time, but¡­


    ''It''s beyond my expectations''


    That was the truth.


    Ezra expected at most for the young ''Miser'' to be someone who just loved money, as Ezra nned to groom him into something better than the ''Miser'' of the future.


    Yet, he had his mind blown knowing that even the young ''Miser'' had a penchant for money and the market.


    ''It makes my job a whole lot easier'' this is the first reason why he was happy.


    The second was¡­


    ''If I get Sebastian at my side, the information that guy finds will allow this guy to shine like no other''


    As Ezra thought of this, he was subconsciously rubbing his hands together in expectation. Because if he was right¡­


    ''The two might bring about something unique that didn''t exist in my past life'' Ezra thought, with his grin bing ever wider.


    A minute passed before Ezra pulled himself together and calmed his excited heart down.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The two might work well together, but there was more work needed to be done before such a thing coulde into fruition.


    Concluding his thoughts, he changed his thoughtful expression, as the first thing he saw was the weird gazes Frederick and James were giving him.


    He was momentarily puzzled but quickly shook it off, before talking to Williams.


    "Williams, do you know how to read and write?"


    "Hmm, I know how to read a little but I can''t right, because I can''t see too well, my vision is sort of blurry"


    Ezra facepalmed himself as he remembered¡­


    ''The miser used to wear a pair of sses back then. I thought it was just typical fashion for him'' he thought before saying¡­


    "John, give him one silver"


    To which John/Frederick flipped a silver coin into William''s hand.


    Walliams hastily caught it while James let out a smallugh, remembering himself just days ago.


    "So what will it be, Williams? I have to tell you that you''ll be taken somewhere else where you''ll be given adequate resources to carry out your assignments".


    Ezra said before pausing, allowing William''s mind to reel in the meaning of those words.


    "Where do you live?" Ezra asked.


    "I live in a cottage with seven others"


    "Is there anyone you want to bring along or say goodbye to?"


    "Hmm, well, I''ll have to say goodbye to the old chaps who allowed me to work in their restaurant and I''ll pack some things from where I live"


    "Hmm, okay. James, follow him and bring him back to the base once he''s done" Ezra said, before getting to leave with Frederick in tow.


    ¡ª-------------


    Ezra and Fredrick arrived at the bar two hourter as they found that the repairs were almost done.


    They went in and found the ce stuffed.


    It seemed Cabrera had returned, because the gang members were back, while the kids were also there after finishing their assignment.


    Then you had the eighteen ves Ezra had brought earlier today.


    Ezra hastily went to meet Cabrera while Frederick waited outside.


    *Click*


    "Ah, you''re here" Cabrera said.


    "How did you know I was the one?" Ezra asked.


    "I doubt there''s any other kid that''ll barge in without knocking" Cabrera said, giving Ezra ''the eye''.


    Ezra only nodded at the urate deduction and sat down, before going into business.


    "Well¡­how was it?"


    "Well, I have both good news and bad news"


    "Bad new first"


    "The gangs and guilds are starting to move"


    "So soon?" Ezra found it suspicious, although he had expected it, this was definitely too soon!


    ''They couldn''t have known about me beforehand, then¡­!'' Ezra suddenly came to a realization as his eyes widened.


    "So, that means we have rats in here" Ezra said as Cabrera nodded, before taking over.


    "Exactly, I suspect we have a rat in the gang, maybe even multiple" Cabrera said as he had alreadye to the same conclusion.


    "And the worst part is that they were spies from years ago, because we haven''t really taken any new members in a long time" Cabrera said.


    "Hmm, maybe this might actually be a good thing" Ezra said as ns were drafted in his mind.


    "Ehh?" Cabrera couldn''t understand his point.


    "Listen carefully, the rats are their sources of information, so what happens when the rats have wrong information?" Ezra said as Cabrera nodded for him to continue.


    "What I''m saying is, we just do things on a bigger scale. Which means that you''ll have to give fragmented pieces of misleading information"


    Cabrera: (¨‘?¨‘)!


    Cabrera''s mouth formed a big ''O'' at this moment.


    "So you''re saying¡­since we don''t know who the rat is¡­we''ll deceive everyone?"


    "Exactly" Ezra answered.


    "Hmm, I see" Cabrera said as they concluded that subject.


    "Well, what''s the good news?"


    "ck Jaws has been registered as a G-rank guild"


    "Hmm, that is good news. What about the new base? Have you found a suitable one?" Ezra asked.


    "Yes¡­but they''re all too expensive, we don''t have such money" Cabrera answered.


    "How much is the cheapest one?" Ezra asked.


    "Eighty gold" Cabrera answered.


    "How much remains on hand?" Ezra asked.


    "Forty gold" Cabrera answered.


    "Then it''s time for you to visit the missionary"

 Chapter 36 The Missionary

    The Missionary.


    Although it sounded cool, it was basically what one would call a mission hall.


    It was a ce where humanse to register to be adventurers, before being recruited into a guild, n or, if he decided to move solo, be a mercenary.


    Orion is a world filled with beasts of different sizes and different variants. It is a fight between man and beast to retain resources since even before the great devouring.


    The missionary was the name given to any particr building where requests were handled and missions were posted.


    One existed in every town, city or shelter because of the needs of adventurers.


    An adventurer was basically those, with or without power, who moved to roam the world, or any who headed to the outside world for whatever reason.


    Naturally, they were paid for their services.


    Of course, humans weren''t born equal and that''s why ranks were established.


    It was calcted using one''s personal strength, which was his cultivation stage, and one''s achievement, how many missions they had and what they did in them.


    The ranks from the top were: S-rank, A-rank, B-rank¡­all the way to G-rank.


    The ranks of missions, which indicated how difficult they were, is also structured in the same way.


    Then after that, you had the guilds, the ns and the mercenaries.


    Guilds and ns were simr in the fact that both were gatherings of people with simr strength where they would have a leader and amon goal.


    But they had one difference. ns were made around family members with an ancient and exclusive mana technique, which they termed martial technique, of their own. These families sprouted right after the great devouring, with different peopleing together and forming new mana techniques. They were a culmination of body enhancement and effective mana usage, hence martial techniques.


    Guilds were basically a group of adventurers that came together to form a strong body. It wasn''tpulsory for them to be fighters. There were healers, cksmiths and, sometimes, alchemists in guilds that helped them to brew potions and elixir if their ranks were high enough.


    It was also good to know that Guilds and ns had their own separate ranking list which used the same S to G ranking.


    Naturally, problems had urred throughout the decades and solutions had been provided.


    Now, every kingdom, empire or dynasty had a quota of the total number of guilds and ns allowed in their domain, as well as stringent rules which, if not followed, could lead to war.


    For it had happened in the past, and could very well happen again.


    While mercenaries were soloists, those who do things alone.


    Till date, ruins of the ancient era are still being excavated. Powerhouses searched throughnd and sea to find priceless treasures. Keep in mind that they would encounter equally terrifying beasts during the search and exploration of these ruins.


    Do note that, although they were all termed missionaries, the one in each kingdom was different. Each had separate files, but a crest was created for easy recognition. After all, who would want to register again each time he entered a new kingdom or empire?


    Naturally, being the biggest empire, the limit of adventuring teams allowed in Niton was sky high. In fact, there was no limit to how many G ranks coulde into Niton, as many were dying each day they ventured out.


    And that''s why Ezra told Cabrera to take the guild on an expedition to kill some monsters in order to gather money.


    It had to be known that adventurers were also requested with house chores from cooking, to being a maid for a day and all sorts of things.


    All these were reserved for G rank, who were peasants among adventurers.


    ______________


    "An expedition? Where to?" Cabrera asked curiously.


    "Windless peak" I said decisively.


    "Huh?! Are you trying to get all of my boys killed?!" Cabrera eximed.


    "Calm down and stop overreacting. I can''t have you stagnate when you''ll soon be going head to head with the top dogs of the city" I said while staring him straight in the eye.


    "So, what''s the n?" he asked. I was expecting him to continue overreacting, but it seemed like he was learning.


    "Poison" I said.


    "Poison?" he asked.


    "Could you stop repeating everything I say? Yes, poison, one that I invented for beasts"


    "You invented it?" he said with a very weird face.


    "Look, forget about thest part. I''ll give you a list of recipes you need to get, before giving them to an alchemist to make it for you"


    "You also need to buy ves that''ll help in skinning the dead creatures proficiently and taking all their useful part intact. More than anything, this will help put your boys back in shape"


    "I don''t think I need to tell you what''ll happen if a guild attacks at this moment right?"


    "Hoo¡­" Cabrera sighed before saying¡­


    "I''ll do as you say¡­but why don''t I just borrow some G rank adventurers to help with the skinning?"


    "Tell me, what''ll happen when youe back from the expedition with ten carriages filled with monster parts?"


    "Hmm, I see¡­other adventurer''s would want to know how we did it¡­but you''re not nning to release that recipe to the public, are you?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    A wide grin formed on my face when he urately predicted the picture I was drawing.


    "Exactly, see, now you''re seeing the full picture¡­but?" I said, indicating that there was more to it.


    "The other guilds won''t stand still and let us monopolize such a secret¡­and they''ll try to make us sell it using all the methods they have"


    His eyes gained a glint of rity the moment he finished saying those words. He looked at me with wide eyes before asking¡­


    "How old are you?" with shock apparent in his voice.


    I raised five fingers in response to his question as his eye darted between me and my raised hand, before he understood and said¡­


    "No way¡­you''re not serious, are you?" he asked a question he already knew the answer to.


    "I''m dead serious" I nkly stated.


    ¡­.!


    "You''re five?! You''re a fu*king five year old kid?! But that''s not possible. You''re bigger than some eight years olds I''ve seen. What kind of trick are you trying to pull!" he said, staring at me with unbelieving eyes, before calming himself down as heughed bitterly and saying¡­


    "I wouldn''t have acted like that in front of any other person, but¡­I guess I''ve grown some resistance to you and your abnormal situations¡­sigh¡­I think I''m going crazy" he said as hisughter died down and he regained his rationality.


    "So¡­what exactly is the n?" Cabrera asked.


    "Listen well, because I''m only going to say this once and also¡­"


    I paused a little and then said¡­


    "This is a n with innumerable risks. Every corner will be filled with danger all the way¡­but if we seed, the rewards will instantly catapult us to a high-rank guild. So make your choice¡­all or nothing. Because after this it''ll be do or die"


    He immediately nodded and I began exining while also not exining¡­


    "What do you think would happen if we, a small and weak guild, try taking advantage of all those B rank guilds?"


    "Hmm, they''ll likelybine forces and wipe us out"


    "Exactly, so we need to take advantage of them while making it seem like we''re afraid of them"


    "But how exactly?" he asked, trying to see the big picture.


    "Well, firstly, you need to find independent alchemists whock any backing from the Intermediate rank all the way to the Expert rank. Preferably people you know"


    "Each one will have to sign a soul contract with you, one of gold rank. We don''t have the existing funds to buy such a thing, so you''ll have to take it on loans, but don''t worry¡­at the end of it, it''ll be given to us for free" I smiled as I thought about this.


    "Now, we make the potion and the guilds want the recipe from us and we refuse, what happens?"


    "They destroy us" he said.


    "But what if an even more powerful force intervenes for us?"


    "Hmm, and which force will that be?"


    "How about¡­say¡­the royal alchemist?"


    A tremor urred in his eyes as he heard that part. It was natural considering the genuine scale of my n.


    "Hmm, so the guilds won''t be able to do anything to us¡­but you''re not nning to give it to either of them are you?"


    He asked and I shook my head in response. And then he began muttering suddenly¡­


    "Hahaha, I''ve never seen such a crazy bastard like you before. Your madness is on another level" he said,ughing crazily.


    He had figured out my n.


    Heughed, before looking at me and saying¡­


    "But how are we going to draw the attention of the royal alchemists without calling them directly?" he asked as he looked at me.


    *Sigh* "I guess this is as far as it goes" I suddenly said, which put Cabrera on edge as he wondered what I was talking about, when¡­


    "What the?" he said with an incredulous expression as I momentarily held the disguise potion back and my face, hair and eyes changed back to their normal color.


    I looked at the shocked Cabrera before saying¡­


    "Have you ever heard of the fourth prince before?" I suddenly asked.


    "Everyone in the capital knows, with the many rumors around him, that he¡­" his face was turning into one of utter shock as continued¡­


    "¡­could use mana at three years old, could talk coherently at one, and this year¡­he would be turning Five!"


    He sat utterly frozen for quite some time after muttering those words out loud.


    I think I may have given him one too many surprises today.

 Chapter 37 Cabrera Shaken

    Thirty minutes had passed since I told Cabrera my identity.


    As of now, he could move again, but he was sweating profusely and panting heavily as Ezra watched and waited for him to regain his cool.


    After another ten minutes, he wiped his face as the anxiety in it was gone.


    His facial expression was one of utter calmness, like still water or a calmke, as he stared right at me for five minutes straight before¡­


    "Hooo¡­so¡­should I address you as your highness from now on?" he asked and I¡­


    "What nonsense are you spouting? If I wanted such a thing, I wouldn''t have hidden my identity in the first ce"


    ¡­gave a straight and direct answer.


    Cabrera only nodded at my words before sitting himself upright as he asked¡­


    "So, what now?"


    Instead of answering, I called out.


    "John,e in"


    Fredrick came in and closed the door. Seeing me without my disguise in front of Cabrera, he said¡­


    "What do you need me to do?"


    ''As expected, he''s the one who understands me the most'' I thought as I beckoned him to take a seat and began our discussion.


    "I need you to train the gang members, and more importantly, I''ll need you to work in tandem with Cabrera following my ns"


    Fredrick merely nodded.


    I looked over to Cabrera again as I asked¡­


    "Are you in for it? It will be do or die" I asked as he closed his eyes and took deep breaths to calm the tension he was feeling.


    Truthfully, I would have done the same too, after all, the entire n depends on how well Cabrera can do his part.


    If it fails, my ns would regress immensely¡­but if we seed, I would ask father my wish while feeling at ease.


    A few seconds passed as he looked at me with his gaze full of determination and conviction before giving a nod.


    With that approval, I began to exin what they had to do.


    "Cabrera, for our n to be set in motion, your acting needs to be impable. You also need to step into the advanced stage in three weeks"


    "Sir Fredrick will give you directives while you train in order to achieve such a task as you are already half-way there"


    "Fredrick, I''ll have to trouble you with teaching the gang members and get them sharpened in three weeks time. Are you up for such a task?"


    Fredrick and Cabrera nodded as I noticed Fredrick cracking a smirk.


    Somehow, I almost felt pity for the gang members.


    I continued¡­


    "What is the level of the highest official you have a connection to in this city''s missionary?" I asked because it would also have an important effect based on what his answers would be, and I didn''t have to wait long¡­


    "The sentinel. I once saved his son years ago by ident and he owed me a favor ever since"


    This time, it was my turn to be surprised.


    The Sentinel! That meant the current missionary head of all Niton missionaries.


    I clenched my fist as I felt like I won a lottery.


    ''This would make things a lot easier for me'' I thought as I asked another question.


    "Also, which alchemist do you know that''ll need sponsorship? One who is not a genius but not far from it"


    "I know quite a few in this city who are like that" he said and I asked¡­


    "Their number?"


    "Hmm, fif¡­no, thirteen"


    "Hahaha, a perfect amount" I said, feeling good about myself that I picked this guy as a subordinate.


    "How many of them would allow themselves into the guild?" I asked, a little expectant too.


    "To allow themselves to be tied down?" he asked and I nodded.


    "Hmm¡­ten. Yes, ten of them should¡­but you''ll have to allow them enough research time if you want them to ept" he said.


    "Okay, tell them they''ll get to do independent research in four months from now and show them the ce they''ll be working at" Ezra said, to which Cabrera asked¡­


    "The ce they''ll be working?" he didn''t get it. They didn''t have an alchemist room in the small bar.


    "Don''t worry, you''ll understand once I''ve told you the n" I said, leaving him in suspense.


    "What about merchants? Who''s the best merchant you know?"


    "Hmm, he''s a mid-level one, but close to high-level. Why?"


    While it is true I had found the miser, he was still too green around the edges for what I had nned.


    "Will he allow himself to be tied down?" I asked.


    "Well, that depends on if you can give him something worth it" Cabrera said.


    My already big grin grew even wider. Damn! this might actually pull through.


    "Wait, is he in this city?" I asked.


    "Well, no. He''s in the closest city to this one" Cabrera said.


    "Oh, Traxford? How many hours is that from here?" I asked.


    I knew the name because I read some roughly drawn maps in the royal library.


    "Depends, if it''s a single man journey then¡­moving at top speed, two days should be enough, but if it''s a merchant with goods, close to a week"


    "Hmm, that works too. Send your friend a letter and tell him toe back immediately, that it''s urgent" I said.


    "Okay¡­but are you sure about this?" he asked.


    "Of course, but the question is, are you ready to go all the way?" I said.


    "Of course I am, I wouldn''t let you talk me into this either way" he said.


    "Then there''s no need to worry, for now¡­"


    I said as I picked the runic feather, along with paper and started writing.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was one of the most vital parts of the n I had drawn.


    A potion made when I was in my forties of my past life. A time when dungeons and otherworld monsters that appeared were already bingmonce.


    I wrote down all the ingredients, which, funny enough, weren''t really anything special.


    The most expensive ingredient in it wasn''t more than ten silver, with a lot being just coppers.


    At the time, a mage who didn''t have any backing used thest of his money to buy thousands of mediocre herbs, as they called it at the time.


    Yet, against all odds, ten potions were born from that research that allowed beast killing to be immensely easier.


    Each had different effects and weaknesses, but if they were used properly, they boosted monster hunting efficiency to an unprecedented rate.


    They wereter dubbed as the ten bane of beasts.


    It wasn''t that they worked better than higher tier potions, but the momentary support they provided was always a game-changer.


    The potions became widespread all over the continent as the price of the mediocre herbs became sky high in no time.


    The one Ezra would give them was known as the boiling blood potion.


    *Scribble* *Scribble*


    Soon, he finished writing the ingredients, before writing the ingredients again in another paper, but left it iplete and handed it to Cabrera saying¡­


    "After showing them the ce they''ll be working, you''ll give them this paper and tell them to sign the soul contract before they can see theplete thing"


    "Oh right, do you know any cksmith around here?" Ezra asked.


    Unfortunately, he could only be disappointed when he heard¡­


    "I''m afraid not. The cksmith I was acquainted with moved out of this city years ago"


    Although he was disappointed, It was something he could cope with very well.


    After all, the cksmith wasn''t really needed for his ns toe to fruition.


    "Hmm, okay"


    "John, take this" Ezra said as he gave him the list of ingredients they would be needing and said¡­


    "You''ll be heading out to the wilds tomorrow with the ves to gather as many of these herbs as you can" Ezra said as John nodded, before saying¡­


    "Take this too" Ezra said as he removed a rusted ring from his pinky finger and gave it to Fredrick.


    Fredrick looked at the ring. It was too small to fit him. What did Ezra want him to do with it?


    "Put mana in it" Ezra said and Fredrick did as he was told. Then, the ring reacted and changed its size to match his finger.


    Ezra looked at him in amusement as he said¡­


    "Go on, pour mana into it" and Fredrick did as he was instructed, only for his eyes to turn white immediately after. An instantter, Fredrick''s eyes went back to normal.


    Since Ezra had known Fredrick, he saw visible shock on his face for the first time. Before his expression gradually went back to being nk.


    "You should not let a soul get even an inkling of the existence of such a thing" I told as he nodded gravely.


    "Leave the women. They''ll be teaching the kids writing and reading"


    "Okay"


    "Cabrera, you''ll buy fifteen ves to help with the expedition that''ll be happen in the third week from now" Ezra said, before turning back to Fredrick.


    "John, I said you''ll need to head out tomorrow, right?"


    "Yes, you did"


    "Hmm, you can''t do that¡­because we''ll have to continue our training" I said before asking¡­


    "So¡­do you have anyone who''ll take your ce? Someone independent and of Expert rank or at least advanced rank?"


    "You mean¡­hmm, I think there''s one" he said.


    "Will he allow himself to be tied down?" I asked.


    "If it''s for a good cause, then yes"


    "Good, tell him you''re Cabrera''s boss in secret and that you''ll need his help and assistance in teaching the gang members, as well as leading ves to gather herbs in the wilds" Ezra said, before adding¡­


    "The more knights you can tie down, the better. Of course, you''ll have to be extremely discreet about it"


    "They will say Cabrera paid themrge sums of gold to do so, to avoid suspicion" I said.


    "Hmm¡­I''ll see what I can do" he said, not questioning any of my directives.


    He understood well enough.


    Now¡­


    "Cabrera, what about all the items I found at the chance stores which I sent here?"


    "They''ve been stored in a secure ce" he answered.


    "Which is¡­?" I asked


    "The missionary" he answered.


    "Awesome, now, here''s what you''ll do in a few days time"


    I said as I exined the entire n to them, with Cabrera''s expression changing multiple times throughout my expansive exnation thatsted almost three hours.


    "Hoo, that''s it, that''s what we''ll do" I said, concluding my exnation.


    Cabrera was shaking again with sweat on his forehead. But unlike before, he wasn''t afraid, rather, he had a look of excitement that almost branched into madness as he looked at me, before¡­


    "You weren''t joking huh. It''s really do or die" he said.


    I nodded before saying¡­


    "I''ll distance myself from the city for a time. No one can know of my involvement¡­which means¡­"


    I said while turning towards Fredrick.


    "¡­It''s time to continue training"


    A grand scheme was set in ce at this moment, as the pieces began to move in ce.


    At the end of it, we''ll either be buried in the ground or flying in the sky.


    So, which shall it be? We can only wait and see.

 Chapter 38 Life-Changing Event

    Life Changing Event


    *Yawn*


    Ezra woke up as usual, got in a sitting position and closed his eyes for a good five minutes as he recalled the n that he, Fredrick and Cabrera were to execute.


    They would have to deceive everyone while making sure not to draw any suspicion from those who they would take advantage of.


    Existences that could destroy them easily.


    Ezra took deep breaths to calm his heart as he remembered why he was doing what he was doing, and the end goal of it all.


    His enemies were numerous and powerful, so he had to walk carefully along the edge of a de, but¡­


    ''I won''t be like this forever'' he reminded himself.


    The battle he had with Cabrera and the gang members gave him an urate prediction on his current skill.


    Thanks to the elixir, his physique and meridians were nearing the peak of Adept rank, with the only thing stopping him from advancing being his untrained body.


    After all, his body had grown to match that of a nine year old due to the elixir''s effects, and his meridians were also erged.


    His meridians were at Adept rank before he decided to use the elixir, which meant the effects should have taken his meridians to mid-Intermediate rank at the very least.


    Yet his body limited him. It was tempered, but that was artificially rather through hard work. It wasn''t yet strong enough to hold meridians of Intermediate rank. Which was why his advancement was halted.


    Should he try to forcefully increase his rank, the least that would happen would be for his meridians to be crippled. At most, death with his meridians puncturing his organs.


    Like a container filled with water to the brim, but the water keeps hitting the cover trying to break out.


    This was the current situation with Ezra''s body. And the answer was all too simple.


    ''I need to temper my physique to make it even stronger''


    To make a bigger container.


    And the only way to do that was¡­


    ''I''ll start training in earnest''


    He couldn''t be around when Cabrera put the n in motion, so he would use that time to train his body.


    "Fredrick" he called as the man came into view.


    Both of them stared at each other without saying a word.


    Fredrick only nodded before saying¡­


    "Since you already have a very good physique, you''ll start your weapons training today. I''ll be heading out for a while today, but you are to swing your sword one thousand times before the end of the day"


    Frederick talked not too loud but not quiet either, as he thought¡­


    ''They should have heard me clearly''


    "Yes, Sir" Ezra said, before going to clean up while Fedrick chugged down a disguise potion and headed out.


    "And so it begins" Ezra muttered, before wearing appropriate clothes and heading to the abandoned training ground.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    *Swish* *Swish* *Swish* *Swish*...


    The sound of air wheezing was the only thing heard as Ezra swung his sword downward with utmost concentration and focus while scanning the area.


    The reason why Fredrick had talked loudly this morning was to catch the attention of the rats in hiding.


    Ezra knew them to be the Empress''s spies.


    They had been spying on Ezra since the first day of his training.


    It was part of why Ezra had bought peasant clothes and used disguise potions for the past four days.


    They were always throwing the spies off their tail by going through alleyways and taking veryplicated roads going in diverse patterns before eventually arriving at the gang bar.


    He knew they wouldn''t dare attack him and would only watch him even if he fainted.


    Fredrick had notified the Expert knights of the new training ground of his departure, so they also had someone watching him.


    Which was why the agents of the Empresses couldn''t take action and only watched from afar.


    ''Hmm, they left?'' Ezra found that he could not feel the gazes of those rats anymore when it was almost two hours after noon.


    ''Well, whatever'' he thought as he shrugged and continued swinging his sword while inwardly counting.


    His entire body was covered in steel armor as he felt his bones snap in ce as he made downward shes with his sword.<novelnext></novelnext>


    His breathing became more ragged by the minute as he felt his bones rejuvenate a momentter.


    ''The remaining of the elixir are constantly healing my bones and tempering them. So I have to make the best of this opportunity¡­by constantly exceeding my limits''


    Thought Ezra as he kept shing down. Each one a little more powerful than thest as he continued to test his limits, while at the same time constantly refining his body.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Meanwhile¡­


    "Gather around!" Cabrera shouted in his bar to assemble the gang members, or guild members as it was now.


    Murmurs were heard as the members gathered to hear what their leader would say.


    They had been expecting some changes ever since Cabrera announced things would return to the way they were two days ago, so the question in their heads was¡­


    ''What does he want to do?''


    And they didn''t have to wait long as Cabrera started¡­


    "As I said two days ago, Mad Fist is back and I meant it" he paused, then continued¡­


    "As you may know, I have registered this gang as a guild with the name ''ck Jaws'' and I n to rise through the ranks all the way to the top"


    "I hope to do so with you guys by my side, but I know such life isn''t meant for everyone"


    "So¡­for those who don''t wish to risk the rest of their lives fighting beasts and demons, you''re free to leave"


    "For those of you who wish to stay, know one thing, there will be no more y. We''re going everything or nothing"


    "It''s do or die from this point onwards"


    He paused then added¡­


    " ¡­And I know none of you signed up for this, so this will be your only chance to get away from a man who many will say is over his head"


    Cabrera stopped for a minute while watching the reactions of the members.


    ''Hmm, to think he''d ask me to use this to find the rats in hiding'' he thought, marveling at the grand scheme a five year old had made up.


    And indeed, Cabrera saw up to ten with conflicted expressions and marked their faces in his mind, before going on to say¡­


    "And for those who wish to ascend the ranks with me, I promise with my honor, of a brother and a leader, that I will do my best in showing that you hadn''t made a mistake in staying" he said and turned around before adding¡­


    "For those who wish to leave, you have two hours to pack your bags and do so¡­ I will not hold anything against you because this is my ambition, there''s no need for me to burden you with it"


    "For those who wish to stay¡­you should also pack your bags because we''re going somewhere else"


    He then walked out the newly renovated bar without saying another word.


    Meanwhile¡­


    The bar was drowned in chaos as soon as he left, with the gang members muttering, shouting or reasoning on what path they would take.


    They understood the underlying meaning of his words clearly.


    Either stay knowing that turbulent times areing and you might die anytime, or leave and continue living life peacefully elsewhere.


    After the murmuring died down, silence descended as each person was in their thoughts, when someone spoke out¡­


    "So¡­what are we gonna do now?"


    The question causing turmoil in their minds was said out. And then someone spoke¡­


    "I don''t know about you guys, but I''m outta here. I didn''te to lose my life because of someone else''s ambition" he said these shocking words without batting an eye.


    "How can you easily betray the boss like that?!" another spoke up outraged.


    "Look, it''s not betrayal. That''s why we were given two choices. Because as the boss said moments ago, I didn''t sign up to fight beasts" the first replied without a hint of shame, but the other wasn''t backing down.


    "Oh? You didn''t sign up? What a load of cr*p. Boss took us in from the slums, when we had nothing to look forward to, and brought us into the gang for-"


    "He brought us into the gang for his benefit, no one else''s" the first cut him off.


    "Look at this! You''re saying such sh*t when, until a moment ago, you were riding his cocktails. But you''re right, he gave a choice because trash like you exist. You can do whatever you want for all I care, spending minutes to talk to betrayers like you isn''t worth it" he said as went to pack his bags while adding¡­


    "I don''t know about you guys, but I can''t imagine my life if I had never met the boss. No matter what gains he got, he still took care of us, joked with us and fought alongside us, and at the end of it, didn''t get rid of us even when he could. And now the first you do is run away? I don''t know about you guys, but I''m following the boss even if it gets me killed"


    He said his piece and left. Leaving the gathering in utmost silence as each member concluded their thoughts as they left to pack their bags.


    Neither side knew that, in the near future, one side would look back to this day with a smile of immense meanings, while the other would be filled with immense regret.


    This decision was going to be a life changing event for many.

 Chapter 39 And Then?

    And Then?


    -Two hourster-


    The gang members, or guild members as they are now, all stood with what little luggage they had as they waited for the Cabrera.


    *Click*


    The door to the bar opened up as Cabrera walked in, wearing gauntlets that had a beast marking on it, before going to stand in front of them.


    "I see you have all chosen your path" he said, looking at the neen remaining members out of the original twenty nine.


    ''So I had at least ten rats in my midst?'' thought Cabrera as he chuckled bitterly and then continued¡­


    "I have acquired a new ce for us to stay, this ce will be left for other purposes" Cabrera said as the members only nodded.


    "Well then, let''s go" he said, leading them out of the bar as carriages took them to their new abode.


    It was a two story wooden house, twice as big as the bar was, at the edges lower of the outer ring.


    *Click*


    Cabrera opened the door and went in as he told the gang¡­


    "Put your bags down and look for a roommate. We''ll be staying here for the time being. You have ten minutes to pick a room beforeing downstairs. Now MOVE!" he shouted as the boys ran helter-skelter choosing the rooms they could find nearest, with fights asionally happening here and there.


    At the tenth minute mark, they had all assembled back in the lower floor as Cabrera only beckoned them and said¡­


    "Follow me" before heading into an alleyway with the boys behind, as he transverse from alleyway to alleyway, before eventually stopping at the only cemoners were allowed in the central ring.


    The Knight training ground.


    The boys began murmuring while following Cabrera as he reached the knights training ground, before abruptly turning around to face the boys.


    "As a guild wanting to rise in ranks, you need good fighting skills, and while you had it at a time, most of you have be rusty" he said.


    "I have employed the services of two Expert Knights to teach us battle skills, and yes, I will be training alongside you"


    "In one and a half months, we''ll be heading out on a monster subjugating expedition. As to where? You''ll naturally find out in time"


    "For now, you''ll have to train with one hundred and ten percent dedication if you wish to be stronger. And be warned, it won''t be fun process at all, but the rewards at the end of it will make it all worth it"


    Cabrera said as he exined to the boys what they were in for.


    "Boss?" the second person who had spoken up in the bar asked.


    "Yes, Carl?" Cabrera asked.


    "When do we get started then?" Carl said as a wicked grin made its way onto Cabrera''s face. It seemed he had been influenced by a certain someone as he replied.


    "Right now of course"


    "All right boys, who''s training with me? After all, we can''t let the boss train alone, now can we?!" Carl said as the others gave their word.


    "I am"


    "I am"


    "We can''t let the boss have all the glory, now can we?" someone said while others affirmed.


    In the end, unlike Cabrera''s expectation, no one had backed out.


    Pride crept into Cabrera''s heart at this scene, as he found himself suddenly feelingpetitive.


    "Alright, boys, let''s do it!" Cabrera shouted as the others took it up.


    "Let''s do it!" they said simultaneously, which garnered attention from onlookers all around, before they charged into the training ground.


    "Wow" they all eximed as they took in the bright view of the walled grounds and of the training Knights as they practiced their sword techniques, while others were sparring with wooden weapons in a separate space.


    Both of them also stopped to look at the arriving crowd, as they saw young men wowing at the view and the peasant clothes.


    A voice spoke out.


    "Huh? I didn''t know even dog shit was allowed in here?"


    A boy with long yellow hair and brown eyes said. On his body was clothing whose quality far outstripped that of amoner. Adding that to his trash behavior, anyone would understand that he was a noble.


    The gang members who were about tosh out with curses and insults were silenced by their boss, who said¡­


    "Leave him be, you didn''te here for him. We came to grow stronger and that''s what we''ll do"


    "Oh, the trash leader is trying to act mature? Trash will always be trash, never forget" the boy said, taunting him, and got a short answer.


    "Well, that''s obviously true even when one looks at this situation¡­"


    He paused, before saying¡­


    "¡­right boys?"


    Then he winked.


    The boys who understood the message couldn''t help but burst intoughter as they said¡­


    "Of course boss, trash will always be trash"


    "I know right, what else can it be?"


    "That boy is terribly clever, don''t you think so? hahaha" another said as theyughed hysterically, almost on the verge of bursting into tears.


    The others who were watching the situation quickly covered their mouth, trying to stifle theirughter.


    The boy, who quickly understood he was being made a fool of, had his head turn red with anger and shame as he shouted¡­


    "Do you know who I am? I am the third son of viscount Fergusson" he announced proudly, expecting the trash to quiver in fear, but instead heard¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    "And then?"


    BOOM!


    An explosion went through the minds of the children there as soon as they heard that question.


    The boy himself unbelievably stared as he asked to re-affirm¡­but heard the same nonchnt answer¡­


    "And then? You''re the son of a viscount. Well, that''s good for you¡­but why would that concern trash like me? You just said so yourself, didn''t you?"


    Silence! Pin-drop Silence!


    The one who talked was a gang member that came from a fallen noble family, so his speech was fluent to arge extent.


    And as if that wasn''t enough, he said¡­


    "And so, we, trash as you said, apologize for any misunderstanding. We''ll excuse your viscount-son-ness and be on our way"


    And then said¡­


    "Let''s go boss, or we might offend his¡­majesty" he said as the gang members walked away with ridicule in their eyes as they tried to contain theirughter.


    While what the member had said waspletely eptable as an apology, immense ridicule and sarcasm could be heard in his tone.


    The boy could only freeze at the unbelievable situation, as he truly could not understand.


    Nevertheless, a pping sound was heard after an entire minute of silence as the Expert Knights finally intervened.


    The awkward silence pervaded for quite a while as themoners and nobles all looked towards the gang members with a variety of gazes, ranging from awe to ridicule to rage and even pity.


    No one could really tell what such an action would cause, but the certain thing was¡­


    ''Things are about to get interesting'' The Expert Knight thought, before moving to teach the gang fighting techniques.


    Meanwhile¡­


    -Somewhere else in Kingsmere-


    Within a room in a wooden building, a chubby man sat on a table with a scar running through his face as he listened to the report of a spy nted in a particr gang for years, while gently sipping his alcohol from arge cup.


    "Hmm, that''s all he said? You didn''t get any details before you left?"


    "Yes sir, all he said was that he would rise through the ranks and establish himself as a powerhouse. He also told the members to choose between following him to hell or leave"


    Unsurprisingly, it was the man who had been the first to speak out on his intent to leave.


    "Hahaha, what a delusional fool" heughed like he just heard the biggest joke.


    The chubby man wore a thoughtful face before asking another question.


    "What about you? What do you think of it?"


    "Honestly sir, I think it''s a nonsensical wish made on the whim of a pitiful man" he said with a straight voice.


    "Hmm, anything else I should know about?" he asked.


    "Well, there was an appearance of a very-skilled child along with a man around thirty to forty years old. Then after, some children from the slums came around a day after, but I think you don''t need to worry about such nonsense" he said.


    "Why so?" the man asked.


    "Well, the boy was skilled but not that much. It''s just that the boss was an Intermediate rank, and that''s nothing impressive in our gang"


    "So, I doubt there''s a need for us to be wary of an Intermediate rank and his mindless minions talking about rising through the ranks"


    "At the end of it, they''ll soon realize how impossible such a thing actually is and will most likely beg to join the bigger gangs"


    The chubby man nodded at the urate assessment, before throwing it to the back of his mind.


    After all, they were just a bunch of young people still dreaming big. Reality would rear its ugly head in their faces.


    And if they tried to upset the bnce? Then, they''ll be wiped out to use as an example for others who might want to try such a thing.


    In the end, they were far too weak to threaten top gangs, who have been operating for years.


    ''If they think top guilds have shallow foundations, then they''ll be in for a nice surprise''


    This man was a mid-ranking member of Fire Scar, one of the two top gangs in the capital.


    Simr situations like this urred in multiple ces as gangs and guilds scoffed at such nonsense, before throwing the matter at the back of their minds, deeming it not important.


    These gangs and guilds woulde to regret this decision in theing years.


    Yet, how could they have known?


    As they say, ''Ignorance is bliss''.


    Days quickly flew by as Fredrick went out of the capital along with the ves, which now amounted to twenty-five, to gather resources soon to rise in value.


    The children, as well as Williams, were now being taught how to read and write fluently in utmost secrecy.


    Such a development could be tagged as the start of a rebellion, effectively sentencing them to death.


    The former gang bar was now upied by them as they recruited more children by the week, while slowly learning to extract information while being inconspicuous.


    All the while, the mastermind of it all, Ezra, was training with his all as he found it to be more effective the more painful it was.


    He also wrote a letter to his mother telling her of his whereabouts, while leaving out his exploit with the gang, chance stores and the grand scheme.


    The Empress''s spies were monitoring him daily, which Ezra thought was them trying to estimate his growth rate and how much of a genius he actually was.


    Everyone moved along and a month flew by in no time.

 Chapter 40 Learning

    ng* *ng*


    The sounds of metal shing rang out as two people shed swords against each other in a spar.


    "Hahaha, you''ve grown this much in a month alone?!" Fredrick said as heughed boisterously, when he heard some iprehensible words.


    "Hmm, it''s stillcking"


    "Huh? Did I hear that right?" Fredrick couldn''t help but ask.


    He came from a month''s long journey and decided to check on Ezra''s progress.


    Needless to say, he waspletely stunned by how much Ezra had grown.


    But when Ezra had told him the training he did, Fredrick felt it could only be natural.


    He wore an entire suit of heavy armor and shed downwards more than a hundred times, before taking another armor and holding it up, then started duck walking ten times around the training ground.


    For an entire month! This caused him to increase by two inches, his formerly bby muscles now chiseled a little and the best thing was¡­


    ''Thankfully, my physique has reached Intermediate rank''


    Ezra had advanced his physique, which allowed a smooth transition into Intermediate rank!


    An intermediate rank at five years olds! Truly, men weren''t (re)born equal.


    Yet¡­


    "It seems that''s the limit of what I can reach right now" Ezra said as he sighed disappointedly, before turning to Fredrick and asking¡­


    "Tell me, which one is really you exactly, the calm and reserved man or the vigorous and energized man?"


    "Well, both actually" Fredrick said as he paused for an instant, before talking in a low tone.


    "I act with vigor and energized or calm as you have seen whenever the situation calls for it. The vigorous me is what I mostly show to people, while the calm mees in when I do it in secrecy and with inconspicuousness. So, there''s your answer, I am both" he said.


    "Then¡­why did you always say ''ye'' instead of you and ''your''? And why did you stop now?" Ezra asked.


    "Well, I did that to throw off those looking for me. As for why i stopped¡­it wasn''t intentional, but since I became your knight, I stopped using it"


    "Hmm" Ezra muttered as he nodded, before asking¡­


    "What about ''that''? Were you able to seed?" he asked.


    "Yes, it was a total sess" Fredrick answered.


    "Now, the game begins" Ezra said as a light with a myriad of meanings shed in his eye.


    Meanwhile¡­


    *ng* *ng* *ng*


    Another spar was undergoing as two people fought with wooden swords.


    "Is that the best you can do?" said the boy as he taunted his challenger.


    "Well, I am trash after all"


    Yes, trash.


    The name a certain noble gave to a certain group of people, and it stuck to them since then.


    The next day after the first incident, those of noble blood banded together to suppress the ck Jaw members, as they saw them as a thorn limiting their authority.


    They then challenged each one of them to a spar with an Expert Knights as the regtor, and the results were as expected.


    The nobles won almost all the fights against the ck Jaws members, though Cabrera didn''t participate in what he called ''a fight between children''.


    Rather, he was constantly sparring and losing against Expert-rank Knights.


    The results were as expected and the nobles hade out on top.


    The problem was what came after.


    Unlike normal peasants who would despair at the gap, before eventually giving in¡­these guys were relentless!


    Cabrera had told them after their first battle that¡­


    "The results were just as I expected, because we have beenzy for long enough that our skills have rusted" he paused, before saying¡­


    "You may think that you''d lost, but that''s not true" he said, causing the boys to give him weird gazes, but he continued.


    "Tell me, why are we here in the first ce?" he asked and one said¡­


    "We came to grow stronger"


    "Exactly!" he eximed, before asking¡­


    "And how do you grow stronger?"


    "By training" one said.


    "By working out" another said.


    Cabrera nodded at their answers and continued¡­


    "You''re right, but that''s not the main thing. Who knows the main thing?"


    A minute passed with no answers, so Cabrera told them¡­


    "By learning, boys. Only by learning from your mistakes, from your enemies, from your friends, from your teachers, and absorbing it to improve yourself can you grow stronger. Do you UNDERSTAND?!" he shouted.


    "Yes boss!" they said in unison as Cabrera nodded, before saying¡­


    "So don''t think about losing. If you lose and learn from that loss, you''ll be able to improve" he said.


    "Failing isn''t losing, no, it''s losing and not learning anything from it. Now, that''s failing. To fall and not stand up, that''s failing. But losing to kids who have been training with weapons since they were seven years old is nothing to be ashamed of"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "To lose is to be human, but to not learn is to be an animal" he said and left them with their own thoughts.


    And when the next day came¡­


    "I want to spar with you"


    They went to spar with the nobles a second time and lost, but instead of envy or despair surfacing, the boys had excited looks on their faces as they said¡­


    "Guys, I''m able to hold on for five seconds more thanst time! I''m getting stronger" one bragged.


    "Hey, no fair, I''m the one sparring next" another protested.


    "No, it''s me" another dered


    "What the heck? Of course I''m the one" another ascertained.


    And like so, the scene of a group of neen men fighting to get beaten up became the norm from then onwards.


    The nobles tried to use other tactics to crush them.


    From crushing them with overwhelming power, to releasing killing intent, they were all unsessful.


    When one noble tries to crush the spirit of one of them, other memberse in to share the burden, while still beingpetitive of who wouldst the longest in the face of such pressure.


    And because of that, their skills grew at an unprecedented rate.


    They knew how to fight to begin with, their skills were just rusted. But after being hit with overwhelming auras, as well as killing intent thick enough to make one shiver every single day, they had built resistance to it.


    A little more, and it might even be an immunity.


    Like this, the nobles who found themselves against a wall called ck Jaw guild members, who were relentless even after losing and instead wore smiles. Fear began to creep up in their minds as some nobles started running away from them, while the smarter ones copied the guild members'' mindset to always learn and gradually became just like them in relentless sparring.


    The suppressedmoners also did the same thing as they sought to remove the oppression of nobles.


    This gave way to what was now called endless sparring.


    Two people would fight while others waited in line.


    The loser leaves and another challenger arrives to fight the winner.


    And such a process goes on for as long as they are people who want to spar.


    The Expert-rank Knights could only be amazed at the new attitude the guild boys had infected others with.


    The average level of skill became much higher than what it normally was due to the act of sparring.


    Fighting different people with different techniques consecutively as you constantly sharpen your senses, techniques and improvisation, one can only improve to defeat their opponent.


    The guild boys were still losing a lot, but that was because their challengers were also learning a lot.


    As of now, each one was sure to beat the them of one month ago easily.


    They had improved their reflexes, their five senses, refined their techniques and made some new ones.


    All in all, they had sharpened themselves to an unprecedented degree.


    Their boss, Cabrera, seeing his subordinates intensely wanting to improve, how could he stay behind?


    And so he took it up with the Expert Knights in a separate ce as he went from losing in mere seconds tosting almost an hour.


    Within two weeks of the expedition¡­


    ''It''s time for the real game to start'' Cabrera thought as he notified the training ground of his absence and left to go somewhere.


    The missionary of Kingsmere.


    ¡ª-----------------


    "Huuuuh" Cabrera exhaled in order to relieve his tension, before heading into the missionary.


    It was a four story building with enough space on the ground floor to amodate a hundred people standing side by side. Usually, there were no less than sixty people in the hall at a time.


    Right after entering, one would see a board at the right side. It was full of missions across all ranks, except S rank, as well as the rewards for each and a rmendation of what rank such mission is suitable for.


    Cabrera had naturally seen all this more than once before, as he moved across the adventures without batting an eye to look at the variety of gears each one had on, and moved to a counter.


    It was where people would register for the particr mission they had chosen.


    "Hello, how can I help you?" the attendant asked. She was a female with long red hair, wearing sses.


    "I came to see the sentinel" I said, dropping a bomb on her as she immediately straightened up, fixed her sses and asked me¡­


    "Do you have an appointment sir?"


    "Hmm, not exactly, but please tell him it''s ''Cabrera'', and that I''vee to take his gift" I said as the gaze of the attendant took another turn as she tried to reprimand me.


    "Sir, you need to know that-"


    "Just tell him, he''ll tell you to let me up immediately"


    But I cut her off and she seemed pretty pissed while taking breaths, before she said¡­


    "If you''re lying, then I''ll have you regret the day you were born"


    *Shrug*


    "Do as you please"


    She did so and, in less than two minutes¡­


    "Sir, the sentinel called you over"


    I was guided to his office on the top floor.

 Chapter 41 The Loan

    Cabrera escorted to the first floor, where he was then led to a door made up of something that seemed like wood but wasn''t. Intricate runic inscriptions were engraved on it in a myriad of patterns, and when Cabrera tried to trace this pattern, he found himself being drawn into an illusion as his mind began warping, when¡­


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you" the girl escort pulled on his shoulder, forcefully taking him out of his reverie.


    Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he found himself utterly defenseless against whatever that was.


    At that moment, a voice full of serenity called out from within.


    "Come in"


    "Sir, you are to go in to speak with the sentinel" the escort said as she retreated.


    Cabrera firmed himself and calmed his beating heart as he remembered why he was here.


    ''I have to go all way'' he thought before heading inside.


    The door that seemed unprable before, now became seemingly transparent as Cabrera walked right through it and found himself in an office that was too well organized.


    The floor was spotless, with no windows in sight, yet the air was refreshing.


    "Come and sit"


    A voice full of calmness rang out as Cabrera found himself looking at a man d in a short blue robe with long brown hair, short white beard and brown eyes to match. He sat in front of a desk, with a neat pile of paper beside him, while he sipped something from a tea cup.


    "Well, we don''t have all day" the man said, smiling lightly.


    *Clears throat* *Clears throat*


    Cabrera coughed to hide his embarrassment as he quickly moved and sat down on a chair in front of the table.


    "Hello Sir, how''s your son doing?"


    "Oh he''s fine, thanks to you"


    "Surely you jest, Sir" Cabrera said.


    The man watched Cabrera for a few seconds before saying¡­


    "So, my assistant told me you came to collect your gift. So tell me, what is it that you want?"


    Cabrera took a deep breath before saying¡­


    "A loan"


    The sentinel raised a brow in astonishment and intrigue.


    He was expecting the boy to ask for money, an item or an expensive scroll, but a loan? He couldn''t quite get it.


    Seeing his expression, Cabrera said¡­


    "Let me exin properly. I am someone who toiled from a boy in the slums and is now a guild leader. I wish to go higher, but several roadblocks are in my way. So, I researched and made a n to propel into greatness, but the one thing Ick¡­is money, and a very significant amount of it"


    Cabrera stopped as he perused the look on the sentinel''s face, who nodded with a thoughtful face as if to say ''it was to be expected'', before Cabrera continued.


    "I came today to borrow an astronomical amount that would allow my ns to proceed unhindered" he said.


    "And how much is this ''astronomical'' amount you speak of?" the sentinel said, still holding a smile with hidden meanings on his face.


    "Huuu¡­25,000 tinum" Cabrera said with a straight face.


    *Crack*


    The tea cup cracked as the sentinel put too much pressure on it.


    His smile had beenpletely wiped off as killing intent leaked into the air.


    "Do you take me for a fool?" he asked angrily, but¡­


    "No, I do not, and I dare not do so" Cabrera answered without flinching.


    The sentinel calmed down somewhat before saying¡­


    "Then what is the meaning of that insane amount?" he asked, trying to fix his poker face but failing.


    "It is an honest amount, and that is why I asked for a loan instead of trying to act smart" Cabrera answered.


    "Hmm, continue" the sentinel said, a little pleased at this brat''s courteous nature.


    "I havee to negotiate a loan contract, one of the soul" he said.


    "And why do you think I will ept such a contract?" The sentinel asked.


    "One, because the contract is entirely in your favor. And two, no one would resist free gold items" Cabrera said.


    "We''ll get back to the first part, but what do you mean by free gold items?"


    The sentinel was bing more and more surprised the more he heard.


    "I kept a bunch of silver and gold items I obtained in this missionary, as for why I said it was free, that brings us back to the first reason" Cabrera said as he brought out a bronze soul contract and handed it over to the sentinel.


    "You must be joking, right?"


    The sentinel wasn''t talking about the terms, but the rank being bronze.


    After all, how was such a contract supposed to be reliable with someone of Intermediate rank.


    "I know you can easily transfer or strengthen a contract with someone of a higher-rank, and I intend to do just that. For now, the terms are what you need to pay attention to"


    The sentinel then unfurled the soul paper and began to read through it.


    Five minutes passed as the sentinel read through it and his killing intent waspletely doused.


    After re-reading the terms almost ten times, he sighed deeply, looked Cabrera in the eye and asked¡­


    "Are you serious?"


    "Yes, extremely so. It''s not an amount I calcted on a whim" Cabrera said with a look of determination and conviction.


    The sentinel saw this and didn''t bother trying to persuade him, instead proceeding to the next pressing question.


    "Hmm, but how are we supposed to make sure you don''t run away using some unknown means?"


    Cabrera looked at him before saying¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I highly doubt that being a problem for the missionary. After all, you should have something called a soulpass"


    The sentinel was surprised again as he thought¡­


    ''It seems he really did n things thoroughly''


    The soulpass was an item which attaches itself to one''s soul, thereby keeping track of the person''s location, going as far as tracking someone''s position in another continent.


    Well, not the exact location, but would allow easier tracking.


    It would rm the sentinel  if Cabrera moved an inch out of Niton territory.


    ''So, he wants to propel himself to the top, and he seems to have a n to do so, but why did he say the deal shouldn''t be leaked at any cost? Is that how he ns on paying back the loan¡­no, how does he n to pay the interest?... should I ept or reject it?''


    As the sentinel perused on what decision to take, Cabrera was thinking something else entirely¡­


    ''I really can''t fathom how that guy is five years old!''


    The current situation was calcted in the grand machinations Ezra was nning, which only served to awe Cabrera.


    ''Having him as an enemy¡­I almost feel sorry for his brothers''


    This was the dominant thought in Cabrera''s head as he shook his head with a pitiful expression.


    For him, the next Emperor was already crystal clear.


    At this moment, the sentinel spoke up.


    "Alright, we have a deal"


    "Thank you for such a chance, Sir" Cabrera immediately expressed his gratitude.


    The sentinel looked at Cabrera while thinking¡­


    ''I''m just worrying over nothing. The terms stated, as well as the soulpass, will make sure he can''t take the money and run away. There is also fact that he can only spend the money in this city, for as long as even a dime remains to be paid''


    Yes, horrifying conditions were stated, not by the sentinel, but by Cabrera himself. Some were to remove all doubts about his intentions, while others made sure that, even if he ran away, the city wouldn''t lose much.


    That is, if they lost anything at all.


    After all, this was 25,000 PLATINUM!


    Not Copper, not Gold, but PLATINUM.


    One should remember that the exchange rate was:


    100 Gold coins = 1 tinum coin


    So, 25,000 tinum was¡­2,500,000 Gold! Or 250,000,000 Silvers!


    No wonder the Sentinel thought he was joking and released killing intent.


    No wonder Cabrera willingly stated horrifying conditions on the border of almost bing a ve.


    How else were they supposed to hand over such an amount to a first-time lender?


    "Hmm, so does that mean the money is avable as of this moment?" Cabrera asked.


    The sentinel looked at him with a weird gaze and said¡­


    "Give me a moment" before pulling out a scroll with runic markings and gold dust seeming to fall off it.


    It was an item Cabrera had heard a lot about, but this was his first time seeing the real thing.


    ''A Gold-rank soul scroll'' he thought.


    The sentinel then took the bronze scroll, which housed the terms and conditions of both parties, put it on the unfurled nk gold scroll, and said¡­


    "Absorb"


    The gold scroll shone a bright gold light as the bronze scroll was absorbed in mere seconds.


    The written terms of the contract had been transferred onto the gold scroll.


    The sentinel nodded at the sight, before saying¡­


    "It is done, the money is now avable"


    "Hmm" Cabrera nodded as he took out another scroll from his pocket and ced it on the table, before saying¡­


    "Should anyone know about this, I would be hunted by all guilds"


    The sentinel nodded at such insight.


    "So, in order to prevent that, I wish to ask If I could utilize the missionary to process my needs. Of course, I''ll pay a processing fee of thirty tinum" Cabrera stated as he saw the sentinel burst intoughter as he said¡­


    "It seems you''re more insightful than I thought. I can''t believe I still underestimated you" heughed.


    "That''s an exaggeration, Sir" Cabrera replied, making the sentinel smile as he thought¡­


    ''He''s not only insightful, but modest as well''


    But the sentinel didn''t know that it was not so.


    After all, how was he supposed to know that Cabrera had been taking writing and etiquette sses for a month, from a ve who was the illegitimate child of a Baron?


    And the fruits of that lesson were now showing themselves at this moment.


    "Alright, the missionary epts the request" he said smiling, before adding¡­


    "My assistant will be waiting behind this door, give her this" he said as he handed Cabrera a small note.


    "She''ll naturally understand"


    "Thank you for your kindness, Sir" Cabrera said perfunctorily.


    "The pleasure is mine. And now, it''s time for you to go" he said as I found myself floating towards the room''s exit.


    "I look forward to seeing what you''ll achieve with all this"


    This was thest thing Cabrera heard before he found himself standing in front of the room''s door.

 Chapter 42 Splurging

    "Mr. Cabrera, since you''re done, you should head downstairs"


    The assistant said, pulling Cabrera out of his reverie.


    "The sentinel asked me to give this to you" he said, handing her the note.


    Then, the note shined brightly for a moment, before losing its luster and crumbling into unseen particles, which dissipated into the air as she stared at me for a moment, before turning around and saying¡­


    "Follow me"


    And after her I went.


    As we stopped on the third floor, she said¡­


    "What items will you need?"


    I quickly began to state all the things needed for the expedition, and the first was¡­


    "First, I need a residence and a shop" I said.


    "Then follow me" she said as we went to meet another woman.


    "Jenny, this man is looking for a residence to buy, as well as a shop"


    "Oh, it''s you Amy. Been a while. So this is the man who wants to buy a residence and a shop?"


    "Yes I am" I replied because she seemed to be ignoring Cabrera''s presence.


    "Okay, you won''t find anywhere better than here to do so. So, what price range and  specifications are you looking for?"


    "From fifty to two hundred thousand gold" Cabrera said.


    "Ok, from fifty to- what?!" she abruptly stopped when she processed what he said, wondering if she heard it right, but Cabrera didn''t even wait.


    "I want a guild house with alchemybs, four cksmiths forges, arge underground space and an expansive width and height of half of a mage Tower" he paused and said¡­


    "Did you get all that?"


    "Yes, I think so¡­" she said, realizing that this customer wasn''t a regr one.


    "Good, I also want a shop to be constructed in Traxford. Is there any with the seven floors avable?" Cabrera asked.


    "No, none are" she said.


    "Ok, then, how much would the construction of such a thing cost?"


    "Hmm¡­" she closed her eyes to make calctions for about a minute, before saying¡­


    "400,000 gold coins at least and 2,500,000 gold at most at most. It is so high because you''ll also have to buy thend it will be built on"


    "Hmm, please give her 5,000 tinum" Cabrera said to Amy, who merely nodded in response, before turning back towards Jenny¡­


    "You''ll begin the construction in a few months'' time when I give the order. Till then, just have those who will build it at arm''s length"


    "Okay, Sir" Jenny answered.


    "What about the residence?"


    "That will also have to be built. There is no building avable that fits all those requirements"


    "For how much?"


    "500,000 gold at least and 4,500,000 gold at most"


    "Hmm, where are the cheapest plots avable in this city?" he asked.


    "Hmm, those are all situated in the outer ring section"


    "What about the slums? Is thatnd for sale?" he asked.


    "Hmm, I''m not sure, because no one has ever tried to buy it"


    It was exactly what he told Ezra.


    "But how much do you think it''s worth?"


    "Hmm, well, considering all factors, it couldn''t be more than 10,000, no, it might sell for 5,000 because the empire will be happy to relieve themselves of such a burden"


    Cabrera''s eyes shone as he got unexpected information that would be very useful when they bought it out.


    "Amy, give her another 2,500 tinum for the construction of the residence. You''ll wait for my instructions just like for the shop" Cabrera said as Amy nodded and Jenny gave her perfunctory "Yes Sir"


    ''I''m done here. Now¡­what''s next?'' Cabrera thought as he said¡­


    "Amy, I need to buy soul scrolls and one spatial ring" Cabrera said as Amy nodded and moved to another room.


    This one had more than a hundred scrolls of different types hung on the walls.


    "Hello, oh it''s you Amy, what brings you here?"


    An old man in white robe was the one who attended to them this time.


    The one questioned, Amy, merely pointed toward Cabrera as the old man took his queue and asked¡­


    "What is it I can do for you, Sir?"


    The ''Sir'' was added because he knew whoever Amy was escorting was no ordinary person.


    Cabrera quickly shook away his gaze from the multitudes of scrolls as he said¡­


    "I want to buy some scrolls, as well as a spatial ring"


    "Spatial rings range from 20,000 gold all the way up to 1,500,000 gold, while scrolls are of many kinds and for different uses. Some are for sealing, some for healing, some for killing, some for stealing, some for casting, some for-"


    "I need soul scrolls, and I''ll take the 50,000 gold spatial ring" Cabrera cut him when he saw that this grandpa was a serious talker.


    "You should have just said so, this way please" he said as he moved to one of the doors on what I thought was the hall''s wall and walked inside.


    Amy followed and I did so soon after.


    It was a ce packed with scrolls, and all of them were soul scrolls.<novelnext></novelnext>


    They were ced on shelves ording to their quality, from copper to a very few Epic gold scrolls.


    "So, which one is it?" the old man said.


    Cabrera was constantly having his horizons widened. And he was sure that, if not for the soul contract binding, he would have forgotten what he needed to buy.


    He shakes his head to throw away all his ridiculous thoughts before asking¡­


    "How many copper scrolls do you have currently?"


    "Hmm, we have five thousand, give or take"


    "Give me everything, and put it in my spatial ring" Cabrera said nonchntly.


    "That would be a hundred gold, each being two silver"


    "I understand" Cabrera was telling him to do it. Then he asked how much dark gold scrolls were.


    "3,000 gold each" the old man said.


    "Give me twenty pieces" Cabrera requested.


    "That''ll be 60,000 gold" he said, confirming my purchase.


    "I understand" I affirmed.


    "So, everything adds up to¡­ 110,100 gold coins"


    "Amy, give him 1,101 tinum coins" I said and, unlike before, Amy moved and spoke in the man''s ear.


    After which, he smiled at me and said¡­


    "I''ll be right back" before rushing into another room and rushing back with a small ck box, which he opened to reveal a blue ring.


    "Try it on" the old man said as I took the ring and wore it on my index finger, and what do you know? It was a perfect fit.


    "Now put mana into it" he said, and I did. I saw the space inside the ring and instinctively knew how to use it.


    I moved it above the pile of scrolls I bought and¡­they were sucked in at once and I felt them enter the ring.


    "It works fine" I said.


    "Of course it does" the man replied, implying that it was obvious.


    "Amy, I need to buy some magical herbs"


    ¡ª-----------------


    "Huuuu" Cabrera exhaled as he lied down on his bed.  He began thinking about today''s events.


    He had bought magical herbs worth 10,000 gold, as well as two gold mana techniques and three Dark-gold ones for another 200,000 gold.


    Of course, he made sure to make himself inconspicuous by drinking a disguise potion and putting on peasant clothes. He even hid the spatial ring in his mouth.


    He immediately went to the ce where he and the boys had been staying as he found that he waspletely worn-out.


    ''Acting¡­isn''t easy'' thought Cabrera.


    He could have died multiple times if he hadn''t been careful or had said a wrong statement.


    ''All those people are monsters''


    For him, who was just in the Halfway into the Advanced stage, those guys were beasts, ready to bite him up at any sign of weakness.


    Each one was at least Expert rank.


    As he recalled, his mind started bing agitated by doubt, before he calmed himself down and said¡­


    "It''s do or die at this point, plus, I''m already in too deep, and most importantly, I was warned"


    He said, throwing the thought to the back of his mind as he counted the remaining coins.


    ''Out of the 25,000 tinum, I have¡­let''s see¡­12,000 tinum left, no..that seems wrong, well its least 10, 000 tinum''


    ''Hmm, that''s quite a lot. I have to say, the boss really knows how to splurge¡­that too, on other people''s money, kekeke''


    Cabreraughed when he thought of the end result of the entire scheme.


    In reality, the remaining amount is far beyond just ''a lot''.


    ''Now, what''s next on the list?'' he thought about the next part of the n and two things popped up.


    ''I''ll have to go and tie down those alchemists¡­and also, Nathan should be arriving tomorrow'' he thought, before he suddenly recalled something.


    ''Wait, it''s been one month since I sent that message the boss gave me. That guy, what was it again¡­Sebastian, yeah, Sebastian should be arriving by the end of next month if things go ording to n''


    "Now, time to check on Fredrick and hand him these things"


    Cabrera said as he disguised himself once more and went to their old bar, which had now been renovated into a secret school, where the beggar kids are learning fast and were much healthier.


    The door was always locked tight, as almost no sound could be heard from within.


    Another one of Ezra''s doing.


    "Fredrick" Cabrera called out as entered the bar, which had been turned to arge hall that housed the twenty plus ves.


    The atmosphere was joyous with the giggles andughter of the children, who were eating.


    Cabrera smiled as one of the ves came to inform him of Fredrick''s absence and that he won''t be back till after dusk.


    So, Cabrera dropped everything he bought into the now empty vault, except the ring, while giving the keys to James, who had grown the most mentally throughout thest month.


    With onest look, Cabrera went to look for the Alchemists that he would try convincing to  to work for him.


    The pieces were almost in ce for the grand scheme to take effect, while the mastermind was back in the castle with his mother, but still training tirelessly every day while collecting weekly reports from Fredrick.


    The scheme of a five year old would soon cause chaos throughout the empire.

 Chapter 43 The Alchemists (1)

    Within a spacious room were fifteen men of various statures sitting side by side along a round table.


    They each wore different attires, but they all had one thing inmon.


    A part of their body was constantly moving.


    A toe, a finger or their entire feet was moving, or they kept looking over to the sun trying to see how much time had passed.


    It was as if they were constantly being pricked with needles, their bodies itching.


    After a minute, one of them finally spoke up.


    "Does anyone know where he is?"


    "If we did, we wouldn''t be waiting here with you, now would we?" another said.


    "True, but does anyone know why he called us all here?"


    "Well, I don''t. I only got a letter telling me toe to this ce. What about you guys?" a third said.


    "Same here"


    "Me too"


    "So¡­we don''t where he is, neither do we know why we''re all here, and now we''re all waiting here with no idea of when he is going to arrive¡­sigh¡­this is troublesome"


    "Yeah! Why can''t he be on time?" another took it up.


    "We''re wasting time here when I could be using it far more efficiently!" he continued.


    At this moment¡­


    *Click*


    The door opened up to reveal Cabrera, who mentally counted the number of people present and found them to be all here.


    They were the thirteen Alchemists he told Ezra about.


    "I''m sorry for taking your time, but I''d advise against ndering" Cabrera released a wisp of killing intent while staring at thest man to talk, before adding¡­


    "Because I''m sure it hasn''t been ten minutes since you all arrived. I advise you to be patient. That said, anyone who doesn''t want his time wasted can leave"


    Cabrera observed their reaction for a few seconds, but no one left. And so he continued¡­


    "Since it seems no one is leaving, let''s begin the meeting" then he finally sat down.


    "I called you all here to grant you an opportunity" he said, before adding¡­


    "Whether you grasp it or not will be on you" paused, then continued¡­


    "I made an alchemy recipe that I believe will generate enormous profit. But I alone am not enough, so I called you"


    Cabrera stopped at this point, making his purpose known.


    "Can we see this recipe? And if it is as you said, how long will we work for and how much will we be paid?"


    A man of thirty years said, with a monocle on his left eye and wrinkles on his face.


    The others kept silent, choosing to ''wait and see'' how the situation would pan out.


    "You''ll be allowed to see the recipe¡­"


    Cabrera answered as he pulled out a scroll from his clothes, but then he took out another one and said¡­


    "...after you sign here"


    The eyes of all the men shook as they adjusted their monocles, or rubbed their eyes to make sure they saw it right.


    Laid on the table in front of them was a folded scroll of bright gold color with wisp of golden mana asionally leaking out of it.


    "I-Is that w-what I think it is?" the man with the monocle said with his shaking index finger pointing at the scroll, before looking at Cabrera who had an innocent smile on his face.


    At this moment, thoughts began to sprout in the heads of the fifteen seated as they looked at Cabrera with a predator''s gaze.


    The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense as killing intent began leaking from the bodies of all thirteen.


    Their thoughts followed the same direction.


    ''If I''m able take it, money shouldn''t be an issue for a long time''


    ''He''s only at the Intermediate rank, so this will be easy''


    ''I don''t care if he''s just crazy or really dumb, but I''ll be taking that''


    ''He''ll get intimidated and back off since he can''t take us all at once''


    They might be Alchemists, but each had learned at least one offensive and defensivebat art to protect themselves in a dangerous or desperate situation.


    All of them being Mid-tier Adepts while two were intermediate rank, so killing one intermediate rank, no matter how rusty their skills were, couldn''t be that hard¡­or so they thought.


    As greedy thoughts filled their heads, while thinking of how to steal the scroll, Cabrera spoke.


    "Yes it is what you think it is, it''s a Dark-Gold soul contract. But I hope you sirs are not having any funny thoughts"


    At this moment, thick killing intent, as well an overwhelming aura, erupted out from Cabrera like a volcano.


    At this moment they knew¡­they had fu**ked up!


    "Hiieeek" one of them screeched before falling on his back, beads of sweat forming throughout his body.


    The fifteen others had frozen, their face''s immensely ashen at this moment, and all greedy thoughts were immediately extinguished.


    Cabrera, who was the cause of all this, merely kept his innocent smile, before retracting his aura.


    ''What was that just now?'' the man with the monocle thought.


    Just now, the moment Cabrera released his killing intent, he had died.


    Only for his sight to return a secondter. His brain could be said to have shut down due to the signal all his five senses transmitted.


    Which was why his body had frozen. Like entering aa for a second, his senses were all giving the same message.


    It was death. He would undoubtedly die should he go against the man, no, the beast in front him.


    ''He''s a monster''


    Or rather¡­


    ''He''s be a monster''


    Because the Cabrera they knew wasn''t a monster.


    Simr thoughts went through the minds of the other fourteen.


    The room became as silent as a graveyard, before¡­


    "Well, aren''t you going to sign it?"


    Cabrera''s voice rang out pulling the men from their reverie.


    "Y-Yes, where do I sign?" the monocle man could only stutter out a response as Cabrera handed him a magic pen and showed him where to sign.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The others immediately did the same. All their thoughts were focused on survival at the moment. Not wanting to anger the beast in front of them, they hastily did so while neglecting the terms written, or rather, they couldn''t afford to read it.


    Once thest person signed, Cabrera signed and the contract broke into light particles and entered the bodies of each party involved.


    "Now that that''s over, wee aboard" Cabrera suddenly said, baffling the seated men.


    Only for them to shout a minuteter.


    "You bastard, what did you do?"


    "You tricked us!" one eximed.


    "I did no such thing" Cabrera denied without a change in expression.


    The man with the monocle only asked¡­


    "When?"


    Cabrera smiled at this question and answered¡­


    "The moment you all froze"


    "Haa.." an exmation of realization escaped his lips as he nodded, before asking¡­


    "So, what is it you want from us?" he asked.


    "Your unconditional loyalty and cooperation" Cabrera replied as someone shouted.


    "Like hell I''ll work for you, you thieving, scheming, pile of-"


    As he rained curses, Cabrera said "Shut up" and¡­


    "Mmm! Mmmm! MMMM!"


    The man''s sped shut, refusing to budge as only muffled sounds were heard.


    The man''s head popped at this insult and shouted even louder. Too bad, only louder muffles were heard.


    He looked like a kid throwing a tantrum.


    Cabrera ignored such drama and faced the man with the monocle, saying¡­


    "Now, Sir Navarro, where were we?"


    Navarro only gave a nce at the muffling man before saying¡­


    "You were saying what it was you wanted from us"


    "Ah, yes. Before I continue, take a look at this" he said as he flinged a coin onto the table for all to see.


    And the minute they did¡­


    "No way"


    "Is that¡­No, that''s not possible"


    "Damn¡­what the hell is going on?"


    Another round of gasps and eyes widening ensued.


    And how could they not¡­when the equivalent of a hundred gold coins was tossed in front them nonchntly.


    It was a PLATINUM coin.


    While the mary value wasn''t much. One must know that tinum wasn''t something in cirction.


    It was the money that nobles of Viscount level and above, S to B-rank guilds, ns, kingdoms, dynasties and Empires held to themselves, because items worth using tinum to buy weren''t somethingmon. Far from it.


    The missionary had this because it was financed and monitored by the Empire, and it was used to allow easy counting of money.


    After all, the missionary, like Cabrera had seen, housed thousands of products and also had thousands of purchases daily.


    Money was always flowing in.


    So if they left all that in gold¡­well, it would have filled up the building, hence the conversion.


    Nobles and merchants had it, but it was in very few numbers and those wouldn''t ever be used casually, not to mention handing it to someone like Cabrera.


    So, for Cabrera to have this¡­the undercurrents were moving. And for all they knew, they might have just been brought into a war between kingdoms.


    .¡­!


    rms rang in their minds. Even the man throwing tantrums had gone silent.


    A minute went by with each having their own assumptions and suspicions as Cabrera nodded, before saying¡­


    "It''s not as urgent as you think, but it is also more urgent than you can imagine"


    Cabrera could guess what sort of thoughts they would have by putting himself in such a situation, so he spoke first to take the initiative.


    The men were making weird gazes at the cryptic message before Cabrera added¡­


    "But that''s not for you to worry about"


    Which calmed them a little, but Cabrera wasn''t done¡­


    "Instead, have a look at this" he said as he handed them the Alchemy recipe ''he'' had made.


    "Yes, just like you suspect, ''they'' were the ones who gave the recipe and the gold scroll to me" he said.


    "Hmm, this¡­sigh¡­this is really troublesome" Navarro said as he rubbed his forehead, before looking at the recipe.


    His face began to change into one of astonishment before he looked at Cabrera and asked¡­


    "Do you know the one who made this recipe?"


    "Seriously? Of course not!"


    Cabrera was implying that the power that had hired him didn''t deem him important enough to tell.


    "Hmm, what a pity. I would have loved to meet him" Navarro said, before passing the paper on.


    The same reaction took ce each time¡­


    "Wow! This is¡­"


    "Genius, I tell you, genius"


    "So that''s the ingredients you need!"


    "How did he even think of this?"


    After all fifteen read it and made their remarks...


    *Cough* *Cough*


    Cabrera coughed to get their attention, before saying¡­


    "Now that that''s over, let''s talk"

 Chapter 44 The Alchemists (2)

    "Now that that''s over, let''s talk" Cabrera said.


    "As I said before, you need not worry about that. Additionally, the resources to make the potion will be provided to you by me, or by extension, ''them''. I should tell you though, to those who perform exceptionally, gold coins and exceptional resources will be given. There is also the possibility of a sponsorship"


    The eyes of each alchemist shined at that proposal.


    What were they? Alchemists.


    It was a profession that explored the usages and the reactions of different resources to make or to increase the effectiveness of potions and pills of different types and uses.


    In essence, it was a profession that required one to burn money to advance.


    Without money, one couldn''t buy resources to make better potions, which meant you wouldn''t be able to advance in skill level.


    At the beginning, the amount of money was something that even amoner could afford.


    But it increased exponentially as one advanced from Novice to Journeyman to Expert to Master to Grandmaster to Sage rank and above.


    At the current moment, only three Sage-rank Alchemists existed throughout the three continents.


    And it had been so for twenty years now, even with the support of the ruling powers.


    It was a profession that easily made money, but spent it even quicker to advance.


    It was worse for those at the lower ranks.


    One would find themselves stuck in the vicious circle of generating little ie from selling bronze or silver rank potions, then using that little money to buy the same little amount of resources to make another batch of potions. And the cycle continues.


    What was that? Why didn''t they borrow money to buy resources and advance in rank before paying backter?


    It was because, to put it bluntly, they were afraid.


    To put it urately, there was no certainty that the money they borrowed would take them to the stage of an Expert Alchemist.


    Sure, there had been some who took the risk and were sessful, but many more had been turned into ves. Worse yet were those that seeded but weren''t able to pay up their debts in time.


    And because of this, most choose not to take such a risk and instead increase their proficiency over a multitude of potions over a long period of time. Eventually, those still craving for advancement would stake everything on one chance.


    Like Ezra''s current n, it was an all or nothing situation. Those sessful would bathe in glory and those who failed became wretched and wrecked the rest of their lives. Well, most of them anyway.


    So, when the word sponsor was heard, these Alchemists were already on cloud nine.


    Too bad, they were pulled from their reverie when Cabrera said¡­


    "Of course, for such a wonderful reward, enough effort has to be made first"


    The Alchemists nodded, but what that actually meant was¡­


    If you want our support, show us what you''re capable of.


    But Cabrera didn''t seem to care about what they thought as he continued.


    "All the resources are toe from your own pockets. That is¡­if you wish to have a chance at such a reward. If you don''t wish to, or aren''t capable enough to do so, then all resources would be provided for as I said earlier, but any unit wasted would be deducted from your overall pay. Now choose, while also keeping in mind that using your resources doesn''t automatically mean anything. It is a qualification topete for the sponsorship, of which there are three slots. uracy, punctuality, experience and resource management will be judged before deciding the lucky three. I''ll have your answers tomorrow at this time" he concluded as all the Alchemists took a deep breath,ing to one conclusion.


    These people were ruthless!


    All that Cabrera had said was the power telling them the value of their sponsorship.


    To not use one''s own resources meant that you were not qualified, and even then, you would still pay for any failed unit.


    To use your resources though, meant that you were qualified, but you would shoulder all the resources.


    This in turn meant that you could go bankrupt if sufficient care was not taken.


    This one rule meant that you would make the potions as if they were yours, which they weren''t.


    And most importantly, you had to do your absolute best because you couldn''t know what the other person was doing.


    They would have to put all their efforts into making these potions while not being sure if their best would cut it.


    If they became bankrupt in the process?


    Well, if you won, then it would be paid by your sponsors.


    And if you didn''t? Well, good riddance to bad rubbish.


    Simply put, you were doomed.


    These Alchemists didn''t even entertain the thought that this man might be lying.


    That was just how powerful a tinum coin was.


    Actually, there was one.


    The man with the monocle, Navarro.


    ''Something''s suspicious about this, but I can''t put my finger on it''


    His sharpened senses were giving some warnings but he didn''t know what it was.


    ? He briefly thought about why Cabrera had brought such an opportunity to them instead of some other person.


    But when he remembered the ingredients to make the potions, he found his answer.


    ''Those items are cheap on the market, but if an expert alchemist bought it in bulk, people would get suspicious. Which means¡­they want things done under the table''


    Navarro nodded, his answer most correct.


    ''Oh well'' he thought, throwing such worries to the back of his mind.


    After all, what was the use of worrying about what you didn''t know?


    If only he thought back on the situation, he would have noticed many discrepancies in Cabrera''s attitude, as well as the sponsorship details.


    In the terms, Cabrera never said what would happen if only two Alchemists decided to qualify for the sponsorship.


    The Alchemists had over-analysed everything to a terrifying degree.


    They wouldn''t have done so though, if it weren''t for two things.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The first was the terrifying aura and killing intent that erupted from Cabrera''s body.


    At that moment, they had overestimated his rank, believing him to be an Advanced-rank.


    And while Cabrera was truly close, the difference between a half-step Advanced rank and a full-fledged one was immense.


    Don''t look at Ezra, that guy was an anomaly in all senses of the word.


    The second cause was as usual, the tinum coin.


    Their trust in the coin was absolute.


    Especially when they saw it was Nitonian.


    All their doubts immediately vanished, and they began to deduce things ording to what they knew, or what they thought they knew.


    Actually, Cabrera''s attitude had done a lot to convince them without them even knowing.


    The way he flipped the tinum coin without hesitation as well the nonchntly expression had caused them to jump headfirst into the rabbit hole called assumption.


    And they kept digging deeper when they started over-analysing.


    Their arrogance, or was it thier pride in their deductive capabilities, or maybe it was the fear, made them not question Cabrera at all.


    The moment they allowed Cabrera to take the initiative, they sealed the opening of the rabbit hole and gave themselves to endless digging.


    Meanwhile¡­


    ''Did they buy it?'' the man at the helm of this deception was freaking out inwardly.


    Cabrera was unbelievably ecstatic at the moment.


    ''I can''t believe that worked''


    ''Man, boss is going have to give me some praise for pulling of such a scheme''


    He thought about how he would glorify his tale to Ezra, whose grand scheme had left him in awe.


    ''I can''t believe I feel good for taking those etiquette sses. This is awesome''


    He had been taking etiquette sses for a month everyday after training.


    And he hated it.


    Can you imagine? A bonafide gangster being forced to speak polite and act modest.


    Cabrera could almost die, but it was the boss''s order.


    Ezra had told him that giving the outlook of a kind and modest person would significantly increase his chance at borrowing such an astronomical amount of money.


    And so, he had to do it.


    That was why the crude b*stard of a month ago was acting all gentlemanly. His words could easily appease the minds of this Alchemists.


    Now, even if they knew the truth, there was nothing they could do about it.


    The moment he released killing intent, he took the chance to take a copper ve contract and had the dark gold scroll absorb it, thereby changing it''s contents to that of a ve''s.


    And unlike the sentinel who waited for it to ur naturally. Cabrera had pushed it in with haste.


    And because it was a copper contract, the glow that might have urred from a bronze and silver contract was much dimmer, to the point of being non-existent andsting for but a second.


    This was why the man''s mouth from before closed up on his order.


    And why Navarro had asked¡­"why?"


    Because he had seen some of the terms from a moment ago which were not what he signed in a hurry.


    Seeing that the Alchemists were in their own thoughts. Cabrera got up and said¡­


    "I''ll be here at the same time tomorrow. And you are forbidden from telling anything and anyone about what has urred here"


    Before leaving slowly so as not to arouse any attention, while inwardly¡­


    ''Please let me get out safely''


    His mind was in total chaos as he prayed for the Alchemists not to ask any question.


    And¡­it was so.


    ''Whew'' Cabrera sighed the minute he got out.


    His expression turned to that of excitement as he remembered what had just urred.


    Normally, he would convince them slowly, while making them sign a contract of silence, before telling them the half recipe to tease them, and only then getting them to work for him.


    But all that was skipped because of the killing intent. And with a stroke of luck, made them his ves.


    And although the majority of what he said was deceit.


    The part about the sponsorship was true.


    Ezra nned to use the slums to generate absurd amounts of money and elevate ck Jaws to a high-ranking guild.


    This whole scheme was to build a framework for that.


    The money acquired from the slums would be used to sponsor talented professionals.


    After all, a high-ranked guild needs its own Alchemists, cksmiths and the like.


    They would be sponsored as Alchemists of ck Jaws.


    ''I think I see why the boss likes scheming. This feeling of deceiving people is exhrating''


    Cabrera thought, before moving to meet thest person of the day.

 Chapter 45 Nathan The Merchant

    A slightly chubby man could be seen in a carriage which had a lot of wooden boxes in it.


    He had more skin than the average man, but there was no pot belly, he only looked bigger if anything.


    With brown eyes and ck hair to boot.


    Behind this carriage were two others that had two young boys sitting in each while the numerous wooden boxes were in them.


    They hade into Kingsmere after paying the entrance fee as well as having the merchandise inspected.


    "Hmm, I''m back here again" said the chubby man as he directed the carriage toward the ce he had been called to.


    "But why does he need all these things?" The chubby man wondered while looking at the pile of wooden boxes in his carriage and in those behind it.


    In them were equipment, and the chubby man would have understood if he had asked for ten pieces, but this¡­was just too many.


    Nevertheless, as a job that had been issued and would be paid for. The man had no qualms getting it done.


    "We''re here" the coachman said, pulling him out of his reverie.


    "Hmm, have the boys unload the carriage''s". He said as he got off in front of a two story wooden building and went in.


    The carriage was particrly eye-catching for bystanders.


    Especially with the pile of wooden boxes casting shadows on the ground.


    "Hello, who are you?"


    The moment he stepped into the building, he was met with a young woman with Long brown hair and red eyes.


    It was ruby. She wore a ck long sleeve shirt and ck skirts.


    "I''m looking for Cabrera, isn''t he here?" The man said.


    "Oh, you must be Sir Nathan, Mr. Cabrera went out for a while, please have a seat, he''ll be back soon" the girl quickly said.


    "Okay" Nathan replied.


    "Can I get you something?" Ruby asked.


    "Hmm, a cup of water for now, but where should the boys put the wooden boxes?" Nathan asked.


    "There''s a storage at the back, they should put it there" she said as he hurried off to get water.


    ¡ª-------------------


    Two hours have gone by since Nathan''s arrival.


    The sun was starting to set. And there was still no sign of Cabrera.


    All the boxes have been offloaded into the designated storage.


    "What is that bastard doing!" Nathan cried out in anger.


    He had been seated for so long that his butts were about to go numb, yet the person he was waiting for hadn''t shown up yet.


    At that moment¡­


    *Click*


    Cabrera was Nathan''s long time friend he met at a tender age. And since then, had maintained an amicable rtionship with.


    That was why he hade in person.


    The person Nathan was waiting for, came in with a calm and happy expression, Cabrera was here.


    "Oi bastard, you sure know how to take your time!" Nathan dered.


    "I''m sorry about that, I was expecting you to arrive and hour from now at most, it seems you''re feeling at home just fine"


    "Huh??? What kind of snake shit got clogged in that brain of yours¡­" Nathan immediately asked.


    After all, the Cabrera he knew wasn''t someone to dress normally, yet the same mob Gangstar was now speaking like a noble. Nathan didn''t think it was possible.


    Cabrera who quickly understood the blunder


    "Sheesh, I''ve been talking shit the whole day. It''s good to see that you still have your fat ass"


    "Whew, I thought you had gone crazy or some shit seeing as how you''re talking all¡­nobly" Nathan said with a funny look.


    "Alright, alright, that''s enough. it''s a long story, which is why I called you all the way here"


    Cabrera said, taking a seat beside Nathan.


    "Listen, how long have you known me?" Cabrera asked in a serious tone.


    "What''s up with you? Are you sure you''re okay?" Nathan asked


    again. That was how much he was surprised at his tone and dress.


    "Look, I''m fine, okay, more importantly, I know you''ve been looking for a chance to take your business to the next level, right?"


    "Yes, you are" Nathan nodded as he stopped joking around seeing Cabrera''s mood.


    "What If I said I could help you achieve that, and more" Cabrera shed a mysterious smile as he said so.


    "Well, I''d ask what it is you want from me" Nathan answered honestly.


    "I want you to be a exclusive merchant of my guild, ck Jaws"


    "Hahaha, it was Dark Tooth now it''s ck Jaws¡­but why would I do such a thing when I don''t even know whether you''re bluffing or not"


    "Look, have I ever lied to you before?" Cabrera asked with a straight face when¡­


    "What are you saying? You still owe me fifty silvers, you know?"


    *Cough*Cough*


    Cabrera coughed to hide his embarrassment before saying¡­"That was different, but take"


    And pushed a tinum coin towards him and like the Alchemists from before, his body involuntarily quivered.


    "What have you gotten yourself into?" Nathan said fearfully and was about to go down the same rabbit hole assuming when Cabrera''s voice rang out.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "It''s nothing like what you''re thinking"


    "Huh?" Nathan said confused.


    "First, sign this. I know I might be a little crazy sometimes¡­but you have to trust me on this"


    Cabrera said as he pulled out the dark gold scroll and ced it on the table.


    "What the heck is going on?"


    Nathan''s mind went into disarray the moment heid eyes on the scroll.


    An entire minute passed before he calmed himself before staring at Cabrera who seemed to see nothing wrong with the current situation.


    "Look, it''s a long story, one that you''d be awed by. But I can''t say anything If you don''t sign it"


    Cabrera said as he looked at Nathan, who was far too quiet forfort.


    "Oi, say something will you, we don''t have all day" said Cabrera.


    "I ept" Nathan suddenly said as looked at Cabrera before adding¡­


    "You said I could go to the next level If I grabbed on to this opportunity, right? And I''m also sure that the equipment I bought is part of the reason why"


    Cabrera nodded to affirm his questions.


    "Hmm-" Nathan muttered with a thoughtful expression and then continued.


    "-And you''re sure this, whatever it is, will be worth it?". Nathan asked and Cabrera nodded.


    "Then I''ll trust you, this once, where do I have to sign?" Nathan said, dumbfounding Cabrera as he said¡­


    "Ehh? But you haven''t even heard the suggestion"


    "You said I should trust you just now, and that tinum coin, even if I was born yesterday, for you to have it means something big is happening, correct?"


    "Hum, well yes"


    Technically, Cabrera wasn''t lying since the grand scheme was something big.


    "And that means, whatever this is, I can''t walk away from it, now can I?"


    "Hmm, you can, but I would prefer you not to" Cabrera said.


    "Then, it''s settled, where do I sign and what do I do, but damn, I still can''t get used to you talking like that" Nathan said.


    "I''ll prove to you that this was the best decision you''ve ever made, alright, sign right here" Cabrera said before removing another dark gold scroll and giving him a magic pen.


    "Scribble*pat*


    The gold scroll turned into dust particles before entering Nathan''s body, but the second part didn''t enter Cabrera''s body, instead¡­


    -At the abandoned training ground-


    *sh*sh*


    A boy d in armour all over was swinging his swords in different ways and at different angles while walking around when he suddenly stopped.


    This was Ezra.


    ''Hmm, what''s this'' Ezra thought as he felt a pull on his soul before he focused his mind on the pull he felt, before smiling as he thought¡­


    ''It is seems things are going as nned''


    He had written a contract for the merchant Cabrera was going to bring in. And that contract was just signed.


    ''Then I better get ready to y my part'' he thought.


    Before going back to his training.


    ¡ª--------------


    "You came up with this?!"


    "Yep"


    ¡­.!


    Nathan had his mouth wide open when Cabrera finished telling him his scheme.


    Of course, he didn''t mention Ezra''s name, while he and Nathan did go way back, there was no need to spill all the details, now was there?


    With that out of the way, the pieces were almostpletely in ce.


    Nathan was told that he wouldn''t need to move his workers or headquarters from Traxford.


    Especially since they were going to build an entire shop there.


    The Alchemists came the next day and those who decided to qualify for the sponsorship amounted to six.


    While those who didn''t part were given batches of the ingredients needed as well a new cauldron.


    The ingredients were those Frederick and the ves had gone to gather in the monster regions throughout the past month.


    The mass production of the new potion was in full swing.


    And the amethyst nt that Fredrick needed for his curse had been bought by Cabrera at the missionary.


    Which was then given to Mr. Navarro to concoct the potion meant to cure Fredrick.


    The guild boys were all given one gold mana technique to build their foundation on mana manifestation and mana imbued attacks.


    Well, as much as they could build in two weeks.


    William was introduced to Nathan and was told to learn from him.


    Nathan himself was astounded as to how well the boy knew the outer rings products and the market price fluctuation.


    Ezra''s mom had also been forting with all of Ezra''s suggestions, she had found an etiquette teacher, and been reading up on books.

 Chapter 46 Amethyst Plant

    In a building filled with instruments, books, potions and herbs is Mr. Navarro.


    ''I can''t believe they gave me ten gold to make this, but considering that I''ve failed seven times already, it''s understandable''


    *Plop*Plop*Plop*


    Navarro thought as he stirred the boiling green liquid in his cauldron.


    ''But this potion...are they nning to kill a high-ranking mage?''


    Navarro couldn''t think of any other reason as to why they would want a mana freezing potion.


    But¡­


    ''Oh well, minding my own business seems to be the best course of action. To die because of poke nosing, that would be a very bad joke''


    He then took a flower simr to a rose with green roots, but with a head like a dandelion and dark purple leaves.


    It was the main ingredient to finish the concoction, the amethyst nt. It was held in a jar, a magical item that retains the mana of any object put in it.


    The amethyst nt was a tricky one. It was a rtively harmless nt, but was instead very fragile. The moment it is uprooted from the soil, the essence condensed in it would disperse, which causes it to die in a matter of seconds.


    Those who would uproot it had to be lightning fast in freezing it or containing it in a ce that would stop mana dispersion, like the magic jar.


    This was why it was sold for 100 gold per piece.


    Seven hundred gold had already been wasted on thest seven failed attempts, and a hundred more on the other ingredients.


    That was Alchemy for you. A real money burner.


    Navarro had been staring at the small cauldron while closely observing the reaction of the new batch of ingredients.


    The other thing an Alchemist needed to have was a clear sense of time and boundless patience.


    A second could be the decisive factor of whether a concoction became defective or not.


    Navarro, who stared at the concoction closely, found what he was looking for. A part of the green liquid had be ck.


    No time could be wasted as Navarro moved his body and opened the jar to let the nt fall in.


    It was actually the leaves that were needed, but Navarro didn''t have the expertise to remove it without all its essence dispersing.


    With that out of the way came the next step. The boiling temperature had to be just right, and Navarro used his mana to keep the mes at a constant intensity, not going higher or lower.


    A minute passed and the concoction became smaller but grew more and more vtile, and at this point, had fully turned a dark blue color.


    Then¡­


    *BOOM!*


    An explosion urred as Navarro rapidly backed away. His cauldron, like the other times, was charred ck and had bent.


    But that didn''t stop him from hastily moving to check the contents of the smoking cauldron.


    But¡­


    ''It''s dried up''


    It was empty¡­or so he thought, because he saw a blob of purple blue liquid.


    With haste, he lifted the hot cauldron and grabbed a nearby vial, before hurriedly using mana to take out the liquid that was rapidly evaporating, dumping it into the vial and closing it shut.


    *Deep Breath*Deep Breath*


    Navarro fell on his butt, exhausted mentally and physically from the stress. He nevertheless used sheer willpower to stop himself from taking a quick nap as he got up to see if he was a little more lucky thanst time.


    And when he starred as the vial¡­he couldn''t help but shout!


    "YES!"


    Yes, he had done it, and with that, he quickly changed his working clothes and found his way to the hotel Cabrera was staying in.


    ¡ª---------


    *Click*


    "Where''s Cabrera?" Navarro asked Ruby while panting heavily. He had run all the way here.


    "He''s at the training grounds, and you don''t look so we''ll, please sit here" Ruby said as she led the panting Navarro to a seat.


    "Is there something you wish to give him?" Ruby asked.


    "This" Navarro said, giving her the potion, before continuing¡­


    "He said to get it done as soon as possible. Please give it to him for me" Navarro said before falling asleep.


    A sleep he was definitely needing.


    "I will do so. You should just sleep" Ruby said, before putting the vial somewhere safe and going back to work.


    ''I''ll give it to him once he arrives'' she thought, going back to her reading.


    She was also taking sses, but that was at dusk. She would work in the morning by strolling through some alleyways dressed like a beggar to collect information, beforeing to work in this ce in the afternoon.


    A silver internal cultivation mana technique was taught to all of the kids doing sses, and it turns out that ruby was one of the most talented, along with James, Simon, and a few others.


    The other children were being taught to collect information and Fredrick had recently hinted that they might learnbat techniques soon enough.


    Enough food was given to them, but the game big brother (Ezra) had made since the first day was now routine, only with slight differences.


    Half of the children would share a te while the other half would eat two tes each.


    It was sometimes decided by answering a question, fulfilling a mission within a limited time frame, or apetition for who could do the best exercises or who wouldst longest.


    Mr. Fredrick had also said that there would be actual fighting after they learnt mana techniques and chose their path.


    As for when that would be? They weren''t told.


    As the children got better and learned faster, thepetition got fiercer and tougher each passing day as they were now split into two groups.


    Meanwhile, Nathan had set up a branch in Kingsmere.


    He was going to set up another merchant organization after the biggest parts of the scheme were over.


    One would be filled with the talented, and the other would be filled with the average person.


    Having geniusespete with you and win every time can be a big blow to self-esteem and confidence.


    Ezra didn''t want to see that as he knew from experience how it felt, and knew that even mediocre people had their strong points.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It wasn''t known to many, but the guild members were also taking sses to learn how to read and write.


    Of course, they did it in the same building where they slept.


    They couldn''t go back to the bar, as that would cause too many eyes to focus on the bar, which ispletely counterproductive to the n.


    Many eyes were already watching them carefully ever since they came out of their inactive state and started training.


    The three mid gangs especially. They were only waiting for Cabrera to make a move.


    Other guilds had tossed such information aside.


    All the guilds centered in the cities around the capital were at least C-rank, and the ns didn''t even spare them a nce.


    A G-rank guild with the leader at the intermediate rank, what sort of joke was that?


    And with thoughts like these, ck Jaws was cast aside, which unknowingly had helped them very much.


    The other reason while ck Jaws was still left alone was because no guild had its headquarters in the capital, only a few informants and scouts for possible prospects.


    Why was it so? Well, while guilds would like to expand their influence into the capital, it was the home ground of the royals.


    Trying to expand within someone''s house was something they had to do with extreme care.


    And the capital housed the abode of the emperor.


    There was once a guild war that caused him to break out from seclusion, and that day¡­both guilds were wiped out with most of the members killed.


    Only dregs of the guilds remained after he was done.


    Other guilds immediately went packing and departed for the other nearby cities.


    It was also why Ezra made sure to be in the pce before anything happened.


    The gangs already knew about the kid that robbed more than half of the chance stores in Kingsmere.


    Assassins had been sent to kill Ezra, but those who died in their hands were unknowing kids.


    ¡ª----------------


    *Click*


    The door was unlocked.


    *Crunch*Snap*Snap*


    "Aw, broke like seven bones today¡­it''s a new record"


    "Really, got eleven fractures over here though"


    "I can feel it, I''m stepping on the path to the next level" another eximed.


    The gang members had arrived after knight training and thest to enter was Cabrera, who shouted¡­


    "Alright boys, stop whining and move your cheap asses. You have sses after this, remember?"


    The moment they heard thest part¡­


    "No!!"


    "Not that"


    "This is torture"


    "Shouldn''t we get a break or something?" another said.


    "Well, if you want to die on the expedition, then you''re free to do so" the boss said.


    "Where are we going anyway?" another asked as this wasn''t the first time they''ve heard that statement.


    "You''ll know when you need to know, and that''ll be in two weeks. Now, get moving to ss!" Cabrera shouted.


    "Whew, let''s hope they all survive theing storm" he muttered, but even he knew it was almost impossible.


    At this moment¡­


    "Mr. Cabrera" Ruby called, before moving toward him and handing him the vial.


    "What''s this?" he asked.


    Ruby raised an eyebrow before saying¡­


    "It''s the potion that you asked Mr. Navarro to make"


    "Ohh, then I have somewhere to go" Cabrera said as took the vial, put it away somewhere in his clothes and said¡­


    "Thank you"


    ¡­before bolting off.


    ¡ª---------------


    *Slow knock*Slow knock*.


    "Who''s there?" a voice said from the other side.


    "It''s Cabrera" Cabrera answered.


    "You will die¡­


    A short code, which Cabrerapleted with¡­


    ¡­only when I am to die"


    A crazy password for sure.


    *Click*


    The door opened and Cabrera, who was now disguised, went in.


    Five minutes passed before Cabrera came out.


    Since a lot of pieces were moving, Fredrick couldn''t be frequenting the bar like he used to and would only arrive after dusk these days.


    Cabrera gave James the potion vial and left.


    He visited the chance stores whose owners were Ezra''s ves to pick up a few items before heading back.

 Chapter 47 Back To Master Rank

    Within an expansive cottage, a boy with silver hair could be seen as he conversed with an elderly man with brown hair.


    The boy was Ezra and the man, as we see, is Fredrick.


    "You called?" Ezra said.


    He had been practicing his swordsmanship as usual when a recruit came to tell him that Fredrick had beckoned him.


    "Yes, it''s because of this" Frederick said as he pulled out a vial of dark blue liquid and handed it to Ezra, who scrutinized it carefully, before saying¡­


    "It''s not as good as I would''ve liked, but it''ll do" Ezra said and then asked¡­


    "What about the other thing?"


    Frederick then pours mana into a rusted ring, and we see a scroll with runes emanating a gold colorying on his hands a momentter.


    Ezra simply looked at this and said¡­


    "Gold or Dark-gold?"


    To which Frederick answered¡­


    "Gold"


    Ezra nodded, before taking the scroll, as well as a magic pen, and starting to scribble a contract.


    It was a soul contract, one of Gold-rank.


    One should know that items were ranked in the following order: Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Epic-gold, tinum, Diamond and Legendary.


    But we also have those known as mid-ranks, like:


    - Gray, an item better than Bronze but not up to Silver.


    - Dark-gold, an item better than silver but not up to Gold rank.


    - Semi-legendary, an item better than diamond but not up to Legendary rank.


    Normally, Ezra would still be nning to get the nt from the treasury, but when he made histest scheme, he realized that Fredrick''s original strength was needed.


    And that brings us to the current situation.


    *Scribble*Scribble*


    After five minutes of writing, Ezra handed the contract over to Fredrick after signing it.


    "Hmm, seems good enough" Fredrick said.


    The contract entailed that in return for curing the curse, Fedrick would pledge his loyalty as Ezra''s knight and would serve him for as long as he lived, and that the Un-limiting Dew would be his.


    It was undoubtedly the worst way to write a contract, and was totally unfair.


    Yet, Fredrick signed it right away, baffling Ezra.


    But before he could speak, the contract dissipated into particles that attached themselves to their bodies.


    Ezra gazed at Fredrick with a questioning look.


    "What? My instincts say nothing bad is going toe from the contract, and I trust it"


    Ezra facepalmed as he heard such a thing, but didn''t bother saying anything to change his mind.


    After all, such a thing worked in his favor.


    "Ok, let''s do it" Ezra said and Frederick nodded, before taking off his shirt and lying down.


    The ck part of his stomach region was visible as Fedrick asked¡­


    "How long do I have?"


    "Take or leave about ten seconds"


    "Good, let''s begin" Fredrick said, before drinking the potion in one gulp.


    The mana freezing potion.


    Just like the name implied, the potion freezed mana in the sense that it made it inactive.


    Which was why Navarro thought they wanted a high ranking mage dead.


    A mage utilized a mana circuit to channel mana, which resulted in spells.


    A mage without mana is no more than an ordinary person.


    But Fredrick''s curse absorbed mana to grow, which was why he could only release the aura of an Expert-rank.


    It acted like a living organism that fed on mana.


    Should he try to go all out, the curse would eat him up in mere seconds.


    Ten seconds was how long the potion''s effect wouldst.


    "Ugh!" Fredrick groaned but pressed on.


    The moment Fredrick drank it, Ezra cut the ck region in his stomach and we see ck substance evaporate rapidly.


    Why didn''t he do this before? Simple. Without his mana frozen, his body would''ve rapidly healed itself using it and the curse would absorb that mana, thereby making it grow even stronger.


    But without mana, the curse was an engine without fuel, and such an engine could only shut down.


    The ck substance was rapidly evaporating, but not without causing harm to Frederick. As it was drying up, the curse kept heating up his organs.


    This actually made it evaporate faster, but equally damaged Fredrick''s body.


    This was what Ezra was here for.


    As it damaged his body, Ezra emanated his aura, which was made of mana and attracted the substance in his direction.


    Like a child that suddenly saw food at the end of a tunnel and rushed towards it, the ck substance tried totch onto Ezra.


    He dodged it at thest moment, with some evaporating in the process. It tried to jump Ezra two more times, having the same result in both.


    All these things might seem like a long process, but with everything happening simultaneously, only seven seconds passed.<novelnext></novelnext>


    By the eighth second, Fredrick suddenly veered his body sideways, making the substance fall out of his body and evaporate even faster.


    By the ninth second, Ezra expanded his mana, causing the substance totch onto him even harder.


    If at first the ck substance was the size of a pie, now it was smaller than a cookie.


    The tenth second passed and the mana had begun to flow, but the substance had dregs left.


    Seeing this, Frederick used a light spell and scorched the remaining ck substance out of existence, but he also scorched his innards to a terrifying degree.


    With no strength left, Fredrick fell on his back while Ezra hastily emptied two healing potions on his burnt innards and in his mouth.


    ''Come on, get up!'' thought Ezra as he looked at Fredrick''s body.


    Five seconds passed with no response and Ezra was starting to lose hope¡­when suddenly¡­BAM!


    Ezra found himself impaled in a wall with twelve bones fractured.


    ''What the heck?!'' Ezra screamed inwardly as he spurted blood from his eyes and ears.


    "Ugh" Ezra groaned as he removed his caved-in body from the wall and fell hopelessly to the ground.


    He was only able to survive because he guarded his chest by crossing his arms over each other.


    His sight was bing woozy while lying on the floor, when he heard Fredrick''s voice.


    "Ugh, my head. What happened?"


    "Wait, before that, where is- Oh man! What happened here?!" he suddenly eximed as I heard his footsteps rush in my direction¡­and then, everything just went ck.


    ¡ª------------------------


    "Ahh!" I screamed as soon as I opened my eyes.


    I felt my body hurting in multiple ces, when a voice rang out.


    "Whew, you''re awake. How are you feeling?" Fredrick asked.


    "Something happened that sted me into the wall. What was that?" Ezra quickly asked.


    He hadn''t seen what hit him. In fact, he was only able to mount the small defense because his sharpened instincts had sensed danger.


    "Haha...that, well, that was me breaking through to the Mid stage of Master-rank"


    Ezra''s eyes widened at the answer, before a devilish smile grew on his face and he said¡­


    "It seems like the n might proceed even smoother than I hoped"


    "That''s true" Fredrick agreed.


    "Good, so when are you leaving?" Ezra asked.


    "I''ll be leaving tomorrow" Fredrick answered.


    "Good, and be ready for anything" Ezra warned.


    "I will do so" Fredrick replied.


    "So how does it feel to be a Master?" Ezra asked.


    "Honestly, I''m still a bit lost. I''ll have to do some tests to get a feel of my new strength"


    "Well then, this trip should prove to be more than enough to do so. And also, I''ll need to hide your rank from the public eye"


    Fredrick nodded and said¡­


    "I''ve given you a healing potion. Your body should be good to go by dusk"


    Ezra nodded.


    ¡ª---------------------


    Meanwhile¡­


    Within a small room was a bald man with an eye patch and a rough ck beard reading through some paperwork, when the lights suddenly flickered.


    "Well?" the man said without looking up.


    No one could be seen in the room, but a voice rang out from the darkness.


    ? "They''re said to go on an expedition two weeks from now" the voice answered, before adding¡­


    "So, what are you going to do now?"


    "Just that? What about the location?" The man said as he raised his head.


    "There isn''t any information about that"


    "Hmm, what about their skills, how good are they?" the man asked, probing for more information.


    "That''s hard to estimate, but what I know is that they''re all growing and getting stronger. Mad Fist also seems to have advanced his rank, but there''s no way of knowing exactly how strong he''s gotten"


    "Hmm-"


    The man muttered while rubbing his head.


    "-this is troublesome"


    Different thoughts passed through his head.


    ''Those guys were mid-rank before, and now they want toe back. I can''t have that! And if I leave them alone, there''s no telling what''ll happen If they keep growing stronger. But¡­I can''t be the only one thinking like this, there''s got to be others. It seems I''ll have to work with those moles again'' the man concluded his thoughts as he said¡­


    "Tell the boys to get ready for battle. And call in the moles. We''ll have to nip this problem in the bud if we want to survive"


    "Yes sir" the voice said, before the light flickered again, leaving only the man and the sound of moving pages.


    It seemed like just as some Alchemists had thought, the undercurrents were moving, just not in the direction they thought.


    As both sides moved to ensure their gains, time moved unceasingly, and before long, two weeks had passed.


    It was time for the expedition many were expecting.

 Chapter 48 Confronting A Master

    It''s been two weeks since Fredrick''s recovery and subsequent leave.


    It was a leave for one and a half months, but Ezra doubted the n would take that long.


    This in turn left Ezra without a teacher for the time being, but it didn''t stop his training.


    It also exposed a limitation to Ezra''s n. Right now, he couldn''tmunicate with Cabrera.


    Ezra had thought of a solution, but it could only be implemented after Fredrick came back.


    Fredrick is a retired knight that taught trainees for years, and he had onlye out of his retirement on the behest of the Empresses to teach Ezra.


    Hence, he only needed to inform the others that he would be absent and then could travel across the continent without supervision.


    After all, he was already retired.


    A man who was termed a demon trainer.


    It was a scheme to make Ezra willingly stop training by having him train beyond his limits and break.


    Needless to say, it was an utter failure. Rather, they had handed Ezra his very first Knight unknowingly. They also allowed him to kickstart his ns far faster than he thought possible.


    The scheme to hinder his growth had instead elerated it, and Ezra had been training unobstructed ever since¡­that is¡­until today.


    "Seriously?" said Ezra immediately after he heard the message delivered by a knight from the Empresses.


    ''Well, it''s a lie to say that I wasn''t expecting it, but to think that they''d pull the same trick again''


    What the message entailed was actually incredibly simple.


    It was that, in light of Fredrick''s recent absence, Ezra was to begin training at the new training ground along with the other recruits. He would be under the tutorship of Knight Lugard.


    And the interesting thing was¡­


    ''He''s at Master-rank''


    Ezra''s new trainer was a Master-rank Knight.


    The minimal threshold to be termed a powerhouse all over the three continents.


    Any one who reaches this rank was good enough to be an elder or even the head of most organizations.


    The ranks in power were: Novice, Journeyman, Adept, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, Master, Great master, Grandmaster, Mythical, and Transcendent.


    So Ezra couldn''t help but be baffled.


    ''Are Master-ranks asmon as cabbages in this empire?''


    It was a very iprehensible question, but what would you think when someone powerful enough to be at least a divisionmander in the army was sent to teach a five year old kid?!


    Like, seriously, didn''t he have anything better to do?


    This is the reason why Ezra told Fredrick to keep his advancement a secret.


    The empire would have him shipped off to the army or somewhere else if he was found out.


    Master-ranks are considered rare resources and are used to calcte the total strength of any power.


    Or at least that was what Ezra thought, but seeing such nonsense, he began to have doubts.


    ''That aside, returning to the other training ground¡­hmm, are they trying to throw me into a ce full of wolves? This¡­will be interesting!''


    Ezra quickly got his gear and headed for the new training ground.


    ¡ª-----------------------------------


    ? *ng*ng*Swish*Bam*


    The loud sound of metal hitting metal drowned the new training ground.


    "Up! Left! Right! Down! Down! Right! I said right! Start over!" shouted a knight as he directed the group in front of him.


    "Who''s that?" someone asked as they saw a short boy enter the training ground.


    The boy had silver hair and a face that put others to shame.


    But they were shaken out of their daze when a loud voice rang out.


    "Are you Ezra?"


    All others could only look towards the origin of the sound, a young man sitting in a wooden chair.


    The man had a lean build, blue eyes and short brown hair, and was d entirely in white armor with two swords strapped to his side.


    His face would also capture the hearts of a lot of maidens, but right now, it was housing a very ugly expression.


    The hostility in his voice was also unptable and radiant to all who heard it. Combined with the aura he was emitting, it was no wonder that the recruits moved far away from his vicinity.


    And yet, the person who all this was directed at¡­


    "Who''s asking?"


    ¡­waspletely unperturbed.


    "Huh?" the knight uttered with an incredulous expression, while the bystanders were speechless at such a scene.


    Different thoughts went through different minds as different expressions formed on the faces of these people.


    But all that mattered not at this moment, because¡­


    "DID I HEAR YOU RIGHT?!" the knight said, with his voice reverberating loud enough that Ezra''s ear started bleeding.


    The knight had popped one too many veins and his body was exuding killing intent as he instantly arrived inches away from Ezra.


    *Crack*


    The stone ground cracked under the knight''s pressure, yet¡­


    "And what If you did? You can stop the stupid bluff, because If I pass out¡­it really won''t be good for you"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ezra spoke slowly, while firming his stance to withstand the terrifying pressure the Knight was emanating, but his gaze never changed as he stared at the Knight directly.


    *Crack*Snap*Crack*


    The sound of bones snapping rang out as Ezra groaned heavily¡­but didn''t back down.


    Rather, his smile grew wider as he thought¡­


    ''A month ago I would have immediately fainted from this much pressure. Now though, I''ve gotten stronger.''


    But he also knew¡­


    ''But¡­it''s definitely not enough, especially considering that he''s not even using fifty percent of his strength. As expected¡­I have to grow stronger, and much more than in my past life, but this affirms it, progress is progress''


    The knight whom he was staring at was bbergasted as he thought¡­


    ''I thought I was babysitting a toddler, but for him to be this arrogant at this age¡­''


    ''Most greenhorns would have fainted or cowed, or at the very least have their fighting spirit doused, but he doesn''t even seem disturbed!''


    But the most disturbing thing was¡­


    ''What''s with that crazy smile?''


    The wide and wicked grin that stretched across Ezra''s face was freaking him out.


    Even with his ears and nose bleeding, Ezra didn''t take a step back.


    The sound of his bones breaking kept resounding, yet the boy kept up his firm stance. This in turn fueled the knight''s ego as the pressure drastically increased.


    ''Kneel!'' thought the knight as he increased the pressure bit by bit.


    Yet, instead of begging or sniveling as the knight expected, the wide grin was instead reced with a gaze of insignificance.


    Like the gaze of a man watching the sun rise.


    ''Let''s see how long you''ll hold onto that expression'' thought the knight as he sought to increase the pressure once more.


    But before he could do so¡­


    "Sir! You have to stop! You''re going to kill the recruits if this goes on any longer!" one of the other Knights shouted with a panicked tone.


    At this moment, the overbearing pressure vanished like a change in weather and the suffocating atmosphere evaporated as if it was never there.


    *COUGH*COUGH*


    Loud and violent coughs rang out as numerous boysid on the floor coughing uprge amounts of blood.


    A lot of them had their bones twisted in obscene angles, their blood sprayed out from different parts of their body.


    Others had long since passed out due to immense fear and shock, their faces warped in expressions of utmost despair.


    Their mental state was unknown at this moment, but one thing was certain, this was a memory that was going to haunt them at night.


    The Knights moved with haste as they called the nearby guards to assist in taking the children to the healing center.


    The Knight responsible for all of this hadn''t even noticed it. His gaze was focused on the boy in front of him.


    Ezra could only keep his stance at this moment because he had frozen.


    He couldn''t count how many fractures he had umted in the past few minutes as he found himself unable to move.


    But his gaze never changed.


    ''This bastard!''


    And it only enraged the knight even further.


    ''What gives you the right to look at me like this?''


    ''Do you know how much I''ve suffered to get here?''


    It reminded him of a nasty memory, one that he never wanted to remember.


    "Lower your gaze and I may free you from this torment" the Knight said in a resounding voice.


    But what he heard was something he never even considered.


    "Huh?"


    A look of bewilderment and intrigue formed on Ezra''s face.


    Like he hadn''t heard it right.


    And while others moved with haste to carry the incapacitated ones, a petite voice rang out.


    "Wow, you''re quite talented¡­at being pathetic that is"


    "You know, for a Master-rank Knight¡­you''re really¡­really¡­stupid" Ezra said as his sight waned and his body weakened.


    And then¡­


    *Bam*


    Ezra fell to the ground as he felt his body ache in multiple areas, his ears and nose bleeding.


    His eyes had reddened, his skin had be incredibly pale and his bones had cracked.


    The sound of running feet was thest thing Ezra heard before his vision went dark.


    ¡ª--------------------------


    Meanwhile¡­


    "We''re heading to the Semanis forest!"


    Cabrera was having one heck of a day.

 Chapter 49 Running Away

    Things went well in the two weeks since the alchemists had beenmissioned.


    The production of the new potion had gone smoothly.


    Nathan had integrated into the guild nicely, having established a merchant guild as a subsidiary to ck Jaws. It was aptly named "Gold Masters" and only had three members at the moment.


    Also, thanks to the work of the children, the guild''s archives had been updated to reflect the present and not how things were many years in the past.


    A map of the city was made and kept elsewhere by Cabrera.


    Cabrera went back to the missionary for a second round of splurging and bought another spatial ring, one costing 2000 tinum. He also bought weapons and armor, all Bronze-rank, for the boys.


    Speaking of the guild boys, they had increased their fighting prowess yet again, though not by a significant amount. Most importantly, they had learnt how to conceal their mana and how to manifest it externally, though sloppily and a very small amount.


    But not everything was smiles and rainbows. The kids had brought information that Raven Skull and Gold Moles were nning something. And Cabrera was almost certain of what it was.


    ''They n to get rid of us, once and for all'' he thought, because that''s what he would do.


    Dark Tooth as a gang hadn''t survived till Ezra''s arrival because the other gangs were merciful, rather, it was mostly because of Cabrera.


    Cabrera was notorious in his prime, his fist skills had ended many lives, and he maintained a cordial rtionship with the gang leader of Red Hook.


    Meaning that they might have to face the wrath of two gangs if they tried to destroy Dark Tooth.


    There was also the fact that Dark Tooth was in the mid-ranks before Cabrera killed all the former members of the guild.


    Another fact was that going to war with a gang that had gone inactive was a waste of resources for the still active gangs and they might suffer needless casualties.


    This would in turn cause the other gangs to target them.


    No one wanted to leave their home weakened for the enemy to attack.


    Spending gold in war, only to get copper as the bounty.


    Simply put, it wasn''t worth the effort.


    Which was why the gangs had stayed their hand for a long time, maintaining a period of deceitful peace. Because you can be sure that the other gangs would''ve destroyed Dark Tooth within five years at best if Ezra hadn''t intervened.


    But now, things are different.


    Gangs like Raven Skull and Gold Moles were guilds that took up mid-rank positions after Red Hook and Dark Tooth regressed.


    And it would have continued on like so¡­if not for a certain reincarnator!


    ¡ª--------------------


    Cabrera sat in his room as he thought of the best way to go about the expedition, especially with two gangs on their tail.


    ''They don''t know our destination, so they won''t be able to mount a prepared attack''


    ''Hmm, but if they wish to destroy us¡­then they need to know where we are first!''


    Which means¡­


    ''They''ll dispatch scouts to find out our path, but¡­what then?''


    ''What will they do once they find our destination? Wait, what would I do?''


    His brain churned as he tried putting himself in the foot of his enemies. How would he attack a group on a journey?


    ''If it were me¡­I would attack them on the returning journey. I would let the enemy expend their energy first''


    And to do so¡­


    ''I''ll let them rx first, wait till the moment when they think they would''ve won¡­and then strike!''


    But the tinum question was¡­


    ''How do I counter such a strategy?''


    Cabrera held his chin as contemted his options.


    ''I could choose to ambush them instead¡­but that would take far too long''


    ''I could choose to face them head on¡­but that would lead to the worst oue''


    ''Then¡­is our only option to run away?''


    ''But wait, run away, run away¡­''


    "That''s it!"


    Cabrera suddenly had an epiphany.


    ''I don''t have to run away¡­I can just run!'' he thought, before making up his mind and making his way downstairs.


    ¡ª----------------------


    "Alright boys, today''s the day you''ve all been waiting for" Cabrera said while facing the boys, who were d in armor all over except for the head.


    "As for where we''re heading¡­well, it''s a forest. That''s all I can say for now"


    "But know this boys, things are going to get real dangerous, real soon"


    "But boss, how are we traveling?" one of the boys asked.


    "Oh, that? Good question. Follow me boys" he said, before moving out of the building and walking towards the north city gate.


    ¡ª--------------------------


    "Hey, who are those guys?" someone whispered.


    "Don''t know. Some said they''re some low-level guild" the other answered.


    "That''s a low-level guild? Are you kidding me?" the first one eximed.


    "Shuush-"


    The other hastily said.


    "-look, that''s what I heard. It''s unbelievable even for me" the man said as he looked over the small crowd of people in front of him.<novelnext></novelnext>


    All of them were staring at the same thing.


    A group of people numbering thirty four, all d in armor with a sword strapped to the side.


    "Boss, too many people are gathering. What are we waiting for?" one of the boys spoke.


    They had arrived ten minutes ago. Cabrera had led them a little away from the city gates and told them to wait.


    "Any second now" Cabrera said.


    "But you''ve been saying that for the past ten minutes" another protested.


    "And you haven''t even told us where we''re going yet" another added.


    "Shut your traps, I said-"


    At that moment¡­


    *Bugguum*Bugguum*


    The ground shaked.


    "-any second now"


    "What was that? Is there a monster underground?" someone panicked.


    And immediately after¡­


    "Move out of the way!"


    "I ain''t dying here! MOVE!"


    The small crowd of bystanders scattered in a wave of panic and ran in whatever direction theyid eyes on.


    "Boss, shouldn''t we run too?" one of the boys asked, clearly agitated.


    "Calm down, will you? Look over there" Cabrera said, pointing in a certain direction.


    "What are you¡­?" the man muttered as he traced where Cabrera was pointing.


    It was the north city gate.


    "But I don''t get-" the man began saying but Cabrera cut him off.


    "The guards" he said.


    Well, the guards were there, but what did that have to do with anything?


    Seeing the confused expression on the man''s face, Cabrera couldn''t help but facepalm.


    "The captain is a Master-rank Knight, while the others are Expert-rank"


    "Do you think they wouldn''t have noticed a monster underground?"


    "Ohh" only then did he understand what Cabrera meant, but it only caused more confusion.


    "But, if it''s not a monster, what is it?" another said.


    Cabrera looked and responded¡­


    "It''s-"


    *Bugguum*Buggumm*


    The sound of the shaking earth sounded even clearer, meaning that whatever was causing it wasing closer.


    And lo and behold, from the farthest extreme of the road, ayer of brown could be seen as the road users quickly made way.


    Horses!


    "-our ride" Cabrera said as his boys looked at him with wide eyes.


    Horses of different colors came marching as if on a stampede.


    And it seemed like the guards thought so too, as they shouted¡­


    "Halt!"


    At themand, the horses slowed down significantly, beforeing to a stop.


    At the forefront was a white horse, and on it was a man who couldn''t be older than twenty-five, with short brown disheveled hair.


    "They say the horses are for a Cabrera?" the boy said, indicating his peasant origins.


    "That''s me" Cabrera said, before looking at the boys.


    "Well, what are you waiting for? Pick a horse and let''s get moving!" he said, shocking the boys out of their reverie.


    "Yes boss!" they responded, before scrambling to get a horse.


    "Ye said your name is Cabrera?" the boy on the white horse asked.


    "Yes, I did"


    "Then what be the name of the boy you sent?"


    "James" Cabraera answered.


    The boy nodded, got off the white horse and pulled it towards Cabrera.


    "Take care of her" the boy requested.


    "Of course" Cabrera said, before mounting the horse and facing the boys.


    "Boys, we ride to the Semanis forest!"


    "Hiiyaaah" Cabrera shouted, before riding out the gate with the boys following right behind him.


    The expedition had officially begun.

 Chapter 50 Kill Zone

    "Where am-" Ezra muttered as he tried to move his hand, but¡­


    *CRACK*


    Immense pain hit him and he groaned loudly.


    "AHHH!"


    Then, a soothing voice was heard.


    "Ezra, are you awake? Please speak to me!"


    But it was filled with panic and urgency.


    A voice Ezra couldn''t forget even if he wanted to, it was¡­


    "Mom? Is that you?" Ezra muttered, his voice hoarse as he opened his eyes to a blurry sight.


    "Yes dear, it''s me. But nevermind that, what about you? How are you feeling?" she hastily asked.


    "I''m¡­mostly sore all over. And itchy too" Ezra said with a wry smile.


    "Hmm, thankfully"


    "What about the Knight responsible for this?"


    "He''s been sanctioned at this moment"


    "Hmm, good to know. What about my body? What did the healer say about it?"


    "Well, you''ve been administered with the highest quality healing potions avable. Though, it was an enormous headache. Your blood was causing the bodies of some others to melt. It also created holes in the fabric you were wrapped in. So they had to iste you with a sealing scroll and mana tendrils before doing the healing. He also said that your blood has adapted and be immune to some powerful poisons. Somehow, you have acquired the poison blood ability"


    "Hmm, did he find out about the elixir?" Ezra muttered.


    "What was that, son?"


    "Oh, nothing"


    "Your body will be back in tip top shape in a little over a week. He advised that you stop practicing any sort of physical training for the next fifteen days to one month. Or at least, that''s what I was told"


    "This¡­so I need to slow down my training immensely. Is that what he''s saying?"


    "Yes, that''s most of it. He also said that you might experience another growth spurt very soon " his mom said.


    "Hmm" Ezra muttered as it got him thinking¡­


    ''Let''s see, the healer doesn''t seem to know that I used an elixir, which makes things easier. To stop training¡­hmm, honestly, I was thinking of doing it anyway''


    ''This five years old body can''t bring out any more of my prowess. Rather, this is already remarkable. I''ve obtained about 10% from my former strength. Which means that, until I grow a little more, my body is too small to contain therge amount of magical ingredients in it, and needs to digest them slowly''


    ''This means that my foundation is as solid as it can be for now. But it also means that I''ll have to train and mold my body slowly, or else I''ll damage it¡­which won''t be good''


    ''Hmm, but if I can''t train my body for the next month, then¡­I guess I''ll start learning Alchemy. This''ll go along smoothly with the n''


    ''Wait¡­I can''t train my body, but I can increase my sword and mana masteries¡­right? Hmm, I will do this while learning Alchemy for the next one month''


    ns were being made in seconds as Ezra thought of his next move, when a voice pulled him out of his reverie.


    "Ezra" his mom called out in a whispering tone.


    "Yes mom?"


    "What about the n?"


    The n of building a faction for concubines andmoner wives.


    "Oh, that? It''s already in motion"


    His mother was taken aback, before smiling and then sighing as she thought¡­


    ''He''s been working hard and growing since then''


    And that meant¡­


    ''I have to work even harder''


    She clenched her fist without a change in expression.


    Ezra, who noticed, was ted, because it meant¡­


    ''She''s been practicing''


    Yes, she''s been learning Noble etiquette, and so far, her demeanor was already changing.


    "Wait, where am I anyway?" Ezra suddenly said, as he hadn''t tilted his neck since he woke up.


    "Oh, you''re in an isted healing room"


    "Ok, I''ll go back to sleep now" Ezra said as he closed eyes, thinking¡­


    ''I''ve been breaking too many bones too often. Gotta stop doing that''


    Meanwhile¡­


    ¡ª----------------


    *Bugguum*Bugguum*Bugguum*


    A team of horses were running on the road with a white horse at the forefront.


    This was naturally Cabrera and the boys.


    At this moment, a voice rang out loudly amongst the lot.


    "Boss! We''re going the wrong way, the Semanis forest is in the opposite direction!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    The moment it was said¡­


    "Huh? Are you sure?"


    "How do you know?"


    "Stop talking shit, boss knows where we''re going, right?"


    The boys began murmuring, when¡­


    "QUIET!"


    Cabrera shouted, and then replied¡­


    "Of course I know where we''re going, and it isn''t the Semanis forest"


    "Huuuuh? Then where is it?" one asked.


    "The Windless Peaks"


    The moment they heard the name, all of them simultaneously came to a halt.


    Their faces were filled with quizzical expressions as they wondered if they had heard it right.


    To understand why though, one had to understand the concept of kill zones.


    A kill zone was, as its name implied, a ce, no, a monster region, where those below a certain power rank were sure to die.


    Most kill zones were nests, areas infested withrge amounts of monsters of a single kind.


    Often, they became permanent nests and adapted to the ecosystem, bringing about a never ending cycle of man vs beast.


    It almost always housed unique beasts that had their characteristics empowered in that environment, which was exactly why it became a kill zone.


    And Windless Peaks was a particrly popr ce amongst low-level adventures.


    It was so popr that even these men that had almost never stepped out of Kingsmere were aware of its danger.


    There was almost no C-rank hunter who hadn''t visited the ce at least once.


    So yes, its notoriety was well known, very well known.


    It was an E-rank kill zone, meaning that anyone lower than E-rank was sure to die.


    It was guaranteed.


    Heck, even E-ranks died in droves, but it was true that you could clear it at E-rank, you only need to be immensely cautious.


    "Huuh? boss, did I hear you right?!" one eximed and the others took it up.


    "B-Boss, are you trying to kill us all?"


    "I heard that you need to be a D-rank hunter to even think of going there!"


    "Boss, why are we heading there?"


    "Boss, you''re joking, aren''t you?"


    They all started making differentments, until¡­


    "SHUT UP!!! SHUT THE F*CK UP!"


    A loud voice brought them back to their senses and made their stupid murmurs stop.


    It was Carl from before.


    He breathed out loudly, seeing that he had gotten their attention, and began speaking softly.


    "Guys, let''s all take a deep breath and calm down for a minute. Boss said that we''re going to Windless Peaks, so naturally he has a n. Let''s give him some breathing space"


    "Haa, thank you very much Carl. It seems like I still need to discipline you boys a little more. Of course I have a n, you morons. Did you think I would arrange this whole expedition without a n?" he said as the boys calmed down.


    Cabrera paused as he looked at their faces.


    "I found a way to kill beasts stronger than us fairly easily. And now, we''re going to Windless Peaks to farm rare beast parts and magical herbs"


    The meaning of what he had said dawned on them.


    While the ce was teeming with deadly beasts, it was regrly visited by D-rank hunters because of the beast parts they could get from there.


    And while the sum was something that any good enough C-rank could take out, for them, a rtively new guild, they were worth quite the sum.


    There was also the fact that the herbs and treasures found there could propel people into C-rank.


    It was simply a high risk, high reward situation.


    "We''ve all worked hard for the past one and a half months to prepare ourselves for this expedition. Are we gonna let fear stop us?!"


    "NO" they shouted.


    "Boys, if things go ording to n, we''re going to be rich after this expedition! And then we''ll grow stronger! Who''s with me?!"


    "WE ARE!" they simultaneously chanted as they raised their fists.


    "Good! We march onwards. We must get there by the end of the week. And that means no sightseeing and no long breaks. It''s a bummer, but you''ll have to deal with it until we get back¡­rich!!"


    "YES!"


    "Now, onwards to the Windless Peaks!"


    Cabrera raised the boys morale and picked up the pace while the others followed behind him.


    i

 Chapter 51 Whittown (1)

    It''s been a week since Cabrera and the boys began their expedition, and multiple things have happened since then.


    The boys had their dose of monster hunting after their caravan was repeatedly attacked throughout the journey.


    Two boys had died, one to too much blood loss and the other had been unknowingly poisoned and died in his sleep.


    The others had collected souvenirs from the beasts in the form of various injuries. One had two fingers severed, while another lost three of his left toes.


    Thankfully though, there had been no sign of either Raven Skull or Gold Moles.


    This made Cabrera sigh in relief. His n had worked.


    It was actually very simple.


    By putting himself in their shoes, he had concluded that his enemies would most likely attack them on the return trip, after they had spent energy on their expedition. He also hypothesized that the best scenario for such an event would be a surprise ambush.


    For them to do such a thing, and have the best possible chance of sess, they needed to meet some requirements.


    Firstly, the knowledge of where they were going and the route Cabrera would take to get there.


    Secondly, they needed to know the forces they would be facing, as well as their own forces.


    Only after knowing such information would they make a n for how the ambush would be carried out.


    But¡­they didn''t know their destination nor how much they had actually grown after the 45 days of training. And while Cabrera was still suspicious of some of the remaining boys being spies¡­it didn''t affect the n much.


    He had mentioned the Semanis forest so loudly because of this. Now, all the forces looking to harm his gang, known or unknown, would think they were going there.


    One couldn''t say that only Raven Skull and Gold Moles were nning to get rid of them. And Cabrera''s gut, the instinct that had saved him many times before, was telling him that they weren''t the only ones. They were the only ones he currently knew about¡­but there were others!


    And so he thought¡­


    ''If I wanted to n an ambush¡­what would I do when my target moves faster than I can keep track of? What would I do if my target moved faster than expected and disrupted my carefully thought of n? What would happen if the information about my target was partially wrong?''


    And the answers came naturally¡­


    ''If my target suddenly disrupts my ns? Well, I''ll be incredibly flustered and I would rush to keep track of their movements. And if the information was partially wrong¡­well¡­that would hinder my progress for days''


    And with such thinking, he quickly ordered James to purchase 30 horses. He then went to buy enough water and horse food, before storing it in his spatial ring.


    By now, the enemies would have figured out his ruse¡­but that was enough.


    His loud im of heading to the Semanis forest would have had his enemies sending scouts there to monitor their route and report back.


    It would have taken two days at minimum and, if one thought of the unknown variables like beasts in the wild, it could take three to four days. Yet, even if it only took them a day, the distance Cabrera covered in that time would make it so that those chasing would only eat dust.


    He had made sure to follow a road to Semanis at the start of the expedition to make sure the enemies fully took the bait. He then took another road and arrived at the opposite side, before moving towards Windless Peaks.


    And even so, Cabrera made sure to keep lengthening the gap by stopping to rest about an hour before midnight and getting up an hour before dawn.


    Such a low amount of rest was extremely taxing for the boys, whose expressions of vigor were nowhere to be seen. All of them had dead expressions and ck circles under their eyes. But unlike what would be expected, they had their eyes wide open as if they were frozen.


    But, looking closely, these eyes asionally blinked to indicate that these eerie humans were alive, but maybe not well.


    Beasts had attacked them multiple times, especially at night, since they didn''t stop at any motel to recuperate and only camped in the woods.


    The sound of hooves after sunset also attracted the attention of beasts all around. By the time they actually stopped, about thirty minutes to an one hour was wasted killing beasts before going to sleep.


    Five people would also have to stand watch throughout the night, rotating every hour.


    The incident of the boy unknowingly poisoned, as well as the one with severed fingers and toes, all happened during night watch.


    Tension and stress had built up to the limit by now, and the only reason why no one had rebelled or revolted was because Cabrera was in a worse state than they were.


    He would stay on night watch for two and a half hours, more than double what others did. He also expended additional energy whenever a dangerous beast appeared.


    Yet, he still got up first at dawn.


    He hadn''tined or said a word about the stress he was umting, but anyone could see that he looked dreadful. The ck circles under his eyes wererger than those of his boys, his hair was disheveled and his clothing was rough.


    For food, they ate the rations Cabrera had packed in his spatial ring or, sometimes, they cooked beast meat.


    Also, on the first day, the boys had all taken off most of their armor, leaving only the most vital parts. It was only slowing them down and, as soon as Cabrera noticed, he collected it into his spatial ring.


    They would be putting it back on at Windless Peaks.


    Ah, the Windless Peaks.


    Sadly, Cabrera and the boys didn''t achieve their target of reaching it in seven days, but they were less than a day away.


    Amendable effort if one might say.


    The boys had sharpened themselves during the 45 days of training, but the past few days had shown them that they had a long way to go.


    Right now, one third of them were 2-4 star adepts, while the rest were 3-5 star journeymen . At least ording to Cabrera''s assessment, that is.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Cabrera felt extremely drowsy at the moment, but he used mana to keep himself awake.


    Naturally, the boys couldn''t do this, but they had been given herbs that recovered stamina to keep their body awake, else they would just fall down and sleep on the ground with the amount of stress they had umted. Which was why their expressions were like those of frozen fish.


    The atmosphere of joy and vigor was now reced with a still and stale one.


    No one spoke and the only sounds to be heard were the rapid stomping of the moving horses.


    Each boy was having his resolve tested, which was the second reason why Cabrera brought them on the expedition.


    Hearing and experiencing could not be more different.


    They had heard of beasts, but after being attacked again and again for seven days straight, they had all felt the fear of death at one time or another. Two of theirrades had even died.


    Now, they were at another crossroad on the path to power¡­would they face death head on or would they rush back to safety?


    Cabrera knew that there would definitely be those who would choose the second option, and while that would lessen his force once more, it was necessary for two things.


    One would be to purge any remaining traitors within his group.


    The other would be to¡­well¡­to get rid of bad rubbish.


    The road after this event wouldn''t be smooth at all. Rather, it would be the beginning of a long journey down a road of thorns.


    When the time came and he had to rely on the members of his guild, what would be the use of a coward?


    What use would a weakling be? At a time when, ording to Ezra''s n, they would likely be contending with the big guns of the world¡­someone with a weak heart was not at all needed!


    Cabrera wouldn''t be giving any speech this time, because to him, it wasn''t needed.


    His speech a little more than 45 days ago was more than enough. In it, they were warned, and now¡­they were being tested!


    ''So¡­what will you do now?'' Cabrera thought while on the move.


    At that moment¡­


    ''Were here''


    A small town came into view. The fence was wooden and the guards were alsockluster, but Ezra had told him why it was so.


    ''Whittown''


    Yes! Ezra was the one who thought up the n, but Frederick was the one who highlighted this particr town.


    And then Ezra seemed to remember something, before telling them information about things even Frederick didn''t know.


    Thinking about it now, Cabrera became puzzled as a question struck him.


    ''He said that he hadn''t stepped out of Kingsmere before. How the hell did he know about this ce? Hmm¡­maybe¡­nope, that''s not it!''


    He tried to think of an answer, but nothing came up. In the end, he could only give up.


    ''You know what, let''s just forget about that''


    He took another look at the town as he reminisced about what he was told.


    ''A town full of monsters'' he thought as he stopped and turned around to address his boys, who were on the verge of falling from their horses.


    "BOYS!"


    "Y-Yes!" all the boys simultaneously woke up from their stupor at the ear wrenching scream.


    "Listen closely and carefully to what I''m about to say" he paused and looked at his boys, who rubbed their ck eyes to wipe the drowsiness away.


    "Firstly, I say thanks to all of you, who have persevered with me since the beginning of this journey. And the good news is that we are less than a day away from our goal!"


    "YESS!" The boys cheered, before Cabrera continued¡­


    "But wait, there''s still more. As a leader, I can''t have my men sleepy when we go hunt monsters tomorrow, and so¡­we''ll be sleeping here tonight!" Cabrera said as he pointed towards the town in the distance.


    "Woah!" most shouted, feeling ecstatic, while others sighed in relief.


    "And, as you have seen, with the potion, killing those beasts will be a breeze"


    The boys nodded in agreement as they vividly remembered the effect of said potion after Cabrera''s earlier demonstration.


    "Now, this is where things might get tricky. We have to do things in secret" Cabrera said as his voice took on a serious tone.


    "Now, this is what we''ll do¡­"


    Cabrera began to exin the n.

 Chapter 52 Whittown (2)

    "So that''s what we''ll do" Cabrera said as he finished briefing the boys.


    "Sir, I''ll go first" one said, volunteering himself.


    It was Carl, who had be a captain figure among hisrades.


    "Go" Cabrera said, agreeing to let him enter the town first.


    And so Carl rode towards Whittown, which was still a fairly long distance away.


    Even though it was called a town, its size was nearing that of a city in smaller Kingdoms.


    It had wooden walls all around it, with light pouring out on top of it to push away the darkness.


    About one hour had already passed since sunset and the town was bustling. Well, at least Carl thought so from the little he could make out.


    Only two guards could be seen at the entrance, with their chuckles asionally echoing out.


    One was rtively short and chubby, while the other was taller but mostlynky.


    From such a close distance, he could see a magical device hanging a bit away from the guards, most likely to avoid any idents. It lit up the surroundings within a few meters.


    The guards were still amusing themselves with jokes-


    *Bugguum*Bugguum*


    -but all that changed the minute they heard the sound of movement.


    "Who''s there?" the short one hollered as his left hand went to a gray hatchet strapped to his back.


    "Halt!" the tall one said as his hands went towards a formerly unnoticed belt strapped to his waist.


    "Ie in peace" Carl hastily uttered, seeing that the situation was about to devolve into something nasty.


    Contrary to his expectations, the minute the two heard his words they simultaneously looked at each other, and then-


    "Hahaha!"


    -burst into hystericalughter.


    "Ie in peace. I don''t think I''ve heard such a cheesy line in years. Hahahaha!" the short one said with a hoarse voice as hisughter only grew.


    While the other-


    "Hahahaha! I''m telling you, kids these days are too good and too easy"


    -was exactly the same. The only difference was that hisughter was a bit ear wrenching and his expression was very annoying.


    Carl felt the urge to punch him in the face, but held back as he remembered what the boss had told them.


    ¡ª-------------------------------


    "The town might look cheerful and graceful, but it houses multiple monsters that could chew you up in a heartbeat"


    The boys became frightened, before one asked¡­


    "B-Boss, what do you mean by monsters?! You''re not actually saying that this ce is full of mana beasts¡­right?!"


    Thankfully-


    "Huuh???What the heck are you talking about?"


    -it seemed like their worries were unabated, that is-


    "What do you mean by beasts? It''s far worse"


    -until he finished his sentence.


    The boys were bing extremely frustrated at all the cryptic messages, not to mention that they were already fatigued beyond words.


    Asking them to think of something like this¡­was really not worth the effort, considering the headache that would ensue after.


    Thankfully¡­again, Cabrera seemed to have understood and proceeded to exin it.


    ¡ª----------------------------------


    As he reminisced about it, his anger was quickly doused as he moved to exin himself.


    "Apologies, this is my first timeing here, and I wish to stay the night" Carl said as he cupped his hands while still on his horse.


    The response he got surprised him once more.


    "Sheesh! This one''s no fun. What kind of rock did you crawl out of?" the tall one spoke as he shook his head from side to side, not hiding the distaste in his expression.


    "Yeah, whatever, hand over fifty copper coins and you can head in" the short one quickly said as he outstretched his hand.


    Carl knew that the actual entrance fee was at most fifteen coins, but if he said so, he might blow his cover of being a country bumpkin.


    So, he took out a silver coin from his pouch and handed it over.


    "Oh? Guess you''re not aplete pushover, heh?" the short one said with a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes for an instant before receding.


    Nevertheless, he hastily took the coin and handed Carl his change. He then used a small stamp to imprint a runic circle on the back of Carl''s palm.


    Carl only felt something for an instant before it faded.


    Like the irritating touch of a housefly, but for only a moment.


    With that, the guards moved out of the way, giving him passage.


    "Ah, yes!" Carl was already moving, before stopping with a tone of realization.


    "What is it?" The tall one asked.


    "Hehehe-


    Carl chuckled as he scratched his head as if embarrassed.


    -I was just wondering where I could find a stable around here?"


    That was all, and as soon as he got his answer, he unmounted and pulled his horse along as he entered into the town.


    Sounds ofughter and cheer hit him from all sides, as well as light of different colors, as he saw to his shock that the ground was decently tiled with stone.


    One must know that only cities were known to have tiled streets, and even then, it wasn''t always so.


    And yet, he saw a town, a TOWN!, with stoned grounds.


    It wasn''t even umon. To him, it was just absurd!


    While it was true that it couldn''tpare to that of the capital, it was, like he said before¡­decent enough for a pass or a slightly higher mark.


    Nevertheless, Carl tried to conceal his emotions like Cabrera had ordered, and so, he gazed at the ground while pulling his horse along to the stable.


    Carl could see different people taking nces at him before losing interest, while some kept their gazes boring through his back as he moved along.


    His mind reminisced about Cabrera''s warning once again.


    ¡ª--------------------------------


    Once Cabrera understood that his cryptic messages weren''t going to get him anywhere, he sighed and exined it again more objectively.


    "When I say monsters, do you think only wild beasts are monsters?" he asked, rhetorically.


    "Of course not, this ce is packed with D-ranks and C-ranks in droves. I highly doubt you would find an E-rank here, and if you do, then he''ll be almost as strong as a D-rank" he paused, letting his boys digest the meaning, before going on¡­


    "What I''m saying is simple. The whole ce is filled with people far more powerful than you or me. So this is what you''ll do¡­"


    ¡ª---------------------------------


    At this moment¡­


    *Dom*


    Someone hit Carl in the shoulder, pulling him out of his reverie.


    Carl looked to see a man about the same height as the tall guard, with the blue tattoo of a snake in his neck.


    His body was neithernky nor buff, but slender. And his equipment, if Carl was correct, was Bronze-rank.


    "Hey, can''t you watch where you''re going?!" the man hollered.


    He and Carl were about the same height and so they stared at each other, before¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    *Sigh*


    Carl let out a big sigh as he shook his head at his bad luck.


    ''For me to encounter such a situation this early¡­my luck is really the worst''


    Just before he left the group for the city, Cabrera had taken all his armor and only left him with his sword.


    He thought, before speaking up to the man after quickly gauging his level.


    "Can''t you use your eyes properly?"


    No words were needed anymore, and the other guy seemed to think so too, because-


    *Swish*


    -he alreadyshed out with a fist in the next instant.


    *Wish*


    Only to hit nothing but air. Shocking him when Carl''s calm voice rang out.


    "You done?"


    He had moved a few meters away from his horse to give him space to fight.


    "This¡­bastard, Imma wipe that smirk off your face"


    Veins popped up on his forehead as he lunged forward andshed out for the second time.


    "But I''m not even smirking-


    Carl said as he dodged with minimal movement and taunted.


    -stupid"


    The man got visibly angrier and his punches came faster but-


    *Wiish*Woosh*Wiish*Wiish*


    -they were hitting nothing but air.


    The man kept visibly going faster and faster, but Carl just dodged even faster, when-


    "Hmm"


    -Carl''s eyes glinted, and in one move-


    *Bam*Shiing*


    -he hit the man in front of him away with a kick, pulled out his sword, and then-


    *Shaaang*


    -shed in the direction of his horse as he said¡­


    "So that''s what you were after"


    The bystanders were bbergasted at the turn of events because of two things.


    One, few of the spectatating D-ranks couldn''t follow Carl''s movements.


    And secondly, those who could were amazed at his reaction speed.


    Now, back into the moment.


    With the unsheathing of his sword, the next we saw-


    *sh*


    -was someone''s arm in the air.


    Followed by-


    "Ahhhh!"


    -a very loud scream.


    The perpetrator, Carl, looked at the scene impassively, while inwardly-


    ''Damn, these guys are good! I almost didn''t notice them!''


    -he was in turmoil.


    He swiped the blood off his sword before moving towards the man whose hand he just cut off.


    The man was very thin, but Carl couldn''t be sure of how thin as he waspletely d in ck, with only his eyes visible.


    Carl put his sword on the man''s neck, before saying¡­


    "Tell me, why shouldn''t I kill you right now?"


    He could see the man''s shock in his eyes as his mouth shook, before asking¡­


    "H-How?"


    Yes! How had Carl seen through his stealth skill that came from a Silver-rank mana technique?


    But all he got as an answer-


    *SLAP*


    -was a very hot p.


    "Did I tell you to ask questions? I''m very impatient, so don''t give me a reason to cut your head off"


    Carl said as the man removed the mask from the lower end of his face and spat out a fair amount of blood, as well as two yellow teeth.


    "Ugh, you''re disgusting. You know what? Just give me everything in your pockets and I''ll let you go" Carl said.


    What? He was a gang member before, so what did you expect?


    "Y-Yes" the man hastily said as Carl handed him a pouch to put all his money into.


    "What a pity. Even your partner has abandoned you" Carl suddenly said.


    He was talking about the man from earlier. He had kicked him with quite a bit of strength, and now he couldn''t sense him anymore.


    As soon as the man emptied his money into the pouch, Carl waved his hand as the man took his queue to run away. When-


    "Wait"


    -Carl suddenly called him back.


    Multiple thoughts went into the man''s mind as he started sweating buckets.


    ''What else does he want? He''s already robbed me of all my money''


    He was seriously regretting having chosen Carl as a target.


    Thankfully-


    "Take your arm with you"


    -this one was far more merciful than others.


    "T-Thank y-you" the man stuttered, before taking his hand and running away.


    As Carl took the pouch and hung it to his waist, he could feel the gazes of others raining down on him.


    *Sigh*


    He sighed deeply and said-


    "This is going to be a long night"


    -before getting back to his feet and moving towards the stable.


    Yet, unknowingly, a grin crept on his face, which really highlighted that he needed sleep.

 Chapter 53 Whittown (3)

    In front of a wide and decent looking stable was Carl.


    In front of him was a short man with fair skin and long dark brown hair, his body packed with muscle.


    His name, as Carl had been told, was Vidic.


    As one could infer, he was definitely not from around here, but surprisingly, his Nitonian was very fluent.


    "That''ll be 22 silver"


    Carl was bbergasted. This was a downright robbery. But once he looked around once more, he immediately understood why.


    ''It''s a horse station''


    As the name implied, it meant that this stable was a ce for travelers to switch horses when on a journey.


    Did you think that a merchant traveling for three months with items for nobles would have time to wait for his horses to rest every two days?!


    Of course not.


    And so, the horse station was formed.


    You head to the station to have your tired, exhausted, parched and sometimes even wounded horse exchanged for a healthy, clean and well fed one.


    Of course, for a sufficient amount, that is.


    You''ll find them in virtually every town, especially those in remote ces or before a monster region.


    In a ce where your life is at risk, a mount not in top condition is one more factor increasing your chances of dying.


    Imagine, you just finished a monster hunting trip and you''re besieged by more monsters on your way back.


    And because of your mount''s umted fatigue, you die.


    Now, that is a very sick joke, one that had cost too many adventurers their lives.


    Which was why most capable adventurers today had learned to examine horses.


    "Oh? I''m not exchanging horses"


    "That''ll be 8 silver"


    "There''s no need to feed him"


    This time it was Vidic''s turn to be amazed as his mouth curved into a scowl.


    Looking at Carl''s eyes, he was sure this fellowcked sleep. For him to say such a thing, there could only be a few reasons.


    And like some Alchemists, Vidic assumed and incorrectly took that as the answer¡­without knowing anything too.


    "Huh? Seriously? What''s a cheap bastard like you doing in a ce like this?!"


    He assumed Carl was one of those spendthrift adventurers that had wasted all his money on girls and booze.


    "I doubt that''s any of your business. Now, how much will it be?" Carl said with a re.


    "Tch, that''ll be 4 silver"


    Carl: "2 silver"


    Vidic: "4 silver"


    Carl: "3 silver"


    Vidic: "Ugh, fine! Now get your poor ass out of here before I change my mind!"


    He hollered and Carl quickly handed him the money, before going in the direction of a hotel.


    Thankfully, most of the gazes from earlier had faded.


    Although, some still remained.


    ''These guys are persistent'' Carl thought, before casually ignoring them.


    ''Right, next is the hotel. Finally, I can get a decent sleep''


    Carl''s ck eyes brightened a little as he thought of this.


    And without further ado, he quickly moved to find a ce to sleep for the night.


    Meanwhile¡­


    ¡ª----------------------------


    The two guards were currently seated beside the town''s entrance when the tall one abruptly lunged forward, before speaking.


    "Oi, Marius, that guy from earlier, he''s gone in, right?"


    "Huh? What the heck are you on about?"


    The short guard, Marius, couldn''t understand what his partner had started babbling about.


    "The guy with the horse who passed here a little while ago.He went inside, didn''t he?"


    "What the? Lloyd, have you drunk too much again?!"


    "No, you fool. Look over there!" Lloyd said with anger as he pointed forward.


    "Huh? What are you-"


    Marius mumbled, before halting his words as he strained his small eyes and ears to look a bit farther than the light illuminated.


    And on cue, a sound rang out.


    A very familiar sound.


    *Bugguum*Bugguum*Bugguum*Bugguum*


    The sound of sprinting hooves.


    "Stop there!" he hastily yelled.


    The sound of hooves gradually lessened as the riders entered the range of the light.


    A party of twelve.


    Like the adventurer that arrived moments ago, they were all riding horses with no armor whatsoever and only swords strapped to their thighs.


    But unlike thest adventurer-


    "Yes?!"


    -these guys didn''t give off the vibe of a greenhorn.


    Both Marius and Lloyd saw the shocking simrities, but the attitude was different.


    Marius didn''t know if these bastards were just posing or the real thing.


    But, how could they let the chance to rip these guys off pass them by?


    And so he uttered¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Sirs, the entrance fee is three silver"


    The result though, was not as expected.


    "Hahahaha, that''s the funniest joke I''ve heard in a long time"


    The man who seemed to be the leader replied, before his voice took a drastic turn and became sinister.


    "Do you take us for pushovers?"


    ''Shit'' Marius thought, before hurriedly bowing.


    "Apologies Sir"


    No, Marius wasn''t afraid of him, but those that might be behind him.


    After all, there was no way to know if he was part of some C-rank, or worse, B-rank guild.


    He wasn''t wearing any fancy clothes, but his outfit was very decent.


    It might be a guild member on a secret mission, especially considering the entourage behind him.


    Should he antagonize him today, andter find out he was from such a guild, then the best case scenario was him leaving his entire livelihood behind and heading to another continent.


    He could very well be killed or turned into a ve for spoiling the guild''s name.


    Either way, his life would automatically plunge into hell.


    And with such knowledge-


    *Cough*Cough*Clears throat*


    "My mistake Sirs. You can head right in"


    -he made his decision.


    ''I''ll have them investigatedter. Then I''ll know what to do''


    Yes! He would have them investigated and their origins uncovered.


    If it was as he thought, then he would sigh in relief that he dodged a bullet, a very big one at that.


    And If it wasn''t¡­well¡­then, there were a lot of options!


    Marius gave them free entry to the town as a token of apology.


    And he heard¡­


    "Hmph, good to know sensible people still exist in this world"


    The man said as he went in on his horse.


    -A few minutester-


    "Huff, huff, huff, I thought I was gonna die"


    The same man from before said to the rest of the boys as they unmounted.


    One hit him on the back with a praise.


    "Eddy, you were a natural"


    "You think so?" Eddy asked.


    The guy looked over to the remaining ten as he asked¡­


    "Guys, what do you think?"


    "It was awesome" one replied.


    "I was really good"


    "It was¡­"


    Like that, the rest gave simr answers, which put Eddy''s mind at ease.


    His thoughts went to the reason for all this as he muttered¡­


    "Boss is seriously crazy to think of this stuff"


    ¡ª---------------------


    "Now, this is what you''ll do" Cabrera said as he exined how they would enter the town.


    "You have to watch out. The ce is filled with posers, losers and the real deal"


    "The posers are those bastards who''lle at you for some random shit and try to stir trouble. These guys wanna estimate your level"


    "The losers are typically just that, losers. Mostly E-ranks and a couple of D-ranks. Theye to steal your stuff because their stuff''s been stolen or some shit"


    "And then, the real deal. Like it says, these guys are the real big guns, but unless you''re unlucky, these guys mind their own business more than half the time"


    "But once you see a poser or a loser, it means shit''s about to go down. Now, when you see these bastards, you gotta beat the shit out of them like never before. If you see the real deal though, better back off, even if you can kill the bastard"


    "How do we differentiate a poser and a loser from the real deal?" someone asked.


    Cabrera gave a clueless expression and said¡­


    "You''ll just know"


    "Oh" the boy was dumbfounded, but nodded nheless.


    "So, we''re neen. I''m gonna split you guys and you''ll go into the town separately. Try to keep a low profile the best you can. Can''t have everyone looking into us. Got it?"


    "Got it!" the boys shouted.


    "Now, who''ll go first?"


    After Carl left, Cabrera took twelve of them and told them to go into the town as a group.


    The rest woulde soon after.


    They cannot act like they know each other throughout their stay in the town. To make sure of that, Cabrera told them to go to a hotel at the east side of the city till hees to get them tomorrow.


    With no time to waste, the boys quickly headed towards the horse station and got themselves rooms, one per 2 people.


    Their expressions of bliss were all that could be seen.


    Marius and Lloyd kept getting visitors riding on horses arriving after each other.


    Not that they wereining though. They earned big by ripping these guys off.


    Cabrera arrivedst, alone too as he had sent the remaining boys earlier in two teams and had them go to the west and the north side of the city to sleep.


    Without thinking too much, he paid the fees, put his horse in a stable and went to sleep.


    Unknowingly, some powers in the town had gotten a whiff of the strange phenomenon.


    The effects of this would be apparent in the near future.

 Chapter 54 Plans And Professions

    ¨CEzra''s POV¨C


    It''s been a week since the Knight, Sir Lugard, fractured my bones.


    Because of it, I could onlyy idle for the past six days as my bones healed.


    It was suffocating, to say the least, but I discovered by the second day that I was actually needing a lot of rest.


    I took my time to actually rx and go over the events of the past weeks.


    I was surprised by all that I had done.


    From owning a guild, to starting a merchant guild, to clearing out chance stores, to enving a few assholes, to curing Fredrick''s curse ahead of time¡­and now, the grand scheme.


    Thinking about it, I sighed, but smiled right after as I thought¡­


    ''This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I''m not going to waste it''


    Which is why I''m doing what I''m doing.


    Honestly, I thought of taking it easy. My recent achievements of feeling mana and awakening it by three years old already made me an unprecedented genius in history.


    With just the normal level of training, I would reach Expert rank at most by 18, and that was being reallyzy.


    But¡­


    ''It''s not enough for me''


    I chuckled at this thought. But that was exactly it.


    I would never be satisfied, especially considering all I knew.


    And especially¡­My revenge!


    The fact that I toiled with blood and sweat for years, only to be thrown away by those not as worthy as me, fills me with rage at the mere thought of it.


    I had made up my mind the moment I came to terms with my reincarnation.


    ''Those guys¡­must die, no, they must suffer as I did for all those years. Their debts will be paid in full!''


    And yet¡­


    ''I''m actually also thankful for their betrayal¡­because it gave me the spark to achieve enlightenment''


    Ezra was sure that, if he hadn''t died the moment he did, he would have broken through to be a Master-rank.


    But¡­


    ''At this moment, that matters not''


    Because¡­


    ''What is done is done, now¡­I can only move on''


    With this realization, my mind became tranquil.


    ''I am not a hero, but I''m also not a demon, so¡­I am only myself¡­and that''s all that matters!''


    I took in a deep breath and stabilized my mind, before directing my thoughts to the grand scheme in motion.


    ''The empire will be thrown into chaos for a little while, but thinking about it, I''m also doing them a favor¡­hehehe''


    An evil grin spread on my face at this moment.


    ''I have to make sure to grab every opportunity¡­and now that I think about it, the war will start far faster than before''


    Yes! It was a possibility. Only in a chaotic situation would Ezra''s ns thrive the most.


    To be more precise¡­


    ''It''ll be best to fish in muddy waters''


    It would also work even without chaos¡­but the process would be many times longer!


    And¡­


    ''I can''t have that''


    Ezra had many ns that could span decades and still not be done.


    And because of that¡­


    ''I''ll have to take even more risks from now on''


    His thoughts stopped as heughed and slightly hit himself on the head.


    ''What nonsense? I''m not even sure if this n will seed¡­but I''m already thinking like this? Hmm, is this what they call counting gains before even seeing it? Either way, I''ll just have to trust that Fredrick and Cabrera can, no, will pull it off sessfully''


    As he thought of this, he looked at his short self and slightly fit body and shook his head.


    ''I have been feeling very ufortable since Cabrera set the n in motion''


    ''Now I know why. I never liked depending on others''


    ''But-''


    He thought as he looked at himself.


    ''-i guess I''ll have to get to used to it''


    *Sigh*


    ''Once Fredrick gets back with the stones, I''ll have to get the royals involved¡­hopefully, Cabrera''s friend is good enough for the job''


    ''Well, it''s not like I can do anything about it now. So¡­I just have to do my part''


    ''And most importantly, I have to get stronger, and not just a little¡­but overwhelmingly so''


    ''If I don''t, I won''t be able to achieve my revenge perfectly''


    And like before¡­


    ''I can''t have that''


    And if that was so, I knew what I would have to do.


    ''I have to keep moving forward, keep growing stronger, whether the n fails or not. I just have to make sure I never stop growing''


    As I felt the mana overflowing in my body, I clenched my fists while thinking¡­


    ''I''m not wrong, this is the right way to go''


    Iughed.


    I could already visualize the level of chaos I would cause, because that was the best and easiest path to sess.


    With such a path in front of me, why would I take one that was stressful and unbelievably slow?


    At this moment, I knew what I had to do.


    I remembered that Cabrera should be about halfway to Windless Peaks by now.


    And Fredrick should already be there.


    As for me¡­


    ''Let''s see, cksmith, Runesmith, Formation Master, Artificer or Alchemist?''


    I already made up my mind on studying alchemy, but during the week, I decided to examine things closely instead of jumping to a conclusion.


    This would be kind of like a second job for me.


    Orion was beyond huge, and the three continents are filled with all kinds of people in varying circumstances.<novelnext></novelnext>


    You can''t expect everyone to be a fighter, can you?


    Apart from the fivebat paths, countless jobs havee into existence for those who simply weren''t made to fight and those whose forte lies elsewhere.


    Famers, Bakers, Fishermen, Butchers, Merchants, cksmiths, Alchemists, Beast Tamers, Runesmiths, Formation Masters, Artificers, Appraisers, and so much more.


    And in most professions, you had at least one Grandmaster, sometimes even multiple.


    It depended on how popr that profession was.


    Grandmaster farmers could cultivate something in half the normal time and have it grow to twice the normal size.


    Basically, they achieved twice the results with half the resources, and like you probably could guess, they were hotmodities to any power.


    Some professions were unique in that only a particr superpower had it.


    For a few others, you needed to be part of a specificbat path.


    Take Beast Tamers for example. More often than not, this job was mostly suited for shapeshifters.


    As humans who could turn into animals, they could subdue beasts to their bidding fairly easily.


    Of course, there were limitations and a lot of qualifications were needed, else beast tamers would not be rare, but that was for another time.


    Others could practice it and be sessful, but it would be much more difficult.


    Another example would be Runesmiths.


    This profession was the one of the most popr ones, Runesmiths were valued anywhere.


    After all, most things used Runes to function.


    But most of those in this profession were members of a kingdom named Yule.


    It was the ce most knowledgeable about runes.


    Of course, it hadpetitors, but it was the uncontested number one in terms of rune mastery.


    Even the strongest empire could only be relegated to number two.


    What does this have to do anything?


    Well, it simply meant that any mageing from Yule had his rune mastery dozens times above those of other ces.


    Which in turn made Runesmiths produced by other powers seemckluster and not receive as many customers.


    It was ruthless, no doubt, but that''s how Orion worked.


    And now, Ezra wanted to choose a profession.


    He could change itter, sure, but that meant he would have wasted his time, wasted resources and, for most people, grown old.


    This was why most didn''t consider changing professions. The problems in doing so were numerous.


    Add that to old age and you''ve got a total no-no.


    It would be better to say that what people did do was branch out.


    Some people have dual, triple, quadruple, or more professions.


    Of course, this was reserved for geniuses or those stuck at a rank in a particr profession and unable to progress.


    Now, with all these thoughts, I couldn''t help but rethink my choice.


    The first thing was¡­


    ''Why do I want a profession?''


    It was the hardest question, but it had a surprisingly simple answer.


    ''I don''t know''


    This was it.


    I didn''t know, because the reason I thought of studying alchemy in the first ce was¡­


    ''It will help immensely with the n¡­while also giving a good excuse for what is toe''


    The second thing was¡­


    ''Do I actually need it?''


    The answer was clear.


    ''No''


    But¡­


    ''Will it be helpful?''


    Yes, it would go a long way.


    Then¡­


    ''What do I lose from not doing it?''


    Nothing much, except that I would need a better excuse when ying my part.


    Apart from that though, I could confidently say¡­


    ''Nothing''


    With my ns and knowledge, all that alchemy could give me, I could get it without alchemy.


    ''What do I gain from a profession?''


    The answers were numerous.


    I could gain fame, wealth, and reputation.


    But¡­


    ''As a prince, those things wille naturally''


    This was the dilemma.


    But wait, there was something else I forgot to mention.


    ''Knowledge''


    I could gain knowledge, a lot of it at that.


    And in my book¡­


    ''Knowledge is also a part of strength''


    It meant that doing it¡­would make me stronger!


    And with this confirmation alone, I instantly made my decision.


    ''I''m doing it''


    I''m definitely getting a profession.


    Especially when it meant¡­


    ''I''ll grow stronger''


    And so the next problem was¡­


    ''Which profession?''

 Chapter 55 Choosing Professions And Meeting Bard [Bonus]

    ''So¡­what profession do I choose?''


    ''Lets see¡­cksmith''s good, but it''ll take far too long for me to get anything out of it''


    ''Runesmith is also good¡­but I''m not a mage and I can''t study for long¡­which means that Formation Master is also out of the picture''


    ''So¡­can I only study alchemy?...well, this is troublesome''


    A few minutes had passed when Ezra suddenly had an epiphany.


    *Facepalm*


    "How could I forget? I''m not a nobody anymore. I''m a prince of an Empire!"


    Right! cksmith, Runesmith and even Alchemy would take time and resources to master.


    And Ezra didn''t have such time.


    Which is quite ironic, considering he''s only five years old.


    But¡­what was the reason why he could nonchntly say that he wanted to study alchemy?


    It was because he was now a prince! To be precise, it was because he now had abundant resources.


    Where others would start from scratch, he had the Royal Alchemists to pave the way.


    No, even if it was cksmithing or rune smithing, the Empire was simply too big for it not to have affiliates of every notable profession.


    And thinking further, this profession was but a side gig. He wasn''t nning on being a Grandmaster or even an expert.


    It would make him stronger mentally, true, but he couldn''t lose sight of what was really important.


    Thinking about it now, rather than learning a profession, he could very well master a new weapon or look for a new technique.


    Nevertheless, the real reason he was so quick to pick Alchemy was simply because¡­


    ''I found it fun''


    This was it.


    Now that he realized it, he suddenly thought¡­


    ''Hmm, I''m a prince with very abundant resources, be it material or connections¡­If so¡­why should I pick only one?!''


    A puzzling question was asked and more came right after.


    ''Hmm, am I aspiring to be a master in my profession?'' Ezra asked himself.


    ''No'' the answer was crystal clear.


    ''I have the resources that would make so many die with envy, and coupled with my memories¡­bing an Expert shouldn''t be too hard, right?''


    Ezra wasn''t sure, but he thought that reaching Expert level, or at least Journeyman level, should be very well possible.


    And if so¡­


    ''I''ll do things as theye''


    With that confirmation, Ezra headed for the alchemists chambers.


    ¡ª------------------------------


    *knock*knock*


    Two floors were located below the castle.


    The first housed the alchemist chambers.


    And below that was the prison for high level criminals.


    I was knocking on the door to their of an alchemist right now.


    No one answered for the next few seconds and, thinking that they hadn''t heard, I knocked again, though¡­a little harder if I might add.


    *Knock*Knock*


    "Hmm¡­is no one at home?" I said, feeling irritated, before hitting it even louder.


    *KNOCK*KNOCK*KNOCK*


    And yet, still nothing.


    Normally, I would have left, but with mana vision, I could barely discern a silhouette with a blue outline.


    It wasn''t much, but I was certain that someone was inside.


    The door was made of wood, sure, but I could see mana moving around in specific shapes inside it.


    These were runes, some far too advanced for me. Wait, what am I saying? I only ever studied the most basic of runes, and even then, it was sorelycking.


    Well, mostly because I was hung on sword fights all the time.


    But that''s beside the point.


    Now, back to the present.


    From what little I could glean, this was a design that uses multiple runes in what is called an array or formation.


    As for whether it was for support, defense or offense? Or maybe all of them? Don''t ask me.


    Not to mention looking past the door, merely using mana sight on it was causing a serious headache.


    And of course, while I was thinking all this, I never stopped knocking the door.


    Then, after a whole minute passed-


    *BREAK*


    -I heard the sound of something breaking.


    My mind whirred as I subconsciously stopped knocking.


    This was an alchemistir¡­and something just broke!


    ''Oh, no!'' I thought.


    I was rmed.


    If what I thought was correct, and it was very likely that it was correct¡­


    ''I''lle backter''


    But before I got get the heck outta there-


    *Bam*


    "Which b*stard is responsible for this?! Haven''t I told you countless times not to interrupt my work?!"


    -an old man in brown clothing struck the door open with a bang and hollered at me as his aura climbed higher by the second.


    ''Well, I found who I looking for'' I smiled sarcastically as I thought so


    Mr. Bard, as he was called, was emanating a hazy blue color.


    But I noticed something-


    "Damn it! I was so close to perfecting my form!"


    -he hadn''t noticed me yet.


    I was tall for my age, but whenpared to the man in front of me, I was sorelycking.


    Adding to the fact that I was near him¡­he didn''t see me.


    "Huh? Did they run-


    I just had to open my big mouth, didn''t I? Because¡­


    -away"


    At this moment, his gaze fell on me-


    "Kuuugh"


    -and I felt my breath grow thinner.


    ''Damn!''


    I knew this feeling¡­I knew it all too well.


    This feeling of suffocation.


    I felt overwhelmed by the sheer pressure he was exuding.


    It was like the world was suppressing me, but¡­


    ''I''m no small fry either''


    And¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''I''m done bowing or kneeling''


    With such thoughts, I began to actively resist by countering it with my own aura as I pushed my mana to the max.


    Meanwhile¡­


    "Oh?" the old man, Bard Vertid, let out a low exmation upon seeing such a scene.


    Honestly, he had already decided that whoever it was would have to sleep in the underground prison for at least two weeks.


    And even then, they should be thankful that he didn''t have them executed.


    But he found a brat whose height wasn''t up to his waistline standing there.


    Without saying a word, Bard released just enough pressure to make him pee himself and beg for forgiveness, or, if he wasn''t at all strong, faint.


    He wouldn''t put a kid in prison, but he would still teach him some manners at the very least.


    And yet¡­


    ''What is this?''


    Honestly, it was baffling, no, it was beyond baffling.


    A kid who couldn''t be older than eleven was resisting the aura of someone at Master-rank.


    Of course, it wasn''t even five percent of his power, but¡­


    ''That''s not supposed to be possible''


    And yet, what he was seeing said it was.


    But that''s not even the most baffling thing about the situation.


    ''What is that aura?''


    This was¡­the ck aura that the kid was emanating was something else.


    It was thick enough to seem like smoke, which was something you''d only see in a war veteran or at least an Expert-rank Knight.


    With such abnormal traits, the man couldn''t help but think¡­


    ''Who is this kid?''


    Now, rather than being angry, he was surprised and amazed too.


    But he was also displeased that he - a Master-rank - couldn''t make the kid kneel.


    And so, he made up his mind.


    ''Hmph! Even so, I''ll have to teach this kid a lesson''


    He increased the pressure a little more as he thought¡­


    ''Let''s see what you''ll do''


    No, he wasn''t a sadist and there were no cruel smile on his lips, but a stone hard face.


    Bard would never admit it, but his pride was wounded at this moment.


    But then again, which Master-rank wouldn''t be?


    And of course, Ezra felt the change immediately.


    "Ughhh"


    He felt his legs go weak and his head grow dizzy.


    But-


    ''No, not yet!'' he thought as he spread his legs and stomped on the floor to make a firm stance, while making sure to push himself.


    He noticed, surprisingly, that he wasn''t yet at his limits.


    ''Sure enough, I''ve grown stronger'' Ezra thought as he clenched his fists, a thin smile growing on his face as he looked at his now sweaty body.


    ''This¡­this is good training!''


    His mindset immediately changed.


    His body was enduring a lot of pressure, but the old man didn''t seem intent on forcing him.


    As Ezra observed, the pressure wasn''t increasing.


    Rather than forcing him to kneel, this almost seemed like-


    ''An endurance test''


    ''Ahh!'' Ezra realized the ploy and raised his head, which was facing the ground till now, and gazed into the eyes of the old man.


    As he thought¡­


    ''He wants to see how far I''ll go''


    And if so¡­


    ''Then I have to make a good first impression''


    Ezra''s smile only deepened, as he felt the inner workings of his body.


    He was using mana to reinforce his body, making it capable of resisting the pressure.


    But that was all, resisting.


    He couldn''t even lift a finger at this moment without causing his body to falter.


    But thinking about it from another standpoint, Ezra thought¡­


    ''What if he was an enemy?''


    Yes! What if the person was an enemy?


    Would he just stand there like a sitting duck waiting to be ughtered?


    ''No, I would have to move, and constantly too''


    And so he began searching his memories for an answer.


    He quickly found many, but-


    ''I can''t use them at this moment''


    -they weren''t viable for his current situation.


    ''I have to use what I have right now''


    So¡­what did he have?


    He had blood coated with poison running through his veins, but¡­


    ''That''ll never reach him, and even if it did, it won''t affect him much''


    He had techniques that would allow him to move momentarily, but¡­


    ''There''s no guarantee that I will be able to get near him, and there''s even less guarantee that I''ll be able to touch, not to mention harm, him''


    Of course, he had overflowing mana and an absurd mana regeneration speed.


    But it was only overflowing for someone at the same level as him, or someone at the entry level of the next rank.


    Comparing him to a Master was like pouring a pool of water into the ocean.


    It would hardly cause more than a ripple.


    But it was also these two traits that were helping him the most now.


    Reinforcing his body with mana was like taking a bath.


    Should the water finish or the tap be shut, the body would eventually turn dry.


    Now though, Ezra could be said to be taking a bath right above a firece.


    The unholy pressure he was feeling is the fire, while the mana he used to support himself from the inside would be the water.


    His body was constantly drying up, before getting wet again.


    This created a situation where his bones kept aching and healing in tow.


    Which was why Ezra thought of training, because his body was being tempered in an odd way.


    ''Wait, training!'' Ezra realized he might be taking his imaginary scenario too seriously.


    ''I can''t attack, no, I can''t even touch him at my current level'' Ezra thought more realistically.


    ''Then¡­what can I do?'' he thought as he looked at his body, his blood, mana and aura.


    ''Wait, aura! That''s it!'' the realization dawned on him and he moved into action.

 Chapter 56 Aura

    ''Wait, aura! That''s it!'' the realization dawned on Ezra and his smile grew deeper.


    Ezra slowed his breath, pushed his focus to the max and closed his eyes.


    Everything seemed to slow down as Ezra focused on resisting, no, countering the crushing pressure.


    The definition of aura differs across ns and kingdoms, but its effects were consistent.


    You could say that it was the projection of mana outside the body, or maybe the projection of a person''s will and intent in the form of mana.


    Sometimes it would manifest unconsciously when one has a particr burst of emotion.


    The color of each person''s aura differs depending on their personality and traits.


    Its uses were numerous.


    Knights used it to enhance their weapons when against monsters with absurd regenerative abilities or anyone they think to be worthy of it.


    Ezra also heard that grandmasters could even make an entire weapon out of aura alone.


    Ezra''s aura was ck because the intent he channeled into it was to grant death to his enemies and to those of his lord at the time.


    The aura he was currently emanating was pitifulpared to what he could do before. Nevertheless, it was enough for what Ezra was about to do.


    Ezra''s aura suddenly spiked, alerting Bard, who only furrowed his brows as he looked on.


    ''Hmm, that''ll make him lose stamina even faster. What is he trying to do?''


    At this moment, Ezra went into action as his aura seemingly melded onto his body, coating it like a second skin.


    After that, Ezra had a thin ck film covering his body, only his head left untouched.


    Ezra looked at it and thought¡­


    ''Not as good as before, but it''ll have to suffice''


    On the other hand, Bard''s stone face totally crumbled as his eyes dted in amazement.


    A boy no more than eleven years old was using aura.


    This alone was enough to have the boy hailed as a genius no matter the ce in the three continents.


    But¡­


    ''For him to even know aura maniption! This! This¡­''


    Bard couldn''t even find the words for it as an unbelievable smile stretched across his face, but it also got him thinking.


    ''There''s no way a boy this good would have appeared without me known of it''


    Which begged the question¡­


    ''Who is he?''


    And without further ado, Bard immediately canceled his aura, making the pressure vanish like a dream.


    This in turn startled Ezra as an iprehensible look made its way to his face.


    "Huh?!" he muttered as he looked at Bard, whose face beamed a proud smile that disoriented Ezra.


    The stark contrast between his former stone hard expression and his face now, which held a smile that almost looked genuine, was like day and night.


    And it spooked Ezra, who would have thought they were different people if he hadn''t seen the transition himself.


    All these thoughts happened in seconds as Ezra canceled his aura just in time to hear the old man''s voice.


    "You, who are you?" the old man asked with an expectant gate as he heard Ezra mutter something.


    "Are all the prince''s this unpopr, or is it just me?"


    Ezra then stared into Bard''s eyes as he slightly bowed while answering¡­


    "I am Ezra Miller, the fourth son of the Emperor''''


    His voice was deep enough to seem authoritative, but neither arrogant nor overbearing.


    Without pausing, he continued¡­


    "I havee to seek guidance on Alchemy from Mr. Bard Vertid, head of the royal alchemists, the creator of five alchemical forms so far, and rumor has it that you''re already on the way to be a grandmaster Alchemist"


    Yes! He was the head alchemist of the Empire''s royal faction, meaning that he was the most reputable, the one known as the most talented, and most especially, the one overseeing almost everything rted to Alchemy.


    A letter from him could put any Nitonian guild for Alchemists out of business.


    Who better to have for a mentor than the best?


    Maybe being a prince wasn''t as bad as he might have thought.


    One might ask why he was just a Master and not a Grandmaster. Let me ask you a question¡­


    Do you think grandmasters are cabbages on the roadside?!


    Sure, more than five alchemy Grandmasters exist throughout the three continents, but how is that enough?!


    In Lexon alone, you have ten kingdoms and one empire.


    That''s eleven different powers. And we haven''t even added the S-rank guilds! Do you expect every power to have one? Because as far as it was known, only two kingdoms and one S-rank guild had a Grandmaster alchemist in Lexon.


    Do remember that these Grandmasters are not from one continent, but from different continents and from different ces.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The loss of a Grandmaster professional was a big blow to any power, no matter how big.


    Of course, the definition of a "big blow" also differed ording to each power.


    Those above the Grandmaster rank existed, but they were few, too few, and far in between.


    So the head alchemist being a Master was not surprising, but expected. It was the fact that he was close to bing a Grandmaster that was amazing.


    Mr Bard, who was being addressed, caressed his beards as his evaluation of Ezra climbed higher.


    ''For someone so young to be so gifted in the art of speech, why did the emperor-''


    His thoughts abruptly stopped as he once again gazed at Ezra. A light of realization shed through his eyes, which turned into ones of shock.


    ''Hold on, he said he was the fourth prince of the emperor just now didn''t he? But the fourth prince¡­the fourth prince, hmm¡­if my memory serves me right, he couldn''t be older than six or seven''


    But why specte endlessly, when you could simply ask.


    "Ezra, I mean, prince Ezra, my memories seem a little hazy. Remind me again, how old are you?"


    Ezra only raised his palm while spreading his fingers to get the message across.


    "You''re five?!" Mr Bard said with an incredible expression.


    It was one thing to guess it, but it was another thing to confirm it.


    But Bard''s mind whirred as he thought¡­


    ''How is this a five year old child?''


    He scrutinized Ezra carefully, from the silver hair to the ck eyes. None of it resembled the Emperor, so he thought¡­


    ''Is he lying? But there was no way to prove it¡­wait, he said he was the fourth prince, the fourth prince¡­so he''s the son of that maid, hmm. More importantly, that means he''s the genius who awakened mana at three''


    He suddenly became rmed at such a prospect.


    Thinking about it now, guards were stationed at the entrance of the underground alchemy chambers.


    So no one without enough authority could just barge in. And as he was a kid, there was no way the guards didn''t see him.


    So for him to be here¡­


    ''He must be telling the truth''


    Honestly, at this point, Bard just gave up. Ezra seemed to be an expert in defyingmon sense. Trying to rationalize it would only give him headaches, which he wanted to avoid. And so, he just decided to go with the flow as he asked¡­


    "So, your highness, what brings you here?"


    Ezra chuckled lightly as he said¡­


    "There''s no need for all that, and¡­ I already told you why I was here"


    Bard''s eyes widened a little as he said¡­


    "You were serious?"


    "But of course. I wish to learn Alchemy. Well, maybe not learn¡­but understand more about it" Ezra said as his demeanor took a U-turn.


    "Oh, in that case,e inside, the hallway is no ce to talk" Bard said as he went into hisir with Ezra in tow.


    The first thing that met Ezra''s gaze was a variety of potions on a shelf lodged into the wall to his left.


    He could identify some of them as healing potions, disguise potions and a few more. But that was all.


    A few meters away from this shelf was another one, filled with books on multiple subjects.


    The wholeir was quite expansive, with two windows (made of metal of course) and a long stone b built on the opposite wall. On it were jars of pills and a row of desks was built underneath it.


    Unlike Ezra expected, the roof was actually not too close to the ground.


    He was sure the old man could jump without his head touching the ceiling. Of course, only if he didn''t reinforce his legs with mana.


    Looking further, a small silver cauldron with runes etched onto it came into view. Beside it was a brown cauldron smaller than the silver one, and from a nce, not as good.


    There was no doubt that they were both high quality items.


    By the time Ezra was done scrutinizing the entireir, he found that Mr. Bard was calmly waiting for him. From the look on his face, Ezra could guess that such a reaction wasn''t anything new.


    *Cough*Cough*


    To hide his fleeting feeling of embarrassment, Ezra coughed before speaking again¡­


    "Thisir looks magnificent, Mr. Bard"


    "Hmm, I always thought so too" Bard shamelessly replied, before pushing towards the topic at hand.


    "Now, that''s enough pleasantries. What exactly does our fourth prince want to know?"


    ¡ª---------------------------


    While Ezra brushed up on the basics of alchemy¡­


    "Alright boys, were here"


    Cabrera was having his own adventure.

 Chapter 57 To The Windless Peaks

    "Haa" Cabrera sighed dryly as he checked himself, thinking back to the n.


    He had told the boys to group up and enter the town in intervals, making sure that each group acts oblivious to the other. They would not talk, or even wave a hand at each other throughout their stay in this city.


    All this was in preparation for what had been nned.


    They were only neen, and had split into three groups.


    Carl was part of thest group, but he was told to go in first.


    And like Cabrera expected, he was immediately tested.


    The whole scene of him fighting with Madur (the guy throwing punches), as well as the looting of Nizar (the stealth thief), especially after cutting off his arm, had already reached the ears of the powers here. And because he attracted so much attention, all the other boys were left alone.


    How did Cabrera know all this when he came inst and without anyone beside him? Well, that would be the work of Fredrick.


    Thinking up to this point, Cabrera was once again awed by Ezra''s n.


    ''Seriously, how does a five year old think of such things?!''


    ? It was a n to have wolves, dogs and wild rats bite each other for scraps while the real gains would go to them.


    To do all of this while seeming inconspicuous was very hard, no, it was on the verge of being impossible, and would have been impossible if not for some key items.


    And to make sure the n would have the highest sess rate even in the case of countless variables, Ezra pulled out every card avable to him.


    One of those cards was, of course, Fredrick.


    Now, do remember that Fredrick was a Knight trainer, one that had taught for seven years before going into retirement.


    It wasn''t because he couldn''t teach anymore, but because Fredrick directly requested it, and a lot of conditions were ced on him because of that.


    Why else would an Expert-rank Knight be living in a cottage?!


    And in seven years alone, he had gained both recognition and acknowledgement. The name "Demon Trainer" was proof of that.


    It showed just how skilled he was, and though Ezra had never seen much of his strength before, no Master-rank was to be underestimated.


    The sparring sessions Ezra and Fredrick had? That was just Fredrick throwing his arms around, and Ezra knew so too.


    As a teacher for seven years, it meant that he had taught many from both noble andmoner backgrounds.


    Unsurprisingly, because of his training methods, not many Nobles had the courage to learn under him, and those that did were mostly the odd ones out.


    Fredrick himself had told Ezra that the ratio ofmoner to nobles amongst his students was 8:1, which spoke of just how much the nobles avoided him.


    In a nutshell, more than half of his students were frommon background, and because of his "torture-like training", the results achieved under him were never mediocre.


    Never mediocre in the sense that all his students would undoubtedly grow. You simply could not survive his teaching without being able to adapt. And from that, Expert-rank Knights were born, frommoners no less, and it was said that they could grow into Masters if groomed properly.


    The empire, which was about to beseech him about his method when a lot of nobleints began piling up, was immediately ecstatic.


    One could simply not have enough Expert-ranks. It was also why he was sanctioned heavily when he mentioned retirement, for they had envisioned him training knights for about ten more years.


    s, it wasn''t going to be so. After persuasion failed, they threatened Fredrick, but he remained adamant.


    And so, they took it as a betrayal of some sort and sanctioned him till they were satisfied, not knowing of his curse. He didn''t say anything either because, should it be known, he would be questioned and the fact that he was a wandering knight before arriving at Niton would then be brought to light.


    For Fredrick, that would lead to too manyplications, so he resigned himself to fate. That is, until he met Ezra.


    Anyway, back to the matter at hand.


    As mentioned above, he taught too many during his seven years as a teacher, therefore, his influence and connections were wide.


    Those connections were what Ezra implemented in the execution of the grand scheme as he simultaneously nned the expansion of the information agency.


    He used capable people rmended by Fredrick to spy, infiltrate and influence various people and ces, while promising them handsome remunerations.


    One of those connections, or one of Fredrick''s former students, was deployed to this city to spy and collect information, while gaining the trust of the powers here.


    He had immediately set up a tavern with the money given to him by Fredrick to use as a hotspot for information.


    Naturally, the fact that he was able to set up a tavern in less than a week indicated that he wasn''t an ordinary person, and so, he sent a gift package with a few silver coins to the powers that upied the city.


    To say it bluntly, he paid protection fees. And when Cabrera arrived, he immediately went there to get more information about the situation.


    How did he know where to go? The name of the establishment was agreed upon by him and Ezra.


    Fredrick''s student, who was the tavern owner, immediately recognized the signal, and so, he quickly debriefed Cabrera.


    ¡ª---------------


    The journey here had left them tired and sleep deprived, so Cabrera told them to get as much rest as needed while he did the same.


    And so, he woke up seventeen hourster, iparably refreshed.


    It was almost sunset when he looked outside, and more importantly¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''It''s time to move''


    Whatever they did from here on out would affect the entire n. But if Cabrera wasn''t sure of himself, he would never havee here in the first ce.


    With that, Cabrera inspected his space ring, before taking out food from within it.


    What? Of course they brought food while traveling. You didn''t expect them to eat the meat of beasts for an entire week, did you?


    The others, like Carl, were given enough money for all necessities, since they couldn''t reach Cabrera while in this town.


    Done with the hearty meal, Cabrera immediately left his hotel, one of the best in the town if I might add, as he made his way back to the gate.


    He and the boys already designated an area for all of them to rendezvous, so it didn''t matter who left the town first.


    He left the town and approached some carriages.


    "Where are you heading?" he asked the coachman.


    "Why should I tell you that?" the coachman asked back.


    "Because I''m heading to the Windless Peaks"


    "Oh" the coachman immediately understood as he nodded and said¡­


    "Well, luckily for you, we''re heading to Avi"


    "Mind if I join you?" Cabrera asked.


    "Well, you see¡­things-"


    The coachman suddenly started acting weirdly, but Cabrera had already figured out his intentions and, without further ado, tossed him six silver coins.


    What happened next was aical scene as the coachman''s attitude immediately took a U-turn.


    "Of course you can join us, please sit over here. The goods are still being loaded, but we''ll be done in a jiffy"


    The coachman pointed to his side at the front as Cabrera sat down.


    Like he said, the carriage took off not long after.


    Cabrera kept observing as he thought¡­


    ''Now that you know where I''m headed, what will you do about it?'' he thought with a smile stretched across his face.


    ¡ª-------------------------


    Meanwhile, In an expansive room, a chubby man with bald hair was reading some written files on a mid-sized desk andrge chair, while another man stood in front of him.


    "Yes boss, they all seem to be heading towards the Windless Peaks"


    "All of them?" the boss asked to re-affirm.


    "Yes, all those who have left, left in the direction of the Windless Peaks" the man reiterated.


    "Hmm, send a team to tail them. Who knows, there must be a reason why there are all going to the Windless Peaks"


    "Right away, boss"


    ¡ª-----------------------


    At the same time¡­


    "What the heck did you do to get your hand cut off?!"


    Nizar was someone known to all the powers in Whittown because of his capabilities as a notorious thief and a skillful assassin of the Night shade gang.


    The number of people that had died at his hands were in the tens, and were climbing by the day.


    So you could imagine the shock when his gang mates found out that his hand had been cut off, and by someone unknown at that.


    Right now, he was being questioned by the boss and, without dy, he exined the story thoroughly. Of course, not without putting some hints to justify his predicament.


    "Hmm" the boss mused over what he had been told, knowing that not all that had been said was true.


    The fact that the assant had been able to cut Nizar''s, who was at the Adept-rank, hand in one strike showed that he was definitely not your average person.


    So, the thousand tinum question was¡­


    ''Where did he, no, where did theye from?''


    And like so, another power had bit the bait without even realizing it.


    All the while, Cabrera and the gang members made their way towards the stage where everything would y out.

 Chapter 58 The Windless Peaks

    "It seems this is where we part ways Mr. Asmund"


    The coachman waved a hand to Cabrera who was using the name Mr. Asmund, before continuing on towards Avi with the mercenaries escorting his two carriages.


    Cabrera merely nodded as he turned and vanished from sight. In the first ce, he didn''t like talking to people he knew nothing about, so, after telling them his name and destination, he kept mute throughout the journey.


    And worst of all-


    ''That man talked too much!''


    -the man never stopped talking.


    ''Well, that''s the end of that'' Cabrera thought as he sighed in relief.


    He then gulped down a disguise potion and his hair and beard color changed, his face also shifting a bit.


    After doing so, Cabrera first and foremost surveyed his location while looking up at the sun.


    Cabrera had boarded the carriage a little after sunset and had been riding for more than twenty hours before getting here.


    Which meant that Cabrera needed to move with haste to the designated location.


    The Windless Peaks.


    As the name implied, it was a mountain range, an expansive one at that.


    There weren''t many mountains, but each one was huge. And the way they were ced mattered too.


    In fact, thend was mostly blocked off by the mountains, making the other side a coastal area, where the Avi Kingdom was located.


    It was the smallest kingdom on Lexon, and more importantly, it could be said that they were encroaching on the Empire''snd.


    Actually, a lot of Nitonians said so.


    The reason why such a small power hadn''t been eaten up or destroyed all this time was four-fold, but that was for another time.


    Right now, Cabrera headed towards a tall, eye-catching building made of wood in a small settlement demarcated by wood poles with sharpened edges.


    From afar, he could already spot dozens of hunting teams or temporary adventure parties doingst minute checks on their gear before going into the forest. Some seemed to be new recruits from different guilds that hade for the experience.


    He could tell because those groups had older people in front them giving instructions.


    This particr ce didn''t have an actual name, it was only called the Missionary outpost, and the building Cabrera sighted from afar was indeed a Missionary.


    Anynd designated as wilderness, which was any ce upied by beasts, was deemed property of the Empire.


    Of course, whoever reported it would be given a specific amount, and sometimes others were allowed to share in the gains of that region. It was akin to having shares in apany.


    Nests or beast regions were ces saturated with a particr sort of beast which had to be culled daily or weekly to prevent an outburst, or worse, a monster wave.


    A nest was a ce where many variants of a single beastid and then began producing offspring at rming rates.


    At first, the beasts would eat others up and grow as they did so, but if the numbers kept increasing, they would sooner ortere out their confined space to look for food elsewhere, thereby shing with human settlements and killing from tens to hundreds.


    There had even been cases of monsters who became addicted to the taste of human flesh.


    But for each demerit, there was an equal merit, which was why a Missionary was built here.


    Beast parts sold for a lot and catching beasts alive was unbelievably hard and rewarding, not to mention the value of Beast Cores. Beasts that were wanted alive were never small fry, but if done, would triple or quadruple the amount of its dead counterpart.


    Grandmasters could destroy nests, and Niton definitely had its share of Grandmasters, yet they didn''t, why? Simple, it was to maintain bnce in the ecosystem.


    Any wilderness deemed too dangerous by the empire was directly eradicated, while those deemed sustainable were then designated as hunting spots for adventurers.


    Sustainable in the sense that an outburst wouldn''t do too much damage to the nearby ces, and that the creatures within that region were worth hunting.


    Once this was known, the empire would first dispatch Knights to cull the monsters to a suitable level while mapping the region out for special nts or unique minerals, and of course, they were to bring back the monster corpses for research.


    How else do you think cksmiths could distinguish the quality of an animal''s skin or how alchemists could make potions and poisons from beast skin and blood? They did research!


    Which was why things like nests and Missionaries sprung up all over the ce.


    At present, any wilderness was a source of money and resources to the ruling power, and to make sure people didn''t try anything funny, Missionaries were established with the aim of securing any wilderness in the name of the ruling power by force or negotiation.


    Which meant that all Niton Missionaries were delegated with authority to act in the name of the ruling power.


    Theplications and consequences of this would only be known in the future, because Cabrera had arrived at the entrance to the outpost.


    Two men with fine clothes made out of red leather were guarding the entrance, their facespletely rigid, each with a metal spear in one hand. Unlike those of Whittown, these two were of simr height, while one had a scar on the left side of his face.


    "Halt" the one Cabrera nicknamed Scarface said as he extended his palm.


    Without a word, Cabrera handed him two silver as the entrance fee.


    Immediately, the two men gave way as they opened the wooden gate to reveal a bustling atmosphere.


    Many wooden buildings were constructed to the left and right sides, while a road was in the middle.


    "Buy your Sattlesnake skin here! 6 silver per piece!"


    "Limited Croxsnake venom for sale! 10 silver per piece"


    "Selling blue leather armor! 45 silver per piece!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Different items were being sold no matter where you looked, from armors to weapons to herbs to potions, there were even multiple gambling dens with all kinds of games and prizes.


    And of course¡­


    "You b*stard, give me back my money!"


    There was the inevitable chaos.


    Cabrera was checking out the merchandise for sale with his eyes while making sure to never stop moving.


    Fredrick had been here once, so he had told Cabrera what to expect, along with the Do''s and Don''ts.


    And as if on point¡­


    "Boy"


    A muscr man with a dark skin tone steeped in Cabrera''s way. His clothes were but an armless brown jacket, which exposed his stomach and trousers of the same color.


    The man was a head taller, so Cabrera had to slightly raise his head to see a bald head with a nose ring on a face that was smiling menacingly at him, a handheld saber resting on his back.


    And in the face of all this, Cabrera asked seemingly confused¡­


    "Who are you?"


    It was no doubt a logical question, but when the thug saw no sign of apprehension or fear, he hailed out and stomped his feet on the floor.


    "I am Baldur, now,e with me" he said with conviction as he ced his hands on Cabrera''s shoulder, intent on dragging him along, only to find himself unable to do so.


    ''Huh?'' he thought with surprise apparent on his face as he looked at Cabrera, who was looking at the hand covering his entire right shoulder.


    By now, bystanders had already noticed and had begun to converse in whispers.


    "Hey, who is that?" a man asked the person beside him, who replied¡­


    "You must be new around here. That''s Baldur, a member of the Red Wolf guild"


    "What about the other guy?"


    "Haven''t seen him before, so he must be new around here"


    "Oh, he''s a newbie. Does that mean Baldur is weak?"


    "No, he''s plenty strong. It''s the newbie that''s stronger"


    Baldur, whose earring was able to catch the whispers, turned his head when he heard "Baldur is weak" and didn''t bother listening to the rest as he unleashed his mana.


    Everyone in the surroundings suddenly came to a stop as those who didn''t notice or couldn''t be bothered about it were now forced to do so.


    The usage of mana wasn''t something anybody could do, the manifestation even more so, which was what Baldur was currently doing, and so people were interested in who had made Baldur use mana. And so, spectators gathered like ants to a feast, with their number increasing by the second.


    Baldur used mana to support his skin, before pressing his palm on Cabrera''s shoulder with increased pressure, intent on making him kneel.


    Yet, instead of doing so¡­


    *Crack*


    The ground was breaking as multiple cracks spread from below the spot Cabrera was currently standing on.


    And after a whole minute since Baldur unleashed his mana, a voice spoke in his ears.


    "Is that all?"


    Baldur, whose head was now filled with sweat, could only look on stupendously as the man whom he was inflicting pressure on did not budge.


    And without waiting for an answer, Cabrera''s hand lit up with an outline of gold as he casually raised the hand pressing down on his shoulder.


    And then¡­


    *BAM!*


    Most of the bystanders couldn''t even follow what happened as the next thing they saw was small pieces of stone flying toward them.


    "Look out" someone shouted as each person used what they had on them to either deflect or avoid the stone pieces.


    After that though, the surroundings suddenly descended into silence.


    The reason why was clear for all to see. It was the cause of the flying pieces of broken stone.


    Baldur was lying on his back with the ground below himpletely shattered. His eyes had turned white, indicating that he was unconscious, while his face was morphed into that of pain as heid limply on the floor.


    Gulps of saliva were heard in the surroundings as their minds were still in chaos regarding the reality they were seeing, before their gazes went back to the one who was the cause of such a scene.


    "Damn it, my clothes got dirty"


    But he wasn''t paying attention to the aftermath of his arm swing or the gazes of those around him.


    He was simply dusting his clothes that had dust all over it. Once he was done, he simply walked forward as if the bystanders didn''t exist, and those in his way immediately cleared a path.


    Without a word, Cabrera headed to his original destination.


    The Missionary.

 Chapter 59 Meeting Fredrick

    Meeting Fredrick


    "So, what did you say your name was?" a petite blonde girl asked the man in front of her.


    "Asmund, Romellu Asmund" the man replied.


    This man was naturally Cabrera in disguise.


    "What type of weapons do you use?"


    "My fists are the best weapons" Cabrera answered with conviction.


    "Ok¡­So, do you mind telling me where you''re from?"


    "Ah, oh that-"


    Cabrera started rubbing his head with an awkward expression as he continued¡­


    "-you see, I am from the mountains on the other side, that is where I have been for a long time, my master taught me-"


    "Ok, I got you, that''s enough" the girl quickly put an end to his heart touching story.


    She then took out a neat card made of wood that read "F-rank" and hastily handed it to him.


    She could sense mana from him, so she gave him an F-rank card instead of a G-rank one.


    "Ah miss, you have my greatest thanks" Cabrera suddenly had stars in his eyes as he inspected the card, before adding¡­


    "I will go now, wish me luck"


    He then turned towards the mission board ced at the side.


    Seeing him finally go, the girl sighed in relief as she clicked her tongue, muttering¡­


    "Another weirdo hase to test how long he can live"


    Cabrera, who heard that, was secretly ted, for it meant that he wasn''t at all suspected.


    He was here to take a prize and then leave others to fight for the scraps.


    Naturally, he couldn''t have others learning of his true identity. A single suspicion could ruin the entire n, or return muchter in the future to bite him in the back.


    After looking at the avable missions for F-ranks, he found nothing worthwhile and left.


    In the first ce, he wasn''t intending to pick one. The path to his goal was something he already knew, which was why he headed out of the outpost towards an unknown ce by making several moves in confusing ways to make sure he wasn''t being followed.


    After more than thirty minutes of maneuvering, he entered the forest at the side, making sure to keep the road in his sights by staying at the edges. He then took out an item that would make the eyes of every adventurer in the outpost shine with greed.


    A spatial ring. And this spatial ring began glowing, before leaning in a certain direction, seemingly being pulled by some maic force, guiding Cabrera to his destination.


    After killing numerous low-rank beasts along the way, he arrived at a ce no different from any other part of the forest, that is, if you ignore the ring pointing straight down.


    Cabrera bent down, but before Cabrera could affirm his suspicions, ayer of dirt rose up and Cabrera found a knife to his neck in the next moment, after which a voice rang out¡­


    "Expect the unexpected-"


    A code was spoken.


    "-and the unexpected bes expected" Cabrera answered without hesitation.


    Only then did the grip holding the knife lessen and a manpletely covered in ck clothing came out, directly removing the cloth covering his face to reveal a man with ck hair and brown eyes.


    Cabrera knew the person in front him was Fredrick, who had left two weeks before them.


    The second spatial ring Cabrera had bought was given to Fredrick, after which they stored an item that would call to each other once they were at a short distance from one another, acting as apass for the two of them.


    Fredrick had a surprised expression on his face as he said¡­


    "You''re here earlier than expected"


    It was a genuine surprise because Fredrick had only arrived a few days ago and he expected Cabrera to arrive three to four dayster.


    "The earlier the better, as I doubt our enemies will take a break"


    "True" Fredrick replied, before looking around only to find nobody.


    But before he could ask, Cabrera gave him an answer.


    "The boys wille here tomorrow, while some should already be in the outpost"


    "Hmm, waiting one more day won''t affect the n and wait-"


    Fredrick suddenly had a realization


    "-This is you screening them for rats?"


    "Exactly" Cabrera affirmed.


    It was somewhat ring to Cabrera ever since the start of the sword training that spies exist among his members. While he already separated the wheat from the chaff, there was no evidence that no traitors remained. And because they already knew that they were being watched more closely, the traitors amongst them had their guards raised up a notch.


    Then, what about after losing too much sleep due to traveling and finally being allowed to rest without supervision?


    The answer was clear. The traitors won''t miss such a chance to deliver information to their organization, and they would have their guards down because they couldn''t imagine that they were still being watched.


    ves that had been bought with Cabrera''s loan money had travelled along with Fredrick and had been assigned to different ces, and Whittown was one of those when he passed by it on his way to the Windless Peaks.


    This was how the bar owner Cabrera had gone to meet had found his way there, and there were many more.


    Cabrera had tasked some of them with monitoring the boys before he came here.


    Those with ulterior motives should be fairly easy to fish out.


    "Speaking of ves, don''t tell me you dispatched all of them, did you?" Cabrera asked.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "No, I didn''t, I''ll have them out when needed" Fredrick said, cutting off any further questions.


    "Ok, have you found the ce?" Cabrera asked.


    "Yes, one of the ves mapped out directions, so tomorrow we move out with or without all your boys"


    "Isn''t that a little risky?" Cabrera asked with a meaningful nce.


    "No, it''s better this way. There would surely be more than one person that noticed you guys"


    "So, you''re suggesting we move as quickly as possible to secure as much as we can before the hyenas can smell the blood?"


    "It''s not a suggestion. We move out tomorrow at noon. All your boys should''ve arrived by then"


    At this moment, an order was given.


    "Ok then, but what do we do until then?"


    "Starting now, we''ll gather as many herbs as we can, but we have to do so secretly" Fredrick said as he turned and headed into the forest, only to find Cabrera unmoving while holding his chin with a thoughtful expression.


    "What is it?"


    "Hmm, I dealt with a nuisance who called himself Baldur. Is there anything I should be watchful about?" Cabrera asked.


    "You did what?!"


    Fredrick thereafter muttered some things under his breath before turning to Cabrera with a serious expression and saying¡­


    "Tell me everything that happened without leaving out a single detail while we walk"


    The duo walked further into the forest with Fredrick taking the lead while Cabrera followed behind him, narrating what happened.


    At the same time, word of Baldur being beaten hands down by a newbie was already spreading at an rming rate.


    ¡ª------------------------------


    In a building at the rear of the outpost.


    "Baldur" a cold voice called out as we see the formerly unconscious man now kneeling down.


    "I''ve heard about what happened, but I want to confirm it directly from you. Tell me everything that happened without leaving a single thing out"


    "There was this guy who I sure was a newbie around here¡­"


    And so, he exined how he tried to teach the man a lesson before being taught a lesson instead.


    "Is that all?" the voice asked, and then another burly man came into view with a wide chest and arge build, a small scar running through his lips.


    "Yes" Baldur, who''s fighting spirit seemed unquenchable, was unbelievably docile at this moment.


    A scene that would render a lot of people speechless, but those who knew the person in front of him would find it natural.


    "Hmm, since he''s a newbie, he must not know who we are, but I can''t let something like this slide else the others would think we''re weak!"


    "Baldur, take four boys with you and find that guy. We will make an example out of him for all those who wish cross us in the future"


    "Yes, sir" Baldur nodded as a smile formed on his face, before hastily moving away as he thought¡­


    ''You''re really dead now''


    ¡ª---------------------------


    While Baldur moved to avenge himself and restore his wounded pride, others moved to do something simr but different.


    At another building in the outpost, anky but not skinny man wearing thin blue armor was standing next to a man sitting with a buff build and a neat look.


    "Vassad, are you sure?" the sitting man asked.


    "Yes, I am. I saw it with my own eyes"


    "A newbie that easily trashed Baldur in one move¡­do you know where he is at the moment?"


    "No sir, should I?"


    "Of course you should. If we''re lucky and he doesn''t have an affiliation, we might gain a powerful member to join our ranks!"


    "But is that actually possible?"


    "We won''t know until we ask, now would we?"


    "So¡­we''re recruiting him?"


    "Do I have to spell everything out for you?! Yes, we''re recruiting him! Now get to work and find everything you can about this guy"


    "Yes Sir!"


    "Well, what are you waiting for, get out!"


    Like so, others moved to find out more about this strong newbie.


    Cabrera and Fredrick only came back to the outpost at sunset, having gathered arge amount of herbs. They then met up with the boys at a designated spot, a restaurant from Fredrick''s memories.


    Only half of boys had arrived at this point, each one unrecognizable after drinking disguise potions, but they affirmed their identity with the code word.


    Thereafter, Cabrera had them give ounts of their stay in Whittown so as to identify any variables that might get in their way.


    With no more to talk about, everyone went to bed in different hotels, while Fredrick double checked on the n arrangements.


    It was finally here, the D-day.


    The day that would decide it all.

 Chapter 60 Muscles For Brains

    "Hoo" Cabrera exhaled, trying to calm his pounding heart.


    A n had been created and the pieces were now in ce. Yet, whether they would seed or not was up in the air. So, they had to make sure to do things right once and for all.


    Cabrera went to the restaurant and, like he expected, the other boys had arrived, only three absent.


    Fredrick arrived shortly after with an entourage of twelve men of different statures. They were the ves Fredrick had bought while passing through some towns.


    None wore armor, but they all looked gruff, with beards and hair at different parts of their bodies. Their clothes looked nothing like what a ve would wear, all for the sake of the mission at hand.


    Fredrick sat beside Cabrera as they revised the n once more, not forgetting to adjust some parts due to some expected variables. Not long after, the group of twenty-six people set off.


    Cabrera made all the boys sign a contract of utmost secrecy, after which the boys went to the missionary to create new adventurer cards with their fake names and fake origins.


    Cabrera, who was calmly waiting outside the building, was approached by 2 people.


    One had a short body and blue hair, while the other was tall and fit, with brown hair and a small brown mustache. Both of them sported a sword strapped to their waist.


    "Hello, are you Mr. Asmund?" the tall man started a conversation.


    "Yes I am, but who are you?"


    "Right, you''re new in town. I''m Arvin and my friend here is Meldor"


    Cabrera calmly evaluated them. He determined that these two were stronger than Baldur and, thinking back to his talks with Fredrick yesterday, he was immediately on guard.


    "Ok, so what do you want?"


    "It seems Mr. Asmund doesn''t like idle chatter. Very well then, I''ll get to the point. I would like to recruit you into the White Iron guild"


    "White Iron guild?"


    "Yes, White Iron guild. We are an uing C-rank guild with the prospect of bing B-rank in the near future. Adequate resources will be given to you ording to rank and potential. From gray-rank armor and mana techniques to those of silver-rank, you won''t find an offer better than this around here"


    "Hmm, that''s a very good offer, but I''m not ready to join any guild for the time being"


    Inwardly, Cabrera was snickering at these two who were waving the word silver in front of him. He wondered how they would feel if they knew he had a gold mana technique. But of course, these were only thoughts.


    Arvin''s face cooled as he added¡­


    "I didn''t mention, but you will also be protected from outside forces"


    Cabrera made the same confused face from yesterday as he asked¡­


    "Why do you think I need protection?"


    "The man you messed with yesterday is not going to let you off easily"


    Cabrera scratched his head like he had forgotten something, before snapping his fingers¡­


    "Oh yes, that guy, bal, bal-what was it again?"


    "Baldur"


    "Ah yes, that''s it, Baldur. He suddenly tried to press me into the ground and I casually threw him away. How is that my fault?"


    Arvin and Meldor both shared a meaningful look. They knew no one would care who was right or wrong, only who was stronger.


    Might is always right. It is thew Oranians lived by.


    Arvin was about to admonish him for his ignorant ways when Cabrera said¡­


    "And if he thinks I''m easy to bully, then he cane for a rematch anytime"


    ''This could also work. After the Red Wolves beat him up, I''ll step in to save him. By then, his pride would''ve been knocked down a notch, making further negotiations easier'' Arvin thought.


    He removed a coin carved with a white sword and handed it to him, saying¡­


    "If you change your mind, you only need to bring that to the White Iron guild hall"


    Without another word, he turned away with Meldor in tow and quickly vanished from Cabrera''s sight.


    Cabrera only nced at the coin once before discreetly throwing it away. He was also a guild master, so why would he join another person''s guild?


    Yet it seemed trouble was searching for him today.


    Not long after Arvin and Meldor left, Cabrera heard a familiar voice behind him.


    "Bondoc, that''s him, that''s the guy"


    Cabrera turned around only to find Baldur, but this time he was with four other men that had simr statures to him, but were shorter and more muscr.


    Everyone wore blue armor and had an ax strapped to their backs.


    They arrived in front of Cabrera in no time and one even used his finger to hit his chest provocatively as he said¡­


    "So you''re the one messing with our guild mate. Tell you what, kneel and beg for forgiveness right now and we might not beat you to death"


    "Hahaha, good oned"


    "Right, the bastard should apologize. Maybe we might spare some part of him"


    "Of course he should beg"


    The other threeughed hysterically at their colleague''s words as they stared menacingly at Cabrera.


    Baldur, who had his ass handed to him yesterday, was looking on with a malicious grin.


    Seeing all this, Cabrera gave up any thoughts of reasoning with these people. It was clear as day that they weren''t good people, and their brains were filled with nothing but muscle.


    He even wondered if their guild master was like the fools in front of him, before bursting intoughter at the incredulousness of the situation, not even trying to cover the ridicule in his gaze.


    "Hahaha"


    At the sight of such a farce, the fourughing brothers immediately had their smiles wiped away. From their bodies, killing intent that caused even Baldur to flinch gushed out.


    And yet, in front of all this¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Hahaha, you guys are hrious, you know that?"


    Cabrera didn''t even bat an eyelid before using his hands to wipe it aside like an annoying fly.


    "Do you idiots not know where you''re currently standing?"


    At the word ''idiot'', one of them immediatelyshed out with a punch, only to be pulled back by the others beside him.


    "Gandez, calm down. We are in front of the Missionary!"


    Only then did Gandez look at the wooden building in front him as his expression turned into one of fear. Within seconds, beads of sweat began falling down his face, when Cabrera''s voice once again rang out.


    "It seems not all of you have muscles for brains, what a pity"


    The Missionary acted on behalf of the ruling power by guarding their interests. But it also meant that they held substantial power.


    The head of each branch Missionary was called Admiral, while the overall head, or the head of the headquarters located in the capital, was the Sentinel.


    Missionaries were responsible for registering adventurers and promoting them in rank. Which meant that they could also revoke their membership or demote them.


    They were responsible for registering ns and guilds and their promotions, and in tow, could demote guilds and ns.


    Of course, each one of these functions has its limits.


    As for how guilds were promoted in rank? Each mission on the mission board rewarded money and merit points. And from F-rank upwards (because G isn''t really considered as a rank), a set amount of merits must be umted to be promoted.


    Each promotion allowed ess to risker missions that gave more merits and money.


    It was a simple case of high risk / high reward. And most importantly, the Empire gave a set amount of money to any affiliated adventurer, guild or n at or above D-rank.


    In return, the Empire could forcefully mobilize any mercenary, guild or n for a single mission once a month.


    Now, the Red Wolves Baldur was from was a mere D-rank adventure guild, something Cabrera learned from Fredrick.


    Along with them, there were four other powers that had a base here.


    Had Gandez destroyed even a small part of the building, it would only take a word from the Admiral for him to be demoted back to F-rank, with all his former merits discarded. And that was if he was lucky.


    If he was unlucky, he could have himself put on probation, with his adventure card seized for a time. And while this didn''t sound all that bad, adventure cards had numerous uses, from lobbying some auctions to entering some ces.


    But couldn''t he just drink a disguise potion like Cabrera and get another one?


    Do you really think it would be that simple?! If it was, then the authority of the Admiral would be but a joke.


    If he was put on probation, runes would be attached to his skin to prevent him from running to another kingdom or, like Cabrera, taking another identity.


    Just thinking about it made his blood run cold and his body shudder as he looked into the eyes of Cabrera, who stared back in turn.


    Yet, this time this man in front of him seemed like a beast.


    His carefree expression had given them the impression of easy prey, and he was this close to falling into a deadly trap without the other party doing anything.


    There was only one word Gandez could think of.


    Terrifying! Absolutely terrifying!


    He suddenly felt that it would be better to leave Cabrera alone.


    But it seemed demons were haunting him, because¡­


    "Look at this brat, using a building as a shield. I dare you toe and face me"


    "Weasly b*tch, hiding behind other things is what girls do!"


    "Girly b*stard! Face us if you dare!"


    The others didn''t see what just happened in the same way as he did.


    They only saw it as a weak man ying tricks and, because that trick actually worked, they were seething with rage, using all sorts of nasty words to provoke Cabrera.


    Yet, Cabrera only used his pinkie to wipe dirt from his ear as he turned to the side to see some of his boys looking at him and said in a voice loud enough for the Red Wolf guilders to hear¡­


    "Some smelly dogs are whining in my ears, but then again, what was I expecting from people with muscles for brains"


    The boys couldn''t make up a reply as their killing intent skyrocketed, but that was it.


    They didn''t dare to take action for fear of damaging the Missionary, so they burnt his face in their minds and left. Of course, not forgetting to destroy some shops along the way.


    They would be back. After all, he couldn''t possibly stay there all day, and when he left¡­hehehe, no words were needed for what would happen next.


    No sooner had they left when all the boys were done registering and Cabrera led them out of the outpost and to Fredrick, who was waiting in front of the forest.


    _____________________


    "Meldor, what do you think?"


    Arvin and Meldor had stayed at a corner and had watched the whole scene with Cabrera and the Red Wolf members.


    "Well, he certainly has guts" Meldor replied.


    "But does he have the skills to back them up?"


    "So, what do you want to do?" Meldor asked.


    "Easy, we''ll check them ourselves. Send someone to tell those five that Asmund has gone into the forest"


    Meldor had a scary smile on his face as he said¡­


    "That''ll be fun to watch, but you know we can''t let him die"


    "Of course, that''s why we''ll follow them and save the guy if he''s about to get killed"


    Like so did others n while Cabrera had no clue of theing danger.


    Although, whether it was really dangerous was still up in the air.

 Chapter 61 Strings Of Fate

    *Rustle*Rustle*


    The sound of rustling bushes rang out in a forest, but it was drowned out by a multitude of other sounds.


    The cause of this constant rustling was a party of twenty-six.


    This was naturally Cabrera''s party and Fredrick''s ves. They had entered the forest not too long ago and were heading to the ce they were looking for.


    After reaching a suitable distance, Fredrick stopped and Cabrera inspected the area, before taking out his spatial ring. From it came dozens of bronze-rank armor for the boys, who had only taken their swords with them from Whittown.


    Fredrick had already armed the ves with peak quality bronze wears, which were dark blue in colour, and weapons, white swords with ck hilts.


    "Alright boys, pick a set. You have a minute to gear up!"


    Most of the boys looked speechlessly while some face palmed. It took a few seconds to register the meaning of those actions, but when he did, his face suddenly turned red with embarrassment.


    He had told everyone to keep silent, yet he went ahead and shouted.


    They didn''t reply, but hastily moved to pick a set, trying to be as quiet as possible, not because they were disrespectful, but because they were trying to be discreet.


    Cabrera also used this time to put on his armor. A white suit of armor made its appearance at this moment with a gray coloured gauntlet, both of them at silver-rank.


    At the helm of the party was Fredrick with casual wear¡­peak quality casual wear. He was a Master at the mid stage, which was at least A-rank. In a den of D and C-rank beasts, what exactly was he supposed to be afraid of?


    It took a few minutes for the boys to put on their ck armor sets and white swords, after which, Fredrick brought one of the ves to the front. It was a young man with gray hair and a tall but slim stature. He began speaking iprehensible words and, not long after, a snake that was three meters long and covered in ck scales approached the party, who immediately unsheathed their swords.


    "Wait!" said Fredrick as we see the snake move up to the man chanting and coil around him slowly, letting the man pet its skin.


    If they hadn''t seen the snakee from within the forest, they would have thought it was his lost long pet. Since they had seen it, then there could only be one exnation¡­a Beast Tamer!


    Cabrera looked around and, apart from the ves who didn''t have much of a reaction, most likely because they had known beforehand, the rest seemed to have arrived at simr conclusions.


    This while the man and snake duo conversed with one another, which answered another one of their questions as it was a trait exclusive to Shapeshifters, something rarely found in Niton or even Lexon. And while most of his origins were unconfirmed, one thing was sure though, he must have cost a pretty penny.


    At this moment, the snake uncoiled itself before moving in another direction.


    "So? How should we move?" Fredrick asked.


    This was the method he had used over the past few days to find the ce they were looking for, as well as to map out the path and the beasts they might encounter along the way, while still concealing his presence.


    "It''s the same as yesterday, but a tree snake has nested near one of the paths" the gray haired man replied.


    "Good job" Fredrick praised as he hit the man''s back, before suddenly asking a flurry of questions¡­


    "Did you leave any path or trace for someone or something to follow?"


    "No"


    "Did you map out the best possible path for us to take?"


    "Yes"


    "Did you nt a trap in any way?"


    "No"


    "Did you inform anyone apart from those in this party, either openly or secretly, about the n?"


    "No"


    "Did the cave you found have all that I described in it?"


    "Yes"


    "Do you hate me?"


    "No, because you took more care of me than any other other person I''ve known"


    Fredrick exhaled after hearing the answers, before turning to the party and giving instructions.


    "Line up in pairs. We will be advancing into the farthest end of the forest. You will stick together as a single line at all times or you will die, because deviating from the group will immediately have you killed"


    He paused for a few seconds to peruse their expressions and, unsurprisingly, it wasn''t good. Of course, the fact that no one was whining orining wasmendable, but Fredrick wasn''t going to give them a chance to object.


    "No sound except those of your feet should be heard, or else you risk beasts swarming our location" he said and gestured to Cabrera, who immediately began distributing two vials containing a transparent liquid to each member. The moment he was done, Fredrick continued.


    "What you have just been handed is called the Blood Boiling Potion. To use it, you will pour the contents on the surface of your de after you have made a sizable wound in whatever beast we might face. After striking the wound with the de, well the rest is history. But be careful as its effects don''tst long, only two minutes at most. Do not, and I repeat, do not, let it touch your skin, especially if you have a wound. If you do, the consequences are beyond dire. And now that that''s done, we move" Fredrick turned around and immediately began marching with the beast tamer leading the way, but Cabrera quickly gave some additional advice.


    "This is it boys, what we practiced for. Don''t let fear cloud your judgment. You have all grown mentally and physically, so be proud. The time hase for you to show the fruits of your training, do not disappoint me, and more importantly, do not disappoint yourself. You have toiled with your blood and sweat, not because of anything else, but because you strive for a better tomorrow. We shall sail through the ranks to shock the world. To reach that goal, this is the first challenge. Will you, after practicing till your hands grew numb, cower in fear? Or will you show these vermin called beasts who the real predators are?"


    At this point, all forms of hesitation had been wiped away, because it hit them deeply. And then, one spoke up. It was Carl.


    "I don''t know about you brothers, but I did not get my ass handed to me by a bunch of spoiled brats for over a month only to head back empty handed. Who''s with me?"


    "We are" they said in a low tone.


    As he heard thest statement, Cabrera''s head spun with ideas and he spoke¡­


    "You will stay in line and you will fight in pairs. The pair who performs best will get a weapon of dark gold-rank or something of equivalent value"


    If all the speeches till now had ignited a burning fire inside them, this announcement caused an explosion big enough to burn a forest in their minds.


    They were visualizing how they would kill any beast that came their way.


    Cabrera nodded, before saying¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Now go, or you might get left behind"


    The boys nodded and hastily followed the ves who were already a distance away, because Fredrick hadn''t stopped for even a second after he was done talking.


    Cabrera took his position at the end of the line, watching over the boys as they made their way across the forest.


    The beast tamer had snakes search arge part of the forest for a cave containing items worth more than Cabrera''s loan. After that, he made them scout several routes that led there for the one with the least amount of monsters.


    Their goal was to get to the cave as fast as possible, so monsters were to be avoided.


    But this was where the terrifying trait about the beasts in this forest came into y.


    It was a forest filled with a myriad of snakes, and most snakes didn''t have good eyesight or hearing in the first ce, rather, they tasted the air to catch the whiff of prey.


    What do you think would happen when more than a dozen heat signatures passed them by?


    That answer would be the current scene, as snakes up to six meters long numbering up to fifteen moved side by side towards the congregated prey, and this was from just one side of the forest.


    But then, it wasn''t just snakes that were tagging along.


    At the outskirts of the forest was the familiar group of five muscr men, but this time, they all wore blue suits of armor with an ax and shield strapped to their backs, while Baldur held his trusty saber and a shield.


    "You saw him go through here?"


    Bondoc, the leader of the group, asked the adventurer in front of him.


    "Y-Yes, I did. They went in about an hour ago with lots of other guys. They were, let''s see-"


    He said as he muttered numbers while looking at his fingers, before giving an answer.


    "-about thirty. Yes, that should be right"


    "Hmm, well, this could get troublesome" Baldur muttered. After all, they had no way of knowing if they were just temporary party members, or a team.


    "So, what do we do?" Baldur asked Bondoc.


    "Go and report to the boss, but hurry, I don''t want them to get far" Bondoc replied, and Baldur hurried to the boss, while hoping the boss won''t be in too much of a bad mood.


    Meanwhile, on a building slightly taller than the outpost gate, a man could be seen looking through a blue telescope with runic carvings on it.


    This man was Arvin.


    "Well?" and beside him was Meldor.


    "They went to bring more members. Probably to threaten the group so they don''t interfere, or kill them all if they do" Arvin replied as his forehead creased a little.


    "But didn''t you say we couldn''t let the guy die?"


    "Yeah, we can''t, so ask the guild master to borrow us thirteen guys"


    "Just to save a recruit? No, a potential recruit?!" Meldor asked, not hiding the shock in his voice.


    "If we save him, then he has to join us, else we can do Red Wolf a favor and cripple him ourselves"


    "But why are you willing to go so far?" Meldor asked.


    "I don''t know, but there''s something special about him, my instincts are telling me so"


    *sigh*


    "If you say so, then I guess I have no choice"


    Normally, Meldor wouldn''t even consider such a farce, but if it was Arvin, someone who had already discovered a lot of talents in the past, who was saying this. It seems the man was really special.


    ¡ª-----------------------------------


    Somewhere nearby, a group of three men covered in ck clothing were tailing Fredrick''s party. More specifically, they arrived here while tailing Carl, who cut off one of their members'' hands.


    Yes, they were indeed members of Nightshade.


    ¡ª------------------------------------


    In another part of the forest was an adventure party of ten, three female, seven male, all with different armors and weapons.


    And at this moment, one of their party members, a girl with green clothes hanging on a tree with a bow and arrow, spotted a line of people who moved like a snake across the forest, dodging multiple habitats of predators along the way.


    "Hey guys, look there" she said to the others on the ground.


    A momentter, they also saw therge group moving through the gaps of some sleeping predators, an anomaly for sure.


    And so the girl asked¡­


    "Should we follow them?"


    "Let''s see where their heading" the leader in white armor replied without hesitation.


    And so they tagged along.


    ¡ª---------------------------------


    The strings of fate were moving in a funny manner, as all these elements moved independently, but would give rise to a fantastical weave of events that would send the empire into a crescendo of chaos.


    And all this while the Mastermind was dozens of kilometers away.

 Chapter 62 Negotiating

    "Now, that''s enough pleasantries. What exactly does our fourth prince want to know?"


    "I want to make a deal" Ezra replied.


    Bard''s eyes glinted as he raised his eyebrow and said¡­


    "If you want to ask for a favor, that''s all right, but a deal can only be made when two people have an item the other needs. Tell me, what is it that you have that I might need?"


    "That''s true, let''s see, what could I possibly have that you might need. I don''t know, hmm¡­maybe a never before seen alchemy form?"


    Bard inwardly sneered at what he thought to be a child''s prank as he replied with a toneced with ridicule¡­


    "Oh really, and what does your ''never before seen form'' do?"


    "Hmm, you don''t seem to believe me, do you? Well, I wouldn''t have believed myself either, so instead, just give me paper and a mana pen. You''ll be begging me soon enough"


    Bard briefly felt that maybe he was actually telling the truth, but he quickly wiped away such ridiculous thoughts. Even he, a bona fide master, hadn''t created one yet. He had only been able to modify those that already existed.


    He was certainly close to doing so, but that was it, close. And now, a five year old boy said that he had already done it? There might not be a bigger joke than this one.


    So, without hesitation, he handed a pen and some brown paper to Ezra, who immediately began scribbling. After four minutes¡­


    "Here"


    ¡­he handed it to Bard, before crossing his hands and looking on as the Head of Alchemists turned the page as if looking for something.


    Bard immediately took out a book, an encyclopedia of sorts. It was a book filled with diagrams of nts and animals he had researched over the years.


    With renewed fervor, he began flipping the pages from to left to right and right to left, asionally stopping at some pages as he let his finger follow the writing while he muttered and ruminated on different things before cross checking Ezra''s note.


    The culprit, Ezra, had gotten himselffortable on a recliner at the wall side as he watched Bard asionally scratch his head with a bewildered expression, which bordered the line of madness.


    After ten whole minutes, Bard sped the book shut and took a seat on a stool nearby to calm his nerves. There were beads of sweat all over his face.


    The next moment, he turned his gaze to Ezra, but unlike before, his eyes shone with greed like he had found a unique treasure.


    A momentter, he was in front of Ezra with his hair now disheveled and his face holding a mad grin as he directly grabbed Ezra and shook him as he asked¡­


    "Where is the rest of it?"


    Yet, Ezra seemingly paid him no mind as he said¡­


    "Mr. Bard, I am a prince of the Empire.It would do you no good if something happened to me. So, I suggest you control yourself, before doing something that put your career to a stop"


    With such words, Bard regained a sense of rity as he removed his grip, tidied his hair, and regained his former demeanor.


    "I am sorry the prince saw such a disgraceful side of me, I humbly ask for forgiveness"


    But he got an unexpected response.


    "It seems Mr. Bard has misunderstood my intentions. I am not angry at all, as I believe any other alchemist would''ve done the same, if not worse. I am d that even in the face of such temptation you are able to control yourself, is that clear?"


    "Yes, your highness"


    "Now, what about what I said before about making a deal. Do you think I have something someone such as you might need?"


    "Without a doubt" Bard replied.


    "Good, but first, I want to ask, do you know why I came here instead of going to the vice head, or maybe an elder alchemist? Surely, you must know that I would have been sessful with any of them, don''t you?"


    For the first time, Bard wondered if he was really speaking with a child. Nevertheless, he quickly gave a reply, after all, he could do nothing if Ezra decided to go somewhere else.


    "Because I''m the head alchemist. I have more resources, more connections and, if do I say so myself, far more authority than any of those you just mentioned"


    Ezra nodded as he said¡­


    "It''s good that you know your worth, but here''s another question, what do you think I, a prince of the empire, need from you? Because, like you said, deals can only be made when you have something the other party needs. And, oh yes, I do remember a rumor about something between you and your vice"


    Bard furrowed his brows as he replied¡­


    "I do not know what your highness needs, only you know. As for the other question, as you said, they are but rumors, no more"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ezra cracked a smile, this guy was good. The first question had been targeted as triggering his greed.


    What Ezra said meant "bring out something of equal worth to an alchemy form" and there was no way a head alchemist wouldn''t have treasures even Ezra would get greedy for. Yet, he simply said "I don''t know what you want, you have to tell me what it is".


    This made sure that he didn''t reveal a treasure unknown to Ezra and, at the same time, judged if Ezra actually knew the value of the form, covered up any weaknesses Ezra might exploit to get the upper hand in the negotiation.


    But Ezra had certainly done his investigation. So, he just stood up and said¡­


    "Is that so? I guess the vice head won''t mind helping me then"


    ¡­before heading for the door.


    "Wait!" Bard, who stood expressionless before, quickly arrived in front of him as he continued,...


    "You don''t have to be so hasty. Why don''t you sit down and let us talk this out like gentlemen?"


    "There''s nothing more to discuss. I''m sure the vice also has connections, resources and authority second only to you, am I right?"


    At this point, Bard''s expression had taken a nosedive. His poker face hadpletely crumbled as he clenched his fists hard and said¡­


    "Just tell me what it is you want and I''m sure we can work out a deal"


    Ezra looked at him from head to toe before clicking his lips¡­


    "Tch, tch, you still don''t get it, do you? I''m the one with the reins in this negotiation, so show me items worth my time or I''m going to meet the vice, and I''m sure he''ll be a lot more weing. So what will it be? You have thirty seconds to decide"


    At this moment, Bard knew he hadpletely lost in this negotiation. The best thing he could do would be to bring out items and hope Ezra wouldn''t be able to distinguish trash from treasure.


    "All right, I get it. Just sit there while I get my items out"


    Within minutes, a flurry of items were neatly arranged on the floor as Ezra looked at Bard. He had already understood the current farce, yet, he didn''t object to it because the man would have never imagined that Ezra had an ability called Mana Vision. Instead, heid out the rules-


    "Make sure to bring out all your items. I''ll be picking only ten, with the condition that you''ll have to do ten things for me"


    Bard could only nod, because, like Ezra said, the vice head was currently trying to take away his position on ount that he hadn''t created any new forms in thest ten years.


    What he didn''t know was that Ezra wasn''t as knowledgeable as he seemed.


    He knew that something was going on between the head and the vice head, but he didn''t know exactly what it was. It was Bard''s reaction that gave him away unknowingly.


    But there was no use crying over spilled milk now, was there? He could only empty all his cupboards and ce every item on the floor for Ezra to pick, not forgetting to clean everything till they were all shining so as to confuse Ezra even more.


    But, at the end of this day, he would find himself feeling very depressed despite having gained the form he was so much in need of.


    Once he was done, he moved to the side, before pulling out a shining gold scroll, an item Ezra recognized even without mana vision. It was a soul scroll, one of Gold-rank. Bard scribbled on it, before hastily handing it to Ezra, who looked surprised and said¡­


    "I''m surprised that you would bring a scroll of such quality for our deal"


    "I''m only showing the sincerity I should have shown from the start" Bard replied.


    Ezra only nodded, before taking the Gold scroll and slowly reading through its contents. He was surprised to find no sign of Bard trying to outsmart him. The written text was crystal clear and he even went to the extent of writing that severe torture of the soul would be applied to the party that breached the contract.


    It baffled Ezra at first, but he realized something. Bard was more desperate for the form than he let show. And so, he hastily wrote the contract before Ezra could change his mind once again.


    Too bad for him as Ezra saw right through his ruse and changed it from ten conditions to fifteen conditions. And, as he thought, Bard was desperate, because he could only grit his teeth and sign.


    Ezra briefly thought of increasing it once more, but he didn''t want to test his luck. Pushing a man against the wall would have more counterproductive effects than productive ones. So he signed it and the contract turned into particles, binding both souls.


    For the next few minutes, both parties stood unmoving as they digested the reality of what had just taken ce. And, without Bard saying anything, Ezra took the paper where he wrote the first half of the form and hastily scribbled the remaining half onto it, before handing it back to Bard.


    As for whether Bard would leak the events that just transpired? There was no possibility of such, because he had included that neither he nor Ezra could tell another soul about today''s event and that Ezra could never share the form with another soul.


    After all, Bard intended to make himself the known creator of the form. What would happen if one day it was discovered that it was a lie? His reputation being buried in the ground would be the least of his problems.


    This also meant Ezra could never attribute himself as the creator of the form, but in truth, he never was. He learned it in the Empire where he waster betrayed.


    He considered it to be a small part of his revenge.


    Now that it was done, It was time to reap the gains.

 Chapter 63 Loyalty

    <Ezra''s POV>


    As Iid my eyes on the pile of shiny objects, I felt my greed spiking as I thought of stealing everything in front of me, but then I remembered the stated punishment for whoever breached the contract and wiped away such thoughts without hesitation.


    With that out of the way, I took another look at the pile, this time inspecting every item slowly. One thing was for sure, the amount of trash far surpassed the treasures.


    A saying that I hadn''t heard in a long time came to mind, "Not all that glitters is gold".


    But, in reverse, it also meant that things that didn''t glitter could be gold.


    Taking a deep breath, I activated mana vision and the scene in front of me turned blue, the color of mana. The brightness of each item would indicate if it was treasure or trash. Though I call it trash, the shabbiest item would sell for at least ten gold.


    While I looked, I also kept in mind that the treasures, as good as they might be, may not be helpful to me or for the personal army I''ll be raising through Cabrera''s guild.


    Yes, you heard me right. I knew what wasing, from the age of war to theing of the otherworld monsters and dungeons. There were things I simply could not handle on my own. I would need loyal and, most importantly, strong subordinates behind me.


    Bing Emperor would grant me the army of Niton in its entirety, but there were too many things wrong with that n, from the nobles who would no doubt try everything to stop me from bing the Emperor, and would hinder me after I did, to the countless army men who were already dogs of nobility, and many more.


    Nobles are self-gratified fools who lived off the fear and the awe frommoners, when in fact, their lives could be said to be even more pitiful as they constantly fought, trying to achieve ambitious and outrageous goals. Goals they would go to any length to seee to fruition, which was a major reason for the downfall of many, many powers.


    But I threw those thoughts to the back of my head when I caught sight of something shining blue like no other. And the most baffling thing was that it wasn''t an item, but the tiled floor!


    It wasn''t exactly the floor, but something below it.


    It took but a moment to figure out that it was an underground passage leading somewhere, but I did not know where.


    So, I deactivated mana vision and turned to face Bard, who was staring at me like a hawk, carefully watching to see which of his things I would take.


    "There''s an underground passageway underneath here"


    Bard''s eyes widened in surprise, before he quickly regained hisposure and said¡­


    "So?"


    A vein popped out of my head at his ridiculous acting.


    Nevertheless, I calmed myself and looked things over rationally.


    There was never a part in the contract that forced him to tell me his secrets¡­that''s it!


    I had fifteen requests I could ask him to do. What I had in mind was different, and there was a ny percent chance that Bard never thought of it. Or maybe he did, but it wasn''t something an ordinary five year old boy could evere up with.


    Too bad, I was anything but ordinary.


    Unknowingly, a wicked grin had formed across my face as I asked¡­


    "Mr. Bard, could you hand me another piece of paper?"


    Bard suddenly had an ominous feeling. This was how he had been humiliated into signing a very one-sided contract, at least in his opinion.


    But what could he do when he woke from his reverie only to see Ezra already scribbling away, before stretching the paper to him.


    With a trembling hand he snatched the paper. He could feel that it would not do him any good, yet he still took the paper and read through.


    And, sure enough, his instincts were true. His face turned grave like a flower sucked of all its dew.


    I couldn''t care less though. A deal was a deal, and what was written in the note was something that helped him more than me, so I asked¡­


    "What is your answer?"


    Bard looked at me and the note in his hand for a whole minute and sighed, before saying¡­


    "You, you must be the son of a demon king. That''s it, isn''t it?"


    What I wrote on the parchment was simple. If he didn''t want me tomand "Tell me all your secrets from the day you were bo he better open up all the passageways and the secretpartment where he kept his real treasures.


    It was at this moment that Bard realized what a blunder he had made. To have written in the contract "and any additional fifteen requests" was a grave mistake.


    I didn''t personally care about his secrets, but I was sure he wouldn''t want to reveal them. You can''t climb to the top without stepping on someone below, so he was bound to have secrets.


    Bard gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as multiple veins popped up on his skin. He did so for another minute, beforeing back to his normal self. He then used mana to move the items that were on the floor to the wall side, after which, he approached his bookshelf and pulled a book, and then the ground shook.


    A momentter, as I found my bnce, I saw the floor opening up. The tiles fold and then a stairs leading downwards reveals itself.


    Bard looked at me and then took the lead as he said¡­


    "Follow me"


    But, before he could go far, I remembered something and hastily said¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Imand you to switch off all traps from this door-"


    I said pointing at the door to their.


    "-along with all those you know of among these walls"


    It seemed I had read his mind as he grumbled under his breath and put his hand on the wall nearby.


    "Whew" I said to calm my nerves, for I would have been a goner if I hadn''t said to shut down the traps.


    After all, he was only requested to open the passageway. Nothing stated that he needed me alive. If his aim was to kill me, then what was down here was bound to be extraordinary.


    The traps were gone, as he couldn''t defy what would be term in the contract, and so was one of my fifteen requests.


    I stepped on the stairs made of stone and tiptoed a little to make sure the traps were gone, before moving forward with fervor and catching sight of Bard looking at me with a nasty expression as he said¡­


    "Are you trying to ruin me?"


    I think I pushed him too hard. I needed to use the right dose of carrot and stick so he doesn''t do something stupidter on.


    "You know much about me, and now I know much about you too. If I''m not wrong, then something must have happened for you to need that form so much"


    Bard''s eyes glinted dangerously as the boy had deduced the truth, but he didn''t say anything. That was a clear yes to Ezra, so he continued.


    "You make it seem as if I''m robbing you when, in fact, I could be considered to be on the losing side of this deal. First and foremost, as soon as you reveal the form, your reputation will skyrocket. After that, you''ll gain a thirty percent cut of all taxes imposed by the Empire on whoever makes the product. You''ll be gaining money without doing anything. Then, your position as Head Alchemist will also be all but guaranteed. So tell me, what exactly are you angry about?"


    "Hmm" only now did Bard''s memories refresh. He closed his eyes and, when he opened them, his gaze of hatred was no more, and neither was his cold gait he had been maintaining all this while. But something baffled him once more as he asked¡­


    "Are you sure you''re five years old?"


    "Do I look like I''m fifty to you?" Ezra replied sarcastically, before throwing forth a question.


    "What would you be willing to do for another alchemic form?"


    It was a ridiculous question that would make other alchemists sneer with locks of utmost disdain, but Bard did none of that. Instead, he held his chin as he contemted, before saying¡­


    "I can give you many things, but¡­what is it, someone like you, a prince of the empire, and a boy who seems to have been born with alchemy forms, wants from a lowly me?"


    For the first time since they met, which was just hours ago, Bard voluntarily lowered his head towards Ezra as he bowed in an upside down L shape.


    Ezra nodded in acknowledgement, not because he enjoyed the ttering (which he did), but because Bard was just the kind of person he was looking for.


    Bard acknowledged that the person in front of him had many things he needed, and was willing to put down his pride in order to improve. A trait one would expect from an old man, and more importantly, the head alchemist.


    So, Bard remained bowing as he awaited Ezra''s reply, which came soon after.


    "What I want¡­is something only you can give. It is your Loyalty!"


    "Mr. Bard, tell me. Can you take this boy, who is only five years of age, as your lord?!"


    When Bard heard this, his mind went nk for a moment before regaining its bearing.


    His mind wandered off as he recalled the events of the past hour.


    He, the head Alchemist, was suppressed in every way during the negotiations. And while he could say it was because of the matter between him and the vice, such an excuse was too shallow even for him.


    He had his arrogance as a master alchemist wiped away when he saw the form and his pride deted along with it, and then came forth resentment and unwillingness. Unwillingness to ept the reality in front of him.


    But when Ezra exined all the benefits he would get from the one form, his mind that had been going through all sorts of emotions calmed down. And when he looked at things objectively, he found himself feeling an emotion he had never felt before¡­envy! Envy at Ezra''s talent. Even though he never said he created it himself, Bard had subconsciously believed so.


    Bard took a look at himself and felt pathetic. The head alchemist was acting so disgraceful in front of a child. But now that he sorted his thoughts, a smile came over his face.


    He had been living off his fame and glory for so long that he had forgotten that people better than him, far better, existed. And when he met one, he didn''t want to ept it.


    But now he had epted it, and he was deeply humbled. The reason he had pursued alchemy wasn''t for fame or women, it was purely because of passion.


    Researching the unknown was something he loved. It seemed luck had shined on him today and brought someone who could light his path. Yet, he was angry.


    Bard felt that the himself of a few minutes ago really deserved a beating.


    With this realization, he bowed his head without hesitation.


    Yet, it seemeddy luck wasn''t done, for in the next moment, an opportunity to redeem himself while allowing him gain the knowledge from the alchemic prodigy was presented to him.


    Bard''s answer¡­was already decided!

 Chapter 64 Bard The Subordinate

    "I am" Bard replied.


    "You are what?" Ezra asked.


    "I am willing and will henceforth take you as my lord!"


    "Huh?"


    Ezra was dumbfounded.


    Honestly, he only said that to probe his reaction. After all, since when were things so easy? One minute Bard was trying to kill him, and the next, he''s saying yes to bing a subordinate, really? Did he think he was that stupid?


    Bard raised his head to see Ezra''s expression and said¡­


    "You do not believe me, do you?"


    Ezra raised an eyebrow at such a stupid question.


    "What do you think?"


    "Then, what if I prove it to you?" Bard asked, not wanting Ezra to slip through his fingers.


    "Prove it to me?" Ezra didn''t understand.


    "Yes, I''ll prove it to you by opening up all my treasures for you to pick from, except a few¡­" Bard proimed.


    Now, while he didn''t believe a single word Bard said, it would be a lie if he said he wasn''t tempted by the prospect of getting his hands on rare treasures, especially considering that Bard was the head alchemist. But this instead raised his guard even more as he asked¡­


    "What''s in it for you?"


    "My lord, I want you to share your knowledge of alchemy with me"


    "Ah!" Ezra made an exmation of realization, before looking at Bard with disdain as he said¡­


    "Do you think you have anything worth that much? Worth knowledge of things yet to be discovered?"


    Bard realized his blunder, so he hurriedly bowed and apologized.


    "My lord, it seems I still underestimated your greatness, forgive me for being so insolent"


    He was also inwardly joyful as it meant this knowledge could allow him to breakthrough into the Grandmaster stage, something he had only dreamed of till now.


    But, unknown to him, his attitude was only achieving the opposite effect.


    Ezra was thoroughly creeped out.


    ''Was he possessed? Or did something happen to his brain? Did he go mad by any chance?''


    All kinds of conjectures popped up in his mind, and he moved to confirm them¡­


    "Mr. Bard, what exactly do you want from me?"


    "I want to be your loyal subordinate"


    "Why?"


    "So that I may have a chance at bing a Grandmaster"


    "Hmm, that''s certainly a good reason¡­but what makes you think I can help you achieve such a thing?"


    In front of such a question, Bard stared dumbly for a few moments, before saying¡­


    "Can''t you do it?"


    "Well, I guess it''s possible, but-"


    With that confirmation, Bard directly cut him off.


    "Then that confirms it, my lord. I''m confident in my chances of bing a Grandmaster if you give me the chance"


    But Ezra wasn''t done, he needed to affirm whether or not his intentions were true.


    "Why should I give you the chance when there are others? What makes you different? What''s to say you won''t turn on me the moment you be a Grandmaster?"


    A deep silence pervaded the atmosphere as Bard searched inside himself for answers.


    Did he really want this? Of course, the chance to be a Grandmaster, even if only a possibility, was too good to pass up. And there was nothing saying he would ever get another opportunity, so he would grab this one with all his might.


    "My lord, I have connections, resources and authority for you to use at your leisure. To use to achieve whatever ns you might have, I-"


    Ezra cut him off as he asked¡­


    "And how do you suggest I do that? You don''t expect me to believe your words, do you? Prove it! Prove that all you say is true!"


    At this point, Ezra was already tired of this tirade and simply asked him to act and not talk. Anyone can talk, but only a few have the courage to back it up.


    All this while, both Bard and Ezra were standing on the stairs leading to a ce covered with green fog. You could be sure that Bard didn''t want people in here.


    Yet, at this moment, it rapidly dispersed as Ezra found to his surprise that the stairs weren''t at all long, only ten steps at most. Soon, he found himself in a small tunnel built entirely with ck bricks.


    Following behind Bard, they quickly arrived at a room, a hall filled with book shelves of different colors. Bard stopped in front of a reading table made out of stone and said¡­


    "This could be called my secret chamber, my lord"


    Ezra looked at the sight, before asking¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Who else knows about this ce?"


    "None that I know of except you, my lord"


    "Ok, first thing, stop saying ''My lord'' in every sentence. And secondly, why do you call me ''Lord'' when I haven''t epted you as my subordinate?"


    "Ah!" only then did Bard remember that he wanted to get something. Without further ado, he ced his hands on the table and said some words, causing the rune engraved on it to light up in a resplendent green and, immediately, a scrollnded in Bard''s palm.


    A gold scroll that was releasing white essence.


    Ezra wanted to ask, but Bard quickly already scribbled some things onto it and handed it to Ezra, whose first reaction¡­was Shock!


    Unprecedented shock!


    How else could he exin what was written here as his eyes alternated between Bard and the scroll, with a bewildered expression on his face as he began scrutinizing the contents.


    From letter to letter, word to word, Ezra checked it at least five times, even turning it upside down and sideways, before using mana vision, which turned out to be useless to check for any hidden tricks.


    Because¡­there was none!


    One would wonder what could cause such a reaction from the cool and calm Ezra.


    It was the contents of the contract! It was almost the same as that of a ve!


    Apart from certain things that Ezra couldn''t ask him to do, this contract was no different from that of a ve and it was Bard who had written all the conditions. There was even a smile on his face when he saw Ezra''s shock.


    "My lord, you asked me to prove my words. This is proof of my loyalty!" Bard said with conviction.


    Ezra looked at Bard, then at the contract, and handed it back to Bard. Without letting him speak, Ezra said¡­


    "You have done this without hesitation, so I will grant a speck of my trust, but know this. I do not treat my subordinate like ves, not now, not ever. Adjust the contract ordingly. And before you hand it back to me, think about this long and hard"


    "There''s nothing to think about, my liege. I agreed to get tied down to the Empire for the chance to be a Sage, or so I naively thought at the time. I grew to realize that the talent I was always being praised for might not be able to take me as far as I wanted"


    "After I broke through to Master-rank, it didn''t take long for me to notice that my speed of growth had slowed to a crawl. And now, a chance for growth walked through my doorstep. How can I not take this chance?! If I''ve learned anything my whole life, it''s that life changing opportunities don''te twice"


    Thest sentence hit Ezra on a deep level as he found that this alchemist was actually much more simr to him than he had first taught.


    Silence once again pervaded the hall for ten minutes after Bard was done talking. Only the sound of someone writing could be heard.


    Two minutester, Bard sighed in relief as he looked over the written contract and handed it to Ezra once more.


    Ezra looked over the conditions and found them to be very eptable. Overall, Ezra could order Bard around to do things for him, but he could not force it upon him once he used up the remaining fourteenmands. Neither could he forcefully take away any of his treasures once he took the ten from the first deal.


    In exchange for Bard''s loyalty, Ezra would provide enough knowledge for him to keep improving his rank as an alchemist.


    Bard had already signed and also left a blood print. All that was left to do was for Ezra to sign, which he promptly did.


    Like thest one, the scroll dispersed and bound their souls.


    It was at this time that Ezra recalled a question he wanted to ask.


    "Mr. Bard"


    As his subordinate, Ezra would rather just call him Bard, but the fact that the head alchemist was supporting the fourth prince could not be made public, else the already agitated Empresses would use drastic measures against him. He wasn''t ready for that as he wasn''t strong enough, yet.


    "Yes, my lie-"


    Bard was about to reply as usual when Ezra cut him off.


    "Stop saying that, no one must know about this"


    "Hmm, but¡­Ezra, what should I refer to you as? I couldn''t possibly call my leader by his name, now can I?"


    The current scene was aical one as an old man with white hair and beard was speaking ever so politely to a boy not reaching up to his waistline.


    Ezra knew that was true, for it was one the most upheld form of courtesy. He had to think of something that wouldn''t stand out, but then he realized he already had one.


    "Mr. Bard, call me ''your highness'' from now on"


    "I will make sure to do so, your highness"


    "Good. With that out of the way, I''ve been itching to ask¡­what rank was the soul scroll we used just now? I have never seen anything like it"


    "Oh that, it is a soul scroll of Epic Gold-rank. I got it from a deal a while ago" Bard answered nonchntly, only to see Ezra''s mouth agape in a ''o'' shape.


    Ezra himself had his mind stirring with thoughts as soon as he heard that.


    The n had been that Ezra would bait Bard into intervening in the matters of ck Jaws when they arrived back at the capital. Yet, somehow, he made the head alchemist into a subordinate.


    From this alone, one thing was sure¡­


    ''There''s a need for a change of ns''


    But before that¡­


    "Now, let''s see what treasures you hid here, shall we?"


    "Yes, your highness"


    It was time to see what this newest subordinate of his had to offer.

 Chapter 65 The Anomaly Called Ezra

    Bard put his palm on the table, making it lit up with green runic lines and then turned his palm like he was opening a jar.


    *Craaack*


    The hall began to change as the bookshelves turned to reveal other shelves filled with different artifacts and minerals. From scrolls of different types, to all kinds of essories, to some broken sword that creeped Ezra out.


    Like so, five shelves stacked with items appeared in full view.


    Following that, the density of mana rose rapidly as Ezra feasted his eyes on all the different artifacts, most of which were covered in a gold hue. He didn''t need mana vision to know that every one of these was at least Gold-rank!


    ¡­!


    Some were materials he recognized but he never expected to find them here, with an alchemist at that.


    Seeing such a look pleased Bard greatly as he lightly coughed to break Ezra out of his reverie.


    "These are the best out of all the materials and artifacts I bargained for or bought throughout the years. Some are here because of their specific uses"


    Ezra looked at him while pointing at the shelf as he asked¡­


    "What does an alchemist need Mythril, Auranium and Adamantium for? Or do you have a hobby for cksmithing?"


    "Oh, it seems you''re quite knowledgeable about this, that makes things easier. Auranium, as you know, is the best metal for enhancing the use of Aura, but did you know that it could be used to manufacture a wide range item, one that could cover a ten mile radius if used properly? Or that Adamantium, the hardest metal known to man, was maic to Silver veprium? Or that Mythril, man''s most beloved metal, has healing properties?"


    "Wow" Ezra was astonished at what he was hearing.


    ''Wait¡­why was he telling me all that? I still didn''t fully trust him yet, or maybe I still didn''t believe people could change so easily or so suddenly. What I could trust were soul contracts, and ording to the contents of the one we just signed, he could not harm me in any way, even indirectly, while I could harm him''


    As Ezra ruminated on his trust issues and what Bard had just said, he remembered something.


    "Mr. Bard, do you know cksmiths-"


    But Bard interrupted him before he could finish his question.


    "Of course I do, don''t you know-"


    And Ezra simply returned the favor.


    "-that don''t have any backers yet"


    Bard''s mumbling came to a stop as his forehead creased slightly.


    "I''ll have to check and ask around. What exactly do you need them for?"


    "I need them to work for me personally. They need to be diligent and above average in their craftsmanship, and they must be at Journeyman level at the very least. Although, you can rmend those of lower rank if you think they have sufficient potential. And please, you must be very discreet about it"


    "Hmm, I will do so"


    "Now, secondly, I drank an elixir not too long ago that cleansed my body of impurities but also made it poisonous"


    "Blood poison?" Bard already figured it out.


    "Yes, so I need you to tell people that it was your potion"


    "That is easy, but what do I say if I''m asked to produce another just like it?"


    "Easy, tell them I went around loitering in yourir and broke a lot of beakers. Then those other potions mixed up into the iplete potion that I drank"


    "I see, but they could simply collect a sample of your blood to sieve and dilute in order to find what materials are involved"


    "That''s where thises in. Hand me a parchment and a pen"


    "Here you go" Bard handed it to him, only to see Ezra scribble away absentmindedly for twenty minutes while murmuring iprehensible words to himself.


    "Here, you will present this to the advisor as the iplete potion, effectively throwing them into a rabbit hole while you request for more resources"


    Ezra handed the parchment now filled with words and some atrocious drawings. The drawings werebeled, which was why Bard was easily able to identify who it really was.


    A look of astonishment took him over as he quickly calcted the end result of the potion Ezra handed to him. It was why he signed the first contract without even seeing the potion, only half the form, because even if the potion''s effects were weak, the ingredients already gave him an idea of the end result. He could modify it once he mastered it for better results.


    Bard was on cloud nine when he saw Ezra''s evil grin.


    "Umm, Sire, that smile of yours, it''s really diforting"


    *Cough*cough* "What grin?" Ezra hastily changed the subject.


    "Now, Mr. Bard, what items do you think would be most useful for the current me?"


    "Well, all of them, but it depends on what aspects of usefulness, is it to enhance your charm, to assassinate, to-


    "To grow stronger, thing that can make me grow stronger faster, that''s what I need"


    "Ok, your highness said he was at the Adept-rank, was it?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Yes?"


    Bard was about to continue when a thought struck him as he looked at Ezra wide eyed, his index finger was trembling as he pointed towards and asked¡­


    "I-I''m sorry Sire, did you say you already reached the Adept-rank?!"


    Ezra, who didn''t seem to understand the absurdity of such a thing, nonchntly replied¡­


    "Yes, I did. Is that a problem?"


    Bard subconsciously clenched his fist and closed his eyes shut as he inwardly chanted¡­


    ''Calm down, calm down, calm down¡­''


    Yet, he found his heart pounding even more as he said so. The mes of envy that had been put out before lit up like a firework. It took all of Bard''s willpower not to curse and scream at such absurdity.


    I mean, what the heck?! Normal people, akamoners, felt and awakened mana naturally in age ranges of 19-25. Anymoner who did so before 19 was said to be talented.


    Nobles on the other hand use their resources to get items that would allow the process to happen faster. One example would be to have children feel mana from artifacts and gain familiarity with it. This cut the age range to 13-17.


    It could be cut even shorter, but that could bring aboutplications in the long term. They ranged from brain spasms, to organ failure, to meridian fractures, to mana overdrive, to mana overload, and many, many, more.


    All these were discovered throughout centuries as kingdoms tried to increase their battle power by increasing how fast a child awakened mana. They would use ves and prisoners for experiments.


    And the reason why these experiments failed was simple. Humans need to grow before they can awaken mana. Mana was present in all living things from birth, like a slumbering beast. Once awakened, it would try to break out of its cage, namely the human body, leading to theplications mentioned above.


    Yet, now, a five year old kid was at the Adept-rank. Bard didn''t question it at all because he remembered that Ezra had manifested an aura when he arrived.


    Wait a minute, manifest aura at five?! He noticed before but hadn''t really thought about it, but now that he did...sigh.


    He opened his eyes only to see Ezra shaking his head and clicking his tongue.


    "Tch, will you snap out of it?! What do you think others would think when the head alchemist acts this way?!"


    Truthfully speaking, Ezra also understood how one would view the current him, a freak right out of a fairy tale.


    Because-


    ''In my past life, I was twenty two before I could use mana at all''


    -he also knew how hard it was for him to awaken his mana the first time.


    It was theoretically impossible for a child to awaken his mana at three.


    Children at such an age are not yet self-conscious, so they couldn''t subconsciously use mana when they didn''t even know what it was, now could they? Even if they could, awakening mana and turning it into a mana pool was definitely not painless. It wasn''t that painful once you were already familiar with mana, and also, by thirteen, one''s body would have grown to a substantial level, which gave them more tolerance to pain.


    It was only possible for Ezra because the cerulean gem that came out from his swords held hisrge soul and fused it with that of the baby over a period of five years, while indirectly nourishing his body with mana.


    The act of indirectly introducing mana into his body allowed him to awaken his mana and naturally form a mana pool far less painfully, like it was a part of his body. It was all the gem''s doing, but of course, no one knew this. Even Ezra couldn''t entirely understand what happened. He only rolled with it, hoping to find an answer in the future.


    But if a baby did what thirteen year olds were struggling to do¡­I doubt any exnation was needed for what woulde after.


    Which was why, when the news of the youngest prince of the empire awakening mana at three got out, 45% scoffed and sneered at such a stupid lie, another 45%ughed at loud at such a prank and believed it to be ridiculous, 5% ruminated about for but some minutes, but without concrete evidence threw it to the back of their minds. The remaining five percent, nobles, top ranking adventurers and high ranking merchants who were in some way connected to the three empresses, affirmed it to be true.


    But that was all. Having talent and being able to use it werepletely different things. He was blessed with mana, yes, but that was never the condition to be the Emperor, now was it?


    So, 3% choose to ''wait and see'' and the remaining 2%, the Empresses and some of their family members who saw Ezra not as a threat, but as an eyesore staining the glory of their existence with his so-called ''talent'', deemed it best to get rid of him and his mother.


    You could say it was akin to how a human sees a cockroach far away and decides to kill it because of its irritating look by throwing his shoe at it.


    The shoe missed the target and the cockroach scrambled away. The human sees it as a hassle to chase after it and lets it go.


    This is the summed up reason why he and his mother''s food was asionally poisoned, but they were never attacked by assassins of a high calibre or the like.


    Back to the present.


    Bard slowly regained his bearing, as well as his stone cold expression, as he tried to wrap his head around the anomaly in front of him, but only found himself inwardly sighing as he perused the items on the shelves and spoke¡­


    "You haven''t picked anybat manuals, have you?"


    "No"


    "Then this tablet might be a good start" Bard said as he handed him a tablet that had small pieces of transparent white crystals arranged on the surface, with some faint marking etched underneath the crystal surface and a wooden tform supporting it.


    "What is it?" Ezra asked.


    "It''s called a recording tablet, and like it name suggests, It records things and ys it, just that-" Bard was about to continue as a thought popped up to him.


    "That reminds me, your highness, which element do you have affinity with?"

 Chapter 66 Combat Arts & Affinities

    "That reminds me, your highness, which element do you have affinity with?"


    "Ah!" Ezra eximed as he realized he hadn''t bothered to check what his affinity was.


    Frankly, with the gangs, guilds and schemes, it just wasn''t on his mind. And more importantly, he knew his affinity. One of the reasons why he was called Dark Knight in his former life was because his affinity was, as you can probably guess, darkness.


    But that was his affinity in his past life. Since he reincarnated into a new body, there was a high chance that he gained another affinity.


    To understand what affinity was, one has to understand the elements.


    Elements were earth, water, air, nature, fire, light, darkness, spirit, and many, many more. They are theponents that make up the world, each one with its own uses.


    Each living being was attuned to some elements more than the others. The reasons for this varied ording to each individual.


    Some were hereditary, thereby inheriting by bloodline. For some, it was their personality and talent with the usage of mana.


    Affinity signified which element a person waspatible with, and which he was not. For example, take someone with affinity for the spirit element. They dealt with souls. It was by this set of mages that items like soul scrolls and soulpasses were made. They also dealt with ghosts and other astral creatures.


    Should a mage with an affinity for fire learn spirit spells, he would be able to use them, but with a horrendous mana usage.


    The base for the usage of any element was mana, meaning that, theoretically, anyone should be able to use any spell from any element as long as they had enough mana. But when were things ever so simple?


    This is where affinity came into y. It reduced the amount of mana needed and increased the potency of the spell.


    The speed with which someone masters spells is also influenced by their affinity with the element of the spell. It was how mages knew which spells they were to learn.


    Suppose a fire mage used mana to create a fire tornado. Should a nature mage use the exact same amount of mana to cast the exact same spell, it might not amount to enough fire to burn down a tree.


    And thenes the matter of those who have considerable affinity with more than one element. Those who had dual, triple or even quadruple affinities.


    People who had affinities with two or more elements were often children whose parents had affinities with those elements.


    These ones could use one just as well as the other, before choosing either to specialize in one rather than the other, or to be a dual element mage.


    It should also be mentioned that even affinities had grades, and those grades decided how strong one could grow without the help of external resources, further ssifying those with the same affinity into segments.


    Items and artifacts existed that could grant someone a new affinity or increase it, but they were even more costly than spatial rings and, depending on who made them, there could be side effects.


    One could already imagine how ruthless thepetition would be. Not everyone could be a mage, and of course, not everyone wanted to be.


    That was why other paths to power existed.


    For Knights, their affinity didn''t matter much at the early ranks because, unlike mages, they strengthened and widened their meridians to increase the size of their mana pool while also cleansing their innards and strengthening their bodies.


    But that didn''t mean it didn''t have its uses. For Knights, one''s affinity defined the best and mostpatible mana techniques for him.


    Mana techniques were cultivation techniques for those who followed the path of strengthening their physique.


    The meridians in the human body numbered hundreds and ranged in size. Not all of them were needed for performing a task. This meant that one had to use specific meridians to bring out the maximum efficiency in a movement.


    Mana techniques are books containing instructions and illustrations that have beenpiled through research spanning centuries. They exined which meridians at which part of the body should be cultivated in order to allow fluidity with particr movements.


    So, if someone trained to be an assassin, he would use a mana technique thatplimented silent movement. Swift but fatal moves that would allow instant beheading and allow one to blend in the environment.


    If mana techniques were the soil that would be determined by a person''s affinity, thenbat arts,bat manuals or martial arts were the seeds that would germinate depending on howpatible they were with the soil.


    Abat art is, in essence, a way of fighting, a way to fight.


    It was ranked in the same way as mana techniques.


    They depicted a specific set of movements that would dictate one''s fighting style and sometimes, with a particr sort of weapon.


    If a mana techniqueplimented fast movement and deadly strikes, but the person learned abat art like crushing boulder fists that gave up speed for power and vitality¡­such a person would be like a wooden house built on a foundation made of steel.


    The consequences of such actions would be severe if he persisted. At the very least, he could get his meridians crippled. At worst¡­he would die.


    So,moners who find themselves in such situations, either because they chanced upon the mana technique, or were ignorant at the start, would either get a newbat arts or modify thebat art to suit the technique.


    Now, back to the present.


    "I don''t know my affinities" Ezra rubbed his hair with a look of embarrassment, leaving Bard wide-eyed.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''He doesn''t know his affinity, but he can use aura?! Forget it. Let''s just be happy that I choose such a person as my lord''


    Bard took deep breaths, calming himself down as he tried to be optimistic.


    "My liege, give me a moment" Bard said as he approached the stone wall and infused mana into it. A green rune lit up and a small rectangr cupboard came into view, which Bard opened to reveal¡­orbs!


    Snow white orbs standing on small silver three-pointed bases.


    It was an item Ezra was familiar with. He had seen it once when he was in the army, and that was also the day he found out that he had an affinity for darkness.


    It was an affinity orb, an orb that measures one''s affinity.


    It was an item that could be found at any and every Missionary for anyone to use, but of course, it wasn''t for free. At a time it was, but then it became too much of a hassle, with peopleing over and over again with hope that they would be the lucky person others would be envious of.


    So, the Empire set the fee to 7 silver per try, effectively raising the standard, as you had to be well off to be capable of affording it.


    Any person discovered with rare affinities like space, spirit, psychic and gravity were sponsored by the Empire or a noble family. And while there were many restrictions, you would probably eventually repay the debt. Manymoners would take such a chance every time, as it is a chance to increase their status. If they performed well enough in battle, they could even be nobles themselves.


    The affinity orbs were all segregated based on elements, meaning that each one only worked for a specific element. Those that worked for fifteen elements also existed, but it wasn''t something just anybody could get their hands on.


    Yet now, Ezra could see two rows of affinity orbs. There were at least twenty.


    ¡­!


    Ezra found that he might have underestimated the title of Head Alchemist as he asked¡­


    "So, you have an orb for each elements gathered here"


    "No, the lowest orb here contains three elements"


    The answer shocked Ezra, but once he thought about it, he realized that it wasn''t actually that absurd.


    No matter how good an affinity orb was, it was only used to measure affinity. Once that was done, it was practically just an antique.


    This realization led to more questions¡­


    "Then why do you have so many of them?"


    If it was only collecting dust, why did he buy so many?


    "I didn''t buy these, I didn''t buy any of them"


    "So¡­they''re all gifts?"


    "Yes, my liege, gifts from different people with different purposes. I thought it a waste to throw away, so I just kept them here. I never thought I would be using them like this"


    "So, that means¡­you never found someone to give them to?"


    "Yes, well, I never really looked for them"


    "So, does that mean I can have all of them if I want?"


    "Hmm, I don''t know why my liege needs it, but if so, then yes, my liege can have them all, I only need one"


    AH!


    Ezra truly felt blessed at this moment. What else could he ascribe it to? The sequence of having Bard as a subordinate and collecting ten treasures wasn''t even included in the n, yet now¡­he had unknowingly hit the jackpot.


    The affinity orbs opened up many possibilities he hadn''t thought up before.


    He was skeptical at first, but now¡­


    ''There''s definitely going to be a change of ns. With this, I can easily gather an army of elites''


    That possibility,bined with the factors already in the n, could allow both Ezra and the guild to have unprecedented growth.


    "Hehehe"


    Unknowingly, he was already grinning madly.

 Chapter 67 Multiple Affinities, A Penchant For Disaster!

    Ezra was grinning madly as he thought of all sorts of possibilities and the prospect of building an elite army for his use only.


    The original n was to have Cabrera and Fredrick head towards the Windless Peaks to im a prize that only a regressor could know about. It was among the reasons the Empire waged war in his past life.


    This time, he would be the one to light the mes of war indirectly, and much sooner too. But he calcted that it would take even longer to end.


    Multiple other things would happen afterwards, but Ezra was thinking of one thing when he saw those affinity orbs.


    The Gold Slums movement!


    He originally thought it up as a way to make an astronomical amount of money in a short period of time, but looking at it now¡­he had been thinking too small!


    As he looked over his ns, he found some faults he hadn''t considered before, but that was because he also considered some possibilities which he hadn''t thought of before.


    ''I can begin buying unearthednd as soon this n''s done, and if I y my cards right, it won''t be limited to only Kingsmere''


    Multiple ns churned in Ezra''s mind.


    ''The gathering of an elite army would be easier, but I''ll need Sebastian here by then. The information agency will shine during the war, as will the merchant guild. I thought I would have to wait, but I might be able to bolster my ranks and grow stronger at the same time''


    But¡­


    ''Calm down''


    Ezra calmed down his excited heart.


    ''I''ll have to move one step at a time''


    He couldn''t be hasty. He would achieve his aims in due time.


    Ezra took deep breaths and channeled mana throughout his body as he regained tranquility.


    He looked at the orbs once again, before looking at Bard as his original objective, the reason why actually he came here, popped up in his mind.


    ''Right, I still have to get the royal alchemists involved¡­but how?''


    Originally, Ezra would only leave clues for Bard to follow as he ''coincidentally'' met up with ck Jaws, and the rest would go more or less like he had nned.


    But now that Bard had be a subordinate, it wouldn''t do him any good to weaken his subordinate.


    That is when a thought popped up.


    ''Didn''t he have a feud with the vice? I can weaken him instead. But the problem is how I do so without attracting attention. Now that I''ve met Bard, the person he has a feud with, he''ll have his suspicions about my intentions, which could ruin the whole n''


    Ezra thought of solutions, when it urred to him.


    ''Is there a reason why I must do it myself?''


    The answer was clear¡­


    ''No, there isn''t''


    And with that realization, came a solution so easy that Ezra facepalmed.


    ''I''ve been thinking too narrowly. I''ll just have make it so he moves to stop his enemy, yes, that''s what I''ll do''


    In a span of minutes, Ezra modified the ns ordingly, before turning to look at Bard, who was busy looking over the two recipes Ezra gave to him.


    "Bard"


    "Yes, my liege"


    "Tell me more about the matter between you and the vice lord"


    "Hmm, it''s actually something simple. We never really got along in the first ce, being that we were both ambitious, aiming for the top. The only difference was that I was from amon background while he was from a noble family. Because of that, he couldn''t stand seeing me at a higher position"


    "Anyway, I became the head and he became the vice. The expertise I showed thoroughly dwarfed his, and he silently acknowledged it by not doing anything foolish. That is, until recent years when I found my progress waning, and all of a sudden, he challenged me for my position on the ount of my growth stagnating"


    "We ced a bet. Apetition for the fastest to create a new recipe to assist the Empire, a recipe equivalent to Dark gold-rank or higher,sting three years¡­and this is thest year"


    Ezra''s eyes released a sharp glint at Bard''s story, because he could already see the signs of war in his past life. That aside, something about the story was amiss.


    But before he could voice out his thoughts, Bard pulled him over and said¡­


    "Regardless, thanks to you, my liege. I can sleep rxed at the end of today, but we still need to check your affinity"


    Ezra face palmed, because-


    ''I can''t believe I forgot about that again''


    -he had already forgotten about it.


    Bard pointed at one of the orbs on the table as he spoke¡­


    "This is an orb that can detect thirteen affinities, water, earth, nature, fire, ice, light, darkness, lightning, wind, metal, spirit, sound, and blood. Any affinity you might have should be among these"


    "That''s quite a lot. How many of these orbs do you have?"


    "Thirty-five¡­I guess. Never really counted them as I have one that is all I need"


    "Howe you only need one orb?" Ezra asked in surprise.


    "Because that one can detect twenty affinities. It''s an item made by a Grandmaster mage that I procured in an auction"


    Ezra hadpletely forgotten about auctions until Bard mentioned them. But before getting distracted once more, he quickly ced his palm on top of the orb and infused mana into it.


    *Ooom!*


    Like a beast awakening, the orb came to life as the white outline glowed brighter, and then particles representing each element began swirling within.


    Ezra saw it turn ck, representing his affinity for darkness. He already knew this, whether he got another one was what he wanted to know.


    And he didn''t have to wait long because, soon after, a me flickered, lighting up the darkness. The me red up higher and higher, highlighting an affinity with fire, and it wasn''t small!<novelnext></novelnext>


    Just as Ezra would jubte, he suddenly came to a stop as he stared into the orb while making sure to rub his eye very well to confirm what he was seeing.


    From the sky of darkness and the ever raging fire¡­came violent bolts of white lightning! And then¡­there was something else!


    From the ground, came arge water body, but red in color. It was a pool of blood!


    This meant he also had an affinity for blood!


    But wait! There was still more.


    From the opposite side of the blood pool, the ground turned into ice at rming speeds!


    Ezra stood there, utterly dumbfounded at the results.


    What was this? He had FIVE affinities?!


    ¡­!


    He was inwardly hoping for a second one, true. A third was asking for trouble. A fourth was looking to be hunted...but a fifth?!


    That was a penchant for disaster¡­it could never be known to the public! Those Empresses would chase Ezra to the edges of Orion to make sure he was dead.


    Especially when considering his affinity grades!


    Depending on how an orb reacts, one could ssify affinity into six grades.


    Like adventure ranks, it was E, D, C, B, A and S grade affinities.


    Anything lower meant the affinity was not worth mentioning.


    But Ezra didn''t know much about it. He only knew they couldn''t be less than C rank, so he turned around to meet a Bard who was still frozen.


    The eyes of the duo met and Bard sensed killing intent, so he immediately bowed and said¡­


    "I didn''t see anything"


    Ezra nodded. Bard was quick on the uptake, and Ezra was pleased with that.


    "Can you take a closer look and judge the affinity grades?"


    "Of course, my liege" Bard tried to hide his nervousness, but was inwardly rejoicing that Ezra had changed the ve contract to that of an actual subordinate. Else Ezra could''ve just told him to kill himself.


    As he inspected the scenery in the orb, his shoulders involuntarily shivered as he reported.


    "S grade affinity for Darkness"


    "A grade affinity for Fire"


    "A grade affinity for Lightning"


    "A grade affinity for Blood"


    "A grade affinity for Ice"


    Bard gulped nervously as he mentally read the result over again, while Ezra was dead silent as he took in all he was hearing along with a very deep breath. He tried sorting out his chaotic thoughts.


    ''It''ll be the end of me should anybody else find out, but if I can keep it a secret till I get strong enough¡­my might will be unparalleled!''


    Five affinities was a penchant for disaster, true, but that was if, and only if, others found out. He already had preparation for growing stronger, and this only reinforced his decision even more.


    So, for as long as no one knew, he had nothing to worry about.


    But¡­


    ''He knows'' Ezra turned to Bard, who felt his skin tingling, before realizing where it wasing from.


    "A contract" was all Ezra said.


    Without dy, Bard took a scroll on the shelf, a soul scroll of Gold-rank, along with a pen and handed them to Ezra.


    Three minutes of scribbling and Ezra was done as he passed it to Bard.


    It contained every way Ezra could think of that could allow his secret to be leaked, from hallucinations, to mind readers, to Bard''s greed. If he ever tried to reveal it, he would die, but if it were to be mind readers and such, his memory would be wiped away immediately.


    Without a word, Bard hastily signed it. He knew he didn''t have a choice in the matter, and if he disagreed, Ezra might not insist, but his days would be numbered, and he really didn''t want such a terrifying person to be his enemy.


    Only after the contract turned into particles, and Ezra could feel a bind on his soul, did his breathing rxed as he fell on his butt, beads of sweat on his forehead.


    Only now could he really calm down as he ruminated on what had just urred.


    ''I had an affinity for darkness in myst life, so that was a given, but damn, it became S rank when it was C rank before. And I heard the Emperor had an affinity for lightning, so I could say the lightning affinity came from him, but what about the fire and the blood affinity¡­? I did kill a considerable amount of people in my past life, maybe that''s why I have the blood affinity? And you could say I destroyed them too, maybe that signifies the fire affinity? No, no, no, that''s not it! Then that ice affinity, wasn''t that mother''s element?''


    ''It''s already very rare for a person to have five affinities, but I have that and they''re all at A-rank! If it was all C and D rank, then maybe that exnation would be usible, but this¡­this is just crazy!''


    In the end, just like the matter of him reincarnating, Ezra decided to throw the matter to the back of his mind.


    What was the use of worrying about matters beyond him? The answers would naturally unravel once he became strong enough, so he stood and dusted his clothes.


    With this information¡­Ezra would have to modify his ns¡­ again.


    But this time, he was looking forward to it as the name of his five affinities kept ringing in his mind.


    So he rejoiced.


    With this, he would definitely achieve his revenge.


    A whole new realm of possibilities had opened up once again. It seemed like all the bad luck he suffered in his past life was being repaid with good luck in this life.


    But was any of it actually ''luck?''

 Chapter 68 Combat Art Mind Imprint!

    Ezra thought about his future ns and instantly made some decisions.


    ''I''ll reveal the lightning and fire elements in the future while concealing the other three''


    But there was a problem¡­


    "Mr. Bard, do you have any artifacts that can hide affinities?"


    If Ezra was unlucky enough to meet a Grandmaster, he would be found out, but¡­


    ''The Emperor is at least a Grandmaster Knight''


    The Emperor finding out would be very bad. Ezra couldn''t exactly specte how he would react, so it would be better for him not to know at all.


    "I have just the thing" Bard replied as he began searching his shelfs while muttering¡­


    "No, no, not it, not this either"


    And then, a few momentster-


    "Aha, this is it!"


    -he jubted and brought forth a white ring, which he handed over to Ezra.


    "What is it?"


    "It''s a limiter, an item that can help you camouge a maximum of three affinities. It can also regte the amount a mana within your body, or oven seal it, thought you shouldn''t do that for too long"


    "What rank is this limiter?"


    "Gold. I can''t remember how I got it, but who cares? At least this should solve your problems"


    "Yes, thank you"


    "No, my liege, thank you. Those two recipes of yours have really opened my eyes. With this, my position as Head Alchemist ispletely secured"


    "Hm" Ezra nodded absentmindedly as he stared at the limiter, other possibilities crawling into his mind as he wore the in white ring on his wrist.


    He found it to be much bigger than his wrist, but then again, it was a ring as big as a grown man''s bracelet, and he was only five years old.


    "Mr. Bard, this bracelet, I mean, ring-"


    He didn''t get to finish his sentence because the ring rapidly shrunk to fit his wrist.


    "It even has a size regting feature. Well, I guess that''s why it''s Gold-rank"


    Ezra carefully looked over the ring on his wrist, looking for an activation switch, but there was none, and that could only mean one thing.


    He infused mana into it and it lit up for a brief moment as the runes carved on it became visible, after which it died down soon after. But Ezra could now feel his connection to it, and instinctively knew what to do.


    So he camouged his darkness, blood and ice affinities, masking them from prying eyes, and he inwardly felt it too.


    Then he used the ring''s other feature, making it take on the color of his skin, which made it almost impossible to notice unless one looked very closely.


    Ezra was d about this feature the most, because he didn''t want other people to start asking questions.


    With that out of the way, he turned to see Bard who was checking the alchemy recipe while muttering to himself.


    *cough*


    "Oh, your highness, it seems it works perfectly, yes?"


    "Yes, it does, thank you"


    "It''s nothingpared to what you''ve done for me"


    "Hmm, now¡­what about the tablet? The recording tablet"


    Only now did Ezra remember the reason why he took an affinity test in the first ce.


    "Ah, yes, here it is"


    Bard handed over the tablet, as he continued¡­


    "It''s a tablet that has abat art recorded in it!"


    Ezra stared dumbly as he failed to understand why Bard looked so proud. After all, one could buy silver and gold rankbat arts.


    "It seems our prince does not know of mind imprints"


    "No, I do not"


    "Very well then, it''s an item made by Psychic mages. What this tablet does is imprint a technique directly into the mind"


    "Hmm, I''m a little confused"


    "You''ll understand better when you experience it yourself"


    Bard brought the tablet before Ezra and said¡­


    "ce your palm on it and infuse mana into it"


    Ezra ced his palm on the tablet, took a deep breath to stabilize his body, and infused mana into it.


    The next moment, he felt something foreign examine his body and then his eyes turned white as he found himself in a ce of infinite whiteness.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''What is this ce?'' he thought, but in the next instant, something began materializing in front of him.


    Ezra immediately distanced himself as he saw that the something was actually someone.


    Himself!


    A perfect copy of him stood with a lifeless gaze, so Ezra readied himself for battle.


    But contrary to his expectations, the clone made no moves for a few seconds¡­before abruptly taking a stance.


    Ezra began studying this clone, thinking the fight was inevitable, when in the next moment, the clone abruptly turned sideways and began striding.


    It moved around and lightning began coalescing underneath his feet as he used it to boost his jumps to incredible levels. Shockwaves resounded, which was weird, but Ezra didn''t really pay attention to that.


    Like a baseball, the clone kept ricocheting all over the ce, before abruptly stopping in front of Ezra.


    Ezra was dazed by the spectacle he had just seen. He could now understand what Mr. Bard had meant.


    Earlier, when the clone began to move, Ezra suddenly found it to be moving slowly as he was able to see how the cloned made lightning coalesce under his feet, while also seeing the lightning working within the meridians located within the legs as the lightning pulsed the veins from within, allowing them to discharge more power than they normally could.


    Ezra remained still for a few more minutes, and then-


    *Tiririrrm*


    -just like the clone did a few minutes ago, he strides forward with lightning coalescing along his legs, but at a much slower pace and with thinner lightning.


    A few moments after, Ezra fell to the ground with a thud, beads of sweat all over his face, but beyond that, he had a very wide smile on his face, one of ecstasy as he clenched his sweaty fist.


    ''So this is how they did it'' Ezra thought.


    In his past life, he hade across too many good for nothing nobles whose bodies didn''t seem to have gone through any training.


    Yet, when they fought, they would use all sorts of moves that someone with such stature shouldn''t be able to do.


    So Ezra wondered, because he knew just how much effort he put in when practicing hisbat arts before he could master or even use them at a simr level, so he judged that there was something behind it, but he never had the chance to find out.


    Now he understood, it was this. This was the item behind it.


    ''Truly,parisons are odious'' thought Ezra as he ruminated on what he could have achieved at the time if he had gotten a chance to use this tablet, but immediately shook such thoughts away.


    ''What is done is done, and what is gone is gone. Move on!'' one of his mottos popped up in his mind as he smiled. His past life was but a memory. What he did now was what mattered.


    So he looked at his body and thought¡­


    ''That wasn''t as hard as I thought it would be, considering I never used lightning in my past life. Could this be because of my high affinity grading? Well, I''ll ask Bard once I''m done here''


    Ezra had already made some spections on how the tablet worked as he got up and faced the clone, who began demonstrating the technique once again.


    With vigor, Ezra watched its movements with rapt attention as he focused his mind.


    This was an opportunity. There was no need to wait for another time when he could do it today, and so, he set an objective for himself.


    ''I must be able to master this movement technique to a entry level before I get out of here''


    Like so, Ezra entered his training state, all his focus dedicated to doing exactly what the clone was demonstrating better than it did.


    It was a ridiculous objective that most wouldugh and sneer at if they heard.


    But somehow, Ezra felt he could do it. From the first time he tried out the technique, he just instinctively felt that he could do it.


    And so¡­he would do it.


    From then on, Ezra paid rapt attention to all movements of his clone.


    Unsurprisingly, he failed numerous times, but¡­


    ''I''m getting better''


    At first, he could only do it for a couple of seconds, then a minute, then two, then three¡­


    He was getting better for sure, but the most peculiar thing was¡­


    ''I''m getting better faster''


    It seemed like the better he got, the easier it was for him to improve once more.


    As he continued, he realized that the past him could''ve never been this fast. A word popped up in his mind as he thought¡­


    ''Is this what people call being talented?''


    He was above average in his past life, but that was it. He wasn''t outstanding, and he only saw himself as a little different.


    Yet, as he kept practicing, going over his mistakes, observing the clone as he tried to find out why what he was doing was so different from the clone''s¡­


    The rate at which he was getting better was astonishing enough that even he was amazed by it, and that only made him move even faster, work himself harder.


    The whole time, his face showcased his wicked grin like never before, because with such talent¡­


    ''Wait for me Marcus, it won''t be long now''


    He could achieve his goals even faster than he first thought.

 Chapter 69 Friends

    *Rustle*Rustle*


    Fredrick led the party of ves and gang members while following the tamer, before suddenly stopping and pulling the shoulders of the tamer.


    He looked behind him to see the long line of people that had be disoriented by the sudden stop. Then he looked back at the tamer and asked¡­


    "You know the general location of the cave, don''t you?"


    The tamer hurriedly nodded as Fredrick shouted¡­


    "Cabrera!"


    The man in question moved neither fast nor slow towards Fredrick, before asking¡­


    "What is it?"


    Cabrera knew that Fredrick wasn''t the type to y jokes. Fredrick would only have called him if something serious would happen soon.


    So, something was up, and judging by Fredrick''s face, it couldn''t be good.


    "Your friends havee looking for you"


    "My friends?" Cabrera didn''t get it.


    "Yes, your very muscr friends"


    Cabrera''s eyes widened with realization and his mouth turned into a happy smile as he hit his knuckles together.


    "That''s good. Now I can finally put my fists to good use. Where are they? Just give me the direction and I''ll go-"


    Cabrera was pumped about beating those muscles heads into the ground. He had held himself back long enough, and now that they hade into the forest of their own volition and wereing after him¡­they couldn''t me him for killing them, now could they?


    Unfortunately, he had to reconsider his options when he heard Fredrick''sment.


    "Your friends invited their friends to tag along"


    The meaning was simple. They had increased their numbers.


    "How many are they?"


    "Hmm, let''s see, there''s twenty three of them, each packed with muscle, and¡­oh, I think their leader decided to tag along¡­yeah, it''s their guild master, and he''s on your level"


    Cabrera''s expression darkened a little. Things might be rough if he was matched.


    But, just as he was about to say something, Fredericks'' expression took a sudden turn as he shifted his head a little to the side, and then gazed at Cabrera.


    "Do you have another group of friends you didn''t tell me about?"


    Like Fredrick, Cabrera''s expression took a turn. This was a bad situation. With Fredrick, they could clean up muscle brains rtively easily, but with another group tagging along, things could get messy.


    Cabrera didn''t remember anybody else who he might have acquainted with, so he turned to Fredrick and asked¡­


    "How do they look? And what are they currently doing?"


    "Well, these guys are all fit, no muscles, and they''reing¡­"


    Fredrick''s voice suddenly trailed off for a couple of seconds before speaking again.


    "They''re just fifteen, and with the movements I''m picking, they should''ve already arrived in front of us if they actually wanted to kill you. They''re slowly following behind those muscle heads for some reason. Maybe they''re waiting for a chance to ambush them? Hmm, that''s possible¡­but that doesn''t mean they''ll treat us friendly because we have amon enemy"


    "Cabrera, one group of twenty three and another of fifteen, who seem to be enemies. Since they''re not our friends, we''ll have to wipe both teams out"


    Fredrick analyzed the situation as he looked at Cabrera, who was ruminating on something.


    "There were two people who came to me an hour ago and tried to recruit me in front of the Missionary, but I refused. I can''t be sure¡­but it might be those guys"


    "Hmm, they tried recruiting you, and now they''re tailing after your enemies, who are looking for you¡­could it be?"


    Fredrick instantly thought of something, and judging by the situation, it seemed very likely.


    "Hoh" Fredrick breathed out as he turned to Cabrera¡­


    "I have a n"


    Cabrera nodded.


    "Let''s hear it while we move. Those beast are almost here"


    And so, the party began moving once more as Fredrick exined the n to Cabrera, whose smile was bing wider by the minute.


    ¡ª--------------------------------------


    *Shua!*Shua!*


    The sound of leaves and bushes being cut resounded in the atmosphere as a man more muscr than any Cabrera had ever seen was swinging his battle ax and cutting down everything in its path, both trees and beasts alike.


    At the moment, his head was bulging with veins as he spoke¡­


    "Damn it, how deep did that son of a b#tch go?!"


    This was Motavu, the vice guild master of Red Wolf.


    He showcased a very ugly scowl as he found himself often looking behind at those who had caused this mess.


    ''I''ll teach those five b*tches a lesson when I get back''


    But first¡­


    ''I''ll enjoy cutting that boy into pieces and turning his brains to mush with my fists''


    Today had been like any other day, that is, until Baldur came barging into the guild master''s office with a face full of rage. He exined the act of cowardice someone had pulled against the boys after knocking him out unfairly the day before, someone who had now ran into the forest with arge party.


    But the guild master wasn''t so easily provoked. He said it was the five of them that hadn''t done their best and it was because of their ipetence that it was allowed to happen.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But then Baldur said the man spoke of their guild members as people with muscles for brains¡­and that was the straw that broke the camel''s back.


    The guild master immediately mobilized sixteen boys that were in no way inferior to Bondoc, the leader of the other four, and then, to make sure the culprit couldn''t run away, he assigned him, the vice guild leader, as the leader of the operation.


    Motavu took it as a mission to restore the pride of the guild and agreed without a hassle. He would show that brat who he had messed with while upholding the honor of the guild.


    Twenty minutester, he and the other sixteen were armed and aggressively entered the forest to find the cowardly brat.


    Yet¡­


    ''It''s been an hour and we''re only picking up traces!''


    An hour went by as Motavu and the rest found themselves heading deeper by the second, killing stronger beasts every step of the way.


    At first, he could easily squash the snakes to death, but now, the stronger ones were approaching, and they were getting harder and harder to deal with.


    At some point, Motavu considered the idea that it was a trap, but they kept seeing footprints, lots of it, indicating that arge party had really passed through here.


    But their line of movement was unbelievably weird and confusing to follow, so they agreed to keep moving straight in the direction of the foot sprints.


    Unfortunately, even that didn''t seem to be a good idea, as the type of snakes they began to meet along the way were all predators in their own right, kings of their own small domain.


    Motavu found himself using up more and more energy each time, which infuriated him to no end. But since the other twenty two were still in perfect shape, it would be more than enough to catch and immobilize the coward, before giving him a very painful death.


    Baldur on the other hand stood at the back of the group, making himself as inconspicuous as possible.


    This was natural considering that it was entirely his fault that they were doing such a thankless job. The others weren''t particrly friendly right now.


    Actually, their eyes were full of disdain towards him. Even the four brothers had distanced themselves, making it seem like they never knew each other.


    ''Damn it! Baldur thought as he clenched his fists. The events a day before, where he was mmed into the ground, reyed itself in his mind.


    ''That bastard! It is his fault I''m being treated like this!''


    The face of Cabrera was the only thinging to mind.


    ''I thought he was like any other newbie, and his clothes weren''t too shabby either''


    Baldur was walking about when he spotted Cabrera looking around without approaching any buyers, which is a trademark sign for newbies.


    And while Baldur wasn''t the smartest, he definitely would''ve remembered such facial features, but he didn''t, and that further reinforced his assumption.


    So, without much deliberation, he approached Cabrera, intent on dragging him to a corner and extorting as much money as he could.


    But instead¡­


    ''I got my ass kicked''


    And¡­


    ''In front of the entire market at that''


    Thinking about it, Baldur let out a dejectedughter filled with self-ridicule, because he knew.


    As the event reyed in his mind, no, from the moment it happened, he knew.


    ''He''s not someone I can handle''


    He knew that Cabrera was leagues above him in strength.


    But then a wicked smile stretched across his face as he looked in front of him and thought¡­


    ''But he''s going to regret the day he was born once we find him''


    He also knew that the aggression and disdain they held towards him would be transferred physically to Cabrera once he was caught.


    And so¡­


    ''I just need to wait''


    He knew it was only a matter of time before he got his revenge in full.


    ¡ª----------------------------------------


    "Are you sure the guy is still alive?"


    A few dozen meters from Motavu''s position was another group of fifteen. Each one wore thin (light) armor of different colors, but with the crest of White Iron guild attached on it.


    Right now, they were trailing a fair distance behind Motavu''s party while doing their best to remain undetected.


    The n was to step in when they found the man named Asmund. Well, it was just to make sure he didn''t die, as none of those here, including Arvin, were pleased with such a task.


    They agreed that they would allow the Red Wolves to beat him up and knock down his sense of pride before stepping in to save him.


    But so far, they were d that they tailed Motavu, who removed all obstacles and killed the beasts in the way, saving them from such work and allowing them to keep up easily.


    Yet an hour had passed, and it was still the same pattern without a sign of their target.


    And seeing the snakes that gave even Motavu a hard time, they began having doubts about whether or not their target was still alive.


    But at this moment¡­


    Baam!


    Both Red Wolf and White Iron hastily looked, only to see something, no, someone fall from a tree.


    It was their target, Mr. Asmund, with leaves in his hair and a muddied face.


    "Ah, shit! Didn''t you guys say they wouldn''t find me?"


    And it was also the beginning of a y with Cabrera as the protagonist while the others took on supporting roles.

 Chapter 70 A Spectacular Event

    Cabrera fell on the ground with his hair filled with leaves and his clothes, along with his face, muddied.


    He hastily got up and observed both parties of White Iron and Red Wolf, acting like a mouse caught by the cat while stealing cheese.


    He grinned inwardly as he reminisced on Fredrick''s n, and then-


    "Ah, shit! Didn''t you guys say they wouldn''t find me?"


    -he faced the party of White Iron members as he spoke not too loud, but just enough for the Red Wolf party to hear.


    Cabrera had specifically made sure that he was close to the White Iron party before deliberately falling, because that drastically increased the n''s sess rate.


    Lo and Behold¡­


    "That''s him!"


    Baldur, who was the instigator of the whole event, and also the one on the rear end of the advancing party, immediately recognized his voice and promptly alerted Motavu.


    "Huh?"


    "That''s him?"


    The remaining sixteen were astonished at the confirmation and couldn''t help but ask once more.


    "Yes, it''s definitely him!"


    Baldur re-confirmed it, and the doubts were wiped away in an instant, because¡­


    "So you''re that cowardly bastard. Stay where you are and I''ll make your death a quick one. So, what do you say?"


    Motavu arrived at the front of the group as he swiped his battle ax to wipe away the snake blood. He slowly approached Cabrera while releasing killing intent, trying to use fear to overwhelm Cabrera.


    The boys behind him were silent as they instinctively felt fear of a stronger predator.


    Too bad though, as Cabrera wasn''t a former gang leader for nothing. Also, the training he endured during the past month was too arduous for him to be helpless in the face of something like this.


    Cabrera was inwardly smiling as he stayed rooted on the spot while observing the white iron party¡­and then, he saw the man from a few hours ago. He saw Arvin.


    Cabrera turned to the White Iron party with his finger pointed as he proimed with conviction¡­


    "So this is how you guys want to y it? I should have known from the beginning. Provoking a couple of muscle heads for what? A single mana technique? Oh, how stupid I was to believe in you wretched fools! I might die here but I''ll make sure to take one of you with me!"


    Silence!


    Complete silence!


    Both party members were dumbfounded after hearing such information!


    Even Motavu came to a halt as his thoughts churned and he looked to the White Iron party.


    ''I knew I sensed something following us earlier, but I thought it was just some insignificant snake, but it was these guys? Impressive. But if they were following us, where did that guye from?''


    Motavu wouldn''t be a vice guild leader if he didn''t see the questionable events that happened, but once he checked the contents of Cabrera''s speech, he immediately understood.


    ''Of course! He said something about being betrayed, so that means¡­he was running from them as well! Since he already provoked us, he must have gone to ask for the mana techniques, but was almost killed instead. He then fled into the hunting grounds with arge group for protection!''


    Motavu nodded to himself. Judging by the current situation and Cabrera''s bitter tone, this was most likely the case.


    But then came the thousand tinum question.


    ''But why would they want to provoke us?''


    And¡­


    ''Why did they use an outsider and not a member of their guild? Wait, this is just one of their branches. What if the guy was from the same guild, but another branch? Hmmm, that would exin how he could easily beat Baldur''


    But¡­


    ''Why would a guild member need a mana technique¡­what rank was that mana technique? Maybe that''s why they''re trying to kill him! If it was one of Dark Gold-rank, I would certainly do the same to keep it an absolute secret''


    Motavu once again nodded, feeling he was getting close to something, a secret that could most likely cause a guild war.


    But to be sure of his assumptions, he quickly nced at the faces of those trailing him, and sure enough, he knew each and every one of them.


    But more importantly-


    ''Theirbined strength would be a force to reckon with against even me''


    -they were all strong.


    And so¡­


    ''To send such a force to catch only one person?''


    It was the epitome of excessiveness.


    And the only person able to mobilize such a force would be the guild master!


    So that meant¡­


    ''Their guild master knows about this''


    And more importantly¡­


    ''To mobilize such a force means that they want to get rid of him by any means necessary''


    Which can only mean that¡­


    ''He knows something that they want to hide at any cost''


    And so¡­


    ''I can''t let them kill him just yet. I need to get to the bottom of this mystery. It might be the chance for the guild to rise''


    Which meant¡­


    ''I need him alive at any cost''


    And so Motavu concluded his thoughts.


    Like him, the Red Wolf members each interpreted it in their own way, while their eyes zed fire at the words "a couple of muscle heads".


    One thing was confirmed in all of their minds. No matter the truth, this guy had to die.


    Meanwhile, the White Iron members were frozen on the spot, trying toprehend what the hell was going on.


    Did they miss something?


    What the hell was this guy talking about?<novelnext></novelnext>


    One of the two girls among them quickly surveyed everyone''s expression and found that each person was equally dumbfounded at the turn of events, and it was the same with Arvin too.


    But she couldn''t be sure if he was silent for the same reason as them or because of something else, so she opened her mouth, intent on asking him.


    But Cabrera wasn''t going to give them any chance to understand the situation, so he shouted-


    "Now die, you backstabbing b*stards!"


    -before suddenly elerating as his legs lit up with a gold outline.


    And then¡­


    *BAM*CRACK*


    The next instant, Cabrera''s figure became a blur and vanished, before suddenly appearing in front of Arvin, whose thoughts were messed up at the sudden turn of events.


    Without a word, Cabrera kneed his head from below his chin, effectively breaking his neck.


    The sound rang out clearly to all those in the vicinity, but Cabrera couldn''t care less.


    Without stopping, he immediately attacked those beside him, who had quickly put up their arms to defend.


    Like Motavu said, they were strong. Cabrera attacked while their minds were in disarray, else his kick might have been avoided or someone else would attack¡­just like right now.


    As soon as Cabrera attacked the two beside him, one raised his arm off to absorb the shock, while the other, which was a girl, had a boy jump in front of her.


    But at thest moment, Cabrera withdrew the attack, before immediately stepping on Arvin''s falling body and lunging at a tree a fair distance away.


    The above sequence of events took ce in less than a minute as Cabrera bnced himself on a tree, and then suddenly coughed a lot of blood.


    But no one immediately noticed because-


    "Ahhhh!"


    -one of the girls screamed with tears in her eyes while holding Arvin''s now dead body.


    Cabrera couldn''t be more thankful as he instantly lunged from that tree to another, effectively gaining ground within the two minutes he was given.


    Because-


    "Men, chase after that bastard. I want him alive at any cost! Kill any who stand in your way! Do you hear me?!"


    -Motavu was chasing after Cabrera as he shouted, effectively shaking them out of their reverie.


    "YES SIR!"


    They didn''t question his orders even though some didn''t understand why the person they all wanted dead was now needed alive.


    Nevertheless, the order was absolute.


    And so, Motavu and his subordinates chased after Cabrera who was thought to be injured judging from therge amount of blood he puked.


    But what no one could see was the slight smile on Cabrera''s face as he briefly nced at those chasing him and thought...


    ''That''s it, keep chasing me. I never knew baiting them would be this easy¡­or am I just that good''


    He shrugged his shoulders at such narcissistic thoughts and jumped to another tree.


    Meanwhile¡­


    "Sean, we''ve lost track of them. What should we do now?"


    The adventure team that was trailing Fredrick''s party had been thrown in disarray when Fredrick''s party suddenly began running, while not forgetting to wake a lot of sleeping predators up along the way.


    With the fear of dying in their hearts, they didn''t follow after and were subsequently lost.


    Now, they were beginning to consider retreating when a tree at their side suddenly shook.


    The archer in their team looked, only to find a man jumping from tree to tree, and surprisingly-


    "TO THINK YOU BASTARDS WERE HERE!"


    -the man shouted with his voice echoing slightly in the forest, not forgetting to throw stones at the head of the one called Sean andugh hysterically.


    "SERVES YOU RIGHT, YOU BASTARDS! AND YOU BITCHES TOO!"


    Sean, who had his head hit with a stone, stood up at this moment and said in a low but cold voice¡­


    "I''m going to kill him, I''m going to kill that-"


    But a voice put a stop to his monologue.


    It was the archer''s voice, whose hands were pointing in a certain direction.


    "Sean, I think you''ll need to kill that man a bitter, right now¡­we need to run!"


    Bareilly after finishing her sentence, she began running, leaving behind the others who were dumbfounded at the sudden turn of events, but they quickly ran after her.


    The archer had saved them from a lot of dangers in the past, so they knew when she said to run, it was better to run now and ask questionster. Questions could only be asked if one was still alive.


    And what would you know, the archer showed just why her sense of danger was spot on.


    No sooner had they begun running when the tree they were on was cut in half by an overly muscr man whose eyes had turned bloodshot. He wielded two battle axes - he had taken one more from his subordinates - and cut down all trees in his path, consequences be damned!


    The next instant, he looked at the running party while trying to piece what Cabrera said into his thought up scenario.


    But Asmund knowing them meant they might know something about the secret.


    So he called out ten names, the best ten, pointed at the running party and said¡­


    "Capture them"


    "Alive or dead?" they asked to confirm.


    "At least two must live. You can kill the others if they try anything"


    The impromptu leader nodded, before separating from Motavu and speeding up to catch or kill the adventurer team.


    If one looked at the forest from above, they would see a small path with trees constantly falling after being chopped by a madman''s ax.


    Motavu eventually stopped cutting the trees as he found it to be very energy consuming, and focused on catching up to the ever hopping Cabrera, who kept spitting blood asionally and almost falling down from time to time, but merely hanging on with a timely catch on a branch, indulging Motavu''s thoughts of him being severely weakened but keeping on struggling with the will to live.


    On this day was enacted the spectacr event spearheaded by Fredrick and Cabrera.


    It was the first time both these men tried covering chaos with even more chaos¡­but it certainly won''t be thest!

 Chapter 71 Wave Of Snakes [Bonus]

    *Ptwei*Ptwei*Swoosh*ng*


    The adventure team was currently running while attacking a group of armored men with too much muscle who had been chasing them for the past twenty minutes.


    The archer in particr, kept firing arrows at the Red Wolf guild members while on the move. She had managed to kill two of the initial ten members, reducing them to eight.


    And while her team had the advantage in numbers, they were horrified with the thought of Motavu catching up to them, so they kept running while dodging axes thrown from behind.


    Their guardian had already died. A swinging ax cut off his head from behind because of the slow speed caused by the heavy armor he put on. Furthermore, they couldn''t even touch his corpse because they were constantly being chased by enemies, and with that, their numbers reduced to nine.


    But, as Cabrera kept baiting them all, Fredrick was also doing his part.


    _____________________


    "Ugh!"


    *cough*


    Behind ayer of bushes, one would see the two bloodied bodies lying on the floor, dead without a doubt.


    Their bodies were covered in ck clothing, leaving only their face, but the clothes were now torn and strewn.


    The third andst member currently had a sword piercing his neck as he coughed uprge amounts of blood. His eyes were filled with confusion and unwillingness.


    ''What is this?'' he thought to himself.


    The boss had sent them to trail someone who harmed one of their members, and they were doing fine¡­until a few moments ago!


    A man with ck hair wearing no armor and only ck clothes suddenly appeared, and in less than ten seconds, his tworades were dead.


    The next moment, he found himself with a sword in his neck.


    Who was this man? Why had they been killed?


    He felt it to be so unfair that he was almost crying. But that was it, almost. He didn''t get the chance to do so when the sword was pulled out from his neck and his body began to fall. The darkness greeted him even before his body could even touch the ground.


    Like so did Tovak, an Adept-rank assassin of the Night Shade guild die without ever getting answers as to why he had been killed.


    The one responsible for all this, the man with ck hair and ck clothing, simply swung his sword to get rid of the blood.


    The man was Fredrick, who looked at the dead bodies and said¡­


    "Next time you mind your own business"


    He could never allow people who could reveal their identities to live. That would ruin the meaning of the entire n.


    At this moment, a snake slowly approached him and hissed.


    Fredrick looked at it and asked¡­


    "Cabrera has started?"


    The snake shook his tail in response, prompting a smile from Fredrick''s face as he said¡­


    "He''s moving faster than expected. I guess I better get started over here too"


    The snake was being controlled by his ve from before.


    With that, Fredrick ran through the forest while using a skill called Earth Sense, which worked by spreading mana from underneath his feet in a radius of five hundred meters to detect fluctuations and vibrations, thereby identifying objects by their reaction to the mana released.


    It was formerly only two hundred meters, but it was upgraded when he achieved Master-rank.


    This was why he was able to identify Motavu''s party, White Iron''s party, the adventure team of ten and those Night Shade members in hiding.


    Naturally, another Master would''ve easily seen through such a skill, but nobody would ever expect a Master to be here.


    There was only someone who was rumored to be close to achieving Master-rank, and that person wasn''t here because he liked the ce.


    That person was also part of the current n.


    After moving across the forest, far from where Motavu was currently wreaking havoc, he found a ce that had far more people than the other side, and easily found out why.


    "Move your sorry asses or I''ll move it for you! Do you expect the monsters to go easy on you?!"


    There were more than twenty different parties in a 1500 meter radius, each one at a distance from each other. They were far enough not to disturb the other party or steal prey.


    But the most important thing was¡­


    ''They''re all decent guild parties''


    Yes! They were all parties filled with members of mid-rank guilds, because¡­


    ''And they''re all newbie training sessions''


    Like the name implied, it was a party filled with a guild''s new recruit''s who came to gain hands-on experience while under the supervision of veterans of the same guild.


    But all that mattered to Fredrick right now was the feasibility of the n in such circumstances, and concerning that¡­


    ''It''s perfect''


    Fredrick wouldn''t have had it any other way as he made his way across the forest, getting to the upper end of the forest before stopping.


    He looked at his surroundings and saw a swamp filled with slizzards. They looked like the grotesquebination of a snake and a lizard. A little simr to a Komodo dragon, but these ones had skin simr to snakes with a myriad of color patterns.


    The moment they saw someone in their territory, they rushed towards Fredrick. Though, at the speed they are moving, to Fredrick, a Master, they might as well be as fast as a snail.


    So, without batting an eye, Fredrick brought out three dozen potions of the same type and poured them all over his body.


    The liquid dried upon contact with his body and a strange fragrance began to emanate from his body.


    Not even forty seconds had passed before vibrations began to be sensed. Fredrick felt small shockwaves and smiled.


    "Perfect, and now for the grand act"


    Fredrick started running at a moderate pace towards the direction he hade from, while not forgetting to take out the same potion he had poured on his body earlier and throwing it to the sides, specifically where territorial snakes were residing. He kept increasing his pace as he felt the vibrations grew more intense, and¡­


    *Ssssssss¡­*


    *Ssssssss¡­.*


    *Ssssssss¡­.*


    Snakes were hissing loudly and violently, and then¡­


    *Bam*


    The sound of a loud bang resounded. Fredrick''s smile deepened as he said¡­


    "It has begun"


    The Windless Peak was a nest maintained for about half a century, and in that time, multiple tactics and strategies were devised in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of snake hunting.


    Along with them came the Exzremadicite. Simply put, snake lover potion.


    It was made up of minerals loved by snakes, with the main material being snake moss, an ingredient that had an awfully simr scent to Dew kes, an extremely rare flower that were akin to treasures for snakes.


    At first, the objective was for a potion that caused snakes to focus on one target while others attacked and easily killed it. And it sold like wildfire at first, but it was abandoned soon after even though it worked well.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The reason why the potion was forgotten and condemned¡­the answer would be the current scene.


    *Sssss¡­*


    *Ssssss¡­.*


    *Sssssss¡­.*


    Behind Fredrick was a wave of snakes, all in different sizes, but with one thing inmon, they were all in a frenzy, biting and fighting each other. The prey didn''t fear the predator, the only thing on their minds was to catch Fredrick.


    This was why the potion was aptly named snake lover and subsequently abandoned.


    The effects were out of proportions. Its effects caused snakes to immediately flock to you like a meal never before seen¡­but it won''t be one!


    Any team that used it found themselves attacked from all sides by snakes from different ces, and were more often than not wiped.


    The potions effects were too strong for hunting, and instead called forth disaster. But that was why Fredrick was able to buy so many very easily.


    Fredrick didn''t once look back at the cause of the thick hisses or at the sounds of trees breaking as he could see them through Earth Sense.


    It was honestly terrifying to see so many snakes that it looked like a multicolored tidal wave crushing everything in its path.


    Fredrick had a thought as he kept increasing his speed to distance himself from the wave of snakes, their number increasing as Fredrick went past their territory¡­


    ''It''s just like he predicted''


    He felt a chill in his spine as he considered it, because he recalled Ezra''s words clearly.


    ¡ª------------------------------


    -Two weeks ago, in Cabrera''s former office-


    "If you''re about to get caught, you can do two things. You can either cancel the mission or you make sure no one can even identify you after you''ve left" Ezra said.


    "But how do we do that?" Fredrick asked.


    "Simple, create a distraction, one big enough to take everyone''s attention"


    "What does ''big enough'' mean?"


    "You''ll need to engineer something as rming as an outburst"


    "¡­!" both Cabrera and Fredrick were rmed by such words, but managed to holdposure as Cabrera took over.


    "And how do you suggest we do that"


    "By systematically causing chaos, but on a grand scale. Enough chaos to attract the attention of the Empire"


    "Are you sure you''re five years old?" Cabrera asked bbergasted, but Ezra didn''t bother answering as he asked a question of his own.


    "What would happen when people suddenly notice the guild growing at an absurd rate?"


    "They will ask questions"


    "Good, and what would happen if the surrounding guilds began investigating?"


    ¡­!


    Cabrera grew rmed at such a prospect. The guild could be wiped out.


    Ezra nodded after seeing his expression.


    "Now you understand. The biggest problem isn''t getting the stones, no, it''s what happens after. If we''re not careful, you and your boys could very well be killed, or worse, tortured and enved"


    In spite of such chilling words, Cabrera''s face remained stoic. He knew the being in front of him wouldn''t have said all this without having a n already.


    "So, what are we going to do?"


    "Like I said, you''ll create a distraction. One that will upy their attention while you grow stronger discreetly"


    "Wait a minute" Cabrera suddenly realized.


    "You''re not saying-"


    "That''s exactly what I''m saying. Once you''ve taken the stones, we''ll spread the news. And then they wille running once they smell the blood"


    "Hoo" Cabrera''s was mind blown at this point, but he quickly noticed a problem.


    "How are we going to spread the news without anyone knowing it''s us? And even if we did that, they could lock down the information. So, if the rumors spread even then, they''ll know someone''s behind it"


    "Hmm, that''s true. Then we''ll have to get rid of the person who can lock down the ce"


    "You must have gone crazy to say such things so easily, but I must have gone insane to think that it might actually be possible. I at least hope you know that they''re always cooped up in their Missionaries. Trying to kill him in there is not going to be easy"


    "That''s why we''ll make hime out"


    "And how do you suppose we do that?"


    "We destroy the Missionary of course"


    "And how do we do that?!"


    "By causing an outburst"


    "Wow, I give up. You just keep saying absurd things one after another. And stop talking in riddles, damn it!"


    "I like my subordinates to think for themselves. What we are going to do is to give the Empire a reason for war"


    "So now, we''re going to start a war while making sure no one knows we did it? Is that what you''re saying?!"


    "Calm down, it''s like this¡­"


    ¡ª---------------------¡ª----------


    Fredrick had to break out of his reverie as he tilted his body to the side, narrowly dodging the mouth of a snake with light green scales that had lunged out from a tree.


    And then¡­


    *shua*


    The sound of a sword was heard, and in the next moment, the snake''s head separated from its body.


    But Fredrick, the culprit of the act, couldn''t stay to admire his handiwork as he increased his speed once more.


    The wave of snakes had already killed numerous adventurers along the way, but Fredrick was only now reaching the part richest with humans as he immediately shouted from four hundred meters away.


    Of course, he didn''t forget to amplify his voice with mana as he yelled¡­


    "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"


    What happened next, could be described in just two words.


    Utter Chaos.

 Chapter 72 Rowan’s Decision

    "You there! Put more strength in those arms and stop holding the sword like a toothpick"


    I inwardly sighed, trying to keep my frustration from showing on my face. Nevertheless, I was getting fed up with these new recruits who don''t even seem to be taking this seriously.


    But that wasn''t actually a surprise considering that most of them were chosen because of their affinity grades and not because of their skills and dedication.


    Looking at it now though, they didn''t have any skill to begin with. Worse, their equipment was D-rank, which allowed them to cut through the snakes nearest to the edges, which were, of course, the weakest at F-rank.


    Each one was the son or the illegitimate son of either a Noble, a merchant, or someone with a profession rted to magic.


    So, even with such horribleck of skills, these brats easily killed F-rank beasts, which in turn increased their vainglorious pride.


    For me, Zetez Vidal, a C-rank hunter, to be doing this¡­I really felt like beating them all into a bloody pulp, but I remembered the captain''s face and the thought melted like snow.


    ''Shit! Is there no way to get out of this?''


    But as I thought so, my attention was called by something I hadn''t noticed before.


    The ground was shaking. Though subtly, I could feel it bing stronger. So I took a look at my supervising partner, and sure enough, he also felt it.


    "Hey, Rona-" I never finished my sentence, because the ground shook far more fiercely than before, knocking me off bnce while the recruits immediately fell on the ground.


    Now, even these recruits could feel it.


    Before I could get myself together, a loud booming voice resounded.


    "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"


    Rather than immediatelyplying, I narrowed my vision to pinpoint where the sound wasing from, and I finally saw it.


    "What in Levantis'' name is that?!"


    I felt my body go numb for a split second as a cold chill ran down my spine.


    What else was I supposed to feel when a man came running over with hundreds, no, thousands of snakes on his tail! Some were bigger than the rest and their aura didn''t seem any bitckingpared to mine.


    The warning bells in my head were overloaded with only one message.


    Run.


    It was just as the man said, I needed to run for my life, and I needed to move fast!


    Without even looking at the sorry excuse for recruits still lying on the ground, I said¡­


    "Run!"


    ¡­and did just that.


    *Woosh*


    They could die for all I cared, I''ll deal with the aftermathter. But I could only do that if I stayed alive, and it seemed the others had the same thoughts.


    As I rammed into bushes and leaves without care, I found my supervising partner right beside me.


    A little away from him I could see others ramming down trees without a care in the world, but¡­


    ''How''s that any of my business?''


    With such thoughts, I focused on what was in front of me and pushed my body to the limits. I didn''t even have time to think about getting in the way of the others, which werepetition, because I could feel the ground shaking more and more fiercely.


    That meant but a single thing. Those snakes were almost here, and as if to confirm my ims¡­


    *Sssss¡­*


    *Ssssss¡­*


    The snakes along the way entered a frenzy and charged towards the spot we were running from while attacking anything in their way.


    ''Damn it!''


    I was frustrated at the situation, but I didn''t stop running as I swiftly unsheathed my sword and began killing my way through the party of snakes.


    Unfortunately, I had now found out it wasn''t going to be as easy as I thought. Unlike normal snakes, these one''s fought like injured beasts right from the start.


    They totally threw caution to the wind and attacked me anywhere and everywhere they saw without hesitation. Worse yet, there was neither a rhythm nor even the semnce of patterns in their attacks.


    If it were only a snake and I in a one on one battle, then this would be to my advantage, but in a situation where I couldn''t stop running because of the increased frequency of the shaking ground, it was the worst!


    The snakes were just attacking everything, including each other, as they slithered forward with all their might. Every time I had to face one, my speed would be slower as I tried to get away without fighting. My priority was getting out of this forest as fast as I could.


    But the snakes never stoppeding, and more and more injuries kept piling up. My mana wasn''t able to regenerate as fast as it was being used and my body kept straining itself.


    So, in no time at all, my body grew exhausted. I had cut so many snakes that my hands were covered in blisters.


    My legs were bleeding profusely from a snake''s sneak attack, so I was staggering at this point.


    A few momentster, I began to feel dizzy and, without noticing, my sword fell out of my hand.


    ''Ah'' I realized at this moment that I had been poisoned. Where and when, I did not know. It took a lot of mana to stop it from spreading through my body.


    But as I continuously fought, I had depleted it, allowing the poison to prate my veins with ease.


    I was dying from the inside. My heart was beating slower and my vision had be too blurry for me to make out my surroundings.


    I instinctively knew that I was going to die.


    So Iughed and used what was left of my hearing and touch to locate a tree and then sat down.


    It was at this moment that it really hit me. I reminisced as my whole life shed in front of my eyes. Without noticing, a tear dropped from my eye.


    ''I don''t want to die'' I thought. But reality was cruel, for in the next instant-


    *Sssss*


    -a snake was already beside me.


    "Ha-"


    I let out a hollowugh.


    "-so this is how it ends."


    At this moment, my vision turned dark.


    ________________________


    ''I knew these potions were effective, but isn''t this a little too effective?'' Fredrick thought as he jumped from tree to tree while swinging his sword at the snakes who were lunging at him like crazily.


    The potions had a far bigger effect than he imagined and the snakes were now approaching from all sides.


    So Fredrick knew.


    ''I can''t do this for much longer''


    At the rate things were going, he would sooner orter sumb to the endless swarm of snakes. And while that wouldn''t kill him, it was enough to give him some injuries, something he could afford but wanted to avoid.


    But that in turn meant-


    ''It''s enough, no, it''s more than enough''


    -it was time for him to begin the next stage of the n.


    And so he did. In the next moment, he amplified his legs with mana, and then¡­


    *Boom!*


    He shot off the tree he stood in like a catapult toward a tree 90 degrees to his left.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But more importantly¡­it led straight to the Missionary outpost!


    And that was exactly what Fredrick was aiming for!


    It was time to break the big boss out of hiding.


    _________________________


    "Hmm" Rowan furrowed his brow as he felt runes rapidly dying out, causing him to break out of his meditation.


    His dark brown eyes opened to reveal a small room far more luxurious than any other in the outpost.


    From the chairs, to the table, to even his dark green garment, all were above the standard quality.


    A circle with runic inscriptions in it was etched into the floor and rowan was currently sitting in the middle of it cross legged.


    Until now, that is.


    "Ugh! What is it now?!"


    His formerly peaceful expression immediately crumbled as it turned into a scowl.


    He was so close to breaking through to the peak stage of Expert-rank. But no, it seemed even the world didn''t want him to breakthrough at this moment.


    So, with a scowl, he got up to see what it was that prompted his attention¡­but his attitude changed when he saw which of the detection runes were being destroyed.


    Yes! Detection runes!


    Why was it that neither Fredrick nor Cabrera quietly sneaked into the forest and immediately went to take their prize effortlessly? This was why!


    As said before, all monster regions are a source of ie for the ruling power. As such, they put up several mechanisms to guard their interest. Like the Missionary, this was one of them.


    It is also part of why a sure-kill zone, or a nest, had Knights reduce the poption by culling the beast to a sustainable level. After that, runes would be ced on intervals to detect a certain item.


    The Adventure card! This was the item it would detect.


    This was why Cabrera, Fredrick and all others had to get themselves acquainted with the Missionary.


    But like the Missionary, the runes weren''t infallible. Far from it actually.


    The runes were etched in the vicinity of the nest, and in this case, they were etched masterfully on the trees, making it hard for anyone other than a Master to detect and evade them.


    And yes, Fredrick could currently do the same, but it wouldn''t lead to the oue Ezra was looking for. He could also be spotted when heading back, an oue that had to be avoided at all costs.


    The runes functioned by taking mana from that which the tree absorbed, but it also meant that, with the death of a tree, the rune would be useless.


    So you can imagine Rowan''s shock when runes began dying out in droves simultaneously starting from the east and west.


    This was where Fredrick and Cabrera were causing havoc, but of course, Rowan didn''t know that.


    He sent his two guards to check on the situation. Trees being destroyed was a daily urrence when you factored the amount of beast vs beast, man vs beast and man vs man fights that happened every day.


    But¡­this was just abnormal! Especially in the west. Either hundreds of trees were dying every second, or there was someone that was erasing the runes using a wide area spell.


    Whatever it was, his guards would soon bring him answers.


    And with such thoughts, Rowan waited, only to find that the strange phenomenon did not stop or even slow down, but was instead increasing by the minute.


    All of a sudden, the wave of runes that had been dying out from the west suddenly took a turn, and then the runes in a straight line began dying out.


    Once Rowan looked at the point the pattern suddenly changed, he also looked at the curve at which the runes were dying out. And when he took his gaze a little deeper¡­his eyes widened in shock!


    Whatever it was that was breaking the trees or erasing the runes¡­was heading right for the Missionary outpost!


    He immediately took out an item simr to a pocket watch and infused mana into it.


    No, he was about to do so¡­but then his hand came to a stop.


    ''There has never been any news of a B-rank beast in this nest¡­but if it turns out that whatever ising isn''t actually worth the trouble-


    At this moment, he momentarily stopped and looked at the map filled with specks of light indicating the amount of runes.


    The amount of beasts heading to the outpost would no doubt be considerable, but if it was just droves of D and E rank beasts, then calling for backup would be unnecessary.


    -I will be aughing stock''


    As he concluded such thoughts, a visage shed in his mind. And the next moment, he clenched his fists with so much rage that it popped veins as he thought¡­


    ''That bastard Reginald would never let me hear the end of it''


    At this moment, a decision was made.


    ''I''ll take on whatever it is myself'' though Rowan as a cruel smile hung on his lips.


    He, Rowan Everdust, would never allow himself to be aughing stock. This was his pride as a man and as a member of noble blood.


    Pride.


    Oh pride!


    The result of this action.


    Oh! The result of this action¡­


    Words weren''t needed at this point, because within the period which Rowan contemted on his next actions¡­the enemy had already arrived!


    In the next moment¡­


    "GET OUT OF HERE!"


    "a-A WAVE OF SNAKES!"


    "RUN! RUN AWAY!"


    The few adventurers that were lucky enough to outrun the wave of snakes yelled with livid tones of fear and despair.


    Their bodies showcasedrge amounts of cuts and bruises, which had blood leaking out of them. Their armours were severely damaged and most of them didn''t have their weapons with them. They also spotted disheveled hair and worn out boots.


    Yet, even with all this, they didn''t seem to even notice their bodies as they shouted and kept running without another word.


    The people within the outpost, that is, people still ignorant of the matters happening in the forest, were dumbfounded, but a few secondster, some chased after those who were running to get information.


    Nevertheless, the fact that the outpost was filled with people who were anything but ordinary was showcased as everyone quickly got ready for battle.


    All those who just ran past weren''t nobodies, some were very skilled for E-ranks. So, for them to look like that¡­something wasing!


    The sellers immediately packed up their merchandise and closed their shops. The hotels immediately woke up any one within their rooms and noticed them of an iing beast wave.


    All the guild immediately sent scouts while the rest quickly wore their armor.


    Not ten minutes had passed since the scouts were deployed¡­


    "AHHH!"


    A loud shriek was heard.


    Then the familiar figure of Fredrick came running with blood leaking from self-inflicted wounds, and like before-


    "RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"


    -he spoke his catch phrase.


    What happened next could be defined in one word.


    Disaster.

 Chapter 73 The Disaster

    The minds of the adventurer''s went nk at the sight of the seemingly endless swarm of snakes.


    No one knew who spoke, but someone yelled exactly what everyone else was thinking.


    "RUN!"


    At the end of this word, all hell broke loose.


    "Shit! Get out of my way!"


    "Fuck! I''m out of here!"


    The adventurers began pushing themselves as they ran with all their might towards the exit.


    Too bad that they wouldn''t be going anywhere.


    "Guards, close the gate! No one is allowed to leave"


    From within the Missionary, a loud and clear voice rang out to everyone. All the agents of the Missionary immediately came alive all over the outpost as they stood against the running mob of adventurers.


    "You bastards! Move out of the way!"


    One of the adventurers rushed towards them and swung his ax to cut them down.


    But instead¡­


    *Swish*ng*Shing*


    The man had his head lopped off without being able to utter another word.


    But that wasn''t going to stop these adventurers. The snakes were already killing people when the voice resounded once more. This time though, it was far louder.


    "WARRIORS, STAND TALL AND YOU SHALL BE REWARDED"


    Without stopping he continued¡­


    "ALL SALVAGE RIGHTS BELONG TO WHOEVER KILLS THE BEAST IN QUESTION. THOSE WHO PERFORM EXCEPTIONALLY SHALL BE REWARDED WITH ANY TEN SILVER RANK MANA TECHNIQUES AND ANY TEN COMBAT MANUALS AVAILABLE IN THE OUTPOST!"


    All eyes fell on the origin of the deration, only for them to find a man with dark brown eyes who couldn''t be less than thirty three in age.


    But as adventurers, they also knew the man was anything but ordinary. How? His armor was better than anything most of them had ever seen with its golden yellow sheen, as well as the white greatsword whose golden hilt he held with his two hands.


    But if anything else, it was the pressure he exuded. Like they say, the strong recognize the strong, so while they didn''t know who he was, they already noted his visage at the back of their minds in case they met elsewhere.


    The man in front of them wasn''t someone to be taken lightly, and no one wanted to die, die in vain at that.


    "I SWEAR BY MY NAME AS ROWAN EVERDUST AND AS THE ADMIRAL OF THIS MISSIONARY! ALL WHO FLEE WITH BE CHARGED WITH TREASON AND A BOUNTY WILL BE PLACED ON THEIR HEADS"


    Such a reveal had people gasping in shock, while the true elites quickly made the calctions inwardly.


    Based on the visage alone, the armor quality and the exuding pressure spoke for itself. And seeing that he was in front of the Missionary along with an entourage of men and women fully d in their own high quality armor¡­


    Some nodded at the words they heard. In a situation as vtile as this, the leader knew very well how to use the carrot and the stick.


    The rewards seemed so much that it was almost unreal, but the punishment of bing enemies of the Empire was too severe.


    Should they fight exceptionally, they would be rewarded exceptionally, and should they flee with haste, they would automatically be criminals in the Empire.


    All these thoughts happened within seconds as people suddenly came to a standstill, before looking at each other with a knowing gaze, their eyes shining with the same light.


    It was the light of greed.


    From this moment onwards, without any prior arrangements, they all becamepetitors.


    But before they could make a move on one another.


    A sound broke them out of their reverie.


    *Ssssssss¡­..*


    And in the next instant¡­


    *Boom*


    Without another word, Rowan lunged himself into the air as he shouted-


    "FOR THE EMPIRE!"


    -before dropping right into the bevy of frenzied snakes with a BANG!


    The ground visibly shook, disorienting the swarm of snakes.


    His cry filled the onlookers with vigor as the rest of the entourage followed his example and did the same, jumping into the core of the snakes


    "FOR THE EMPIRE!" the adventurers hailed before moving to kill the snakes.


    It was a daily routine for them so they knew where to strike and cut to quickly kill a snake.


    Guardian Knights came to the forefront with their shields to block off the snake''s bite and cut off their heads. The mages began chanting and throwing out spells. Those of closebat went up close and personal as they began to dish out damage in a fantastical fashion.


    It was a colorful scene with knights and guardians using all sorts of skills with their auras all over the ce, as well as the exploding spells of the mages.


    Everyone''s mind fully focused on killing as they used spells and skills they were familiar with.


    But-


    ''Something''s wrong''


    -they quickly discovered a problem.


    ''What''s wrong with these snakes?''


    This was the thousand tinum question.


    Snakes were known to be patient hunters who would strike at any sign of weakness.


    But then¡­


    ''What is this?''


    These snakes were doing anything but that!


    They attacked ferociously, exchanging blood for bone as they kept their attacks relentless till the very end.


    And if normal adventurers could notice this-<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''This isn''t normal''


    -Rowan also noticed.


    So his thoughts began churning as he tried to understand the situation while-


    *BOOM*


    -cutting and culling the endless swarm of snakes.


    The stated reward had engulfed the minds of the adventurers as they attacked the snakes with renewed fervor. All eyes were on the prize as no two adventurers at the frontline thought of working together.


    And so the battle between man and snake continued, everyone forgetting about the man who arrivedst.


    ___________________________


    Fredrick walked towards the inner section of the outpost where the guild halls of respective guilds, as well as establishments like hotels and taverns, were located.


    His wounds had long healed, but he didnt let it show as he walked not slow but not fast either with his armor a little battered and stained with a lot of blood.


    And like you''d expect, it wasn''t at all empty.


    Multiple people of different professions, from bartenders, to cooks, to maids, to merchants, were moving with haste as they took the goods and packed them in whatever ce they thought safe.


    Some, despite the warnings of the admiral, were immediately fleeing with a fleet of carriages.


    At the forefront were the merchants who couldn''t care less about the outpost so long they didn''t make a loss.


    But fate had a way of doing things.


    So while it wasn''t nned beforehand, it wouldn''t do anyone bad if he stole goods off greedy merchants, now would he.


    *Cough*Cough*


    Fredrick coughed at such a thought. It seemed he was getting a little greedy these days, he wondered why.


    Though, when he remembered how he stole the unlimiting dew and many others in the past, he chuckled lightly to himself.


    Now, back to the matter at hand.


    Like Rowan thought, Cabrera also knew that the current wave of snakes might be insufficient for the n to work best.


    As such, he hurriedly hid himself behind a building and¡­


    *Break*


    He broke three vials of snake lover potion before scurrying away as fast as he came.


    Like so, snakes from other parts of the forest caught a whiff of it and entered a frenzied state as they rushed towards the origin of the smell.


    Of course, Fredrick wasn''t going to stop there. He broke vials at multiple ces while avoiding gazes or hiding in in sight as an injured knight.


    So you could imagine the people''s shock when snakes began swarming towards them as well.


    Fredrick looked at this scene and nodded. The final stage was set, and the first big boss was out, now only the challenger remained.


    And though the aim of the game was causing chaos, he still wanted to make sure that innocent people at least survived.


    Like so, he poured five more vials on himself to attract the beast''s attention to his location.


    As powerful as the snake lover potion was, it had its own weaknesses.


    The duration of the potions effectiveness was just two minutes. After that, it would be no different from any other liquid.


    That was why Fredrick bought it in many towns and cities he passed through. It was another reason why he only arrived a few days before Cabrera.


    It was also why he constantly broke vials throughout the forest.


    Fredrick did a double check at his handiwork and nodded.


    At this moment, those with good eyesight already noticed the iing swarm.


    "T-The snakes areing here!"


    "What? T-This¡­p-protect the merchandise! Protect me!"


    Merchants hollered at their servants and their hired bodyguards with beads of sweat forming on their faces.


    The mercenaries, whose faces turned ugly at such a sight, promptly demanded a triple raise in their wages, a demand which the merchants could only grit their teeth and agree to.


    After all, what could they do if the mercenaries decided to abandon them or jump ship to a richer merchant?


    And so the mercenaries went to work with wide smiles.


    "Shit! These f*cking beasts don''t know when to quit" one said.


    "Let''s be quick and get this over with" another added as they began attacking the snakes, only to find themselves overwhelmed by the relentless jabs and fang.


    Within the first two minutes, five mercenaries dropped dead. Only then did the rest rid themselves of their arrogance and useless pride as they began to work together with caution.


    Of course, that didn''t stop casualties from urring.


    At this moment, Fredrick threw vial after vial into the missionary outpost before waiting for the sign.


    None of those fighting heard the sound of breaking vials, but Fredrick knew that someone did. That, along with the fact that the snakes that were calming down became frenzied all over again¡­


    Those fighting were already making deductions on why the snakes would act like this, but no one thought it was caused by an injured adventurer.


    And even if they did, they were too busy guarding against relentless attacks from the snakes to be able to spare their attention on something else.


    All except one, that is.


    Just like Fredrick''s expected, the big boss noticed.


    For in the next instant...


    "CAPTURE THAT MAN! DON''T LET HIM ESCAPE!"


    The fish had bit the bait.


    ''That''s it,e on chase me!'' Fredrick thought.


    Like so, the final act began.

 Chapter 74 Acting [Bonus]

    From the moment Rowan began his snake massacre, he knew something was up.


    And unlike other adventurers, his instincts were alerting him of his surroundings.


    That was why he was able to capture the sound of ss breaking even with all the havoc around him.


    At first, he shook it off as nothing special, especially considering that multiple buildings were being destroyed every passing minute.


    However, as he kept on listening, he couldn''t help but think that something was off about it.


    The sound of breaking ss didn''t seem to be as random as he had first thought, and so he strained his hearing to affirm his suspicions.


    And what do you know, he was right! The sound of breaking ss wasn''t at all random, for it came at set intervals.


    Someone was breaking ss for whatever reason, and they were doing so systematically!


    So the next questions were, who was this person? And why was he breaking ss?


    Unfortunately, even with his hearing, he couldn''t locate the person amidst the more than a hundred adventurers.


    He would be able to pinpoint the person by tracking the sound of breaking ss, but unfortunately, he couldn''t afford such a luxury with hundreds of snakes constantly swarming towards him.


    ''Damn it!'' Rowan thought, but for the time being, there was nothing he could do.


    Until now...that is.


    As he tried his hardest to keep tabs on the ss breaker, the sound resounded from within a ce he knew all too well.


    The Missionary!


    He didn''t know what the ss breaker was trying to do, but whatever it was, it wasn''t in his best interests to let ite to fruition.


    So Rowan swung his great sword to clear out the iing swarm of snakes, after which he focused his gaze towards the missionary, quickly scanning for the target. He didn''t take long to find a man who seemed injured, but his posture and demeanor said otherwise.


    More than anything, he saw the man throw a vial of transparent liquid in the now empty Missionary.


    There was no doubt, this man definitely had something to do with the current situation. And he would find out exactly what that was once he caught him.


    Which was why, in the next instant¡­


    "CAPTURE THAT MAN! DON''T LET HIM ESCAPE!"


    Rowan hailed out, causing the gaze of every adventure still alive to fall on the man. He wouldn''t take any chances and risk allowing the man to flee.


    But of course, whether things would go the way he wanted was entirely up in the air.


    Fredrick, who had affirmed the beginning of thest phase of the n, was inwardly grinning, but maintained a cold expression outwardly as he surveyed his surroundings.


    At the moment, people were already approaching with their weapons drawn while doing nothing to hide their killing intent. To him though, they might as well be crawling.


    Nevertheless, Fredrick knew he couldn''t use his full strength. No, he needed to put on a very convincing show.


    By now, the adventurers were less than five feet away and had begun throwing out attacks.


    "Kekeke, You are toote! We have liberated these monsters in the way of the demons and there is nothing you can do to stop it! Hahaha! Hahaha! Now die for the glory of Red Spawn!"


    Fredrick began to monologue with a hoarse and deep tone as he chuckled heavily, trying his best to sound evil.


    Inwardly though-


    ''I can''t believe I''m actually doing this''


    -Fredrick felt ridiculous, but he quickly cast such thoughts aside.


    To make sure no one would begin an extensive search on ck Jaws when they enacted their deal with the Empire, Ezra nned to give them another target, one that stayed far too hidden at this time.


    Of course, Fredrick knew none of this. He was only doing as Ezra had instructed.


    "Shut the crap you maggot and DIE FOR ME!"


    One of the adventurer''s spoke up, a guardian judging by the shield and therge hammer he was wielding, as he lightly leaped in the air and smashed down.


    His face with a grin as he could already see the man being mmed into the ground.


    But reality pped him in the face, because in the next moment¡­


    "Huhhh?"


    The man''s eyes wanted to pop out of its sockets as he saw his hammer halting effortlessly in the man''s palm, before¡­


    *Craaack*<novelnext></novelnext>


    The Silver-rank hammer was crumpled and squeezed into scrap, then Fredrick held the man by the throat as he spoke¡­


    "Insolent worm. I bring liberation and you try to kick it away. Tch, tch, tch. I''m going to have to teach you some manners"


    "Go suck on-"


    The man tried to speak up, but he never got to finish the sentence because¡­


    *Boom*


    A terrifying aura gushed forth from Fredrick''s body in the next moment.


    All the iing adventurers suddenly found their instincts screaming at them.


    Unfortunately, none of them were able to, or would be able to, put up a meaningful counter for what came next.


    Fredrick''s hand moved from the man''s neck to his leg and, before his brain could register it, he used him like a baseball bat¡­


    "Watch out!"


    Rowan called out. Too bad though, because it was already toote.


    *Bam*Bam*Bam*Bam*Bam*Bam*¡­.


    Fredrick used the man''s body to hit all the adventurers within seven feet of him in a 360 degrees manner, who then hit the adventurers behind them.


    Andstly¡­


    "Brace Yourself" Fredrick said to the guardian knight he was holding as he amplified his arms with mana at thest minute and¡­


    *BAAM*


    The Missionary gained a substantial level of damage, one that it had not seen since it was built, after taking the impact of the guardian head on.


    Fredrick inwardly winced as he looked at the devastation in front of him, and no, not because of the building, but because of the guardian he threw at it.


    There was no way the man woulde out of this unscathed, but Fredrick threw him while making sure he could survive.


    As for how many fractures he umted, that wasn''t any of Fredrick''s concern.


    He simply defended himself from the onught of adventurers.


    Much of the building in question had broken into splinters, revealing an undergroundpartment that even Fredrick hadn''t known existed.


    And if Fredrick was to guess¡­


    ''It''s most likely the treasury''


    Fredrick nodded as he believed it was most likely so.


    ''Ah, right! I''m acting'' Fredrick reminded himself as he continued his monologue.


    "Hahaha! Feast your eyes on my magnificence! Feast your eyes on the strength of a liberator!"


    When-


    "This Bastard!" Rowan''s voice hollered out loudly, his eyes having be those of a beast.


    No, it wasn''t because of the adventurers, not even close. As far as Rowan was concerned, they were nothing more than nuisances.


    It was because of the Missionary!


    This bastard had demolished almost half of the first floor! From what he could see, had it been a little more, the Missionary would have copsed!


    Just thinking of how he would write the report to the Sentinel was giving endless headaches.


    When he thought of the face his elder brother would make once he heard such news, veins popped on his forehead.


    It mattered not at the moment, as he would take care of it once he dealt with the issue at hand.


    One thing was sure though.


    ''I''ll make sure you die in the most painful way possible''


    This bastard in front of him had to die!


    Never did Rowan imagine¡­that he was ying right into his opponent''s hand!

 Chapter 75 Well, This Is Troublesome [Bonus]

    A smile made its way into Fredrick''s face when he saw the Admiral approaching.


    But then he noticed something strange.


    ''He''s moving slowly''


    Which meant¡­


    ''He''s being cautious'' Fredrick thought, before examining his surroundings, from the damaged Missionary to the dozens of adventures lying unconscious in front of him.


    It was no wonder the admiral exercised caution, but that was something that could drastically lower the n''s sess rate.


    So now, Fredrick found himself in a dilemma.


    ''How do I get him to let his guard down?'' he thought as he once again surveyed his surroundings, when the realization hit him.


    That moment, Fredrick took up his monologue once more.


    "No, no, no, do you still not acknowledge the might of a liberator?! Sigh, then it seems I''ll have to teach you once more. Sigh, the work of a liberator is never done!"


    "Now, feast your eyes on my awesomeness, for I shall make you acknowledge me!"


    Even Fredrick cringed at such sentences. Nevertheless, he continued on with his role.


    Like before, his aura suddenly shot up to extreme heights. This time, it was even more than thest. It caused even Rowan to pause and think things over.


    "Do you see my might, do you see-"


    Fredrick continued on with his self-praise, but he suddenly began coughing.


    Rowan, along with the other adventurers, had their eyes raised in surprise.


    This was because Fredrick¡­was coughing blood, and quite a lot of it too.


    Rowan suddenly had a realization at such a sight.


    ''Of course! How could I be so dumb? He is normally as strong as an Intermediate Knight, but his strength shoots up to the level of an Expert once that aura shows up?''


    This could only mean¡­


    ''He''s using an artifact''


    Rowan nodded in affirmation as this was most likely the case.


    ''It''s most likely a forbidden one, especially considering that he''s already suffering from the side effects. It must mean his body can''t handle it much longer! Maybe two- no, maybe four or at most five times till he dies of its side effects''


    Rowan''s eyes sparkled at this thought. To think he, a great son of Everdust, would be afraid of a soon to be cripple. What a joke?


    But then again¡­


    ''Now all I need to do is exhaust him to death before taking such an artifact for myself''


    The light of greed shone within his eyes as he thought of getting his hands on such a powerful treasure.


    An artifact capable of shooting someone up by two ranks, even if temporary, would go for an astronomical price.


    The money he would earn from selling such an artifact would be more than enough to cover the damages done to the Missionary, the outpost, everything and more!


    Rowan suddenly thought today might not be such a bad day after all.


    But then he suddenly jerked his head to the side as his face crumpled into an ugly scowl.


    ''These bastard actually dare''


    The reason for such a reaction was evident. The adventurers were also looking at the man with gazes of fervor.


    More than one of them had arrived at the same conclusion as Rowan, but-


    ''I guess there notpletely stupid''


    -each one was eyeing the others as everyone waited for someone to make the first move.


    The bodies of those that attacked the man first were still lying on the ground unconscious, with some already dead from snake bites, others were dying, and those that got up were too disoriented to even remember waking those beside them.


    All of this while fending off the snakes, whose numbers had begun to swell ever since Rowan stopped holding the fort.


    They had deemed the acquisition of the artifact far more profitable than defending the outpost.


    The problem now was how they would get away unscathed, or at least alive, after stealing the artifact. So everyone was tense as they nced at who they deemed to bepetition.


    Rowan shook his head and clicked his tongue as he gazed across each adventurer with unhidden disdain.


    None of them believed in their strength enough to attack, so they were waiting for another to make the first move before stealing it from that person.


    But Rowan wasn''t having any of it.


    In the next moment-


    "He''s mine"


    -he pointed his greatsword towards Fredrick and staked his im.


    His words were simple, but the underlying meaning was not.


    He was out rightly telling them to take their eyes off his prey, else they would incur his wrath.


    Obviously, such words hurt the pride of the adventurers as they clench their fists and grind their teeth.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But¡­that was it.


    Unless they were willing to throw their lives away, which they weren''t, the image of Rowan culling droves of snakes like pancakes was still fresh in their minds.


    Add this to the fact that Rowan was also an Admiral, and the result of going against him was all too clear.


    ''Sh#t''


    ''@sshole''


    ''Noble b*stard''


    The adventurers could only curse inwardly as they stared at Rowan, who didn''t even nce in their direction ever since he made his promation and was now nearing Fredrick''s location.


    Fredrick, who stayed silent as he watched the proceedings of Rowanying im, had a glimmer in his eyes as soon as Rowan got within twenty feet of him.


    The next moment, he regained his persona and began speaking.


    "So you are the one who hase to seek acknowledgement. I must say, you aren''t too shabby. This liberator would''ve loved to y with you-"


    He paused and looked straight at Rowan before spitting blood on the ground and continuing¡­


    "-unfortunately, I''ll have to grant you acknowledgement at ater time"


    "Goodbye" Fredrick stated as he took to his heels, running past the adventurers towards the forest.


    But of course, it wasn''t like Rowan would willingly let him do so. In the next moment¡­


    "Who said you could leave?" Rowan appeared beside Fredrick, immediately shing horizontally with his greatsword as he spoke with a tone full of arrogance.


    Fredrick dodged easily and said¡­


    "It seems I''ll have to teach you a lesson"


    *Boom*


    Fredrick''s aura rapidly shot up as hended a heavy punch right into Rowan''s gut, sting him twenty feet away and continuing on his way without looking at the aftermath.


    Rowan was briefly disoriented from such a punch, but regained his bearing as he looked at his armor that had caved in from the punch.


    ''Was he still hiding his strength?''


    Rowan began wondering if chasing him would be a good idea, because for him, surviving mattered the most. There was nothing to be gained from dying a dog''s death.


    Fredrick, who was running in front, couldn''t help but click his tongue when he noticed Rowan wasn''t chasing after him.


    Now he was sure that Rowan was the kind of noble who determined their survival over arrogance, pride or honor.


    ''Hmm, this is troublesome'' Fredrick couldn''t help but say, before sighing.


    To bait a coward like Rowan, he would need to do some things.


    And so he did, because-


    *Stumble*Cough*cough*cough*


    -immediately after, Fredrick, who was running away perfectly fine, suddenly fell and tumbled, before quickly getting up as he once again spewed blood, far more blood than the first time.


    Rowan''s eyes, along with those of all the present adventurers, shone with a dangerous light.


    Fredrick could already guess what they were thinking, but to seal the deal, he spoke loudly-


    "Ah! Damn it, not now! I have to get out of here"


    -before bolting into the forest.


    Most of the adventurers reacted toote to Fredrick''s escape. Less than thirty were able to immediately follow him.


    This was mostly because a lot of them were hesitating. After all, they had no guarantee that they could survive against the man.


    Rowan paid attention to none of this as he ran after Fredrick with renowned vigor. His face was holding a wicked smile as the thought of obtaining a forbidden treasure.


    "Missionaries, protect the Missionary at any cost. I''ll be back in thirty minutes"


    He didn''t forget to leave an order for the troops under him, actively preventing them from following him, to reduce the number of variables.


    ''I can''t believe I almost let such a treasure pass me by. It was just as I thought, the side effects of such a treasure won''t stop as light injuries. His internals are most likely damaged from mana overload, overdrive or both. Now all I have to do is wait for him to exhaust himself''


    Rowan''s eyes glimmered as he observed the current situation.


    ''As for these guys-''


    Rowan thought as he looked at the adventurers running beside him with disdain.


    ''-I''ll get rid of them once I get the artifact''


    He didn''t even see them aspetition, but he decided not to attack while they were still running to avoid losing Fredrick, as that was much more important.


    Like so, Rowan and twenty four adventurers sped through the forest at fast speeds as they chased Fredrick down.


    Unknown to them, if one were to look at Windless Peaks from the sky, one would see that Fredrick''s path would ultimately converge with that of Cabrera.


    It seemed both these boys weren''t done just yet.

 Chapter 76 Luck Seems To Shine On Me Today

    ''This bastard is still running even after losing so much blood, how annoying''


    Along a certain path within the forest, Motavu was still chasing the monkey like Cabrera, who kept jumping from tree to tree relentlessly for more than thirty minutes now.


    ''Hmm, it seems I have more rats following my tail than I expected'' thought Cabrera as he sensed the approach of a few others.


    ''It''s most likely those White Iron guys. Well, the more the merrier. Who knows, I might not even need to move a finger. Now then, let''s begin in earnest''


    With that thought, Cabrera increased his speed once more and jumped to another tree, much to the frustration of Motavu who was chasing after him.


    But as he jumped off the tree, arge shard of ice almost as big as Cabrera himself was sent flying his way fast.


    ''Sh#t!'' thought Cabrera as his instincts rang out, clearly indicating the danger level of the iing attack.


    But seeing the attack and being able to react to it werepletely different things.


    It was at this moment that Cabrera showed off the effects of his training by immediately coating his left arm with aura and spinning himself like a top while in mid-air as he destroyed the shard in one powerful blow.


    Such a move came at a cost though, and Cabrera was sent flying from the impact.


    Motavu immediately stopped and hid behind a tree as he tried to figure out the position of the attackers.


    The few boys behind him did the same, but not before the pieces of the shattered ice pierced their skin after bypassing their armor and lodging themselves in the small gaps.


    Motavu trusted his boys well enough to survive small shards of ice, so he didn''t even bat an eye at all this and kept an eye out for the attackers.


    After all, that could have been him. And there was no assurance that, because Cabrera was also their enemy, he would be left alone.


    The enemy of your enemy isn''t always your friend.


    Surprisingly, even after a minute, there was no sign of the attacking party.


    "Hmm" Motavu immediately began to ponder on such actions and found some usible answers.


    One was that the attackers were in a vulnerable position after releasing such arge attack.


    Another was that they were aiming for him and his men.


    But Motavu found the former being more usible than thetter.


    If they weren''t weakened, someone capable of dishing out suchrge attacks would rather face them head on, or even freeze the particr part of the forest, instead of hiding.


    But of course, it is better to be safe than sorry.


    To test his hypothesis, he pointed to one of the guilders with the least injuries and told him to check the direction Cabrera fell and see if he could find him.


    Needless to say, the guilder immediately understood he was being used as bait, but what could he do? So he grumbled inwardly and began moving towards Cabrera''s direction like a mouse as he hid behind trees at set intervals to save himself from being skewered from behind.


    He found Cabrera''s location to be farther than expected.


    Even after two minutes, there was no sign of the attackers.


    Motavu steeled himself as he saw this and rushed towards Cabrera''s direction. He couldn''t allow the bastard to run away, especially not after everything he had been through.


    Meanwhile¡­


    "Ugh!"


    Cabrera groaned as he slowly stood up and stretched his aching back.


    *Crack*


    The bones snapped in ce, giving Cabrera some relief as he looked at his surroundings.


    The first thing he noticed was the three trees in a straight line with their lower end broken into splinters.


    It didn''t take a genius to know what happened.


    The rebound effect the ice projectile had sent him mming through the trees.


    "Which b*stard attacked?" Cabrera asked rhetorically as he steadied his breathing and observed his surroundings. He found to his surprise that he had been sent a considerable distance towards his destination.


    He didn''t know whether tough or cry at the matter.


    On one hand, this shortened how much distance he had to run. But on the other hand, he had lost sight of the muscle heads he was baiting.


    He sighed as he wondered how he was going to grab their attention and make them follow him without arousing their suspicions.


    But he didn''t have to wait long as the sound of the ground rumbling resounded not a momentter and then a voice rang out.


    A voice Cabrera knew all too well.


    "I''ve got you now you son of a b*tch! Let''s see how far you can run this time!"


    It was Motavu''s voice, who was visibly excited at the thought of finally catching the brat who had been the cause of his recent problems.


    Cabrera smiled as he thought¡­


    ''Luck seems to shine on me today. I was wondering how to make him follow me, but he came of his own volition''<novelnext></novelnext>


    Cabrera spoke out¡­


    "Shit! You muscle brains are unbelievable, can''t you give a guy a break?"


    "Don''t worry, I''ll give you a break once you surrender peacefully!" Motavu said as he maintained his smile, but one could see a vein popping out of his head at the words "muscle head".


    And to pour fuel in the fire, Cabrera added his finishing touches as he said¡­


    "Surrender? You must have grown senile, it seems. But then again, what can I expect from someone who has muscles for brains?"


    Motavupletely lost it at this moment as several veins lit atop his head, which looked like it was on the verge of exploding. He inwardly swore to torture this bastard to death once he was caught.


    Cabrera didn''t wait to see this and took to his heels once more, this time abstaining from tree climbing as he moved through the forest at a calcted pace towards a predetermined destination, all while holding a wicked grin on his face.


    It seemed today was his lucky day considering how easy things had been.


    _____________________


    A few dozen meters away from Motavu''s guilders who he had left behind were the White Iron guilders.


    It was just like Motavu predicted. Among the small group, the girl was the ice mage, and right now, she was lying in the hands of another boy with her pulse severely weakened.


    "Why did you risk your life like this?!" the boy berated her with a pained voice.


    "I couldn''t let that b#stard get away after what he did to Arvin" the girl said.


    She had used all her mana to conjure therge ice shard and aim it at Cabrera, which now left her in a weak state.


    Her eyes were growing cloudy as she spoke to the boy who looked at her with tearful eyes¡­


    "Vesta, promise me one thing"


    "What is it?" the boy called Vesta replied.


    "Kill that son of a b*tch"


    Vesta naturally knew who she was talking about, it was the bastard that killed Arvin, so he said¡­


    "I swear it on my life"


    A smile etched on her now pale face, a side effect of mana overdrive.


    "Thank you¡­" she said as her eyes closed shut.


    "Restea? Restea! Hang in there. Fernand, help"


    The man immediately panicked as he called her name, before calling over another man toe look at her.


    "She''s not dead, just dead tired after overusing her mana like that" Fernand replied as he looked at her condition.


    "Whew-"


    The man sighed in relief and continued.w


    "-watch over her and wait for Lazar to get back with help"


    Fernand immediately raised an eyebrow as he asked¡­


    "And where are you going off to?"


    Vesta nced at Restea onest time before looking forward as he said¡­


    "I''m going to kill that son of a b*tch"


    But before he could walk away, the remaining eight guilders stood up as they said¡­


    "We''re going with you"


    "Yeah, she was our friend too"


    "Don''t you dare try to keep the fun all to yourself"


    Vesta smiled at that.


    "Alright then, let''s go get the b*stard''s head"


    "But Vesta, what about those guys?" one inquired as he pointed at the Red Wolf members in front.


    "Avoid them. We can settle the score once that b*stard is dead"


    The others nodded in affirmation.


    "Let''s go" Vesta said as he started running, following Motavu''s trail as his face turned utterly serious.


    The rest followed behind him as they moved to avenge theirrade.

 Chapter 77 A Variable

    At another part of the forest, multiple blurs could be seen as they chased after a ck blur.


    "Hey liberator! Grant me acknowledgement and stop running away like a coward!"


    It was the entourage of Rowan and fourteen adventurers moving at high speeds as they chased after Fredrick''s tail.


    More than ten minutes had passed since the chase began, and with it, a total of nine adventurers had gotten lost along the way or had given up because speed wasn''t their forte. And well, one had his head cut off.


    Those that remained were starting to feel the hunt as Fredrick kept taking multiple twists and turns while dodging weapons thrown from behind him.


    Rowan was the only one still in peak condition as he gulped down mana recovery potions over and over again from within a spatial ring on his finger. This showed he wasn''t an Admiral for nothing.


    But even he was frustrated at his current predicament. The bastard in front of him had some really perverted stamina.


    How else was he supposed to exin how Fredrick was able to keep a constant distance even after Rowan had tripled his speed since the chase began?


    It was why the adventurers were beginning to feel the hunt.


    They were running extremely fast, which forced them to maintain peak concentration to avoid all sorts of things from swampy and slippery areas to twisted vines. At the speed they were currently moving, a single dy meant they would be left behind in a sh.


    The eyes of the adventurers shone with greed at the sight of Rowan''s spatial ring, but when the first attacker had his head cut off in a sh, they quickly suppressed such thoughts and focused on each other instead.


    Of course, to make sure the adventurers kept following after him, Fredrick had engineered a series of ''close calls'' which he survived by a hair''s breadth while also not forgetting to puke blood from time to time, thereby reinforcing the illusion of him being weakened.


    As Fredrick led them to the final stage, he looked at the two rings on his fingers.


    The first one was white with rune marking etched all over it, while the other was light blue.


    The light blue one was a limiter.


    As its name implied, its function was to reduce the level of mana one could use.


    It was used by people to practice their mana proficiency by giving them a handicap, or sometimes as a trump card.


    Using this ring, Fredrick limited his mana to that of an Advanced Knight, and it was very ufortable to say the least.


    He released it to that of a mid-tier Expert when fighting Rowan, which was why his aura suddenly shot up at set intervals.


    The white ring was the second spatial ring Cabrerater bought and handed to Fredrick. The space was four times bigger than Cabrera''s and was filled with a multitude of items ranging from food rations to alchemic potions.


    It was from here that Fredrick removed small sacks of monster blood, which he then poured in his mouth before puking it out.


    This would make sure no one could trace the blood back to him. And because it took a while for monster blood to permeate any odor, Rowan and the rest passed it by without noticing any difference.


    It was the same thing with Cabrera and Motavu.


    Rowan hadn''t noticed, but Fredrick was leading them towards the inner part of the forest, the part that connected to the mountain.


    But as Rowan and the rest chased after Fredrick, and Motavu chased Cabrera, another team of yers had entered the game and they were hot on Cabrera''s tail.


    ___________________


    -Within arge building pack to brim with people in armor-


    Among them was one man in blue armor with a sword strapped to his side as he looked at the man kneeling before him.


    "Is this true?!" the man in blue asked, obviously rmed.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Yes, guild master. I saw it with my own eyes. Mr. Asmund killed Arvin before running off"


    "Then, where are the others?!"


    "They chased after Mr. Asmund to get revenge, but they sent me here to ry the information and send back up as it seems the Red Wolf guild also has issues with Mr. Asmund"


    "Hoh¡­" The man breathed out as his mind whirred with possibilities.


    This was the guild master of the Windless Peaks branch of the White Iron guild.


    The man currently kneeling is Lazar, the member of the original team of thirteen with the fastest speed, which was why he was tasked with informing the guild master of what had transpired.


    "Arvin¡­" The man in blue said with a deep sadness in his voice. It was obvious from such a reaction that Arvin and the guild master had history together.


    In the next moment, the guild master''s face became fierce as he clenched his fist before saying¡­


    "Tell everyone to get prepared in ten minutes. We''re going hunting"


    "Yes sir" Lazar replied before hastily moving to inform others of the guild master''s orders while also clenching his fists.


    ''You killed Arvin of all people, so now you''re sure to die''


    Like so, the members of the White Iron guild all got geared up in armor, much to their confusion.


    The guild master had told them to pack their things. They had abandoned the outpost, which was why none of them went out to assist with the snake wave, yet now, the guild leader was going hunting?


    It was baffling, but they didn''t question orders.


    Before long, the guild master appeared in front of the now geared members with another blue armor, one whose quality was a notch higher than thest.


    "I''m not sure how many of you have heard, but Arvin is dead"


    The guild master paused as he looked at the reactions of his members, which ranged from shock to sadness to grief, as he continued without any room for questions.


    "He was killed"


    A fuse set off within the hearts of the guild members as they heard such words.


    "Now we''re going to get payback! With added interest!"


    "Teams one to four will follow my lead to hunt down the bastard. Lazar, you will lead us with haste. We cannot let such a man escape"


    "Teams five to seven are to join in repelling the snakes and protecting our property"


    "YES SIR!" the guild members hailed.


    "Good, now let''s move out. We have a target to catch"


    Without waiting for a response, he ran out of the building and into the forest with the others running right behind him.


    Lazar gave pointers as they moved across the forest with extreme haste, their eyes filled with the light of vengeance.


    A variable that neither Fredrick nor Cabrera ounted for had urred.


    The effect of such a variable on the n is yet to be seen.

 Chapter 78 The Challenger [Bonus]

    ''We''re almost there'' thought Fredrick as the bottom of the mountain came into view.


    And at the bottom of the mountain, there was a particr cave, one very well hidden that even Fredrick would''ve missed it if it wasn''t for the tamer ve he brought along and Ezra''s n.


    ''So, how do I go about it?'' Fredrick asked himself as his eyes darted all over the ce, quickly formting a n as he stole a nce at Rowan, who was chasing him with utmost fervor.


    ''That should work'' Fredrick thought as he began putting his ns into action.


    He began to reduce his speed, thereby letting Rowan close the gap and gain on him. After that, he took out a small sack of beast blood and poured it in his mouth while covering it.


    Looking from afar, one would think Fredrick was trying to stop himself from coughing or regurgitating, especially when they see his cheeks swelling up a little. This was in fact the beast blood, and then-


    *Blerghhh*


    -he would suddenly puke out a lot of blood as he had been doing all the way here.


    If Rowan''s mind wasn''tpletely clouded with greed, he would''ve noticed the peculiarity of how Fredrick''s face never grew pale or didn''t even seem to be affected by the loss of so much blood.


    At this point, Rowan had gotten within ten feet of Fredrick as they kept running and turning. A few more feet would allow Rowan''s great sword to directly hit Fredrick.


    And that was what he was counting on!


    They had now arrived at the deepest part of the forest, a few minutes away from reaching the mountain''s bottom-


    ''Yes, now there''s nowhere left to run!'' Rowan inwardly rejoiced because it meant the chase was about toe to an end.


    -when Fredrick did something unexpected!


    As if expecting it, which he was, Fredrick ran towards the tallest tree a dozen feet away from the mountain.


    Rowan''s eyes darted and his mind whirred as he tried to figure out the meaning of such an abrupt change in action. And it didn''t take him long to figure out what Fredrick was about to do.


    But when he did though-


    ''No you don''t''


    -his face morphed into an ugly scowl as he increased his speed to the max. He would never forgive himself if such a treasure escaped from his grasp, especially when he was so close.


    What would a predator do when his prey, which was almost in his grasp, was about to get away?


    Rowan''s reaction was a prime example of this as he chased Fredrick with fervor and desperation. Fredrick ''managed'' to keep the ten feet distance between them before running up the tallest tree, with Rowan right behind him, through a branch very close to the treetop, like an airne about to take off, and jumping towards the mountain, intent on grabbing it.


    s, Fredrick ''seemed'' to have omitted the variable called Rowan Everdust from his calctions.


    Given that Rowan was hot on Fredrick''s heels, they both jumped off the same branch of the same tree within the interval of a few seconds. Rowan was right behind Fredrick and both were suspended in the air.


    Using that chance, Rowan was able to close the gap between them while they were both falling.


    Without hesitation, he unleashed his aura coated greatsword with the intent to kill and smashed into Fredrick from behind, blowing him away like a swathed fly right into the mountain.


    *BOOOM*


    The reverberation spread like an echo across the entirety of the forest.


    The adventurers could only look from below as Fredrick''s body smashed into the mountain at terrific speed and blew chunks of rocks all over the ce.


    The adventurers quickly moved to dodge the rocks heading their way.


    In the midst of all this, neither Rowan nor the adventurers had seen Fredrick drop ten small vials containing a transparent liquid out of his spatial ring the moment before Rowan''s sword hit him.


    Rather, they couldn''t have known considering therge chunks of rocks that were flying all over the ce.


    Even Rowan was hit by a few, which sent him flying back into the ground with a few injuries.


    The rain of stones bounced all over the ce, crushing more than a few beasts and injuring many more.


    Itsted for two minutes, wrecking and breaking most of the nearby trees before it was over.


    A deceitful silence permeated the air for two minutes before the sound of a rock was heard.


    We see Rowan pushing a piece of rock bigger than him from on top of him to the side.


    His majestic appearance was nowhere to be seen at this moment. His golden armor had dimmed tremendously with dust and dirt covering arge part of his body.


    Nevertheless, the quality of the armor stayed true as it was tremendously dirty but sustained little damage.


    Rowan looked at the scene around him as he found himself wondering.


    ''Am I this strong?''


    It was a genuine question as he was the one who struck Fredrick into the mountain.


    But even he doubted whether it was actually his power when he looked at the mountain, which now had a wide and deep crack at one side of its base.


    But before he could go to the mountain to look for Fredrick''s body - after all, there was no way any ordinary Expert Knight could survive such an attack, especially not one who relied on artifacts to increase in power - the cracked part of the mountain lit up with a dazzling blue light.


    The next instant, blue particles rushed into the atmosphere, invigorating Rowan as he found himself regaining strength without any potion.


    His mana was regenerating at a fast pace.


    Such a development made Rowan''s mind go nk for a few seconds, before going back to his senses as his heart began pounding like it would explode.


    It wasn''t pounding heavily out of anything else but excitement as Rowan''s thoughts whirred at breakneck speeds as he thought¡­


    ''C-Could it be?!''


    ¡­!


    The mere thought of it made Rowan shiver in excitement. If it was what he thought it was, and it seemed highly likely that it was what he thought it was, Rowan couldn''t urately fathom what would happen next!


    Enough thinking. Since it was right in front of him, he only needed to check.


    And so he moved with more fervor than before as he ran towards the cracked area of the mountain to ascertain his findings.


    But before he could do so-


    *BOOM*


    -the ground shook and quacked, throwing the overly-excited Rowan off his feet.


    Two adventurers died with rocks crushing them into the earth. They were simply unlucky.


    The other twelve - with four spotting heavy injuries, three spotting light ones, and the rest being lucky enough to have stayed unscathed - quickly grabbed hold onto what remained of the devastated trees as they desperately tried to avoid the fate of thest two.<novelnext></novelnext>


    As this was happening, the adventurers spotted another group arriving at the scene.


    Muscr men who stomped their feet into the ground to not get thrown off bnce while holding trees for support.


    The Red Wolf guilders had arrived.


    But they weren''t the only ones, far from it.


    A little distance away from them was the adventure group Cabrera had implicated, who were then chased by some of the Red Wolf guilders.


    All of them were now dirtied as they held onto trees.


    Away from them were the nine members of the White Iron guild that had followed Cabrera''s trail to seek revenge for the death of their guild mate, Arvin.


    They were in an equally pitiful state, with most of them kicking off the rocks that fell on them.


    Speaking of Cabrera, one would find him far closer to the mountain at this moment as he coughed out stone dust from his lungs. His already dirty clothes could now be said to be filthy.


    Three dozen meters away from his location¡­


    "AHH!"


    The familiar figure of Motavu erupted from within the ground with his muscr bodyparable to that of a gori nowpletely covered in dust.


    He could not care for his appearance at his moment as his eyes darted all over the ce, quickly pinpointing Cabrera''s location.


    ''I''ve got you now'' he thought,pletely oblivious to the fact that mana was very rich in the atmosphere. Or maybe he just couldn''t be bothered at this moment as he moved to catch Cabrera.


    But before he could go far-


    *BOOM*


    -the ground shook once more, this time far more than thest.


    With it, Motavu was thrown off bnce and back into the ground as his head popped yet another vein.


    It seemed even the earth was against him capturing Cabrera.


    ''Then I will defy the earth!'' Motavu decided as he moved to get back on his feet.


    But before he could do so¡­


    *BOOM*


    The quaking ground forced him back on the ground face t.


    ''F*ck'' Motavu couldn''t help but curse it all.


    And it seemed the earth heard his words, because¡­


    *BOOOOM*


    The ground quaked once more. This one was triple the first one as everyone, from beast to men to trees, everything was shaken off bnce for a whole minute.


    Rowan had also nted his feet into the ground after suffering a fate like Motavu''s when he tried to get into the cave.


    A minute passed and the shaking stopped once more but no one moved, allowing an eerie silence to permeate the atmosphere.


    But it didn''tst long.


    Just as they feared, another tremor resounded.


    *BOOOOM*


    This sound was the same as thest, but the effects were not.


    The mountain vibrated as if it were shivering, and from it, several chunks of stone, far bigger than those Fredrick broke off, fell to the ground.


    *Boom*Boom*Boom*Boom*Boom*Boom*


    The adventurers felt like crying.


    What was this? They hade here chasing someone and now it was raining boulders all of a sudden.


    Rowan ran with all his might, but not towards the mountains this time, no, he ran for cover as he feared for his life!


    Cabrera ran into the cave opening Fredrick had told him about and barely managed to break through the entrance before a bouldernded in his former position.


    Motavu wanted to chase after Cabrera, but even he knew when to stop.


    After all, he could only take revenge if he was still alive.


    Dead men tell no tales.


    With such reasoning, he did the only thing he could. He dug into the ground like a mad dog and used a chunk of stone to shield himself from the falling stones.


    The Red Wolf guilders, the adventure team and the nine members of White Iron quickly ran deeper into the forest as the range of the falling rocks now was far wider than the first.


    All this happened simultaneously within the span of forty seconds, before the second shower of rocks rained down and once again devastated the already devastated forest.


    But it didn''t seem to be over yet.


    Even in the wake of the current disaster, the hissing of a snake rang out. It was loud enough to echo across the forest.


    ___________________


    -Within a cave that glittered and shimmered in blue light-


    Fredrick smiled at the sound of hissing.


    ''It''s here''


    Yes! It had arrived, the final piece that was needed to begin the final act of this spectacr show.


    The challenger had arrived.


    The final battle would soonmence.


    Fredrick grinned as he thought of this.

 Chapter 79 An Evolving Beast

    *Sssssssssss*


    An incessant hissing echoed out clearly even while the boulders fell.


    The shower of boulderssted ten seconds, a very short time, but at the end of it, a one mile radius of forest had been devastated beyond belief.


    At this time, another group arrived on the scene, this one farrger than the others.


    The four squads and the guild master of White Iron had arrived as reinforcements.


    Their appearance was shabby, but far less haggard than those closest to the area of the initial boulder shower.


    They had met Restea and Fernand along the way, who pointed them in this direction.


    Like Rowan, the guild master of the White Iron, Ilyon, immediately noticed the bizarre effects of increased mana regeneration.


    But before he could ponder on it, much less give any orders to the guilders to search for the party of nine...


    *Boom*


    A tremor resounded, this one far less effective than thest with only two pieces of rock falling off.


    Yet, immediately after, the loud hissing resounded again, this time far louder than thest.


    The guilders didn''t have to look far, because in the next moment...


    The source of the shaking and rumbling showed itself.


    The mountain that seemed invible quivered before a certain part burst apart with rubble flying out once more.


    And from it came a snake!


    One that made the blood of all nearby adventurers run cold. Even Ilyon and Rowan found themselves gulping at the sight of it.


    It was a snake with glistening white scales and red eyes. A majestic sight for sure.


    But it was its size that blew them away.


    The snake...was as big as the Missionary!


    Itpletely dwarfed all others around it. On its scales, those with good eyesight would see blue shimmering particles.


    Those like Rowan and Ilyon grew solemn but also exhrated at such a find.


    Their suspicions were now confirmed, but celebrations would have to be held at another time.


    A single nce was enough for anyone to tell that the creature in front of them meant business.


    It shook its body groggily, as if waking from a deep slumber, which it was, before stretching out a tongue longer than normal into the air.


    The moment it did so, the atmosphere changed as it began permeating a natural pressure that suppressed all those in its vicinity.


    "R-Run!"


    A few people already darted off like there was no tomorrow as they found the beast to be far more intimidating than anything they had ever seen.


    Some screamed and copsed onto the ground, these were those who had sumbed to the fear ability of the creature.


    Not veterans though, no, guys like Rowan and Ilyon seemed unfazed as they watched it carefully and cautiously.


    Looking closer though, one would see that their faces had turned grave at the sight of the snake.


    They both knew.


    ''Damn! For an A-rank beast to appear here of all ces...I changed my mind, today must really be the worst day of my life''


    An A-rank monster had enough power to match a Master-rank human.


    Such a monster appearing meant death to everyone in the outpost as there were no Master-ranks in sight.


    The snake was the equivalent of a walking disaster at the moment.<novelnext></novelnext>


    That was if Rowan hadn''t noticed that it was standing groggily without even moving for the past few seconds.


    ''Then, it''s subconsciously radiating fear?''


    It was a baffling question as it shouldn''t be possible, unless...


    ''No way''


    A smile made its way back onto Rowan''s face.


    ''We might actually have a chance''


    It was a longshot, but that was their only option.


    ''There''s no running away from that thing''


    It wasn''t a beast they could hope to outrun.


    So, they could only fight and hope to survive.


    But Rowan also knew he couldn''t do it alone, so he called out.


    No, rather, he shouted as loud as he could.


    "STOP RUNNING! ELSE WE SHALL ALL DIE!"


    The adventurers scrambling like chickens calmed down as their senses returned.


    As an Admiral, Rowan was certainly capable to an extent.


    He knew he needed to keep up the momentum. He quickly shoved a bevy of potion into his mouth before shouting once more.


    By now, he had noticed the White Iron guild squads. Then again, with how many there were, he would have to be blind to not have noticed them.


    "ALL ADVENTURERS RALLY TOWARDS ME, THE ADMIRAL!"


    The sound of rocks breaking was heard soon after as the adventurers jumped across the devastatednd and arrived at Rowan''s side.


    "You heard the man, rally towards him!"


    Ilyon, being as knowledgeable as Rowan concerning the beast in front of them, assisted with it as he quickly moved to Rowan''s location.


    There was no ce for a one man show. They needed to band together to survive, else they would all perish.


    "Rowan, what do you suggest we do?" Ilyon quickly got to the matter at hand.


    While Rowan was displeased by being called out so rudely, he knew now wasn''t the time to be petty.


    "We break into two teams and surround it. We''re all wearing poison resistance items but we still need to be careful about the venom. Ilyon, you and I will take the lead. Mages with earth and water spells will help us transform the ground into mud, anything that slows it down really, others mages are to focus on attacking. Knights and guardians are to take turns swapping between defense and offense, focusing on any unfinished scales. Archers, just aim for the eyes. All adventurers will be greatly rewarded for their contribution, all-"


    Rowan didn''t get to finish becauserge white scales, each as tall as your average man, fell from the snake''s body, disrupting them as they scattered to take cover.


    ''So it had begun''


    Rowan quickly brandished his great sword as he rushed towards the beast.


    The only reason why Rowan could even rally the adventurers was because the snake stood groggily without acting even aftering out of the mountain while releasing enough pressure to scare people out of their wits.


    And there could only be one reason why the beast would subconsciously release pressure.


    It is currently evolving!


    As of now, it was still a half stage B-rank at best.


    So, before it could be a full-fledged A-rank, they had to kill it.


    Else, they would be the ones to die.

 Chapter 80 An Evolving Beast (2)

    Rowan was the first to move.


    Without waiting for the others to get into position, he condensed aura onto his great sword and jumped off the ground with a bang.


    Like a ghost, he appeared in front of the groggy snake and shed down with all its might.


    The snake''s instinct kicked into overdrive as it tried to maneuver away from the iing sh.


    s, it was already toote.


    *sh*


    The sound of flesh being cut through rang out clearly, and a momentter, a loud screech rang out louder than a city bell throughout the whole forest.


    This screech was one of unbearable pain as liters of blood gushed out of a sh wound in the snake''s left eye and onto the ground below.


    And with it, the reason why A-rank monsters were called natural disasters became apparent as the snake thrashed around crazily, utterly unconcerned for anything around it, causing the devastated ground to shake once more.


    The whole forest could feel it, and by now, Rowan hadnded back onto the ground.


    The guilders behind him were already hopeful and were beginning to think such a monster wasn''t actually all that strong, but unlike them, Rowan knew that such a thing could never bring it down.


    And as hended, he quickly spoke before attacking once more.


    "Begin the attack. Ilyon, follow my lead"


    The admiral''s determination was being showcased as Rowan leaped up once more to attack.


    This time though, he was far less sessful as the snake mmed him back into ground the moment he took to the air. Fortunately, that allowed Ilyon tond a clean strike on uncovered flesh, causing blood to gush out once more.


    Whether this was a good thing was up in the air, because now the snake was utterly enraged.


    It was in the middle of a crucial breakthrough when something shook the mountain it resided in, causing rubble to fall on top of its head.


    It came out of the mountain with a little bit of effort, only to find intruders in its territory.


    It couldn''t care less about them, but the evolution had caused it to be weak. It hoped they all just ran off and left it alone for the time being.


    But these insects actually dared to attack it?!


    It would show them who they had messed with. It would have to put them in their ce by squashing them like the insects they were!


    With such reasoning, the snake moved.


    "It''sing!" Rowan yelled out to the guardians as they came forth with their shields to halt the beast''s advance.


    Unfortunately, they had grossly underestimated its might.


    "AHH!"


    The line of guardians was scattered in an instant as the snake swept them off their feet with its tail, flinging them afar.


    ''Damn'' Rowan bit his lip at the development as he took a look at his body.


    His stamina had gone down to dangerous levels because of all the running from before.


    He could take stamina potions like he had been doing till now, but even that had its limits.


    Too many potions in one day could lead to very bad side effects as the impurities of said potion kept umting in one''s body.


    Apart from that, there was also the case of developing resistance, which could develop into an immunity after taking a particr potion too many times.


    And what would you know, Rowan''s resistance to stamina potions was already high.


    Meaning that, if he drank a stamina potion, about thirty percent of it would be impurities, and the remaining seventy percent would then be cut short by his resistance. The remaining, however small, would now do its job.


    You should also note that with every intake of that potion, his resistance will also increase.


    By his calction, he had to drink almost fifteen stamina potions before recovering his stamina back to its peak.


    Now, he might need seventeen to get his stamina back to the peak.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But the problem was that he only had twenty more stamina potions in his spatial ring.


    A dilemma for sure.


    And he wasn''t the only one.


    ''If I knew this would happen I would have conserved my energy''


    Ilyon felt regretful at the development.


    They hade to avenge theirrade and Fernand had told them that the culprit might flee if they weren''t fast enough, so they ran towards this direction with all their might.


    That was why they were able to arrive so fast.


    s, that running had eaten almost half Ilyon''s stamina reserves.


    It was even worse for the guilders that had followed him, which was why the guardians couldn''t hold like they normally would.


    But there were no "what if" in life, they had to make do with what they had right now.


    "Mages! Strike it with your strongest spells!" Rowan shouted.


    "Are you trying to get us killed?!" a mage yelled back.


    "If we don''t act fast, we''re going to all die either way"


    Unlike guardians who defended with bodies of steely muscles, mages were as tough as pebbles.


    It didn''t take a genius to tell what would happen if the snake attacked them.


    And now Rowan was telling them to call its attention?!


    So you can understand why the mage''s face turned pale at themand.


    Luckily, Rowan had a good head on his shoulders.


    "Ilyon and I will keep it busy so you can focus on attacking!"


    The line of guardians had been scattered, but not everyone had been hit by the snake''s massive tail.


    Those lucky or skillful enough to avoid it were still putting up a fight.


    A losing one, but a fight nheless.


    Rowan was now sure that to have any chance of killing this beast, he would have to put his life on the line.


    But when he figured that if the snake finished evolving he would die anyway, it didn''t feel all that heavy anymore.


    And so he began once more.


    "Come here, you slithering b*stard!" he said as he jumped over the guardians and arrived in front of the snake along with Ilyon as they attacked with even more vigor.


    But of course, the snake was no slouch either.


    *Baam* It mmed its tail on the ground to destabilize their footing, causing Rowan to slip, and quickly followed up with a tail m.


    The snake had identified Rowan as the biggest threat and moved to eradicate him.


    Rowan, sensing the iing danger, rolled out of the way. He didn''t have time to think about honor and whatnot as a tail mmed right beside him a secondter.


    ''This isn''t going to be easy'' Rowan thought, and he never expected it to be.


    But when he saw the snake''s left eye-


    ''F*ck!''


    -he couldn''t help but curse as he was reminded of a very nasty feature of evolution.


    Regeneration.

 Chapter 81 Snake Stampede

    Regeneration.


    The act of exaggerated healing that could even regrow lost limbs.


    It was a rare ability or spell that Grandmasters could cast, and sometimes Masters too. Any item that had such an effect was sold for¡­who knows how much? It was almost never publicized, but it was worth thousands of tinum.


    Now, an evolving beast.


    It was simply a beast that had reached a major threshold in its bloodline and was now advancing onto a higher stage.


    While evolving, beasts go through aplete metamorphosis where their bloodlines are refined, their bones restructured and their flesh reced with far better ones.


    This is why the snake''s scales were falling off, revealing flesh underneath.


    They were also being reced at a rapid pace by scales glimmering with a purple and white sheen. But Rowan hadn''t taken cognizance of it till this moment, when he saw therge gash he left in its eye healing at a rate that could be seen with a naked eye.


    Rowan grit his teeth. They needed to kill this thing, and fast.


    Thankfully, the mages had finished casting their spells as they bombarded the snake with skills. Some cast water spells and turned the ground muddy, sessfully derailing its mobility and simultaneously dealing sufficient damage as they targeted the ces where scales were yet to regrow.


    This was where the effect of increased mana recovery shone the most. The mages were able to use more lethal spells without fearing mana deficiency.


    The snake screeched in horrifying pain as its skin singed with the smell of barbecue after being burnt by a fireball spell.


    Worse, the burnt part wasn''t healing as fast as it was supposed to because it was also hit by an acidic poison spell.


    The pain was more than anything it had ever felt in its entire life, and so it directly ignored Rowan and went for the congregation of mages, intent on destroying them before all else.


    But of course-


    "Where do you think you''re going?"


    -Rowan wasn''t having such a thing as he shouted once more before going in for another strike.


    "Keep firing!"


    As the snake evolved by the minute, so did its brain. And there was no doubt that those mages would burn it to death if it didn''t do something about them soon.


    But with the obstacles called Rowan and Ilyon, as well as the numerous guardians blocking its way, not to talk of the muddy ground that annoyed it to no end, getting to the mages didn''t seem very likely.


    But it seems fate was shining upon the monster, because¡­


    "Argh!"


    A mage shouted as the others turned around to find the cause of the matter and their faces turned pale.


    The mage was bitten on the shoulder while preparing a spell. He tried to shake the snake off, but before he could do so, he shrieked as he felt three pairs of fangs pierce his buttocks and legs, before being pulled down to the ground where other snakes swarmed him.


    He wondered why none of the mages helped him and stood frozen in ce as his vision went dark.


    But he would have understood had he looked behind him.


    Had he looked back, he would have seen the approaching swarm of frenzied snakes akin to a stampede. Only, this was a snake stampede.


    Such a development spread panic through the ranks of mages as they turned the spells intent on burning the evolving beast and used them to attack the approaching swarm instead.


    "Are you KIDDING ME?!" Rowan''s voice resounded at the sight of the iing swarm as his brain whirred, before moving away from the snake as he quickly surveyed the surroundings.


    Specifically, the humans. He also strained his hearing, trying to see if he could hear the sound of breaking ss.


    s, there was none.


    ''But then, what is causing this?'' Rowan questioned.


    Unknown to him, the snake lover potions Fredrick dropped were only beginning to take effect now. That wouldn''t be the case if not for a multitude of factors.


    The snake lover potion should''ve onlysted two minutes before turningpletely ineffective.


    Instead, because of the mana rich atmosphere, it was enhanced, causing the effect tost longer as some of its properties went airborne and spread much wider than its normal range.


    Of course, the snake swarm should have arrived earlier, but there was a reason why they hadn''t.


    "Sh*t! What''s wrong with these bastards?"


    "Watch your nk!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Damn it Damn it! These things just won''t let up"


    The guilders of Red Wolf were culling them at fast speeds.


    They did not rally towards Rowan because they were on the lookout for Motavu¡­and because they were tired from all the running and jumping.


    But they weren''t allowed much rest when snakes began rushing over.


    So, no, they weren''t doing this because they wanted to. They were doing it because they had to.


    The snakes didn''t just pass them by. They attacked at first sight, making their intent to kill known. Their lives were on the line whether they liked it or not. And they didn''t want to die.


    But they were not enough to stop the snakes from other paths as they swarmed towards the mountain where the smell originated from.


    There was only one problem, the adventurers were in the way.


    Rowan was able to stay calm and quickly gave out orders.


    "Half of the mages focus on attacking the swarm. The other half, attack the big one"


    "Guardians, half of you go and protect the mages, the other half stay with me"


    "Ilyon, leave this beast to me, just make sure those snakes don''t reach us"


    "Ok" Ilyon answered as he ran towards the snake stampede.


    The situation was getting darker by the second and it was at this moment that the sound of rocks breaking rang out once more.


    With it came a familiar voice.


    "I''m going to kill that b*stard even if it''s thest thing I do!"


    It was Motavu.


    At the moment, he was standing with dust all over his armor as his veins popped out all over his body.


    His eyes were red with zing fury as he was just able toe out of the ground after pushing away the boulder that fell on him.


    His eyes darted all over the ce, looking for the one he believed to have caused him such misery.


    But he didn''t get to do so before some voices called out to him.


    "Look over there, doesn''t that seem like the boss to you?"


    "Boss? No way, that''s not¡­hmm, now that you mention it, it does seem like boss"


    "Are you guy''s deaf?! How can you not recognize the boss''s voice?! That''s definitely him"


    As the guilders of Red Wolf peered their eyes to see if that was really their boss, Motavu had seen them and spoke¡­


    "What are you boys doing? What about the b*stard we were chasing after?"


    "Boss! It''s really the boss!" one of them shouted before being handed a quick p to shut his mouth.


    "We know" the man said, before continuing¡­


    "Boss, we can''te over there because of the snakes!"


    Motavu raised an eyebrow as he asked¡­


    "What-"


    But he couldn''t finish the sentence because a shadow loomed over him at that moment, causing him to raise his head to the sight of a huge snake screeching while Rowan continuously attacked it with his great sword.


    Motavu''s head spun dizzily as he wondered what the heck was going on, before deciding to shut down his curiosity as he looked around him.


    Observing the big snake and then the swarm of snakes, he smiled.


    He was furious already, now he had something to vent on without repercussions.


    So, without any further ado, he began picking the broken chunks of rocks, before throwing them towards the stampede.


    But while some people fought with all their might, some were profiting right under their noses.

 Chapter 82 The Object That Made The Plan Feasible

    While Rowan fought the evolving beast, something else was urring inside the mountain.


    From the moment Fredrick affirmed that the two parties had begun fighting, he also began acting as he pulled out a ring that had rusted all over.


    He was currently within a cavernous part of the mountain that had blue crystals embedded within every part of the walls, and rocks that acted as stctites all over the ce.


    Fredrick took a step back as he wondered¡­


    ''How did he know this was here?''


    The crystals were resources that would have most eyes shine with greed.


    They were mana crystals! A finite resource thates into existence when dense mana coagte.


    But this wasn''t their prize! That was something far better.


    Fredrick couldn''t help but think back to Ezra''s words.


    _________________


    "That''s impossible. And even if it were true, how is it that you know about it when nobody else does?!"


    Cabrera went on rampage as he couldn''t believe what he was hearing, but Ezra repeated himself.


    "Why would I need to lie? As I said before, a mountain amongst those that guard Avi is a treasure trove yet to be discovered. As for how I know it to be so¡­let''s just say I have a special ability that helps in such regards"


    After all, he couldn''t tell them he was a reincarnator and knew about it from his past life, now could he?


    "A special ability that lets you find treasure?" Cabrera asked with an incredulous expression.


    "Sigh, what happened to fairness under the heavens?" hemented, before regainingposure, though one could make out a look of envy from his current expression as he spoke.


    "So¡­now what?"


    Ezra: "I''ll need to buy a lot of pickaxes for the trip. You''ll be using it to mine out the crystals and stones"


    Cabrera: "I have just the guy"


    "Good. Fredrick, once you arrive there, you''ll have to scout the ce"


    Ezra said so because he only knew the stones were in the mountain. He didn''t know in which part of it they were located.


    "But how do we find the mountain? We could spend weeks if we''re not careful" Cabrera inquired.


    "That''s why you''ll need to buy a ved beast tamer. Within that mountain exists an A-rank beast"


    "It''s a snake that has been cultivating within that mountain for a long time. By now, it would certainly have reached A-rank"


    Fredrick and Cabrera''s eyes turned utterly serious at such words.


    "Then, how do we get past it?"


    "Easy, kill it while it''s down"


    "You''re saying that as if it''s easy. And what do you mean by ''while it''s down''?"


    "The snake is lodged in the mountain. While it''s there, it shouldn''t be able to move much. With Fredrick''s strength, killing it shouldn''t be that hard. So, while everyone is busy dealing with the snake outburst, you''ll be taking the crystals right under their noses"


    "En" Fredrick nodded.


    ___________________


    Unfortunately, his reminiscing was cut short when the screech of the snake resounded in his ears.


    ''Right, I don''t know how long they can hold each other down, so we''ll have to be as fast as possible. I''m sure such amotion would''ve been noticed by now''


    Fredrick turned his eyes back to the ring in his hand.


    It was the space ring Ezra had gotten from a chance store and had given to him for the sess of the n.


    At the time Ezra was searching for it, his expectations had been that it was a damaged artifact of the spatial attribute with a unique feature that others did not have.


    But when he put his mana into it, he found out that he had been greatly mistaken. Well, notpletely, but his spections had been off the mark by arge margin. And it was one of the reasons why this whole n was actually feasible.


    It was an item that Ezra had to deliberate on multiple times before giving it to Fredrick after binding him with a contract.


    Ezra also learned that he couldn''tpletely trust all the rumors from his past life.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The rumors about the ring were seriously downyed! And he knew why. If the truth about the relic ever came out, the noble family in his past life would have been targeted by all.


    Honestly, he seriously suspected that it was the noble family that had killed the man who sold it to them to make sure it was kept a secret.


    It was an item that Ezra estimated to be at the peak of Diamond-rank!


    Peak of Diamond-rank! Ezra didn''t believe he would ever chance upon such a thing.


    Additionally, the ring had actually sustained no damage at all, only its exterior made it look shabby. Then again, considering its value, it might be that it was purposely made to look like that to ward off greedy eyes.


    Space rings.


    They were rings that had a separate space bound to them, which eased transportation ofrge goods to arge extent.


    But they all had one w inmon.


    Space rings cannot contain living creatures, only inanimate objects.


    Ezra didn''t think a ring that could store living things existed as he had never heard of such a thing.


    But like you can probably guess¡­that was exactly what this ring did!


    It could house living objects! And it contained enough space to house four royal castle''s side by side.


    You might not understand the impact of such a development, so let me put you through.


    It meant Ezra could transport an entire herd of cows across the continent without any stress.


    It meant that Ezra could transport beasts alive and in tip top shape before releasing them within a city to cause havoc.


    This meant that he could have troops in his ring and deploy them right in the middle of the battlefield on unsuspecting enemies.


    The uses are extremely versatile no matter the situation, and Ezra knew so too.


    And he nned to use it to the fullest when he gave Fredrick the ring.


    Tell me, why exactly did Cabrera bring his guild members and Fredrick bring his ves along? After all, they hadn''t really been very useful up to now, had they?


    The answer to that question was the current scene.


    Fredrick brought the ring out from his clothing and, from it, people began to appear out of thin air.


    The ves appeared first, then the Cabrera''s guild members followed.


    Only now, all of them held pickaxes as they looked at the cave they found themselves in with shining eyes.


    Greedy thoughts were already filling their minds when Fredrick''s voice brought them out of their reverie.


    "Follow me, we are going deeper" he said, before adding one more statement.


    "And don''t touch anything, else we might all die here"


    Thest part was a lie, but he knew a warning was needed to stop them from acting out foolishly.


    Fredrick moved towards the inner parts, which wasn''t hard to navigate at all since the snake had already blown a hole through the mountain when it came out.


    As they advanced inwards, both the boys and the ves let of exmations of awe. It was certainly warranted when they discovered the absurd amounts of mana crystals along the walls'' inner parts, and that the mana density only increased as they tread forward.


    Their bodies were basically soaking in mana at one point, a refreshing feeling that felt almost euphoric.


    Even Fredrick, who hadn''t said a word, was inwardly bbergasted as he thought¡­


    ''Cultivating in such an environment would increase my cultivation speed by two, no, maybe three times? More if the central part is even denser than this''


    Fredrick couldn''t help but rejoice at the fact that his ability to detect encounters of fortune had really outdid itself this time.


    A littleter, they reached a part with so much mana, some of the boys almost fell unconscious.


    Fredrick''s eyes shone with glee.


    ''This is it''


    The object in front of him was just that good.


    And most importantly, they had found their prize!

 Chapter 83 Profiting While Others Fight!

    Mana stones!


    A resource even Grandmasters could not get enough of.


    A cave containing mana stones was enough reason for any superpower to go to war. Yet, in front of themy mana stones in the hundreds.


    While mana crystals had irregr sizes and came in a variety of shapes while maintaining a bright blue color, mana stones all looked the same.


    They were transparent, eclipse shaped, azure coloured crystals. And within them, one would see particles of mana swirling around.


    They were, without doubt, beautiful.


    Fredrick had already been briefed by Ezra, but even he was a human at heart, and for humans, seeing is believing.


    "This is definitely enough to start a great war"


    Fredrick nodded at the statement and began giving out orders.


    "Start mining. Split into two groups and mine in both directions. Pack all the mana stones in a single ce. If I hear a sound other than mining, you''re all dead. I''ll be going further in now, so make haste because we don''t have all day"


    The subordinates quickly got to work as they began mining. The ves were especially proficient as they moved the pickaxe with adept hands.


    Each one of them looked at each other as they suppressed the excitement in their hearts and got to work.


    The mana was already too dense for the boys to withstand, so only Fredrick could keep advancing unharmed.


    As he advanced to the core parts of the mountain, he found the number of mana stones to be increasing and the surroundings kept getting brighter, meaning the quality of the mana stones were higher than those before.


    Fredrick walked slowly as his eyes darted all over the ce, when something shone out of the corner of his eye. It shined far brighter than anything he hade across until now, so he quickly made his way towards it.


    He arrived at a part of the mountain that had marks imprinted into the ground. The passage had been widened to arge extent.


    There, he found pieces of glossy white fabric.


    ''Oh, its snake''s skin''


    It was the white snake''s molted skin. Fredrick wasn''t as knowledgeable of cksmithing as he was of alchemy, but such skin was bound to have some uses, so he quickly stored all the snake skin in his space ring, the one Cabrera bought.


    ''Now then, how do I go about this?''


    He had arrived in front of the shining object, and he had to admit, it was unlike anything he had ever seen.


    It was a square shaped dark blue crystal lodged in the cave wall with swirling essence in bigger particles of bright blue color.


    ''Is it a mana stone?!''


    It certainly seemed like one, and it had simr characteristics too, like the swirling mana within it.


    But¡­


    ''I''ve never seen, no, I''ve never even heard of a mana stone this big, or of one taking such a shape''


    That was the first problem, a mana stone of such size was unheard of. The fact that it was also square shaped was something he had never seen either. Or maybe such knowledge was deliberately kept from the public? Fredrick couldn''t be sure.


    Regardless, that wasn''t important at this moment. He had all the time in the world to study it once he sessfully stole it.


    But as he moved to remove it from the cave''s wall, his battle instincts rang out. It was a warning.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Fredrick stopped. His instincts were hardly ever wrong, and while he didn''t know what exactly it warned him of, it was better to be safe than sorry.


    He could probably survive whatever it was, but it could lead to an unwanted circumstance, which he would like to avoid as much as possible.


    So he looked at the other stones and thought¡­


    ''I can still take it once I''m done with the rest''


    Like so, Fredrick straightened his palm, coated it with aura in the shape of a de, picked a size of the cave walls, and began his work.


    His hands moved at speeds that would''ve caused the eyes of Cabrera to go dizzy and lodged themselves within the walls before cutting it out. In each of the chunks was a mana stone slightly bigger than those normally found.


    His eyes were closed. He didn''t need them as they would hamper him instead.


    Rather, he used a skill called "mana sense". This spread out small waves of mana across the caves, and in a ce with such dense mana, it allowed him to ''feel'' the location of the stones lodged within the walls by sending the information to his brain as images.


    The walls and anything that didn''t contain mana became translucent to him. Oposedly, the mana stones and crystals now seemed like countless shining dots in the mountain.


    He also felt the boys who were mining a distance away because they had mana within their bodies.


    But he also had his breath taken away when he felt the size of the square shaped mana stone. Surprisingly, it didn''t have the extreme blindness to his mana sense that it had when looking at it directly. It also gave him a feeling of ancientness.


    Fredrick was beginning to doubt whether the object was actually a mana stone, for it had a certain depth into it that Fredrick couldn''t fathom.


    He suddenly had a hunch.


    ''Maybe it''s rted to how the A-rank monster came about''


    But he quickly suppressed his curiosity and put more concentration and ferocity within his palms as he increased his mining speed once more.


    The mountain''s walls began vibrating because of the power behind Fredrick''s punches, which ran down on the walls like a jackhammer with the speed of a horse.


    To make things even more efficient, Fredrick had amplified his muscles with mana, something he wouldn''t normally do because of how costly it was, but in an area with such a dense level of mana, worries about mana recovery were nonexistent.


    The chunks of rocks weren''t falling to the ground. Rather, they were being absorbed into the ring in his fingers the moment he cut them out. He would remove the mana stones from within the rock pieces when they were back in the capital.


    For now, it was all about efficiency, because-


    _____________


    "Your aim is to be as efficient and effective as possible. Any decisions and all your actions should be aimed at that"


    _____________


    -those were Ezra''s words, and damn, was he efficient!


    The resounding tremor disoriented the boys, who had to firm themselves into the ground to resist heavy vibrations.


    Like so, with the light of greed and determination in their eyes, they mined with all their might to take as much as possible.


    They aimed to profit while others fought.


    Rowan would spew blood through his nose if he knew that the man he thought dead had yed him like a puppet and was the reason why he was being beaten and bashed by a snake like never before.


    But like always, the strings of fate were on the move.

 Chapter 84 A Terrible Situation

    "Damn It!" Rowan couldn''t help but curse as he battled the snake.


    The situation, which wasn''t looking good in the first ce, had be downright terrible.


    His stamina wasn''t anywhere near its peak, but he used mana topensate for it and, because of the mana rich atmosphere, he didn''t need to worry about slow mana recovery.


    He was able to match the snake and keep it busy while the mages bombarded it with spells, effectively dealing damage, before the snake regenerated once more.


    But Rowan quickly discovered something about its regeneration ability.


    Just like he thought, there was a cost. No, in the first ce, he didn''t think something like unlimited regeneration existed, even for Grandmasters.


    Whenever the snake used regeneration, two things happened.


    Its body mass became smaller, and the rate at which it evolved became slower. It wasn''t noticeable at first, but after dealing substantial damage, Rowan was able to figure it out.


    So how exactly did the situation suddenly turn for the worst?


    Well, it was when the snake showed them part of the reasons why A-rank beasts were called natural disasters.


    The snake used its newest gained ability! And what would you know, it couldn''t be more perfect for the current situation.


    At a point where the snake had be a lot smaller after being significantly damaged, its red eyes suddenly changed color!


    A part of its eyes became a shade of yellow, and that is when problems began, because...


    "Ahh! Get away from me!"


    One of the adventurers attacking the snake suddenly shouted, before swinging his de with a terrified face as he beheaded the person by his side.


    It happened so fast and abruptly that the nearby adventurers didn''t notice, but the moment some did, mass panic spread across their ranks, disorganizing their formation.


    "No, no! I''ll kill you, you did this to me!"


    And before they could begin to understand, the same man began screaming as he attacked the others with a terrified expression as if they were beasts.


    Even Rowan paused because of the unexpected situation, and that was the worst thing he could have done. It gave the snake a window to use that ability on others.


    It didn''t work on all of them, but those it worked on were enough to cause chaos within the ranks of the adventurers as those affected attacked the rest.


    Rowan quickly figured it out and shouted...


    "It has a hypnosis ability! Don''t look into its eyes!"


    But a lot of damage had already been done.


    What made it worse was that he couldn''t even help them. He had to keep the snake in ce to make sure it didn''t get to the mages who were still attacking.


    So the adventurers had to stop the ones rampaging by themselves, either by binding them or killing them.


    In the end, the one''s hypnotized were all killed, but not before killing others.


    The ones that remained were less than half of the initial adventurer force.


    And Rowan wasn''t in his best condition either.


    In a normal situation, he would have been able to ward off the snake''s hypnosis on his mind.


    The problem was, this was no normal situation.


    He had continuously spent his mental power to monitor the situation while fighting, but now such action was biting him in the back.


    When the snake activated its ability, Rowan hit even harder to break the hypnosis, which worked, but the damage had already been done.


    Right now, one-sixth of the snake''s body was covered in purple scales, which as Rowan had found out the hard way, was worlds apart in quality from the former white scales.


    And the snake knew so too. So it began to turn the part of its body with the purple scales at Rowan''s attacks. What had been fatal with its white skin was now very bearable using the purple skin.


    At the moment, the snake''s body was covered in burns, cuts, and blisters. The speed of its regeneration had reduced to that of a snail. Its left eye now had a vertical cut in it, effectively rendering it useless. And, because of the low regeneration, the snake was continuously bleeding out.


    Across the snake''s body were multiple sword marks, but the culprit responsible wasn''t doing too well either.


    ''Damn It!''


    Which was why he was so frustrated.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Unlike the snake, who had multiple cuts and blisters on his skin, Rowan''s dusty figure barely had any cuts or injuries on him.


    Looking from afar, most won''t even know something was wrong.


    But on the contrary...


    ''Damn It all!''


    Rowan was in so much pain he felt like dying.


    While Rowan attacked with the sharp edge of his great sword, the snake had utilized its body as its weapon.


    It used its tail the most.


    And the amount of times the snake smacked Rowan into the ground with its tail was in the tens.


    Add this to the strain his mind was feeling from using mental power to ward off the snake''s hypnotic illusions over and over again, and you have Rowan''s current state.


    He looked okay on the outside, but his insides were a mess. His bones were screaming with pain, and being smacked by the snakes had broken three of his ribs. His organs were a mess and he was also bleeding internally, though slowly.


    Since the moment Rowan saw its crazy regeneration speed, he immediately understood that the battle would have to be one of attrition.


    So he made a simple n. He would hamper its regeneration and bleed it to death. And the n worked surprisingly well at the start.


    What he didn''t ount for, was the hypnosis ability, and that was why he was in this state.


    The first time the snake used it, he got flustered and hesitated, giving the snake just the few more seconds it needed to use the ability on a wide scale.


    But Rowan quickly figured it out and promptly warned his teammates.


    Then, by the time he turned his focus back to the beast in front of him...


    *Baam!*


    The iing tail was what greeted him, smashing him into the ground.


    But the snake didn''t let up. It had learned from Rowan''s consecutive attacks, and so it did the same.


    *Baam!*Baam!*Baam!*Baam!*


    Without stopping, the tail smacked his body more than five times consecutively, dealing an awful lot of damage to Rowan, who was essentially a sandbag at the moment. With the frontliners battling amongst themselves as a result of the hypnosis, the snake could''ve killed him there and then.


    Nevertheless, the timely aid of the mages situated at the rear as a Fireball as big as a rock and two big chunks of stone thrown by Motavu from afarnded squarely at the side of the snake''s head, freed Rowan from his predicament.


    After taking a couple of healing potions, Rowan''s body healed to a manageable degree and he jumped into battle with the snakes once again as he had to stop the snakes from going after the mage unit.


    But his strained body made it easier for the snake''s illusions to prate his mind.


    He was able to force such illusions out, but it caused his reaction speed tog behind by a few fractions of a second.


    But in a fight, those few moments gave him openings the snake was able to exploit to its advantage.


    Motavu and Ilyon were wreaking havoc on the backlines, along with Motavu''s guilders and half of the mages, as they battled the swarm of snakes that had begun to seem endless.


    But it wasn''t enough.


    "Sh*t! Skewer these vermin, do not let them pass"


    With Motavu and Ilyon in the front, a formation was formed.


    But the snakes were only growing in number and, as time passed, it was bing too much.


    Rowan noticed this too, and he also knew...


    ''If they fall before we kill this thing, we''ll all die''


    Should the swarm of snakes decimate the rear, they would surround everyone else and they would be annihted.


    So he looked at the white snake, who was looking right back at him, as he spat blood on the floor and steadied his grip on this great sword before taking a stance.


    ''I need to end this''

 Chapter 85 Buying Time

    ''Time to end this''


    Rowan''s breath cooled and slowed as he thought so.


    He closed his eyes and shut out sounds from his ears.


    From his body, a light yellow aura erupted.


    Rowan had been conserving energy since he saw no need to rush things. After all, in a battle of attrition, it was all about thest man standing.


    ? He just had to outlive his opponent.


    But¡­


    ''I was wrong''


    He was definitely wrong on that, and he paid dearly for it. The energy he thought to conserve had all been wasted when he had to protect his body from the snake''s tail, else it would have been more than just ribs that were broken.


    The snake swarm was closing in by the second. Now, time was no longer on his side. He couldn''t afford a battle on two fronts, especially not in his current condition.


    So, there was only one answer.


    He had to finish off the big snake.


    And he had to do it fast.


    To do so with the highest rate of sess¡­


    ''I''ll put everything into one attack''


    He would stake victory and defeat it on one strike.


    And that''s exactly what he did.


    But of course¡­


    *Screeech!*


    The snake wasn''t going to standstill and die, now would it?


    With its instincts ringing out warnings, the snake quickly spotted its greatest foe standingpletely still with his sword at the ready.


    Along his greatsword was a yellow light.


    The snake didn''t know what it was, but it sensed danger from it.


    Letting its foe finish whatever it was up to would spell disaster for it, so the snake moved.


    This time with even more vigor.


    It was determined to survive, and it would do whatever it took to make it so.


    "Gather around the Admiral! We must protect him at all costs!"


    The adventurers at Rowan''s side quickly got the memo as they gathered around him like a on all sides.


    Vesta was the one who took the lead, standing in front while showcasing his white armor, which had be dirty at this point in time.


    He raised his sword and chanted words to raise morale.


    "We must buy the Admiral enough time to finish his preparations and this beast shall be vanquished! Maintain your positions at all times! For the Empire!"


    And sure enough-


    "For the Empire!"


    -it worked.


    Only an Expert Knight like Rowan could match the beast, and none who remained were even close to that stage, so they took on a defensive formation. That way, they could stand a chance, no matter how small, against the beast.


    Since the aim was to buy time, it was the best decision they could make.


    As the snake approached, the adventurers readied themselves.


    They had all chanted minutes ago, but the true reason why they stood their ground was because they knew. They knew they didn''t stand a chance of escaping their current predicament without the Admiral.


    Meanwhile, the yellow aura that coated Rowan''s great sword was getting brighter and brighter by the second.


    But most didn''t even notice that because-


    *Bam!*


    -the snake was already in front of them!


    With its tail, it mmed down on the formation.


    But the men held on as they burnt mana at a fast rate, one which the mana rich atmosphere couldn''t keep up with, using it to amplify their body to withstand the impact.


    Even with all this-


    *Crack!*


    "Ahh!"


    -it still wasn''t enough.


    The arms of a few snapped from the first exchange, while for some, it was their legs.


    Even Vesta had veins pop out all over his body as he tried to withstand the huge mass on top of him.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''Damn, for it to be this much, I won''t be able tost longer than a minute!''


    His limits were one minute before his body would fold under such pressure, and for others, it was far shorter.


    "I don''t think I can take much more" one of them muttered.


    He could already feel his limits nearing.


    But before he could fold under pressure-


    *Screech!*


    -the snake suddenly screeched, before taking its tail off the poor men in a hurry and thrashing around.


    The unit of mages made themselves known on the battlefield once more as we see the snake''s uncovered flesh burn at rming rates.


    And so the adventures guarding Rowan were able to get some respite.


    But it was only for a few seconds. Too short a time for them to recover any decent amount of mana.


    The snake got back upright as it stopped screeching, gazed at the mage unit from afar, and turned its gaze back to the adventurers in front of it.


    It would have loved to use hypnosis right now, but sadly, it couldn''t.


    Just like Rowan had to use mental power to block off the hypnosis, the snake expended mental power to use it. After using it on Rowan so many times, its mind was very strained at the moment.


    Rowan destroying the hypnosis affected the snake''s mind, though to a small degree at first, but continuous usage had worn it out.


    Now, the snake looked at the mage unit and then at the adventurer, trying to decide on the priority target.


    The mages unit were dangerous because of their immense firepower that could hit uncovered flesh seven out of ten times if aimed right.


    Then, there was its greatest adversary that had be a sitting duck with its de now carrying an energy that could prove fatal for it.


    So, should it approach the mage unit or press on here?


    But the seconds used to ponder on its options were a terrible mistake.


    Before it could make a choice-


    *Baam!*


    -arge rock it hadn''t seening hit its head with a bang, sessfully throwing it back as its head waspletely disoriented.


    Before it could bnce itself, a voice rang out.


    "Ya big lizard, get over here"


    The figure of a man came into view as we see Motavu jump at the snake with a rock in his arms and bash the snake''s head once again, before looking back and saying¡­


    "What are you doing? Attack"


    ¡­not at the adventurers, but at the mage unit.


    ''I can''t let it get up''


    Despite Motavu''s character, he knew his stuff.


    That was why he kept hammering the snake''s head with his fists after the rock broke. He needed to press his advantage, because he would suffer a lot in a one on one fight.


    But he also knew that he couldn''t hold it for long.


    ''Come on, stupid Admiral, we''re running out of time''


    Like the adventurers, he knew only Rowan would be capable of killing it.


    ''I should be able to keep this up for a minute'' he thought.


    But Motavu severely underestimated the snake, because in the next moment¡­


    *Craak!*


    "AHHH!"


    The snake''s tail had wrapped around his body and began breaking his bones by squeezing him tight.


    Motavu was about to pass out from an overwhelming level of pain when¡­


    *Screech*


    Thankfully, help came on time, as another fireball made its way to the snake''s body once more, causing it to fling Motavu out of its grasp without a second thought as it thrashed around.


    *Bam!*


    Motavu hit the ground with a bang. His whole body was screaming as he cursed inwardly. He couldn''t even get up.


    As the thrashing snake came back to its senses, its anger was directed at the mage unit and it moved to decimate them.


    That wretched ball of red had damaged its body too much, and the pain was always the same. It didn''t seem like it would be getting used to it.


    But before it could go far, a voice rang out.


    "Where do you think you''re going?" a familiar voice said.


    The snake could only turn its body to see Rowan with his whole body covered in aura.


    The final attack was ready.

 Chapter 86 The Final Strike

    "Where do you think you''re going?" Rowan spoke with his entire figure covered in shining yellow aura.


    Now, the group of adventurers forming a formation around him had scattered, because like the snake, they could perceive danger, one that signified death.


    It was also at this moment that the snake knew¡­it had f*cked up!


    But Rowan had no considerations as he sted towards it, leaving a yellow blur in his wake.


    The snake, feeling death getting closer, wrapped its body in a circr way as it hid its head at the center.


    But like before, this was a terrible mistake. A futile act was exactly what it was.


    The next moment, Rowan appeared in front of the snake''s coiled body and swung his greatsword.


    From the sword, we see a vivid line of shining yellow form as it passed through the snake''s body at once.


    Time seemed to slow down, when¡­


    *CRAACK!*


    The ground underneath the snake trembled as it split apart slightly, the mark of a sword embedded clearly for all to see. Then it stretched onto the snake''s body before splitting it into two equal halves.


    Now, there was no doubt.


    The snake waspletely and utterly dead.


    "We¡­actually did it!"


    "The beast is dead!"


    "It''s finally dead!"


    The adventurers rejoiced at the sight of the beast that seemed invible having finally beenid to waste.


    But as they rejoiced, a sound broke them out of their reverie.


    *ng*


    It was the sound of Rowan''s greatsword falling from his hands onto the cracked floor as Rowan himself knelt on the ground, using both hands to support himself, when suddenly-


    *Puhaak*


    -he puked out massive amounts of blood and fell limply on the ground.


    "Admiral?!"


    "Something''s happened to Sir Rowan!"


    A few adventurers hastily made their way to his side with panicked voices as they checked his condition.


    Rowan was lying down in a small pool of his own blood. His armor looked pitiful, if anything, and the greatsword had broken in many ces and darkened like it was thrown into a bag of charcoal. With one look, anyone could tell that the sword had lost almost all its luster. With a few more swings, it would be rendered useless.


    But they also understood that Rowan''sst attack was not an ordinary one, and that, in exchange for such firepower, he must have suffered a great deal.


    What it was though, they didn''t know. Only that the Admiral had now be a liability.


    He wouldn''t be fighting any more battles today, if he could even wake up in the first ce.


    As some wondered how they would treat the Admiral.


    The other adventurers that stayed in ce were havingpletely different thoughts.


    Like the first few, they knew Rowan was practically useless on the battlefield after using whatever technique that was.


    But instead of worry, their hearts pounded as they rejoiced inwardly, their minds reeling in with a realization.


    ''He must have suffered something terrible after using that technique''


    Which means¡­


    ''He''s basically a sitting duck right now''


    So...


    ''Since I helped with the attack, that means I own part of the bounty!''


    And the bounty was¡­


    ''Man, an A-rank beast, with special abilities too! Just one of its scales could give me enough money to buy a farm and, with a little work, settle down''<novelnext></novelnext>


    And if just one scale was that good¡­


    ''If I could just get twenty of these things, I''ll be set for generations!''


    Not for life, but for generations toe! From this alone, one could see just how much value it had.


    Then he looked at the numerous scales shed from the snake''s body littered all over the ce and had a thought¡­


    ''Man, there are so many! They won''t make a fuss if I just take five of them right? And since I helped in the attack, it''s not stealing''


    Clouds of greed began permeating in the minds of the adventurers.


    They had instantly forgotten that, without Rowan''s help, they would have surely died, but instead, began shamelesslymenting on how they also helped.


    Some took it a step further as they thought¡­


    ''The heart of an A-rank beast is enough for me to be a noble''


    ''Those eyes can be used to forge artifacts of Dark-Gold rank at least. And with a rare ability like hypnosis, it is bound to sell for a fortune!''


    ''The beast''s core will sell for thousands of gold. I have to get it!''


    Each one began to make calctions as they checked their swords, gear, and most especially, the face of the other adventures.


    Everyone was out for blood.


    It was a known practice throughout the three continents that the person who killed a beast was eligible to pick any three or more parts of the beast depending on the person''s contribution.


    It was a rule even the worst of scum applied by.


    That isn''t to say no one broke it, on the contrary, many did, but you had to make sure that no one saw you.


    Such an act would tarnish any form of dignity and reputation one had in the eyes of the masses.


    That is, unless one wielded enough power to easily sway public image by mixing lies with truth and spreading rumors.


    Even then, there was always some form of damage, no matter how small.


    So, most times, whoever did so would kill every other person present to make sure it was never known, else one''s life had basically ended.


    But unique cases such as the current situation existed.


    A situation where everyone wanted to plunder, and because no one had enough confidence in their strength to kill all others, there was only one thing they could do.


    They would leave the continent and start a new life with a new identity on another. For small-time adventurers like them, it was their only option.


    But they also had to tie up loose ends as much as they could.


    The materials of an A-rank was something higher powers would go to war for depending on how rare it was.


    Should Rowan mention their visage to the authorities, they would be chased down by assassins across all continents after being given a sketch of their faces. A bounty, which would only increase as time passed, would also be ced on their heads.


    To prevent such a hellish experience froming to light...


    ''We need to take care of him while he''s down''


    Rowan needed to die.


    They then looked at the few adventurers looking after him.


    ''They also need to die''


    Letting such types of goodie-two-shoes leave would certainly bite them back in the future.


    Everyone had simr thoughts as they gazed into the eyes of each other, before nodding.


    No words were needed. They knew what they had to do.


    So, five people with short daggers detached from the group as they moved towards the unsuspecting party that was looking after Rowan.


    But before they could get in striking range.


    "What the heck are you guys doing?!"


    Ilyon appeared with a bang as hended in their midst.

 Chapter 87 A Lesson For Scum

    "What the heck are you guys doing?!"


    Ilyon appeared in their midst with a bang.


    His visage was stained all around with blood as he pointed his sword at the approaching five while his eyes darted all over the ce and his brain whirred at high speeds trying to understand the current situation.


    He had been warding off the iing wave of snakes on his lonesome after Motavu left to help Rowan.


    They needed Rowan''s power, so he thought it would be better to finish up the big one quickly and then use theirbined might to cull the swarm, so he told Motavu to assist while he kept the snakes busy.


    A few minutes had passed and he hadn''t heard Motavu''s loud voice, so he came to check on the situation.


    What he met though, was the realization of his worst fears.


    Rowan was lying down limp in a pool of blood with his body pale.


    Motavu seemed to be incapacitated as heid on the ground unmoving.


    Thankfully, both of them were still alive.


    But considering the circumstances, it was doubtful whether he should be thankful that the two most powerful people had be liabilities.


    As he thought of this¡­


    *Ssssss*


    *Ssssss*


    *Ssssss*


    The hissing of snakes broke the greedy minded adventurers out of their fantasies as they looked behind them to see the reason they had decided to fight the A-rank monster in the first ce.


    The snake swarm was getting bigger, but they were also being attacked byrge attacks.


    Unlike them, the half of the mage unit that was helping Rowan turned to the snake swarm the moment the big one was killed.


    Mages had superb firepower, but very pitiful physical strength. Well, not all of them, but these mages were at Intermediate-rank at most.


    It was because of this pitiful constitution that they judged running to be a big no-no.


    They could never outrun the swarm of frenzied snakes, so it was better to hold the line with the adventurers led by Ilyon.


    So each adventurer began to revise their ns of betrayal once more.


    ''Damn! I forgot about those. How am I supposed to escape from that thing?''


    ''Well, this is a problem. I''ll wait and see what the other do before making my move''


    ''Hmm, if we kill Rowan, would we be able to get out of here alive?''


    All these things happened simultaneously within seconds.


    The five who had moved to kill Rowan found themselves stumped after Ilyon arrived in front of them.


    ''Shit! What do we say?''


    ''Did he notice us beforeing here?''


    ''One wrong move and we''re dead''


    They didn''t know what to say as their minds whirred, trying to cook up an answer. But then, one of them lunged forth with three small knives in hand as he moved to attack Ilyon.


    ''He''s been fighting far longer than the rest of us. He must have gotten tired by now''


    ''I just need to get a clean hit and the poison will do the rest''


    ''Don''t me me for this, me¡­"


    The man never got to finish that thought, because he saw Ilyon''s hand turn into a blur and then¡­


    *St*


    Like falling ice cream, the man''s upper body, from the pelvis to the head, fell to the ground.


    It was a scene right out of a horror movie.


    The culprit though¡­


    "Hmm, I have grown so weak that even scum dares to look down on me?"


    Ilyon spoke calmly as he swiped off the blood on his sword.


    His expression was calm, but one could see the anger mirrored in his eyes.


    He was a guild master, and he took pride in it. For such a lowly thing to actually have the audacity to attack him! Did he think he was weak?! It seemed a lesson was needed to educate these fools.


    The remaining four could only stare, not knowing how to react to theirrade''s action, especially since he was now dead, when Ilyon''s hand became a blur once more.


    Without being able to react, the four had their heads cut off in one smooth motion, letting a fountain of blood erupt from their necks before their bodies dropped on their own pool of blood.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ilyon couldn''t be bothered though as he swiped blood off his swords once more before turning his eyes towards the greedy adventurers, who flinched at his gaze. Their throats ran dry and lumps got stuck in their throat as they gulped nervously, especially when considering Ilyon''s current visage.


    The blood that erupted from the neck of those killed had sttered on his clothes, thankfully avoiding his head.


    So his body was constantly dripping blood at the moment.


    To the adventurers though, he looked like a demon.


    Ilyon smiled at their reaction while checking his insides.


    Like the assassin spected, Ilyon was bing exhausted.


    He maintained his fa?ade, because he knew showing any sign of weakness would make the mercenaries not hesitate to bare their fangs at him.


    His mana was recovering steadily, but his stamina was the real headache, though it was still manageable.


    ''Now, what do I do with you guys?''


    Ilyon wondered how best to put them in a formation against the snake swarm.


    The adventurers though¡­


    ''Shit! He knows. We''re all dead''


    ''There''s no outrunning him!''


    ''What do we do? What do we do?!"


    ¡­were all freaking out as Ilyon approached.


    Ilyon approached, satisfied that his performance had achieved its purpose.


    "Hello, Sir Ilyon"


    A man out of the remaining mercenaries came out withckluster armor but with a confident gait.


    "Yes?" Ilyon raised an eyebrow at such antics as the man continued.


    "I believe I have something that might really benefit Sir Ilyon"


    "Hmm-" Ilyon''s look got weirder, before saying¡­


    "What is it?"


    "A n"


    "Hmm, why do you think I need this big n of yours? And why do you want to give it to me?"


    "Well, the n will make Sir Ilyon the hero of the snake attack, and I''m giving it to you because I want to join your guild"


    "What happens if this n isn''t as good as you say?"


    "Then you can have my head"


    Ilyon nodded.


    "Fair enough, let''s hear what you have to say"


    "So, Sir Ilyon, what do you think of taking the spoils of this battle for yourself?"


    "Hmm, do you have a way?"


    Ilyon was, of course, intrigued by such prospects.


    But, before continuing, he looked at the others and shouted.


    "What are you waiting around for?! Go and assist the mage units in repelling those snakes!"


    Ilyon nced back at the man and said¡­


    "Go on"


    ''He wasn''t going to kill us?!''


    The man felt extremely regretful. He only spoke so as to find a way out for himself because he thought they would all be killed.


    But that wasn''t the case¡­sigh¡­


    ''Why did I have to open my big mouth?'' he asked rhetorically, before taking a deep breath.


    He had already put his life on the line, so now he had to see it through.


    The adventurers ran towards the location of the mage units like no tomorrow as they all sighed in relief that they weren''t killed.


    As for whether any of them would live to see the light of day tomorrow, it was still up in the air.

 Chapter 88 Cocaine For Snakes

    ''Shit! What is this?!''


    The adventurers couldn''t believe the scene in front of them. No, rather, they didn''t want to believe it.


    But such hopes were quickly dashed into oblivion as a voice called out.


    "What in Raikan''s name are you doing?! Get in formation NOW!"


    The coarse voice of a man threw them out of their reverie as the ferociousness within caused some to trip as they made haste and came together clumsily to maintain a very lousy formation.


    The acting captain of the other team berated them while only sparing them a nce, before swinging his great sword to cut down ten snakes at once.


    One could easily identify him as a member of Red Wolf by his physique and the marching crest on his red armor.


    As he deflected snake bites with his round shield and swung his sword once more, he spoke without looking back¡­


    "Where''s Sir Ilyon?!"


    One of those who just arrived promptly answered¡­


    "He stayed behind to help the Admiral"


    A man among those already fighting spoke with a panicked tone at such news.


    "Something happened to the Admiral?!"


    The acting captain spoke up before the adventurer could reply with a voice tinged with anger. One could easily guess that the man didn''t like being interrupted.


    "Pelu, focus on the snakes in front of you"


    No sound was then heard from the one named Pelu.


    The acting captain kept swinging and bashing as he spoke¡­


    "Answer his question"


    The adventurer didn''t dare tally, especially after seeing how obedient that Pelu guy was.


    "He killed the beast, but he paid a heavy price in doing so. The Admiralys unconscious at this moment and seemed to be in very bad condition"


    "Hmm, what about our vice guild master?"


    "Uhhh¡­" the man could only mutter because he didn''t know who was being referred to.


    Luckily, someone did.


    "Sir Motavu was injured severely when the snake squeezed his body tight. As for how many broken bones he now has, that I do not know"


    The acting captain asked nothing more as he muttered under his breath¡­


    "So we have no idea whether those two will be able to join the battle once more, and now, Sir Ilyon is doing who knows what?"


    And this meant¡­


    "We''re on our own"


    No reinforcements mighte, and there was no way they could outrun the snakes.


    So the only option left¡­was to fight! To fight and survive.


    The captain repeated it in his mind.


    ''To fight and to survive"


    His gaze changed to that of someone who had resigned himself to fate and began culling the snakes with more vigor.


    The newly adventurers though, were regretting their actions.


    They had hurriedly scurried towards the mage units with expressions of relief, thinking that any ce was better than being at the side of the demon called Ilyon, only to find themselves doubting such thoughts when they arrived close to the mages.


    *Ssssss*Ssssss*Ssssss*Ssss*Ssss*


    Loud and ferocious hisses rang out as they looked at the scene with dread and fear.


    Hundreds of snakes were squirming forward fiercely as they all moved in the direction of the mountain.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was an overwhelming sight.


    *Shang*Shua*Shing*


    A group of adventurers making up an arrowhead formation stood in their way as they held up shields of all kinds with one hand to block and ward off snake attacks.


    Members of both Red Wolf and White Iron were also among them, having forgotten about grudges when faced with an overwhelming enemy.


    Motavu and Ilyon were at the forefront killing the snakes while taking the pressure off those behind them before both of them suddenly left to assist Rowan.


    Now, it was a scene of horror, with the armor of the defending knights having already been painted with snake blood all over.


    The ground the adventurers stood on had been painted red with blood and ck with burnt snake corpses caused by thebined fireball spells of the mage units.


    The saving grace was that they were mostly small fries, F to D rank beasts. The adventurers were able to dispatch them with a single swing of their sword.


    Only, the problem came from elsewhere.


    Like ants, what theycked in power, they made up for in sheer numbers.


    But that wasn''t very fear inducingpared to the Ilyon they just saw.


    No, what made them dread were the snakes. They had gone crazy, literally.


    They were attacking without a care for their lives, which was why the group of knights and the mage units hadn''t perished under the attack of waves of hundreds of snakes.


    The snakes bit anything that could be bitten, from the knights to other snakes and even themselves. And they did so viciously, each strike going for the kill.


    The snakes all seemed to have gone berserk, with no apparent reason for why it was so.


    After all, no one saw Fredrick drop vials of snake lover potions.


    But even then, the potion was only meant tost for two minutes before being rendered useless, and there was no doubt that two minutes - heck, more than five minutes - had passed, so what was going on?


    The mana in the atmosphere had increased its duration and effects, but only slightly. The effects should have dissipated by now, dense mana or not.


    Fredrick didn''t know, but it was an indirect result of his actions!


    He could feel the presence of the people in the mountain and those around it, but he couldn''t feel the change in the outside atmosphere.


    Or rather, he wouldn''t be able to because his current location was already so dense with mana that Fredrick could feel his cultivation increase little by little without even actively trying.


    How then would he feel the change in a ce with far less mana? Especially when he wasn''t even trying to pay attention to it.


    While he dug out mana stones with utmost efficiency, the power behind his arms was causing vibrations across the mountain.


    These vibrations were causing the mana crystals closest to the open parts of the mountain - this is, the ce with the least dense mana level - to crack and break slowly.


    The cracks were all very tiny and the pieces which broke off were just as big as a pinch of salt, but these broken parts became particles and went along with the wind, only to pass through the ce Fredrick dropped the snake potions earlier and mix up with the potion.


    The potion was already enough to make them go crazy, so what would happen when the snakes breath in mana particles with snake lover potion in it?


    The answer to that was the current situation. They''ll go mad.


    It was akin to taking cocaine and hemp, using different nostrils at the same time.


    The brain activity would shoot off the charts as it overloaded, before the person dropped dead or became mentally impaired, which was another reason why the group of adventurers was still standing.


    A lot of snakes would suddenly be limp while in a frenzy and fall to the floor, baffling the adventurers, who thanked their stars for the appearance of a miracle, not knowing that the snake''s small brains had fried up after being overloaded.


    The newly arrived adventurers had joined the battle at full force as they spread out after determining that staying together as a formation didn''t work.


    The magesunched theirrge fireballs towards snakes that had cobbled up together inrge numbers, effectively cutting down arge number of snakes and leaving any that survived to the hand of the adventure knights to take care of.


    Like so did they fight progress, and while they battled, Fredrick and the boys looted the mountains aggressively.


    Cabrera was also¡­wait, where is Cabrera?


    ''I can''t believe this was here. Even Ezra didn''t tell us about it!''


    And what was what exactly?

 Chapter 89 Another Kind Of Treasure

    *Baam*


    This was thest sound Cabrera heard.


    It was the sound of arge boulder falling into the ground in front of the cave he had hurriedly ran into when the giant snake came out of the mountain.


    "Haah¡­Haah¡­Haah"


    Cabrera''s chest heaved high and low as heid on the ground to recuperate.


    He was exhausted from jumping along so many trees while moving in weird angles to dodge the attacks from behind, and then running until he met up with Fredrick, oh the running!


    His instinct warned of fatal strikes that could lead to imminent death while baiting Motavu. And while he was sessful in doing so and also escaped imminent death, he certainly didn''t get away scot free.


    Cabrera slowly regained his breath as he noticed his rate of healing had increased, before cing his hands on his armor, which now had a bleeding cut on the left side of his stomach, and moved to sit up.


    He was injured, but letting his guard down in what might be a den of snakes was utter stupidity, and he wasn''t going to die in vain, especially after taking such high stakes, that''s for sure.


    "Ah-mmm!"


    Cabrera grit his teeth to stop himself from shouting when pain assaulted his senses.


    He could only look at his right foot to see another cut. Thankfully, it was not nearly as nasty as the one on his stomach. The problem was that a foreign substance was in his blood and it felt like acid on his skin.


    In such a forest, it didn''t take long for Cabrera to pinpoint the origin of such a substance.


    ''It''s venom''


    It was a venom secreted by some snake, which anyone with half a brain could easily guess.


    As for what type of snake it was, Cabrera didn''t have a single clue.


    He wasn''t an aspiring adventurer. He was a full-fledged gangster! Or did you expect him to read up on all the beasts in the monster guide while training and also managing Ezra''s orders to make sure the n could go smoothly? Of course not! Plus, that monster guide was a little costly. Well, it was not that much when considering that Cabrera had hundreds of tinum, or millions of gold, at the moment.


    But the most important question was¡­


    ''When?''


    Cabrera was stumped that he hadn''t noticed it until now, as it had already spread more than halfway towards his knee.


    Cabrera shuddered as he thought.


    ''I hadn''t noticed it until now. If I hadn''t found this cave to recuperate, I would have most likely been forced to fight Motavu in a one-on-one''


    With the way he had provoked Motavu, the fight would no doubt be tough.


    Then, at a crucial moment in such an intense fight, if this pain assaulted him¡­


    It might only assault him for a few seconds, but it would leave him defenseless.


    And such a thing would have granted him¡­


    ''Death. I would''ve died without knowing why or understanding how''


    Cabrera shuddered once more as he thought of it.


    ''I would have died¡­in vain''


    The moment that realization hit him, he found himself in a trance for a short time.


    Ezra hadid down the n, and Cabrera thought it was too easy whenpared to the earnings they would gain - and it truly was. He had just subconsciously ignored the risk that he only now realized. Such a risk could end with him being killed if he wasn''t careful.


    Cabrera clenched his fists as he inwardly berated himself.


    ''I was stupid''


    Thankfully, even Cabrera was not dumb enough toe to a ce infested with snake monsters without a little research and a lot of preparation.


    And that was why he was able to quickly fish out a transparent vial containing a light purple liquid, which he downed it one go.


    The effects were immediate as he felt the pain of his flesh burning subside. The potion drastically reduced the effects of the venom, which allowed him to use mana in his legs to push it out. The venom turned out to be dark green in color.


    That was also when¡­


    *BAAM*


    The surroundings suddenly shook, making Cabrera''s body bounce a bit, before bing calm once more.


    Such an impact shook Cabrera as he quickly made a choice.


    ''Whatever that is, I don''t want to find out, so going outside is a big no-no¡­but I can''t stay idle either''


    So¡­


    ''I''ll have to go further in''


    Cabrera made his choice as he rubbed his eyes to look at the surroundings, only to have them widen as he saw the glimmering crystals along the walls.


    ''That''s right, I did feel that my mana recovery was a little bit faster than usual''


    But¡­


    ''It''s just as he said, huh. To think such a treasure mine existed here for all these years and no one knew¡­but how the hell did he know about it then?''


    Like Fredrick, Cabrera''s eyes shone with greed, while also being equally awed by Ezra as he couldn''t help but think about the answer Ezra had given.


    ''An ability that seeks out treasures...could it actually be true?''


    It was a question that made Cabrera doubt the fairness of life, before quickly throwing it to the back of his mind.


    What mattered was that the information was urate. He wasn''t going toin about such lucknding right on hisp when he hadn''t really done anything to deserve it.


    That would be like a horse kicking its owner, and Cabrera was smart enough to not make such a stupid decision.


    With that out of the way, he quickly took out something else from his spatial ring. It was a ss beaker with yellow contents, which he drank in one go.


    Like thest one, the effects became visible to the naked eye as we see the cut on his stomach heal very fast, before the skin sealed itself up.


    The same thing happened with his leg, and now he was good to go.


    *Craack*


    Cabrera stretched his stiff bones, snapping them into ce with some loud sounds, before getting onto his feet as he surveyed once again the cave he was in.


    He couldn''t be bothered about his dusty and dirty appearance as his eyes looked at the crystals with amazement, before shaking his head and rxing his breathing to calm down his excited heart.


    ''He said the real deal was at the inner parts''


    Ezra told them that the mana stones were further into the mountain.


    Cabrera began moving quickly but with caution, only to find a spot where arge hole had reced the whole floor.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''What did this?'' Cabrera wondered.


    But he already knew the answer. After all, there was only one thing in this mountain that could make a hole this big.


    The hole had been carved through the mountain in a way that indicated something broke its way out. And with no sign of footprints or paws, the answer was too easy.


    ''The A-rank beast! It must have already escaped''


    ''So¡­the snake broke out before Fredrick could kill it?''


    ''Which means Fredrick is fighting with it right now!''


    This wasn''t in their n, and while Cabrera felt he should go help hisrade, he also knew there was nothing he could do against an A-rank monster.


    He''d only be a burden in such a battle, especially after feeling thatst shockwave.


    Cabrera felt useless, but quickly consoled himself.


    ''Well, Ezra said Sir Fredrick should be able to handle it easily''


    So he thought of the next best thing to do as he looked at the cave.


    ''If I jumped, I could probably make it, but¡­


    Cabrera looked once more at the way the mountain had been burrowed before reaching a conclusion.


    ''The beast came from down there, so there must be something precious inside''


    Cabrera nodded to himself. The way down looked deep, but his greed, curiosity and the desire to prove himself drove away any fear he might have had.


    As a result, he made his choice in an instant as he moved back a bit and got into a running stance.


    ''Here I go''


    With that, he sped up and jumped down the hole with his eyes closed, only to freak out momentster.


    ''Shit! Shit! Shit! Why is it so high?!''


    It was at this moment that Cabrera discovered one of his fears. Heights!


    But nothing could be done about it at the moment as he felt the wind pressure increase, while his rate of descent decreased.


    ''The height of trees are ok, but this is just-''


    Cabrera didn''t get to finish his sentence because-


    *Bam*Bam*


    -the hole wasn''t straight.


    Cabrera''s body had smashed against the curved wall, making him scream.


    "Why did I-"


    But he didn''t get to finish even that as he found himself unable to gain a stable foothold. His body tilted backwards before he could regain his bnce.


    ''No,no,no,no,no!''


    He began rolling along the burrowed path like an armadillo, hitting small rocks along the way, which made his body tilt in different directions.


    Like a snowball falling down a mountain, without an object big enough to stop its charge, it would keep on rolling.


    The same happened to Cabrera.


    "Ah" "Ouch!" "Stop" "Stop damn it!" "My head!"


    His voice resounded with different exmations for a few seconds, before he realized that he should shut up and focus on not losing consciousness.


    The impacts caused by the fight outside did not help either.


    All in all, he found himself in a very miserable state as he rolled without being able to stop.


    ''Oh man''


    At a point, his hungry stomach churned as he felt what little he had eaten move up his gullet. He tried to suppress the urge to vomit, hoping his destination was not far away.


    His hopes turned out to be true as he felt himself suspended in the air soon after.


    But before he could adjust his curled body¡­


    *m*


    He mmed into hard rock, causing it to crack, before hurriedly getting up and releasing the contents stuck up his gullet, which were disgusting to say the least.


    Cabrera straightened his back once again, causing many more cracks to resound, before shouting¡­


    "AH! I''m never doing that again!"


    "Damn you mountain! And damn you stupid snake!"


    Only after venting his frustration at the mountain did he calm down a little, after which he checked his body. Other than his bones screaming with pain, the rest had only been damaged a little.


    ''Now¡­where am I?''


    That was the next pressing question as he rubbed his sore neck, before turning his body to look behind.


    What he saw though, made him subconsciously forget about his sore neck as his mouth turned into an "o".


    "YES, YES I DID IT, I HIT THE-"


    He didn''t get to do even this in peace because¡­


    *BAM*


    Another shockwave resounded, immediately dousing Cabrera''s excitement as he hastily ced his hands on his mouth before thinking¡­


    ''Hitting my head so many times must have made me crazy''


    If not, he wouldn''t be shouting like a madman with his voice echoing.


    Cabrera took a deep breath and brought himself down to earth.


    ''Cabrera, get your head out of the clouds'' he told himself as he stared at the heap of goods he had chanced upon.


    But he couldn''t erase the gleam in his eyes.


    It was another type of treasure, one that would sell for very high prices.

 Chapter 90 Do Or Die Time

    Beast eggs!


    That was what Cabrera stared at as his mind went into overdrive, quickly deriving some answers.


    So¡­the beast was female!


    That would definitely exin it. The beast had beenying eggs here when Fredrick came to kill it. It went out of the mountain so that the eggs wouldn''t be affected!


    Cabrera nodded to himself. Based on what he knew, or what he thought he knew, this was the most likely scenario.


    One thing bugged him about it though.


    ''I can''t believe this was here. Even Ezra didn''t tell us about it!''


    ''Hmm, or maybe he didn''t know about it in the first ce?''


    Cabrera thought it was usible as he smiled.


    ''So even that crazy ability has weaknesses. That''s good to know''


    With such thoughts out of the way, Cabrera turned his gaze back to the heap of eggs.


    They varied in size, but the biggest one was only as big as Cabrera''s head, while the smallest one was one quarter of the size of his fists. And they numbered in the tens!


    As he thought about his next line of action, he felt something a bit weird from his body.


    ''Hmm¡­Oh! The mana''s much thicker here''


    His body was passively absorbing so much mana that he felt his mana pool being refined, its quality increasing just by being here.


    Cabrera''s body felt reenergized, but his bones still ached extensively. So he took out another healing potion and drank it in one go, before cleaning his mouth of residues as he stretched, causing bone snapping sounds to echo once more.


    Then Cabrera looked at the heap of eggs and thought¡­


    ''Now, how do I go about this?''


    His brain whirred with many thoughts. From what he could see, he was in an expansive cave located under the mountain, and along the walls were mana stones and mana crystals lighting up the ce, which was why he could see the white eggs in all their glory.


    He briefly thought of running away with such a stock, but he remembered that he had a soulpass binded to his soul by the Admiral.


    ''Guess that''s a no then''


    If that was the case, then the next line of action was easy.


    ''I''ll be taking them with me''


    But wait¡­


    ''How am I going to carry them out of here?''


    A problem had cropped up.


    ''Fredrick should have some ideas, but he''s fighting the beast right now''


    ''I could try taking them up to the surface¡­but that would take an eternity¡­so that''s also a no''


    ''Do I hide them here and thene backter?''


    Cabrera facepalmed himself at thest thought.


    ''I must be growing senile. The Empire and everyone else is going to be all over this ce the moment the existence of a mana stone mine is leaked. So I will most likely never be able toe back here¡­sigh, so¡­I have only one chance to take as much as I can¡­then I have to take the most valuable thing!''


    And to do that¡­


    ''I need to scout every inch of this ce''<novelnext></novelnext>


    He moved with haste to find the most valuable item and thene back to take the mana stones.


    He didn''t know, but not long after he moved into the deeper parts of the cave, vibrations spread across the mountain causing some rocks to fall at his former spot.


    Fredrick had begun mining. And while the sound of rocks smashing into the ground echoed out, Cabrera was too focused on his task to care.


    As Cabrera walked, he made sure to avoid stepping on the eggs, which made it take over three minutes to go across the eggs and reach the end of the underground cave, only to find a cave the size of a den with an opening barely enough for Cabrera to pass through.


    But from this cave, Cabrera could see something shine.


    ''I knew it!'' he jubted inwardly.


    ''There''s a treasure around here! And it''s in there!''


    Thankfully, the den was a bit above the ground, so Cabrera didn''t need to squirm like a worm on the floor.


    Without hesitation, he approached the cave''s entrance, got on all fours and crawled into the cave headfirst.


    Sticking his head inside, he turned his head to check the interior, but his eyes almost popped out of its sockets as he felt his blood run cold.


    In front of him was a lush tree with thin branches holding a blue fruit that was round with green leaves covering the top.


    But wrapped around this lush tree was a snake! One with a body far smaller than its parent, but with the same white scales. Its eye color was unknown at this moment because they were closed shut.


    That''s right, it was currently sleeping, and that was why Cabrera''s head hadn''t been chewed up yet.


    Now, Cabrera found himself at a crossroad. He needed to make a decision.


    ''Should I scout for other ces, or should I go in and kill it¡­or die trying?''


    He put his head through the cave''s entrance once more and looked at the snake.


    ''It could be tough¡­but it''s definitely doable''


    With that affirmation, Cabrera chose without hesitation and began to move the rest of his body into the cave with minimal movements. He couldn''t afford to lose the element of surprise by letting the snake wake up.


    ''I knew the risks when I came here, and besides, it''s not like I was expecting it to be easy. This snake will be perfect for me to test my strength''


    ''Running away would make all my training useless. I can''t afford to keep retreating, and I also don''t know if I can find such a tree elsewhere. Passing up chances when I can take them is a fool''s errand''


    And¡­


    ''I''m no fool''


    The rest of his body entered into the cave, which he found to be bigger than he originally thought. Two of himself standing on top of each other wouldn''t reach the ceiling, but it would be close.


    With careful steps, he took his stance as his gauntlets began lighting up.


    But before he could finish charging up¡­


    *Break*


    A stone crumbled under his feet.


    The sound it created wasn''t very loud, but in a ce this silent, it might as well be rainfall as it echoed along the walls.


    And the next moment, the snake''s eyes snapped open to reveal a ck slit running across the yellow sclera.


    The gaze alone emanated pressure and Cabrera couldn''t help but curse inwardly.


    ''Damn me and my bad luck!''


    But there were no ''if''s in life. The snake was now awake, it was do or die time.

 Chapter 91 Beast Core

    Since he had the element of surprise, and he didn''t want a prolonged battle, the best thing was to end the battle as quickly as possible, which was exactly what he moved to do in the next instant.


    Cabrera lunged instantaneously towards the snake as his gauntlets lit up brightly. His wrist turned into a fist and, without further ado, smashed into the head of the snake,pletely disorienting the already groggy snake.


    Like a jackhammer, Cabrera''s two fists punched down constantly, pummeling the snake''s head further and further into the ground.


    The snake couldn''t concentrate at all - especially with its brain being pounded - but its instinct of survival kicked in. If it didn''t do anything soon, it would surely die.


    Cabrera kept at his punches as blood and some scales had already begun to spill from its head, when something happened¡­


    "Uh?"


    He saw a line of white around his neck, but before he couldprehend it, the line of white tightened around his neck before pulling it upwards. Cabrera''s head grew red as he struggled to free himself from what he found to be the snake''s tail.


    Only now could the snake pull its head out of the pounded ground and look at its assant''s struggle as suffocation was already beginning to set in.


    The snake struggled to hold firm onto Cabrera''s neck, while Cabrera struggled to pull the tail away.


    Both sides were locked in a contest of strength, but we see that, little by little, Cabrera was winning!


    But the snake wasn''t going to stand there and look forward to it, now was it?


    The snake was already groggy after having its head pounded like yam when it had only just woken up. Right now, its senses were a mess.


    But its eyes were still very much functional and, using them, it could see and also feel its tail loosening from the neck of its prey.


    The snake, unwilling to allow such an oue, lunged forward head first as it opened its wide mouth to reveal two long and sharp pointed fangs. It intended to impale Cabrera, kill him and swallow him all at once.


    s, this was where it had been mistaken.


    Training with knights and fighting beasts werepletely different, but Cabrera had gotten a decent share of experience killing beasts throughout their journey from Kingsmere to Whittown this past week.


    Cabrera''s reaction was as a result of that, plus the fact that he did read a few things on how to handle snakes.


    Instead of panicking, he stretched his legs wide and pushed the mouth of the snake apart by putting them at the lower jaw and in between the fangs.


    Now, it had turned into the kind of battle both Cabrera and the snake were trying to avoid, a battle of attrition.


    But Cabrera didn''t intend to go along with it, there was no need to.


    Cabrera removed his hands from the snake''s tail, allowing it to wrap around his neck as tight as it could.


    Suffocation began to set in within seconds, but before it could do any more damage, a potion in a transparent vialnded into Cabrera''s palm from within his space ring.


    By now, he was already growing dizzy, so he quickly popped the vial containing transparent liquid into the snake''s mouth.


    Lo and behold, in the next moment¡­


    *SHRIEK!*


    The snake forgot about Cabrera''s existence. As the pain hit it, the snake''s tail untangled itself from Cabrera''s neck as it thrashed about, hitting its body on the tree, the walls, anything.


    The pain was just that much. It felt its insides burning with searing heat.


    It was unlike anything it had ever felt before.<novelnext></novelnext>


    *Bam*bam*bam*bam*


    Repeatedly smashing its already injured head against the walls caused the wounds to quickly amplify.


    Cabrera stood at the other end of the cave with a hand on his sore neck as he watched the snake injure itself, until it suddenly stopped moving, and then¡­


    *Bam*


    It fell to the ground face first.


    The smell of something burning permeated the air soon after as Cabrera walked towards it with caution, and found it to have died.


    "Hoo" he exhaled at the sight.


    What he had just used was the blood boiling potion that Ezra had the alchemists make in bulk.


    Cabrera opened up its mouth to check the effects and they were terrifying to say the least.


    Its insides werepletely burnt up like it had been roasted from the inside out. The blood had dried up in insane amounts.


    Cabrera couldn''t help but gulp at the amazing effect. He now understood why Ezra was unperturbed by the Windless Peaks in the first ce.


    But all that would be forter as he had to take his spoils.


    The insides were roasted to a fault, true, but the scales were mostly intact, and there was also something remaining.


    With quick hands, Cabrera pulled out a knife from his space ring and cut the snake from the mouth downwards as his hands searched it, before finally grabbing something and pulling it out.


    "Yes!"


    His face lit up with a smile. In his hands was a very small orb that had green particles swirling within.


    It was a beast core!


    The reason why people, despite being able to cultivate with just mana, still chose to kill beasts even while putting their lives on the line was this!


    One could say it was a bnce of nature.


    The essence within beast cores was very helpful for cultivating, but it was only found in beasts above a certain threshold.


    Most times, they had to be at least C-rank before a core would form in their bodies. The types of essence and the quality also differed from beast to beast, mostly because of affinity.


    Depending on what sort of core it was and which beast it came from, one''s mana cultivation speed could increase by one to ten times, but only if the beast core is absorbed by a person on a simr level.


    If the one who absorbs the core is on a lower level than the beast who owned it, then the effectiveness would be between five and twenty times.


    There are also cases of the mana quality being too strong for the one absorbing it, resulting in mana overload, or mana corruption if the affinity had nothing inmon.


    But there was always the option of selling it, and that''s what Cabrera would do once he knew which affinity the snake used.


    But that was forter. Cabrera threw the body into his space ring with a thought and turned to the tree behind him. He plucked the unknown fruit, quickly dug the soil around the tree''s root, uprooted it and then threw it whole into the space ring.


    He dusted his hands and quickly moved to find another ce with more treasure.

 Chapter 92 The Motherload

    "Hmm...What''s that sound?"


    Sixteen minutes had passed since Cabrera killed off the snake.


    In that time, shockwaves kept resounding as a result of the fight still ongoing above ground, but it had now stopped after ast big bang that gave Cabrera goosebumps.


    Cabrera also found one more tree within that time. This one was in its infancy and didn''t have anything guarding it, so he was able to extract it without much trouble.


    He also grouped the eggs together, 25 in total. A number not small but not too big either.


    But that was it. He hadn''t found any other treasures within the underground cave. Now, he was hearing the subtle sounds of vibrations along the walls.


    As he strained his ears to pinpoint the sound, all he got was that it was originating from the opposite end of the cave.


    His brain also clicked at that moment as he facepalmed himself.


    ''That''s where the tracks of the snake came from''


    The moment hended in the underground cave, he saw two sides, one was ttened ground and the other was a heap of eggs.


    At the sight of the beast eggs, he had immediately moved in that direction without much thought. Thinking about it now, he should have gone in the other direction because those tracks on the floor were proof that the snake hade from there, and it was far more likely for treasures to be there!


    This was why Cabrera med himself for being stupid. The vibration could be caused by someone else, and judging from the amount of people he lured, it wasn''t an impossibility for one or two to have ended up here¡­and now, they must have found some treasure!


    Well, he was here first, so it was rightfully his.


    Cabrera had already bolted towards the other end of the cave with such thoughts, not even considering the fact that it might be a beast, or even that there was another beast like the one that went up. Maybe he just trusted Ezra''s advice that much.


    As Cabrera ran, he tried to pinpoint the origin of the vibrations, only to discover that it was almost elusive.


    After another three minutes of running at full force, he arrived at a ce¡­with no one around?


    Cabrera''s head grew question marks when he found no one to be around, but the walls were still vibrating, this time far fiercer and clearer than thest.


    *crack*


    "Ouch"


    A piece of stones fell on Cabrera''s head as he looked up and it became clear, the vibrations wereing from above.


    "Huu¡­" Cabrera exhaled and gradually calmed down as he found himself in front of a huge entrance with its insides shining a blue light.


    He approached it with caution while surveying every step of the way till he arrived at the wide entrance. What he saw though, left him jaw smacked.


    It was a beautiful scene of a very small pool of shining water with a cerulean color reflecting on the walls, and along these walls¡­he found mana stones!


    They were small in number whenpared to that which Fredrick found, but Cabrera didn''t know that.


    The mana was so dense that Cabrera was momentarily dazed. To his shock, he found a tree like the ones he had stolen in this cave as well, but it was three times bigger and a lot more vibrant than the others.


    Multiple fruits were also dangling upon it, numbering almost twenty from what Cabrera could see.


    Cabrera immediately knew he had stumbled upon the motherload! Now it was a matter of how he would steal this, considering that its roots were located right in the middle of the pool, and that it might be a bit too big for his space ring.


    The trail of the snake body had begun from this cave. Specifically, it seemed to have started from the pool, which meant there might be something else there.


    He could only sigh.


    ''To think the preparations would still be inadequate, but there should be a way. Let me take these first before thinking of a solution''


    With such thoughts, he approached the walls and brought out a pickaxe from within his space ring, before coating it with mana and beginning to mine the stones.


    By substituting speed for destructive power, his swings were slow, but the effects were far reaching, spreading cracks across the walls so that, by the time he finished mining here, other ces would be easier.


    The vibration spreading along the walls never stopped all this while.


    Cabrera knew that whatever was causing it was right above him, and he didn''t want to test the idea of meeting such an existence here.


    Why fight an unnecessary battle when one could simply avoid it?


    These were Ezra''s words. And while Cabrera would''ve left the ce in simr cases, the presence of treasures deterred his fear.


    He would be worthless if he missed something like this because he was afraid of a fight.


    That said, he made sure to hurry. The best thing was still to avoid a fight, and with such a conclusion, he focused on amplifying his body with mana and mmed his pickaxe against the walls.<novelnext></novelnext>


    *Bam!*


    The cave quivered slightly with every swing as some debris fell from the cave''s ceiling onto the ground, only for him to see the pickaxe snap after three swings.


    ''Hmm, I should tell Nathan to bring better equipment next time''


    That said, the pickaxe was at least a bronze rank item to have withstanded three swings of such massive power.


    The walls already had web-like cracks through them, so Cabrera was able to easily dislodge the nearest mana stones and remove them with his hands.


    Without thinking about it too much, he took out another pickaxe from his space ring and repeated the same thing.


    While doing so, he wondered.


    ''Was this why he told us to buy so many pickaxes? Did he predict this situation?''


    It was because of Ezra''s directive that they bought a surplus of pickaxes, and at the time, neither he nor Fredrick understood why, but it wasing in handy.


    Also¡­


    ''The rumbling sounds seemed to have stopped for a while now. Does that mean Fredrick has killed the beast? What''s holding him up then?''


    Cabrera swung his pickaxe as he thought so.


    What happened next though, waspletely out of his expectations.


    *BAM!*


    A part of the ceiling was broken apart in the next moment and Cabrera''s vignce was raised to maximum, only for him to see a familiar face raise his head after falling into the tree standing in the middle of the small pool.


    The moment the two men made eye contact, they asked the same question simultaneously.


    "How are you here?"


    Fredrick and Cabrera were both baffled at the turn of events.


    ___________________


    Meanwhile¡­


    "Hoo¡­"


    Ilyon had a look of astonishment on his face once the man finished telling him his n.


    The man in question also had a smile on his lips as two fingers pushed his sses in ce as he said¡­


    "So¡­what do you think?"


    The next moment however¡­


    *sh*


    Ilyon''s sword moved as a blur and, before the man could evenprehend the situation, he was beheaded.


    His head held an expression of unfairness and injustice as itnded on the ground.


    The culprit didn''t even flinch as he flung the blood of his sword and took a minute to check his condition.


    ''My stamina has recovered to a decent amount''


    His gaze stretched further as he checked the situation of the troops fighting the snake horde.


    ''Not bad'' he thought as he turned to assist them, before turning his head to the scene of Rowan being treated behind him, and Motavu whoy unconscious.


    ''But first, I''ll have to take care of these two''


    A thin, cruel smile blossomed from Ilyon''s lips at this moment.


    The glory would be all his, and his alone.


    Ilyon didn''t know it at this moment, but his next actions would set forth a terrible fate for his guild, and funny enough¡­he wouldn''t be there to see it.

 Chapter 93 A Change Of Plans

    Ilyon approached the group that was healing Rowan slowly as he prepared his sword.


    "He''s lost a lot of blood"


    Three members of White Iron chatted as they checked on Rowan''s condition while crouching beside him.


    "We can see that, but his body can still hold out till the swarm at the frontlines is taken care of. And with the herbs and potions we''ve used, he should start feeling better soon"


    "Thankfully, we have the guildmaster here or else those snakes would have killed us all"


    At the end of that sentence, a shadow loomed over the three men as they turned their heads upwards, only to be shocked a momentter as one of them quickly spoke up.


    "G-Guild master, what are you doing here?"


    Ilyon looked at him, puzzled.


    "Do I need a reason to inform you before checking on the Admiral''s condition?"


    Realizing his blunder, the man quickly apologized, hitting his head on the floor.


    "Forgive me for stepping out of my boundaries! I had not noticed your presence beforehand!"


    Ilyon''s expression didn''t change much as he replied.


    "Hmm, if you''re that willing, I might actually just forgive you, for a price that is"


    The man''s heart skipped a beat as he reluctantly asked¡­


    "W-what is the price?"


    The other two had their eyes glued to the beheaded bodies of the assassins lying on the floor.


    While they were using all sorts of potions and herbs to heal Rowan, they hadn''t heard Ilyon sending the group of adventurers to the frontlines.


    Ilyon''s lips released a thin smile as he spoke¡­


    "I don''t know, how about-"


    *Shin*


    "-your life"


    Neither the man nor the other two saw iting as Ilyon''s sword had them beheaded before they could evenprehend such action.


    Like the man before, expressions of disbelief were stered to their faces as their heads fell to the floor and blood erupted from their necks as their bodies fell limp to the floor.


    The three men were now exactly the same as the bodies they had seen just a moment prior.


    Corpses.


    Ilyon looked at them and muttered¡­


    "You should be honored to have died for the future of the guild" he said, before turning his gaze to Rowan who was still unconscious on the ground.


    The three men had moved Rowan away from his pool of blood.


    ''Now, all I have to do is tell them a convincing story that the three men had silently stabbed him to make sure he died slowly because they wanted to take his ring. But I discovered them and swiftly killed them off as they tried to make excuses to buy time and flee''


    Ilyon nodded and looked around. There was no one nearby, so he would be the only eye-witness.


    Only one other person remained, Motavu, but he was still lying unconscious ever since the snake flung him aside.


    The three men hadn''t checked his condition because they were dealing with Rowan. They would have done so after taking care of Rowan, but now, they were dead.


    As he thought it over, he felt astonished.


    ''To think he coulde up with such a devious n''


    The man with the sses had been the one to enlighten him with this n. He would kill both Rowan and Motavu, and then be the hero of the day. Even the Empire would have topensate him for his efforts once he gave a report.


    With it, he would rise in ranks if he was lucky enough. He could then be an Expert and work towards Master-rank from there.


    Such a rosy future. Ilyon couldn''t help but look forward to it, but he also knew the consequences for his actions were beyond dire.


    The rewards would bevish, but the risks were also no joke. That''s why he killed the man with the sses first and foremost.


    A secret that more than one person knew was no longer a secret. Had he kept the man alive, he would''ve be a double edged sword.


    The man would hold his most fatal secret at hand and would no doubt use it to extort and ckmail him sometime in the future.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But a man who could think up such a scheme would be a very good ally for him.


    In the end though, Ilyon chose the first method, getting rid of a problem before it became a problem. While the man would make an excellent subordinate, if he ever decided to switch sides, then Ilyon would no doubt be doomed.


    So he killed the man the moment he finished telling him his ns.


    There was a lot to be gained, but to make it a reality, he had to finish his dirty work.


    Quickly, he took a dagger which had been handed to him by the man with sses, amplified his hands with mana, and then stabbed a hole at the side of Rowan''s abdominal region. Rowan''s body shook and his face winced like he was having a bad dream, before ultimately ceasing movement.


    Ilyon had moved back the moment Rowan''s body shook, before sighing in relief when it stopped moving.


    Ilyon was sure Rowan wasn''t yet dead, but he would soon be with the rate he was losing blood.


    The fact that Rowan couldn''t even wake up after being stabbed that hard only served to increase Ilyon''s confidence. To make sure it didn''t look too messy, he left Rowan to bleed out while making sure not to step on the blood.


    Next, he ced the dagger in the hands of one of the dead bodies of the three men and approached the unconscious Motavu, intent on doing the same, just with a different method.


    Ilyon touched Motavu''s body multiple times to make sure he was still unconscious and then crouched next to him.


    Ilyon then pried Motavu''s mouth open, quickly removed a vial from within his armor, and poured its contents into Motavu''s mouth.


    ''Whew, it''s done. Now I just have to wait for-''


    Ilyon''s inward jubtion was quickly cut short when Motavu''s eyes snapped open to reveal a gaze of red.


    His eyes were bloodshot as theynded on Ilyon, causing him to move back instinctively, before berating himself.


    ''I have to kill him before he gets up''


    With such thoughts, Ilyon lunged at Motavu as he made a vertical sh with his sword.


    A look of victory etched itself on Ilyon''s face as he was already sure of it.


    That is, until-


    *Bang*


    -he had his fantasies, along with a couple of bones, broken as he was sent flying five meters away on impact.


    Dust rose up, covering everything in ten meters.


    Within this mist of dust an incredibly ugly scowl had reced the look of victory on Ilyon''s face as he spoke while holding his sword horizontally.


    "Why can''t you just die quietly?"


    Looking closely, one would see Ilyon''s hands and sword shaking a bit.


    ''Dammit! If I haven''t blocked that attack with my sword, my right arm would''ve been broken''


    Just from the first blow, Ilyon knew this fight wasn''t going to be easy, which was why his face had scrunched up.


    A silence pervaded the surroundings as the dust seemed to be the only thing awake, until-


    "It''s because I can''t stand cowardly bastards like you"


    -an answer came with the dust clearing up as we see Motavu''s figure. His hands and legs had be more robust with veins popping out of his whole body.


    Both men stared each other in the eye. There was no need for exnations or questions about why Ilyon had done what he had done.


    Ilyon had tried to kill him, and that was all that mattered. It wasn''t like anything that came out of his mouth would justify trying to kill someone, nor would it stop a battle from happening.


    It was an unwrittenw in Orion, might was right.


    More than half the time, power was what distinguished the stars from the rabble.


    Motavu spoke once more as he got into a fighting stance with nothing but his armor and bare fists.


    "So just stay where you are and let me pummel your head into mush!"


    Motavu lunged forward towards Ilyon an instantter, and Ilyon, being determined to show this vermin his ce, ran towards Motavu.


    With such an oue, Ilyon could only grit his teeth. His story and subsequent ns would have to be modified or changedpletely.


    And time was ticking. He had to finish as fast as possible.

 Chapter 94 Motavu Vs Ilyon (1)

    *BOOM*


    A shockwave erupted the moment Motavu''s punch and Ilyon''s sword collided, causing more and more dust to engulf the surrounding.


    But both of these people couldn''t care less as Ilyon takes a step back while Motavu takes ten steps.


    In the face of such an oue, Ilyon''s scowl only seemed to grow thicker while Motavu''s face manifested arge grin withrge beads of sweat all over his head as he spoke with a toneced with mockery.


    "You must be really surprised right now eh? But there''s more toe"


    Without giving Ilyon time to think, Motavu lunged at him as his fist moved at fast speeds, targeting different areas.


    Ilyon, who had brazenly gone on the offensive, was now defending, deflecting and dodging. His mind was currently in turmoil as he tried to understand.


    ''How?!''


    How was he, the guild leader of a C-rank guild branch, being pushed back by the vice leader of a D-rank guild?


    It didn''t make sense! Ilyon refused to believe it.


    ''There''s no way this guy is at the Advanced-rank''


    There was no way Motavu could have been this strong and no one noticed until now. Adding to the fact that he had been poisoned with a decent dose of lethal venom¡­something else was definitely going on.


    ''But what could it be?'' Ilyon wondered as he dodged another blow close to his head and retreated a bit.


    No answers came to Ilyon''s mind.


    Regardless, if he didn''t take the opponent in front of him seriously, he would be the one to die, and he was not dying today.


    Amplifying his body with mana, Ilyon began to counterattack in earnest as his swords and Motavu''s fists began to cause reverberation in the air.


    He would not allow this battle to be one of attrition.


    ''I have to end this as fast as possible''


    Little did Ilyon know, Motavu was thinking the same thing, but for an entirely different reason.


    Just like Ilyon had spected, there was something going on with Motavu.


    ''Dammit! If only I didn''t let my guard down!''


    Behind Motavu''s fake grin was an immeasurable amount of regret.


    The snake had broken four of his ribs when it squeezed him, two on each side. His internal organs were also messed up, his left shoulder was dislocated and, upon smashing his body into the ground after being flung by the snake, his skull suffered and it affected his brain.


    Along with the fact that he had been bitten once while chasing after Cabrera, the poison that would''ve been harmless was now lethal because of his severely damaged state.


    With all this, he was not in any position to keep moving.


    He could''ve moved, but that would''ve allowed the venom to spread through his veins within minutes, killing him, if he was not careful.


    So he justid still while he tried to use the little mana he had left to iste the constantly spreading venom.


    Motavu hadn''t said anything when Ilyon was touching various parts of his body because he thought help had arrived and was checking his condition.


    It was also why he let Ilyon pour the contents in his mouth, thinking it was a healing potion or mana recovery potion being administered.


    This, and the fact that he didn''t know it was Ilyon because he didn''t bother to open his eyes, made him react far toote.


    Motavu had reacted the moment he realized what had been poured into his mouth was poison and opened his eyes to see Ilyon back away, before lunging forward with his sword in a downward sh secondster.


    Without any time to think of proper counter measures, all he knew was that he wasn''t going to die in such a pitiful state.


    With this thought, he activated his greatest ability on instinct, allowing him tond a decisive blow on the unsuspecting Ilyon.


    Motavu got up to face him. His whole body was invigorated to the extent he felt like he had been born anew.


    But he knew it was just a deceitful feeling and quickly relocated his shoulder while staying silent.


    The ability was a trump card he saved as ast resort in the most dire of situations.


    It was a technique that used his life force to fuel his power.<novelnext></novelnext>


    This meant it was an ability that shortened your life span the more it was used.


    Motavu had only ever used it once before, so his lifespan was still long, but he also knew about the drastic consequences he suffered at the time.


    But in this situation, Motavu knew the moment he got up¡­


    ''I''m going to die when this is over''


    His organs were a mess, his bones had broken, and now the venom in his veins before, plus the one which Ilyon had poured into his mouth, were spreading through his veins at an unprecedented rate.


    So there was no doubt.


    ''Once I turn this technique off, with my mana dried up and my body in this state, I''ll die''


    But instead of ruminating and sulking, Motavu resigned himself to his fate, which was pretty easy, because¡­


    ''I always knew I''d die anyway¡­never thought it''d be like this though''


    It was engraved in the hearts of almost every adventurer, the fact that they could die at any time. Some more than others.


    Which was why most just acted as they pleased their whole lives. After all, while some built a sort of immunity to the concept after fighting with their lives on the line every single day, most were scared of dying with regrets.


    But now that he knew he was going to die no matter what he did, what more was there to fear?


    His only goal now¡­


    ''If I''m going to die, I''m taking this b*stard with me''


    Ilyon had doomed him to die, so Motavu would make sure they both died.


    That''s why-


    ''What is this?!''


    -Ilyon couldn''t help but grow cautious as a feeling he''d never thought he''d feel bloomed in his heart.


    ''What''s with this bastard?! Why isn''t he dodging? No, why isn''t he even trying to dodge?!''


    Ilyon couldn''t understand the madness he was seeing.


    *Bam*Bam*ng*Bang*Swish*Kkin!*


    The madness in the red eyes of Motavu, who didn''t once retreat, or even take a step back from the start of the battle.


    Motavu''s hands had been bleeding since the first sh, and it only worsened as they fought.


    As the fight continued, there was no doubt that Ilyon''s skills were superior, but Motavu didn''t seem to give a damn about anything else, neither his injuries nor his body, and kept going after Ilyon again and again after being pushed back.


    It was bringing forth a feeling from Ilyon.


    Fear! Ilyon was feeling fear.


    But he would never ept nor sumb to such a thing.


    Especially from a person he deemed to be a vermin! It would never be!


    The faces of other guild masters came to mind with sneers on their faces as they made remarks of mockery.


    Memories he had buried deep within were nowing to mind.


    ''No, I''ll show you, you b*stards!''


    Such intense emotions brought forth a madness in Ilyon''s eyes as he stared at the cause of such feeling, Motavu!


    "I''ll kill you, I''ll kill you!" Ilyon swore.


    Only, he didn''t know, but he had fallen right into Motavu''s trap.


    From this moment on, they devolved into what could only be called a battle of madmen.


    And truly, neither of them were in their right minds.

 Chapter 95 Motavu Vs Ilyon (2)

    *Punch*Punch*ng*Shin*Bam!*


    The battle had begun with Motavu pressing his advantage against Ilyon with his suicidal charge.


    Now, Ilyon followed up with the same pattern after scared memories came to mind, abandoning the n and his well-being as he only sought to kill the vermin in front of him.


    Like the frenzied snakes, both men were exchanging blood for bone as they struck fist and sword against each other for the umpteenth time.


    They kept moving about while they fought, moving away from where Rowan and therge body of the dead snakeid.


    The dust constantly erupting as they shattered rocks with their feet was also not helping in that regard.


    Regardless, what both of them cared about was to see the other dead.


    Of course, such an intense fight did not go unnoticed by the forces at the frontlines battling the wave of snakes, and as expected, confusion rapidly spread through the ranks as the forces under both men distanced themselves from one another as they all tried to reason what exactly could have caused both men to turn on each other.


    Naturally, there were a few things that came to mind.


    ''Could it be that they found a treasure?''


    This was the first thought as it was the most likely one.


    All guilds were formed on the basis of different peopleing together for amon goal, which mostly revolved around killing beasts, exploring and other rted activities.


    But to achieve any goal, sufficient power was needed, else a lot of things would be snatched right from your hands, and there would be nothing you could do.


    That''s why the fighting force of a guild was deemed the most important thing and it was the first criteria to judge in determining the rank of a guild.


    This was why treasures that could increase the power of a guild were never taken lightly, not even for S-rank guilds.


    Rather, one could say S-rank were more adamant on gathering treasures than those below, and were willing to start wars on such matters.


    There were never enough treasures, and so,petition was always fierce.


    As a result, it was not umon to find people, friends and even family members, stabbing each other in the back in the event a treasure was found.


    Especially since treasures were basically tickets to a better life.


    identally stumbling upon a treasure of Gold-rank or higher would you crazy sums if handed to a sufficiently well off guild.


    Enough to set people for life.


    So¡­could that be the reason those two had turned on one another?


    The majority thought like this.


    A few elites thought differently as they strained their vision to witness the two fighting like injured beasts, trying to tear each other apart, literally.


    Fighting for treasures was good and all¡­but was that really it?


    Some didn''t think so, those particrly more observant than others.


    ''The guild master has never fought like this even in the past. What is going on?''


    Others tried to think of other reasons beforeing right back to the first answer.


    ''Even if they''re fighting over a treasure¡­just what kind of treasure would make them fight like that?''


    All this while, after the mage unit and the adventurers had separated, the guilders under Motavu found that they were grossly outnumbered.


    The atmosphere grew increasingly tense as both sides had a stare down, before moving an adequate distance away from each other.


    The second inmand could only grow solemn, because only now he had the ring realization that more than half of those who came along were nowhere to be seen.


    And in such a situation, the meaning couldn''t be clearer.<novelnext></novelnext>


    They had all died.


    But now wasn''t the time to be sentimental, because Ilyon''s forces contained all members of the mage unit, which were eight in total.


    The independent adventurers, a.k.a mercenaries, mostly choose Ilyon''s side as they judged it to be the winning side.


    Another issue was that the snakes were now passing through because both sides couldn''t work together anymore, and furthermore, they had to be cautious of one another from now on.


    Meaning that they couldn''t bepletely focused on killing the snakes because of the threat of their former teammates.


    Thankfully though, no side attacked the other, mostly because of their current situation, and also, no one from either side thought about interfering in the fight between the guild masters.


    This was because they knew they would only be burdens. It was better to sit back and wait for a clear winner and then n ordingly.


    This and the fact that everyone was virtually exhausted. Be it mana, potions or stamina, they were already low from fighting for so long.


    Especially when they had hundreds of snakes rushing forward, though the snake''s stampede was now many times slower than when it had begun, allowing everyone to take a breather once in a while.


    Since both sides were almost certain to sh the moment the battle between the two guild masters was settled, they now began to use the snakes to derail the other side whenever possible.


    But they made sure to do it indirectly.


    The mages targeted the swarm in such a way that the snakes were diverted towards Motavu''s group.


    All of the trees near the mountain had been burnt by fire spells targeted at the snakes, which was another reason why they were able to hold such arge swarm at bay all this time, while the nearest trees had been utterly crushed by the shower ofrge chunks of rocks brought forth by the evolving snake.


    Meanwhile, the battle between Ilyon and Motavu continued uninterrupted with Motavu now on the losing side.


    The effect of Ilyon''s superior swordsmanship became more ring when it was paired with madness as they fought on.


    Motavu''s skin was able to mitigate the damage done by Ilyon''s sword with his reinforced body, but that was it.


    He was taking far more damage than he was dishing out, and another problem was cropping up.


    ''I''m almost out of time''


    His life-force was almost used up. He couldn''t keep the fight going much longer.


    Yet¡­


    ''Even with this technique, I can''t match his pace at all''


    Motavu now fully understood why Ilyon was a guild master, but that didn''t matter one bit.


    The b*stard still had to die, or at the very least suffer a great injury, because¡­


    ''If I can''t do even that, after everything I''ve been through¡­then it would all be in vain!''


    He would die feeling even more pathetic than before.


    Motavu, a loyal, fearless and prideful fellow, refused to die in vain.


    But refusing won''t be enough, he had to think.


    His thoughts whirred into overdrive like never before as he staked his entire existence on achieving this one goal.


    His efforts would not be in vain as a solution came to mind!


    A solemn smile formed on his face as he thought¡­


    ''So I haven''tpletely risked everything''


    With his entire existence staked upon this n, he began hiseback.

 Chapter 96 Motavu Vs Ilyon (3)

    Motavu was still relentlessly punching forward and blocking the sword with the side of his arm. His figure was riddled with cuts, both deep and shallow, and bleeding out intensively.


    Ilyon on the other hand had a wicked grin akin to a madman stered on his face as his body and sword never stopped moving.


    Ilyon was using the difference in size to his advantage.


    Motavu was bulky and powerful, but slow.


    He on the other hand was fairly slim, very agile, but with a weaker body.


    But what did it matter when your opponent was too slow to harm you? This was the result of such a situation.


    Motavu became a sitting duck for Ilyon, who also had far more battle experience and training.


    Ilyon made sure to savor the battle as much as he could, and to do so, he deliberately toyed with Motavu, making clear the difference between them as his face held a smile of madness stretched across his face, as well as ecstasy from seeing Motavu in such a state.


    The two kept battling until suddenly, Motavu stopped abruptly and ran in the opposite direction with all his might.


    Ilyon shrieked at such an action as he gave chase.


    "Who said you could leave?!"


    Motavu ran and Ilyon chased as Ilyon shockingly found Motavu''s inted muscles deting and his outstretched veins retracting, his speed also decreasing.


    Ilyon immediately understood.


    ''I knew it! Whatever he must have been using has finally failed him! I''m sure such a powerful ability must have drawbacks!''


    Which means¡­


    ''He''ll be weakened for a time, no matter how small, and I''ll be able to kill him easily¡­no, that would be too light a punishment. Once he bes helpless and full of despair as he realizes he''s going to die, I''ll y with him for a bit. Yes, that''s what I''ll do. Just killing him would be letting him off easy, especially after breaking so many of my bones.''


    Ilyon was so entrenched in his madness that he didn''t see anything wrong with such thoughts.


    In fact, he was chuckling as he reduced his speed just enough to keep adequate distance to instill hope for Motavu that he might actually get away¡­before ripping it away from him!


    Ah, he couldn''t wait to see such a scene.


    True to his expectations, Motavu sometimes nced backwards and then ran a bit faster, further intensifying Ilyon''s ecstasy.


    All this happened in the span of two and a half minutes.


    At this point, Motavu, who had been running, suddenly stopped, prompting Ilyon to also stop as he wondered what was going on.


    He didn''t need to think far as Motavu suddenly turned around and charged towards Ilyon, who thought¡­


    ''Ast minute effort, I see''


    ¡­and threw all his worries to the wind.


    Motavuunched punches forward once more, only this time, they were far slower than before, making Motavu, who was to Ilyon already a sitting duck, into a slimy snail.


    To Ilyon, Motavu had officially be a dead man walking.


    If only he knew how true that statement was.


    This was why Ilyon didn''t even respond to Motavu''s pathetic excuse for an attack and simply dodged while the speed of Motavu''s punches kept slowing down, until a point where it was bing too pathetic for even Ilyon to watch.


    So Ilyon held up his sword and moved at breakneck speed, circling Motavu''s body as his sword made cutting and shing sounds.


    And like a movie in fast-forward, we see numerous cuts appear on Motavu''s body as Motavu himself didn''t move or even flinch throughout.


    After twenty of those, Ilyon stopped in front of Motavu, who stood still.


    Before¡­


    *Bam*


    His knees gave in and then he could only use his hands to support himself.


    In the face of this-


    *Yawn*


    -Ilyon yawned with his mad smile having disappeared, only to look at Motavu and say¡­


    "I''m tired. This has be boring-"


    He pointed his sword right at Motavu''s face, and continued speaking in a nonchnt tone.


    "-so let''s end it. So¡­anyst words...?"


    At those words, Motavu''s feet, which seemed to have given in, came alive as he lunged at Ilyon and shouted with a look of madness in his bloodshot eyes and punched forward.


    The result of his action¡­


    "It''s meaningless" said Ilyon as we see his sword stabbed through Motavu''s body with its edgeing out of the other side.


    Motavu puked a good amount of blood, which Ilyon paid no mind as he spoke¡­


    "Don''t you ever learn? Your struggles are futile and fruitless, so why didn''t you just die quickly from the start, but instead put yourself through all this misery? But¡­then again, I guess I should not have expected less from low-ss vermin like you. Goodbye"


    As Ilyon attempted to draw his sword his out-


    "Huh?"


    -he found it to be unmoving. Motavu was holding onto his arm with a very tight grip.


    At this moment, Ilyon didn''t know why, but he had a bad premonition.


    As he moved to pull his hands once more, Motavu''s face which held despair and desperation morphed into a very cocky grin as he spoke¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    "What were you saying again? The futility of my actions, was it? Now, I''ll show just how futile my actions can be"


    Ilyon, who had tried five times to remove his arm from Motavu''s grip, was now certain that something was wrong.


    Especially with his instincts ringing warning bells that only grew louder by the second.


    The reason why? That wasn''t hard to guess, because Motavu''s right hand had begun swelling up, just like the beginning of their battle. Ilyon immediately understood his intentions.


    ''This b*stard is going to kill us both!''


    And because of it, he began to panic.


    "Let go of me! I.said.to.let.go! If you want to die, do it alone you b*stard! Get off of me this instant!-"


    His fear only got worse as seconds went by and Motavu stood unmoving even after Ilyon pushed the sword even further in, causing Motavu to puke a lot of blood once more.


    Nevertheless, his grip refused to budge as Ilyon hit it with his left arm, before hurriedly taking out a dagger from within his belt and repeatedly stabbing through his arm and Motavu''s palm, causing him to grunt in pain.


    Still, Motavu refused to release his grip.


    All this while, only one word resounded in his mind¡­


    ''Endure, endure, endure''


    As he kept reciting the mantra, his right arm had swelled up to an unprecedented rate with his still expanding.


    Blood was gushing incessantly from within his many cuts, veins rupturing after being stretched too thin.


    The pain was simply overwhelming. Motavu was 200% sure he had never experienced such pain before.


    But he was bent on not dying in vain, and that resolve triumphed over the pain.


    It seemed inhumane, no, it was inhumane for someone to do such a thing, but this had been the only n that seemed viable.


    ''I can''t catch him because I can''t match his speed¡­so the only way I can get him to stay still is to let him catch me''


    He had only one chance.


    ''So it has to be a single attack with thebined might of all my attacks''


    This was the n, and to do so, he moved the life force boost from all over his body and brought them together for a final attack, and the most powerful one yet.


    All the while, Ilyon kept screaming, stabbing all over his chest and hurling insults that could anger corpses.


    "You b*stard, was your mother a @#%$#@$%&@@@?! You are a low ss vermin. Didn''t your father teach you that?! Right, your father was a @#%&@#%#%$@&! I am a guild master, unhand me this instant! Why don''t you stop this futile act, nothing will change because of it! Why don''t you understand such a simple thing?!"


    Ilyon''s expression was screaming in terror as his panic and fear had turned into another kind of madness.


    Motavu had to concentrate, so he couldn''t spare any mental power to reply or even to take cognizance of anything Ilyon was saying.


    Ilyon looked at the battlefield and was d to see his guild members rushing forth.


    Of course, not without Motavu''s guilders on their trail as they moved to stop the guilders of White Iron from interfering. And like Motavu, they attacked the enemy in a fit of rage.


    Both entered a bloody skirmish making it so that the snakes were able to slither towards the mountain unobstructed.


    Ilyon couldn''t care less about that. He only cared about escaping his current predicament as he shouted while his hands never stopped stabbing.


    "You b*stards! Hurry up!"


    They couldn''t even reply because the Red Wolf guilders were attacking them relentlessly.


    "Make sure none of these b*stards gets to the guild master at any means necessary!" the leader of the remaining Red Wolf guilders shouted.


    And so they did. Most already knew Motavu was going to die - he was bleeding out like a sieve with blood pouring out through multiple holes in his abdominal area and all over his left arm, not to mention a sword going through his chest - but if he could kill the guild master of White Iron, then it could be called a fair trade.


    "They won''t make it"


    Amidst all this, Motavu''s voice rang out.


    Motavu continued while looking Ilyon straight in the eye¡­


    "You said my act was futile and it wouldn''t change anything, was it? I don''t need to change anything, as long as I get rid of you"


    Motavu chuckled as if he remembered something and said¡­


    "I was a dead man from the start of our battle"


    Ilyon quivered, his eyes shook as he stared at Motavu in shock, before speaking¡­


    "You mean-"


    "Yes, I would''ve died without you even lifting a finger"


    "No!" Ilyon screamed and hurriedly stabbed once more, only this time, he was stabbing his right arm as he moved it like a saw to cut off the flesh faster.


    But Motavu paid it no mind as he spoke softly-


    "Goodbye, I''ll see you in the afterlife"


    -and punched out with his right arm that had swelled to the size of two watermelonsbined.


    There couldn''t be a better evidence that Ilyon hadn''t taken Motavu''sst attack as serious as he should have. Maybe he would have stabbed Motavu''s neck, but his hands weren''t long enough to reach it because Motavu was taller than him.


    But there were no ''if''s in life. The battle between the two guild masters had finally ended.


    *BOOOM*

 Chapter 97 The Motherload (2)

    -A few minutes earlier-


    *Jijijijijijijijijijijijijiji*


    Fredrick''s hands moved faster than a jack hammer as he broke out the mana stones from the walls they were lodged into.


    Simultaneously, the blocks of stones were pulled into his space ring, not even being allowed to touch the ground.


    While doing this, his mana sense ability remained active as it constantly fed him information about the boys and scanned for Cabrera.


    The spell''s normal range could not go very far, it was the mana crystals located all over the ce that allowed his mana to stretch further with incredible ease.


    At some point, Cabrera had somehow disappeared from within his spell''s absurd range.


    ''Should I look for him?'' he thought, before shaking his head.


    ''He''s an Advanced-rank, he should be able to handle himself, and if he dies¡­well, I''ll just have to find another person to do the job''


    Fredrick didn''t know where Cabrera went, so looking for him could take a good deal of time he could use to milk this cow of a mountain dry of all its worth.


    These were mana stones, Cabrera would have to take care of himself, and after all, that was the whole reason for their training.


    So with that aside, Fredrick increased his speed to the extreme once more, cause he knew that sooner orter, the battle ongoing outside would end, and all those snake lover potions should have ended already, or would do so anytime now.


    With greed guiding both his visions and thoughts, he continued with renewed vigor.


    Mind you, as he dug, he was not standing still, no, he was constantly moving across the caverns, because his senses were telling him that there was something else about this ce.


    Therge hole which the snake had dug through the mountain, Fredrick was almost certain that going down that hole would yield other great gains, so he was determined to mine even faster.


    While he was digging like crazy, the loud shing sound resounded from outside the mountain, and after, the snakes hisses and screeches were nowhere to be heard.


    Fredrick couldn''t help but stop for a moment with a creased forehead as he thought¡­


    ''Don''t tell me the Admiral was able to kill it? Sir Ezra said the snake couldn''t be defeated by anyone lower than Master-rank¡­so, is it someone else? Has another Master-rank arrived?''


    So many questions and no answers.


    Fredrick wasn''t sure because, even if his spell covered most of the mountain, which was already absurd, trying to cover even more distance would mostly fail.


    Or worse. It could even backfire if the other Master sensed it, using it to track Fredrick''s location in a heartbeat.


    But if anything, Ezra had told them¡­


    "Do not fall prey to the allure of assumptions, because that will be the beginning of the n failing. It has brought about the downfall of too many. Do not join them"


    Fredrick''s pounding heart calmed down as the statement came to his mind.


    So, he would have to work with what he knew.


    ''Ezra said the snake was a mutant beast of B-rank, with hard scales only Masters could get through¡­but he also told me that some of the information could be faulty because the future is constantly changing. So, should I go out and kill the person using the element of surprise, or should I continue mining and wait for the person to find me?''


    The answer was surprisingly easy.


    ''It''s better to just mine faster''


    Given that¡­


    ''We didn''te here to fight in the first ce''


    And¡­


    ''Ezra said to leave as little traces as possible''


    Plus¡­


    ''I don''t know who I''ll be facing or what spells and weapons he uses, so there''s a high chance the surprise attack might end up failing''


    And if that happens¡­


    ''I''ll have to leave the mountain and run for at least five minutes, or worse, it bes a battle of attrition¡­and if that happens, the n bes a total failure!''


    Also¡­


    ''Since I have earth sense working every minute, I''ll be able to locate whichever b*stard it is and take him down while holding the element of surprise''


    With such thoughts, the solution was clear.


    He began mining far faster than his already fast speed while sending an instruction to the boys to relieve their anxiety and yell at them to move faster, which was carried by the echoes after amplifying his throat with mana.


    Because the Master-rank personage could arrive in the mountain at any moment, the mission had now be time sensitive.


    After exerting his muscles to the point of exhaustion minutester, he had finished taking all the mana stones in sight.


    Fredrick then returned to the first cavern, his target being therge square object seemingly made of something resembling ss, lodged in the center of the cavern with a blue light in its center and blue particles falling from the blue light.


    It was an object that gave Fredrick an inexplicable feeling, and Fredrick thought he''d save the best forst.


    Mostly because, he didn''t know if he would be able to remove this one as easily as the others.


    What do you know, his prediction was spot on.


    Not only was the object unmoving, the part of the wall it was lodged in was far, far harder than the other parts.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Nevertheless, Fredrick wasn''t one to give up. Especially on what could very well be a priceless treasure.


    Then again, it could be glittering trash.


    But Fredrick had all the time in the world to find out once he took it along with him.


    So he began to work on how to do so.


    The answer was surprisingly easy.


    ''Hit it till it breaks''


    Well, it wasn''t like there was much else he could do at the moment.


    So he turned his palm into a fist and punched.


    I must say though¡­


    "AH!"


    It hurt like crazy.


    Still, persistence and perseverance culminated into effort, and effort breeds sess.


    Lo and behold, it held true even here as Fredrick stood straight and began rapidly punching a single point with both fists, and after a minute of doing so - in which the skin on his knuckles waspletely scraped off and with both hands now shedding blood - a crack emerged.


    Fredrick jubted for a few seconds before retaking his stance and punching it once more, and with a crack already there, it was easier to break further.


    Three minutester, the hard rock supporting the cuboid from below had broken apart.


    While the part wasn''t that big, it was enough for Fredrick to put his hands below and pull!


    A task which he found to be just as tough, if not tougher than breaking the rocks.


    His veins bulged as the object moved excruciatingly slowly - that was with Fredrick using all the force he could muster - with the sides grating with a terrible sound.


    Slowly but surely though, it wasing out.


    After three minutes of over-exerting his muscles, the object was finally dislodged.


    Only, another problem cropped up soon after as Fredrick found the object to be heavy, not extremely heavy, but heavy enough to get his joints sore within five minutes if he didn''t put it down.


    At that exact moment¡­


    *Bam*


    Something, which Fredrick hadn''t been able to pay attention to, smashed against the wall.


    It wasn''t really a problem.


    Only¡­


    *Craack!*


    The floor he was standing on, which was supporting both his weight and the square object, suddenly had cracks spreading all over it.


    Fredrick, with the heavy object still in his hands, was already really tired, so he couldn''t move away in time before the floor gave in.


    And then¡­


    "Shit!"


    Fredrick panicked as he began to fall, refusing to let the object get away from him once more, so he held onto it tightly.


    Only then did he notice the ring on his finger.


    For a few seconds, he stared dumbly at it.


    He knew that, if not for the object in his hands, he would no doubt facepalm as his own stupidity.


    Speaking of stupidity, he still hadn''t put the box in the space ring!


    "Whew"


    Thankfully, he quickly did so in the next moment, and he found his body feeling much better with the weight gone and the breeze caressing his body.


    Wait a minute, breeze?


    Only then did his sensese back and he noticed that he was still failing.


    Well, not for long, because a big, thick and tall tree appeared in his sight.


    Without hesitation, he hastily grabbed onto one of the tree branches, only to look down and see a small body of water and think ''no thanks'', before climbing the tree branch where heid on his back trying to calm his ragged breath.


    But then¡­


    *Kang*


    The sound of metal rang out and Fredrick quickly moved into a sitting position, only to peek his face out and say¡­


    "Huh?"

 Chapter 98 The Motherload (3) [Bonus]

    "Huh?" Fredrick muttered when his gaze met a familiar face, and so did the other one in front of him.


    A question struck his mind.


    ''What is Cabrera doing here?''


    But before Fredrick could process the current situation, Cabrera spoke, eximing¡­


    "Fredrick? What are you doing over there, no, wait, I thought you were fighting the beast? How did you get here so fast?"


    "Hmm¡­" Fredrick muttered, it seemed none of them had an urate grasp on the situation.


    ''Cabrera didn''t see me falling into the mountain before the snake came out, and since Ezra personally said only a Master-rank could kill it¡­he thought I was the one!''


    It was a logical hypothesis, but couldn''t be concluded upon, after all, they were just assumptions.


    This, plus the fact that another Master might be heading into the mountains soon, made Fredrick deem it to be best that they took as much as they could before getting out as soon as possible.


    Getting too greedy would do no one any good, and of course, he would know, because it was greediness that led to him to end up with a curse on his body for the past seven years.


    These thoughts were processed at fast speed as Fredrick replied¡­


    "I''m not the one who fought the beast, and I think another Master is outside, but nothing is for certain. Still, I think it best if we take the most valuable things and make a hasty retreat. Exposing ourselves too much could cause problems"


    Cabrera didn''t immediately reply as he thought for a few seconds, before saying¡­


    "Let''s do as you have said. Also, I found some eggs, presumablyid by the beast. Do we have any way of taking it along? Oh, what about this tree? It seems to be a treasure. Can we take this too?"


    Fredrick''s eyes glimmered at those words as he swung from a branch,pletely forgetting his exhaustion, andnded right before Cabrera with a slight bang.


    "Point me towards those eggs, we''ll be taking them all. You should hasten your extraction of those stones, I''ll hate to leave it to anybody else"


    Cabrera turned and pointed to where he came from.


    "It''s over there"


    "Ok" Fredrick said and dashed in the pointed direction.


    Cabrera quickly took up another pickaxe, this time with both hands, and swung it at parts of the walls that still had mana stones lodged in.


    Exerting and amplifying his muscles to the extreme, Cabrera hit the walls, causing many big web-like cracks to form.


    But Cabrera didn''t have time to savor it as he hit the walls immediately after, and again and again, till sixteen pickaxes were quickly turned to scrap.


    Such scrap though, Cabrera made sure to put every piece of the damaged tips and handles back into the ring.


    What a joke. Did you expect him to purposely leave clues for others to track him down? Of course not.<novelnext></novelnext>


    This happened within two minutes of rapid swinging. The cracks on the particr part of the cavern were erged to the point that Cabrera could easily pull pieces out.


    In fact, some mana stones fell to the ground by themselves.


    With quick hands and a regted breathing helping him ease his stiff body and hard muscles, Cabrera pulled out the mana stones and put them in the space ring.


    At the same time, Fredrick arrived as he said "It''s done", and then turned to look at the lush tree situated in the pool of glistening cerulean water.


    "Now¡­how do I go about this?"


    Before he could think further, Cabrera spoke, providing a simple but effective solution.


    "Just dive into the water, uproot it and store it in your space ring. It shouldn''t be that difficult" he suggested, before taking out another pickaxe as he continued mining.


    Fredrick had no words, because he didn''t think he''d be able toe up with a better n. Without a word, he approached the pool, put one of his legs in to test the depth and got surprised when his knees reached the water without feeling any signs of the bottom.


    "Hmm¡­" Fredrick was a bit skeptical, but quickly threw thoughts of retreat away when he remembered their time was running out.


    With a deep breath, he directly jumped and dived in.


    What? Why didn''t he take off his armor? Well, mostly because he saw it as a hassle to do so.


    He closed his eyes expecting to hit soil¡­only to be shocked when he opened his eyes to see the depth as well as the beauty of the serene and calm water.


    But enough of that, he didn''t have the luxury to waste time as his eyes quickly darted all around the ce, before he swam to the bottom of the supposed pool, where the tree roots were.


    With how big it was, you''d have to be blind to not see it.


    As he held on to the tree, he looked upwards, and approximated the depth to be about four times his height. Yes, that was about it.


    He quickly moved his hands and dug the dirt. Slowly but surely, the naked tree roots were exposed before his eyes.


    While doing so, something sparkled among the soil, which caught Fredrick''s eye and sparked his curiosity.


    Outstretching a bit, Fredrick extended his body as his hands cleared the dirt away, only to reveal¡­a book?


    A book that looked awful, with mud all over it, but with a little scrub it quickly came off.


    The book was revealed to be mostly intact and featuring a book cover that couldn''t be seen in the present age. At least, Fredrick had never seen such anguage before.


    So, the book was from a long time ago, guessed Fredrick. How long though, that Fredrick did not know.


    "I don''t know what it is yet, but we can find outter" Fredrick thought, before sucking it into his space ring and continuing his initial objective ining down here.


    Root out the tree.

 Chapter 99 What Is Going On?

    A minuteter, Fredrick was done with the digging. The tree''s roots were nowpletely exposed.


    He hugged the tree and began lifting it up as he found its weight to be only a level below that of the square artifact.


    With its rootspletely out of the soil, Fredrick wasted no time sucking it into the space - while still underwater - causing a violent suction force that pulled onto the tree along with the water in the pool.


    Within another minute, it was done as Fredrick found the pool to have lost about half of its water contents to the ring.


    With a nod to himself as a sign of sess, Fredrick bent both legs¡­and jumped right out of the water with his hands grappling the edge of the pool, which the water could no longer reach.


    He pulled himself up with ease and met with the sight of Cabrera, who was still mining, but this time with a slightly lower intensity.


    It seemed that Cabrera had also noticed him, because he spoke¡­


    "Are you going to keep standing there like that or lend a hand so we can finish this quickly and get out of here?"


    Without replying, Fredrick approached¡­before abruptly sitting as he spoke¡­


    "Give me a minute or two to rx these aching muscles"


    Cabrera didn''t reply and only kept on mining. Fredrick could also notice Cabrera''s muscle exertion as he mined.


    It was at this moment-


    *Bam!


    -that the sound of arge collision resounded, causing Fredrick to immediately stand up and Cabrera to halt his mining as they quickly moved to pinpoint the sound''s origin.


    Cabrera couldn''t get any results, so he turned to Fredrick, who had his eyes closed, and spoke¡­


    "Well¡­"


    "It''sing from outside"


    At those words, Cabrera''s expression hardened.


    But it quickly softened as Fredrick continued.


    "From the little I can see¡­there''s no Master-rank nearby"


    Naturally, he was talking about his mana sense. He wasn''t able to feel anything outside before because he was quite far away. Now that he was below the mountain though, he was able to extend his mana to scan the areas beside it.


    Both Fredrick and Cabrera were confused.


    "What do you think is going on?" Cabrera asked.


    "I don''t know. I can''t find the beast anywhere, but I don''t think it would flee, so it''s most likely already dead. But that''s why I''m confused. Who killed it? The mana signs I''m picking up aren''t those of Expert-rank, they''re one level lower. Just a bit more powerful than you¡­I think" Fredrick promptly replied.


    Cabrera: "How many are there?"


    Fredrick: "I can''t give you an exact number¡­they''re more than one but less than six"


    Cabrera: "What about the sound we just heard?"


    Fredrick: "That''s the best part. I think, no, with these mana signs, they''re definitely fighting right now"


    Cabrera was dumbfounded. This was not the scenario they had spected. No Master-ranks or even Experts, and now, those that remained were fighting, weakening themselves even further.


    It was the best oue for them.


    Still, they had to be careful.


    "What are the chances that the Expert and Master ranks are hiding after they discovered your presence?"


    "As close to zero as possible. There''s no reason for them to hide, because I wouldn''t. Rather, I''d wonder what a Master-rank was doing in the mountain, because, at the very least, it meant there was something the Master wanted to gain, and I''d tag along to find out what it is. After all, they never saw me fight, so whoever it is won''t know how strong I am, or how many trump cards I have at hand. Looking at this, it is very unlikely that a Master-rank would hide, and now, others are fighting for a reason we don''t know. So there''s definitely something we''re missing, something we don''t know"


    Cabrera couldn''t help but be impressed by such deduction skills as he nodded, and then spoke¡­


    "So, what should we do now?"


    Fredrick was quick to answer.


    "We don''t have any idea what''s going on out there, and staying in here isn''t helping. But like you said, we still have to be cautious. So I''ll head up there to check on the situation while you keep doing what you''re doing"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Cabrera didn''t object. If he went, he might not be able to understand as easily as Fredrick could. There might also be a Master lurking in in sight, so no thank you, Cabrera didn''t want to test how long he could live.


    Fredrick nodded, before dashing towards the hole dug through the mountain by the snake, sprinting to the lowest level of the mountain with rtive ease, and activating earth sense once more to check what was going on.


    He felt the trees that had been squashed underrge rocks. He also felt the dead body of arge snake cleanly sliced in half, along with Rowan''s body that had bleed out almost all his blood. A spark of life force still existed within him, but at this point, his fate was clear.


    ''He''s going to die''


    But that wasn''t any of Fredrick''s business. It was the cruelty of Orion and the cruel fate of most adventurers, and Rowan knew what he was getting into.


    Away from them, he felt a couple of bodies buried under rocks, which fell when the snake made its entrance. Along with them were the bodies beheaded by Ilyonid on the ground, showered in their own blood.


    "Who did this?" Fredrick wondered.


    The question would have to wait, as the image of those fighting was fed to his brain.


    Contrary to his expectations of three to five fighters, there were only two people going at it in a one on one, one big and one small. The big guy looked miserable, with more than half of his punches hitting empty air, while his opponent cut him apart on all sides.


    But the question was¡­


    "Who are they?"


    Fredrick didn''t know who they were, but he stayed there, using his mana sense to watch, before the smaller''s swordsmanship caused something to click.


    "Wait, cut?"


    The image of Ilyon''s sword made Fredrick examine the snake''s dead body as he confirmed that it had died by a powerful sword sh, or at least a powerful sh.


    This meant¡­


    ''Hmm, the one who killed it was a de wielder''


    He was wondering why someone that powerful went into hiding, when he took cognizance of something he had brushed over before, the weapons lying on the floor!


    With a thought, he quickly examined them through mana sense, and found most were short swords or daggers, and only a Grandmaster could make such a mark with a dagger.


    He was sweating as his mind sifted through therge amount of informationing in before quickly picking up on a weapon that was most likely the culprit of the attack.


    A great sword whose de had dented a great deal and chipped off at multiple cesid on the floor.


    ''This is the weapon''


    Fredrick was sure of it.


    Fredrick knew who the weapon belonged to. Then again, how could he not when it was its wielder that smashed him into the mountain just before the snake came out.


    It was a bit baffling, but the clues pointed towards Rowan.


    ''So you were the one who killed it?''


    Fredrick thought it unlikely, but the whole reason they destroyed the outpost was to lure the Admiral, Rowan, and force him into a sh with the beast.


    Then again. He thought It wasn''t umon that an Admiral, and most likely a noble, had a secret technique or treasure that enhanced his fighting prowess.


    With Ezra''s affirmation, their thoughts were that Rowan would no doubt die.


    And it worked, but not like they thought. Nheless, the Admiral dying was the first thing they had to make sure of if they couldn''t do things quietly.


    Neither Fredrick nor Ezra nned for things to go out like they had.


    Fredrick had bought a lot of snake lover potion because Ezra said it would help keep therge snake attention for a time. A very short one, but that was enough to change the tide of any battle.


    Fredrick had bought it from different ces because he said buying in bulk would breed too much suspicion.


    In any case, things were now like this.


    Just to be sure, Fredrick reduced the range of his earth sense to focus on Rowan.


    He had to make sure he died.


    At the same time, the battle between the guild masters had reached its climax with Ilyon''s sword running through Motavu''s back while Motavu refused to let go.

 Chapter 100 Profiting While Others Fight (2)

    Fredrick reduced the width of his spell to increase its length.


    With ease, he spread his spell''s range over Rowan''s body.


    But he could no longer see what was going on between Motavu and Ilyon.


    Fredrick used the spell''s senses to analyze Rowan''s body and found that, as he had assumed, Rowan didn''t have much time left.


    Multiple organs had failed and he was bleeding out by the second.


    Fredrick didn''t normally do this because people would immediately feel a foreign mana on their bodies, and Rowan would surely also feel it.


    But he was unconscious and critically wounded to do anything about it.


    Still though¡­


    ''Let''s just end it here''


    Fredrick felt that he should kill him just to make sure, but just as he wanted to trample Rowan''s mana, his instincts rang out.


    And because of that, he halted his actions immediately.


    His instincts had saved him more than once. The fact that it sent him warning signals meant that there would be trouble if he followed through.


    Even then, Fredrick couldn''t help but wonder¡­


    ''What could it be?''


    Thankfully, Fredrick had ''seen'' Rowan''s internals by sending tendrils of mana into his body, so he was sure¡­


    ''If no one interferes, he should die any minute now''


    With that, Fredrick''s worries lessened significantly. All he needed to do was wait for Rowan to die.


    At the same time¡­


    "You b*stards! Hurry up!"


    Ilyon''s voice rang out and forcefully pulled Fredrick''s attention.


    He had been screaming before, but Fredrick had only taken notice at this moment.


    Then the voice of the separate parties under Ilyon and Motavu rang out, causing Fredrick to furrow his brow as he wondered why they hadn''t entered the mountain yet.


    To find out, he moved his spells'' range from Ilyon and Motavu, and stretched it in a straight line allowing the spell to just barely reach the necessary range.


    It wasn''t ideal, but it''ll have to do. Especially when Fredrick''s head was pounding and his brain was hurting from keeping the spell on for too long.


    Nevertheless, it was still bearable for him.


    But what he ''saw'' made him furrow his brow.


    Snakes were running in a frenzied manner towards the mountain.


    It wasn''t that unusual, but Fredrick knew of only one thing that could make a snake like that.


    ''The snake lover potion''


    If so¡­


    ''Did someone else bring snake lover potions?''


    Fredrick doubted it. The snake lover potion wasn''t used by most because it was considered a failed potion and most potion sellers couldn''t sell their stock, which was why Fredrick easily bought so many.


    Fredrick also remembered the snake lover potions he had dropped right before he was smashed into the mountain.


    ''Hmm¡­is it possible? But it''s only usable for two minutes before turning into waste, or is there something else?''


    Fredrick just kept being baffled by the series of events. The snakes he could ''see'' were far more than one. And all of them were heading towards the mountain with frenzied expressions.


    While Fredrick couldn''t see much further, he knew that there were probably even more further out.


    Then there were the parties under the two guild masters that were fighting and killing each other while the others were being attacked by some snakes.


    It was at this moment-


    *BOOOM!*


    -that Motavu''s punchnded on Ilyon''s smaller figure, generating a shockwave right after, causing dust to rise and cover the surroundings like a smoke screen.


    __________________________


    *BOOOM!*


    Motavu''s punchnded on Ilyon, hitting him away as the sheer force caused the remaining part of Ilyon''s right arm tear off. Ilyon''s body smashed into the mountain with a BANG!


    His body directly broke through the mountain and fell inside it on his back with his right arm - which was now stump - bleeding out excessively.


    The shockwave had also pushed back all those iing subordinates by at least ten feet. Some even feel backwards. The closest snakes and the mages were the ones who suffered the most because of their weak physiques.


    Even Fredrick felt it, but he didn''t see it as something life threatening.


    That said though, Fredrick looked to his side.


    At his side was a wall dividing his pathway from the one beside it, while in front of Fredrick''s cavern was the boulder that fell along with the snake''s exit.


    And what do you know, the part of the mountain that Ilyon had smashed into was the cavern beside Fredrick''s.


    Without a moment to waste, Fredrick punched the wall and smashed it, making a sizable holes that was big enough for him to pass unhindered.


    Here he found Ilyon lying on the ground with his stump bleeding heavily while he coughed repeatedly.


    Ilyon was coughing blood and his skin was growing pale by the minute because of how much blood he was losing.


    While Motavu''s blow was strong, it wasn''t enough to insta-kill someone a rank above him.


    Using mana to shield his body right before Motavu''s fist hit him, Ilyon was able to avoid instant death.


    Nheless, the damage he took was no joke.


    With haste, Ilyon essed the ring on his finger - the space ring he had taken from Rowan''s finger after stabbing him - and looked for health potions, which he found ten of and proceeded to drink them.


    That''s when he caught sight of Fredrick''s figure.


    Fredrick just stood to the side and observed Ilyon beforeing to a conclusion.


    ''Killing him here would save us unnecessary trouble''


    At this moment, something happened.


    The small spark of life force remaining within Rowan dissipated.


    Rowan had died.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But from within his dead body, a small wisp of yellow light emerged and shot forward.


    It¡­shot towards Ilyon''s location!


    In less than a minute, it closed the distance and plunged into Ilyon''s body.


    Ilyon - who was on edge, trying to figure out who the person in front of him was - didn''t notice the yellow wisp.


    But Fredrick did, and his eyes widened as he thought¡­


    ''Is that what I think it is?''


    The answer came a momentter as Ilyon''s stomach suddenly began aching, and it only grew worse by the second.


    From a casual stomach ache, Ilyon felt like his body was on fire and then the fire kept heating up as Ilyon began to scream.


    "AHH!"


    The pain became far worse as Ilyon realized that it wasn''t his body burning, it was something else.


    And that thing was causing him pain.


    Before long, he felt that it was hot enough to melt iron.


    "AHHHHH!"


    Ilyon held the side of his stomach as he shrieked with pain.


    In the face of such pain, he didn''t spare a nce at Fredrick who was watching everything calmly.


    He was in so much pain that he wished he could just die.


    But that never happened. The heat grew even hotter, before it rapidly cooled like it was never there, granting Ilyon respite as he calmed down, before-


    *Puke*


    -he puked blood once more.


    But Ilyon could feel something. He didn''t know what it was, but it gave him a very ominous feeling.


    Only after puking did he look up at Fredrick - whose gaze had turned stern - and spoke in a hoarse voice.


    "What do you want from me?"


    "Nothing" Fredrick replied, intending to leave, when an idea came to his mind.


    ''Maybe I can use this''


    "I felt that you would do as a member of the demon worshippers with the heart that you hold. One filled with ck. But as I see things¡­you have no ce beside our spawn" he spoke without turning back and then left.


    Only this time, instead of going back through the way he came, he went through the hole Ilyon had created when he smashed into the wall.


    Ilyon - who had yet to get his bearing - could only listen as he said nothing, allowing the man to go. He then took out three healing potions and chugged them down his throat.


    His bleeding stopped, though not entirely. His body had healed to the most basic level. Only then did he survey his surroundings. His eyes shined when he spotted the droves of mana crystals.


    But¡­


    "Ugh!"


    He wasn''t in any condition to move for the time being.


    So he could only hope his guild members woulde to pick him up soon.


    Also, he could still feel something foreign within him.


    ''Hopefully it''s nothing too bad''


    He didn''t know what it was, so he didn''t worry about it.


    Rather, he thought about his next step¡­


    ''What do I tell them now?''


    How was he going to exin the situation? Especially the fight between him and Motavu.


    But¡­


    ''I''ll think of a way''


    He had confidence that he would pull through.


    ''Like I''ve always done''


    ''Let me just¡­rest¡­my eyes¡­a bit''


    By the end of this thought, Ilyon had fallen asleep.


    He was utterly exhausted from running and fighting both men and beast.


    So he slept peacefully, momentarily forgetting his worries.


    He would soon realize he had run out of luck.


    _____________________


    While this happened, Fredrick had gone out of the mountain and into the fog of dust.


    The fog was grayish-yellow and was so thick it literally rendered people blind on all sides.


    For Fredrick though, what did all that matter when you had ''Earth sense''?


    With it, Fredrick navigated the fog easily, knowing everyone''s position. He circumvented them as he picked up all the scales the snake had shed while evolving and ced them in his space ring, before finally arriving at his main goal, the snake''s body thaty on the ground sliced in half, and also sucking it into the space ring.


    Fredrick couldn''t help but be astounded.


    ''I could get used to this''


    The feeling of profiting while others fought.


    But then he felt something.


    Vibrations.


    Subtle vibrations.


    The meaning was clear.


    ''Something''sing''


    Who, or what, could it be?

 Chapter 101 Somethings Coming

    -A few minutes ago-


    "Haa¡­haa¡­haa¡­haa"


    Within the fog of dust, Motavuy with his back to the ground unmoving.


    His heaving chest was the only thing that signified that he was still alive, and even that was gradually slowing down.


    His body was riddled with numerous cuts and stab wounds. His blood - which had been tainted green - flowed out of his wounds incessantly, bathing his surroundings in the green glow of his poisonous blood.


    His body was stained with blood, and Ilyon''s sword, along with his torn hand, was standing upright with its edge still embedded in his chest.


    Motavu saw no reason to remove it. No, rather, he didn''t have the strength to do so.


    Motavu - who had already resigned himself to his fate - had a grin on his face as he thought¡­


    ''It''s done! Hahaha! I did it! That b*stard would always have something to remember me by''


    Motavu then paused, before his thoughts continued¡­


    ''So¡­I guess this is it''


    Although he had mentally prepared himself, visualizing and experiencing werepletely different things.


    At the edge of death, Motavu couldn''t help but feel overwhelmed as he reminisced about his life.


    ''I wonder what look the old man will have when he hears of this¡­pity I won''t be there to see it''


    His thoughts wandered off to the guild master who brought him into the guild. He hadst seen him in the morning when he was assigned his current mission.


    Then¡­


    ''Oh yeah, those pikes are still out there¡­fighting¡­''


    He thought about the guild members who were still fighting till this moment.


    And though they weren''t best buds. They definitely had each other''s backs.


    Thinking about this, a tear escaped Motavu''s eye.


    ''I lived a good life¡­Yeah¡­I guess¡­I did''


    This was thest thought Motavu had before his gaze turned nk, and like so¡­Motavu passed away.


    Where his cocky grin had resided, a mncholic smile now reced it.


    Motavu had stayed true to his words¡­he had died, maybe not in peace, but without regrets.


    ____________________


    *Shua*ng*shin*Bam*Bum*


    The sound of swords shing and cutting along with the sounds of halberds smashing rang out.


    The battle was as chaotic as it could get.


    The snakes were moving unhindered - but as Fredrick observed, their frenziness was gradually fading off - and causing massive damage to everything within the fog.


    Using their tongues to sense heat, the fog was never a problem for them.


    Instead, it became a problem for the humans who couldn''t see them.


    The snakes attacked them from different angles and in any direction.


    A few died, most of which were mercenaries.


    The guild members were able to do far better than them as they used their keen senses, vision or instincts, to keep away from death''s door, but they sustained different levels of injuries nheless.


    In the midst of all this, a wind mage unleashed a strong gust of wind in arge area, blowing away about a quarter of the fog.


    ________________________


    -A few minutes earlier-


    Fredrick had just sucked the dead body of therge snake into his space ring when he felt subtle vibrations in the ground.


    So subtle that even he wouldn''t have noticed if his Earth sense wasn''t active.


    ''Something''sing''


    He quickly summarized that something was heading in their direction.


    ''And they''re not alone''


    Whatever wasing brought its friends along.


    It raised a surprising question¡­


    ''But what are they?''


    The forest was a region exclusive to snakes.


    And snakes did not stomp with their feet, because they had none.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The thought of another A-rank monster? Non-existent. It was downright next to impossible for two A-ranks to appear in one day.


    That left only one possibility.


    ''I guess it''s about time they came''


    The adventurers from the missionary outpost were now heading towards them.


    Reasoning from another angle, it should have been obvious.


    The snakes that were swarming the missionary outpost had turned towards the mountain, giving those at the missionary a lot of respite.


    In fact, Fredrick was wondering why they hadn''t arrived earlier.


    That didn''t matter at the moment.


    After taking the snake''s body and all its scales, Fredrick rapidly moved back into the mountain through the way he came.


    Another variable had appeared, so Fredrick had to act fast.


    The moment Fredrick arrived in the mountain, he saw Ilyon using the only arm he had left to scourge out the mana crystals embedded in the walls.


    "Huh?!"


    Ilyon instinctively flinched when he saw Fredrick, especially because he was currently at his weakest state.


    Fredrick gave him only a nce before he turned to leave, but not without giving out a few words of advice.


    "You should get out of here while you still can, because I wonder how you''ll exin your missing arm to your friends when they get here"


    Without giving Ilyon a chance to reply, Fredrick ran off, leaving Ilyon to begin pondering on his words.


    Which was exactly what he did¡­


    ''Friends¡­what friends?''


    Ilyon didn''t understand what he meant, but with the context of his earlier words, it meant somebody wasing.


    ''No, he said friends. But then, how many are there?''


    Again, Ilyon found himselfcking information, but Fredrick''s words gave an inkling of what could happen.


    ''How do I exin everything?''


    How was he going to exin that he had killed Motavu? What would he say? Would they even believe him?


    What if they didn''t and tried to kill him?


    In his weakened state, there was no way he would survive.


    And also¡­


    ''This thing on my body, I have to get rid of it''


    Ilyon wasn''t sure at first, but he gradually affirmed that something had stuck onto him.


    It wasn''t stuck on his body, but rather, within him. Maybe even his soul, Ilyon theorized, but he didn''t know exactly what it was nor what it did.


    Anyways, it was giving him a sense of foreboding.


    ''I have to get rid of it as fast as possible''


    So he made the removal of whatever it was his first priority.


    Ilyon didn''t think about his subordinates still fighting outside the mountain, or what his actions would do to the guild he worked for.


    After all, he had to save himself before anything else.


    His perfect n was now in ruins, and he had even lost an arm.


    Meeting enemies in such a state would no doubt be the end of him.


    And Ilyon was not about to die for anyone other than himself.


    With that thought, he looked in the direction Fredrick had gone and briefly entertained the idea of following, but threw it out of his mind in the next instant.


    Ilyon knew the man could have easily killed him, yet he didn''t and talked about¡­worshiping demons and something about a spawn, was it?


    From that alone, Ilyon concluded the man was anything but ordinary, and also¡­he couldn''t be sure that the man wasn''t insane.


    That said, he couldn''t afford to turn a deaf ear to a warning that could very well be true, especially when the man didn''t really need to.


    There was no need to test fate in such a situation.


    For the man to be moving hurriedly, then whoever wasing was nearby.


    Which meant that there was no time to waste.


    With haste, Ilyon scourged up as many mana crystals as he could and stored them in Rowan''s ring, before heading out into the fog and running left in a straight line.

 Chapter 102 New Variable

    -Within the Mountain-


    *Bam*Crack*


    Below the mountain, Cabrera''s hands never stopped moving as he smashed his pickaxe against the thick walls over and over again.


    Therge beads of sweat covering his face and the veins snaking across his body were evidence of how taxing such movements were.


    At this point in time, a loud sound resounded and Cabrera looked over to see Fredrick standing behind him.


    Before he could say a word, Fredrick rushed forward and spoke with an urgent tone.


    "We have to move fast. We are shorter on time than I originally thought"


    Cabrera spoke as he pointed towards the walls where mana stonesy¡­


    "So we are going to leave all this behind?!"


    "No, we''re taking them. Step back"


    Cabrera moved out of the way as he watched Fredrick get into stance. Frederick then started quickly breaking out the mana stones with his fists.


    *Jijijijijijiji*


    Cabrera almost couldn''t believe his eyes, but he was forced to as he found himself staring in awe.


    ''So this is the power of a Master-rank Knight''


    At the same time, he also felt dread as he gulped nervously, putting himself in the position of the stone wall.


    ''I could go on for about five seconds at best, after that¡­''


    The rest didn''t need to be said as Cabrera felt a chill go down his spine, inwardly swearing never to get on Fredrick''s bad side.


    The stones weren''t too many - Cabrera had already mined a fair share of them - so Fredrick was done after two minutes.


    He swiped his forehead and spoke to Cabrera¡­


    "Get in here, then I''ll go get the boys"


    Before Cabrera could ask any question, Fredrick touched his shoulder and sucked him into his ring, before rushing upwards by jumping along the wide hole.


    In record time, Fredrick arrived at the lowest level of the mountain and dashed out of it through the hole Ilyon made. He then passed through the fog of dust while avoiding snakes and men swinging their weapons blindly, before arriving at the part of the mountain he had smashed into when Rowan mmed him with his sword and entering the mountain once more.


    His fast movements across the fog further intensified chaos by spooking the adventurers who heard a whoosh beside them.


    It was at this moment that the wind mage blew a gust of wind that blew a quarter of the fog away.


    The adventurers were surprised at the sudden change but stayed their hand - mostly because they were all exhausted.


    At the same time, the subtle vibrations Fredrick felt from afar were now loud enough that even they heard them.


    That, along with the clear sound of something being sliced, pulled all eyes to look at a group of thirty, but less than forty culling through the swarm of snakes from behind.


    A mix of both genders dressed in armor of different colors cut through the swarm with ease. The difference in skill between them and those before was apparent to the naked eye.


    Of course, it wasn''t all of them.


    But the majority showed skill.


    *Bam!*


    Among them was a man with brown skin and hair or the same color, but filled with bands of white. He was d in red armor with no helmet and had a buff build, not up that of Motavu, but with muscles better refined. Befitting such strength, he wielded a great sword taller than him and used it to decimate the snakes in droves.


    "Oi! What are you posers doing? Put your back into it!"


    His voice brought light to the eyes of those filled with despair.


    Specifically, the men who had followed Motavu.


    "It''s the guild master!"


    "Guild master! The guild master''s here!"


    The guilders of Red Wolf howled and called out to their leader.


    Naturally, he didn''te alone.


    "Brothers!"


    A slew of twelve buff people stood by his side and supported in culling the snakes.


    The people working in the missionary also stood beside them and, along with the others, quickly cut the tide of snakes like dry weed.


    The ground, which had already been charred ck and filled with ash of burnt trees, formed cracks as the adventurers unleashed their power.


    They quickly arrived in front of the first group. By now, the wind mage hadpletely dispelled the dust fog, revealing the terror of the hour long battle against the beasts and among themselves.


    "Guild master, you''ve arrived"


    The tone of relief was apparent within the voice of the Red Wolf guilders.


    But the guild master didn''t reply.


    Rather, he didn''t know what to say.


    ''I had hoped things hadn''t gone too bad, but it''s far worse than I thought''


    The number of guilders that appeared in front of him were only four.


    It took only a moment for the meaning to set in.


    ''They''re all dead''


    But the guild master didn''t want to believe it. No, he couldn''t even ept it.


    Only, he had no choice but to do so.


    The bodies mangled on the ground along with those of the snakes were enough proof.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was a terrible situation, and it meant a dark future for the guild.


    But even then, wasn''t this too much?


    The guild master''s eyes darted all over the ce with a grave face as he wondered¡­


    ''Why is he not here?! Did something happen?''


    He was bing anxious to find out what happened to the vice guild master-


    "NO!"


    -and quite unfortunately, it didn''t take him long to do so.


    "Guild master? Guild master!"


    The guilders behind him were flustered when he suddenly ran off and hastily followed behind him.


    The voice of the Red Wolf guild master boomed out with pain as he ran towards a body that seemed awfully familiar.


    The guild master desperately wished his eyes were mistaken.


    But reality shattered his fantasies.


    "No¡­"


    The guild master stopped in his tracks once he got in adequate distance and slumped to the ground on his knees, his fist smashing into the ground.


    "Damn it! Damn it all!"


    The guilders following behind him slowed down, and once they saw the body in the distance, an air of silence permeated as none moved nor said a word.


    In front of them was the figure of their vice guild master Motavu lying on the ground with his armor now ragged to the extreme and a sword impaled into his stomach.


    The light in his eyes had faded long ago, and his body was already rotting.


    This was the effect of using up his life force. His body had be nothing but waste material and was now dposing.


    At the same time¡­


    "Sir Rowan! I''ve found the admiral!"


    The missionaries all rushed towards the body of Rowan, lying in a newly formed pool of blood with armor very dusty, dirty, and damaged.


    Like Motavu, light had faded from his eyes.


    But unlike Motavu, the missionare made no exmation.


    It showed his professionalism.


    He simply turned from the body to face a woman d in silver armor with her arms crossed behind him, who asked¡­


    "Well?"


    "The admiral is dead"


    The woman took a deep breath, and continued.


    "Do you know how he died?"


    "I don''t, not yet at least. But I do know a few things though. He was stabbed in the side with what should be either a knife or a dagger"


    "Are you saying that''s what killed him?"


    "I''m saying that''s part of it. Some of his bones are also broken"


    "Hmm-"


    She turned to those behind her.


    "-where is the beast that did this?"


    It was then¡­


    Someone suddenly eximed.


    "Where is it?!"


    It immediately pulled the attention of others as they stared in the direction the person was looking at.


    Only then did the people notice the absurdity.


    "Huh? Where did it go?!"


    "Who took it?!"


    "It was just there a minute ago, what happened?!"


    The body of the snake they had clearly seen Rowan kill¡­was nowhere to be seen!


    It had vanished into thin air!


    Some thought they were hallucinating. And they might have believed it, if it wasn''t for therge gash imprinted in the earth as evidence of Rowan''s killing sword strike.


    But such evidence only served to confuse them even more, because¡­


    "How is this possible?!"


    The more they looked, the greater the shock.


    Even the scales that were shed had disappeared from sight.


    The atmosphere became tense as those who had just survived saw such an ordeal and looked at each other with prying eyes.


    The ordeal wasn''t over just yet.

 Chapter 103 New Variable (2)

    As people stared at each other, a voice resounded in the air.


    "I saw the White Iron guild master and Motavu fighting before the dust covered my sight, and now, we can''t find the snake!"


    Things took a turn at this moment and the surroundings became quiet.


    Everyone suddenly held their tongues while their minds stirred.


    The meaning of the said words were clear.


    The two guild leaders had been the ones nearest to the body, and they were also the ones who caused the dust to erupt.


    Now, after said dust vanished, the body was nowhere to be seen!


    So, it was no surprise that all eyes searched fervently for the two in question.


    At the same time, the woman d in silver and a few others took notice of the slight increase of mana in the atmosphere.


    It was then.


    Bam!


    "What are you trying to say?!"


    The Red Wolf guild master appeared in front of the man who spoke and pulled him up by his head.


    "Myrade has just died, yet you have the guts to sully his memory! SPEAK!"


    The death of arade who was the closest thing he had to a brother had hit the guild master deeply.


    His heart was already burning in anger as he swore to find the one who did it and to make them pay!


    In such a situation, it was easy to figure out what he would do to someone speaking ill of Motavu.


    Killing intent permeated the air, as the onlookers felt their blood run cold.


    So no one spoke. Heck, most looked away like it was none of their business.


    The man who had spoken up was pulled off the ground, so he could now see the body of Motavu with the sword having been pulled out.


    ''Sh*t''


    Rage filled his heart when he saw the others looking to the sides. He was on his own.


    As such, he quickly understood that he was in a very vtile situation where his death woulde swiftly if he didn''t pick his words well.


    He tried to calm himself, but quickly realized that he couldn''t.


    So he splurged out what he knew in a way that could save his skin.


    The best move to save himself was to cast the me on someone else.


    "While we were fighting the snakes, Motavu and Ilyon were fighting. We didn''t know why, but it seemed Motavu was trying to stop Ilyon from doing something"


    Which was exactly what he did.


    "Then something happened and dust was all over the ce, and well, you know the rest"


    The guild master stared him straight in the eye for a few seconds, when suddenly, he was flung away like trash.


    Those standing at the side had their eyes follow the man''s figure as hended with a sound that made them wince.


    The culprit couldn''t be bothered to care as his eyes darted about trying to find Ilyon, before quickly noticing that he wasn''t there.


    Without any words, he snatched up a White Iron guilder and pulled him towards himself.


    "Where is your guild master?!"


    The person in question was already dead tired from fighting, like most of the White Iron guilders.


    So, not all of them had taken notice of the guild master''s absence.


    Obviously, the man who suddenly found himself being questioned out of the blue panicked and spoke loudly.


    "I don''t know where he is!"


    But the Red Wolf guild master didn''t budge, but instead tightened his grip, slowly choking the man.


    The man could only try unsessfully to pull off the hand on neck.


    Other White Iron guilders were on their feet watching cautiously, but none dared to attack or even reveal their hostility.


    The reason why was simple. None of them was strong enough to face the Red Wolf guild master.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Especially when the remaining guilders rallied behind him.


    It meant showing hostility would only have them end up like the man they were spectating.


    Each White Iron guilder felt stifled at the scene, at their powerlessness, at their hopelessness. Some directed the me towards Ilyon, who was nowhere to be seen.


    The independent or unaffiliated adventurers, but best known as mercenaries, had moved away from the White Iron guilders to avoid the brewing scuffle between the two guilds.


    As for the snakes, most had dispersed once the culling began.


    The snake lover potion, even after being enhanced by mana, was almostpletely spent.


    At least, it was nowhere as potent as before.


    The moment the threat of death grew apparent, they were able to snap out of their frenzied state and make the most logical choice, run.


    Tension was filling the air once more, when someone spoke up.


    "Davin! What are you doing?!"


    Without caring for formalities, the man, d in ragged white armor, spat out the guild master''s name and appeared in front of him.


    The guild master, or Davin, paused at the sound of his name as he turned his head to face the one who called out and dropped the poor guilder in his hands to the ground.


    "Haaaaa¡­.Haaaaa¡­.Haaaa"


    The knight exhaled audibly while touching his neck. From a nce, one would know the man had already begun to suffocate.


    But most didn''t pay attention to him, but at the confrontation between the two men of simr heights.


    Davin was the first to speak. His tone thick and buoyant.


    "Do you want your tongue ripped out, Sunny boy? Because I can very well fulfill those wishes"


    But the other knight, Sunny, answered with a tone just as fierce.


    "You can try, but within a week, you''ll understand the difference between our guilds when your boys are lying six feet under"


    Tension levels rose even higher as both sides stared at each other, when surprisingly-


    "I need to hold someone ountable! Where is your guild master?"


    -Davin relented first. And it wasn''t because he was suddenly feeling merciful.


    ''They might care not for others, but this is different''


    It was because he knew what kind of power Sunny was talking about.


    It had been proved once before how terrifying White Iron could be, and it was also how the man in front of him had be famous.


    The other knight, Sunny, promptly spoke without change in expression.


    "The guild master is dead"


    Davin furrowed his brows, but before he could speak, Sunny continued.


    "Or do you think I''m lying? You have to be joking if you think I''ll be afraid of you"


    It was a statement that made Davin feel humiliated.


    Nevertheless, it was the truth, the bitter truth, and Davin knew it.


    But it only made him more frustrated, because now, he had no one to hold ountable.


    Sunny couldn''t care less as he continued¡­


    "Your friend dealt him a blow that had all of us pushed back from the force alone. So I can say with certainty that there''s no way our guild master survived"


    This statement soothed Davin a bit.


    "Though¡­I guess he paid for the attack with his life"


    Such a statement got Sunny a sharp re from Davin.


    But before they could continue their bickering.


    "Unbelievable!"


    A voice of ecstasy pulled everybody''s attention as they quickly traced back the voice and found that it wasing from within the mountain.

 Chapter 104 Proposal

    Guilds existed all over the three continents, and they were divided in ranks.


    The White Iron guild was C-rank, while the Red Wolf guild was E-rank.


    Ignoring the obvious gap in rank, the fact that White Iron had more than one guild house deterred Red Wolf, and subsequently, Davin. His guild had only been formed two years ago, and his one and only base was in the missionary outpost.


    "Unbelievable!"


    But none of that mattered as an exmation drew all attention.


    All eyes fell on a girl that was covering her mouth like she had made a mistake. It looked very suspicious, especially because she was backing therge gap that Ilyon had made in the mountain.


    With a look, both Davin and Sunny, along with a few others, reasoned that something was up, and as they narrowed their eyes a bit, they noticed a blue glimmer from within the mountain.


    Without another word, Davin forgot about Sunny and approached the crack with fast steps, intent on finding out what the fuss was about.


    But before he could¡­


    "What are you doing?"


    The short woman d in silver stood in front of the girl, causing Davin to raise an eye, before speaking¡­


    "Anything and everything contained within the mountains is owned by the Empire. And since the admiral is dead, I, Loreta, stand in as the head of the missionary and the representative of the Empire. No one is allowed to enter this mountain. Any who do will be trespassing and shall be branded as a traitor to the Empire"


    Davin stood unmoving as his mind whirred¡­


    In the first ce, he was certainly not taking orders from someone weaker than him, but the fact that she had gone to such lengths affirmed his suspicions.


    ''There''s something very precious in there''


    Davin looked the girl in the eyes and spoke with a cold but fierce tone¡­


    "Move out of the way"


    And he quickly got his response.


    *Shing*


    Loreta unsheathed her sword in one go and took a battle stance.


    "Not while I still draw breath"


    Davin stared for a few seconds while those behind him watched.


    "Is that so? Then you leave me no choice"


    Davin didn''t even take his sword, rather opting to clench his fists and take a stance of his own, before emanating an invisible pressure on Loreta.


    "Here I go!"


    In one smooth motion, too fast to the eyes of most onlookers, Davin suddenly elerated and punched forward.


    *Bam!*


    The impact resounded as most did not even see what exactly he had done.


    Only after did they see Davin¡­with his fists on the mountain.


    Both Loreta and the woman behind her opened their eyes at this moment, Loreta''s hand quivering.


    "Nice bluffing. If it was someone else, they might have been caught in your trap. Unfortunately, I also know that the one who discovers a valuable resource has a right to a quarter of said resource. Now, let''s see what you were trying to hide so badly"


    At this moment¡­


    *Crack*


    Cracks came to life from the point where Davin had punched the mountain,rge pieces breaking off and exposing it for the treasure trove that it was.


    Those knowledgeable quickly figured out what it was, but they had their minds blown because of it.


    "I-Is that what I think it is?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Oh my goodness!"


    "It''s a manite vein!"


    "No it''s not. I''ve seen a manite vein, and this is not one of them"


    "Huh? What is it then?"


    "Who cares?! Those are mana crystals! A few of those and I''m set for life!"


    It was this statement that caused a light of greed to shine in everyone''s eyes as they quickly distanced themselves from others and looked at those beside them warily.


    The remaining members of White Iron, Red Wolf and the Missionaries quickly grouped up, leaving the scattered mercenaries baffled, before those smart amongst them did the same.


    Davin hadn''t moved an inch during all of this and stood still in front of the gap, before rubbing his head.


    ''This was a bad idea'' he thought, before turning around to see the four groups adjacent to each other.


    It was exactly as he predicted. Well, not exactly, but almost.


    If the situation wasn''t handled carefully and thoughtfully, a bloodbath would ensue.


    Needless to say, no one would walk out unscathed.


    So before they could begin, Davin coughed loudly to attract their attention and spoke¡­


    "I have a proposal"


    Even as the only Intermediate Knight around - meaning that he was the biggest threat - the others didn''t seem to give a damn, because another voice replied right after.


    "And why do we have to listen to you?"


    It turned out to be neither a missionaire nor a White Iron member, but a mercenary that spoke.


    Davin furrowed his brows as looked at the speaker, like he had just seen a monkey.


    Without a word, he stretched his hands backwards and broke off a piece of rock from the mountain. Then in the next moment¡­he threw it!


    *Zim*


    The object cut through the air at a speed few could follow. Luckily, the one who talked could.


    But being able to follow an object''s trajectory and being able to react to it were twopletely different things.


    The man proved his skill by urately reading the iing object''s trajectory in a few seconds.


    Quickly realizing that he wouldn''t be able to dodge in time, a decision was made!


    *Cha!*


    The object hit its target without fail.


    "AH! Mmm"


    We see the man holding up his left arm as blood gushes out. He bit his lips trying to muffle the sounds of pain.


    Then we see the piece of rock lodged into the man''s left arm, literally. It struck a bit below his wrist and stuck there like a key stuck in the wrong door.


    "I don''t remember asking you to open that bowl of filth you call a mouth. Do it again and...well, you''ll see"


    Davin nodded inwardly at the sight of the mercenaries, whose morale had been knocked down a notch.


    After all, it was paramount that people knew their ce.


    Then he turned his gaze to Loreta.


    "Now, as I was saying, I have a proposal"

 Chapter 105 Proposal (2)

    "Now, as I was saying, I have a proposal"


    Without giving her a chance to reply, he continued.


    "In order to avoid a fight that would be detrimental to us all, I propose that all parties except for yours be given twenty five minutes to scourge however little they can of the mountains inside and get out, leaving the rest for the Empire''s taking"


    He was proving why exactly he was able to survive as a guild master.


    "What nonsense are you talking about?! You-"


    Just as Loreta took upon herself to ensure others won''t get in her way, she was silenced by a shout from Davin.


    "Loreta!"


    Loreta''s tongue subconsciously stopped.


    With a cruel light in his eyes, he bent till his mouth was right beside her ear and spoke¡­


    "It won''t do you any good to fight three opponents all at once, now would it? It would do you good to be careful with your next words, because it will decide the fate of all those behind you"


    He then stood straight and folded his arms, while Loreta''s knuckles whitened as she tightened her grip on her sword.


    ''Damn''


    She was frustrated.


    ''Damn it all!''


    But there was nothing she could do.


    She knew that the only reason why Davin hadn''t killed her was because of her position with the missionary.


    Her deduction was spot on, because Davin-


    ''Tch, how annoying''


    -was inwardly infuriated.


    Like he had said, any who discovers a vein of precious mineral or rare alchemic resources within a territory owned by none was liable to twenty-percent of whatever gains came from such discovery.


    If discovered withinnds owned by others, one would only get two to five percent.


    If it were to be ancient ruins, depending on the rarity of what is found, between two and twenty-five percent is given.


    All thesews and more were formed because of the formed guilds and ns.


    But note that all thews were just that,ws.


    Guilds powerful enough, namely A and S rank ones, were able to negotiate sixty percent of the discovery gains as theirs.


    Which further proved the Orion notion of ''Might is Right''.


    Personal strength came before all else. Right after came connections and backers, which was why Davin tolerated Loreta''s nonsense act.


    The Empire, or simply the royals and the nobles, had been known to be ruthless.


    But they wouldn''t unt their ownws, or else it would cause a stir that would ultimately lead to chaos, only the scale of it was unknown.


    The Empire could take Davin''s actions of scourging the mountains as an insult, but they would be unable to make a move.


    Killing a missioniare though, would make a more than sufficient justification for him to be hunted down, which was what Loreta was going for.


    The only situation where he could be safe after killing a missionary was one where there were no witnesses. But seeing the number of people around, there was no way he would be able to kill them all, even his own men, without some surviving or him dying.


    But now, he had given them a reasonable deal. Twenty-five minutes to grab what they could and get out.


    All that they were able to take would be theirs onwards and the Empire would have the rest.


    It meant that they could take the most valuable things they could find. Take it away and leave only scraps without the Empire being able to touch them.


    Loreta didn''t want to ept such conditions, but she had no choice.


    Things would''ve progressed differently if the admiral was around.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Unfortunately, it would not be so.


    The fact that three groups were here made it worse. There was no way she could stop all of them.


    So, with a sigh of defeat, Loreta sheathed her de, stepped back, and spoke¡­


    "Your proposal has been epted. The Empire will noty im to whatever you bring out and is willing to buy the valuables that you find"


    Davin nodded, before turning towards the other two group leaders and saying...


    "Me and my men will enter first. The second group will enter only after ten minutes. And the third party will enter ten minutes after that"


    The other two groups blew up as they opposed him immediately.


    "What nonsense is he saying? Why can''t we all go in at once?"


    "Who made him the leader?"


    But it was quickly silenced when Davin raised his voice once more.


    "Silence, you b*stards! If any of you have something to say,e out here!"


    Everyone looked at each other in silence¡­but none dared toe out.


    "I said that any of you weasels with something to say shoulde out! Come out and say it to my face!"


    Davin''s voice raged as he dared them.


    Yet, despite many of them burning with anger, no one dared to step up.


    With that, Davin said¡­


    "That''s what I thought. Boys, we''re going in! Anyone who follows us shall be killed"


    He then entered the mountain with his guild mates following behind.


    The inside view astounded them as they saw mana crystals lodged all over the ce.


    "Wow"


    "Boss, how much do you think this thing costs?!"


    "Enough to set us up for life"


    But they quickly found something unsettling.


    "Boss, over here!"


    Davin came to face empty holes in the walls, along with broken pieces of mana crystals on the ground.


    The meaning was clear.


    ''Someone''s been here''


    It was Ilyon''s work, but they didn''t know that.


    But the notion that someone had already scavenged the mountain, or was still scavenging it, meant that they could still be here, and that there was most likely something more valuable deeper in the mountain.


    "Boys, we go deeper"


    They quickly found the big gap Fredrick had made. Breaking it a bit more, they were able to pass through it easily.


    A bit after that, they found themselves at the road''s path that had been turned into a hole, one too big for them to jump across.


    So they jumped in - after making sure it was safe that is - and unknowingly escaped the spell range of a certain master that had been watching them.


    At this moment, the master thought¡­


    ''Maybe I can use this''

 Chapter 106 Mercenaries

    As Fredrick ''felt'' Davin''s party going below the mountain, he thought¡­


    ''Maybe I can use this''


    But shook his head in the next instant.


    ''No, I''ve taken more than enough. Just enough mana stones and mana crystals remain to lead the Empire on a wild goose chase, then they''ll find Ilyon¡­and the rest will be history''


    Fredrick nced at the remaining mana stones that numbered only in the tens, before shaking off his greed.


    In the first ce, Ezra could have easily made Fredrick go stealthily, plunder the whole mountain for all it was worth, then vanish with nobody being none the wiser.


    Yet he didn''t do so. Why? Because chaos had to bloom for his future ns to go unobstructed.


    This was the aim of the entire scheme, to cause chaos!


    People would butt in others businesses when they had nothing to do.


    To prevent that, Ezra had to give them something to upy their time.


    And what better way to cause chaos, as well as attract idle hands, than to start a war?!


    But Ezra wasn''t satisfied with just that. As a reincarnator, he couldn''t be.


    He wanted to reap all the benefits, while leaving others tumbling in the dark.


    That was why all that had happened was only the first part of his grand scheme.


    At this moment, this part could be said to beplete. At least Fredrick definitely thought so.


    ''Besides, we still have another ce to get to''


    So, it is time to begin the second part!


    But first, he had to solve the problem at hand.


    ''How do I get out here without being noticed?''


    Fredrick''s thoughts whirred as he tried to find a solution.


    Of course, he didn''t stand idle, far from it.


    The moment he arrived inside the mountain, he had the boys pack up and sucked every one of them into the ring.


    Furthermore, to erase traces of mining and pickaxes, he broke the walls, leaving irregr markings that obscured what had happened.


    Sure, the Empire would send people to investigate, and considering the gravity of the matter, it would likely be grandmasters.


    But he wasn''t scared, because no one knew that he had advanced to the master rank in the first ce. And secondly, he was a known swordsman. Why would anyone expect him to use his fists?


    So, that was that.


    While his mind thought of a solution, his hands were plucking out mana crystals even faster than he took the mana stones.


    Mana crystals formed on the cave''s exterior. To remove them, you just pluck them off the cave''s walls, which was what Fredrick was doing while monitoring things with his earth sense.


    ________________________


    At the same time, just three minutes after Davin and his guilders entered the mountain, the White Iron guilders had gathered together in front of the huge gap.


    Sunny turned to those behind him and asked¡­


    "Are you all ready?"


    Davin had said ten minutes, but they would be fools to listen to such nonsense.


    They were using the same twenty-five minutes, it was not separate. In fact, they wouldn''t have gotten such a privilege if it wasn''t for the unique situation they found themselves in.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Also, he wasn''t the boss of any of them. What right did he have tomand them?


    But since they all knew the cost of a battle was not worth it, they backed off.


    Sunny knew Davin''s party would already have gone deeper.


    ''Because that''s what I would do''


    It was easy reasoning when you figured that most valuable things are almost always located at the end.


    If so, to avoid conflict inside the mountain, especially since they were all tight on time¡­


    ''We''ll simply take the stuff at the entrance''


    They would simply take the things Davin hadn''t bothered to pick.


    So, the White Iron guilders banded together, with the critically wounded left out, and entered the same gap, but not before leaving a message for the mercenary group behind them.


    "We''re upying this space. Any of you that steps within ten feet of here will have his head cut off"


    The mercenaries clenched their fists, because honestly, they expected something like this to happen.


    Personal power and connections were topmost priority.


    Why then would some decide to go solo?


    Well, a lot of reasons exist, like "going solo was more efficient" or "they would be tied down".


    But most such excuses were lies. Or rather, most of those who said them were lying.


    In truth, it was because most of them were too weak.


    The majority of those who became mercenaries weremoners who had dreams.


    But Orion was unforgiving, so most of them would find themselves with bronze mana techniques to begin their journey.


    Only¡­such products were mostly defective, giving rise to people who were alwaysckingpared to those in the same power stage.


    It would take five to eight such people to kill a single beast of the same rank, which was a very tiring task, bordering on bing a nightmare.


    It was also why being a mercenary became one of the most dangerous jobs in Orion, if not the most dangerous.


    What would happen when a person whose whole life has been hell finds an item that would allow him to soar among his peers?


    The answer was easy, they would do their utmost best to take it.


    That, along with the fact that mercenaries had the highest death rates every year¡­


    It was no mystery why being a mercenary was such a dangerous upation.


    In such an upation, trust was a word unheard of.


    These were just some of the reasons why the mercenaries could only clench their fists and gnash their teeth at being provoked.


    There was no guarantee that the other mercenaries would not stab them in the back at a moment''s notice, even if they all had something to gain.


    No, it was even more likely if they all had something to gain. After all, thinningpetition meant more bounty for those that remained.


    With that thought, the mercenary group disbanded and they stood away from each other.


    It was at this moment that a mercenary noticed something that others had neglected.


    "What''s that over there?"

 Chapter 107 Plundering

    "What''s that over there?"


    This statement caused the mercenaries to raise their heads as they noticed the gap created by Fredrick after being smashed.


    "It looks like¡­an entrance!"


    At the same time, the eyes of all the others lit up with greed.


    ''An entrance to the treasures within!''


    Simr thoughts went through the minds of the other mercenaries, but none dared to move.


    ''Whoever makes the first move is going to be chewed by the rest''


    As such, they stood still and began observing one another, when¡­


    "Bye"


    A mercenary shed past them at a speed too fast to follow.


    With nimble steps, he hopped on therge broken rocks and jumped into the gap like a monkey, leaving the others speechless at the sight.


    ''Ah!''


    Only after a few seconds did they get their acts together and rush for the gap without reservations.


    Every passing second meant less time to plunder treasure, and they needed as much time as they could get.


    Like an ant march, the short race from their spot to the mountain gap was another chaotic event on its own. They pushed, shoved, dodged and attacked each other to get ahead and to thin down thepetition.


    Quickly, twenty people squeezed through the gap, each with one bruise or another, but that mattered little to them, who risked their lives everyday just to eat.


    Rather, the sight of shining mana crystals took their attention as they looked around with awe.


    "You b*stard! Get off me"


    But the voice of others approaching threw them out of their reverie. They moved with haste to take as many of the crystals as they could.


    The first adventurer to enter was already plucking crystals off the walls and shoving them into the pouches tied to his belt.


    The others moved to do the same, and with the mountain being as wide as it was, they didn''t even have to fight each other for space. They just went to a vacant ce and got to treasure mining.


    But they quickly encountered a problem.


    ''Why is it so hard?!''


    Unlike Fredrick, who was at Master rank, most of these guys were Journeymen, with a few Adepts.


    What would be as easy as picking flowers for Fredrick, was like trying to remove something that had been glued firmly to them, especially with their mediocre mana techniques.


    While they were greedy, they quickly understood that they would be getting nowhere by trying to do things solo.


    So, they quickly formed groups of two and three.


    By now, thest twelve had entered, while five had died during the brief struggle.


    It showed just how easily mercenaries, or adventurers as a whole, lost their lives.


    But no one picked a fight, there was no need to.


    The amount of mana crystals were more than enough for them.


    Rather, they wouldn''t be able to take half of it even if they tried.


    The ones who camest plundered near the entrance, as the earlier ones had headed deeper to avoid conflict.


    With all these mercenaries focused on plundering as much as they could, they didn''t realize an outsider had joined their ranks.


    This was the solution that Fredrick came up with!


    While he was wondering how to get off the mountain, he saw the mercenaries approaching and acted quickly.


    He brought a ve from within the ring and gave him instructors, before handing the ring to the ve.


    The next instant, the ve sucked Fredrick into the ring and, after waiting for the mercenaries to enter, joined their ranks stealthily.


    He joined them after the first twenty mercenaries had entered the mountain.


    Naturally, the mercenary who came in first was a bit suspicious when someone approached from inside the mountain.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But when he turned his head and saw others paying zero attention¡­


    ''Maybe I didn''t see him passing''


    His thoughts arrived at the conclusion that he was the one mistaken.


    After all, he had his entire concentration on pulling out mana crystals. It might have been at that time that someone passed by him without him noticing.


    So, the mercenary lost interest and got back to his plundering.


    Like so, the ve was able to easily infiltrate their ranks without anyone even knowing. He then began pulling mana crystals like the rest of them, further making himself inconspicuous.


    Within that hassle, a pair of mercenaries chanced upon a mana stones.


    __________________


    Now, less than fifteen minutes remained and all three parties were plundering as best as they could.


    Davin''s party in particr was having the best progress.


    With their muscles already refined, plucking the mana crystals didn''t pose that much of a problem.


    The problem was something else.


    ''Someone was here before us''


    Naturally, Davin had seen the parts broken by Fredrick when he was mining mana stones.


    And he wasn''t the only one. The mercenaries had also seen signs that someone had been there before them.


    Davin didn''t know what the other party had taken, but the fact that someone had plundered the ce before them was troubling.


    Still, he couldn''t ruminate on it for too long. Mana crystals in the dozens remained for them to take.


    The second problem that every party was encountering was ack of storage.


    They could take hundreds of mana crystals, but where would they put them?


    Where would keep them safely stored away from hidden eyes?


    You couldn''t exactly carry hundred mana stones, walk around with it, and advertise it to all those along the road, now could you? Unless you couldn''t wait to be killed, that is.


    Nevertheless, the answer most came up with was rtively simple.


    ''We''ll cross that bridge when we reach it''


    They would worry about that once they were out of the mountain.


    Only a few others, mostly mercenaries, regted how many they would carry.


    It wasn''t an easy thing to do, not by any means.


    But their fair share of experience taught them that taking too many would slow them down, which could be fatal.


    Also, it would put a target on their backs.


    So, they chose to take only what they could carry.


    At the same time, the speed at which the ve was taking mana stones was drawing attention.


    It was nowhere as fast as Fredrick, but it was enough that he was able to remove two on his lonesome every minute.


    Others had to work in groups of two or three to do the same.


    Silently, they took note of his face, features and armor.


    It wasn''t toote to steal from each other once they got out of the mountain.


    But it wouldn''t do them any good because the ve had used a disguise potion.


    The ve though, couldn''t be bothered to even spare them a nce.


    Like so did things go, as they plundered with all they had and eyes filled with greed.


    Whatever they brought out was sure to change their lives forever.

 Chapter 108 Undercurrents

    While the three parties plundered, the undercurrents had already begun moving.


    *k*Pak*


    The moment Davin entered the mountain, Loreta sped in the opposite direction and arrived at the missionary outpost, or what was left of it.


    ______________________


    Fredrick had broken one of the pirs of the missionary before running away, after which Rowan chased him.


    The Missionary, which couldn''t stand on three pirs, bent and ultimately copsed.


    *BOOM*


    The fall killed a lot of unlucky beasts and some adventurers.


    The loud crash generated an air wave that threw most of the adventurers off bnce.


    At the same time, many wooden pieces broke into splinters, which cut through air and embedded itself in random ces. Many of those ces were the bodies of the adventurers closest to the building.


    So, in one go, Fredrick hadpletely destabilized the organized formation of the adventurers, and didn''t even know about it.


    Well, he knew that it would destroy the building, but he didn''t know that destroying the building would lead to such.


    Unfortunately, that wasn''t all.


    All of this happened simultaneously, and the damage was immense.


    Adventurers were lying on the floor, dead or clutching a part of their body where wood splinters had pierced.


    Some had multiple splinters stuck in their bodies, while others had none but had fallen unconscious after hitting their head on the floor because they were flown afar by the air wave.


    And it didn''t affect only those nearby, everyone in the outpost felt it.


    In essence, the situation became chaotic all at once.


    The snake lover potion had just been administered not a minute ago, so its effects were still potent.


    As such, more snakes poured out of the forest and approached the outpost in a frenzy.


    In such a situation, with only a few adventurers able to stand upright - the others were still disoriented or screaming because of the pain of splinters in their bodies - what would happen was obvious, and it happened without a doubt.


    No miracle urred, only a massacre!


    The adventurers were massacred across the outpost.


    Some mercenaries were battling beast while escorting merchant carriages when the gust of wind threw them off their feet, giving the beast a chance tond easy kills.


    The mercenaries that remained choose to run away immediately.


    Money was good and all, but you could only use it if you were alive.


    Like so, the merchants and their carriages were abandoned. Even worse, some of the mercenaries choose to kill their employers and run away with the carriage holding all the valuables.


    After all, the missionary was destroyed. How were they going to find the one that did what?


    It was only because the potion duration was only two minutes that the adventurers were able to recover.


    Although, in those two minutes, dozens had died and dozens more had plundered.


    Moreover, some buildings were set on fire. Whether on purpose or coincidental, no one knew.


    Other buildings werepletely wrecked because of the frenzied snakes.


    After the two minutes had passed, the snakes slowed their charge and craziness, but they didn''t stop right away.


    A few dozen others also died within the next few minutes, but some adventurers were already back on their feet and killing beasts.


    It was then.


    *BOOM*


    The sound of Fredrick''s body breaking into the mountain was heard.


    From where they stood, the sound''s intensity was much lower.


    It caused many eyes to look in that direction, but only briefly.


    They couldn''t afford to look any longer because of the beasts in front of them.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The ground was mostly free of blood, because many died due to poison from the snake''s bites instead of wounds.


    The adventurers able to fight at this point were all skilled, and because of the dire situation they found themselves in, none of them had time to bicker.


    Rather, they focused all their strengths on culling the snakes.


    Soon enough, another sound resounded.


    This one was far louder than thest.


    From the missionary, many saw a snake with white scales slowly slither into the open, and their mind went nk.


    Many felt dread just from its look, causing even more adventurers to flee.


    But others fought on. As they did, they used one eye to watch the battle between the big snake and Rowan - who they could only make out to be a sparking yellow dot - while using the other eye to watch what was in front of them.


    At the same time, the number of snakes in the outpost grew even smaller, as the snake lover potion had exhausted some time before.


    Only then could the adventurers rest easy, or not, as they saw the bodies of theirrades and partnersy on the floor, dead.


    It was at this moment that Loreta awoke.


    She hadnded head-first on the hard ground, which caused her to lose consciousness, but because she was in full armor, the damage was smallpared to others.


    Davin, the remaining members and a few others wanted to go and spectate the fight against the big white snake, each for different reasons.


    But the resounding booms from the shes between the snake and Rowan had them standing still, too afraid to do so.


    Only after a few minutes, when something else - Rowan swinging his final strike - resounded and they couldn''t see or hear the snake anymore, did they advance towards the mountain.


    ____________________


    Now, she was taking apart the remains of the Missionary as she searched for a certain artifact.


    She was a missionary, a fairly high ranking one at that, so she knew what to do in the current situation.


    Well, it is a simple thing.


    ''I have to inform the empire''


    The Empire would be the one to deal with such matters, so she made haste to signal them.


    ''This is it!''


    After fifteen minutes of searching, she finally found it.


    An item only meant for emergencies.


    But it didn''t seem like there could be a bigger emergency than her current situation.


    It could only be used once and there were bound to be better ones in the Missionary, but she didn''t know where they were or would be, since the Missionary was lying t on the ground.


    So, she poured the little mana she could into it and said three words.


    "Help! Manite mine"


    Now, with only five minutes left for the other parties to plunder the mountain, she ran back to it.


    ____________________


    At the same time, a man jumped out of the gap made by Fredrick in the mountain.


    It was the ve.


    In the first ce, the ve was only picking mana crystals because not doing so would make him stick out like a sore thumb.


    The main aim was to get out of there unnoticed.


    But nothing said that they had to use the whole twenty five minutes, did they?


    So the ve took many mana crystals with fast hands and got out of the cave first.


    Before the other mercenaries could do anything, the ve took off, and being at the mid-Adept rank, it was fairly fast.


    Like so, the culprit of the entire incident from start to finish made a clean getaway with others being none the wiser.


    The second part of the n was about to begin!

 Chapter 109 Undercurrents (2)

    The moment Loreta sent the message, the artifacts in her hands lit up with blue light and broke apart.


    -Somewhere Else-


    An artifact made of silver with a circr shape akin to apass and inscriptions carved on top of it,id still on a wooden shelve.


    It mirrored the artifact Loreta had used mere moments before.


    Now, the artifact lit up with blue light as if waking up from a slumber, calling the attention of the man beside it.


    With haste, the man picked it up as the message came through.


    The next moment, his breathing became heavy and his eyes widened. As one could guess, it was because of the words "manite mine".


    If he used this opportunity right, he could be a very rich man very easily.


    But all such thoughts changed once he inspected the name at the back of the artifact.


    Loreta didn''t know, but there was more than one of the artifacts she took.


    There were three, each one linked to a separate Missionary to increase efficiency.


    The one she had used was linked to the Whittown Missionary.


    In normal cases, it was standard procedure for a Missionary to send emergency signals to the Missionaries nearby.


    Such a procedure was to prevent a situation whereby some of the admirals who got the signal didn''t inform the Empire and instead called outside forces.


    Sort of like right now.


    The Whittown admiral was contemting on whether to spread the information or not, but the moment he turned the artifact to check the name written on it, all such thoughts about concealing information took a turn.


    This was because the name Windless Peaks was carved on its back.


    The admiral naturally knew the haven of snakes located there, but more importantly, he knew the Windless Peak was a region that could be said to act as a border with the Avi Kingdom.


    That, along with the fact that the admiral of the outpost, Rowan, was no weaker than he was¡­


    Now, a manite mine was found right there. With a little thinking, he could see that the situation was already too much for him to handle.


    Without hesitation, he took out five of the same artifact and activated them one by one with the same message.


    "Manite mine found. Inform the Empire. A war may be inevitable"


    They lit up with blue light and broke apart. Only then did the Whittown admiral, Winston''s heart calm down.


    To say that war was inevitable was beyond him¡­but with the history of the Empire and references to the past of the current Emperor, Winston was sure a war would ur - except if the Avi kingdom backed down of course, but it was very unlikely.


    With such thoughts, Winston began nning his next move.


    You didn''t expect him to stay idle when a war was on the horizon, did you? Of course not, and his first course of action was already clear.


    ''I have to check whether the manite mine exists or not''


    An emergency message had been sent, true, but there was no evidence to back it up. And since it was such a heavy matter, he deemed it fit to go himself.


    Quickly, he assembled a party with the five strongest missionaries. All of them left their armor behind, taking only their swords, and rode off to the outpost with haste.


    They couldn''t be wearing shing armor unless they wanted to act as a beacon saying "There''s something worth checking out over there!".


    __________________


    Meanwhile, admirals nearby could only get their days disrupted when Winston''s message pulled through.


    Some of them thought to conceal it like Winston did, but didn''t do so because of theck of information.


    After all, Winston never said where exactly the manite mine was located, and the admirals couldn''t be sure that the message had only been sent to them.


    So, some contacted each other to seek information, while others forwarded the information to the Missionaries beside them.


    Keep in mind that all these admirals, though working for the Empire, had lines of lineage, meaning that they had a fairly influential family backing them.


    Each came from noble ns of either Mages, Shifters or Knights.


    So there wasn''t any doubt that such information would find its way to the n heads and elders within three days at most.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Little by little, the undercurrents were moving, and in the direction Ezra predicted.


    Fredrick had plundered the mountain mainly of mana stones, but of course, he took arge amount of mana crystals too.


    Nevertheless, the amount of mana crystals remaining within the mountain, and below it, was in the thousands.


    With the first part of the n fulfilled - as they had plundered the mountain - and with the first objective achieved - as they had steered the Empire in the direction of war - now was the time to move onto the next part of the n.


    That was why, at this current moment, the ve was nowhere to be seen. Instead, it was Cabrera who was running through the forest with the rusted ring on his finger.


    It was time to go where they would really begin hunting, why the blood boiling potion was needed in the first ce.


    ___________________


    -A few minutes ago-


    The ve''s act of getting out the mountain before the timer psed opened their minds as some did the same.


    A few of them wanted to chase the ve, but such thoughts were wiped away when ve took to his feet, leaving them to eat dust.


    Other mercenaries though, couldn''t care less as they plundered on.


    Not long after the ve sped off, Loreta arrive with only two minutes remaining on the timer.


    Nevertheless, she knew that she couldn''t use force recklessly, else the others would retaliate.


    So, she started with the weakest group, the mercenaries.


    "Only two minutes remain. Anyone not out within two minutes will have to forfeit all the crystals to the Empire. Failure toply means death!"


    Only, no one could see two sets of eyes peering through the forest from afar.


    Two boys with lean builds could be seen wearing ckish-green clothing all over their body, easily camouging amongst the forest''s greenery.


    "What do you think, brother?"


    "Well, one thing is for sure, something very precious is within that mountain if these guys are trying so hard to keep it hidden"


    "But the mountain belongs to the Kingdom, yet they plunder it as if it was theirs. These Empire b*stards make me sick" the other spat on the floor as he said so.


    "So, what now? Do we attack them head on?"


    "I wish we could do so, but our orders were clear. We''re to only scout the situation and inform the elders" he sighed regretfully, before gazing at the group of missionaries standing outside with a predator''s gaze.


    "It was an order straight from the King, so we have no choice in the matter"


    It was at this moment in time that the mercenaries jumped out with haste one by the one.


    And like some had spected, there were those who had taken excessively and held it in their arms as they jumped.


    This gave the two brothers in the forest a clear visual of what it was.


    At this moment, their eyes rapidly changed to that of a beast as their sclera became smaller and their field of vision gotpressed until it epassed the shimmering blue objects as if they were standing right beside it.


    Their breathings became irregr immediately and killing intent began gushing out from their bodies subconsciously.


    One of them finally spoke, or more urately, shouted¡­


    "These b*stards!"


    But the other put a hand on his shoulder and said¡­


    "I agree with you brother. Their transgressions have gone too far, but we must choose our battles carefully. They will get what ising for them, they will get it in full. For now though, our top priority is to move with haste to make sure the King and the elders are made aware of this as soon as possible"


    "Hmm"


    The other nodded and took ast look at the mercenaries running into the forest, before both of them moved away at a speed that should have not been possible for them.


    Like so, another yer would join the game on a table set by Ezra.


    But where exactly was the boy that set the table for a game that would span years?

 Chapter 110 Emperor’s Summons

    Within a nk white space, two Ezra''s were moving at fast speeds and jumping all over the ce with their feet constantly vibrating.


    Ezra was following the clone from behind as he tried to keep up.


    After an unknown amount of trying, Ezra had seeded in achieving basic mastery of the lightning movement technique by imitating the clone. Later on, he was able to increase his mastery to entry level and slightly past it.


    It was a remarkable achievement, but Ezra still pushed himself as he felt he could achieve even more. Unfortunately, reality said otherwise as he quickly encountered a problem.


    Forget entering the familiar stage, Ezra found himself having a hard time just maintaining the most basic form.


    It showed that, while talent would give him a good head start, it would depend on his efforts to maintain such an advantage.


    Or so he thought, before something struck him.


    ''Say¡­If I''m in my consciousness right now, then howe I''m able to use mana?''


    ''Also¡­howe I''m feeling fatigued?''


    It was called a mind imprint, so he could easily deduce its use from that. But then, what exactly were the effects of mind training on his body? And could someone please exin to him why he felt fatigue within his consciousness?


    With nobody to answer his question, he turned to the clone in front of him.


    Ezra felt that he was improving, but it would take him arge amount of time to achieve a substantial level at his current physique.


    Knowing this, to keep practicing would be utterly inefficient and foolhardy. Which meant that Ezra''s next choice of action was obvious.


    ''I''lle back for it once I''ve grown stronger''


    With that, he considered his small experiment done.


    It was time to leave.


    Only¡­Ezra suddenly remembered that he didn''t know how to do so.


    Others might panic, but what is the use of doing so when it won''t affect the results? Personally, Ezra thought it to be childish.


    ''Hmm¡­since it''s connected to my consciousness, maybe I can will myself out?''


    It was a usible idea, so Ezra tried it out.


    He slowed his (imaginary) breath, closed his eyes and willed himself out.


    ''It''s not worki-''


    The thought couldn''t be finished as Ezra found himself being pulled by something, and in the next instant-


    "Haa.Haa.Haa.Haa¡­"


    His eyes snapped open to the view of Bard''s undergroundir as he breathed out heavily.


    Quickly, he checked the state of his body and found himself in the same condition he was before. His head was sweaty but the rest of his body was fine, though a little numb.


    Thankfully it was nothing a few good stretches couldn''t fix.


    As he rubbed his eyes of any dirt, a voice rang out from behind him.


    "My lord, I was just about to call you. The Emperor has summoned you"


    It was Bard, who was descending from above.


    Quickly, Ezra arranged his thoughts and faced Bard.


    "Since when?"


    "About three minutes ago. You were told toe to the main pce"


    ''Hmm¡­''


    Ezra furrowed his brow.


    ''¡­Father isn''t someone to call without reason, and I''m sure I still have time before picking my three gifts''


    If so¡­


    ''Then why would he call me? Is there something I''m missing?''<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ezra tried thinking about things that had happened recently¡­and he didn''t have to do so long beforeing to an answer.


    ''Right! That Master-rank Knight. I was injured pretty badly''


    On a second note, Ezra wondered how he could have forgotten something like that¡­but well, all the things happening today had changed the dynamics of his future ns¡­it was a good enough excuse.


    That aside, Ezra quickly remembered that the Emperor didn''t seem like a person that liked to be kept waiting.


    With haste, he bade farewell to Bard and headed out to where he was summoned.


    As he did, he pondered about what had happened today.


    Yet, no matter how many times he did, it still felt unreal, or rather, it was too illogical.


    ''Why would a Master-rank bow his head so easily? Is he a spy? Maybe he''s already in bed with one of the three witches?...No, if that was the case, there would no reason for him to treat me so nicely''


    On top of that¡­


    ''There is also certainly no reason for him to sign such a crazy contract? And also, why did he show me his secretir?''


    Question after question kept popping up with no answer in sight.


    ''But none of these things make any sense as I didn''t sense any hint of bad intent''


    Ezra was very confident in his ability to detect slight gestures of malice¡­well, after being enlightened on the brink of death, that is.


    As he grew, he reyed the events leading up to his death multiple times in his mind. He realized that his death was partially his fault, because believe it or not, the signs had been there.


    Multiple signs of hostility, greed and malice in the eyes of a lot of people he met along the way. Yet, he had not taken notice of it¡­and it led to him dying a dog''s death.


    After dying the first time though, it was the first mistake he made sure to correct, so he taught himself to look right in the eyes of those talking to him or near him, and it had worked.


    It was why he was able to escape being poisoned and had saved his mother''s life more than once.


    So, the fact that he couldn''t sense any hostility or malice from Bard''s expression the whole time left him confused.


    He had been cautious.


    In fact, the reason why he entered the undergroundir was because he was somewhat sure that he wouldn''t be harmed.


    Guards, along with a few others had seen him go into Bard''s ce, and he couldn''t go unseen for more than two hours before those in the pce noticed.


    In that case, Bard would be throwing his life and career away. And Ezra, no matter how good he was, knew that he wasn''t worth such a thing. That would just be arrogant thinking.


    Unable toe to a conclusion, he thought¡­


    ''Sigh¡­should I trust him?''


    At this question, a thought struck Ezra¡­


    ''Hmm¡­I said I''ll change my ways, yet I thought about trusting him so easily?! Haa¡­truly, bad habits are hard to get rid of''


    But¡­


    ''Wait, there''s nothing saying I have to trust him to use him. Regardless of where his loyalties lie, I can still make very good use of him''


    This was definitely true.


    At the same time, Ezra thought about how Fredrick and Cabrera would be progressing.


    ''They should have arrived at the outpost by now'' he concluded with a rough estimate.


    He had only passed by the ce once in his former life, so he couldn''t remember much about it.


    That aside, he thought about the next n of action, but then realized that he already knew what it was.


    ''I have to grow as strong as possible and as fast as possible while no eyes are on me''


    After all, he made the n with his future actions in consideration. It was why the mountain was not to be plundered dry.


    At the end of this thought, Ezra found that he had arrived in front of the hall.


    ''Now then, let''s see what this is about''

 Chapter 111 Emperor’s Summon (2)

    ''Now then, let''s see what this is about''


    With that thought, Ezra pushed the doors open to the view of an expansive hall with a red carpetid across it, with the Imperial crest - two swords crossing a shield - sewn onto it with golden thread.


    At the end of this carpet stood the throne of the Emperor in all its glory, basking in colors of red and white as it gave off a clear presence.


    On this throne was the Emperor, with his hair and beard flowing freely. His visage was covered in dark blue clothing and his head rested on his left palm, expressionless.


    Our eyes met the moment I entered.


    Standing by his side was the Royal advisor, and beside him was the knight I was all too familiar with. He was most probably the cause of why I had been summoned.


    His expression, as well as his eyes, were screaming malice and rage from far away.


    I couldn''t care less though, because he and I knew that he couldn''t touch me. In fact, he didn''t dare to express his hostility outwardly as he was in the presence of the Emperor.


    The three men seem to have been discussing something, but halted it due to my arrival.


    Naturally, as a prince, I had been taught etiquette since I was born.


    As I drew close to the Emperor, I went on one knee, lowered my head and gave my greetings.


    "Ezra Miller bows to the presence of the Emperor"


    Silence.


    For the first few seconds, the hall turned as silent as an empty room while I waited for the Emperor''s reply.


    "Hmm¡­get up, my son"


    I couldn''t pinpoint whether his "Hmm" was good or bad, but I got up without dy, raised my head and looked straight at him, or rather, straight in his eyes.


    I was not able to discern his thoughts from his face, which was to be expected, but he seemed to not care about my gaze as he began to speak.


    "Ezra. I have been getting strange reports these past few days and you have been called to give rification"


    "Of course, your majesty"


    "I told you to call me father"


    "Forgive me for such blunder, Father"


    The Emperor nodded lightly.


    "What''s this talk about you having poisoned blood? And why did I not know of it"


    "It''s an ability¡­I shall say I stumbled upon to be urate. I was looking through a couple of potions in Sir Bard''sir when I stumbled upon one that seemed to have something to do with removing mana blockages and increasing bone strength¡­and since it was in theb of the head alchemists, I deciding to try it out by pouring a bit on my body"


    "After that, Sir Bard found me and had to use poison to neutralize it before my body was damaged. He said it was unstable¡­and I somehow ended up with the poison blood ability"


    I said all this while my eyes were staring dead straight at those of the Emperor.


    "Hmm¡­"


    The Emperor''s voice trailed off as he stared at his son, mind whirring.


    ''Honestly, I should have him punished for such reckless attitude¡­yet, I''m having second thoughts now''


    The Emperor suddenly fired a question at me.


    "Is that so¡­what do you think of it then?"


    Naturally, he was talking about the poison blood ability, and to keep my momentum going, I replied in less than ten seconds.


    "Well¡­I was a bit skeptical at first, but it''s actually not that bad. As I learned, poison is actually a very useful ability as it has numerous uses depending on the situation. I believe the Emperor needs no other words, as the power of poison has proven itself over the years, with Beckham Stuart at the helm"


    Myst words, or more specifically, the name, must have caused a stir, because the gaze of the Knight Lugard changed. Even the Emperor''s already cold gaze turned even colder.


    It was expected, because from what I had read within the royal library, the man was a natural disaster, a gue, and most importantly, the most fearsome poison user in Lexon at a point in time.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was at a time when the current Emperor was yet to be born, or at most, was in his infancy.


    Nevertheless, the damage the man brought was nothing to scoff at, and it was why Knights of Lexon now hated poison users very much.


    It was already proof of his power as the man became a legend even after his death.


    He also caused the number of poison users to increase sharply across all three continents.


    But enough about that.


    The Emperor only stared at me deeply, before speaking¡­


    "You are not wrong¡­but I would warn you not to speak that name so lightly when around others"


    ''Hmm¡­'' I nodded. It seemed I still had a lot to learn.


    "I have heard you. Now, what about your reported disapproval of the Knight beside me?"


    He was talking about the confrontation between me and Knight Lugard.


    My eyes turned cold at this statement as I stared the person in question right in the eye and spoke-


    "Father, will all due respect, I do not believe Sir Lugard is qualified to teach anyone"


    -before turning my gaze back to the Emperor.


    Silence.


    The hall once again descended into silence.


    I could see Lugard clenching his fist from the corner of my eye. His expression gave away the rage he was feeling inside.


    But what was there to worry about? He''d not dare to utter a word in the presence of the Emperor without permission.


    The Emperor, though, gave me an interesting look and spoke.


    "Exin"


    "Father, Master-rank or not, Sir Knight is too arrogant, too loud, and the first impression he gave me was practically screaming ''ipetence''. I believe that, with time, all such traits might be washed away, but I would like an older and more patient person to teach me"


    Right on cue, silence descended once more, before¡­


    "Hahahahaha¡­"


    The Emperor burst intoughter as he held his palm above his mouth to muffle it a little. But who was he joking, there was no hiding his weird expression that almost seemed like he would cry.


    As for Lugard thought, if his anger was only flickering at first, now it had exploded.


    His face became red, veins popping out on his head.


    One thing was for sure though, we had officially be enemies.


    No, we were already enemies since he was working for the three witches.


    The Royal advisor though, stayed silent without a change in expression from the beginning. Only his eyes moved, and they were locked onto my figure.


    I also knew that the only reason I was able to say these things without restraint and without being berated was because, to them, I was a five year old.


    It was evidence that being a child had its own perks.


    The Emperor had stoppedughing, but I wasn''t done talking.


    "Father, Sir Knight almost killed me"


    It was the straw that broke all forms ofughter from the Emperor''s face.


    "What did you say?"

 Chapter 112 Emperor’s Summon (3)

    "What did you say?"


    I didn''t hesitate to point towards Lugard as I repeated myself.


    "Sir Knight almost killed me with his heavy pressure!"


    I obviously couldn''t say aura as it would raise the question of where I had learned the word.


    The Emperor''sughing face had vanished as if it was never there.


    He turned to Sir Lugard at his side.


    "Well? Is what my boy said true?"


    By now, Lugard''s face, which was full of anger a minute ago, was now filled with despair as I could see sweat slowly forming on his forehead.


    "It is not at all true, your majesty"


    "Liar! He''s lying!" I immediately proimed in a tone as high pitched as I could muster.


    This was the fun part about being a kid. My words tended to be more believable than that of an adult.


    The Emperor''s eyes darted between me and Lugard as I guess he was wondering who he should believe or how to handle the situation, before his eyes finally settled on Lugard.


    "Is that so? Might you enlighten me on what happened that ended with my son bleeding all over?"


    Naturally, the Emperor had gotten reports from the healers that took care of me while I was unconscious.


    "T-That-"


    Sir Lugard couldn''t help but stutter at the Emperor''s chilling gaze. But he knew that not saying anything would lead to something far worse.


    So, he gathered all his courage and spoke loudly in a single breath.


    "Your majesty, he didn''t show proper etiquette to me, so I intended to adjust such matters lightly by releasing a little of my aura. I hadn''t known it would lead to such dreadful injuries"


    At the end of his fast speech, Sir Lugard was looking at the ground with both sped together in front of him like a man at a holy man''s burial.


    And he was right to do so, because in the next moment, an overwhelming pressure descended, along with the Emperor''s voice.


    "Is that so?" he said slowly.


    "Ugh!" I held onto my knees instantly, as that was the only way I would be able to stay standing.


    But in less than a minute, even that proved to be too much of a task. I intended to use my aura to fight back, but then it hit me.


    ''No way!''


    I couldn''t see the Emperor''s gaze with my posture, but I was almost sure that he was staring at me.


    I was so angry! This b*stard. My own father was trying to verify my ims by testing out my resistance to his aura!


    ''Seriously?! This crazy b*sta-''


    Even that thought came to a halt as my body cried out in pain.


    I could definitely resist it better if I manifested my own aura, but that would be falling right into the Emperor''s trap.


    Still, these thoughts had begun to stress my mind and the pressure was only increasing by the second.


    So I threw all thoughts and all irrelevant feelings, be it anger or pain, aside and concentrated on the matter at hand.


    It was the most efficient method to deal with the situation. My thoughts wouldn''t change anything, but my actions would.


    Since he wants to verify my ims, I''ll let him do just that.


    To make sure he didn''t notice that I was doing it of my own free will, I got on one knee slowly, then the other knee, then my two hands.


    Of course, I didn''t forget to make grunts of pains to make it more believable.


    And then I dropped to the floor, chest first.


    The moment that happened, the overwhelming pressure dissipated like smoke.


    I was able to think clearly now, an ability I swore to not take for granted from this moment on.


    The pressure just now taught me how terrifying it was not having it.


    I didn''t have such thoughts for long as the Emperor''s voice rang out in the silent throne room.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Hmm¡­"


    He seemed to be musing over something.


    At least now I had proven how weak I was. And while it wasn''t something that I found pleasant, with it I proved that Sir Lugard had almost killed me.


    No matter what, the Knight would be punished for almost killing a prince.


    Though whether or not it would be more than a p on the wrist was up in the air.


    Nevertheless, the Emperor seemed to favor me, so I was relying heavily on that for a favorable oue.


    A minute passed by before the Emperor''s voice rang out once more.


    "Hmm, I see now. Lugard-"


    Without caring for his status as Master-rank Knight, the Emperor spoke his name like he was admonishing his younger brother.


    "-you almost killed my son due to ipetence-


    A smile was about to manifest on my lips at this part, but fate thought otherwise.


    "-but, that is because he is still too weak-"


    My head almost lit on fire at this statement!


    ''I''m FIVE years old, f#cking five years old! How strong do you expect me to be?!''


    I really wanted to jump up and say these things. Nevertheless, I quickly took deep breaths to cool my head.


    The Emperor noticed though. Well, it would be weird if he didn''t hear such erratic breathing at his rank.


    "Hmm, Ezra, is something wrong with your breathing?"


    I quickly got my chest off the floor and positioned myself on one knee as I replied¡­


    "No Father"


    The Emperor gave no reply as he continued with his earlier speech.


    "As I said, my son is too weak, and therefore, as punishment to both of you-"


    My breath paused subconsciously as my mind beat faster with anticipation and fear of his next words.


    And sure enough-


    "-Lugard, you will serve as my son''s personal guardian for the rest of the year. You will make sure to train him thoroughly during that period, and at the same time, you will act on hismands as if they were mine. Any act of disobedience will be treated as insubordination to the Empire"


    -I was right to be afraid.


    "Do I make myself clear?"


    I could see Lugard struggling to answer. His wrist had turned into fists and were quivering. Veins popped all over his head as if it would burst out at any moment.


    But, he could only bite his tongue hard as he replied¡­


    "Yes"


    Meanwhile, I was watching all such proceedings with a nk face, but inwardly¡­


    ''Dammit! You crazy Emperor! What are you doing?! Are you trying to make all my ns worthless?!''


    I was bubbling with fury! This Emperor was a certified b*stard! Dammit! His brains must have gone to sh#t!


    Come on! I''ve already mastered swordsmanship. Why would I need a teacher?! An ipetent one at that!


    Why would you do this to me?! Why are you trying to derail my ns of revenge! This is a disaster!


    While ranting within my own mind, the Emperor''s spoke¡­


    "Son, are we clear?"


    I wanted to shout, but I forcefully suppressed the urge while gazing low so he couldn''t see my eyes.


    As I was about to reply, something happened.


    A blue light suddenly erupted, attracting all gazes.

 Chapter 113 Crisis Averted

    A blue light shone and attracted all gazes.


    A quick look and I found that it wasing from the pocket of the Royal Advisor.


    Honestly, the man''s presence in the room hadpletely faded before now.


    He quickly brought out the shining blue item from within his pocket.


    A voice came from within it in the next instant.


    "We have received an emergency signal from Whittown. War is said to be inevitable. We await yourmands"


    The throne room descended into utter silence once more as none dared to speak.


    The Emperor''s eyes darted between me and Sir Lugard as he spoke¡­


    "It seems that I will have to hold your punishment untilter, Sir Lugard. Go and get ready. As you have heard, war may be on the horizon"


    As if expecting it, Sir Lugard replied immediately after.


    "Yes, your majesty" he said, before taking fast steps out of the throne room.


    And I followed suit.


    I got up and started walking backwards as I spoke¡­


    "Well then, Father. I shall take my leave as it seems more important business hase up. I''ll be wishing for your sess"


    By the time I was done, I was already by the door, and with a push, I was gone.


    "Whew" I wiped the non-existent sweat off my face.


    All my ns had almost gone to waste. It was a very close call.


    Then I remembered the message.


    ''Whittown? Isn''t that just a bit away from the outpost? So¡­they''ve already done it?''


    After all, there was no such war at this time in my previous life. The probability of it being caused by someone other than Fredrick and Cabrera was absolutely zero.


    Or else¡­there was another reincarnator.


    That was the only other usible exnation.


    ''So¡­I was saved by my own n?''


    It was funny, but that seemed to be exactly what happened.


    Seemed, because I could never be too sure about something without proof.


    Growing up, I had learnt the hard way that assumptions were the mother of a lot of problems, and so, I deemed it a taboo to assume with certainty.


    I looked back and the doors to the throne room remained closed, only then did I breathe in relief.


    I had just avoided a crisis.


    And I wouldn''t be going to meet the Emperor anytime soon.


    Thankfully, to collect my gifts, I didn''t have to.


    Now¡­what was next?


    Well, since news had already reached the Emperor, Fredrick should be arriving soon.


    So, the next thing to do would be to prepare for his arrival and set into motion that which would allow the royal alchemists to intervene as intended.


    ''Hmm?'' I looked outside and it was already dusk. Time sure flies when you''re practicingbat techniques.


    Speaking of which, I never told the Emperor about my affinities, and since he didn''t ask¡­he most likely hadn''t noticed anything.


    Let''s keep it a secret for as long as possible.


    ''Yes''


    I just remembered something else.


    I have to start preparing for my long term seclusion, and oh yes, I still haven''t arranged a mana technique for my mother. That also needs to be taken care of.


    With my next objectives in ce, I quickly arrived at Bard''s door once more and informed him of his role in my next n.


    Of course, not everything. I still didn''t trust him, but if he was trying to get close to me, he''d have to buy my trust.


    And boy, oh boy, was my trust expensive.


    Hmm, I''m suddenly looking forward to this.


    ______________________


    *Buggum*Buggum*Buggum¡­


    A group of men in shabby cloaks rode atop their stallions with perceived haste towards their goal.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was Whittown''s admiral, Sir Winston, with his escort as they raced towards the Windless Peaks.


    But they quickly found out that they weren''t the only ones. They had already passed by three groups heading in the same direction.


    If that wasn''t enough, all three parties were from Whittown.


    Which only served to baffle Winston as he wondered¡­


    ''How did they know?''


    On a normal asion, he would''ve stopped each party and interrogated them, but there was no time for such measures.


    After all, it could be that they didn''t know anything and he was only over thinking things.


    The situation was that critical, which was why their horses were sprinting like no tomorrow. They had to get there as fast as possible to understand the situation.


    The discovery of a manite mine was an important one, and from the emergency signal, they could have been attacked.


    _____________________


    Meanwhile, the mercenaries had vacated the mountain long ago and immediately scattered like leaves hit with a wind vortex - what Oranians call a tornado - as each went their own way.


    Three were killed in the process.


    It was the same with the White Iron and the Red Wolf guilders, only none of them were killed.


    After that, the party of missionaries had the mountain all to themselves. They quickly started exploring and found the ground below the mountain, where the Red Wolf guilders and Cabrera had mined mana crystals.


    Only, the missionaries hadn''t seen Cabrera, and Davin didn''t think it was an issue that he didn''t tell them that someone had been there before.


    So the missionaries were stumped when they found that the number of mined crystals was far above the amount they had seen the Red Wolf guilders bring out.


    Then, some of them who were exploring the mountain through the gap Fredrick made also found that a lot of mana crystals were missing. And as if that wasn''t enough, they stumbled upon the mana stones!


    _________________


    At the same time, two boys stood in a throne room, one far lessvishpared to the Emperor''s.


    Within this throne room were four elderly people who sat at the side, and on the throne was a young man who couldn''t be older than thirty. He had a slim figure, fair skin on the darker side and a green crown on top of his head.


    This was the Avilian King, Valon Arbana.


    His expression was stern as this moment with the throne room silent.


    Everybody was taking in the information the two boys had just brought them.


    "So¡­we had a mountain filled with mana crystals on our borders this whole time, and we didn''t even know it?" Valon asked, indignantly.


    "Moreover, the Empire found it first? And have already begun to explore its depths?"


    Valon''s gaze took a curative nce at all those present.


    "I don''t think any more words are needed on what needs to be done. The Empire is powerful enough as it is. Anymore, and we shall all be awaiting our deaths"


    The four elders nodded, as they now carried a spark of ambition and a light of greed.


    Valon pointed at one of the elders.


    "Master Ulrik, you shall head to the Empire to secure our rights to the treasures in that mountain"


    The Elders sprang into action as they wanted to object.


    "Sire, the mountain-"


    But they seemed to have forgotten their ce.


    Valon''s body emitted murderous aura.


    "Did I give you permission to speak?"


    The Elders were startled as sweat formed on their foreheads.


    But Valon didn''t seem to care as he continued.


    "I know your concerns and I agree with them. There is no way the Empire will listen or even tolerate our ims" he paused, while the Elders nodded vigorously.


    "That is why, at the same time, Master Nichs shall head to Quarzet, while Master Crowther heads to Sce to inform the nobles of this development"


    The Elders let out sounds of exmation as they understood what the King was getting at.


    "If we are denied what is ours, then¡­we shall march to war. And to do so, proper justification is needed, as well as allies. The Empire cannot be fought alone"


    "Lastly, Master Kurt, you will head to the mountain with a few others and begin mining. There''s no need to wait for the Empire''s permission before taking what''s ours, is there? Try to avoid conflict as much as possible. It wouldn''t do us good to give the Empire a justification for attacking"


    Each Elder had been assigned a role, and they quickly walked out of the throne room to begin preparations.


    This was about to get interesting.

 Chapter 114 Undercurrents (3)

    The moment Ezra exited the throne room, the Emperor got up and approached the wall behind him, which seemed to hold no significance, put his left palm on a specific part of it and pushed it in.


    The wall separated, revealing a dark passage hidden within.


    With hasty steps, the Emperor and the royal advisor walked in and took a turn to the side, where a room lit up with dim yellow light could be seen.


    In it, a circr contraption stood on two hinges that had been locked into the ground like a standing mirror.


    This was one of the key tools that helped Niton thwart many battles and keep its position as one of the seven superpowers.


    Now, the circr part of this contraption seemed to hold nothing as its golden sheen shone in the light. In front of it, a chair could be seen.


    Saying nothing, the Emperor sat on the chair, while the royal advisor ced his hands on the ground and pushed mana into it.


    The floor lit up as the previously invisible markings became visible.


    They were runic markings, and they were carved into the ground in the shape of a big circle, containing almost everything in the room.


    At the moment, all such markings lit up with a light blue color as the mana density started building up.


    It was then that a sound resounded.


    *Kriiin!*


    Horrible screeching came from the contraption as the circle seemed toe alive, with blue particles rotating and coagting within it.


    The Emperor closed his eyes as his hand stretched forward, and from it, mana emerged and was promptly pulled into the contraption.


    *Zizizizizi*


    The sound of the coagting mana was loud and a bit deafening, to Adept-ranks and below that is.


    The Emperor was unaffected despite being in close proximity, but he did find it annoying, for it was identical to the buzzing of a fly.


    Thankfully, the Emperor didn''t have to hear it for long, because the coagting mana suddenly expanded.


    Like a piece of ttened yeast, it spread into a thin film of dark blue color and attached itself to the circle''s edges.


    An instantter, a view could be seen on the film.


    _______________________


    Within the office of Sir Winston, Whittown''s admiral, was a burly man in dark gray armor.


    A sword was strapped to his side, but the man had a stiff expression as he walked all over the office, asionally sighing or taking deep breathes as he stared straight at an item sitting in the middle of the admiral''s bookshelf.


    The man, Eltrod, couldn''t hide his nervousness. He was the admiral''s right hand man, as well as the son of a baron.


    Which was why he had been tasked with his current mission and told to stay while Winston headed out.


    But he was inwardly freaking out!


    Why wouldn''t he, when he was tasked with reporting the situation to the Emperor?!


    The Emperor!


    It meant that any mistake could have his family cklisted.


    Of course, Eltrod also had the notion that he might be thinking things too far. Nheless, he didn''t dare to rx as he awaited the expected call of the Emperor.


    What would you know, the fateful call arrived.


    At once, the item on the bookshelf vibrated, while the runic markings etched on it lit up with a blue color.


    An instant after, the object projected a blue circle, a very small one.


    Elrod was already standing in front of it, but he couldn''t see anything, and even after a few seconds, no sound came through.


    He moved to check if there was something wrong with the object, when a voice called out.


    "Where is the Admiral?" said a voice that was thick enough to make Eltrod jump back in fear.


    He couldn''t know, but the Emperor was observing him from the other side.


    Following Winstons orders, he immediately began the briefing with a bow.


    "Eltrod Welson greets his majesty. The admiral is not here at the moment as he as has gone to the Windless Peaks to answer the urgent call for help, and more importantly, to verify the im of an unearthed resource"<novelnext></novelnext>


    The Emperor gained a small glint at thest statement as his mind got to work.


    "Tell me, what is this resource that makes him think war is inevitable?"


    Eltrod calmed himself and spoke slowly¡­


    "A manite mine"


    The eyes of the Emperor widened, while the royal advisor behind him breathed in heavily.


    Nevertheless, as if to show the reason he was an Emperor, his eyes became cold in the next instant and his pounding heart calmed immediately.


    "That is¡­very interesting indeed, and they called for help?"


    "Yes, your majesty"


    "Hmm, Windless Peaks¡­that is where Avi''s borders sh with ours. Could they have already attacked? It was certainly possible that Avillians had attacked as they imed the manite mine...If that is the case, then I guess war is truly inevitable"


    "A Master-rank official will grace you with his presence a short time from now. Before then, get as much information as you can about the situation. The admiral should inform me as soon as he can"


    "Yes, your majesty" Eltrod quickly replied.


    Without another word, the projection on both sides dissolved back into particles.


    "Sire" the royal advisor called out.


    "Who shall we send?"


    The Emperor felt a headacheing as he thought of it.


    Master-ranks were rare, but not too rare in an Empire housing more than ten million people.


    Only¡­almost all Master-ranks were affiliated to either a noble house, or a guild.


    Of course, it wasn''t that the Empire couldn''t order them about. The problem was that such individuals usually prioritized their affiliations before the Empire.


    If a Master-rank affiliated to a guild was sent, he would make sure to plunder his own share for his guild, and because they didn''t have informants around, it would go unnoticed.


    Afterwards, the Empire would still have to reward him with a part of the little resource remaining as a reward for his deeds.


    It had happened far too many times, and while the Emperor might not have cared if the resource wasn''t that special, mana crystals were too precious.


    Honestly, the Emperor would just go and destroy said guild.


    But because of ack of justification, there would be a lot of consequences.


    The Empire had unaffiliated Master-ranks just for this type of situation, most of which were Master-rank mercenaries.


    The problem was¡­


    ''None of them are close by''


    Most of them were not near Windless Peaks.


    It would take them a week at the very least to arrive, and if Avillians were already there, then they could have plundered everything before said Master-rank arrived.


    Then he thought of something.


    ''There''s nothing saying I only need to send one of them. And if it''s those two, they''ll be stuck at each other''s throat''


    A usible n was quickly formed as the Emperor gave out names.


    "Send a message to both Evercroft and Varent. Have them dispatch one master rank each to the Windless Peaks"


    The royal advisor gave a faint smile.


    "Yes, your majesty"


    The road this action would lead to was unknown.


    One thing was sure though.


    A lot had happened in the span of a day.

 Chapter 115 Undercurrents (4)

    -Next Day-


    *Buguum*Buuguum*Buuguum*¡­


    On a slew of horses were men in ck clothing, all moving in the same direction.


    ''We''re almost there!''


    The man riding the leading horse urged it to move faster when the sight of the mountain came into view.


    This was Franc, the guild master of Nightshade, an E-rank guild based in Whittown.


    Following the event of Carl cutting off the hand of one of their members, a search party of four were sent to tail the group, scout their destination and purpose, and return to base once that was done.


    But the whole operation turned upside down when a single scout returned alive and reported the others dead. Only, the events reported after that really blew their minds, from the destruction of the outpost, to the arrival of a beast that was at least B-rank and was shing with the admiral.


    This was all the scout knew, as he had hastily escaped fearing for his life.


    Franc couldn''t care less about the three that had died. They knew what they were getting themselves into when they joined his guild, and they had died for the guild, a praiseworthy feat.


    He would take revenge for them if he ever found the one who killed them, but since he didn''t, then that was that.


    It was the news of a B-rank beast, and the possibility that it could be A-rank, that excited him the most.


    No, he wasn''t heading there because he thought he could y a B-rank beast. That would be delusional, suicidal even, so no.


    Rather, disregarding the fact that the beast might''ve already been killed, regions where beasts of C-rank and higher were spotted almost always had precious treasures or some precious resource.


    This was what Franc was betting on.


    In the event that there was none, or that it had already been taken, they could kill some beasts to sell to recoup their expenses.


    Either way, there was something to be gained, which was also why he was sprinting to the outpost.


    He didn''t know, but in his haste, other guilds got a whiff of his actions and decided to tag along.


    Those were the people Winston had passed by along the way.


    But Franc didn''t care, because what was in front of him was an opportunity!


    With a little luck, he could be set for life.


    _____________________


    -Elsewhere-


    While others headed to Windless Peaks, Cabrera had arrived at his destination after a night of hiding.


    Thanks to the rations of food in the space rings, he didn''t need to worry about hunger.


    Additionally, he had changed into better clothing and cleaned up the dirt all over his body.


    Where he was right now, could be said to be nowhere.


    There was nothing unique about the surroundings that made it different from any other ce.


    Everything about it, radiated the word "ordinary".


    It was a ce with the ground covered in green grass, but Cabrera was staying not very far from the outskirts, which was why he hadn''t encountered any beasts.


    Without another word, he raised his finger, which had a rusted ring on, and then¡­


    *Woosh*


    The surrounding shook and a man''s figure appeared out of thin air.


    It was Fredrick.


    Fredrick also didn''t say a word, rather, he stood still for a whole minute and took deep breaths with his eyes closed.


    Suddenly, they snapped open and shone with blue light.


    Fredrick stretched a little and cracked his knuckles, before surveying the area with his Earth sense.


    After thirty minutes¡­


    "I''ve found it"


    Fredrick sprinted forward after saying so and stopped not far away.


    He stomped his legs all over the ce, seemingly looking for something.


    By now, Cabrera had arrived beside him.


    Fredrick delivered a punch into the ground, but instead of cracking the soil, his hands dug a direct hole like it was being drilled.


    Fredrick''s arm went into the ground until it reached his shoulder.


    Quickly, he removed it and put his head into the hole to get a look at what they hade here for.


    Fredrick''s eyes opened to see shining silver metal reflecting the sunlight that shined upon it through the newly dug hole.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Fredrick''s face took up a grin as he looked up to Cabrera and nodded.


    No words were needed, rather, they couldn''t afford to raise their voices. This ce was very close to thend of a Noble family. There was also a road close by, but it was rarely used.


    They had arrived here after traversing un-ownednds close to the border.


    This was the second part of the n.


    They had gone on an expedition for the first time in a long time and ''coincidentally'' a manite mine was found, an A-rank beast disappeared, and an outpost was destroyed.


    While most wouldn''t look in their direction because of their pathetic strength, they would definitely be those who would.


    To prevent such a problem, two things would be done.


    This was the first.


    The seconds was why Ezra had willingly left so many mana crystals behind in the mountain, the chaos that would ensue due to the dispute for them.


    Fredrick straightened his fists and began widening the hole little by little, trying to keep things as quiet as possible.


    Another ten minutes passed and the hole was nowrge enough for Fredrick to fit through.


    Quickly, he plumped down into the hole and Cabrera swiftly followed.


    They each stared wide eyed at the spectacle in front of them.


    ''It''s real!''


    To clear their debts, and even gain more wealth, while averting suspicion from the outpost incident and the events that were toe, Ezra added another objective with the help of his past life memories.


    This was what they were looking at, another factor that promoted a great war in his past life, it¡­was a mithril vein!


    It was a mithril vein obfuscated by the soil.


    Had Fredrick not been told, he wouldn''t have paid any mind to what seemed to be rocks under the soil.


    Without a moment to lose, Fredrick took a stance, amplified his hands with mana like he had done at the mountain, and began to dig, disregarding the noise.


    It only echoed loudly within the cave, with barely any noise being heard on the outside.


    Cabrera joined the fray a momentter with a pickaxe in hand.


    Mythril is a very rare metal that is second in hardness only to adamantium.


    But while adamantium was a harder metal, even Grandmasters had difficulties using it. Mythril was far more malleable, so even some peak Masters could handle it.


    It is also the second best conductor of mana after auranium.


    This meant that rune enchantments would be two to ten times more effective, depending on the rank of the enchanter and the enchantment, or course.


    Auranium was a guaranteed sess with any enchantments, but it was not tough enough to use in a battle between Master-ranks, while mythril was used by even Grandmasters.


    No, it was better to say that it was one of the few metals capable of surviving Grandmaster attacks.


    Due to these reasons, it was in far more demand than either auranium or adamantium.


    But as mentioned above, it was very rare.


    Most high level fighters only have a few items made from mythril, while owners of full sets in Orion could be counted with three hands.


    Now, imagine how high such a resource could be sold for on the eve of a war.


    Exactly.


    ''We''re going to make a killing!''


    Which was why the light of greed in Cabrera''s eyes burned brighter than ever before as he smashed apart the rocks with renewed vigor.


    They will be keeping eighty percent of it for themselves, while the rest will be used to pay their debts.


    Cabrera grin curved even wider as he thought of something.


    ''I wonder what face the sentinel will make the next time we meet''


    He wanted to let out an evilughter, but he kept it in. All in due time.


    For now, they''d plunder.


    Moreover, Cabrera was now sure.


    ''Agreeing to the sponsorship was the best thing that happened to us''


    If Ezra could make ns like this at five years old, what will he do by the time he''s fifteen? Cabrera couldn''t help but wonder.


    One thing was sure though.


    ''A lot of things are going to be happening from now on''

 Chapter 116 Undercurrents (5)

    The news of the inevitable war spread around like wildfire. Nobles, merchants, guilds and ns had already begun preparations.


    Those at the bottom had begun to panic, fear slowly creeping into the hearts ofmoners and weak adventurers, but they also began preparations by packing their luggage. In the event that they were attacked, they would abandon their shelter in a heartbeat.


    While war meant disaster for the weak, the powerful knew it as something else, an opportunity.


    With enough merits, bing a noble, owning personalnd, getting the rights to an exclusive resource stop or to exclusively own a monster region would not be a mere dream anymore.


    So they were preparing arms, securing alliances and increasing their armies.


    It was also at times of war that weapons and potions were forged the most.


    Meaning, money was alsoing in for both cksmiths and Alchemists.


    _____________________


    *Swish*Swish*


    Like any other day, Ezra was swinging his sword in the abandoned training ground while wearing heavy armor under the sun.


    He didn''t get to see Bard yesterday because Bard had gone to a meeting.


    Ezra could easily guess that it was because of the news about war on the horizon.


    In his past life, the mountain of mana crystals was only discovered when the snake decided to break out.


    The outpost was destroyed and most of the inhabitants died.


    It didn''t stop there though, it also destroyed Whittown and massacred multiple viges.


    Moreover, it caused the war that had already begun between Niton and Itrevezar at the time to take a drastic turn.


    Ezra never really saw the snake, but those who did still boasted about it within the army even several years after the urrence, telling tales of how it looked, how big it was and so on.


    It was said to have killed two Avillian Masters who had been sent to im its head.


    The Empire then sent an elite party of its own, which eventually killed it, but not before it wiped out more than half the party that is.


    But in their moment of glory, the Avillian king had killed them all, before proceeding to plunder the mountain. Well, at least that was what the rumors said.


    The Empire had promptly brought their Grandmasters forward toy waste to Avi.


    But then, the existence of mana stones was discovered.


    And with its discovery, Sce, Quartez, Iris, and Rusel kingdoms promptly joined the war.


    And if that wasn''t enough, the discovery of a Mithril mine several yearster prompted a house of great nobles to form an alliance with many others in secret, and then they dered a significant part of the eastern territory of Niton as the new Roosevelt Kingdom.


    This in turn fractured Niton - which was already under tremendous pressure - from within.


    And because of the ongoing war, Niton didn''t have manpower to spare.


    With such an example in ce, others didn''t hesitate to follow, and as a result, a significant part of the western territory did the same and dered themselves the Kingdom of Ribera.


    This caused the army fighting at the border to unanimously retreat, allowing the external powers to encroach upon the territories close to it.


    Such consecutive blows broke the Niton Empire into a husk of its former self, and Ezra was sure that the Empire would''ve ceased to exist if not for the idental intervention of beings from another world. Beings very well known in Orion, but which shouldn''t have arrived at the time they did. Beings that were a threat to all humans.


    And because of the ongoing war, those beings brought about enormous damage to every power, especially Niton, which had already lost too many promisingbatants at the time.


    Ezra''s grip clenched harder on the hilt of his sword.


    Truly, he had been born into a very bloody and tragic era.


    But no matter, he would see things through.


    No matter what¡­


    ''I will have my revenge''


    ___________________


    -Elsewhere-


    With news spreading fast, the royal advisor sent the Emperor''s order to the Evercroft and Varent guilds, two of the three S-rank guilds in Niton.


    As S-rank guilds, it meant that the guild masters were at Grandmaster level, so they definitely had subordinates at Master-rank.


    Which was why¡­


    ''Windless Peaks? Could this be the reason behind the uing war?''


    Grenald''s mind was whirring, while his horse never stopped moving.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Grenald had a short buff build, round head, no hair, and a long coiled orange beard. He was wearing purple armor covered with a ck cloak and had arge ax strapped to his back.


    As a bona fide Master-rank and an elder of the Varent guild, he had been tasked with this mission by the guild master himself, mainly because he was the one nearest to the location.


    He was determined to do his best for his guild, especially since the guild master had mentioned a lot of alluring rewards.


    ''I can''t fail! With those rewards, I can reach the peak of my current rank''


    After reaching Master-rank, Grenald''s growth had been stagnant for some time now.


    Being ambitious as he was, he couldn''t ept himself stagnating till he died.


    Now, the opportunity to achieve more growth and increase his power has presented itself.


    He was certainly not going to let it go.


    At his horse''s current speed, he would get there in six hours.


    Only, he would soon find that things weren''t as simple as they seemed, because he wasn''t the only one.


    With the elder of the Avillian Kingdom, Winston and his men from Whittown, Sir Cavarl, the Master-rank dispatched by Evercroft, the members of Nightshade and the few others tagging along, all heading in the same direction¡­


    The oue was bound to be epic.


    ___________________


    Elsewhere, a man in ragged clothing moved through a vige with a stick in hand.


    His face was filthy and full of dirt, his teeth red with blood.


    One of his hands was missing and he was limping, his movement couldn''t be more awkward.


    ''Damn it!''


    This was Ilyon.


    Ilyon kept cursing within himself as he limped ever so slowly across a vige.


    While he didn''t die, Motavu''s punch did considerable damage to his body.


    To start with, his internal organs were a mess, but after drinking health potions, it had started recovering.


    But now, everything had gone to sh#t!


    Healing potions worked by multiplying one''s healing factor, the degree of multiplication depending on their purity.


    But it consumed stamina and mana to work.


    This, coupled with the fact that he was exhausted from dealing with the snake horde and then fighting Motavu, caused Ilyon to faint on the outskirts of the forest.


    He could''ve been devoured by the beasts, but as fate would have it, a group of adventurers passed by and decided to take him along.


    Only, it wasn''t out of goodwill.


    He had been robbed of everything he had, his armor, sword, and most importantly, Rowan''s space ring.


    The adventurer''s didn''t stop there though.


    Hell no.


    They knew he would bear a grudge, an enormous one.


    So, to make sure that he would never have thoughts of revenge, they destroyed his body - which was just recovering ¨C by breaking his legs, damaging his internals, and to finish the job, atrophying his meridians.


    Now, he was wandering around like a man from the slums.


    His meridians had been rendered useless for the most part, so his future as a Knight was also gone.


    ''DAMN IT!''


    All his so-called ns had turned into smoke, and as the notion of it hit him, his frustration grew in leaps and bounds.


    But that was it, he couldn''t do anything but get frustrated.


    Except for his swordsmanship, all else had been taken. He couldn''t go back to his guild, as they would never ept him in current state. He was nothing more than baggage, an unneeded burden which the guild would never be willing to bear.


    When even the swordsmanship he had couldn''t be used with the same mastery as before, because of the damage done to his legs, it was clear as day that his life as an adventurer was done for.


    His whole world hade crashing down, and there was nothing he could do to change that.

 Chapter 117 Scavenging

    It''s been three hours since Fredrick and Cabrera had begun mining Mithril.


    With theirbined strength, they had managed to mine out eighty-eight percent of the Mithril present.


    At this moment, Fredrick decided that what remained was just enough for one set of armor and maybe a few weapons.


    They didn''t want their enemies getting stronger, so leaving the bare minimum was only right. Plus, with this, Ezra would be able to sow seeds of discord between the royals and the great nobles that lived close by.


    Beside Fredrick, Cabrera stood with his back to the wall, panting.


    "Rest for a little while" Fredrick spoke, before sitting down on the t ground beside Cabrera.


    Mining had definitely taken a toll on them both.


    But their faces were all smiles, and it didn''t take long for them to fall asleep.


    ____________________


    At the same time, the party of Nightshade guilders had just arrived at the outpost.


    They could only be stunned by the scenery of dozens and dozens of dead bodiesying all over the ce. The houses were burnt down to the ground and the wooden walls had long been destroyed. Dozens of snakes roamed all over the ce as they devoured the dead bodies.


    Most wouldn''t be able to stay impassive at the sight of such a disaster.


    One of them unconsciously blurted what all others were thinking.


    "What happened here?"


    The guilders wanted to start up chatter, but Franc was having none of it.


    "That''s enough! We didn''te here for them. We''re going towards the mountain"


    Quickly, he adjusted his horses, but before he could take off, a voice spoke out.


    "Boss, you''re not just going to leave it like this, are you?"


    Franc turned to face the man who spoke and red at him menacingly.


    "Then what do you suggest we do?"


    "Let''s scavenge it instead"


    As those words were said, the eyes of all others lit up with realization.


    "Oh! Of course"


    "Boss, let''s do that, there might be some really nice things under all the rubble"


    "Or maybe on those bodies"


    Franc held his chin in contemtion.


    He hade here to make a killing, and while this wasn''t the way he had imagined it, was there any reason to ignore a free meal?


    Moreover, there was no certainty that the items hadn''t been taken away already.


    "All right, we''ll scavenge every nook and cranny, and take even the breadcrumbs we find. Get to work!"


    No reply was given, neither was it needed.


    The guilders turned their horses and charged into the devastated outpost, before quickly dismounting their horses and splitting into groups of ten, five and three.


    Like so, forty guilders spread across the outpost and took everything worth anything.


    Franc joined the fray and scavenged alone.


    It didn''t take him long to locate the Missionary.


    With a quick inspection, it didn''t take him long to figure out that the Missionary was a treasure mine of its own. Franc couldn''t hide his glee.


    ''I''ve struck diamonds!''


    He hastily called back all the guilders and, together, they began to plunder as much as possible as fast as possible.


    Franc didn''t know, but he was drinking from a poisoned chalice, a very lethal one.


    And he wouldn''t be the only one, as those that had been tailing him were beginning to catch up.


    Though, there were only three others, none with even close to forty members. They hadn''te to fight in the first ce.


    Also, because Franc didn''t have time to spare them a nce, because he was plundering, they each spread across the outpost in different directions so as not to cross paths and began scavenging in earnest.


    Twenty minutes after they began doing so, Winston and his escorts arrived on the scene.


    As expected, he was utterly outraged at the sight of the others scavenging dead bodies-


    "How dare you?!"


    -or so he made them believe.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''Those are mine for the taking!''


    Yes! How dare they steal what was his?


    His hands were already on the hilt of his sword, intending on killing them all.


    Winston''s escort imitated the gesture as they got ready for battle.


    But it wasn''t like Franc and the others were just going to stand there and die peacefully.


    Like Winston, they had immediately be aware of their presence.


    Then, it was hard not to be with how loud the hooves of their horses resounded.


    The tension in the atmosphere began to increase as everyone stared at each other, waiting for the others to make the first move.


    The three other groups quickly called all their guilders, unsheathed their weapons, some of them recently looted, and gathered around.


    Now, the five parties were staring at each other.


    But as he narrowed his gaze, a quizzical expression formed on Winston''s face.


    How could it not. He knew these guys!


    As an Admiral, there was no way he wouldn''t know of the guilds that existed in his territory.


    The reason the other didn''t recognize him and his escorts was because they were wearing cloaks.


    Then, something came to Winston''s mind¡­


    ''No, wait, how did they know about this in the first ce?''


    After all, he himself had only received information about it a few hours prior.


    In that case¡­


    ''Did they know about it beforehand?''


    That was the only usible exnation he could think of.


    But once he took a closer look, he couldn''t help but shake his head.


    ''But that doesn''t make sense''


    Because, if it were so¡­


    ''The mana crystals are worth far more than anything they could find here''


    They would have gone for the manite mine instead of scavenging dead bodies.


    This thought process led him to a conclusion.


    ''So¡­they somehow knew that something had happened here and decidede and take a look¡­but don''t know what it was about''


    He almost facepalmed himself.


    ''Right! The manite mine''


    How could he have forgotten about his top priority so easily? He had to confirm the existence of the manite mine.


    Without thinking twice, he hit his horse and advanced into the forest.


    His escorts were flustered at the unexpected movement, but quickly sheathed their des and followed after him.


    The four parties though, were utterly dumbfounded as they looked at each other.


    *Shrug*


    But once they confirmed they were gone for good, they quickly got back to looting as if nothing had happened.


    __________________


    At the same time, the Avillian masters Ulrik and Kurt were hastily making their way to the mountain of mana crystals on a special breed of buff horses called Acktans.


    Their species was Ackitnar.


    These two Acktans were white and brown respectively. Their ears were longer than those of normal horses. Their sense of smell was stronger. They exceeded normal horses in all physical categories, whether it be speed, stamina or strength. And most importantly, they were more intelligent.


    Not intelligent enough to have gained sentience, but they knew how to y dead in front of predators and had the ability to quickly distinguish when to fight and when to run.


    An ability that many human''s sorely needed.


    Behind them were a slew of knights, mages and shifters, numbering fifty and riding horses of their own.


    After all, what was the use of making an entrance if it wasn''t going to be big?

 Chapter 118 Forming Storm

    A group of seven transversed thend with haste under the watch of the sun while seated on horses.


    At this moment in time, a voice rang out amongst them.


    "Sir, we''re almost there"


    The man being addressed, the leader of the group, narrowed his gaze.


    This was Sir Cavarl, a Master-rank Mage that had been dispatched on a reconnaissance mission to Windless Peaks.


    He was rather slim, almostnky, and had low brown hair. His face held up a pair of sses and a staff was strapped to the side of his horse.


    The image of a settlement came into view.


    It was the outpost of Windless Peaks, and that made him frown even more.


    ''What happened here?''


    Before he could ruminate even more, his ears picked up a sound, that of a marching horse.


    A short man covered in a cloak arrived at the entrance to the outpost at the same time as Cavarl.


    ''Hmm''


    They were both interested in who the other guy was, but the moment their eyes met-


    "What rotten luck is this?!"


    -killing intent began to gush out of their bodies like a dam breaking.


    It wasn''t surprising, as both men were familiar with each other.


    They hadn''t fought before, but it would be strange for you to not know your archenemy''s subordinate.


    "Hahaha, to think I''d meet you Cavarl. What brings another one of Evercroft''s dogs here?"


    "I could say the same for a Varent barbarian like you, Mr Grenald. Then again, with how short you are, I guess it is expected for brains to be awfullycking as well"


    Grenald: (¨p?? ? ?? §¥ ?? ? ??)


    Cavarl couldn''t care less about what face Grenald was making as he pulled out his staff, which had an orb attached to it, in one smooth motion. At the time, Grenald pulled out a ck ax that was twice his height and had a small golden skull attached to the handle out from his back.


    It was clear as day that both these men were about to have a go at each other¡­if it wasn''t for what happened next.


    "Huh? Who are you guys?!"


    The Expert-ranks behind Cavarl had long retreated from the moment it seemed a battle would ur.


    But one of them quickly spotted those scavenging in the outpost.


    Both men ceased their confrontation immediately as they looked to see the parties plundering everything they could.


    They didn''t rebuke them though, for they have also done simr things, if not worse, to reach their current positions.


    One had to take all they could get their hands on in the warzone called Orion.


    That said, the existence of a third party was very unsettling, but then again, the Empire hadn''t told them that another person would alsoe.


    Wasn''t there a possibility that someone hade before them?


    rms rang in their heads as a thought came to them.


    It would be really bad if a Master from the third S-rank guild had already reached the manite mine.


    Their killing intent died down rapidly. The situation at hand had a far higher priority than their guilds'' squabble.


    With haste and urgency in his tone, Grenald spoke¡­


    "Has anyone gone further in?!"


    His aura suddenly spiked, generating a pressure that almost gave the scavengers he was talking to a heart attack.


    Luckily, the leader amongst them spoke out before anyone died.


    "Yes, a group of people on horses just went into the forest mere minutes ago, I swear!"


    No more words were needed. The moment their worst fears were confirmed-


    *Neigh*Buggum*Buggum*¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    -the two masters put their weapons away and hit their horses into high gear simultaneously, almost like they nned it, before zing through the forest at a speed even faster than before.


    Their squabbles would have to wait. Their road to higher levels of power was at stake here! They couldn''t afford to miss it.


    Such thoughts prompted them to increase their speed once more.


    Everything became insignificant in front of their eyes as they moved at such speeds, not the destroyed forest or the dead snakes, not even each other!


    All that mattered was the sight of what was ahead of them.


    ________________


    -A few minutes ago-


    *Rustle*Rustle*


    At another part of the forest, two men were navigating their way towards the forest''s exit while moving slowly and cautiously.


    They were both wearing armor that had clearly seen better days. It was torn, bloody and dusty all over, and so were they.


    It had been one of, no, the worst day in the life of these two men, Lahm and Gibs.


    It had been the worst day of their lives¡­that is, until a few minutes ago!


    You see, both these men were missionaries, and they were lucky enough to be part of those who survived till the end.


    With the mercenaries and all the guilders gone, Loreta had allowed them to search and scourge the cave.


    They weren''t expecting much out of it, as they had been convinced that the first three parties would''ve taken most things with value. But they had been wrong, the sheer amount of mana crystals blew their minds as they found it to be in the thousands.


    Joy crept up in their hearts as it meant they might get a bit out of it, no matter how small.


    Then, as if that wasn''t enough, Lahm and Gibs stumbled upon a treasure they had only heard about in books.


    Since they had all spread out in pairs in order to make the search more efficient, these two were the only ones who knew of its existence.


    It was a treasure that would set them up for life!


    With a little quick thinking and a lot of greed, they decided to keep it that way.


    Quickly, they dislodged the treasure from the mountain and hid it from wandering gazes, before giving an excuse to those around and getting out of the mountain as fast as possible.


    Lahm kept the object with him, as it was thankfully small, and Gibs followed behind making sure to mask their tracks while they ran through the forest in the opposite direction from the outpost to avoid being seen.


    They had to step in muddy soil, asionally kill some beasts and, worst of all, because of the immense value of the item they were holding, their vignce was at 120%.


    Which meant that they reacted at even the smallest of sounds, only to discover that the culprit was nothing more than the wind.


    Needless to say, it was exhausting, and it was even worse for these two who had already gone through so many exhausting tasks in the same day.


    Nevertheless, they pushed on, because they knew¡­


    ''It''ll all be worth it the moment we sell this thing''


    And because of this, they couldn''t wipe the smirks off their faces.


    As they cut down the bushes in their way with their swords, Gibs looked to see Lahm, who was in front of him, stealing nces at something within his armor.


    "Lahm, what are you doing?"


    Lahm broke out of his reverie and replied¡­


    "I''m checking to make sure it doesn''t disappear. I still can''t believe we actually pulled it off! Gibs, we''re going to be rich! The gold is going to be Fashant! [1] I don''t even know how I''m going to use it all, do you?"


    Gibsughed at his friend''s silly antics, but he could understand how he felt¡­


    "We''ll figure it out once we sell the stone. For now, calm down and let''s focus on getting out of this damn forest before anything else"


    Lahm did as he was told while his heart calmed.


    Both these men were already on cloud nine thinking about all the gold they would get.


    They couldn''t wait to get out of the forest. Now, it was only a matter of time before they rose to the top, or so they thought.


    Only, fate had other ns for them.


    [1] Fashant: A Orainian term for too much, too many etc.

 Chapter 119 Forming Storm (2)

    Momentster, Lahm and Gibs heard the sound of a horse approaching and quickly bent down to have the trees cover their figures.


    As the entourage of Avillian Masters approached the Windless Peaks, Sir Kurt''s eyes caught the sight of something moving within the forest.


    Quickly, he approached the ce with Master Ulrik in tow.


    Seeing this, the two crouching among the bushes had their heart skip a beat as they jumped out of their hiding ce and fled as fast as they could. That was the only option avable to them against these two men.


    Lahm and Gibs didn''t know what rank the two were, but the presence emanated was akin to that of the now dead Admiral.


    Meaning that they were at least Expert-rank, if not higher. Add that to the sight of the troops following them from behind and any thought of fighting or resisting promptly vanished from their thoughts.


    Lahm and Gibs began sweating as they ran with numerous thoughts running through their minds.


    Gibs: ''Kasack! How did we end up meeting people here, and an Expert-rank too! What kind of luck is this?! Where did they evene from?''


    Lahm: ''This is bad! I need to get out of here. I can''t die here! Not now''


    "Stop!" Master Kurt hollered, but those running didn''t dare heed his words.


    Kurt felt a bit annoyed. He had projected his aura, so he was sure that those running had known, or at least had an inkling of, his level.


    Yet, they chose to keep running?


    "Tch" Kurt clicked his tongue in distaste as he thought¡­


    ''Don''t me me for this then''


    Seemingly from thin air, a spear covered in red and green clothing with a sharp tip appeared in Kurt''s hands, and without another word¡­


    *Inhale*


    He sucked air in as his eyes zoomed in on his targets, his hands popped out veins and then¡­


    *Soom!*


    He threw it in a single motion and, because the distance between them wasn''t too far, the spear reached the target almost instantaneously.


    At the same time, Gibs looked behind to catch the face of the man who spoke¡­but all he met was a spear.


    *Chuk*Kuuugh!*


    The sound of flesh being skewered was followed by a very loud cough. Not one, but both men were impaled to a tree with a spear right in their chests and blood sttered all over the ce.


    Kurt looked at such a gruesome scene without flinching or even blinking, and so did Ulrik as they approached slowly, seeing as their targets had nowhere else to go.


    But the two seem to murmur about something, while Kurt took a curative look at the two.


    They were only two men and they didn''t seem to have anything special about them.


    Their armor was torn and ragged, their hair disheveled and filled with dirt, their bodies hosted multiple cut marks that were still bleeding¡­


    All these begged the question, where did theye from?


    But before they could find out, something happened.


    One of them took out an object that caused the eyes of both Masters to widen and quiver in shock.


    It was an eclipse shaped stone that had blue particles rotating within it.


    It was¡­a mana stone!


    _____________________


    This was the treasure that Lahm and Gibs stumbled upon.


    As missionaries, they were not ignorant of its value and snatched it for themselves at once. With a quick consideration of their situation, they easily agreed that the best they could do was to sell it off, preferably in another continent where they were unknown.


    But none of that would be happening as the two grimaced heavily in their current state.


    The spear had pierced Gibs right through his stomach, before subsequently piercing Lahm through his back and then impaling them on a tree.


    So, at this moment, both men had their backs to each other as Gibs listened to Lahm puke blood.


    It also meant that Gibs was able to see the face of his attackers clearly, with their eyes looking at them nonchntly.


    The unfairness of it all hit him-


    ''Why? Why? Why? Why is this happening? What did we do to deserve this?!''<novelnext></novelnext>


    -his eyes had be moist and he wanted to scream.


    Only, he was already in so much pain that such luxury was not allowed, especially when his mouth was filled with blood.


    Gibs eyes zed with hatred as he stared at the two approaching.


    With just a quick look at his current condition, Gibs knew without a doubt, he would soon die and so wouldhm.


    As he put his brain to work, Lahm''s weak voice rang out¡­


    "We''re going to die, aren''t we? If so, let''s make sure they never get their hands on this"


    Mustering the little strength he had left, Lahm brought out the mana stone from within his inner clothing and handed it over to Gibs.


    The moment Gibs collected the stone, he clearly felt Lahm''s hand go limp.


    The meaning was clear, Lahm had died.


    Gibs squeezed his face as he felt a painful emotion swell within him, and along with it, fury and rage as he looked at the treasure that had led them into this situation.


    Gibs could onlyment as he learned a final lesson.


    ''The weak aren''t allowed to be greedy''


    With the stone in hand, Gibs knew exactly what to do.


    __________________


    The sudden appearance of something so precious caused the minds of both Masters to go nk for only a few seconds.


    But those few seconds gave Gibs the crucial time he needed to swallow the mana stone.


    The moment he did so, the Masters broke out of their reverie as Kurt rushed forward with his Acktan.


    His voice rang out simultaneously¡­


    "Stop! What are you-"


    He never got to finish the sentence.


    By the time the Masters broke out of their reverie, Gibs'' body had already begun to glow blue. At the same time, his body began to inte like it was being filled with air.


    Kurt arrived in front of him almost instantaneously.


    But he was already toote.


    *BOOOM!*


    Gibs exploded into pieces, dying instantly as his blood, bone and brain matter sttered all over the ce.


    But it didn''t end there.


    Simultaneously, arge wave of blue dust was expunged just as pieces of flesh spattered.


    The one closest, Kurt, had his instincts ringing warning bells like never before.


    He urged his mount to run, but before he could do so, the blue particles swallowed both him and his mount as it spread further.


    Ulrik and the entourage standing a distance behind him were blown by the sheer force of the explosion.


    A cloud of blue dust rose up high, while the booming sound erupted to all sides.


    The after effects caused the mountain of mana crystal to shake slightly, while most of the missionaries lost their bnce.


    Even the approaching horses of Winston, his men, and those of the two Nitionian Masters went haywire, almost throwing off their riders before calming down.


    Those scavenging in the outpost or beyond it didn''t feel much of the pressure.


    Instead, it was something else that caught everyone''s eye.


    "Look up there"


    It was the cloud of blue dust in the sky.


    It was the event that would kick up the storm of the decade.


    A storm called "The Great War".

 Chapter 120 Forming Storm (3)

    The cloud of blue dust could be seen from afar.


    And because of this, it became a beacon.


    It acted as a beacon notifying others of the manite mine''s location.


    ¡ª----------------------


    In Rusell, those closest to the border, namely the city of Dimir, had already spotted the cloud of blue dust.


    It didn''t take long for the Admiral of Dimir''s Missionary to send a message to the Russellin King through their own method ofmunication.


    Simr actions repeated themselves in the Iris Kingdoms.


    It would take at least one day for Sce or Quartez to get such information from their neighbors


    ¡ª-----------------------


    Even before them, the Avillians, being closest to the explosion, had witnessed the blue cloud rising and so did their King.


    It also didn''t take the king long to figure out that the blue cloud had erupted just a bit away from the mountain that Master Kurt had been sent to.


    Search parties had been dispatched to the location to bring back information, which would allow better understanding of the situation.


    ¡ª-------------------------


    Then you have Niton, where the incident had taken ce.


    Since Winston was at the site of the incident, he brought out the same type of artifact Loreta used and sent a message to his missionary.


    It was also sighted from the city closest to Whittown, Nertisin, and the Admiral of the Nertisin Missionary also sent messages.


    Only, he didn''t send them to the Royal family alone, but also to a family of great nobles he was affiliated with.


    These small actions that seem insignificant would have far reaching effects, because the great noble family he told would tell others, who would then do the same.


    And, as if that wasn''t enough, the Nertisin Admiral immediately got to his trusty steed and, with two of his best men, headed for the outpost on the excuse of "understanding the situation", and of course, to check on his rival.


    And so, strings of fate that would sow the seed of a decade long war had begun to move.


    ¡ª-----------------------


    Within the Windless Peaks'' forest of snakes, two horses were running side by side towards the fog of blue dust.


    They were Grenald of Varent, and Cavarl of Evercroft.


    Right behind them were the six people Cavarl had arrived with.


    They had been sprinting forward when the sudden explosion disoriented their horses.


    After a whole five minutes of calming them, they quickly got back to their race, only this time, rather than worrying about the possible thirdpetitor and rushing for the mountain, they headed for the blue dust fog.


    If their experience had taught them anything, it was that danger and opportunity go hand in hand.


    Now, judging from the size and sound of the explosion, they immediately knew something big was happening.


    And something big happening meant that a chaotic situation would ur.


    And, in chaotic situations, there were bound to be plenty of opportunities. If the chaotic was as big as the blue cloud they were looking at, then it could potentially be something even the likes of Grandmasters would move to obtain.


    So, the two masters marched towards it with haste.


    In their haste, they bypassed Winston''s group without bothering to notice them.


    If they had noticed him, perhaps they would''ve learned that the mountain, their original goal, was the true gold mine.


    And because of how fast they were sprinting, Winston decided to follow after them, while keeping a good distance, to see where they were headed.


    Too many people he didn''t know had been popping up.


    While the others he had encountered were weak, the ones in front of him seemed at his level, Expert-rank.


    He needed to know whether they were allies or enemies before he could n his next move.


    ¡ª--------------------------<novelnext></novelnext>


    Meanwhile, the site where Gibs had exploded waspletely covered in a fog of blue dust. And the fog''s range was still expanding.


    Within this fog of blue, Kurt''s body could be seen and, unlike what one would expect, he was utterly unscathed, except the pieces of flesh and blood on the body.


    At this moment, he suddenly opened his eyes-


    *Ugh!*


    -and inhaled heavily, before raising himself into a sitting position as he recalled the events that happened before he cked out.


    ''That''s right, I was covered in that big ball of blue¡­how am I alive right now?''


    As he looked over his body, he saw his body glowing blue. More precisely, it was his veins that were glowing as his skin sucked in the blue particles, which scared him at first, but he quickly realized that he wasn''t hurt in the least.


    Rather-


    ''I''ve never felt so alive''


    -his whole body was brimming with strength and vitality that seemed endless.


    He clenched his fists and wished his body could stay like this forever.


    It was, if anything¡­blissful.


    As he took a look around his surroundings, he subconsciously gasped in awe.


    It was beautiful, no, it was utterly magnificent!


    Kurt could swear that it was better than the view of the night sky.


    The blue particles floated all around him like snowkes in the winter as they made up a sort ofrge dome, veiling things from the outside.


    The particles rested upon the trees like rain dew.


    With a quick nce, he found his Acktan was lying on the floor a bit of a distance away.


    He approached it with a smile as he hit his mount, expecting it to wake up just like he had.


    s, he could only be disappointed when he found that the beast was dead.


    It touched his heart a little as they had been through a lot together, but he quickly got his mind straightened.


    Only then did he remember a crucial detail that made him get caught up in the explosion.


    His face scrunched up like a man who just tasted shit as he wondered if he had gone mad for him to be appreciating the beauty of the fog.


    A beauty created by-


    ''He destroyed the mana stone! That b#stard dared to¡­!''


    -destroying a mana stone.


    He only grew angry and very frustrated as he recalled the scene over and over again, before taking a deep breath to calm himself.


    ''Calm down, calm down, think¡­he destroyed the mana stone. But where did he find it in the first ce?''


    At this moment, the description of the mountain popped up in his mind.


    ''Could it be¡­within the mountain?''


    It was an assumption, but Kurt didn''t think a mana stone coulde from anywhere but there.


    And so, his destination was set.


    Quickly, he removed his spear that was lodged in the tree.


    The two bodies had exploded, so it was covered in blood and flesh, a minor inconvenience, so he shook his spear to get it off and then sucked it back into his space ring.


    After that, he started running towards the mountain, having determined its location with one of his sound techniques. Locating it by sight didn''t work as the range of the dome of mana dust was truly wide.


    He was also able to pinpoint the location of Ulrik and their entourage, but didn''t bother calling out to them as they were heading in the same direction as he.


    With the Masters of Avi and Niton coincidentally heading towards each other, their sh was inevitable.

 Chapter 121 Blackout

    "Ugh! My head"


    Cabrera''s eyes opened as he instinctivelytched onto his aching head while his eyes darted around.


    Cabrera found himself in a dark cave that glittered and wondered¡­


    ''Where am I?''


    It seemed the question triggered something within his mind, causing a massive wave of nausea to hit him.


    Different memories began toe together like the mending of a broken vase.


    The headache only increased for a whole minute, before receding like it was never there.


    Such an ordeal left Cabrera sweating and breathing heavily, his face looking downwards as he let out quick breaths in session. At the same time, his eyes gained a bit of tranquility.


    ''I see, so that''s what happened''


    He recalled the scene of him going out of Kingsmere towards¡­somewhere?


    Cabrera''s mind came to a halt as he tried to remember, but all he came to was a nk.


    The name and location of the ce he had gone to after Kingsmere, Cabrera couldn''t remember.


    No, more than that, a lot of things that happened before that¡­he couldn''t remember!


    ''Maybe I''m still a bit tired'' Cabrera thought in an effort to sort out a logical answer to the situation.


    But he had to throw out such thoughts when he figured out that the nk tes on his mind were more than one.


    He remembered traveling with the boys on horses for a whole week, but he couldn''t remember where they were going.


    And it only got worse from there.


    Whether they arrived at their intended destination, and whatever it was that they had done there, he didn''t know, nothing came up.


    After that, he recalled finding the ce they were currently in¡­and his eyes shined!


    ''A mithril mine!'' he figured, before calming down momentster.


    He couldn''t be sure, but he felt that something was missing in the memories he was seeing.


    But the moment he tried to recall it, an intense headache, a notch higher than the one before, hit him.


    Then it clicked in his mind, making him spring to his feet.


    ''Where are the boys?''


    Yes! His guild members, where were they? He needed to find out what happened to him, but more importantly, he needed to find his guild members.


    His brain had already started thinking about how to get out of the cave when his leg hit something.


    Cabrera turned around to see each one of his boys sleeping with their backs resting on the wall, no signs of battle on any of their figures.


    He couldn''t help but release a sigh of relief as he calmed himself from most of the tension. Afterwards, he began perusing all the details of the cave with his eyes.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was then that he noticed something reflecting light on his finger.


    Then it hit him¡­


    ''My space ring!''


    And there were two of them!


    Quickly, he focused his mind andmanded the ring to bring out all that was within it.


    Wind fluctuated and then rations of food began appearing seemingly out of thin air into Cabrera''s arm as he arranged them on the floor.


    Afterwards came food rations, armor parts and weaponry of silver-rank, and then, vials of the blood boiling potion.


    After seeing that nothing seemed unusual, he found that the memories of his meeting with the Alchemists were clear.


    He also remembered the functions of the blood boiling potion, and then, the memory of him collecting an astronomical debt from the sentinel also popped up along with how he had spent it.


    He could recall bits and pieces of a memory where he was sitting in the guild''s former base with two figures. Their visage in his memory was shrouded in fog, so couldn''t see or remember their faces.


    In addition, some of things that were said seemed to have disappeared from his mind, but that which he was able to remember contained how he would deal with the debt situation and some other things he was to achieve before returning to Kingsmere.


    He would have to rethink those ns though, because he needed to find out what was happening to him as soon as possible.


    When he was sure there was nothing to see here, he sucked everything back into his spatial ring, then proceeded to empty out the other.


    Only, all that appeared in his palm was a single scroll.


    ''Hmm?'' he suddenly got curious.


    There was so much stuff in the first ring, but only a scroll in this one.


    ''Maybe it has something to do with the current situation?'' Cabrera thought as he opened up the scroll.


    The minute he did, the scroll brightened up and, as if that wasn''t enough, a voice suddenly began to speak, causing Cabrera to jump back in fright, leaving the scroll to fall to the floor.


    He wasn''t unnerved that a voice came out from the scroll, but that the voice¡­was his own!


    His heart pounded as he stood still for a whole minute while he calmed himself.


    Thereafter, he approached the scroll, which had stopped speaking, picked it up and brought it to his face.


    Taking a deep breath, he opened the brown scroll full of different markings to his full view and, like before, it brightened up and the voice began speaking.


    "*Clears throat*Clears throat* If you''re listening to this¡­Wait, what am I saying? Anyways, if I''m listening to this¡­Okay, this is a bit confusing. Anyways, you don''t have to worry about your lost memories. It was my¡­your¡­own doing. In time, you and all the boys shall have it returned to you. Before that¡­eh¡­just make sure to follow up with the n till the end. Hmm¡­you, I, might want a more detailed exnation on this, but just do as you''ve doing and trust your instincts. Oh yes, I don''t know if you''ll remember, but leave the Mithril in the mine, Nathan will help us deal with it. Don''t forget to kill lots and lots of beasts and bring them back to Kingsmere. Also, another three boys died to monster attacks along the way, that''s why there are fourteen. And¡­that''s it"


    Cabrera stared nkly at the scroll for a few minutes after the message had ended before suddenly bursting intoughter.


    True enough, it didn''t really exin the situation, but he doubted anyone other than him would word such an important message in such a nonsensical manner.


    "Haa.." once he was done with his heartyugh, he looked at the boys still asleep.


    "Let''s get to work"

 Chapter 122 Nothing To Negotiate

    -At Windless Peaks-


    A few minutes before, Ulrik had also woken up.


    Unfortunately, unlike his colleague, he was not unscathed.


    He had been blown away by the mana explosion and broke through multiple trees before finallynding on the ground unconscious.


    But as a Master-rank mage, he was able to get by with a few bruises all over his body, a cut on the back of his head, and a very bad headache.


    His Acktan was alive, but had broken a leg, something Ulrik was grateful for, as it could have been much worse.


    Exerting a bit of his strength, he got back to his feet rtively quickly. He then gathered up those of the entourage that were still alive and could still move, and moved to get out of the domain of the mana fog.


    Like Kurt, he hade to the realization that the mountain contained mana stones, and aimed to upy it as swiftly as possible.


    As for Kurt, Ulrik didn''t bother. He didn''t think even Kurt could survive after being so close to the source of such a massive explosion.


    With a gulp of healing potions from within his space ring, his wounds had begun to heal, and as a Master-rank mage with a nt affinity, he was able to navigate the dome of mana dust without difficulty by relying on the positions of the trees around them.


    Ulrik had also noticed the elevation of his mana recovery speed and his spells bing more effective along the way.


    With haste, he made his way out of the dome towards the site of the mountain with what was left of the troops trailing behind him.


    It was at this time that two horses burst forth into the mana dome, their riders being Grenald and Cavarl.


    Both these men had only the desire for treasure on their minds¡­that is, until now. They had unconsciously stopped their horses to savor the mesmerizing scene in front of them.


    Secondster, the six escorting Cavarl arrived as well, and like those before them, were mesmerized.


    Not for long though, because a minute had not even passed when Grenald suddenly pulled out his ax and held it in front of him.


    Simultaneously, Cavarl unstrapped his staff and held it in his left hand.


    Those behind couldn''t understand their sudden change of expression, but did the same nheless.


    If something could cause Grandmasters to be weary, then they, Expert-ranks, had to be extra cautious.


    Lo and Behold, it didn''t take long for a group of thirty-five to appear into view.


    Grenald''s eyes darted all over the new arrivals as he quickly affirmed that most of those in front of him were Expert-ranks.


    Moreover, most of them were spotting wounds all over their bodies with some parts of their armor torn and filled with little bits of dirt and blood.


    But enough of that, what really hit the bag was the tall butnky man at the forefront of the group, with a green staff in hand while being covered in light armor of a quality no less than the one Grenald had on.


    That, plus the pressure he was emanating, gave Grenald the assurance that¡­


    ''This man, he''s also a master''


    Then a question blossomed within Grenald''s mind.


    ''Could he have also been sent by the Empire?''


    After all, he hadn''t been told about Cavarl''s interference either.


    But then, if it was so¡­


    ''Why haven''t I heard of him before?''


    He had met Cavarl a few times before, but even if he hadn''t, he would''ve been able to guess his name by his features.


    But the man in front him had small white hair and a long beard, with a face full of wrinkles.


    It was a face he had never heard off, and because of that-


    ''It''s better to be safe than sorry''


    -he straightened his ax as he deepened his voice and spoke¡­


    "Who are you?"


    He failed at trying to look intimidating as a voice from his side spoke up.


    "Seriously, Grenald? What are you? Blind or senile? Can''t you see the crest on the armor of those standing behind him?''


    Grenald''s head popped a vein while still maintaining his intimidating pose as he seemed on the verge of exploding, before calming himself down.


    ''Ah!'' only then did he notice the crest on the shoulder tes, one depicting a shield on a mountain.


    It would be disgraceful for the Master-rank not to recognise one of their closest neighbors.


    Luckily he did, and it set off an rm in his mind.


    ''Avi!''


    His interrogative gaze turned fiery as he put more strength into his arm and exuded his aura to make his hostility known.


    "I have to ask what exactly a master of Avi is doing on Nitoniannd?"


    Ulrik''s face remained unmoved as he stared at the two.


    He hadn''t said anything in a bid to gauge their knowledge, and now he was sure.


    ''They don''t know about the mana stones''


    It was a foregone conclusion, because, if they did, there wouldn''t be any need for such idle chatter.


    So his brain worked out a n to take the mana stones without their knowledge.


    For it to be sessful, he needed to understand exactly how much they knew, so he replied¡­


    "Last I checked, thisnd was a border between Niton and Avi-"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ulrik''s aura shot forth as a counter to Grenald''s.


    "-so do enlighten me, what exactly do you mean by ''Empire''s Land''? As a border, I am free to do whatever I wish"


    Grenald was momentarily lost for words, because the old man was right. It was and owned by both powers, so he had no power whatsoever to question Ulrik''s actions.


    But he wouldn''t be a master if he backed off that easily.


    "True, but why do you have so many expert''s behind you while adorned in armor for battle? Does Avi wish to attack the Empire?"


    ''Hmm'' Ulrik''s eyebrows creased slightly.


    It was indeed a justified assumption, and if not handled properly, could start a battle.


    So, with a neutral face, Ulrik replied¡­


    "That is-"


    Or at least he tried to, but was cut short by the sudden warning bells his instincts transmitted, causing him to turn his head to look behind him.


    Simultaneously, Grenald and Cavarl looked in the same direction.


    Then-


    *SOOM!*


    A ck blur, one that even Ulrik''s eyes could barely follow, cut through the mana dust and passed him over.


    The next sound he heard, was-


    *BAM!*KIIIIIN*


    -a loud sound, followed by an intense screech caused by metal edges scraping each other, which quickly stopped all together.


    ________________________


    ''What in Orion''s name was that?!''


    Grenald looked at the spear by his side with a shocked gaze.


    Just now, he had almost died.


    While he was talking to the Avillian master that somehow found himself traversing the borders at the same time a manite mine was found, his instincts transmitted a signal of utmost danger.


    A secondter, an object arrived right in front of his face.


    It was only thanks to his reflexes that he managed to ce his ax right in front of the left side of his chest to face the weapon.


    Unfortunately, he learned a tad bit toote that he had still underestimated the momentum behind the ck object, which turned out to be a spear, because the collision threw him off his horse in one go.


    The spear quite literally carried him backwards a bit with his sharp edge trying to prate the ax.


    Grenald quickly found his foothold on the ground and put more power into his legs to avoid being pushed back even more.


    Then he tilted his body and the ax, allowing the spear edge and the ax''s sharp end to graze each other, redirecting the spear, which embedded itself into the ground.


    Had he been just a little slower, he would have been skewered like a pheasant on a stick, and he knew it.


    _______________________


    Everybody was momentarily silent as they looked to see Grenald standing under cracked earth far from his original position with sweat all over his face. Beside him was something long and ck embedded into the ground.


    Experts couldn''t see itpletely, but Ulrik did, and his eyes widened as he affirmed the object embedded into the ground to be a spear covered in ck clothing with golden markings on it.


    The sight of the weapon gave him a ridiculous thought, because he had instantly recognised the weapon.


    Actually, it would have been weird if he didn''t.


    ''He''s alive?''


    Within seconds, his question was answered as a man glowing blue appeared in their sight.


    It was Sir Kurt, who he believed to have died.


    But the man in question paid Ulrik''s look no mind as he hollered at him.


    "What is this that you''re doing?"


    The voice stunned Ulrik for a second, but he quickly replied while calibrating the situation at hand.


    "I was trying to negotiate, before you came along"


    It was Kurt''s turn to be stunned as he paused and had his gaze pursue Ulrik''s entire visage with an expression that quite literally said "Are you okay?".


    Kurt''s reply came swiftly¡­


    "There''s nothing to negotiate! Didn''t you see the stone?! Rather than doing pointless things, let''s kill these two. We''ll decide what to do after that"


    Without halting, Kurt buckled off the ground and jumped into the air like a spring, leaving a small crater in his wake¡­


    "I''ll take the short one, you handle the other guy"


    Ulrik looked at the youngster and sighed heavily.


    But it didn''t matter at the moment.


    Since the negotiations had already broken down before it could even begin, there were only a few usible solutions.


    And since Ulrik couldn''t leave such a precious resource for others to im, he would have to follow through with Kurt''s ns.


    He would have to fight!

 Chapter 123 What Is This?!

    The moment Kurt jumped, Cavarl promptly acted by using wind to push Kurt off course.


    He would love to do more, but that was all he was allowed as Ulrik''s attack was upon him as well.


    Vines from underneath the soil shot towards him at fast speeds.


    Quickly, Cavarl jumped off his horse with his staff in hand and used the spell Wind des to cut the vines apart.


    The Expert-ranks that stood behind quickly made way by moving far from the radius of their attacks, as being caught by them would literally mean death.


    "I tried talking, but I guess I''ll have to kill you now" said Ulrik as he and Cavarl stared at each other.


    The wind mage chose not to speak as he instead moved with decisive action and stomped the ground with the bottom of his staff, making it glow. He rolled it between his fingers and then unleashed a wind derger than the previous one, trying to slice Ulrik in half.


    In response, Ulrik conjured up multiple vines from underneath that stood up like wooden poles right in front of him, which then stacked upon themselves to increase the thickness.


    The air dended on the vine wall, cutting through all of it in an instant, before closing down on Ulrik, who simply conjured more vines to take the brunt of what little was left of the attack.


    Ulrik''s eyes fluttered. Indeed, this fight wasn''t going to be easy.


    Then again, he never expected it to be.


    With a snap of his fingers, vines shoot up once more. Only this time, they rushed towards Cavarl''s position at a pace faster than before.


    Like Ulrik, Cavarl had also realized¡­


    ''This isn''t going to be easy''


    And at the same time-


    ''What stone are they talking about?''


    -he began to deduce the little information he gleaned from their short conversation.


    But that didn''t mean he stopped attacking though. Right after he sent the wind de, he sent out a heavy gust of wind to throw his opponent off bnce, and ward off the iing attacks, before activating the enchantment on his boots and running towards Ulrik with increased agility.


    Who said a mage couldn''t indulge in physicalbat?


    ¡ª---------------------


    Away from them, Kurt and Grenald were going at it.


    *BAM!*BAM!*BAM!*


    Everytime Kurt''s fist pumped out, a loud tremor resounded.


    The ground in which they were standing had already cracked all over.


    The one receiving these punches could only be pushed back as his face held an expression of extreme surprise, because truly, the current situation was unbelievable.


    -Seconds before-


    The moment Kurt jumped, he was blown off from his intended trajectory, giving Grenald more time to get himself together.


    The first thing he did was to hit the spear far into the ground with his hands.


    With a look, Grenald summarized the situation on the battlefield as he took in Cavarl, Ulrik, all the Experts behind them, and his face darkened.


    The good thing was, he knew Cavarl''s strength, and he was not one to go down easy.


    Which meant Cavarl was more than enough to keep the Avillian Master upied.


    What he was afraid of though, was the oue tilting in favor of the opponents if a certain variable was left unchecked.


    ''Those Experts, I have to reduce their numbers''


    All these calctions happened within the span of a few seconds, but that was enough time-


    "Where do you think you''re looking?"


    -for Kurt to arrive at his position whileunching a fist that was heading for Grenald''s chest.


    Grenald, unlike his outwardly haughty nature, slightly widened his eyes as his hands, still holding the ax, moved in conjunction to ward off the iing punch.


    It was the first collision, the first of many.


    *BAM!*


    The recoil of such an attack saw both opponents pushed afar from each other, and even the falling mana particles couldn''t help but be blown away.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Grenald looked at his opponent, then at his ax, then at himself.


    He had suspected something was wrong from the beginning, and judging by the way the other guy was glowing¡­yeah, something was definitely wrong.


    From the moment Kurt jumped, Grenald had kept him under his radar by using the metal in the earth to sense things close by, which was why he was able to think clearly even when he knew the opponent wasing towards him.


    What he hadn''t known was how fast Kurt could move. This was the cause of the surprised expression.


    You''ll think a guy who runs that fast would becking in strength, but no. Grenald felt the impact, because even with his ax blocking the fist, his hands had gone numb.


    Then he saw the opponents gazend upon the spear¡­and it hit him.


    Grenald felt like pping himself.


    ''Of course! He''s the one that threw the spear''


    The spear that sted him off his horse.


    The moment he understood that, his finger clicked a button in his ax and it split into two, one in each hand.


    Simultaneously, liquid silver began to coagte over his abdominal area, before hardening as another form of armor.


    All these things happened in seconds, and then, unlike before-


    "Show me what you''ve got!"


    -Grenald moved first!


    With a stomp in the ground, he propelled himself forward to meet Kurt, who was also approaching with his body glowing even more, and then shed downwards the moment they got into close proximity.


    *BAM!*


    A sufficient amount of blood erupted from a thin sh in the middle of Kurt''s hand.


    With this, Grenald affirmed.


    ''I can beat him''


    Kurt wasn''t as strong as he made himself out to be.


    But unlike the first time, neither stopped attacking.


    The moment they bothnded their first strike, they followed it up with even more strikes, each aimed for the kill.


    Fist and ax hit against each other again and again.


    With each hit, Grenald''s bafflement grew.


    ''What is this?!''


    The shes and cuts made by the ax were healing fast. Not instantaneously, but fast.


    Kurt''s attacks seemed to only intensify the more they fought. And the most terrifying thing was¡­


    ''He''s predicting everyone of my moves''


    It didn''t seem to matter which way Grenald swung his ax, Kurt always managed to ward it off before dealing an attack of his own.


    And each hit was aimed at vital areas.


    But Kurt wasn''t having it easy either.


    ''What is that armor made off?!''


    The silver armor all over Grenald''s abdominal area was giving him a headache. All his blows made it dent and cave in, but it would reform right after.


    It was a perverted sense of defense, and it only got worse for Kurt.


    Since the enemy could predict his attacks, Grenald just had to make himself unpredictable. And that''s what he did.


    The armor on his body turned back into a liquid, before stretching out in spikes and piercing Kurt in multiple points as he was caught unawares.


    With a leap, Kurt retreated backwards, before taking a look at this pierced stomach.


    These wounds, they weren''t healing.

 Chapter 124 Alls Well Ends Well

    ''What did he do?'' Kurt thought to himself while taking a closer look at his wounds. A silver liquid prated them.


    The only reason why Kurt was reckless enough to fight Grenald bare handed was because of his fast regeneration.


    Now that Grenald had found a way to neutralize his regeneration, even if slightly, he needed to change his approach. And what do you know, he happened to pick up the visage of his spear embedded in the soil right at that very moment.


    His next action was already set.


    With a n in mind, Kurt went on the offense by releasing a barrage of punches on Grenald, which had him pushed back.


    The moment that happened, Kurt bolted for the spear. Fighting without a weapon, especially since it wasn''t his style, wasn''t a disadvantage Kurt wanted to suffer.


    Grenald himself found some breathing room as, instead of trying to stop Kurt, he looked over to the ongoing battle between Ulrik and Cavarl.


    Now was the best time, if there was any, to intervene.


    ¡ª---------------------


    *VOOM!*


    ''Sh#t! How is this a mage?''


    Ulrik stepped backwards to dodge that which arrived in front of the face while summoning more vines from beneath the earth to force his opponent back.


    In response, Cavarl spoke while adjusting his staff¡­


    "Is that you trying to tell me to stay away?"


    He then released another one of his signature wind des to cut down his vines, while not forgetting to st it away with a final gust of wind to prevent the poisoned prickles along the vines from touching his skin.


    Ulrik retreated even more while hosting a grave expression.


    The moment Cavarl activated the enchantment on his boots, his speed increased two fold and Ulrik got a taste of Cavarl''s uncanny ability to use the staff as a weapon.


    As a result, a number of his ribs were now broken, while a strike on his head left him with a headache to remember.


    Meanwhile, Cavarl''s skin had been torn in different ces by the sharp vines. His left arm took on a shade of dark green, indicating the spread of poison across his veins.


    Both men hosted wounds and took heavy breaths to battle their exhaustion.


    After all, mages weren''t known for their physical strength.


    In exchange, the earth they stood on had deformed even worse than that of where Grenald and Kurt battled. The soil had been decorated and destroyed by the shes of the wind des and the uprising of vines over and over again.


    As both men looked at each other trying to find a weakness to exploit, Grenald''s voice rang out¡­


    "Take this!"


    Imbuing more power into his arms, Grenald threw it at Ulrik with deadly uracy.


    The ax rolled like a carriage wheel and arrived in front of Ulrik within moments.


    At the same time, Cavarl moved into action, once again spinning the staff between his fingers as he prepared an attack of his own.


    Ulrik had seconds to decide on how to defend against it.


    And he did not disappoint.


    With extreme haste, an illusionary circle of green light formed beneath his feet and, from it, thick and heavy vines burst forth, which then wrapped around each other to form a wall in front of Ulrik just as the ax reached him.


    With an uncanny sharpness, the ax cut through the vines like a hot knife through butter. It seemed as if it would reach Ulrik, but is ultimately stopped in its tracks.


    That said, Ulrik''s expression only grew worse as he turned his head to see Cavarl spinning his staff while the wind current grew heavier.


    He didn''t know what it was, but he knew letting that attack through would be fatal, his instincts said so.


    So he tried to divert the rest of the vines towards Cavarl to disrupt his spell.


    Only¡­


    "You''re toote"


    Cavarls spell had been finalized. Holding the staff up with two hands, he swung it downwards as we see a wind de bigger than any beforeing shing down on Ulrik.<novelnext></novelnext>


    In a desperate attempt to survive, Ulrik jumps to the side, and then¡­.


    *ZIIIN!*CRACRACRACK!*


    The earth cleanly split, before parting and cracking, with the recoil blowing up arge amount of dust.


    Even expert ranks that had stayed far from the battle felt enough tremor to make them lose their bnce.


    The missionaries approaching from the mountainside flipped over, breaking a few bones in the process. The likes of Winston and his men were promptly thrown off their frightened horses, who then took off in the opposite direction, leaving their masters to fend for themselves.


    All these happened simultaneously, and in the minutes that followed-


    "AHH!"


    -a loud cry was heard.


    Not one of triumph, but one of pain.


    Within the dust, we see it was Ulrik.


    He screamed at the top of his lungs, his body on the ground just before the crack. His left hand held the stump that remained of his right hand.


    Thest attack had taken his right arm, right from the shoulder.


    It was an unbearable pain, one Ulrik was experiencing for the first time, and because of that, he couldn''t think straight.


    But how would he know? That this action was what would truly lead him to his demise.


    His dignified demeanor, along with his staff, was nowhere to be seen.


    His hair had be disheveled and dirty. His eyes were closed shut because of how much dust fell into them. His clothing had turned filthy and ragged. He was bleeding continuously from his unupied shoulder.


    As his wails resounded, he failed to hear the sound of footsteps approaching till it was toote.


    His wails only stopped when a voice broke him out of his misery.


    "Let me put you out of your misery"


    It was an unmistakable voice.


    "You! No, wait, don''t!"


    It was Cavarl.


    Expending a little mana, Cavarl conjured a wind de and used it to cut Ulrik''s head off.


    There was no need to question the result. Because Ulrik couldn''t use spells fast enough without his staff, and because his mind was still disoriented because of the pain, he could not defend against the attack.


    And so was the end of Ulrik, a Avillian Master with nt affinity.


    As Cavarl looked at the now dead body, he shook his head.


    ''What a fool''


    Within such a dense dust cloud, Cavarl would''ve never found him had he kept silent and quietly slipped away.


    But oh well, all''s well ends well.


    Now it was time to reap the rewards.


    With newfound vitality, Cavarl stripped off everything of worth from Ulrik''s body and ced them in his space ring, before cing Ulrik''s space ring on his index finger.


    A rarely seen smile bloomed across his face as he checked the contents, before gulping a healing potion and a mana recovery potion from within his space ring to heal his wounds and recover his mana.


    The feeling was nice, but Cavarl couldn''t dwell on it for long.


    That was because, even while all such events happened, Kurt and Grenald were still battling it out.


    He had to go and help out whether he liked it or not.

 Chapter 125 Grenald Vs Kurt

    "Take this!"


    The moment he threw the ax at Ulrik, Grenald didn''t bother to check whether it hit its aim or not.


    Rather, he couldn''t afford to, because Kurt was once again upon him.


    He threw the ax and immediately made aplete turn, and what his eyes met was the lethal sharpened tip of Kurt''s spear thundering towards his face.


    With a thought, the armor attached to his abdomen moved to his right arm to form a shield-


    *KANG!*


    -that allowed him to narrowly escape certain death. But the momentum behind the attack saw Grenald blown a distance away before stopping.


    Blood dripped from his right wrist. The metal hadn''t hardened fast enough and allowed the spearhead to prate it and leave arge cut.


    The culprit responsible for this chose not to follow up with another attack and began speaking instead.


    "Wow, you stopped that? I have to say, I''m impressed"


    Kurt shed a cocky grin as he said those words, his body glowing brighter by the minute.


    "It seems I''ll be able to test my new limits in this bout. I do hope that you don''t disappoint me"


    Amidst all these words, Grenald''s attention was on his bleeding wrist as he recalled the scene of the spear cutting him over and over again beforeing to a conclusion.


    ''I have to use all my strength if I want to kill him''


    At the same time, Kurt finished his short speech-


    "I''ming!"


    -and burst forth, bing a blur in the process.


    With newfound vigor, Grenald did the same, but with a little less speed.


    Regardless, two blurs ran towards each other, and the moment they collided¡­


    *BANG!*


    The earth shook and a small web of cracks formed below their feet from the resounding recoil of two weapons, an ax and a spear, hitting each other.


    But that was just the beginning.


    *ng!*ng!*ng!*Bang!*


    Sparks flew all over the ce with every consecutive strike thereafter, the earth growing more and more cracked as the two men battled at speeds too fast for anyone below Master-rank to follow.


    Cuts and bruises grew on the bodies of the two men at speeds visible to the naked eye and blood began dripping off their bodies like a dripping faucet.


    At a point, Grenald''s weapon was broken from the handle, rendering it useless.


    But he didn''t fret. Rather, that was when the reason for his moniker, Iron Shifter, showed itself.


    From Grenald''s space ring, a seemingly endless amount of liquid metal was drawn out and used in different ways to achieve different attacks.


    Sometimes, it would take the form of long needles and move in erratic and random patterns to cause multiple, even if smaller, wounds.


    Other times, it would take the form of a shield to attack with sharp edges or spiked fronts, or to defend against attacks too fast for Grenald''s body to follow.


    But Kurt was no small fry either.


    Using his sound techniques and newfound strength, he was able to pinpoint the location of over fifty needles that were moving around randomly and showcase his spearmanship mastery by deflecting them all.


    After more than like a hundred blows, both men gave each other some distance and respite from the intense battle.


    With a look at each other, the one who was at an advantage was clear.


    Grenald was bleeding all over after being grazed multiple times and hosted a gaping hole in his thigh.


    Kurt had many small holes all over his body and multiple cuts along his arms like a butcher cutting a fish, only much smaller.


    Kurt''s wounds were healing at a snail''s pace as Grenald never forgot to leave a little bit of metal within each wound.


    That aside, Grenald analyzed the problem clearly.


    ''None of those wounds are fatal''


    Whether it was the many needle made holes or the cuts made by daggers, they were all in areas where they wouldn''t do much to his overall battle power.


    ''He must have moved non vital parts of his body to take the attacks he couldn''t dodge''


    That was most likely the case considering the superior agility.


    Whereas he now sported a gaping hole in his thigh, further reducing his already slow movements.<novelnext></novelnext>


    And because he kept leaving metal in Kurt''s injuries, the volume he had remaining to continue fighting was diminishing fast.


    There was no doubt that, if the fight progressed this way, he would be the one to die.


    Grenald couldn''t let that happen.


    ''I have to end this as fast as possible while remaining as strong as possible''


    He was ready to pull out all his trump cards to ensure his survival, when-


    *ZIIIN!*CRACRACRACK!*


    -a loud shing sound followed by the cracking of the ground interrupted their fight. With a look, both men realized it was the result of the other two Masters battling.


    The enormous amount of dust that erupted thereafter prevented them from viewing and understanding the situation.


    Their eyes coincided an instantter and showed that both of them were thinking the same thing.


    ''Who won?''


    And an instantter-


    *AHH!*


    -a scream of pain gave them an answer as Kurt easily recognised the sound to be that of his colleague and his expression darkened.


    With a clear answer, he sprung forward without warning, his killing intent greater than ever.


    Grenald couldn''t be sure, but he didn''t think Cavarl would squeal like that.


    His thoughts abruptly halted the moment Kurt burst forth like a spring.


    With no time to think, Grenald decided to do what Kurt did.


    The moment Kurt approached, Grenald ran forward as well and the two struck each other.


    *Chuk!*


    The end result was Kurt''s spear being embedded in the gaping hole on Grenald''s thigh it had made before, and multiple thin needles being stabbed through Kurt''s abdominal area and into the ground behind it.


    ''This¡­!''


    The situation rmed Kurt.


    Wasn''t this the same tactic he was using to avoid fatal attacks?


    Grenald didn''t miss any of it as he spoke¡­


    "It must be surprising to see someone using your trick against you"


    Right before the impact, Grenald had raised his leg and ced the gaping hole right in front of the spear.


    Because of Kurt''s momentum, he couldn''t immediately stop, and embedded himself into Grenald''s needles.


    "Well, I guess this is the end. Good bye"


    Grenald unleashed his biggest trump card, intent on ending Kurt right then and there, when things suddenly took a turn.


    Kurt grabbed the needles piercing through his chests and, with a roar of defiance, broke them off.


    He held the other end and broke them off as well.


    Before Grenald could catch heads or tails of the situation, he was flung backwards with a punch too fast for him to avoid.


    After stumbling and turning for an entire minute, Grenald''s momentum screeched to a halt.


    *BLERGH!*


    The first thing he did was to puke out blood like a leaking bottle, before grimacing heavily as he looked at his arms.


    On impulse, he had put his two arms together in an ''x'' shape to defend against Kurt''s punch.


    And while it helped protect his internal organs from being outright destroyed, his hands paid the price with his bones barely surviving dislocation.


    Even with that, his organs were a mess from the recoil alone, whichpletely disoriented him.


    His mind was fuzzy and dizzy. He felt like sleeping to stop the excruciating pain he was feeling, but he chose not to.


    Worse still, Kurt didn''t let up like he had done before, but was closing in for the kill at that very moment.


    Grenald''s eyes flickered.


    ''Is this the end for me?''

 Chapter 126 Cavarl Vs Kurt

    ''Is this the end for me?'' Grenald thought as he struggled to get up while Kurt approached fast.


    But...


    ''It''s no use''


    Grenald''s thoughts turned negative as he found himself unable to stand up in time.


    But just as his eyes were closing shut on the sight of Kurt approaching, a ray of hope brought him back together.


    A ray of hope in the form of a wind beam that sted an unsuspecting Kurt afar.


    Following that, a voice rang out.


    "What are you doing? Don''t tell me you''ve already decided to end your pathetic life, have you?"


    Grenald couldn''t pinpoint what it was, but something about that voice riled him up in anger as he spoke with bloodshot eyes.


    "Who are you calling pathetic, you dumb mage? You ought to-"


    Unfortunately, his angry ranting came to a halt as he puked blood once more.


    Nevertheless, he didn''t forget to shoot Cavarl a dangerous re as if he wanted to eat him alive.


    Cavarl though, paid no heed to such an act as he spoke...


    "If you''re not pathetic, then get up already and say that to my face"


    Grenald popped a thick vein along his forehead as he wished he could bash the b#stard''s head into the soil, dammit!


    "Oh, you''re angry? Then get up"


    Grenald was about to reply when Cavarl said...


    "He''sing. If you''re going to get up, you better do it quickly"


    ...before activating the enchantment in his boots and turning to leave.


    But not before Grenald sent him a few words in a weak tone.


    "H-his element, his element is sound. Be careful"


    Cavarl slowly blinked.


    "I will" he said, before bursting forth like a gale in the wind.


    His mind began to churn.


    ''Sound, he says. Hmm, I might just be able to beat him''


    With that in mind, he rushes forth to meet Kurt, who was dusty from stumbling on the soil mixed with blood from all the fighting. He showcased a face of madness and fury.


    As they approach each other, Cavarl begins to n ordingly.


    ''First things first, I can''t let him get close''


    With Ulrik, it was different as they were both mages, but engaging a Knight in closebat, their area of expertise, was nothing short of foolishness and unbridled stupidity.


    Suddenly, Kurt threw his spear with a look of rage. It had enough uracy to rival an expert archer and enough speed for it to reach Cavarl almost instantaneously.


    Cavarl showcased his gratefulness by simply bending backwards to an insane angle and allowing the spear to pass him by, beforeunching counter attacks of his own.


    Of course, not before his joints snapped in multiple ces in response to his awkward movement.


    First, he used his trademark wind des by the dozens, each going towards Kurt in awkward and obscene angles.


    He then used another spell, Wind st.


    Five green rings appeared in front of his hands that both held onto his glowing staff and air pockets were immediatelypressed before being fired at Kurt.


    Kurt, with the power of sound, pinpointed the position of all the wind des before bending and jumping in awkward positions to dodge each and everyone of them.


    Then the sound of something tearing through the air came right after, but he couldn''t react in time.


    The result...


    *BOOM!*


    The moment thepressed air pockets touched Kurt''s body, it exploded into a sudden gust of wind.


    And because of how close it was, Kurt was instantly blown away, utterly disoriented.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Before he could even get far, not to talk ofnding, more air pockets amounting to a total of five hit him consecutively, each sting him even farther than thest.


    With his body shining like a mana crystal, it was easy for Cavarl to continuously aim at him.


    And that was not all the wind sts were doing, Kurt also got to feel the sensation that Grenald felt minutes ago.


    His internal organs were in turmoil from the recoil of such attacks.


    If it wasn''t for his enhanced physique, Kurt didn''t doubt that they would be much worse.


    The moment his body touched ground, Kurt forced himself to bnce, before quickly evading the iing air pockets.


    He had already begun to regret throwing his spear, because there was no doubt about it, that had been a stupid move. And now he was facing the consequences.


    ''I can''t hit him from here, so I''ll have to get close''


    Quickly, Kurt went into action by imbuing his fists with even more mana and using them to pummel the earth.


    The act was simple, but the effects were anything but.


    From his fists, a web of cracks appeared instantly, and more importantly, the tremor knocked Cavarl a little bit off bnce.


    This was the chance Kurt was waiting for, and without a second to waste, he pounced forward, seemingly intending to punch Cavarl into oblivion.


    Cavarl, not willing to allow such a fate, hastily retreated backwards, which was when he realized that he had been tricked.


    The moment he moved backwards, Kurt bolted not towards him, but towards his spear embedded in the earth.


    Cavarl reacted within seconds and released dozens of wind des to stop him from taking it.


    But against all odds, Kurt didn''tpromise and allowed the majority of the wind des to cut him as he finally grabbed hold of his spear.


    With one strong motion, he removes it from the earth and immediately bolts towards Cavarl with rage apparent on his face...


    "I am so going to enjoy killing you"


    "Well, this is bad" Cavarl muttered as he retreated even further while releasing wind des and wind sts to stop Kurt from approaching.


    Unfortunately, most of them were dodged or deflected.


    The minute Cavarl saw that his attacks had be useless, he changed to another spell once again.


    This time, wind converged into a disc shape with a shape edge before rushing towards Kurt.


    *SOOM!*SOOM!*SOOM!*


    And it wasn''t just one. Cavarl made sure to keep the Avillian Master on his toes by relentlessly releasing more and more of such spells.


    It was a skill he called Cyclone des.


    And Kurt got to witness its strength first hand.


    Unlike Wind des, these ones were longer and faster, making them tougher to dodge. They were also far sharper, leaving deep cuts every time they touched skin.


    And worst of all, Cavarl was able to control them from a distance.


    It was theplete definition of giving snakes wings.


    With three of such things attacking simultaneously, Kurt had pulled out his A-game to ensure his survival.


    *VOOM*VOOM*


    Kurt rolled his staff in between his fingers at very fast speeds before hitting the bottom of his spear on the ground.


    From it, a screeching sound erupted and, before Cavarl could even think of dodging...


    "Ahh!"


    He instinctively held his ears as blood started flowing out of them and Cavarl began to wreath on the floor as time passed.


    "Caught you unawares, didn''t I? It''s a technique that emits a high-pitched frequency just enough to burst your ears. I can''t imagine how much pain you must be feeling right now. So, let me do you favor and end your misery"


    Kurt raised his spear to impale Cavarl and end him, when...


    *KUNG!*


    "Why the f#ck do you like yapping so much?"

 Chapter 127 Lets End This!

    *KUNG!*


    The sound of metal shing against metal reverberated and Kurt found himself ten steps from his original position due to the rebound of the attack.


    The next moment, Grenald''s figure appeared from within the thick fog of dust.


    Blood was smeared all over his body and dripped from the edge of his mouth. With the help of a health potion, he was able to recover just enough to stand.


    In his hands were two short handed silver axespletely made from liquid metal and his eyes had turned red with blood long ago.


    "Why the hell do you like yapping so much?" he asked while taking a fighting stance.


    His body was already in terrible condition, so fighting a prolonged battle was a big no-no, and the amount of mana he had left also wasn''t much.


    With that and the nasty gaping hole in his thigh, even Grenald knew who was at the disadvantage.


    So he prepared himself.


    ''I''ll attack with everything I''ve got as fast as I can''


    Kurt''s forehead popped a massive vein.


    "You just don''t know when to stay down, do you?"


    Grenald: "I guess I don''t"


    Kurt: "Well, I should thank you for saving me the trouble ofing to find you. And since you''re here, I''ll make sure you stay dead this time, thoroughly"


    Without another word, both men charged at each other at zing speeds, and the moment they met¡­


    *BOOM!*


    Another resounding collision urred, but neither paid it any heed as they burst forth with even more attacks.


    *CLANG!*KANG!*CLANG!*


    Their attacks were faster, more deadly and resounded more heavily than before.


    The ground beneath them cracked and broke at a speed visible to the naked eye. Sparks, brighter than before, flew all over the ce every time their weapons shed.


    It was an epic scene to behold.


    Not willing to die, Grenald put more strength into his arm to get past Kurt''s defenses.


    Each strike was aimed at vital areas, and moved so fast that even though Kurt could predict it, his body wasn''t moving fast enough to dodge.


    And that summed up to multiple cuts appearing on his body every second.


    "Ugh!" Kurt staggered, feeling the difference in power.


    ''This b#stards is getting faster and his attacks are getting stronger. If I don''t do anything fast, I''ll be the one to die!''


    Like hell was Kurt going to go down easily.


    He had stopped hearing the voice of Ulrik for a while now, so he had either fled or died.


    Either way, he was on his own.


    The moment the notion of dying hit in full view, Kurt turned berserk as he forced out strength from every inch of his body and began to counterattack.


    He wouldn''t die, no, he would die, but he refused to die here.


    And to channel his rage even more, he started screaming.


    "Ahhh!"


    Things took a funny turn as Grenald started screaming too.


    "Ahhh!"


    Their attacks matched up in speed once again as they dealt each other at least a hit in every thirty blows.


    Within two minutes, they had exchanged more than a hundred blows, and Grenald was starting to feel his limits.


    At the rate they were going, he instinctively knew that he would be the one to fall first.


    It was at this time that he heard the sound of a running foot, and then Kurt''s voice rang out.


    "This shouldn''t be possible!"


    And that affirmed his assumptions.


    Cavarl wasing to help.


    With haste, hended a big blow that had Kurt stumbling a few steps back to give him a few seconds of breathing space.


    And enough time to get a message across.


    "I won''t be able to go on for much longer. We need to end this NOW!"


    In one breath, Grenald delivered his message.


    The instant he said thest word, Kurt was right in front of him once again.


    This time, his attacks were fiercer because he hade to the same conclusion as Grenald.


    ''If I let these two join forces, it''ll be the end of me!''


    Because of that, he was entirely willing to ignore defensepletely and go on a rampage, trying to kill Grenald as fast as possible.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Now, it was not Grenald, but him, on the clock.


    ''Sh#t!'' Grenald cursed.


    In a single moment of rpse, he had lost his weapon, and because of how fast they were moving, he would never be able to focus on creating another one in time.


    And such a crucial mistake cost him dearly.


    *sh!*


    In the next moment, his left arm was cut off in a single strike.


    And Kurt wasn''t letting up. The moment the pain hit Grenald, he moved decisively to end his life.


    Time seemed to slow down as Grenald''s mind worked at crazy speeds.


    ''What do I do? What do I do?''


    His left arm was lost and now a spear head was about to skewer him like meat on a stick.


    He would never be able to conjure up a shield in time to block it. So¡­what could he do?


    How would he defend against such a life threatening attack?


    It was then that it hit him¡­


    ''Defense''


    That word.


    ''Attack is the best defense, they say''


    The thought spurred him into sporadic thinking.


    He made a decision faster than lighting.


    ''If I can''t block it. Then I''ll make sure it''s worth it!''


    Instantly, rather than bending backwards, Grenald bent forward, and then¡­


    *CHUK!*


    The spear pierced his body and came out the back.


    But instead of stopping, Grenald pressed forward and, before Kurt could get a grasp on the sudden absurdity, he shouted and simultaneously plunged his ax right into the middle of Kurt''s chest.


    Grenald then shouted immediately after.


    "NOW!"


    It was only on instinct, but because he knew Cavarl was behind him, he hoped something might happen.


    Lo and behold, Cavarl elerated into view with a speed that was shy of their own and approached them.


    Levitating at the side of Cavarl''s right arm was a wind de.


    But this wind de shined brighter, held a red color as opposed to the normal green, was far longer than any of its predecessors, and held a dangerous gleam that indicated its sharpness.


    The moment Kurty his eyes on it, his instincts rang out in warning.


    The meaning was clear, the wind de was lethal.


    So he entered a panic state and tried to push Grenald off him, but the short man refused to budge.


    His panic red up like wildfire and he intended to remove his spear, but again, it did not budge.


    Kurt didn''t dwell on it a second time and began hitting Grenald with his fists.


    *BAM!*


    "F#CKING LET GO!"


    "NEVER" Grenald answered decisively while puking outrge amounts of blood.


    Kurt put more strength into his arms and intended to hit once more.


    Only, he didn''t get the chance to do so.


    He could only get in one hit before Cavarl arrived at his position.


    With a jump, Cavarl approached Kurt with the wind de outstretched, intent on cutting him down.


    With no options left, Kurt''s eyes became fearless.


    ''I''ll have to use that technique!''


    But-


    *SIUUM!*


    -it was futile as Cavarl''s de sliced through his neck without dy.


    And the next moment-


    *Pam*


    -his head fell to the ground.

 Chapter 128 Aftermath

    *Pam*


    Kurt''s head fell to the ground the moment Cavarl''s de passed by.


    His body seemed to freeze, before slumping to the ground with Grenald''s ax still embedded in his chest.


    Only then did all the adrenaline rushing through Grenald''s bloode to a halt, causing him to puke much more blood than before.


    After that, he slowly removed Kurt''s spear from his chest, before slumping to the floor now very pale.


    His body felt heavier than steel.


    With slow movements, Grenald checked his wounds and grimaced while doing so as every small movement was causing him pain.


    Meanwhile, the moment Cavarl cut off Kurt''s head, he stood still for a few seconds before falling face t on the ground feeling like he could die because of how exhausted he felt.


    His ears were still bleeding from the after effects of Kurt''s special technique.


    The technique he used to conjure up the red wind de had thoroughly drained him, to the extent that he felt like sleeping right where heid.


    It was at this time that Kurt''s body twitched.


    ''Hmm'' Cavarl frowned and mustered enough energy to talk.


    "Did you-"


    But he never got to finish, because Kurt''s body released an ultrasound wave.


    *BOOM!*


    Cavarl and Grenald were blown into oblivion without even being able to react due to being the closest in proximity and also beingpletely exhausted. The explosion blew away most of the thick dust fog, taking away a lot of mana particles along with it. Outwardly, it looked like the mana dome suddenly shattered.


    The Experts at the back were thrown afar, and the same happened to Winston, his escort, and the missionaries that hade out of the mountain to understand the reason behind therge tremors that were resounding.


    They were treated to terrible frequencies thatpletely disoriented them, almost destroying their eardrums.


    The weakest among them died immediately from having their brains pop.


    It was a gruesome sight, but luckily, the ultrasound wave phenomenon onlysted one minute, otherwise everyone would''ve died eventually.


    It was after it subsided that the Experts got a clear view of the disaster left by the Master-ranks while fighting, as the thick fog blocking their view was no more.


    Cavarl came into view soon after.


    He was lying in the ground unconscious, with his head bleeding, his left arm snapped in an obscene angle, and his staff blown afar.


    And then¡­


    *KUGH!*


    Grenald came into view coughing out blood once more while his backy on the earth with his face to the sky.


    "Master Cavarl!"


    With haste, the six experts rushed towards Cavarl and sat him up, before snapping his arm back in one go.


    *CRACK!*


    No matter how bad he was asleep, such a jolt of pain was enough to make Cavarl open his eyes.


    The face of his subordinates was the first thing he saw.


    He smiled, but narrowed his eyes a moment after.


    "Stand me up" he said to his subordinates, who couldn''t help but be baffled.


    "But Sir-"


    Cavarl didn''t even allow the conversation to begin before cutting them off.


    "I said, stand me up!"


    With hesitation, they held his arms and helped him up.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The moment he nted his feet on the ground, he spoke aloud¡­


    "WHAT IS IT THAT THE LIKES OF YOU ARE WAITING FOR? WE HAVE KILLED YOUR SO-CALLED MASTERS! GO BACK TO THE PIT YOU CRAWLED OUT FROM BEFORE THE SAME IS DONE TO YOU!"


    His subordinates looked around, only to see the Expert-rank troops of the Avillian entourage standing still with looks of utmost confusion.


    Cavarl''s voice had drawn their attention, and when these men looked at Cavarl''s sorry figure, other thoughts began sprouting in their minds.


    Cavarl would have recognised the look anywhere. To make sure it never took root, he spoke again¡­


    "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET OUT!"


    But they seemed to be having second thoughts.


    One of them suddenly came to the forefront.


    "Let''s attack him. He''s still weak and riddled with injuries. With our numbers, we can crush him and take revenge for Sir Kurt!"


    Dangerous gleams appeared in the eyes of these men as they looked at their numbers, then at Cavarl, and thought¡­


    ''We can definitely kill him with our numbers''


    But Cavarl wasn''t having any of it.


    "GET OUT!" Cavarl spoke once again, but this time, heunched a wind de, which moved faster than they could follow and killed the ones at the forefront by slicing their heads off.


    The sudden attack caused their rising greed to waver drastically.


    But Cavarl didn''t even give them a chance for aeback before five more wind des were sent their way, killing ten amongst their ranks within seconds.


    Such actions quickly thrusted them out of their dreams and into the face of reality as most began quacking.


    ''Right, what was I thinking?! Injured or not, Master-ranks can still kill Experts like cattle''


    Even while they were thinking, Cavarl didn''t stop and released two more wind des.


    Their thoughts of attacking died in an instant and they fled as fast as their legs could take them, each one running for their dear lives.


    Of course, not before Cavarl left a final word.


    "TELL YOUR KING THAT THIS MEANS WAR!"


    A terrifying word was spoken aloud and the running experts could only run even faster as such a grand promation was made.


    The moment they all left his sight, Cavarl slumped to the ground immediately.


    Truthfully, the Expert was right. If they had attacked, Cavarl would have been killed or forced to retreat in order to avoid death.


    But using his wits, he had used the tactic "killing the chickens to warn the monkeys" by killing those at the forefront to induce fear and terror at those behind, and have them run off on their own two feet.


    And it worked splendidly.


    As a subordinate administered a healing potion into his mouth, he told them to quickly administer one for Grenald, who had been the main reason why they were able to kill Kurt.


    And while they might not be friends, for the fact that Grenald had sacrificed himself to save him, Cavarl felt it only natural that he healed him as a sign of gratitude.


    After that, Cavarl slowly got to his feet with the help of his subordinates and began walking, although very slowly, towards the mountain.


    ''It''s time to check out the reason we were actually sent here''


    His mind was devoid of greedy thoughts, expectations of precious treasure, and such.


    Only the desire to rest his exhausted body stood firm in his mind as he wanted to quickly finish the mission and get some rest as soon as possible.


    The scenery along the way was nothing to write home about.


    The aftermath of their battle had destroyed arge part of the forest, forming cracks all over the earth and toppling over many trees.


    It didn''t long for them to arrive at the foot of the mountain, which happened in conjunction with Winston''s group and the missionaries.


    "I am Winston, the admiral of the Whittown Missionary. Please to make acquaintances with an honorable Master"

 Chapter 129 Picking A Weapon

    While Winston and Cavarl talked things through, Cabrera had long since gotten out of the mithril mine after exining the situation to the boys.


    They moved away from the mine''s location and began to hunt down beasts in earnest.


    The blood boiling potion worked like a charm, allowing them to more kills than they thought possible.


    There was also their fair share of dangerous situations nheless.


    Cabrera''s current goal was to fill both of his space rings with beasts and then head back to Kingsmere, while also making sure to buyrge quantities of some herbs and send them to Kingsmere through traveling merchants.


    Goals which he mightplete earlier than expected because of the effectiveness of the potions.


    _____________________


    Afar, Fredrick''s visage came into view with a cloak around his figure as he rode on a sprinting horse along the road like there was no tomorrow.


    He had to get to Kingsmere as fast as possible, and now, time was not on his side.


    ______________________


    And then there was Ezra.


    At this moment, he was seated in his bed while ruminating about his first reaction to the Emperor''s punishment.


    He smiled.


    ''Was that me acting like a kid back there?''


    He had suspected it, but now he had confirmed it.


    It seemed that due to his reincarnation, he now had a younger self within him.


    That self was what showed itself in the throne room.


    Whether this was good or bad he didn''t know yet.


    But enough about that, his thoughts went back to the drafted scheme.


    ''By now, Fredrick should be on his way''


    And if that was so¡­


    ''It''s time for me choose a weapon''


    Ezra decided on his next n of action.


    With haste, he got off his bed, went to the royal advisor, and informed him of his needs.


    The royal advisor chose to only nod and not speak until Ezra was done.


    "I see¡­well, it is about time you did so. Follow me" the royal advisor said as he walked towards a particr part of the castle''s walls that seemed no different from the others, before pressing on different parts and, what do you know, it opened up to a long corridor Ezra didn''t even know existed.


    The corridor''s bricks were shining dark blue, but it was devoid of people and sound.


    The royal advisor walked forth unperturbed and Ezra swiftly followed.


    As they walked, torches hung along the walls red up with green mes, and after a few minutes, they came face to face with a giant gray door that was made of something resembling steel, but Ezra knew such a cheap metal wouldn''t be used here.


    The door had Ezra straining his neck to look up, that was how high it was, but maybe Ezra was just too short.


    The gigantic contraption seemed imprable, except for a small, very tiny keyhole at the lower part.


    The royal advisor then removed a tiny key from somewhere Ezra didn''t quite see and, with a smooth motion, inserted it into the keyhole.


    *CLICK*


    Loud clicks were heard, and immediately after, the door opened by itself, folding to the sides.


    And what Ezra saw made his brain go nk.


    Mountains of artifacts of all kinds were stacked haphazardly all over the ce.


    From weapons to armors and so much more.


    And oh! Don''t even get me started on the gold coins literally lying about.


    Ezra stood unmoving until the royal advisor shook him out of his reverie.


    "It''s an astonishing sight, I assume"


    Ezra''s mind came back as he nodded to affirm the statement.


    "Don''t get fooled by what you see, this is just the beginning, and besides, looks can be deceiving"


    Now that he thought about it¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''It doesn''t make sense for the best treasures to be ced right at the start''


    With such thoughts, his mind regained some tranquility and he quickly followed after the royal advisor.


    "Watch your step" he said.


    With slow steps, they crossed over loads of gold and went deeper inside, where they found another door. This one was brown and opened to reveal even more treasures, but more organized this time.


    After that, they passed through a blue door. In it, they found artifacts even more organized, each one shelved into a ss box or wrapped neatly before being put on a stand or on a tform of some sort.


    At this time, the royal advisor spoke.


    "We''re here. You will be picking a weapon from those that you see before you"


    Ezra furrowed his brows.


    "I''m sure there are still more rooms. Why are we stopping here then?"


    The royal advisor calmly replied.


    "That is because this is the level the Emperor said you should pick your weapon from"


    "Does that mean I can''t take weapons from the rooms beyond this?" Ezra asked for rification.


    "No, it does not" the royal advisor held a smile for the first time as he continued¡­


    "But I can only assist you at this level. Anymore, and you will be on your own"


    "Exin"


    "My prince, every weapon within this hall is at least Epic Gold in quality" he paused.


    "But higher quality doesn''t trante into usefulness. After all, not all that glitters is gold"


    "Should you pick from this selection, I have been permitted to inform you about its use, usefulness andpatibility to whatever fighting style our prince desires. Whereas, should you tread the rooms beyond this, I cannot do that"


    Ezra didn''t even take long to reply.


    "Is that it?"


    "Yes, your highness. Oh, and it can only be returned after six months"


    Ezra felt likeughing underneath. Who was he? A reincarnator that had seen dozens of battles and hundreds of weapons.


    He doubted that anyone at his age could understand weapons as much as he did.


    So, with a smile and a bit of swagger, Ezra turned towards the next door with the royal advisor following right beside him in silence.


    The next door wasn''t far away and its color he could see from afar.


    It was white.


    Without further ado, he pushed it open and, lo and behold, the artifacts were truly on another level and there were even less of them. tinum coins amounting to thousands stashed at the sides close to the wall.


    But Ezra paid all this no mind as he walked forward, towards the door after this one.


    A ck door.


    The royal advisor opened it up to reveal a hall far different from all the halls before it.


    It had this chilling atmosphere as there were less than a hundred items.


    Each one showcased radiated regality and power, or honor and might, or several other such feelings.


    Ezra turned to the royal advisor.


    "Is this thest hall?"


    "Yes"


    Ezra nodded. He would be taking a weapon from this section.


    First, he cleared his mind.


    Then, to prevent himself from doing something stupid out of greed, he closed his eyes to define what it was that he needed.


    ''I don''t need armor and I wille back for my mana techniqueter. What I need is a weapon. Since I''ve already mastered it to arge extent, taking a sword would be a huge waste of this opportunity. Especially since I already know where some legendary swords and spears will be found. So no swords or spears. Also, no halberd, hammer or mace either. So¡­I''ll pick from the rest''


    He opened his eyes with a clear objective.


    It was time to pick a good weapon!

 Chapter 130 Picking A Weapon (2)

    This hall held an eerie atmosphere whenpared to the ones before.


    But that only served to enhance the ambience of the items even more.


    Even with a clear goal in mind, Ezra still found himself fighting to control his greed sometimes.


    The items were just that good, from crystal bows to golden spears to Fire hammers to radiant shields. Items of all varieties were here with each having a color scheme of its own.


    As Ezra perused each one, he restrained from touching any before going through all the items avable.


    It would be unbelievably stupid for him to take a weapon without knowing whether a better one was avable.


    He did make sure to remember the ones he felt were notable andpatible as he surveyed each item.


    Mana vision was practically useless here because each and every item was powerful in their own right.


    He also discovered that the royal advisor was simply watching from afar instead of walking along with him.


    As he perused the items ced by the expansive left wall, he suddenly felt a chill along his body, giving him goosebumps all of a sudden.


    With a look to the left and right, Ezra was left astounded as he found nothing that could cause such a reaction.


    Yet he could still feel something.


    He wasn''t sure what it was or whether it was actually there, but he trusted his gut and followed the ethereal sensation.


    It seemed to be leading him somewhere, and before long, Ezra found himself almost kissing the wall.


    ''Hmm'' Ezra furrowed his brow as his hands began exploring the wall.


    There had to be a reason the ethereal feeling led him here.


    And he soon found an answer when his fingers bumped into a brick very close to the ground.


    *Click*


    The wall separated into two parts, before sliding away to reveal thepartment within.


    A bone chilling aura briefly erupted from inside, before dying out a few secondster.


    Only then did Ezra get a clear view of the things contained within as he subconsciously stepped in.


    At that moment-


    "Your Highness!"


    -an echoing voiceced with urgency came from behind.


    Ezra looked back to see the royal advisor rushing forth like his life depended on it while muttering some words which Ezra didn''t get.


    Ezra narrowed his eyes to try and read his lips.


    "You have to quickly¡­"


    In seconds, he arrived in front of the opened wall, but as his outstretched hand reached for Ezra¡­


    *CRI-BAM!*


    The wheels of the wall moved swiftly and it mmed shut.


    ''Ah'' Ezra immediately realized what the advisor was saying.


    ''You need to quickly get out''


    And with the look of terror Ezra saw on his face, it seemed this room wasn''t something to entered on a whim.


    But he couldn''t cry over spilled milk. All he could do was to take utmost caution as he was already locked in.


    He turned around to face the room and examine it.


    It wasn''t very long in either length or width, but five weapons were strapped to the wall with chains.


    Each of them emanated wisps of aura as Ezra examined them thoroughly.


    At the far left, there was a long serrated sword shining with blue symbols imprinted on the de and a dark green hilt that depicted the head of a beast.


    To its right was a bow made of something akin to crystal emerald with a string of iron, after which a double edged sword with ck and yellow colored patterns came into view.


    Then, a long double scythe with a de at both ends but in opposite directions came into view, with the staff part gleaming silver while the des were coloured half silver, half ck.


    Then atst, was a brown staff that held a gray hammer head at each end.


    Ezra didn''t look at thest one because, the moment heid eyes on the silver scythe, he was subconsciously pulled towards it.


    With slow steps, Ezra approached the scythe.<novelnext></novelnext>


    He didn''t know why, but he felt a bit¡­enthralled?


    So he just approached for a casual touch.


    The moment his hand made a firm grip on the handle though, something cut him, and before he could move, his blood dripped onto the scythe.


    The next instant, Ezra''s body froze like a statue and his eyes went white.


    He felt something suction his mind, and less than a secondter, he found himself in a clear white space different from the mind imprint.


    As he looked at his body, which had his exact clothes on, the floor rippled like water, and from within it, a figure manifested.


    Ezra was immediately taken aback and raised his guard to the extreme.


    "Who are you?" he asked.


    But the other person, a man in white robes covering his pale skin and skinny body, snapped his red eyes open and asked back.


    "No, the question is¡­who are you?"


    He burst forth towards Ezra as he continued¡­


    "And what are you doing here?"


    With hostile intent directed at him, Ezra began to inspect his opponent.


    But he didn''t get far because¡­


    ''He''s fast''


    The man appeared in front of him and outstretched his hand to the side.


    Immediately, liquid from the ground turned into a pure white double scythe within his grip.


    Ezra immediately tried to imitate the action while making sure to keep calm.


    And what do you know, with the same sequence of events, a sword formed in his grip.


    *ng!*


    The two weapons shed and a clear noise resounded, one very pleasing to the ear.


    But Ezra had no time to appreciate such things as he jumped backwards to create space and dodge the horrendous range of the scythe.


    But the other man relentlessly chased after him.


    With a thought, Ezra''s sword length grew a bit shorter and an identical one was formed in his other hand.


    With such familiar weapons back in his grip, Ezra immediately began his offensive.


    *ng*ng*ng*


    The clear noise resounded more and more as the two fought.


    And Ezra quickly discovered that his fears were very real.


    No blood came out of his body when cut, but the pain was two times worse.


    Other than that, his opponent was no joke.


    His scythe wielding skills spoke of years of practice. With the addition of many splendid flows of movement, Ezra was definitely in for a tough time.


    But he was no slouch either.


    As the battle progressed, Ezra''s movements began to match the pace of his opponent more and more as he observed, deduced and modified his attacks tond more and more blows.


    Ezra didn''t know what would happen if he was to lose, but judging by the appearance of his opponent, he could just guess that it wasn''t going to be anything good.


    Moreover, since his opponent could also talk, Ezra tried to reason.


    "Why are you attacking me?"


    "Because I don''t deem you worthy"


    Ezra''s face distorted.


    "Great. Another imbecile that''s full of crap"


    With those words alone, Ezra was sure there was no reasoning with this guy.


    So he focused all his energy on taking him down.


    One thing was sure though, this would take a while.

 Chapter 131 Picking A Weapon (3)

    "Haah.Haah.Haah.Haah"


    Ezra held his knees as he took in deep breaths while the body of his opponenty still on the floor.


    His weapons dissolved back into the ground.


    He had done it, his gamble had paid off.


    After minutes of continuousbat and his opponent not seeming to get tired, Ezra decided to take a gamble.


    The current situation was the result of that gamble.


    It was a close call, but in the end, he had won.


    The opponent had left a few words before he vanished.


    "You are worthy"


    After a few minutes of regtory breathing, Ezra stood firm once again as his gaze wandered all over the white space.


    ''So¡­what now?''


    With nothing happening even after almost a minute had passed, Ezra began to get confused.


    But not for long. Before the one minute mark, the opponent''s body suddenly burst into white light and a book with a brown cover depicting a scythended in his hands.


    ''What is going-''


    Before he could even question this series of events, he was sted back to where he came from.


    Ezra found himself once again in the secret room, with his grip still on the scythe.


    He breathed out on wheezes as beads of sweat formed over his head.


    ''What was that?!''


    This time though, he felt something else, a connection with the scythe that wasn''t there before.


    He removed the chains and took it into his hands, but in the next moment, he shook his head.


    "No, it''s too long and too heavy"


    The scythe was about two and a half times his height and really heavy.


    Though, the des were very sharp and sleek.


    He could afford to part ways with the cool des if the weapon was going to be more of a burden than an asset.


    ''This isn''t it. Let''s check the others'' Ezra thought as he put it back in its ce and chained it once again.


    But then he encountered a problem.


    "Huh?"


    The scythe wasn''ting off. It was like they were glued together.


    "What the? Get off!"


    He tried to remove it from his hand, but unless he was willing to cut off his wrist, it didn''t seem like this thing was going toe off.


    Quickly, he unchained it, moved it to his other hand, and tried to remove it, but the same thing happened.


    Ezra''s frustration was rising to the peak.


    "This cannot be happening"


    At the same time, he noticed that the other weapons weren''t emanating aura like before for some reason.


    Without any way to get the scythe off, he tried to grab another weapon.


    But-


    *Tiring!*


    -his hands were forcefully pushed away.


    "Hmm?"


    Things were just getting weirder and weirder.


    It was at this time that the door opened up to reveal the royal advisor with a grave face and bloody knuckles.


    The moment their eyes met, the advisor almost had a heart attack as he pointed with trembling fingers.


    "You¡­how¡­?!"


    ¡ª-------------------------


    -Few minutes earlier-


    *Bam*Bam*Bam*


    The royal advisor was punching the door repeatedly as his face was so grave you would think someone had died.


    And it wasn''t very far from the truth.


    Ezra had entered the room with the legendary enchantments.


    ''How did he find this ce?!''<novelnext></novelnext>


    A ce even he had only learned about a few years ago.


    Considering he had worked in the pce for decades, it was definitely something to be surprised by.


    The legendary enchantments were weapons that, more often than not, corrupted people''s minds. Some would outright destroy the users because of their nature.


    They were peak weapons built by the best of cksmiths, who attained levels of expertise beyond Sage-rank during an era called "the golden age".


    In short, they were one of the few Diamond-rank weapons still in existence.


    One of the most powerful weapons of humanity, each one was molded from nothing less than the ten greatest metals in Orion history.


    But even they were not perfect.


    They had a w.


    Normal weapons are chosen, but these ones choose their masters.


    They had something akin to a will of their own, though an iplete one, and they tested every one of their wielders.


    Those who passed went on to write their names in Oranian history as legends because of how powerful those weapons were.


    Those that faile out in a state that cannot be deemed as alive or dead, or as a mindless person aiming only for destruction.


    Their minds would be shattered.


    And now, a five year old boy, who just happens to be a prince, went in.


    Surely, the result was obvious and imminent.


    And because of that, the royal advisor felt like his world hade crashing down.


    ''How do I exin this to the Emperor?''


    His mind was in total mayhem.


    It was then that the door, which didn''t move an inch after being pummeled by a Master-rank multiple times, suddenly slid open.


    It spooked the hell out the advisor, who quickly took a step back before being greeted by a scene beyond absurd.


    "This stupid thing won''te off!"


    It was the prince pressing his knee on a silver scythe while trying to remove his hands.


    The royal advisor didn''t believe it, rather, he didn''t dare believe it.


    Could it be that he was already under an illusion of some sort?


    The moment the door openedpletely, Ezra swiftly turned his head and their eyes met.


    He held his trembling finger towards Ezra.


    "You¡­how¡­?!"


    But instead of any sort of fanfare, Ezra yelled.


    "Sir Bolton. Come and help me get this thing off"


    It took a minute for Bolton, the royal advisor, to register what he was hearing.


    Why did it feel like his entire view on the world came crashing down at that moment?


    But he couldn''t afford to embarrass himself in front of a kid, so he coughed a bit to regainposure before stepping in.


    "What is the problem, your Highness?''


    Ezra paused and gave him a puzzling look.


    The meaning was clear.


    ''Are you blind not to see the silver weapon on the floor?!''


    Bolton dodged his gaze before speaking in a tone as calm as he could.


    "You won''t be able to get it off because the weapon has chosen you"


    Now Ezra was just dumbfounded.


    "Eh? What''s that supposed to mean"


    "Exactly what you think it means. It is a weapon of the greatest quality forged during the Golden Age. It is-"


    "What does that have to do with me?" Ezra cut him off.


    "Huh? Your highness, it seems that you are not getting-"


    Ezra cut him off once again.


    "I understand very clearly what it means and its significance. But weren''t you the one who said quality doesn''t trante to usefulness?"


    "Ah!"


    Ezra then pointed at the scythe.


    "For me, this is a heavy piece of work that I can''t even lift properly. How am I supposed to use a weapon I can''t carry? Besides, I only wanted to check itspatibility before checking the others and only then making a decision. Yet now, it doesn''t want to let go of my hand"

 Chapter 132 Picking A Weapon (4)

    Bolton furrowed his brow. The boy was obviously right.


    His body was too underdeveloped to use such a heavy weapon, but he refused to believe that the greatest minds of the greatest era that created this hadn''t thought of such a situation beforehand.


    "You Highness, have you tried infusing mana into it?"


    "No" Ezra said while holding his chin.


    "Then please try it out"


    With nothing to lose, Ezra did as instructed.


    *WAH!*


    The scythe lit up with blinding light instantly, forcing both men to close their eyes, before dimming immediately after.


    Ezra opened his eyes to see a white outline extend all over the weapon.


    The connection also seemed to have grown stronger.


    With just a thought, the scythe decreased in size at a visible rate till it was the size of a crest.


    Ezra couldn''t help but be baffled.


    "Eh?"


    And truly, it was warranted.


    Only then did the words about the weapon being one of the greatest humanity ever made sink into his head.


    A name popped up in his head as he turned to the advisor slowly to confirm it.


    "You don''t mean the legendary enchantments, right? The twenty-six weapons of Kaldun?!"


    It was Bolton''s turn to be surprised as he nodded.


    "So you do know about them. Good. Then, as I said before, that scythe in your hand is one of them"


    Ezra gulped nervously as his assumptions were affirmed.


    He doubted that an Oranian existed that didn''t know it.


    The legend of Kaldun. The greatest cksmith Orion had ever seen.


    It was said that, in his prime, he forged twenty-six weapons for a power that no longer existed.


    And all twenty-six were legendary.


    Yet now he was being told that the five weapons in front of him were part of that collection.


    But then his brows arched to form a suspicious look.


    ''If this is true, why didn''t they use it at the war in my past life?''


    So he turned to Bolton.


    "Why is the Empire leaving such great treasures to rot in here?"


    Bolton gave him a look of humor before speaking¡­


    "I don''t know how you managed to do it, but you do realize that getting acknowledgement from these weapons isn''t easy, no, it''s almost impossible in our time"


    "Firstly, there have been cases like yours where they somehow wander into this room. They said it was like they were being called or led somewhere. Was it the same with you?"


    Ezra nodded.


    "I see" Bolton said in acknowledgement before speaking on.


    "In the time when these weapons were made, Transcendents and Mythical ranked beings existed in Orion numbering in the dozens. And you should know that, while the weapons can be used by anyone, they were originally meant for people of Transcendent rank"


    ''Ah''


    "From the records of the few that have ever survived after failing the test, the weapon is said to test you with an avatar of one of its former masters to determine your worth"


    "The problem is, the avatars are always one minor stage ahead of whatever level the challenger is in both power and weapon mastery"


    Ezra subconsciously nodded. It was the same with him as well.


    If not for his previous life sword mastery, he would have died.


    He was at the early Intermediary stage, meaning that the avatar was mid-Intermediary. And, despite what Bolton said, the avatars'' scythe mastery was good, but it definitely didn''t match up with his sword mastery, not to talk of going beyond it.


    Despite this, Ezra still found it tough to beat.


    Only then did the horrors of such a setting be clear.


    If it had been a Master, they would have faced a mid,te, or worse, Grandmaster rank in both skill and power.


    It would be almost impossible to defeat.<novelnext></novelnext>


    This was because the more one advances in power, the bigger the difference between minor stages.


    So, looking at it objectively¡­


    ''I was lucky''


    That was just it.


    Or rather¡­


    ''I cheated''


    He used a cheat called reincarnation.


    Realizing this, Ezra''s joy shot to the sky.


    He had acquired one of the greatest weapons of humanity! No matter if it didn''t suit him as of now, he would just practice till it did.


    ''But why did the weapon fail to appraise my past life''s sword mastery?'' Ezra reasoned.


    With no answer in sight once more, he threw it to the back of his head before inspecting the weapon, now the size of a pin, slowly.


    But he quickly stopped. They had been in here for far too long already, inspecting could wait till another time.


    And since he could feel a vague connection with it, that assured him of his newly gained weapon.


    It wasn''t his intention, but he now had a double scythe as his secondary weapon.


    With onest look, he burned the images of all the four remaining weapons into his memory before quickly departing the room. Immediately after, the door automatically closed shut.


    As he passed through the halls from thest to the first rooms, Ezra found that the items didn''t seem all that great anymore for some reason.


    The whole time they walked out, Ezra''s eyes were on the pin sized scythe in his hands as he caressed it all over.


    For the first time since his reincarnation, he felt a sense of aplishment.


    Why so? Because he knew his past self couldn''t have done this. Earn a weapon from the collection of Kaldun.


    It was a sign that he could change things for the better.


    As they reached the final ck corridor they passed when they went in, Ezra remembered something he had forgotten.


    "Sir Bolton, does my weapon have a name"


    Bolton answered in a cheerful voice¡­


    "Ah, yes it does. It is known as Sliver Skyfall"


    And why would he not, when what he thought might be the end of life might just turn into the best day of it.


    Ezra wasn''t dead. Even better, he became the master of one of the legendary enchantments.


    The Emperor would be pleased, though his bleeding knuckles still hurt.


    "Hmm, why not Sliver Scythe?" Ezra asked.


    "That I do not know. I was only told their names for better identification, nothing more" Bolton replied.


    "Okay. So where are we heading now?"


    "You are to head to your room or wherever you wish, while I head to the Emperor to report all that has happened"


    Ezra suddenly pulled Bolton, causing the man to almost stumble.


    "Your Highness!" Bolton turned around to berate Ezra, but couldn''t find the courage to do it the moment he locked eyes with Ezra''s gaze.


    It was as stern as that of an old man.


    It wasn''t a look supposed to be on a child.


    Without further ado, Ezra put his mouth close to Bolton''s ear.


    "Swear it to me that none other than the Emperor shall hear of this"


    His tone was fierce, but Bolton looked on with a nk face as he spoke¡­


    "I will do as the Emperormands"


    "Of course you will" Ezra replied.


    "But you have to swear that you won''t do things the Emperor doesn''tmand. Swear it upon your children that you won''t"


    "I swear"


    With those words, the tense atmosphere dissolved and Ezra left onestment as he walked away.


    "Thank you"

 Chapter 133 Urgent Message

    "Hah" Grenald let out a hollowughter as he stared nkly.


    His body was lying on its back in a very awkward position, and he was too exhausted to even move, much less getting up.


    Two gaping holes of considerable size were in his thigh and through his chest, both caused by the sharp edge of Kurt''s spear.


    His body was drenched in both his and Kurt''s blood, and it wouldn''t be drying anytime soon because of the incessant bleeding from umted injuries all over his body.


    "Hmm" he muttered as his mind wandered off.


    But the sound of running feet broke him from his reverie.


    A man came running with haste while holding a beaker containing a bright yellow liquid.


    Quickly, the man made himself known.


    "Sir Grenald, Master Cavarl has sent me to give you this, please hold still"


    The man immediately knelt and moved his arm to position Grenald''s head before administering the healing potion.


    But as his hands reached for Grenald''s neck, it was suddenly held back.


    "Sir, I''m trying to help you!" the man protested.


    But Grenald, who seemed to find energy to move from somewhere unknown, held his hand with more strength as he spoke.


    "Don''t do something pointless. While I appreciate the help, that potion can''t help me"


    "Sir don''t-"


    The man moved to insist, but was immediately cut off.


    "I have lost too much blood, used up whatever mana I had left, and my internals are aplete mess. There is no scenario in which I survive this"


    Hearing it from Grenald himself, the man could only keep quiet. He felt he should run to get help, but Grenald''s grip was unflinching, holding him tighter.


    Grenald added onest thing.


    "Don''t rush to go back. Stay with me for a bit"


    Only then did the man calm down and take a sitting posture while holding Grenald''s hand.


    The meaning of his request was clear.


    The atmosphere became solemn and somber as no one spoke.


    The man left Grenald to his thoughts.


    And like most others, Grenald was going through shbacks that lead him here.


    When Kurt was beheaded, he had already been gravely wounded, but there was still arge possibility of survival.


    What hit the nail in the coffin was the ultrasound wave.


    As the one closest to Kurt, he had felt the greatest impact.


    It had blown him far further than Cavarl, and most importantly, it had donesting damage to his internal organs, which were already in a bad shape.


    He wouldn''t start crying over spilled milk. He was never that sort of person.


    After all, he had known this day woulde.


    Rather, his thoughts were focused on something else.


    Ady of short stature with blue coiled hair, white skin and lovely brown eyes.


    Roselyn was her name. A very beautiful name indeed.


    She was the one Grenald nned to marry after retiring once he had done a few more missions for the guild.


    s¡­


    ''To think I''d die here''


    Tears swelled within his eyes and threatened to drop, but Grenald didn''t let them.


    After a few minutes of reminiscing about his life choices, he resigned himself to his end.


    Then he looked to the one who came to heal him and spoke.


    "You seem like a youngd"


    The man awoke from his reverie. Grenald was officially an enemy by guild affiliation, but these were the words of a dying man, so he replied¡­


    "Thirty three, the name is Westin Koop"


    "Well, Westin, while priceless things tempt the heart of any man, especially youths, I implore that you don''t forget what is really priceless"


    "Which is?"


    "Family, Westin. Get a lovely wife and kids. Don''t be like this dying oldie"


    "Hmm¡­I''ll make sure to keep that in mind, Sir"


    "Good, good. You can have this old man''s space ring to apany you on future journeys once I''m gone"


    Without stopping, he continued.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Well then, I guess it''s time for this man to rest his old aching bones¡­"


    By the end of his sentence, Grenald''s voice had gone extremely low, before fading away like dust in the wind.


    His arm went limps and his pulse went quiet.


    On this day, Grenald Hofferman passed away.


    ¡ª-------------------------


    At the foot of the mountain, Winston had just finished briefing a sickly and pale Cavarl who sat on stone while his subordinates supported him at the side.


    Cavarls frown was extremely deep as he was in a state of utmost anxiety.


    They had chased the Experts back to Avi, but that was not at all a good thing.


    ''They will inform the king about it, and when he hears of a mana stone surfacing¡­''


    Cavarl knew the inevitable conclusion.


    ''We will all be killed''


    To prevent such an oue, a message was to be sent.


    Only, the item that would be used was in a bag strapped to his horse, which had been swept during their battle.


    But because of his current condition, he could only send his men and the missionaries to find it as fast as possible.


    The information from Winston also gave him a far clearer picture of what had happened.


    It was at this moment that a shout rang out.


    "Sire, Sire! We have found it!"


    One of his men came running towards them like a madman while holding up a dusty bag made of brown leather, which he quickly handed over to Cavarl.


    "The horse?" Cavarl asked.


    "Dead, with its neck and leg broken"


    Cavarl nodded as it was to be expected.


    He quickly took out a circr item akin to a locket, but five times bigger, with its body being made of silver and having different lines carved into it.


    "Put mana in this" he said to his subordinate as he didn''t have any to spare.


    Without dy, the subordinate did as he was told and, instantly, the lines lit up with a dazzling blue light.


    Cavarl took it and said only two words, because the fewer words, the faster the message got across.


    But they were two words that would definitely achieve their aim.


    At the same time, he sighed.


    "Guild master, you''ll have to forgive me for this one"


    ¡ª---------------------------


    -Avi-


    "Huff¡­Huff¡­Huff"


    A man, sporting minor cuts and bruises along his body, sprinted towards a gate built with blocks of stone, located in between two mountains.


    The archers at the top of the gate would have shot him down immediately, but they quickly recognised that he was one of their own. He was an Avillian, and fairly high ranking one.


    Quickly, they opened the gate for the bleeding man to pass.


    Without waiting, the man shouted as fast as he could muster.


    "I NEED TO SEE THE KING!"


    It was so loud that those around stepped back in apprehension.


    Quickly, other Avillians approached him to understand the situation as the man held a very grave expression.


    But before anyone could get near-


    *BAM*


    -something fell from the sky andnded right in front of the man who just screamed, causing the ground to shake and the concrete to instantly cave in.


    Such reverberations had everyone tumbling to the ground.


    They stood back up very quickly to see the owner of such power-


    "You wanted to see me"


    -and knelt down immediately after.


    The man falling from the sky was their king, Valin Arbana, and he was speaking with the wounded man.


    The wounded man lowered his head and spoke.


    "It is a matter of utmost urgency"

 Chapter 134 Two Words

    The royal advisor arrived at thepartment entirely dedicated to the Emperor with fast steps.


    It was the room where he did all his paperwork and nning.


    Bolton looked forward to the Emperor''s face once he learned of Ezra''s new aplishment.


    He didn''t bother to knock and directly went in.


    It wasn''t very spacious as it didn''t need to be. Brown papers were neatly stacked on the desk made of sleek onyx wood.


    "Where have you been?"


    Bolton looked to see the Emperor reading through a scroll.


    He didn''t mind Bolton not knocking because it was mostly Bolton that came here.


    As Bolton opened his mouth to answer, something happened.


    A dazzling blue light suddenly shot forth from within the book shelf standing with its back to the wall.


    Quickly, Bolton reached out and snatched the item. It had an appearance very simr to that of Cavarl.


    "Who''s is it?" the Emperor asked.


    "No particr person, but it''s from Evercroft"


    Bolton immediately opened it up and Cavarl''s voice resounding from within.


    His two words rang out loud and clear.


    "Mana Stone"


    The eyes of both men widened.


    They immediately understood that mana stones had been found at the manite mine.


    The next instant-


    *SPARK!*


    -white lightning discharged out of the Emperor''s body subconsciously, immediately scorching the stack of papers at his side into ashes.


    "The Windless Peaks was it?"


    He elerated right out of the room at a speed Bolton could only follow with his eyes.


    A minuteter, the Emperor reappeared in a sh, but this time, he waspletely covered in in white armor,cking only a helmet.


    The Emperor turned to Bolton and gave his orders¡­


    "Send the White Wolves to my location, but I will most likely meet them on my way back. This shouldn''t take long"


    "Sire-"


    The Emperor didn''t wait a second more to listen to Bolton''s words as he dashed right out of the royal district, before taking off the ground with a BANG!


    Such a loud sound, along with the massive pressure the Emperor was projecting, caught the attention of everyone in Kingsmere, who turned to see the sight of the Emperor taking to the sky before sting off like a shooting star, one that was white in color.


    A mana stone was an object that could allow the Emperor to ascend to higher ranks of power.


    And he wasn''t about to let it fall in someone else''s hands.


    With more vigor, he increased his speed.


    He would not be entertaining the thought of someone else taking such an item.


    ¡ª---------------------------


    At the same time, the injured man finished narrating the events that lead to the death of two of Avi''s four Masters to the King, Valin.


    His voice was very audible as everyone else had gone silent.


    They were filled with rage at the death of theirrades.


    And Valin was the same.


    The Expert was far behind, so he hadn''t managed to see the mana stone, therefore, Valin didn''t know about it either.


    Nevertheless, he was determined to end the lives of those who killed Kurt and Ulrik.


    "I swear on my name that those Masters will not live to see the next light of dawn"


    With that promation, he burst forth with enormous speed out of the checkpoint towards the site of their deaths, the mountain.


    Of course, he didn''t forget about the mountain of mana crystals, but that was secondary whenpared to the elimination of half of his strongest fighting force.


    Avi couldn''t hold a candle to Niton in terms of pure power, but he would definitely take the lives of those who killed his people as payback, as well the lives of anyone else there.


    After all, no witnesses could be left alive.


    So he ran like the wind towards the mountain with unbridled killing intent.


    One thing was sure, he was in for a hell of a surprise.


    ¡ª--------------------------


    As the Emperor zed across the sky, his figure drew the attention of the people below wherever he passed by, even if he was only visible for a few seconds.<novelnext></novelnext>


    It was because the pressure he emanated had the senses of every living creature tingling with warnings.


    It could be concealed, but the Emperor didn''t have the effort to spare.


    And after all, he was their Emperor, they were to fear him and revere him in the first ce.


    But he also knew that while it would instill fear into the heads of the ones at ranks of Expert downwards, to others, it was but a beacon.


    And he was right¡­


    ¡ª--------------------------------


    ''Hmm?''


    A man with a buff physique, brown skin, a short brown mustache and ck eyes suddenly raised his head as he felt something unmistakable.


    His face and deposition told of a man who couldn''t be older than forty-five.


    ''What could have possibly made that old geezer move his stale @ss?''


    It was the aura of a Grandmaster, and it was familiar.


    ''Andrew, what are you up to now?'' the man wondered.


    This figure was Bobby Getrahan, the guild master of Stormbane.


    Niton''s third S-rank guild.


    ¡ª--------------------------------------


    Elsewhere, there was a man with ck hair and brown eyes, hosting a slim and fit physique with his hair coiled into a bun.


    ''Hmm. It seems that the peaceful times are over''


    This was the guild master of Varent.


    Raven Westagen.


    ¡ª-----------------------------------------


    Anky man draped in ck clothing all over except his wrist and whose head held ck circles under his eye as he looked on with a nk expression.


    This look of despair would fool most into underestimating him, but those who closely knew him would shudder instead.


    Finstor Deneris was his name.


    And he was the guild master of Evercroft.


    ''Hmm. I should get Iris to check on that''


    ¡ª----------------------------------------------


    These three and very few others were the only ones who understood the significance of such a thing.


    For others, it meant something else.


    ''They must have found out'' thought Fredrick.


    He was in a tavern located at the edges of Traxford, sipping an exotic drink which he bought by ransacking the bodies of bandits he killed along the way.


    But now he couldn''t enjoy it as much because a certain pressure had passed them by, and as a Master, Fredrick immediately deduced that it was a Grandmaster.


    And Grandmasters didn''t move unless necessary.


    For that person to have passed by here.


    Fredrick was willing to bet that the person was heading towards the mountain of mana.


    If so-


    ''I need to make haste''


    -then he didn''t have as much time as he had previously thought.


    ''I have to get to Kingsmere by nightfall'' was now the objective as he mounted a newly bought horse.


    A pity he couldn''t savor the exotic drink, but there was always a next time as he coulde backter.


    ¡ª----------------------------------------------


    "Boys, pack your bags. We''ll be heading home by tonight"


    "Yes boss"


    Cabrera had also felt the gigantic pressure pass by, and like a signal, he suddenly realized that it was time for them to begin their returning journey.


    Beasts, they had killed too many, and herbs, they had gathered more than enough.


    Without further ado, Cabrera and the boys began to clean off for the journey home.


    The boys all beamed with bright smiles.


    As they say, there''s no ce like home.

 Chapter 135 Massacre

    Valin ran through trees and bushes without a care in the world.


    His eyes turned to those of a snake and took on a golden hue.


    With it, he was able to pinpoint the location of all the missionaries and, more importantly, a Master-rank at the foot of the mountain.


    Without further ado, he sped in their direction, ignoring the man who stood beside Grenald''s body.


    And of course, such amotion could never go unnoticed.


    ¡ª----------------------------------


    "What is that?!"


    "Something''s heading this way!"


    ''Not something, someone. As expected''


    Cavarl could only sigh when he saw someone speedily heading in their direction. With the thick killing intent the person was emitting, it didn''t take a sage to know that whoever wasing wasn''ting with good intentions.


    He had predicted something of this nature happening, though he would''ve never imagined that the king woulde himself.


    He even sent the message to the Emperor instead of his guild master in an attempt to score some merits and diminish the chance of an attack. The Emperor was the fastest Grandmaster in Niton.


    How did he know? Simple, he had seen it in person.


    s, it seemed the Emperor hadn''t seen the message.


    Even with such negative thoughts, Cavarl wasn''t about to just lie down and die.


    He stood up as his subordinates gathered around him with their weapons at the ready while Winston and his men stood at the side.


    He didn''t want to be a burden to such a group of loyal men.


    s, he could only be.


    *BLERGH!*


    With a heavy difort, Cavarl spat blood out of his mouth like a running tap.


    The ultrasound wave Kurt released was imbued with a frequency that scrambled one''s innards, which eventually led to Grenald''s death and left Cavarl, who was already tired, a mess.


    rmed, his men urgently sat him back down.


    They too were hurt, but were far enough away that it wasn''t that impactful.


    "Sir, you can''t move around with those wounds. Let us handle this"


    "Yes sir, we''ll protect you this time. Isn''t that right guys?!"


    "Of course, that''s what we''ll do"


    The rest answered the same, with their eyes holding warm smiles even in the face of imminent death.


    They could feel the pressure Valin was emitting, so they clearly knew that they didn''t stand a chance against him.


    Nevertheless, they stood their ground.


    For their leader, their helper and, of course, their seniorrade.


    With their faces dark and grave, they stomped hard into the soil and steadied themselves.


    If they were to die, it would be beside theirrades.


    And because of such an act, the missionaries that were scrambling away came to their senses and stood by their sides.


    Like ants to a swarm, others followed. Even Loreta, who had been exploring the mountain''s insides, came out to join such a force.


    Quickly, they amounted to more than two hundred fighters.


    Cavarl could only smile.


    Surely, all hope was not lost for humans.


    Riding the current momentum, Cavarl began an impactful speech.


    "Men, steady your legs and your heart! Let it be known that at the eve of a grave battle, we stood as steady as mountains! FOR THE EMPIRE!"


    "FOR THE EMPIRE!" they hailed at once.


    At this point, Valin arrived and was just thirty meters away from the small force.


    Right now, his body had grown to three times what it was when he left the outpost.


    It had stretched his attire thin in the process, eventually tearing it. Now his bulging yet refined chest and biceps were bare for all to see.


    His body was covered in a silver shin and he had snake-like golden eyes, sharp and long ws protruding out of his hands that had now turned intorge paws, and his legs were inverted like that of a quadruped.


    The glorious form of Valin Arbana came clear for all to see.


    And at that sight, someone whispered¡­


    "Shifter"


    To all they had said, Valin mocked.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Heh, weaklings. Trying to make your existence seem as something of any worth. You shouldn''t have killed my generals. But well, rejoice. It is an honor to die by my hands"


    None gave any reply as they calmed themselves for their inevitable deaths, and Arbana wasn''t one to dilly dally.


    Immediately, he moved.


    Those below Advanced-rank could only see that he had vanished.


    Those at Advance and Expert rank could only see a blur.


    Even Cavarl could barely make out his figure, and had topletely concentrate his aching head to follow his speed.


    All this happened within a moment.


    The next instant.


    *SHAAA!*


    Arbana attacked the sides filled with intermediates and below with his w and tore them apart like butter.


    In a situation where they suddenly found the guy in front of them missing half of his body while his blood sttered all over their faces before they could even react, they were bound to be startled.


    Unbelievably so.


    Their startled reactions quickly turned into confusion and fear for the faint hearted.


    That caused a chain reaction of disturbance right in the middle of the formation.


    And in an instant, the formation plunged into chaos.


    "I don''t want to die!"


    Cowards, who''s fears had been suppressed by the chivalrous atmosphere, immediately began to look for ways to flee.


    And all this while, Valin never stopped attacking.


    From the left nk to the right he killed without stopping.


    Cavarls frowned gravely, because Valin''s strategy was that effective.


    ''He''s cutting the weak links''


    Given that the army was formed on the spot, there was no way they would have a formation as decent as that of a real army.


    And it showed right from the start.


    Valin showed his experience by ignoring those of Expert and Advance rank and focusing solely on those below.


    He would even avoid the Experts that came at him, intending on killing themst.


    With his golden snake eyes, he was able to easily keep track of everyone present and, because he didn''t want a drawn out battle, he was intent on making the formation copse entirely from the inside out.


    Only then he would move to pick up the fairly strongbatants one by one.


    Of course, he didn''t miss chances to kill those samebatants if they showed an opportunity.


    Cavarl could only watch on as he was virtually powerless to do anything about it.


    In less than a minute, more than a hundred were dead, torn and ripped apart to pieces, with three Experts being among them.


    Their fleshid all over the ground that was now filled with thick blood, almost forming a pool.


    It couldn''t be said to have been a battle, but a massacre.


    Heads holding horrible expressions were stomped into paste as those still alive tried to survive the attacks of an enemy they couldn''t even see.


    They didn''t have the leisure to care for theirrades.


    In such a moment when all hope seemed lost.


    A loud booming sound resounded above their heads.


    *BOOM*


    Bright white lightning descended thereafter, illuminating the surroundings, pushing out the darkness and also blinding those close by, while those really unlucky were slightly burnt.


    The surroundings suddenly became silent as everyone looked to the culprit of such a disy.


    But before they even turn their heads¡­


    *VOOM*


    Something was thrown at a speed they could not follow, and it spun vertically like a disk, before smashing into something, or someone.


    *BAM*


    An instantter, the weapon was punched away, and the figure of Valin who was sted meters away from the rebound of the collision could be seen.


    Like others, he expressed surprise, but for a different reason, as he raised his quivering finger and pointed upwards.


    He could only stutter as he took in the visage in front of him.


    "You¡­how?"

 Chapter 136 Grandmaster Showdown

    Valin felt he was dreaming. No, he had to be.


    How else would he exin the appearance of a man who people knew all too well in Lexon.


    It was Andrew Miller, the Emperor himself.


    A sense of crisis came about the Avillian king.


    ''Why, no, how is he here?!''


    It was baffling as he had arrived not even two minutes ago. Surely, even for the Emperor, such a time was too short for him to travel from the capital all the way here.


    Cavarl on the other hand gave an audible sigh of relief.


    It seemed fate had not forsaken him just yet.


    Meanwhile, the Emperor''s mind was also whirring as he tried to piece the current scene together.


    He opened up his grip and his weapon, which had been knocked aside by Valin after being thrown at him, promptly returned to him.


    Only then did those standing at side make out the visage of the Emperor and hope bloomed from their gazes alone.


    Hope that they might survive to see the dawn of the next day.


    His visage was terrifying with lightning discharging from all over and his eyes having an entirely white hue.


    The weapon was equally terrifying. It was a double sword with the de at both ends. The space in the middle was long enough for three palms to hold at the same time. Each de was the size of a greatsword and deeply serrated.


    The des were like his armor, clear white in color, while the handle was ck.


    It was a weapon that had taken many lives, for it had legends behind it as the Emperor''s weapon and it was even given a name in light of it.


    Shredder.


    As the Emperor looked upon the strewn flesh spread across the ground without a change in expression, he could only say¡­


    "Well, I guess that''s the end to all and any negotiations"


    The eyes of both men met, and without words, they understood what would happen next.


    Valin spoke out the Emperor''s moniker, "Lightning Emperor".


    So did the Emperor, "Ravenous Sand Beast".


    Then, in the next instant¡­*SOOM*


    Like Valin, he turned into a blur none could follow, except Valin that is.


    Narrowing his gaze, he pinpointed the Emperor''s figure almost in front of him.


    ''He''sing!''


    Even as a king, he knew where his limitsy.


    And because of that¡­he decided to run away!


    Quickly, he turned around and ran with all his might.


    But a voice rang out beside him not long after.


    "It seems the years of peace have given even the likes of you the delusion that you could get away from me"


    Valin''s hair rose up in tension as his instincts rang out.


    ''I have to dodge this''


    An attack was iing.


    Immediately, he reacted by rolling on the ground like a snail tucked in its shell.


    At the exact same time, the Emperor''s weapon made itself known as it shed where Valin''s head formerly was.


    The wind generated by the sh alone created a mark in the soil.


    The Emperor expressed genuine surprise thereafter.


    "Hoo? You dodged that?"


    ''Just maybe, this fight might actually be worthwhile'' the Emperor thought.


    At the time the Emperor finished his thought, Valin was back on his feet, his face grave.


    ''I can''t outrun him''


    Simply put, running wasn''t the answer.


    But then¡­


    ''He''s not someone I can easily kill either. That is, if I can even kill him''


    For a king, he was also a warrior, and reckless bravado would do him no good in the face of an enemy.


    With no guarantee that he would be able to escape, he could only face his opponent.


    So now, he was evaluating his chances at defeating the enemy in front of him.


    And with all his calctions, his face only turned stiffer.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The results were utterly grim.


    Hasn''t anyone wondered why an Empire, with so muchnd, riches and, more importantly, so many powers, was able to live in rtive peace within such a world?


    The answer was the man standing in front of Valin.


    The greatest knight of their era, Andrew Miller.


    With no hope in sight, Valin was forced to feel the despair and hopelessness those he ughtered had felt.


    But of course, the Emperor wasn''t one to dilly dally.


    So Valin could only release hisplete form in the next instant when the Emperor arrived in front of him with his weapon shing downwards.


    "What are you thinking so much about while I stand before you?!"


    Unlike before, he was now enraged.


    ''To dare to look away from the opponent! I must have been going easy on you''


    Only then did he begin to show his true might.


    *Shing!*Shing!*ng!*ng!*Kreee!*


    But of course, Valin was no slouch either as his ws and the Emperor''s weapon grazed each other more than ten times in ten seconds.


    No soul was around to see such a spectacr but deadly disy.


    That is, if their eyes could even follow their movements.


    But of course, most weren''t stupid enough to hang around when Grandmasters were about to do a showdown.


    The moment they began, Cavarl had himself, along with all those still alive, scurrying into the mountain like never before.


    Back to the ongoing battle¡­


    The Emperor closed in and, before Valin could step back,nded a punch covered in lightning right in Valin''s abdomen, sting the man backwards.


    At this point, Valin realized one fact.


    ''I can''t beat him if I y it safe''


    If he stayed on the defensive, he would still be worn out and eventually die.


    If so¡­


    ''I''ll have to make every strike count''


    His face, which was still human, morphed into that of a beast with his teeth growing grotesque and his entire body turned scaly with silver scales.


    His aura erupted with more fervor than before, causing even the Emperor to pause and judge the situation.


    Valin''s golden eyes became red, and his already tall figure became even taller.


    As if that wasn''t enough, sand began to move from the ground as if it was alive before coating his body all over.


    None of this caused a reaction from the Emperor as he gazed at it all with utter rity.


    After all, just like Valin knew him, he knew Valin.


    So the sand affinity wasn''t at all surprising since he had known of it beforehand.


    But the Emperor wasn''t just going to stand there and wait for him to finish his preparations, now was he?


    What he was going to do was this¡­


    He spun his weapon very fast in between his fingers while imbuing it with lightning.


    And just as Valin''s sand armor was taking shape¡­he released it!


    *CRACKLE!*


    A wave of lightning advanced vertically and struck Valin right in the chest-


    *BOOM*


    -sting him afar.


    The path the sh passed had its soil turn to ss because of how hot it was.


    And Valin felt it firsthand with his armor turning into ss while touching his skin, allowing the hit to reach every part of his body.


    And then-


    *BREAK!*


    -the sh had the ss shatter immediately after.


    But that was the least of his problems.


    "Don''t tell me that''s all"


    The Emperor was right in front of him once more.


    Truly, this battle was going to be anything but easy.

 Chapter 137 Grandmaster Showdown (2)

    "Don''t tell me that''s all you''ve got"


    Valin responded by using the sand underneath him to give himself a slight push upwards, beforending his feet t on the Emperor''s chin, thoroughly wiping away his cocky smirk.


    *BAM*


    With a resounding tremor, the Emperor was pushed back a dozen meters, before stopping and immediately wiping away the blood at the edge of his lips.


    Their surroundings were utterly devoid of anything but the soil as the booms from each and everyone of their attacks had blown everything afar.


    As soon as the Emperor regained his footing, he shot forward once more, and unlikest time, Valin shot forward as well.


    With his mind set on exchanging blood for bone, Valin struck out his ws, while the Emperor, still with his casual face, began spinning his weapon whilecing it with lightning.


    The moment both sides met¡­


    *ng*ng*ng!*CRAA*Crackle!*BAM!*


    Violent lightning struck the earth as massive foot stomps did their work with sparks flying about on all sides.


    The ground shooked, cracked, cracked and cracked again at speeds faster than the average Master could follow.


    And of course, this kept happening as they moved all over the ce.


    The Emperor''s weapon could only make shallow scratches aftering in contact with Valin''s silver skin, while Valin''s strikes also failed to achieve anything noteworthy against the Emperor, with his body hidden behind all that armor.


    But eventually, blood began to shower the earth as the Emperor finally got his weapon past Valin''s silver skin and delivered a deep cut into Valin''s shoulder.


    With this injury, the Shredder showed its might.


    Unlike normal des that left clean cuts, this one cut like a saw, searing flesh and tearing it wider when pulled out.


    At the same time, the Emperor''s eyes widened in realization.


    ''So that''s how it is. Some parts of his skin are more hardened than others''


    Then a question popped up.


    ''Can he control it?''


    He didn''t debate on the topic and kept up his attacks.


    With this, the battle that seemed equal began to be one sided as the Emperor kept testing how exactly the silver skin functioned and kept striking the first wound, making it deeper, and by applying lightning, cooking Valin''s internals from the inside.


    Nevertheless, Valin stood proud and buoyant as his attacks only became fiercer with each wound.


    The Emperor''s questions got answered when Valin decided to reinforce his ws as much as he could andpletely neglected his defenses.


    He figured that none of his attacks were getting through, and his hardened skin wasn''t enough to resist the Shredder, so why not thoroughly increase his offense?


    After all, wasn''t offense the best defense?


    But in front of the Emperor''s armor that Valin had now confirmed to be far tougher than even the rumors said, his efforts bore nothing but mediocre results.


    His ws seeded in inflicting deeper marks on the Emperor''s armor after countless strikes¡­but that was it.


    His ws, even at their best, couldn''t get past the Emperor''s armor.


    In the end, his cry of rage and madness turned to that of pain and unfairness.


    After all, if he had known the Emperor wasing, he would have brought along his own armor and, more importantly, prepared thoroughly.


    At the end of it all, Valin fell to his knees in a fit of exhaustion.


    His body was now aplete mess with cuts all over. The cut in his shoulder was the most prominent as it constantly spilled blood and had now gotten so deep, it seemed his arm would fall off anytime soon.


    Anything he could conjure up with sand had been virtually useless in the face of the Emperor''s lightning.


    And with his opponent being a Grandmaster as well, the unnatural healing Grandmasters were known for didn''t offer much help.


    Of course, the Emperor couldn''t exactly call it an easy battle either as he was now hosting three sh marks right across his face.


    The whole battle from start to finish took just ten minutes.


    At the end of it, the Emperor didn''t solicitize, nor did he sympathize with his enemy.


    He offered a look of scorn and a few words-


    "Die like the beast you are"


    -before slowing imbuing lightning back into his weapon once more.


    His arm bulged, with deadly uracy, he lodged his sword into Valin''s neck with a strike from his right.


    The weapon broke through the defense of his silver skin like it wasn''t even there in the first ce and smashed into his throat.


    *Keugh!*


    Valin trembled.


    The next instant, blood poured over his eyes while also filling his mouth.


    Yet, in all this, his gaze never looked away from the Emperor, who stared back unperturbed.


    With one smooth pull, the Emperor cleanly severed his head and had it fly four meters before dropping onto the ground.


    The head rolled a bit and we see Valin holding a grief stricken face as thest expression he would ever have.


    The headless body slumped to the ground secondster.


    Then, an unnatural atmosphere of utmost silence pervaded the air.


    The Emperor stood still for a solid minute with his bloodied weapon resting on his shoulders as he stared at the body and at the surroundings.<novelnext></novelnext>


    And truly, the level of destruction they caused was on the level of a disaster.


    Rocks, trees and dead bodies? All were blown afar.


    Even the mountain shook more than once, causing boulder sized rubble to fall off from time to time.


    Funny enough, this made their surroundings very clean, if you ignore the shattered ground, that is.


    All the Emperor did was give a slight nod.


    With this scene alone, it was evident why fights between Grandmasters were to be avoided.


    But what was done was done.


    For the Emperor, all this was inconsequential so long he got his hands on mana stones.


    But first, there was a bounty to be taken.


    With an outstretched palm, the Emperor dug into Valin''s body and took out a bloodied round object the size of his fist from the right side of his chest.


    Its bright yellow sheen shone through the blood, while its contents were obscured.


    The Emperor didn''t think too much of it, a beast core containing the abilities of a Grandmaster, and stored it onto his space ring.


    After that, he took the space ring the Avillian King had on and, to finish it up, he took the body and sucked it into his space ring.


    It would be very useful as research material in the future.


    With that done, he shot inside the mountain immediately after.


    ¡ª-------------------------


    -Cavarl, along with the very few left sitting in the space located underneath the mountain-


    The loud and booming tremors seemed to have stopped for about a minute, but no one moved because they couldn''t be sure.


    At this time¡­


    *SOM*


    All they saw was a flicker of white lightning and, in the next instant, the Emperor was standing in front of them, having put his weapon away back into his space ring.


    Everyone bowed immediately after.


    It was sphemy to not pay respects to their ruler.


    Some had their eyes go moist because they also understood that the Emperor had dealt with the Avillian King.


    They would live on to tell the tale of this day. Their hopes had been fulfilled.


    The Emperor spoke soon after¡­


    "Where is the Master among you?"


    Quickly, they all pointed to the side, where the body of Cavarly, still.


    The Emperor arrived in front of him and found him unconscious, the amount of blood on his clothes told him enough already.


    He removed a healing potion, one of high quality, and poured it into his mouth.


    A burst of yellow light secondster, and Cavarl awoke with a heavy gasp as his wounds closed up and cuts disappeared from his skin.


    The Avillian King had something like this, but he didn''t dare to even try using it while in the midst of a battle.


    Such an act would''ve most likely ended the fight much earlier, and of course, with his death.


    Cavarl looked at the Emperor in astonishment as his skin glowed yellow, albeit just for a few seconds.


    The moment it receded, Cavarl felt even weaker than ever before.


    With another swipe of his hand, the Emperor emptied another potion in Cavarl''s mouth, this one being blue in color.


    Without waiting, the Emperor asked¡­


    "Where are the mana stones?"


    "In this mountain. They might know its exact location" Cavarl quickly muttered in a weakened tone as he pointed back to the group of people also there.


    The Emperor''s head tilted to the side a bit.


    ''Hmm..?''


    Rather than getting angry, he put up a genuine smile.


    For the first time in a long time.


    ''I was used''


    The Emperor understood that he had been manipted.


    But one thing needed to be clear-


    "Does that mean you''re not sure that the stones are here?!"


    -they had to be a limit to such nonsense.


    The Emperor''s aura red up in an instant, as Cavarl immediately felt the impact.


    It became hard to breathe.

 Chapter 138 Quick Deal

    "I''m sure it''s here. I''m just not sure where it is" Cavarl spoke with haste.


    The Emperor''s aura disappeared.


    Then the lightning on his body shot outwards as he shed away.


    Rather than asking questions, he quickly searched around, before heading out of the mountain and reentering through the gap Fredrick had made.


    Quickly, he searched there as well, and as he did, his face scrunched into a serious frown. He didn''t pay attention to it at first, but weren''t too many mana crystals missing?


    It didn''t take him long to find the mana stones, and his frown became even deeper.


    The uneven wall and therge amount of rubble on the ground told that someone had scoured the mountain before he arrived.


    He used his fist like a familiar someone to break the wall even more.


    A minuteter, a familiar object of eclipse shape shining with cerulean blue light came into view.


    The Emperor clenched his fists, before quickly snatching the stone into his space ring a secondter, afraid that it might disappear.


    Be as it may, the Emperor had never seen, not to mention touching, a mana stone.


    And simrly to him, most hadn''t.


    He had only seen it in books and heard of it in stories.


    This didn''t cause him to dilly dally.


    Immediately after, he moved to the side and dug out another mana stone with extreme focus.


    Five minutester, he held two more mana stones within his ring.


    With the one that was destroyed, a total of five mana stones were known.


    Wow, Fredrick was ruthless.


    It was to be expected. It would be stupid to allow your enemies to grow stronger with that which you could use for yourself.


    And the Emperor knew it too, and oh, was he enraged!


    ''Someone scourged this ce prior to this!''


    To let out his frustration, he pushed the wall, causing the whole mountain to shake.


    Then, as he began nning, familiar auras suddenly popped up on his senses.


    His eyes immediately narrowed as his mind whirred.


    The next instant, he bolted back to the space underneath the mountain and brought Cavarl to the area where he found the mana stones.


    Cavarl, whose body was still feeling a bit strained, stared at the Emperor with a raised brow.


    "Your majesty? Wh-"


    "Tell me, how many know about the existence of the mana stone?" the Emperor quickly interjected.


    Cavarls body immediately rose in fright.


    There was no way he didn''t know where this conversation was going, and what would most likely be its end, so he lied instantaneously.


    "Everyone below, Sire"


    s, his previous reaction of standing up like a beast sensing danger had also made something very clear to the Emperor.


    ''He''s smart, no, he''s very smart!''


    It was high praise, but the Emperor wasn''tughing.


    Then again, it would be weirder if the man capable of manipting him wasn''t smart.


    Seeing his n foiled before it could even be enacted, the Emperor spoke his thoughts sincerely.


    "What is your price?"


    "What price?" Cavarl replied with a dumb expression.


    The Emperor''s aura red up far fiercer than before as he then spoke in a very thick tone.


    "Don''t y dumb with me. You know what I mean"


    Only then did Cavarls face revert back to its iconic nk expression.


    "Are you asking the price to leave my guild? Or the price to keep the existence of mana stones a secret?"


    The Emperor''s eyes widened. Cavarl had thought even farther than he did.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Both" he quickly replied.


    For the first time, a light smile came into Cavarl''s face as he spoke¡­


    "How do I know you''re not going to kill me?"


    The Emperor replied instantaneously, as he had already thought of it.


    "Simple, I''ll have you join the royal army"


    It was Cavarl''s turn to be surprised. It seemed he also underestimated the Emperor.


    So he nodded in acknowledgement. It was indeed a very wise decision.


    With that, Cavarl made his own decision.


    "For the keeping of such a heavy secret, what I want is simple-"


    Cavarl spoke as his eyes wandered around the cave filled with rubble, before settling back on the Emperor''s face.


    "-you must have taken the other mana stones, right? Give me one. That''s all I want"


    The Emperor''s face didn''t change in the slightest as he spoke¡­


    "I secured four. Someone else has made off with the rest"


    Cavarls eyes shined like never before.


    One should not forget that it was Kurt and Ulrik who saw the mana stone before it exploded, not Grenald and Cavarl.


    But Cavarl was able to piece the knowledge about the mana stones and the dense mana dome with the words "they already know about the stone" from Kurt''s mouth.


    Using his wits and that alone, he arrived at the current situation.


    Cavarl''s eyes darted all over the Emperor''s figure, when suddenly, he burst intoughter.


    "Hahaha, you''re serious? You''re actually serious? Then that means we''ve all been made into fools. Oh my world! This has to be the biggest joke of the millennium, and one of the greatest, not to mention the cleanest heist in history since the likes of Nameless and Nobody"


    Nameless and Nobody, names that couldn''t be called names.


    They were aliases of two legendary figures who came within three hundred years of each other, with Nameless being the first.


    Each was notorious as they were known as legendary thieves, who were especially famous for their clean getaways or unseen actions.


    Peak Experts that all thieves use as the highest benchmark, but that was for another time.


    Cavarl was still talking.


    "That''s truly too bad, but I believe three mana stones are more than enough to satiate the Emperor''s need. I shall not be changing my request. After all, I need the mana stone just as much as you do"


    The Emperor palms popped a vein, but Cavarl nonchntly added¡­


    "So, what shall it be?"


    "You shall have it-"


    Cavarl stopped him there.


    "I shall have it now" he said with utmost conviction, and added¡­


    "And to leave my guild, you''ll just have to pay a price to the guild. That way I will look less like a traitor, and yes, a good position must be guaranteed to me before I join the royals"


    The Emperor nodded without a word, as it was something very easy for him to do.


    Since the mana stone was an excessive and very expensive price, Cavarl lowered the other price significantly.


    With a thought, the Emperor pulled out a soul contract and scribbled the contents of their deal on it, before both men quickly signed it. It turned to particles and binded them.


    Both the Emperor and Cavarl found it funny how things had gotten to this stage.


    The Emperor was nning to kill off all those who knew about the existence of the mana stone to keep it a secret, but had to cancel such a n when he saw Cavarl had caught on.


    Cavarl in the other hand was thinking on surviving before anything else. Yet somehow, he hadted himself immense profits without doing much.


    At this moment¡­


    *BAM!*Crash!*Break!*


    Three tremors resounded simultaneously.


    ''They''re here''


    The reason forpromising on a mana stone so easily had arrived.

 Chapter 139 To Avilla!

    Three mennded simultaneously within the vicinity of the manite mountain.


    The first was fit and full of muscles, but with a height of 5 foot 7, he was a bit on the short side.


    His skin, short hair and short mustache were light brown in color, and he radiated a feeling of vigor.


    At the right side of his chest armor,y a crest that wasn''t big, but wasn''t small either.


    Depicted on this crest was a floating sword with its edge pointing downwards and radiating yellow light.


    This was the guild master of StormBane, Getrahan, who held the alias of Firehammer.


    Another had a handsome face but hosted a dead look and dark circles below his brown eyes.


    His body wasnky and a bit skinny, and he wore ck clothsyered on each other like a mummy, but in a much smoother way.


    Finstor Deneris, aka Metal Bane hadnded.


    The guild master of Evercroft was here.


    And then, for the third, a man who looked not bad, but not that good either, came along with his ck hair tied into a bun.


    His skin was white, but a bit on the darker side, and he wore an armor covered entirely in a dark blue sheen.


    This would be Raven Westagen, aka Marked Light, Varent''s guild master.


    Surprisingly, Deneris was the first to speak.


    "Heh? What do we have here? Raven came out to y?"


    Raven was about to reply when suddenly, all three men looked behind them.


    Far into the horizon, dust started erupting on a linear path.


    Something too fast to be seen was iing, but it could be followed cause it was¡­shining?


    Momentster, a person abruptly stopped in front of them, coughing up dust right into their faces.


    With a swipe of their hands, they wiped the dust away while holding nonchnt faces at the sight of another Grandmaster.


    Before anyone could strike up a conversation-


    *Crackle!*Spark!*


    -white lighting erupted from within the cave and the Emperor spoke immediately.


    "What brings Orion''s greatest force for such a visit?-"


    His gaze swept over each one of them as he spoke their names.


    "-Getrahan, Deneris, Raven and Jebas"


    At the call of their names, each gave a slight nod.


    As equals, that much was enough respect for the crown.


    Thest man, Jebas Mavista, had his body covered in dark brown clothes with many small jewel''s attached to it.


    His neck hosted an indigo chain that held a red marble in the middle, while his ears had five cerulean blue marbles attached to them.


    His skin was light brown and his eyes were blue.


    With a height of 6 foot 2, he wasn''t short, but he wasn''t that tall either.


    Known as the Striding Bolt, this man, as you can probably infer, is also a Grandmaster, the youngest of them all at just 28 years old.


    A certified prodigy indeed, and he loves almost anything that shimmers and shines.


    "But I have to ask for the aim of this unrequested visit?"


    Now, as Grandmasters, they couldn''t possibly say they hade to make sure the Emperor didn''t devour whatever bounty he found alone, now could they?


    Raven just stared in the opposite direction without a word.


    Getrahan suddenly coughed, before looking to the side and saying¡­


    "What do you mean by that? We simply came to see if the Emperor needed any help"


    The Emperor simply nodded to his shameless answer.


    Deneris, though, scratched the top of his ear a bit and replied with his uninterested expression and low tone¡­


    "You flew above cities, something you specifically banned. Destroyed about half of this entire monster region, along with the nearby ecosystem, doing who knows what¡­and you''re asking what we''re doing here? That question has to be a joke, right?"


    Had it been some other person, the Emperor wouldn''t mind teaching them a lesson by sending them to heaven, but since it was a fellow Grandmaster, he could only calm his bulging veins.


    "An emergency call came in. I arrived to see the Avillian King ughtering my people. I think you understand what happened next"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Deneris nodded nonchntly.


    "Ok, so¡­where is he?"


    "Over here"


    It wasn''t the Emperor who spoke, but Jebas.


    He had long since moved from his former spot and was now crouching down beside something.


    It was Valin''s head.


    He had no qualms picking it up as he faced the Emperor.


    "Is this what I think it is?"


    His tone was clear like water, and a bit fast too.


    The other Grandmasters'' eyes widened, while the Emperor simply nodded.


    "It is"


    "What have you done to him for him to die with such an ugly face?" Jebas asked with a raised brow.


    Seriously, you could tell just from the man''s head that he was filled with grief till his end.


    Rather than answering, the Emperor''s mind whirred and something which he had swept over in his haste for the stones came to him.


    "They trespassed and ughtered without warning. Raven, you will bepensated for the death of your subordinate" he announced.


    The Emperor turned to see Raven still staring into the horizon.


    Only after being called upon once more was he shook out of his reverie.


    Raven turned to them and said¡­


    "I hade for my subordinate. Yet now, I find him buried in the soil"


    He wasn''t just staring at the horizon.


    Rather, he was staring at the makeshift grave Westin had built for Grenald.


    He turned towards the Emperor with his face utterly calm and let out a sigh.


    "We areying im to Avi" the Emperor promptly announced.


    The King was dead, and he had every justification to do so.


    And what would you know, with four Grandmasters with him, it was more than enough.


    Without waiting, he shot forth in Avi''s direction and said¡­


    "Follow me. We''ll be using capture and keep tactics, and we''ll do it as fast as possible"


    With their Emperor leading the way, the others promptly followed.


    Deneris'' clothes dismembered, revealing another underneath, before reforming them on his back as wings. With them, he took off, but at a speed far slower than the Emperor.


    Getrahan jumped high into the air, while Jebas and Raven took to their feet.


    Onwards they went, towards Avi.


    Meanwhile, the Emperor''s mind was already running calctions on the repercussions of his current actions.


    What would he do to hold onto Avi? How would his enemies, along with the nearby powers, react to it?


    Within seconds, he understood that his action would call forth a storm. Whether it would lead to a war or not was uncertain.


    But that wasn''t going to stop him in the slightest.


    ''Things were bing a little too peaceful and boring this past decade. And I''ll get to stretch my muscles''


    Capturing Avi''snd with its king dead wouldn''t be much of an issue. The issue would be what came after.


    Without further ado, the Emperor removed an item, a red crystal with a rhombus shape as big as medium sized rock with runes carved all over it with gold.


    The Emperor infused it with his mana, causing it to shine, before saying a few words¡­


    "The Avillian King is dead. I have moved toy im to itsnds. You know what to do. I expect them to arrive as early as possible. Glory to the Empire"


    With that, he crushed the crystal to dust and let it waft away in the wind.


    Like so, war was now set in stone.

 Chapter 140 Grandmaster Attack

    Grandmasters were at the topmost echelon of power in the current Orion.


    As such, it was a wonder why Niton, with its seven Grandmasters, formerly ten, hadn''t conquered the rest of Lexon.


    The reasons? simple. All smaller powers would immediately join forces, creating a force that would make Niton step back, the moment one was targeted.


    Couldn''t they send Grandmaster assassins or something of the sort to kill those Grandmasters secretly?


    Yeah¡­nope, it doesn''t work that way.


    At Grandmaster-rank and above, sneak attacks are not nearly as effective, as Grandmasters can sense one another, from the maximum of a mile.


    Valin had been too engrossed in the ecstasy of his massacre to notice.


    The smell of fear and the taste of blood had dulled his senses.


    The existence of a Grandmaster is a threat to another, so their senses tingle if the aura or an attack of Grandmaster level happens near them, depending on the individual.


    Of course, if this was the only issue, Niton would''ve be the overlord of Lexon long ago.


    Then, you had the Grandmasters themselves.


    As near-peak existences, they had high physical and mental capabilities.


    Which paths to power they took would only decide which of their strengths is enhanced above the rest.


    Had the Emperor barged into Avi, Valin would''ve run away, or as it is said, tactically retreated, without a thought.


    If he did that, the Emperor would find it impossible to catch up to him.


    Then, as the King, no matter who else died, the ruling hierarchy stands firm as long as he is alive.


    Meaning, all-out chaos would not ur.


    Valin would thene back with reinforcements from the other powers and repel the Emperor.


    No matter how powerful he is, he couldn''t possibly contend against five Grandmasters.


    This was how the status quo had been preserved¡­till today that is.


    Normally, Grandmasters of other powers never step into Niton, except as a group of six or more. They send proxies instead.


    With Valin rushing in, blinded by rage at the death of his uncle, Ulrik, the other Grandmasters weren''t around to stop him or deliberate before taking such a stupid action. He led himself to his demise.


    This left Avi with no ruler, which brought about the Emperor''s current actions.


    Then, there was a need for justifications.


    This, while not that important, ys a key role in determining how conflicts are to be disseminated the moment brute force cannot be applied.


    What do you know? The Emperor had all of these in his favor!


    Inwardly, he was smiling, thinking about the carnage toe, but even better, the bounty after that.


    As the group of Grandmasters advanced, none spoke.


    That is, until Jebas decided to break the ice.


    "I''ve been waiting, but it seems none of you are going to talk about the massive manite mine we just left behind! Shouldn''t at least one of us stay to guard it?"


    Except the Emperor, others gave a nce of realization, which then made Jebas understand that he was the only one out of the loop.


    Raven was the one to reply.


    "Reinforcements are on their way. The Master-rank we left behind is enough to oversee it till then"


    Jebas gave a nod. He didn''t understand everything, but was reluctant to ask anymore questions.


    In any case, his questions would be answered in due time.


    ¡ª--------------------------


    The tallest buildings in Avi were the watchtowers.


    As implied, it was a building built for the purpose of viewing the surroundingndscape from above.


    With this, iing armies and unknown partiesing bynd, sea or air would be spotted from afar.


    It was built into a cylindrical shape with gray stones and stood upon Avin soil like an impaled pole.


    Atop one of them were the duo of Gild and Renir.


    Renir hit Gild, who stood beside him like a statue.


    "Hey, hey, Gild"


    Thetter got annoyed and replied with a creased brow¡­


    "What is it already?"


    Renir wasn''t bothered since he had grown used to such actions, and replied in haste¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Oh,e on. How can you be like this right now? Didn''t you see the army of Experts that went to support the King?"


    Gild replied with disinterest.


    "So? You do know that it was mostly just a performance, right? Experts going to help a Grandmaster? That''s a funny joke. But anyway, the King shoulde back soon"


    Simultaneously-


    "Hey, what is that?"


    -a white dot appeared in the sky.


    Before they could identify it-


    *Crackle!*


    -white lightning extended from it and hit the tower before they could react.


    *Break!*


    With the attack hitting the location below the tform Gild and Renir were on, the top broke off and fell to the ground with another BANG.


    It broke on impact, and its broken parts sttered to all sides, breaking buildings and killing multiple people, which simultaneously threw the peaceful atmosphere of Avi into panic!


    People ran helter-skelter in panic and confusion, which only worsened the situation by inducing fear.


    Jebas had his hands full running all over the ce dragging Expert-ranks tied with chains, before throwing them in criminal chambers.


    A short staff with hammers on both ends appeared in Getrahan''s grip, which he used to smash apart another watchtower.


    Deneris stood stationary in the sky, and¡­was saving people?


    He was gathering those running around by dedicating a few pieces of his clothes to move them out of the range of shattering rocks and boulders.


    He let out a dissatisfied sigh.


    "Why am I the one assigned the boring stuff?"


    ¡ª------------------------


    -Russell-


    Within the royal pce of Russell, a man d in ck, gaudy clothing, with both his beard and hair white, sat on a rocky wooden chair within his room with a book in hand.


    Suddenly, his eyes widened and his chest heaved as his senses tingled intensely.


    The man sighed with a solemn look on his face.


    "So¡­it has begun"


    ¡ª------------------------


    -Quartez-


    Within the royal castle, two men were conversing and chatting.


    One was short with a round face and refined muscture.


    The other was a bit taller, but fatter with a protruding belly.


    "Hahaha, your majesty. Thank you for such kind words"


    "No, thank you. I am simply-"


    The short man reacted just like the man from before, and after, his face darkened.


    With a turn of his head, he saw the other now had an expression of anger.


    "I just can''t get a minute of peace can I?! Which b#stard is doing what now?!"


    The short man quickly addressed him.


    "Antrid. It seems we''ll have to postpone our hearty conversation and the celebrations. Go and be prepared, it seems turbulent times have grown near"


    Antrid nodded and left.


    The short man held his chin.


    "Theing of a new dawn¡­I must prepare"


    ¡ª----------------------------


    -Iris-


    On a red throne was a woman with long green hair and dark brown eyes. Her hands and face had a fair skin color, while the rest of her body was covered in an armless, body-hugging, and shimmering dark green dress, covered with a robe the same color.


    "Trawssen, have all generals here by nightfall"


    Her Butler, a slender woman with short buttercream hair bowed slightly and left.

 Chapter 141 Grandmaster Attack (2)

    *Spark!*


    With Avipletely in panic, Deneris, Jebas and Getrahan doing their stuff, the Emperor had his work cut out for him as he flew in a straight line, heading for the pce.


    Avi had the smallest expanse ofnd, making it the smallest Kingdom.


    It had only one city, Vi.


    Yeah, whoever named it must have had the worst naming sense, or was justzy.


    But Vi was seven times bigger than Kingsmere.


    Viewing Avi from above, the city was built in the shape of a stretched semi-circle, which was then segmented into slices.


    Four wrecked watchtowers stood right behind the crescent city wall.


    Right now, the Emperor ran through the middle of the city as he quickly destroyed thest watchtower standing, which was right in front of the Royal Quarters.


    With no dy, he struck down the pce doors with lightning and noted that no guards were around.


    He sped up into the pce, only to find it devoid of sound, not even a single person in sight.


    The Emperor frowned. The royal family had fled.


    Quickly, he cast his eyes over the ce.


    They began their attacks about two minutes ago. No matter how fast they reacted, they couldn''t have gone far.


    Befitting of an Emperor, he began to notice tracks, and with haste, followed the trail of clues.


    With the King dead, his kin were to follow, killing out the lineagepletely.


    ¡ª------------------------


    "Hurry, hurry. We don''t have much time"


    In an underground passage, devoid of light and full of dust, was a line of people.


    The one at the forefront and the one at the end held lights, while those in between, five children and two women, moved with careful steps, scared faces, and shivering bodies.


    With the King absent in the wake of a siege, these two women, his wives, quickly got their heads together and fled as fast as they could.


    So long as the King was alive, he would return, and so would they.


    But they had to make sure his heirs lived, as that was their guarantee for a bright future.


    Unfortunately, their future wasn''t guaranteed at all.


    *Break!*


    A hand broke through the ceiling, and before they could react, it grabbed the head of the guard standing at the end of the line with a torch in hand, and then¡­


    *SNAP!*


    His head was turned 360 degrees at a speed faster than they could follow, faster than the man could even scream.


    The hand had such a force that the snap blew out the fire in the hands of the now dead guard.


    Then and there, any thought of attack or resistance vanished from the minds of everyone else.


    Two children peed themselves subconsciously, while the mothers had their children hide behind them.


    As they stood silently, watching the hand drop the dead man, amotion spread at the front of the line.


    "What are you doing?!"


    One of the wives yelled at the top of her voice when she noticed the surroundings getting darker.


    The guard at the forefront ran off with the torch in hand. He didn''t dare to look back as he shouted¡­


    "I''m sorry, but I believe I''ve done enough. I''m not going to die for you two selfish mongrels!"


    By the time he finished his words, he was more than twenty steps away, and those left were plunged into utter darkness. They didn''t see the hand going back into the ceiling.


    The kids were already frightened, but now they were downright terrified.


    They began to sob as tears leaked from their eyes while their fists tightened on their mother''s dress.


    Then one spoke, a girl.


    "Mom *sob*, mom *sob*, a-are we going to die?"


    The mother rubbed her hair and spoke softly¡­


    "No sweetie, everything''s going to be fine"


    The girl couldn''t see her mother, but felt that her mother must be holding a smile at the moment.


    ? Right on queue¡­


    *BREAK*


    A few steps away from them, the ceiling broke into pieces.


    But that was just the beginning.


    *BREAK*BREAK*BREAK*BREAK*


    The ceiling was broken consecutively towards their position.


    When it got to the ceiling right above them, the mothers pulled their children close to shield them from harm.


    But¡­nothing happened.


    As they began to wonder¡­


    *BREAK*


    The same sound hit their ears once more, but this time, it echoed, because it didn''t happen near them.


    More question marks popped over their heads.


    Just then-


    "AHHH! NOO!"


    -a blood curdling scream reverberated.


    The wives recognised it as the voice of the guard who fled.


    Inwardly, they felt a bit of satisfaction that he had met his end, a gruesome one at that.


    Then, they told their kids to close their eyes.


    As they awaited their turn, what came next wasn''t what they expected.


    "Come out"


    A deep voice called to them.


    With a puzzled expression, they moved towards the parts where the ceiling had broken and looked up to see a man with a regal visage as his body crackled with white lightning.


    With his arms folded, he spoke


    "So you are thete king''s wives and his heirs"


    "Late?" one wife impulsively muttered.


    "I killed him" the Emperor said.


    She clenched her fist. They were done for.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Well, I guess that''s enough for pleasantries-"


    He opened his grip and Shredder appeared within.


    "-Let me send you on your way"


    He raised his weapon to smite them, when-


    "Wait!"


    -the second wife gave an urgent shout, causing the Emperor to pause.


    He gave her a puzzled look.


    "I hope it is not mercy you''re expecting"


    The wife made a nervous gulp but pushed on.


    They were at the brink of death, what else was there to lose.


    So she shouted.


    "I don''t expect mercy. You can do whatever you want to me. But please, spare my children"


    "Do the same for mine!" the other wife shouted.


    The Emperor tilted his head with the same puzzled look.


    "You wish for me to spare your children so they can one day kill mine?"


    "No, not at all. I''ll have them swear to forgo all acts of vengeance or revenge to either you or any of your descendents"


    The Emperor nodded.


    "Then do so"


    She grabbed hold of her kids and looked them in the eye, while the other did the same.


    "Johan, Theron"


    "Yes mother" both boys answered simultaneously.


    "I want you to listen, and I want you to listen well"


    The boy''s eyes were moist with tears, so they just nodded.


    "I want you to live. Do you understand me?"


    "Yes" they said weakly.


    She shook them and spoke with a burning gaze.


    "I want you to live. So before I go, I need you to promise me something. And speak clearly this time"


    "We promise"


    "I need you to promise me that you will never seek revenge of behalf of your father and I"


    "We *sob* promise"


    "That you''ll never seek to harm the Emperor or any of his descendants"


    "We *sob*sob* promise"


    Her gaze softened and she hugged her children as tight as she could, and said¡­


    "Remember. Always remember that I love you"


    The tears they held back gushed out as they tightened their arms over their mother and cried out all the injustice and pain.


    For a whole minute, all five children cried their hearts out.


    After that, their mother released them from their grasp, before cutting her hand.


    She used five fingers to touch the blood.


    "Johan, open your shirt" she said.


    The boyplied, watching as she ced her fingers on his chest, and then¡­


    "Ah! It hurts" the boy spoke in panic.


    She nodded.


    "I know"


    After a few seconds, she withdrew her hand, leaving her fingerprints on the boy''s chest.


    Afterwards, she did the same to Theron.


    She looked into the eyes of her lovely children and let out a very heavy sigh.


    Only then did she stand to her feet.


    "It''s done" she said to the Emperor.


    The Emperor nced at the other woman to find her pacifying her weeping daughters, while her son let out silent cries.


    With no change of expression, he said¡­


    "It''s time"


    The other mother promptly got to her feet and had her eyes make contact with the first.


    Both women were light brown inplexion and were wearing torn gowns.


    They had torn it themselves to allow for faster movement.


    While they normally fought for the king''s attention, at the end of the day, they gave each other nods of acknowledgement.


    With that, the Emperor made his move.


    Using his lightning, he pulled the children from within the passage.


    Their cries became louder and they called for their moms.


    The mother of Johan and Theron had her eyes follow her children as they were taken, leaving onest piece of advice.


    "Be strong, my boys. Be strong"


    With that, the Emperor took them away, before speaking to the mothers¡­


    "For the first time in a long while, I actually find myself in admiration of such courage. As such, I wish to kill you here"


    "You''re not taking us prisoners?" one asked.


    "I do not want to see you be sullied by mongrels among men. So¡­what do you choose?"


    "You may do as you wish" Johan''s mom answered.


    The Emperor nodded.


    "Very well then. I''ll make this as painless as possible"


    The next instant.


    *CRACKLE!*

 Chapter 142 Grandmaster Attack(3)

    *CRACKLE!*


    The Emperor struck with a vicious attack.


    The children were binded by his lightning and moved their eyes to face the opposite direction.


    When they heard the loud crackle of lightning, they all shut their mouths.


    They wished it wasn''t so, but they instinctively knew that they were never going to see their mothers again.


    They were a group of three boys and two girls.


    Three were children of the first wife, two girls and a boy, while the mother of Johan and Theron was the second wife.


    The girls, along with their brother, cried silently and slowly, while the two boys were mute, their eyes hollow and their expressions dead.


    By now, the sound of lightning had ceased.


    Itsted a couple of seconds.


    The Emperor looked at his handiwork, two bodiespletely charred ck with their hands connected.


    He was genuinely amazed.


    ''They didn''t scream till the end''


    His attacks burnt them inside out, but none of them made any sound, or maybe his attack was that powerful?


    Either way, the Emperor had only respect for such actions. It was a pity that they were on the enemy''s side.


    With quick work, he broke the floor of the underground passage, used lightning to make a well made pit, and ced the charred bodies in it.


    Then, he broke up the entire passage, filling the pit with rocks and sand. To finish it up, he fashioned it to look presentable as a grave.


    Such women deserved at least that much.


    With that done, he turned to look at the kids.


    He tapped his chin, contemting as he sorted out his thoughts.


    His mind went back to the matter of Cavarl.


    ''Did I make the right choice by letting that guy live?'' he wondered.


    In other cases, he would have killed him straight away, but with the grandmasters arriving, if Cavarl resist even a little, it would cast suspicion upon him once they saw his dead body.


    Such an act would cause a rift between them, which meant this coordinated attack on Avi would not have been possible.


    Worse, if the Grandmasters poked their noses around, they might smell out the mana stones, prompting a very difficult situation.


    But looking at it carefully, enough mana stones would ensure a Grandmaster could grow into the Mythical-rank. Even one of those would allow stunning growth for a Master.


    So he doubted that Cavarl would be stupid enough to expose or lose such a treasure by breaking their deal.


    With such reasoning, he reaffirmed that he made the right decision.


    He looked at the children, before looking away.


    He figured he''d think of what to do with them once he was done cleaning up.


    With that, he flew off once more towards the buildings of the ruling powers of Avi, leaving the still blinded children behind.


    To make sure the conquest went smoothly, as well as stopping any future rebellions, the entire ruling ss had to be uprooted.


    ¡ª----------------¡ª-


    Meanwhile, Raven sped through the city on a mission of his own.


    His job¡­was to mark out treasures!


    Avi only had one city, but it was a power nheless. They were bound to be rare artifactsying about, no matter how few.


    He would run into shops and look through every merchandise. Whichever caught his eye or seemed unusual, he would ce his hands on it and give it a mark.


    This was his unique technique that earned him his moniker.


    Anything he marked would have its location known to him within a certain range.


    The range wasrger than the whole of Avi, so he needn''t worry about losing sight of it.


    He was assigned to plunder all rare treasures, but he figured he would mark them first.


    With each Grandmaster having their hands full, things were starting to shake up back at the Empire.


    By now, evening hade, and soon, night would fall.


    ¡ª----------------------------------


    -Kingsmere, 1 and a half hours ago-


    Bolton had the castle servants clear up the torn pieces of paper and broken ss.


    He walked around the castle to check for any inconsistency, while alsomenting the fact that he hadn''t told the Emperor about Ezra''s new weapon.


    ''But well, his majesty shouldn''t take that long''


    The Emperor had left twenty minutes ago.


    At most, Bolton judged he''d be back by the thirtieth minute.


    At this moment, the crest at the right side of his chest shone with light, and a message was heard¡­


    "The Avillian King is dead. I have moved toy im to hisnds. You know what to do. I expect them to arrive as early as possible. Glory to the Empire"


    Bolton''s eyes widened, and narrowed secondster.


    ''For the Emperor to suddenly attack Avi¡­did some unexpected problem crop up? Hmm, regardless, this message¡­I guess a war call is in order''


    Quickly, he sorted his thoughts and moved with haste.<novelnext></novelnext>


    He threw the matter of Ezra''s weapon to the back of his head.


    He sent a message to the sentinel.


    "It''s an urgent message from the Emperor. Get here as fast as possible"


    ¡ª-----------------------------------


    Minutester, the sentinel arrived in front of Bolton with fast steps.


    "You called"


    "Good to see you too, Kogar. Have a sit and let''s get to the matter at hand"


    Kogar did as told and the conversation began.


    "You are to hold a mandatory war call to a quarter of our elite force"


    Kogar raised an eye in surprise. A quarter of Niton''s full force meant the Empire was going to war.


    On queue, Bolton continued.


    "It is as you fear, the Empire is at war once more"


    "For what reason?!" Kogar demanded, perplexed.


    "The conquest of and that was once ours"


    A name crossed Kogar''s mind.


    "Avi?!"


    Bolton gave a nod, confirming his thoughts.


    "Missions for war should be distributed in every Missionary by tonight"


    "How much forpensation?"


    "Give enough, but not too much"


    "Okay, anything else?"


    Bolton stopped to think for a few seconds, before responding¡­


    "You know the rules. Make sure to contribute as much as possible. The rewards this time might be more astonishing than expected"


    Kogar''s eyes glinted.


    "Oh? I''ll make sure to do so"


    "Have all missionaries near the border send reinforcements as fast as possible. Goods might need transporting"


    "Have the ns and guilds draw lots. We can''t have Niton undefended because everyone was trying to acquire treasure"


    Kogar had formed the general idea of what he was supposed to do.


    With that done, both men headed to their duties.


    ¡ª----------------------------


    Meanwhile, Ezra was perusing the abilities of his new weapon without knowing the massive waves his n had kicked up.


    He couldn''t stop himself from smiling from ear to ear.


    With a series of tests, he discovered the weapon was null-elemental geared.


    Meaning, unlike other weapons which had their enchantments dedicated to enhancing a particr element, this one wasn''t geared to any.


    Normally, that would be a serious bummer, if not for the fact that it could conduct effects of any element!


    For Ezra, who held five, it meant he could apply freezing, burning, scorching, cursing or poisoning effects as soon as the de touched another surface.


    The reason why this is such a boon is simple. In any other scenario, Ezra would only be able to use the effects of at most three of his elements.


    Then, it had a size and weight regtor imbued within it that worked through ways Ezra could not even begin to understand.


    With a thought and some mana, it could be as small and light as a pebble or as big and heavy as a horse.


    Of course, the mana expended wasn''t small either. If Ezra wasn''t careful, he could faint because of it.


    That aside, Ezra naturally had expectations from the start.


    Yet, he still severely underestimated its quality.


    Right now, he was awed, because this was just the first day.


    There was still a lot to be discovered!


    And that possibility excited Ezra to no end.


    ¨C¡ª-¡ª-----¡ª¡ª-¡ª-¡ª-------------


    Hours flew by in a sh and, before long, it was night time.


    More importantly¡­


    A man in a cloak paid Kingsmere''s entrance fee.


    "Here" he said.


    Fredrick had arrived.


    His eyes shone with resolve from beneath the cloak.


    The expedition was officially over.


    To Fredrick though, it was just the start.

 Chapter 143 Undercurrents (7)

    ? Elsewhere, two men draped in dark brown clothes walk along the streets of a small vige.


    Torches hung along the vige''s wooden fence lit up the way.


    Their high quality clothes made a stark contrast with their surroundings, in turn making them a feast for the eyes of the vige residents.


    These men bore such things no mind as their legs never stopped moving.


    One had his gaze fixed on something within his palm, while the other feasted his eyes on the surroundings, and he did not like what he saw.


    With haste, he spoke¡­


    "How long till we get out of this dump? It is blemishing my existence" the other answered absent-mindedly, not once moving his gaze from the object in his palm as he took a short turn.


    "Almost there my lord, almost there"


    "You have been saying that for so long now, Giffard. Are you even sure the man who did the deed is actually here?"


    "Very" he said and a smile blossomed on his lips.


    "And we''ll be meeting him soon"


    With quick footsteps, they arrive in front of a two floor building with lights - jars containing light fleas - hung along the sides.


    The few windows on the sides spoke volumes of what was happening within, as loud and merry chatter carried on.


    "A tavern?"


    "It would seem so" Giffard replied.


    "Tch-"


    He clicked his tongue.


    "-lets just get this over with"


    With that, he pushed the door carelessly to reveal a tavern filled with just enough people to make the atmosphere seem bustling.


    The light of the tavern revealed his face in full.


    He had white skin, long ck hair, and ck eyes. A single earring dangled from his left earlobe.


    He practically reeked of high status from his visage alone.


    That, and his loud opening, had caused the chatter to halt and attracted all eyes.


    Again, he paid it no mind as his gazes swept over every figure.


    And well, all he could say was that they seemed the same.


    Haggard, loud and lousy. This was his assessment.


    *Creak*


    Giffard steeped in momentster with his gaze still on the item.


    His head was small with short brown hair.


    The image of the item became clear. It was a small pendant with fading sigil marking.


    "Did you find anything, my lord?" he asked.


    Giffard replied with a nod to the side.


    Without words, he moved his hands in a funny way, making a small circle appear on his palm.


    The pendant lit up with a dim light, and Giffard turned his gaze to survey the crowd.


    A second, then two passed with nothing happening.


    By the third second-


    "AHH!"


    From above, right on top of Giffard''s position, a painful scream awoke most of those present.


    "Oh? So he''s up there" the other man said.


    Immediately, he jumped and broke through the ceiling. On the second floor, he found himself a drunk - judging by the smell of alcohol - dirty man screaming in pain with his hands clenched on his stomach as hard as possible whileying on a bed.


    A vein popped up in the man''s head as he beheld such an appearance.


    His gracefulness disappeared with fury recing it as he held up the screaming man and screamed to his face.


    "How did someone like you do it?!"


    His eyes analyzed the still screaming man and he asked again¡­


    "How did someone like you kill Rowan with such a pathetic-"


    He suddenly paused and narrowed his eyes.


    Taking a closer look, he found something interesting.


    "Who left you in such a manner?"


    The other man didn''t seem to have any cognisance of what was happening and all he could do was to keep up his screams.


    The pain was vivid all over his face and he seemed like he would cry soon if the pain didn''t cease.


    Taking a closer look, the face¡­was familiar!


    The man screaming¡­was Ilyon!


    "It seems there''s a lot we don''t know"


    He broke the front wall andnded in front of the tavern with Ilyon in hand.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Giffard, you can stop now"


    Giffard stopped what he was doing and the circle disappeared.


    Along with it, the bar owner fainted at the sight of such destruction.


    Giffard surveys Ilyon.


    "This is him?" he asked bewildered.


    "It is. We''ll have him tell us what exactly happened"


    Then he tosses Ilyon, who had fainted from the pain, to Giffard.


    "Get him cleaned up"


    Such a task had Giffard pausing for a second, before answering¡­


    "As you wish"


    With that, both men ran off.


    ________________________


    Meanwhile, news of Avi''s conquest spread.


    Noble families, guilds and ns had sent representatives to draw lots for the asion.


    As implied, because only a quarter of Niton''s elite force were to rally for battle, lots had to be drawn to decide which factions would participate.


    Exceptions existed, such as families or ns an Admiral is affiliated with.


    Of course, because of things like these, most Admirals are picked from small sized affiliations.


    Meaning, their organizations don''t have many members, and therefore cannot send arge force.


    This allowed other powers to get an adequate chance to send troops.


    Of course, quotas existed to avoid the situation of a family mobilizing its entire force to monopolize all the opportunities and rewards.


    Thanks to long distancemunication items, lots had been drawn and selected troops were now heading for Avi.


    There were high ranking mercenaries among them, while a few were already there.


    The merchants were also heading towards Avi with high expectations.


    After all, wars were very costly, and those smart among them could see iting.


    _______________________


    With the contract done, Cavarl told the Emperor that the missionaries were ignorant of the existence of the mana stones, so the Emperor didn''t kill them.


    Since then, Carval had been supervising the mining of mana crystals.


    It was a task given to him by the Emperor.


    Another Master hade to join him on the Emperor''s orders, and a lot of Avillians were utilized as miners.


    _______________


    As different groups arrived in batches, they found Avi in a state of silence with most people having slept early.


    To make sure the ruling hierarchy never caused problems, the Emperor sent them, and their children, along with a few individuals he deemed a threat, to their early graves.


    That same night, he figured that he''d send Valin''s children to Kingsmere, as the next dawn would signify the beginning of a war, and he couldn''t guarantee their safety in a warzone.


    As children of a Grandmaster, they had to have something special about them.


    Letting them die would be a waste.


    The children were gagged, thrown into a small carriage reinforced with iron bars, then shipped to Kingsmere.


    He would decide what to do with them once he got back.


    Meanwhile, the Emperor was racking his brain on those who plundered the Manite mine prior to them.


    ''No mana stones were found in the royal treasury or anywhere else. Then, did a noble from our side take it?''


    Such thoughts caused the Emperor a lot of difort.


    If it was stolen by any of the great noble families, then the possibility that a Mythical-rank fighter might be born was certainly not small.


    And yet, he couldn''t do anything about it as he has no clear proof.


    That didn''t mean he was just going to sit down while others moved to dethrone him. No. That only he''d have to move meticulously to achieve such aims.


    Without anyone knowing, conflict has arisen between the royal family and the great noble families.


    ''But of course, the war at hand takes priority'' thought the Emperor.


    Any rare artifact had been plundered, along unneeded buildings.


    He was nning on integrating Avi back into Niton.


    Yes. Back into, because it was once Nitoniannd.


    If so, killing and harming the citizens or damaging the economy would do more harm than good in the long run.


    Looking over the streets, Avi didn''t carry the atmosphere of a ce just conquered if you ignored the low voices.


    The Emperor nodded.


    Things were running smoothly.


    Like so did the night go, and in a sh, dawn approached.

 Chapter 144 Checking On Mom

    With a good yawn, Ezra got out of bed with a refreshing smile and quickly got moving.


    Before long, he''s done cleaning up and had his signature ck attire on.


    ''I will go to a training chamber to further test Skyfall. Once that is done, I''ll meet with Bard. Picking a suitable mana technique is in order. That, along withbat manuals¡­is that all?''


    With some quick thinking, he remembers something.


    *Facepalm*


    ''I forgot about picking a mana technique andbat art for mom¡­but I don''t know what fighting style she prefers¡­I guess a visit is overdue.


    ''I don''t see her a lot these days, and I didn''t visit¡­she''s not going to be angry, right?


    Ezra took a deep breath.


    ''Betterte than never, I guess''


    After inquiring, he was directed to a training chamber on the same floor as the Alchemistbs.


    He stood in front of a t stone door that didn''t look like a door save for the round handles.


    ''I can''t hear anything'' he was astonished.


    Not a sound leaked out. It was something Ezra was seeing for the first time, so he wondered not how, but what made it possible.


    ''I guess it has something to do with these stones. I''ll ask Bard about themter''


    He pushes the doors open ever so slowly to reveal a woman of average height. She was wearing a short blue shirt with its sleeves folded, a ck cloth over her lower body, and ck boots. Her hair was light yellow, short and held together with a ribbon.


    Ezra didn''t know this woman, but stepping inside, he saw his mom welding her rapier as he struck a wooden doll in front of her.


    *Pak!*Pak!*Pak!*


    She had a helmet on, but Ezra easily recognised her.


    The doll had taken her full attention as she didn''t even look to see who came in.


    "Mom" Ezra called her attention.


    She abruptly paused, stood still for a few seconds, and took off the helmet with a light breath.


    Putting the helmet on her armpit, she asked¡­


    "So, my beloved son finally decided to check on his mother? Are you sure you don''t want toe back after a few more weeks?"


    It was clear she was angry.


    Ezra could only rub his hair, cough a bit, and look away awkwardly. He was embarrassed by the fact he didn''t have any excuse.


    Honestly, as a fifty seven year old man, Ezra still found it difficult to rebuke her. Especially not after all the care he received.


    So, he did something else.


    He put a bit more mana in his legs and, with one step, he was hugging his mom''s legs.


    "Oh" his mom was flustered at the sudden change, but couldn''t resist patting the head of the cute little boy.


    "Alright, alright, I forgive you"


    With his aim achieved, Ezra let go.


    But his mom wasn''t done yet.


    She pulled his left cheeks and spoke¡­


    "But you have to promise toe by at least twice a week from now on"


    Ezra sighed. He quickly found an excuse.


    "Father might get angry if I don''t train"


    His mother shut him down immediately.


    "Then, good thing your father isn''t around"


    "Father''s not around?"


    Ezra was dumbstruck.


    It was his mother''s turn to raise a brow.


    "Were you sleeping throughout yesterday? Of course he''s not around. He''s gone. And with the little I''ve gleaned, he won''t be back anytime soon"


    Ezra''s eyes changed.


    ''I was so engrossed in testing Skyfall that I didn''t notice till now?!...I need to stop doing that''


    His mind was a mess.


    ''The Emperor went somewhere. I expected it, but not this early¡­something must''ve changed, but I don''t know what. Still, with all the preparations, it''s unlikely that Fredrick got caught. It seems another opportunity has arrived!''


    Ezra''s eyes released a dangerous light as his brain went to work.


    That is-


    *Ahem*


    -until a cough broke his reverie.


    Ezra''s body tingled, realizing he was standing in front of his mom.


    He raised his head slowly to gaze at the piercing look looming over his head.


    After a bit of awkwardughter and sudden coughs, Ezra found a peculiarity.


    "Mom. Why are they standing like that?''


    "Oh, my shoulder bones are hurting. Julie said it''s an effect of training, so it''ll go away with time"


    Ezra didn''t answer, but turned to face Julie, the instructor.


    His expression turned still and eerie, making Julie ufortable.


    But she calmed herself.


    ''Rx, rx, he''s just a child, there''s no way he could''ve noticed''<novelnext></novelnext>


    At least she tried to, if it wasn''t for Ezra''s request.


    "Miss Julie, I''d like for you to show me some of your sword skills"


    "I don''t see-"


    "I wasn''t asking, do it"


    Julie unconsciously gulped, this child¡­


    But she threw such thoughts aside.


    ''He just wants to see how amazing my sword skills are, yes, yes. That must be it''


    She got into a stance and readied her breathing.


    As a Knight not even at Expert-rank, daring to disobey the prince could be seen as disrespecting the royal family''s authority.


    *Swi!*Swi!*Swi!*Swi!*


    Her movements were graceful but deadly as the rapier tore through air.


    Her moves were mesmerizing, but Ezra''s face only grew darker.


    After a minute, she put the weapon back on the shack at the side, before bowing.


    "Was it to your liking, your highness?"


    Ezra didn''t bother replying.


    "Guards!"


    Quickly, two knights came in with a spear in their hands.


    "Yes, your highness?" they asked.


    "Arrest this woman" Ezra''s tone was cold.


    His order had Julie''s face turning unsightly and his mother confused.


    "Son, what is this about?"


    "I''ll exin to you once this is over"


    Kiara couldn''t grasp the situation, but she knew her son had her best interests at heart, so she chose to observe and not intervene.


    By now, Julie was outright panicking with her head darting from Ezra to the guards.


    "Y-Your highness, I do not understand. I have done nothing wrong!"


    "No, you have done plenty"


    Ezra looked at the guards still standing.


    "Well? What are you waiting for?"


    The guards moved to encircle Julie.


    Now, Julie stood still with her gaze to the floor.


    Her worst fears hade true.


    ''How did he know?!'' she wondered.


    She had been sent by Count Heaton to tutor Ezra''s mom.


    Then, one night, a maid approached her with a letter from someone anonymous, containing a request to harm Kiara.


    She outright rejected, but when gold coins, more than she''d ever seen, arrived in front of her eyes, she epted.


    Although the requester deemed themselves anonymous, Julie knew of only three people who would gain from this.


    As the situation was, if she was caught, she would be tortured to death and condemned to very for her crime against the throne.


    ''No'' she suddenly thought.


    ''I''d be killed by the requester before that''


    Now, she became soaked in helplessness. All the possibilities thaty in front of her were bleak and full of suffering.


    She might have chosen to attack Ezra, but with two Expert Knights in the room, she would undoubtedly fail.


    In haste, she drew a weapon from the shack.


    The guards raised their caution level higher and prepared to subdue her the moment she attacked.


    But she didn''t attack. With her future being bleak, she made a decision.


    ''I''d rather save myself from all that pain''


    *Chuk!*


    She stabbed herself before the guards could react, and slumped to the floor soon after.


    The sudden act caught the guard unawares as they looked at each other, confused on what to do.


    It was someone else that reacted.


    Ezra arrived beside her momentster, but the deed had already been done.


    ''Damn'' he felt annoyed.


    Julie''s blood poured out, coloring the ground red.


    Ezra grabbed hold of her, raised her up, and whispered into her ear.


    "Tell me who it is. Who sent you to your grave?"


    His whisper had Julie gaze at him with widened eyes, before muttering something only he could hear.


    Once done, her bloody lips brought about a light smile and then her body went limp.


    Julie had died.

 Chapter 145 Sorting Out New Issues

    Everyone stood silent watching it all happen.


    Ezra confirmed her death and dropped her body without a change in expression.


    But his gaze had turned much colder.


    While others were unable to hear, he had heard herst words clearly.


    ''Empresses¡­''


    Honestly, it was a deduction he would''ve made sooner orter.


    No one stood to gain from his mom''s death other than those three witches.


    It could only be one of them.


    Narrowing his search, Ezra removed the first wife.


    She wasn''t someone to do things like this.


    Furthermore, she hadn''t deemed him as much of a threat as the others.


    That left the second and third wife.


    Ezra left the matter there. He would find the culprit sooner orter. Even if he did find the culprit right now, he had no evidence, and therefore, no justification against them.


    Of course, that didn''t mean he would ever forgive Julie''s actions, for she had done it on her own ord, and it wasn''t like she killed herself because she felt guilty.


    "Guards, clean this ce up"


    They nodded and got to work.


    Ezra got to his mother, who stood in a daze, and pulled her out of the room.


    Along the way, Ezra started conversing.


    "You said she was personally sent by the Count, didn''t you?"


    "Yes" his mother replied.


    ''Hmm¡­'' this got Ezra thinking.


    Count Baxter Keaton. He was virtually his mom''s only supporter.


    It was because of his high status that Ezra''s mom got to enjoy any of her basic privileges.


    Ezra had seen him once before. When he was one year old, the man came to visit.


    Ezra had his mom go to her room and wait for him there.


    ''A letter ofint must be sent. I don''t know how someone he rmended could be bought over so easily. Or was she part of another faction from the start?''


    He nned his next few moves in his head as he walked to the Emperor''s quarters to find Bolton.


    Without knocking, Ezra entered and spoke¡­


    "Sir Bolton, I need a healing potion. High quality would be preferred"


    Bolton, whose eyes were glued to the papers he was reading, raised his gaze and immediately replied¡­


    "I''m afraid that I won''t be able to apany you at the moment. As you might not be aware, war has already begun between the Empire and the neighboring kingdoms. I''ll have a guard escort you instead"


    Ezra''s eyes sparkled, his result had been achieved. Once Fredrick arrived, he would hide away from the rest of the world.


    And because of the war, very few would pay attention to him.


    That being said, Ezra realized that he had a few loose ends to tie up.


    "Might I ask what exactly you need it for" Bolton inquired.


    "For an experiment I''m conducting on alchemy. I find it rather fascinating"


    Ezra lied through his teeth with a light smile.


    Bolton raised a brow, but inquired no further, leaving only a sigh.


    Soon after, the guard appointed by Bolton approached a wooden door closest to the wall on the floor containing the alchemist''sirs with Ezra behind him.


    With a push, the man entered, and came out a few momentster with a beaker of yellow liquid.


    Ezra snatches it with amazing reflexes, said a "thank you", and ran off.


    Quickly, he went to his mother''s room, where she was lying on her bed.


    "Mother, sit up"


    She does as he says. He then gives her the potion, which she drinks withoutint.


    Once done, Kiara spoke.


    "Now that that''s over. Ezra, please tell me what exactly is going on"


    "Huh¡­" Ezra took a deep breath and nodded.


    "The instructor was going to have you crippled, but slowly"


    Kiara''s heart skipped a beat.


    "What do you mean by that?"


    "She had you doing body training meant for men instead of women. That fundamental difference would break your bones, as they would be unable to endure a man''s training. Of course, to make sure nobody caught notice of it too quickly, she must''ve mixed both types of training together. This meant your body would be chipped at a slow pace, but the damage would be much worse. Like water and oil, alone, they have uses, butbined, they''re almost useless. The pain at your hips was just the start. Eventually, your bones would ache at any movement, your ligaments would feel heavy, your innards would be disarrayed, and your meridians would be useless for the most part"<novelnext></novelnext>


    At the end of his exnation, Kiara nked out.


    Then something happened.


    The atmosphere turned chilly and the books at the side began umting frostbite at their tips.


    She spoke, her tone slow and devoid of emotion with her eyes unflinching.


    "Who was it?"


    Ezra was surprised. He didn''t feel the change in temperature because he had ice affinity, but satisfaction filled his heart when he saw his mom like this.


    If anything, she had changed, and it was a good change.


    Her current demeanor demanded respect as her visage was utterly cold.


    "You already know" he replied softly.


    The chilly atmosphere began dissipating as her gaze became one of rity, her voice as clear as ever.


    "I see¡­thinking deeper, I should''ve expected it-"


    She stared at her son with caring eyes.


    "-instead of causing you so much trouble"


    Ezra hugged her in return.


    "Don''t ever say that. I don''t know where I would be without you"


    "Is that so?" Kiara was touched and rubbed his hair all over.


    Silence pervaded for a full minute, before Kiara spoke once more¡­


    "What about the ns you told me of?"


    Ezra smiled.


    "Things should be ready within five years"


    Kiara was surprised.


    "That short?"


    Don''t forget, this was a five year old kid talking.


    Kiara thought he''d be at least twenty years old before it coulde into fruition.


    She raised her brow, wondering what her son had been up to this whole while.


    Unlike what she thought, he must have been very busy when she thought all he did was train.


    "Don''t worry mom. You can count on me."


    Ezra''s words of reassurance had Kiara swelling up with pity.


    Such a young boy carrying such burdens¡­it wasn''t fair!


    But as she knew, the world had never been fair.


    Such thoughts had her letting out a deep sigh, but also rekindled her resolve.


    This incident wouldn''t stop her from training as a Knight! Nothing would!


    Ezra had a thought and asked¡­


    "Where is Isabelle? Why haven''t I seen her around?"


    "Oh, it seems the head maid had a job for her"


    Ezra perked up his brows-


    "Oh? So they''re keeping her busy?"


    -his gaze turned cold right after.


    "Mom, I suggest we do something about this. Such nonsense can no longer be tolerated"


    "What do you suggest we do?"


    "We? No. I can''t have you conversing with mere maids, it''ll lower your prestige.


    "Just wait here while I cause a bit of drama. As a child, what can they do to me?"


    Kiaraughed and touched Ezra''s nose.


    "You''re such a mischievous child"


    "Thank you. I shall be taking my leave. Make sure to stay away from any strenuous activity for the next seve-, no, ten days"


    "Ok my boy. Be well"


    With that, Ezra exited the room and made way for the castle''s kitchen.


    But on his way there, he stumbled upon a familiar figure.


    "Fredrick?"

 Chapter 146 Problem Solving

    "Fredrick?"


    Ezra was shocked as he surveyed the figure over and over again to make sure he was seeing things right.


    But the replying voice dispelled his doubts.


    "Your highness, I have returned from my journey"


    Ezra smiled.


    "And how were your endeavors?"


    "It was sessful"


    Ezra''s smile turned into a wicked grin.


    "Very well then. But we shall catch up another time. Right now, I need you to apany me"


    "Ok, but please have this"


    With that, Fredrick handed Ezra the ancient space ring, before following behind him as they arrived at the royal kitchen.


    Maids in their usual ck gown with white head covers moved about with quick steps as a voice rained prominent amongst all.


    "Carissa, put those muffle beans¡­"


    "Titoka, I hope you''ve got those¡­"


    The head maid, Mrs. Leslie, had a stern face, graceful but with wrinkles all over. With an overall height 4''9, shemanded all junior maids as each did their jobs.


    Right about this time, someone mmed the door open, distrusting the harmonic working atmosphere as every maid subconsciously paused to see who dared to do such a thing.


    *Cough*Cough*


    Ezra made himself known as he stepped into the kitchen, making sure he was known by coughing a bit more.


    The maids backed away and bowed their heads at the same time.


    "We greet his highness"


    "The pleasure is all mine. You may go back to work"


    With that, they stood straight and went back to their duties.


    Ezra narrowed his gaze.


    "Where is the head maid?"


    "Here" the reply was instantaneous.


    Ezra frowned as he saw the maid not bothering to move.


    After seconds of still no movement, Ezra decided to spell it out for her.


    "What are you waiting for? Get over here"


    Only then did she approach with slow steps, her disy of disrespect clear for all to see.


    Her short height almost had Ezra bursting intoughter.


    They were about the same height.


    "Yes-"


    She said in a sarcastic tone.


    "-your highness?"


    Her eyes betrayed the scorn she held within.


    ''Hoho, to dare look at a prince this way¡­I see''


    That was all Ezra needed to understand how to deal with the situation.


    With that, Ezra threw away any ns of peaceful resolution.


    Assholes like her needed to be thoroughly squashed and dispirited from the start.


    Meanwhile, the head maid was having thoughts of her own as she sized Ezra up.


    ''As expected, he''s just a kid. With a little fear and some snacks, I will have him in my grasp! Today must be my lucky day''


    She didn''t see anything wrong with the n as fantasies clouded her head.


    After all, it had worked for many before, why wouldn''t it work now?


    She also didn''t realize she was grinning.


    Honestly, life was just not fair.


    That b#tch Kiara met her in this castle! Yet, somehow, she managed to get herself impregnated by the Emperor. And now, would you look at this?! Her son was so outstanding he made even other princes look mediocre.


    It''s not fair, it just wasn''t! Why should she be the one with all the luck? What about me? What about my own man? Am I doomed to live the life of a cook without children till I die? While this b#tch just sits in the castle because of luck?!


    Such were the head maids'' circumstances and thoughts. More than anything, she hated Kiara to the death.


    ''I will make sure-''


    But her fantasies were shattered when¡­


    *Pah!*


    Her head turned to the side as she felt her cheeks heat up.


    She was unbelievably flustered.


    ''What just happened?'' she thought.


    Quickly she raised her gaze to meet Ezra when¡­


    *Pah!*


    Immediately, she was administered another p.


    Her head boiled with rage as she turned to the prince, determined to get a few words out.


    "Did you just-"


    s, it would not be so.


    *Pah!*


    "Why are-"


    *Pah!*


    "Stop-"


    *Pah!*


    "How dare-"


    *Pah!*<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I am-"


    *Pah!*


    At this point in time, all other maids were deathly still and silent as they watched on like it was a spectacle never before seen.


    And truly, it was.


    After more than twenty ps, Ezra finally stopped, allowing Leslie a chance to catch her breath.


    Too bad, it seemed she hadn''t learned her lesson as she gazed upon Ezra with apparent fury.


    *Pah!*


    Ezra was having none of that.


    This time, he didn''t allow her to speak as he kept dishing out ps with both hands.


    After too many ps to count, he paused once more.


    This time, the head maid didn''t look up, not because she didn''t want to, but because the ps had drained the strength out of her.


    Ezra nodded.


    ''Good. Now, let''s get rid of you''


    With that, he began speaking.


    "Head maid¡­sorry, I mean Leslie, what gave you the audacity to reply to me without adding ''your highness''?"


    Leslie jerked her head up.


    "That was why-"


    And again¡­


    *Pah!*


    "I didn''t give you permission to speak"


    Leslie shut back up, and Ezra continued.


    "What gave you the audacity to stare at me with such filthy eyes?"


    Leslie quivered in anger but didn''t dare to talk.


    "What gave you the audacity to look down upon the royal family? To disparage my authority?"


    Then he said¡­


    "You can speak"


    And wow, Leslie burst open like a leaking bucket with tears pouring in drops.


    "Curse you! Curse you! You and that filthy worm who birthed you!-"


    Ezra hands popped veins all over, but he chose not to move.


    ''Be patient. It''ll all be worth it in a minute''


    "-Since when bastards like you darey im to the throne?! I was here when that whore you call a mother came along!-"


    It didn''t seem like she was going to stop, so Ezra put a stop to it. Anymore, and he might send her to her grave.


    *Pah!*


    Of course, he did it the most effective way he saw.


    This time, she was relentless and kept up her talks until Ezra spoke aloud¡­


    "Come out"


    The now closed kitchen doors opened up to reveal Fredrick and three other guards beside him.


    At this moment-


    ''Ah!''


    -Leslie realized she had just dug her own grave.


    She couldn''t muster any words as Ezra continued¡­


    "Gentlemen, as you heard all she said, I hope to count on you to uphold all that happened here-"


    The three guards nodded.


    Naturally, they were Fredrick''s men.


    "-without further ado, take her away, to the farthest and worst cells below the castle. Other things will be decidedter"


    The head maid screamed in panic as she immediately prostrated, pleading with all her might.


    "No, sir, I mean, your highness, PLEASE SPARE ME! I must have gone crazy, your highness, I beg of you!"


    To all this, Ezra whispered in her ear.


    "Now you''re pleading to the son of a worm? Not even the worst maggots canpare to how pathetic you are"


    "Ah" her pleading stopped there.


    It was a quick realization.


    "I''m done for"


    The guards were disgusted by such a sight as they took her to her cell.


    They left, leaving Ezra, Fredrick and the maids behind.


    "Ladies, I hope you''ll report as urately as possible" Ezra said.


    The maids nodded hastily.


    In their minds, Ezra''s face looked closer to a demon''s than a human after what he just did.


    He then looked around.


    "Where is Isabelle?"


    They all looked at the ground until one spoke.


    "S-She''s was sent to the marketce"


    "Is that so? Tell her that she has been appointed as the new head maid. Orders from my mother"


    They hastily nodded once more.


    Only then did Ezra leave.


    With this problem taken care of, now to the next one.


    Quickly, Ezra and Fredrick went to Fredrick''s cottage.

 Chapter 147 Glorious Opportunity

    Without dy, both men went straight into the conversation.


    Fredrick did most of the talking, briefing Ezra on their entire journey along with the unexpected variables and rewards.


    ''Hmm¡­'' this got Ezra thinking.


    ''To think I missed so many details¡­but it is to be expected since rumors and tales are always a bit erroneous''


    The w of his past life memories was clear.


    ''I can''t fully trust all the rumors I''ve heard''


    Also¡­


    ''With this event alone, a lot of things will change from how it happened in my past life''


    This much was for sure.


    ''So, the more time passes, the easier it is for memories to grow erroneous, orpletely useless''


    Which means¡­


    ''I need to gather as many pieces as possible in the shortest time possible''


    Meaning, he''d have to take more risks.


    ''Hmm¡­'' Ezra fell into contemtion.


    When all was said and done, he didn''t regret pursuing the n the way he did, not one bit.


    Only, now he had to be more cautious, thorough, swift and decisive going forward.


    His aim from now on was simple.


    Get as strong as possible as fast as possible, and then be even stronger than that.


    Unlike others, he knew the peace permeating Orion was short-lived.


    A time when Orion would almost literally be plunged into hell wasing.


    In such an age, he would stand tall and gain far more than any other.


    Now, his future ns and actions would be geared towards bringing this to fruition.


    His next step would be¡­


    ''I guess it''s time to revisit the Missionary''


    "Fredrick, I can only thank you for such help. Once the n sets in ce, you shall reap your rewards"


    Fredrick nodded and Ezra left.


    With haste steps, he went to find Bolton.


    "Sir Bolton, I would like to collect the Emperor''s gifts"


    Bolton''s raised a brow.


    ''Why now?'' he thought.


    Still, that wasn''t enough to get him off his seat.


    If it was another child, he might have, but with the spectacle Ezra disyed earning him Skyfall, Bolton didn''t see him as a child anymore.


    Also, he was afraid that if Ezra, being the genius he was, got his hands on the best mana techniques within the vault, the power gap between him and the other princes would grow exponentially.


    With each being a contender for the throne, Bolton didn''t want to have a one-sided affair where the other princes would be shallowpared to Ezra because of an outrageous headstart as it had happened in the past.


    So¡­


    ''Dying his progress a bit would do more good in the long term''


    This was the problem most encountered for being too outstanding.


    "I''ll have a guard escort you to the royal vault. I believe you will make fine judgment in picking your mana technique. As for the your request, simply write it down and have it sent over, I will see to that personally"


    Ezra bowed as Bolton called in a guard and gave him instructions.


    With that, Ezra was off to the royal vault following behind the guard.


    It was a different ce from where he picked his weapon.


    This time, he was led to a huge door depicting wavy lines and strange marks.


    Besides the doors were four guards on each side with spears and axes in hand, all of them Experts.


    "Halt" the guard reverberated, full of power.


    The guard escorting Ezra approached them and handed a note from the royal advisor.


    A few seconds passed, after which the guard''s eyes darted from Ezra''s figure back to the letter in his palm.


    ''A kid? Going in alone?''


    It was absurd to the guard, but who was he to question orders?


    With a few hand signs, the guards split apart and opened the vault with a key.


    Ezra moved his feet to see whaty beyond therge gates, but not before his escort left a few whispers, courtesy of Bolton.


    "He said you are allowed to take only one mana technique. Notwithstanding, he has abolished the time limit, given that you are to choose without a guide. So you can stay as long as you wish"


    While Bolton didn''t want to see a one sided atmosphere, he would not necessarily give any side an advantage.


    Rather, he did things fairly. It depended on how much an individual could make of any opportunity.


    After all, it wasn''t Ezra''s fault that he''d been born a genius, now was it? Certainly not so.


    And in that regard, Bolton didn''t hold it against him. He was only trying to make sure he did what was best for the royal family.


    To make sure that he did things in a way the Emperor would be pleased with.


    Ezra then asked¡­


    "Does that mean I maye and go, studying the essence of the mana techniques before I finally choose?"


    The escort was stumped.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Eh¡­I''ll have to get an answer from Sir Bolton"


    With that, the guard ran as fast as his legs could take him.


    He couldn''t afford to leave a prince waiting, now could he?


    Two minutester, the guard arrived with an answer.


    "Sir Bolton permits it, but has ced a time limit of seven days starting from tomorrow"


    To rify, Ezra said¡­


    "What happens if, after seven days, I didn''t pick any?"


    Bolton had thought of this question in advance so the guard immediately replied.


    "Then he would personally hand you one without the opportunity to reject"


    "Hmm¡­fair enough" Ezra spoke, nodding.


    "You said seven days starting from tomorrow, does that mean I can no longer approach the royal vault today?"


    "No, not at all"


    "I see" said Ezra, as he patted the man''s leg.


    "Your service is deeply appreciated"


    The escort was touched.


    "I was only doing my duties"


    Ezra nodded and entered the Royal vault.


    The door closed behind him firmly, but Ezra wasn''t in a mind to care.


    The sight in front of him had him gasping in awe.


    For starters, the interior was certainly wider than what he could have fathomed from the outside.


    It was not supposed to be possible, but it was all too true.


    Snapping out of his reverie, Ezra made a mental note to inquire about it.


    The interior was demarcated into three parts, each having an inscription for identification.


    One part said "Library", another said, "Herb and potion", and then,stly, "Artifacts".


    Ezra could infer what these words meant, but just to be sure, he went into the library.


    He wondered why guidelines were written, since Bolton seemed sure of his disadvantage ining alone.


    ''Ah!''


    He understood the moment he stepped into the library.


    Rows and rows of books extended as far as his eyes could reach, seemingly unending.


    Then something interesting happened.


    The shelves folded at fast speeds and, before Ezra couldprehend the situation, the other two paths had vanished.


    Now, the library had extended, allowing one to view it in full.


    He released a gasp of amazement from the sheer amount of books.


    It amounted to at least a thousand, but wasn''t up to five thousand, that much Ezra could tell.


    He also realized why Bolton had allowed him to search for a full week, and also why guiding inscriptions were written.


    ''To have a five year old child pick his own path without any prior knowledge¡­no matter how I see it, this is just too cruel''


    Then he blossomed a grin.


    ''Well, if that child was really a child, that is''


    Ezra found it funny how opportunities were being gifted to him.


    Glorious opportunities at that.


    He had never seen this many mana techniques before, although it was too early to say they were all mana techniques.


    ''Right,bat manuals would be included''


    ''How do I use this?'' he contemted.


    Then something struck him.


    ''The artifact section, I should check it out''


    But wait.


    ''How do I do that?''


    Now that he thought about it, he didn''t know how to exit this ce.


    He stayed calm because panicking would not help the situation.


    "Artifact" he said, but nothing happened.


    "Herbs"


    "Vault"


    "Open"


    For the next few minutes, nothing worked until he spoke in frustration.


    "Just go back to the way you where"


    What do you know? That''s exactly what happened, leaving Ezra dumbfounded.


    ''Now, let''s see what the rest of you have in store''


    With that, he went into the artifact section.

 Chapter 148 Glorious Opportunity (2)

    Once again, Ezra was humbled as he gazed upon the myriad items numbering hundreds, each releasing a wisp of essence or more, indicating their status as Gold-rank or above.


    But there was something else.


    Coins, either in gold or tinum,y at any point one looked, numbering more than Ezra could count.


    With how haphazardly they were ced, Ezra''s mind got to work.


    Greed creeped into it, etching out a thought of plundering all the riches.


    But Ezra was no impulsive kid.


    ''What''s the use of stealing it if I won''t use it anyway?''


    It was said that desires weren''t necessarily bad things, but that it was the inability to control them that often caused problems.


    Ezra wasn''t about to allow his greed to have control over his thoughts.


    Instead, he controlled his greed, applying logic to it, and a thought came to mind.


    ''With this much gold at the entrance, the insides would most likely be filled with it''


    If so¡­


    ''I doubt anyone would go through the hassle of counting such arge amount''


    This was money umted over centuries and generations by the biggest Empire in Niton. The amount wasn''t unprecedented, it was to be expected.


    ''So long as I take an appropriate amount, they won''t even notice''


    His evil grin showed up once again.


    First things first though, exploring the depths of this category took priority.


    Like thest one, this section erged into full view, allowing Ezra the sight of multiple enchanted artifacts.


    More so, they were categorized under their specific elements, making things easier.


    To make sure his hunch was right, Ezra sucked in a few coins, each from a different pile, into his ring and exited the section, then went outside.


    The sudden opening of the door had the guards casting weird nces.


    It had only been an hour. Was the prince already done?


    Ezra paid no heed to them as he went on a leisure stroll without a word. At some point, he left the castle and stayed there for more than five minutes, but still, nothing happened.


    His theory was confirmed, and his grin could not look crueler.


    "Hehehe¡­" he chuckled under his breath.


    With that, the prince got to work. With multiple ns and possibilities sprouting in his head, he headed into the vault. He had to n how to divide his time between plundering and looking for a new mana technique.


    It wouldn''t be easy, but fortunately, he had seven days!


    Oh! What a glorious opportunity this was.


    Adding to the fact that the future would keep changing in ways Ezra couldn''t ever predict, an opportunity like this might nevere again.


    Because of this, Ezra set himself to plunder without reservation.


    After all, the Empire wouldn''t even notice, so what was there to fear?!


    While he did that, war had begun in earnest.


    ¡ª--------------------------------------


    -Middle of the previous night-


    -Iris-


    "Sedanin, I need the army ready at dawn"


    A voice of authority resounded as the queen of Iris, Lady Mervida, gave amand to one of the other seven sitting at her round table, all of which were men.


    The man responded in haste¡­


    "Mydy, wouldn''t you rather give this matter more thought?"


    With dazzling green eyes and a calm gaze, she retorted¡­


    "I have, but I would like to hear¡­what would you have me do?"


    At this, all seven raised their voices at once, drowning the previously quiet atmosphere in chaos.


    "I don''t remember asking anyone else to speak"


    Laced with a sweet voice but a cold tone, these men felt shivers and shut their traps like scared mice.


    "Well?" she said to Sedanin, who was quick to answer¡­


    "My queen, I suggest patience. After all, we have Avi not on our borders, but the Russells. Having them begin war first would do us good. After which, we can interfere when the battle bes dire"


    Mervida nodded slightly.


    "I understand your thoughts very well-"


    The seven had their expressions brighten, before shrinking back at her next words.


    "-but I''m afraid I''ll have to disagree"


    Sedanin urged¡­


    "But my queen-"


    Or he tried to, before the queen''s gaze shut him up.


    "I''m not done talking-"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Sedanin settled back in his seat.


    "-before I go further, I''ll ask you this. Do you know of Russells current situation?"


    The seven gave one another knowing gazes, and Sedanin spoke.


    "What of it, my queen?"


    *Sigh*


    After a heavy sigh, the queen spoke¡­


    "Russel is in a state in which war could break out at any moment"


    The men widened their eyes.


    "The current royal family has not any Grandmasters-"


    The men sucked in cold air. Things were bing clear.


    "-it is Gaga''s presence that allows peace to be kept. But time has taken its turn on the once agile monster. He has grown old, his bones now soft"


    The seven nodded. They knew of this.


    "Their time is ticking. The royal family has until Gaga''s death to produce a Grandmaster, or else!"


    Her statement was crystal clear.


    The seven spoke amongst themselves.


    "If Niton gets hold of such news¡­"


    "Russell will fall in a day" another concluded.


    The men clenched their fists, the queen''s decision now making sense.


    "And that cannot be allowed to happen" her voice echoed.


    If Russell fell, Iris would be in danger!


    Such an unfolding was disallowed.


    "We have to defend russell at all costs"


    With that, Sedanin stood slowly¡­


    "My queen, what are your orders?"


    As she opened her mouth, the door mmed open, and a guard approached the table with haste.


    "Halt" said the queen''s butler, whose presence was nonexistent moments before.


    "I have urgent news for the queen" he says, trying to bypass her.


    "Then you can tell it to me"


    With that, the guards hurriedly whispers in her ears, inaudible to others.


    The dimly lit hall had grown silent.


    After two minutes, the guards'' whispers vanished.


    The butler dismisses him without any change in her nk face.


    With quick steps, she approaches the queen and delivers the message, also in whispers.


    No big change took ce on the queen''s face.


    But the asional twitching had the seven guessing what kind information this was.


    Once done, the queen took another deep breath, looked her generals in the eye, and spoke¡­


    "I was nning on conserving our forces, but that has be impossible"


    Some raised brows, but none spoke.


    "The Avillian King is dead-"


    *BOOM*


    Something exploded in their heads as their minds paused a bit.


    Had they heard it right?


    But the queen left their poor brains no chance, quickly firing another devastating deration.


    "-and a mountain of mana crystals has been discovered on the Avillian border"


    "Huh?" was the most coherent thing on their lips.


    If the first had their minds pausing, this one had their brains refreshing, trying to grasp it, unable to speak.


    The queen didn''t stop though¡­


    "Gentlemen, I''ll have you in your best armor by morning, with an army behind you. We are going to war"


    With that, the queen stood and left.


    Seconds after, the men had their brains back, gave each other knowing nces, and left.


    The queen had spoken, so there was nothing left to discuss.


    Throughout the night, powerhouses along the continent moved, even those of powers uninvolved.


    News of the Avin King''s death had spread far and wide, the consequences thereafter being massive, with everyone wanting a piece of the action!

 Chapter 149 War!

    The Emperor had his gaze peering downwards at the army arrayed in batches within Vi.


    Mercenaries, guilders, and squads of numerous families, each brimming with a resolve of their own.


    Avillians had all been gathered into undergroundpartments. They were of little use being women orbatants of Adept-rank.


    The real fighting forcey in criminal cells, as the enemy was better than an ally who couldn''t be trusted.


    The previous night, the Emperor had a Master deliver the five children to the capital.


    He would decide their fate once the war was over, whenever that would be.


    ''It will soon begin''


    Dawn and morning came in quick session and left soon after, leaving the men standing guard in the hot afternoon sun.


    At this time, one of the scouts spotted movement from afar.


    From a different direction, moving dots came into view.


    As the dots moved closer, the dust they blew up was no joke.


    ''So, they are here''


    With the power scaling of Orion, and the devastation wrought on by Grandmaster battles, war was carried in a way tactically agreed to by all Oranians.


    The Emperor and the three other Grandmasters found themselves far from the army, which stayed in the confines of the city.


    At the same time, a woman, slender and slim with her armor stripped with ck and green, along with two other men, one old with long white hair, gray armor and a glowing sword in hand, while the other had a spiked mace as his weapon with a short physique and heavy armor, approached them.


    The Emperor gave them a nod.


    With it, Raven stood in front of the group, the Emperor never having been much of a talker.


    "We request that you have your army turned back"


    Likewise, the short man came forward.


    "The Empire has no right to demand such ims, just as you have no right toy im to Avi as you killed its king!"


    "Don''t just-"


    The Emperor cut in. Listening to such a useless debacle would have his ears rot, so he intervened with a show of power.


    *Crackle!*Spark!*


    "What would you have me do when the so-called king dares intrude upon my territory to kill my people?!"


    The arrogance in his voice was ptable, causing the short man to take a step back as his mind whirred.


    Meanwhile, the Emperor kept on, his gaze indiferent.


    "As forying im to Avi, I believe I need not exin myself for taking what is rightfully mine"


    The queen of Iris cut in¡­


    "Avi was a kingdom of its own centuries ago!"


    The Emperor was having none of that.


    "Don''t dare lecture me on my history, girl"


    This word had the queen''s aura ring up, but the Emperor was unperturbed.


    "I have no interest in petty squabbles. Avi has been taken by his rightful owners, that is enough an exnation-"


    Lightning crackled harder as the Emperor showered their armies with a gaze of hostility.


    "-the question is, what do you wish to do about it?"


    The faces of the three hardened.


    All three had simr thoughts.


    ''As expected''


    ''He''s crazy''


    ''I thought they were exaggerating, but this just absurd''


    They had brought along their armies as a show of force. No matter how big the Empire was, they couldn''t rally enough forces within a day.


    But this man didn''t put the army in his eyes.


    Mind you, the army within view passed ten thousand.


    In a word, it was overwhelming, but this Emperor treated them as nonexistent.


    "Well?"


    The three looked each other in the eye, and without turning their heads, gave the order for retreat.


    The armies acted swiftly.


    Of course, things were never so simple.


    The Emperor spoke lightly.


    "Now¡­"


    The three Grandmasters shot forth simultaneously, each engaging an enemy Grandmaster, who were a tadte in responding to their surprise attack.


    At the same time, the Emperor sucked in his lightning, took a breath, and sent a straight beam of lightning onto the retreating armies.


    *BOOM*


    Within seconds, only scorched bodies remained of those unlucky enough to be caught in the attack.


    The Emperor had only begun. Without stopping, he moved the scorching rays of lighting all over thend filled with people.


    Hundreds died with each passing second.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Such a strike frightened the majority of the horses, causing them to throw off their riders, who were also too confused to get a good grip on their horses.


    It happened all over, and in an instant, everything descended into chaos!


    "NO!" shouted Mervida as the enemy grandmaster btedly realized their n.


    Their bodies erupted with killing intent and they moved to stop the Emperor.


    But-


    "Where are you looking?"


    -they had to fend off the enemies in front of them first.


    "GET OUT OF MY WAY"


    Mervida''s voice turned deep. She had veins all over her face and her eyes burned with fury, while her body lit up with green.


    A secondter, she went on a rampage.


    Punches, small but mighty,ced in green essence and moving at crazy speeds hit her opponent, Deneris, in quick session.


    His armor caved in at a visible rate, but his body moved but an inch.


    Without dy, Deneris went on the offensive, turning part of his metal clothing into a sharp de encasing his two hands, and began counterattacking.


    The old man, Gaga Valdez, had to fend off Raven, while Getrahan and the short man with a mace, Garvin Oakbear, aimed to bash each other into pulp.


    Within five seconds, the army had spread out into batches, each making a run for their lives in whichever direction possible. Such experience would haunt some for the rest of their lives.


    But even in such a disaster, those fearless emerged.


    "Masters! Heed my charge!"


    With this shout, all the Masters looked to see a man running towards the Emperor with a double ax in hand.


    Such an act had some wowed at the manliness as they joined in his charge, while others ran away even quicker.


    The Emperor, though, only smiled.


    High levelbatants were willing to march towards him, what a delight!


    Adding more power to his ray of lightning, the Emperor directed it towards the iing assault team.


    Pumping all the strength he had into his muscles and throwing it, his ax made its way to the Emperor at a dizzying pace.


    The Emperor tilted to the size, having determined the ax''s trajectory.


    But the weapons in the air suddenly multiplied, forcing the Emperor to break up his lightning beam in order to dodge.


    Yet, the Emperor didn''t seem any bit displeased.


    He stared at his handiwork. From above, it seemed like the work of a child dragging a stick through sand. Except, those marks were scorched ground and beside themy bodies scorched beyond recognition.


    The Emperor''s eyes focused on the master who leaped into the air towards him while readying a punch.


    Then, he pped.


    The sound reverberated, and immediately, a stampede of men erupted from within the city and the gates were mmed open.


    A lot of buildings had been wrecked from the stray attacks of Grandmasters and Masters.


    Getrahan and Garvin were fighting at the south part of the city, turning it to utter ruin and killing part of the stationed army.


    Nevertheless, those left were still up to the task, and their numbers weren''t small.


    "Ahh!" like crazed beasts, these Nitonians razed the already torn battlefield, killing those in their way.


    At the same time-


    *BAM*


    -the Emperor punched the approaching Master into the soil, then he stomped on him by dropping from the sky.


    *Bam*


    The master, who managed to cross his arms, had them, along with his ribs, shattered.


    Raising a foot to squash the Master''s head, the Emperor paused as other Masters were upon him.


    As the Emperor moved, a loud voice resounded.


    "Andrew! You have broken the rules! Do you think we will let this be?!"


    Gaga spoke with fury, his voice highlighting why these Grandmasters dared to bring their armies to face other Grandmasters


    It was forbidden for someone of higher ranks to attack those of lower rank.


    Yet, the Emperor had disregarded all rules and ughtered more than half of theirbined forces.


    The Emperor gave but a short reply.


    "Rules are meant to be broken"


    ''Dammit!'' Gaga grit his teeth as helplessness overwhelmed him.


    Here he was, with his subjects dying in his sights, yet he had no power to stop it.


    His kingdom was already on a tipping scale. Such a disaster couldn''t have worse timing.


    As the Emperor massacred the Masters without regard, something happened.


    *SHING*


    With the clear sound of a sword swing, the manite mountain was cut in half.


    A new entrant had joined the battle.

 Chapter 150 War! (2)

    *SHING*


    The top part of the mountain slid and fell to the ground, sttering into pieces.


    The aura of a Grandmaster had been felt, but it moved too quickly for them to react.


    The Emperor had all Avillians hidden in apartment underneath Vi, while those deemed valuable were taken to safer ces.


    Since the territory had already been plundered for most of its worth, the Emperor had no qualms having it wrecked as Grandmasters fought.


    This moment, the battle took a turn as everyone paused.


    The Emperor was the fastest to react as he sted off.


    Master ranks could wait, his interests were at stake here!


    Without pause, he dived from the sky andnded with a bang right in front of the mountain.


    He didn''t get tond before being smashed into what remained of the mountain by an invisible sword sh, which made a decent gash in his armor.


    His expression was still calm.


    ''As expected''


    It showed how thoroughly the Emperor prepared.


    Meanwhile¡­


    ''It was true!''


    ''To think it was real!''


    ''Unbelievable''


    The opposing Grandmasters had their eyes widen in shock as they beheld the spectacle of mana particles dispersing into the air.


    The previous night, nearby kingdoms had sent word and shared information to each other on how to deal with the Empire.


    It was a routine set up for whenever the Empire bared its fangs.


    So the news of a mountain of mana crystals had reached them before dawn¡­along with the fact that Avi was being secured by five Grandmasters!


    With the source of information being withheld, most scoffed in disbelief, leaving remarks like¡­


    ''He must have seen it wrong''


    While others mocked¡­


    ''Are you sure you haven''t gone senile?''


    Yet there it was.


    Their eyes changed along with their priorities.


    Their armies were officially crippled, or almost, that was a fact.


    If they let the Empire monopolize such a drastic amount of mana crystals, then Niton conquering the whole continent wasn''t an impossibility.


    Better still, why did the enemies confront the Grandmasters with lesser numbers?


    This was why.


    The expressions of Mervida and Gaga brightened.


    From afar, troops marched forth in their horses with their armor gleaming as it reflected the hot sun, while a circle crest depicting a throne with the sun above it came to light.


    Reinforcements had arrived.


    Simultaneously, the Emperor burst out of the mountain to meet the one responsible for harming his interests.


    His face immediately crumbled.


    "You¡­"


    The assant was a man in ash leather clothing with his face almost triangr, his eyes dark and calm, while in his left hand was a straight, blue, single edged, short sword.


    It had no unusual marking that would distinguish it from any other sword otherwise.


    The Emperor spat out his name with a deep gaze as shredder appeared in his hands.


    "Leerstrom, why am I not surprised?"


    The other stared with a crazy grin.


    "It''s Swordmiester now. And I''ve been waiting for this for a long time!"


    "Hah, your moniker is as pathetic as you are"


    With that, the battle began with Leerstrom taking the initiative with a popped vein.


    The Emperor no longer released lightning.


    Instead, he concentrated it on his weapon and swung it with arge stride.


    With his instinct ringing, Leerstrom stopped his charge, but the Emperor was already upon him, with a few words to add¡­


    "Let''s make this quick"


    As the weapon descended, aiming to cleave Leerstrom in half, a projectile flew towards the mountain, increasing the heat drastically as it was arge fireball.


    Again, the Emperor thought¡­


    ''As expected''


    There was another rat in hiding.


    Before that, his movement was broken half way through as shredder released the condensed lightning bolt upwards, colliding with the ball of fire, which resulted in a thunderous explosion-


    *BOOM!*


    -that filled the air with a lot of smoke.


    Leerstrom had himself sliding across the ground as the Emperor kicked him afar just as he broke his movement.


    An aged voice rang out moments after.


    "What are you doing?!"


    The anger and annoyance was ptable.<novelnext></novelnext>


    A man in ck and red robes, with white hair, sturdy muscles, and a staff so ck it seemed dead,y suspended in the air with fire underneath his feet.


    Leerstrom didn''t get to answer as the Emperor was upon him once more.


    ''Shit!''


    With haste, Leerstrom tried to regain his bnce.


    But he was too slow.


    At the same time, a very wide magic circle with a shade of red expanded from the old man''s staff as a fireball mirroring the previous one was released towards the mountain.


    The Emperor shows his worth by doing the unexpected.


    He grabbed Leerstrom by the head and threw him into the air.


    Leerstrom was baffled by the action till he saw the gleaming red on the surface of his sword.


    Without time to react, the fireball consumed him.


    Such an awkward situation brought confusion upon the fire mage and Leerstrom.


    So, the fire mage couldn''t properly prepare when the Emperor appeared at his side.


    Immediately, a punch was sent out, and the fire mage found himself plummeting to the ground.


    His arms took an ''x'' shape, but his facial muscles told of his pain.


    With his senses, he moved to gain distance from the Emperor.


    Before he could do so, the Emperor was upon him once more, sending him another punch, this one fiercer than thest.


    With it, the fire mage crashed into the ground like the Master from before, spreading dust in all directions as blood leaked from a corner of his mouth.


    His eyes quivered as his thoughts reeling¡­


    ''How can he be so strong?!"


    Attempting to add more damage, the Emperor gave another punch, knocking the man farther into the soil, but before he could add another, a clear sound of something cutting through the air was heard.


    The Emperor backed away to see Leerstrom''s swordnd in his former position.


    The man in question was approaching Andrew by¡­running on the air? Or was he bouncing on it?


    Either way, his speed was nothing to scoff at, but neither was the Emperor''s.


    "You underestimate me still?"


    His fist, imbued with lightning, hit that of Leerstrom, whose fist showed nothing.


    Or so it seemed, but the Emperor''s lightning was suddenly deflected, leaving him surprised for the first time in a while.


    Leerstorm grinned inwardly.


    ''You must be surprised''


    But the Emperor didn''t dwell on it, choosing to increase his attacks in both power and speed.


    *Keuk!*


    And Leerstrom immediately felt the change.


    He saw the figure of the fire mage, now unconscious, and his cockiness faded.


    ''Dammit all! I''m going to die at this rate!''


    And he wasn''t about to let that happen.


    So he spoke, his voice echoing loudly¡­


    "GET OVER HERE! I CAN''T HANDLE THIS GUY ON MY OWN!"


    Seconds passed by with nothing happening, and then, two people rose into the air.


    With that slight movement, the Emperor''s gaze hardened, while the three guild masters backed away from their opponents.


    For once, the Emperor was surprised.


    ''I expected five since our numbers would''ve been reported''


    Yet they had two others still waiting.


    The Emperor let out a cold chuckle.


    ''So I was right to decimate their troops. These bastards were never here to follow the rules!''


    Also¡­


    ''They are not here for Avi''


    It could only be one other thing.


    ''The manite mine!''


    His gaze grew cold.


    ''It was bound to be known¡­but this soon?''


    He had the information about it locked down to just him, the guild masters, and Cavarl, so how did the enemy get the information?


    ''No, wait, Bolton knows''


    The Emperor shook his head. Bolton would never do that.


    More than that, where did these two Grandmasterse from?


    So many questions, and so few answers.


    The Emperor cast such worries aside. He had to deal with the problem in front of him first.


    The two Grandmasters were almost upon him.


    The moment they got close enough, the Emperor released a shout¡­


    "Jebas, NOW!"

 Chapter 151 War! (3)

    The troops of Quartezid waste to those of Niton and struck them aboard their horses.


    Those who fled came back atop their horses with fiery eyes of vengeance.


    Within seconds, the Nitonians were besieged on all sides, by numbers twice theirs.


    Nitonian Masters were attacked by two or more of the enemies.


    The guild masters were now the ones held up by their opponents as their attacks demolished building after building and they could not afford to look away.


    The battle was dire with Nitonians being ughtered left and right.


    But that changed with two words.


    "Jebas, NOW!"


    From within Vi, a figure burst out with rapid strides.


    Jebas made himself known in an attire of brown leather while wielding a single edged de made entirely from onyx steel.


    Immediately, his arrival prompted a subsequent massacre of the enemy forces.


    With his passing, Knights had their bodies separated or their heads cut off.


    Masters were not spared. Rather, they were the primary target.


    The two cloaked men abruptly stopped as the Emperor expected. They must have forgotten about him.


    Before they could separate, the Emperor gave Leerstrom asting punch to the ground and struck out lightning towards them.


    They swiftly dodged, but that gave the Emperor enough leeway to get close enough.


    "Where do you think you''re going?"


    He grabbed them both and took to the ground in a dive.


    The first unleashed ice on the Emperor''s hand, which proved ineffective as it broke off just as fast as it formed, while his other hand stabbed the Emperor with a dagger.


    The second Grandmaster had his two arms erged into those of a beast, tearing his sleeves to reveal blue and furry skin, before exposing a row of teeth within his palm, which bit into the Emperor''s arm.


    It was futile as the Emperor stayed steadfast in his dive.


    The fire mage woke up at this moment, spitting blood, before his eyes opened wide to the shadow looming over him.


    Worst of all, the shadow was getting bigger.


    His eyes popped out in fear as he grasped the shadow''s owner.


    With a pained grunt, he dug himself out of his hole.


    s, he was toote.


    All he saw before the collision were two back cloaks and a trail of lightning.


    *BOOM!*


    The Emperor smashed the two upon him and began pumping out punchesced with lightning into their abdomen, plunging them into the ground even more.


    Each punch let out a sound wave that had the two men grunting.


    The fire mage had it worse with the backs of the two constantly being smashed against him.


    The old man felt like crying, but he wasn''t even allowed to. He could only let out muffled grunts as his bones suffered greatly with each punch.


    ''Dammit all!-


    The old man''s anger peaked, prompting him to take drastic measures.


    -Let''s all die!''


    He clenched his staff and his eyes became brighter, before being smashed in once more.


    Enduring the humiliation, a red magic circle appeared before him.


    Without consideration, he releases his fury in the form of zing mes.


    With his instincts ringing out, the Emperor did the opposite of anyone''s expectations.


    He imbued his fists with more power than before, causing a lot of veins to pop out, and punched out.


    This punch, and the release of mes, happened simultaneously.


    *BOOOOOM*


    The spell, which would have released a geyser of fire, was blown in all directions when two Grandmasters smashed against it.


    Such a heavy collision knocked the old fire mage unconscious, which subsequently caused the magic circle to shatter, and had him consumed in his spell.


    A circle of fire expanded from his position, breaking up the ground from underneath and burning it.


    The likes of Leerstrom was blown back from the resulting wind pressure alone.


    Its effects were devastating, to say the least.


    But it was the two Grandmasters caught in between such attacks that were truly pitiful.


    Their abdomens were pounded with punches, while their backs were burnt to the bone.


    Yet these two didn''t let up. The dagger and the row of teeth only dug deeper onto the Emperor''s skin.


    Likewise, the Emperor was also not done.


    The two Grandmasters received another rain of punches.


    This one was twice as deadly as the Emperor went for the kill.


    His punches were now aimed at their heads. Unlike his overwhelming appearance, beads of sweat were beginning to form on his head.


    ''These b#stards are using poison!''


    The dagger and the row of teeth wereced with poison.


    Poisons lethal to Grandmasters were very rare, but not impossible to find.


    The Emperor wasn''t taking any chances.


    His fists disfigured their faces, subsequently peeling away the skin. And to finish them off, he struck their necks, killing them.


    Taking rasp breathes, he had their bodies sucked into his ring, before gazing upon the old man''s charred figure.


    He wasn''t dead since the Emperor could hear his heartbeat.


    Too bad, the Emperor wasn''t so merciful.


    Gripping his head, the Emperor snapped his neck, before sucking him into his space ring.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The Emperor drank a healing potion from his space ring to recover his health.


    But his eyes widened as he felt the poison take arge chunk of the potion, leaving little to nourish his body.


    His gaze grew frosty, such a poison was unheard off.


    And because of its strange effects, the Emperor couldn''t heal his sore body.


    ''Not good''


    He knew where his limitsy.


    The neck snap resounded loud and clear.


    He turned around to see Leerstrom standing afar with widened eyes.


    The Emperor''s hand was subtly quivering, and that gave him an idea.


    ''If I kill too many of them, I''ll be risking an all-out war''


    At this moment, Leerstrom turned in the opposite direction, baffling the Emperor.


    But his eyes popped wide as he understood Leerstrom''s intentions.


    "NO!"


    He burst forth, ignoring the pain.


    But there was no way he could get there in time.


    Using his sound technique to blend his sound into his sword, he releases it.


    Thereafter, the mountain split in half.


    The moment that happened, Leerstrom took to the air with fast steps.


    But he didn''t expect to escape with the Emperor catching up to him momentster.


    Another skirmish came underway, with the fatigue weighing down the Emperor beginning to show as his strikes became lighter and his speed noticeably decreased.


    But he was hot with fury. If nothing else, this b#stard had to die!


    s, it seemed he would fail in his endeavor because Leerstrom was still full of power.


    Midway into the fight, something changed¡­


    ''He''s grown tired! If it''s this much, it might actually be possible''


    Leerstrom, whose original aim was running away, had a burst of confidence and began dealing deadly strikes.


    Things didn''t seem to go in favor of the Emperor.


    Elsewhere, Gaga faced off against Raven and Jebas, who had ughtered most of the Masters, prompting the rest to run away, and this time, they didn''t look back.


    They fought while constantly on the move, their feet never stopping.


    From rooftops to alleyways, the Grandmaster''s battles had demolished almost all of Vi''s buildings.


    Worse still, the roads were broken apart with their stomps.


    Gaga''s swordsmanship was astonishing, as his sword took on a red hue, asionally releasing wisps of steam, signaling his affinity with fire, while his eyes glowed.


    His hand was moving at crazy speeds, parrying Raven''s staff and Jebas'' sword, and evennding solid hits some times.


    Both men were sweating as they sought to contain him.


    ''This guy is no joke!''


    In reality, they were the ones being contained. Their bodies showcased numerous burns and cuts, from which they bled.


    Gaga held arge burn on his head, courtesy of Raven''s staff, and a few cuts here and there.


    "Hmph!"


    With an arrogant puff, Gaga increases his speed, forcing the two into the defensive as they grit their teeth.


    At this point in time, Raven caught a glimpse of the Emperor''s battle.


    So he spoke in haste¡­


    "Jebas, help Andrew!"


    "You''ll be-"


    "GO!" Raven wasn''t having any of that.


    Before Jebas could move, Gaga''s attacks suddenly increased.


    "Who said you can leave?"


    He struck, determined to keep them both at bay.


    *ng!*


    Bright sparks burst out from the collision.


    Raven parried and answered¡­


    "I did"


    Immediately, his body lit up and his eyes turned yellow.


    "Your opponent is me!"


    Gaga answered in kind by having his sword sizzle with more vigor.


    With that, both men matched blow for blow, causing even more destruction.


    By now, Jebas was long gone.


    The Emperor''s condition wasn''t good.


    With little insight, the Emperor losing to Leerstrom was the predicted result of this battle.


    That is¡­until now.


    Unable to fly, Jebas grit his teeth and pushes his speeds to the limit.


    *VOOM*


    With a quick dash, he ran up the mountain and took to the air.

 Chapter 152 War! (4) [Bonus]

    With a quick dash, he ran up the mountain and took to the air, surprising Leerstrom, who was unable to react in time, bynding on his back.


    *Bam*


    Such an abrupt change in weight destroyed Leerstrom''s tempo and has him tilting.


    He had just stabbed his sword through the Emperor''s shoulder when this happened.


    Without any fluster, Leerstrom drew out a dagger from his side and stabbed Jebas in the gut.


    With haste, he ran away from the Emperor and tried to shake Jebas off.


    Jebas denies such an act by tightening his arm around Leerstrom.


    ''I''m never letting go!''


    The situation became precarious in an instant.


    Killing the Emperor in a one on one battle was worth a shot, but with another Grandmaster joining the fray, Leerstrom abandoned the n instantly.


    Retreating with haste led Leerstrom to losing his weapon, as he left it lodged in the Emperor''s chest.


    While retreating, he gave Jebas a series of jabs and stabs, which Jebas returned in kind by stabbing the side of his stomach.


    With his frustration growing, Leerstrom shouted¡­


    "Get off me!"


    Jebas did not reply, and seeing his opponent was determined totch onto him like a snake, Leerstrom thought of a way out.


    Secondster, he releases a loud sound that seeds in blowing Jebas away.


    ''Dammit!''


    Jebas was equally frustrated as he guarded his body for the inevitable plunge into the ground, when suddenly, he found himself flying.


    *Crackle*


    The Emperor, haggard and bloody with a narrow hole in his chest, was holding him up.


    "Kill him!"


    Jebas noded.


    Putting strength into his hands, the Emperor threw Jebas towards Leerstrom.


    "Go!"


    With his sword at the ready, Jebas straightened his aim, intent on piercing the running scum.


    But things don''t go as nned with Leerstrom abruptly raising his foot to kick Jebas in the head.


    That nullified all efforts, as Jebas leaned to begin his fall.


    But-


    ''No!''


    -he refused to give up.


    On instinct, he locked his leg onto Leerstrom''s outstretched leg and twisted!


    Leerstrom''s bnce was disrupted, and this made for a stunning scene to take ce.


    Time seemed to slow down as Jebas twisted in the air, right above Leerstrom, andnded clean stabs on both shoulders, and instead oftching on, Jebas used his weight to pull him down.


    With this happening, both men were now free falling in the air.


    And of course, fighting while doing so.


    Leaving his daggers in Leerstrom''s shoulder, Jebas pulled out his de and both men put their swordsmanship to the test.


    Leerstroms held the advantage as he used sound to augment his movements, but Jebas'' ferocious attacks, augmented by his elements of lightning and wind, denied him any chance of retreat.


    ''Dammit! I have to get out of here!''


    With zing rage, Leerstrom abandoned any form of cohesive movements and shed anywhere and everywhere.


    This pest called Jebas was annoying!


    In the middle of this, Leerstroms instincts rang out!


    ''Oh no''


    His madness morphed into panic and he augmented his feet to increase his diving speed.


    But that doomed him.


    *BOOM*


    With the Emperor rushing forth like a rocket with a trail of lightning behind him, he reached Leerstrom and brought down Shredder onto his shoulder, cutting, or rather, shredding his arm off!


    With a grunt of pain, Leerstrom augmented himself backwards as blood spilled out like water.


    The Emperor didn''t follow up with another strike as his chest heaved.


    ''I can''t afford to go all out''


    He couldn''t overexert himself.


    Leerstrom noticed this as well, but before he could rejoice, one of the daggers impaling his shoulder was pushed in.


    Or rather, was punched in by Jebas, who was above him.


    The momentary pain, along with that of losing his arm, numbed his brain and stifled his thinking for a few seconds.


    These few seconds spelt the end of the battle.


    Jebas, with grinding teeth and bulging arms, stabbed his sword right in the middle of Leerstrom''s head.


    And to seal the deal, he punched the sword till it was protruding from his chin.


    Then¡­


    *Bam*


    They fell into the earth with a bang! Coughing up dust in the process.


    The Emperor reached their vicinity soon after, his lightning having dimmed tremendously.


    He stood proud nheless.


    With a wipe of his hand, the dust cleared.


    Jebas was dusty, bloody, with a broken arm.


    Leerstrom had a pool of blood below his impaled head.


    His expression was calm and the light in his eyes had faded.


    Without a doubt, he was dead.


    The Emperor removed the dagger and the sword, before storing the body in his space ring.


    "You will be appropriatelypensated"


    Jebas noded, before chipping in¡­


    "What about his ring?"


    The Emperor flicked it to him.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "And his weapon?"


    The Emperor did the same.


    Jebas took them with a smile, before popping a potion from his space ring and drinking it.


    He was in no position to move.


    "So¡­what happens next? We kill all the rest?"


    The Emperor shook his head.


    "That would be going too far. It''s time to end this battle"


    With that, he rose to the air to witness the devastation.


    Everywhere was silent.


    All Grandmasters had stopped their fights and were only giving each other wearily nces.


    Same with others, everyone was tired.


    Little was left of Vi, with more than half of it in ruins.


    Corpsesid all over in the hundreds, some scorched and some ughtered with the ground painted red as a testament to their deaths.


    The blood shed on this day was enough.


    So the Emperor spoke, his voice booming¡­


    "I have broken the rules of war-"


    He gazes met those of the other Grandmasters.


    "-but so have you"


    Mervida clenched her bloody fist.


    They brought additional Grandmasters with them to secure their win, which was eptable.


    But the destruction of the manite mine was not.


    Nheless, it was something agreed upon.


    They could not allow the Empire to grow more than it already did.


    To increase the odds of sess, they brought surplus Grandmasters.


    Yet, what was this?! Not only were they unable to achieve their aim, but so many Grandmasters were killed.


    His prowess was far beyond anything that was spected.


    The monster grew stronger rather than weaker in the past decades.


    With both sides breaking the rule, one could not penalize the other.


    But the Emperor spoke on¡­


    "You and your men have ten minutes to leave Nitoniannd"


    "What about the bodies of my people?" Mervida interjected.


    Her dead warriors were to be given honorable burials.


    The Emperor couldn''t care less.


    "None are to be taken. Their armor will be used as the price for the damaged mountains"


    "How dare you utter-"


    "Unless you wish for the rest of your men to die, I suggest you do as I say while I act nice"


    Mervida''s face had veins pulsing with anger.


    Not only had they killed her men, by now they wanted to sully their corpses?!


    But what could she do? Few men were left alive, and all of them were being held captive.


    She hadn''t been able to kill Deneris.


    Her hair was disheveled, her armor damaged, and her body bloody.


    Taking the Emperor on was suicide no doubt.


    Not to mention, they were outnumbered.


    Gulping down her powerlessness, she spoke¡­


    "Then, will you let my men go?"


    The Emperor raised a brow.


    "When did I mention anything of the sort?"


    This time, it was Gaga who spoke¡­


    "But you said-"


    But the Emperor smoothly interrupted¡­


    "I said not going would have them all dead. I never said I would release them. What a joke"


    The power was in his hands, and the Emperor wasn''t one to be merciful.


    As such, heid down his terms.


    "Return to your abodes. I will have my advisor send you a list containing a fee for your men''s freedom, along with a few conditions"


    ''Since you dared to attack us, I''ll make you bleed the price in gold''


    The grandmasters were about to re up, when the Emperor sealed the deal.


    "You should be grateful I consider sending men who ughtered my people for a fee rather than having them paying with their lives"


    All turned silent as the Grandmasters had nothing to refute.


    "I would hurry. Your ten minutes are running out"


    The Emperor did a splendid job of agitating their nerves.


    With a sigh from Gaga, he ran off.


    Mervida followed swiftly.


    Garvin clicked his tongue and spoke with a smile on his lips¡­


    "I am still gonna pound ya head into mush one day"


    Getrahan replies with a grin of his own, stomping his weapon on the ground¡­


    "I''ll be waiting"


    With that, Garvin leaps away, breaking the floor beneath as he did.


    Within five minutes, the Grandmasters were gone.


    The battle had ended.

 Chapter 153 Implications

    With the battle ending, the Grandmasters found a ce to sit, their seemingly imprable gaits nowhere to be seen.


    Deneris'' armor had rusted in a few ces, its ck sheen now brown.


    Reminiscing about the fight, he wiped imaginary sweat off his face.


    Mervida had withering affinity, a variant affinity of the element of nature.


    With it, Deneris was kept on his toes through the whole battle.


    Of course, he didn''t go easy on her either, but she had the advantage by attacking the same ces on his armor, each strike increasing the rust.


    ''If only I could get better metal¡­''


    The thing was, his armor was made bybining metals from the top thirty.


    Finding even better metals would be a daunting task.


    With a sigh, his brain went to work.


    --------------------------------


    Getrahan had his chests heaving, yet his face held beads of sweat and a wide grin.


    His grip tightened on his double hammer staff.


    Opponents capable of causing him to overexert himself weren''t many.


    The feeling, for him at least, was exhrating.


    ''Ah! Why did the fight end so quickly?''


    Away from him, Raveny with his back to the ground and his staff by his side.


    His surrounding held the most damage, with smoke constantly erupting from burning stone.


    Holding Gaga alone had been unbelievably hard. Even using his trump card, Gaga showed his prowess by matching him.


    With his body soaked in sweat, he stared at the air.


    ''Let''s be like this for a bit''


    Jebas was back on his feet, along with the few troops strong or luckily enough to survive with little injuries.


    The Emperor gave his orders.


    "Have the Experts thrown in the makeshift cells. The Masters should be treated well"


    People shook their heads, wondering if they heard it right.


    "No harm shall befall them. Give them just enough water, but the rest will be up to those guarding them. Let''s hope your monarchs can cough up the price for their lives"


    He then turned to the Grandmasters.


    "Our n worked out. All Grandmasters should return, except you, Jebas"


    Jebas had his mouth agape.


    "Stay here and have them scrap these corpses for all their worth"


    "Then what?"


    "Have them burned-"


    The Emperor stopped.


    ''Should I send these bodies for a fee?''


    But he shook his head. Being too greedy will stain his image.


    So he says¡­


    "Have those burned thrown into the earth"


    "NOO!" one of the Masters in captivity screamed.


    These were his long-timerades. How could he stand aside while their remains were sullied?


    The Emperor turned to him with a dull gaze.


    The Emperor expected the Master to burst into a fit of rage, yet the opposite happened.


    As if afraid of not being heard, the man screamed, his eyes stern and determined.


    "YOUR MAJESTY!-"


    He bowed, hitting his head against the floor.


    "-LET ME GRANT MY COMRADES AN HONORABLE BURIAL! I''LL PAY FOR THEIR BODIES! PLEASE! PLEASE, YOUR MAJESTY!"


    The surrounding descended into silence as the Emperor stared at this man, who kept hitting his head on the floor.


    Such an act was usually disgusting, but the sight of a man lowering himself just to make sure hisrades could rest easy drove an inexplicable emotion into the hearts of all those watching.


    The Emperor spoke¡­


    "How do I know you''re not plotting against the Empire?"


    "I SWEAR ON THE BLOOD OF RAIKAN!"


    With that, he sighed andnded. Such an oath was enough to shut out all doubts.


    As with the two wives, he always had a soft spot for people capable of such sincere courage in the face of despair.


    "Which kingdom do you hail from?"


    "Russell"


    "Ah! Gaga has some fine men. I''m jealous"


    Then, he says to his people¡­


    "Have those underneath take all dead Russellins, after having gathered those of the Empire of course, and have them sent to Russell"


    He turned to speak to the man, but¡­


    "THANK YOU FOR SUCH MERCY, YOUR HIGHNESS!"


    The man was hitting his head on the floor once more.


    Of course, not everyone was okay with such actions.


    His rades'' had ughtered multiple of theirs. Such an oue was too good for them, they thought.


    "Your majesty, this cannot be allowed-"


    "It seems you''ve forgotten your ce, interrupting me like this"


    No interjection was allowed with the Emperor''s aura shutting up all protests.


    The men gritted their teeth as the Emperor spoke.


    "We won the battle. Go tend to the wounded"<novelnext></novelnext>


    They could only listen to the orders given and swallow their discontent.


    The Emperor wasn''t done yet though and turned back to the bowing Master.


    "To grant your request, a price is in order"


    The Master merely nodded.


    "I demand from you¡­your allegiance"


    The man let out a light smile, and spoke¡­


    "My honor as a warrior is all I have left, and being an opportunist is not for me"


    The Emperor nodded.


    "Truly¡­I am truly jealous"


    With a sigh, he asked¡­


    "I guess you know what happens now?"


    The man nodded.


    "Do I get to be buried honorably?"


    With a nod from the Emperor, he continued¡­


    "Then do as you wish"


    At the end of that sentence, the Emperor was already in front of him.


    cing his palm on the man''s chest, he muttered regretfully¡­


    "What a waste"


    Those nearby quickly retreated.


    With that, the Emperor''s palm lit up with lightning, and then¡­


    *SPARK!*


    Lightning erupted with a loud crackle, bringing momentary brightness to those beside it.


    It faded momentster, revealing a hole in the man''s chest.


    To all this, the man said¡­


    "Thank you"


    His eyes dimmed and his body fell to the floor soon after.


    The Emperor''s expression did not change as he said¡­


    "Treat his body with the utmost care"


    With that, the Emperor walked away.


    As something that happened far more times than he''d rather recall, he didn''t ask for their names anymore.


    He also made sure to kill such people the moment he had them as enemies and couldn''t have them as subordinates.


    Such people moved at the order of their lords, so they would kill Nitonians without doubt.


    That, he couldn''t have.


    The Grandmasters gathered at the foot of the manite mountain, which was but a step away from total destruction.


    The mana crystals had formed because the mountain was enclosed, locking all mana particles within, which would then coagte into crystals.


    With the mountain cut in two, countless mana particles were being lost to the wind.


    This phenomenon meant the mana crystals would continue to lose mana purity, and would be normal crystals after losing it all.


    One thing was sure, any mana crystals left had lost a lot of their puritypared to the day Fredrick hade by.


    Of course, these Grandmasters didn''t know that, but with war on the way, the Emperor wasn''t dumb enough to leave the crystals like that.


    That said, they also had to make sure their enemies were fooled. The Emperor knew from the start that they woulde for the manite mountain rather than Avi.


    So he and the other Grandmasters plundered as much as they could within thirty minutes and left the rest.


    The time limit was because, if they set limit by number, they would''ve ended up plundering the whole mountain.


    Even now, the Grandmasters released sighs at such wastage.


    But they weren''t regretful.


    Having the manite mountain around meant all Nitonians would want it.


    They''ll get stronger, but so will their enemies, and that was not the aim.


    In any case, they had stashedrge shares, the rest would be for others to fight over.


    A new wave of chaos would wash over the Empire.


    "It''s necessary to reduce our troublesome numbers, and there''s no better way than this"


    With the poption saturated, but the majority being weak, this would allow those weak to die while the survivors grew stronger, killing two birds with a stone.


    The Emperor spoke to the others¡­


    "After this, call off your forces and disappear for a while"


    They nodded, it was already nned.


    With that, time passed swiftly as the Avillians came to the surface.


    They were previously underneath the earth, in a makeshift ce made by a master of earth the night before.


    Still, not everyone survived. Some died due to unique circumstances, while others were crushed by tremors from above.


    Collection of bounty went swiftly as well.


    The Grandmasters finally went back to their abodes.


    Deneris and Raven gave each other death res the whole time.


    Cabrera and the boys had covered more than half the original distance to Kingsmere.


    Cabrera was itching to get his memories back.


    Before long, night struck.


    With it, the news of a manite mountain spread to bothmoners and nobles.


    The implications of this would go far.


    Elsewhere, in the deep of night, a man opened his eyes to a dark space lit up with a torch as he found himself strapped to a metal chair, or rather¡­impaled into it?


    Ilyon felt like crying. Where did things go wrong?

 Chapter 154 Horrific Undertones

    *k*k*


    "H-huh..?"


    Ilyon woke up to a ce plunged in darkness, save for the burning torch.


    ''Where am I?''


    Ilyon found the ce eerie and scary.


    ''How did I get here?''


    His memories, fuzzy at first, cleared up soon after as he shook himself to awareness.


    ''That''s right. In the tavern! Some b#stard knocked me out!''


    This action alerted him, as he was unable to move his body.


    ''Huh?''


    He struggled and retired, yet the result was the same.


    Staring closely at his body, his blurred vision cleared up to reveal something Ilyon would''ve rather not seen.


    For starters, his arm, and the stump in ce of the other one, were pinned down by two spiked metal circlets, well, half of it, onto a metal chair.


    Same with his legs.


    Tilting his head from side to side to make out where he could be, a door, surely metal, Ilyon deduced from the sound, opened.


    From it came a short man, garbed with a short coat and pants, with a tall hat to top it off.


    "Hey! Who are you? Where am I?!"


    Ilyon yelled, grabbing the man''s attention.


    Coming closer, Ilyon was able to make out the face of the man. He was not young, but not elderly either, with an expression of joy as he spoke in a rasp breath, thoroughly creeping Ilyon out¡­


    "Ah¡­you''re awake. The lord will be happy. Wait right here"


    With that, the man left to go somewhere.


    Ilyon popped a vein with thest sentence, but he couldn''t even move.


    Ilyon had an ominous feeling. That person, this situation, all clues pointed to something bad happening.


    The man came back soon after, holding a bag whose metal contents jingled within.


    After him, came a man with a familiar visage.


    This was the man that knocked him out, Ilyon realized.


    Catching onto his expression, the man spoke.


    "Seems you remember. I guess we can skip the introduction and get right into it"


    "Why did you kill Rowan?" he asked slowly.


    Ilyon''s eyes popped in surprise as he denied.


    "I didn''t do anything about that, it was the snake!"


    The man''s eyes curved into sinister crescents as he gave a warm smile.


    "Is that so?"


    But to Ilyon, his fear instantly multiplied as his skin was filled with goose bumps.


    The man''s actions were contrasting his smile as he picked an item from within the woolen bag.


    "Giffard, do you mind?"


    "Not at all" said the shortie as he picked out a round object and imbued it with mana.


    As the object lit up, Ilyon felt something burning, this one far more painful than anything he''d ever felt.


    It was like his internal organs had been set aze.


    He screamed and shrieked.


    "Please! Please, no more! Please!"


    Then the pain receded like it never happened.


    The pain would no doubt drive him insane if it continued for long.


    His heart calmed down, while his brain was still in disarray, when another wave of pain hit him.


    *Clip*


    His pinkie was cut off, putting him in another series of pain.


    The man stared him down.


    "I hope you understand, I hate being lied to. So, with each lie, I''ll clip one of these off"


    Ilyon yelled, his brain overloaded with pain¡­


    "DON''T! Please! I''d tell you anything you want to know, just don''t hurt me anymore!"


    His voice was pitiful.


    His ns for the future were all shattered just a few days ago when his meridians were broken, not to mention having lost an arm.


    He was tired, immensely so.


    ''Why is my luck so bad?'' he thought with a few tears falling from his eyes.


    The man didn''t give a damn.


    "So, you''ll answer all our questions?"


    Ilyon nodded vigorously.


    After which he said¡­


    "Bring them in"


    The door opened and two men were dragged in.


    Their bodies were buff and bulky, but also soaking in blood.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Shortly after, Ilyon''s eyes gave a surprised look.


    The man took that as his cue¡­


    "So, that means you know these men?"


    Ilyon nodded. How could he not know them? They were part of the Red Wolf guild!


    With a smile, the man said¡­


    "Things are certainly bing interesting. We tracked them on the way to question them. Yet, we found them holding items beyond their worthless existences"


    ¡­before turning back to Ilyon.


    "Begin narrating the events that lead to my brother''s death"


    "B-brother..?" Ilyon stammered.


    The man gave a surprised look.


    "Ah! I haven''t introduced myself, have I? Then let me do so. The name is Tom Everdust, and yes, Rowan was my little brother"


    Ilyon''s eyes shook.


    "You''re done for? Yes, definitely so. What matters is if I''ll kill you painlessly or slowly. How well you answer my question will determine that"


    "Take them away"


    With that, the Red Wolf members were promptly dragged out.


    "Now then, I''ll begin spilling all you know to Giffard here"


    With that, he moved out after leaving a few words¡­


    "Giffard, he''s all yours. I need all he knows ready by dawn"


    "Yes my lord" Giffard says, his face stern.


    *ck*


    With the sound signaling the door closing, Giffard tucks in his sleeve.


    "Now, let''s find out what you know"


    His face stayed stern as he picked an item from his bag.


    "We are going to be doing this for quite a while"


    What followed throughout the night were screams and shrieks unheard by anyone else.


    ¡ª-----------------------


    Nearing the arrival of dawn, a slew of horses marched on.


    "Boys, we''re almost there"


    Cabrera and the boys would soon arrive in Kingsmere


    ¡ª------------------------


    ''Yes! With this, I don''t have to worry about using an iplete technique!''


    Meanwhile, Ezra never left the royal vault, forcing himself to stay awake.


    He couldn''t afford to waste such a precious opportunity.


    He had already begun plundering coins like no tomorrow, before halting and perusing the technique section.


    Mana techniques andbat manuals were clearly separated, with thebat manuals divided by weapon type and element, and mana techniques divided by element and preferred fighting method.


    The problem was, Ezra couldn''t find any that allowed for steady cultivation of a penta-elemental like him.


    The best option he found until now would be to abandon two elements to use only three, but that would be settling for less, and Ezra wasn''t going to do that.


    So, after racking his brain, an innovative idea popped up.


    Cabrera had bought five thousand copper scrolls.


    Normally, that would have nothing to do with the matter at hand, but¡­


    Cabrera gave Fredrick the space ring, who transferred its contents into Ezra''s ring.


    Now, Ezra remembered that soul contracts could be upgraded by putting a lesser scroll in a higher tier one.


    So he did something simr with the mana techniques and¡­it worked!


    The thing was, what the copper scroll could copy was very little, and while this would normally be a problem, Ezra had five thousand with him.


    Five thousand!


    It couldn''t copy even half of the mana techniques, but it would be more than enough to copy the contents of those he deemed necessary.


    The mana techniques ranged from Silver to Diamond rank.


    Ezra knew that it was a test.


    ''Most kids would immediately go for the highest ranked one''


    That would be a very big mistake.


    Mana techniques had conditions its practitioner needed to fulfill.


    Or rather, the practitioner had to have certain qualities to use mana techniques from Epic Gold upwards, ranging from gender, to physique types, to affinity grades, to having peculiar herbs or artifacts, and much more.


    Again, such arge disadvantage wasid to waste because it was Ezra.


    ''Hehe'' he gave an evilugh.


    Bolton will be mind-blown a few years from now.


    Before that though¡­


    ''Let''s get some sleep''


    With much tenacity, he got to his room with his body now heavy and slept off within seconds ofying in his bed.


    A smile on his face as he couldn''t wait for tomorrow.

 Chapter 155 Implications (2)

    The rising sun signaled a new dawn of chaos.


    News of the manite mine had spread and, during the previous night, too many had departed to its location.


    By now, hundreds of people had gathered at the foot of the mountain, giving each other chilling res.


    All had affluent backings of at least a C-rank guild.


    To prevent any sort of monopolization and ensure security, the Emperor assigned three Masters and a slew of Experts to guard the mountain.


    You didn''t think he would just give them for free, did you?


    He had them cough up money to begin mining, and by spreading word that not many crystals remained, he sold it to the highest bidder.


    Mana crystals allowed smooth and easy cultivation for those at Expert rank and below.


    Havingrge quantities of this equated to having arge number of Experts to take on more and better missions for the guild or n, which would increase their overall might.


    With the purity decreasing by the second, it was bought excessively at extravagant prices.


    _______________________


    With the Grandmasters thwarted, the Emperor faced his next big priority.


    ''Who stole the mana stones?''


    The fact that someone had taken off with a bevy of mana stones from right under their noses was unforgivable.


    It could be a power from Niton, and if it was so, another Grandmaster would soon be born.


    But there was no proof that this Grandmaster would be an ally and not an enemy.


    No, even allies could not be trusted after achieving Grandmaster-rank.


    Now, he began a thorough investigation by having all surviving missionaries give their ount of the outpost''s destruction.


    He hadn''t done it sooner because of the impromptu siege on Avi and the subsequent events.


    The more he heard, the more furious he became.


    Artifacts could only send short messages, so he was just getting to know that Rowan had died, that a snake stampede urred, and that an A-rank snake came from within the mountain.


    His veins almost popped when he heard the snake''s body had vanished.


    Then you had the Red wolf and White Iron guilds, along with a few mercenaries, who had plundered the mountain for a few minutes.


    This made the Emperor snap as he pped a missionary to death.


    "You did what?" his gaze was cold as ice, same with his tone.


    Loreta came forward to exin the situation with better details. Only then did the Emperor calm down.


    ''I see, they took advantage of the situation''


    His eyes shone.


    ''Like Cavarl said, none of them seem aware of the presence of mana stones. I guess I don''t have to kill them then''


    But his questions hadn''t been answered.


    ''Were they the ones who took them?''


    It could be the guilds or the mercenaries.


    Then he stopped. His assumptions were logical, but that was it.


    He turns to Loreta.


    "Tell me, what about the wave of blue flowing in the sky?"


    She taps her head for a moment, then she remembers.


    "Your majesty, its happening is not of my knowing, but I believe the Master should know"


    "Go. I shall call on youter to give an ount of every noticeable person during the incident. The Empire will not stand for such insult"


    She left, leaving him to his thoughts.


    ''The findings of mana stones, I''ll have to wait for the arrival of my men''


    Niton had many citizens heading for Avi from far ces.


    The group gathered to fight during the previous night were mercenaries and guilds nearby, but many more wereing.


    He vowed to get to the bottom of this issue.


    He was sitting on the throne of the Avillian king.


    The city had procured massive damage during the battle, but the royal district was the least damaged.


    The pce stood strong with but few scratches here and there.


    There were no guards, for there was no need for them, allowing all to plunge into silence.


    The Emperor''s visage calmed, with his lightning sucked inpletely. He let out a grunt with a hand on his stomach.


    ''What is this?!''


    Hours after the battle, the Emperor was still battling the poisons in him.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Through that, he now understood the poison.


    Made from a substance he didn''t know, the poison was eating him from the inside, devouring his energy bit by bit.


    At its pace, it would take several years to do significant damage.


    If the Emperor tried to recover his mana, either by cultivating or potions, the poison would take its share from it.


    As it did so, a problem popped up.


    ''It''s getting faster''


    The poison became faster the more energy it sapped, which allowed it to sap even more energy.


    It was a vicious cycle that left the Emperor unable to recover.


    ''Who is it?''


    Someone specifically targeted him. The question was who.


    He had sent for the royal healer by messaging Bolton.


    In the meantime, he had to avoid unnecessary usage of energy.


    ''I''ll have to stay here for a while''


    This setback made him unable to leave as people must not know of his condition, else, Niton will be turned upside down.


    As he ruminated on the subject, a man reached him and gave his introductions without dy.


    "Your majesty, I am the admiral of Whittown, Winston, and I believe I have news concerning the matter at hand"


    The Emperor nodded.


    "Go on"


    Winston narrated his strange encounter with numerous guilds whileing to the outpost.


    He then told of those scavenging, with one major highlight, that they arrived before he did.


    Without boration, the Emperor connected the dots and formed a guess of his own.


    ''So, they knew of the attack taking ce beforehand? Or is it something else?''


    ''They might even know of the stolen A-rank beast''


    His gaze turned stern as he gave these thoughts some reasoning.


    "Hmm, you have done well. Sir..."


    "Winston, your Majesty"


    "Sir Winston, such news was truly helpful, you will bepensated"


    Winston was all smiles as he heard that.


    "I will call on you at night or dawn tomorrow. Be prepared. You may leave now"


    He left minutes after, allowing silence to descend once again.


    Unwilling to stay idle, the Emperor wrote letters to all neighboring kingdoms.


    With the news of the manite mine now public, he estimated the kingdoms to move within the week.


    ''The Grandmasters will soon gather. But with so many dead, they will hesitate. The death of four Grandmasters would have shaken them greatly. This should alleviate their worries though''


    His letter would help the kingdoms decide faster.


    ''War is needed to clean out those unworthy''


    Niton was in need of strong individuals in preparation for theing of mankind''s enemy, and war was one of the best methods to reveal hidden fighters.


    At the same time, the strength hidden within the neighboring kingdoms would be exposed.


    ''Now, what rewards shall I present?''


    To have the donkeys follow orders, a sulent piece of food was required.


    Something that''ll make not just mercenaries, but guilds, along with the noble families, willingly burn resources and embroil themselves in the war.


    The Emperor found himself stumped for ideas.


    All the items he could think of were either too low to garner great greed, or too good to be true.


    Thetter would deter those cautious and intelligent, along with mostmoners, while the former would deter those of the top ss.


    ''It seems I have something else for Bolton to do''


    With no answer in sight, he put it behind him for further thought.


    ns were put in ce as many moved to secure both fame and riches, for war was a delightful thing in thends where the strong ruled.


    Commodities took on higher prices, with weapons and potions having thergest increment, while food supply declined.


    Like so, two days passed, and by the dawn of the third, Cabrera arrived in Kingsmere.

 Chapter 156 A Boastful Display

    As soon as Cabrera arrived in Kingsmere, his head shook as memories popped in ce.


    Five minutester, he came to his senses.


    "Nathan¡­" he muttered.


    He recovered a lot of his memories, and they told him what to do next.


    He turned to see the boys having gone through the same thing.


    Paying the entrance fee, Cabrera separated from the rest of the group and headed to the Missionary.


    The boys head to their residence, having gotten its location from their recovered memories.


    _______________________


    In the Missionary, Cabrera found it exactly as his memory depicted.


    Only, there were far less people around as most had journeyed to Avi.


    He approached a desk attendant, a short female with green hair.


    "Hello, what would you like to do?"


    Without replying, hemanded his space ring to release its contents.


    A pile of bodies appeared out of thin air, pulling the attention of all those close by as it was too big not to see.


    "Huh?!"


    "T-those are beasts, right?!"


    "They are at least C-rank!"


    With the affirmation, a few eyes turned greedy.


    But just a few, most of those who stayed did so because they were weak, and for them, someone like Cabrera was clearly not to be trifled with.


    "Who is he? Does anyone know what guild he''s from?"


    "I think he''s from one of those guilds in Traxford"


    "Then, what''s he doing here?"


    *Shrug*


    From there, they started muttering to one another while eyeing the corpses.


    Cabrera nodded to their reaction with a light smile on his lips, but he wasn''t done yet.


    A momentter, another pile of bodies appeared at his right.


    Bystanders were dumbfounded. Those of higher intellect made sure to burn Cabrera''s face into their minds, along with other things most would miss.


    Guilds would pay money for such information, especially on the eve of war.


    One in particr had his eye go cold as it pervaded the corpses.


    ''How did he kill these beasts?'' he wondered.


    The corpses were too clean, too intact, to the point that some seemed to be sleeping, and he would believe it if not for the fact that he couldn''t discern a heartbeat.


    Normally, you''d expect signs of battle, and if not, then its head would''ve been separated or its legs cut off. But none of that was present. All he discerned were smooth sword shes along the bodies not deep enough to kill it, or so he believed.


    ''This guy..!'' the man became apprehensive.


    It was possible if he studied the way of the sword since childbirth.


    ''Or is it something else?''


    No matter, he would begin investigating him as soon as he got back.


    By now, the floor was painted with blood, but Cabrera paid it no heed.


    "Well? How much will this sell for?"


    The attendant was shaken out of her stupor.


    Embarrassed by her disy, she spoke quickly.


    "Ah, yes! I''ll have to check it to confirm the price"


    As she fidgeted, a voice rang out.


    "Good then, I''ll be back in a few minutes. Make sure my money is ready by then''


    With that, Cabrera excused himself, heading up the stairs.


    Five minutester, he was brought to the sentinel''s chambers.


    Entering, he found the sentinel walking about with files in hand.


    Pleasantries were voided as the sentinel spoke sinctly.


    "I see you have returned. How was the expedition?"


    "A sess surpassing expectations, and it is the reason for my visit"


    That had the sentinel turning his gaze to Cabrera.


    "Well?"


    "I believe such discussion should be had while we sit"


    After seating, the Sentinel prompted Cabrera to start talking¡­


    "Now you have my full attention"


    Cabrera leaned forward and whispered into the sentinel''s ear.


    "Mithril mine"


    The sentinel''s pupils shrank.


    "What of it?"


    "We stumbled upon one while hunting"


    The sentinel had his eyes darting over Cabrera''s figure over and over again.


    Then he asked¡­


    "You''re being serious?"


    It was Cabrera''s turn to frown.


    "You think I''m lying? I came here because I thought of you as my benefactor. Without your generosity, the expedition would not have been possible"


    Of course, he didn''t forget to chip in more convincing facts.


    The sentinel tilted his head.


    Honestly, what were the odds? He had given the loan because Cabrera seemed desperate enough. Also, to him, 25000 tinum wasn''t much in the grand scheme of things, and the loss of such an amount could be easily covered up.


    After all, he knew how much the royal family stashed away.


    He expected Cabrera toe begging for more money or dissolution of the contract, as that''s what most do.


    Yet¡­<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''A mithril mine!''


    He was so ecstatic he could fly, but he kept it all in, masked behind a face of skepticism.


    Calming his beating heart, the sentinel spoke¡­


    "So, where is this Mithril mine?"


    Cabrera gave him a long stare.


    "Let''s sign a contract"


    "Hmm-"


    The sentinel''s gaze narrowed.


    ''He''s not stupid''


    Such a quality pleased him, for he disliked associating with idiots-


    "State your price"


    -and it allowed the process to go smoothly.


    Cabrera rubbed the back of his neck.


    "Sir is my benefactor, so I will take what is given"


    The sentinel brows creased.


    ''Is he smart or stupid?''


    On one hand, theck of an actual price meant the Sentinel would have to give an adequate amount.


    On the other, where was the greed? Most would have stated astronomical amounts. So, what was this?


    The Sentinel decided to go with the first reason, and besides, the Empire had too much money lying around.


    "Did you really see a mithril mine? How many ores were there?"


    That didn''t mean he would tolerate a loss.


    Cabrera exined what the mine looked like, along with the amount of ore in it.


    "It''s more than enough to forge a weapon or a piece of armor"


    The Sentinel nodded and gave a price.


    "I''ll give you 300,000 tinum for it"


    Cabrera''s mind went nk as he subconsciously gasped¡­


    "Ah¡­"


    The sentinel raised a brow.


    "Fine¡­500,000"


    Cabrera, still in his daze, had the sentinel continue.


    "700,000"


    "800,000"


    "850,000"


    "900,000"


    "950-"


    Cabrera broke out of his stupor and spoke aloud with a surprised face¡­


    "Sir, sir, stop, that''s more than enough!"


    The sentinel stopped, then asked¡­


    "Is that all?"


    "Give me a few minutes"


    The sentinel nodded. He could afford to wait that much.


    Cabrera still had the shock lingering within, so he couldn''t think straight, hence the few minutes.


    He threw the number to the back of his mind and concentrated.


    "What about the loan?"


    Waving his palm, the sentinel dismissed it.


    "Take it as a gift. Then?"


    "I''ll be buying the slums"


    Cabrera didn''t dilly dally either.


    "The slums?"


    Things were just getting weirder and weirder with this guy.


    "Yes-"


    He suddenly stopped.


    ''Maybe?''


    On a hunch, he decides to be a little greedy.


    Staring at the sentinel, he asked¡­


    "The slums in Traxford, I''d like to buy those too"


    Not sure what anyone would want with the slums, he nodded regardless.


    "If that''s all-"


    He rushes to end things, but Cabrera wasn''t done.


    "I''d like a zero tax on all my things"


    The sentinel was annoyed.


    "I''ll give you a five year tax exemption. Is that all?"


    "Ten. And I''d like a supply of cultivation reagent for me and my men¡­that''s all"


    The sentinel gave a sigh, and brought forth a soul contract.


    "All that happened stays between us"


    Cabrera nodded, thereafter, the contract was quickly written.


    Cabrera revealed the mine''s location and left with a fewbat manuals and two more space rings.


    His actions had prompted other pieces to move, with many things soon happening.

 Chapter 157 Undertones

    Cabrera was on cloud nine.


    ''925,000 tinum''


    The original amount was 950,000, but 25,000 was used to abolish his loan.


    The beast corpses sold for a high price, butpared to the first, it was too small and could be considered pocket change.


    Regardless, Cabrera could barely control himself.


    His state changed from anxiety to fear to greed to overexcitement and many more.


    He had a bevy of emotions flowing through him.


    Still, he persevered and arrived at his abode.


    The boys had already settled in and were asking questions, trying to regain the rest of their memories.


    They were able to understand a few things in the process.


    Cabrera ignored them all, with his eyes darting about.


    "Where''s Nathan?"


    Only then did anyone take cognizance of his presence.


    Quickly, he was directed to Nathan, who sat in a small room he fashioned into his office.


    Stacks of paperid on his desk, with a few dozen books shelved behind him.


    Cabrera sat without a word.


    "So¡­how did it go?" Nathan asked, his eyes on Cabrera.


    Cabrera made hand signs and muttered, but it came out as gibberish. His vtile emotions were giving him a hard time expressing himself.


    "Is your mouth all clogged up now? Which @ss you chewed to cause that?"


    Cabrera frowned and his excitement went down.


    He had only told, and subsequently showed, Nathan the new potion he ''identally'' discovered.


    With a narrowed gaze, Cabrera made out an audible mutter.


    "Mithril"


    Nathan tilted his head.


    "What about it?"


    Cabrera gave up on words and said¡­


    "Make sure you don''t scream"


    Before Nathan could understand-


    *Stter!*


    -shining gold coins fell to the ground in the hundreds.


    Within a minute, the ground was flooded with gold.


    Only then Cabrera stopped.


    He looked to see Nathan wearing the same expression he did.


    "H-how I-I-Is-"


    His voice scrambled as he knelt onto the gold. His body shook as he caressed the gold coins to make sure he wasn''t dreaming.


    Then he threw them up into the air with hisughter booming afterwards.


    "Hahaha-"


    Cabrera cut him off.


    "Lower your voice! Are you trying to get us killed?"


    Nathan promptly shut up, but kept his gaze onto the pile of gold.


    He picked one and raised it.


    "Ho, aren''t you excited? Just think of what we could do with this? What we could achieve! We''ll be-"


    But his monologue was cut short as he grabbed his chest.


    His heart had stopped.


    "Mm-mmm!" his face raised in rm as veins popped out all over his body.


    His head was drained of color, with his eyes turning red as he couldn''t breathe.


    His heart would explode at the rate of things.


    As ast resort, he screamed, puking blood along with it.


    "Have mercy! Please!"


    Then, his veins melded back into his skin and his head regained color as he wheezed out heavy breaths.


    Cabrera wasn''t spared either, but his pain was less with only his veins bulging.


    Both menid on the gold, which was now stained with blood.


    Their eyes were zed with fear, and their minds hade clear of greed.


    At least now, they don''t have to worry about how to spend the money, because, as they were just reminded¡­


    The money wasn''t for them to keep!


    _______________________


    Within the royal vault, Ezra''s gaze had turned cold.


    ''As expected''


    He touched his chest and felt his heart.


    ''People can''t be trusted''


    Nathan had begun fantasizing about spending money whose origin he knew nothing about.


    ''There''s a limit to how greedy one can be''


    This was why he insisted on using a soul contract for all transactions.


    Without it, he could see Nathan and Cabrera running off with the money.


    His money.


    He would''ve killed Nathan, but as a friend of Cabrera, killing him would sour their rtionship.


    He was still useful in that way, and as a first time thing, a near death experience would do well as a warning.


    The more he thought over it, the more furious he became.


    His thoughts were to have Nathan''s memory wiped, but he stopped.


    ''Calm down''


    He calmed himself, realizing he was making a mountain of a shallow pit.


    After all, Nathan never explicitly mentioned absconding with the money.


    Why were these Ezra''s first thoughts?


    And then, had Nathan really done anything to warrant such anger?


    No, wait, Nathan didn''t know of either Ezra or Fredrick, so he must''ve thought Cabrera owned it.


    Besides-<novelnext></novelnext>


    He looked around.


    -there''s already so much money here.


    Gold coins were all over the ce, why then was he so angry?


    Ezra face palmed-


    ''Even at this age, I''m still a fool''


    -and sighed in dejection. Hisst betrayal had left a scar in his soul, a deep one.


    He wondered if it would ever heal, before shaking his head.


    ''Whatever. I haven''t confirmed his skills''


    Cabrera had given his word, but Ezra suddenly thought that wasn''t enough.


    Like that, he added another objective to his list.


    He departed the vault, found Fredrick, and exined the situation to him.


    ______________________


    -An hourter-


    Nathan and Cabrera sat in silence, the event still vivid in their minds.


    The pile of gold had been sucked back into the space ring.


    "Who is he?" Nathan said.


    "Who?"


    "The man on the other side of this contract"


    Cabrera lowered his head.


    "I can''t remember"


    "What?"


    "Look, I''m as confused as you are"


    Both men sat in silence, when a servant came in and gave a note.


    Cabrera read it and frowned.


    "What is it?"


    He handed it to Nathan.


    It read¡­


    ''All will be clear in due time, but as it is, get ready to greet visitors at night''


    The sender was definitely the man on the other side of the contract, or at least someone rted to him.


    But it was thest few words that caught attention.


    ''Visitors at Night''


    It was a reference to thieves and assassins.


    As Nathan tried to deduce what he could, Cabrera spoke.


    "Turn it over"


    He did so, and found five words in the back¡­


    ''Raven Skull and Gold Moles''


    ''This¡­!''


    The meaning was clear.


    _____________________


    -Elsewhere-


    "Are you sure?"


    "Yes, my lord"


    Garbed in armor, with his helmet in his armpit, Tom Everdust listened to Giffards report.


    "Demon worshippers you say"


    It wasn''t impossible, but Tom felt something was amiss.


    "Isn''t it too early for them to show their faces?"


    "Are you sure the man hasn''t gone insane?" he reaffirmed.


    "Highly unlikely, Sire"


    "Hmm, inform father. This matter is beyond me"


    In the first ce, his father was the one who forced him to look for Rowan''s killer.


    He couldn''t care less about that dumb brother of his.


    But the presence of a Demon worshiper changed things.


    If they could act so bold, then no one could predict what would happen next.


    ___________________


    -Elsewhere-


    "AH! PLEASE STOP!"


    Within a torture chamber, multiple men knelt, their clothes ragged and their bodies chained at multiple sides while they were flogged with a whip.


    Their screams resounding ever so loud.


    "I TOLD YOU ALL I KNOW! PLEASE, LET ME GO!"


    Within them, some were receiving special attention.


    One of them was Franc, leader of the guild based in Whittown, Nightshade.


    While celebrating his new found wealth, he had been captured along with his men.


    They were asked the same questions, repeatedly.


    "What is your involvement with the attack on Windless Peaks?!"


    The pain did not allow them to lie, so they gave truthful ounts on how they all followed Nightshade, while Franc told of how his men died.


    But those asking didn''t care.


    Their answers weren''t believed, and so they continue to be tortured.


    The source of their joy had turned into the source of unending pain.


    Oh, how these men wished they never set foot in the missionary.


    The one who instigated their torture was smiling inwardly.


    ''Now all that wealth will be mine!''


    Winston.


    And he didn''t let up.


    "They''re lying! They must be! sh them harder! Make them tell the truth!"


    Like so, the torturers'' beatings became only harder as time went by, with many dying in its midst.

 Chapter 158 Undertones (2)

    -An hour ago-


    *Knock*


    "Come in"


    A man came in, garbed in an armless jacket and tight ck jeans with daggers strapped to the side.


    In front of him was the guild master of Raven Skull, Heiner hayne.


    "Boss, they are here"


    The boss jerked up abruptly.


    "Did you see them?"


    "Yes boss, saw Mad Fist. They''ve got something, I don''t know what it is, but Mad Fist had a space ring"


    "Anything else?"


    "Beasts. He killed a lot of them, and I don''t know how"


    Hiener''s eyes shined.


    "All the more reason why we can''t leave them alone"


    "Inform Rubrus about this. What about Fire Scar?"


    "They''ve agreed"


    The boss smiled.


    "Good. Spread the word. We attack tonight"


    "Yes boss"


    With that, he left.


    ___________________


    On this day, armies gushed out of Niton''s surrounding kingdoms.


    Namely, Iris, Russell, Sce, Quartez, and Itrevezar.


    Thousands upon thousands gathered with their armor distinguishing which kingdom they were from.


    The armies of Iris, Sce and Russell were noticeably smaller.


    Their justification was ''to take back Avi''s freedom''.


    Niton responded in kind with knights, mages and shifters from various powers eagerly awaiting battle.


    But this was not the case just an hour ago.


    The cause was the Emperor putting mithril at the top of the rewards list.


    To contain the war, the Emperor banned the intervention of Grandmasters, and the surrounding kingdoms agreed to it.


    With Grandmasters out of the picture, Masters flooded the battlefield.


    As one of the few metals capable of withstanding Grandmaster attacks, the Grandmasters wanted it for themselves, so they sent the Masters beneath them to acquire it.


    Each was out for blood.


    That of the enemy and unsuspecting allies.


    ________________


    The Emperor, who had predicted such a trend, was smiling insidiously.


    With this, cooperation among allies would be nonexistent and blood would be spilled on all sides. Niton''s poption would dip massively.


    To make sure of this, he hadmoners - numbering thousands - forcefully conscripted.


    They would die weak or be strong.


    Whichever happened would be of favor to the Empire.


    __________________


    Meanwhile, the Sentinel was holding in his frustration.


    ''That damned man..!''


    Priorly, he had sent a message informing the Emperor about the possible acquisition of a raw Mithril.


    Even after making clear that it was still uncertain - for they had not yet sent any search parties to its location - the Emperor went out of his way and immediately dered it as a reward for war contributions.


    ''What a disaster..!''


    Just thinking about the consequences ''if'' the mithril had been stolen made his head hurt.


    He decided to determine the situation personally.


    Within minutes, he informed his assistant of his departure, left her in charge - after giving her the necessary information - and departed with all else being none the wiser.


    ______________________


    Meanwhile, Ezra was plundering coins like a mad man, before replicating mana techniques with soul contracts bit by bit.


    The Emperor had only allowed him to take one mana technique. He never said anything aboutbat manuals!


    With this logic, he forced Bolton to allow him an unlimited amount of Combat Manuals.


    Bolton didn''t tell Ezra not to take every manual that seemed fancy and learn them.


    He would understand on his own that quantity didn''t trante into usefulness.


    Ezra snickered inwardly. Bolton was counting on him damaging his blessed physique with his own hands.


    Ezra picked scythe and dual wielding arts, along with a few others, to develop a unique fighting style.


    If he ever needed more? He''de and take it.


    His mom had sent a letter ofint to the count and Isabelle had be head maid.


    Though, Ezra was expecting the witches to cause trouble over the matter.


    The former head maid, well¡­was pitiful. So Ezra didn''t spare her.<novelnext></novelnext>


    He had her tongue cut off for insulting his mom and she was fed just enough to survive.


    Any attempt to kill herself had her severely punished.


    He wondered if the head maid didn''t have a backer, for them to stay still while she was suffering like this.


    Oh well, it was none of his business.


    _____________________


    Within a renovated building at the outer ring of Kingsmere, Fredrick yed around with the kids.


    He kept himself transparent, using the building as a temporary home, few knowing of his arrival in Kingsmere.


    The fact that he had be a Master was to stay secret for a good while.


    He taught the children - who had multiplied in number over the past few weeks - the art of fighting and had them do minimal exercise.


    The kids had been moved to a new, and bigger, building bought with Cabrera''s loan.


    The building''s exterior was purposely left in a bad state to obscure people''s attention and blend in with the rest of the houses, while the interior was repaired to top quality.


    Nathan had the renovated tavern reopened for business, and it was generating some amount of money.


    The Merchant guild was also rising steadily under his lead, which meant it caught the attention of the gangs and faraway guilds.


    _____________________


    *KNOCK*KNOCK*


    With heavy bangs, a door opened forcefully, revealing a pale round head with sparse white hair and a lot of wrinkles. Brown eyes were framed by a pair of sses and showed an enraged expression.


    "Who dares to-"


    He was cut off by a neutral voice.


    "It''s Ondo-"


    "Then what are you-"


    " -Sir, they''ve arrived"


    His mouth formed an ''o'', and he closed the circr wooden door right after.


    Sounds of ss breaking resound thereafter and, three minutester, the man revealed himself in full.


    Garbed in a red robe reaching just above his knees, he spoke with a delighted face.


    "Take me to them"


    Ondo has his eyes taking in the man''s figure.


    "Sir, don''t you find this situation a bitcking? Having to meet such people personally?"


    The man nodded.


    "Of course I do, but if the news is true, then such an act is worth it. Embarrassment will fade in the face of glory"


    Ondo shook his head.


    "I don''t like it, Sir"


    "Then don''t, your opinion is unneeded" said the man with a raised brow as he walked forward.


    Ondo obstructed him.


    "Sir, give me a bit of time to have theme to you"


    What he got was a hard knock on his head.


    "Sir?!"


    "Don''t you get it? That''s the one thing we don''t have, time! I can''t afford to lose to that old geezer, the seat of Head Alchemist has to be mine!"


    The boy rubbed his head.


    "But he hasn''t made any moves"


    The man was skeptical.


    "Does he not know of their arrival? Or is the news false?"


    "That I know not, but he has yet toe out of hisir for the past eight days"


    "Hmm¡­"


    Ondo raised his three fingers, while still rubbing his head.


    "Three days, Sir. In three days, I''ll have theme to the castle"


    That got him another raised brow.


    "And once you fail?"


    "I will say nothing concerning your actions"


    "Sigh-"


    He rubbed his head.


    "-have it your way"


    He then turned and went back into hisir.


    Ondo wiped sweat off his face, realization dawning upon him.


    ''Although I said three days¡­is there a way?''


    He had spoken in the heat of the moment, but he didn''t have any idea of how to make it happen.


    ''There''s got to be a way''


    Nevertheless, he was intent on achieving his aim.


    Like this, night soon fell.

 Chapter 159 Dealing With Visitors

    In the dark of night, Kingsmere''s residents bustled non-stop as lights lit up the streets and prostitutes got to work.


    Simultaneously, multiple entities were moving to put an end to what they deemed a growing threat.


    After scouting the area, the operation to get rid of Dark Toothmenced.


    Stealthily, they reced those moving around with their own men and monitored their movements.


    Those approaching sensed the danger and moved afar.


    Two hours after midnight, the building had switched off its lights for three hours now.


    Heiner couldn''t help his grin.


    ''Luck is on our side''


    Slowly, all those involved gathered, surrounding the building from all sides, but maintaining sufficient distance.


    Rays of light from afar made it possible to discern tens of people standing in silence.


    At the forefront was Heiner, a man whose belly protruded and whose innocent face had led many to their deaths.


    This was the guild master of Gold Moles.


    The third was a man with broad shoulders, a bald head, and ripping biceps, but short. He had a great saber hung at his back.


    He was a member of Fire Scar.


    Pervading the figures behind him, Heiner''s confidence grew.


    Given that Dark Tooth was able to lose them at the start of their expedition, he was a bit skeptical.


    Unable to get Ivory Knives to join them, they found Fire Scar willing. Also, Green snake came forward by itself, already bearing a grudge against Dark Tooth.


    Every member wore armor.


    ''Mad Fist, your time is up''


    With a smile, he gave the signal.


    With quick steps, those of Intermediate-rank and below ran towards the building, their footsteps loud and clear.


    As they reached within five steps of the building, a ferocious aura erupted, forcing them to stagger.


    Instantly, the building broke on all sides as the boys flew out with shouting war cries and swords in hand while garbed in armor.


    They came out to give their visitors a hearty greeting.


    Theirnding was spectacr, but they didn''t dwell on it.


    The moment their feet touched the ground, their swords were already cutting down the enemy before they could react.


    These happened in quick session as the boys went on a rampage, ughtering everyone in their way.


    In minutes, confusion spread through the ranks as echoing screams had the rest stepping back in haste.


    "What are you doing? Attack!"


    Heiner''s voice brought them to their senses.


    But the boys were keen on pressing their momentum.


    In pairs of two and three''s, their attacks got wider as they attacked and defended at the same time.


    This was no battle, it was a ughter.


    The alliance of gangs had served itself to a meat slicer.


    With head flying, bones breaking, and blood spraying, those weak hearted began hasty escapes. They were not willing to die tonight.


    Those strong willed found themselves astounded as they were cut down, the boys showcasing the effect of their training and beast hunting expedition.


    Having practiced with high qualitybat manuals, others couldn''t hope to match them.


    Seeing his men cut down, the leader of Fire Scar moved to eliminate them.


    Before he could reach them, a wooden spear shot out of the building andnded in front of him.


    "Face me instead"


    Cabrera promptly joined the battle.


    "dly" the invader replied.


    With that, both men shed.


    ''Killing this guy will be-''


    He didn''t get to finish the sentence before Cabrera reached him.


    ''Fast!'' was all he could think before a kick in the gut sent him flying.


    Simultaneously, Cabrera added a punch to his face. His gauntlet left an imprint on his face.


    He crashed into concrete, but Cabrera wasn''t looking as he reached Hiener secondster with an outstretched fist.


    Hiener put up his guard, but an arm appeared in Cabrera''s view.


    The Gold Mole guild master was throwing a punch of his own.


    Cabrera watched the punch near beforending a kick to the attacker''s elbow.


    The electrifying shock disoriented his movements and fractured his arm, allowing Cabrera''s punch to strike unobstructed.


    *Chuk!*


    His ribs were smashed as Cabrera''s arm punctured his stomach, killing him on the spot.


    Upon doing that, Cabrera put up a guard as Heinernded a kick of his own, pushing Cabrera a dozen meters back.


    The body of the Gold Mole guild master slumped to the ground and Heiner was disgusted.


    ''After all that talk of taking treasures, he died like this''


    He didn''t ignore the fact that Cabrera was dangerous. It was baffling.


    ''Isn''t he supposed to be an Intermediate-rank?''<novelnext></novelnext>


    Yet, he even surpassed regr Advanced-ranks.


    All that mattered not as, with one dead and the other¡­he didn''t even know, his odds of survival were bleak.


    ''Let''s stall for time''


    "When did you be so powerful?"


    Cabrera blinked in response, they weren''t here to give hearty talks.


    With that, he attacked.


    Upon reaching Heiner, he gave out three punches while Heiner counter attacked with his sword.


    Within ten exchanges, Heiner was sent flying.


    The Fire Scar leader got back up and attacked Cabrera with his de unsheathed.


    While those two battle it out, Heiner awoke with a grunt and rejoined the battle.


    Cabrera''s strength exceeded his imagination.


    ''But even you can''t take both of us at once''


    With that, they pressured Cabrera with an onught of attacks


    "Ugh!"


    As both men used swords, they had a longer attack range.


    As the battle approached a stalemate, Cabrera burst forth with a flurry of punches amplified with mana.


    Their bodies quivered as the punches unsettled their movements.


    Heiner was able to back away, but the Fire Scar leader was not.


    With precision, Cabrera followed up with a punch to the left to the neck while his right guarded against the man''s saber.


    *Snap!*


    His opponents died without any suspense, and Hiener took to his feet.


    ''Damn! Damn! Damn! This is so wrong!''


    He felt like balling his eyes out. How in the world did Cabrera grow so powerful?!


    Regardless, surviving took priority.


    After running for a few minutes, he looked back to see¡­no one.


    ''Yeah, he must''ve gotten tired'' Heiner nodded to himself.


    Getting to his base, he picked out his essentials with fast hands.


    The goal was to flee Kingsmere.


    The door creaked and he froze when footsteps were heard.


    "Nice ce"


    He took a fighting stance.


    "I''ll be taking it"


    With that, Cabrera attacked.


    Within ten minutes, Heiner was beaten to a pulp with his bones broken and blood all over his face.


    "Why are you going this far?! This is too much!"


    Cabrera stared and snorted.


    Without a word, he put his leg on Hiener''s head and-


    "No wait! Please!-"


    *St!*


    -stomped it to mush.


    Pieces of brain sttered about.


    Cabrera stared at the corpse.


    After gathering to kill him, he''s asking why he was killed in response? What a joke.


    ''I''ll have someone clean this ce up''


    A few members were left to guard the base.


    Seeing as their boss was killed, they bowed when Cabrera came to them.


    "Clean up this ce and dispose of the body"


    With heavy nods, they moved into action.


    Their boss was dead, and they didn''t want to follow him to heaven.


    By the time Cabrera returned to his base, the battle was over.


    Most were killed, some had fled, and the rest surrendered.


    The boys had cuts all over and were covered in blood - that of the enemy - but none lost a limb.


    "Good work boys"


    They smiled in return.


    At this moment, multiple footsteps approached and the boys ready themselves. But then, the approaching party stepped into the light with loud shouts.


    "Mad Fist, we are here to-"


    The man stopped and blinked multiple times.


    "The heck?!"

 Chapter 160 Destroying Firescar

    "Huh?!"


    The man was fit and firm. He was wearing gray armor, holding a sword and shield, and had a diagonal scar running across his face.


    Cabrera gave no pleasantries.


    "What are you doing here?"


    "I came to help, but I guess I was wrong about who needed it"


    Cabrera approached the man and then...


    *p*


    They shook hands.


    "Hahaha, you haven''t changed one bit"


    The contrasting atmosphere dissolved the tension.


    "I could say the same about you"


    "It''s been four months, but I heard you''re making waves"


    After a few seconds, theirughter subsides.


    "I came running the moment I heard, but now there''s nothing to do"


    Cabrera smiled. He had a good rtionship with Red Hook, and this was their leader, Braham Kron.


    That said, he didn''t expect their arrival.


    Kron''s gazes washed over the slew of dead bodies, when his eyes widened.


    "Isn''t that Saber?"


    His hands point towards the Fire Scar leader.


    "Yes, I killed him"


    Kron stared at Cabrera.


    "They are not going to let this go"


    "I don''t expect them to"


    "What?"


    "They won''t live to see dawn"


    "CABRERA!" Kron panicked.


    "We will strike fast and hard"


    Kron calmed down a bit.


    "You can''t take them on"


    "I don''t need to, they are not here"


    A spark lit up in Kron''s head.


    The top gangs had gone to war for one reason or the other, leaving the bare minimum to protect the base.


    Cabrera''s voice snapped him to reality.


    "Tell me, those left, are they much stronger than him?" he said, pointing towards Saber.


    Kron wasn''t sure.


    Cabrera nodded.


    "Are you in or not?"


    Kron starred.


    "If this goes wrong, we''ll all die"


    "We''ll be killed either way"


    He had already killed one of their men.


    "So we''ll kill them first"


    Kron rubbed his face. This whole n was crazy.


    Heaving a heavy breath, his gaze was now stern.


    "What do I need to do?"


    ¡ª------------------¡ª-----


    "What''s taking them so long?"


    He had sent Saber to ensure the operation was properly carried out.


    Lemin always considered the smaller gangs as eyesores. Since he was now the boss - though temporarily - he nned to wipe all other gangs except White Kings, as they weren''t to be touched.


    This was the first step to doing so.


    But¡­why were they taking so long?


    Did something happen?


    ''No'' he shook his head to clear off bad thoughts.


    ''I should wash up''


    That instant-


    "Break!"


    -multiple figures broke in, and attacked.


    ''An ambush!'' his instincts rang out.


    This had never happened before, so he didn''t know what to make of the situation.


    "Who dares?!"


    They were the top dogs in Kingsmere, so how dare someone attack their base?!


    "I do"


    He looked to see Cabrera with his gauntlets and Saber''s¡­saber?


    Whatever.


    Lemin advanced. There was no need for talking.


    He unsheathed the daggers strapped to his side and struck.


    *ng*ng*


    He was fast and nimble, easily avoiding Cabrera''s blows and dealing multiple of his own.


    "Since you dared, I''ll have you die here!"


    Cabrera felt the difference between them. His opponent was no small fry.


    He put his back to the wall and threw away the saber. It was a hindrance.


    ''Hmph-''


    Lemin snorted inwardly.


    ''-as if that''ll help you''


    Lemin''s footsteps were silent as he jumped all over the ce, the cuts on Cabrera increasing by the second.


    Cabrera stood still with hands in front of his face, trying to capture Lemin''s movement.


    Three minutes psed and his cuts were numerous.<novelnext></novelnext>


    But his eyes were calm, watching and waiting.


    And then the chance came!


    Lemin struck again, but Cabrera caught his arm.


    Lemin used the dagger on the other hand to stab the arm, but Cabrera didn''t budge and instead, grabbed the second one.


    "Hmph"


    With a heavy breath, he jumped backwards, using his and Lemin''s body to break the wall as both men fell to the ground.


    Theynded heavily on their backs, the back of their heads kissing concrete soon after.


    Cabrera''s eyes widened in pain.


    "MMM!"


    His back stiffened and his head throbbed as he forced himself upright.


    He saw Lemin puking blood as heid unmoving, yet he was staring with a gaze filled with hatred till the light in his eyes faded.


    Lemin had masterful speed and precision, but his physique wascking, and Cabrera took advantage of that.


    The impact broke multiple ribs, which then punctured vital organs and led to his death.


    Cabrera brushed off the hateful gaze. When Lemin tried to kill him, he should''ve been prepared to die.


    With a grunt, Cabrera got to his feet.


    A shiver ran down his spine as his gaze instinctively looked to the end of the street, but there was no one.


    He sighed in relief, when something glowing yellow rolled his way.


    ''A healing potion!''


    Just what he needed.


    He checked it for any ill content and, finding none, drank it.


    ''Ah!''


    His wounds healed rapidly.


    With a couple of stretches to straighten his bones, Cabrera was good to go.


    Before he could get far, he heard footsteps and three figures appeared, all men and tall.


    They stared at Lemin''s body, before affirming their gaze on Cabrera.


    "What happened here?"


    "Tch" Cabrera clicked his tongue.


    With the resounding of weapons shing, their question answered itself.


    Cabrera wondered why only two Advanced-ranks were present, and now he had his answer.


    He ground his teeth. Maybe he overestimated himself a bit?


    He estimated there would be four Advanced-ranks at maximum.


    Thinking about it now¡­


    ''I can''t take on three of these guys''


    He thought them to be on the same level as Heiner or Saber, but if even one had Lemin''s level of prowess, then his death was guaranteed.


    Lemin''s prowess surpassed his. He was just able to use a weakness to his advantage.


    If those used to guard were like this, then what of the elites sent to war?


    He hadn''t thought things through as much as he should have, and that mistake was about to cost him his life.


    But he calmed himself. Panicking wasn''t the answer.


    ''Do I flee Kingsmere?''


    Even then, they would send people after him.


    So, he chose to take a pre-emptive strike.


    "Get him!"


    The three rushed forth with eyes of fury.


    Well, they tried to.


    Suddenly, all three had the upper part of their bodies - from the abdomen up - fall to the floor.


    It was so fast that the three didn''t immediately die.


    "Huh?"


    "Hmm?"


    "Eh?"


    Rather, they wondered why they suddenly fell.


    That was until they realized they couldn''t feel their legs. When one turned to see his legs slumping to the ground¡­


    *SHRIEK*


    Blood submerged the floor in red.


    Cabrera froze, before rapidly blinking.


    ''What just happened?''


    He hadn''t seen a thing. He hadn''t even moved.


    But the loud shrieks broke his stupor.


    Be as it may, Cabrera approached the three with Lemin''s dagger in hand.


    *Chuk*


    He stabbed the throat of the one shrieking, instantly killing him, and moved to finish the others.


    One of them held a calm expression.


    When he saw Cabrera approaching, he closed his eyes, dying with a peaceful expression.


    The third was wiping his tears, before giving a sigh of resignation.


    Cabrera bent to stab him, when he noticed the light in his eye had faded. He was already dead.


    Cabrera closed the eyes of the third man, before moving to help his boys.


    He had seen death multiple times, and he had killed a lot too. It was nothing surprising that humans looked pitiful at the brink of death.


    Half an hourter, the battle was over.


    Cabrera was thankful Red Hook hade to help, else many of his boys would''ve died.


    By ambushing them with superior numbers, only ten members from Red Hook died.


    Those remaining of Fire Scar surrendered, of which Cabrera killed two-thirds, leaving the bare minimum imprisoned.


    To finish off, he went after Green Snake, killing the rest of their strongestbatants and imprisoning the rest, except those who had fled.


    With his new space ring, he sucked in all the corpses and buried them in the same grave a distance away from the capital with the help of others.


    The blood sprayed about was cleaned up, leaving damaged buildings as the only evidence of battle.


    By dawn, Kingsmere went into a frenzy as news of the event spread.


    Eventually, it reached the ears of Ondo.


    ''I can use this!''

 Chapter 161 Protection

    One of the top gangs had been wiped out.


    Kingsmere went into an uproar. Gossip flew and rumors spread in a matter of hours.


    Within every establishment, there was someone talking about it.


    Consequently, Cabrera''s name popped up all over the ce.


    Some called him the man who single handedly wiped out Fire Scar.


    It wasn''t the truth, but when did humans ever tell the truth?


    From one mouth to another, the tale of how Fire Scar fell overnight was exaggerated.


    Along with it, the names ck Jaws and Red Hook started making rounds.


    Cabrera knew none of this.


    Right now, he was moving along an underground passage with Kron behind him.


    He found it through information from the remaining Fire Scar members.


    The passage was wide and had three doors at set intervals.


    He had taken keys from one of the dead bodies, which he used to open them, revealing different things.


    In one, he found money and artifacts.


    In the other, he found girls of different ages and sizes in cages.


    ''ves''


    Cabrera frowned, before checking the third.


    In it, were files containing detailed transaction records.


    With it, Cabrera understood he still underestimated Fire Scar.


    It was not just a gang, they were on another level.


    He could see names of multiple nobles in these files, from Barons to even a Count.


    They weren''t people to be messed with, and now Cabrera had touched their interests.


    His heart beat in trepidation with his fist clenched.


    Fear was seeping into his heart, when Kron pped his back.


    "Get out of your head. We couldn''t justy down and die"


    Cabrera stared at him and nodded.


    They attacked him first, so they should''ve been prepared for the consequences.


    Then, there was the inexplicable shiver he felt and the healing potion from nowhere.


    He rubbed his head. The missing parts of his memories were not helping the matter.


    He took a deep breath.


    ''One step at a time''


    _______________


    They headed out of the passage.


    "Have Nathane here"


    While waiting, he spoke with Kron.


    "What are you going to do now?"


    "What nonsense? I''m staying" Kron retorted.


    "We might die"


    "We''re already dead since the moment we decided to fight Fire Scar"


    Kron took a deep breath.


    "I''ll be joining you"


    "What?"


    "Don''t give me that. You''ve grown stronger. More so than I ever thought. I want the same"


    "Hmm-"


    "It''s a matter of time before we''re killed anyway. That way, we''ll have a chance to grow stronger"


    Cabrera nodded.


    "But they won''t wait for us to grow"


    "True, but-"


    *Bam*


    The door mmed open to reveal a wide eyed Nathan.


    "What have you done?!"


    Cabrera stares, unmoving.


    "Have a sit"


    Nathan readjusted his demeanor when he noticed Kron.


    "Firstly, take a look at this" Cabrera tossed him a stack of files.


    "Hmm" with a skeptical face, he began reading.


    "Oh"


    Again. "Oh"


    And again. "Oh!"


    Two minutes psed, and Nathan put the files down, his gaze changed.


    "What do you think? Is there a way we can use it?"


    "Hmm" Nathan''s eyes regained focus.


    "That''s tough to say. Using it as ckmail could potentially backfire"


    "Sigh¡­"


    *Knock*Knock*


    "Who?"


    "Boss, someone''s here to see you"


    All three men stared at each other.


    "Let them in"


    A man in ck clothing came in, his demeanor giving an air of charisma as he took a seat.


    "Which one of you is Cabrera?"


    "I am" Cabrera said with his elbow on the table and his hands interlocked over his mouth and nose.


    "I''m Ronald from White Kings"


    Cabrera''s gaze deepened, but his face remained the same.


    "And so?"


    ''This guy''s good'' Ronald thought.


    "I see you''re still cleaning up, so I''ll make this brief. We need to know your stance"


    ''Hmm?''


    Basically, they came to affirm whether he was an enemy or an ally.


    "Neutral. Fire Scar brought this upon itself by trying to kill me"


    Ronald made light nods.


    "I guess we need not be worried then"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I guess so"


    "Well, my job here is done" he said and extended his palm.


    "Congrats on bing Kingmere''s number two guild"


    Cabrera shook it.


    "Likewise"


    Ronald left.


    Cabrera looked on coldly while the other two didn''t speak.


    Throughout the conversation, none of them smiled, and when they shook hands, they stared at each other.


    In Ronald''s eye, Cabrera saw a light of mockery.


    _______________


    At the same time, multiple people were approaching Kingsmere to meet the famous ck Jaws.


    Some went to know their newpetitor.


    Others wereing to find out what exactly Cabrera had used to kill the beasts he showcased in the Missionary.


    Things were starting to seem bleak for ck Jaws.


    ¡ª------------------


    Meanwhile, Ondo was pestering the old man once more.


    "Sir, I''ve found a way"


    "Well? Then bring them over"


    "Actually¡­I need you help"


    "Huh?"


    "It''s like this Sir. They¡­"


    Quickly, he exined the matter and the old man''s eyes and mouth widened in surprise.


    "Hahaha, Ondo, you have done well"


    He patted the boy on his back, before making haste for the Royal Advisor.


    While there were a lot of ws in the boy''s n, the old man found it useful.


    ¡ª------------------


    "Excuse me?" Bolton shifted his reading sses with a look of bewilderment.


    The Vice Head Alchemist hade to him about¡­a guild?


    He didn''t quite understand, especially when a great war hadmenced.


    The old man exined his case.


    "Even if so, I can''t call them to the pce just for that"


    "Then call them for property damage and murder. That works fine, yes?"


    "It does. Onest thing though-"


    The old man jerked his head.


    ''What now?''


    "-what do I get from all this?"


    The old man clenched his palm.


    "You already have everything. What else do you want?"


    "The de-aging potion"


    "How do you know about that? I was saving that for myself! Pick-"


    "Then I guess we''re done"


    Bolton got up to leave.


    rmed, the old man pulled Bolton back.


    "Wait, wait, wait. Never mind, I''ll give it to you"


    The scene wasical.


    "Ok, the deal''s done. I''ll have them here in a few minutes"


    Bolton left with a smile, while the old man felt like crying, but soothed himself.


    ''It''s the price of greatness. Yes, yes, that''s what it is''


    ¡ª---------------------


    -Minutester-


    *Knock*Knock*


    With no answers to the crisis at hand, Cabrera answered weakly.


    "Yes?"


    "Boss, you''re being summoned!"


    Cabrera came awake immediately.


    "What?"


    "These-"


    *Bam*


    Again, the door was mmed open.


    This time, two men in red armor came in uniformly.


    "Mr. Cabrera?"


    "Yes?"


    They turned to him.


    "You''re being summoned by the Royal Advisor"


    "Wha-why?"


    "That is none of our business. The royal advisor shall tell you himself"


    Cabrera was bbergasted.


    Royals didn''t interfere with gang matters before. What was going on?


    Nevertheless, he could only cooperate. The men in front of him were Experts.


    With a sigh, he said.


    "Lead the way"


    "I''ll be tagging along" Nathan joined them.


    ? "Only Mr. Cabrera was requested," a guard said.


    "I''m sorry, but I follow Mr. Cabrera everywhere, and I don''t see how it is a problem"


    After a few nces between the guards, they decide to leave it be.


    No one was stupid enough to attack royal guards in the capital, and small fry like them could never touch a hair on the Advisor''s head.


    They were escorted into the castle and asked to sit in an empty room, its walls painted red.


    After thirty minutes of waiting, two men entered and sat opposite them.


    Bolton broke the ice.


    "Do you know why you''re here?"

 Chapter 162 Protection (2)

    As Cabrera and Nathan were escorted into the pce, a gaze from afar muttered.


    "Well, this wasn''t part of the n"


    ¡ª-----------------------


    "Do you know why you''re here?"


    Nathan took the lead and replied¡­


    "No"


    Bolton tilted his head and stared.


    "You are?"


    "Nathan. Nathan Trent. I am Cabrera''s advisor"


    He stares back at Cabrera.


    "Is this true?"


    Nathan nudged him and whispered.


    "Leave this one to me"


    Cabrera blinked then nodded.


    Speaking to people of high status was not his forte.


    Bolton was annoyed, yet his smile didn''t falter.


    "Your little act has made many homeless, destroyed a few businesses, and, above all, killed many"


    Nathan cast a suspicious nce. Since when have royals cared about anything that happened tomoners?


    "To avoid souring the rtionship between us, we''ll have you pay a sum"


    Cabrera spoke, surprised¡­


    "Is that all?"


    The old man smiled.


    "Unfortunately not. We received news that you somehow procured a potion of unknown effects. We''ll have you hand it over for safekeeping"


    Nathan smiled inwardly.


    ''I see!''


    "Wh-"


    Nathan nudged Cabrera hard, red, and whispered¡­


    "I thought we agreed to leave the talking to me"


    Cabrera rapidly calmed and Nathan took the cue.


    "What happens if we don''t?"


    Bolton was annoyed at the old man''s interference, but masked it behind a smirk.


    "You live in our city, so it would be wise not to test our patience"


    "Hah, then I guess we''re done talking-"


    He nudged Cabrera to his feet and both walked out of the room.


    "-we''ll be leaving ''your city'' then"


    Bolton''s aura red, causing both men to flinch.


    "I didn''t say you could leave"


    Cabrera was about to falter, but Nathan spoke like he was unaffected.


    "You have nothing to offer us. I thought we''d best get going rather than waste your time"


    Bolton calmed, his re soon disappearing.


    Killing them was easy, but the repercussions would not be.


    Gangs were taxed at a monthly rate and were allowed autonomy in their affairs.


    Bolton could kill them and cover it up, but others were not stupid. Enemies of the royalists would use it against them.


    Naturally, they posed no threat, but with the Emperor absent and the war atrge, panic would spread and the capital would be unsteady.


    Both men took to their seats with Nathan smiling. The negotiations had tilted in their favor.


    The old man spoke.


    "Where did you get the potion?!"


    Bolton vein twitched. Why couldn''t this guy shut up?!


    Nathan''s smile materialized as Cabrera replied¡­


    "I made it" he said with a matter-of-fact tone.


    The old man''s gaze turned to one of disdain¡­


    "You take us for fools?!"


    Cabrera tilted his head, his face nk.


    "It''s not a joke. I made it, on impulse, but I did"


    The old man gave a bewildered look - he did not believe it - and turned to Nathan.


    "He speaks the truth"


    Nathan''s confirmation changed things.


    ''Huh?!''


    Creating a potion through sheer luck?! It was absurd! Beyond absurd!


    The old man got angry.


    "Do you take us for fools?!"


    Cabrera signed with a nk face when Bolton spoke.


    "Tell us how you made it"


    Inwardly, Cabrera sneered.


    "Now you''re taking us for fools"


    The situation was unique, so Bolton had to be careful.


    He didn''t like losing, but if he could get the de-aging potion, then he didn''t lose.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "State your price"


    Nathan and Cabrera shared a look. They had enough money, so¡­what did they need?


    Nathan took the initiative.


    "Protection"


    Bolton made a puzzled face. They were strong enough to defeat Fire Scar in a single night, so he assumed they had backers.


    "We want a buffer zone"


    A buffer zone was a state of protection against bigger entities.


    For a duration,petitors and outside forces were disallowed from hampering a particr entity.


    It was a powerful use, but not many used it, for it had a price.


    The protected entity was also not allowed to hamper other entities, along with being prohibited from essing multiple monster regions.


    It was also stated that it could only be applied to D-rank guilds and below.


    Thest use was to prevent any situation with unchecked entities from growing out of bounds.


    With this, Bolton confirmed theirck of a backer.


    He regretted not knowing beforehand, but this situation wasn''t too bad either.


    But then¡­


    ''How did they beat Fire Scar?''


    Well, he could find outter.


    There was another reason.


    Using a buffer zone meant you were a part of the royal faction, because it wouldn''t be granted otherwise.


    ck Jaws was an anomaly in this case as most guilds were formed with a connection to pre-existing one''s, hence their faction was set. It was set for life.


    Guilds that weren''t didn''t get far in ranks. Like how Dark Tooth had grown stale over the years.


    Bolton readily agreed. The royal faction would have one more arm to count on, and since they were able to beat Fire Scar, he knew they weren''t deadweight.


    "Yes?" Bolton questioned when Nathan said nothing more.


    Nathan and Cabrera were heavily discussing in hush tones.


    Cabrera panicked.


    "What are you doing? If we do this, there''s no turning back!"


    "This would''ve happened one way or another. I prefer now toter, or do you have other ideas on solving the immediate crisis?" Nathan countered.


    It was the truth, but Cabrera had his own considerations.


    "What about those on the other end of this contract? And my memories?"


    "We''ll simply give them their money. That of Fire Scar is sufficient, and since we''ll be under the royals, they won''t dare touch us carelessly"


    "As for your memories, there''s plenty to be done once we''re able to stabilize our situation"


    Cabrera was conflicted, but he silently nodded.


    Nathan looked at Cabrera, then at Bolton.


    "We decided to gift the alchemic recipe to Sir..?"


    "Bolton"


    "Sir Bolton, for the good of the Empire"


    The old man''s eyes widened while Bolton smiled.


    "Then I ept it on behalf of the Empire"


    Nathan gave a light nod.


    "For how long will the buffer zonest?"


    "Ten years. I''d like to give you more, but that''s the maximum allowed"


    Nathan''s mind whirred, thinking of other things he could ask, something that only the Royal Advisor could give him.


    But it seemed there were none, until something popped up!


    "Sir Bolton, I''d to ask for and proprietorship certificate"


    The atmosphere froze with tension levels rising in mere moments.


    Bolton''s expression became rigid.


    An alchemy recipe was surely one of the highest treasures, but Nathan''s request was deemed outrageous.


    Land in the Empire belonged to the Emperor.


    It was at his permission thatnd and titles be awarded to performers of exemry deeds.


    Nobles were born through this method.


    Then some grew powerful enough to contend with the royal family, hence the term ''great families''.


    Other than that,nds were leased out by Missionaries for a price.


    Essentially, thesends belonged to the Emperor. What Cabrera had paid for was the permission to use thend for his own purpose for a specific period. On top of that, his business would pay a monthly fixed tax rate.


    If he failed to follow regtions, or the Emperor felt like it, his lease would be stripped away and the business confiscated, regardless of whatever amount he had procured for it. Of course, they were denied any refunds.


    Land Proprietorship certificate, as its name implied, was a license to buynd, rather than lease it.


    The certificate was made to help with trade across continents, mostly given from royal family to royal family.


    It would be demeaning if a king''s business was seized by another, so after decades of debate, the Land Proprietorship Certificate was made.


    Sellingnd was an act shunned upon. Prices were made prohibitive so as to discourage buyers.


    The silver lining was, if they managed to pay, no taxes would be levied on their property.


    Bolton was bewildered and furious, his aura ring.


    "How dare you ask for such a thing? A merchant should know his ce!"


    "I would-"


    Nathan cut him off with a lightugh.


    "It seems Sir has misunderstood my intentions"


    Bolton''s brow arched in puzzlement, his anger apparent, but he kept silent.

 Chapter 163 Slum Proprietorship

    "It seems Sir misunderstood my intentions"


    "I dare not seek treatment beyond my means. Instead, I wish to do the Empire a favor"


    Bolton nodded, but he didn''t get where this conversation was going.


    "Grant us the ability to purchase the Slums"


    Bolton confusion increased.


    "For what purpose?"


    Nathan tilted his head.


    "To help those below us"


    Without permitting interruptions, he continued.


    "Mr. Cabreraes from the lowest rung of society. Knowing the plight of the poor firsthand, he began a movement to help the poor. Purchasing the slums would go a long way in that aspect"


    Nathan turned to Cabrera.


    "Isn''t that so, Sir?"


    Cabrera, having got the cue, took a tone of conviction.


    "While it is absurd to many, helping the poor is my goal. I believe everyone deserves a chance"


    Inwardly, Cabrera was surprised.


    ''Come to think of it, where did I learn to speak like this?''


    Bolton would''ve immediately rejected them, but their proposal got him thinking.


    Bolton had thought up the same idea years ago, but the Emperor was unwilling to implement it, deeming it a waste of money, for the poor were useless and undeserving.


    Unlike him, they wanted to use their own money, not that of the Treasury.


    Permitting these two would set a precedent, a trial test for Bolton to gauge the feasibility of the n.


    There weren''t many things that could go wrong.


    ck Jaws was now part of the Royalist faction, officially tying them down.


    Then, the leader was only at the Advance-rank, so he could be easily subdued if it came to it.


    The buffer zone wouldst for ten years. After that, they would be destroyed, and to save themselves, Bolton would be able to make good use of them.


    He didn''t believe their nonsense about ''identally'' creating an alchemy recipe. There was definitely something else, and he wanted to know what.


    The situation didn''t allow for force, so he resorted to schemes.


    Taking extra care, Bolton thought up various scenarios.


    The odds of them being spies for other factions¡­was very low - he didn''t know of any power stupid enough to give out an alchemy recipe - but not impossible.


    Bolton mentally noted to do a background check.


    What if they had other intentions for wanting the slums? Not a problem, he''d just kill them after the buffer zone psed.


    The buffer zone disallowed any interference, either by harming or helping.


    This included the royal faction.


    But the odds of someone going from Advance to Master rank in a decade was nill, nigh impossible.


    Bolton had nothing to fear.


    The Emperor''s reaction? The man didn''t care about anything concerning those he deemed weak.


    "A grand goal indeed, I am impressed"


    Nathan chipped in.


    "Does that mean..?"


    Bolton nodded.


    "Yes, I''ve decided to grant your request"


    Cabrera and Nathan gave smiles.


    ''What a bunch of fools'' Bolton scorned.


    Since they weremoners, Fire Scar''s reserves must have been thergest they''d ever seen.


    ''The reserves of Fire Scar would be substantial, but even then, they''ll barely be able to afford thend prices. If I tinge their greed a bit by lowering the prices and adding more options¡­they might just die of starvation!''


    If that happens, they''ll beg him to remove the buffer zone. Then, with their pride shattered, he''ll pick them up to use.


    Finally, he''ll seize the certificate and anynd they had ''bought''.


    Bolton nodded in acknowledgement to his own cunningness, before speaking¡­


    "In light of such noble intentions, I grant you the ability to purchase any slum within the borders of the Empire, and the costs are waived by half"


    All three starred.


    They didn''t know what to make of the offer.


    ''This...!'' Nathan''s gaze became alert. When were things ever so easy?!


    They had barely convinced him just moments prior, yet now, they were being given an offer out of their wildest dreams.


    "Sir. Your gift is too much for Cabrera to ept"


    Immediately rejected.


    Bolton was having none of that.


    "Gift? This is merely a test of your usefulness. The development of the slums will determine your result, or did you expect eptance into the royal faction just like that?"


    Nathan''s words got stuck in his throat. Bolton''s reason was perfectly logical, but he couldn''t shake off the bad feeling he was having.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Things were never so simple.


    Bolton snickered inwardly. Their reactions said it all.


    The cheap prices would throw them into a frenzy.


    Before long, their money would run out and they''d have no one to help them.


    With a buffer zone active, they won''t be able to join the war or kill beats to gain a substantial sum, so, in the end, they''ll turn to him.


    Now he was sure.


    ''You''ll be back soon''


    If it happened that they bought the little within their means, it was still good. He''d use them as originally nned, as a trial test.


    His dark thoughts swirled but his smile never faltered.


    These men wouldn''t know what hit them.


    Nathan didn''t miss it though, Bolton''s mocking gaze said it all.


    Since he couldn''t reject the gift, he had to be careful to avoid whatever trap Bolton nned.


    Little did Bolton know that he was stepping on his own foot.


    Of course, he needed proof.


    "Show us a sample of this new potion"


    Cabrera removed one from his space ring.


    "Here. I call it the blood boiling potion"


    "Blood boiling¡­" muttered the old man.


    "I suggest you find a suitable beast to test it on. Simply pour it on a weapon and stab or directly pour it in to the beast to glimpse it''s effects"


    "What rank is it?"


    "Dark Gold, it effectssts for two minutes and works on lower C-rank beasts and below"


    "Ingredients?"


    "Barely worth a pinch"


    The old man''s smile deepened upon each answer.


    Bolton gave a patch with handwritten instructions to one of the guards, then whispered to another-


    "Deliver it to the Missionary"


    -before turning to Nathan.


    "Compiling a price list of slums will take some time. Expect it tomorrow"


    "Likewise, it will take a few hours topile the alchemy recipe"


    Nathan and Cabrera got up to leave, when Bolton called them back.


    "It would do no good for my guests to leave empty handed"


    He snapped his fingers and a guard came in with a brown wooden box in hand. It was medium sized and had the crest of Niton on it.


    Opening it, bright yellow light shined to reveal neat rows of coins, gold coins.


    Bolton didn''t miss the moment.


    "Here are sixty thousand gold coins as a token of appreciation"


    "It is a honor"


    Cabrera collected it before Nathan could speak and stored it in his space ring.


    Why would he refuse free money?


    Such swift action had Bolton''s eyes glinting.


    ''He must be thinking he has so much money now. I wonder how you''ll feel when you see thend prices''


    He was startled to see Cabrera holding a nk face like the amount was insignificant.


    Bolton shook off such thoughts. Cabrera must''ve been too surprised to speak.


    With that, Cabrera and Nathan returned to their new abode.


    Cabrera struck up a conversation.


    "So, we''re giving the slums to the person on the other side of the contract?"


    "Yeah"


    Cabrera had told Nathan of how Firescarsst three Advanced-ranks were split into two.


    But Cabrera wasn''t that worried. If they wanted him dead, he''d already be dead.


    And judging by thest message he left for himself, there was no reason for fear.


    At that moment, a voice rang out.


    "Don''t look behind"


    They flinched, the voice was from outside.


    "Tell me everything that happened in there"


    Cabrera didn''t know why, but he was sure.


    ''He''s the man on the other side''

 Chapter 164 Plans And More Plans

    "Tell me everything that happened in there"


    "You''re him!" Cabrera blurted.


    Nathan''s eyes shone as he caught on.


    Silence reigned for a few seconds.


    "Yes I am. Now, what happened there?"


    Cabrera felt a chill as he made eye contact with Nathan, who nodded.


    "We were attacked by Fire Scar and-"


    "Not that"


    "Not that?"


    Cabrera''s eyes widened as he connected the dots.


    "You''re the one who sent that letter!"


    "Will you get on with it?!"


    Cabrera''s heart skipped a beat.


    "The royal advisor¡­"


    ¡ª------------------------------


    "Haah¡­"


    Ezra exhaled, wiping sweat off his forehead as he picked out another scroll.


    The past few days have been hectic.


    Copying the contents of mana techniques wasn''t easy.


    The techniques were written with Berse ink to prevent it from fading.


    Berse ink could store mana, so each word had mana in it.


    Ezra had to count the specific number of words to copy, because the mana in each word varied, and the copper scrolls had a limit to how much mana it could contain.


    Too much, and the scroll would be torn apart.


    His head was aching after measuring the mana levels of so many words, but his grin remained intact.


    Ezra felt his ability to measure and detect mana grow exponentially in the past few days as many more copper scrolls were wasted.


    He had found other things, high gradebat manuals for scythes, swords, daggers, staffs, dual wielding and many more.


    Trying to master all of them was a bad idea, so Ezra picked out key manuals, those that taught the foundational movements.


    With it, he would build a foundation with multiple weapons, but master few.


    Of course, he didn''t forget to takebat manuals for his mother and also stash thousands of coins in his space ring.


    Now, even if the n didn''t work out, he''d have something to fall back to.


    Days ago, he inspected the contents of the space ring.


    The amount of mana stones he saw almost threw him into insanity, not to mention the mana crystals, the eggs, the trees and their fruits, the snake''s carcass, and then, the transparent cube of mana particles.


    Ezra didn''t know what to make of it. That day, he had to deceive himself into believing he hadn''t seen it so he could calm himself.


    After that, gold coins didn''t seem so precious anymore. Nothing did, except his mom and his weapon.


    He was equally surprised at how misinformed he was about the future.


    He wondered just how many things he didn''t know but thought he knew.


    That didn''t derail his n though. Instead, it affirmed that he had made the right choice by acting as early as possible.


    With two days left, he made sure every book he copied was worthwhile, picking quality over quantity.


    Each book was high ranked, catered tomon, sometimes rare, elements, and they allowed for diverse fighting styles.


    He could almost see his future army, each one a monster in their own right after being nourished by multiple treasures.


    ''All in due time'' he said to himself.


    ''All in due time''


    Also, the three witches still hadn''t made any statements on the head maid change.


    Ezra suspected something was up, or they were upied with their own matters for once.


    ¡ª-----------------------------


    Bolton and the old man were having a conversation.


    "What do you think?" the old man asked.


    "They won''t dare lie to us, but they''re definitely hiding something"


    The old man nodded.


    "No matter. As they''ve joined the faction, they''ll be plenty of opportunities to find out¡­though, I doubt it''ll take that long"


    "Hmm?" the old man raised a brow.


    "Don''t concern yourself, just wait them toe begging and pleading"


    The old man was more confused as Bolton turned to face him.


    "That aside. The de-aging potion, when will it be?"


    "Three weeks at most"


    Bolton nodded.


    "Good. You may leave"


    The old man left and the ce became silent.


    *Tap*Tap*


    A tapping sound echoed every few seconds.


    It was Bolton''s finger tapping his armrest as he contemted.


    ''Defeating Fire Scar without any backers¡­there''s more to that story, and I want to find out what it is''


    He snapped his fingers and a guard came in.


    "Find out everything about ck Jaws"


    "Yes sir" with that, he left.


    ¡ª------------------------------------


    "¡­and that''s what happened" Cabrera ended his narration.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Hmm¡­" a sound of contemtion.


    Nathan hastily added.


    "We''ll buy the slums and transfer the ownership to you"


    "Are you the one who negotiated?"


    "Y-Yes"


    "It seems I underestimated you¡­in any case, you did well. Hold onto the slums for now, and¡­just continue as you are"


    Cabrera felt the person was about to leave.


    "What about my memories?"


    After a few seconds, a reply came.


    "Soon, you''ll have it soon. Till then, no other soul must know, else it''ll be end of all of us"


    Cabrera gulped.


    ¡ª---------------------------


    -Elsewhere-


    "What?!"


    The Emperor was outraged.


    He was being examined by Hamilton Winc, the royal healer.


    "I''ve never seen something like this before. The poison is growing as it sucks mana"


    "How do I get rid of it?"


    "Cease mana usage for a few years"


    "Impossible. Anything else?"


    "Forcefully push it out, but you might suffer severe mana deficiency"


    "Might?"


    "That''s the least that''ll happen"


    The Emperor grit his teeth in anger. The enemy got him good this time.


    The poison was something specifically designed for Grandmasters, or more specifically, for him.


    Each time he used mana, the poison grew in lethality, and would eventually kill him from within.


    The Emperor''s mind was a mess.


    Two days ago, he was informed of the possible involvement of Demon Worshippers in the destruction of Windless Peaks.


    It didn''t seem too much of an issue, but the Emperor knew something most did not.


    ''What if Demon Worshippers took the mana stones?!''


    A disaster would ur if Demon Worshippers birthed a Grandmaster!


    It could not be allowed to happen.


    Then, what if they birthed multiple Grandmasters?


    It was something the Emperor didn''t even want to imagine.


    In the midst of it all, he became disabled because he couldn''t use mana freely.


    ''Should I inform the other kingdoms?''


    He shook his head. Those fools would be more concerned that the mountain initially contained mana stones, and that it was in Niton, rather than the threat of Demon Worshippers.


    What was he saying? They wouldn''t even believe him.


    Then a thought popped up in his head.


    ''Right! Mana stones. If I can absorb all three, I should be able to get rid of this poison!''


    A ray of light pierced the darkness. The Emperor smiled, his top priority was decided.


    Then he calmed, realizing that the information he was given was but an assumption.


    He couldn''t work with assumptions.


    ''I''ll have Bolton begin searching for it. Whoever took it couldn''t have gone far''


    Also, absorbing mana stones took years due to its quality, so he had at least five years to understand what happened.


    Simultaneously, the Emperor set a timer.


    ''I have to get rid of this poison in five years''


    He began setting his n.


    ''Five years¡­I wonder how long this war will take. At the end of it, Niton would''ve been cleansed''


    He gave orders to Hamilton.


    "Have the academies ceased admissions?"


    "They have"


    "Have them reopen for the next two years"


    "Yes Sire, and then?"


    "Cease till the war ends"


    Hamilton nodded.


    "You may leave"


    "By your majesty" Hamilton said and exited.


    The Emperor pressed his finger against each other.


    ''Everdust was it? His son was thete Admiral. That aside, he''s hiding something-''


    The Emperor glinted dangerously.


    ''-I''ll have him investigated as well''


    With that concluded, the Emperor isted himself in a chamber and began cultivating.


    He tested the feasibility of his n.


    With both schemer and the schemed moving, the sun set and, in no time, two days passed.

 Chapter 165 Contract Signing

    "How strange" Bolton muttered to himself.


    Two days had gone by, along with the dawn of the third.


    To gather information, he postponed the contract signing with Cabrera.


    But he didn''t find anything tangible.


    Well, almost.


    ''They went on an expedition in the same timeframe Windless Peaks was destroyed and a manite mine was discovered?


    Bolton let out a chuckle. He might very well be overthinking things.


    Even so, he had to be sure.


    *Finger snap*


    "You called, Sir?"


    "Get me Celler 14"


    The guard stiffened briefly, before hastily nodding, and exiting the room.


    ''I''ll find out what it is you''re hiding''


    His senses were tingling, and they were rarely wrong.


    Ten minutester, two guards escorted a short figure whose clothing was gray, dirty, and filthy, as was the rest of their body.


    Their hands were entirely enclosed in metal, as were their eyes.


    Long ck hair fell to the left shoulder.


    Bolton pulled out a sword as the figure spoke.


    "It seems you need my expertise" the tone exposed their gender, a female.


    *Shin!*


    With a clean sh, the metal enclosing her hands were separated, while those covering the eyes remained.


    *Cang!*


    The metal fell to the floor as the girl felt her hands.


    "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I''m not doing anything for you though"


    Bolton told the guards to leave, to which they swiftlyplied.


    "Name your price"


    The girl jerked her head backwards, tapping her chin with her index.


    "I haven''t seen the outside in a long time, so-"


    "That''s not happening"


    The girl paused.


    "Then I guess we''re done here" she said angrily.


    Cellers were those ced in cells.


    Those ced in cells below the castle were criminals on the death row. To make things easy, they''re referred to by their cell number, and hers was number 14.


    Bolton starred without a word.


    ''Mind Fox. If it''s her, she''ll dig it out easily''


    Niton had droves of criminals. To be on the death row, your crimes had to be on a different level, or you were deemed too dangerous.


    This girl was thetter. As a psychic born in rural areas, she watched as her mother - who was a prostitute - was murdered.


    Brewing an endless hatred for men henceforth, she killed all those she deemed as scum, which were approximately seventy five, and none of them was above Advanced-rank.


    Compared to the others, it was a rtively low number, but her ability to get into the head of people, specifically men, had her sentenced to the death row.


    Her psychic potential was A-rank. Thankfully, she was captured before she could grow.


    She wasn''t the only psychic on death row, but she was the youngest.


    Bolton chose her because of that.


    He was also thankful the Emperor postponed their execution till the end of his reign.


    "How about a new set of memories?" he asked.


    "Well¡­" she twirled her hair as a creepy smile silently crept onto her lips.


    "Give me five"


    "Deal"


    *Finger snap*


    "Sir?"


    "Get her cleaned up and some new clothes"


    "Hehehe" the girl giggled.


    "Stop that, or no memories"


    She stopped immediately, and was promptly escorted away.


    "Have someone bring me the one called Cabrera"


    "Yes Sir"


    -Elsewhere-


    *Buggum*


    "Is this the ce?"


    The Sentinel reached the mythril mine''s location.


    He dismounted, looking around for thendmarks Cabrera told him about.


    Not long after, he found it. Cabrera had hidden it by cing leaves and stones in systematic order.


    Inhaling, he jumped in, and found himself in a cave.


    Looking around, he was quick to make out dim glows.


    He moved closer to see the gleaming rough surfaces.


    The moment he realized what it was¡­


    "Yes!"


    He quietly cheered. Immediately, his green boots lit up, and then¡­


    *Crack!*


    He ced a kick at the side of the mithril ore, quickly adding another, and another.


    Few seconds psed and the crack grew bigger, allowing Kogar easy ess as he pulled out the mithril ore, and put it in his space ring.


    His eyes lit up with determination Cabrera had never seen.


    *Crack!*Crack!*


    At this moment, the Sentinel embraced his role as a miner, while his mind ran wild.


    ''With this, I''ll surely be a count!''


    He would finally fulfill his ambition.


    Back in Kingsmere.


    Cabrera and Nathan sat with Bolton and the old man.


    Their frowns were prominent as they made their dissatisfaction known, same with the old man.


    "What are we waiting for?" asked Cabrera.


    The sound of footsteps replied his question as a girl came into view, her clothes ck all over.


    But they were cut off by the metal over their eyes.


    "Who is this?"


    "A special guest of mine. She''ll help me confirm a few things"


    ''Dammit!'' Cabrera grit his teeth. Bolton wasn''t taking them seriously.


    But what could he do? Cabrera calmed himself and endured.


    "Is that him?" the girl spoke.


    "Yes it is. Mr Cabrera, stretch your palm"


    Cabrera''s eyes twitched.


    "Why?"


    This guy didn''t even put them in his eyes.


    "Do you want to confirm the contract or not?"


    Nathan nudged, and with a grunt, Cabrera did as told.


    The girl suddenly gripped his hands.<novelnext></novelnext>


    With a light smile, she said¡­


    "Hold on"


    "Wh-"


    The next instant, Cabrera''s eye turned white, with drool falling from his lips.


    Nathan was rmed.


    "CABRERA!"


    "SIT DOWN SIR NATHAN!"


    Bolton reprimanded him and used his aura to suppress him.


    There was nothing Nathan could do.


    The girl spoke.


    "He''s a strong one. I can''t hold him for too long"


    "This won''t take long"


    Like so, Bolton began questioning.


    "Do you know anything about the manite mine?"


    Cabrerazily replied.


    "I don''t know"


    "The destruction of Windless Peaks?"


    "I don''t know"


    "The death of Rowan Everdust"


    "I don''t know"


    "The¡­"


    Like so, Bolton consecutively fired questions for close to a minute.


    At the end of it, he asked¡­


    "What did you find on your expedition?"


    "Miiiithriiiil"


    Bolton''s eyes widened.


    "Did you say Mithril?"


    "Y¡­es"


    "How did you find it?"


    "I¡­don''t¡­know"


    "Where did you find it?"


    "Some¡­where¡­"


    "How did you find it?"


    "I don''t know"


    "Is it with you?"


    "N¡­o"


    "Where is it?"


    "We-here¡­we found¡­it"


    "Why did you find it?"


    By now, the girl was sweating profusely.


    "I can''t continue without damaging his mind"


    She cut the connection.


    Silence reigns for a few seconds as Nathan shook Cabrera out of his grogginess.


    "Wha-What happened?!" he abruptly awakes with a mini-scream.


    He turned to the girl and pointed a finger.


    "You! What were you doing in my mind?!"


    The girly silent with her chest heaving with each breath.


    "Mr. Cabrera"


    Bolton''s voice resounded.


    "You found Mithril?"


    Cabrera''s hair stood.


    Before he could talk, Nathan came to his rescue.


    "Is this how you treat your guests?"


    Bolton discarded all pretenses as his aura red.


    "You might have a way with words, but I advice that you learn your ce"


    Once again, Nathan was thoroughly suppressed as Bolton turned to Cabrera.


    "You found mithril. Where?"


    Cabrera hesitated, but Nathan chipped in.


    "Tell him"


    "At¡­"


    A minute flew by as Cabrera exined the location.


    "Haa¡­" Bolton exhaled with a grin.


    This was just too good.


    After, his aura receded and he sat like any ordinary gentleman.


    He looked at Cabrera with shining eyes.


    "You have done me a great favor. You shall not go unrewarded, state your price"


    Cabrera looked back and forth between Bolton and Nathan, the reply was instantaneous.


    "Land Proprietorship certificate"


    Silence pervaded as all eyes were on Bolton.


    Bolton popped a vein.


    ''Me and my stupid mouth!''


    But his pride didn''t allow him to reject it.


    After a few seconds, he spoke, his tone emotionless.


    "Very well then"


    Nathan''s eyes lit up.


    Bolton didn''t make his decision out of haste.


    Being able to buynd and forking out the amount to do so werepletely different things.


    Why talk? He''d rather have Cabrera learn from experience.


    Only, by then, it would be toote.


    ''You''ll have no choice but toe begging!''


    The only variable was Nathan, and if somehow they avoided his pre-nned scenario, they would only be able to buy very littlend.


    Also, he allowed it because they were of the same faction.


    Whereas, Cabrera was running calctions of his own.


    ''As I thought, he doesn''t know about the deal between me and the Sentinel''


    Then again, the Sentinel had explicitly written that the deal stayed between both of them, so even Nathan didn''t know about it.


    Quickly, Bolton exitted, only to appear minutester with two scrolls, one being the slum''s price list and the other, much longer, containingnd avable for sale.


    Cabrera raised a brow.


    "We had copies in preparation for this situation, though not exactly" Bolton replied.


    Cabrera snatched it and gave it to Nathan.


    Quickly, Bolton fished out a scroll, filled its contents, and both sides signed.


    This date would be recorded in the history books as the beginning ofnd sales in Orion.

 Chapter 166 Buffer Zone

    With the contract signed, Cabrera handed over the recipe.


    Nathan took charge, his voice having lost its edge.


    "When will the buffer zone be announced?"


    "Immediately"


    Bolton continued¡­


    "As stated, henceforth, the recipe''s creator is Sir Oleg" he said, pointing to the old man.


    "The certificate?" asked Cabrera, with a palm on his forehead.


    Messing with his mind had left him with a massive headache.


    "Here" a scroll appears in Balton''s hands, which he gave to Cabrera.


    Folded, it looked like any other piece of brown paper.


    Touching it though, Cabrera realizes the difference.


    The texture was smooth and, unfolding it, he found the other side white in color, and the ink permeated a unique aroma.


    ''They really put money into this''


    One thing was for sure, this was no normal scroll.


    Then again, something given to other royals wasn''t supposed to be normal.


    Bolton stated a few rules.


    ? "You are unallowed to use that for anyone other than yourself"


    Meaning that he couldn''t buynd for others.


    A few seconds passed.


    Cabrera asked.


    "Can we tell others about it?"


    Bolton giggled.


    "If you wish to die early, go ahead"


    ''Ah''


    High ranking guilds wouldn''t stand a G-rank guild having something unallowed to them.


    Word of it getting out would mean the swift destruction of his guild.


    Cabrera gulped. The certificate was as much a blessing as it was a curse.


    Bolton''s voice pulled him out of his reverie.


    "Well, it seems we''re done. I''ll have you return to your humble abode"


    "To purchasend, go to the Sentinel with the certificate. Now, get out" he added.


    Snapping his finger thrice, the guards entered.


    To one, he says¡­


    "Escort these two out"


    To the second, he said while pointing to the girl¡­


    "Have her returned to her cell"


    A parchment appeared in his palm, which he scribbled with fast hands.


    A minuteter, he handed it to the third guard.


    "I''ll have you discharge these orders"


    With that, Nathan and Cabrera were escorted to their abode.


    All building''s affected by their fight were being repaired.


    Gold Moles, Raven Skull, and Fire Scar buildings were being renovated.


    It was Ezra''sst day in the royal vault, and unlike expected, he left the book''s section entirely, instead focusing on taking as much tinum as possible before the day''s end.


    He decided he had copied more than enough books, and besides, he could alwayse back for Combat Manuals.


    "This is to be delivered to the Sentinel" the third guard said.


    He was currently in the Missionary, and in front of him was Amy, Kogar''s secretary.


    She was the only one aware of the Sentinel''s abrupt departure, and now had to stand in ce to prevent others from knowing.


    "Then, I''ll make sure he gets it, but he is busy at the moment"


    The guard nodded, handing her the parchment.


    "Orders from the Royal Advisor"


    She nodded, collecting the parchment as the guard left soon after.


    The moment he left, she read the orders and her eyes shook.


    "Buffer zone..?" she muttered.


    It was unused for so long she had forgotten about it.


    Reading further, she quivered once more.


    ''ck Jaws?!''


    ''¡­!''


    Wasn''t this the guild of the man visiting the Sentinel to collect money every now and then?


    ''What could have made the Royal Advisor offer them a buffer zone? Onesting ten years too?!''


    Things were bingplicated, and Amy felt a headacheing.


    Reading even further, she didn''t shake, but froze.


    ''Land Proprietorship Certificate?! To a G-rank guild?!''


    The heck was going on?!


    At this point, her brain was approaching a total meltdown trying to understand the situation.


    Soon, she threw it to the back of her mind.


    ''I need to sleep a bit''


    It was too early for her to die over such matters.


    But then, she abruptly raised her head.


    ''Right! I have to send word''


    Giving a guild buffer zone meant they were untouchable.


    Literally.


    To avoid confusion, a message was sent to all guilds.


    And to make things easy, a mechanism was prepared for such situations.


    The Sentinel left her in charge, so he gave her the pass to his workspace, where the item was.


    Walking in, she turned to face the door, or rather, the small button within a golden circle cover ced above it.


    She imbued it with manacode tranting as ''Buffer Zone for ck Jaws guild'' and pressed.


    *Ting!*


    The sound revealed lines, too thin to be noticed normally, attached to the device as the mana particles flowed within them.


    Each line led to other devices, causing the rooms to light up in a colorful symphony of ocean blue.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Amy gasped at the sight, for it was awe inspiring.


    Like that, the message was delivered to all guilds simultaneously.


    Meanwhile, Bolton made use of his extensive connections and began ns to take the mithril.


    Soon, the afternoon sun arrived.


    With it, a team of five entered Kingsmere on horses.


    Each one had quality armor discernable at a nce, but contrasting rugged appearances.


    The leader, with short disheveled hair and a burn on his forehead, stopped a passerby with his longsword.


    "Where is the ck Jaws guild?"


    "O-over there" the man hastily pointed.


    "Thank you" he said, sheathing his de.


    "Let go" hemanded the others and urged his horse into a sprint.


    They arrive at the designated location within minutes.


    "Is this the ck Jaws guild?"


    "Who are you?"


    The man swiftly unsheathed his de and decapitated the man.


    "I''ll be asking the questions"


    Such action had the surroundings descending into chaos as everyone scattered.


    A group came running.


    "What do you think you''re doing?!"


    "I said-"


    He twirls his sword.


    "-is this the ck Jaws guild?"


    They gave each other looks.


    "Yes, it is. State your business"


    The man grinned.


    "I''m Barthel, and this is my crew"


    "We''ve been hired to kill you for a very handsome price. So please, don''t struggle too much"


    Among them, one spoke.


    "We haven''t gotten a job this easy in years. I''m definitely going to enjoy this!"


    "Aye" Barthel concurs.


    "Let''s get to work, and of course, have fun while doing it"


    The crew members smiled.


    "Aye boss"


    "Definitely"


    "This is going to be soooo good!"


    With that, they charge at the group of boys.


    The boys responded by turning tail. These weren''t people they could contend with.


    "Not so fast" one lunged from his horse with a dagger in hand.


    "Hehehe" he chuckled, nearing his target in an instant.


    As he plunged his dagger to pierce the boy''s head¡­


    *BAM!*


    Something mmed him into a building at the side.


    The crew paused, their momentum grinding to a halt.


    A figure appeared in front of them.


    The boys had their eyes shining.


    "Boss!"


    "It''s Boss"


    It was Cabrera.


    *nk*


    From within the wrecked building, the one he mmed away got to his feet.


    "That hurt" he said, snapping his neck in ce.


    "Stop" said Barthel.


    Barthel connected the dots.


    "So¡­you''re the ck Jaws guild master, huh?"


    Cabrera said nothing.


    Barthel looked at his crew as they burst into hystericalughter.


    "This is too easy! Now we won''t need to go looking for you"


    Cabrera was staring intermittently at his arm and the body of the person he punched.


    ''I was going for the kill''


    Yet, his attacks gave little more than scratches.


    Barthel''s voice rang out.


    "You must have run out luck-"


    He said, pointing his sword at Cabrera.


    "-to have met us like this"


    He dismounted.


    "Let''s make this quick"


    Then, Cabrera bursts intoughter of his own.


    Barthel raised a brow.


    "What''s so funny?"


    "Haa¡­if you met me just yesterday, then I would''ve truly ran out of luck, but now¡­you guys have some seriously bad timing"


    "What does that-"


    Barthel didn''t get to finish.


    "Ahhh!"


    A scream resounded from behind.


    He turned his head to see the one Cabrera punched with a spear piercing his chest.


    "Like I said, very bad timing"

 Chapter 167 Buffer Zone (2)

    "Like I said, very bad timing"


    Barthel was perplexed. What was going on?


    The scream faded with the body dropping to the floor, revealing the killer.


    Barthel''s eyes shook when he saw a royal guard.


    d in red armor, the imprint of Niton''s crest was hard to miss.


    "Since when did the royal guards care for such matters?!"


    The guard shook off the blood on his spear.


    "Since today" he said and lunged.


    ''Damn!" Barthel turned his horse.


    Battling royal guards, in the capital no less, was no different from suicide.


    "We retre-"


    Simultaneously, something tore through the wind.


    "DODGE!"


    But it was already toote.


    *Splech*


    The spear pierced one of his men through one ear and out of the other.


    The person wasn''t able to react as he fell to the floor, dead.


    The horses were scared into a frenzy and those without riders took off.


    In the midst of confusion, one of the members fled.


    Meanwhile, Cabrera had the group retreat.


    "Calm down" Barthel calmed his horse, unable to focus on the deserting member when he noticed a looming shadow.


    ''Oh no!''


    He swung his sword in the shadow''s direction, but¡­


    *Pah!*


    A kicknded on his face, or rather, his palm, and sent him off his horse.


    Hended less than three meters away, and quickly got to his feet with a bleeding nose to see Cabrera standing in front of his horse.


    Cabrera shook his head.


    ''How pathetic''


    His strongest attacks were barely dealing damage.


    "Boss, we''re being attack-"


    At the same time, a spear flew from behind and pierced the heart of thest member.


    In less than three minutes, three were dead. Barthel couldn''tprehend the situation as thest guard arrived before him and killed him.


    Cabrera looked around. The skills of royal guards were no joke.


    ''A team of Experts was killed just like that?''


    If it had been him¡­Cabrera gulped.


    ''Thankfully, we have a buffer zone''


    The second spear hade from another royal guard who was passing by.


    "What about the one that ran away?" Cabrera inquired.


    "He is of no threat to us" said the guard.


    "What about the horses?"


    "Do as you wish"


    Cabrera nodded and proceeded to tie down the horses and chase after the rest.


    Papers indicating ck Jaw''s buffer zone activation were ced all over the city.


    At the same time, many became curious about the so-called ''ck Jaws''.


    I mean, what kind of guild could get a buffer zone at G-rank? It was entirely disced.


    Entities of B-rank upwards and a few C-ranks outrightly ignored it. The war was more important than whatever joke the royal faction was trying to pull.


    Cabrera gathered the horses in less than ten minutes and took them to the base.


    After which, he joined Nathan for a drink in the renovated tavern.


    "We did it!" Nathan hails, chugging his drink.


    "Yes we did" Cabrera replied, but joy was nowhere to be seen on his expression as he stared into his drink.


    Nathan understood the change of atmosphere and sat upright.


    "It seems something''s on your mind"


    Cabrera tapped the table.


    "Someone sent mercenaries after us, a team of Experts"


    Nathan''s eyes widen as Cabrera continued.


    "If it weren''t for the buffer zone, I would''ve been killed"


    He clenched his fist.


    "The Royal Advisor, those royal guards, the mercenaries, all these just make me realize just how weak we still are, and how quickly our lives can be forfeited"


    Nathan pushed his drink away and sighed.


    "I was going to say the same thing. Back then, I couldn''t even speak because I was too weak to resist. That feeling, I hate it."


    He faced Cabrera.


    "I don''t want to feel that way again¡­but then, what can we do?"


    Cabrera''s fist clenched tighter. Expert-rank he could reach, but beyond? It was almost impossible.


    At that time, a palmnded on their table, followed by a voice.


    "You can follow me"


    Nathan and Cabrera jerked their heads.


    ''This voice¡­!''


    The man on the other side of the contract.


    The moment Cabrera grasped his facials, his head began aching.


    "Try not to scream" the man muttered.<novelnext></novelnext>


    With it, the memories hidden beneathyers of fog came to light.


    Minutes passed as Cabrera gripped his aching head, but he refused to let out a sound.


    Suddenly, his grip became lighter and he slowly raised his head.


    Cabrera gained realization, and it shone in his eyes.


    "Fred-"


    The man covered Cabrera''s mouth.


    "Shh, follow me"


    Cabrera tapped Nathan with a smile and they walked to the Fire Scar building.


    Within the room, Cabrera, Nathan and Fredrick sat in a circle.


    Cabrera was smiling as stared at Fredrick.


    Nathan was put off by the weird atmosphere.


    "Will someone tell me what''s going on?"


    Cabreraes to the rescue.


    "It''s like this. I had¡­."


    Minutes passed by as Nathan found himself ck jawed.


    Turns out, the memory wipe was in preparation for the possibility of mind reading.


    Fredrick had advised it as someone was bound to make the connection between their expedition and the other events.


    The soul scroll they signed was Gold-rank.


    Mind fox couldn''t break past it, allowing Cabrera to answer ''I don''t know'' as he truly did not know as he couldn''t remember.


    He had no qualms telling Nathan about how he was involved with the Windless Peaks destruction, the manite mine, and the disappearance of the A-rank beast.


    Given that Nathan had not fled even when he could''ve very well died, what else remained?


    Then he told them of how he had tricked Bolton.


    Cabrera also found that not all of his memories had returned. For example, the tree and the beast eggs, he could remember that they took them, but not how they did so.


    Also, he couldn''t remember the face of the b#stard who broke one of his nuts, along with a few other things.


    Asking Fredrick, he replied.


    "Those few are of absolute secrecy"


    It was frustrating, but Cabrera didn''t make a fuss.


    After half an hour, Cabrera exined the situation fully, allowing Fredrick to carry on.


    "There were a few things we hadn''t foreseen¡­which we should have. We didn''t expect Fire Scar to join the attack. The Vice Head Alchemist teaming up with the Royal Advisor was also one of them. We certainly didn''t expect Mithril to be that expensive. Rather, there might be another reason why the sentinel bought it at such a high price"


    Fredrick was able to find out the amount he was given by having Cabrera give him hints.


    Cabrera didn''t say the exact number, but Fredrick and Nathan approximated it to 600,000 tinum.


    He pointed at Nathan.


    "And you¡­we hadn''t expected you to give the recipe as a gift, neither had we ever expected that you''d get your hands on a Land Proprietorship Certificate"


    Fredrick smiled.


    "Thanks to you, we have secured a foundation stronger than any other for this guild, and gotten the protection we sorely needed"


    Nathan was all smiles. His self esteem went up a notch.


    Nevertheless, he was sharp on the uptake.


    "What do we do next?"


    Fredrick starred.


    "We hide"


    "Huh?"


    "We''lly low for the next ten years"


    Cabrera sat things straight.


    "Are you telling us to do nothing?"


    He couldn''t understand the logic.


    "''Laying low'' and ''doing nothing'' are two different things" Fredrick replied.


    "I see you haven''t curbed your impatience"


    Cabrera looked away.


    Fredrick continued¡­


    "Do you think we''ll not be found out?"


    "They can''t possibly find anything-" Cabrera opposed.


    Fredrick interjected.


    "Don''t delude yourself. We''ll surely be found out. It''s only a matter of time"


    Cabrera gulped.


    "Especially since you''ve set the Royal Advisor and the Sentinel against each other"


    Fredrick shook his head.


    "But we have a buffer zone, so they can''t touch us"


    He looked at the two.


    "Have you wondered what will happen once the buffer zone expires?"


    Nathan nodded.


    "I did"


    "And?"


    "We''ll be wiped"


    Fredrick nodded.


    "Good. But we can''t let that happen, which is why growing stronger is our top priority"


    "Such would normally be impossible-"


    He removed an item from within his pocket.


    "-if we didn''t have this, that is"


    A mana crystal.

 Chapter 168 Plans And More Plans (2)

    Fredrick was absorbing the mana within the crystal as he held it.


    Nathan''s eyes shined. Seeing was believing after all.


    "With this, we''ll groom a fighting force rivaling the top guilds in ten years"


    Cabrera was subconsciously nodding.


    "But it''s not going to be easy. We''re going to need a lot of things to pull it off"


    "Where is the list?" Fredrick questioned.


    "Here" Cabrera handed him thend price list.


    As he read, Fredrick furrowed his brow.


    "There is a lot missing from this"


    Then again, Niton was too big to document all the vacantnds. They only wrote down the best ones.


    "This won''t do¡­" he kept his thoughts as he screened the slums price list.


    "Here, here, here, here, here, here and here. These ces are to be bought"


    Nathan stretched his neck.


    ''Kingsmere, Traxford, Irondale, Felleris, Piend, Qunchester and Gattiste''


    Apart from Qunchester, the others were within a two weeks'' ride of Kingsmere.


    When he looked at the prices¡­his heart skipped a beat!


    None was less than 5,000 tinum, in other words, 500,000 Gold!


    He smiled right after.


    ''Right, we have money now, and we''re only paying half the price''


    "Sir Nathan, what is your take on this?"


    Nathan was flustered.


    "Me?"


    "As you have proven ingenuity by getting this guild a buffer zone, it is only natural"


    Nathan coughed and adjusted hisposure.


    "I''d have to ask, what exactly does Sir wish to aplish?"


    "To create an army, you need numbers. We''re looking to outsource these numbers from the slums, and groom them"


    Nathan was bewildered.


    "You believe that is possible?"


    Outsourcing a fighting force from the slums? He''d never heard a crazier idea.


    Fredrickughed lightly.


    "I honestly don''t. But someone does, and these are his orders"


    Nathan took a deep breath.


    "Can you exin how he wishes to achieve this?"


    Fredrick noded.


    "We''re outsourcing from the slums because that''s where we''ll find the biggest and most expendable workforce for the cheapest cost. Those were his words. And by doing them a favor of giving them a new chance at life, their loyalty couldn''t be more secure"


    "Hmm..." Nathan nodded with a look of contemtion. It was actually starting to make sense.


    "That said, we have no intention of taking rubbish. They must be thoroughly screened. As for how, he left that task to us"


    Nathan was intrigued. He had never thought of it like that. Since powerless individuals were looked down upon, those of the slums were deemed worthless.


    Why then, did the capital amodate them? Because looking at them made nobles andmoners feel good about themselves. That simple.


    Also, because no one cared about them, it was the best ce to find a person to murder, maim, ****, torture, use as experiment for potions, and much more.


    Thinking like this, Nathan said¡­


    "People won''t be happy about this"


    The slums was were most ves were sourced. Buying it meant such advents would be blocked.


    Fredrickughed.


    "Damn them and their happiness. Besides, we''re untouchable"


    Nathan found himselfughing as well.


    Fredrick pulled out a parchment.


    "In it are guidelines for you to follow"


    It piqued Nathan''s interest.


    Upon unfolding it though¡­his interest was doused.


    The list was so long it fell to the ground.


    Nathan calmed himself and began perusing the contents.


    What do you know, his interest ignited once more.


    It was filled with multiple objectives, from finding people to the necessaryws the merchant guild must abide by, to something called¡­''information agency'', to how the slums were to be restructured, and SO much more.


    Nathan was awed.


    ''Who wrote this?!''


    There were many new and unique ideas the average man would never have thought of.


    If they were able to implement all of this¡­


    ¡­!


    "Hoo¡­" Nathan didn''t know what to say.


    "Now, how should we go about it?" Fredrick questioned.


    "You need this ready in ten years?"


    "Yes"


    "Can we increase the scale?"


    "Then we''ll need more money"


    "That''s on the way"


    Nathan nodded, perusing the scroll once more.


    It had been numbered in regards to importance, making things even easier.


    The ideas were golden, but Nathan caught onto something.


    ''This person, he doesn''t know much about money''<novelnext></novelnext>


    For some items, an approximate price was written on the side.


    Nathan found that they were grossly overpriced.


    Then, he smelt the scroll, and his eyes lit up.


    ''This is high quality stuff''


    As a merchant, he knew his stuff.


    Fredrick brought out another scroll, a soul contract.


    "Sir Nathan, please sign here"


    "With pleasure" Nathan didn''t even peruse the contract.


    Their discussion carried on for hours.


    With this, the expedition was over.


    -Elsewhere-


    The Sentinel climbed out of the mine with a face full of smiles.


    He made sure to scrape the mine of all it''s worth.


    Coming out though, his smile turns into a frown.


    Two men were heading his way on horses.


    What was there to fear? The Sentinel dusted his clothes and stood.


    Approaching, the riders picked up their pace when they saw a cloaked man standing at the spot they were told about.


    *Shin*


    They unsheathe and point their swords at him.


    "State your name and affiliations"


    "Haa, you b#stards must have gone mad"


    "You-"


    The words stuck in their throats when he lifted his hood.


    "Sentinel!"


    They immediately dismount and knelt.


    "Forgive us for such impertinence!"


    The sentinel spoke¡­


    "On whose orders are you here?"


    "The Royal Advisor, Sir"


    Kogar frowned. Things were bingplicated.


    Quickly, he mounted his horse.


    "Exin as we go"


    Meanwhile, Ezra was still stashing coins like there was no tomorrow.


    He did this into the night, leaving after the guards came to fetch him.


    Upon getting out, he breathed a sigh of relief.


    The window of opportunity had closed, but he made sufficient use of it.


    So, onto the next task¡­


    Sitting in his bed, he began a thorough inspection of the space ring''s contents.


    He found that he could influence the space within, though subtly.


    With that, the items were separated.


    He examined the beast eggs first while writing the guidelines for Fredrick, which he had forgotten about.


    He couldn''t possibly take care of so many eggs.


    Then you had the snake carcass.


    He couldn''t sell it, and he didn''t have the expertise to cut it apart, or a space big enough to contain its body, so he could only wait for Cabrera and Fredrick to make progress.


    Thankfully, with so many mana stones around, it won''t be rotting any time soon.


    As for the mana cube, he hadn''t touched it yet.


    The mana stones and mana crystals, those he had touched.


    It also contained herbs Fredrick gathered while returning.


    As for the book Fredrick found, he was unable to decipher it, so he put it away.


    Then there was the heap of gold coins far more than he could count.


    As for the tree, Ezra was examining its fruits.


    They looked ordinary, as did the tree.


    He couldn''t sense anything significant about it, so he decided to take a bite out of what looked like an oval shaped apple.


    Upon doing so, his mind went nk as he felt the fruit influence something!


    Quickly, he ate the rest of the apple and his eyes went nk.


    Heid limp on his bed, while within, he underwent a transformation.


    His veins shone a dim red.


    At the same time, he felt his understanding of fire growing in an unexinable manner.


    After a few minutes, his eyes turned back to normal.


    He touches his head, trying to recall the euphoric feeling, but to no avail.


    ''What¡­was that?''


    He certainly felt closer to fire.


    Had his affinity increased? Or was it something else entirely?


    Taking deep breaths, he tried out numerous things, from trying to release mes from his fingertips to breathing it.


    Nothing worked.


    While he was sure something happened, being unable to find out, he slept.


    ''Till tomorrow then''


    He was quite tired anyway.

 Chapter 169 Plans And More Plans (3)

    With the arrival of the sun came dawn.


    Ezra woke up with a yawn. Minutester, he was cleaned up.


    The events of the previous day came to his mind.


    He felt his connection to fire increase, but he didn''t notice any tangible change.


    ''Guess I''ll be visiting Bard'' he decided.


    Meanwhile, Fredrick was eating breakfast with Cabrera and Nathan.


    They chattered non-stop, setting up a n to achieve all objectives with the highest efficiency.


    "Have you paid for them?" Fredrick asked.


    "Did sost night" Cabrera nodded.


    Fredrick smiled. They decided to purchase the slums of twelve cities, rather than seven.


    "So?"


    "Here it is"


    From his space ring came a parchment confirming his ownership of thend beneath Kingsmere''s slum.


    He also bought space rings for Fredrick, Nathan and Kron.


    "What about the recruitment notice?"


    "It''s been posted, and I paid to have it posted on other Missionaries. You can expect fresh faces soon"


    Manpower was needed to run a guild.


    Fredrick turned to Nathan.


    "How''s it going on your side?"


    As a merchant operating in Traxford for two years, Nathan had connections with other merchants, and vast knowledge of money.


    Fredrick was d they had him on board.


    It was due to his advice that they concentrate on developing only three slums for starters, improving the Gold Slums Movement n.


    "They''ll be here in a few hours"


    Fredrick nodded, taking a look around.


    Paying extra money, the buildings were repaired, while some were being renovated, and a few more were bought.


    Nathan was annoyed that a Land Proprietorship Certificate didn''t allow ownednd to be bought.


    Meaning that he couldn''t buy cities, towns, or viges. Only build them.


    Looking at it now, apart from buying vacantnd and monster regions, the certificate was useless, because he could buy business, houses, and estates without it.


    The problem was, without adequate power, he would live in fear of having his properties seized for whatever reason.


    This was why great families were few in numbers, and so revered at the same time.


    Few could make enemies of the royal family and live to tell the tale.


    No family siding with Royals were great families because the Royals suppressed them, while some were too low on the noble hierarchy to have such ambitions.


    Well, since he could buy the slums, maybe it wasn''t all bad?


    "I guess that''s it. Let''s take a look at the slums"


    Nathan fished out a pair of sses.


    "What are those for?" Cabrera asked.


    "For my eyes of course. What did you think?"


    Fredrick chuckled.


    They went to the slums with Kron in tow.


    "Ah¡­"


    Fredrick was astounded and turned to Cabrera.


    "You used to live here?"


    "That was a long time ago"


    Fredrick hade here with Ezra once. That was also the day they found Cabrera''s gang.


    It turns out, Fredrick and Ezra had only explored the outskirts.


    This time, they went deeper, through different alleys to scour the slums in its entirety.


    They meet different sights on the way.


    From asional beggars sitting around, to drunkards and lunatics moving aimlessly or fighting, to cheap prostitutes awaiting customers, to those copting openly, to neatly packaged gambling dens and taverns where beggars could spend their copper, and a lot more.


    The ground was swamped with decayed trash and even feces, while the people wore rags torn in multiple ces, or a mishmash of everything.


    Most houses hadrge cracks and unstable foundations, with multiple living within.


    It was a disaster.


    "Hmm, it''s worse than when I was here" said Cabrera.


    Nathan was nauseated from the smell, trying his best to hold his vomit.


    Nathan turned to Fredrick.


    "You''re sure about this?"


    Fredrick nodded.


    "Of course"


    ''For it to be this bad''


    He now understood why no one else even thought of buying it.


    It was a task that most would shun.


    Thankfully, Ezra had given him a bevy of directives to follow.


    "We''ll have others clean it"


    Cabrera made a weird face.


    "Who''s going to do such a wretched job?"


    Nathan pushed in his sses.


    "Anyone. You just need to offer the right price"


    "Exactly. Cabrera, you and Kron take care of that"


    "Nathan, we''ll head elsewhere to buy a few things"


    Cabrera alerted Amy, who sent people to notify the slum dwellers that thend had been bought, and that cleaning was about to take ce.


    "The Sentinel took it?!"


    The Royal Advisor was shocked upon receiving an unexpected reply from those he sent to the mythril mine''s Location.


    Bolton''s thoughts spurred. How the sentinel found the mythril mine was easy.


    Cabrera had told him.


    ''That b#stard!'' he was infuriated.


    After a long time, Bolton drew the short end of the stick.


    What was more infuriating was that he couldn''t touch Cabrera since he dered a buffer zone.


    He calmed himself down. Not all was lost.


    It might take a bit more effort, but the Sentinel could be convinced.


    The question was¡­


    ''What do I give him?''


    *Knock*<novelnext></novelnext>


    "It''s me"


    The door opened and a voice resounded.


    "Come in"


    Entering, Ezra found their full of fumes, each with a different smell.


    Bard was in the midst of potion making.


    "What brings you here?"


    Ezra presented him with a brown fruit.


    "I''m hoping you can tell me what this is"


    Bard made a funny face, peering closer. He could not sense anything significant from it.


    That is, until he held it.


    With a gasp, he looked at Ezra.


    "Where did you find this?"


    "Somewhere. Why?"


    "The mana within is immense and scarce at the same time"


    "What do you mean?"


    "It contains a lot of mana, but, having condensed, it is now smaller in quantity but far higher in quality"


    "Hmm" Ezra was stumped.


    "So, what does it do?"


    "That, I do not know"


    Bard thought of something.


    "You''ll have to eat it to understand its effects"


    "I already did"


    Bard''s eyes sparkled.


    "And? What happened?"


    "I felt my familiarity with fire increase¡­somehow. But nothing seems different"


    Bard rubbed his beard.


    "Affinity enhancement? Yet nothing seems different¡­" his voice trailed off.


    Quickly, he brought a source of fire.


    "This should work better"


    Ezra put his hands above the mes, closed his eyes, and concentrated.


    He was taken aback as he could feel something.


    Focusing on that feeling, he moved his fingers.


    *Fwoosh*


    Bard saw the fire re up a bit, before Ezra opened his eyes.


    "Did anything happen?"


    Bard nodded.


    "How much of the fruit did you eat?"


    "All of it"


    "Hmm, I haven''t seen anything like this before. What I can say is that it works like an affinity enhancement potion. Only, as a fruit, it isrgely unrefined"


    "Okay. What do you suggest we do?"


    "Give me a few more to run some experiments"


    Ezra starred, before taking out three more.


    Bard nodded.


    "Thank you, my lord"


    "When can I expect it?"


    "One week"


    "Finish it in three days"


    "As you wish"


    "Have you heard about Sir Weasley?"


    Weasley was the name of the Vice head Alchemist.


    "I have"


    "Good. I''ll be leaving now"


    "As you wish"


    -Within Kingsmere''s Missionary-


    "Dammit! At this rate, we''ll starve to death"


    "Boss I think-"


    "Don''t tell me to calm down"


    As a party of seven G-ranks, they could hunt the weakest beasts.


    Given most adventurers left were weak, as the strong had gone to war, too many weak beasts were being hunted, causing the price for their bodies to lessen.


    Doing twice the work they normally did, Gunther and his crew could barely afford food for themselves and their family.


    Pressure was amounting, and Gunther didn''t know what to do.


    And looking at the mission board wasn''t helping.


    Then, a crew member poked him.


    "B-Boss"


    "What?!" he snapped.


    "Look" said the member.


    Following his gaze, Gunther spotted a new mission.


    || Cleaning the Slums ||


    Rank: G-E


    Participants: 50


    Details: Clean the Slums until it is spotless


    Commission: 100 Gold


    Gunther''s eyes popped.


    Normally, such an amount would have them skeptical, but in times like these - times of war - it was a delivery from heaven!


    He looked around like a thief, quickly grabbed the paper, approached the counter, and registered for the mission.


    "Let''s go" he whispered.


    They exited quietly and ran to the slums.


    His actions did not go unnoticed. Those with sharp eyes approached the counter to ask what mission they took.


    Within minutes, fifty participants gathered in front of the slums.

 Chapter 170 Cleaning The Slums

    Missionaries were very efficient at handling tasks.


    To assign a mission, one would first have to pay a small fee. Then, the mission would be evaluated to determine the least amount one could pay for it.


    The Missionary made suremissions were ready before assigning a mission.


    It was also their job to determine the rank range.


    Since war was at hand, they decided to restrict the slums mission to E-ranks and below as there were too many low level adventurers around.


    Another thing was that anything and everything needed toplete a certain mission was to be brought by the Adventurer.


    That''s why there was a minimumpensation for any mission, because themission has to be beyond the expenses by a reasonable amount.


    These fifty participants had gone around Kingsmere buying gloves, buckets, shovels, and a full day use of the city well.


    With a hundred gold ready, each would take two gold asmission, which should sustain them for forty five days.


    Meanwhile, the slums were in a frenzy.


    They were living their miserable lives when a slew of Experts came in with a notice of upiednd.


    Or, in simpler terms, they were evicted.


    "You have one minute to leave, or else!"


    Such a revtion shocked them. Drunkards had their minds clear up while prostitutes and their clients ceased their work and flew out with the little clothings they had on.


    Women and children packed whatever little they had in a hurry.


    Those outside the slums were gobsmacked when people began exiting.


    ''So many!''


    The numbers were far beyond what they had imagined.


    Many of them never left the slums after they stepped into it.


    The migration of such a congregation caused massive chaos as slum dwellers flooded the streets.


    Many stopped to understand the situation.


    The slum dwellers looked around, their numbers astonishing for even them.


    No sooner had they exited, did the Expertse out.


    They looked around, gave the adventurers a go ahead to begin cleaning, and promptly left.


    What? Theypleted their task, the eviction of the slum dwellers.


    Whatever happened after that was none of their business.


    This was where Kron came in. He was acting as a bystander before.


    Behind him were twenty guild members.


    "Wow, to think there were so many of you"


    He spoke aloud on purpose, garnering the attention of those around.


    The slum dwellers stood with hollow expressions. Their world had just crashed, and they weren''t smart enough to think of the next n of action.


    Kron silently surveyed each one.


    Should he say¡­as expected?


    Most were skin and bones, as skinny and filthy as could be.


    ''What does Cabrera want with such people?'' he wondered.


    That said, he would do as instructed.


    His job was simple-


    "You want to know why your homes were taken from you?"


    -recruiting as many people as possible.


    He didn''t need to say that, but he was indirectly telling them¡­


    ''He''s the one who bought the slums!''


    The clever ones connected the dots.


    Immediately, Kron turned to the bystanders, his aura ring.


    "Didn''t you hear? You''re standing on ownednd. Get out!"


    They gulped, quickly scurrying in all directions


    Then he turned to the Adventurers.


    "You didn''te here to stand around, so get cleaning"


    Quickly, they rushed into the slums.


    Then he turned to the slum dwellers, with some having ran away.


    "Let me see, you''re all miserable, but I''ve been told to give you a chance"


    The slum dwellers looked at each other.


    Most shrugged - they had nothing to lose - while others shrinked.


    "You''ll be trained intopetent fighters for our guild. There''s a very good possibility you''ll die, so chose wisely, because you can only choose once"


    "You expect us to believe that?!" one spoke.


    Kron gave a frown, his aura ring to the extreme.


    "Let me make this clear. You need us, not the other way around, your belief be damned. You''ll do as we say, no questions asked. Or go and die somewhere else. Training the likes of you is an luxury you will never find elsewhere"


    The man bit his lips.


    "But then¡­why do you want to do it?"


    Kron smiled.


    "So we can have you die for us of course. You weren''t going to live long anyways. So chose, with us, you have the chance to grow powerful, earn riches and more¡­or you can just give up and die"


    They stared nkly after Kron stated the situation clearly.


    For the first time in a long time, these miserable folks had to make a difficult decision.


    "I''ll take my chances elsewhere" a person said, leaving thereafter.


    He was the manager, now former manager, of a gambling den, so he knew his way around more than most.


    Unable to grab many items before running out, he had suffered a huge loss.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Others began to follow, until one decided to step forward.


    "I never had much of a life. I guess I''ll take my chances with you"


    A woman with white stains on her body stepped forward.


    Kron nodded, bringing out a scroll wrapped in a smooth casing of gray metal from his space ring.


    The scroll released waves of mana those afar could feel.


    Then a thought struck one amongst them.


    "They bought the slums¡­doesn''t that mean they''re very rich?"


    Then it hit others.


    ''We can get money by following them''


    Slum dwellers: (¡ñ__¡ñ):(¨‘?¨‘)!


    Money.


    It was a magic word for slum dwellers, and its spell came into effect at this moment.


    Those leaving bounced back and ran towards Kron.


    Some followed because it seemed fun, while others only knew how to follow the crowd.


    He wasn''t having any of it.


    With a stomp, Kron shouted¡­


    "LINE UP!"


    The runners froze and quickly formed a line.


    He unfolded the scroll - which was of normal length - and handed it over to one of the boys.


    The woman who took the initiative was at the forefront. She didn''t bother looking at the contract, as there was nothing to be gained from doing so.


    But then¡­


    "How am I supposed to sign it?"


    "Put your thumb on this spot" he said, pointing to the metal case.


    With a curious gaze, she did so and¡­


    "Ouch"


    Something poked her thumb, causing a drop of her blood tond on the ''sign here'' area.


    The scroll lit up thereafter as a sigil of multiple lines, some wavy, some straight, and a dot in the middle appeared.


    Kron nodded.


    "It''s done. Stand aside"


    Others followed suit and, as the numbers kept adding up, some decided to read it.


    Only to discover that it contained too much gibberish.


    For people who could barely remember the letters, they were stumped. Few made out a few words before giving up.


    Living in the slums for so long, thinking too much made their head hurt.


    Eventually, some shrugged and signed. What was there to lose? Others declined at thest minute, and by the tenth minute, those signing had signed and those leaving had left.


    Kron surveyed those who signed.


    The majority were women, followed by their children, then the men.


    Well, this was peculiar.


    They were standing about when someone voiced out what everyone else was thinking.


    "So¡­what now?"


    It was the first woman to sign that spoke.


    Kron raised a brow. For a slum dweller, this woman was quite outgoing.


    "Your name"


    She quivered a bit.


    "Tamira"


    "I don''t care. From now on, you follow three rules.


    "First, you don''t ask questions"


    "Second, you do as instructed without asking questions"


    "Third, you don''t speak unless asked to do so"


    Tamira felt something tighten her heart.


    "Yes¡­"


    Kron pped.


    "For starters, let''s get this ce cleaned up, that''s your first instruction. Start cleaning up"


    They hadn''t known, but the contract they signed was tinum-rank, and it''s details were akin to that of a ve.


    The contract went into action when the instruction was delivered, and it tightened their hearts.


    When some tried to resist, it became even tighter.


    That''s when Kron addressed the issue.


    "Oh, I forgot to mention, but nopliance to instructions will lead you to your death"


    Tamira forced herself to speak, blood dripping out of her mouth.


    "You lied to us!" her gaze zed with anger.


    Kron gazed back unaffected.


    "I did not. Do as you''re told, and you will get what you deserve"


    "What did you think? The guild has no need for deadweight, so it''s better if you die in advance. Haha, I''d hurry if I were you"


    With that, they marched back into what was once their homes and joined the cleaning.

 Chapter 171 Cleaning The Slums (2)

    As they marched, Kron made another statement.


    "Children and pregnant women, stay behind.


    "All valuables found are to be brought back. Stealing warrants death"


    Some slum dwellers were beginning toment their decision. Like others said, they had willingly be ves.


    Others shrugged. After all the bad they''d seen, this was nothing special.


    The adventurers had agreed on a pattern beforehand. They chose to go slow but thorough, splitting into five groups of ten, each one taking a space in the outskirts.


    They soon realized that the promised remuneration didn''t justify the amount of work they had to do.


    Some thought to quit, but seeing others, they decided not to.


    At the rate they were going, and the size of the slums, they calcted it would take at least five days to finish.


    Then, the slum dwellers arrived and it sped up tremendously.


    They had the slum dwellers follow the existing pattern, but with different tasks.


    They scoured the streets and empty houses, picking out everything they found, before separating worthless from useful.


    The useful items were brought to Kron, who had it screened once more as the slum dweller''s definition of useful differed from the norm.


    He threw those deemed useful into his space ring.


    After, they called carriages meant for waste disposal, the waste carriage.


    These carriages had single horses with a wide square wooden board fitted with four wheels attached to them, and were almost always dirty, emitting horrible smells.


    Such a simple invention made its creator one of Niton''s top hundred merchants, eventually bing a Baron.


    Others copied, but most the nobles deemed themselves too ''noble'' to dabble in waste, leaving the few that did with all the profits.


    These few took it a step further by having the royal family ban any other of making the same invention.


    It was his next idea that made him rise above the rest.


    He created what he called ''the dump''.


    You guessed it, he used thend he was given as central ground for waste, where it would then be burned.


    The royals were furious, but couldn''t harshly touch him, and soon, they realized it was genius.


    Unlike the Golden Age, mages weren''t abundant enough to relegate some of them to waste disposal duty.


    The merchant expanded his business by hiring people from faraway viges and having them ve away for him, and with that, he rose to prosperity, bought mana techniques andbat manuals, bought a big estate, found himself some knights, and got married into another noble family.


    The creator''s name was Avadin Kreel.


    No, Baron Avadin Kreel.


    Anyway, back to the matter at hand.


    The carriage had the typical crew, three men in filthy torn clothes, their bodies stained with all sorts of decayed items.


    Today, they were excited - grinning all the way - at the amount of waste.


    Why? Simple. More waste meant more money, however little that may be.


    They packed the waste within four buckets tied to the carriage.


    Each bucket of waste sold for 10 copper.


    Quite cheap, which was why many used it, and many using it meant¡­well, you know the rest.


    From each bucket, the crew earned 3 copper.


    These men eagerly packed as much as possible, calling their friends to grab the opportunity.


    Kron wasn''t stingy either, giving them added tips of one or two silvers.


    The boys memorized his face. They wished all their hires were like this.


    Kron himself had multiple thoughts swirling around.


    Cabrera had left him with ten gold and directives to supervise the cleaning.


    The more he thought, the more sure he was.


    ''I made the right decision''


    He wasn''t sure about the guild''s inner workings, but buying the slums wasn''t something just anyone could do.


    Nor was buying space rings.


    Then, where was Cabrera?


    ''He said he''d be back soon, but he''s taking so long''


    Kron stepped into the slums to check on the cleaning.


    He was impressed. The waste was gone and the surroundings washed off its putrid smell, though it lingered.


    At this rate, they could finish by the day''s end.


    Cabrera arrived an hourter with two water mages in tow.


    They washed away whatever waste was stuck in the ground and moss others may have missed, adding more efficiency and effectiveness.


    While that happened, they bought food for the children and the pregnant women, subsequently having them change clothings and clean up.


    Kron smiled when saw the kids'' astonishment at the new clothing, while some were moved to tears from the taste of good food and the ability to not feel hungry.


    Such things were luxuries for them.


    Later on, some slum dwellers died because the work was too much for them, while others killed themselves to save themselves from suffering.


    Kron didn''t fret. Rather, he advised it.


    "You could do the same, save yourself the trouble and give up. It''s really easy"


    In the first ce, they were screening the strong from the weak, and the first differentiator was their mindset.


    If you couldn''t push past such small things, what exactly would one be good for?


    It''s better they killed themselves as, though he didn''t say it, things weren''t going to get easier.


    Meanwhile, Nathan and Fredrick were perusing the alleys while in cloaks.


    Upon reaching a point, Fredrick whispers to a man seemingly sleeping.


    "Follow me"


    The man woke up and took them to a small store filled with inferior goods and few buyers, unassuming for sure.


    Behind it though, they went through a door that led underground, while the man returned.


    Lights were arrayed all over, allowing easy sight.


    Many others were there, buyers and sellers moving around and bargaining in hush tones, with fights asionally breaking out.


    Nathan tensed.


    ''The ck Market''<novelnext></novelnext>


    Here, stolen and defective goods were sold in droves. It was where chance store owners restocked.


    Buying from legitimate stores would attract needless attention.


    Here, you didn''t need to identify yourself, and anyone caught snooping around could be easily disposed of.


    Nathan and Frederick bought armors, weapons, mana techniques,bat arts, kitchen items, ves from multiple ces, and many more expensive items and artifacts that caught their fancy.


    Unlike thest batch, most of these ves were either educated or literal, or both, and most were muscr.


    "This should do" said Nathan and Fredrick nodded.


    ''Money is good'' Nathan admitted.


    He was a low level merchant in Traxford and his business wasn''t doing so well.


    That''s why he epted Cabrera''s offer when he told him about the alchemy potion he made, and of course, showed him a tinum coin.


    They bought a hundred ves, and bought them clothes, surprising the ves themselves.


    Fredrick wanted to buy a mage, but there were none.


    By the time they were done, it was evening, so they headed to the slums to check on Cabrera.


    Upon getting to the slums, they found no one at the outskirts, but Fredrick knew they were within.


    Checking the houses, he finds them empty, which made him nod.


    Without a word, he took thirty-five sledgehammers from his space ring and handed them to the ves.


    "Break those houses down"


    The ves got to it, five men per building.


    Built with inferior materials, it took only ten powerful hits to dent a deep crack. By the fortieth, it came crashing down, alerting those within.


    Cabrera and Kron appeared.


    "You should''ve said something. Didn''t we agree to do this tomorrow?"


    Fredrick nodded.


    "We did, but you''re making progress faster than expected, so why not start now?"


    *Shrug*


    Well, that was that. Cabrera and Kron went back to supervising, and soothing the anxiety of the cleaning crew.


    The houses were to be demolished and used to fortify the foundation for better ones, while those made of wood were dismantled to be soldter.


    The sounds of demolishing resounded, scaring those cleaning into working faster.


    Slum dweller or not, they were still afraid of death.


    Five hourster, the cleaning was done. Not the demolishing though, so those nearby were barely able to sleep.


    Uponpletion, the adventurers left without a word.


    They were too exhausted to chit chat.


    The slum dwellers looked to Kron for shelter, since their houses were being destroyed.


    "Job well done. Follow me"


    With that, he led them to the Gold Mole''s former base.


    It had been refurbished into a hotel, but it was empty.


    They entered and Kron sat them down and served them food.


    "Oh! How can it be this good?!"


    "Wow!"


    They eximed, finishing their servings in minutes.


    They weren''t sure, but they felt their fatigue melting away.


    They looked at each other. They all wanted more, but none spoke.


    Kron registered their looks and spoke.


    "Eat as much as you want"


    "You''ll be needing it" he muttered.


    Their eyes lit up, eating four, five, six servings.


    After an hour, when they were done eating for a while, Cabrera came in.


    "It seems you''ve had your fills"


    They nodded while looking away nervously.


    Then he unfolded a parchment in front of them.


    "This is how much it costs"


    They gasped, some almost regurgitating.


    On the scroll, ''159 gold'' was boldly written.


    Cabrera continued¡­


    "Each bowl is 25 silvers. Must be worth it considering how many you all ate"


    Then he folded it close.


    "Don''t worry, we''re not going to hold you for it. This is us doing as we promised"


    No one spoke as Cabrera pped his fingers.


    Boys came in with new clothes and handed it to them.


    He pointed upwards.


    "This will be your home from now on. We will feed you and cloth you-"


    Then he paused.


    "-but only if we deem you useful. Anyone bing useless will be immediately discarded. And to be useful, you need to grow strong. Well, you''ll need to survive first. I''ll ask once, is there anyone who wishes to quit?"


    They gulped, but no one thought of quitting. The taste of the food they ate and the smell of the clothes in their hands allured them.


    Cabrera smiled, and ended with a warning¡­


    "Remember, we owe you nothing"


    "Kron, I''ll leave it to you" Cabrera patted his shoulder and left.


    At that time, someone arrived at their headquarters.


    Frederick spotted him, a young man with light skin holding a wooden box, his short yellow hair disheveled.

 Chapter 172 Sebastian Arrives!

    He stared at the parchment in his hand.


    "Is this the eh...Bl-ck Jaws guild?"


    "It is, who are you?"


    "I-I''m looking for a...Sir Fredrick?"


    That had Fredrick turn to face him.


    "You haven''t mentioned who you are"


    "Ah! Call me Sebastian. I hail from Quartez"


    Fredrick gave him a look of surprise. He had forgotten about the messenger he sent to Quartez.


    He folded his arms and took in Sebastian''s visage.


    When Ezra told of Sebastian, Fredrick thought him to be a schr of sorts, but now¡­


    But then Ezra''s words came to mind¡­


    "I advise that you don''t underestimate him"


    Ezra had predicted the current situation.


    "Actually, I received a letter from a-" Sebastian started to speak.


    "Stop-"


    "But I-"


    "I already know, because I''m Fredrick"


    Sebastian was stunned speechless as Fredrick formed a smile.


    "Come. I''ve been waiting" He said and led him inside.


    "Hoo¡­"


    Sebastian was surprised. The interior contrasted the exterior.


    His mind went into action.


    ''It smells of polished wood, so it''s either newly built, or recently repaired''


    He surveyed the buildings and the guild members.


    From the building''s quality to the polished armor and salivating aroma, one thing was clear.


    ''These guys are rich!''


    Wait¡­


    ''Wasn''t this a G-rank guild?'' he wondered, for that''s what he was told.


    Howe then it looked nothing like the base of a G-rank guild?


    Sebastian nodded, there''s more to things than the eyes can see. He was right to have trusted his instinct.


    He was wary when a messenger from Niton came to him with a letter.


    Sebastian didn''t understand. He didn''t know anyone out of Quartez. Heck, he didn''t know anything out of his city.


    So who would have sent him a letter?


    ''It must be for someone else'' he thought, but decided to read it anyway.


    Upon reading, he was shocked.


    The letter¡­how should he say it? It almost seemed like the writer knew him, from his hubbies to his aspirations about information.


    Sebastian was fearful. How did someone know so much about him? A former friend? No, it couldn''t be. He hadn''t told anyone about his aspirations.


    So again, howe? Asking the messenger didn''t help though as he knew nothing about it.


    But he told him the little he did¡­


    "They said that if you didn''te, they''ll find you"


    Sebastians senses tingled. They knew where he lived. If he ran away, the lives of his family would be in danger! His parents were old, and his younger sister was all they had to take care of them.


    It was tough, but he made his decision.


    That night, he left with the messenger after bidding farewell to his family.


    His things were already packaged because he was about to begin his travels when the letter arrived.


    And now he was here.


    The slum dwellers and other ves were in the base they took from Gold Moles and Raven Skull.


    Fedrick, Cabrera and Nathan stayed in Firescar''s former base. Red Hook''s base was being renovated into a tavern. Green Snake''s base became a storage unit - as it was too small for anything else - while their former abode catered to guild members.


    With Red Hook absorbed into ck Jaws, Kingsmere was left with only three gangs.


    The boys - including those of Red Hook - were being taught reading and writing by one of the newly bought ves.


    Before long, Fredrick''s led Sebastian into a room where Cabrera and Nathan were seated.


    "This is Sebastian" he introduced.


    "Sebastian, that one''s Nathan and this one''s Cabrera"


    "Hello" Sebastian said.


    "Put your bag at that side and take a seat" Frederick instructed.


    Doing that, the four men sat at a round table.


    Sebastian spoke first¡­


    "So, I was told toe because you said I was needed. What do you need someone like me for?"


    Fredrick removed a parchment from his space ring-


    "This"


    -and unfolded it on the table.


    On it was a n of some sort.


    Sebastian made out the heading.


    "In-for-ma-tion a-gen-cy for-ma-tion?"


    ''I''m going to sleep''


    The fatigue built up over the past eight days was still affecting him.


    As Ezra walked to his room, he saw a carriage approach with its coach in a hooded cloak.


    ''Hmm''


    He used his mana vision on the carriage, only for the coach to instantly look towards his position, so Ezra quickly moved away.


    The man stared for a bit before moving on.


    Ezra released rasp breaths with his face full of sweat, his heart pounding in trepidation.


    ''An Expert? Or a master? No, why is he acting as a coach?''


    Ezra followed with his gaze and feet, ending up at the castle''s entrance minutester with the carriage being allowed entrance.


    To his surprise, he saw the cloaked coach approach Bolton - who sat in front of the pce - and hand him a letter while removing his hood.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Thankfully, Ezra had concealed his presence with slow breathing, mana sealing, and soft movements, after his encounter with the coach.


    Both men coversed, but Ezra was unable to make out their words. And reading their lips from such a distance wasn''t something he could do.


    Bolton snapped his fingers lightly to have guards off-load the carriage.


    Then he saw the merchandise, children.


    ''ves?'' he wondered, but shook his head. Why would Bolton personally attend to that? There was something else going on.


    ''1,2,3,4,5'' he counted. Five children in dirtied clothes with their hands tied and their eyes covered.


    They seemed normal at first, but looking deeper into it, he spotted multiple incongruities.


    At times like these, he was d he had an affinity for Darkness, else he wouldn''t be able to see so clearly in the night.


    ''Their clothes are noble wear''


    They probably came from a noble lineage. It had to be one of adequate power since they were brought here, to the royal district.


    Then¡­


    ''Why aren''t they moving?''


    The normal reaction would be them screaming and crying, but these children made not a sound, neither did they struggle.


    Gazing deeper, Ezra inferred their gender¡­


    ''1, 2, 3 boys and 2 girls''


    He also approximated their ages¡­


    ''With that height and body frame, they aren''t older than eleven''


    Bolton spoke and the guards took the children away.


    Ezra wondered whether to follow or to keep spying on the Master.


    But before he could decide-


    "Ezra,e over here"


    -his skin tingled and his hair rose.


    ''Damn'' he had been caught.


    Then again, an Intermediate hiding from a Master was far-fetched.


    Experience and knowledge couldn''t bridge such gaps.


    His brain went into action as he pounced to his feet.


    "S-sir! I''ming"


    With that, he descended in a hurry and arrived in front of Bolton and the cloaked man.


    "Ezra, what were you doing?"


    Others had to be respectful, but not the royal advisor.


    "I-I saw this scary man in his cloak so I followed him" he said, pointing to the cloaked man.


    Bolton smiled. Even if a genius, a kid is a kid.


    The cloaked man huffed.


    "Huh? Me, scary?"


    Ezra noded heavily.


    "Your body is very big"


    "But your cloak looks nice" he added with a smile.


    "Oh¡­Is that so?" he gave a wide smile while touching his cloak.


    He had low brown hair, thick eyebrows, a short brown beard, and teeth that had turned brown as well.


    He was 5''7 and was wearing armless ck clothings andrge trousers with gray boots, all while holsting a short but wide Saber at his side.


    The man burst intoughter.


    "Good one. It''s Ringard, Ringard Diple"


    "It''s a pleasure"


    The man nodded and Ezra seeded in making a good first impression.


    With quick calctions, he decided to test the waters.


    He pointed in the direction the children were taken.


    "Sir Bolton, what about those children?"


    Bolton was unsurprised.


    "They''re going to be groomed into castle servants"


    Ezra''s eyes sparkled as he grabbed Bolton''s hand.


    "I want them. Can I have them?!"


    ''What now?'' Bolton raised a brow.


    "Ezra, what do you want with them?"


    "Huhhh? Sir Bolton, I want them as my personal servants!"


    "No. It''s not-"


    Bolton was about to reject when Ezra delivered a fatal blow.


    "But I don''t have any friends!"


    Bolton''s words got stuck and his mind went to work.


    As a genius, the Empresses relegated Ezra to istion by having him train with Fredrick instead of the normal training grounds, so he had no peers to talk to.


    While the Emperor saw nothing wrong with it, Bolton did.


    Besides, was there anything wrong with assigning servants to a prince?


    Well, there was the issue of age, but since Ezra was younger, they''d all grow together, and their loyalty would be firmer.


    Such thinking gave Bolton the answer Ezra was looking for.


    "Alright. You can have them, but wait till morning"


    Ezra bowed as his gaze changed.


    "Thank you Sir"


    He then looked at both men.


    "Then it''s time I bid you goodnight" he said, turned around, and left.


    His work here was done, and also, he was really tired.


    If the children turned out to be special? Then he''d groom them until they were useful. If they weren''t? He''d just return them.


    Why think so much over little things?


    Like so, Ezra slept with an expectant smile on his face.

 Chapter 173 Sinister Plans

    For a little more than two hours, Sebatian got to understand what exactly he was to do, who he would be working for, the risks, the benefits, and his ability to refuse.


    In case he refused, they''d erase his memories and send him back to Quartez.


    With his wit guiding him, he epted and signed a contract. They then postponed all talks till the next morning.


    __________________


    <The next morning>


    *AH!*


    Screams resounded as a whip tore the skin of a shirtless man.


    His body was bloodied with cuts all over and he knelt with his hands chained in opposite sides.


    After three days of such treatment, the man could barely feel his body, much less talk.


    He was captured four days ago for conspiring against the Empire. He was among the mercenaries who took mana crystals from the mountain.


    Begging and pleading did not help him. He was gged like a beast for a crime he knew nothing off.


    ''For me to end up here'' he thought.


    All his years of work as a mercenary amounted to nothing.


    He was inexplicably bitter.


    Then, someone entered thepartment. He could hear footsteps and the door opening.


    "So?"


    He didn''t know what was answered, but he heard the next words.


    "Release him"


    He tried to clean his ear. He must''ve heard it wrong.


    Abruptly, his chains were unlocked and he fell to the ground like a bag of stones.


    "Have someone take him out. We have a new target" was thest thing he heard before losing consciousness.


    ______________________


    Within a small room, the Emperor sat cross-legged with his eyes closed and a shiny blue objectying on his legs.


    ''Good. At this rate, I''ll be able to get rid of it in five years''


    The object was a mana stone. The Emperor was cultivating by absorbing its essence.


    His idea to defeat the poison within him was working. Slowly but surely.


    Since it was a mana stone, he didn''t have to worry about mana running out, which was why mana stones were so treasured.


    Unlike mana crystals, they don''t be useless once the mana within them was expended.


    Mana stones would draw mana from the atmosphere, condense and refine it - which was another reason the Emperor could estimate five years for such a powerful poison.


    The mana within mana stones was also many times higher in quality than mana crystals, not to mention the mana in the atmosphere.


    The three mana stones were barely enough for the task, but the Emperor couldn''t touch Cavarl, who had joined the royal faction.


    A rune master would soon arrive to deploy his arrays, which should help increase his speed of cultivation.


    ''To think I have to use this for poison expulsion''


    The most annoying thing about the situation was that, by using the mana stones to remove poison, his rank wouldn''t increase.


    ''Well, It''s better to be stagnant than crippled'' he soothed himself.


    Then he went over the information he''d received.


    After poking around, the house of Everdust revealed that they had captured Ilyon - who had died, unable to withstand torture - and members of the Red Wolf guild.


    They said that Ilyon confessed his guild knew nothing of the events.


    The Emperor didn''t see it that way and sent many to begin curtailing the members of the White Iron guild.


    ''They might know of the mana stones''


    It was a far fetched theory because, if they did, it would''ve spread across noble circles.


    Still, there was no harm in checking.


    Then, he had all the mercenaries that took mana crystals hunted.


    Few were captured as many had escaped to other powers - which was how news of the manite mine spread so fast.


    The war - without Grandmaster interference - would take at least four years. He made sure of it by putting enticing items on the list of war merits.


    War merits could only be rewarded when one''s contribution points were adequate.


    Combatants of all ranks would kill enemy and allies to rack up war contribution points.


    Even better, war contribution points could only be used once the war was over.


    This war was going to eat into the forces of each power.


    It mattered not who won the war if everyone suffered losses.


    Niton''s lost poption could be easily recovered, but what about the others? The Emperor surmised that they would think something very precious was in the mountain for him to put Mithril as a reward.


    Only, they would be falling right into his trap.


    He expected Ledemor, Vorus and Covaria to join the war within half a year.


    All the while, the mana crystals would lose mana and degrade in quality.


    ''When this war ends¡­'' the Emperor gave a grin.<novelnext></novelnext>


    He stopped selling mining rights to the mountain from the second day, making it avable only with contribution points.


    As a bonus, one could acquire it the moment they had enough contribution points, so the race for contribution points became even fiercer.


    It was a sinister n through and through.


    Avi was a natural fortress, used to defend against all out attacks and surprise attacks. It was a feature that favored the Nitonians.


    He could hear sounds of battle from afar, but the enemies were unable to prate deep into the city, so the royal district was intact.


    Then he remembers the news of a G-rank guild getting a buffer zone.


    It was absurd, but the Emperor trusted that Bolton had his reasons.


    With that, he got back to his cultivation.


    ¡ª------------------


    Ezra woke up, stretched, cleaned up, then headed to Bard''sir.


    ¡ª-------------------


    "Oh? That fast?" asked Ezra.


    "I''m just as surprised it will happen in three days" replied Bard.


    Ezra arrived to find that Bard hadn''t studied the fruit.


    He hadn''t had time.


    Bard was called to defend his position in three days, else the vice would be the new Head Alchemist.


    He was concocting the new potions and learning as much as he could about them.


    Ezra nodded.


    The result was already set, but he said nothing, proceeding to take the fruit.


    "You''re taking it?"


    "Yes, I found that I was mistaken. The effect of fire was but a dream. So rest assured, it''s a normal fruit" and left before Bard could speak.


    Ezra put it in his ring.


    The truth was, he understood its uses yesterday.


    Also¡­


    ''I''m doing it again''


    His expression crumpled when he remembered the thing that had him killed.


    ''Trusting too easily''


    He never discerned why Bard suddenly had a change in attitude at their first meeting, so sharing his secrets was a stupid move.


    He let out augh.


    "I never learn"


    He entered his mother''s room and found her reading on her bed.


    She raised her eyes.


    "What a surprise"


    Ezra looked away.


    With his hands behind his back, he took out a fruit from his ring and raised it for his mother to see.


    "What is that?"


    Ezra talked in a low tone, resembling that of a child¡­


    "A fruit. I heard it helps with reading, so I bought it for you"


    "Why, thank you" she said, taking the fruit while still eyeing him.


    "Make sure you eat it all" he added.


    "Ok" then she took a bite.


    Her gaze went nk as she felt something fundamentally change within her.


    Snapping back to reality, her gaze darted about.


    Ezra had left, leaving her with many questions.


    ''Where did he get this?'' she wondered.


    Looking about, she found a note on herp saying¡­


    ''Make sure you eat it all, and eat it fast. I know you might have questions, but all in due time mom''


    She shook her head with a light smile.


    Each time, she''s reminded that her boy had already be a man shouldering things she knew nothing about.


    She was happy, yet sad at the same time.


    Each time, she was reminded why she needed to grow strong.


    Quickly, she ate the fruit, before going back to her books.


    How she wished she had done all these things before.


    Meanwhile, Ezra went to pick his new servants.

 Chapter 174 Personal Servants

    Ezra went to meet Bolton.


    "Sir, I''ve arrived"


    "Come in"


    Ezra entered the room.


    "I suppose you''re here for your servants?"


    Ezra noded.


    Snapping his fingers, Bolton called the guards.


    "Bring me the children"


    He then turned to Ezra.


    "How many do you want?"


    "All of them"


    Bolton noded, dismissing the guards.


    Minutester, the children were brought in. They were clean and had changed into leather clothes.


    Three boys, two girls. Like before, they were abnormally quiet with gazes lowered and hollow.


    Ezra wondered what could''ve caused such a gaze.


    Bolton looked at Ezra.


    "Do you still want them?"


    "Yes"


    Heaving a breath, he put a soul contract on the desk. He had them cleaned up, but grooming them was Ezra''s responsibility.


    "This is a soul contract, it''ll ensure that they can''t hurt you" Bolton exined.


    "I understand"


    "Come" said Bolton.


    The children quivered as a girl approached.


    "Ouch"


    He pricked her thumb with a needle, prompting blood to drop on the contract.


    The rest of the children stepped forward and had the same done to them.


    Done, he did the same for Ezra andr the contract dissolved into particles.


    Bolton pped.


    "My prince, they are now your servants. More importantly, they''re now your responsibility. I hope you understand the significance of this matter"


    "I do. Thank you Sir Bolton. I''ll be on my way"


    "Follow" he ordered the children and walked away.


    ¡ª---------------------


    Back in his room, Ezra sat on his bed, while his servants stood at the side.


    "Well? Introduce yourselves"


    "M-My name is Roxanne, Roxanne Arbana"


    Roxanne was red haired, with ck eyes, light skin and a height of 4''9.


    Ezra narrowed his gaze.


    "Arbana..? Where have I heard that name before?" He muttered.


    "Avi¡­could it be?!" his eyes widened and he pointed at Roxanne, only to see her squeezing her fist as she muttered¡­


    "You don''t know, do you?"


    Ezra tilted his head.


    "Know what?"


    *Sniff*Sniff*


    Tears fell as she replied¡­


    "The Emperor - your father - killed our parents" she said, staring at Ezra with reddened eyes full of anger.


    He looked to see the rest also crying.


    ''Hmm'' his mind swirled.


    ''The Avillian King is dead''


    ''How surprising, Fredrick must''ve not known about this''


    Then he looked at the five.


    ''I thought they were children of nobles. For them to be royalty, and this young as well¡­the experience must be devastating''


    Exhaling, he spoke¡­


    "I see. Is that why you''re looking at me like that?"


    Roxanne lowered her stare, squeezed her dress, and bit her lip, causing blood to drip.


    "Hmm, so you wish you could kill me like my father had done huh?"


    They froze. Ezra had practically read their minds.


    "I might as well give you a chance" he said and stood up.


    "Follow me" he said as he led them to a seclusion chamber.


    As implied, it was a chamber made of stone used for training and cultivation.


    The room his mother was training her rapier in was also a seclusion chamber.


    These chambers came in different sizes and those in the castle were spacious.


    Numbering five, they were arranged beside each other and had four guards patrolling at all times.


    At the beginning of the passage was a rack of weapons.


    Ezra approached, took a short sword, and turned around.


    The children stepped back, to which Ezra raised a brow.


    "What are you doing? Pick a weapon"


    The children were stumped. What was Ezra trying to pull?


    "Hurry up" he jolted them into action as each took a weapon.


    Ezra noded and approached one of the chambers, but not before the guards approached in a hurry.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Your Highness, you can''t-"


    Ezra was having none of it.


    He raised his palm to shut them up, before giving a cold stare.


    "It is not within your duties to question my actions. Doing so henceforth will be marked as a sign of insubordination. Am I understood?!"


    They stepped back, their pride wounded, but bowed nheless.


    "Yes, your Highness"


    "Good" Ezra noded.


    "Open it"


    They opened the chamber, waited for Ezra and the children to enter, then closed it.


    Going in, Ezra tucked his sleeves.


    "I don''t need disobedient servants, and I believe this is the best way to solve it"


    He raised his hand.


    "Five of you-"


    He then pointed at himself.


    "-against me. If you win, I''ll have Bolton grant you your freedom, I swear it on my soul. If I win, you shall henceforth acknowledge me as your master. Do we have a deal?"


    The children looked at each other, clearly none of them believing him.


    So Ezra taunted them.


    "If even the death of parents can''t get you out of your shell of cowardice, then I''d rather not waste my time on pathetic nuisance. You should''ve-"


    He was cut short by a shout.


    "Don''t you dare talk about mom that way!"


    It was a boy, this one dark inplexion. His eyes were red with fury as his chest heaved with heavy breaths.


    Ezra smirked.


    "What if I do? What are you going to do about it?"


    "I-I''ll kill you!"


    With that, he sprang into action while holding his saber.


    Like mes in a dry forest, his anger spread to the rest and they attacked together.


    Ezra stood calm, watching them approach.


    Which wasn''t long, because¡­


    ''They''re fast''


    With that, the first attacked with a wide swing of his saber.


    Ezra easily parried, kicking in him afar as the other four were upon him.


    The second boy struck with his spiked mace, which Ezra dodged, and hit the floor, creating a faint crack.


    The materials used to make the chamber were anything but ordinary, making a faint crack an astonishing feat.


    ''He''s strong''


    Then a girl approached, this one with short brown hair and double serrated daggers in both hands.


    Her hands blurred, shing twice in a short time.


    *Krin*ng*


    ''Short bursts of speed''


    With a back flip, he kicked her in the chin, sending her afar as thest two approached.


    Roxanne appeared with a sword, the third boy with his gauntlets, and they attacked in sync.


    Getting up close and personal, the boys threw punches, while Roxanne swung her sword, which broke into pieces held by a string and approached like a snake.


    ''Whip sword!'' he was rmed. Staying unscathed while dealing with and fending off punches wasn''t going to be easy.


    But experience showed the way.


    With little effort, he guided the gauntlet and leapt on the boy''s shoulder.


    "Huh?"


    Ezra jumped right after to dodge the whip sword andnded behind Roxanne.


    Uponnding, the two boys attacked with Roxanne''s whip approached from behind.


    ''They''re good''


    They had trainedmendably.


    ''But that''s not enough take me down''


    Parrying the saber, he amplifies arm with mana, caught the whip sword, and pulled it.


    Roxanne, who hadn''t expected such a choice of action, was pulled with her weapon and smashed into the mace boy.


    With those two out of it, Ezra bent backwards, dodging a fatal dagger strike from the other girl, and kicked her.


    He used the hilt of his sword to hit the saber, subtly disorienting the boy''s movements as he turned to exchange blows with the one with gauntlets.


    *ng*Kang*


    He ended the exchange by hitting the gauntlet to the side and kicking his chest, having him hit his back on the wall.


    The dagger girl was about to approach when a voice rang out.


    "No, we can''t win that way"


    The mace boy spoke.


    "We have to attack him at once"


    Ezra stood still, his sword on his shoulder.


    "Anytime you''re ready"


    He wasn''t just aiming to defeat them. He wanted to crush all thoughts of resistance.


    The children backed up, each sweating with their chest heaving while eyeing Ezra, whose breathing was calm.


    He''d been training in the sun while wearing heavy armor, so it was to be expected.


    Mace called the others and they started whispering about how to take him down.


    They couldn''t take too long though.


    "You have three minutes" he said and sat down.

 Chapter 175 Personal Servants (2)

    Three minutes psed, Ezra stood and stretched.


    The children stayed close, the boys in front while the girls arrayed behind them.


    "Well?"


    "Remember! We take him down together" said mace boy.


    They nodded and attacked.


    Ezra steadied himself.


    ''He''s good''


    Mace boy had the qualities of a leader.


    Their formation put him at a disadvantage.


    ''But not good enough''


    Nevertheless, dealing with it was easy.


    With that, they shed.


    Meanwhile, Bolton went through the letters sent by the Emperor.


    Ringard said that he did not know the identities of the children and gave him two letters, courtesy of the Emperor.


    One of them contained a list of war prisoners they caught during the battle for Avi, he was to put a price tag on them, before sending it to their respective kingdoms in the days toe.


    He said the second letter - the prisoners list - was given to him a day into his journey. Judging it to be the most important, Bolton checked it first.


    ''Hmm''


    A myriad of thoughts swirled.


    Before any action, he checked the other letter.


    As he reads it, a frown forms.


    A minuteter, he was done reading.


    His frown had grown deep and he crumpled the paper.


    He facepalmed.


    ''To think I gave royalty away as servants!''


    He snapped his finger and a guard entered.


    "Bring me Ezra and his servants"


    ''With their bloodline, bing Experts is guaranteed. Raised well, we''d have five Masters soon''


    To let such potential rot away as servants was uneptable.


    ''I''ll just give him new ves''


    But then¡­


    His frown became deeper.


    ''Ezra''s no ordinary kid''


    Well, he had many cards he could use to persuade him.


    There had to be something that moved him.


    -Russell-


    The ground was tiled with white stones and the surroundings were as quiet as could be.


    Gaga stood in front of an expansive graveyard.


    Hundreds of warriors killed in the battle of Avi were buried here.


    Their bodies had been sent just as the Emperormanded.


    At the forefront was a graveyard with an eye-catching tombstone. ''Helmut Feanon'' was written inrge captions, highlighting the man that died so hisrades'' bodies could be honored.


    Gaga sighed, things were only getting worse.


    His health was deteriorating, yet none of his heirs achieved Grandmaster-rank.


    War caught them unprepared and now hundreds were dead, with more dying constantly.


    Fear was freezing the economy, with many running away, leaving few to do their work.


    As a result, food production plummeted and prices soared along with cases of theft and murder.


    Gaga foresaw that by the time the war ended, Russell would be in deep trouble.


    Yet he couldn''t withdraw from the war, because they had to pay for the lives of the dead Grandmasters.


    It was the war that averted the gaze of the surrounding powers.


    If he didn''t get something done before the end of the war¡­!


    He shook his head with his fist clenched.


    He''d never let it happen.


    Russell wouldn''t fall during his reign.


    "Huuu¡­" Ezra exhaled.


    His grin was out in the open as his eyes shined when looking at the siblingsying on the ground.


    He held a few cuts on his arms and his hair was disheveled.


    "Dammit!" cursed the saber boy as he stood with a grunt.


    No matter how they struck, Ezra crushed them.


    The boy with gauntlets and the girl with daggersy unconscious, knocked out.


    Mace boy couldn''t lift his weapon after Ezra numbed his arm.


    Roxanne held her abdomen after Ezra gave her asting kick.


    He had it worse, a punch to the face left him with one eye.


    Not to mention numerous other bruises on all of them.


    Saber boy bit his lips.


    ''How can he be so strong?!''


    Training since three, he prided himself in his fighting skills, but this guy¡­


    ''He''s not human''


    Their gazes changed and Ezra didn''t miss it.


    With their pride shattered, Ezra achieved his aim.


    ''Now to rebuild it''


    He kicked dagger girl and gauntlet boy awake.


    They moved afar upon waking, watching Ezra with wary gazes, but also something else.


    Fear.


    He nodded, then spoke¡­


    "I see¡­"


    They became alert.


    Saber boy stuttered out a reply.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "W-what do you see?"


    "Why your parents died"


    Saber boy clenched his fists, his gaze regaining its fury.


    Ezra spoke before he could do something.


    "They were weak"


    The words echoed in their minds like a bell.


    Saber boy lowered his gaze while crumpling his clothes, because while he wouldn''t admit it, he knew Ezra was telling the truth.


    Such thoughts had tears dripping continuously before he cleaned them.


    "What do you know about it?! Huh!"


    Ezra smiled, dark memories surfacing¡­


    "More than you can imagine"


    His reply left saber boy speechless.


    Then he dropped his weapon.


    "Will you continue fighting? Even when you know it''s futile?"


    "What else can we do?!" shouted not saber boy, but mace boy.


    Ezra spread his arms.


    "Join me"


    He walked to them.


    "You have your basics down, but you''ll need to grow far stronger. If you wish to avoid your parents fate that is"


    Reaching saber boy, he stretched his palm.


    "Join me, and we''ll grow stronger together"


    But-


    *p*


    -his palm was pped away.


    "Damn you! You expect me to believe that?! Your father killed mine! What-"


    Ezra interjected, staring at saber boy.


    "I''m not my father, neither are you yours. Why don''t we bury our grudges and leave the past as it is? Besides, I didn''t do anything, all that happened to you is on you. Like it or not, you''re a servant, my servant"


    Mace boy spoke¡­


    "Does your offer still stand?"


    "My offer?" Ezra raised a brow.


    "If we beat you, we''ll be freed"


    "Of course" he nodded.


    "But only once every three months"


    Mace boy nodded, spat blood and stood with his left arm dangling.


    All gazes were on him as he approached Ezra, stared for a few seconds, before bowing.


    "I greet my master"


    Saber boy exploded with rage.


    "How can you bow to-"


    Mace boy stood straight and shut him down.


    "What would you have me do?! He''s right, you know? Weren''t you there?!-"


    He turns to those behind.


    "-Weren''t we all there?! Yet we couldn''t do anything because we''re weak!"


    His tone broke.


    "I felt so helpless, and if I have to be a servant to make sure I never feel like that again, then I''ll dly do so!"


    He grabbed his brother''s shoulder.


    "Remember mom''s words"


    Saber boy stared with red eyes, her words ringing.


    ''Be strong, my sons. Be strong''


    His grip tightened, but he remained speechless.


    Ezra moved away.


    "What about the rest of you? What do you say?"


    At that moment.


    *Knock*Knock*Knock*Knock*


    Ezra was annoyed.


    ''What now?''


    He took healing potions from his space ring and threw one to each person.


    "Drink it, it''ll heal your wounds"


    Their suspicious gazes alternated between the healing potions and Ezra.


    Ezra shrugged, reached the door, and opened it.


    A guard was revealed.


    "The Royal Advisor calls for you and your servants as well"


    Ezra noded and the guard left.


    Turning around, the children drank the potions, their injuries closing up as they healed, before bing tired right after.


    "Let''s go" said Ezra.


    "Sir Bolton, you called?"


    "Yes. I inform you that these five cannot be your servants"


    "What do you mean?"


    "I determined that they''ll be trained as warriors for the Empire. That said, you will be given other servants"


    "If I refuse?"


    Bolton frowned.


    "It''s the order of the Empire, none may defy"


    "They can be trained while staying as servants. I don''t see the problem"


    "The potential they possess disallows them from staying as servants"


    Ezra stared him down, his mind working out an answer, and soon, a solution popped up.


    ''Ah, there''s that''

 Chapter 176 The Last Gift

    "Sir Bolton. As you know, I received three privileges two months ago from the Emperor" said Ezra.


    Bolton was shocked at Ezra''s resourcefulness.


    "You mean¡­"


    "Yes. Using my third privilege, I''d like to keep these five not as servants but as Vassals. If they have as much potential as you say, what is there to think about?"


    "Hmm" he had no choice but to acknowledge Ezra''s demand.


    Ezra spoke on.


    "Thank you for your suggestion. I will see to it that they get appropriate training"


    Bolton raised a brow.


    "Of course, I will have you pay for any and all expenses incurred"


    "That cannot be done" Bolton rejected.


    Ezra gave him a weird look.


    "You would leave such talents to rot? After you spoke so much about the importance of their training just prior? Will the Emperor agree to such arrangements?"


    Bolton wanted to puke blood.


    ''This brat..!''


    It was sickening how his words were turned against him.


    ''What to do? What to do? What to do?''


    All he tried to do was maintain bnce, but this brat kept resisting!


    He felt stupid for allowing them to be Ezra''s servants in the first ce. If he had shut him down the first time, this would''ve never happened.


    But how could he have known? Most of the maids came to the pce in the same way.


    Unable to find a suitable reply, he groaned inwardly and reached a decision.


    ''I''ll let you have this one. There will be plenty of opportunitiester on''


    "I congratte you on acquiring new vassals. As for their training, I will see to it"


    "No. As their master, I will be seeing to it, as is my responsibility"


    Bolton popped a vein. There was something called shame you know!


    iming responsibility for their training yet asking others to pay the price.


    But Bolton couldn''t say that. As it was within Ezra''s right, he had done nothing wrong.


    Once again, Bolton swallowed his discontent, not that Ezra cared.


    "As you wish"


    Ezra nodded.


    "Good. Then I''ll need two rooms prepared distinctly for males and females. Ah, yes, I''ll also need a carriage ready within two hours. I''ll be taking my vassals to the missionary"


    Bolton nodded and left, while inwardly swearing never to make such mistakes again.


    Ezra returned to his room, his vassals behind him.


    "Well?" he asked.


    "Does anyone have objections to the arrangement?"


    They look at one another, before simultaneously shaking their heads.


    Ezra raises a brow.


    "Even you, saber boy?"


    "Saber boy?"


    "I haven''t heard your names. Introduce yourselves"


    Mace boy: "Theron"


    Dagger girl: "Velora"


    Gauntlet boy: "Ashton"


    Everyone turns to saber boy, who reluctantly said, "Johan"


    Ezra nodded.


    "I''m Ezra. Lord Ezra to you anyway"


    "How old are you anyway?" asked Ashton.


    "Five"


    "Oh so you''re-what?!"


    Everybody paused, stupefied.


    "What about you?"


    "Eight" Ashton answered with apparent shock.


    "You?"


    Velora: "Nine"


    Roxanne: "Ten"


    Theron: "Eleven"


    Johan: "Nine"


    "Now that that''s done, apart from weapons mastery, what else can you do?"


    "We''re shifters" Roxanne said.


    "Then why didn''t you shift during our little spar?"


    "Cause we can''t¡­yet"


    "Hmm, I don''t understand"


    "What do you know about shifters?"


    "Eh?...I know they can turn their bodies into that of beasts. That they use the blood of beasts to grow stronger and have beast cores within themselves"


    "Is that all?"


    "Yes"


    "You know nothing of our method of cultivation?"


    "I just said you use blood to grow in strength"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Huu¡­" she exhaled.


    "It goes like this. Long before the golden age, shifters didn''t exist. At the time, battles ran rampant taking too many innocent lives in its midst. Unable to be either mages or knights, a group decides to look for power where others never dared. Being able to survive all sorts of battle''s, the power of beasts enticed them, and so they sought its strength. Yearster, their efforts bore fruit and the first shifter was born. Neigan Keller was his name, created from binding the soul of beast and man together. Now, through the death of thousands, a stable cultivation method emerged¡­"


    She noticed Ezra looking disinterested.


    "*Cough* Anyway, we cultivate by absorbing the core parts of a beast''s blood. That which contains it''s bloodline and use it to reinforce our physique and abilities"


    "What did I just say?"


    Roxanne rolled her eyes.


    "Our physique is better than that of ordinary folk, so we require high quality blood to advance"


    "Good thing were heading to the missionary then"


    "Oh? Look over there!"


    A carriage of exquisite quality drew the gazes ofmoners as Ezra made his first official outing.


    Children were fascinated while adults were curious.


    "It''s a prince"


    "Huh? A prince! Which one?"


    "It has to be the crown prince. Who else can it be?"


    "But there are five of them"


    "What? Don''t say nonsense. How can they be five? Do we have five princes?!"


    "Eh¡­maybe they are their servants¡­?"


    "Hmm, could be"


    Ezra took it as a learning experience, the fawning gazes of children and the envious gazes of the adults.


    "Well, how does it feel to be treated like royals again?"


    Theron let out a dejectedugh.


    "I hate it"


    Ezra nodded.


    The carriage was red, with the Niton crest on its doors while guards arrayed themselves, five on each side.


    In no time, they reached the missionary, where they were immediately attended to.


    Ezra gave no dy in listing out his needs.


    "Let me see your highest quality weapons"


    "As you wish"


    A quick walk led them to their hall of weapons.


    "We''re here"


    An expansive hally in front of them, almost a quarter of those in the royal weapons vault.


    "Good" Ezra said and turned to his vassals.


    "Pick a weapon"


    The vassals stared at one another.


    "I''ll be paying for it"


    Theron took the lead and headed to the section of halberds and mace''s, quickly sifting through.


    Ezra wasn''t there to babysit them, the guards would do that, so he went to the artifact hall.


    The rows of artifacts gave Ezra different ideas.


    He had the assistant enlighten him on the uses of each artifact.


    From rune stones, to Gold-rank mana scrolls, to disappearing ink, to mirror water, tobat art imprints, and many more, all with uses of their own.


    Only, these uses didn''t corrte with Ezra''s needs.


    Then a memory came to him.


    That of him and Fredrick heading back after plundering chance stores.


    ''Hmm, maybe they have it?''


    He turned to the attendant, who was bbering on and on.


    "Do you havemunication items?"


    The man''s speech came to a halt as his mind whirred. A torch lit above his head.


    "Well¡­we should have a few, but sales of such items are restricted by the royal family"


    "OK¡­Then who am I supposed to be?"


    The man felt a tingle down his spine.


    "Apologies, I will have them ready"


    He moved quickly, sifting through items to pick out a few.


    "We have these"


    He presented three scrolls held in metal cases and six round objects akin topasses with carvings on its metal surface.


    "So? What do they do?"


    "These are Rottimer scrolls, able to teleport words between each other"


    "And these are cyprus'' soundpasses. With a bit of mana, it is enough to call for aid"


    "I''ll be taking them all"


    "Yes"


    "Give me that, that, that, that. Oh? And that as well"


    Each item was high quality and, naturally, expensive. And Ezra took more than ten.


    Thereafter, he took thirty space rings and ten soul scrolls of Epic Gold-rank.


    "Take me to your herb collection"


    Like that, Ezra picked as much as he could without affecting the Missionary too much.


    Meanwhile, Fredrick and the rest had their hands full building the foundation of the Gold Slums movement and upgrading the guild all at once.

 Chapter 177 Plans In Motion

    Early that morning, four carriages came into Kingsmere.


    Steady they went, arriving at one of the ck Jaws buildings.


    "We''ve arrived"


    Four men alighted from the carriage, their attire distinguishing them from normal folk as their gaze pervaded the property.


    "Oh, What a ce"


    "It seems a lot has changed"


    "Does anyone know why we were called?"


    "I was told toe, what about you?"


    "I received a letter as well"


    Their spections came to an end when a voice rang out.


    "Friends!"


    Nathan''s voice boomed, drawing their gazes to his wide smile.


    Each took different expressions, but smiles came on their faces as they gave handshakes and hugs.


    "Nathan, nice building you''ve got here. What''ve you been up to?"


    "Hahaha, Mirahan, nice to see you too. Killigard, Rainer, Verner. How was the journey?"


    "Mostly uneventful"


    "As it should be"


    He pointed to the building.


    "Come inside. We have a lot to talk about"


    -Elsewhere-


    "How did they get a buffer zone?!"


    In a room, four figures sat at a round table.


    One of them was raging over unexpected news.


    "We don''t know who, but it seems they had a backer we hadn''t known of"


    "It seems?! They defeated Fire Scar-"


    "A weakened Fire Scar" another corrected.


    "Weakened or not, they were wiped out in less than FOUR HOURS! And you still have something to say?" the man snapped.


    This time, a female spoke¡­


    "Sir, please calm down. If we''d known they''d activate a buffer zone, I would''ve had them immediately wiped out!"


    The man gave asting huff.


    "Whatever. Now we can''t touch them. No one can"


    He held his head in frustration. The boss went to war with the others, leaving him in charge of White Kings.


    He''ll be furious once he learnt of the emerging of a new power.


    Ending Fire Scar was amongst their ns, but someone beat them to it.


    Fire Scar had backers, strong ones. White Kings was initially happy that they wouldn''t have to deal with the aftermath.


    Lo and behold, they went and got buffered up.


    He rubbed his head.


    ''How annoying''


    Well, he''d deal with that when it came to it.


    Firstly¡­


    "Ronald, you spoke to them. What did you find out?"


    "That''s the thing, there wasn''t much to see. It was unimpressive, their guild master isn''t even at Expert-rank, the guild members were Intermediates. I still don''t understand how Fire Scar got wiped out"


    The man''s eyes sparkled.


    "How sure are you of this?"


    "As sure as I can be"


    "Hmm" he frowned.


    "The rumor of them being G-rank was true?"


    "Apparently so"


    "Then they must have some backers, powerful ones"


    The rest nodded in affirmation, while Ronald spoke¡­


    "And very rich as well"


    "Rich?"


    "Yes, I''ve been following up. Apparently, they bought more than fifty ves yesterday. Then they bought the slums"


    "The slums?" another asked, puzzled.


    "It is as I said. A friend in the Missionary told me their guild master visits the Sentinel often. There might be something going on there"


    "What if their backer is from another kingdom?"


    The gathering plunged into silence.


    "Maybe. I haven''t heard anything like that"


    "Hmm"


    He squeezed his palms together.


    "Bought the slums you say? Find out more about that. We can''t just let them be. For now, keep an eye on them, there must be a reason to buy so many ves. I''ll send word to those at the top to find out more about the rtionship between their guild master and the Sentinel"


    "Alright, anything else?"


    "They started recruitment"


    "Even better, have some of our men disturb the gathering. We need better news on who our new enemies are"


    "Ok"


    With that, they stood and left, each to his own task.


    Within the Missionary, Cabrera and Sebastian were being attended to.


    "Sir Cabrera, how can I help?"


    Amy personally attended to them after they bought so many Slums. Her way of speech was also more polite.


    "I want a guild established, a subsidiary to mine"


    She showed no change in her expression.


    "Name?"


    Cabrera looked to Sebastian. Ezra hadn''t given a name.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Tapping his cheek, he replied.


    "Silencers"


    Cabrera scrunched up.


    "What kind of name is that?"


    "A name" replied Sebastian.


    "Seriously? Pick a better one"


    "Eh¡­Silence?"


    Cabrera stared intensely, making Sebastian sweat.


    "Then¡­Dark Silence?"


    "¡­"


    "How about ck silence¡­?"


    ? "Wow, you are bad at this. But that''s manageable"


    "So¡­ck Silence?" asked Amy.


    "Yes"


    Scribbling away, she handed them the documents soon after, which they signed.


    The newly created guild was G-rank. As a subsidiary, ck Silence enjoyed the protection of Buffer zones just as ck Jaws.


    In the same Missionary, many were talking about the ongoing recruitment, arousing the curiosity of others.


    "Huh? Destroyed Fire Scar? In one night?! When did that happen?!"


    Many weren''t aware of the events that transpired. They were earning a living for their families by fighting beasts.


    Each person spun the tale differently, exaggerating it to unbelievable extents.


    While not a good thing on its own, it had many running to read the recruitment notice.


    But they were disappointed quickly, as it read¡­


    || ck Jaws Recruitment ||


    Rank: G-C


    Participants: UNS


    Details: ck Jaws, a newly established guild - G rank - is recruiting members. Apply to be recruited.


    Conditions: To be told on eptance.


    The ''G-rank''bel was the greatest turndown for most. How can a G-rank guild defeat Fire Scar? These b#stards must''ve been paid to say such nonsense.


    Others, the few with actual brains, chose to dig deeper, ask questions the dumb wouldn''t ask, and most importantly, ask them to reliable sources.


    These few found themselves shocked, as many things weren''t making sense.


    ''Gang to guild? Mediocre until a few months ago, destroying Fire Scar, Raven Skull, Gold Moles, and Green Snake!''


    The little that did make sense gave promising prospects.


    ''If they keep going like this¡­maybe?''


    But wasn''t it too risky to decide based on that alone? What if the opposite happened?


    Many shuddered at the thought.


    Also, they had a buffer zone that limited their future prospects by a lot.


    Thest group were those who just decided to try it.


    These amounted to tens, though less than a hundred.


    And then, the conditions sifted five out every ten.


    A line formed in front of the guild hall as guild members stood guard, two on each side, while someone else held the contract for them to sign.


    A ruckus was ongoing.


    "What do you mean five Epic Gold items?! To sever a useless contract?! I''m out of here! Good luck to those joining your useless guild!"


    The man''s gaze was fiery, filled with haughtiness and pride as he walked away.


    He was a D-rank, he ought to be orded some preference, but it seemed all those rumors were just that.


    But of course.


    ''Hehehe. This never gets old''


    He wasn''t just any adventurer, but a disguised member of White King, sent to disturb the recruitment process.


    Sure enough, others walked off, discouraged by the man''s act.


    Kron - who was overlooking the process - didn''t bat an eyelid.


    It was better for the bad eggs to be thrown away from the start.


    Soon enough, they''ll be begging to join.


    Back in the Fire Scar''s former building, Nathan sat with Fredrick at his side, while the four friends sat facing them with a table in between.


    These men took sips of the served drinks, taking surprised expressions thereafter.


    "Such exquisite taste. Might I know what brand this is?"


    "Huckleberry"


    They quivered, almost puking out the drink.


    Carefully, they ced the cups on the table, astonishment apparent on their faces.


    Huckleberry was the most renowned creator of wine, not just in Niton, but Lexon.


    For one thing, it was absurdly expensive, hence their shocked reactions.


    Fredrick made himself known¡­


    "Gentleman, I''ve heard of your expertise from our friend here, but good to see you all in person" he paused.


    He stretched out his palm¡­


    "I''m Fredrick"


    "Mirahan"


    "Killigard"


    "Rainer"


    "Verner"


    "Now, done with that, shall we get right into business?"


    The atmosphere froze. Tension began lingering as the men grew nervous, but kept calm faces.


    "Tell us your specialities"


    --------------------------------------


    UNS: Unstated / Unspecified

 Chapter 178 New Guild Members

    "Tell me your specialities"


    Killigard took charge with his short yet imposing stature.


    "I''m a cksmith, Journeyman. I specialize in forging farming tools and a few others items"


    Rainer pointed to Verner¡­


    "We''re the Woodbrothers. We specialize in carpentry, specifically in furniture making"


    Mirahan spoke right after¡­


    "I''m the merchant that does all the selling"


    Fredrick nodded. Nathan met them while trading cheap jewelry at Traxford.


    Nathan bought the pickaxes for the expedition from Mirahan.


    Fredricks brain whirred, Ezra gave them a long list of things for them to do.


    He asked Mirahan¡­


    "What Caliber of builders do you have connections with?"


    "I have connections with a few Intermediates and one Expert"


    "Good, get them toe here"


    The four looked at each other. Was this guy delusional?


    Hiring an Expert was unrealistic because of the exorbitant fees they demand.


    Fredrick didn''t bother talking. Like Cabrera, he raised his n, and then¡­


    *CRIIIN*


    Coins, GOLD coins, fell to the floor like raindrops. Within seconds, the floor was submerged in them.


    The four stared speechlessly at the resplendent yellow with agape gazes.


    Fredrick dug out a handful of coins and ced them on the table.


    "Go on, touch it"


    They gazed at one another before Killigard took one and bit it.


    A few bitester, he went¡­


    "It''s real"


    Something exploded in the minds of these men as they stared at the sea of gold at their feet, greed creeping into their hearts.


    Fredrick sucked the coins in immediately after, having it vanish from sight, lest those on the table.


    "Give these to Experts as the visiting fee. Tell him there''s more where those came from, and to bring their friends, all of them"


    He brought out a sack and handed it to them.


    "This is for you"


    Their eyes lit up. Split amongst four, it wasn''t indispensable, but it was a decent amount.


    "Like you just saw, there''s a lot more of that. Since you''re a friend of Nathan''s, I''ll ask you once. Would you join us?"


    Killigard was about to burst out with ''YES'', when Mirahan motioned him to stop.


    "Sir Fedrick. What exactly do you wish to gain from all this?"


    Fredrick raised a brow.


    "I thought you were smart, seems like that''s not the case"


    Mirahan popped a vein as Fredrick spoke.


    "Look around you. This guild is newly formed. I need more members to inte our numbers, and eyes in Taxford"


    "So we''ll be your eyes?"


    "Not exactly, but close. Now gentlemen, have you made your choice?"


    Mirahan interrupted¡­


    "What''s in it for us?"


    "You can probably guess. Better resources,bat manuals and forging techniques. In exchange, we want your utmost loyalty and cooperation"


    He stared at them.


    "Tell me, where else will you find such a ridiculous offer?"


    "And if you don''t believe me¡­"


    He pulled out a mana technique and handed it to them.


    "Gold-rank mana technique"


    Killigard snatched it, touched it all over, before his eyes lit up.


    He looked at the others and nodded.


    They gulped in response. They''ve never seen one before.


    Mirahan coughed.


    "Other guilds aren''t going to let you do as you wish"


    "You haven''t heard? We''re buffered. For a decade"


    Mirahan''s eyes widened as he tapped his chin. They have thoroughly thought things through.


    "How do we know you''re not going to try something?"


    "Easy¡­"


    Fredrick brought out a soul contract.


    "With this"


    "What about the threat to our lives? There''s no saying what others would do"


    Fredrick shook his head. This guy was too much of a coward.


    "That''s not of my concern. The resources we''ll give you are more than enough to buy your lives. With it, ousting an enemy of the same rank shouldn''t be an issue. It is therefore pertinent that you''re ready to die for the guild"


    Mirahan raised his voice at the tant disrespect.


    "How can-"


    Fredrick was having none of it.


    "If that''s not enough for you, feel free to leave. I have no qualms on hiring others forgers, merchants or carpenters, as I have made myself more than clear"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Killigard rushed to save the situation¡­


    "Friend, you should take things easy. Of course we''ll be joining you"


    If nothing else, he knew a good deal when he saw one.


    Mirahan was astounded.


    "What are you doing?"


    Killigard spoke with anger.


    "I''m helping myself, since you clearly can''t. You''re going to ruin this chance for us"


    He looked at Rainer and Verner, who gaveplex gazes, before answering¡­


    "We''ll be honored to join your guild"


    All eyes were now on Mirahan. He couldn''t negotiate for better treatment, so he lowered his gaze in defeat.


    "I''ll be joining as well"


    Fredrick spat in disdain.


    "You ought not to"


    There''s a limit to how much you should push things.


    Killigard turned to Nathan.


    "What now?"


    Fredrick handed him the contract.


    "Sign here"


    A few minutester, everyone had signed.


    With that done, Fredrick shook their hands.


    "Wee to the guild"


    They nodded in response.


    "I have to say, you just made one of the best decisions of your life. Now, which amongst you is married?"


    "Just me" said Killigard.


    "Ok. In theing weeks, have your family pack their things. They''ll move to Kingsmere, we''ll cover the cost"


    "What? This wasn''t in the contract"


    "Yes, we''ll be ensuring their safety"


    Killigard eyes narrowed.


    Fredrick huffed.


    "Don''t think too much of yourself. If I''d wanted to kill you, you''d be dead"


    Instantly, he stood, grabbed Killigard by the neck with a pace none could follow and lifted him up.


    "Try removing it"


    Without trying, Killigard was feeling the strain.


    A few seconds go by as Killigard grunted and groaned while trying to loosen the grip, with his veins popping, and his body covered in sweat, nearing exhaustion.


    Fredrick put him down slowly, leaving Killigard wheezing out breathes while his gaze pervaded the others.


    "This is a lesson for you all"


    ''Oh no!'' Mirahan was most rmed.


    He hadn''t felt any fluctuation of mana, so he determined Fredrick was weak.


    Now, Fredrick let his aura run free, and that alone, overwhelmed them.


    ''He''s a monster''


    Fredrick ignored their gazes.


    "We''ll be testing your loyalty. When we determine you''re ready, you''ll get your promised resources in abundance"


    Their eyes met his. He hadn''t mentioned any of this.


    "Don''t tell me you expect that I''d just give it to you?"


    They lowered their heads, their haughty gazes nowhere to be seen.


    Killigards breathing had normalized.


    "Worry not, that doesn''t leave you abandoned. We''ll be providing starting resources"


    "For starters, take these"


    Like that, he handed each one a space ring.


    They stared at it, mesmerized.


    Fredrick smiled inwardly.


    ''Reining these guys will be easy''


    If they were pulled by the allure of rare items this easily, having them be puppets would be too easy.


    The demonstration of strength was to wipe away any stupid thought before they could pop up.


    He ces his arm of Killigard and Mirahan, snapping them back to reality.


    "Once again, I wee you to the guild. Rejoice and be proud. Soon enough, you''ll be as powerful as me"


    They took deep breaths, forming fantasies in their minds.


    Hks tone bes grave as he hammers ast warning.


    "Remember, any sort of insubordination means death"


    They gulped, sweating all over.


    Fredrick adjusts himself.


    "Follow, let''s have you meet the other neers"


    ''Other neers?''


    ''Now for the rest of them''

 Chapter 179 New Guild Members (2)

    "Follow" said Fredrick, and they followed him.


    Reaching the doors, Fredricks turned to them.


    "As I have things to do, Nathan shall guide you"


    With that, Fredrick left, but not before adding a few more words.


    "Away from this building, you have never seen me before. Am I understood?"


    They nodded.


    "Good"


    His exit was followed by sighs of relief. The four couldn''t be happier, because his presence was suffocating.


    They looked at Nathan.


    "Don''t ask any questions" he said, shutting their mouths before they could open it.


    "Does this mean you''re our senior now?" asked Killigard.


    Nathan smiled.


    "You can be at ease my friends. It''s good to see you''re all doing well"


    With that, they board carriages, arriving at the slums minutester.


    There, they saw numerous figures, dirty and dusty, building a fence around it.


    It piqued Mirahan''s curiosity.


    "What is this?" he asked.


    "Our newest construction, but that''s not what we''re here for"


    He spotted his target deep into the slums.


    "Cabrera"


    Cabrera turned in their direction and approached them.


    Nathan pulled Cabrera up to speed on the ongoing events.


    He released the workers, created by amalgamating the ves and slum dwellers, for a break and left with the group.


    The guild hallid in front of them, and the four scanned it with their eyes.


    A short line of peopleid at its front. A quick look found most looking dreadful and haggard, with a few disabled.


    One would never think to use such adventurers for anything other than menialbor, but Ezra had other ideas.


    Nathan groaned.


    ''I still can''t believe we''re going through with this''


    Cabrera just stared. He had seen the mountain of mana stones, so he had no doubt.


    They marched in, attracting gazes or wonder and curiosity.


    "Who are they?"


    "How should I know?"


    And of course, anger.


    "Hey! Get in line!"


    But Cabrera''s re had them quivering as none dare speak henceforth.


    The guards made way with a slight bow.


    Entering, they found it filled with people, some pale and skinny, others haggard and rough, but they were all dirty and were eating hot bread like ravenous beasts.


    The four found themselves swimming in bafflement. What was this absurdity?


    From the looks of it, most were F and E ranked. Why were they being fed?


    More importantly, why were they here?


    But they kept silent and didn''t voice their questions.


    Still walking, they meet Kron, who was on his way to meet them.


    "Cabrera, you''re here early" Kron initiated a handshake.


    "Not my choice. Anyways, how''s the recruitment going?"


    "As you wanted, we kept the requirements illogically constrictive"


    Nathan raised a brow.


    "Yet we have these many people?"


    Cabrera replied in ce of Kron.


    "It seems you''re underestimating war"


    "Hmm?"


    "You have half of the Empire''s forces fighting at the war front"


    Nathan held his chin, his eyes widening.


    "So¡­we have half as many adventurers fighting twice as many beasts"


    "Exactly. When you consider that G, and F ranks would never voluntarily go to war, or even risk their lives, and that they held thergest numbers¡­I think you get the point"


    He maintained eye contact with Nathan, whose brain was spinning.


    "With that many numbers, and how cowardly they are, they would have targeted beasts of the lower ranks and herb gathering!"


    Cabrera nodded.


    ''Many died, so the rest are scurrying over like rats''


    Nathan didn''t stop.


    "So, with everyone killing the same beasts, the price of its body parts plummeted, and since food prices have been jacked up as well, many would starve!"


    The analysis left the four in deep thought.


    ''I see¡­no wonder we have so many members just on the first day''


    Cabrera was surprised.


    ''I didn''t know that''


    He remembered Fredrick''s wordd the other day.


    "Loyalty is the utmost priority. We have more than enough to turn them into strong warriors. Prioritize the poor, desperate and helpless. For a hearty meal is enough to have themy down their lives"


    ''How lucky''


    War brought the perfect atmosphere to push many into desperation.


    ''What are you nning?'' Cabrera wondered, before wiping the thought away.


    Biting the hand feeding you was not a good idea.


    "Have them continue recruitments tomorrow"


    Recruitments were promptly halted, and those recruited were arraigned in neat rows at the main hall.


    Cabrera walked in their midst, his gaze fierce and stern, addressing them.


    "It seems you all had a hearty meal"


    They gulped nervously.


    "As stated, we will provide you wish shelter, food, clothing, and a monthly wage"


    "In return, you will be loyal to no other, andy down your life whenever asked"


    They began to whisper.


    He stepped to the front.


    "Most of you are but burdens, wrecked garbage with little to no use"


    He smiled¡­


    "But you like eating hearty meals do you not? Wearing nice clothes like the rest of us? After all, it''s not your fault you were born useless¡­or is it?"


    "What I give you is a chance. A chance to be powerful, rich, healthy and wealthy. Only, you have to be willing to take it"


    "Here, you''ll grow powerful or die trying. After all, it''s never going to be easy"


    Some had their tones escte.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I didn''te here for this!"


    "Let us go!"


    Guards reached them swiftly.


    *Crack!*


    Their bones were snapped like twigs, but they were unable to scream because the guards knocked them out, subsequently dragging them away.


    That crushed the lingering resistance, for most were cowards in the first ce.


    Cabrera continued¡­


    "You have families do you not?"


    They wondered where he was heading.


    "It must be easy watching them starve¡­is it not?"


    Eyes reddened in anger-


    "Oh? You''re angry?"


    Suddenly, Cabrera released his aura.


    "Come out and show it to me"


    -but none dared to move.


    Cabrera huffed, how miserable.


    ''Done with the stick. Now for the carrot''


    "Lay down your lives, pledge your loyalty, and your days of starvation shall end. Your days of poverty shall end"


    Then one spoke.


    "You expect us to fall for the same trick again?!"


    Cabrera dashed to his front and raised his palm.


    The man closed his eyes awaiting his inevitable fate.


    But¡­nothing happened.


    He opened his eyes to see small yellow items shining as they fell to his feet.


    He steps back, surprised.


    Only then did he see the item clearly, and upon doing so, his mind went nk, as did the others.


    The sound of metal ceased secondster, leaving the hall in silence.


    Even the guards - Cabrera''s boys - were astounded.


    Gold coins.


    They were GOLD COINS!


    So many that it formed a small mound.


    Cabrera kicked it, letting it stter all over.


    Such an act baffles them.


    He retreated, leaving a few words as he pulled out a small hourss.


    "Go on, take it. The one with the most coins at the end of five minutes gets five more. Oh, and try not to die"


    Everybody froze. Literally!


    Their eyes darted about as they watched those beside them, when suddenly, someone took a dive.


    Like a spark, their greed was ignited.


    The hall fell into chaos as they fought, jumped, pushed, dodged and shoved each other in lieu of getting gold.


    Cabrera watched from above, having told the guards to stay away.


    Bones were fractured and dislocated with blood painting the floor boards.


    With a gesture from Cabrera, the guards intervene at the end of five minutes, beating them into docility.


    "Get up!"


    One way or another, they got up, with few sitting because their legs were broken.


    This allowed for a clearer view of the situation.


    For one, ten people were dead.


    Unlike expected, none of them were skinny and pale, but had decent muscture, while three were female.


    The dead were taken away as Cabrera came down.


    He pped his hands with a smile.


    ''I envy that man''s resourceful thinking''


    He remembers the other reason why they chose such people.


    "Make sure all of the recruits are below D-rank"


    Cabrera raised a brow.


    "Why?"


    Fredrick gave a sad smile.


    "Because they''re easy to train and easier to dispose of"


    Those of C-rank and above, or even up anding D-ranks, would have their deaths looked into. Lower ranks though, too many died per day for anyone to care.


    "Well done, very well done. Now, who has the most coins?"


    They gazed at one another before slowly, people began bringing out the fruit of their efforts.


    The results were surprising, to say the least.


    There were initially sixty recruits, but there were now fifty.


    Thirty-five were unable to get a dime, and surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, they were those with the most injuries.


    Thest fifteen came in all shapes and sizes, each with more than one coin.


    At the end, ten had two gold, two had three, one had four and two had five.


    Cabrera tapped his chin, wondering how to decide a final winner.


    Suddenly, the one with four gold - a boy, skinny andnky in patched armor - started hurling.


    A minuteter, he puked out two gold coins.


    Cabrera was surprised, because he watched the proceedings carefully and hadn''t seen him swallow any.


    Without any fanfare, he announced him the winner.


    Yet, Cabrera took his coins, causing everyone else to exchange nces.


    "I promised five extra coins. But, due to your ingenuity, take this instead"


    In his palm appeared a ring, one not shabby, but unassuming nheless.


    The boy wore it with suspicion, before quivering slightly. He knew how to conceal his emotions.


    Cabrera smirked at him.


    "As promised, you have been rewarded. Does anyone still wish to leave?"


    They gulped, ncing about.


    "No? Good, your lives will be better for it"


    "Boys, get them and this ce cleaned up"


    "Yes!"


    With that he walked away.


    Killigard and co were having talks with Sebastian.


    Kron had gone to the slums to supervise in Cabrera''s ce.


    Like so, the day swiftly passed.


    The next morning saw Bolton experience one of his worst days, because Kogar, the Sentinel, arrived.

 Chapter 180 Foiled From The Start

    The day saw Ezra get up with a smile, and he wasn''t the only one, for yesterday was splendid for many.


    His vassals were given two rooms, one for the boys, another for the girls.


    He obtained items that would increase the efficiency and effectiveness of his ns, from maps, to formation scrolls, and herbs for body strengthening.


    His vassals picked out weapons of the best quality for themselves.


    Then they sifted through multiple refined bloodlines, picking high quality ones as well.


    Lastly, he hired B-rank adventurers as mentors for them. They would arrive in two to four days.


    Combining the resources he had on hand, the vassals would be groomed into monsters, he couldn''t wait.


    The best part? It was technically free.


    Bolton on the other hand, was having a very bad day.


    Kogar sat facing him. He had arrived in Kingsmere forty-five minutes ago.


    Both their faces couldn''t be any darker as they conversed.


    "You mean to tell me you have no actual connection to Cabrira?!" Bolton hollered.


    "It''s Cabrera-"


    "Damn whatever he''s called! Do you realize what you''ve done?!"


    Kogar countered¡­


    "What I''ve done?! I seem to remember that you were the one who gave him and certificate!"


    "He''d be unable to use it if it weren''t for your rapacious greed and I would''ve never done so if you''d told me about the deal beforehand!"


    "How shameless! You dare throw the me at me?! I was but looking to secure the war for-"


    "Don''t you dare. Others may be oblivious, but you cannot hide your greed for a higher nobility from me!"


    Kogar responded with an equal amount of shamelessness¡­


    "And so what? To throw the me after giving him a buffer zone?! If it hadn''t been so, this situation would not be so hopeless!"


    Their voices came to a halt.


    Both men were fuming like empty kettles, having found themselves to have been made fools by the same person.


    ''I wondered whose backer they had for them to buy eleven slums. But it was this fool''s actions all along!''


    ''Damn! Taking back the money should''ve been easy. But this sand monkey when ahead and buffered them!''


    Bolton and Kogar: ''What a disaster!''


    Bolton would''ve ripped Kogar apart if it wasn''t for the position he held.


    A few minutes passed with them staring at one another in silence, calming themselves.


    They were not hot-blooded youths, but experienced men.


    As such, they quickly got off the topic of whose fault it was and began discussing a solution¡­


    "What do you know about them?"


    Kogar sighed.


    "Not nearly enough. I know Cabrera through his act of kindness to my son long ago, but nothing much more"


    Bolton popped a vein.


    "Not nearly enough? You barely know anything! How can you hand over so much wealth to a stranger?!"


    "Huh??? Can you hear yourself? I know nothing, yet you, who knows even less than I do, gave him a LAND CERTIFICATE?!"


    His words struck hard and Bolton could only clench his fists.


    "I had him investigated by a psychic, and nothing came up. Besides, he brought an offer too good to refuse"


    "And I''m different? Besides, we were both greedy for the Mithril, so I suggest we stop this farce and think of better things"


    Once more, silence descended for a few minutes as Bolton settled down.


    "Hoo. You''re right-"


    "I know I am"


    Bolton calmed, huffing away the rising anger, and swiftly changed topics.


    "So¡­what about the Mithril?"


    Kogar shrugged.


    "What about it?"


    "ying dumb won''t help you. Especially after you gave away an astronomical amount without my knowledge"


    Kogar rolled his eyes.


    "Who doesn''t know what you''re up to? Too bad though, I''ve informed the Emperor of its acquisition. Or did you not see the first-ce reward on the war contribution list?"


    Bolton''s brain heated up.


    ''If it''s on the war contributions list, I can''t say anything because the Emperor won''t penalize him''


    He sighed.


    ''So¡­I had been foiled from the start...?''


    He gave deep breaths. From his angle, his initial plot was near wless, yet he had been wiped to the floor.


    He shook his head.


    ''I lost. Severely''


    "You can go. I''ll have you report countermeasures on how we can stop them on their tracks"


    Kogar nodded.


    "Will do. But there remains a topic to be discussed"


    Bolton starred.


    "The mine. The Mithril mine was near empty when I found it. Someone was there before us"


    Bolton rose in rm.


    "Then of course it''s Cabrera''s-"


    "It''s not. It couldn''t be. Unless he became Master Knight without me noticing"


    "Why so?"


    "I checked. Besides, the Roosevelt estatey less than ten hours away. If I had to guess¡­" his voice trailed off.


    With a hand on his chin, Bolton''s brain was sparking.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Hmm, that is a very dangerous usation. What do you have to back it up?"


    He raised his palms and shrugged, a light smile decorating his lips.


    "Nothing, it was but an insight I thought to share, what you do with it is your concern"


    Having informed the Emperor about the Mithril, he was on his way to bing a Count.


    It irked him that someone had taken the rest of the Mithril, but he''d rather not fight such a force. That said, he couldn''t just leave them alone, so why not use a borrowed knife?


    ''Now, the barrel''s been spilled. I''m sure you won''t be able to seat still''


    Bolton contemted and Kogar left, he had other matters to attend to.


    ''What a mess''


    Right then, Kogar turned and dropped something in front of Bolton.


    A rolled parchment.


    "Ah yes. Here is the amount of Ezra''s expenses"


    Opening it, Bolton wasn''t surprised by the extravagant prices, but of the specific items Ezra had bought.


    ''Interesting''


    With Kogar gone, he ruminates a bit, before pushing it all to the back of his mind.


    ''I shouldpile the price list his majesty asked for''


    And he went to do that.


    -Russell-


    Gaga sat on his throne tapping his chin for answers to the predicament of his kingdom.


    Abled men were dying in the war, along with the economy.


    Russell''s atmosphere was filled to the brim with tension, and it wouldn''t be surprising for war to break out from within.


    Ironically, it was the external war that was saving the situation. Should the current war end, the heirs would begin their battle for the throne, and with them all being masters, Russell would be fractured.


    He sighed.


    ''What a dilemma''


    At this time, a man walked in.


    Garbed in a red hooded cloak, he moved ever so gracefully, arousing a meek visage, but Gaga was rmed.


    ''I didn''t hear his footsteps!''


    "Who are you?!" he asked, pointing his sword at the stranger.


    He bowed then straightened, then spoke in a tone soft but threatening.


    "That is not the question. The question is, what is my purpose?"


    "Well?"


    He emaciated a smile.


    "I am the one sent to render aid to those in distress.


    His tone lowered.


    "I have the solution to your problems"


    Gaga raised a brow.


    "When did helpers be intruders? How did you bypass my guards?"


    "Those guards? They were being inhospitable, so I¡­took care of them, so to speak"


    "I guess we''re done-"


    His words got stuck in his throat.


    It only could, for the man dangled a vial, smaller than his palm, with sparkling blue liquid within.


    He shook his head.


    "It can''t be"


    "But oh, it can"


    Only now did Gaga see the face of the intruder.


    His skin had patches of ck all over, while his eyes were fully red, his sclera nonexistent.


    Attributes Gaga knew all too well.


    "How dare youe in here!"


    He lunged from his throne, reaching the man in an instant as he shed downwards with his de coated in fire.


    *Shin*


    Its power was enormous, cutting down arge part of the pce as Gaga stood to see the man floating.


    The man pped,ughing boisterously.


    "Hahaha, as expected. Worry not, Ie not to fight"


    With that, he threw Gaga an item.


    "The message has been delivered, so I''ll be leaving now. Your hate for our kind is splendid, but does it outweigh your love for the kingdom? We''ll see. Use that when you have a change of heart"


    With that, the intruder left.


    Gaga stared at the item in his hands, a thousand and one thought''s swirling.


    He squeezed it soon after.


    ''I should destroy it''


    But he softened his palm as he rubbed his head while looking up.


    ''Dear ancestors, what sort of trial is this? For aid toe in this form. What rotten luck¡­''


    For the first time in a long time, he felt helpless.


    Which would he choose? The rock or the hard ce?


    To collude with humanity''s worst enemies and prosper, or uphold his dignity till the end?


    He sucked the item into his space ring reluctantly and headed back in.


    He was a mess.


    Meanwhile, Cabrera took the newest guild members for their first task.

 Chapter 181 First Task

    The next day, people woke up to a sight they deemed dream-like.


    ck Jaws newest members rubbed their eyes to make sure they weren''t dreaming, before checking the others at their side.


    When was thest time they felt this good?


    The bed was premium quality,id with a nket that had a soothing aroma.


    They were even given new clothes.


    Not to talk of the food they atest night.


    How blissful would it be if this was how they normally lived?


    Such thoughts circted until a voice rang out.


    "Get up"


    The tone was subtle, but these men dare not ignore it.


    Quickly, they got to their feet, finding a new pair of shoes at their side.


    "You must''ve enjoyed your sleep"


    Cabrera smirked.


    "Try not to die"


    They felt chills, but it only boosted their resolve.


    This was it!


    This was the kind of life they wanted to live.


    They were but paupers yesterday, but from now on, they''d be kings.


    And whoever thought to step in their way would be eradicated.


    Cabrera was happy with this result. Their looks of wanting and greed were perfect.


    The guild would take care of them beyond measure, and in turn, it would have warriors willing to die for them.


    Ezra used this method because he''d seen its effects.


    To fight what wasing, a single wishy-washybatant would lead to the demise of many.


    "Now then, it''s time to work"


    These men moved with purpose and rejoiced. This decision might just be the best.


    Cabrera had their families fully fed, given amodation, and healed from fatal injuries and illnesses.


    All this on the condition that the family members joined the guild.


    Many promptly agreed, while many others rejected.


    Some sulked emotionally upon seeing their wife, child, or another healed from an ailment destined to kill them.


    To see their child''s skin gain color and see them fully fed¡­


    Then, another contract was signed. In which Cabrera was obliged to raise the children alongside their parents, as the kids were guild members.


    This, Ezra hadn''t nned, and Cabrera dared to do so because they were buffered - another thing Ezra hadn''t nned for.


    These families immediately swore allegiance.


    So, within a single day, the guild members exploded in number and others were getting wind of their actions.


    Specifically, powerful entities in the surrounding cities, thanks to White King and sources in the ck market.


    ¡ª----------------------


    "Today, we''ll be testing your skills to see how pitiful they are" said Cabrera.


    Thanks to the war, beasts were aplenty, so there was money to be earned.


    From his palm, weapons and armor fell to the ground, quickly forming a hill.


    "Take your pick"


    Coming closer, they were surprised.


    "Woah! They are Silver-rank! So many of them!"


    Their eyes went wide in amazement until Cabrera spoke.


    "Hurry up"


    That was done quickly as they proceeded outside, joining up with Cabrera''s boys and the former Red Hook members.


    They boarded carriages, when Cabrera realized a problem.


    ''We need our own carriages''


    He stopped at the missionary to ept a few missions, before meeting the rest right outside Kingsmere.


    With a buffer zone, why hide? And this way, they''d easily gain more members.


    "We''ll be hunting E and D rank beasts"


    The new members went into an uproar.


    "But we can''t fight such beasts!"


    Cabrera''s reply took him aback.


    "Then feel free to die. Weaklings are unneeded"


    The man squeezed his palm as Cabrera sighed.


    ''Now that I think about it, he was the one of the guys who didn''t get injured yesterday''


    At the time Cabrera sttered gold coins on the floor, he stayed away from the chaos due to fear.


    "If you''re that much of a coward, we can have you work off the money you owe us"


    The man jerked his head up. He wasn''t crazy enough to fight E-rank beasts.


    "Of course. You''ll be kicked from guild as soon as you''re done"


    He turned and walked away, leaving the man with no words.


    Carl and co with the Red Hook members followed.


    Most of the new members did the same, leaving the hesitating few behind.


    The man steeled himself. Luxury was good and all, but he was too young to die.


    "Let me leave!"


    Cabrera stopped.


    "Then head back and tell Nathan. He''ll know what to do"


    He then walked away, with gazes of disdain glued to his back.


    He just didn''t want to die, was that too much to ask?


    He headed back, with three others.


    -------------------------


    They reported to Nathan, who sat in his quarter room.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I see. Give me a minute"


    "Williams"


    A boy, tall with green eyes and brown hair, came in.


    "Yes, Mr. Nathan?"


    "Get me their owing amount"


    "Ok. What items did they use?"


    Nathan: -_-


    ''Right''


    He turned, directing his question to those reporting.


    After a minute and lots of scribbling, he gave them an answer.


    "9 gold"


    "Huh???" the man flew into an outrage.


    "That''s impossible! How could I have spent nine hundred silvers in a single day?!"


    Williams interrupted.


    "It''s actually very much possible. How much did you think the equipment you''re wearing is worth?"


    It hit them. They were garbed in Silver-rank armor and weapons.


    "You can have it back" they took it off.


    "Ok" William didn''t object, scribbling once more.


    "Seventy-five silver"


    He then continued, allowing no interruption.


    "The food eaten yesternight was thirty-five silver. Cost of shelter is another ten. And usage of Silver-rank equipment is thirty silver"


    He stared at them.


    "And that''s me being nice"


    "You can''t-"


    "Guards"


    The guards came in at Nathan''s call, unsheathing their swords.


    Nathan turned to them.


    "Will you work or shall I have you thrown into a cell?"


    They gulped.


    They were trapped the moment they signed the contract.


    Patches of monster regions were all around Niton, in an amount greater than any other.


    Simply put, Niton had the biggest beast poption, along with natural resources.


    Cabrera went into one of the near ones, while his members trailed behind him.


    The group caught many eyes as they advanced, for beasts could sense humans just as humans could sense beasts.


    He stopped at a certain point.


    ''This is far enough''


    He wore his gauntlets and turned around.


    "Separate into groups of five or seven. I want old members leading"


    Old members were his boys and those of Red Hook.


    "Begin hunting. Get me one E-rank beast at the very least before the days end or die trying"


    They swallowed, wondering how exactly they were to achieve that.


    Not the former members though.


    "Any questions?"


    "Do we have to hunt as a group?"


    Cabrera smiled.


    "No, but I rmend it"


    "Can groups hunt together?"


    "Sure"


    Their expressions light up.


    He taps his chin.


    ''Something''s missing¡­but what?''


    Then it hits him, he hadn''t named a reward.


    "The group with the most kills gets to keep their weapons permanently. Or take another of the same rank"


    They made strange faces.


    "Yes, they''re not yours. You were merely loaned them for this task"


    Cabrera was amused.


    ''Why else would you be given monthly wages?''


    They didn''t seem to understand the situation because of the extravagant treatment.


    ''Seems I''ll have Nathan tone it down''


    Well, the results of this task would decide that.


    Cabrera then finished his instructions with his new favorite sentence.


    "Try not to die"


    He finally left for other matters.


    What? He wasn''t there to hold their hands.


    They were treated extravagantly to make them willing to go through quicksand and diamonite to achieve results for the guild.


    And to act as a trap for those trying to take advantage of the guild by plunging them into debt.


    ''Honestly'' he wondered.


    ''Who thought up this stuff?''


    Meanwhile, Kron supervised the ves and slum dwellers as they built a fence around the slums while Fredrick helped Sebastian familiarize himself with Niton, meeting Ruby and James Opson along with the first batch of children, now called information agents, in the process.


    With ck Silence established, little remained for the information agency''s full reformation.

 Chapter 182 Alchemist Challenge

    Night came swiftly and Cabrera returned to check on the new members.


    They arranged themselves before him, covered in sweat and bile of beasts, making all sorts of faces.


    Cabrera gaze pervaded them.


    "It seems you had a lovely day"


    They stared straight on, exuding confidence.


    Their temperaments had changed. Some had their self esteem boosted while others cowered, havinge face to face with death.


    He nodded. Many groups were missing at least one member, who were no doubt dead.


    Now, they had an inkling of what they were meant to do here.


    "Group leaders, present your catch"


    The leaders came forward and brought out the corpse of the beast they hunted from their space rings.


    All sorts of beastsy dead as Cabrera inspected them.


    For one, most beasts were skewered haphazardly, wasting good skin.


    They would be sold for prices lower than usual.


    ''They have a long way to go'' he concluded.


    ''But, it''s definitely possible''


    He could see it, thousands of workers killing beasts.


    ''This is a start''


    Things were bound to pick up from here on out.


    Working all day, the fence around the slums was starting to take shape.


    It was to shield their actions from others.


    The children were being attended to by a select few in an inconspicuous location.


    A few could now write and speak fluently, a very worthy feat.


    ¡ª-----------------------


    In the castle, Ezra sat in his room with his vassals in front of him.


    "What do you want from us?" asked Theron.


    "I want you to be strong. Weak people can''t survive in Orion. The question is, are you ready to be strong?"


    "We are" said Johan.


    "We''ll see. Your training will begin as soon as your mentors arrive. At the same time, I''ll be entering close door cultivation and seclusion training"


    "For how long?"


    "As long as possible. You are allowed to visit in six months to issue your challenge"


    "On that note, your training continues for as long as I''m in seclusion. I am to be notified when you have a bloodline transfusion"


    "Yes"


    Like so the night passed, and two days flew by in a sh.


    The third day saw the royal alchemists convene. It was time for the duel between Oleg and Bard.


    ¡ª------------------------


    Seven men sat at a round wooden table, all in white robes with their heads filled with gray and white hair indicating their ages beyond sixty.


    These were the royal alchemists of Niton.


    All eyes were on two people.


    The Vice Head Alchemist, Sir Oleg, stood.


    "Brothers, with the times of war upon us, the Empire needs us now more than ever. As such, I ask to challenge Sir Bard for his seat"


    They nodded, three of them having been bought by Sir Oleg.


    Bard stood.


    "Doesn''t anyone else have things to say?"


    An alchemist raised his hand, but the rest kept their silence.


    "Very well, I ept your challenge. However, upon winning, your seat as Vice Head will be nullified"


    Oleg nodded dismissively.


    Subsequently, the Grandmasters alighted the table, leaving the stage for the contestants.


    With his face beaming with pride, Oleg brought out four vials from his space ring.


    "Having worked tirelessly, I present you my newest creations"


    He pointed to the first, a vial containing liquid of orange color.


    "Here we have the Chatan Mist. It releases a mist that covers the area with different scents, thereby disabling the ability of scent trackers.


    "Observe" he said, finger snapping as Ondo appeared with a small cage in hand.


    "Poisonous Earth Mole, D-rank"


    cing it on the ground, he dropped food in front of it.


    "Ressau flesh, it emits one of the worst of odors"


    "Cree!* The beast moved to eat it, but Oleg poured the potion on the food.


    The beasts screeched, hurriedly backing away and moving about. It couldn''t smell the food in front of it.


    They nodded as he pointed to the other, this one transparent.


    "I give you the Blood Boiling Potion. Now, this one is a little more interesting"


    He took a dagger from Ondo, poured the potion on it, and stabbed the beast.<novelnext></novelnext>


    *CREE!*


    It cried, hitting itself on the cage before falling limp a few secondster.


    Oleg took the beast out of the cage and proceeded to cut it in half.


    "The potion sets one''s blood ame, literally boiling it. Made with cheap items, it''ll bolster the effectiveness of lower ranking adventurers by arge amount"


    They nodded, genuinely impressed. Some have concluded the result of the gathering.


    Then turned their gaze to Bard, who looked unperturbed.


    ''Let''s see you do better than this'' thought Oleg, with his mind running wild.


    Others looked on, wondering if there was a chance Bard had something better in store.


    "Gentlemen, it is-"


    Oleg interrupted.


    "I believe we''ve had enough pleasantries, it''d be best for everyone if you get right to it"


    Bard stared at him, before shaking his head.


    He then waved his hand and, instantly, sixteen vials appeared.


    ''Huh?''


    Oleg was taken aback, and so was everyone else. They quickly scrutinized the batch to realize they were two potions made aplenty.


    Bard cleared his throat to get their attention. It was important to savor the moment.


    Taking a high tone, he began his presentation, letting a thin smile slip on.


    ''Let''s see youugh now''


    Bards pointed to the first, one of gray color.


    "I present you the Hardening Potion"


    A short sword appeared in his palm, which he snapped in two with little effort.


    Putting the pieces together, he emptied the potion on the part where the pieces meet.


    Using his mana to avoid sshes, he coated the de.


    The moment he let go, the potion started drying, prompting ayer of gray to cover the sword.


    Other alchemists were surprised.


    "Oh?"


    "Hmm"


    "Hardening¡­I see"


    Then they noticed a problem.


    ''It became blunt''


    The newyer made the weapon lose its luster, or so they thought.


    With a swing, the sword split the table in two. The alchemists were forced to make reevaluations.


    ''Interesting. But how many metals does it work on?''


    ''Without spare weapon, this would be the next best thing''


    But Bard wasn''t done yet.


    "Here we have the Body Cleansing Potion. It has the effect of washing away impurities, making it is indispensable for cultivation"


    "Oh¡­"


    The alchemists were astonished, but not so much.


    ''We already have those though''


    Oleg was amused.


    ''That''s it? I was worried for nothing''


    Bard ignores their response.


    "Does anyone care to volunteer?"


    The alchemists gave each other knowing looks, before looking away.


    ''Who knows what sort of side effect it has? Someone else should do it''


    ''I''m not about to be someone else''s experiment''


    Bard saw the reaction and shrugged. These old farts were as miserable as always.


    Eventually, one volunteered.


    With a nod, Bard handed him the potion.


    "Observe"


    He looked nervous as he gulped it down with his eyes closed.


    He licked his lips.


    "It''s a bit tasty" but then his stomach trembled.


    He sat on the floor and took a lotus posture, with the alchemists watching eagerly.


    Secondster, he glowed blue, lighting up the room as they saw him excrete white and ck liquids from his pores.


    They nodded, it was of the expected quality.


    But then, such potions already existed in other powers, which Notion imported.


    Their question answered itself as their eyes popped.


    A spectacle was in y.

 Chapter 183 Forgone Conclusion

    The alchemist''s atmosphere began changing as he moaned, his bones snapping as he stretched.


    Momentster, the glow receded.


    The alchemists were still wide eyed when a nauseous scent brought them back to reality.


    "Oh my!"


    "How horrible!"


    ¡­!


    Bard had clippers on his nose, so he smiled as the gathering descended into chaos.


    Oleg desperately held his mouth, his eyes bing wet at the horrible smell.


    Coating their hands in mana, they covered their faces.


    The one smelling hastily excused himself as maids rushed in to clean the mess.


    After a few minutes, they settled down, their breathing back to normal.


    Oleg didn''t let them getfortable though.


    "Sirs, what are the results?"


    Bard''s aura erupted, silencing everyone.


    "I believe it''d be best to wait for Sir Helder before any decisions are made, yes?"


    They nodded fearfully.


    Ten minutester, Helder arrived, clean and cleansed of his foul smell.


    "Sir Helder-"


    Bard took the initiative.


    "-how do you feel?"


    Helder smiled, taking a pose¡­


    "Far better than I''ve felt for the past year. It''s better than most I''vee across"


    "Most?"


    "A potion from Vonnamor has a simr feeling"


    "Hmm"


    "Is it weird that I even feel a bit stronger?"


    Bard noded.


    "It is to be expected. Unlike other body cleaning potions, this cleanses 75% of one''s impurities and has the effect of bone strengthening, working for those in the Expert-rank and below"


    Others chipped in.


    "This is great!"


    "It''ll be of tremendous help to our men at the war front"


    With the momentum tilted to one side, others were quick to join the bandwagon.


    "Sir Bard has outdone himself this time"


    "I agree!"


    Thest one interjected¡­


    "Sir Bard''s creation is wonderful, but I dare say Sir Oleg''s is better"


    The atmosphere quietened, but Bard didn''t.


    "So, good Sirs, what do you say? Who is the victor?"


    "Sirs, let''s not be hasty" said Oleg.


    Bard wasn''t having it.


    "Sirs, do be hasty, for I will not answer any such calls after this"


    One of his supporters rose to action.


    "I say we vote, make this quick and easy. I take sir Bard as the victor"


    Others rushed to shush him, but another spoke.


    "I take Sir Bard as victor"


    The others looked around, acting fast.


    "So do I!"


    "Same here"


    All eyes turned to thest member, who raised his hands slowly.


    "I take¡­Sir Bard as victor"


    Oleg was aghast.


    "Huh???"


    He couldn''t believe what he was hearing.


    What happened to all they said about supporting him?


    The supporter looked away, pretending not to hear.


    Veins pulsed as Oleg''s anger peaked.


    s-


    "I believe that concludes it" said Bard.


    "Oleg, you are henceforth stripped of title of Vice Head Alchemist"


    -that was all he could do.


    ''This can''t be happening!'' thought Oleg.


    "You can''t do this!" he shouted.


    Bard gave him a funny look.


    "Do what? You did this to yourself"


    "No! I will not ept it. This gathering has plotted against me. I seek of the intervention of the Advisor"


    Other alchemists facepalmed.


    ''Of all things''


    ''This idiot''


    Bard was furious.


    "Do you understand the meaning of your actions?!"


    Oleg sneered.


    "Don''t lecture me about-"


    "Mind your tone boy!" a shout had Oleg promptly shutting up.


    Bard had more than half a decade more than him in age.


    Minutester, the alchemists arrayed themselves in Bolton''s quarters.


    Bard was annoyed, while Oleg was joyful.


    ''With his words, I''ll be keeping my position''


    Since they were in cahoot, the result was a foregone conclusion.


    Was what he thought moments ago.


    ''Damn!''


    "If you take Oleg''s ims to be true. I''ll have to withdraw from creating anymore of my potions, since Niton seems to already have too much of it"


    He didn''t think Bard could say such words.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Now, Bolton had to choose between Oleg keeping his position and Bards potions.


    Sure enough, Oleg''s fears came true.


    "I dere the ims of the Vice Head Alchemist as false"


    Oleg held his head in woe.


    But Bard wasn''t done.


    "Sir Bolton, this act is an insult not only to me, but to the Royal Alchemists. I demand Sir Oleg to pay the price"


    He turned to those behind him.


    "What do my fellow alchemists say?"


    Having been insulted, these men nodded fiercely.


    You should never touch a man''s pride.


    "Sir Bolton. Strip him of his rank as a Royal Alchemist"


    They halted, wasn''t this too much?


    "You can''t do that!" Oleg shouted.


    Bolton waved.


    "Sir Bard, that is too much" he said and the alchemists nodded.


    "Then¡­the alchemic potion"


    "What of it?"


    Bard turned, giving the alchemists knowing looks, before turning back.


    "It''s recipe, that should suffice"


    The alchemists quickly caught on.


    ''This..!''


    ''How ruthless!''


    Taking the recipe meant that they could sell it, effectively halving whatever revenue Oleg would get from it. Maybe even as, since they were six, they could produce it faster than he could.


    Thinking about the revenue, they got excited.


    Even if the revenue was shared six ways, it would give them a substantial amount, because war was ongoing.


    Quickly, they rallied.


    "Have him hand over the recipe"


    "Yes, give it"


    "The blood boiling one" one rified.


    With everyone saying one thing, the advisor wasn''t given the chance to object.


    The royal alchemists held sufficient authority to made it so.


    Bolton cracked, reluctantly saying¡­


    "Very well. Sir Oleg, you are to hand over the Blood Boiling Potion recipe"


    Oleg couldn''t understand, what was this?!


    At first, he was going to call off the challenge because his potion wasn''t anything spectacr.


    Then the Blood Boiling Potion came along, and Oleg was sure he would win.


    Now, not only had he lost, he had lost woefully.


    His hard earned position had been relinquished. The card he pulled - Bolton - betrayed him. And now, the recipe he went through so much to get was to be taken as well.


    He gave a deadly re, but Bard red back.


    Who was he kidding? Bard was a Master-rank fighter, while he was capped at Expert-rank - so were the rest, with one beingte Advance-rank. Though, they were all Master-rank alchemists.


    Rank in profession and cultivation were different.


    Excluding Bard and Oleg, the rest had but one recipe under their belts.


    It also proved how hard making potions were.


    Regardless, Oleg had just taken his biggest loss.


    Bard was satisfied. He wanted to get rid of him, but this would do.


    With that concluded, the proceedings were fast and, by afternoon, they had gone back to their separate chambers.


    Ezra sat opposite Fredrick in his cottage.


    "So you''ll be heading into seclusion, and if I know you, it''ll probably be for years toe"


    Fredrick folded his arms with a smile.


    "You''re more obsessed with strength than any of the ones I''ve seen. And at such a young age¡­What could you possibly be trying to achieve?"


    Ezra growled.


    "That isn''t any of your business!"


    "Woah-"


    He raised his hands in defeat.


    "-seems I struck a nerve"


    Ezra calmed down with a sigh.


    "Ignore what I just said"


    Fredrick swiftly changed topics.


    "If you''re secluded, how am I supposed to contact you?"


    Ezra smiled.


    "With these" he then took out themunication items he brought from the Missionary.


    That, alongside a slew of other items and herbs.


    Fredrick stretched to grab it, but Ezra pulled it back a bit.


    "Hmm?"


    Ezra gave him a deep look.


    "How do I know?"


    "Know..?"


    "How do I know that I can trust you?"


    Fredrick raised a brow.


    "We signed a soul contract. Isn''t that enough?"


    "It''s been enough so far, but what happens when you achieve Grandmaster-rank? After all, you will be able to nullify it with ease. You should be on your way there with the mana stones in your possession"


    "Mana stones in my possession?"


    "You expect me to believe that you didn''t take a single piece for yourself?"


    Fredrick sighed.


    "Hah¡­you saved me from certain death, bing the benefactor of my life. I believe it was the least I could do"


    Ezra was taken aback, but shook his head in disbelief.


    "If I give you this. What''s to say you won''t toss me aside?"


    Fredrick calmed.


    "Why are you only asking me this now?"


    "What?"


    "You trusted me enough to give me your space ring. You trusted me to deliver with a n to guide me, even when there was nothing stopping me from running away with the loot. The soul contract? A decent spirit mage could easily have it nullified. And I know you know this. Cabrera''s memory would be erased, or not, as I could easily dispose of him. And like you, head into seclusion. And with that many mana stones, hitting Mythical-rank should be easy. From then on, I''ll be Orion''s apex predator. Yet, knowing all this. I came back. With all this, I doubt anything remains to confirm where my loyalty lies"

 Chapter 184 Salvador Verrar

    It''d been a few days since Ezra realized he was falling back into the same behavior that led to his first demise.


    ''I''ll never let it happen again''


    The realization brought about multipleplications.


    For starters, what he thought to be a foolproof n was in fact, riddled with holes.


    Soul contracts weren''t invincible nor undeniable.


    Worse, his soul could only take so much strain before reaching a limit.


    As such, numerous thoughts - negative thoughts - came to mind, taking the form of skepticism.


    ''What''ll happen when Fredrick bes a Grandmaster? Would he rat me out or abandon me?''


    The more he thought, the more fearful he became.


    So many things could go wrong. Was handing over so many mana stones really the right choice?


    But Fredrick''s words altered his reasoning.


    "I doubt anything remains to confirm where my loyalty lies"


    Ezra took a reproach, reying the memories.


    From concocting the potion to meeting Cabrera, along with subsequent events afterwards.


    There was none Fredrick wasn''t privy to.


    It dawned on him.


    His stupidity dawned on him.


    What would''ve happened if Fredrick had the slightest bit of bad intent?


    Oh sure, he cured Fredrick of his illness and knew he wasn''t a knight of Niton, but those were not substantial threats.


    Thinking about it, he barely knew anything about Fredrick!


    Whereas, Fredrick knew his mother, and knew him better than anyone else. Who could be more terrifying as an enemy?!


    His heart pounded with tension abound.


    ''Calm down Ezra, calm down'' he thought, steadying his breath, before heaving a heavy sigh.


    He noticed that his betrayal left a shadow deeper than he first thought.


    Minutes passed as he calmed himself, empowering his mind while segregating his emotions.


    Acting on emotions, especially when they were so vtile, almost always led to the worst of mistakes.


    Thankfully, he had enough experience to avoid that pitfall.


    Now, he let logic takeover.


    Following Fredrick''s words, Ezra reevaluated the situation.


    He ends with one conclusion.


    ''I''m a fool''


    Seriously? He trusted people who he''d met not up to a month before to deliver a priceless, no, beyond priceless treasure?!


    For them to sail turbulent waves to get him treasures while he sat in hisfy castle, weak, nearing useless?!


    All because of what exactly? If anything had gone wrong, they''d have been caught with all the mana stones seized, or worse, them absconded with it.


    As an extra step to his foolishness, he gave Fredrick his space ring. An object no one else was supposed to know of.


    Was there anything that Fredrick didn''t know about him at this point?


    But then¡­


    He turned to Fredrick, now puzzled.


    "Why did you do it? Why did youe back?"


    Fredrick sighed¡­


    "It''s about time I told you of my origins"


    "I hail from the kingdom of I, on Hellison, making me a Hellisan and an Indian. I came from amon background, far more unpleasant than most others. My father was a drunkard, essentially a waste, useless to the core"


    The anger in his voicey apparent, softening afterwards.


    "My mother left us when I was only ten years of age, effectively orphaning me and my sister. From then on, I sought a craft on which to survive, and it didn''t take me long to find one"


    "Thievery"


    "Strolling into crowds, I''d gracefully swipe one or two trinkets to feed us. As usual, it didn''t take long for my luck to run out, and on that day, we were beaten - both myself and my sister - to death. I woke up the next day, washed up ashore after being thrown into a river. For the longest time, I couldn''t move with my bones fractured, staring at the sky. I had survived"


    His clenching resounded as he spoke on.


    "Unfortunately, the same could not be said for my sister, as her body was never found. I crawled and rolled about for days, barely surviving each day, and soon, I knew, I would die if I didn''t find something to do about the situation. Then, through whatever you might call it, I found salvation with a passing person"


    He chuckled.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I soon found myself amongst other orphans, who were being trained into - what would you know? - Thieves. With the possibility of taking revenge, I strived, thrived and eventually triumphed"


    A wicked smile hung on his lips, the satisfaction evident.


    "Yearster, I''m sent to steal an artifact - a regr routine in those days - only this time, things didn''t go as usual"


    His gaze turned grave.


    "Amongst our targets was a beginner Grandmaster, and because of him, every other member of my team died. I barely escaped with a crooked curse. I escaped to Niton, as Hellison was no longer safe. I never forgot my identity as a thief, but I epted my life as one had ended. I looked for ways to blend in, so I became a knight, practicing until my body became what it is today. The point of all this stands thus. I took on the ambience of a knight, but I am still a thief. And thieves do not swear loyalty"


    He locked gazes with Ezra.


    "For if they do, it stays as a covenant even more powerful than that of knights. Do you now understand, my Lord?"


    Ezra took a deep breath.


    "So¡­to go against the covenant is paramount to denying your identity. Is that it?"


    "Precisely so"


    "If so, why would you swear loyalty in the first ce?"


    Fredrick gave a knowing look.


    "Would you believe that a five year old could cure a curse beyond the means of those acknowledged as Experts? And as I said before, I had a good feeling"


    "Hmm"


    Ezra eased himself.


    "So, you''ll be my knight even as a Grandmaster?"


    "As unpleasant as it could be, I am a thief before I''m a Grandmaster. Such is paramount"


    Silence permeated as Ezra thought it over.


    Truly, there didn''t seem to be any other reason why Fredrick hadn''t absconded.


    Then he wondered.


    "Fredrick, what is your true name?"


    As a man starting anew, it was only sensible that he took on a new identity.


    Fredrick smiled.


    "What an odd question. I have long since forgotten my bestowed name. The Thieves order called me Salvador, while I bestowed myself Verrar. So my name, is Salvador Verrar"


    Ezra nodded.


    "So my lord. Do you trust me now?"


    "Yes, I do"


    Like so, Ezra''s worries melted like snow, though not exactly, as he currently has no clue as to whether his tale was genuine or false.


    Still, it was better to have Fredrick at his side until he was powerful enough to ascertain his ims.


    And realistically, he needed Fredrick''s help more now than ever to actualize his ns.


    He removed the mana stones and gave Fredrick two-thirds to suck into his space ring.


    He gave him the snake carcass, handing him the responsibility of skinning the snake and refining its blood.


    The same with the beast eggs.


    He kept one for himself, and handed him the rest, mostly to sell.


    Pets would be distractions for his vassals. And frankly, being born from an A-rank beast didn''t mean they''d be one.


    Same with the tree.


    Ezra couldn''t nt it in the pce now, could he.


    The more they went on, the more Ezra realized how handicapped he was. Specifically because of age.


    He could barely do anything himself.


    Then, he dropped most of the copper scrolls with mana and weapon techniques within them, keeping a few, about four hundred, for himself and his vassals.


    Remember, Cabrera bought five thousand copper scrolls, and the scrolls could only copy one page, sometimes even less.


    Meaning that the four hundred scrolls he used couldn''t give you more than thirty techniques.


    Lastly, he dropped the coins, and Fredrick''s jaw dropped.


    The majority were gold coins, as tinum coins weren''t in cirction, which was why Cabrera had droves of gold instead of tinum.


    The coins started drowning the room so Fredrick sucked them into his space ring hastily.


    "While I doubt this amount, added to that in your possession, could ever be depleted, watch over those merchants, many are shrewd and stupid. Evaluate their advice and, if undecided, reach out to me. Thest thing we need is mismanagement of funds"


    How could he not know the disasters unreliable merchants could summon forth. He''d seen it aplenty once the Era of Cmity settled in.


    He knew little of the working of money, but any idea could be evaluated withmon sense, and if it couldn''t, then it wasn''t a good idea.

 Chapter 185 Settling Matters

    pEzra kept the mana cube, determined to understand it as it could be very helpful to cultivation.


    The remaining mana stones would go into the cultivation of himself, his mother, and his vassals.


    ''Hmm¡­''


    The snake eggs came to mind.


    Couldn''t he give one to his mother for nurturing?


    ''I think a pet would do nicely. But I don''t how she views snakes''


    There was a possibility she wouldn''t like them, but he''d make the effort.


    So he took back an egg, keeping two in total.


    All was soon settled, leaving Fredrick with more than enough resources for theing years.


    They stared at each other, before Ezra sighed.


    At this stage, he was unable to do much, so if Fredrick turned his back on him, he''d lose the entire investment.


    Still, at this point, there wasn''t anything he could do. He had already revealed too much of himself.


    All he could do now was hope Fredrick never became an enemy, or be strong enough to repel him even if he did.


    Now he had another reason to get stronger, faster than ever.


    Having given Fredrick themunication tools, they might not have this sort of meeting in theing years.


    Ezra sighed once more.


    ''How pathetic. I''m now at the whims of the one I armed''


    He left, deciding whatever happens, happens.


    Getting to the castle, he shifted his mind to other priorities.


    He summoned Isabe to his mom''s room to inform both women about his close door cultivation.


    "Isabe, have a full set of uncooked food items ready, and inrge amounts"


    "Yes" she nodded.


    As the head maid, it was easy for her.


    She left afterwards, obviously happy about her abrupt promotion, but also tired.


    His mother sighed.


    "So now, my boy is going to be even scarcer. I''d be d to dissuade you from such a venture, but knowing you, your mind is already set"


    "So¡­?"


    "Just promise you''ll take breaks and visit.


    She rubbed his hair as he nodded.


    "There is far more to life than just training, you know. And if you grow up like this, I''m afraid you''ll have trouble talking to girls"


    "Eh?"


    She sighed again.


    "You grew up too fast. And it seems you''re only going to grow even faster, but if this is what you want, then go ahead"


    "Thank you! Oh, and you look even prettier than before" he hugged his mom.


    She had a light smile on.


    "Of course I do"


    He gave her a space ring, among those he took from the Missionary, with the snake egg within and somebat manuals and a mana technique.


    The count had apologized and promised a new instructor. How long it would take though, they didn''t know.


    When asked of the snake''s origin, his mom could cook something up.


    "I''d best be going now" and so Ezra left.


    Packing his necessities in his space ring, he met his vassals in Bolton''s quarters with five others.


    The hired adventurers had arrived.


    ''What sh#t is this?''


    A few days ago, he was withdrawn from the war proceedings to answer a royal summons.


    He met the other four also summoned as they spected the reason behind the summons.


    Right now, he was on the verge of exploding in fury.


    ''Of all things, to be called for babysitting!''


    Worse yet, the Royal Advisor wasn''t informed about it.


    ''I''m not doing this sh#t''


    While debating whether to leave, a boy with silver hair came in.


    Ezra had his gaze pervade the adventurers.


    Like his vassals, he chose three men and two women respectively.


    Thankfully, they didn''t look too shabby.


    His vassals, as the children they were, quivered slightly.


    His gaze of nonchnce caught the attention of the adventurers.


    Ezra had turned to Bolton.


    "These are adventurers well versed in my vassals choice of weapon, I had them summoned to teach my vassals for as long as the war continues"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Bolton spoke calmly¡­


    "Your highness, it will never happen. Having Master-ranks as mentors are privileges granted only to a few, you will n-"


    Ezra ignored all he said, scoffing in turn. Could Bolton''s suppression not be so obvious.


    "Everything has a price"


    So he turned to the adventurers.


    Three were guilders while two were mercenaries and they were all B-rank Masters.


    "Apologies for thete introduction, I''m Ezra Miller, the one who summoned you"


    They made no obvious reactions to his introduction.


    "What do you say to a pay of a thousand gold coins every month?"


    Now this sparked their interest as eyebrows were raised.


    "Paid to do what exactly?"


    He gestured to his vassals at the side.


    "Impart your experience into my vassals. Train them to master the very weapons you use"


    "A thousand? I could be earning more at the war front at this very moment"


    Ezra gave them ''the look''.


    "Is that so? Then I''ll have to apologize and ask that you head back to the war front. But do not worry, a new stead shall be prepared"


    The speaker was dumbstruck.


    As a Master, the Empire paid them 50 gold every month, which was nowhere enough to meet their needs.


    Contribution points could be traded for money - which was another fact many were counting on - but not the other way around.


    A thousand gold wasn''t out of this world, but it would drastically help cover their expenses.


    For more money meant better resources - another reason causing many to halt in cultivation progression - or the expansion or creation of guilds, ns, and noble families.


    Bolton became alert.


    "And who shall be providing this marypensation?"


    "Whatever do you mean? ''All fees incurred in the aspect of nurturing my vassals is shouldered by the Empire''. I hope that reminder clears up your concerns"


    "Yes. But you cannot just-"


    "Sir Bolton, has the Emperor given word on the matter?"


    "None"


    "Then you have no right to stop me. Duly report my actions to the Emperor for judgment. Until then, this matter is over, any other obstruction will be held as insubordination"


    Bolton changed his tone¡­


    "With all due respect, I serve the Crown, not the prince"


    "Is that your justification for intruding into my matters? Let this be thest of it"


    ''This boy..!''


    He was neutral to the sessors of the throne, but he couldn''t help but resent Ezra, who seemed damned on resisting his corrections.


    He could have the royal vault closed, and the money withheld, but that would reveal him as a non-neutral party.


    And such would put his position in jeopardy.


    Servants of the Crown were to steer clear of session battles and faction wars in every way.


    ? He felt like pulling his hair out.


    Ezra had turned to the adventurers, thest speaker not having left.


    Another spoke¡­


    "Make it two thousand and you have a deal"


    "A thousand two hundred" said Ezra.


    "A thousand nine hundred"


    "A thousand three hundred"


    "A thousand eight hundred"


    "A thousand five hundred"


    "Deal" the man jumped at it.


    "Deal" Ezra confirmed as he faced the others.


    "And the rest of you?"


    "I''m okay with it" a woman said.


    Like so, everyone steadily agreed.


    With a nod, Ezra turned to Bolton.


    "I''ll be going into close door cultivation, is there anything I have to know?"


    "The keys to the chamber''s are in the hands of those guarding them"


    Ezra then bowed slightly.


    "I take my leave"


    He then motioned for the adventurers and his vassals to follow him.

 Chapter 186 Cultivation Chambers

    The castle had more than a handful of cultivation chambers, mainly for two purposes, those meant for long-term use and those for short term use.


    The one Ezra fought his vassals in was for short term use, having only space and weapons for practicing and cultivating.


    Those for long term use were built with self sustenance in mind.


    Simply put, they had beds, cooking space, areas to ease oneself, and still had more than enough space to practice.


    These chambers were twice as big as the first type and, because of that, a whole floor was dedicated to them, located beneath thest floor, which contained the cers.


    Before that, Ezra visited the kitchen to take enough food to sustain a two year stay, putting them into his space ring, with his vassals doing the same.


    After that, they descended. With a prince leading the way, they faced no obstruction from the guards.


    Following the stairs, they passed the cers floor, arriving at the underground chambers floor.


    Two guards stood at the entrance, and another two marched through the passage.


    Crystalsy embedded in the ceiling, illuminating the surroundings.


    From walls to pirs to floors, all were jade green.


    Strategically ced pirs held up the ceiling.


    Ezra turned to the guards.


    "Sirs, I havee to begin close door cultivation, it is the same for the entourage behind me. Might you be willing to enlighten us on the workings of this ce?"


    "Of course your highness"


    "We have fifteen chambers in total, ten for Experts and five for Masters"


    "The difference?"


    "Master chambers are twice asrge as those of experts and are built with far a more endurable material"


    The guard continued, pointing to the furthest chamber.


    "That chamber is unallowed, as it is his Majesty''s exclusive use"


    "Oh" nodded Ezra, turning to those behind him.


    He addresses the adventurers.


    "You will stay here for the duration of this mission. Pay the kitchen staff to deliver food or buy and cook yourselves"


    They furrowed brows, but it was a small inconveniencepared to the amount they were to be paid.


    "I''ll be taking an Expert chamber. Decide amongst yourselves which one each of you will use by tonight. As for training my vassals, let me say it again, you are to only develop their physique, weapon mastery, and battle sense through rigorous training. Do not teach mana usage and do not teach them cultivation, else be written off as sabotage"


    He turned to his vassals.


    "For the time being, you are to only develop your body and fighting skills. Cultivationes after"


    They wondered why he didn''t want them cultivating, especially after buying refined blood from the Missionary, but kept their inquisitiveness to themselves and nodded.


    "If you''re still weak when Ie out, then I''d have no choice but to throw you back into very"


    They quivered.


    "Just you wait, this time next year, I''ll be free after beating you up!" Johan burst out.


    Ezra chuckled. "We''ll see"


    Picking a room wasn''t difficult, and he just chose the farthest one.


    The guard handed him its key.


    Taking onest look at his vassals, he entered his new abode.


    ''Hmm'' he swiped his finger at the wall.


    Rubbing his fingers revealed theck of dust.


    ''They must''ve cleaned it regrly''


    Contrasting the outer, the inner walls were light gray, while white crystals illuminated its interior.


    Within was a bed of hay, not shoddy, but definitely shabby, a wooden barrel with a water flowing pipe above it, kitchen area and other necessities.


    What? Close door training wasn''t supposed to be rxing.


    ''This will do nicely'' he thought.


    ''Many things will have changed by the time I''m done''


    Firstly, he nned his day.


    The room had an hourss, so he need not worry about losing track of time.


    Raw food was deposited into separate barrels.


    Looking around, he yawned.


    ''I begin training tomorrow, let''s rest for now''<novelnext></novelnext>


    He took his pillow from his space ring and slept.


    The night passed by in a sh.


    The hired adventurers fought to decide rooms while the vassals settled into theirs.


    The next morning, Ezra cleaned up and set his n in ce.


    ''Right now, my experience, physique and cultivation gives me the prowess of an Intermediate. My cultivation alone is at Adept-rank''


    He set his goal.


    ''Before I leave here, I''ll reach Expert-rank''


    ''Now, let''s be realistic, trying to master my five affinities in five years or less will end in average results. I have sufficient prowess with Darkness, but the other four¡­I can only pick two more''


    ''Lightning, Blood, Fire and Ice''


    ''Definitely Blood. Its healing ability is too good to pass up. Lightning allow for faster attacks, fire allow for powerful attacks, ice is more versatile, though¡­so is Blood, and I have poison blood''


    A minute passed.


    ''I''ll be mastering Darkness, Lightning and Blood''


    ''Ice is good, but Blood does it better''


    ''Darkness and Lightning would pretty much match Fire in destructiveness. Not too mention that''s not my style''


    In a way, Fire was too attention grabbing because it can act as a light source.


    So was Lightning, but he felt Lightning connected to him better.


    Of course, this didn''t mean he would abandon his Fire and Ice affinitypletely, but that the time he''d use to practice them would be minimal, about forty five minutes while using both at the same time.


    Then, you had weapon training.


    From his space ring, he removed four swords.


    Two he took from the royal vault, the other two from the Missionary.


    Two Epic Gold, two Gold.


    Afterwards, he took out a staff of Gold-rank.


    Then he took a scythe-like pin from his clothings and infused mana into it.


    Instantly the item erged, revealing itself as Skyfall, the Diamond-rank scythe.


    ''And that makes eight''


    Looking at it now, he might''ve been a bit too greedy, since he couldn''t possibly practice with all four swords.


    Two were silver, single edged and hiltless, a pair. The other two were double edged, all short swords.


    Lastly, he took outbat manuals, sixteen of them.


    For staff wielding, he took only the fundamentals to build a foundation, as it would help him with scythe wielding.


    The manuals for dual wielding and swords were aplenty, his aim being to achieve his former mastery and surpass it as fast as possible.


    Then he took out mana techniques, ten of them.


    He was no guru, so he chose what was - in his perspective - just enough to create a unique technique that took all his affinities into ount.


    Mana techniques catering to dual affinities were rare, those of triple affinities even rarer.


    Those of quadruple and quintuple? Basically nonexistent.


    Luckily, he found three catering to trifinities and more than ten catering to dual affinities.


    ''Now¡­where do I begin?''


    He snapped his fingers.


    "Oh, I forgot about that"


    He fished out iron braces from his space ring, encasing one on each limb.


    Ezra flexed his limbs.


    "Thankfully it''s not too heavy"


    "Now¡­" he picked up the scythe.


    As the weapon with the highest rank, mastering it was his top priority.


    To have an easier time mastering it, he''d figure he''d first master the staff.


    ''So...I''ll sleep from midnight to dawn. From dawn to noon, I''ll train with my staff. From noon to dusk, I''ll train with the swords. And from dusk to midnight, I''ll work on creating my own mana technique''


    So began Ezra''s close door training.

 Chapter 187 A Year Elapses

    Diving into his monotonous schedule with maximum concentration, Ezra found his time expiring, fast.


    In what seemed to be days, three months melted away.


    Interestingly enough, ck Jaws grew slowly in members due to the high death rate of neers. Nevertheless, many still applied for recruitment.


    Meanwhile, Sebastian and Nathan''s friends were integrated into the guild.


    Having hired multiple (capable) architects and droves of builders, the slums transformed into a site of construction.


    The makeshift fence was wrecked and reced with a new and improved one.


    Fredrick didn''t cut corners, ordering only top tier materials.


    With that, the costs of operations grew exponentially, meaning the payment for workers was immense - and so was the death rate.


    But in times of the war, where intion kept hiking prices, those willing to take such risks were not few.


    In such an environment, what would happen if payment was per day, and was measured by how much work one did?


    It would result in the current situation.


    Efficiency and effectiveness shot through the roof, achieving so much more than what Fredrick estimated.


    Maintaining the current speed, the construction would end in less than two months.


    Of course, the pay was not the only incentive.


    Although Nathan was in disagreement, Fredrick gave the builders a subsidy, an enormous one.


    He would contribute half of the amount needed to treat any injury incurred while on site.


    And while to Nathan it was a waste of money, the effect was immense. The builders worked with newfound enthusiasm and determination, which in turn caused more injuries.


    Many had their bones fractured, and while that was normally a career ender, Fredrick''s subsidy had them back to work within a week.


    Those who could not pay the other half were healed with the condition of them working off the remaining amount.


    With the enthusiasm of paying off their debt as fast as possible, they became even more hardworking, increasing efficiency even more.


    Word of mouth had people rush to apply for work and guild recruitment.


    They had guild members guard the area to prevent sabotage and be on standby in case of any idents on site.


    Then, ck Jaws''s act of teaching children how to write and read was exposed a month ago, making rounds throughout Niton as many Nobles demanded for them to be killed.


    s, ck Jaws was buffered, so they didn''t dare to stretch their wicked palms.


    Fredrick wasn''t even a bit concerned, both he and Ezra were clear that their actions would make more enemies than friends.


    As such, many trade routes were closed off to the guild to diminish their rate of progress.


    Along that, bad rumors about them flew around, discouraging many from joining, which they ought to thank Bolton for.


    Kogar, on the other hand, was overjoyed.


    Fredrick''s actions revived the decelerating economy, even if a bit.


    When people had more money, they bought more things.


    Sales in Kingsmere exploded - as opposed to other ces - and the center of this was the ongoing site construction.


    With the workers earning substantial amounts, they bought better equipment, better food, better clothes and so and so forth, thereby pumping money into what would have been a stale economy.


    However, he couldn''t move carelessly, as he knew Bolton was watching closely.


    A month went by, revealing a wonderful surprise.


    Except for the main building, standing at the slum''s center, the others werepleted.


    Cabrera couldn''t be happier.


    ''Just in time. I was thinking of halting recruitment, but this will do, this will do splendidly''


    The avable bases had already been filled, and now, the guild had to buy multiple hotels to house new members.


    While this wouldn''t be a problem, Bolton soon banned them from buying any more buildings in Kingsmere, saying it would affect the economy negatively.


    A ridiculous excuse for sure, but what could they do? Especially since he didn''t demand that they return the buildings they''d already bought.


    It also exposed that Bolton wasn''t their friend. He did have a point though. They had bought almost half of Kingsmere''s buildings.


    The roads in the slums were restructured with irregr stones and then smoothened with gray sand, making for an amazing sight.


    The builders looked at the result of their handiwork and beamed with pride, before sighing soon after.


    They will now have to look for another route for revenue, and they were sure it would nevere close to what they were paid here.


    As they turned to leave, a guard obstructed them. He unfolded a scroll and started reading it aloud.


    "The guild master has chosen to inform you of numerous uing projects just like the one before you, with the exact same payment format"


    The builders were bbergasted, it was literally mulberry wine from the sky.


    "The next project will happen at the slums of Traxford. All those willing to participate, head to the hall"


    They rushed to the hall without another word, forming a stampede enough to scare the guard into moving afar.<novelnext></novelnext>


    -------------------------


    They lined up as they arrived with personnel ready to receive them.


    The first quickly went ahead.


    Quickly, he signed the documents, when a question popped up.


    "Ah yes, when does the work start? So I know when to begin travel"


    The personnel, a woman, smiled at him.


    "In two weeks. Of course, we provide traveling carriages to assist with travels. Would you like to enlist one?"


    ''They did this too?'' he thought.


    "For how much?"


    "35 silver, with a few more for cargo"


    He nodded, and gave her 35 silver.


    Two months ago, Nathan formed a traveling business by bringing together most of the existing traveling merchants after luring them with lucrative deals and binding them to contracts.


    After changing their carriages to those of better quality as well as their horses, then reducing just a bit below market prices, the business ballooned in profit.


    You had the cost of hiring protection against bandits and repairs, but it was well worth it, with more people applying for work.


    The guild members hunted beasts and gathered herbs on a daily basis, Kron included.


    Such exercises gave them plenty of life and death experiences, steadily increasing their skills as they did.


    Then, they trained formally on weekends, perfecting their basic movements.


    The worst of the slum dwellers had grown to F-rank as opposed to their former G-rank status.


    At the end of the month, the members take bouts at one another, with the top ten being given rare cultivation herbs or artifacts.


    Fedrick sent Sebastian to Traxford, along with the children with the most promise.


    Among them was James and Ruby, Fredrick having erased Ezra''s visage from their minds.


    Sebastian was to establish the information agency in Traxford as opposed to Kingsmere because of many reasons.


    But he didn''t go alone, Nathan''s friends lest Mirahan - who was put in charge of the traveling carriage business - followed him, and so did Nathan himself.


    Fredrick affirmed Nathan that he was needed more in Traxford than in Kingsmere.


    The wood brothers were ecstatic, hiring workers and expanding their workforce.


    Fredrick was outsourcing the furniture for the newly built homes in the slums from them.


    A weekter, Sebastian arrived at Traxford''s slums, finding it far better off than the one in Kingsmere, not to mention that it was bigger.


    Here, plenty of slum dwellers took to begging as a lucrative business.


    It was to be expected, since Traxford was Niton''s center ofmerce, its most affluent city. It was also one of the biggest cities, being more than twice Kingsmere''s size.


    Repeating their act in Kingsmere, the slums got cleared, with the fewer slum dwellers joining, while the slums''s destruction and subsequent construction took ce smoothly.


    But the effects were not so simple.


    As a hub ofmerce, many informants roamed the streets cloaked as yourmon man.


    Therefore, news of their actions reached farther than it did before, and with much more impact.


    That didn''t stop anything though, for even dukes, no, even Bolton, could not nullify the buffer zone.


    Their members increased, though many didn''te with good intentions, but Cabrera could easily handle them.


    After all, applicants had to be D-rank or below, another weird phenomenon that had many deduce that the guild itself was weak and didn''t seek D-ranks because the Guildmaster was a D-rank himself.


    But then, how''d they defeat Firescar?


    They only got more confused the more they thought of it.


    Many things came into ce as Fredrick and Ezra conversed through themunication artifacts.


    After going back and forth for days, Fredrickmissioned for a high-rise to be built, something unseen in modern day Orion, but very real in Ezra''s memories.


    Many enlisted as workers solely for the fact the building was said to be the tallest Orion had ever seen.


    After all, who didn''t want to tell such tales to their grandchildren?


    Sebastian bought a building withpartments underground and had it refurbished, forming the ck Silence guild as he began permeating Traxford, cing his informants at strategic spots.


    Before, informants mainly consisted of thieves and assassins, but now, Sebastians brought in beggars and slum dwellers.


    The war only got fiercer as time went on, with men arriving at the warzone everyday. Some came for the rewards, some to prove chivalry on their quest for knighthood, some to tell tales of the great war, and so many more.


    In what seemed to be no time at all, a year psed.


    In his chamber, Ezra took a look at himself and sighed.


    ''This is a lot harder than I''d thought it''d be''

 Chapter 188 Shifter Advancement

    ''This is a lot harder than I''d thought it''d be''


    He had gained a bit more meat to his bones, hosting refined muscture as evidence of his training.


    But he wasn''t satisfied.


    ''I thought I had a substantial cultivation level''


    He found a month after he''d begun his training that his cultivation was shallow.


    Not shallow as in damaged, but shallow as in his level wasn''t what he thought.


    His overflowing mana, as he found, wasn''t overflowing, it only felt as such because his body wasn''t that used to mana at the time, projecting him as Intermediate-rank when in fact, he was Adept-rank.


    Well, it wasn''t all bad.


    Given that he was an Adept-rank, his meridians had barely opened up, so he improved his foundations immensely through herbs, potions, pills and, most importantly, mana stones.


    On that note, he also reinforced the toxicity of his poisoned blood by drinking poison or eating poison inducing items.


    Right now, he was sitting cross legged with his hands encasing one another.


    In his hands was a mana stone, from which Ezra absorbed mana to cultivate.


    At the start - which was four months since he had begun training - the quality of mana in the mana stones was too much for him, causing him to puke blood.


    It took another three months of training before his feeble body could withstand the mana a bit.


    He carefully extracted the mana in miniscule amounts akin to water drops.


    At the start, he could only absorb ten drops of mana, but as he tempered his body, it grew to fifteen, then to twenty.


    Now, after a year, he could absorb fifty drops.


    This gave an iparably strong foundation that others could only wish to achieve.


    I mean, who else cultivated with MANA STONES at the ADEPT rank?!


    Yet, Ezra frowned.


    ''Can''t I grow faster?''


    Yes, his method of cultivation was something others could only dream of, but what did that mean?


    Just because something''s working well doesn''t mean it can''t be improved, and Ezra, with his obsession, wasn''t going to settle for less, no matter the case.


    He huffed, quickly absorbing the fifty drops of the day before looking over the mana techniques contained in not copper, but silver scrolls - another souvenir he got at the Missionary.


    Knights cultivate by opening up meridian pathways - of which hundreds exist in the human body - and then strengthening them by tempering, opening up awork of meridians catering to one''s preferred fighting style.


    Those who prefer explosive power open meridians that add weight to punches and kicks, while those who prefer nimbleness and speed would open meridians at the tip of their hands and feet to allow faster movement.


    Why couldn''t one open both? Cause it''ll take far more mana to cultivate, meaning you''d use eight hours on what would''ve taken only two, and since such a build is all rounding, one has no particr strengths or weaknesses, making for a mediocre build.


    What would you know? Ezra opted for such a build, simply because he needed somewhere to put the excess mana.


    This was how he was able to withstand the mana quality.


    He opened up awork of meridians that others wouldn''t dare to.


    To make sure he didn''t go overboard, he only opened the main (biggest) meridian in each limb, connecting his body in a simple way, but one that would give powerful results.


    Now he could only be patient, as hit meridians were being tempered while still developing.


    Should he overdo it, he could cripple himself.


    Each day, he chipped away at the impurities within, opening the meridians further.


    As the meridians were cleansed, they could take in more mana, hence his increase to fifty drops a day.


    Eleven months of chipping away at impurities opened his meridians halfway.


    Since the drops of mana increased, he could finish the cleansing in another four to five months.


    ''How ridiculous'' he thought. A year went by with him in the same rank.


    Nevertheless, experience told him it was worth the cost.


    A wood-cutter pausing his work to sharpen his ax could not be said to be wasting time.


    Likewise, this obstacle, once surpassed, would afford him far more options for his future pathways and fighting styles.


    He almost couldn''t wait, but he''d have to.


    Today - as it was past midnight - his vassals will go through their first advancement, and he had to be there.


    His hands were bandaged, having torn many times over during training.


    That said, he hadn''t removed the iron braces since day one, and now, they felt lighter.


    ''No, they didn''t be lighter. I became stronger'' he smiled.<novelnext></novelnext>


    He was steaming and sweating, permeating a foul odor after expunging impurities.


    He wasn''t bothered as he''d long gotten used to it.


    The tri-affinity techniques brought insights on matters he hadn''t considered.


    For one, a Knight''s affinity forms naturally in their chests as crystals once they reach Adept-rank.


    At first, they would only be as big as rice grains.


    Growing stronger, the crystals be bigger, but remain docile, offering passive effects of resistance to attacks of the same element and subtly influencing one''s character.


    At Expert-rank, these crystals would be of use in forming one''s aura.


    They be more prominent at Master-rank, because at this point Knights started being able to use elemental mana to form spells of all kinds.


    With mana techniques as guides, he was able to pinpointmon meridians used for particr elements, and picked out those he would open in advance.


    ''Hmm, time to sleep''


    He sucked the mana techniques into his space ring andid on his bed - covered in a thick nket with a pillow - to sleep.


    ¡ª-------------------


    Dawn came quickly, with Ezra back on his feet.


    An hourter¡­


    *Knock*


    ''They''re early'' he thought, opening the door to let his vassals in.


    The girls made their way in first, garbed in ck clothes.


    Roxanne had grown into bigger hips and firm but slender muscles, with her red hair flowing past her shoulder.


    Velora mirrored Roxanne, but was shorter and her green hair was tied in a bun.


    The boys made their way in, also in ck.


    Ashton came in first. He''d grown taller, broad shouldered and wide chested, wearing a smile with his brown eyes.


    Johan followed, his hair disheveled and his eyes ferocious as always, surpassing Ashton in all physical aspects, except height.


    Lastly, Theron, surpassing Ashton in height with refined but slender muscles.


    ''Seriously?''


    Ezra was pissed.


    ''Why am I the only one who grew the least?''


    He calmed down, suddenly finding his actions ridiculous.


    ''Why do I care about that?''


    He shook his head to ward off stupid thoughts, folding his arms afterwards.


    "Theron, close the door"


    Once that was done, Ezra got to business.


    "I see you''ve all done a good job at growing strong. While this is nowhere near enough, keep it up"


    "Now-"


    Someone interjected.


    "Ha! It won''t work"


    Johan was at it again.


    "Look at you, you have barely grown since thest time we saw you. Aha! I bet I''m stronger than you now!"


    Ezra wasn''t interested, but kept his silence.


    "Know what, I challenge you. I bet I could get my freedom back right now"


    Velora facepalmed, while Ezra sighed.


    "Give us space"


    The siblings stepped back, circling Ezra and Johan.


    Without fanfare, Ezra brought out the Gold-rank spear from his ring and took a stance, while Johan brought out his saber, wielding twin sabers.


    "Anytime you''re ready"

 Chapter 189 Shifter Advancement (2)

    "Anytime you''re ready"


    Johan calmed himself, taking slow steps.


    ''Come on, you can do this. I''ll end this in one strike, just like practiced''


    He inhaled, steadied himself as a silent pressure descended.


    "Oh?" Ezra expressed his surprise.


    "You''ll regret this!"


    Johan sprinted forward, reaching Ezra in an instant as he brought his swords down.


    Ezra just stared, dropping his staff the moment Johan reached him.


    ''Huh?''


    Johan was bbergasted, but he couldn''t stop the charge, and instead added even more power.


    "You have good skills" Ezra acknowledged.


    "But you''re still too green to get the best of me"


    Ezra delivered five punches while Johan moved to cut him down, and as if time was previously frozen, it defroze.


    *ng*ng*


    The twin sabers fell to the floor as Johan copsed soon after.


    He began twitching, muttering iprehensible words.


    "H-How¡­di¡­n-o-t¡­poeiible"


    The rest were speechless.


    ''I knew he''d lose¡­but not this badly!''


    ''Damn''


    Simultaneously, they put themselves in Johan''s shoes.


    ''If it had been me¡­''


    They gulped.


    The atmosphere of confidence receded in an instant.


    Johan felt like crying.


    ''Dammit! This b#stard grew even stronger!''


    Where was the fairness in the world?!


    Ezra starred.


    "Right now, your limbs are paralysed. They will remain so for the next seven days"


    Johan grew rmed, muffling incessantly.


    Ezra patted his head.


    "Calm down, I''ll undo it in a minute. Good job growing stronger, but, you''re still far off from touching a hair on my head"


    Ezra undid the paralysis and looked to others¡­


    "Anyone else?"


    The siblings stole nces at each other before shaking their heads simultaneously.


    Back to normal, Johan mmed his fists.


    "How? How? How?! I practiced all day! This isn''t fair"


    To his tantrum, Ezra giggled.


    "Practiced all day? Just that?"


    Johan popped a nerve.


    "Yeah. What would you know about it? I bet you didn''t need to practice much to get this good!"


    Ezra huffed, registering Johan''s stupidity, but, well, he was just a kid.


    "How long do you sleep?"


    It caught Johan off guard.


    "Huh? What does that matter?"


    "Answer the question"


    "Uhh¡­"


    He counted fingers.


    "¡­Ten to seven hours a day"


    "You want to know why I''m so much stronger than you, right?"


    He nodded.


    "Out of 24. I sleep for no more than four hours, and most times just three"


    "You don''t expect me to believe that, do you?"


    "Doesn''t matter"


    "It''s impossible"


    "There''s rarely anything that''s actually impossible. Just depends on how far you''re willing to go for it"


    Theron interjected¡­


    "And? What''s yours? Why are you going this far?"


    Ezra froze, his lips curling upwards.


    "I don''t expect you to understand, but I''ve got some people to kill"


    Everyone shuddered as Theron stepped back.


    Ezra''s expression spoke of madness and hatred, the likes of which they''d never seen.


    His grin was wicked and creepy, and above all else, was his gaze.


    The next moment, his face melded back to normal, taking a lotus posture.


    "Alright, sit and let''s get this done"


    Now sitting, Ezra handed each one a vial of refined blood.


    "Let''s start with the boys first. Theron,e sit"


    Slowly, he sat in a lotus position backed to Ezra.


    Ezra''s gaze peruses all five.


    "I''m going to change your lives. It''s going to painful, but at the end of it, you''d be far stronger than you should be"


    Their ears perked up.


    "Take off your shirt"


    "What?"


    "Take off your shirt. It won''t be effective anyhow else"


    Ezra looked to Johan.


    "Interrupt me, and your brother could die. No matter what happens, you must not act"


    "Ugh!"


    The effect was immediate with Theron''s veins popping, outlined with a red hue and emanating heat while producing beads of sweat.


    "Calm yourself"


    Ezra''s voice was like a sudden pour of ice, stabilizing his pounding heart, but the pain was still much.


    The siblings were fearful, rightfully so.


    Johan clenched his fists while the girls took three steps back.


    Theron felt his blood spiral out of control, and started muttering a few words.


    "I told you that this-"


    "Hold on"


    Ezra ced his left palm on Theron''s back.


    Concentrating, his palm lit up with blue light, releasing mana into Theron''s back.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Ah!" its quality was higher than any Theron had felt.


    "Absorb it. Leave nothing to waste"


    As mana permeated his internals, the pain subsided drastically. The blood stopped spiraling and began melding.


    A minute passed and Theron calmed down.


    "How do you feel?" Ezra probed.


    "I-I feel great!"


    "Hmm. Give me a minute"


    Ezra stood up, turned around, removed a mana stone from his storage ring, and plopped it into his mouth, making sure to not swallow it.


    Touching it with his tongue, mana surged like a tidal wave.


    His cheeks puffed, glowing blue.


    An urge of regurgitation hit him, but he held it in.


    His vassals wondered what was going on, but he stretched his palm to keep them abay.


    ''Come on,e on''


    With his mouth closed, the mana, far too much of it, surged down his throat uncontrobly.


    His stomach began swelling.


    If he didn''t expunge the mana soon, he would die!


    With few alternatives, he deted his cheeks, exhaling mana, and quickly sat cross legged, cing his right hand below Theron''s neck.


    With so much mana within him, releasing it acted like a dam breakage.


    "Ah" Theron moaned at the familiar sensation, but it quickly turned into something else.


    "It''s too...much! AH!"


    Theron started screaming, but Ezra didn''t stop, but watched closely as Theron expunged his impurities in the form of a ck liquid, and thereafter, his pores began spewing blood.


    He couldn''t and didn''t want to absorb the mana anymore, wasting much of it in the process.


    ''He''s going to kill him!''


    Johan wanted to rush in at this point, but Ashton blocked him.


    Two minutes in, Theron started bleeding even more.


    Ezra had it worse, being the primary recipient of the massive surge of energy.


    His eyes grew fuzzy, blurring soon after, with a pool of blood thicker than Theron''s lying at his feet.


    ''I can''t push it more than this''


    Mustering strength, he took his arm off Theron''s back, encased his mouth with his hands and spat out the mana stone.


    The moment he grabbed it, he sucked it into his space ring, fainting thereafter.


    Ezra woke up, his sight still blurry. He tried to make sense of his surroundings, feeling a murky substance as he pulled himself up.


    Next, his nose awoke to a foul smell that wiped away his sleepiness.


    "He''s awake!"


    A familiar voice rang loud.


    Then his eyes cleared up.


    Looking around, heid in a pool of his own - poisoned - blood as his vassals approached.


    "What happened?" his mind was a mess.


    Before they could begin exining, Ezra suddenly wanted to vomit.


    ''How can something smell so bad!''


    He held his nose and stood up.


    Now understanding why his vassals held their noses as well.


    "We thought you died" said Velora.


    "But we couldn''t check because of your poisoned blood"


    Ezra looked around.


    "Where''s Theron?"


    "Back in his room, resting. Johan''s attending to him"


    "We''ll hold off your advancements until he wakes. Go back to your training, you may leave"


    "Yes"


    They exited swiftly, leaving Ezra and his putrid smell.


    ''Now¡­''


    He looked at the puddle beneath his feet.


    "Where do I even start?"


    The hourss indicated that it was quarter past noon.


    Staring at the puddle, Ezra felt enthralled.


    Touching it, he realized why.


    ''But of course, blood''


    It was his affinity at work.


    Sinking his hand into the puddle, he shut his eyes, steadied his breath and concentrated.


    Ripples formed, with the puddle seeminglying to life.


    Ezra could feel himself on the cusp of a breakthrough, so he focused.


    He raised his arm, and blood floated to it.


    He inhaled and exhaled, holding an image within as he bent blood to his will.


    Opening his eyes minutester, a short swordy in his palm, one made of blood.


    "Hoo" Ezra was astonished.


    ''I guess A-rank affinity isn''t for show''


    He then thought¡­


    ''Can''t I make it a bit bigger?''


    Imagining a longsword this time, he tried to adjust it.


    The result? *St*, the short sword dissolved.


    ''Well, I guess it''s not that easy''


    That said, he''d just found an easier way to clear out the puddle.


    He suddenly quivered, his eyes blurred and an intense headache came upon him.


    Feeling light-headed, he washed the puddle away with water, and poured neutral fragrances to wipe the lingering odor.


    Thereafter, he cleaned up, sumbing to sleep soon after.


    Elsewhere, Fredrick shadowed the guilds operations, surveying the guild''s overall growth for the past year.


    With the resources avable, its rise was an event set in stone.


    ''Hmm'' yet Fredrick''s frown only worsened.


    No, the guild''s growth was not in the negative, but it didn''t surpass the estimated positive, and that was a big problem.


    With only nine years left, it was paramount that he understood why the guild hadn''t grown up to its potential.


    ck Jaws had grown to more than three thousand members.


    The worst among the initial slum dwellers was now F-rank, many others being E-rank, with the top few being D-rank members.


    Everyday, they were sent to hunt and, on any hunt, a minimum of eleven died.


    Having bought half of Kingsmere''s businesses, money was flowing in, being used to pay for the reconstruction of Traxfords slum and the smooth running of ck Silence.


    All seemed fine and dandy, yet they failed to surpass the estimated result?


    ''I''ll have to check on this myself''


    Like so, he got to work.

 Chapter 190 Problems

    Ezra awoke with a grunt. Pain was apparent all over his body, with a headache worse than before.


    Normally, he''d cultivate, invigorating himself with mana to wipe away fatigue.


    But he couldn''t do that today, as the pent up fatigue didn''t allow it.


    His body rebelled against its misuse, and Ezraplied, going back to sleep.


    Meanwhile, Fredrick was solely investigating ck Jaws''s ongoing activities.


    He woke up after an unknown amount of time, still tired, but not as much as before.


    With groans, he got to his feet, only to kneel, a single thought in his mind.


    ''So hungry!''


    He took food from his space ring, shoving it down his throat.


    Minutes passed as he ate his fill, bread crumbs and fruit juices littering the floor at the end of it.


    He sat, taking breaths to calm himself as he regained his reason, but he was too tired to think clearly.


    Once again, he shut his eyes, heading back tond.


    Ezra awakes once more.


    Not willingly but out of necessity.


    His tummy was churning incessantly.


    Again, he ate rapaciously, falling asleep right after.


    Time flew by, Ezra waking up for the fifth time.


    The cause? The knocks on the door.


    Opening his quivering eyelids, Ezra starred, promptly going back to sleep-


    "Ezra!"


    -when a voice shook him awake.


    "Mooom?" he muttered, getting to his feet and opening the door, slowly but surely.


    Something clicked, and the door split open, revealing a woman garbed in an embroidered shirt and jeans to allow for flexible movement, both blue to match her deep blue hair, which was tied in a bun.


    "Ezra!" she ran, hugging Ezra with teary eyes.


    "Do you have any idea how worried you made me?"


    His heart skipped.


    "Sooorrry"


    "Shh" she muffed, touching his head.


    "Your body''s so hot"


    "Huh? I...didn''t¡­kn-"


    His head fell back, falling asleep immediately.


    "Ezra?!"


    Quickly, she popped a healing potion into his mouth andid him down as she looked around.


    Her finger snapped and two guards came in.


    "Have this ce cleaned"


    They nodded, promptly doing as ordered.


    "Ugh" Ezra woke up, rubbing his eyes as his nose picked up a sweet aroma, knocking away his dizziness.


    "I see you''re finally awake"


    Turning his head, his mom came into view as she rubbed his hair with a cherry smile.


    "Mom?" Ezra began recollecting.


    "Ah yes. You were here"


    "Of course I was, now, less talking, more eating" she said, taking the lid of a bowl, revealing Ezra''s favorite dish, then feeding it to Ezra.


    "Come on, open up"


    Unable to argue, she fed him to his fill.


    With the bowl empty, Ezra wiped his mouth.


    He wondered¡­


    "Why did youe here?"


    "You didn''t visit, so I did"


    He paused, letting the words sink in, before his eyes widened.


    "How long was I asleep?"


    He visited his mom on thest two days of every month.


    Orion had ten months in a year, which were thirty-five days each. A year was 50 weeks or 350 days.


    His mom raised five fingers.


    "Five hours?"


    "Five days" she corrected.


    "That long!" he eximed.


    She nodded.


    "What about Theron?"


    "He''s fine. Roxanne told me he woke up two days ago"


    "I see" he calmed down.


    "Sorry I forgot to visit"


    "It''s okay" she said.


    "So? How do you feel?"


    He stretched and stood.


    "Better. A bit stiff, but nothing a few day of training won''t solve"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Dusting her clothes, she headed out, ruffling Ezra''s hair onest time.


    "Then my work here is done"


    He bowed in response, before asking something that was bugging him¡­


    "You changed your hair color?"


    "Oh, you noticed" she untied her hair, letting it fall beyond her shoulder.


    "So? What do you think"


    "It looks great on you"


    She nodded, smiling all the way as she exited, leaving Ezra to his thoughts.


    He stretched, his body feeling far lighter even though he still had braces on.


    He brought out his staff, making a few stances to ascertain his assumption.


    After a few movements, he smiled in delight. The braces felt nonexistent. He had grown stronger once more.


    Nodding, he took out new braces, recing them in minutes.


    ''Now¡­shall I check my progress?''


    Ezra was anxious to know how the mana stone had changed his body. And from his observations, good news awaited him.


    But that''ll have to wait.


    A tingling sensation on his finger alerted him.


    ''Hmm?'' he took out a scroll - one of themunication artifacts - and unfolded it.


    It revealed a white surface, which shone as words written in ck ink appeared.


    This was how Fredrick and Ezramunicated.


    Reading the message, Ezra raises a brow.


    ''Something''s wrong'' was the opening sentence.


    His curiosity now captured, he read on aggressively, making several expressions while doing so.


    The scroll has a limit to how many words could be written within, so he cleaned the foremost sentences to bring forth the rest.


    Three minutes psed while he read, releasing a sigh at the end.


    He pressed his forehead.


    ''This is troublesome''


    The message was Fredrick reporting the findings of his investigations.


    In hindsight, there were a lot of problems.


    Firstly, ck Jaws spent a little more than a hundred and sixty thousand tinum this year.


    Granted, more than half of that amount was paid to acquire the eleven slums and a few othernds at Ezra''s orders.


    But then, where the heck did fifty thousand tinum go???


    The renovation of Traxford and Kingsmere''s slums? Please! Five thousand tinum should be more than enough! Or was it?


    Ezra got confused. He wasn''t knowledgeable on these matters, but there was no way the amount spent wasn''t excessive, he just didn''t know how excessive.


    Something clicked as he wrote to Fredrick some questions he hadn''t thought to ask before.


    ¡ª-------------------------


    In his cottage, Fredrick sat on his lonesome as Ezra''s words materialized.


    "Huh?" he was stumped. He didn''t know the answers to Ezra''s questions.


    ''Where was Nathan working before? How much did he make and how much did he manage?''


    ''How am I supposed to know?'' he thought.


    He replied ''Traxford'' to the first question and ''I don''t know'' to the others.


    ''Find out'' Ezra replied.


    Fredrick nodded as Ezra had more directives.


    ¡ª-------------------


    The second issue was about the gold slum movements, specifically, guild members.


    The majority being F-rank was far below their estimations, for it didn''t match the benefits given. And Fredrick findings told why.


    ''Of all things, I didn''t expect this. But well, there was a reason why they were slum dwellers''


    Fredrick findings told of the slow growth to be due to two reasons.


    Very few were willing to risk death by hunting beasts despite the luxuries afforded to them, so the majority opted for an alternative.


    Since they knew what would happen should they try leaving the guild, they paid the majority of their rations and money to those unafraid to hunt for them.


    He smirked.


    ''It seems they got a bit toofortable''


    This culminated into an advantage for those unafraid, one that stacked over time.


    They ate their fill by eating the food they were paid, then killed more beasts, serving as experience which increased their skillset, thereby elerating their growth as they were awarded herbs and artifacts.


    Now, the gap between majority and minority had expanded.


    Thankfully, this came to their notice early on, else it would have spelt disaster.


    ''Let''s have the useless ones weeded out''


    Of course, he wasn''t going to order a ughter, so¡­


    ''How should I do this?''


    ''There''s that!'' he remembered, writing ''Has the newly built guild hall beenpleted?'' to Fredrick.


    ''Almost. The interior is not quite there yet. The undergroundpartment is going through the final phases'' Fredrick replied.


    ''When will it be done?'' Ezra wrote.


    ''A month and half at most''


    ''Good. Those weak have exactly that long to grow. Get trained beasts at the ready. They''ll regret squandering their chance, as I am magnamious enough to grant them a second chance''


    ''Yes''

 Chapter 191 Problems (2)

    The third problem Fredrick findings brought to light was their overall growth.


    The guild''s expansion was too slow.


    Of the eleven slums, only two had been tapped into, the resty dormant - a huge waste of potential for sure.


    At their current speed, it would take forever before all the slums were tapped into.


    ''Hmm'' that said, tapping into all of them at once wasn''t a wise choice.


    So he ruminated, drawing out Niton''s map in his mind.


    ''Qunchester, Felleris, Piend, Irondale, Gattiste''


    ''How many members are D-rank?'' he wrote.


    ''Thirty'' Fredrick wrote back.


    ''Hmm, this''ll have to do'' thought Ezra.


    ''Group them into three groups and have them head to Qunchester, Piend and Irondale. Have them gather information''


    While they might not immediately embark on massive reconstruction like that of Traxford, they could begin slowly.


    ''Wait, didn''t Cabrera say he knew someone in Qunchester? Or was it a guild?'' he thought, and asked Fredrick to look into it as well.


    Then, Ezra attended to good news.


    The advisor offered to buy back Kingsmere''s businesses for twice the initial price.


    Outright rejection won''t do them good since ck Jaws was part of the royal faction.


    ''Sell half of the businesses bought for ten times the initial price''


    ''If they want it, they''ll have to bleed a bit''


    Half of Kingsmere''s businesses brought more than a thousand gold coins daily, and it cost them a bit more than five thousand tinum. A crazy sum justified by their location - the Empire''s capital.


    Those of Traxford were even more costly, but not enough had been bought to justify the 100,000 tinum spent.


    Then, the issue of the mana stones.


    Fredrick postponed giving them to anyone because their loyalty wasn''t affirmed.


    A year now gone, he certified a few as qualified, but he still sought Ezra''s words on the matter.


    Ezra had other ideas, his ruse of revealing himself to Fredrick still clear.


    Letting others know of the mana stones - no matter who they were - didn''t seem like a good idea no matter how he thought of it.


    But¡­what options did they have?


    ''Something that can draw out its essence for cultivation while keeping it obscured''


    He recalled nothing that had such a function, so he wrote his idea to Fredrick.


    Fredrick got thinking¡­


    ''Draw it''s essence¡­but it''d have to be enclosed else the essence dispersed. Some kind of chamber¡­Chamber! That''s it!''


    It clicked.


    ''We can use formations'' he wrote to Ezra.


    ''Ah!'' Ezra''s eyes widened in realization.


    ''Why didn''t I think of that?''


    He looked around to see the carvings along the walls.


    This was a formation, one of many embedded in the walls of the chambers.


    It was a formation that kept out the sound of anything beyond the door.


    It was a formation that kept the air circting.


    Formations came in various sizes and had various uses.


    Some, like the formation scroll, were used in spells, allowing for instant effects.


    Others - mana formations - drew in mana from the atmosphere, making it coalesce till it was prime for cultivation - which allowed for cultivation virtually anywhere.


    Ezra guessed that he would use a mana formation, though he had no knowledge of a formation that catered to mana stones, so he wrote¡­


    ''How are you going to set it in ce?''


    ''I''ll just hire formation experts'' Frederick answered.


    Ezra nodded.


    ''Do that then, but have the cultivation chambers ready''


    That was thest issue.


    ''Any news from Cabrera?''


    ''None as ofte'' replied Fredrick.


    With the issues dealt with, Ezra wrote¡­


    ''Anything else?''


    ''None''


    Ezra folded the scroll, ending the session.


    He stretched, sucking both scrolls and the pen into his spatial ring.


    ''Fuuu¡­'' he exhaled, taking a lotus posture and a mana stone from his ring.


    ''Now to check how far I''vee''


    He drew in mana, having it flow to all the parts of his body through his meridians.


    ''Oh!''


    Much of his impurities had been cleared out, smoothing his mana flow and its overall effects.


    For most Adepts, they advanced the moment they had a ''decent'' pathway - by clearing minimal impurities in their meridians - to support their mana flow.


    ''I wonder, what would happen if I cleared out all my impurities before I became an Adept?''


    It was a promising prospect, but Ezra wasn''t too forting with taking such a risk.


    After all, his current situation was more than good enough-


    *Pah!*


    He pped himself on both sides.


    ''Why should I settle for less? I did enough of that thest time''<novelnext></novelnext>


    And where did that leave him? Betrayed and disposed of.


    ''If I do likest time, the same thing will happen again'' his face darkened, moments of powerlessness shing by.


    ''And I can never let that happen again''


    So¡­


    ''I''ll clear out all my impurities before heading to Intermediate''


    He set a goal.


    ''No matter how long it takes!''


    And he swore by it.


    In the same castle, another woman with blue eyes flipped through pages.


    The door was pushed open and a small figure walked in garbed in armor from head to toe.


    The woman closed her book, looking at this figure with a smile.


    "So? How was training?"


    The boy took off his helmet, revealing short golden hair and blue eyes of his own.


    "It went well, Mother"


    "Splendid. My little boy will be a man soon"


    Triton bowed with his helmet in his armpit.


    "I shall take my leave"


    But she wasn''t done.


    "They say he practices all day"


    He stiffened.


    "Utter lies. That is all it is"


    "Maybe. But don''t you ought to do the same?"


    He grit his teeth and clenched his fist, forcing out the words¡­


    "I will not disappoint you Mother"


    "I hope so"


    With that, he left.


    *Bam*


    Triton''s helmet smashed against the wall.


    He stomped the floor in anger.


    ''Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!''


    Three months ago, he chose the path of a Knight and had begun training since then, picking a greatsword as his weapon.


    His progress was astonishing, everyone at the training grounds said so, and that made him feel proud.


    Yet every time he looked to his mother forpliments, he waspared instead.


    ''That b#stard!''


    He couldn''t help but be angry.


    ''It''s always him! Ezra this, Ezra that! Because of him, my mother''s not happy with me!''


    He looked to the ceiling, gnashing his teeth as he vowed.


    ''Just you wait! I''ll definitely beat you, then mother will be happy''


    Ezra opened his eyes, having just finished looking into himself, a smile hanging on his lips.


    The mana stone had done more than just clean impurities, it had affected his muscture as a whole.


    Formerly, his body could barely hold the mana in the mana stone because of its quality.


    Now, he didn''t have to try so hard to contain the mana. Hisst stunt had his meridians tempered, drastically increasing the amount of mana he could intake - a hundred and thirty drops to be exact. He could also use it better than before.


    Tempering meridians was another function of cultivation, because meridians were that which held mana.


    When tempered, they grow tougher and, by expelling impurities, they grow to contain more mana, allowing for stronger attacks and defense.


    And normally, the quality of mana increased as one advanced in rank, which was one of the reasons Grandmasters would kill each other for mana stones.


    The quality of mana in mana stones was above that of Grandmasters, though not by a lot.


    Now, Ezra was using such mana to forge his meridians - that of beginner level!


    The result would be anything but ordinary.


    But then¡­


    ''I can''t do things carelessly''


    While the results of the first try were spectacr, what was the guarantee that it''d be the same the second time? Nothing.


    So he had to take things slowly rather than swiftly, and be as thorough as possible.


    To do that, he had to know the full extent of the change his body went through.


    What better way to do that than training?


    ''I''ve mastered the staff''s fundamentals''


    Since that was what he set out to do, having achieved it, there was no more need to primarily practice with a staff.


    ''Now¡­''


    He took a pin of his clothes, a pin in the shape of a scythe.


    ''Thises next''


    ''Fuu¡­'' exhaling, he infused mana into the pin.


    It erged till it was a bit taller than him.


    He mastered the staff fundamentals in the four months. He learned fourteen out of the thirty-six spear movements.


    So¡­


    ''This should be easy''

 Chapter 192 Nine Months Flash By

    It didn''t take long for Ezra to realize his assumptions were off-mark.


    Mastering the fundamentals of a staff helped, but not as much as he thought it would.


    He fished out abat manual on scythes and looked through.


    This training session would be longer than thest one, but he couldn''t abandon the advancement of his vassals for that long.


    So¡­


    ''One month. I''ll understand the changes in my body in one month''


    While he trained, so did his mother.


    The count brought her a new instructor, one whose loyalty had been tested and tried several times.


    ¡ª---------------


    Elsewhere.


    "Where were you working before?


    "I worked in Traxford as a merchant. Why?"


    Fredrick sat across Mirahan, questioning him as Nathan was in Traxford.


    "How long did you work there?"


    "It''s been three years"


    "How much did you make?"


    "About¡­"


    "How.Much.Did.You.Make?"


    "Twenty to thirty gold on average. forty on better days, sixty on the best days"


    "Hmm, how much of that was yours?"


    "Ah¡­half of my earnings"


    "What did you do before that?"


    "Hehe" he scratched his beard.


    "I worked as an adventurer before I concluded I wasn''t cut out for it"


    Fredrick nodded slowly.


    "What do you know about Nathan?"


    "Well, I know he''s a jewelry merchant"


    "How long have you known him?"


    "Not long, about six months"


    Fredrick was intrigued.


    "Six months?"


    "Yes. As far as I know, he''s a rtively new merchant"


    ''Wow. I put a greenhorn merchant in charge of a million tinum''


    He exhaled aloud.


    "Why do you ask?"


    "Just to know more about the person I''m working with is all"


    Mirahan nodded as it seemed reasonable enough.


    Fredrick left, many things on his mind.


    If nothing else¡­


    ''I need to find a better merchant''


    But it wasn''t going to be easy.


    Fredrick had his work cut out for him.


    ¡ª-----------------


    The war continued as casualties swelled on all sides, and in no time, a month passed.


    Ezra called in Ashton for his advancement after confirming with Theron the positive effects of the cultivation method.


    Ezra did for Ashton what he did for Theron, albeit with improvements.


    Rather than throwing a mana stone in his mouth, he wraps it on his palm, covering it, then he draws in mana from his hand into his body, then out the other into Ashton''s body.


    History repeated itself as impurities washed out the body of both boys, followed by blood, though little of it.


    After this, Ezra realized that the effect of this form of cultivation was waning, simply because his body was getting used to it.


    Meaning that the amount of impurities cleared out was less than the first, but much thicker.


    Nevertheless, the impurities in his body were not that much anymore, and by the fifth time - since he would help the rest of his vassals'' advancement - he would''ve cleansed himself entirely of impurities.


    s, that might take longer than expected.


    One, because understanding of the change in his body took longer, and two, because his meridians needed rest after cultivation, and each session lengthened that time.


    Cultivation was an exercise of the meridians, so using them recklessly could lead to death or disability.


    This time, he took two months to recuperate.


    Meanwhile, Fredrick was setting up chains of operations in Irondale, Piend and Qunchester with the help of the three D-rank groups, learning of their economies and the slums, and how best to make use of them.


    The royal advisor refused to pay ten times the initial price to acquire a quarter of Kingsmere''s businesses, instead paying six times the price after a lot of tussle.


    At this time, Mirahan''s worth became apparent, as his experience helped Fredrick in ways Nathan hadn''t.<novelnext></novelnext>


    He took him as a candidate to rece Nathan, and had Williamse learn under him.


    Cabrera oversaw the ongoing reinstatement of the Traxford slums, while Nathan found himself managing less and less funds - Fredrick''s doing.


    Thepletion of Kinsgmere''s slum transformation came after. ck Jaws got a new and improved guild hall, erected at the center of the slum as a two-story building, taking the shape of a nting rectangle.


    Fredrick sweeps away useless guild members by locking them in isted chambers within the undergroundpartment of the new guild hall while fully armored to go against a trained beast matching them in rank.


    The test took a span of thirty-five days because of the many participants.


    To no surprise, a bit more than half of them are annihted, numbering more than eight hundred.


    The survivors were ranked ording to how fast they finished the test, then presented with a gallery ofbeled artifacts and herbs to choose from.


    Thereafter, they were appointed ranks 1-100, denoting the strongest hundred of each rank, which came with added privileges.


    Shortly after, they are tossed into the wilds to hunt beasts once more.


    This was Ezra''s doing.


    Like society, such a system would sparkpetition to newer heights, allowing the strong to grow stronger while the weak grew weaker or perished, but there was a catch.


    As one grew stronger, their reliance on their guild would increase.


    Items of Dark Gold-rank and beyond were tagged with astronomical prices in the market.


    From food, to herbs, to potions, to armor, there were too many things one needed money for.


    As one grew stronger, the requirements to advance staggered and the prices skyrocketed to a point where it was near impossible toe up with such an amount on one''s lonesome.


    This was why Experts in any field were respected, and those beyond were exalted.


    But for ck Jaws, the one thing they had in abundance was money!


    With it, they could buy quality items, providing them to their members at a lesser price or rece the fee with something else.


    The strong ones would have toplete guild missions - in short, do as they were told - to receive it!


    With them rushing to grow stronger, they would be trapping themselves to serve the guild indirectly.


    It seemed ingenious, but it wasn''t much different from how other guilds operated.


    For others, the guild master would suppress the members covertly to protect his position while amassing wealth from the efforts of the same members to grow his strength.


    So, it should not be surprising that more than 80% of guilds don''tst five years before disbanding, only for the members to join another guild or create their own.


    All in all, Ezra created a system that would continue to produce strongbatants, amassing an army.


    Half a monthter, Ezra did the same procedure for Roxanne, who''d grown a foot taller.


    The next session would happen in three months.


    While his cultivation paused, his weapon mastery grew in leaps and bounds, and his bracers were exchanged for heavier ones.


    Another two months passed, Fredrick weed - hired - formation experts to the (new) guild hall.


    With their expertise, formations were set up within all cultivation chambers in the span of a month, signaling itspletion.


    Many of them offered to join the guild, but few epted when presented with a contract.


    Now in the third month, Cabrera got scarlet horns - an F-rank guild residing in Qunchester that he was connected to - to join ck Jaws, bing their subsidiary guild in Qunchester.


    He reced their guild master with Carl - one of his boys.


    Things didn''t work out so easily in Irondale and Piend, as external forces had begun guarding against their approach.


    They had grown in fame, though not too much, but the ongoing projects of transforming Traxford slums had caught the eye of the poor and the powerful.


    Buffered, ck Jaws could not be outrightly harmed or challenged, so they sought shrewder means.


    They isted them.


    ck Jaws members were denied sittings in any hotel and were discriminated against in taverns and other gatherings.


    The guild members could not attack, as they had not been physically harmed, so they suffered silently.


    But do not worry, Mr. Money came to their aid.


    Deploying one of man''s most lethal weaknesses, ck Jaws turned people against each other, buying businesses at an astronomical price to provide their members withfort.


    During the past three months, ck Jaws exploded in members, adding an additional thousand to their ranks.


    These numbers were then spread across Piend, Qunchester and Irondale to increase the speed of expansion.


    Many - as Ezra learnt - weren''t fit for battle.


    So, instead of killing those weak, they were given positions in businesses ck Jaw''s acquired, to have them ve away for the guild.


    A loyal member - one stronger than the workers - headed the operation to avoid mishaps.


    This allowed for a drastic increase in efficiency, which tranted into revenue.


    All things being equal, the downside was Bolton being against their actions.


    He could not buy them all back, so he opted to take arge share of their profits, thereby taxing their businesses at double the normal rate.


    At this juncture, something crucial came into y.


    ck Jaw''s tax exemption, which Cabrera bargained for from the sentinel.


    Actually, it was always in y, Bolton just hadn''t noticed until now.


    When he did notice, he was outraged, imagining himself ripping Kogar''s head off.


    Meanwhile, Ezra helped Johan advance, proceeding tough his head off once Fredrick told him about Bolton''s failed ploy.


    He postpones Velora''s advancement another three months, making her the weakest of the five.


    In no time at all, another three months passed.


    Nine months had shed by.

 Chapter 193 Ice Shower

    Three months psed and Velora advanced with Ezra''s help.


    Now seven years old, Ezra''s physique mirrored that of a ten-year-old.


    He''d grown broad shouldered, holding a neat six pack abs and a height of 5 foot 2.


    Right now, he was coughing out blood with his eyes bloodshot, yet the smile never left his lips.


    ''I''m almost there'' he rejoiced.


    The closer he got to clearing out all his impurities, the worse the bacsh.


    Normally, one would''ve cleaned such an amount of impurities only after hitting Expert-rank.


    Yet here he was, doing the same at Adept-rank. Of course he would suffer, as his body went through deep changes each time impurities were expelled.


    Change called for adaptation, which led to a transformation.


    And since these changes weren''t natural, his internals fell into chaos as they adapted, causing painful bacshes.


    That aside, the potency of his blood poison increased.


    His cultivation method had him coughing blood or bleeding out of his pores, so he halted his ns to increase the potency of his blood poison till he cleared out all his impurities and gained better control.


    s, he failed to ount for it growing in potency as the quality and quantity of mana within him increased.


    ''Oh well''


    There was nothing he could do about that now.


    With each cultivation session, the bacsh worsened, and the days it took to heal increased.


    But it was all worth it.


    ''With this, I''ll build an outstanding foundation''


    The result would justify the process.


    The bleeding ceased after several minutes and Ezra rested on his back, his thoughts setting on future events.


    ''The next session will clear out thest of the impurities''


    Normal children would get excited, rushing the process.


    Ezra did the opposite.


    Rather than emotions, logic took over.


    ''The next session should be thest'' he took a deep breath.


    ''It''s also going to be toughest yet''


    ''The risks are even higher. If I rush it, the chance I be crippled is not small''


    Taking things slow was the right move.


    ''This time I''ll do it after four, no, five months'' he nodded, looking at his arms.


    ''My meridians will also have healed by then''


    ''Till then¡­''


    He looked at the crest-sized scythe on his clothes.


    Having learned staff movements, he mastered the scythe''s fundamentals in three months.


    ''¡­I''ll take this as far as I can''


    For the next five months, the aim was to master the scythe to a level beyond average.


    ''¡­right after I get enough rest''


    Heid, shut his eyes and slept soon after.


    A thought popped up as he was about to sleep.


    ''I should tell Sebastian to begin forming the faction''


    ¡ª---------------


    A lot had changed for ck Jaws in thest three months.


    A partnership between Goldmasters, ck Jaws subsidiary guild, and Halobren, a reputable merchant family fallen from grace, was established.


    The D-ranks returned a month ago, and were allowed into the special cultivation chambers as a reward.


    They were special because Fredrick had mana gathering formations carved on its walls.


    At the center of every formation was a mana stone powering it, hidden from sight.


    The D-ranks had Intermediate level cultivations, using weapon mastery and physique to bridge the gap between them and normal D-ranks.


    As they began cultivating with mana from mana stones, the effect was instantaneous.


    Too bad, some were too greedy, crippling themselves in the process.


    Others took notice, applying caution. With Fredrick''s advice, they built substantial foundations before advancing to the next rank.


    Also, Traxford''s slums reconstruction nearedpletion. It had be the talk of the town, because at the center of the slumsy an ongoing construction that dwarfed the royal castle.


    Ifpleted, it would be the tallest building in Orion.


    They grew famous as their movements caught the attention of many, but the buffer zone kept them at bay.


    A monthter, Covaria and Ledemor joined the war.


    Niton was pushed back, suffering massive casualties as the Emperor rallied the forces of the ns and great families with promises of great riches and counter attacks, dealing twice the damage to the enemy.


    From then on, the war shifted from being about the manite mountain to being about conquering thend of the surrounding kingdoms.


    With promise of nobility titles and adamantite weapons on the line, Masters arrived at the battlefield in droves.


    Everyone was out for blood, escting the war in both scale and magnitude, which in turn had most turned away from ck Jaws matters.


    Ezra''s aim was achieved masterfully.


    Dayster, Ezramunicated with Fredrick to begin the establishment of the faction of concubines.


    ¡ª--------------------------


    Triton sat by his mother as she exins her ns for him,


    "It saddens me to have you go, but academy admissions close at year''s end, and who knows how long it''ll take till the next time it opens? I can''t have that"


    She rubbed Triton''s hair.


    "Take this chance. Grow beyond the reach of your brothers and be the man you were destined to be"<novelnext></novelnext>


    She chuckled.


    "You''re thirteen now. My boy''s bing a man already, isn''t that right?"


    Triton beamed with pride.


    "Of course, mother" he knelt.


    "I will not disappoint you"


    "Of course, my boy. Now, shall we begin packing your bags?"


    Triton gave her a weird look.


    She tapped his nose.


    "Oh fine. I''ll hand you your very own space ring. Can''t have my little man looking uncultured on his way to school"


    He bowed.


    "Thank you, mother!"


    Soon after, Triton is enrolled.


    Nearing the year''s end, the other wives got a whiff of her actions and acted ordingly.


    In due haste, Connor and Jordan are subsequently enrolled, albeit to a different institution.


    Five months soon passed, Ezra clocking eight years old.


    In caution, he postponed the cultivation session another month.


    This month sees Cabrera advance to Expert-rank and Fredrick advance tote Master-rank.


    ck Jaws exploded in members, recruiting more than five thousand members, and at a good time too.


    Kingmere''s slums had beenpletely reconstructed, and the next project was Irondale''s slums.


    Turns out, partnering with Halobren was the right move.


    Theirbined efforts led to the transformation of the entire guild system.


    The method of resource acquisition was exchanged and expenses were drastically reduced by reducing the benefits of nonbatant members.


    Additionally, rather than focusing on nurturing members of G-rank upwards, they had their benefits cut by half.


    Instead, more resources were allocated as they grew stronger.


    No matter how much money they had, it was paramount that no profit-oriented organization worked with a loss.


    Simply put, to spend more than one earned.


    That was what ck was previously doing.


    With Halobren''s help, they shifted to the right track.


    On that matter, the newly built slums had its building up for rental, rather than giving them to members.


    Then, low rank cksmiths, alchemists, enchanters, artificers, and cooks were incorporated into the guild.


    Not that high rank professionals weren''t sought, but most didn''t think well of having themselves tied down.


    After aggressive negotiations, twenty-eight Journeymen professionals and three Experts joined.


    With them, ck Jaws created another subsidiary guild, ck Works. A guild exclusive to professions.


    Woodbrothers was also incorporated into ck Works.


    Goldmasters, ck Silence, and now ck Works. It was the third subsidiary guild.


    ck Jaws began producing weapons, potions, artifacts. Going further, they boughtnd bigger than Kingmere''s slum and employed farmers in droves to begin growing food and herbs.


    This in turn causes them to hire cksmiths to forge farming tools.


    A month passed, bringing with it a pleasant surprise¡­maybe not so pleasant.


    The winds turned cold as fragile ice crystals began to fall.


    Ice shower. It was an event urring at least once every decade.


    But its timing couldn''t have been worse for ck Jaws.


    It made the work of farmers three times harder.


    While harmless to even low rank adventurers, falling crystals were fatal to normal humans.


    It also had the effect of reducing soil fertilization.


    Most people had to wear thick clothes to retain body heat, or freeze to death.


    Thick clothes restricted movement, making the work of farmers harder.


    Many of the hired cksmiths had their contracts voided, preferring to pay a fine as demand for farm tools had dropped significantly.


    Thankfully, it wasn''t all bad.


    The potency of anything rted to ice increased.


    Ice attacks became deadlier while its defense became stronger.


    ck Jaws switched the nts to those ice attributes as they grew three times as fast during ice showers.


    The nts were then preserved, rather than sold.


    Items and beasts with fire affinity were highly sought, their already high prices being tripled.


    The best effect was the temporary increase in affinity.


    Cultivating with C-rank affinity would yield five times the result of D-rank affinity. And better, the progress in cultivation was retained.


    s, most ice showerssted a month, at most two.


    After a lot of thought, Ezra decides to postpone the cultivation session for another month.


    He felt the risk was still too much, and instead, cultivated his ice attribute, since it was temporarily S rank.


    Mana cultivation and element cultivation were different things.


    Elements stayed as orbs within the body, and cultivating them proved more taxing.


    Ezra had five tiny orbs as the center of his chest, a red one denoting fire, crimson for blood, white for lightning, ck for darkness and blue for ice.


    The rank of affinity was denoted by how deep the color was.


    So, if one has an ice affinity, light blue would denote F or E-rank, blue would denote D or C-rank, and if it was partly deep blue, then B-rank. Fully deep blue denotes A or S-rank.

 Chapter 194 A Lesson On Mages

    Cultivating elements means increasing the orbs in size.


    To do that, one would (carefully) infuse the orbs with mana, lots of it.


    With limited mana, tempering both physique and elements wasn''t advised, so most chose between the two and stuck with their choice.


    This was the most deciding factor between Knights and Mages.


    Cultivating the physique leads to increased flexibility, strengthened bones, drastic increase in five senses. In essence, an overall increase in body capabilities.


    Whereas¡­


    Cultivating elements leads to stronger elemental attacks for less mana, increased aura capabilities, and increased versatility of element. In essence, increase in overall element usage.


    This is why Cavarl - a Master-rank mage - was able to conjure des of wind.


    Whereas the Emperor could only use lightning beams to decimate troops or imbue it in his weapon.


    ''Others don''t take both paths because they can''t bear mana requirement'' Ezra theorized.


    He looked at his arm.


    ''But in my case, I''ve got mana stones''


    He chuckled at the ridiculousness, before turning serious once again.


    ''Now then, let''s see''


    He took out a mana stone, ced it on his interlocked hands, and took a lotus sitting with closed eyes.


    Concentrating, he drew the mana in through both arms.


    Now, instead of sending it through his meridians to clear out impurities, he sent it to his chest.


    Like a snake, the line of mana connected to the deep blue orb.


    His chest quivered as he heaved a heavy breath, calming thereafter.


    The orb began to absorb the mana, and as it did, Ezra felt his body begin to release cold winds like melting ice.


    Externally, the changes were visible. Internally, he barely felt anything.


    An hour passed, but the situation remained the same.


    He wondered if he was doing something wrong, but shook his head. The orb was clearly absorbing mana.


    ''So¡­why don''t I feel anything?''


    It was the mana from a mana stone, so he expected that the cultivation would be elerated.


    ''Was I wrong?''


    What won''t work, won''t work. Ezra wasn''t fond of just ''hoping'' he was doing it right, there had to be a way to check.


    With the passing of the second hour, he exited the chamber and headed to the royal library.


    There, he confronted the librarian - Mr. Lennon - with his questions.


    As an avid reader, Mr. Lennon was friendly with Ezra, who visited the library regrly since he was three years old.


    Mr. Lennon pulled off his reading sses, raising an eye in puzzlement at Ezra''s question.


    He had green eyes on a thin body covered in pale skin, garbed in white clothes.


    "A Mage''s cultivation? What would you want that for?"


    Ezra was tongue tied, but only for a few seconds.


    "I might fight mages in the future. I thought it only natural that I learn what I could about them, starting with how they cultivate"


    Lennon sighed. He was reading through one of his favorite books for the seventh time when Ezra arrived.


    s, he''d grown fond of the boy, so he couldn''t turn him away.


    He smiled, beckoning Ezra with two fingers.


    "Sit"


    Ezra blinked. What was this about?


    Smiling, Lennon began.


    "I''m a mage. I can give you an answer better than anything you''ll find in those books. Trust me, I''ve read them all"


    Ezra straightened his back.


    "Yes Sir"


    Lennon nodded.


    "Now, a mage cultivates just like you do. They use mana, but instead of stuffing it into their meridians, they stuff it into their element orbs¡­do you know what that is?"


    Ezra nodded.


    "Then, they wait till their mana regenerates and do it again, that''s all''


    "Umm, so¡­does the orb grow?"


    "Yes, it does. The bigger it gets, the more powerful the mage, but it takes time"


    "How long?"


    "When starting, talented youngsters advance in a month. After that, ten months, then three years, and so on. Though itrgely depends on one''s talent"


    "Talent?"


    "One''s affinity grade"


    "Oh!" Ezra''s eyes widened.


    "Does that answer your question?"


    He nodded.


    "So, they don''t have minor stages like Knights do?"


    "We have, but you''ll have to reach Expert-rank before those matter"


    "What rank are you then?" Ezra wondered.


    "I''m an Expert mage. I could''ve reached Master-rank, but I chose to stop"


    "Why?"


    He smiled.


    "If I was a Master, they wouldn''t let me read books all day"


    Ezra smiled.


    ''To be so carefree¡­how envious''


    With his questions answered, he bowed and exited, arriving at the cultivation chamber minutester.


    Taking a lotus position, he sorted his thoughts.


    ''It was stupid of me to think element cultivation would be easy''


    ''But then¡­''


    He wanted to know.


    ''¡­with normal mana, reaching Adept-rank takes a month. But I''m using a mana stone with A-rank affinity. How long could it possibly take?''


    He stuck to his choice. Till the Ice shower ends, he would cultivate his ice orb.


    He had mastered the scythe to a decent level, so doing something else for a month wasn''t that bad of an idea.


    Hours went by and the next day came.


    Then the next, and the next.


    Before long, four days had passed.<novelnext></novelnext>


    On the dawn of the fifth day, something happened.


    The blue orb shook and changes took ce.


    Ezra felt agony as his stomach twisted.


    ''Not again!''


    He hurled his food, then hurled blood.


    After ten grueling minutes, his body calmed down.


    He then cleaned up the mess and took his former sitting position to look at the changes in his body.


    ''Oh!''


    The ice orb had grown in size.


    If it was the size of a bead before, now it was the size of a frog''s egg.


    He was now an Adept-rank ice mage.


    ''Should I say half-mage?''


    Increasing one''s element level didn''t make one a Mage, just as cultivating one''s physique didn''t automatically make one a Knight.


    You had to have a mana technique and master abat manual to be a full-fledged Knight.


    Likewise, you had to set up mana circles and create at least one spell to be a Mage.


    Regardless, cultivating elements had its advantages.


    Ezra wanted to know what they were.


    He erged the scythe and channeled ice mana into it.


    The scythe absorbed it faster than before.


    Then he struck, and the scythe released a blue sh.


    Upon hitting the wall, ice formed on it.


    Ezra knocked on the ice.


    ''It''s harder than before''


    Then he looked around.


    ''And colder than before''


    He nodded, satisfied with the test.


    ''Element cultivation will give me increased versatility. With five affinities, and none below A-rank¡­should I have be a mage instead?''


    Mage was a new path, and Ezra chose the path he was familiar with. It was toote to change choices now.


    ''Hmm¡­'' he creased his forehead, when a thought popped up.


    He stood, shing against the walls, but with fire this time.


    Upon touching the ice, it melted into water.


    ''Ah!''


    It was a normal phenomenon, but the fire of a novice mage shouldn''t be able to melt the ice of an Adept.


    He remembered the red fruit he ate.


    ''So that''s what it did!''


    He had previously concluded that it allowed him better fire control.


    But in actuality, it increased element rank!


    He fishes out the remaining fruits, six in total.


    Two red, four blue.


    He ate only one because he wasn''t sure of its uses, and he gave his mom only one for the same reason.


    He dug into the red fruits, eating them in less than a minute.


    Once done, he expected to feel a gush of energy as his fire element rose in rank once more.


    s, reality was out to disappoint him.


    Nothing happened.


    ''Hmmm¡­?'' he was stumped.


    ''Was I wrong?'' he wondered.


    He sat in concentration, this time focusing on the fire orb.


    He saw it, and to his surprise, the orb was still the size of a bead.


    ''So¡­I was wrong?''


    Now he was confused. The element strength matched the ice, but the bead hadn''t increased in size.


    With no answer in sight, he tapped his head.


    ''There has to be something, something I''m missing. What is it?''


    Tapping his head, he realized.


    ''I can increase its rank''


    He wouldpare the speed of increasing the element rank, so he began cultivating his fire element.


    Seven hours in, change urred.


    The orb grew in size.


    ''I see. I think I understand now''


    The fruits didn''t increase element rank.


    Instead, it became a base multiplier for element cultivation.


    A-rank affinity and quality mana gave him an element cultivation speed surpassing most.


    Then, the fruits made it even faster by boosting his affinity - by however little - resulting in him advancing his fire element rank just seven hours into cultivation.


    Mind you, as ice showers increased the potency of ice, they reduced that of fire.


    If not for the ice shower, he might have advanced in an hour.


    These fruits came from a tree.


    He heaved in realization.


    What a humbling experience.


    He wasn''t sure before, but now he was.


    ''Last time, these were found by Avi. I don''t see them skyrocketing in strength because of anything else''


    In his past life, Avi had ransacked the mountain.


    He nodded while holding his chin.


    Many things were starting to make sense.


    Again, he was stumped.


    Another glorious opportunity came his way.


    But this time, it didn''t seem like he could make the most of it.


    "Sigh¡­"

 Chapter 195 A Lesson On Mages (2)

    "Sigh¡­" Ezra shook his head.


    ''There has to be a way''


    It was an opportunity too good to pass up.


    Shaking off the negativity, he brainstorms.


    The first step to solving a problem was understanding it.


    ''How can I cultivate Element and Physique, and have enough time to practice?''


    Cultivation was a time churning endeavor, so was any sort of practice.


    He thought of something.


    ''Isn''t there a way tobine all three?''


    He huffed, the impossibility of his ambitions evident.


    ''There has to be a way. I just need to find it''


    He chose to stand fast, casting out the negative thoughts.


    First things first, to cultivate both Element and Physique required droves of mana.


    For most, it resulted in a mediocre build, wasting years of effort simply because one''s mana was limited.


    For Ezra, this was not a problem as he had mana stones.


    So he began experimenting.


    He strapped a mana stone to his palm with torn cloth and drew mana from it into his body.


    But he soon discovered a problem


    While this method required less concentration, it was too slow.


    It took two minutes just for the mana to circte the meridians. After which, Ezra directed it onto the element orbs.


    It was slow, but not too slow.


    It would''ve failed had he been cultivating with atmospheric mana.


    As it was a mana stone, the cultivation was still effective.


    The next stage¡­cultivating while practicing.


    He stood slowly, taking out his swords.


    As he moved, the connection broke, causing the mana cirction to crumble.


    In essence, he had to redo the entire process.


    ''Hmm'' Ezra frowned.


    ''Let''s try that again''


    And he did, with more precision and concentration¡­only for history to repeat itself.


    With the same thing happening, he changed the approach, trying to understand the problem.


    He changed the dynamic of his mana cirction.


    Ten days flew by, and Ezra had barely any progress to show for it.


    Now, he was sweating profusely.


    Frustration had built up and it was heading to a breaking point.


    At this point, Ezra took a reproach.


    He took a day off from his training and slept.


    Waking up, his mind and body were now refreshed.


    With a cid mind, he began reevaluating his experiments, analyzing why his attempts failed.


    His conclusion¡­


    ''I went at this all wrong''


    He took too many steps too fast, causing him to make many mistakes and little progress.


    He sat down and meditated, clearing his mind, while opening a new outlook on achieving his aim.


    ''What do I have?''


    He began with himself, listing out his possessions.


    ''Mana stones, weapons, mana techniques,bat manuals, poison elixirs, potions, affinity fruits, that¡­mana cube? That fits. The snake egg¡­''


    ''I guess that''s everything''


    What did he need to cultivate? Time and mana.


    He had mana stones, which solved the problems of mana requirement.


    As for the other, he doubted an object capable of affecting time existed.


    Heughed at that thought.


    ''Yet here I am, back in the past''


    In any case, he didn''t have such a thing.


    Then, he broke down his goal into steps.


    Ingraining the mana cirction for connecting both Physique and Element was the number one objective.


    He began practicing it, holding the mana stone while sitting cross-legged.


    Drawing the mana within, he guided it in a different way.


    With hundreds of meridians in the body, cleansing it in its entirety was impossible.


    Just cleaning thergest one was already difficult.


    Ezra brought the mana straight to his chest and connected it to the ice orb. He then went further and connected it to the other orbs, splitting the stream of mana into five.


    During this, he identally moved them.


    Moving the orbs - however little - threw his upper body into chaos. His stomach twisted in agony and his chestpressed, forcing out a heavy breath as Ezra''s face was drained of color.


    Minutes went by as Ezra groaned, puking blood¡­again.


    He fainted soon after.


    He woke up at a time unknown, feeling groggy as he swayed when he tried to stand.


    After a few tries, he gave up.


    ''Let''s just stay like this for now''


    Facing the ceiling, he shut his eyes, emptying his mind to focus on his internal changes.


    ''Hmm!'' he was immediately rmed. He could feel his elements slightly easier.


    To test, he took out the mana stone, drawing little mana and connecting it to the blue orb.


    Upon connecting, his internals descended into chaos once more. This time, it was apanied with a splitting headache. Thankfully, he didn''t spew blood.


    With that, he slept, waking four hourster.


    He tried to stand, and did so easily.


    Stretching his limbs, he yawned and cleared the dirt in his eye, taking a cross legged sitting position once more.


    ''Let''s see what happened''


    Looking within, he saw all five orbs floating still.


    Before, they arrayed themselves randomly.


    They were now arrayed in a circle shape.


    Carefully, he connected mana to the ice orb.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Unlike before, his body felt no change.


    ''Interesting''


    He then sent a stream of mana to the other orbs.


    Like the first, nothing happened.


    Then he began analyzing what changes urred in his body.


    For one, the speed of which he connected the stream of mana to the orbs was faster.


    Second, his connection to the elements increased.


    Third, he could manifest the elements faster.


    ''Hmm¡­'' his curiosity peaked.


    In quick paces, he arrived at the library.


    He dodges Mr. Lennon, heading straight to the shelves. Thest thing he needed was another person poking their nose in his affairs.


    Flipping pages, he stumbled upon a helpful text soon after.


    ''Mages ought to shift their element orbs to the center of the chest right at the start of their cultivation journey, as that is when it is easiest''


    A memory came to mind.


    It was in his past life, a bit after registering in the army. A mage inspected him and said¡­


    ''Right at the center? How lucky''


    Now he understood.


    "My darkness orb was at the center of my heart in my past life"


    He read on, meeting a warning section.


    ''If moved inappropriately, it can lead to death. A high rank mage should be consulted for assistance on such matters''


    Ezra immediately thought of abandoning all ns on it.


    He knew no high ranked mage he could trust¡­except one!


    ''Bard!''


    While Ezra couldn''t trust himpletely, Bard knew about his affinities. Shifting his orbs wouldn''t make a difference.


    He headed to Bard''s ce.


    ¡ª-------------------------


    "I see" Bard said.


    "You''ve affirmed achieving Master-rank. So now you want to prepare yourself in advance" Bard nodded while rubbing his beard.


    "I may be wrong, but what are my liege''s intentions?"


    "It is exactly as you''ve said" Ezra nodded.


    Bard''s face brightened.


    "I''m d. Your request may be a bit difficult, but not beyond my means. Oh yes, how do you want it arranged?"


    "Arranged?"


    "As you have five affinities, cing them haphazardly would be utterly catastrophic!"


    Ezra nodded in understanding, whereas he knew nothing of the subject.


    "What would sir Bard suggest?"


    "Lightning, darkness, ice, fire and blood. There aren''t many ways to arrange such a vtile bunch"


    "Darkness, ice, blood, lightning, fire. Or fire, lightning, blood, ice and darkness, though it''s basically the same thing. It''s best in that order"


    "Why? What''s the significance?"


    Bard pointed at him.


    "Unlike most, you awakened a set of unfamiliar elements. Others awaken theirs in pairs. Light and Darkness, Fire and Ice, Lightning and Earth. These are pairs, stark opposites"


    "More so, is that I''ve only ever heard of quadruple affinities. Talent of your scale has not been heard of since the golden age" he shook his head.


    "In all cases, you are unique"


    "More importantly, it needs to be arranged to maintain bnce. Darkness rtes with Ice, both are calm but deadly forces. Fire signals fury and so does lightning, whereas blood holds all and holds nothing. It can be furious, calm, swiftly or heavy. All that matters is the will of its user"


    "Imbnce, such as cing lightning next to ice would cause friction as both sides fight for dominance. And from that friction would emerge a disaster"


    Bard pped.


    "Enough of that. I believe you have other matters to attend to. Shall we begin?"


    "Surely. What am I to do?"


    "Take off your shirt and sit. I''ll be right with you"


    Bard left to the undergroundpartment.


    ¡ª------------------


    "I apologize for the dy" Bard handed Ezra four potions. One ck, another blue, then red, and thest one was deep red.


    "These will smoothen the process. Red is for fire and dark red is for Blood. Blue is for ice and ck is for Darkness"


    "Ok"


    "Also take this" Bard handed him a leaf, one that crackled.


    ''Lightning leaf!'' Ezra was shocked. He realized that Bard wasn''t a card to push away.


    ''He''s very resourceful''


    "Take it one at a time in the predetermined order"


    "Why can''t I move them all at once?"


    "Of course not, they''re different!" Bard shouted.


    "They have different actions and reactions to movements! To move them all at once¡­he''d be lucky to not end up crippled"


    "Is that so¡­" Ezra rubbed his neck.


    He took a good look at the items, then at Bard.


    "What happens now?"


    "You focus on keeping yourself steady while I shift your orbs in ce"


    Gulping down the ck potion, Ezra felt euphoric.


    "What if I decide to do it without your help?"


    "I can''t say, but it is something I do not rmend"


    "Then¡­let''s begin"


    "Fuu¡­" Bard exhaled.


    "Rx" said Bard as he held Ezra''s shoulders.


    "Concentrate" his palm lit up with blue light.


    Ezra quivered, his mana ring up in response.


    Mana weaved like a seam andtched on to the darkness orb.


    ''Huu¡­''


    Ezra pushed his focus to the max, watching Bard closely.


    One could never be sure of who was the friend and who was the enemy.

 Chapter 196 Ice Shower (2)

    Unlike before, with one orb moving, the pain was far less.


    Grinding his teeth, Bard moved the orb.


    He would have warned Ezra of the pain, but Ezra''s muscles wiped his fears, so he didn''t bother.


    Ezra was drawn into an inexplicable darkness, awakening once the job was done.


    His body cast an enormous shadow and he was sweating buckets.


    "How long did it take?"


    "Ten minutes"


    "That short?"


    "I''m surprised as well. What is the affinity rank for darkness?"


    "A-rank" the more Bard didn''t know, the better.


    Swiftly, Ezra drank the blue potion as Bard warned him¡­


    "Moving too many too fast could cause issues"


    "Tell me that before I drink it"


    Sighing, Bard got to it.


    This time, he woke to an iced room, with his body frozen, releasing chilling air.


    Bard stood unbothered.


    "How do you feel"


    "What do you-"


    A headache struck as blood fell from his nose in drops.


    Ezra cleaned it and waved his hands away.


    "This¡­is¡­nothing much"


    Why was his voice funny?


    Bard raised his brow.


    "Your body''s covered in frostbite. It''s to be expected"


    With the pain so miniscule, Ezra gulped down the deep red potion.


    Bard was rmed.


    "You can''t just-"


    "Begin"


    This time, Ezra woke to see himself seated in a pool of blood.


    Moving his head revealed an amplified headache.


    Rubbing his hair, he found it covered in blood.


    A closer look revealed blood spilling out of his pores.


    He felt dizzy, but Ezra thought it manageable.


    As he sought to drink the next potion, his body went limp.


    "What¡­"


    His eyelid fell, sending him into the darkness.


    Waking up after an unknown amount of time, a smell struck him.


    The blood on his skin had dried and was now smelling.


    "Ah, you''ve awoken. How do you feel?"


    "Better than I did before. In a weird way"


    "Shall we finish?"


    "Shouldn''t I clean up first?"


    "No need. It''s better to shift the orbs as fast as possible"


    "Okay" he gulped the red potion.


    Immediately, his temperature rose.


    "Will you be okay?" he asked Bard, who smiled in response.


    "No worries my liege"


    Ezra shrugged and Bard began.


    He drifted into the darkness once more, awakening to a body rid of all smell. Instead, his skin radiated sweltering heat.


    He understood.


    ''I burnt the impurities away''


    Having slept, the bacsh was negligible, so he threw the lighting leaf in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.


    Bard went to work soon after as Ezra found himself wide awake as his body released arcs of white lightning.


    *Scrunch*


    His body twisted and his bones snapped, aligning in order as the lightning orb was pulled into ce toplete the circle.


    The orb settled and Ezra shook. The orbs lit up at the center of his chest and started orbiting as one.


    "Unbelievable" Bard muttered.


    Ezra was shocked.


    "Isn''t this supposed to happen?"


    s, he didn''t hear Bard''s reply as darkness erupted from his body.


    "Ugh!" Ezra groaned, his mind swirling in chaos as he sought to make sense of the situation.


    The darkness covered the chamber in its entirety. It began receding, recing it with a cold wind.


    As ice tried to materialize, Ezra''s heart pounded painfully, the phenomenon then ceased.


    He fell to the floor thinking¡­


    ''What just happened¡­?''


    His eyes caught sight of Bard running towards him as his vision went dark.


    ¡ª-------------------


    Elsewhere, Fredrick was dealing with a headache of his own.


    ''Seriously''


    With the advent of an Ice shower, the war proceedings stalled.


    Norge-scale battles took ce as the wet and slippery floor made it disadvantageous to do so.


    Skirmishes between small units reced it as the kingdoms were still going strong.<novelnext></novelnext>


    With the Emperor having added the conquering of nearby kingdoms to its aims¡­he put up conquerednds and Nobility titles as prizes to be won with contribution points.


    With immediate effect, Master-rank mercenaries and those affiliated arrived in droves, withdrawing an even bigger part of Niton''s fighting force.


    One would expect such events to reduce death tolls, but rather, it skyrocketed.


    Falling ice wasn''t the most fatal thing the ice shower brought. Vold.


    To weather such temperatures, thick clothes were needed and many could not afford it. And in response to the ice shower, these thick clothes had tripled or even quadrupled in price.


    Formoners, it was a hellish and testing time.


    In Lexon, more than seven hundredmoners died daily due to war and cold.


    Likewise, many were born as well.


    For ice Mages and ice attributed Knights, this was a heaven-sent opportunity to make a killing.


    With the hindrance of cold out of the way, they hunted twice as much as before and twice as fast. Also, being the main source of monter items, they charged triple the normal price, and of course, in such an advantageous environment, most could onlyply and pay.


    To fight the unfairness, adventurers banded together to hunt monsters as they refused to payrge amounts for meager pieces.


    Commoners had it worse, as many lived on their wages. s, the ice shower froze many businesses, blocking their source of ie.


    Businesses that remained in ce lowered the wages of their workers by more than half.


    Crime rates soared, with each person looking for something to eat.


    Many were those who had all the food stockpiled for rainy days stolen to thest grain.


    At some point, vigers ganged up to snatch and steal from their fellow townsfolk, giving excuses of how it ''wasn''t fair'' that one person enjoyed while others suffered.


    The result? A bloodbath ensued.


    At the end of their stick, the agile men and matured boys gathered and went to hunt beasts in groups of fifty and above.


    Others migrated from homes suffering incessant beast attacks from nearby beast regions.


    With man and beast hungry, blood was shed as each sought any and all ways to survive.


    In this situation, Fredrick found himself at the center of a massive problem.


    News of the Gold Slums movements spread far and wide, and thousands came seeking refuge as guild members.


    At the point where he would start to refuse and send them packing, Bolton came in.


    Emphasizing that thend certificate was ''gifted'' to ck Jaws only because of their noble goals of enriching the poor, he forbade that they send away those who came to them for help.


    Fredrick was amazed at his reasoning. As the royal advisor, he could move farrger forces to take care of the matter more efficiently.


    Instead, he pushed such a core responsibility on a G-rank guild.


    ''Unbelievable''


    Well, Fredrick wasn''t dumb.


    ''To think he''d target us this way''


    The moment ck Jaws refused their help, Bolton would use it as a window to take back thend certificate.


    He huffed a sigh. They had bought a month''s time to arrange matters to amodate therge number of people.


    In three days, they confirmed the first problem.


    ''We don''t have the funds to amodate such a project''


    There were at least three thousand people scattered about the slums of the cities ck Jaws was renovating.


    Then, as the avable workers ballooned, the pay lessened drastically, making the original workers resentful of those who arrivedter. This resulted in multiple confrontations as the two parties formed.


    In turn, ck Jaws had to spare many D-ranks to use as supervisors of the ongoing constructions.


    At the same time, guards of the delivery of goods were doubled to ward off bandits that had ballooned in number.


    Alongside that, their partnership with Halobren was in trouble.


    It was an all-round crisis.


    Unable tomunicate with Ezra, Fredrick called upon Cabrera, Nathan, Mirahan and Kron to deliberate a solution.


    Carlos Halobren, head of the Halobren merchant family was among them.


    "We can put up requirements to cut down the prospects we ept"


    "And the advisor would sit and watch as we do so?" Fredrick smiled.


    "Well¡­what other options do we have? Besides, we can''t buy buildings anymore. Where do you suggest we put them?"


    "Let''s have them hunt beasts" said Cabrera.


    "That''s basically sending them to be ughtered"


    "My point exactly. We can''t ept them all, so we need ways to cut down their numbers"


    "That way, we''ll be falling right into their trap" Fredrick spoke.


    Others couldn''t understand, so Fredrick continued.


    "If we send them to their deaths, what will happen once this ice shower ends?"


    None knew.


    "I''ll tell you. We will be told off as murderers and our reputation would hit rock bottom. It won''t be surprising for our members to be killed, following by our workers quitting"


    "We would progress at a slug''s speed, and changing that reputation would take too long. Then, at that point, that advisor would have every right to eradicate us citing that we ughtered the masses. It''ll be our end"


    Everyone calmed down.


    "So¡­we can''t kill them, yet neither can we ept them all"


    They sighed as Fredrick spoke.


    "For one, we''ll have the advisor lift our ban on purchasing finished buildings"


    He looked at Carlos, who hadn''t given a single remark.


    "What about you? What solution do you provide?"


    Garbed in thick clothes, ck gloves with orange hair, and a monocle, Carlos tapped his cheek.


    "The solution seems simple enough though"


    They were puzzled, but he continued¡­


    "Not enough money? Then shouldn''t you borrow?"


    Fredrick''s eyes widened as he''d forgotten about that possibility.


    Mirahan spoke¡­


    "It''ll be an astronomical amount. I doubt they are willing to lend such an amount"


    Carlos smiled.


    "Of course they won''t. That''s why we''ll use their trick against them"


    "Which is?" asked Nathan.


    Carlos pointed out the window.


    "The people"

 Chapter 197 Ice Shower (3)

    "The people"


    Fredrick nodded, his mind working out multiple scenarios.


    At the end, a grin came upon him.


    "Sir Carlos"


    Carlos turned to him.


    "You have opened my mind to many things"


    "d to be of help. After all, what are partners for?"


    Fredrick nodded.


    "Cabrera. Head to the sentinel. Get us a loan five times what is avable. Mirahan will work out the numbers"


    "Nathan, head to the pce and meet with the advisor. Have him retract the imposed ban"


    "Kron. I''ll have you begin the recruitment for those seeking help. Have theme to Kingsmere. Since the advisor is such an advocate for the poor. He''ll be very pleased to wee them"


    "Of course, we take it upon ourselves to help the poor. I have nothing against weaklings, but I hate useless weaklings. Sift through them thoroughly. We need no cattle in our guild. Send away any deemed unworthy and dispose of any trouble maker"


    "That said, bind those useless but extremely in need. We''ll find some use for themter"


    "Asmanded" said Kron.


    Bits of Fredrick''s aura came out.


    "Some think this guild was made in the name of charity. Let them know nothinges for free"


    "Next, get fabric weavers to join us. We need enough clothes for the neers. I don''t want my members dying of cold"


    "Should we? Doing this will set forth precedence that might be better avoided" Nathan chipped in.


    "Exin" said Fredrick.


    "If we take in these few, word of it will spread. It won''t be surprising for an additional ten thousand to arrive at our doorsteps as a result"


    Fredrick rubbed his head.


    "True, but that''s not something we can control"


    Nathan went silent.


    "But we can always respond" said Fredrick.


    "We''ll simply make provisions for the eventuality"


    He looked at Cabrera.


    "Once the loan amount is finalized, triple it. We''ll need that much to make efficient use of the iing members. And with Nathan''s words, that''s at least thirty thousand"


    "Crazy¡­!" said Mirahan.


    "Look at the bright side. If it all works out, we might never need to recruit another member by the end of the ice shower"


    "Hmm¡­" he muttered, looking at Kron.


    "Forget my earlier statement. Bind all recruits"


    "That would cause an outrage!" warned Kron.


    "Outrage? They need us, not the other way round. Besides, it''s easy to identify which are actually hopeless. Those who refuse will look for the answers to their problems elsewhere"


    Cabrera nodded.


    "So¡­we''ll be chasing away the bad eggs while solving our problem of workforce as we absorb the rest. It''s brilliant"


    Fredrick nodded, looking at Carlos.


    "I''m sure such arrangements are to your liking?"


    Carlos waved his hands.


    "Think nothing of it. Our objectives are our only priorities"


    "Well said. The cksmiths that broke our contract, have them cklisted"


    "Carlos, I''ll have you write up a list of lower wages for the workers. That, andmission a recruitment notice for farmers. I''ll leave the wage for you to decide"


    Carlos wondered.


    "Perhaps?"


    Fredrick nodded.


    "Yes, we''ll be purchasing another piece ofnd. An ice shower doesn''te by often, so we have to make the most of it"


    Carlos nodded.


    "The seeds of the ice nts?"


    Fredrick turned to Mirahan, who shook his head.


    "I''m afraid not too many remain"


    "Leave it to me. I''ll handle the resupply"


    Fredrick looked around.


    "Find me master farmers and ice mages. With the right amount, we can triple the production speed"


    With that attended to, Fredrick ended the meeting.


    "You may leave"


    As they moved to do their duties, Fredricks called back Mirahan and Carlos. The others were to finish their assignments and head back to Traxford.


    "What of the franchises bought, what is their situation?"


    "Those refurbished exploded in activity. Many of them have be go-to ces for nobility"


    "Good. Others?"


    "Others are giving less than before. Commoners are scampering their amounts, spending only on essentials"


    He looked at Carlos.


    "Your thoughts?"


    "Half of the underperforming franchises should be emptied of their goods and turned into taverns. Then the wine and food quality should be severely lessened in these ces while the prices stay the same"


    Mirahan continued.


    "My thoughts exactly. The goods of those franchises would be transported to the other half, barring any need for new items. At least until this shower ends"


    Carlos nodded.


    "I also suggest you build a storage as quickly as possible"


    "Why so?" asked Fredrick, as they already had one.


    "Separate from what you already have. A storage specifically for the herbs and foods harvested"


    "On that note, I advise that herbs harvested in this period be preserved rather than sold" said Mirahan.


    "Right now, being easy to grow, we will be unable to sell them for their worth. If preserved, we will be able to sell them for several times that"


    "Hmm" said Fredrick while rubbing his short beard.


    "We''re already doing that"


    "Oh? Ok"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "What do you think of purchasing more plots instead of one?"


    "Hmm, it''s difficult to say without knowing where these plots will be. That aside, it would spread our forces thin, as I do not think you have enough people to supervise such an undertaking" said Carlos.


    "True. Not many plotsy within walking distance. No, buying thosends would call far too much attention"


    "Might I ask where the first plot is?"


    "Piend"


    Carlos furrowed his brow.


    "That''s far, but I guess sir must have his reasons. How many plotsy beside it?"


    "At least five. It''s right before a beast region"


    "What?!" Carlos was rmed.


    Growing crops at the edge of a forest filled with hungry beasts didn''t seem to be the brightest of ideas.


    "It''s a task for our guild members. They''ll kill beasts to protect the farmers" said Fredrick.


    "You''re using the farmers as bait?"


    "It gets the job done" Fredrick shrugged.


    "At the end of the day, we get both herbs and beasts. They''ll have worked their worth"


    "If a beast tide forms, they''ll all be killed"


    "A beast tide in an ice shower? It''ll never happen. Besides, they''ll be given rare quality armor. If they die to E and D ranks even then, so be it. So long as they survive, the guild will cure their illnesses and heal their wounds"


    "Right" Carlos muttered.


    "Father wouldn''t allowed me to partner with them if they were some ordinary guild"


    Coughing, Mirahan captured Fredrick''s attention.


    "Why not buy off the rest of thends?"


    "I n to do just that" said Fredrick.


    "Seems we''re done here"


    Carlos and Mirahan stood up.


    "We''ll be taking our leave then"


    With a nod from Fredrick, they headed out.


    Out of sight, Fredrick''s mind wandered to his next action.


    ''Sebastian''s expertise will be needed to arouse the people so we can get the loan''


    Quickly, Fredricks got into action.


    Awaking, Ezra was drowsy as he cleaned his eyes and sat up.


    "You''ve awakened"


    While stretching, Bard handed him water, which he chugged down.


    He tapped his bandaged chest, feeling a lingering pain, then remembered the events that led to his copse.


    "What happened?"


    "Sire, did you cultivate your elements?"


    "How did you know?"


    "The resonance wouldn''t have failed otherwise"


    "Resonance?"


    "When your elements aligned, they resonated, forming a harmonic alignment which would have allowed better and easier control over elements" Bard said.


    "It happens to mages at the Advanced-rank and beyond. Yet I doubt you''ve reached that stage. Or have you?"


    Ezra shook his head.


    "Hmm. I suspect it''s a perk of your physique. The body of a Miller is said to be blessed"


    "O-K, then why did it fail?"


    "Which of your elements have you cultivated?"


    "Just Fire and Ice, to the Adept-rank"


    "I see. You need to cultivate the rest to the same stage for harmonic alignment to ur"


    "I see" said Ezra.


    He liked that Bard didn''t ask unnecessary questions.


    "I''ll be returning to my chambers now"


    Getting to his chambers, he dove right into element cultivation.


    ''Let''s go about this one at a time''


    He began with Darkness.


    A dayter, Darkness advances in rank.


    Thereafter, he cultivates Lightning and then Blood.


    Eight dayster, all elements are now at the Adept-rank.


    Having memorized the weavings of mana as Bard was doing it, Ezra initiated element resonance on his own.


    The orbs lit up at once as Ezra rose above ground while he stood.


    The orbs'' colors shone from his chest as they began rotating.


    At the start came Darkness.


    Like before, the darkness orb let out Dark fumes that traveled his meridians before escaping through the pores while clearing out impurities. The fumes covered half of the chamber.


    A minute went by and Ice reced it as winds of frost were let out. Ezra quivered as cold winds traveled his internals, freezing the walls as well.


    After that was Blood. This brought about the most excruciating of pains as Ezra''s blood spiraled and boiled. His eyes became bloodshot as it refined itself, letting impurities flow out the pores.


    Right after came Fire, engulfing his body in heat as his meridians were aggressively tempered and burnt out another section of impurities.


    Ezra''s silver hair put up more luster once done, and subsequently rose to attention and shone white as sparks of white lightning came about.


    *Zinnng*


    Crackling and sparking, Ezra was thankful the chambers were made with such things in mind.


    The lightning simply tapped off the walls.


    Then, it receded and Ezra''s chest heaved as his body and eyes lit up with a ck hue that changed to blue to crimson to red toplete white and then turned back to ck.


    At the same time, he fell to the floor, holding his stomach as he puked out a hefty bile of ck goo.


    From his eyes and ears, drops of the ck substance fell.


    ? Soon enough, it began pouring out of his pores.


    Feeling weightless, he fell on his back, his face to the ceiling.


    Soon after, his eyelids fell and he was drawn into the darkness, all the while holding a smile.

 Chapter 198 Ice Shower (4)

    An hour after Fredrick''s meeting ended, Cabrera was sitting in front of the Sentinel.


    "Another loan?!" Kogar was astounded.


    "You spent it all in a single year?"


    Cabrera waved his hands, uninterested in addressing the Sentinel''s questions. After all, any person with ears or eyes would''ve heard of the buildings they were constructing.


    Most likely, he was just trying to get Cabrera talking, spilling useful information.


    "Because of your advisor, we have many mouths to feed. To do that, we''ll need this much"


    Cabrera pushed a small scroll to him.


    Kogar unfolded it. All that was written was a string of numbers.


    Reading it, he tilted, giving Cabrera an incredulous look.


    "What is this supposed to be exactly?"


    "What do you think? That''s how much we want loaned"


    "You must be joking" Kogar turned stern.


    "Not in the least"


    "What could you possibly need such amounts for?"


    "I beg your pardon, but our aims are not your concerns"


    Kogar''s vein popped.


    "I see you''ve grown arrogant"


    Cabrera just stared at him, giving a ''look who''s talking'' vibe.


    "Are we getting the loan or not?" he cut straight to the point.


    Huffing, Kogar returned the parchment.


    "I can''t grant it. The advisor strictly said for no loans to be allowed to your guild"


    "Is that so?" Cabrera frowned and stood.


    "I''ll be going then" he said and left.


    An hourter, he sat in front of Fredrick, having narrated the situation.


    "I see. Well, it''s as I expected"


    Cabrera was surprised.


    "You expected it?"


    "Of course. The advisor isn''t stupid, how could he allow us a loan after seeing what we did with the first one. Especially since we don''t pay tax"


    "So, what do we do?"


    "We''ll simply ask for the loan again"


    "Huh?"


    "Only, this time with a louder voice"


    "I''m lost"


    "No worries. You''ll understand soon enough. Carlos should be done posting the new recruitment notice. By tomorrow, the bans on us will be retracted. Just wait and see"


    The day went by and the night passed along with it.


    Hours before dawn of the next morning, warning bells hosted atop archer towers were rung, throwing the citizens into a frenzy, for it meant an army was iing.


    Befitting the capital, they responded swiftly. In minutes, the guards were arrayed at the city''s gate with Bolton and Kogar at the forefront.


    A swarm of people slowly marched on the horizon.


    From afar, they seemed like an army of enemies, but Bolton thought differently.


    ''How did such arge group get past the cities before here?''


    There were at least a thousand people marching. It was impossible that such a presence hadn''t alerted the surrounding cities.


    Especially since an ice shower was ongoing. It made no sense.


    Bolton waited for them to get closer.


    Upon reaching his range of sight, he was bbergasted.


    "What in the Raikan''s name?!" Kogar was straightforward in expressing his surprise.


    Rather than an army of touches, the visages revealed were those ofmoners!


    Men and women, with their children on their backs, marched through the ice, their bodies and clothes covered in ice.


    Bolton could see from afar that they were quivering. Yet their gaze was unwavering.


    With every step, someone fell out of sheer exhaustion. Most of them never got back up, and not many had the energy to do anything other than move their legs.


    As if the guards did not array themselves at the gate, these people approached without any regard.


    The visual of thousands moving in sync brought some knights to panic.


    "STOP!" shouted the captain of the guards.


    But those marching didn''t even put them in their eyes as they walked on.


    "I SAID TO STOP!"


    Upon seeing they remained unresponsive, he grew rmed and was almost about to order that the archers rain fire.


    Almost, because a figurended at their side, startling most.


    "Don''t touch those people!"


    Garbed in a ck hooded cloak, he surveyed the surroundings.


    The captain was taken aback.


    More than that, he was furious!


    "Who are you to-"


    The intruder released his aura, a gold aura, and instantly, the captain was swept away.


    At this point, Bolton and Kogar intervened.


    "Who dares?"


    The intruder faced them and swept back his hood to reveal a familiar face.


    "I do"


    It was Cabrera.


    Bolton became infuriated.


    "In what right do you have to intrude on the proceedings of the royal order"


    Cabrera bowed his head.


    "Lest you forget, I am one of your allies"


    Bolton held his hand as Kogar continued.


    "Then? Why are you here? Speak!"


    He pointed to those approaching.


    "I came to escort those people inside"


    Everyone was startled as Cabrera continued¡­


    "They are those needy and poor who braved the winds and traveled from nearby ces to receive our aid. I was informed of their arrival after nightfall yesterday. Never did I think they''d arrive so fast, nor be so robust in number. I hadn''t informed your graces of this movement because of such. I apologize"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Both men took deep breaths. In front of so many knights, they had to radiate power.


    Along with that¡­


    ''When did he be so strong?''


    Kogar knew him to be an Advanced-rank. Yet he had blown away the captain of the guards, who waste Expert-rank, with his aura alone.


    That meant Cabrera was mid-Expert at the very least.


    ''I underestimated them'' thought Bolton as he raised their threat level in his mind.


    Cabrera brought forth a pouch and handed it to Bolton, who gave a puzzled look.


    "In them are the entry fees for those people"


    Looking inside, he saw four gold pieces.


    Bolton was unnerved, suspicious of their agenda, when his ears caught alight of a knight''s conversation.


    "He paid for the entry of peasants. Such chivalry!"


    Such a statement garnered the respect of these knights, who took chivalry, courage and bravery as core values.


    ''Ah!'' Bolton realized.


    ''Putting up a show, are we?''


    In minutes, he dispersed the guards, sending them back to their posts.


    Cabrera whistled and droves of slum dwellers turned guild members came forward. Cabrera told them to stay at the gates, ready to receive all those who reached that point.


    Soon after, they arrived at the gates, many fainting the moment their legs touched stone.


    Quickly, the guild members took them in, dressing them in thick clothes to protect them from the cold.


    When that was done, they were lodged into hotels and the newly built slums to sleep.


    For the next three days, people kept arriving, amounting to more than five thousand.


    Each rejoiced as ck Jaws gave them food, shelter and clothes. While not much,pared to their previous situation, it was heaven.


    But as the numbers grew, Kingsmere grew congested, and so did theints.


    People slept at the side of the road and eased themselves on it too, causing massive disaster as the city''s air wafted with the smell of feces.


    s, being the one who executed the order to ck Jaws, Bolton couldn''t tell them to send those people away.


    Instead, he put amission to clean up the city. Paying a reasonable amount, it was quickly done¡­by those who made the mess in the first ce.


    It didn''t take long for all lodgings to be jam packed. Kingsmere was unable to provide any more spaces for people.


    Around this time, rumors began to spread of how ck Jaws might fold up because of the cost incurred by taking care of many things at once.


    To take things further, news of how the royal family denied ck Jaws a loan to take care of the people came to light.


    The people went into an uproar, as people headed to the Missionary in swarms.


    Taking caution, royal guards were deployed at the forefront of the Missionary.


    Of course, with Kogar being Master-rank, it wouldn''t take him any effort to get rid of them all if they tried anything funny.


    The guards were but a formality and show of power.


    The people surrounded the Missionary, looking on with fiery gazes, when suddenly¡­ they bowed!


    They bowed simultaneously, throwing the guards into confusion.


    "Huh?" they wondered what was going on.


    Before long, the people chanted in one voice.


    "PLEASE APPROVE THE LOAN!"


    The voice of thousands resounded with such force that the guards could only step back.


    This was Fredrick''s n.


    With Sebastian''s help, rumors of how the empire didn''t lend ck Jaws the amount needed to take them in was spread to the people.


    At this moment, Kogar understood the scheme too.


    He ordered the guards to drive them away, but the guardsy unmoving.


    Thesemoners were crying as they hit their head against the floor over and over again.


    At such conviction and helplessness, the guards were unwilling to attack.


    Instead, they looked to Kogar.


    At this time, one of the guild members stood up and came to the forefront. In his hands was the scroll in which the amount to be loaned was written in.


    At this critical juncture, Kogarmunicated with Bolton.


    "They have-"


    "I know. I expected something like this" Bolton cut him off.


    "So? What next?"


    "Grant them the loan"


    "As you wish"


    That was the end of the conversation.


    "Escort him up here" Kogar''s voice boomed.


    With the reputation of the Royal Family about to take a dive, the loan was administered swiftly.


    Ten times the amount ck Jaws had in its reserves was the amount requested.


    It amounted to seven million and seventy-five thousand tinum.


    An amount unprecedented to any power, making them Lexon''s richest organization, at least on paper.


    Mind you, even the Empire didn''t have such an amount in its coffers, which was part of why it was approved in the first ce.


    Anything they would buy, they would buy in the Empire.


    On paper, they had such an amount, but the empire didn''t give them a single coin.


    Meaning, the empire would provide them with the item in question while taking the amount from the loan they granted ck Jaws.


    If they wanted to buy an item from another kingdom or continent? Niton would give them money.


    Why would they do something so stupid? Simple. They werepletely sure that they wouldn''t be able to pay off the amount in eight years.


    No, they couldn''t spend it all even if they tried¡­well, except if they bought the sea.


    Due to their tax exemption rule, for the next eight years, they wouldn''t pay tax.


    But after that, they would pay an astronomical amount.


    If they couldn''t, the guild would instantly fold-up.


    Bolton didn''t doubt them though. He''d learnt from their previous stunts.


    Instead, the interest would make sure the empire earned multiple times what they''d been given.


    Then, he wasn''t about to let them have it easy.


    To spice things up, he sent and proprietorship certificate to the S and A-rank guilds, along with a few B-ranks.


    Kingsmere was bloated as thousands arrived with the hope of joining ck Jaws.


    Bolton''s actions sent Niton into an uproar.


    If nothing else, many things would change from Ezra''s past life.

 Chapter 199 Ice Shower (5)

    Seated in a chamber in the royal pce of Avi, the Emperor held a mana stone encased in his palm, drawing out mana from it, which he then used to expunge the poison within him.


    He had done so for the past three years.


    Progress was akin to that of a slug, but the Emperor could only be content, and even happy, that it worked at all.


    With the war ongoing, today was to be like any other, until his space ring shone with red light.


    ''Hmm? Bolton?''


    He paused his cultivation, brought out a red crystal, and shattered it on the floor, letting it stter.


    Thereafter, essence erupted from the pieces and coalesced into words on the floor.


    As it formed, the Emperor realized it was longer than most messages Bolton sent him and began reading through.


    As he read, his expression kept changing. At the end of the reading session, the Emperor was confused, amazed and disgruntled at the same time.


    ''Giving every A and S rank guild and ownership certificate as a leash to ensure their obedience¡­It''s not a bad idea.


    ''Then¡­ck Jaws was it? They''ve been causing a bit of trouble. Wonder why he approved the buffer zone''


    The Emperor smirked.


    ''I would like to meet them. Must be something if Bolton spoke of them at such a length''


    ''Hmm''


    He looked at himself. Much of the poison remained for him to clear up. At the current speed, he''d take him a few more years.


    ''That''ll have to wait'' he said, throwing the matter aside. Other matters came to mind.


    Besides that, the war was reaching its boiling point. If he doesn''t do something to prolong it, the war will end and his situation will be discovered.


    And the moment people realized the Emperor was gravely injured, enemies and allies alike woulde for his head.


    He wasn''t going to let that happen.


    ''With this in ce, I should make things a bit more exciting. Besides-


    His face crumpled.


    -I don''t like that that b#stard hasn''t been affected''


    He smiled.


    ''Now, shall we shake things up a bit?''


    The Emperor increased the stakes once more, promisingnd and ownership of a beast region for a sufficient amount of contribution points.


    If that wasn''t enough, he had a party of Master-ranksnd a surprise attack on Itrevezar - a kingdom beside Quartez - thaty at the edge of the continent.


    It sparked a rage when the forces of Itrevezar came to battle.


    Now, Niton was being attacked on all fronts, but the Emperor didn''t panic.


    After all, for him to make such a move, he would have something he relied on.


    Thinking of it, he smiled.


    ''Let have it build up some more''


    When the war reached the boiling point, he woulde in and inflict damage on all parties.


    Just thinking of it, the Emperor''s grin stretched. (I guess we know where Ezra got it from)


    Confusion spread as news of Bolton''s iprehensible action spread to all ranks of Lexon.


    Additionally, Bolton revealed the fact that ck Jaws was given one in advance.


    Fredrick couldn''t care less. Instead, he took advantage while others were still trying to understand the situation.


    For one, ck Jaws already had aprehensive list ofnds for sale.


    ck Jaws went on a purchasing spree, buying multiple viges and isted towns to begin reconstruction.


    Alongside that, more and more people arrived and, like Cabrera conjectured, in the next twenty days, more than forty thousand people were recruited, or rather, enved.


    The ice shower made many desperate, and ck Jaws was happy to make use of that desperation.


    These thousands were then sent back to their viges as builders.


    They rejoiced the day the loan was approved, expecting ck Jaws to grant them the life they''d always wanted.


    Too bad though, Ezra had other ns.


    With S and A ranks nowndpetitors, Fredrick swiftly bought all thends Ezra mentioned in his list by hook or by crook.


    Stuck-up officials? he bribed them.


    Insufficient manpower? he bought ves in the thousands.


    A condition was ced in which the Emperor had to sign an acknowledgement for the transaction to be consideredplete.


    As he did that, Bolton tripled thend prices.


    Land owners would pay yearly tax, and Bolton doubled these as well.


    This posed no difficulty for Fredrick though. With an original document, he boughtnds at the normal price from the Sentinel.<novelnext></novelnext>


    And with the tax exemption, ck Jaws wasn''t paying any taxes any time soon.


    Bolton was furious, but what could he do? ck Jaws was buffered.


    For two weeks, Fredrick was on a rampage, splurging on all ounts as he bought anything deemed remotely useful.


    To purchase anything, ck Jaws had to notify Bolton, who would then process the order and give the other party money.


    It was the second reason for Bolton''s approval. He could monitor their transactions without even trying.


    For the price of five hundred thousand tinum, he bought a Gold-ted Beast region upancy from Bolton.


    Now, ck Jaws could buy monster regions, a privilege normally excluded to B-S rank guilds. A privilege Fredrick promptly made use of.


    Seven beast regions were bought, as it was the maximum ck Jaws guild members could take on.


    The smallest was two F-rank regions. Two were E-rank regions, thest three were D, D and C rank respectively.


    Mind you, the highest number of regions owned by a single organization was twelve.


    Come on, you didn''t expect him to throw fresh recruits into beast regions to test their talents, did you?


    Well, he was going to do exactly that, but not this soon.


    To avoidplications, Bolton banned ck Jaws and all other guilds withnd certificates from buyingnd beneath cities, apart from slums.


    It was to nudge them onto the path of developing Niton. And ck Jaws was leading the movement.


    Fredrick hired Master-rank builders, formation masters, cooks, cksmiths, rune smiths, blood mages, farmers and ice mages.


    The ice mages were hired for the duration of the ice shower to help elerate the growth of the ice nts.


    In the same breath, he attached two promising guild members to each Master to learn from them and shadow their movements. ck Works elevated to greater heights, going from obscurity to one of the top fifty profession guilds almost overnight.


    The guild ''Goldmasters'' saw a rise even more exaggerated.


    After lengthy talks, Fredrick put Andras Halobren - father of the current head, Carlos Halobren - in charge of monitoring the money flow, essentially keeping an eye on Nathan and Mirahan.


    Fredrick bought vacantnd hosted right before a beast region he now owned and turned it into arge farm for ice nts.


    The skyscraper being constructed was demolished, which had many questioning Cabrera''s sanity.


    Gathering the brains of four Master builders, twenty-five Expert builders and Ezra''s past (future?) memories, an entirely new building was designed.


    The demolished building was used as the foundation and construction of the new building began.


    The former builders were fired, being allowed to continue working on the condition they joined the guild.


    The best builders were hired and Fredrickuded them with thousands of ves to use for all the heavy lifting and misceneous activities.


    Besides that, Fredrick began other projects simultaneously, including, but not limited to, the total reconstruction of the slums in another thirteen cities (Fredrick bought four more), and the reconstruction of twenty-two towns and ten viges.


    For this, he used the guild members and outsourced manpower through the Missionary by posting missions.


    The former problem was that they were tight on money and it would dilute manpower, making them susceptible to a flurry of issues.


    Now, they weren''tcking money in any way. For the second, money was used to outsource manpower.


    New sketches were made. The new buildings were built to be not luxurious, but eternally durable.


    Meanwhile, the guild members were tested and the strongest thousand were segregated.


    While others were sent to do missions, they continued cultivation and training as Fredrick focused the best resources on their growth. Beast regions were among the things reserved for them.


    Along with that, ck Jaws weed a lot of shifters and a few psychics.


    Fredrick held a test in which he gave out the eggs gotten from the A-rank snake at the Manite mountain.


    One was given to Sebastian at his request.


    Fredrick also distributed missions all round Lexon and beyond to find people with descriptions Ezra mentioned. They were hidden talents.


    s, no matter how much was promised, the Sentinel was unwilling to extend the tax exemption period.


    ck Jaws''s upper echelon became extremely busy - Sebastian included - as they coordinated and supervised every project.


    ck silence was elevated as five hundred members joined. Sebastian was likewise sleepless as he coordinated his agents and adjusted the information gathering process while updating Fredrick on any daily changes on external or internal factors.


    Cabrera had to bear the brunt of these procedures because Fredrick''s identity was obscured, and in name, he was ck Jaws''s guild master.


    Nobles of all ranks requested audiences. With so much on his te, Cabrera didn''t even consider it and humbly declined, incurring the wrath of many, but what did he care?


    It wasn''t like they came to render aid, though they said so. Each came with their own agenda, and Cabrera wasn''t about to begin dealing with it.


    They didn''t like his attitude? Feel free to drop dead.


    Naturally, rumors flew around as many cursed him, calling him arrogant, prideful, greedy, haughty and every other thing they could think up.


    Cabrera didn''t have time to hear about it, much less care.


    ck Jaws felt the ice shower''s devastation firsthand as they counted the ves that died each day on the construction sites, a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.


    It was a time of decline for many, and a time prosperous for many more.


    This ice shower would be a determining factor to ck Jaws rise.

 Chapter 200 Ice Shower (6)

    Ezra woke to a putrid smell, one he was familiar with.


    He sat up with a nk face, looking around to see the pool of ck goo beneath him.


    He stood up, taking a closer look at himself.


    Apart from the ck goo, the rity of his vision had increased, as did the luster of his skin.


    ''I''ve never felt this good''


    It was amazing. His body felt weightless despite the braces on his limbs.


    He took a look around.


    ''I had this much impurities left?''


    It was baffling.


    In an hour, Ezra cleaned the chamber and himself.


    Now garbed in new clothes, he sat cross legged.


    ''Let''s see what''s changed''


    Shutting his eyes, Ezra used his mana to feel his internals.


    For one, his meridians had increased in size.


    The orbs, all Adept-rank, were still the same size as they orbited slowly, but Ezra felt his connection to the elements was better than ever.


    Now, he could distinguish between elemental particles in the atmosphere.


    With but a thought, a stream of mana thicker than before reached the orbs swiftly.


    Upon reaching one of them, the stream splits into five without Ezra guiding it, one connected to each orb.


    ''Oh!'' Ezra was pleasantly surprised.


    Afterwards, he looked at his meridians. The impurities had been cleared out.


    ? Ezra achieved one of his objectives.


    With the change in his internals confirmed, what about the externals?


    He released his cultivation and took out his pair of short swords.


    ''Did I¡­grow taller?'' he noticed.


    The increase was miniscule and most wouldn''t notice, but Ezra did.


    Then, he began practice, taking different poses as he tested out multiple movements.


    He eventually took out Skyfall for a spin.


    At the end of his session he concluded¡­


    "The time between the change of element has gotten even smaller"


    "I''ve got stronger" he smiled.


    "Now, onto the next task"


    He had toplete the technique where he''d be able to cultivate and practice at the same time.


    With his elements bnced, he got to work.


    In the process, he found that his mental capabilities had increased.


    He couldn''t move while drawing mana at the same time, so he held a mana stone in between his teeth.


    As mana gushed down his gullet, he directed it to his meridians and, from there, onto the orbs.


    At the first try, he failed and a headache came knocking.


    Surprisingly, he didn''t puke blood, only bleeding from his nose.


    ''Must be a perk of the attaining elemental harmony''


    He continued, and steadily grew in progress.


    After two weeks, he could maintain the cultivation mana flow of physique and elements simultaneously.


    In that time, Fredrick hadmunicated Bolton''stest actions and the war proceedings to him along with the subsequent events.


    Ezra felt a headacheing on. He certainly expected the future to change, but things were spiraling out of control far too soon!


    After lengthy deliberations, Ezra sent Fredrick a list of people to recruit, people to be killed, ces to go for treasure hunting or grave robbing, guild''s and ns to ally with, those to watch out for, the next development n, and few others.


    The motive behind this was simple.


    From the start, he knew he couldn''t take all the hidden pieces, nor find all the hidden gems on his lonesome.


    With the changes urring faster than Ezra could anticipate, he took an enormous gamble and gave away most of the advantages he had.


    This was also thought out.


    If he tried to hoard the knowledge to himself because of his fear of betrayal, the knowledge might be rendered useless by the time he came of age, and that would be a regret beyond words.


    Besides, he had enough mana stones to cultivate to Grandmaster level, so if Fredrick betrayed him, he''d be able to weather whatever storm came his way.


    Although it was surprising that Fredrick hadn''t voided the soul contract, Ezra was still uneasy.


    This looming threat strengthened Ezra''s desire to grow strong.


    ''This time, I''ll make sure no one can trample on me!''


    Now able to simultaneously maintain the cultivation of both aspects simultaneously, the next task was to strengthen the mana flow until it was ingrained in his subconsciousness.


    He got to work, finding the second step far more difficult than the first.


    At first, while he could maintain the process, taking away concentration made the mana flow break.


    That could not be allowed, so he began tinkering with the pathways of mana, creating a unique mana pathway for it.


    Many times, he had to change the origin and the end of the mana path.


    Then, he changed from where the stream of mana connected to the orbs.


    Fifteen days in, Ezra had read across all the mana techniques he brought and his eyelids had darkened fromck of sleep.


    "This is it"


    It took time, but the result made it worth the effort.<novelnext></novelnext>


    He made the mana go along from one side of his body to the order.


    From the throat, the mana would go down the left shoulder, splitting into two as one filled the meridian on the arm while the rest flowed down the left leg.


    From the left leg, it would flow into the right leg, flowing upwards to the right arm.


    As it did so, streams of mana extended and connected to the orbs.


    Then, the mana split again as one flowed down the right arm while the rest went above the shoulder into the cranium.


    He opened up a few smaller meridians that connected to thergest like branches on a tree to give better coordination of mana.


    As the impurities in thergest meridians were cleared out, the ones in the smaller ones weren''t difficult to clear out as well.


    To sustain the cultivation method and increase its efficiency, he created stops along the pathway over the course of another twenty days.


    ''Cores'' he called them.


    The multiple stops made sure the mana didn''t overwhelm him. Even better, he could increase and restrict the amount of mana in his attacks.


    This brought about multiple considerations as for what his fighting styles would be.


    The ice shower passed after fifty-five days, fifteen more days than expected. It took the perk of increased ice cultivation speed with it.


    Ezra had no regrets, rather, he was thankful that it had brought to his attention to something that might''ve eluded him for years otherwise. Though Fedrick was regretful it hadn''tsted longer.


    With the impurities cleared out, Ezra drank multiple poison elixirs to increase the potency of the poison in his blood, harden his meridians, and recondition his body.


    Experimenting with his elements, he made short swords out of blood. After that, he made short swords with ice.


    The power of the elemental weapons was negligible, but Ezra knew its uses to be better for short and throwing weapons.


    He practiced cultivation of physique and element simultaneously for another two months.


    He gained enough proficiency to do it with far less concentration.


    The next step was cultivating while training with his weapons.


    Upon trying, a massive headache hit him, causing extreme dizziness and for blood to wash out of Ezra''s nose.


    It was an experience to remember, and Ezra wasn''t optimistic feeling the same again.


    He checked his steps, analyzing it all the way.


    Turns out, he skipped a step.


    The next step was to cultivate without conscious thought.


    He began with a simple step¡­walking while cultivating.


    Of course, he failed, incurring a headache and a bad stomach in the process - one far less painful than thest.


    With each try, he rapidly progressed, umting proficiency at speeds that would scare Master Mages.


    In two months, he could walk while cultivating - with the mana stone hosted in between his teeth, of course.


    Ezra clocked eight years old.


    Another month passed and he could now jog while cultivating.


    The fifth month psed and he could now run while cultivating.


    His mana sensitivity, conductivity and mana pool increased by leaps and bounds.


    By cultivating both physique and element, his mana pool expanded, bing six times the normal size.


    With the seventh month evaporating, he could jump, twirl, and spin while cultivating.


    In the eighth month, he made a breakthrough. All elements advance to Intermediate-rank.


    Ezra huffed, nodding.


    ''I''m ready''


    At the start of the ninth month, he retried training while cultivating.


    He took the mana stone and ced half of it in his mouth and half outside, holding it in ce with his teeth.


    As the mana gushed in, he was quick to guide it through the meridians and connect it to the element orbs, starting a new cultivation session.


    He sustained it with little concentration, directing the rest of his mind to weapon practice.


    He took out the pair of short swords, took a stance, and then transited slowly into the next movement.


    Hepleted a slow sh without experiencing a break in cultivation.


    ''Yes!'' he hailed.


    In doing so, the connection broke.


    ''No!'' he cried as his mana went wild.


    Blood spurted from his mouth, but he quickly built back the connection.


    A smile widened on his sweat drenched face, as he affirmed¡­


    ''It''s possible''


    The mana flow didn''t break with his first movement.


    Now, he just had to improve on the Mindless Cultivation technique - as he aptly named it - till he could maintain it no matter the situation.


    He went back to the first step, understanding the problem.


    ''I can''t maintain cultivation and concentrate on perfecting my movements at the same time''


    After all, he had only one mind.


    ''That it!''


    He poured outbat manuals and mana techniques from his space ring and dug in.


    Flipping pages, he found his mental acuity to have increased.


    ''Even my mind''s being reinforced''


    Skimming, he picked out eight techniques and returned the rest.


    He didn''t intend to give up.


    ''There has to be an answer''

 Chapter 201 Wall

    Time passed by and the war stakes rose high on all sides.


    With Niton as a forerunner, other powers brought out war rewards to increase the morale of their men.


    With eyes lit with greed, blood was shed in greater amounts.


    Niton sessfully defended Avi from the clutches of their enemies, going further to inflict massive damage upon them. Specifically, Iris, Russell, Covaria and Sce were hit the hardest as they were the weakest of the bunch.


    Capitalizing on that, Niton struck heavy blows, making cracks in their cooperation.


    After all, an alliance only worked when everyone was working together.


    Back home, ck Jaws was trailzing in all aspects. Their rate of expansion had called the attention of even great noble families.


    Meaning, they could no longer be ignored.


    At this point, the resistance they faced increased.


    Since, with a buffer zone, they couldn''t attack them openly, they did so covertly.


    From sending assassins to get the head of their members, to spreading poison to infect their workers, to utilizing bandits to rob their goods.


    Naturally, Bolton did not interfere. He was rather happy to see things progressing as expected.


    Many more means were sought as those on the lower chain of power tried to halt their rise.


    But Ezra, having expected this, provided Fredrick with means to thwart their ns.


    Every urence served to widen Ezra''s perspective and increase him in intelligence. It was the same with Cabrera and Fredrick.


    Bolton''s actions manifested results as S and A rank guilds purchasednd and began developing them.


    This in turn caused them to heavily increase their members to offset the problem of manpower - like a certain guild!


    s, it quickly proved naught as many realized the hard way that ck Jaw''s financial prowess wasn''t something they could ever hope to match.


    Only after hundreds of guilds were wiped out did some begin to take innovative approaches.


    At this point in time, the revtion of how ck Jaws loaned money became the talk of the town as many went out of their way to borrow as much as they could.


    After all, with a lot of hope and a bit of luck, they could be the next ck Jaws, right?


    Such news had Kogar - the Sentinel -ughing till tears fell out his eyes.


    ''Some will have to learn the hard way''


    Niton went into a frenzy as lending became the new form to sess.


    With that money, twice the amount of wiped out guilds were established overnight.


    Many carded themselves in Gold-rank items their grandfathers could not afford and swaggered.


    But again, things built on sand could neverst.


    In three months, those swaggering about began sweating, and soon after, wailing.


    Their ignorance caught up to them when they realized the penalty for overdue payment.


    To entice idiots, Kogar put up a two percent interest rate to be paid at the month''s end.


    And all would be fine and dandy if he didn''t demand that one tenth the borrowed amount be paid by the third month.


    What should not be a problem suddenly became one as lenders ran helter-skelter holding their heads in abject worry.


    They had borrowed so much they were drowning in debt.


    When lending, the Empire had a rune mark imprinted on one''s arm to keep track of their debtor''s location.


    They couldn''t have them running away now, could they?


    Then, little of them used it on anything productive - something that made money.


    They had squandered it on items of luxury - which then depreciated in value - and of course, it bit them in the back.


    But like no one saved them from burrowing, no one saved them from bing ves of the Empire for the next six months.


    If they didn''t work enough to pay off one-tenth of the amount in that time, interest would then begin umting, along with the original amount!


    One would find himself unable to pay off his loan, thereby unable to free himself from his self-imposed very.


    Yes, self-imposed. No one forced them to borrow so much money.


    Among them were fools who thought of building grand houses.


    Some saved themselves by selling everything they bought, or worse, everything they had at prices two to four times lower, only to realize they were doomed if they could not provide the same amount in the next three months.


    Panic spread like a gue, one that didn''t discriminate.


    Tens of barons, viscounts and even a count went dead broke.


    Luckily, the count and a few viscounts were able to leverage their title to avoid very. Only, what remained afterwards was a husk of their former glory.


    The barons? Niton had too many of those.


    It was a good method of clearing the bloated ranks of Nobility.


    And with the Emperor''s approval, none dared to spark a tirade, else they''d have only themselves to me when they joined the same crowd.


    It was a cruel but effective method, and it provided the Empire with thousands of ves.


    With hope fleeting, many searched for a cover for their ignorant and greedy mistakes.


    At this point, ck Jaws shone like a star to them.


    Thousands swarmed to Kingsmere, wailing to Cabrera to save them.


    What did he do? He ignored them, of course.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Instead, on the instructions of Fredrick, he went to Kogar and formed a movement.


    One called Loan Relief.


    The people cheered, they were going to be saved¡­until they realized it wasn''t so.


    Unlike its name, it wasn''t much different from the Empire''s punishment.


    With no capacity to pay, you were put to work as a semi-ve.


    On the ount of paying off one''s loans, ck Jaws would negotiate with you a set amount of years to have you work for them as ves.


    And of course, not everyone was given the privilege.


    One thing about the loan crisis, as it was aptly named, was that most of its victims were of high status.


    Poor people andmoners in general were loaned little if any at all.


    Whereas, D, C and some B rank adventurers longing for ways to get ahead, along with merchants and profession holders as a whole, were loaned high amounts.


    These were the people ck Jaws Loan Relief program was targeted to.


    One could borrow a maximum of six times the amount of goods deposited with the Missionary.


    Most in this category loaned as much as they could.


    Loan Relief made so that their obligation of paying one tenth every three months was stretched to six months. But in exchange, their monthly interest rate of two percent became three.


    While it seemed an insignificant deal, the cumtive effect of that one percent was enormous.


    As veterans, the were naturally not stupid. But it was either this or they would be shipped to war to earn enough contribution points to offset their loans.


    Having not joined the war yet loaned so much, their nature of cowardice was exposed, making war a far too dreadful idea for most of them.


    So, they would pick the lesser of the two evils.


    To make it not look like aplete rip-off, ck Jaws offered them sums slightly above average for the work rendered,pared to other workers that is!


    Whenpared to the amount loaned though, paying off their loans would take at least six years.


    Such injustice, they cried. It was an amount far below what people of their caliber were privileged to before.


    Theyined, but ck Jaws waved it aside, arguing that they were doing the same work thousands could do. There was nothing special about it.


    As such, since they had far more capacity than average folk, they''d simply do equivalent amounts of work.


    Of course, they were free to reject and try their luck elsewhere.


    s, they knew that, except for war contribution points and plundering, it was close to impossible to cough up the one tenth of the amount in three months and to do so again in another three months.


    Like so, ck Jaws found itself the best workforce at the lowest rate.


    On the surface, it seemed like the greatest deal, but thousands of tina was paid before the Empire epted the movement.


    It was a hefty price, but Fredrick thought it necessary to ensure their goals were met, and Ezra concurred.


    ¡ª----------------------


    Ezra was in the midst of breaking his newest wall.


    ''There has to be an answer''


    He searched fervently, gathering clues from each book toplete the Mindless Cultivation technique.


    ''Freezing Fire technique, Withering Earth technique, Lightning Earth Gale¡­''


    As he read, peculiarities formed.


    ''Hmm, dual affinities assign each element half of their body and channel it through the limbs on those parts''


    ''It''s even moreplex for tri-affinities¡­how annoying''


    He gripped his hair in frustration. Things were taking an unanticipated turn.


    ''Am I making a mistake?'' he thought, doubt swelling.


    He shook his head and clenched his fists.


    ''Calm down. You expected this''


    He nodded, sighing afterwards.


    ''I might have bit more than I could chew this time''


    It hit him that mana stones alone wouldn''t be enough to offset his ignorance.


    Knowledge was needed, but the time Ezra would have to invest into it before he could even understand the basics, not to talk of advanced level, was something he could not do.


    At this point, he understood.


    ''I can''t do this alone¡­I need help''


    Being careful was being careful, but one should know his limits.


    Ezra, having known this, went to Bard.


    "This is¡­It might be too much even for me"


    At the risk of spilling too much, Ezra told Bard he was in need of something that''d grant better control over his mana flow, as it often went haywire.


    "I''m not well versed in these matters, so I''ll have to refer to a friend of mine. While I guarantee nothing, you''ll have an answer in three days"


    "Huu¡­I guess that''ll have to do"

 Chapter 202 Runes

    Ezra went back to training and three days melted away quickly.


    "What did you find out?"


    "For one, I do not have the expertise to solve your problem"


    "Hmm" Ezra huffed, but Bard quickly added¡­


    "But I do know someone that does"


    "He''s a Master rune smith. He says runes could be used to augment those things"


    "Ok" Ezra nodded.


    "But he says he''d have toe and see you personally before he can give any ims of certainty"


    Upon receiving Bard''s words, Ezra''s expression crumpled.


    "I won''t allow anyone to work on my body"


    "This person is a close acquaintance. I can vouch for him"


    "It''s not that. I just can''t allow it"


    Upon Ezra''s firm rejection, Bard chose not to push any further.


    Meanwhile, Ezra''s brain whirred, revising Bard''s words.


    "How sure is this person that runes can help me?"


    "Very sure"


    "Then-"


    Ezra thought his next words carefully.


    "-call him over, but instead of checking my body, I''ll have him teach me runes. Surely that can be arranged"


    While not in his initial n, if learning about runes helped him achieve his aim, then why not?


    After all, the cores he recently implemented were modeled after a mage''s magic circuit.


    Bard rubbed his beard.


    "I cannot answer that, I''ll have to ask him"


    "And how long will that take?"


    "A few hours"


    "In that case, I''ll be backter" said Ezra, and heads back to his cultivation chamber.


    For the next few hours, he stopped cultivating to practice dual wielding.


    Returning to Bard''s office after four hours, he receives - what he deemed to be - the first good news of the day.


    The runesmith said yes - after a LOT of persuasion from Bard of course - and he would arrive in ten days.


    Ten days passed by and Ezra stood in front of his new rune teacher.


    He was a man, short and a bit bby, with short brown hair and wrinkles all over his face.


    Held in his hands was a box, making Ezra wonder¡­


    ''Why isn''t he using a space ring?''


    A pair of gold rimmed sses sat on his nose as his small eyes stared through Ezra.


    Unmoved, Ezra gave an uninterested look, one the man registered. He pulled out his sses, leaving only his green eyes, and began speaking¡­


    "So¡­prince Ezra. Bard told me a lot about you. But, might I ask, why do you want to study runes?"


    "I find it to be an interesting course of study. Does that suffice?" he said with a nk look.


    The man''s look didn''t give a very good impression, but Ezra had long learned to not judge in haste.


    The man nodded.


    "Yes. I only fear that such little desires might fail you. The path of runes is not a smooth one. So¡­are you really ready to learn runes, for the only mistake one can make on a path apart from not starting, is not finishing. So, your highness, are you ready to go all in? I do not need my time wasted"


    Ezra maintained his nk look.


    "I wouldn''t have you here if I was joking"


    He nodded.


    ''Like Bard said, his demeanor defies that of a child. Things might just get interesting''


    "We begin tomorrow. The path of runes is rough and perilous, but it leads to beautiful ces and grants amazing rewards"


    The man''s eyes shined as Ezra said¡­


    "What do I call you?"


    "Gregar. Mr. Gregar"


    After a lengthy argument, Gregar didn''t join Ezra in the underground chambers, but had Bard assign him a personal workce.


    As the Head Alchemist, this was easy.


    Under the guise of furthering his mastery on a project with Bard, he would teach Ezra.


    ¡ª--------------------


    By the end of the day, everything was set, and the next day saw Ezra begin his first lesson.


    Upon entering Gregor''s domain, he found multiple apparatus'' ranging from scrolls to Gold-rank artifacts.


    Gregor''s echoing voice broke him out of his inquisitive state.


    "Tell me, what do you know about Runes?"


    The first lesson had begun.


    "Nothing yet-" replied Ezra.


    Gregar frowned as Ezra continued.


    "-but I''m ready to learn about them"


    With a huff, he took a pimp of weed from his pipe and blew.


    "Runes are anguage our ancestors first used to introduce magic into the world, establishing simple tasks of bringing about sparks which resulted in fire" he started.


    "Time has seen its uses expand. Now, it''s used in every part of our lives, and will continue to be used. To cut things short, Runes are words of magic power, capable of all uses"


    ''It''s not much different from what I already knew¡­good'' Ezra thought to himself.


    "All uses huh...you can fly with it?"


    Gregar threw down a carpet, one rugged and dusty.


    Stepping on it, it lit up with blue light as he infused mana into it.


    Secondster, it began to float.


    "Does this answer your question?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ezra nodded.


    "Never underestimate the power of Runes, for without it, many things would cease to exist"


    "Now, the study of Runes is a delicate subject and must be treated as such"


    "Pick up that brush" he pointed.


    Having done so, Gregor got off the carpet, sucked it into his space ring and presented Ezra with a case with ink.


    "Dip it in"


    Doing so, Ezra recognized it and muttered¡­


    "Berse Ink"


    "Oh? You know it?"


    "Yes. Mana techniques are written with it"


    "Good" he pulled out a brush of his own and dipped it in the ink.


    Pulling out a brown parchment, he made a zigzag and ended with a fairlyrge circle.


    "Watch" he said, infusing tiny specks of mana into it.


    "This is the Rune ''burn''. It has the effect of, well, burning"


    Like chicken in oil, the parchment sizzled as it burned to ash.


    "It''s part of the basics, fairly easy to do"


    Gregor handed him a bundle of parches of his own.


    "Now, for your first task, let''s see you do the same. You saw what I did, yes?"


    Once Ezra took the bundle, Gregor left.


    "Don''t call me until you seed"


    Ezra looked at himself, then at the brush and the parches in his palm, and shrugged.


    He shifted Gregor''s items to make space, took his shirt off to avoid getting it stained, and got right into it.


    Handling a brush would''ve been far tougher if he hadn''t mastered it while copying the mana technique in the royal vault.


    With deft hands, Ezra went at it. His increased mental capabilities allowed him to visualize the rune.


    To make things tougher for himself, he began his mindless cultivation.


    That is, cultivating physique and elements while drawing a rune.


    He could maintain cultivation after swirling and spinning, but not if he did it continuously.


    This fatal w crawled to the surface as his movements slowed to a crawl.


    Making precise hand movements and subsequently infusing the right amount of mana into the ink while cultivating was unbelievably hard.


    In ten minutes, he was sweating all over.


    Ezra didn''t let up, and instead, invested more effort¡­and it paid off.


    After an hour, Ezra could move his hand faster. Progress was miniscule, but Ezra took his chances.


    An unknown amount of minutes passed by and one third of the parchments were wasted, but Ezra''s smile only stretched.


    As the parchments decreased, Ezra''s concentration and focus got better, producing different results.


    Some burnt a bit but notpletely, some burnt too fast, some burnt but the heat died out.


    Many others burnt him.


    Like that the practiced, until, after an unknown amount of time, the rune was written perfectly.


    Ezra stood and no amount of sweat and burns could cleanse the exhration in his smile.


    Infusing specks of mana, the parchment sizzled and turned to ashes.


    He turned around, ready to call Mr. Gregor in excitement, but shivered instead as a chilly voice came alive beside his ears.


    "I''ll be damned, you seeded"


    Mr. Gregor had been watching all along, looking from behind and above Ezra''s shoulder.


    "Y-yes, I did" Ezra stuttered, rms ringing in his mind.


    ''I didn''t feel his presence even once!''


    Then, the feeling Mr. Gregor was giving off was too different from what he normally gave off.


    ''Underestimating Masters, I must have gone crazy''


    "Good work. That''s all for today, get some sleep"


    "Huh? What do you-"


    "It''s sundown"


    Ezra''s eyes widened and he looked around. His surroundings were a mess, littered with ashes and wasted parchments.


    "Leave it"


    Without a word, he put the intact parchments, which weren''t more than ten, and the ink brush into his space ring, and left.


    All the while, Ezra''s fearspounded as he wondered¡­


    ''Did he find out about the Mindless Cultivation technique?!''


    Multiple thoughts and assumptions popped up, threatening to drown Ezra.


    He shoves his fears aside, choosing to meditate and cultivate to calm himself before sleeping thereafter.


    Worrying too much never helped anybody.


    The next day saw him arrive earlier than before to receive Gregor''s teaching.


    While surprised, Gregor said nothing, instead handing Ezra another rune to write.


    The same thing happened for the next eight days. Only after did Gregor delve into moreplex runes, and after a month Ezra began learning runebinations.


    As things got tougher, so did Ezra grow.


    His perspective widened as did his knowledge.


    In no time, he began dealing with moreplex runes. And then, he learned to decipher them.


    Of course, to make sure he didn''t get side tracked, he studied only runes that would help increase his fighting prowess.


    And these Runes numbered thirty-five.


    He never confronted Gregor about whether his cultivation method had been discovered, and Mr. Gregor didn''t make any inquisition.


    Then, on a day like any other, Ezra was working fervently when he felt something on his finger.


    Looking closely, it came from within a space ring, the one of Diamond-rank.

 Chapter 203 Runes (2)

    Ezra hastily excused himself and escaped to his cultivation chamber, where he searched inside his ring, his eyes widening in the process.


    The object causing a ruckus was the snake''s egg.


    Honestly, he''d been wondering if something was wrong with it.


    Now, his worries were quelled as the egg shook.


    ''So...it''s about to hatch''


    He brought it out and ced it in front of him.


    He expected it to break out soon.


    But...


    ''What is this?''


    The egg became still, like nothing had happened.


    Ezra held his chin in contemtion, then ced it back in the ring and began observing it.


    Something fantastic happened as particles of mana were pulled from the mana stones and entered the egg.


    ''Oh!''


    Slowly but surely, more threads coalesced and poured into the egg.


    It was an interesting phenomena. The thing in the egg was drawing in mana. He wondered...


    ''Is this why it hasn''t hatched all this while?''


    What was most incredible was an unborn beast controlling mana so masterfully.


    He took out the egg and poured out the mana stones.


    The process began and, more importantly, Ezra could observe the effects.


    He sat cross-legged, staring intensely as he began imitating it. He sought to recreate the process.


    Holding mana stones in his palms, he gave it a go.


    Unsurprisingly, he failed.


    ''As expected, It''s not easy''


    He went for a retry when it hit him.


    ''Right, I''ve got runes to learn''


    Waiting a few more minutes, he determined the egg wasn''t ready yet to hatch and got back to Gregor''s chamber.


    "Where did you go?"


    "Little Berse ink remained. I went to get some more"


    Like that, Ezra went back to studying runes.


    If he had uncertainties, he''d ask Gregor.


    For one, Berse ink was apparently the superior ink. Ferse ink was what wasmonly used.


    Then, most runes faded over time, which meant it required consistent maintenance.


    Studying runes, he had many insights.


    Now, like Gregor, he deemed it invaluable and was looking for how to use it to augment his strength and achieve his initial aim ofpleting the Mindless Cultivation technique. Each day he was getting closer to the answer.


    With the egg on the edge of hatching, he had to get its food and other needs in ce.


    ''Sigh...so much to do in so little time''


    And that made him even more determined.


    A day passed.


    By now, his view of Mr. Gregor had morphed.


    While his looks weren''t the best, his proficiency with runes wasn''t something Ezra could imitate.


    What kept Ezra amazed the most was his ability topletely mask his level and presence.


    Others could do the same, but there would be residues. It wouldn''t be as neat as Mr. Gregor''s.


    Today, he chose to satisfy that curiosity.


    "Hmm? You want to know how I''m able to mask my presence?"


    Ezra eagerly nodded.


    Gregor raised a brow, and proceeded to take off his shirt.


    Ezra was stunned as glossy yellow skin was revealed.


    He was expecting a battle-scarred body or something simr.


    He looked at Gregor, wondering what exactly he was supposed to see, when Gregor took a stance.


    As he did so, part of his body illuminated with blue light, revealing marks.


    ''Runes!'' he realized.


    What an astounding discovery.


    ''That''s possible?!''


    Gregor smirked at Ezra''s reaction.


    "I imprinted runes in my skin to withhold those effects. These-"


    He pointed to runes on his arms and stomach.


    "-carry the power of concealment. Do you understand?"


    Upon nodding, Gregor put his clothes back on.


    "Now, head back to-"


    "How long before I can make mine?"


    "Oh?" Gregor''s eyes widened.


    "How long before I can imprint my own runes"


    "On your own? A few years at least" Gregor giggled.


    "Then...can''t you do it for me?" Ezra bit his lip.


    Gregor''s smile vanished as he waved him away.


    "You won''t be able to withstand it. Not with that body of yours"


    The moment he said that.


    *ZUM*


    Like an uncaged beast, Ezra released a massive pressure, sucking out the light in the chamber and plunging it into darkness.


    Regardless, Gregor could see with utmost rity.


    He froze for a split second before getting himself back together.


    He adjusted his sses.


    ''Well, I''ll be...I knew he was hiding something, but this...!''


    Secondster, the surroundings calmed and the pressure vanished like it never happened.


    Staring, Ezra questioned him...


    "And now? Still think I can''t withstand it?"


    "Alright. I''ll admit, you can withstand it"


    "You''re not surprised?" said Ezra.


    He had dwelled about whether letting Gregor know of his powers was a good thing.


    "Well. I had guesses"


    "Now, can you imprint the runes on me or not?"


    "No"


    "What?!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Don''t get me wrong. Your body can only handle a number of runes, so wasting it on a concealment rune is stupid"


    "So...?"


    "I''ll give you far better runes"


    "Oh!" he paused.


    "Why are you so forting?"


    "Simple, I''ve always wanted to do this"


    "Oh, ok...wait. You''ve never done this before?!"


    "No. But I promise I won''t let you die"


    Ezra was suddenly having second thoughts, but shook it off.


    "What runes are you going to use?"


    "Mana strengthening and body enhancing ones. As a Knight, that suits you best"


    "Wait" Ezra remembered something.


    "Do you have something that can...maintain mana flow?"


    "A mana flow imprint?" Gregor raised a brow.


    "So it exists!" Ezra was exhrated.


    "Of course. It''s an Expert ss rune. But I suggest you stay away from it"


    "Why?"


    "Imprinting your mana flow means making it permanent" he warned.


    "If anything happens to the meridians guiding the mana flow, your cultivation will bepromised"


    Ezra thought of it, and found himselfughing.


    ''Even without that, if anything happened myrgest meridians, I''ll be done for''


    Normally, Knights took one of thergest meridians as the core while others were branch meridians.


    But Ezra opened all thergest meridians, so it wasn''t that big a deal.


    He looked at Gregor.


    "I understand"


    "And?"


    "I choose to do it"


    "Suit yourself" he huffed.


    "So, how long will it take?"


    "First, I''ll have to pick out the runes. Then practice those runes to lessen any chances of mistakes"


    Ezra nodded. A single mis stroke would sabotage a rune. When working on a human, no mistakes were allowed.


    "Two months. It''ll take two months"


    Ezra contemted.


    "What rank are you?"


    "Adept"


    "Oh Adep-wait, what?" Gregor blinked rapidly, wondering if he heard right.


    Looking back, Ezra was nowhere to be seen.


    Ezra was sitting in Bard''sir.


    He told him the events that transpired between him and Gregor.


    "I need you toe and stand watch while Gregor does the imprint. In case anything happens"


    "Yes" nodded Bard, but he knew Ezra''s reason for requesting such.


    ''He doesn''t trust Gregor''


    "Thank you. Aside that, can you get me beast carcasses? Preferably reptiles"


    Bard was confused as to what Ezra needed it for, but nodded.


    "Will do"


    "Thank you once again Bard"


    He returned to Gregor''s chamber where they skimmed over multiple runes, looking for those that would fit Ezra the most.


    Of course, Ezra had picked some runes beforehand, but those were low ranked. There were Expert and Master rank runes amongst the ones they were looking at now.


    At the end of a three-day session of skimming, Ezra picked out four runes.


    Imprint rune for imprinting his mana flow. Condense rune for stronger attacks and better mana control. Rune of rity to maximize the use of his six senses. Swift rune for overall increase in body reflexes.


    He wanted more, but Gregor limited him to four.


    The next day, with Bard at their side, Ezra took off his shirt and allowed Gregor to get a feel for what he would be working on.


    While doing so, he suddenly frowned.


    "What is it?"


    Gregor remained frowning, before slowly speaking.


    "How many elements can you wield?"


    Ezra''s hair raised and Bard motioned for him to calm himself.


    "Five"


    "Five?!" Gregor''s forehead creased.


    ''And I thought I''d seen it all''


    "I asked because something was vtile. How close are they to each other?"


    "I moved them into a circle like tri-affinities" said Ezra.


    "What?!" shouted Gregor as he beckoned Bard to his side.


    "We have to take them apart. The elements are shing, it''ll kill him!"


    "What?" It was Ezra''s time to be surprised.


    "But I didn''t felt anything"


    "You''re not going to. All will be fine until one day...poof. You will explode in a shower of bloody gore"


    "How do you-"


    "It happened as such to my ancestors"


    Gregor ced his palm on his stomach and lit it up with mana.


    Ezra was about to repel it when Bard shook his head telling not to worry.


    "Huh?" A sudden confusion hit him when he felt something stationed at intervals in his mana.


    Those were the cores he created, but Gregor didn''t know that and simply had his mana find the element orbs.


    Concentrating, his manatched onto one of the orbs, the one of fire.


    Ezra began heating up, so Gregor had to be fast.


    He pulled without consideration, having Ezra groan in turn.


    Once it was pulled apart, Gregor stopped momentarily.


    After he identified the five elements and drew them in a line from his left arm, to the part of his chest just below his neck, then into his right arm, in the order of Fire, Lightning, Darkness, Ice, andstly, Blood.


    The Fire orby at the elbow of the left arm, with the lightning orb following hosted at the shoulder joint.


    Darkness thereafter stayed below the next with Blood in the right shoulder and Ice at the right elbow.


    It left Ezra breathless and exhausted while both Masters were sweating.

 Chapter 204 Runes (3)

    Ezra stood up with a groan.


    "How do you feel?" Gregor asked.


    "Dizzy, for the most part"


    "Good. Go get some rest. We''ll continue tomorrow"


    Ezra left unceremoniously and fell asleep the minute heid on his bed.


    ¡ª----------------


    The next day, Ezra reached the chamber he uses for training with Gregor at the early hours of dawn.


    "You''re here already?" Gregor was amazed.


    "I heal fast"


    Nodding, Ezra got to the topic.


    "With my elements in separate arms, does that mean I can''t use them in both arms?"


    "Unfortunately, yes"


    Ezra frowned as Gregor smiled.


    "But it also means you''d be able tobine both elements"


    "With practice, you''d be able tobine darkness and lightning, blood and fire perhaps? Even I''m not sure about your prospects"


    "When can I get started?!" Ezra was excited, but Gregor doused his mes.


    "That''ll have to wait. For now, you and I will be practicing the five runes to carve in your body"


    "Hmm, five?"


    "Yes. I decided to include the concealment rune after all"


    "Thank you" Ezra bowed his head.


    "Aside from that, why do I need to get involved?"


    "It''s your body. To carve it in sessfully, you''ll need to move your mana in a way that doesn''t counteract the runes, else you''ll be risking death"


    "Where do I start?"


    Like so, Ezra went into a session of learning more intense than thest.


    Two monthster, Gregor approved of Ezra. He''d reached a satisfactory level.


    Also, he had clocked nine years old.


    Gregor studied Ezra''s mana flow over the two months to know where to ce the imprints.


    It was time to put all he learnt to the test.


    ¡ª--------------


    To reduce the chances of unforeseen events, Ezra rested the next day to recover to his peak state.


    During the two months, Bard had brought a substantial amount of beast carcasses.


    s, the egg had not shown any sign of hatching since that day, annoying Ezra.


    To decrease unforeseen variables even further, Gregor would carve the Runes at midnight.


    Taking off his shirt, Ezra sat cross-legged on an elevated b with his back facing Gregor and Bard.


    "Ezra, drink this"


    Bard handed him a purple potion.


    "What is it?"


    "A rune strengthening potion. This way the rune''s effects will be amplified"


    Ezra smiled and nodded.


    "Thank you"


    Bard gave a slight nod and stepped back, giving space for a shirtless Gregor to begin work.


    Firstly, he chanted a spell and chains wrapped around Ezra, tying him down.


    "What-"


    "I can''t leave room for error. Those chains are to hold you in ce till I''m done. And because we''rebining the runes, I''ll have to do it slowly. Are you ready?"


    "I am"


    With that, Gregor ced a small wooden board in his mouth.


    "I will now begin"


    He pulled out a metal apparatus with a robust handle but a tiny edge.


    *SII* the apparatus came on and the edge began heating up.


    "Huu¡­" exhaling, Gregor began.


    The moment it touched Ezra, he wanted to jump, but the chains held him in ce.


    Focusing, he moved his mana in a way to amodate the rune being drawn.


    "UGH!" he groaned, biting down on the wooden board. It was a pain almost unimaginable.


    Thankfully, his fire affinity granted him enough resistance to the heat.


    He soon discovered that the fire resistance was a curse, simply because the needle took longer than it normally should.


    Ezra felt like dying, and soon enough, the pain became unbearable.


    "AH!"


    His screams grew louder as time passed, but no one would being because the chamber was built to iste sounds.


    Ezra''s vein popped and, when the screams neared the breaking point, Bard came into his sights and tilted his necks upwards before emptying a potion down his gullet.


    Thereafter, the pain reduced immensely.


    Not long after, he was hit in the neck and, before he could register the pain, he fainted.


    Waking up, he instinctively covered his eyes, the sun shining upon him.


    He tried to move but a voice stopped him.


    "Don''t move yet. Your body''s still healing"


    Shifting his eyes from side to side, Ezra saw Gregor smoking from a pipe.


    He was sweating immensely and veins had popped out all over his body.


    "Don''t worry about me. Rest" said Gregor while covering Ezra''s shaking eyelids.


    Like so, Ezra went back to the darkness.


    But¡­


    ''What is this?'' he wondered, looking at the vast stretches of darknds.


    Soon after, the winds picked up and the sand flew about, obscuring his vision.


    When it settled, he saw two groups battling. He then realized he knew those battling.


    "Han?" he blinked in surprise.


    "Is that really you?"


    ''Han'' was a ck apparition, his face unrecognizable as it turned to Ezra and said¡­


    "This is your fault"<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ezra was taken aback and ran to him but, before he could reach him, the sand blew once more and he saw all his men dead on the cold ground.


    Kneeling to touch their bodies, the bodies eyes lit up with red and in sync, they said¡­


    "THIS IS YOUR FAULT"


    "No, no it''s not"


    He was about to continue rebuking them when he touched his lip, blood was dripping from his mouth.


    rity came upon him as a sword ran through his chest.


    ''When¡­''


    Everything was erased, and then¡­Ezra''s eyes snapped open.


    Gasping and panting, he looked at his arms.


    ''What¡­was that?''


    Looking around, he determined the obvious.


    ''It was a dream''


    He looked around, his eyesight blurred.


    And then, it became itchy as the minutes passed by, then his ears and nose began itching as well.


    Yet Ezra could not scratch them.


    Upon bing unbearable, he forced himself to sleep.


    After who knew how long, he woke up. This time, his body was numb, but he found moving easier.


    With immense effort, he moved his hands near his mouth, removed a mana stone from his ring, and put it in between his teeth.


    "HUU!" like a machine awakening, Ezra heaved heavily before exhaling as he felt many things happen.


    His eyes glowed blue momentarily.


    The most prominent was how messed up his senses were.


    From the sounds of birds chirping by the window, to the rotten smell of crumbs underneath a cupboard, to the slight scratch on the walls far from his position, too much information hit his brain.


    Hastily, he sucked the mana stone back into the space ring.


    Sweating once more, he let out rasp breaths forming a smile.


    ''That must be the rity rune''


    He was exhrated, but likewise exhausted.


    In no time, he fell asleep.


    He woke upter, and a look around let him know that it was night time, whether he slept for more than a day he didn''t know.


    With a grunt, he began moving, his body had substantially recovered.


    Grunts and groans came about as he mustered all the strength he could, managing to sit upright after a lengthy battle with fatigue.


    Then, he got on his feet, only to fall to the floor.


    He crawled, arriving at the door after more than thirty minutes.


    Another battle then awaited him, opening the door.


    Undeterred, he moved when the door suddenly opened.


    Gregor stepped in rubbing his beard, when his and Ezra''s eyes met.


    Gregor squatted, maintaining eye contact with Ezra, when¡­


    *Pam*


    He pummeled his head.


    Ezra holds his head in agony, about to cry.


    Gregor sighed.


    "Didn''t we say you will stay still until the runes are fully settled"


    Ezra calmed down.


    "I had forgotten about that"


    Gregor knocks his head once more.


    "Of course, you did"


    Shaking his head, he carried Ezra and ced him on the b.


    "I''m hungry" Ezra said.


    With a wave of his hand, food came out of Gregor''s space ring.


    Ezra began munching without another word and Gregor took his leave.


    The next three days saw Gregor give him food while he recovered.


    On the fourth, Ezra stretched, looking over himself.


    ''I''m sure now. I''ve healed''


    Over thest three days, he had tested the imprinted runes.


    For one, the imprint rune was superb.


    Any manaing into his body would move in the form which he cultivated. He no longer needed to guide it.


    Then the condense rune condensed his mana, increasing his mana - one of the purest - in quality once more.


    Any of his attacks imbued with mana would do double what they normally did, and after enough condensation, maybe even triple.


    His five senses had increased, especially his ears and eyes.


    He could hear sounds from far ces and his eyesight was able to see far as well.


    The concealment rune pulled a veil atop his cultivation.


    The outer effects of his elements were already suppressed thanks to Bard''s bracelet.


    Another thing was the usage of his elements.


    He could freeze, burn, scorch and do a few other things fairly easily. Now he just had to get used to having the elements channeled at will.


    What he hadn''t tested was the swift rune.


    To test it, he jumped off the bs and stomped the floor.


    After which, he did his routine exercises.


    The results left him exhrated.


    ''My sense of bnce has increased, and so has my strength''


    He clenched his fist.


    ''YES!'' he hails inwardly.


    This was it. With such foundational advantages, his potential was only climbing higher.


    His eyes became cold as the faces of those on his to-kill list came to mind.


    ''It won''t be long now''


    A grin creepier than all others came upon him as his dark thoughts swirled in his head.

 Chapter 205 Rapid Advancement

    With his aim achieved, Ezra greeted Gregor and politely told him he wasn''t continuing on the path of a rune smith.


    "Hahaha" Gregor burst intoughter.


    "As I expected"


    "You expected?"


    "You''re not one to be content with learning rune for years"


    Hisughter subsided.


    "Regardless, it was a wonderful experience and research material. You have helped me in ways you will never know"


    "I''m d then" Ezra said.


    "Thank you for your guidance"


    Saying that, Ezra turned and left.


    Looking at Ezra''s back, Gregor thought.


    ''Not only talent, but an overwhelming drive to grow. Things are definitely getting interesting in a few years''


    ''What an experience. I better thank Bard and waive the fee''


    ¡ª------------------


    Done with rune training, Ezra sat down, mediating as he went through what he learned in the past months.


    More importantly, what he had gained.


    ''I achieved my aim and much more''


    With a Master Rune Smith''s help and Bard''s Rune Amplification Potion multiplying the effects of the runes, it was a wholesome haul.


    ''Now-''


    He took out the pair of short swords.


    ''-shall we test it out?''


    Hosting the mana stone in between his teeth, he began.


    With the imprint''s help, the mana went towards its intended destination.


    Since the elements were now aligned in his meridians, the mana touched all of them without needing his intervention.


    Exhaling, he did a set of movements as fast as possible and stopped.


    The mana flow shook, but it didn''t break.


    That was all Ezra needed to know.


    ''YES!''


    His efforts bore fruit.


    His next steps were to increase his sword mastery and movements, which he immediately got to doing.


    While making the Mindless Cultivation technique, he had also created a uniquebat manual bybining movements from many others.


    He called it Formless Fighting, or the Infinite Forms technique.


    It began with a series of simple kicks and punches, but became deadlier as one went on, and of course, moreplex and difficult to pull off.


    Ezra made it so some part of it was applicable to a spear and some to a sword, so he''d be able to transmit from movement to movements for specific situations.


    At the start, his muscles strained upon reaching the twentieth movement, and the technique had a hundred and twenty movements, and even more variations.


    Not that he''d use all of the movements in a fight, but unpreparedness was not his style.


    For now, he focused only on the first three movements.


    The goal was to transition from movement to movement, reaching all a hundred and twenty before stopping.


    As he practiced, multiple errors urred, causing him to rearrange the sequence of movements more than five times and also removing many techniques that didn''t suit his style.


    Exhausting for sure, but each change brought about more changes, evolving the technique and him along with it.


    What was best about the technique was that it utilized all of his elements and that it attended to all body movements.


    From movement speed to attack and defense, it was an all rounder.


    This meant he didn''t have an edge in any area.


    While this would be damaging for the normal person, Ezra was an anomaly. His elements, physique and mana quality already gave him all the edge he''d ever need.


    Like so did he train, and three months melted in no time.


    At this time, Ezra found himself stumped.


    ''What''s going on?''


    He couldn''t cultivate his physique for some reason.


    The mana from the mana stone was only being absorbed by the element orbs.


    ''Ah!'' then it hit him.


    ''I''ve hit the wall''


    A wall, as referred here, was a block in someone''s progress.


    To break the wall was to ''breakthrough'' to greater heights.


    It was an indication that Ezra couldn''t get any stronger while still in the Adept-rank.


    He would have hit his wall long ago if not for the fact that he painstakingly cleared out most of his impurities, which allowed to umte more strength at the foundation.


    Breakthroughs multiplied once strength by doubling the requirements to breakthrough once more. i.e increase one''s potential.


    It was theorized to unlock the soul. With each breakthrough, the soul was freed and that allowed for one''s limit to increase at every subsequent rank.


    This was why Adept Mages could never chant faster than Advanced Mages.


    For Knights, it was even more prominent because many had shallow foundations, and shallow foundations essentially limited their potential far greater than one could ever imagine.


    It caused wide gaps as Adepts that could defeat Experts had risen many times.


    The point here was not the Adept strength, but the Expert''s shallow foundation.


    Then you had innate qualities¡­


    Even with such promising prospects, Ezra would be hard pressed to defeat an Advanced Knight of the Empire.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Of course, it was not so simple. Every rank, one''s limit multiplied by the previous plus 1.


    Assuming a Knight had a limit of 1 and another had 10 at Adept-rank, when advancing to Intermediate-rank, the one with 10 would have it increased to 101, while the other would have it increased to 2.


    All may seem fine and dandy for the one with a limit of 101, but if he is unable to gather enough resources, his cultivation will slow to a crawl while time withers away his strength.


    So, having high potential wasn''t always a good thing.


    With enough resources, you rise faster than the rest, but without enough resources, you fall far below the rest.


    All things were bnced, as should be.


    Of course, this had problems as well.


    If a knight with a limit of 2 went and became a Grandmaster, he would be a de made of ss. His attacks might be powerful, but his mana would not be enough or he might not have proper control over his element.


    Such has happened many times over the centuries.


    The crucial fact to understand was, if one did not reach a particr threshold, they would not be able to breakthrough.


    Meaning that, if one''s potential was low from the start, and the person did not shore it up with external resources, when he gets to Expert rank and beyond, he will be unable to advance, forever stuck in that rank.


    A tragedy indeed.


    This was why elixirs like the Un-limiting Dew were heavenly, as they allowed ss Grandmasters to shore up their foundations until it was enough for a breakthrough.


    One would now understand why the Grandmaster cursed Fredrick so intensely. By taking the dew, he had sealed the man''s fate - to forever stay as a grandmaster - unless he found other items of the same quality, that is.


    This was why Ezra didn''t call his vassals to increase their mana capacity, because if the limit grew to unimaginable heights, he wouldn''t have enough resources to give them to advance as quickly as they should.


    In any case, it was now time to advance.


    Focusing, his mana began churning, heating up the rest of his body.


    He was going to breakthrough the Adept-rank all-


    *Boom*


    A wave of mana was expunged from his body and spread in all directions.


    ''Huh?'' Ezra wondered. Since when was it that easy to breakthrough?


    But in his stunned state, he forgot to stop the process and a minuteter¡­*Boom*


    "¡­" Ezra blinked in confusion.


    He had broken through to the Advanced-rank just like that.


    It was as stupendous as it was ridiculous.


    He sat there for another minute, before breaking his posture.


    Since he couldn''t reduce his level, he didn''t bother fussing over it and instead began looking through his body to see what had changed.


    For one, his body had gone through qualitative changes. The size of his mana pool quadrupled, twice! It was now able to contain even more and regenerate mana faster.


    His mana pool had already quadrupled at Adept-rank, now¡­


    Ezra looked around in suspicion. The situation was unbelievable even for him.


    He had nullified the defects of low mana recovery with mana stones. So, it didn''t really bother him.


    His mana had gotten thicker thanks to the condense rune and his breakthrough.


    Snapping his fingers brought forth a me on his fingertips. One more destructive than those before.


    His ice had be harder andsted longer.


    Lightning struck both faster and harder.


    He didn''t notice much improvements in blood, except for easier control.


    Darkness saw the most improvement. It enhanced the concealment rune on Ezra''s back. Now, he might be able to move in a crowd without anyone noticing.


    But he had to try to be sure.


    Then, as he increased in rank, the effects of the runes amplified.


    ''Come to think of it, I don''t know what they look like''


    The runes were carved on his back so he hadn''t seen them.


    Only the imprint rune, which was hosted as multiple points, could be seen.


    He held his head in agony. His senses were going haywire because of the increased power of the rune of rity.


    Additionally, his mental acuity had increased again.


    s, one could not cheat time. (Wait, but he reincarnated¡­?)


    After getting to Advanced-rank, Ezra found that he could still not cultivate his physique.


    He discovered that the problem was his body.


    As a vessel, it was too small to take any more increments of mana, and if he forcefully cultivated, he''d cripple himself.


    He set out to solve the problem.


    With no need for cultivation, he was able to focus a hundred percent of himself on body and weapons training.


    Here, the cumtive of his achievements shined.


    His physique and immense mana pool allowed him to practice faster.


    His experience allowed him to correct mistakes and otherwise fatal movements at a moment''s notice.


    His senses told him minor defects in posture others might''ve not noticed.


    As he practiced, he trimmed the movements and also added to it.


    By the end, he was left with sixty-five movements.


    These sixty-five movements could be used in different sequences. Ezra discovered and mastered eight sequences.


    He spent sixty percent of his time on weapons training.


    This was because he couldn''t rush the growth of his body.


    It was astounding that it was even able to take so much at such a young age.


    Over-exercise would easily stunt his natural growth, Ezra didn''t want that.


    Instead, he began looking for ways to use what he had more effectively.

 Chapter 206 Rapid Growth

    Ezra began frequenting the royal library, as he had in his infant years, and consulting Mr. Lennon about constant matters.


    For one, he increased the number of cores along his mana stream for better control.


    It dawned on him that much of his potential remained locked.


    The goal was to unlock it all.


    He would do so with knowledge.


    He dug deep about how his elements could be used and their weaknesses.


    Then, he read on beasts, so as to know how to handle the beast when it hatched - only to discover that he''d missed something crucial.


    ''Beasts are not born with inherent affinities. It is decided by the environment the grow up in for their first few years''


    Meaning that snakes born from an ice snake living in a desert would grow up to have an affinity with sand rather than ice.


    It was an inbuilt survival mechanism, allowing for better adaptation.


    It was also why most beasts didn''t leave the vicinity of where they''d been born.


    Like this Ezra figured that his egg was swimming in mana stone and had hence developed superb mana control.


    Reading further, he found out that, when taking a beast as pets, one would keep it in an environment that would allow it to develop the same element as its owner.


    Ezra was stumped as he had five. Which one was he to give the snake?


    He didn''t really need it as a battle partner as Ezra felt he himself was more than sufficient.


    Another thing was that the color of an animal''s skin sometimes indicated their affinity.


    So, what color would he want his snake to have?


    It was too easy a question.


    ''ck''


    And that decided the element.


    ''Darkness''


    So Ezra took out the egg - alongside a few mana stones - and ced them beside him.


    With a S-rank Darkness affinity, Ezra could see just fine in the dark.


    He had no qualms keeping his chamber pitch ck all the time.


    Time passed, and he wondered¡­


    ''Can''t it have two elements?''


    The books gave no clue of such scenarios, but Ezra wanted to try.


    So, each night, he would hold the egg while bursting with lightning.


    Whatever happened, he could live with it.


    If the snake looked hideous, or was a drag, he could simply get rid of it.


    Two months passed and Ezra was starting to get annoyed with not being able to cultivate, so he decided to give it a try.


    Lo and behold, his body absorbed it hungrily, leaving him in utter confusion.


    A few nudges here and there revealed that, after advancing, his mana pool took time to expand, temporarily halting cultivation.


    It had settled after the first month, Ezra just never checked.


    Facepalming, he began cultivation.


    Here, his Mindless Cultivation technique showed its use.


    He didn''t have to sit to cultivate, no, he didn''t even have to intentionally cultivate.


    Just cing a mana stone in his mouth would facilitate the process, and Ezra could just sit back.


    While it was definitely slower than the traditional method, the fact that it went on twenty-four hours of every day without needing to stop - while of course, Ezra trained, read or slept - made it a far better method.


    If anything, Ezra reviewed the Infinite Forms Art over and over again.


    He was constantly improving it as his mastery evolved.


    In the next two months, he cut down the movements to sixty.


    After that, Ezra added more as he sought to break far past the previous him.


    His swordsmanship had increased, but only slightly. He was looking to break that wall and advance his swordsmanship explosively.


    When swinging and repeating the technique hundreds of times didn''t seem to be taking him anywhere, Ezra began learning a different weapon.


    Throwing weapons.


    From needles to small stars and daggers, Ezra threw them all.


    And soon, he began using his elements to do it.


    He''d make the weapon with his blood, then freeze it with the ice element before throwing it.


    This too started a string of failures as the blood sttered about because the ice was weak and improper timing.


    He increased his dosage of training, abandoning swordsmanship temporarily and making sure to throw no less than three hundred weapons every day.


    As the failures grew, so did the sesses.


    At the point where he could hit at least four out every ten, he deemed it enough to use in battle and stopped.


    He took the sword again and began from the basics once more.


    He did at least two thousand swings every day.


    His hands wore out fast, but his proficiency rose just as fast.


    Bard helped with healing potions, allowing Ezra to wash away fatigue that would''ve kept him in bed for days otherwise.


    He also didn''t visit his mother, as he knew how she would react if she saw his hands.


    Meanwhile, Fredrick didn''t forget tomunicate the ongoing of ck Jaws and the outside world to him.


    The war was still ongoing, and at this point, it had wrought devastation to every power involved.


    Niton gained significant ground in Itrevezar, Iris and Quartez. It went ahead and began plundering all they could.


    The Emperor didn''t even consider retreat, only advancement, and while it had its shares of bad times, it paid off in the long term.


    They had prated every power sharing border with them, with the three above being those who took the most damage.


    They caught so many war prisoners that new cells were being constructed daily.


    In any case, so many war prisoners made ves very cheap whenpared to before the war.


    ck Jaws created a new subsidiary work just for them - to be dissolved once the war was over.


    Buying thousands of ves, the skyscraper waspleted five months ago.


    What remained was fitting the internals, and even that would soon be finished.


    Other projects followed smoothly as every vige bought had been transformed.


    Sadly, the people found themselves not living the dream.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Rather, now they paid rent for their houses and worked for underpaid wages as an influence of the war. Far too many people were looking for jobs.


    On the other hand, ck Jaws was having the best time.


    With multiple thousands, they were able to achieve what others never imagined in years - in a few months!


    Having boughtnd in Qunchester and a few others, apany of sailors was being made. ck Jaws would soon be going to other continents.


    Cabrera had advanced tote Expert-rank.


    Many other guild members had be Advanced-ranks, with a few Expert-ranks.


    To sharpen them, ck Jaws sent them to join the war led by Cabrera, who sought to be a Master.


    d in the best of armors and equipped with skills from high rankbat manuals, their chances of dying were small.


    Krony amongst them, also as an early Expert-rank.


    Then, Sebastian had gone through trials of his own.


    Over the past months, assassins hade to take the heads of ck Jaws''s upper echelon.


    Thest attempt happened at the end 1708 -st year. It was a Master-rank assassin.


    Thanks to Fredrick, they managed to survive, but the humiliation and frustration hit them hard. It tempered their will to grow stronger.


    Sebastian had been training in the arts of assassination for months, and so where the information agents.


    Someone had exposed their ploy of using beggars to track information, so they couldn''t be left to roam without being able to fight.


    What no one knew was that Fredrick had gone to war as well - he hid with Cabrera - to fish out the mastermind behind the enemy attack and put an end to them.


    As that happened, Andras Halobren, Mirahan and Nathan were left to manage finances and they achieved every objective set by Fredrick.


    But nonepared to thest pieces of information given by Fredrick.


    Some children beggars (their informants) had been abducted and found dead. The bodies had turned ck with the eyes missing and no blood remaining.


    It was a gruesome oue, but Ezra was far more concerned, for he knew something they did not.


    There was but one group who did such acts.


    ''Demon worshippers!''


    And their name had Ezra gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in utter fury.


    ''So¡­those b#stards had been active far before ''it'' happened?!''


    He held his head in worry.


    ''Just how much of the future do I not know'' he wondered.


    Or¡­


    ''Was it because of me?''


    That was an even more dreadful thought.


    He now had another reason to grow stronger.


    It seemed Orion would fall into hell far sooner than before.


    He made finding out more about the circumstances of the dead beggars Sebastian''s top priority.


    He had to catch the tail of the organization at the forefront of the apocalypse.


    ''Red Spawn'' the name alone had him furious.


    ''I won''t let you do as wish this time around''


    Clenching his fists, he went back to training with even more purpose.


    -Russell-


    In his pce, Gaga chewed on his nail with a calm expression.


    In his hands was an artifact, one given to him years ago by¡­someone he''d rather not recall.


    Wiping the surface, his eyes had reddened.


    ''What should I do?'' he wondered.


    On one hand, his nation was heading to destruction, eaten up by the internal and external strife.


    On the other hand, epting help from such a force would be turning his back on mankind, and more importantly, he''d be throwing away his pride and dignity.


    So¡­


    ''Was it worth it?''


    His forehead creased. The strings of hair on his head seeming to have gotten paler.


    Here he was, Russell''s guardian and king, looking all weak and pathetic.


    He chuckled dejectedly.


    ''Time will change any man''


    He found the title funny these days. He was but an old man who couldn''t seem to catch a break.


    ''How I wish you were here Selina'' he sighed.


    If she was here, then certainly she''d know what to do¡­she always did have an answer to his problems.


    The memories of his wife only broke him further.


    And in that instant¡­


    *k*


    He made a choice and activated the artifact.


    Red mist came from it and, from that, rang a voice.


    "Oh? OH!" the voice gasped, before settling in a tone reeking with malice.


    "So, you have thought things through?"


    "I''d rather keep this short"


    "As do I"


    "What can you offer me?"


    "Hmm?"


    "How can you help me?"


    A precedent was set on this day. A catalyst for something Orion had never seen.


    Well, someone had seen it.


    But would he be enough to make a difference?


    Let''s all wait and see. (Evil Grin)

 Chapter 207 New Threats

    The next few days, Ezra''s mind was in turmoil.


    The fact that Red Spawn had begun their work hit him hard.


    After a few hours of sulking though, Ezra''s eyes shone with a greater resolve.


    He intended to fish out Red Spawn afterpleting his revenge, but the sudden revtion forced his ns to change.


    Red Spawn had to be stopped, and unfortunately, most did not know of their existence, nor did he in his past life until they revealed themselves.


    Horrifying memories yed in his mind.


    But it could also be said that he owed his past achievements to them.


    Had he not been sent to face a group of demon worshippers, most of his squad would have not gotten killed and he wouldn''t have the mana technique hidden away.


    It was funny how things y out sometimes.


    "Huu¡­"


    In any case, that was a lifetime ago. This time, he was determined to do something about it.


    But before that, he needed information to n ordingly.


    If they were active since now, yet weren''t revealed until 1726 in his past life, then many things were amiss.


    All were but assumptions, so he had to be careful to keep his assumptions apart from facts.


    Afterwards, he began training with new fervor.


    At Advance-rank, his mana pool was beyond words, and to fill it up would take a lot of time as the Mindless Cultivation was naturally slow.


    Now, he no longer held mana stones in his teeth as the manaing down his gullet was not enough.


    Rather, he threw it into his mouth - not swallowing, of course.


    ''Now, shall I begin?''


    He began his routine practice.


    He''d do slow movements to warm his body before getting into the first of the Infinite Forms.


    ? He practiced the sequences of sixty movements in different orders, noting any new discoveries in a book, andparing it with the previous ones.


    Later, he''d visit the library to study Mages and many other things.


    Then, he''d make sure to shower the snake egg in lightning before cing it back in its dark corner illuminated by mana stones.


    At dusk, he''d review hisbat techniques, proceeding to tinker with the movement sequence, while adding or removing a few for further scrutiny.


    Like so, his days melted away.


    Sebastian was unable to make headway on the case of the dead boy, a situation that frustrated Ezra.


    But what could he do? Rather than fussing over what he couldn''t control, he focused on what he could.


    All that frustration materializes as harder training. He''d gotten even heavier braces, quadruple what he wore before.


    What? He went from Adept to Advanced rank. The increase in strength was to be expected.


    Assuming the war ended in a year''s time, Ezra set his goal to bing a Master by then.


    It was an unnatural goal by all means, but he learned from his past life that he almost always fell short of his goals.


    This meant that, if reaching Expert-rank was his goal, he could fail, but if he aimed to be a Master, he''d at least reach Expert-rank.


    Like so, he had Bard concoct potions to speed his growth, especially to augment his muscture.


    While this would prove fatal in the future as he wouldn''t grow much more in physical aspects, the threat of demon worshippers pushed him to take such risks. He could not allow himself to be unprepared for circumstances he knew about beforehand.


    Besides, where would the space for regret be if he died because he was too weak?


    Bard promised to keep the side effects to a minimum.


    Upon downing three vials of it at once, Ezra was bedridden for two weeks.


    It was a nightmare as being unable to move made him remember his infancy.


    He felt so stifled it wasn''t funny, but upon trying to stand, he puked the contents in his stomach.


    Apparently, Ezra was allergic to one of the ingredients in the potion.


    That said, he did see its effects.


    His body grew slightly day by day.


    Then, his mother was looking after him.


    When was thest time she had the chance to take care of her son so much? She loved every part of it, hoping he''d stay in bed for a few more weeks.


    It wasn''t all bad for Ezra since Bard had said he''d needed to halt training while experiencing the growth spurt.


    Citing this, his mom didn''t hesitate to feed him three more vials of the same potion.


    "With this, you''ll need another two weeks in bed. Your body will have fully recovered by then"


    Ezra was too puzzled to speak, so he just sighed at the ridiculousness.


    Like so, Ezra spent two weeks in bed.


    He then saw his mother off and picked up new braces along the way.


    Coming back, he thoroughly examined himself.


    While drinking the potion, he made sure to use mana to disperse its effects all over his body.


    He wouldn''t want to have arms looking like cinder blocks while his feet were tiny, now would he?


    s, he soon found that like most fears were unfounded.


    The rate of growth was small, intended to take ce over a long period of time.


    Meaning that he was unable to exercise for a long period as well.<novelnext></novelnext>


    He also halted cultivation because he feared an increase in mana might cause the potion to bring about unexpected effects.


    That didn''t stop him from weapon''s training though.


    Now, freer than ever, his dedication to mastering the Infinite Forms bordered on obsession.


    And that obsession paved the way for massive transformations.


    Throwing hundreds of throwing knives made of blood and taking thousands of sword swings advanced his mastery over both weapons significantly.


    He practiced with a staff, short sword and sometimes longswords.


    Gaining initial mastery in the thirty-six staff movements, he stopped there and took out Skyfall.


    Unknowingly, it held a pleasant surprise for him.


    Upon infusing it with mana, Ezra entered a dream-like state where he watched a man perform multiple movements with the scythe.


    While baffling at first, he understood that an armament of Kaldun would have some oddities and decided this was one of them.


    Then, he imitated the man''s movements, discovering new moves while realizing the errors in his previous ones.


    The Infinite Forms were once again added to with many taken out, and Ezra found his realization tranted into increased mastery for the other weapons he wielded.


    Five months passed as he re-learned everything about the scythe. At the end of it, he experienced a breakthrough not in his scythe wielding, but in swordsmanship.


    Happiness was abounding as he jumped and punched out.


    With that done, he knew he still had ways to go to be a master, so he trained harder.


    Once he mastered the teaching of the scythe''s apparition, he was pulled into the familiar nk space to face his opponent.


    This time, he was unallowed to challenge the scythe wielder with anything but a scythe.


    ''I see. This is why I was taught how to better wield scythes''


    ''Eh?!''


    At the start of the fight, Ezra''s opponent had the scythe des straighten, bing a double sword staff rather than a scythe.


    ''Can I do that¡­"


    *Shin*


    "¡­too?''


    He got his answer with his scythe having its des straighten as well.


    ''Now I''m d I practiced those staff techniques'' he grinned.


    Both opponents went at each other, and the first exchange had Ezra''s smirk wiped off.


    ''What?! It''s gotten stronger!''


    *Kriiee!*


    The des shed multiple times as Ezra had to grit his teeth to endure his opponent''s attacks.


    "Damn" he grunted.


    "If only I could use¡­"


    He didn''t finish because, as he thought that, the opponent''s de lit with a red light.


    Recognizing it, Ezra retreated in rm, but the opponent followed up and swung his weapon.


    Upon contact, an explosion urred and Ezra was sted back.


    He barely got his footing back before the opponent was back on his tail.


    ''Damn it! He''s not giving me a break!''


    With anger, he red his aura, imbuing one hand with ice and the other with Lightning.


    As it neared him, Ezra dropped the scythe, proceeding to hold the de, hot as it was, with the hand imbued with ice, before punching out with the palm with lightning.


    *Boom*


    Unable to avoid it, the opponent flew afar, before stamping his feet into the ground.


    "Hehe. Weren''t expecting that, were you?"


    Without stopping, Ezra advanced with no weapon in hand.


    His right hand and legs lit up with lightning, allowing him to reach the opponent.


    His grin was magnanimous as hended a fist on the opponent''s weapon, hitting him back.


    ''Why didn''t I think of this before?'' he realized.


    It was maximum stupidity to fight fair with a person beyond one''s skill level.


    So¡­


    ''I''ll end this while he''s still unbnced''


    He kept at his attacks, increasing the punches as it went.


    Of course, as he did so, wounds formed faster, but because he didn''t give his opponent space to swing his scythe freely, he incurred far less wounds than he normally would.


    Then, it seemed the opponent was inflexible in thinking as he didn''t let go of the scythe even in such a situation.


    Ezra couldn''t be happier. Inflexible thinking was a suicidal act in battle as far as he was concerned.


    As the thought then came to him¡­


    ''Hmm. It''s a rare opportunity. Let''s test it''


    It was time to end the battle.

 Chapter 208 Infinite Forms

    Ezra kicked back his opponents three steps and then stood up.


    The opponent straightened himself and took caution as well.


    Ezra just stared and exhaled, concentrating as he sought to create something.


    ''If I can use elements in here, then-"


    He cut himself and let his blood flow.


    "-it should be possible''


    As the blood slid down his left arm, Ezra used his blood affinity to shape it.


    Lo and behold, a long sword was formed.


    He would have formed two short swords instead, but that took too much blood to make.


    Then, he infused the de with mana, bringing forth a blue outline.


    ''Huu'' he exhaled, staring down at his opponent before getting into a stance.


    ''Form twenty-seven of the de sequence''


    The next instant, his body lit up with lightning.


    Reaching the opponent in seconds, Ezra brought down his sword.


    ''sh and sh!''


    *Kin!*


    The impact between scythe and sword was immense, and it only got better.


    Ezra''s affinity with blood was uncanny and, upon taking the first strike, he realized shes and shes won''t go through. He had the long sword turn into twin daggers, changing forms once more.


    ''Form ten. Renegade de!''


    *Kin*Ching*Kang*cling*


    The daggers chipped at the scythe multiple times, but it was the daggers that faced the brunt of it, but he constantly reformed them with the blood dripping from his hands.


    But his effect was achieved. Hitting the scythe so fast had it vibrating and that threw the opponent off rhythm.


    ''Chance!''


    So, when a gap showed itself, Ezra was at the ready and plunged the right dagger into the opponent''s neck.


    Like so the battle ended and Ezra found himself in reality minutester.


    He looked to see his body unharmed, and sighed in relief.


    For minutes, he sat and reviewed the battle over and over in his head, looking for why he, and not the opponent, had won.


    It all came down to one reason.


    ''He was inflexible''


    Ezra won by taking advantage of that.


    Taking deep breaths, he reviewed the Infinite Forms once more.


    Many of the forms were those he had witnessed in his past life.


    Though the names he assigned were of his making.


    With increased mental acuteness, he could remember the forms of all the sequences easily.


    He got to work, reviewing the five sequences, Foot, Fist, de, Staff and Scythe.


    He aimed tobine them into a single form. That would be the real ''Infinite Forms''.


    How many years that would take he didn''t know, but he was aiming to get as much progress as possible.


    As such, he requested a mentor for himself from Bolton, who kindly turned him down, citing that the Empire would not be paying the cost for such an endeavor because they were paying the cost of his vassal''s mentorship.


    Saying nothing, Ezra went to the Royal Treasury instead and took out a hundred and fiftybat techniques.


    The guards were rmed and told Bolton, who simply smiled and dismissed the warning.


    ''So, you think you can master all thosebat techniques. As expected, a child is but a child after all. Reality is ever quick to checkmate the unworthy''


    Without minding others, Ezra went through thebat arts, which he did in two days.


    Throughout that time, he simply folded the pages where he found something interesting so he''de back for itter.


    With all the books thoroughly screened, he slept for twelve hours to get himself back on track.


    The next day, he only checked the folded pages, copying them out onto nk sheets of paper.


    This took six days.


    Once done, he tasked one of the guards to take it all back and began to look through those he copied down.


    Taking an average of two movements from each book, he had almost five hundred movements to look through.


    But if doing so would let him emerge a stronger warrior, why not?


    This took a month, mostly because he went through it very slowly.


    He circled any part of the techniques that caught his interest instead of cutting out any technique he didn''t like.


    While lengthy, this opened his mind to many things and allowed him to develop a more versatilebat style.


    After that month, more than two-thirds of the techniques were dismissed.


    He had taken what he wanted from them.


    The next month saw Ezra dismiss two-third of the remaining one-third.


    In the end, he was left with notes based on all his observations and, with it, he reviewed the Infinite Forms.


    Two months went by as Ezra added, dismissed, reced, and subtly changed the movements.


    He ended up with a hundred and twenty movements, but decided that was too much to master and cut out the least useful twenty-five movements, leaving ny-five movements.


    ''This took far more time than expected''


    He was annoyed because of this, though he admitted that it was more than worth it.


    With fleeting hope, he reaches out to Bard. Maybe he''d have something to elerate his training, though Ezra himself didn''t think such existed.


    Lo and behold, Bard blew away his expectations and brought him an item.


    One Ezra had seen before.


    "Isn''t that abat imprint?"


    "Yes, the best sort ofbat imprint!" Bard implored with excitement.


    "The best? What does it do?"


    "Well, for others, they take you to mind spaces that teach one technique" he then pointed to the artifact he was holding.


    "With this, you can practice any move you want"


    Ezra''s eyes lit up in surprise.


    "It has no side effects?"


    Bard scratched his beard in awkwardness.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "For one, headaches, daydreams and dizziness bemonce, though that is mostly it. But-"


    Bard turned serious.


    "-you shouldn''t use it for too long at once, else as I''ve also heard, you''ll find time moving slowly"


    Ezra contemted.


    "What do you think?"


    "I appreciate this more than you can imagine"


    Bard lit up when Ezra asked¡­


    "But¡­why are you giving this to me?"


    "Hmm" Bard looked visibly confused.


    "Because you''re my lord"


    Ezra raised a brow.


    "You''re still going strong on that. It''s just soul contract, should be easy for you break away from it"


    "Huh? I think you''re getting something wrong. Yes, I can break the contract, but the consequences would be horrendous. As you grow in power, your soul strength increases, so you can break the contract with a lesser party easily. But this also means that its power over you is more than those on lower ranks. If we do break a soul contract, our soul would be inflicted with a damage I wouldn''t wish on my worst enemy"


    Ezra was puzzled.


    "Of course, since our souls are naturally strong, they''d heal in time, but¡­"


    "But?"


    "One would never be the same. A cracked cup might crack again after being glued back. It''s exactly the same with the soul. It''ll have a remnant of the injury, no longer perfect as it once was. Psychics would have an easier time prating the person''s mind and even his life¡­sigh¡­Anyways, soul contracts are never to be taken lightly"


    "I see" Ezra was introspective.


    Bard words had enlightened him far more than he could know.


    One thing was clear.


    ''I''ll have to adjust my ns once more''


    With that, Ezra took thebat imprint and bowed in thanks.


    Then, he dropped a pile of gold in Bard''s chamber, leaving the alchemist stunned not by the amount, but by the one wielding it.


    ¡ª--------------


    A dayter, Ezra sat cross legged and infused mana into thebat imprint, a white te with unrecognizable letters and a ck back.


    The next instant, he found himself in a white space.


    ''Hmm. Why does it seem simr to the space the scythe takes me?'' he wondered.


    Since he''d experienced the scythe''s space, he was able to wield his subconscious with little effort.


    Two short swords formed in his hands.


    Ezra smiled and nodded.


    Immediately, he began practicing the Infinite Forms.


    Not long after, he fell into a trance as he went from a movement to another.


    His mind emptied as he swung his sword, feeling himself on the tip of something ethereal yet familiar.


    ''What is it?'' Ezra thought and increased his efforts, trying to find out.


    Until, at some point, Ezra froze in between his swings as realization came to him.


    Memories came to the sights, bad ones.


    From his death, to the death of his subordinates, to the apocalypse and otherworld monsters.


    He sumbed to despair, doubt crawling into his heart.


    ''What am I doing?''


    Yes, what was he doing?


    ''Did I truly think I could change anything? H-how can I face such things?'' he questioned.


    ''How could I even dream of facing-"


    His gibber came to a halt as someone approached.


    Someone he knew more than any other.


    Himself!


    He stepped back.


    "W-what! Y-you''re me!''


    The other him stared him down in disdain.


    "How I wish I wasn''t"


    "W-what?"


    "You''re so pathetic. What a sorry excuse. You don''t expect to kill Marcus like this do you?"


    Ezra clenched his fists.


    "Don''t insult me" he muttered.


    "What? I didn''t hear you"


    "Don''t insult me!" he growled.


    "You have no idea-"


    "What you have been through? Of course, I do. I''m you" other him stated.


    "But that doesn''t give you an excuse to give up"


    "I didn''t-"


    "Eh? Then why are you on the floor?"


    Ezra looked at himself and realized the absurdity. He stood up in a jiffy.


    With his gait tall, the other him folded his arms.


    "Now this is more like it. We''ve been through a lot, so stand proud"


    "That''s it? That''s all you came to say?" Ezra''s face went nk.


    "Of course. You have the answers, you just need to look around a bit"


    He vanished as soon as he said that.


    Right after, Ezra felt himself squeezed to impossible proportions, only to open his eyes to the sight of his chamber.


    But what caught his attention wasn''t that.


    Instead, it was the hazy ck halo emanating from his body.


    "Aura¡­"

 Chapter 209 Aura

    "Aura¡­" muttered Ezra, dazed.


    "¡­!"


    It was an astounding development.


    "I thought aura could only be formed at Expert-rank"


    ''Apparently I was wrong''


    What he brought out before Bard on their first meeting was an imitation of aura, not a true aura.


    He took a deep breath as a sense of fulfillment came upon him.


    He stared at the ck halo, suddenly straightening his hand and closing his arms.


    ''Concentrate, focus. That feeling¡­was it like this?''


    Immediately, the halo blended onto his arm like a gauntlet.


    "Hoo¡­" surprises just keptpounding.


    Then, the halo faded away, leaving a smile on Ezra''s face.


    ''It''s still unstable I guess''


    He couldn''t control it well.


    The moment it faded awaypletely, Ezra''s thinking slowed down to a slug''s pace.


    Before he could wonder what was happening, he fell on his back and cked out.


    ¡ª-----------------


    Meanwhile, the Emperor was experiencing setbacks of his own.


    "Gah! How is this possible? It should have beenpletely expunged by now!"


    Five years had passed, and unfortunately, expunging the entirety of the poison still proved to be too much of a task.


    His budgeted five years had psed, yet his aim remained unaplished.


    The war burnt through resources faster than wildfire, and while this wasn''t depreciative in the short term, long term though, Niton would find itself worse for wear at the war''s end.


    Thankfully, what remained wasn''t much.


    ''This''ll be over in a year'' he thought with conviction. That was the maximum amount of time he could keep the war going as people had gotten tired. Stretching it anymore could have unpredictable consequences.


    ¡ª--------------------


    Bolton tapped his cheeks in contemtion.


    He''d been instigating incidents all over the ce.


    Among them was the ck Jaws failed assassinations.


    And the fact that they survived an attack from a Master-rank assassin meant¡­


    ''They have a Master in their midst'' thought Bolton.


    ''This is bing troublesome''


    He had gauged the strengths of Cabrera and Nathan with hidden artifacts.


    So he was sure it was neither of them.


    ''This was unnned for'' Bolton sighed.


    ''Just who is it? Who could it be?''


    It was irritating.


    Having checked the status of all known masters in Niton, nothing came up on finding the Master connected to their guild.


    He then began checking on masters of the nearby powers.


    s, that search came up fruitless as well.


    Bolton wanted to pull out his hair in frustration. ck Jaws was more annoying than he initially thought.


    But giving up wasn''t an option.


    ''I have to get to the bottom of this''


    ¡ª-----------------------


    Meanwhile, other scenes were happening in the war zone.


    At Niton''s main camp, few sat around, tending to their injuries.


    A line of people walked in, their bodies bloodier than most but their gazes unwavering.


    "Is that them?" one asked.


    "Yeah" hisrade replied.


    "I heard they are all from a new guild"


    The other sneered.


    "That''s impossible. You must have heard wrong. Didn''t you hear? Their kill count is in the top hundred. Top hundred! Even though they arrived about a year ago!"


    "Eh? I don''t think they''ve joined for a year though"


    "Exactly my point" the other said.


    "So how can they be from a new guild?"


    "Then howe we never heard of them till now?" the other countered.


    "That¡­" he blinked in confusion.


    "Maybe they trained in secret"


    "By who?"


    "Eh¡­could be the royal family" he nodded to himself.


    "Or any of the five great noble families"


    Cabrera, who could hear the conversation, just smiled in amusement.


    Yes, the group being discussed was the ck Jaws unit.


    Ever since they stepped into the scene of war, they had aplished much.


    From the death of thousands with poison and traps, to the advanced fighting techniques of the members, or the fact that their unit of Experts took down a Master¡­


    There was too much to say.


    As their fame skyrocketed, so did their enemies, and Cabrera wouldn''t have it any other way.


    Of the initial five hundred ck Jaws guild members, four hundred and fifty-six remained.


    Beside him was another figure cloaked in a ck hood.


    This was Fredrick. Thanks to a tinum-rank artifact, his level was hidden away from everyone.


    Even Grandmasters would have a hard time seeing through it.


    Once the assassination failed, Fredrick knew that it wouldn''t take a genius to realize that ck Jaws was hiding something.


    It was for this specific reason that Cabrera came to the warfront.


    He came to use the experience to propel himself into Master-rank.


    ¡ª----------------------


    Ezra woke a dayter, panting as his muscles felt like iron.


    Fatigue hadpounded on him.


    It was a baffling situation. Ezra''s physique should stave off fatigue for at least five days.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''But¡­this much fatigue? How long was I in the mind space?'' he wondered, looking around.


    Wiping his hands on the floor revealed dust, lots of it. And looking at the ceiling, cobwebsy at his gaze.


    ''This much dust and those cobwebs¡­a month?''


    He had used a month without realizing.


    A small chuckle left his lips, when his stomach cried out. Hunger hit Ezra''s senses.


    He rolled to the jar of grains and shoved them into his mouth.


    Only after shoving it into his mouth did the hunger go away. Afterwards, he stood - with a lot of struggle - and cleaned the ce and his body.


    For three days he didn''t train and just rested, and when he realized his body had recovered, he dove right back into thebat imprint''s mind space.


    His next goal was confirmed.


    ''I''ll master aura and Infinite Forms¡­who knows, maybe I canbine them''


    Like so, he called out his aura and began practicing with it.


    His days went as such, at first calling out his aura wore him for a whole day, but soon, he could call it out twice a day, and after, three times a day, and so on.


    All the while, he sought to assign a purpose to it.


    In his past life, his purpose was to bring death to all the enemies of his lord.


    In this life¡­


    ''I''ll kill everyone-''


    He stopped.


    ''No, I won''t just kill them. I-I''ll¡­''


    He went on chewing his tongue, looking for the right word.


    Then it hit him¡­


    ''I''ll obliterate them!'' he nodded.


    ''And it won''t just be my enemies, but everything and anything standing in my way!''


    At that moment, something awoke in him, and in the next moment, he was back in the real world.


    He didn''t know why, but then, he somehow did.


    Without prior knowledge, he pressed his hands together in a lotus posture and dived into meditation.


    He found himself in darkness, his body also made of darkness, but he could see clearly.


    ''The trial?!''


    To master aura and turn it into one''s own, a test was given, one to test and temper the will of the person. Aura was wielded by, and forged by, one''s will, which is why the power of one''s aura differed from person to person.


    Ezra was surprised.


    ''Since I have already mastered aura, I didn''t expect to be brought for a trial once more''


    ''What will it be this time?'' he smiled.


    In his past life, it took three days to pass the trial, because as long as one was true to himself, it wasn''t difficult.


    Suddenly, the darkness warped and a bowl the size of Ezra''s two palmsbined appeared.


    In it was a white water.


    Then a small light shone into the darkness and into the bowl.


    ''Hmm?'' Ezra sat next to the bowl, looking around.


    He dipped his finger into it.


    The water rippled, and at the same time¡­


    "AH!" Ezra screamed as the tip of his finger was erased.


    He retreated, looking around, but nothing changed.


    He sought to understand the essence of such a trial.


    He looked at the darkness, looked at the light, at the bowl, then at himself - who was made darkness.


    ''Cleansing darkness with light¡­to shed one in the light of another''


    In a word, it illustrated a ''change''


    Ezra''s eyes opened in realization, to give one in light of another.


    He took a deep breath, clenched his fist to steel his decision and then, he reached the bowl, and poured its contents over himself.


    What came after was pain beyond words.


    As his body was erased, he saw the light shine brighter, and then, a sh of light took away his consciousness.


    "Ugh!"


    Some timeter, he rubbed his head, grunting in pain as he opened his eyes.


    But what he saw left him speechless.


    From his body, silver light poured forth.


    He stared at his arm covered in this silver light.


    Skyfall shook, falling off his clothes and onto his palm.


    Upon touching his palm, it erged.


    ''What''s with you?'' Ezra was perplexed and held it.


    Upon doing so, his chest heaved and he felt their connection grow deep, deeper than ever before.


    "Hoo¡­" Ezra exhaled,ing back to his senses.


    In those minutes, memories had poured in, memories of Skyfall''s previous wielders.


    ''I see. I was challenged because you didn''t take me to be worthy''


    Such was the w of Kaldun''s weapons.


    The weapons were semi-beings. Theycked a personality, but could express intent.


    Only, they expressed malicious intent the most.


    Why? Because they were made with parts of demons.


    It took one to be acknowledged by them to wield them at will.


    So unlike Ezra''s hunches, he wasn''t being challenged to increase his scythe mastery.


    Instead, the scythe had been aiming for his life.


    Ezra frowned deeply, knowing you were almost killed pleased no one.


    "And you expect me to trust you in battle? No chance"


    It shook from Ezra''s anger, before transmitting its intent.


    Ezra made a weird face.


    "What do you mean-"


    He halted, having caught sight of something.


    The egg.


    It was shaking.

 Chapter 210 Hatching

    Ezra walked closer to the egg that was ced at a separate corner.


    He stood three feet away and watched as the egg throbbed.


    *Crack*


    Lo and behold, the egg cracked and the cracks grew wider from there.


    Soon enough, the egg shell fell apart and from within came a snake''s head.


    Ezra concealed himself, watching as the snake looked around with drowsy eyes before slithering out of its shell ever so slowly.


    Once the snake got a foot away from the egg, Ezra revealed himself, startling the snake.


    With swift hands, he grabbed the snake with both hands and sat down.


    The snake sought to struggle, but Ezra''s firm hands didn''t allow it any movement.


    Instead, he previewed it.


    Its skin was ck and white. ck was the prominent color, while white was represented by lines zig-zagged from its left eye to its tail.


    ''Look''s menacing. Good''


    Ezra brought out a transparent orb from within his ring.


    It was an affinity orb. When giving them to Fredrick, he had saved two for himself.


    He pried the snake''s mouth open and used it to touch the orb.


    The orb brightened and, from it, particles of Darkness came about.


    ''It has the darkness affinity'' Ezra nodded.


    ''Then-''


    His stare became deeper.


    ''-does it have the other one?''


    At this moment, sparks came about.


    Ezra smiled. It was a sess.


    The snake gained both Darkness and Lightning affinities.


    Unlike humans, affinity grades didn''t mean much to beasts, it was mana capacity and the beast''s core that mattered.


    One thing did bother Ezra though.


    ''After absorbing all that mana, it''s still this small. I was expecting it to be a bit bigger''


    He shook away such thoughts. One ought to be content.


    At least its usefulness had been confirmed. Raised well, it would be a beast among beasts.


    ''Now I need to bind it'' thought Ezra.


    There were two ways - or maybe more, Ezra didn''t know - to bond with beasts. The traditional way was bonding with it over time.


    Then the other way was binding.


    Ezra came to know of this method during his tenure of studying runes.


    When binding, man and beast form a connection, allowing them to connect at a much deeper level.


    With this method, training beasts was easier, and the rate at which it could turn against its owner decreased.


    There existed those who could control beasts, and Ezra didn''t want to be unprepared if he ever fought against one of them.


    Without dy, he brought out two parchments with runes drawn by him on them.


    He took a parchment and ced it on the snake.


    Infusing mana into the rune, the snake began wriggling as the rune was carved into its skin.


    Two minutester, it was done.


    Ezra ced the snake down, took the second parchment and ced it on his arm, before infusing mana into it.


    "Hmm!" Ezra forced his lips close as he felt the rune burn into his skin like hot metal.


    Three minutester, it was done.


    Ezra calmed himself and regted his breathing.


    He then infused mana into the rune.


    An outside force came upon him, and somehow, he could understand the snake.


    He could feel its fear after having its skin burned as it hissed, looking around with eyes zed with curiosity.


    Its darkness affinity allowed it to see in the darkness like Ezra.


    Surprisingly, its eyesight was far better than that of a normal snake.


    ''Why though?'' wondered Ezra, but then it clicked.


    ''The absorbed mana, it must have increased its capabilities''


    The snake tilted its head, feeling Ezra''s emotions.


    ''What do I call you?''


    His gaze and that of the snake matched.


    ''Rerend? No. Wesaciy? No. Sazevant? No. Hmm, Severus¡­''


    ''Severus it is then'' he nodded.


    At this time, someone knocked on his door.


    ''Who is it?''


    They knocked again.


    Opening the door, he saw the guard.


    "I thought I said I was not to be disturbed?"


    The guard fumbled with his words at first, before replying¡­


    "Her Highness requests your presence"


    "My mother?" Ezra was intrigued.


    "No, your highness"


    "One of those three?" his disdain came clear.


    "Yes"


    "Who-no, never mind" he stopped himself from asking which of the three requested his presence, rather wondering the reasons for his summons.


    "Hmm¡­"


    Pondering a bit, he decides to grant the request. He needed to know what those witches were cooking up.


    "Lead the way" he said.


    "Of course"


    They arrived at a room at the edge of one of the corridors, where the third witch resided.


    "She''s in there?" he asked.


    "Yes, your highness" a guard answers, one different from the one before.


    He looked over the door and the guards standing at its sides.


    "Inform her of my presence"


    "Oh yes, I will-"


    He halted, looking at Ezra.


    "Prince, you are required to enter"


    He shook his head.


    "I''m not entering, my mom warned me not to. So please, inform her of my presence. And that I shall be leaving in but a few minutes"<novelnext></novelnext>


    The guard was left speechless. Obviously, he could not tell such words to an Empress, lest he risked being thrown in a cell.


    "I''d hurry if I were you, lest I leave"


    At that moment, the door split open and the graceful visage of the third Empress came into view with a green grown to match her green eyes and a green fan covering her lips.


    She was Gwendolyn Miller.


    She looked about, moving to act surprised.


    "Ah, it seems you''ve arrived. I was just wondering what took so long"


    Ezra sneered within while keeping his gaze to the ground.


    The guard pointed to Ezra-


    "I have brought him"


    -and marches off.


    She looks at Ezra, her eyes warm and caring.


    "If it is not the legendary child"


    Ezra stared nkly and denied her a reply, turning the situation awkward.


    Coughing away her embarrassment, she sought to grab his hand.


    "Come in my boy. I have a lot to discuss with you"


    Ezra moved back.


    "Whatever you have to say, please, say it here"


    "Excuse me?"


    "My mother told me not to go into stranger''s rooms"


    She popped a vein.


    ''This little thing!''


    But she quickly suppresses her anger.


    "Is that so? I don''t like keeping guests on their feet though"


    "Think nothing of it" Ezra waved his hands.


    She nodded.


    "I''ve recently heard that you were training. Is it true?"


    "It is"


    "Oh, who''s teaching you?"


    "No one. I''m self-taught" he shook his head.


    "I see" she said, while her mind ran calctions in the background.


    ''Wonderful, gaining his trust should far easier''


    She continued¡­


    "Then, your training? How is it going, you must have gotten much stronger, yes?"


    Ezra chuckled inwardly while lowering his gaze.


    ''If only you knew''


    His expression became saddened, touching his hands as he cried out.


    "It''s soooo hard! My body became much bigger, but I''m not strong at all!"


    Her eyes lit up as Ezra wiped away fake tears.


    "Oh, you poor thing" she said, rubbing his hair.


    Ezra had to suppress the urge to hit her hand away.


    Once done, she straightened herself.


    "You know, what if I got you a good teacher?"


    Ezra shook his head immediately, crying out¡­


    "No, I don''t want any teachers, thest one almost killed me!"


    ''Heh, as if I''d let you monitor my movements'' he thought underneath.


    ''This is troublesome'' she was stumped.


    She racked her brain for something else she could give him.


    ''There is that thing¡­'' something came to mind.


    ''Shall I have him crippled?''


    But she threw away such thoughts. If she did that, there was no telling what the Emperor would do.


    So, she continued with her original n.


    ''Something, something¡­''


    Her mindnded on something she thought disposable.


    ''Yes, let''s give him that''


    "I have something" she said, closing the doors and scourging out a bunch of vials containing purple liquid.


    "What are those?"


    "Oh, these? They''re growth potions"


    "Oh!"


    His eyes grew eager.


    "What do they do?"


    "You see those weak muscles of yours, they''ll make them harder and stronger"


    "Oh wow!"


    "Here you go" she handed them to him.


    "Thank you" he took them and promptly turned around.


    "Bye-bye now. I have to go back to training"


    "Wait, take these as well" she said, cing nine more of the same potions in his hands.


    "Thank you!" he beamed and subsequently left, arriving at the training chamber soon after.


    He took a good look at the potions, before sucking them into his space ring.


    Regardless, Bard was more than enough if he needed potions, and they would be of a better quality.


    He threw the matter to the back of his mind and brought out Severus from his ancient space ring.


    Severus came out with its mouth swallowing a piece of meat from among the bodies of numerous beasts Bard acquired for him.


    He took off the pin-sized Skyfall from his cloth and erged it.


    ''Let''s see what both of you can do''


    Elsewhere, Ezra''s mother went through her routine training, sparring against her instructor.


    *sh*sh*sh*sh*


    They stopped.


    "As tough as ever, Gabrie" said Kiara, wiping her sweat away.


    The instructor, a woman not muscr yet not skinny, waved away thements.


    "You tter me. Your skills have improved so much I''m jealous. You''re almost at my level"


    Someone knocked on the door, drawing their attention.

 Chapter 211 New Wall

    "You tter me. Your ent has improved by far more" said Kiara.


    "All thanks to your persuasion, your highness"


    *Knock*Knock*


    The instructor reached the door and opened it to reveal a person in a green dress.


    The revealed visage had Kiara''s expression turn cold.


    Gwendolyn - the third empress - looked aloof as always, with a fan over her mouth.


    "Greetings" she said, looking about.


    "Kiara, I-"


    "You will address me as I am fit" Kiara cut her off.


    The atmosphere froze.


    Her re was unhidden, and the disdain it cast caused Gwendolyn to pause.


    ''What in Merianda''s name?!'' she thought.


    She hade here to coerce her and make sure she didn''t interfere in the budding rtionship she was forming with Ezra.


    Given how cowardly and fearful Kiara was known to be, Gwendolyn felt that it would take but a few words.


    But what was this?


    It was impossible. It was inconceivable.


    ''This b#tch dares to-''


    Ragepounded within her, but Kiara couldn''t care less.


    "Have your lips gone numb? Speak and rid us of your presence"


    That was it. That blew her fuse.


    "You dare!" Gwendolyn screamed, her aura ring as she did.


    "You dare speak to me in such a manner? You wretched-"


    "Save it" Kiaramanded, raising a palm.


    "I have endured enough. I will not have desecrated creatures like you insult me"


    Gwendolyn popped a vein and exuded an aura of dim green hue.


    "Desecrated¡­! It seems I''ve lost my touch"


    Kiara stepped forward and a blue aura formed around her.


    "Even after all this time, I can see that your delusions have only grown bigger"


    Brandishing her rapier, Kiara took a fighting stance while Gwendolyn brought forth a sword from her space ring and brandished it.


    "Now, shall we see whether you are as skillful with the sword as with that mouth of yours?"


    The Emperor was absent, so there would be no better time to teach the servant girl a lesson.


    "With pleasure"


    The battle began between the two empresses.


    Kiara closed in on Gwendolyn.


    ''Fast'' Gwendolyn acknowledged, but sneered right after.


    ''But not agile!''


    Fan and de collide with Gwendolyn diverging the path of Kiara''s de to use the sword to cut her.


    Lo and behold, Kiara kicked her hands away, disrupting her bnce, before subsequently kicking her in the stomach, which she blocked with her fan.


    "Ugh!" Gwendolyn''s face was unsightly.


    ''Of all things! To be pushed back by this wretched nobody? I will not have it!''


    She advanced, fuming with rage as her ego had been bruised.


    See, while the three empresses looked unremarkable next to the Emperor, all three were at Expert-rank.


    So, being pushed back by - what she considered to be - a novice was utter madness.


    Just what would others say when they hear of it? It would be the end of her reputation! She''d never be able to face her peers again, and the mere possibility devastated her.


    Her priority was no longer minimal injuries, but the death of the used b#tch in front of her.


    "Die!"


    She threw a fan, having it cut through the air.


    "Hmph" Kiara firmed herself and her breathing, hitting the fan with a low swing, just enough to alter its course.


    Done with the rain, now came the storm.


    Gwendolyn reached her just as she did so.


    ''I can''t block in time!'' she cried, Gwendolyn''s faning down on her arm.


    In a split second, rather than attack, Kiara tilted her body just enough to have the fan graze her shoulder armor.


    And then, she moved in a circle, her de stretched to cut Gwendolyn down.


    Instincts sharp as ever, Gwendolyn tapped off the ground, avoiding the de, though she inevitably lost strands of hair.


    Uponnding, Kiara''s sword came straight for her with a stab movement.


    *Kin*


    The fan saved the day, blocking the rapier''s way.


    Suddenly, Kiara jumped six feet away and sheathed her de.


    She aimed to stab through the weapon, but quickly realized that it wasn''t going to happen.


    She decided it was best to end things there.


    "Get out" she scorned.


    Gwendolyn stared silently for more than a minute, before slowly taking back her fan that was lodged in the ground and leaving.


    ¡ª-----------------------


    Meanwhile, Ezra was in a battle of his own.


    A battle to ovee his hurdles.


    ''I can''t seem to advance the Infinite Forms more than I already have¡­but why?''


    He was certain that Infinite Forms could be improved further. Experience told him so.


    Yet, after a few days, it came clear that he had run into a wall.


    He''d broken walls before, and he could do it again.


    But this was different.


    Other walls were easy to understand.


    A limit to stronger attacks? Increase mana. Physical capabilities? Hone the body.


    But this¡­


    ''I can see the movements clearly in my head, yet my body never seems to be able to follow those exact movements''


    It was a wall of the likes he''d never encountered.


    That didn''t lower his spirits though. His instincts told him that surpassing this challenge would be key to advancing his mastery over the sword.


    He had been practicing, yet had not seen the problem.


    So maybe, it wasn''t something easily noticeable to him.


    But maybe¡­it was noticeable to others.


    ''I need another person''s perspective'' Ezra smiled.


    And he knew just who to ask.


    A dayter, the vassals converged in his chamber.


    They mingled in small talk as the siblings had not seen one another since the time Ezra helped Veronica advance, well over a year before.


    They all looked rugged. Each oozing off a different presence.


    Theron had grown to be the tallest at 6''2, now broad shouldered and boasting heavy muscles, his expression more prominent.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ashton followed right after at 5''9.


    The sisters had changed as well. Roxanne''s hair was disheveled and her expression told of a fiery personality, while Velora was neat, exuding elegance, and they matched in height at 5''7.


    Johan was unfortunately the shortest at 5''6, while his haughtiness seemed to have reduced.


    Ezra smiled, nodding at what his vassals had be.


    They had be capable. They had grown strong.


    That was nothingpared to the shock the siblings had.


    Especially Johan.


    "How?! Just how?!"


    Due to the effects of Bard''s growth boost potion, Ezra stood at 5"6, matching Johan.


    Bard could concoct a potion whose effects would have Ezra grow beyond 6 feet in a short time, but the more one elerated their growth in the short term, the more the detriment would be in the long term.


    "And here I thought you had changed" Ezra said as he dug into his ear.


    The siblings burst into giggles and chuckles.


    "Why did you call us?" asked Theron, shutting down the giggles.


    Ezra pulled swords from his space ring.


    "To check your skills obviously"


    Their gazes changed and they took steps backwards.


    Making a few swings, Ezra asked¡­


    "Who''s first?"


    "Might I refuse?" asked Theron, surprising Ezra.


    "Let me rephrase that. Is this part of our chances to free ourselves?"


    "What do you think?"


    "It isn''t"


    Ezra nodded.


    "Losses and wins do not matter. If you wish to challenge me for your freedom, just state your intention"


    Theron nodded, stepping forward, a halberd in his palm called forth from his space ring.


    Then¡­


    *Crunch*


    His muscles scrunched as his body erged.


    Seconds passed and his body settled into its new form.


    His whole body was now covered in orange fur except his head.


    "Done?"


    Upon nodding, Ezra attacked.


    *Crannng!*


    ¡ª------------------------


    *Bam*


    Gwendolyn mmed the door, her expression darker than ever.


    ''That! That¡­!''


    Pent up anger had her dent the wall with a punch.


    Her rage could torch the sky.


    Then, she noticed the part of her hair Kiara cut off and screamed¡­


    "She DARED!"


    Her fist clenched while her eyes shook.


    What had happened? Kiara had changed beyond recognition.


    ''Just when?!''


    Upon bing an Empress, she - and the other two - stopped polishing their skills.


    Expert-rank was good enough, and besides, who dared to touch them?


    Also, they had more than enough guards to protect them, which had them dismiss the notion of training.


    Instead, they polished their tongue''s and minds in the art of negotiations, deceit, seduction and scheming.


    Sweating, she gritted her teeth.


    ''We''ve been fools''


    The nonchnce to training almost led to her death.


    Her heart pounded as she reminisced on the duel.


    Her acrobatic flip had her back aching incessantly.


    ''I can''t stay like this, else I''ll die!'' she affirmed.


    With the fear of death abound, she threw away any n to gain Ezra''s trust.


    Her pride was wounded, and someone had to pay!


    ''The boy has to die!'' she hollered underneath.


    He would pay for his mother''s sins.


    She nodded at her thoughts.


    ''It''s better to nip troublesome roots before they can sprout''


    With her son dead, she''d be unable to interfere with the battle for the throne, no matter how strong she was.


    ''But¡­how?'' she bit her fingers.


    She could travel while he was taken care of.


    ''No no, I''ll look more suspicious like that'' she shook her head.


    He couldn''t die in the castle, else the Emperor would end them all.


    So she would wait for a time he left the castle of his own ord.


    ''And then¡­'' she snapped her fingers, a cruel smile forming on her lips.


    ''You''ll regret not knowing your ce''


    Like so, her brain went to work. Thinking up all theponents to make a perfect assassination.


    It didn''t ur to her that she could simply hone her body.


    But then, that would be ''too much work'' and Empresses weren''t meant to hassle.


    ¡ª------------------------------


    Previously jobless, Gwendolyn devoted her time and energy to the meticulous nning of Ezra''s assassination.


    Meanwhile, the confrontation between Kiara and Gwendolyn reached the ears of the other two, and subsequently the outside.


    Gwendolyn focused on her task, sending gifts to him in the form of artifacts and potions, making more effort to have others notice her interest in him.


    ''This way, once he''s dead, I''ll naturally avoid suspicion''


    Realizing Ezra had a connection with the Head Alchemist, who perused all the potions she gave him, she paused her excessive gifts.


    The potions would be seen through and their harmful effects would be revealed.


    Or so she thought, but noints were raised, increasing her confusion.


    With only assumptions to go on, she stopped the gifting.


    Then, unlike her expectations, Kiara didn''t approach her.


    ''Does she not know what I''m doing?''


    It didn''t seem possible, or was there something she was missing?

 Chapter 212 Proceedings

    Days shed by while Ezra polished his skills, sparring with his vassals on most days.


    All the gifts Gwendolyn gave him, he gave to his vassals after having Bard sift through them.


    They grew as one, and with Ezra''s help, hit Advanced-rank by the fifth month.


    That wasn''t enough to satisfy them, it wasn''t even close.


    Witnessing the enormous gap between them and Ezra, their aim was to create aura while in Advanced-rank.


    ? Ezra didn''t tell them otherwise, as the stronger they got, the better.


    Instead, his focusid on perfecting the Infinite Forms.


    To start with, he changed much through the technique in five months, letting it retain only a hundred moves - in each sequence!


    Meaning, the sword sequence had a hundred movements, as did the fist, scythe, staff, and dagger.


    In total, that was five hundred movements!


    Now, he was blending the sequences into one, creating the real Infinite Forms.


    ¡ª-------------------


    Meanwhile, war stalledpletely.


    People were tired, and too many resources had been wasted.


    The rewards were bountiful, but such maniptions could only do so much.


    Enough blood had been shed.


    Now, Nitonians fought a defensive battle, aiming to keep the upied territory till the war was called off.


    But a few groups stood out, those still going strong.


    At the top of those was the ck Jaws regiment as they''de to be called.


    They were razing down ces left and right, building an astronomical amount of contribution points by taking out Master-ranks and the likes.


    As a consequence, the rankings thought to be set in stone were shaken up, which forced others into action.


    Some attacked ck Jaws, only to fail of course and have their contribution points added to that of ck Jaws. Others sought to copy them, most of which didn''t live to tell the tale.


    The guild was also going strong, havingpleted the skyscraper and produced fourteen more batches of Experts thanks to thebined efforts of owning beast regions, cultivating with mana stones and giving them the best elixirs.


    The port built in Qunchester waspleted, bing the biggest in Niton.


    Now it was being fitted with ships.


    Multiple other projects went along in the other slums.


    As they racked up achievements, trouble followed close by.


    Having been givennd certificates, guilds and ns were buying upnds as well.


    Of course, with Bolton tripling thend prices, they couldn''t buy as much as they wanted.


    It was themoners that felt the brunt of the price hike the most.


    Land appreciating meant house costs appreciating, which meant increased rent and so forth, which led to the price of everymodity increasing as well.


    Everything except their wages!


    The fluctuating prices of goods were crazy, flying sky-high.


    Those well to do lived frugally, while those below starved.


    Crime rates increased exponentially and so did the death toll.


    ¡ª----------------------


    Meanwhile, the Emperor was going strong, expunging the poison.


    If the next few years psed with him still in seclusion, others would guess that something had happened. And he couldn''t allow that to happen.


    The people were already raising discontent on the ongoing war. Whether he would seed or fail though, was for time to tell.


    If the current situation were to be maintained, the Emperor would not have much of an Empire to rule over.


    ¡ª-----------------------


    Elsewhere¡­


    *Bam*


    Gaga mmed the table, looking at the visage conjured by an artifact akin to a locket, but with the size of a fist.


    "We had a deal!" Gaga hollered.


    "Yes, we did" a cold voice replied, a smile on his face.


    Gaga popped a vein.


    "My people are being massacred, yet I do not see the aid I was promised"


    "Oh sir. You must calm down-"


    "Answer me-"


    The cold voice became strict.


    "It would wise to remember that you''re the one in need"


    Gaga clenched his fist, before slowly releasing it.


    He''d forfeited his pride the day he epted their help.


    "Good" the other implored.


    "No worries, we will take care of Niton when the time is right"


    "Take care of Niton? I asked you to help my people!"


    The man shook his head ever so slowly.


    "Is that so? I don''t remember it as such. Yes yes, you told us to give you a sessor and to not let your pitiful kingdom die out"


    "You must understand that such things are big tasks. They cannot be rushed"


    Gaga was fuming. They were twisting his words.


    But what could he do, he''d already started on this path, so he had to see it through.


    "So, what do you n to do?" he changed the question.


    The man smiled.


    "Now, that is a good question¡­that I would rather not answer. Instead, I''ll let you witness it. After all, it shouldn''t be long now"


    "Instead, shall we not talk about your sessor? I feel that is the most urgent matter"


    "What should I do"


    "You? Nothing. Simply send him to us, and we''ll take care of the rest"


    "I see. I will do so" Gaga huffed.


    Like such, the visage vanishes and the artifact sped shut.


    ¡ª-----------------------<novelnext></novelnext>


    Six months passed after this day, entering the year 1712.


    For one, Ezra was now twelve.


    Also, it would be the seventh year since the start of the war.


    Lastly¡­


    ''It''s done''


    The Emperor huffed with pride while looking at the pool of purple liquid on the floor.


    At the same time¡­


    *Crack*


    The mana stone in his hand cracked into pieces.


    "What a waste" he muttered, but desperate times called for desperate measures.


    It wasn''t all bad though. While expunging the poison, he''d gained a resistance to it, and then, his mana pool had also widened.


    He stood for the first time in a long time, his bones snapping as he did.


    Having grown a short white beard, he cleaned it up, and then had the royal healer take the poison into a vial to study it.


    For one, they would create an antidote and then see if they could recreate it. The Emperor smiled at such thoughts.


    "Ha¡­" he exhaled, now in his polished battle armor.


    Excitement budded in his chest as he would be using his power on the war for the first time in a long time.


    Concentrating, his body lit up with sparks as did his beard.


    With a steady stomp, he flew out of Avi''s pce, calling the attention of all to his visage.


    Grandmasters whipped their heads to the abrupt presence of another.


    He spoke, his voice booming.


    "LET IT BE KNOWN. THE WAR HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH. IT HAS COME TO AN END"


    Without dy, he flew in the opposite direction.


    Niton was immediately notified of the Emperor''s return.


    History was made as the Great war ended in the sixth month of the year 1712.


    With the Emperor''smand, forces began to withdraw, having sucked away all they got their hands on.


    Avi had been imed and they had extended their borders.


    External powers could choose to continue the war of course, but they needed a break to recuperate.


    The war left everyone with more losses than gains, and the subsequent periods would be turbulent as the people would have to adjust to the tides of change, lest they get wiped out.


    The Emperor got back to the castle in a few hours, but it would take others a few days.


    "Wee Sire" Bolton bowed.


    Two days ago, the Emperor notified Bolton of his arrival.


    As such, Bolton effectively renderednd certificates useless by citing them as invalid, thus ceasing any ongoingnd sales.


    Subsequently, he dropped thend prices back to their normal amounts.


    The Emperor nodded, looking around.


    "I see I left things in capable hands"


    Walking on, he arrived at not the throne room, but the dining hall.


    Thereafter, the Empresses arrive, each giving curtsy bows before taking a seat.


    Food was served and, while the Emperor ate, the Empresses brought him to speed.


    "Haha"


    He smiled.


    "He chose his path wisely. Aura at sixteen? My boy has grown well"


    The first Empress beamed.


    The others chipped in.


    "An Advance-rank Mage. He is my son" the Emperor said with conviction.


    The third wife did not have any aplishments to boast about, but got by with small talk.


    Looking further, the table quietened.


    "Hmm?" he wondered.


    "Where is the Fourth? Did she not know of my arrival?"


    "She must have known, and yet she has not arrived" the othersmented.


    "That''s what she does" one said.


    "How disrespectful"


    He raised a hand to have them shut up and turned to his guard.


    "Call her here, immediately"


    ¡ª--------------------------


    The door opened minutester to allow Kiara in, who was garbed in armor.


    The Emperor raised a brow.


    "Where were you?"


    Kiara bowed.


    "I was training in one of the chambers, so I was made unaware of your arrival"


    He looked to the guard who escorted her in.


    "I would have presented myself in a better attire, but the guards did not allow me to do so"


    Her face was filled with sweat.


    ''She''s not lying''


    "You''re excused" he waved her away.


    The reply was so sudden, everybody froze, Kiara included.


    "Yes?" Kiara asked.


    "You can leave"


    Kiara snapped out of it, but still felt dazed.


    Nodding, she walked out.

 Chapter 213 Changes

    The Emperor finished his food and sent the Empresses away.


    Getting to his quarters, it hit him¡­


    "Where is Ezra?"


    Bolton came to his aid, whispering to him the answer.


    At the same time, Bolton took the chance to tell the Emperor of Ezra''s acquisition of Skyfall.


    The Emperor''s eyes widened and he turned to face Bolton with a fiery expression.


    "When did this happen? And why wasn''t I told sooner"


    Bolton stepped back.


    "Seven years ago,"


    "That''s-"


    "Yes sire, it happened on the eve of war, the same day you left"


    "Call him here" the Emperor huffed.


    "As you wish" Bolton swiftly moved.


    ¡ª------------------------


    Ezra stood in front of his father with his hands behind his back.


    "My boy. You have grown"


    Ezra shook his head.


    "Father, it''s all thanks to you"


    "You''ve even gotten better at using your tongue"


    "Sir?"


    "Never mind"


    The Emperor went straight to the topic at hand.


    "Now, Bolton tells me you have bonded with Skyfall, is this true?"


    Ezra nodded.


    "Show it to me"


    Without dy, Ezra took off his pin sized scythe from his clothes and erged it.


    "Hoo¡­" the Emperor gasped in amazement.


    "You have already grasped its nature to a sufficient level" he nodded.


    "Good. Seems it will of best to get you a new trainer as soon as possible"


    Ezra''s eyes widened in rm.


    ''I can''t let that happen''


    And thankfully, he had prepared for this situation.


    "You seem surprised" the Emperor remarked.


    Ezra lowered his gaze, allowing silence to reign for another minute.


    "I-I don''t want another teacher"


    "What?"


    "I don''t want another teacher" Ezra repeated clearly, following up with his intention.


    "I want to go to the academy"


    Andrew leaned back in his chair.


    "I see" he said, staring at his child, before nodding.


    "That is¡­reasonable"


    ''Now that I think about it¡­''


    He called Bolton to his side.


    "Why is the youngest still in the castle?"


    "Sire, the academies have been barred from epting new students for five years now, pertaining your orders"


    "Oh yes" the Emperor suddenly remembered.


    ''I''d forgotten about that''


    And how could he not when all his focus was on clearing out the poison.


    ''But I didn''t think it would''ve taken this long''


    "Have them lift the ban"


    Bolton nodded.


    Ezra was displeased.


    ''He''s powerful¡­but far more irresponsible'' he thought.


    But he dared not show it, keeping his gaze lowered, until the emperor spoke again.


    "I have granted your request. When shall you be leaving?"


    "Hmm?" Ezra was puzzled.


    "Haha" the Emperor hit his arm.


    "Son, you''re going to be a man. You''ll make harder decisions in the future" his gazes intensified.


    "So¡­when will you leave for the academy?"


    Since he didn''t know much about the academy, he avoided naming a specific time.


    "I will leave for the academy when the academic year begins"


    "Fair enough" said the Emperor, with Bolton whispering in his ears.


    "What is this I hear about taking war ves for personal use"


    "They have potential. I simply saw that, and picked them as vassals. I deemed such actions to be my birthright. Was I wrong, your majesty?"


    "Having the Empire pay for their living fees is your birthright?"


    Ezra shook his head vigorously.


    "No, your majesty. Having the Empire incur fees to protect a prince is my birthright" he said.


    "And grooming vassals who are to be my personal guards is if the utmost priority to my safety"


    Just as Ezra smiled within¡­


    "Ugh!"


    A flick from the Emperor had his skull crying.


    Ezra looked at the Emperor, who gave a funny smile.


    "I see you''ve gotten better at using that sly tongue of yours"


    ''Is that why you hit me?!'' he wanted to ask.


    Right on cue¡­


    "And I''ve told you stop calling me ''your majesty''"


    "Sorry your-I mean, father"


    "Besides that, Bolton tells me you''ve been training diligently. Good, it will do you well"


    "Thank you, father"


    The Emperor nodded.


    "You can go back to training. I have other matters in need of attention"


    Ezra swiftly left.


    With that, Bolton got back into action, filling the Emperor in matters needing his attention.


    Among them¡­


    "Sire. I believe dealing with ck Jaws should be our top priority. We cannot allow them to conti-"


    The Emperor raised his palm, shutting him up.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I agree with your concerns, but there are steps to be taken. And besides, we should be thankful. They have used our money to create things we never thought of, and now¡­we''ll be taking it all back"


    Bolton nodded.


    "That building they built. That, eh¡­"


    "Skyscraper" Bolton corrected.


    "Sky¡­scraper? What a funny name. Whatever. When will it bepleted?"


    "It already is"


    "Oh? Even better. Schedule the merit award ceremony to be a month from now"


    "Is that not too soon? They will be a lot of mor"


    "There would be mor no matter what we do. Announce this, any who misses the ceremony, automatically forfeits his rewards"


    Bolton gulped,


    "By your order"


    ¡ª-------------


    Dayster, the Emperor''s announcement sent Niton into an uproar.


    ¡ª-------------


    As the chaos dispersed, so did ck Jaws''s biggest advantage, distraction.


    The influx of adventurers solved a multitude of problems, or at least reduced the impact of most of them.


    With more adventurers, the explosive growth of the beasts stabilized because they killed beasts to survive.


    As more beasts were killed, the avability of materials increased, thereafter affecting the price.


    Like so, bnce began setting in ce, and things began looking up for the economy.


    ¡ª---------------


    In a ce unknown, red light permeated the air with a man sitting on a throne of bones with seven people nking him at his right and left sides.


    Their attires were draping crimson robes with skull masks, each person holding a different figure and features, some with gauntlets and others with appendages showing.


    The leader, seated on his throne, began¡­


    "How far have we progressed?"


    The first person seated at the right nk cleared his throat and spoke¡­


    "I''m afraid we haven''t been able to get far"


    Another snickered, his robe outlining his huge physique.


    "You''ve barely gained any progress, you meant to say"


    The leader''s voice resonated, his irritation clear.


    "Why so?"


    "Huu¡­months ago, while covertly gathering the needed items, we discovered a group trailing us" he started.


    "Normally, such issues would be easily taken care of, but these people were different. They are everywhere, theirwork is wide, and their resources seem limitless. We''ve been silencing them, but that only leads to more problems because they keeping back in greater numbers!"


    "What is the name of this group?"


    "ck Jaws"


    Another interjected¡­


    "What? That Guild?"


    He looked to the leader.


    "Master, Goceron had failed, send me"


    "Quiet"


    The speaker shook, quieting up like a mouse.


    "I will send whoever I wish whenever I deem it fit. At the current rate of progress, when shall we achieve our aims?"


    "It would take neen-no, thirteen months"


    He tapped his armrest with his index finger.


    "Too long. You have eight months, take any means necessary to achieve it"


    "At yourmand"


    The leader continued¡­


    "What is truly troubling, is that I have yet to receive news from the other side"


    All the members ''hmm''ed.


    "Maybe there''s a problem with the ingredients? Or maybe the connection?" one inquired.


    "Not at all" the leader replied.


    "Then¡­?"


    "Crea, what do you have to say about this?" the leader asked.


    "Such precedence has happened in the past" she began with the sweetest of tones.


    "And in all cases, cmity struck soon after"


    "Is that so?"


    "It has been so in almost all cases, excluding a few" she continued.


    "Hmm, such disturbing news" another chipped.


    "Goceron, have our sources begin tracing these ''ck Jaws''. We must know our enemies, lest they strike us unawares"


    "Yes"


    "The rest of you, be ready to act at a moment''s notice. At the same time, assist Goceron with the proceedings. Any quarrels are disallowed"


    "Yes" they said in chorus.


    "As for me, I will head into seclusion to increase my faith. Perhaps, that will elicit a response from the other side"


    They nodded.


    "Send a message to our messengers to prepare themselves as well"


    The leader quotes¡­


    "The path painted in blood-"


    And in chorus, the others finished¡­


    -is the only one for us"


    "Dismissed"


    The moment he said that, Darkness engulfed the ce for a second, and the next, fire spurred from the torches hanging at the wall sides and light came back, but the leader was already gone.


    "He''s gone"


    "We can see that"


    Soon after, the members dispersed.


    ¡ª--------------------


    With enemies hidden and unhiddening for them, ck Jaws was on the move as well.


    Taking the best carriages, the ck Jaws regiment arrived at Traxford in less than two weeks.


    Swiftly, the members alighted.


    Cabrera, Fredrick and Kron arrived in Kingsmere a dayter, calling back ck Jaws''s top officials.


    They immediately go into seclusion.


    Like others, they knew the bubble called "buffer zone" that had been protecting them would no longer be enough.


    With the war settled, it wouldn''t be a surprise, no, it was only a matter of time before things got hectic.


    They had to be sufficiently prepared for the inevitable event, lest all they''d achieved woulde tumbling down faster than a sand castle as they find themselves robbed of all their worth, that if they were left alive.


    Again, it was do or die time. They''d grow strong enough or die trying.


    To lower the risk and increase the sess rate, abination of things were in ce for smooth cultivation.


    It was time to see what their efforts would yield.

 Chapter 214 Merit Awards

    With everyone moving, a month passed by, and in no time, it was time for the Merits Awards.


    Hosted in Kingsmere, the city was jam-packed with visitors and, more importantly, warriors.


    ¡ª--------------------


    At the gates of the royal districty a wooden podium on which the Emperor and his wives aligned themselves.


    Thereafter, Bolton handed him a list with the war contributions ranking.


    Without any dys, the ceremony began.


    "We have many promising talents, stacking uprge contributions. But I will have to limit this to the first eighty. All others shall be handed their rewards after"


    The crowd grumbled, but none dared to voice dissatisfaction.


    "Now, I''ll be starting from the lowest"


    He looked at the list.


    "Calisto Mateo from the Erma guild"


    A knight steeped up, his face littered with pride as he arrived in front of his majesty.


    The people whispered, making sure to burn his face in their minds.


    While it didn''t seem like something remarkable, cing eighty within thousands told of his worth.


    Bolton stood beside the king and removed a potion from his space ring, handing it to him.


    He left as fast as he came and the Emperor called up the next person.


    Like so, time passed as the sixtieth, fiftieth, fortieth and then thirtieth were called.


    Tension increased as the name called from this point onward would be game changers.


    All thoseing on the podium now were fromrgely known families, guilds or exceptional mercenaries.


    That is, until an unrecognizable name popped up at number 13.


    "ck Jaws regiment"


    The Emperor raised a brow, whispering to Bolton¡­


    "Why isn''t a name specified here?"


    The representative was already on the podium.


    A single nce was all it took the Emperor to discern his level.


    ''Expert-rank?''


    Disdain was evident, but the man seemed to pay it no heed as he stretched his palm to take the reward.


    The Emperor was tempted to look over the matter, but Bolton spoke out¡­


    "What sort of nonsense is this? Where is your guild master?"


    ? "He humbly apologizes, sending me to inform you of his recuperation from war injuries" the Expert bowed.


    Bolton calmed and backed off, while the Emperor simply nodded.


    ''It''s reasonable''


    Thinking again, it was to be expected. They camest, but ranked in the top fifteen. It was unprecedented.


    ''That''s why we can''t let them grow any more''


    To have another singr entity capable of matching the royal family could not be allowed.


    Such situations would bring forth far too many troubles.


    Such dark thoughts swirled, yet his expression remained cid, simply nodding as Bolton handed him their rewards.


    The Expert bowed once more and came off the podium.


    Getting down, he called a carriage and left, with the gazes of the masses on his back the whole way.


    But only for a minute as they quickly turned their attention to the next person.


    After much fanfare, the top three were announced, sparking waves of emotions.


    At nightfall, the crowd finally dispersed, many booking taverns for the night and the others beginning their return journey.


    The top members were called in by the Emperor, who talked with them while feasting on exquisite foods.


    Two hourster, the feast ended and the members left after giving their well wishes.


    Throughout all this, neither Ezra nor the siblings came out.


    Ezra couldn''t care less about such things, his training was far more important.


    The Emperor went to bed organizing the many thoughts in his mind.


    ''Ten, no, in five days we''ll strike''


    Such operations were to be done sooner rather thanter, and the sooner the better.


    ¡ª------------------------


    Elsewhere, sweat rolled down Fredrick''s body as he sped two mana stones in his finger and one in his teeth.


    Veins bulged all over his body as his chest glowed in a blue light, his breathing regted with his eyes closed.


    Then, his body exuded mana from all sides, and like so, mana particles began spreading, passing through the walls and reaching the outside.


    At this moment, a sensation hit the Emperor.


    "Hmm?!" his eyes snapped open and he rose from his bed in a single motion.


    "It couldn''t be"


    He was not alone as few more individuals also sprung up as their senses alerted them of an old sensation.


    One theyst felt three years ago.


    Among these individuals¡­


    "What?!"


    A man sat in a room painted red with his fingers sped to form a triangle while a symbol on his forehead shone red light and his bent neck straightened up.


    He froze for a minute, assessing the sensation, and then¡­he sighed.


    "Of all times. Could our fate be as Crea perceived?"


    At that moment, the ground lit up with a circle simr to that on his forehead and the man''s eyes widened.


    Before he could speak, a part of the ground became covered in red, forming a circle shape in which a head was shone.


    This head looked nothing like, no, could never be, human.


    Crimson skin that looked like burnt crust, with three horns jutting from the left, right and the center of its head, while his eyes, three of them were hosted on the left and right side of its face with the third on its forehead.


    Small cut-like marksid beside its mouth with no nose evident.


    Opening its mouth, ck teeth akin to canines were revealed, of which it then frowned.


    "Lord!" the man hurriedly bowed.


    "Get up" the voice snarled.


    The man straightened himself.


    "Lord, you seem displeased. What might be the problem?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Shut it" the creature snarled, picking its teeth.


    "Had you done your bidding, things like this wouldn''t happen"


    "Then again¡­it was beyond your control" it added.


    With a huff, the creature began¡­


    "The eye had brought displeasing news of an uprising force from your side. One that if allowed to bloom, would render all ns fruitless"


    It clenched its fist, hosting four fingers.


    "That cannot be allowed to happen. We have waited too long to have our ns go to waste once more. Be ready, once the time is right, I will call upon you. We must make sure of the extinction of this threat"


    "This event is connected to whatever that threat is. Pay it your utmost attention"


    "By your order" the man replied, his gaze zing with conviction.


    The creature nodded.


    "Good. Your faith will be tested, and just as you have not failed us before, you must not fail us now"


    "Of course, Lord! I will not fail. I will never fail with your kind by my side"


    The creature nodded, and the coalesced blood dissolved.


    The tension evaporated like a lie and the room descended into decorum.


    ''A threat that can shake them up so much¡­I wonder just what it could be¡­or who?''


    Regardless, the man stood up.


    ''Things are worse than I initially thought. There is a need to change ns once more''


    He looked at his hands.


    ''And this sensation¡­shall I be d for the uing chaos or worried by the connection it has to what could be our doom?''


    He exhaled, renewing his resolve.


    ''No matter, my lord will see me through it all!''


    He left the room thereafter, with a lot of work to be done.


    ¡ª----------------


    Like the Emperor, simr individuals got out from wherever they were and began probing for the location of the originator of this sensation.


    The Emperor was garbed in armor, ready to bolt at the slightest signal.


    ¡ª----------------


    At this moment, the manaing from Fredrick''s body began coalescing, and then¡­


    *Biuumm!*


    It shot up, piercing the ceiling, and the ceilings after that, until it shot through the building and into the sky.


    ¡ª-------------------


    Simultaneously¡­the fuzzy sensation gained rity and became a signal!


    Bolting out of the pce through the roof, the Emperor was shocked rather than happy.


    In the sky above the castle, the pir of blue light was clear for all to see.


    ''Who dares to? Are they looking down on me?!''


    Yes! Who dared advance to Grandmaster level in the capital! Were they suicidal or just in ignorant?


    The sensation was alerting them of the presence of a Grandmaster!


    His gaze turned cold as he sought to understand the reasons behind such actions.


    ''Are they a friend or a foe?''


    As he sought to move, the same sensation came upon him, alerting him of the approaching of multiple Grandmasters!


    ''Those b#stard''s presence answered his question.


    ''Not on my watch!''


    He tore through the sky, leaving a trail of lightning in his wake.


    Minutester, the Emperor came upon the first approaching Grandmaster.


    Spinning shredder, heced the path of the approaching person in lightning, forcing the person to stop.


    Dust was blown away revealing the figure.


    "Jebas" he said coldly, but Jebas''s gaze wasn''t even on him, but on the pir of light that was now growing thinner.


    "What is your purpose?"


    Jebas raised a brow with his wavy hair and diamond earrings reflected ever so brightly.


    "I''m sorry, I came for the afternoon tea party"


    "Are you-"


    Jebas cut him off.


    "You know how this goes" he said and burst into record pace once more.


    The Emperor was not the target, so to get tied down by him knowing that¡­was ultimate stupidity.


    The Emperor''s expression was unsightly.


    "Don''t you dare ignore me"


    He wasn''t having it.


    *Bomm*


    Multiple strands of lightning fell, lighting up the dark sky as it scorched the ground.


    Jebas circled around them, his eyes focused on the pir.


    While running over, he already formed a hypothesis.


    ''It happening in Kingsmere, so¡­it''s most likely a force from the royal family, else the Emperor would end them himself''


    He slid past a lightning bolt.


    ''Seeing how seriously he''s attacking, my guess must be spot on''


    Niton was in a state of fragile bnce, and with war having just ended¡­what would happen if the royal faction suddenly got a boost in strength?


    He didn''t want to imagine it, so he forced himself forward.


    ''Whoever it is, I''m sorry, but I have to take your life''


    At that moment¡­


    *Bomm!*


    He sidestepped, but another bolt appeared in his new trajectory.


    And unfortunately¡­


    "Ugh!" it struck square on.

 Chapter 215 Misunderstanding

    The bolt struck hard and Jebas was thrown backwards, but he immediately back flipped multiple times in row, lightning bolts hot on his track.


    Stopping at the twenty seventh back flip, he ran in the opposite direction, then ran in a wide arc, turning to face Kingsmere.


    Tucking his breath, he ran faster than before, circumventing the numerous bolts sent his way.


    The Emperor increased his firepower, his bolts tearing out the soil and charring it.


    His determination only affirmed Jebas'' suspicions.


    For an entire minute, they entered a stalemate with the Emperor unable to harm Jebas and Jebas unable to get any closer to Kingsmere.


    At this time, the approaching Grandmasters were almost here.


    Knowing he might be facing unfavorable odds soon, the Emperor swung shredder, releasing a web of lightning that Jebas hadn''t expected.


    "Ahh!" the shining man screamed as the bolts tore and burnt him from the inside out.


    Of course, such attacks were not nearly enough to incapacitate a Grandmaster, let alone kill them.


    But it was enough to slow them down.


    Without dy, he turned his head and released his lightning upon an empty piece ofnd.


    As the lightning descended, a blur of yellow ran into the same path, and with no fanfare, got blown afar.


    Lying in the soil, the figure stook and shook off the sand, touching a burnt part of his shoulder.


    "Ouch"


    Another familiar face.


    "Raven" the Emperor called.


    Without a word, Raven threw his staff at Andrew, spinning like a carriage wheel.


    Attempting to hold it, the Emperor found himself repelled.


    Simultaneously, Raven locked eyes with Jebas, who just stood up and nodded, muttering¡­


    "Go"


    "Already gone"


    Jebas sted forth, gaining the Emperor''s attention, his voice booming¡­


    "Who said you could leave?!"


    Swinging shredder once more, a web of lightning flew at the boy.


    "Not again" muttered Jebas, taking out twin swords from his space ring. When the web reached sufficient distance, Jebas spun like a top,cing his swords with wind and slicing through the web.


    Well, not exactly slicing through as the parts of the lightning burnt him, but he had lightning affinity, though not high. It allowed him sufficient resistance to keep on track even with sparks of white crackling over his body.


    "No" Andrew called out, aiming to strike once more when a beam of light came into view.


    Upon dodging it, Raven sent two more attacks consecutively.


    "You have me here" he said, shing a smile.


    The Emperor''s expression was unsightly.


    Jebas had seeded in getting past him.


    He was annoyed as Raven kept up his attacks, forcing a confrontation between the two.


    Raven''s smile grew into a mocking one.


    "Seems like you''ve already forfeited the battle"


    The Emperor smirked in response.


    "What gave you that impression?"


    "Hmm?" such a response ruffled his feathers.


    ''What is he going on-''


    At that moment, his eyes widened.


    Simultaneously, Jebas sped to the gates of Kingsmere, easily dodging the hundreds of arrows shot by the capital guards.


    Reaching the gates, his smiles grew wider, congratting himself, when his instincts red up, forcing him to an immediate stop.


    *Boom!*


    A brown aura passed right in front of him and continued forth, cracking the ground as it did.


    A boisterousugh erupted thereafter, with a few words to follow¡­


    "Andrew, you didn''t even call me to have some fun"


    Stamping his hammer head on the ground to announce his arrival, Getrahan burst forth like a galdavian arrow.


    "Dammit" Jebas sighed at his bad luck while taking a stance tobat the iing enemy.


    Approaching with a smile, Getrahan was forced to swerve his body when an object shot towards him, a gleaming metal object.


    *Kang!*


    He easily hit it away, adopting a serious expression as he realized the identity of the assant.


    Tens of the same object followed right after,ing down like rain.


    "Deneris, I didn''t know you liked such asions"


    The man was afloat as two metal wings connected to his metal clothes created gusts with each p.


    "That won''t stop me though" said Getrahan, aiming to stop Jebas in his tracks.


    But then¡­


    *Kang!*Kang!*Kang!*


    Deneris wasn''t just going to watch him do that.


    Every time Getrahan deflected a piece of metal, a shockwave spread, disorienting the guards and the inhabitants of Kingsmere.


    Jebas took the cue and ran for the gates.


    The distance now negligible, he reached it in seconds.


    Well, almost did, when¡­


    *Boom!*


    A rain of lightning smashed into the entrance as he passed through it.


    The palisades surrounding Kingsmere shook, and many guards fell to their deaths as a result.


    If one thing was known of Grandmasters, it was that they were incredibly tenacious.


    That tenacity showed itself as Jebas stood back up secondster, the burns healing as he did.


    The Emperor sought to send another wave of lightning, but a metal shot towards him by Deneris stopped him in his tracks.


    "Andrew, for you to go so far, this must be something special"


    Those words hit him like lightning, and suddenly, he moved away from Raven and stopped fighting, wondering¡­


    ''Why exactly am I fighting?''


    Jebas took that chance and raced toward the location of the pir of mana. It didn''t ur to him that the pir of light stayed for too long.


    It suddenly hit him to ask a question.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Do you know who the neer is?"


    All three Grandmasters stopped in their tracks, ncing at one another.


    "I thought it was one of your heads since you were fighting so hard" Raven replied.


    The Emperor paused.


    "It''s not. I came out to meet Jebas, who seemed fixated on the neer. When he didn''t answer my questions, I thought he knew"


    "So¡­It was all a misunderstanding? How ridiculous" Raven snickered.


    The head of every Grandmaster turned to Kingsmere. Jebas should''ve reached the neer by now.


    Right then¡­


    *BOOM*


    Something was flung from the outer ring, breaking through buildings, and even the palisade, before stopping outside the walls.


    "What?" muttered Deneris, as confused as the others.


    The one breaking through buildings was Jebas.


    Heid unconscious on the soil.


    ''Wow, did a neer really do this?'' thought Getrahan, amused.


    Then, they felt something, no, someone,ing their way ever so slowly. They judged he was walking.


    After two minutes, a man came into view and, with a tap of the ground, he stood on the palisade.


    Shirtless he was, exuding mana while presenting his four pack and chiseled chest for the naked eyes.


    The only problem was, he was short.


    His gaze was on the unconscious Jebas.


    "Did you do that?" asked Deneris.


    He simply nodded.


    With but a nce, the Emperor was the first to recognize him.


    His face made a scowl as he spoke his name¡­


    "Fredrick?!"


    With his beard flowing, Fredrick turned to the Emperor and slightly bowed.


    "Ah! His majesty remembers me. What an honor!"


    His voice was buoyant yet calm.


    But that wasn''t even on the Emperor''s mind.


    "How?" he asked, his tone deep.


    "You were of Expert-rank for the years I knew you. So how did you be a Grandmaster?"


    Naturally, Fredrick didn''t have to answer the question as he and the Emperor were now equal.


    But a look around warned against such acts.


    With so many Grandmasters gathered, their concentrated efforts would end him before he could even cement his new Grandmaster title.


    His next words were to be chosen carefully, as he would either make it or break it.


    Fredrick continued with his disy of elegance, nodding to the Emperor''s words.


    "You''re right. your highness. Seven years ago, I was but an Expert. Yet, now I reached the rank envied by all" he quietened, then pointing behind him.


    "In truth, I owe my achievements to the ck Jaws Guild"


    His answer only caused more confusion.


    "What do you mean?" the Emperor asked.


    ''In situations like this, you''ve got to mix lies and truth in the appropriate amount'' he smiled inwardly.


    He began¡­


    "At the start of the war, I joined ck Jaws because they gave some promising ''promises''. Following that, their connection with Master alchemists brought be a potion that cured me"


    "Cured you?"


    Fredrick nodded.


    "As it would turn out, I had been poisoned from a time I know not. And that poison halted my chances for progression. With the new potion I was cured, and like so, I was able to smoothly advance to Master-rank"


    "Then why didn''t you inform the royal family?!"


    The Emperor was certainly furious.


    But Fredrick was ever calm.


    "Pardon me, your highness. But as I recall, I was retired from royal duty more than a decade ago"


    Meaning, he had no obligation to inform the royal family of anything he did.


    The emperor couldn''t say anything, letting Fredrick continue his tale of how he worked hard andter followed the ck jaws regiment to war, to prove his loyalty to the empire of course.


    After that, having judged him to be of much potential, ck Jaws handed him a mana strengthening and a Kraynus pill, both of which were among their war rewards.


    All in all, the details made sense and the situation panned out.


    The Grandmasters couldn''t say anything about it.


    But the Emperor couldn''t shake a bad feeling he had about the situation.


    ''There''s something else. There''s definitely something else''


    Then a thought came to him, an itching suspicion.


    ''The mana stones¡­could they know something about it?''


    It was far-fetched, but his intuition had rarely been wrong.


    ''If we gave those with mana stones limitless ess to resources¡­!''


    He shook his head.


    ''Let''s hope I''m wrong''


    Having said his piece, Fredrick unceremoniously left. He couldn''t give a penny about what the others thought.


    He cited the need to get a shower and put on some clothes.


    With the situation reaching an anticlimactic conclusion, the Grandmasters dispersed back to where they came from.


    Minutester, Jebas awoke, bewildered at the sight of an emptynd.


    ''Come on. They should''ve woken me up''


    Without fanfare, he sped off. He would get the needed information from Raven.


    All while running, the pain in his stomach was eminent.


    So, while he might not know much, he knew one thing.


    ''Another monster''s been born''

 Chapter 216 Uproar

    Dawn came and, as expected, Niton went into an uproar as the news that a new Grandmaster emerged reached all ears.


    ¡ª-------------------


    "Thank you for answering my call"


    "Of course"


    In the royal dining hall, Fredrick sat opposite the Emperor while they feasted on the delicacies served to them.


    Bolton stood at the Emperor''s side, watching Fredrick ever so closely, a gesture Fredrick kindly ignored.


    Following yesterday''s event, the Emperor summoned Fredrick.


    Finishing the food on their te, both men wiped their mouths away.


    But before the Emperor could even say anything, Fredrick brought out a scroll from his space ring.


    "What is that?"


    Fredrick shrugged.


    "I do not know. The guild master asked me to hand it to Bolton here"


    With a stiff posture, Bolton snatched it from Fredrick and unfolded it. His face became unsightly as he read through it.


    "Well? What is it?"


    The Emperor wasn''t one to be patient.


    "It''s¡­a record of finances"


    "What use is that to us?"


    "As evidence of transaction, they''re relinquishing all that remains of the seven million loan"


    "Oh?" the Emperor nodded.


    "How much was squandered?"


    "A bit above three million tinum. Three million and three hundred tinum to be precise"


    "That leaves four million tinum to be relinquished"


    Apparently, the Emperor wasn''t as dumb about such matters as most thought.


    "Yes" Bolton nodded.


    He smiled inwardly, they might have not spent that much normally, but his hiking ofnd prices had the market inted.


    Not that things had settled, they would be unable to recoup the money in a short period.


    ''I have you in my palm now''


    All he had to do now was to wait for the buffer zone to end, and then¡­


    He chuckled just from thinking about it.


    "So?" Fredrick inquired.


    "It''s epted" Bolton said, his eyes still previewing the list.


    Once done, he faced the Emperor while Bolton excused himself.


    The Emperor sipped his tea.


    "I was never good at pretending. So¡­as Niton''s Grandmaster, I deemed that you have masterful potential"


    He stretched out his palm.


    "Join me. Of course, you''ll be appropriately awarded. For one, you be appointed Niton''s suprememander"


    Fredrick was taken by surprise. Being the suprememander meant he could control Niton''s entire force.


    Then, he calmed, locking eyes with the Emperor.


    "So¡­what is your answer?"


    Fredrick stood, then sighed.


    "Your majesty, I am humbled by your offer"


    The Emperor smiled.


    "But I''m afraid I''ll have to reject"


    His smile crumpled.


    "Have others already enticed you?" he asked.


    Fredrick calmly shook his head.


    "Not at all your majesty. I do not intend to join any faction"


    "Then where will you go?"


    "I will take the helm of the guild that groomed me, and spend my time grooming others" he paused.


    "For the betterment of the Empire"


    The Emperor listlessly nodded, asking another question.


    "What about my son? Are you done teaching him?"


    "Him?" Fredrick waved his hands.


    "The Empire has far better instructors, and besides, he''d be better off if he was taken to a training environment"


    ''So¡­this is why he started wanting to go to the academy''


    Without another word, Fredrick exited the pce.


    He smiled inwardly, thinking¡­


    ''How funny. They sent me away the moment I was deemed useless, and now they call me back like we were longtime friends. Funny¡­really funny''


    Like so, he went away.


    The Emperor was in deep thoughts of his own.


    ''It''s a shame, or maybe it''s better that he''s not joining any faction. ck Jaws, ck Jaws, ck Jaws, there''s definitely something off about them. Creating a Grandmaster in seven years because they had enough money¡­?''


    He snorted.


    ''If it was that easy, we''d have tens of Grandmasters popping all over the ce''


    Within all three continents, you had less than sixty Grandmasters, excluding those of professions.


    He tapped his chin.


    ''I''ll have Bolton double the tails on them¡­they have something, I want to know what it is!''


    ''Then¡­'' his mind wandered to his youngest son.


    ''There''s something off about him as well'' he had concluded when he met Ezra a few days ago.


    The boy gave off an eeriness, and his presence had reduced by arge margin.


    Naturally, he was happy that this son made strides of progress, but now that the one who was supposed to be hisbat instructor suddenly became a Grandmaster, maybe there was more to things that he thought?


    It was an absurd assumption, but anything was better than nothing.


    Like so, the Emperor got moving.


    ¡ª-------------------


    In his chambers, Ezra battled his vassals, incorporating in them the essence of battle.


    His first lesson to them?


    "In battle, there are no rules"


    From biting necks, to grappling groins, to suicidal attacks, Ezra roughed them up.


    Determined to prove themselves, the siblings were relentless, and felt like dying multiple times because of it.


    But their eyes shined brighter with each session.


    Ezra stripped them off the illusion of battle.


    That was never something amazing, but hellish.


    His second lesson?


    "Your tenacity is your greatest weapon"


    Things got bloody as he broke their limbs while sparring, forcing them to face reality before they faced reality.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The objective was simple. When your bones are crushed and your arm is severed in battle, what would you do?


    Would you fall down, cry orment while the enemy''s de came upon you? Or would you adapt and save yourself from being beheaded.


    Here, the siblings were reduced to pitiful things, crying in agony and wailing at such inhumane injuries.


    To this, Ezra remarked¡­


    "You have to be able to handle this much to be called strong"


    The siblings gathered closer to one another and helped them up.


    Of course, Ezra wasn''t trying to crush their spirits, so he let them stand.


    Small drops made a pond, and being able to stand was affirmation that they had resolve.


    Then, he helped them snap their bones back in ce and gave them healing potions.


    They were bedridden for a week, eachying in bed battling inner demons.


    At the start of the new week, Ezra came to them, giving a few words which could be summed up as "Are you going to stay down because it''s hard? Or are you going to get up?" and then left them to their thoughts.


    Each person had battles only they could ovee.


    Theron was the first to get back to training. Johan and Ashton followed after and then the girls arrived after an additional week.


    Their trainers wanted to protest about such absurd treatment for children, but Ezra silenced them with a sentence¡­


    "If they die in battle, will you die with them?"


    He also added a few more¡­


    "And please remember, you were hired. If you overstep your boundaries, you can very well be dismissed"


    That had them shut their mouths like pets. The money they''d gotten here was unbelievable, and they didn''t want it to stop any time soon.


    The third lesson?


    "You must be able to distinguish when to attack and when to retreat. Those who cannot end up dying worthless deaths"


    He drew a sword.


    "For this, the five of you will attack as one"


    They stared at each other before nodding.


    Truth be told, they''d grown fearful of Ezra during the past weeks.


    When they were called, they all thought they''d grown to match, or almost match, his level.


    ''How wrong we were''mented Theron as they circled Ezra.


    Then, Theron attacked.


    That was the beginning.


    Prior to starting the exercise, Ezra said¡­


    "I''ll be stepping things up a bit"


    They thought it was just a tactic to scare them.


    s, it was not.


    As Theron brought down his halberd, Ezra easily dodged it.


    "Your movements are too obvious" he said and kicked Theron''s stomach.


    ''Retreat'' despite bracing himself, Theron was flung backwards.


    Before Ezra could bnce himself, Ashton came in, punching out with his gauntlets.


    Upon jumping, Roxanne''s whip sword also came upon him.


    ''Good'' he smiled, coiling the whip sword on his sword as he fell.


    Before he could drop, Velora came in, brandishing her double daggers while Ashton fired a punch towards him.


    ''Big mistake'' Ezra smirked.


    He dropped the sword, tapped on Ashton fist, andnded a kick right into Velora''s stomach, knocking the poor girl unconscious.


    "In battle, the opponent won''t go easy on you because of your gender"


    Focusing his senses, he tapped away from the girl''s stomach and spun.


    That moment, a saber came to him, barely missing his head by a hair''s breadth.


    "Hoo" Ezra was ecstatic,nding with a light step, only to fall to the floor like a palm tree in the next instant.


    As he did so, Theron''s halberd passed by his head''s original position.


    ''They''re really trying to kill me''


    It only made him happier.


    Landing on the floor, he kicked Theron who was behind, standing as he did to meet a flurry of Ashton''s punches.


    While from behind came Johan swinging his sabers.


    ''This¡­'' Ezra''s mind went to work, there was always a way.


    Instantly, he took out a sword from his space ring, immediatelycing it with aura, and parried off Johan''s de, which sent the boy flying.


    He turned, Ashton''s punches iing, dropped the sword and focused mana in his arms which he used to guard his chest in an ''x'' shape.


    Ashton''s punches rained on him, pushing him back tremendously, when his instincts rang out.


    ''It''s always good to have sixth sense at times like this''


    Sixth sense. It was one of the most effective techniques in battle.


    Unfortunately, while Ezra could imitate it, it wasn''t the real deal.


    He punched Ashton back, immediately turning around to see what danger came his way.


    It was Roxanne''s whip sword.


    ''There''s no way to avoid this'' he calcted as Ashton would soon be back.


    ''Guess I''ll bleed a bit''


    He let the whip sword wrap around his arms, cutting him.


    "Yes!" Roxanne cried out.


    "Hmph!" stomping the floor, Ezra pulled the sword.


    "No!" Roxanne cried as she was lifted off the ground.


    He threw her to Ashton, who inevitably paused to catch her.


    But¡­he underestimated the amount of force Ezra threw her with.


    Thus, both of them were flung back.


    But Roxanne did not let go of the whip sword, hence scraping off the skin on Ezra''s arm.


    He hissed at the pain, but his stance didn''t falter.


    ''They''re learning well'' he nodded, striding away as a Halberd flew to his former position.


    ''And I''m learning as well'' he smiled.


    All the sparring gave him a better handling of his body.


    He''d been having trouble on that part because not all his movements as Kevin Reed worked well with his new body.


    But not anymore.


    Then, the wall he hit in progressing Infinite Forms was crumbling.


    Little by little, he was advancing in his mastery and also making adjustments after having experienced battles with the siblings.


    Battles in the mind and in reality were often very different.


    At this rate of progression¡­


    ''I''ll master the movements in no time''


    Among other things, he was reading up on the academy.


    While he didn''t actually want to go, it was a valid excuse for him to leave the castle.


    Honestly, even for his advanced mentality, the castle was suffocating.

 Chapter 217 Calm

    Days passed as Ezra educated the siblings and got educated by them as well.


    After a few days, he kept a mana stone in his mouth, allowing him to cultivate while he fought.


    He could feel himself reaching the ceiling of Advanced-rank in less than a week. After that, he''ll be forced to advance.


    He had given most of the hidden knowledge to Fredrick to safeguard.


    But of course, few remained untold.


    Ezra nned to get them once he arrived at the academy.


    If nothing else, there, his movements won''t be restricted.


    Also, the more he knew about the royal academy, the more amazed he was.


    Thanks to Mr. Lennon, who was a graduate of said academy, he got better insight than anything books could''ve given.


    For one, it was a ce for those of high status, nobles, sons of guild masters, or n elders.


    In a sentence, it was¡­


    ''A hot pub to make connections''


    Ezra nodded to his conclusion. There, he''ll be able to meet legends of the next generation.


    ''Now this, I hadn''t thought of''


    He''d known of the academy in his former life, but only vaguely. As a peasant, he had far more things on his mind than which academy those spoiled rich kids went and what they did.


    ''This''ll be interesting'' he thought.


    He also knew that Triton was there.


    So, he nned, using the information he had.


    For one, he decided the siblings would apany him.


    Then, he told his mother.


    She had grown and her demeanor had changed. Previously joyful or depressed, now she was just cold.


    Her expression rarely changed anymore, causing rumors to spread.


    In front of her only son though¡­


    "Come here"


    Her expression was bright, no, brighter than before as she ruffled his hair.


    "I''m not a child anymore, you know?"


    She flicked his forehead, smiling ruefully.


    "Ouch!" a flicker of ice came upon his head.


    "You''re just 12. If you''re old, then what am I?"


    "A grandma" he said tly.


    "You!" she dug her knuckle into her head¡­before suddenly stopping.


    "Come to think of it¡­being a grandma isn''t all that bad"


    Ezra blinked rapidly. A corner of his heart nudged him to escape before she spoke her next words.


    "Say¡­why don''t you get me a grandchild?"


    His cheeks reddened, prompting him to scream from embarrassment.


    "I-I''m not even of age yet!"


    She stared nkly, before bursting into giggles, thinking¡­


    ''I''ve never seen him like this before''


    Then she flicked his nose.


    "My boy looks so cute!"


    That only brought Ezra even more embarrassment.


    She continued.


    "Don''t worry, you''ll find plenty of girls at that school of yours" she flicks his nose once more.


    "Make sure bring one home"


    "Mother!" he screamed, swiftly running away, locking the door before she could speak again.


    Upon his exit, she burst intoughter. Her son actually had such a sight to him? How remarkable.


    ''I''ll make sure to tease him a lot in the future'' she giggled at the thought of it.


    If others saw her like this, they''d swear she must have double personalities¡­then again, maybe she did?


    ¡ª--------------


    With panting breaths, Ezra sat. His mother''s words yed over and over again in his mind.


    Unable to concentrate, he forced himself to sleep.


    ¡ª------------


    Waking up the next morning, he cleared his mind and took a look at himself.


    The growth he''d achieved was substantial, but it wasn''t enough.


    Considering those he was going against, he couldn''t afford to rest onurels any time soon.


    Also because of them, he was already establishing awork that would connect him to Fredrick while at the academy.


    He''d already received information on Fredrick''s advancement to Grandmaster.


    For one, the soul contract had not been cut, so he could sleep soundly.


    With a groan, he lifted his aching muscles and started training.


    But he only did so for an hour before stopping.


    ''Let''s check on other things''


    In his hand, Skyfall erged, and from his space ring, Severus emerged.


    Severus had grown bigger, though not by much, but it was noticeable. Its scales gleamed while the white marks crackled with white lightning intermittently.


    Severus rubbed his head against Ezra, causing Ezra to form a weird smile.


    ''Why didn''t I call for you all this while?'' he smiled.


    "I was training" he toned, the snake tilting its head in response.


    *Facepalm*


    "Of course, I''m talking to a snake"


    ¡ª-------------


    Meanwhile, while so many surprises were hitting Nitonians all at once, it was a surprise that things were calm, too calm.


    Norge battle took ce nor was there much conflict to speak off.


    Peace seemed to mingle in the atmosphere,pared to before, that is.


    The Emperor knew why.


    ''Everyone''s licking their wounds''


    That was the summarization of the situation.


    Having lost valuable manpower and resources in the war, each force took to rebuilding, restructuring and recovering whatever was lost.


    But no matter, the Emperor knew.


    ''It won''tst very long''


    A year at most. Then after that, Niton would get bustling again.


    But amongst anything, they were always exceptions.


    The exception in this case was ck Jaws.


    While others recovered from damage, they didn''t even seem affected.


    Towns were being demolished, then reconstructed with above average material, same with the slums. And they were epting more members every day.


    Those members were the most active, running rampant as they ughtered beasts from all over the ce.


    That also meant their death toll was higher than others, but new members came in to fill these spots.


    Their port was almost done. Even though partly finished, their first fleet of five ships set sail ten days ago.


    Then, rumors said the Skyscraper had beenpleted months ago. Yet for some reason, they hadn''t officially announced its opening. Another thing that had other people suspicious.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Then, they''d been establishing trade routes and connections with reputable merchants while not failing to open more than two thousand shops across the Empire.


    The Emperor only found out about such things the day before.


    He looked into it to understand why Fredrick would rather be the guild master of ck Jaws than the suprememander of the Royal Army.


    Honestly, the Emperor saw that there wasn''t anything special.


    Money? The empire could give him as much as he wanted. Servants? In abundance. Women? Even more abundant.


    So, he concluded¡­


    ''He most likely bears a grudge against the Empire''


    That too, the Emperor only knew about the day before.


    The decision to send him away was made by the chief instructor - who was dead now - and Bolton.


    Considering the circumstances, the Emperor could understand.


    ''But since he refused, he should prepare for whates his way''


    Understand, not forgive.


    The aim was to destroy ck Jaws a month after the Merit Award Ceremony. Yet out of the blue, they created a Grandmaster for themselves.


    The Emperor grit his teeth in annoyance.


    His spies were making sure he didn''t contact the other faction behind his back.


    You couldn''t know who would betray you.


    ''If he contacts the other faction¡­''


    The Emperor clenched his fist.


    ''I''ll end him''


    Whatever he couldn''t have, he''d destroy. Especially when it was such a dangerous weapon.


    He tapped his feet, thinking of his next actions, when Bolton came to him.


    "Sire, your message has been delivered and the ban has been lifted. The academies await a date to begin epting new entries"


    The Emperor was surprised.


    "They must have been waiting if they''re this fast¡­it seems they are impatient"


    He raised three fingers.


    "In three days, Sire?" Bolton guessed.


    "Thirty days. Have them officially begin new entries in thirty days"


    "Yes Sire" Bolton turned to move, but the Emperor gestured him back.


    "Five years...the new entries will be massive¡­hmm¡­" he tapped his cheek until the answer hit him.


    "Have them spread news of the entry date only when it is ten days away"


    Bolton nodded.


    "Then, new entries should be picked within three days. Whoeverester is unepted, regardless of status"


    "Yes, your majesty" Bolton bowed once more and left, dark thoughts swirling.


    ''Regardless of status, was it?''


    He was delighted. The opportunity to reduce the advantage of a particr someone came just at the right time.


    ''If he misses it, and the Emperor finds out¡­'' he lightly pped in glee.


    ''I''ll make sure you don''t get there on time''


    ¡ª---------------


    Unaware of the forces conspiring against him, Ezra is absorbed in his training with the siblings and preparations for life beyond the castle.


    Days flew by like such.


    On a day like any other, Bolton came running in the middle of the night and knocked Ezra awake.


    Groggily, he stood up and opened the door.


    "Yes?" he wondered who it was when Bolton grabbed him on the shoulder and shook him.


    "Your highness, I''m sorry to disturb you, but I have urgent news to deliver"


    Those words had Ezra wide awake.


    Additionally, Bolton''s knocks were so loud the siblings came out as well.


    They watched as Ezra spoke rmed¡­


    "What is it?!"


    Bolton quietened, slowly pulled out six envelopes and handed them to him.


    "Those are your entry letters, simply hand them over to the academy head to be verified"


    Then he sighed.


    "By the Emperor''s order, the academy has begun taking new entries¡­"


    Bolton narrated everything the Emperor had done, with a single change.


    Instead of handing him the letters at the start of the ten days, Bolton had ''forgotten'', and came now - the fourth night - to hand it to him.


    His eyes gleamed as he watched Ezra''s reaction.


    ''What will you do now?''


    In all things, Bolton strived to be fair, that''s why he came on the fourth night and notter.


    s, he was bound to be disappointed.


    Ezra felt the envelopes, sucked them into his space ring and gave him a t look.


    "Is that it?"


    "E-Excuse me?" Bolton was taken aback.


    "I''m asking if that was the urgent news"


    "Y-Yes"


    Ezra patted Bolton''s shoulder, which he was able to touch because Bolton was bending to Ezra''s height.


    "Thank you"


    Ezra tilted his head to look at his sleepy vassals.


    "Get enough rest, we leave an hour after noon"


    The vassals didn''t say a word, turning back to their chambers and closing them shut.


    Bolton blinked in surprise. Weren''t they supposed to be freaking out?


    Ezra took three steps backwards, going back into his chamber.


    "Mr. Bolton, thank you for the information. I''ll be heading back to sleep now"


    "Wai-"


    *Bam*


    Ezra mmed the door shut.


    For a few minutes, Bolton stood still, confused at the subsequent actions, especially Ezra''sckluster reaction.


    This was not how he imagined it at all.


    ¡ª--------------------


    Away from Bolton''s gaze, Ezra rubbed his sleepy eyes, ruminating.


    ''So, we have six days to get to the academy¡­whatever''


    He was confident he could make it work somehow.


    *Yawn*


    But all that strenuous thinking would have to wait until after he had a nice nap.


    If anything, people made the most mistakes when they rushed.


    So it was better to be well rested and prepared for anything the road brought their way than to save a few hours at the cost of their health.


    With his mind straight, Ezra fell asleep.


    ''Tomorrow''s going be a long day''

 Chapter 218 Advancing

    Ezra woke up with a yawn, his bone snapping as he stretched and then proceeded to sit up.


    Afterwards, he took a look around and promptly sucked every item in the chamber into his space ring, except for his bed.


    ''Let''s sleep a bit more'' he thought.


    ¡ª----------


    Waking up once more, Ezra opened his doors to see the siblings lined up in armor.


    Their faces bright, having rested well.


    "What are you doing?" Ezra asked.


    "What you told us to"


    "I never said to wear armor, or are you trying to announce to every bystander that we are people with status?"


    They coughed awkwardly, not having thought of the matter like that.


    "We''ll be traveling in normal clothes"


    They turned with haste to go change, when Ezra stopped them.


    Rubbing his head, he said¡­


    "I''ve decided that we''ll begin our journey tomorrow"


    They rubbed their heads, Theron eventually speaking¡­


    "Might we know why?"


    Ezra turned to him, raising his index finger.


    "Simple. I cannot estimate the danger along the way, nor the dangers at the academy. So today, everyone''s advancing. You have more than enough training"


    They beamed.


    "Like your first sessions, I''ll be guiding you and strengthening you with mana"


    "Now, let''s have the girls go first"


    ¡ª-------------


    Ezra sat cross-legged in his chambers with Roxanne sitting in front of him, her back bare of clothes.


    "U-um, c-could you-"


    "Hmm?"


    "Could you hurry up? This is embarrassing"


    Ezra stared for a minute before nodding.


    "Okay"


    He exhaled.


    "From this point, you must not look back" he repeated.


    "No matter what happens, you must not look back. Do you understand?"


    She nodded.


    "We''ll begin" said Ezra.


    "It might hurt a bit"


    He took out a mana stone and ced it in his mouth, directing the mana to his palm, which he ced on Roxanne''s back.


    "Mmm!" Intense pain assaulted her as Ezra''s mana seeped into her body and then into her veins.


    "Concentrate" he said, forcing Roxanne to shut her eyes to make sure the mana didn''t deviate.


    From her pores came ck liquid - impurities - followed by tainted blood.


    For the next hour, Roxanne remained still, sweating all over as Ezra''s mana continuously intruded her body, cleansing it before subsequently taking the mana as hers.


    Her veins bulged and her hair fell off while her face grew red with heat as pimples formed and popped, expunging the impurities in her head.


    Only after the second hour did Ezra deem her impurities to have been cleansed substantially and stop the process.


    While she exhaled with panting breaths, Ezra''s voice resounded¡­


    "Clean up and lie down somewhere"


    As she got up, he added one more thing¡­


    "Tell Velora toe in"


    As Velora was smaller, it took Ezra only one and a half to finish.


    Without resting, he cleansed Ashton and Johan, both taking three hours respectively.


    At the end of Johan''s session, it was close to midnight.


    Looking at his quivering arms, Ezra smiled.


    ''I guess this is my current limit''


    Theron''s turn would be at dawn.


    It was astounding, going from doing the cultivation sessions monthly to having them done in the same day.


    You couldn''t have better proof of Ezra''s growth!


    And that made Ezra smile the whole night.


    ¡ª-----------------


    Dawn came early, at least Ezra thought it did, and Theron''s cultivation session began, ending after four and a half hours.


    Ezra took a one-hour nap and then cultivated for another two to get fully recovered.


    Afterwards, he called the siblings into his chambers and had them arrayed in front of him.


    The siblings had advanced to Advanced-rank months before. Now, they were to breakthrough to Expert-rank.


    His gaze pervaded them all.


    "First of all, I congratte you all for getting this far"


    The siblings froze, taking nces at each other, wondering if they heard right.


    Ezra coughed to disce the awkward atmosphere.


    "Your achievements are outstanding, but beyond this castle, there are far too many geniuses, and worse, old monsters"


    He continues¡­


    "Outside, the enemyes unexpectedly, it does not care for age or for what ''potential'' you might have. In a situation where you end up in battles against those above you¡­shall you have any other choice but to die?!"


    No one spoke.


    "I guess we all agree on that. So, I''ll have all of you advance to Expert-rank before we leave"


    "But that might take days. What of the academy entry tests?" Ashton spoke out.


    Ezra waved his hands.


    "If we miss the tests, then so be it. Regardless, we will be leaving the castle. I have never fancied working on someone else''s time, are we clear?"


    "Yes"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Also" he stared them down.


    "You will all be advancing today"


    They froze again.


    "Are you serious?" asked Theron.


    "Have I been joking that much in the past?" they shook their heads.


    "Good. Like before, girls before boys"


    Like so they begin, Velora taking the lead this time.


    Without fanfare, Ezra began the advancement session.


    "Listen carefully. Like yesterday, I''ll be imparting mana into you, only, it''ll be four times the normal amount. And this time, not only must you blend it into yours, you must circte it through your veins and keep at it until I tell you otherwise. Clear?"


    "Y-Yes"


    Then she muttered¡­


    "I''m not sure I can properly control that much mana"


    "I know. That''s why I''m imparting four times the normal amount. Just focus on controlling what you can control, and I''ll be watching over you. Are you ready?"


    "I-I-" she stammered, but Ezra chipped in¡­


    "You don''t have to worry. You''ve done this many times already. Besides, you didn''t endure all that training to quit here, did you?"


    She shook her head and inhaled.


    "I''m ready"


    Ezra''s heart calmed. Emotions would just get in the way.


    His right palmid atop her bare back, with his left palm atop his right palm.


    "Good. Brace yourself"


    He threw a mana stone into his mouth as he said so, and in the next instant¡­


    *Bom*


    Velora''s chest heaved as mana came gushing into her body.


    A sense of euphoria hit her for a few seconds before she regained her senses.


    "Don''t worry about anything else except absorbing as much mana as you can"


    The mana she didn''t absorb would go on to filter impurities, which would then be filtered out of the body.


    Her eyes glowed blue due to the overwhelming concentration of mana, while her green hair gained luster.


    She puked out blood from time to time, tainted blood, and leaked blood from her ears and from the pores on her nose. Such were the effects of mana filtering out the impurities.


    She was in an intense battle, ignoring the itches and pains to focus solely on absorbing mana and adding it to hers as fast as possible while making sure to keep the mana circting through her veins.


    Of course, no matter how great her concentration, it was ludicrous to expect to maintain such concentration over a long period of time.


    Ezra knew so too.


    Mana began swirling around them, and the rate at which impurities were expelled got faster.


    If it gets expelled too fast, it could damage Velora''s internal organs.


    ''It''s almost time'' Ezra wasn''t going to let it get to that point.


    Ezra nned for the process of breaking through to be a very short one, less than ten minutes long.


    Sure enough, when the sixth minute psed, he gave the signal.


    "Begin" he said and immediately ceased the flow of mana.


    Velora went into action, circting the mana in her faster than before. With Ezra''s stopping the addition of more mana, there wasn''t anything more to absorb.


    Now, she was refining.


    Circting the mana faster and faster had it begin the process of condensing, till it felt like a foreign liquid in her body.


    At this point she knew¡­


    ''It''s ready''


    In one go, she directed it to her heart.


    "Mmm!"


    Blood smashed against her shut lips and her eyes grew bloodshot as a result of the mana''s density¡­but she wasn''t stopping!


    ''I''m not going to let all that training go to waste''


    With renewed resolve, she directed it to her Beast Core situated at the center of her chest.


    It was an orb the size of a fist glowing neon green.


    The moment the stream of mana entered into it via a blood vein, Velora''s heart rate quickened.


    Pride came upon her as she had seeded, but some final touches remained.


    Now, her heart was settled, but she didn''t just let the mana settle into her Beast Core, instead, she had it begin circting.


    Once the rotation was initiated, she took a breather, opening her lips to have the blood pour out while she maintained the rotation with a single arm.


    Her other arm grabbed the potion containing a refined bloodline by her side and gulped it down.


    Like a creature of its own, the bloodline moved with purpose and arrived at the Beast Core in seconds, merging right into the rotating ring of condensed mana - that of the highest quality!


    She inhaled heavily, her eyes rolling backwards, and just¡­froze.


    Minutes went by with Ezra watching the situation calmly, while being baffled and fearful inside.


    ''Come on. He said it would work''


    And then¡­


    *Ahh!*


    She unfroze and began making a cacophony of wails while holding her head.


    Ezra distanced himself, holding a stance for battle.


    Her body parts changed forms randomly and sporadically over the next few minutes as her wails grew louder.


    Ezra was d the chamber was sound proof at times like this.


    Five minutes into wailing, her wails began to subside, and then¡­


    *Boom!*


    From her came a wave of blue light that sent Ezra flying.


    He quickly got to his feet with a smile embedded in his lips.


    ''She did it!'' he shouted inwardly.


    The wave of blue light was also known as the light of advancement!


    Ezra had seeded¡­or had he?


    Velora fell face t right after.

 Chapter 219 Advancing (2)

    It took a good shaking and a ssh of water, but Velora''s awakened.


    Eyes wide, she stared at Ezra. "What happened?"


    Raising her head up, he smiles. "Congrattions, you''ve advanced to Expert rank"


    Her mouth forms an ''o'' from shock.


    "Now, go and check out your new limits while I help the others advance"


    Still in shock, she gradually stands and exists with her hands sped on her mouth.


    Roxanne came in next, and the previous events repeated themselves.


    For her, the process was smoother, having gotten experience from Velora''s advancement.


    Her advancement session was ten minutes long.


    Then, Ezra rested thirty minutes to recover to peak condition.


    Like so, Ashton, Johan and Theron advanced without a hitch.


    As at this point, it was two hours after noon.


    With the vassals having advanced, it remained but one person, Ezra himself.


    Along with it, the mana stone had its luster fade away entirely, looking more of a transparent crystal of faded blue colour.


    But Ezra didn''t throw it away, he absorbed it back into the space ring.


    Apart from holding mana of high quality, the mana stone had one more feature, and this was the one that made it an item to die for.


    Its usage was seemingly infinite!


    Unlike mana crystals, the encasing of mana stone does not shatter-unless of course, one sucks everyst bit of mana from it.


    Such was what the Emperor did.


    The stone Ezra put away still had mana within it, because a mana stone at its base form-is just a coalescence of mana!


    Then, if mana stones were a coalesce of mana, what would happen if the mana ran deficit? If the mana in the stone was unable to allow it to sustain its form.


    Simple, it''ll begin absorbing mana from the atmosphere, as that was how it was formed in the first ce.


    Meaning, left alone for decades, or even centuries-depending on how deficit the mana was-the stone would regain its luster as it refined and filtered the absorbed mana.


    Which, theoretically-because no one confirmed it yet-made it an infinite source of energy!


    And what would you know, Ezra had a lot of them, and only two had lost their luster.


    Enough of that, Ezra went on to nap for another hour, to revitalize his tired mind.


    He awakes, fully revitalized, he sits in a lotus position and puts a, no, thinking it over, he takes two mana stones.


    ''I can control the mana flow of a single one just fine, and since my body''s adapted. It might achieve the best effect''


    He nodded, ''And with the cultivation path set in ce, I have no need to worry about deviation''


    With that done, Ezra begins his own advancement session, his heart pounding with nervousness and excitement.


    On one hand, things could go wrong and he ends up with internal injuries, and on the other hand, things go right and he advances beyond the early Expert rank.


    He begins, throwing the stones in his mouth, and immediately, mana gushes into his body.


    With his mana pathways set in stone, he didn''t need to actively guide the iing waves of mana, only increase the cirction speed and focused on adding the mana gushing in with that already within him.


    "Ugh!"


    Even with his reinforced physique, his veins and muscles being stretched brought pain.


    Also, he''d underestimated the power an additional mana stone would bring.


    His body glowed blue with his veins popping, the runes engraved on his body activated without his will.


    Then, impurities were expunged, though little, still surprised Ezra.


    But now was not the time.


    With precision, the intruding mana was absorbed as fast as it came and the cirction sped up, condensing an already condensed mana with those uncondensed.


    Still, Ezra didn''t miss the sound of sand falling in the nearby hourss.


    ''Three minutes''


    He felt like he was going to be ripped apart, but he held on. He knew his body, and he was sure he could endure more.


    ''Four minutes''


    His body was nearing its limits.


    ''Just one minute more'' he calcted.


    ''Five minutes!''


    Once the chosen time struck, Ezra opened his mouth to spew the mana stones.


    Only¡­


    ''Huh?!''


    There was a problem.


    ''Why can''t I move my lips!''


    Ezra wanted to shout in rage, but quickly shook away his emotions, now was not the time, because the mana stones were still pumping in mana!


    ''Shit!'' he thought, his veins would pop if he held it any longer. ''I have to advance now!''


    He didn''t know what the consequences of advancing while mana invaded his body would be¡­but anything was better than death!


    With maximum concentration, he began.


    The mana didn''t need to be directed because the pathway was set.


    Ceasing absorption of the iing mana, he had the mana within spread through to the meridians on each limb.


    He began the tempering.


    Moving the mana within like a spinning grater, the meridians cracked and then healed by absorbing part of the mana, thereby growing.


    The gap between Expert and advanced ranks was immense, making the hurdle to ovee was also a bar higher than the previous ones.


    Ezra''s element orbs absorbed mana as well, as they were located in his arms.


    The Darkness orb absorbed the most, being directly below the throat, where mana gushed out from.


    Speaking of that, because Ezra was unable to spit out the stones, mana was gushing into his body.


    Only, thanks to the set mana pathway, the mana did not deviate, and instead added to the absorbed mana.


    ''Dammit!''


    Everything seemed to go bad, but Ezra couldn''t stop here.


    ''What can I do? What can I do? What can I-


    At the sight of his plight, a viable solution popped up.


    ''Maybe?'' he thought, fear in his heart left him hesitating. ''If it goes wrong, I could die!''


    Looking at his swelling arms, it hit him. ''If I don''t do it, I''ll be crippled anyways''


    A new fear wiped away all worries.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''Oh, in Raikan''s name, what is this?!''


    But the swelling muscles did not stop swelling.


    ''Just dammit all''


    Faced with a hopeless situation, he couldn''t care what happened anymore.


    With precision, he began circting the mana again.


    But this time, he cultivated while doing so.


    Like a worm, mana travelled his meridians, tempering it all through.


    Since the pathway was set, he didn''t need to actively absorb the iing waves of mana-they naturally joined the circting bunch!


    Ezra pushed the cirction to the limit. His eyes closed in case he exploded.


    His body grew hot as his meridians were tempered faster than they could recover,


    It was excruciating, but Ezra could bear this much.


    In turn, the meridians absorbed more mana to heal, before being tempered again.


    Three minutes passed, Ezra''s eyes hurt even while closed, the pain increased as the cirction got faster.


    At some point, Ezra thought, ''The pain is too much! Should I just die?''


    But shook his head vigorously moments after. He would have pped himself if the situation allowed for it.


    ''No. I can''t die here. I definitely can die here. I have to see that guy''s face, and put an end to Red Spawn''


    His resolve had him going strong when he should have copsed, but that was all.


    He couldn''t move a muscle in his state, so he could endure.


    And endure he did.


    When the tenth minute arrived, Ezra was on the verge of a mental copse.


    ''Why?!'' He couldn''t understand. ''Why haven''t I advanced?!''


    He should have advanced to Expert rank. The conditions were more than satisfied¡­so why?


    At this moment, he felt something. Something he couldn''t quite put his finger on.


    The feeling got strong enough that Ezra opened his eyes.


    ''Ah?'' His eyes widened.


    From his body, light blue particles of mana came out.


    ''Huh?''


    It was a phenomenon he''d never witnessed.


    His body shook, subsequently a vibration passed through his limbs, and then, mana began coiling at the left side of his chest.


    Ezra was startled. Trying to stop it, he became even more baffled.


    His mana¡­wasn''t listening to him.


    Both the mana circting and that gushing in stopped listening to his will and began coiling beside his heart, condensing at a single point and like the weaving of a yarn, grew bigger.


    As it did, the particleing out of Ezra''s body increased.


    As mana coiled, Ezra''s element orbs subsequently dissolved into particles and like mana, condensed into the growing yarn.


    Two minutes passed or was it three? Even Ezra''s ears were tired.


    The mana grew into a swirling mass of blue in the shape of an orb.


    Then, the orb began dissolving into particles, only to be absorbed by the heart.


    The moment the connection was made.


    Ezra''s heart pounded, and he lost consciousness.


    -------------


    pping his lips together, Ezra''s eyebrow part ways.


    ''Hmm?''


    Inherently groggy, Ezra''s eyes were the only thing to move.


    His head was dangling, skull facing the floor covered in a dark red liquid.


    With effort, he rubs his eyes. And slowly raises his head.


    The moment he did, a headache came upon him.


    ''My head!'' He snapped his neck, setting it in ce.


    ''What happened?''


    Only now, did his eyes clear up. Memories of the events right before he cked out starteding up.


    For one, the chamber was dark again. Making the magical scene of it being lit up with mana particles seem like a dream.


    Slowly, his gaze pervades the chamber.


    He notices something.


    ''Was it always this bright?''


    It felt like his dark sight had increased in rity.


    He saw in Darkness almost like he did in light.


    ''What''s going on?'' he wondered.


    "M-


    He tried to speak, but was unable to.


    ''Wait'' it hit him. And with quivering hands, he touched the insides of his mouth.


    The mana stones were still there!


    ''What?!'' he was rmed, but left the mana stones in his mouth out of caution.


    Touching his body all over for the next few seconds. He eventually stopped when he verified that truly¡­


    ''I''m not dead''


    He wasn''t dead.


    That filled him with joy, but added even more bafflement. ''But how?''


    The mana from two mana stones wasn''t something his body could withstand¡­at least to his knowledge.


    So, what changed?


    Ezra went into cultivation pose, shutting his eyes to explore his internals.


    ''Huh?''


    Trying to use his mana, he was instantly baffled.


    ''It feels different''

 Chapter 220 To The Academy!

    He shakes of the initial surprise, and bends the mana to his will.


    And that brought him a vague visual of his internals.


    ''Wow''


    Something incredible had happened.


    The concentration of mana in his body was more than ever before.


    A memory came up.


    Hisst sensation before cking out.


    ''My heart''


    He ces his right hand on the left side of his chest, where his heart his situated, and lit up his palm with mana.


    ''I can''t get used to this''


    A vague image came up.


    His heart was beating fine, but something about it had changed.


    ''If only I could see it''


    He was annoyed, unlike the minor changes of previous advancements, something much more phenomenal had happened.


    He wanted to see what internals looked like.


    A smile came upon him. ''Maybe Bard can help in that aspect''


    He calms himself and stands¡­only to squeeze his nose the next instant.


    "I-


    ''Right, the mana stones''


    With careful fingers, he takes them out, and stores them in his space ring.


    Then, he looked at the vile liquid on the floor and all over his clothes.


    "Ll" he ps his lips, making funny sounds, before exhaling in relief.


    ''It seems nothing happened'' then he stuck out his tongue. Contrary to expectations, it wasn''t shining blue.


    "I better clean up first"


    -----------


    *Knock*Knock*


    "Yes?" answered Bard, opening the door.


    His expression took an upward turn "Your highness. What a surprise, I was on my toe and see you"


    "What for?" Ezra implored. On his way, he realized he''d was unconscious for three hours.


    Bard raised a purple potion in the air "This!" obviously excited.


    Ezra just blinked, wasn''t that the same potion Gwendolyn gave him?


    "After a lot of effort with a little luck, I have transformed the potion"


    "Get to the point"


    "The potions I gave you before tooktent potential as nutrients, this does not"


    "What does it use then?"


    Bard smiled, pushing his sses in "Mana"


    "To be precise, it converts mana in the body and uses it to supplement growth"


    Ezra''s eyes widened, but calmed right after, "What about side effects?"


    Bard tapped his chin "As it as not being tested, there''s no way to be certain"


    Ezra sighed in relief and disappointment.


    With mana overflowing within him, a voice nudged him to try it, but Ezra threw away such thoughts.


    ''It''s too risky''


    Never mind that its effects were yet to be verified, he''d narrowly escaped death just hours ago, still unsure of how it happened.


    No thank you, pushing his luck was not advisable.


    "Till its effects are verified, do not bring it near me"


    "Besides that, some strange happened to my mana. I''m wondering if have some apparatus that can help me identify the cause"


    Bard nodded. "I did feel that something about you had changed. Congrattions on getting to the advanced rank, it''s a remarkable achievement"


    "I''d like that you kept such news to yourselves"


    "Of course," Bard nods. "Hmm, the tools you speak of exist with healers. I don''t have any of those here"


    "Can you get me one?"


    "Right now?"


    "Yes, because I''ll be leaving for the academy soon"


    "Oh? Then my congrattions are in order"


    "Thank you"


    "I''ll be right back" Bard exits.


    -------------


    Ten minutester, Bard returns.


    "So? How did it go?" Ezra asked.


    "Are you doubting the head alchemist? Of course, I have it"


    From his space ring, he brought a small crystal ball, the size of two eggs.


    The upper and lower end of the crystal were smooth while the middle held tiny sharp pieces, jutting out.


    Bard''s hands it to Ezra "ce a drop of blood on the middle section, and it''ll do its work"


    "Ok" he says, looking over the crystal carefully before turning to leave.


    Reaching the door, he suddenly stopped, turned to Bard and bowed, "Thank you sir, for all you''ve done for me"


    Bard folded his arms, a smile on his face. "You''re wee. Once the potions verified, I will send it to you"


    "Thank you, but I''ll be at the academy"


    Bard waves, "I have friends in a lot of ces, you need not worry"


    Ezra nods and exits.


    In his chambers, Ezra bleeds on the crystal, his blood now dark red because of poison within it.


    The blood is sucked in and the crystal insides turn turbulent and drawing in Ezra''s senses.


    It recognizes the poison attribute, obviously. Then blue light emanates from within, growing brighter and brighter.


    And then¡­*Crack*


    A small crack appeared, and it only grew wider, until¡­*CRACK!*


    It suddenly shattered.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ezra guided his eyes from the shards with his shoulders.


    Opening his eyes a few secondster, pieces of the crystals littered the ground.


    He rubbed his head, embarrassed, "How do I exin this to Bard?"


    He decided to never mention it.


    ''So¡­I guess I''ll find out the old way''


    His normal way of assessing changes, training.


    He enters a stance, his palms turned into fists.


    ''Let''s go with the first five movements of the fist sequence''


    He punches out. *Voom!*


    It moved the wind.


    He freezes, blinking over and over. Before looking at his arm. ''This strength¡­isn''t quite right''


    *Grrr* his stomach rumbles.


    His vision turns dizzy. ''Right, I haven''t eaten in a while''


    *KNOCK*KNOCK*


    A loud knock on the door calls his attention.


    "Yes¡­?"


    "Yes?! Your highness why''re you still in the castle?"


    In front of him was an angry Bolton.


    ''Why hasn''t he left yet?!'' he thought.


    A night had passed since he informed Ezra, but unlike he expected, the boy was nonchnt about it.


    ''Does he not understand the urgency of the matter?'' he wondered. Then, his gaze turned weird, ''What is this I''m feeling?'' he thought, looking thoroughly confused, ''What rank is this boy?''


    Ezra rubbed his head awkwardly. "Ah yes, the academy. I was just about to get going"


    With all the weird things happening, it was skipped his mind.


    Shaking away his thoughts, Bolton speaks, "Then I will see you off. A carriage awaits you"


    ''Ugh'' Ezra was annoyed, but he had no excuses to send Bard away.


    He''d already sucked all his items into his space ring, so there was no need to go back into the chambers.


    "Tell my vassals to get to the carriage. I''ll have a change of clothes"


    ----------


    In his room, Ezra wore a ck suit with a jacket.


    ''Should I tell mother I''m leaving?''


    He decided not to. Afraid that if he saw her before leaving, he might not leave anymore.


    He exhales to dispel nervousness. And took fast steps outside the castle.


    There, a carriage, embroidered with deep red fabrics with two white horses in front of it and two guards at the sides, awaited him.


    His vassals aligned themselves beside the carriage, looking fashionable in coats and gowns.


    Ezra has their mentors discharged the morning after Bolton informed them of their travelling to the academy, because he didn''t want anyone to know of their advancements to Expert rank.


    The doors open, Ezra steps in.


    "Your highness"


    Bolton hands him a ring. Tip toeing to put his mouth to Ezra''s ears and whispers. "A gift from the Emperor, it contains enough gold to see you through your academy years"


    Ezra took it, then smiled ruefully. Whispering back, "So¡­I am unallowed to return?"


    "Till your final exaltation, yes"


    Ezra chuckled, looking upwards to the castle, ''How unbelievable. Then, an itch came upon his mind brought by his honed senses, ''Was this thought up by the Emperor?'' he wanted to ask, but kept his inquisitiveness within.


    It was certainly ridiculous, but it only helped Ezra.


    Now with a sufficient reason to stay away from the pce, he could do whatever if the academy did not ept him.


    Nodding at Bolton, he turns to his vassals, "Get on"


    With quick steps, they array themselves.


    "Let''s get going" he tells the carriage.


    With a p of the rails, the carriage started moving.


    The guards mount horses, and trail besides them.


    After twelve years, Ezra was going into the outside world.


    Suddenly, he feels a tingle in his neck, immediately turning his gaze to the castle, and with a few nces, a culprit was revealed.


    Staring through one of the windows was the third witch, Gwendolyn.


    ''That stare, its not one of good intentions''


    He simply smiled. ''This is good, now I know my enemies in advance''


    With urate information, Ezra would adequately prepare.


    ''Better warn mom''


    Before leaving, he gave his mother on of the scrolls to maintainmunication.


    After seconds of locking gazes with Gwendolyn, Ezra turns head forward.


    His stomach rumbled.


    ''Right. I should get me some food while we move''


    -----------


    ''What was that?'' thought Gwendolyn.


    Her eyes held glee just moments ago as she watched Ezra move away from the castle.


    Her opportunity was here!


    But then, Ezra turned to stare back at her, and a chill came upon her.


    She tried to rationalize what the feeling was, ''Fear? Me? From that brat? Impossible''


    But while the truth was clear, she vehemently denied it. It had to be something else, she rationalized.


    But remembering the chilling gaze wiped her delusions. So, she rationalized it another way. ''Yes, yes, the boy must have something on him to posses such a gaze. An artifact most likely''


    She nodded, and slowly but surely, she started believing her own lies, and her fears morphed into greed.


    Greed for an artifact that did not exist.


    She rubbed her hands in glee. ''Finally, it''s time. It will be so quick they wouldn''t understand what happened until they''re dead''


    A silent evil chuckle permeated her lips.


    Oh! How grand it would be to see that wretched maid despair and wail when the news reached her? Gwendolyn couldn''t wait to see.

 Chapter 221 Outside World

    Two days passed since Ezra left the castle, and thankfully wasrgely eventful except for the vassal staring at every building passed, because like Ezra, they hadn''t seen the outside world in a while.


    They slept for six hours to give allow the horses recuperation, and continued at dawn.


    Unlike his vassals, Ezra concentrated on understanding the changes in his body by doing misceneous things.


    He arm-wrestled with the vassals without using mana, and easily defeated everyone.


    Then, he took stones along the road and concentrated mana into them to crumble it.


    As expected, it crumbled easily.


    He deducted. ''My body capabilities exceed those of a normal Expert by arge amount''


    Of course, considering his cultivation method, that was expected.


    He held his head, ''But¡­isn''t this a bit too much''


    When arm-wrestling with the siblings, he barely felt any resistance-which shouldn''t be.


    So, he hypothesized. ''Did I advance straight to mid Expert rank? Or is itte Expert rank?''


    That was the only logical exnation.


    Why else would his element orbs dissolve? And the crystal Bard gave him wouldn''t have broken so easily.


    It was an all-round headache. After tossing and turning thoughts, he threw it at the back of his mind.


    Thinking too much would only bring more problems.


    So, he distracted with other things.


    Sight-seeing for example.


    But the first building toe into view had him frowning.


    It was one seeminglyrger than life, rising above all others while casting an enormous shadow.


    Ezra gaze glue to the skyscraper.


    It was coloured ck with silver stripes running through it, stripes made of melted metal.


    Ezra nodded, ''It''s even better than the one in my past life''


    He realized. ''But the skyscraper is built in Traxford''


    "Stop the carriage"


    All gazes came on Ezra as the coach stopped.


    "Your highness-


    A guard thought to speak, but a raised palm shut him up.


    "Coach, why are we at Traxford?" he questioned.


    "Hahaha¡­" the coachughed awkwardly, being the old man that he was. "The horses can only run so fast, they need-


    "That''s not the question" Ezra interjected. "We''re heading to Guavedra, why are you we taking this route?"


    "Cough*cough* The man burst into a fit of coughs, rming everyone.


    While inwardly, ''Dammit, he knows. But Bolton told me he''s never been outside Kingsmere''


    He was a friend of Bolton''s, and Bolton had directed him to take Ezra through a long route to make sure they didn''t make it to the academy in time, convincing him with a reward of five hundred gold!


    That was more than the man''s yearly wages, so of course he was doing it! Especially when all he had to do was trick a child.


    After coughing for an entire minute, he straightens. "Sorry my prince, I thought would like to see Niton''s best buildings" he said with a smile.


    Ezra popped a vein. Grabbing the man by the cor, "Did I not tell you that we''re short on time?"


    The man''s gaze shook staring at Ezra''s eyes.


    ''How can child have such eyes!''


    "I''m sorry!" he shouted.


    Ezra snorted, but let go his cor. "Of course, you are, now get us on track"


    While forgiveness wasn''t his forte, it''d be a bit too much to beat a defenseless old man.


    The siblings sighed, while the guards acted like they hadn''t seen it.


    Well, not all the guards.


    ''Arrogant brat'' rather than the one Ezra shut up, it was the one beside him that had a vein popping, ''Let''s see how long you can keep that attitude''


    His eyes shone with the light of cruelty. He''d always hated nobles. Soon, he''d be able to shove his sword in the neck of royalty.


    He exhaled in excitement; it was a dreame true.


    The carriage took turns and three hourster arrived on the shortest route to Guavedra.


    But few hourster, night came, and they soon had to stop to rest the horses-much to Ezra''s annoyance.


    With the guards taking turns on night watch, Ezra and the siblings slept soundly.


    Until, an hour after midnight that is.


    A time when the guard harboring ill intent was on night watch.


    He rapidly blinked, seemingly forcing his eyes open while asionally dozing off, and then his head dangled to the side.


    Suddenly, Theron raised his head, rubbing dirt out his ears.


    He turned his head to the side, looking in the surrounding forest, and then turned to someone at his side


    "Why aren''t you saying anything?" he said, seemingly to nobody.


    ''He has good senses'' Ezra smiled, "Go back to sleep"


    "Hmm?" Theron raised a brow, visibly confused.


    He wanted to mouth a few words, but decided against it and went back to sleep.


    The guard dozing off had his eyes open wide, looking in the same direction Theron did, ''Could he-


    He shook his head, chuckling even ''That''s impossible, even I can''t do that''


    And the notion that a child was stronger than him was even more preposterous.


    ''If he was, I''d know about him''


    He knew the names and description of all known rising stars by heart, and Theron was not in that list.


    That confirmed it for him, that the boy must have woken up for some other reason.


    ----------


    Twenty minutester¡­


    "Hey, hey" someone whispered.


    Someone tapped the head of the guard, who had truly fallen asleep this time.


    "Wha-


    A hand covered his mouth.


    rmed at first, once he saw the figure, he calmed. Only then did the hand blocking his mouth pull away.


    Rather speaking, the figure-wrapped from head to toe in ck-made hand signs, to which the guards nodded.


    His previous act of having his head fall to the side was to signal them-his associates.


    Having beingmissioned far before Ezra set off, the assassins trailed them since they left Kingsmere.


    Now, they were to do their job.


    A few hand signster, two other figures revealed themselves, wrapped in ck clothes as well, leaving only their eyes.


    With slow steps, the three advanced, the guardsy on his side, posing like he had fainted.


    They kept sounds to a minimum, moving ever so slowly.


    Surprise was key in such operations.


    Things took a turn, when, six feet from their targets, the ground quivered without warning, throwing the three of bnce and waking the guards.


    "Huh?"


    "Hmm?"


    "What happened?"


    All those sleeping awoke, including the guards. If they hadn''t, then their identity as royal guards were fabricated.


    To prove their training, they didn''t panic, nor were they groggy after abruptly waking up and scanned the surroundings.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Realizing their cover was bound to be blown, the three leaped towards the unprepared knights with dagger in hand.


    Too bad¡­ "Ambush!"


    The royal knights acted ordingly, raising rm and then quickly rolled away as the assassinsnded.


    They slept with armour as insurance of such situations.


    Quickly standing, they unsheathed their swords in one go, shing with the assassins. *ng*


    "Tsk" the assassin with biggest body clicked his tongue. "We have done things cleanly¡­but anyway, you''ll all die, since we came prepared"


    The knight shing with him was apprehensive, "What does that-


    "NO!"


    A knight cried out, seeing another knight having his arms severed, and subsequently beheaded.


    The knights froze a few seconds when one screamed "LUKE!"


    ''How?!'' thought the other. Luke was the strongest of the three, and they were all Experts.


    To kill an Expert that easily, there was only one answer.


    The knights shook as he mouthed the words, "A Master"


    The coach looked at the Ezra and the vassals. "Run! All you run away now!"


    He was already old, but he didn''t want to see children killed. He had a daughter around their age.


    Ezra cut the ropes holding the horses to a tree, and jumps into the coach space.


    "Jump in" he says, the siblings jump in at once, rocking the carriage, but didn''t crack-proving it''s quality.


    With a p of the harnesses, the horses pick up the pace, and the carriage disappeared from in a minute.


    "Annoying" mouthed one of the assassin''s.


    Subsequently¡­*Chuk!*


    The knight was stabbed in side, looking in that direction, he sees his colleague-the knight on night watch grinning at him.


    "Weiss¡­?" he muttered, blood flowing from his mouth like a tap. "But¡­Why¡­?"


    He never got an answer before being beheaded.


    Weiss had a smile on his face looking at the corpse of his colleague. ''Thankfully I chose right'' he thought, breathing heavily.


    He didn''t know a master was hired. And was thinking of switching sides and backstabbing the assassin''s if things went wrong.


    But the unfolding of a master rank, it was as clear that everyone was as good as dead.


    Which was why he promptly joined in to kill his friend, else they might kill him as well.


    Thest knight was promptly killed.


    As the four advanced, the coach stood in their way.


    "Move aside old man. We came for the kids"


    The man shook his head "I''m sorry. I can''t do that"


    The biggest one-the master-ps his lips together in distaste, "Tsk, tsk, That''s too bad"


    The old man couldn''tprehend their movements before his head flew off.


    *Pam* his body fell to the floor.


    Licking his de, the master looked to the forest.


    "Let''s go" he opened his masked and scratched his beard. "Let''s have this done in the next hour"


    "Aye" They took off, running into forest, trailing after the carriage.


    "Wait for me" the knight said, running after them.


    The assassin''s but spared him a nce before moving even faster.


    Meanwhile, Ezra coached the carriage like a boss, shocking the siblings as they horses ran through the forest.


    "Is there anything you can''t do?" asked Theron, humour in his tone.


    Considering his former life''s work as a knight, it was impossible that he didn''t know how to ride such things.


    "Save your breath" he said. Looking upwards at the surrounding trees. "They''re almost here"


    "What?!" Roxanne was rmed.


    Immediately, Ezra pulled the horses to a stop.


    "WHY WOULD YOU-


    Ashton was confounded.


    Ezra was having none of it. "Get off"


    His eyes shone blue, "They''re here"


    And on point, a figure revealed itself, with two more joining after jumping down from trees.


    A man''s voice resounded. "Imend your bravery"


    It was the Master rank. Having stretched his face cover, his face is revealed.


    A scar ran diagonally through his left eye, with his teeth yellow, a few gold ones here and there,pleted with a partly white, partly ck beard hosted on a jaw that seemed to be cking.


    The reason he didn''t want to kill the old man was evident, he was old as well.


    ? "Now then, let''s make this easy and have you die quickly" he snickered, his henchmen bursting intoughter.


    "Hahaha, good one boss"


    "Right right, let''s get this over with"


    The master licked his de, "I promise, it''ll be pain-less!"


    The siblings watched with fearful while standing behind Ezra, whose gait seemed imprable.


    Ezra watched calmed and then sighed. "Do you now see why I push you so hard in training?"


    They gulped, looked at one another and then nodded.


    He turned to them, and spoke to them "Don''t worry too much. Apart from the big guy, the other two are just posers, weaklings. Anyone of you can take them on"


    Those words instilled the much confidence the siblings needed.


    "Girls, you take the one of the right"


    They nodded.


    "Johan, Ashton, take the one of the left"


    They nodded.


    "Theron, you''re with me. We''ll handle the big guy"


    "Hey!" The master shouted. "We ain''t got all day, which one of you''sing to die first?"


    One snorted, "Boss, isn''t this taking too long? Let''s just kill them. They might be thinking of running away"


    "Hmm" The master touched his chin.


    They would catch them no matter how they sought to run.


    But extending and operation that should already be done was¡­''Troublesome''


    As he thought of just killing them just as his subordinate suggested, a silouhuette called his attention.


    "Huh?"


    His subordinates were also stunned.


    "What?"


    "Is he crazy?"


    He raised his head to see one of them actuallying towards them.


    "Wow" he eximed. Snapping his bones in ce "I thought you''d run"


    Then, he waved away the blood on hisrge Saber.


    "Now, let''s have you die"


    Ezra took a stance, "Who said anything about dying?"

 Chapter 222 Fight!

    "Who said anything about dying?"


    The assassins took nces at each other and then.


    "Ha! Hahaha"


    They burst into tear jerkingughter.


    "Pfft. Bravery my @ss, this bastard''s just insane"


    "I had a hunch, but being in castle all this while has turned you crazy huh?" anothermented.


    Ezra made no reaction, except to slowly take three more steps, closing the gap between them to three feet.


    It was a bit shocking that the old man was dead, but¡­ ''It''s better this way'' he confirmed.


    ''Should I take out a sword'' he thought, looking at the jesting assassins.


    But decided against it. ''No, they''ll be on guard, or might even dodge. If that happens, I''ll lose my chance to ge ta clean hit''


    The decisions were made in seconds.


    On cue, theughter began dying down.


    "Ha¡­" the master exhaled, he didn''t put Ezra in his eyes and turned to his henchmen "Alright boys, lets-


    On cue, his instincts rang out, forcing him to face forward.


    The atmosphere around Ezra changed and his eyes glowed blue.


    Honed instincts warned of danger.


    But¡­*Voom!*


    Ezra lunged, reaching the master assassin almost instantly.


    The two at the side couldn''t react to such speed.


    ''What!''


    The master shed his Saber sideways, aiming to cleave Ezra into two.


    Too bad, because he deemed Ezra a nobody, he wasn''t even in a proper.


    In other words, the gap he left open was too wide to close instantly.


    Taking note of that point, Ezra amplified his fist with mana and punched the upper part of his stomach.


    It didn''t matter that Saber was almost upon him. All that mattered, was getting his strike in.


    Following the boys movement, the master assassin used his other arm to shield his stomach.


    Ezra smirking, ''He has some really sharp instincts'' acknowledging the man''s prowess.


    Still, such moves didn''t have Ezra falter, he didn''t even think of such, simply titling his fist.


    And that range, it was too close for the master to match.


    Ezra grit his teeth and then¡­*Boom*Boom*Boom*Boom*


    An initial soundwave burst from the point of contact and then, the assassin was blown away, breaking four trees consecutively.


    Dust and Dirt clouded the air right after, everyone froze.


    The siblings had their mouths agape, while the assassins were too confused to move.


    "Huh?"


    Ezra was just as stunned. He grit his teeth to endure the pain of his bones breaking.


    But¡­


    *Creak*


    Pushing away pieces of broken trees, the old man stood¡­before falling back to his knees.


    Then, the cloud of dust dispersed, giving clear view.


    "BOSS!"


    The assassins had their hearts pound at the sight, jumping to their bosses'' side.


    "Kuh!"


    The master assassin puked blood while kneeling, his eyes bloodshot as he wiped his mouth.


    "Ah" a helpless gasp he released, picking up five pieces of teeth, and one of them was gold.


    He set his eyes on the boy. Pointing, he asked "Yu! Hau?!" With his vocals having jumbled up.


    Meanwhile, Ezra mind was elsewhere.


    Over the past days he''d been wondering what rank he''d reached.


    Was it mid orte Expert? He''d endlessly wondered.


    ''But¡­I''m a Master?''


    It was so ridiculous even he was skeptical.


    His eyes kept looking at the assassin and then his arm.


    And after an entire psed, he exhaled. ''So, I''m a Master''


    He exhaled as a sign of relief while hands brushed through his ear,prehending the significance of the matter.


    ''I''m a Master'' he repeated, ''I''m a Master'' until finally. "I''m a Master!" he jumped in glee, clenching his fists.


    Same time, the assassin slowly stood despite the warnings of his henchmen.


    His breath was so heavy Ezra could hear.


    He points to Ezra with his Saber. "Look what you did!"


    Ezra snorted, "You not really expecting an apology, are you? I''m surprised you''re still standing old man"


    The assassin popped a vein. "I''ll kill you!"


    "Boss! You can''t take him on" a henchmen implored.


    The Master turned to him and flicked his flicked his forehead.


    "Ah! Why?"


    "You idiot. He might be at Master rank, but he''s far from being able to fight effectively, look at him, he''s just a kid. The only reason he got me was because I underestimated him" his eyes turned menacing, "That won''t happen a second time"


    The henchmen blinked in astonishment, slowly reasoning on the same wavelength as the boss.


    "Now let''s take them out and go drinking"


    Turning his sword, the master bursts forth.


    "Aye boss" the henchmen follow his lead.


    With the enemies iing, Ezra left a few words, "The real fight''s about to begin. Don''t underestimate them, but don''t overestimate them either"


    With that, a pair of sliver short swords appeared in his palms.


    "On second thought. Theron, assist the girls, I''ll be taking on the big guy"


    On cue, the master assassin appeared in front of him, and brought down his de.


    ng!


    "You dare talk with an enemy in front of you? What ack of manners"


    Ezra blocked it, "An old man with yellow teeth trying to kill children wants to teach me about manners? What a joke"


    "Tsk" The man was tongue tied. "Your death will definitely not be painless"


    "You talk too much"


    ng*ng*


    "And you won''t be talking at all very soon"


    On cue, the two henchmen dropped came into scene, aiming for Ezra. "Die!"<novelnext></novelnext>


    But they weren''t the only ones.


    "What the?" honed movements allowed the henchmen to thwart projectiles thrown at them.


    The second wasn''t so lucky as Theron''s halberd bashed him afar.


    "You''re with us" Johan proimed.


    The henchman snorted, thinking ''I have to quickly get rid of these two''


    He didn''t know what happened to number two, but it couldn''t be anything good.


    "Ackk!" The man in question, number two, had his right arm inverted.


    With a groan, he picks up his dagg.er with the left arm, and enters a stance for battle


    ''Thereing''


    Roxanne, Velora and Theron reached him.


    "Brother look, you''ve handicapped him before we could fight"


    "I was only helping"


    "No worries" Roxanne pushed him away. "We can take care of him on our own"


    He gazed intermittently between the girl and number 2 before sighing and then leaving.


    "So much for helping" he muttered.


    Like the siblings had suggested, he went to check on Ezra.


    Getting with ten feet of them, the sounds of metal shing resounded.


    ''Dammit!'' the Master assassin cursed, taking wide swings. ''What is this?!''


    "Kuh!" he groaned as Ezra took a kick at his knee.


    It was inhumane, how could a mere child move like such?! It was like he was battling a war veteran, but he wasn''t!


    Well, he was, but no one was going to tell him that.


    Now kneeling, the man breathed in whezzes, when a voice rang out, "Is that it?"


    ''Damnit!'' the man felt his heart ming up with shame.


    To be beaten to this extent by a child, who would believe it, just who?!


    It''d been but a minute, but the master already confirmed the result if the continued fighting.


    ''I''m dead'' he wailed. ''I can''t kill that monster''


    When he tried to harness his elements, Ezra dispelled it by breaking his stance.


    And he conjured Aura with one far more powerful.


    Oh, how unfair this was, but his thoughts of rebelling had all but faded, now, there was only fear.


    He was so afraid he couldn''t bring himself to look at Ezra.


    Once Ezra confirmed his fighting spirit was squashed, he sighed in disappointment.


    "You gave up so easily, then I guess there''s no use in continuing"


    The man closed his eyes, awaiting his inevitable death.


    When¡­ "Huh? Why are you here?"


    Ezra turned to see Theron.


    "I came to help. The girls said they''d be fine without me" he spoke. "  But it seems I''m not needed"


    Ezra eyes danced between Theron and the assassin for a few seconds, then he put his sword down.


    "Get up"


    The master assassin opened his eyes in surprise, but wasn''t sure-


    "Get up"


    He got up.


    "You don''t want to fight me, yes?"


    He looked sideways, but nodding slowly.


    "Ok, I''ll have you fight him"


    Ezra pointed to Theron.


    "Of course, you cannot use mana nor Aura"


    The Master nodded vigorously.


    Ezra pointed to Theron. "If you can kill him in ten minutes, I''ll let you go"


    Ezra turned to Theron, "Try your best to survive"


    Theron was shocked, but Ezra didn''t even give time.


    "Begin"


    The master rushed towards him with a crazed face. "I''m sorry, but I''ll need you to die"


    With no time to speak, Theron confronted the master.


    Bam!


    The halberd stroke emptynd as the master dodged it.


    The master let out evil chukles, shing downwards on the halberd and sent Theron flying.


    Ezra''s voice pulled through.


    "Remember, the goal is to survive, not win" he says. "Do as we do in training"


    Theron''s gave a nod, looking at the enemy in front, he thought, ''If Ezra can beat him up so easily. I can definitely manage'' quelling his fears.


    His breathe calmed, ''I can do this''


    While Ezra said the goal wasn''t to fight, Theron didn''t want to run away anymore.


    ''Running away never made anybody stronger''


    Like so, the man''s visage morphed into Ezra''s.


    And then, "Heup"


    A direct sh had him pushed back, his veins bulging and his hands quivering.


    But Theron was smiling.


    He never expected it to be easy.


    ''But it''s definitely doable''


    The Master was in front of his nose once again. Bringing down the saber "Why the smile? You''re going to be dead soon"


    Such words didn''t faze Theron in the slightest.


    In his mind, he was fighting Ezra.


    When fighting Ezra, only maximum concentration was allowed.


    Inhaling, Theron struck.


    *Kang!*


    Both the Master and Ezra noticed the change.


    "What?!"


    "Hoo¡­"


    Things got interesting.

 Chapter 223 Erasing Trails

    "Hmph" the master snorted, pushing Theron back. "Don''t go getting any funny ideas"


    His body was riddled with cuts from Ezra''s sword, from which he bled onto the battlefield.


    But all that mattered not. ''I can''t die here''


    He shed faster. "Die!"


    "No thank you"


    Theron matched him, dodging and blocking most of his attacks, rarely counterattacking.


    But that was all. Rather, it was impressive he even managed to do this much.


    The more Theron endured, the fiercer the attacks became, because time was running out.


    Injuries came upon Theron, but he didn''t flinch.


    When it dawned that he couldn''t defeat Theron with just his weapon, he changed his approach.


    shing to the side, Theron moved his Halberd in that direction.


    ''As expected,'' the man kicked him and before Theron could react, he fell to the ground with a thud.


    Spitting blood, Theron tried to stand but the man stepped on his shoulder.


    "I''ve got you" unable to stand, Theron withstood his saber with the halberd before kicking it away.


    He raises his saber for a final strike, when¡­


    Shin!


    A thin silver line swept past his arm and cut it off.


    "Ahh!"


    His arm fell to the floor with a thud along with the Saber, hot blood pouring out on Theron as the man held the stump.


    He looks to the side. The culprit smirks at him.


    "WHY? You promised-


    "And you actually believed it?"


    The man was on the verge of insanity "Where is your pride as a knight?!"


    "Where was yours when you decided to take my head?" he snickered. "You expect me to show courtesy to those who havee for my head? You''re even more delusional than I thought"


    He turns to Theron. "Engrave this in your mind" his gaze cold. "Never spare enemies, they''ll onlye back to bite you"


    The master staggered in retreat, his face pale with fear. "No! No, wait! You can''t do this!" Deeming it ineffective, he switches to threats, "You can''t kill me. You won''t get away. My n will track you down!"


    "I''ll be waiting"


    Ezra struck, and the master was cleanly beheaded.


    Thud*


    The head fell to the floor with a thud, holding an expression of despair and so did the body.


    Ezra started without any particr emotions, swiping the blood off his sword.


    Theron stands.


    "How is your body?"


    "I have only scratches"


    Ezra almostughed. "Sure" he looks afar, "Shall we check on the others?"


    --------------


    *Kuhk*


    Number 2 spurted blood. His bodyy on the soil, both skin and clothes torn.


    Just then, a woman came close. "Hmm, Ezra said he was weak, but like¡­aren''t you a bit too weak?"


    He wanted to scream, but the poison in his veins didn''t allow it, so he simply red.


    Roxanne huffed, folding her arms while Velora growled, "Look at this guy" , stepping his head, and subsequently his re into the ground.


    Even with but a single arm, number 2 caused them sufficient trouble.


    But Velora scales allowed her good defence while Roxanne attacked from a distance with her elongating whip sword, allowing them to bag an easy victory.


    A voice rang out. "I see you''re done here"


    The girls turned to see Ezra with Theron by his side.


    "Why is he still alive?"


    "That, um¡­We thought you might want him alive"


    "Kill him"


    They swallowed hard, looking at each other.


    "If you don''t kill him, he''lle back to kill you" Ezra toned. "That''s just the way it works. So, Kill him"


    They stare at number 2, who seemed to mumble something, but it couldn''t be heard with his head trenched in soil.


    Roxanne points her swords downwards while Velora ces her dagger by his neck.


    "On three" says Roxanne.


    Roxanne and Velora: "One. Two...*Chuk!*


    Silence reigned for a time as the sisters took heavy breaths, understanding the significance of their actions.


    "Don''t nurse any useless feelings, you simply killed someone trying to kill you. Now get over here"


    They reach Ezra with slow steps.


    ----------------


    Approaching the site where Johan and Ashton, they found them sitting on a body run through with a saber, both boys had wounds at multiple ces.


    "Seems you went through a bit of trouble"


    Johan smirked, kicking the corpse "Ha. Trouble? I barely stretched my boy. This guy was too weak"


    The siblings face palmed, Ashton giving his ount. "Too weak my foot, we almost died, multiple times!"


    "Whatever"


    "In any case. He''s dead" Ezra spoke. "Wait here"


    He jumped into a tree before they could give any questions.


    ----------


    The whole battle, from meeting to confrontation took no more than twenty minutes.


    Weiss was heading to the site of the battle when a consecutive st resounded.


    He threw himself to the ground with hesitation, raising his head and straining his eyes to see what happened.


    With effort, he makes out the figure of the master assassin at the end of a trail of broken trees.


    ''What! Someone pushed a master that far? Who? I was sure we had no masters among us''


    He was the one who provided information about the route the carriage took and what sort of guards were hired.


    Right now, he was running like crazy.


    ''Damn!''


    His eyes shook watching Ezra decimate a master with ease.


    ''He''s been hiding his strength all this time!''


    It was both terrifying and exciting news.


    ''A master at twelve'' he shook his head, and so, he took the opposite direction. ''I have to make sure the world knows''


    But the sound of rustling grass forced him to a stop.


    The forest suddenly seemed ominous.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The moment he sought to run; his senses rang out as a sword came flying at him.


    Deflecting it, a voice resounds. "You have good reflexes"


    A person walked out of the bushes, a child in fact.


    To Wiess, it was the visage of a demon.


    He immediately lost all will to fight and plodded to the ground. "P-Please don''t kill me!"


    Ezra reached him, "And why so?"


    "I''ll give you anything! Please!"


    "Seeing as you''re so desperate. I''ll give you a chance"


    The man nodded.


    "Who sent you?"


    The man paled, "Please anything else, they''ll kill me"


    "Oh? And I won''t?"


    "Hik!" he gasped in fright. "I''ll tell you"


    "It was Marquis Erington. Technically, it was one of his knights, Sir Mateo"


    "Marquis Erington?" Ezra frowned. "Who is he?"


    The knight looked surprised that he didn''t know such a person, but quickly got to exining.


    "He is a widely known wine seller, and the Empresses cousin"


    Ezra''s eyes shined, he''d found a point of contact.


    "Which Empress?"


    He swallowed over and over, before muttering "The third"


    ''Gwendolyn''


    Ezra smiled. He had a hunch it was her, but only with confirmation could he be sure.


    ''I''ll remember this!''


    He looks to the knight, "Anything else?"


    "Well¡­


    After that, there wasn''t much he actually knew, but a few details were still useful.


    Once done, the knight pleaded, "I''ve told you everything I know. Now let me-


    Ezra de passed through his neck so fast, he was able to mutter ''go'' before his head slid to the floor.


    He snorted, ''People are the same wherever you go''


    He''d dealt with such people too many times in his past life.


    From the start, Ezra had sensed them approaching the camp, but said nothing so that they would reveal themselves once and for all.


    He certainly hadn''t expected a master toe. But things seem to work out fine.


    ''Now to clean this ce up''


    Naturally, he could not leave such tant traces.


    First, he stripped the body of anything useful.


    Looting was an essential skill, and Ezra had mastered it.


    Within minutes he was done.


    Thereafter, he sucked both the body and items into his space ring.


    After that, he lifts the residue of blood with his blood affinity and disposes of it.


    With speed, he arrives at the site where the siblings waited.


    They were sitting in silence but stood the moment he came into view.


    Roxanne spoke. "So¡­how did it go?"


    "Well. It went well"


    Knowing Ezra, they nodded. As it didn''t seem he was going to share what happened.


    Ezra looked at them. "I assume you all packed more than a single pair of clothing?"


    They took nces, what was this about?


    "I''ll take that as a yes. Change those clothes and hand them over"


    The request had the siblings startled.


    "And be quick. Unless you want them to find us and kill us?"


    They didn''t understandpletely, but Ezra wasn''t one to do pointless things.


    Going into the deep bushes, they were quick to change and handed Ezra their bloodied clothes.


    "Good," he nods. "Go and stand by the cart while I clean things up"


    Again, they obeyed.


    With the siblings out of sight. Ezra got to work, stripping the bodies of all they''re worth.


    Thanks to Wiess''s misceneous information he avoids traps on their bodies that might have been activated otherwise and once that done, ced them in his space ring.


    Of course, he couldn''t pretend nothing happened since the old man and the guards were dead.


    ''So, I''ll give them a scenario''


    He didn''t take away the body of the master, that was to crucial to the setting.


    Instead, he took out his sword and destroyed a wide range of trees and then, with blood affinity, nted blood all over the ce.


    Also, he didn''t to touch the bodies thaty at the campsite-that of the guards and the old man.


    Well, he emptied the space rings the guards wore, but took only the not-so-important stuff.


    Then, he cleaned his prints, such as the palm print as the campsite.


    The initial rumbling that woke the guards up was as a result of him mming his palm-after amplified it with mana-into the ground.


    While doing this, he spun his narrative for the siblings to memorize, "When you''re asked, we were ambushed while sleeping and so we ran. Remember, you saw a single person"


    They nod, "The guards and the coach sacrificed themselves to help us escape, Then I took reins of the carriage and rode off. Of course, it was not enough, the attackers soon caught up with us. But ''luckily'', a stranger passing by helped. Creating time by fighting back the bandits while we rode off. And because we so ''scared'', we didn''t look back once till we reached a small town"


    "Engrave that narrative in your mind. It''s what you''ll tell those who eventuallye"


    The siblings were left bbergasted.


    Theron was most impressed. "How do you know someone wille?"


    Ezra turned to him with a smile. "Trust me. They''lle"


    An hour went by with him destroying thendscape. Creating an image for those toe.


    While fighting the master, he didn''t use elements because they would haverger traces.


    It was far too early to be discovered.


    Once finished, Ezra wiped the sweat on his forehead.


    Looking at the result, he felt proud. ''Now this is what you call a work of art''


    As a knight who''s dabbled in the art of assassination in his past life, that experience let him create a scenario based on what he knew assassins would look for.


    "Get in the carriage. You''ll memorize the narrative as we go"


    With that, the carriage rode into night, leaving behind a bloodied forest with many trees destroyed.


    He had to make the ''battle between their saviour and the master assassin'' believable enough for visitors.


    Such matters had to be handled carefully to avoid a bevy of future troubles.

 Chapter 224 Change Of Priorities

    Ezra''s brain worked like a clock thinking up all sorts of things.


    One thing held out to him.


    ''They can''t call out a student of the academy''


    No parent, status disregarded, was allowed to interfere in the academic activities.


    If they did so forcefully, their child would be expelled, and if the child wasn''t expelled, he''d be treated like an outcast.


    Ezra found this out from Mr. Lennon.


    Furthermore, some of the training activities of the royal academy were life threatening.


    Anyone sending their child there knew they could die.


    The academy took no faults if such urred, as it was stated in the conditions to join the school.


    At first, Ezra had no qualms whether he joined the academy or not, but¡­


    ''I''ll have to revise that decision''


    It wasn''t that the academy suddenly became more important.


    He was certain he could thwart anyone who came to investigate him.


    ''But¡­


    He looked at the siblings.


    ¡­they''re different''


    He was sure of Theron being able to do the same once provided some guidance, as he was the oldest, eighteen this year.


    The rest though¡­were entirely different stories.


    All five were astounding, but staying in the castle for so long had eroded theirmunication and socialization skills while their physical capabilities shot up.


    Long story short, they could easily trip up in a conversation and expose the truth.


    Ezra couldn''t have that.


    Thankfully, there was a solution close by.


    ''They wouldn''t be investigated if they join the academy'' he nodded. ''By the time they''re out, they would''ve build their social skills. Then, they wouldn''t have problems handling investigators''


    It was a long shot, but that was all he had.


    He couldn''t possibly kill them after doing so much to groom them to this level, now could he?


    It was ridiculous to think nobody would wonder how none of the children died after being attacked by a master.


    As always, Ezra was on that case too.


    Stopping the carriage, he turns. "Theron, give me your hand"


    Theron blinked in confusion, but did as was told.


    "This will hurt a bit" he warned, looking to Johan, "Give me your saber"


    Johan looked at Theron, who nodded, before handing it to him.


    Grabbing the Saber, Theron spoke "What are you going to do? Cut off my arm?"


    "Eh? No, that''s far too excessive. I''ll just inflict an injury"


    "Might I ask the purpose of this?"


    "Six advance ranks escape unscathed after being chased by a Master. That sound believable to you?"


    Theon''s eyes widened. "So, this injury¡­?"


    "-Was caused by a desperate attack from the assassin''s de while I rode off"


    "You''ll tell them that you were ''very lucky'' that your hand wasn''t severed, got it?"


    "Yes¡­I think"


    Ezra nods, "Good, get out of the cart. I don''t want blood-wait" he remembered. Turning to the others, "You guys get out of the cart"


    "What?"


    Ezra wasn''t having it. "Out"


    They get out, leaving only Theron standing within, Ezra continues his demonstration.


    The cart was built akin to an onion on wheels, with the top of the carriage space already destroyed because the siblings jumped in just hours ago.


    Now, to make it believable that they were attacked while running, the cut had toe from outside-so Ezra stood outside.


    "Are you sure about this?" Theron''s voice came from within, a hint of nervousness within.


    "Have I ever been wrong?"


    Theron gulped, but it was true, so he couldn''t answer.


    "Good" ce your hand in front of your face like you''re guarding it.


    "It''s done," said Theron.


    "I know. I can see you" replied Ezra. "Now¡­here I go"


    The saber wasced with a sliver of silver aura and then¡­shin!


    A clean cut sliced through the cloth and damaged the carriage even more.


    "Ahh!" Theron screamed as he bled all over.


    It took incredible will to hold on for an entire minute before quickly gulping down a healing potion.


    Theron painted, watching the wound heal.


    "You said it was only going to hurt a little!"


    "Calm down, with that potion, your body will be back to normal in but a few minutes"


    Theron was outraged, but he calmed once he saw the wound heal in three minutes.


    But it left a scar, which was exactly what Ezra was aiming for-it would serve as evidence!


    When the siblings thought it was over, Ezra suddenly called over Roxanne.


    "I''ll have to inflict an injury on you as well. Give me your leg"


    "What? Why me?"


    "I can cut your arms too"


    "Hiek!" she shrieked, "No don''t! Legs are good"


    He folded her dress, of which Ezra cut her two meters above her ankle.


    "You were cut by an aura attack from the assassin while running into the forest. Are we clear?"


    She nods, gulping down the potion.


    Ezra takes a look inside the bloodied carriage.


    Now, even without being told, one look at this would have them imagining some gruesome sights.


    Conjuring up fire, he dries the blood.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Ok, it''s done. Let''s get going"


    The other siblings sigh in relief, and they get back on their journey.


    --------------


    Two hours after theirst stop, Ezra''s eyes brighten.


    He could see a vige in the distance, with lights on too.


    -----------


    Nearing the vige, he parks the carriage, gives a cloak to Theron, puts one on as well and walks into the vige.


    The guards were undoubtedly surprised to see a pair suddenly appearing in the road at such times.


    But Theron''srge physique dissuaded them from asking questions.


    Moreover¡­ ''Those clothes¡­are they nobles?''


    The cloaks were of high quality, and it didn''t cover their shoes as well.


    Once the notion of possibility that they possessed nobility kicked in, the guardsported themselves.


    Who knew what sort of situation they were in?


    Everyone knew going out of one''s way to help nobles didn''t always end well, especially when they wore cloaks!


    Of many they have been, that died in feuds between nobles that they knew nothing about.


    So, these old folks made way. Answering when asked, but saying nothing more.


    A carty at one corner of the vige. It had was special, but Ezra saw its good condition and nudged Theron towards it, whispering to him, "Find the owner of that cart"


    Asking around, they end up knocking on a door in poor condition.


    "Who''s there?"


    "Someone with d tidings," Ezra replied.


    "Eh?" The door opened abruptly, revealing a buff but short figure, bald with fluff orange beard.


    His eyes took in their figures, immediately recognizing signs of high-status. He hurriedly shuts the door. "Take your d tiding elsewhere!"


    "What was that? We can take the cart?"


    The door opened with a bam. The man got on his knees and began begging.


    "Please don''t, Please, that''s all I have. I beg of you, or else my children will starve"


    "Rx. We''re not trying to steal from you"


    Then, the shorter person flicked him something.


    "Huh?" The man was stumped, but a closer look had him frozen.


    His expression held fear, greed and ecstasy with his hands quivering.


    "Come on, you can take it. As I said, we brought d tidings"


    Slowly, the man picked the gold and raised it, then he chewed on it to test its ingenuity.


    "Ah!" he eximed, eyes wide.


    Ezra smiled, "Get up. I''d know better than to let others see that"


    The man hurriedly shoved it in his pockets. With Ezra and Theron wearing cloaks, no one saw what happened.


    Taking a look around the vige, he ces one more gold coin into the man''s palm, before beckoning the man to his side.


    "Tell the people that we forcefully took your cart" he whispered.


    The man seemed against it, but Ezra kept talking. "Now, I have a job for you. If you canplete it¡­well, there''s more where that came from"


    The man''s gaze shook, excitement brimming in his chest. "I W-


    Ezra ced a hand on his mouth. "Shh!"


    The man nodded.


    "Now, hand over the gold coins"


    The man is astonished, but hands it back to him.


    "Make no mistake, I can give you this and more, but it only dawned on me, where would you exchange it for silver, lest that you''d be killed for it"


    The man shook, his little mind hadn''t thought that far.


    This time, Ezra handed him two fistfuls of silver coins.


    The man''s pocketsy heavy after stuffing them all in.


    "Now, you will head to the Traxford. When you get there, tell any beggar that you''re in search of ''silence''


    The man nods. "Thereafter, you will be sent to a man. Tell him you''re an Emissary of one of the Three, and that youe bearing a message"


    "Your message is simple. This vige of yours is rtively unknown, yes?"


    The man nods. "And if I must guess, there must be simr viges nearby? How many?"


    After counting his fingers, the man replies, "Five"


    "Good. Hmm, simply tell him to report to his head, and for the head to report to me¡­yes, yes, that will do"


    "I will make sure it is done!"


    Ezra nodded, "Get the cart ready" and nudged Theron.


    Quickly, the man prepared the cart, cing nkets on the bare wood and strapped a horse to it.


    At Ezra''s request, the man gave them cloaks, though he offered to buy new ones, Ezra specifically demanded the shabby ones in his possessions.


    Ezra drives the cart to the site of the royal carriage. "Get in" he says, throwing the shabby robe at them, "And put those on"


    "What is that smell?!"


    One look had the siblings express their displeasure.


    "If you can''t wear it, then I have to leave you to arrive at the academy on your own, because you seem keen on telling everyone along the road your nobility status?"


    Quickly, they strapped on the cloak and sat silently within.


    Then, Ezra strapped horses of the royal carriage to the cart.


    With a p of the harnesses, they ride into sunset.


    The siblings soon fell asleep.


    It''s been a hectic night.


    Ezra could only hope they arrived at the academy on time, but it was toote for regrets.


    Determined, both them and the horses rested little, zing for Gauvedra.


    Come dawn of the sixth day, Ezra breathed a sigh of relief.


    "We''re here"

 Chapter 225 The Royal Academy

    To thwart any hiding enemies, Ezra passed through a route sparsely taken.


    Then, he dumped the dead bodies of the henchmen in beast regions after stripping them of clothes-leaving the beasts a hearty meal.


    After that, he hired an experiencedmoner to coach the cart under the supervision of the siblings, which allowed him time to rest.


    The silver lining was that even though they travelled close to beast regions, they didn''t confront any. Heck, they rarely saw them, and when they did, the cart passed them without a hitch.


    Then, the shabby cloaks and old cart served their purpose, turning away the gazes of the adventurers they met along the way.


    "We''re here"


    Even so, they had missed the entry exams by three days.


    Ezra was unbothered.


    ''They''ll have to make exceptions for a prince''


    Thanks to the hired help, he was well rested, and so were the siblings.


    Paying the entrance fee, Ezra rode into Guavedra, the city of narrow thrills.


    It was built in square form, almost triple Kingmere''s size, having but a single entrance with palisades encircling it, atop of which were Archer towers to protect from iing threats.


    Ezra rode in with droves walking beside him.


    The interior saw the sibling gasp in amazement.


    A tower stood at the other end of the city.


    One not as tall as the skyscraper, but eye catching nheless.


    Ezra recognized it.


    ''Mage Tower''


    The building was built with a mixture of grey and white stones to give a unique feel.


    Quickly lodging the cart, they embark into the city''s inner.


    From a nce, the city was bustling as people moved-both in carriages and on foot.


    Some knights, other mages, and even shifters were here.


    Stores lined up the streets as some stood at the entrance to sell goods to neers.


    Ezra declined buying anything and discouraged the siblings from doing so. He figured he''d find better things within.


    "Wait. What about the other guy?" asked Ashton.


    "What guy?" asked Johan.


    "That scrawny coach. I haven''t seen him"


    The siblings also muttered, they hadn''t taken notice before, but¡­they hadn''t seen him this morning either!


    Ezra waved "Calm down. Since we were close to Guavedra his services weren''t needed anymore, so I sent him off yesternight"


    "Why didn''t you tell us before?"


    "It wasn''t something to concern yourself about" Ezra shrugged. "Now, let''s get moving"


    They took nces and followed him.


    Only, Theron couldn''t help feeling Ezra hadn''t told them everything.


    Meanwhile, Ezra reminisced about what really happened.


    Once he was well rested, he waited till night. Once the siblings were asleep, he quietly took care of the coach.


    ''I can''t take such risks''


    The coach knew the routes they took, and saw their peculiar characters, not to mention the conspicuousness of their clothes.


    In the first ce, the reason he chose the man was because he was easily disposable.


    Like so, they slithered through the crowd in their smelly cloaks, they had gotten used to the smell over the past days.


    Others hadn''t, so they parted ways for such ''filthy'' people, making things even easier.


    Ezra went into a small clothes shop and bought ck cloaks for them.


    While not of top tier quality, it was good enough.


    He then paid for hotel lodging for all siblings.


    "Clean up and eat. We leave in an hour"


    They nod, delight decorating their expressions, the girls especially so.


    An hour and halfter, they exit the hotel, now in ck cloaks.


    "You seem to be keen on wasting time" Ezra scolded.


    The girls could not refute.


    The boys were ready within thirty minutes, the girls used extra thirty minutes.


    Ezra exhaled "Whatever"


    They didn''t have time for such.


    Raising his hand, Theron hails a carriage.


    "To where?"


    "The royal academy"


    Paying the fees, they arrive at the destination in ten minutes.


    "We''ve arrived"


    Getting off, a metal gate greets them, on which was a golden crest depicting a white sword.


    Lined in front of it were four guards in blue uniforms.


    Theron was stunned "What? You collected so much for this?"


    He''d been scammed.


    The coach simply pped his harnesses and rode away, ignoring Theron.


    "Forget it, let''s go in"


    Looking above the gate, Ezra saw only empty space.


    When he tried to peer through, his vision suddenly began warping.


    ''What is¡­''


    His mind wandered when a voice called out.


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you"


    It was one of the guards.


    "And why''s that?"


    The man, fit in blue with auburn hair smiled, "You might go insane"


    Ezra blinked multiple times. "I see¡­Illusion magic?"


    The man was surprised, before nodding. "Rightly so"


    "Might I ask for your name and purpose?" said the man.


    "I''ll have to ask for yours first then"


    The man popped a vein, a smile still stered to his face.


    Exhaling, he speaks, "Sir Arron. Captain of the royal academy''s security"


    Ezra threw his cloak back. "A pleasure. Ezra Miller, fourth prince of the Empire"


    The man stiffened for a sec. "Do you have an item to solidify your ims?"


    Ezra threw him a crest.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "That is the crest of the royal family, I believe it to be sufficient"


    Touching the crest all over, the man coughed.


    ''It''s real!''


    Then he looked beyond Ezra. "What of the rest?"


    They pull back their cloaks.


    "They are my vassals"


    Arron quietens.


    "Take off the cloaks, we have no need for them anymore" Ezra instructs. Putting his cloak into a space ring.


    Having done that, Ezra looks to Arron. "Well, sir Arron, mind opening the gates. I havee to begin to enroll"


    He bowed. "Your highness, I''m deeply sorry, but I have to inform you that the academy no longer epts new entries. Those closed three days ago"


    The siblings seemed agitated.


    Ezra though¡­ "And?"


    "What?"


    "I might be wrong, but surely, you''re not implying that a prince be segregated to the level of peasants, are you?"


    "No, that-


    "The Emperor would love such words"


    A chill went down Arron''s spine.


    "Forgive me for my insolence"


    Ezra reached him. "Insolent indeed. Now, open these gates"


    "But your highness-


    *Pah!*


    A p swerved his face to the right.


    Ezra''s tone came down like chilly winds. "Were you deaf the first time?"


    "I said. To open the gates"


    Arron seemed in a trance, wondering if he was dreaming.


    ''Did I just get pped?!''


    But he wasn''t!


    It was real. The pain in his cheeks told him so.


    His re met that of the child standing in front of him.


    Just as his aura red, a voice called out.


    "Arron!"


    He froze.


    "Open the gates"


    He red at Ezra for an entire minute, a gesture thetter found rather amusing.


    Unable to do much, Arron opens the gate, mouthing a few words as he did.


    "You were lucky this time¡­very lucky"


    "Hmph" Ezra sneered. "If that''s what you believe"


    Ezra smiled ruefully, if he didn''t control his strength, the p could have ended Arron''s life.


    He turns to his vassal. "We go in"


    Like so, the vassals enter as well.


    A bright new space opens to them.


    Large buildings apart from one another. One painted butter yellow, othersplete grey.


    The surrounding was void of people, but Ezra could hear voices from elsewhere.


    Looking up, a mannds ten feet before them.


    "Hello there. I''m here to lead to the head''s office"


    With a nod Ezra goes, "Lead the way"


    As they go, the man exins much about the academy to them.


    For one, where they were was but the actual school, where the learning takes ce and that it was protected from peering eyes by an illusion barrier.


    Within was a training ground, library, alchemyb and much more.


    Dorms for male and female were clearly separated, built in the city.


    Also, the royal academy made up more than half of Guavedra.


    "Then what about-


    The man pped "I''m sorry your highness, but I cannot tell more than this. The rest will be exined once your enrollment has been confirmed"


    They enter the main building-also the biggest one.


    Instead of the bustling atmosphere he was expecting, it was decorum all the way.


    It was so quiet that their steps echoed, making Ezra wonder what the matter was.


    But he kept his thoughts to himself as they walked.


    They arrived in front of a tall brown door located at the end of a white tiled corridor-contrasting the butter cream walls with the academy''s crest carved on it.


    "Come in"


    A voice was heard, its tone pleasant.


    Pushing the door, a hall was revealed, forcing gasps of amazement from the siblings.


    "I must be off now"


    The man slightly bowed and left.


    But their minds weren''t on that matter.


    Unlike other ces, the interior was light brown, with shelves stacked on top one another while filled with books, artifacts and even potions that seem to stretch beyond the ceiling.


    Ezra was taken aback. Squeezing his brows as he stared at the hanging shelves. ''This isn''t quite right''


    The space with the room was beyond what it should allow.


    Some items were stranded in the air, floating, but that could be exined as an application of wind magic.


    ''Could it be¡­?''


    Ezra knew of but one element that could produce such effects.


    Right then, a voice spoke. "It''s space magic"


    Ezra came alert, as did the siblings.


    Looking around, he sees nothing.


    The person then giggles. "Hohoho. I''m up here, little ones"


    They look up to see a woman standing on arge b of something made of wood and metal.


    Garbed in a long cloth of dark purple while her long hair stood a mixture of red and white.


    Her pale and sunken skin exposes her old age.


    "Now" the b lowered itself to the ground. "Which one of you is Ezra?"

 Chapter 226 Difficult Decision

    "Which one of you is Ezra?"


    "I am" Ezra replies.


    She taps off the b andnds in front of Ezra.


    Her gaze pervades him. "Interesting" she mutters. ''I can''t feel anything from him, no, even his presence has been suppressed to an extent''


    Then, her gaze pervades the siblings. "What do we have here? You all are very peculiar"


    "One who can rile up Arron so easily" She encircles them as she speaks, a smile appearing on her face. "I sense mana from you five, at least the level of early advanced rank, it seems we''ll be witnessing the birth of many stars this time around¡­how exciting!"


    Ezra coughs, handing her the admittance letters Bolton gave him.


    "I believe that is sufficient to prove our identities?"


    "Of course," she replies, "Only¡­you might have a bit of a problem"


    "What problem?"


    "Before that, I''d rather not have you standing for so long" she pulled a row of chairs to her then sat.


    "Let''s start like this" she begins, "I assume you saw the building one the way here"


    They nodded.


    "Good. Then I must also presume that you wondered why such a prestigious academy is devoid of students, yes?"


    They nod again.


    "It''s a simple matter. On the Emperor''s order, we''ve were barred from epting new entries for the past five years"


    Ezra nodded; he knew of this.


    "Now, just how many students do you think stand at our gates?"


    "None. I saw no one whening here" Ezra answered matter-of-factly.


    She giggled, "That''s because we already sent them away, we would have done the same for you as well, lest your status"


    "You don''t mean to tell me-


    "It''s exactly so. The academy can only amodate a few more students"


    "This should be Niton''s royal academy, just how many students could you have-


    "More than fifteen thousand"


    Ezra calmed, eyeing the woman.


    "I don''t believe it, how is it that I met none of these students of my way here? And if they''re that many, throwing out just five of them should be no problem"


    She nods, drawing a floating teapot and cup to herp, of which she takes a sip.


    "For why you didn''t see any of them, it''s because they are right here!"


    A snap of her fingers as the shelves move to the side as a wave of voices hit them.


    The siblings were amazed at the masterful use of magic.


    "Take this you b#stard!"


    "Oh yeah? What about this?!"


    "Look, its Valentine Kreel!"


    "Hooo! How gorgeous!"


    Meanwhile, Ezra gaze pervaded the swarm of people akin to ants, each person in different clothes.


    Then, a fingersnapter, the shelves go back to their former positions and the sound recedes.


    "What are they doing?"


    "Taking thest of the entry tests"


    "As for your second question. Truly, it would have not been a problem to rece some of them¡­if not for your father"


    "What of him?"


    "Those unable to arrive on time are barred admittance, regardless of status"


    "What does ''arrive on time'' mean?"


    "Arrival before the start of the entry tests. Which was three days ago"


    "You seem to love wordy"


    "Excuse me?"


    "You just told me that the Emperor gave the verdict. Those letters in your hand, who are they from? The King of Covaria???"


    Sheughed, her forehead creasing. "You seem to have misunderstood"


    Ezra raised a brow.


    "If it were normal times, I could easily rece anyone, but not now" she continues. "Every single child you see outside is either offspring of nobility or something simr"


    "They are all children of powerful people, either that, or suitably talented"


    Ezra was beginning to understand.


    "Now, I previously mentioned a popce of more than fifteen thousand, but they were initially more than thirty thousand applicants"


    The sibling''s eyes widened.


    "Half of them were cut off within the first two tests-and they''re still too much¡­so we''ll have to cut them off even more"


    "Many of them-thousands actually-are at the advanced rank, and we even have a few at the Expert rank"


    "Then, thanks to the five-year ban, majority have grown past the normal age of entry, forcing us to add an age criterion"


    "Which is?"


    "Fifteen to twenty-eight years. And as I''ve been told, you are merely twelve"


    "Even so-


    "Let me finish"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "I''ve told you all this so you understand the real point-if I do admit you, which I clearly can-life here will be incredibly difficult"


    "First, you''d have to pass the entry tests" she stares. "From what I can see, that shouldn''t be a problem-the problemes after"


    "Therge student popce forced us to change our grading systems"


    "How so?"


    "I''m getting to that, and I don''t like being interrupted"


    "Okay"


    "Previously, one to a bit above two thousand was the yearly student popce, four thousand was our former highest. With those, we could concentrate effort and resources on each individual and achieve remarkable results year after year" she exhales. "We can''t do that with ten thousand. It would exhaust the professors, resources, and then, results would be mediocre"


    Ezra gleaned something from that ''So, ten thousand is the nned limit''


    "What do you n to do?"


    "Again, I''m getting to it" she sighed. "At the Entry test, students would be awarded a crest to signify their position. These crests have numbers on them, and the lower the number, the higher the benefits"


    Ezra smiled. "And let me guess¡­you can take these ''crests'' from one another?"


    "Exactly. But you can''t steal them, buy them or hide them. Only through spectated duels can they be won"


    "Housing quality, food quality, resource allocation, monthly allowances and much more, are decided by one''s crest"


    At this point, Ezra burst outughing, "Isn''t that a bit too cruel?"


    "Not at all. Firstly, when challenging, the challenger gets to choose the battlefield, and the duration of battle"


    "Isn''t it supposed to be the other way around?"


    She shook her head. "As the one holding a higher position, one''s skills should be applicable no matter the situation, if your surroundings defeat you, it just means you''re weak"


    She added, "Of course, the details of any duel are sent to the professors for approval"


    Ezra nods, "So, some duel will be unallowed?"


    "Fighting a fire mage underwater for example, when you''re less than ten numbers below him will be unallowed"


    "Hmm?" Ezra caught onto something. "What if the challenger if twenty numbers below him?"


    "It depends. But we''ll most likely allow it" she smiled.


    "Brutal" Ezra muttered. Holding his chin "But certainly effective"


    "Thank you" she says. "Then, just as crest decide benefits, they decide test levels"


    "Rank one to ten for example, will be required to kill a beast two sub-ranks above them every two months. Rank eleven to twenty are required to kill a beast two sub ranks above them every three months, while rank twenty-one to thirty kill the same sort of beast, but every four months. And that''s only part of the requirements"


    "What happens if a requirement is unfulfilled?"


    "Simple, your benefits are reduced. A crest is given to signify one''s worth, and you must keep proving your worth to keep it. That''s why it''s called a worth crest" she locks gazes with Ezra. "So? Will you still be joining?"


    "Hoo¡­" Ezra was amazed, his hands sped. His mind was spinning.


    No, he didn''t think it was hard. He thought it was too easy.


    ''There''s no way another master exists at my age'' he confirmed, then he thought, ''Except the person had mana stones''


    The probability of another having a mana stone was abysmal, the probability that that person would be a student of this academy was even more abysmal, Ezra didn''t even consider it.


    ''Still though'' Ezra was having second thoughts. ''Is there no other way?''


    At master rank, the number one crest was confirmed.


    But¡­ ''That''s too much attention''


    He knew not the intentions of his enemies, those known or hidden.


    To show off like this would bring no real good.


    He could control his strength to just enough to get first ce. But that would expose him as an Expert.


    An Expert at twelve years. He''d wouldn''t be surprised if thwarting assassinations became a routine, when, even before revealing himself, a master hade to take his head.


    The benefits? Pfft.


    What could they give Ezra that amounted to a single mana stone? Simple, nothing!


    Housing? He could buy a hotel and renovate it. Food? That he could buy anywhere. Money? Don''t even mention it.


    He realized. ''This academy has little to benefit me''


    If he had to pinpoint the main benefit, it would be information.


    The books in the academy were regrly updated-those in the castle were not-holding stocks of indispensable knowledge.


    Then, he had the insights of the best professors to learn from.


    Considering that information was brought him mana stones¡­ ''Maybe the benefit is not so little?''


    ''But I don''t need to stand out to learn''


    It hit him. ''Should I just pretend to be weak?''


    That seemed viable¡­Ezra shook his head.


    ''If nothing else, my status won''t allow me to be''


    His status as the fourth prince. No matter what he did, was bound to be something people used to judge his actions.


    Thinking further, acting weak would cost him a lot in the long run.


    For one, he would lose the Emperor''s favour.


    Then, if he was to go through with the n of bing the Emperor, an outstanding or at least extraordinary reputation was needed.


    A reputation that would represent him in his absence.


    Acting weak didn''t cut it. Especially considering that he was hailed the genius of a millennium.


    Most had probably forgotten it by now, but once news of his activities spread, it was bound to be dug up.


    Ezra scratched his head, frustrated. ''I guess everything has its disadvantages''


    He sighed.

 Chapter 227 Special Case

    ''What to do? What to do?''


    After two minutes of thinking, Ezra speaks.


    "With what I''ve heard. I do not feel like joining anymore"


    The woman simply smiled as if expecting it.


    "But¡­it would be a lie to say that I do not wish to gain from what you have to offer"


    She left her tea cup afloat. "So, you expect to get student privileges without being a student?"


    "Hmm, when you put it like that¡­no, not really"


    She raised a brow. "Then what do you want?"


    "I want the privileges of a visiting schr"


    She blinked. "Where did you learn of that?"


    "From a ce I''d rather not say" he replied. Inwardly, ''I should have Fredrick thank Sebastianter''


    The information agency was already showing its worth.


    "Hmm¡­" The woman tapped her cheek in contemtion.


    "What''s a schr? And why is it different from a student?"


    Rather Ezra, it was Ashton.


    She paid his interruption no mind-as she wasn''t talking when he spoke-and answered with a smile.


    "Like the name says. They are knowledge people, those high up in their fields of study that the academy permits to study its archives. And at the end, the schr leaves behind insights of his as well. A simple exchange" she continues. "For them, we grant, you could say partial student privileges. All they are permitted is knowledge. No crest, neither any of the benefits thate with it¡­though at that stage, you won''t be needing it"


    Ashton nods as the woman looks at Ezra, "Hmm, troublesome¡­this has never been done before"


    "That doesn''t stop anyone from doing anything. At least the academy didn''t exist at a time"


    "Point taken" she nods. "But what knowledge could you possibly give us?"


    "None," he says. "But if I''m given the permit of a schr. I''ll be able to study here without bing a student. Without a crest the students can''t challenge me and as for housing and my food? The academy can give it elsewhere. I''ll take care of myself"


    "You''re¡­really strange"


    "Thank you"


    "I never said I''d allow it"


    "I don''t see you as someone petty, are you?"


    "You do realize that while the academy can protect the students. It won''t protect you from the outside world, yes?"


    Ezra nodded, snickering inwardly. ''Might as well be protecting the students from me''


    "Fine, I allow it" she points behind him. "What about the others?"


    "Admit them. They''ll do just fine"


    "They meet the age requirements?"


    "Check for yourself" he stands. "Since my work here is done, I have to get busy getting myself a new abode"


    As he reached for the door, she spoke again. "Onest thing, whether in the academy or not, I hope you know that your life is at risk?"


    "If I didn''t know that, I wouldn''t havee here"


    "You''re rather brave for your age or is it foolhardiness that precedes you?"


    Ezra shrugged.


    She exhales. "The academy will provide you a residence, it does so for schrs. Whether it''s to your liking is not is not of our concern, apart from that...well, you''ll find out once you''ve settled down"


    Ezra nodded, "When will the residence be ready?"


    "Tomorrow"


    "That quick?"


    "Yes" she nods. "The new academic session begins tomorrow"


    "Even better. Then, I''ll just take a walk"


    "Then" She stretched her tone. "While I approved the schr privileges, certain things are restricted since you''re not an actual schr"


    Ezra didn''t reply.


    "Your capacity to sift through archives is limited. As for how limited, you will be informed at ater time"


    Ezra gave no response.


    As he ced his hand of th e knob. He turned around. "Before I forget, you have yet to give a name?"


    "Of course," she lightly pped. "Elisa Kreel. Head of the Royal Academy"


    "Kreel?" that caught his attention. "As in Avadin Kreel?"


    "Oh? You even know my father. Wonderful"


    Ezra was amazed. He hadn''t known the man''s family.


    Also, if his daughter was this old, how old was he then?


    "How is he?" Ezra implored.


    Elisa''s smile turned mncholic and her excited spirit seemed subdued. "He''s¡­. resting"


    "Oh. Okay" Ezra wondered, ''Did something happen?''


    But chose not to say anything.


    He looks to the siblings, "You must rank in the top hundred"


    They nod. Recalling his words from before.


    ''Remember, we keep low. Except from me, everyone else should think you''re at intermediate rank''


    So, they constrained themselves.


    Of course, Elisa was still able to figure that they''d reached advanced rank.


    It''s also for this reason that Ezra said to rank in top hundred and not thirty.


    With that, Ezra exists.


    Well, he was about to, when he suddenly turned around.


    "What else is it?"


    "I need to talk to the Emperor. I know must have some form ofmunication"


    "Is it urgent? My artifact''s not something to be used lightly"


    Ezra rolled his eyes. "With such mour, one would think it''s an Epic artifact¡­is it?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Surely you jest, I have no such thing"


    "Where is it then?"


    Shaking her head, she pulls a floating object towards him. "Here"


    Reaching him, Ezra sucked it into his space ring. "Thank you"


    Then he exits.


    -------------------


    Outside the academy minutester, Ezra went to his lodgings and sat in contemtion.


    ''Is this the right move?'' he thought. ''Am I doing it right?''


    ''They''re in the academy and I''m not. I won''t be able to keep close watch on what they say-what if they reveal details if the incident?''


    Fear crept into his heart. ''Should I join the academy?!''


    He calmed, forcing down the emotion.


    ''No, even as a student, I''d can''t watch over them all the time¡­Besides, I brought them here to expose them to the world¡­and I can''t do that and keep watch over them at the same time¡­sigh¡­''


    ''Is this how mom felt when I said I''d be leaving?'' he wondered, scratching his head.


    ''Whatever, let''s begin the academic session. I''ll deal with things as theye''


    With so clear answering up any time soon, Ezra threw the matter at the back of his mind.


    A silver circr object with runes carved in gold appeared in his hands.


    Themunication artifact Elisa gave him.


    ''Now, was it like this?''


    He infuses mana into it. It brightens up and the cap pops.


    ¡ª------------


    At Kingsmere, the Emperor receives the signal, and heads into the secret quarter where the goldenmunication artifacty.


    Having identified the signal sender, the Emperor took it as nothing serious and ordered Bolton to keep at his work.


    The contraption spun, lighting up the ce to give a fantastic view.


    ''What does she want to talk about?''


    It was impossible not to be curious, they weren''t close, and they hadn''t spoken in years.


    The moment the contraption settled and a face was revealed¡­"Hmm?"


    The Emperor was confused.


    ¡ª----------


    The artifact had lit up, but nothing happened. Making Ezra wonder if it wasn''t working.


    On point¡­"Hmm?


    An exmation was heard.


    Ezra froze, wondering if he heard wrong.


    "Ezra? Is that you?"


    The voice came again, clearer. It was a voice unmistakable.


    "Your Maje-I mean, Father. It is"


    Silence reigned for a few seconds before the Emperor continued. "Why are you the one holding the artifact?


    "I borrowed it from Mrs. Elisa. As I have urgent news to report"


    The Emperor quietened, rubbing his beard. "Speak"


    Before talking to the Emperor, Ezra had wondered what tone would be best to convey the news.


    Maybe the tone of a frightened child. But considering the Emperor''s personality-specifically his hate for the weak-it had the highest possiblity to backfire, therefore the worst n.


    Instead, he used a tone neither imposing nor soft.


    Over the course of an hour, Ezra told of the failed assassination attempt, spinning his narrative into the story as he did.


    Adding how they ran and dumped the bloodied carriage, narrowly escaping death each time.


    "Hoo..." the Emperor was astonished. "You have done well informing me of this. Have you told this to anyone else?"


    "No. Nobody"


    The Emperor nodded-a gesture Ezra couldn''t see.


    ''An assassination¡­how audacious!''


    He was furious, his mind working like a clock.


    The departure of any member of royalty was a close guarded secret, even from some of the guards.


    They fact they could tried to assassinate him meant they knew his identity and destination.


    Which would not be possible unless¡­''The traitor is someone in this castle!''


    He clenched his fists, and then released them.


    "I hope you''ve learnt from this. While Expert rank is definitely remarkable for your age. It meant little on the face of a stronger opponent, you were almost killed"


    "But I survived"


    "Yes" says the Emperor. "Take pride. Not many live to tell of such encounters"


    He continues. "Such is the world, son. Full of miscreants and mediocres.


    The majority run from the truth of what they''ve be. Do not be like them"


    "Yes Father"


    "As for this matter. I will personally see to the bottom of it"


    "Yes Father"


    "As you have been blessed with the abundance of royal status, so shall you be cursed with it. Your actions will be watched and then judged" he pauses. "But as you''ve seen, a name is but a word, it could not protect you from the assassins-so do not ce your faith on a word. Stay steadfast on your training and you will surely grow in strength"


    "Remember who''s child you are. Do not sully the royal name"


    "Yes Father"


    "Good. Take care"


    The Emperor cuts the connection, ending the conversation.


    He sits still for a minute, many thoughts moving about his head before walking out of the secret quarter.

 Chapter 228 First Day

    After the talk with the Emperor, Ezra went to bed.


    He was about to, when a dresser came to take his measurements.


    Apparently, Elisa determined that he''d wear a cloth issued by the academy. Ezra had no qualms with it.


    Only then did he sleep.


    Ezra woke, cleaned and went into meditation.


    His closeness to deathst time had him more cautious, and his appetite for risk had waned considerably.


    He hadn''t gotten used to his explosive strength and enormous mana reserves yet.


    His mana pool had expanded so much the runes on his body now worked passively.


    Reminiscing, he chuckles. ''I thought I kept it well hidden, but father still found out I was Expert rank huh''


    After an hour of meditation, he walks to his door, where he meets a girl in a purple and ck uniform a bit taller than him standing at the door.


    "Yes?"


    Her expression was one of discontent. And the presence she emanated was of Expert rank. "The director asked me to deliver this to you"


    She hands him folded clothes and leaves.


    ''Already? She sure is resourceful'' he thought, unfolding the cloth.


    Full ck it was, embroidered with gold fabric to make for a stylish yet elegant look.


    ''She sure outdid herself with this one'' he thought, but he wasn''tining.


    A prince was to look good, you know.


    Thankfully, he had the shoes to match.


    Ab in his hair a few times had it rising to the sky, and a look or two in the mirror had him got to go.


    With but rings in his finger and the element sealing bracelet embedded in his arms, Ezra takes a carriage to the academy.


    While walking, he couldn''t help but feel that the city felt bigger somehow-or was it wider?


    The distance between the academy and his lodging seemed to have increased-or was there something wrong with his senses?


    Eventually they reached the academy.


    Unlike before, he found the front gate filled with many passing through.


    Unlike him, they wore uniforms of red and blue, their faces filled with so much enthusiasm Ezra wondered if something was wrong.


    The gates were opened to him without any drama while those around him had stared and whispered.


    He couldn''t be bothered since he didn''t feel any hostility. More importantly, the illusion barrier was nowhere to be found, the buildings within were visible above the gate.


    Only then did he realize how spacious it all was.


    It was crowded with students sitting by the fountains and standing on the stone-tiled grounds.


    Looking around a bit, he sees Theron Ashton and Johan at a far corner, talking to some unknown faces.


    At that moment, space seems to warp, messing with Ezra''s senses, and then the Director appears.


    He rued a headache in those short minutes. Only to look around in surprise, others were unaffected.


    Without dy, the academy head began her speech.


    "Good morning everyone. What a great day to start your academic adventures isn''t it?"


    "I wee all of you to Path academy-the best academy. If you''re here it means you''ve proven yourself worthy" she pauses. "BUT. That was only a teaspoon of the hardships you''ll to go through throughout your stay here"


    The student burst into murmurs.


    Elisa raises her palm and decorum is restored. "If you have problems with that, I suggest you leave right now. We have no need for weaklings. Let me tell you now, you will be battling beasts without supervision by the end of this semester"


    Murmurs burst once again.


    "Yes. If you''re ill prepared, you will surely die. And be assured, your parents had assigned your lives to us the moments you came here"


    "If you''re lucky enough to survive, you are liable to be expelled pending your failure to reach the expected targets"


    "Listen and listen well. We have ten thousand students here, but the academy only needs an exceedingly remarkable five hundred"


    Gulps resound all around.


    "So, take a very good look around you and observe yourpetition"


    "Your titles are worthless here and your des meaningless. Only with true strength will you triumph"


    "At other times I might have been nicer, but with the mismatch we have this year. If you''re not ready to either grow strong or die trying, you''re not going to survive. It''s not a prediction-it''s a guarantee. Displeased? Simply step out the gates, and we make sure you arrive at your home untouched"


    She looks over at the students¡­"No one? Seems you''ve all made up your mind" she sighed. "Now, since we''re not all cruel, we won''t throw you to beasts early on. Those with either inferior manuals or none at all will be given new, better ones. Those with manuals on par will begin polishing their skills"


    She huffed. "That is all. Your professors will brief you on the details"


    A warpter, she disappears.


    ''Well, that was eventful'' thought Ezra.


    Three people-obviously adults-came out to the crowd.


    One was a slim man, lightplexion with Auburn clothes to match his Aurburn hair with ''smart teacher'' sses, the other man was straight up buff, darkplexion with brown eyes in an armless ck coat and¡­well, it had the shortest sleeves Ezra had ever seen.


    Heck, if you could even call it sleeves-it was better described as armless.


    His lower body was covered in long ck trousers.


    The man had zero hair, his head proudly shining while on his jawy a long ck beard. Obviously wellbed.


    And the third was a petite female, she couldn''t be taller than Ezra by more than five inches. Her hair long, rich yellow in colour and her eyes light green.


    Her clothes were long. A mix of quality purple and ck fabric. Last but not least, light blue almost transparent gloves.


    "Hello student''s" Even her tone was enchanting.


    Ezra was unimpressed, his mom was far more beautiful.


    He found himself nodding at such thoughts.<novelnext></novelnext>


    He measured their power levels. It came as expected.


    ''All three are masters''


    This was Niton''s best academy, it was expected.


    That moment¡­"Eh?" "Huh?" "Hmm?"


    All three made weird sounds, staring intensely into the crowd.


    Ezra held his breath. ''I almost got caught!''


    He forcefully brought his pounding heart to calm, looking around like any other person until the three stopped looking a minuteter.


    He ced his hands on his chest. ''I still have a lot to learn''


    The runes on his body-including the concealment runes-evolved as did his body during his breakthrough to master rank.


    That was why he was able to avoid being spotted by the Emperor and now, by the professors.


    "Ahem"


    The woman coughed to call back attention.


    "As I''ve said. Wee to Path academy. We are the heads of the three faculties"


    "Faculty of Knights, Sir Morn Drew" She points to the bald man, who epts the gesture with a slight nod.


    ''Morn Drew? What kind of name-who named him?'' wondered Ashton.


    "Faculty for Shifters, Sir Milos Lambert" she points to the man with Aurburn hair.


    "And of course, your''s truly. The head of the Faculty of Mages. Montera Zatchet" she points to herself and bows.


    The students burst out pping, a few whistling in appreciation, which Montera epts in strides.


    Then, she suddenly turns serious.


    "Line in front of the professor ording to your preference"


    ''That''s my cue'' thought Ezra. Getting out of line and walking away.


    He wasn''t a student of the school.


    The students rushed to pick a professor.


    He could see the wistful eyes of some boys as they rushed to line up in front of Montera and couldn''t help but shake his head.


    ''When you do things without thinking¡­it almost never ends well'' he sighed.


    But since it was none of his business, why interfere? Not like they were going to listen to him anyway.


    From the little he gleaned about them. Montera was not the harmless goody-to-shoes she pretended to be.


    ''Goodluck to them'' he thought, walking away.


    Getting out of the crowd, he walks to the library.


    Right then, "Young man. Where are you going?"


    A deep tone called to him.


    ''Seriously?'' he was irritated. ''Why can they not notice me?''


    Exining himself was just a chore he wasn''t willing to do on this day.


    Turning around, he sees the speaker. The bald dude.


    "The library" Ezra replied.


    "What for?"


    "I''m not a student here"


    "And you were allowed in?"


    "Ask the director for the details. I''m off" he turned without a thought and walked off.


    "Excuse me? Young man I''m talking to you"


    "Young mane back here"


    Unbothered by the voice calling his attention, with his hands in his pockets, Ezra walked out of sight.


    The buzzing crowd had silenced,municating with nces as many wondered just what person could be so audacious.


    Morn stopped yelling after the third call. Veins popping all over.


    ''That child!''


    He''d dealt with many of such types. But none of them was ever this tant.


    ''To be ridiculed on the first day¡­that''s a new record'' Montera covered her mouth to close shut the eruptingughter.


    He''d been made a fool before he could cement an image in the minds of the new kids¡­''I''m gonna kill him!'' he thought.


    He Looks at the students in front of him with a face unfazed.


    What decided the effect of mockery was the receiver''s reaction.


    Taking it in strides like a pro, the effects won''t be as much.


    But his ego was already wounded. The kid needed to be taught a lesson.


    His gaze was cold.


    Theron and the rest didn''t know whether tough or cry.


    ''The assassination and now this¡­it seems he''s getting better at attracting trouble'' thought Theron, making funny looks.


    If nothing else, it seemed this semester was going to be eventful.


    And it just started with a bang!

 Chapter 229 Black Jaws Progress

    From the day Fredrick advanced to grandmaster, ck Jaws developed in quantum leaps.


    The prestige and might grandmasters represent is no joke.


    While most ''thought'' they understood this-they actually didn''t understand-Fredrick included.


    That word ''grandmaster'' pped into his name literally changed the game.


    If before, they had to exert a lot of effort to do something-now it happened without much effort.


    Within the first week of attaining the grandmaster title, ck Jaws explosively expanded not much in territory as they did in influence.


    For one the Emperor''s n to attack them was squashed.


    Even if he had justification-it took a lot to kill a grandmaster.


    Thend of thest grandmaster battle was burnt, scorched and now barren of new nts.


    Not to mention the resistance he''d face.


    Except for Getrahan and one more, he couldn''t guarantee the loyalty of the rest.


    The attack on Avi worked because they had something to gain.


    Had the presence of mana stones been found out. It would''ve devolved into all out ughter between Lexon''s grandmasters-and maybe more!


    The results of such a battle were unfathomable. It wasn''t beyond spection that the continent could be cut in half.


    Thankfully that didn''t happen.


    The damage surroundings suffer from grandmaster battles is inestimable.


    With Fredrick living Traxford now-because he''d moved from Kingsmere to give the Emperor his space.


    The least case scenario would be to have half of Kingsmere and the whole of Traxford destroyed.


    Then, the war just ended, hundreds of thousands were still mourning their dead.


    This would be adding salt to a heavy wound and many things would go awry.


    Deep wound because it was the Emperor that prolonged the stupid war in the first ce and then-it was ck Jaws who came out to help the devasted, the helpless and the oppressed!


    Oh! And let''s not forget the ''buffer zone'' they still have.


    Honestly, they were just the worst people to have as enemies right now.


    The Emperor didn''t need insurmountable odds at the moment.


    Last but not least, the ck Jaws are part of the royal faction-which seemed to be the only silver lining of the situation.


    They wanted anything- they talked to the crown.


    In this way the Emperor was able to put a leash on them, although a weak one.


    His guts told that ck Jaws-the ce that created a grandmaster in less than ten years after being founded-was serious trouble.


    And trouble turned into problems sooner orter.


    Problems left unsolved would only fester-bing bigger problems!


    But what could he do? It was like the heavens created them to be tribtions for him.


    Andrew massaged his aching head.


    For a grandmaster to have headaches-it sounded like a funny joke, yet here he was.


    Putting the case of ck Jaws aside forter, he dives into the next big thing.


    The nned assassination of his youngest!


    That he could solve fast-and he was going to.


    His men were already on the move, some tracing the carriage, the route Ezra passed while others looked into the movements of his wives.


    Everyone was a suspect. Everyone who had something to gain.


    --------------


    As Fredrick''s grandmaster title cemented, he was presented with gifts beyond gifts, offers from multiple ces.


    ns and guilds that would have shun him in the past came begging for a chance toe and join him.


    Some as subsidiary guilds, others as partners.


    Being too greedy was bad. Moderation was key.


    First things first, he sifted through who the things he needed, he picked thirty from every category. Next, he had ck silence begin routine checks on every one of these groups.


    He gave preference to veterinary high rank mercenaries-those of masters and a few Experts-amounting to eight.


    He appointed them as the training chiefs-taking a lot of load off Kron''s and Cabrera''s shoulders.


    With a healthy wage pay and free rein in the way of training-which was to avoid extreme things-their enthusiasm jumped through the roof.


    With Sebastian done, he sieved out thoseing to take a bite out of what they thought to be their big piece of pie.


    For others¡­ ''What are their interests? And are they in line with ours?''


    This didn''te from him, but from the team of merchants they brought together with Halobren as head.


    Now, few of those groups remain.


    The next sieve was qualification. Record of missed missions, failures and sesses.


    Then, they do routine checks on members individually. Suspicious individuals are identified, the group is told to rid themselves of that person to be epted.


    Lastly, they go through specialized tests and are then epted.


    A tedious process, but one that ck Jaws oversubscribed-as it will be for years toe.


    Then, many of the previous members were thrown out.


    With Fredrick''s fame having people crawl to his call, slum dwellers who weren''t yielding enough were dismissed.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Many were taken from the division of adventurers and sent to learn a profession from those acquiesced.


    Fredrick got to realize what the real definition of efficiency was.


    Rather than the previous strategy, to run their shops, they now only ept those who have at least a year and half of experience in it.


    Their expectations were shattered once more and it was jaw dropping to see just how many skilled peopley in remote ces.


    Things were setting into ce faster than they''d thought possible.


    Meaning changes urred rapidly.


    They had to restructure the chain of hierarchy and add new ones.


    Now, you had an overall head of the shops with a particr city. Those shops-categorized by their products-had representatives who report to this head thrice a month-the first, the third and the fifth weekends to report on proceedings and hand him ledgers of all transactions at the end of the month.


    Of every ledger, a copy is made and saved somewhere beyond the knowledge of those below.


    Those other, the overall head then sends to the ck Jaws'' elder merchants or the council of Goldmasters to evaluate,pare and review.


    To be clear, there are two councils. One for the old, another for the youth.


    The old consisted with the likes of Halobren, two trusted friends of his, and other recruited merchants.


    One was an old legend they found thanks to Ezra''s memories.


    They were five.


    The other consisted of Nathan, Carlos Halobren, William-the miser-and two others, also five.


    Note, before the ledger reaches either of the two councils it passes through lower merchant circles-because the higher circles hate dealing with numbers for some reason (?)


    Lower merchant circles were created to deal with ''specified'' sectors of the business.


    Basically, the higher councils dealt with the overall situation while the lower one''s battled with the details.


    So, the ledgers went to the council of bookkeepers. Every ledger went through the eyes of all five members before it was put away.


    Of course, the higher ones also go into detail-just not as much.


    You had a council for the carriage business, another for the wine, another for rearing the beasts, another for the artifacts that process food, another for one that harvests crops, another for acquiring beast regions, another for dealing with taverns dpidation, another for herb gathering, another for potion concoction and so much more.


    It was thanks to peak quality potions, herbs, and of course liquor, that any of the councils were still functioning.


    Especially top levels, Kron, Cabrera and Fredrick who overlooked the process.


    They discovered toote thergest disadvantage of starting big.


    The workload was overwhelming!


    All three learnt so much jargon that they would have never known before now.


    It waszy Cabrera''s idea to form lower councils-what a superb idea that was!


    Since they were thergest in the market-in all markets, they attracted tons of talent¡­thankfully.


    Then, one person knows someone who''s good at something that just happened to cause problems so they bring him in.


    That someone brings his team ores solo.


    Dayster, there''s another problem in a different type of area entirely, and that new someone knows someone who knows someone that might be able to help.


    That''s how most lower councils formed.


    Efficiency skyrocketed.


    ck Jaws has money. Most of these lower council members aremoners-a few silver would be enough.


    Thirty silver per week and they. Are. Set!


    Thirty silver!


    Thirty silver more than to cover the week''s expenses.


    Most councils have five members. ck Jaws has a bit over three hundred lower councils and counting.


    This number umted over the years of war.


    So, they pay thirty silver each to at least fifteen thousand people every week.


    That''s 5,000 gold every week!


    A measly three thousand, of course, but the public doesn''t know that, well they think they do, but they don''t.


    Even if they did, it''s easy to see why ck Jaws was so reputed even before Fredrick became a grandmaster.


    After all, ck Jaws could have a far lower price for their services and they would have got no chance but to yield.


    Remember, this is just for the lower council members.


    Higher council members get ten times that.


    When you add in the weekly wages of the guild members-bothbat and production department-which are more than sixty thousand and are never paid less than forty silver. Not to mention the shop workers and the carriage coaches, the ship builders, the sailors and so many more¡­you''ve got mind blowing expenses.


    But then, when you rewind and realize that they have more than sixty thousand people that kill, buy or sell beasts for them EVERYDAY, both onnd AND on sea. That they have fifteen thousand people that wake up to solve their business problems for them EVERYDAY¡­you''ve got nuclear ie!


    It''s insane, no, not the amount, but the rate it keeps growing.


    At the very least, like the smallest spection, they''d be earning ten thousand tinum everyday.


    Now, Fredrick''s was rich.


    From this perspective, it''s easy to see why the Emperor is fearful of them.


    Subsequently why Ezra trained like hell just thinking of what kind of enemies they''d be if they ever turned their backs on him.


    He saw a chance and took it, because of that, he''s a Master at twelve. It couldn''t get better than that.


    For ck Jaws though. At the rate it''s going they''d be Transcendents of the economy, rivalling, if not overpowering the great nobles AND the royal family within a century!

 Chapter 230 Black Jaws Progress (2)

    The ledgers to settle every day were so much that the bookkeeping council had sub councils-fifty of them!


    These were the actual scribers. The bookkeeping council only reviewed the


    existing ledgers.


    All this to make sure that the figures were set straight.


    With it, Fredrick was able to calcte the precise amount of ie they earned, and remainder-it increased every day!


    That came about¡­''A hundred thousand tinum''


    The normal amount was anywhere between a hundred and fifteen thousand to two hundred and twenty five tinum-which was the record highest.


    But that aside, a hundred thousand tinum per day! Just how?!


    They''d been splurging on investments for the past seven years, now they were collecting their returns.


    But the best thing about ie generating items was-they never stop producing ie!


    A shop bought and remodelled for seventeen thousand gold would not stop producing money even after that seventeen thousand gold had been earned back.


    No, it kept pumping out money.


    This was where the term infinite returns was derived.


    Another thing. ck Jaws was still tax exempted for the next three years!


    Using the opportunity, Fredrick dedicated half of their everyday ie to paying off the loan''s interest-which was one tenth the loan amount-and then getting rid of the loan.


    So by the end of a thousand fifty days, three years to be exact, they''d have gotten rid of loan interest.


    No¡­Fredrick thought, doing a bit of math, a smile came upon him.


    ''We should be able to pay this off before mid next year''


    But by the end of his calctions, he was speechless.


    ''Hoo¡­we''re making a lot of money¡­but to think we''d be able to pay it off by this year''s end''


    He nodded in tion.


    Of course, for a guild of ck Jaws size, cutting off half of the profits affected them significantly.


    In any case, anyone who wants to see his goal through has to be ready to sacrifice.


    After making sure the weekly pay of all lower council members and ves were ready, the rest was reinvested into the guild.


    The guild members were promptly informed that they wouldn''t be receiving any pay for the next three months, which had them holler, but they quietened when they were told the reason.


    Thankfully, with ck Jaws branching in almost every business sector, there was no question on where to eat, where to fix armour, where to buy clothes, and soon enough-where to send their kids!


    That''s right, with Ezra''s instructions Fredrick had begun talks with the royal family on building Niton''s third academy!


    It was a project set to begin as soon as the skyscraper was opened.


    The Skyscraper was finished, but is kept closed, covered at all sides with long ck sheets.


    He could open it today, but wait, who would head it? Who would guard it? Who would maintain it?


    All these were things he was finding answers to. Once the answers are found, the Skyscraper would officially open.


    At the same time, he was working out details of the academy''s construction.


    They hadnd, capital was in ce, all that remained was approval from the royal family.


    Of course, Fredrick was sure they''d get it. Ezra provided justification-Niton had only two academy''s, those weren''t nearly enough for the massive youth popce.


    More importantly, there was going to be directed towardsmoners since they were the party unprivileged to such ess.


    ns were being made, blueprints being drawn and connections being made to make sure the approval came through.


    Then, most of ck Jaws elders-which were members of the higher councils including Cabrera and Kron-stayed out in the guild house.


    It should be obvious from the scale of progress. ck Jaws had a lot of enemies.


    Also, the scale of progress projected to the outside world was far below the real thing.


    How so? With Sebastian at the helm, ck Silence bought about a quarter of theirnds and businesses posing as normal ones.


    Simply put, the owners knew ck Jaws had bought it, but no one else did.


    Their sellers signed a soul contract-so there wasn''t any doubt that anybody would be finding out soon.


    This was clearly illegal, but who cared?!


    The money ck Jaws bought these ces was beyond worth it.


    The ledgers of their ces were separately recorded by ck Silence members, and kept at a ce different from normal shops.


    And unlike normal shops, these ones aren''t renovated, because that would be alerting others to said shop.


    Then, the ie from these were kept separately, dubbed the backup reserve. And only Fredrick and Sebastian knew of it.


    Even more interesting was that they never revealed their identity to the sellers.


    So in case of anything, they''d clean everything up, and more importantly, they sellers won''t be able to drop any names.


    About thirty five of such shops had been found out.


    You know what happened next? The owners-sellers-were taken to cells for crimes against the royal family and then tortured for the name of the buyer.


    That shop would then be seized by the royal family.


    At this point, ck Jaws would jump in at this point and then purchase it back from them, and this time-legally!


    If it so happened that someone else bid for it, and the royal family sought to favour him, ck Jaws simply changed tactics, hiring thieves who scourged the said shop for all its worth.


    No matter what, if they couldn''t recoup profits, they''d break even. Loss was not a word with ck Jaws.<novelnext></novelnext>


    To make sure things never got dicey and Masters began tracking them down, the thieves were sent only after the shop was sold.


    It''d be foolish to underestimate the royal family or any great family for that matter-they''d been around for at least a century.


    Another thing was members of lower councils lived in slums.


    Renovated slums now-which was also where ck Jaws built its bases.


    This was done to limit their interaction with outsiders.


    You couldn''t know friends from enemies, and ck Jaws rather be safer than sorry.


    It would be disastrous if a lower council leaked information to enemies, and likewise, they could monitor them carefully for traitors and spies.


    In this world of strong eat weak. One mistake could send ck Jaws tumbling-Fredick wasn''t going to let that happen.


    This was why ck Jaws bought beast regions and had their shops lined up by one another, they were different, and they had to make that difference clear.


    It started with their belief, which was thatmoners deserved to be catered for, deserved to be opportuned, deserved to live better lives.


    Everything they did after was made to mirror this belief.


    For one, Guild members. Nobles were unallowed to join the guild.


    If you really wanted in, you had to officially throw away the nobility title. Then, you could achieve it back while rendering merits for the guilds, that was the only way it was allowed.


    Sure enough, the nobles pushed against it fiercely. In their eyes, it was an insurmountable atrocity, but ck Jaws made it known that their actions were nobody''s business, and that mademoners love them more, creating a distinct line.All those allying themselves knew what they were getting themselves into.


    To be fair, this belief was only put in ce AFTER Fredrick became a Grandmaster.


    If they dared to do this before that, they''d have been ripped apart from all sides.


    Other things followed, the skill level of their guild members, the production of their goods, the quality of the goods produced, the quality of the services they rendered, the location of their shops, their allies, their enemies, it became a literal mindset, an ideology that broke boundaries.


    One that was gaining followers all over Lexon, and it was already spreading beyond it.


    The only thing against it was them being part of the royal faction, but that was justified that the royals also wanted to see the lives ofmoners-actually, Nitonians in general-improve as well.


    The people weren''t easily convinced, but they went on to prove this justification by citing the loan relief that allowed the massive projects toe into ce.


    That was enough to settle their doubts.


    Funny enough, the Emperor gained more fame from this than anything he''d ever done.


    It was mind boggling.


    It was what Ezra had witnessed before, rather than the minor nobility, the power really stood in the waves of majority.


    But being in disharmony made that power fade.


    When that power was concentrated¡­well, you have this situation.


    All throughout Lexon, either praising or bad mouthing it didn''t matter. Someone was mentioning ck Jaws, no, their sailors mentioned them on the sea, and those they mentioned them to would go and mention them in other continents.


    Along with ck Jaws, Fredrick''s was tossed around, sometimes by Cabrera and Kron and even the Halobren family as well.


    News of their belief stirred hope in many, forcing their body from idleness as they began journeying from wherever they may be, and equally stirred up resentment, rage and dread from many more.


    In fact, they were already getting attacks from enemies covertly.


    It was only covert because they had a buffer zone.


    With ck Silence''swork, the perpetrators were quickly identified.


    After counter striking, ck Jaws would hide behind the royal family by reporting the enemy while bringing evidence.


    The effectiveness of the buffer zone was determined by the power of the royal family. To attack it was attacking the prestige of the royal family so the Emperor couldn''t sit still.


    The attackers were mostly criminals and mercenaries, but Sebastian was able to catch their bait and draw it far enough to see the real enemies.


    The small timers were figureheads, the real enemies were the great families.


    Considering ck Jaws propaganda, that was no surprise.


    But Fredrick couldn''t be happier.


    After getting evidence of the involvement of a great family-he forced the royal family into confrontation!


    Unless stupid, he knew very well that the Emperor wasn''t a friend, and it was always good tire your enemies out by having them fight each other.


    More importantly, with the Emperor there, ck Jaws got permission to attack without having their buffer zone stripped.


    I tell you, the great family instantly regretted it.


    Rather than any physical nonsense, ck Silence was dispatched, and like the name, they moved silent.


    Poison was spread, one of the many created. It was used as a test trial.


    Least to say, it worked magic. Killing members of their city and the noble estate.


    The family''s heir lost his life, but since ck Jaws involvement couldn''t be proven, they couldn''t do anything and it wasbelled a gue.


    It was dubbed The Emerald gue.


    Named so because victims grew shiny green spots on their body, after three weeks of infection, showing that the poison was gaining ground, after which the infection spread further and faster, killing most in three months, thus Emerald.


    Moreover, ck Jaws imed no involvement, citing that they were getting ready to send their troops, and so no one was able to refute.


    Rumours spread that it was another family that attacked.


    Regardless, the attacks on ck Jaws reduced substantially after that.


    Sebastian thought it was a shame.


    ''I would liked to try out some other poisons''

 Chapter 231 Rules

    Walking away from the student gathering, Ezra went to Elisa''s office.


    Entering, she looks at him, elbows to the table with a pair of sses while a pile of parchesy beneath her arms.


    "What brings you?"


    "I seem to have run into trouble with one of the faculty heads"


    She pressed down her sses giving the ''look'' "Right on the first day?"


    "It''s not what you think"


    "Or is it?" She drags a chair from the side to her front. "Come sit"


    Sitting, Ezra exined the situation for ten minutes.


    Elisa raised a brow. "Why didn''t you just exin yourself?"


    "Didn''t feel like it"


    She stared, then burst intoughter. "Right. How could I forget the arrogance of royal blood? It seems it''s in you as well"


    Ezra shook his head inwardly, he wasn''t arrogant, just intolerant of pointless stuff.


    Another pointless thing was exining why he was not arrogant. So, he kept his lips shut.


    Theughter subsided. Elisa continued. "Alright I''ll talk to him"


    "It''d be better if you simply told all the professors to avoid a repeat of the situation"


    "Hmm?" her face was weird. "Perhaps I might do just that. Anything else?"


    "Yes. This should be obvious, but I''m guessing the academy has rules. Tell me about them"


    "Yes¡­" her voice trailed off and then a fairly sized book fell on the table. "While I enjoy our conversations, I have matters to attend to. For your question, read this" she said, pointing to the book.


    Ezra took it, wiping the dust away.


    "Ah yes. Before I forget, stretch your finger, the one with the space ring"


    Doing as told, he told he put his ring on her own space ring.


    Then, something was sent into Ezra''s space ring. Small blue items the size of rocks.


    "What are those?"


    "Read the book"


    Since Elisa had nicely told him he was overstaying his wee, Ezra thanked her and exited.


    Exiting, it hit him. ''I don''t know where the library is''


    His mind went to the presence he felt from Elisa''s at the student gathering.


    With it, he was able to estimate her rank.


    ''Late master rank''


    She was also master rank, but more powerful than he was, on the cusp of breaking through to grandmaster.


    Whether she''d be able to or whether she''d fail was up in the air.


    Judging that he hadn''t known her in his past life¡­ ''She must''ve failed''


    Or something happened.


    Well, it wasn''t his business.


    Thankfully. with the students having flooded the ce, asking directions a few times got him to the library.


    The library was expansive, plenty of shelves and books arranged neatly.


    A quick nce around saw it empty, leaving but the librarian.


    He nodded as a sign of greeting and sat, digging into the book Elisa handed to him.


    Path academy guide was the name.


    He learnt the origin of the academy from misceneous information.


    For the most part, most rules were as expected, no undered fighting, no food in ss and many more.


    None of these piqued his interest.


    What did though, was the value of exchange here.


    For one, gold, silver and copper weren''t used, effectively rendering it useless.


    Instead, they used tokens-that''s what those small blue stones were.


    Tokens were assigned monthly, ording to crest rank and could be earned by doing missions for the academy, where you would be awarded points, and could swap those points for tokens.


    Then, the tokens could be used to buy anything within academy grounds.


    Whereas, you couldn''t buy it with money.


    Ezra thought it annoying, but it wasn''t too much a hassle. He could see why such things were put in ce.


    With the students being children of high status, giving them free reign to items by leaving the normal money system would spoil many things.


    Skimming the rest, most of its contents was what Elisa told them a day before.


    Of course, other things were left out.


    Path academy had three faculties. Knights, Mages and Shifters.


    Under these,y numerous departments, sub-faculties if you will.


    You had departments for Rune studies, Beast studies, cksmithing, Metallurgy, Herb studies and Alchemy, Artifact and Enchantment, Elemental affinities, Bloodline studies, Formations, Spell casting and a few more.


    Allowing those uninterested in battle a chance of their own.


    Without dy, he walked out.


    He intended to¡­when the librarian stopped him.


    Ezra blinked in confusion.


    "Pay up"


    His eyes widened. ''They paid for this too?''


    It seemed it had already begun.


    "How much?"


    "One point"


    Taking one out of his space ring, the number 10 is written atop of which he hands it to him.


    The librarian hands him a token of 5 and 2 before bidding him farewell.


    He walks, not needing to ask for directions since the sses werebelled.


    He arrives at the mage ss, strolling in to see students seated in ascending rows.


    The teacher was Mrs. Montera.


    His appearance stirred up the ss, whispers spreading. For one, his stylish uniform drew attention, and then his previous act of ignoring a professor hadn''t gone unnoticed.


    "Oh, it''s you" as even Montera recognized him.


    Ezra didn''t reply.


    "What''s your name?"


    Ezra looked her in the eye. "Do I have to answer that?"


    She stared for a few seconds before shaking her head. "No, not necessarily. But it would make you more approachable"


    "More approachable?" Ezra almost smiled. "I didn''te here to make friends"


    "Peculiar" She muttered. Nodding away, "Very well. If you don''t introduce yourself, do you mind telling us why you''re here? Your purpose foring to my ss?"


    Ezra stared, then sighed. "I''m looking into mages to improve my mana control"


    She nods. "Take a seat"


    He footsteps echo to prove the silence.


    "I wonder who he is?"


    "Yeah. Does anyone know how old he is?"


    "Who cares? He''s so good looking"


    "I''d say fifteen or sixteen. Couldn''t be more than that"


    He could hear their whispers, clear as day.


    He sits at the farthest and consequently highest row, with no one by his side.


    With that done, Montera began the ss, giving the usual wee before delving into topics.


    Ezra got bored in two minutes. The topics she was going on about was on the basics.


    Still, he learned a few things. But he didn''te here to revise old topics.


    Instead of interrupting the ss, he simply waited it out.


    At the end of it, he goes to her.


    "I''ve already covered the basic topics. How long will it take you to get to the advanced one''s?"


    "Oh¡­hmm" she contemted. "What rank are you?"<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Me?" He was surprised, not flustered. "Expert rank"


    "Ah" she was surprised, muttering away. "We already had talks on segregating the Experts. With you, it might happen earlier"


    "Follow me"


    What would you know, they arrive where Ezra just left, Elisa''s office.


    Only this time, "Wait here" he didn''t go in.


    He looked around, standing for ten minutes.


    After that, he left, surmised that they''d call for him when done.


    Walking off, he sees the two other faculty heads walking towards him.


    The bald guy huffed to express anger, before they walked past him and into Elisa''s office.


    Heading to the eatery on the first floor.


    He finds it expansive-like everything else-the tables were circr, five chairs on each.


    But he noticed that the tables had something attached to them with a number on top.


    Every table had five numbers.


    Ezra shook his head, smiling ruefully. ''They''re putting in some serious effort to distinct the strong and weak''


    Here too, the ranking was eminent. On that note, Ezra wondered how much the food would differ.


    With no student in, Ezra checked out the foods to be served.


    A fat and bby man called. "What are you doing here? It is recess already?"


    "I''m a visiting schr"


    The man stared, before bursting intoughter.


    "You? A schr. Don''t make meugh"


    "One thing, can I buy these outside?"


    Ezra said, pointing to his row of food.


    "You are unallowed to leave the academy premises"


    "Right" Ezra turned and left.


    The guards familiar with him, they let him pass.


    He dines in the best restaurant in Guavedra, savouring the taste before heading back to the academy.


    Walking to Elisa''s office, he meets six children, well, teenagers there.


    Four boys, six girls.


    The sound of his footsteps had all of them turn to him.


    One was tall and slim, the others were almost the same height, but also taller than him, the two girls were his height.


    They nced at Ezra then at each other, wondering why the difference in uniform when a boy decided to break the ice.


    "Who are you?"


    This guy was the shortest, had green hair, yellow eyes and pale skin.


    All his features screamed of noble bloodline. One far above the others.


    Ezra eyes were calm with his hands in his pocket.


    He simply ignored the dude and walk past them to put his back against the wall.


    The dude stood, blinking multiple times, trying to register that the fact that''d he''d been ignored.


    He didn''t look behind him. But he felt the boys wouldughing, and then the girls-who knows what they were thinking.


    To battle his fears, he turned to the ''cause '' of the problem.


    "Hey, I asked you a question!"


    Green aura red up from him and coagted into balls on his hand.


    ''Does he think he can ignore me just because he''s a bit handsome?!'' Westin thought.


    The others had their expressions wrinkled.


    ''Is he really going to attack? This fool''


    ''Well, it''ll be good to see what he''s capable of''


    ''But who''s the other guy?''


    ''He does look a bit handsome¡­''


    The man spoken to though¡­was busy cleaning out his nose with the pinky.


    "Hmm?" It seemed Ezra only noticed his attack.


    Everybody''s face went nk, Westin froze.


    ''This fool''


    A purple haired girl facepalmed. ''It seems his looks have cost him his brain''


    How dumb could you be not to have seen thating.


    Just while they were thinking that, Ezra spoke. "You''re not actually thinking of fighting without it being an official duel, do you?"


    Westin paused. His rage faded like he was poured water.


    The others also raised brows. They''dpletely forgotten about that.


    ''Dammit'' Westin stood at a crossroads. ''I forgot about that''


    But he couldn''t retreat here, what would the girls think of him? He''s be aughingstock.


    Unable to advance nor retreat, Westin tried a third tactic-shamelessness.


    "Hmph. Look at this coward, hiding behind rules. I dare to ept to my challenge"


    "And I dare you to grow a brain"


    Again, silence!


    Then¡­ "PFFT!"


    His nightmare came to pass, the rest burst intoughter.


    One smacked his knee. "Hahaha, Grow a brain! Good one" he gave a thumbs up.


    "I''ve never an insult that fit Westin so perfectly"


    "Right?!" said the third.


    The girls just giggled all the way.


    Red with embarrassment, Westin clenched his fist.


    He couldn''t attack until the other epted the challenge.


    "Yes,ugh all you want. You still don''t dare ept my challenge"


    "I''m afraid that if I do, your parents wille dayster demanding my head" he thought. ''-because you''d either be dead or crippled''


    "What nonsense?! Do you know who my parents are?"


    "Now you''re bing more annoying than insects. Look for something better to do"


    "Hah, what a coward. Spineless you are. Unable to be a man except with your tongue, I feel sorry for whoever birthed you"


    At thest sentence¡­something changed.


    All six felt shivers, Westin staggered back.


    They instinctively looked to find the cause.


    The nonchnt silver haired boy. Only, the nonchnt attitude was nowhere to be seen.


    He didn''t release aura, but he called forth a presence that they instantly recognized as superior.


    Before they could blink, Ezra was standing in front of Westin.


    "What did you just say?"


    "Hiek!" Westin squealed. Falling on his butt.


    What kind of eyes were these, how could someone have such eyes while emanating such killing intent?!


    Westin felt like he was insignificant as a speck of dust.


    Ezra grabbed his neck. "I asked you a question. What did you say?"


    Realizing that his life was in jeopardy, Westin began struggling, trying to pull Ezra''s arm off his neck.


    "I''m, mmm sorry! Please"


    Ezra''s eyes carved crescents. "You need to be taught a lesson"


    Pah!


    The first p was delivered.

 Chapter 232 Talks With Elisa

    Pah!


    It was a swift backhand p with his left.


    Westin''s head was pped to the side, turning his gaze back to Ezra.


    ''Hmm?'' Ezra was amazed. Westin could definitely feel the difference in rank yet he was still ring.


    "It seems you didn''t get the lesson"


    He then remembered. "Oh yes, and I ept your challenge"


    Westin''s crest shone, and from it, a transparent dome isted them.


    Immediately after¡­Pah! Pah! Pah! Pah! Pah!


    Five psnded back to back, so fast the rest could barely


    Ptui!


    Westin spat blood, but his eyes had grown even fiercer.


    Ezra felt annoyed. ''I can''t kill him''


    He didn''t want draw any stupid attention.


    ''But this boy doesn''t seem to want to quit''


    The worst thing one could do was to leave an enemy half dead.


    The enemies would stand up and thene back, several times more annoying than before.


    He learnt this a long time ago.


    But in the case where he couldn''t put him down for good¡­ ''I''ll break that fighting spirit of his''


    All the while, Westin red with red eyes.


    Mana coalesced in his right hand in the shape of a ball.


    ''We''ll see if youugh after this!''


    He was going to pay back this humiliation, no matter if the other person had to die!


    Ezra looked at the forming attack, yet did nothing.


    Once Westin affirmed it was ready, he struck!


    "That arrogance will cost you!"


    Those behind watched closely as Westin''s hand reached Ezra''s body. And then¡­it stopped?


    The hand was less than a meter away from Ezra''s neck yet couldn''t move closer.


    The cause¡­ "Hmmph!"


    Ezra held his arm in ce, looking at the orb of mana curiously.


    He''d never seen mana used like such.


    Westin grunted like a pregnant woman trying to force his hand closely.


    It yielded nothing, and after two minutes of struggle, Westin gave up, the coalesced mana dispersed.


    Ezra took that as his cue.


    "You seem more incorrigible than a beast, but I''m going to teach a lesson. Make sure to remember it"


    "Tsk! What''s this bastard going on-


    Ezra spoke, "We''re on different levels"


    Immediately, Ezra flung him upwards with his neck, almost reaching the ceiling before stopping, and then falling.


    Westin iled his limbs in the air, trying to catch something.


    While falling, Ezra caught his legs and then¡­*BAM!*


    Smashed the bastard into the ground like he wanted to kill a mosquito with a broom.


    The building quivered, and dust covered the ce.


    Immediately the head office was opened with the Bald man rushing out first.


    "What''s going on here?!" he hollered. Swiping his hand to blow away the dust disturbing his vision.


    It revealed Westin dug deep into the ground, his eyes white with his mouth open.


    Other professors came out right after.


    The bald man had his mind spinning.


    ''Westin?'' he recognized the student immediately. ''But who could have put him in this state?''


    He was bbergasted, and rightly so.


    One of their most promising prospectsy impaled into the ground, it was shocking to say the least.


    He didn''t think any of their prospects were able to beat Westin to such a level, apparently, he was wrong.


    ''But why did they take it to such a level?''


    The other professors also noticed the spectacle.


    "Who? Is that Westin?"


    "Seems someone''s been holding a grudge"


    "Who did this?"


    They looked to the four teenagers, who promptly shook their heads.


    "Huh? If you didn''t then who did"


    One of the boys pointed. "He did"


    The professors looked to see Ezra dusting his trousers with his back to the wall.


    "You there!"


    "Hmm?" Ezra raised his head.


    The bald man, Mr. Drew identified him immediately, his eyes changed.


    "Did you not hear my inquiry?!"


    "Can you not stop shouting?" Ezra rubbed his ears again.


    Mr. Drew popped a vein, Montera covered her mouth, while thest adjusted his sses without a change in expression.


    At that moment, footsteps echoed as the academy head came into the scene.


    A look at Westin and the others gave her a rough scenario.


    "Ezra" she called out. "What happened here?"


    "I was merely walking when Westin challenged me for no reason. Deeming it childish, I ignored the fool. Unfortunately, I had to ept when he insulted my parents. This is the result of that" he pointed at Westin.


    She looked at the other four. "Is this true"


    They nod unitarily.


    "Then it is settled. Mr. Drew, call for the healers to take Westin away for treatment"


    He nodded and walked off.<novelnext></novelnext>


    She looked at Ezra. "You were operating within academic rules, so I have no qualms on Westin''s condition"


    "However, I cannot say the same about the destroyed floor. Tell me, how do you intend topensate me for this?"


    Ezra frowned. "Compensation is not due here. Should the school have banned duels in front of the head office, this would''ve never happened, that it didn''t simply mean you were prepared for this situation. But if you''re hard pressed forpensation even then, take it from Westin, he''s the one who lost"


    "You''re no fun" Elisa grumbled. ''He''s not nervous''


    Ezra shrugged.


    A snap of her finger at the ground fixing itself.


    ''As expected, they had something prepared''


    Ezra thought that with the amount of history the academy had for such a circumstance to not have happened in the past.


    He was right.


    Still though¡­ ''For it to be Auto repair''


    Like its name, it was a spell that had items repair themselves.


    But there were a lot of variables involved.


    For one, it couldn''t just be carved on any item. It had to be something of gold rank or beyond.


    Then, the ingredients to make the ink used to write it and finally, making the formation itself was no easy task.


    Besides that, Elisa stared down at Ezra.


    "I had thought that you were an intermediate rank because of your young age. Who knew I was so wrong?"


    She sighed, then sped her hands together.


    "If you''re already at Expert rank. Then you''ll have no problem joining. So what if you-


    "No" Ezra cut her off.


    "What?"


    "No, I will not be joining, as I assume that that''s what you wanted to say. My schr status suits me perfectly"


    "¡­." She was speechless.


    "I wonder what the Emperor will say?"


    "If you try to force me, I''ll just go to the academy"


    "You can''t do that!" She was rmed.


    She saw the other four looking at her with weird eyes.


    "The rest of you, leave" she turned to her door. "Ezra,e in. Perhaps he can negotiate on this matter"


    Without a word, he goes in.


    "Sit" she says, back in her chair with a tea cup in her hand.


    "Tell me, what exactly are you concerned about in bing a student? It provides a wealth of opportunities you know"


    "It''s restrictive," he says. "I don''t like that"


    "Hmm? How so?"


    "Inability to move as I wish"


    She blinked in confusion.


    "I cannot buy food from the restaurants around as a student"


    "Yes" she nods. "That is to make sure the token system is not exploited. Tell me, what would be the use of tokens if students could simply use their money to buy things?"


    "That would¡­" he trailed off.


    "Exactly"


    "But such things do not affect you. As an Expert, you get to sit within the top ten. There, you will live just asvishly as you did in the pce. Not to mention, with our training schedules, you might be stepping into the realm of a master in just a few years"


    "Hmm" Ezra stayed silent, his thoughts turning round.


    "Remember that it was only because I thought you were weak that I epted your proposal for a schrship status"


    "That is¡­true" he held his chin.


    "What about my outgoings? If I want to travel, can I do so unhindered?"


    "Yes. But you''ll have to give stipted time and a promise of return. We wouldn''t want any other ce to snatch you up"


    "Sure" he nodded. "How long will I be here?"


    "If you want to graduate right now, we can do so"


    "Huh?"


    "Any student of Expert rank is eligible to graduate-once your skills have been confirmed of course"


    Ezra nodded in contemtion. "Hmm, can you tell me about my brother?"


    "Your brother?"


    "Triton"


    "Ah yes. He graduated just three weeks before you came in"


    "What was his rank?"


    "He waste Expert rank when he left. Taking first ce throughout his years here"


    "I see. He must''ve set records then"


    "Yes, he has quite a few. So, have you decided?"


    "Almost. One thing, can I keep this as uniform. I like ck"


    "Of course,"


    "Then¡­I guess I''ll be joining the academy"


    Her smile was radiant. "Good! I knew you''d make the right choice"


    "Thank you"


    "I assume you''ve read the guide book?"


    "Yes, I have"


    "Then that concludes this matter. I will hand you Westin''s crest after you''ve gone through the trials"


    "One more thing" Ezra hurriedly spoke.


    "What is it?"


    "I''m not going to take the trials. Simply ce me at the weakest Expert, I''ll find my way from there"


    "And there''s no way I''ll get you to do it?"


    "Nope"


    She sighed, but didn''t pursue the matter any further.


    "Now then, shall I brief you on our evaluation system?"

 Chapter 233 Class Of Experts

    "You''d normally be taught this only after the first month, but seeing that you''re the type to do nothing if you don''t see the use, I''ll kindly exin it to you"


    "Thank you"


    "Understand that you cannot tell any other about this"


    Ezra nods.


    "Now, the number of tokens you get is determined by your crest number. Tokens are distributed at the start of the entire month. But unlike what I told you before that''s not all. Even with the same crest, you can have your tokens depleted"


    "With ten thousand students here, being strong physically isn''t enough. You have to be strong mentally, which is proved by how long it takes you to burnout in training sessions and your academic grades from other subjects"


    "Then, you have to be strong emotionally. How many people did you fight-and for what reasons? Those who fight without clear reason tend to die faster on the battlefield. We''d rather not have such individuals"


    "Then, you have to have strongmunication skills. No man nor woman is an ind, its why lone mercenaries tend to die faster than those in groups"


    She looked him straight in the eye. "Now, I''m saying this because that you''re peculiar for being a lone wolf. That will cost you points in the long run, more so than other students"


    "What? Why?"


    "You''re a Prince. If you''re not thinking of fighting for the throne,munication is a skill you must learn to seek allies, or lead armies, there is no way around it. No one can go at it alone, no matter how tough they might seem"


    "I know that. But you think I don''t, so how do I prove that I do?"


    "Create a team. You''ll be tested on how well you can lead that team"


    "Ha, easy"


    "I''m d you said so"


    "Anything else"


    "You''ll be tested physically as well, and these tests take ce in monster regions, five days to the end of every month"


    "Or I just could finish my quota before then?"


    "Yes"


    "Is that it"


    "Yes"


    "So, where''s my dorm room, or should I head to ss first?"


    "Ah! Thank you for reminding me. There''s a reason we called the others here in the first ce. Give me a minute"


    Then she started moving her hands mysteriously.


    A minute passed. "It''s done"


    "Come in"


    The door was pushed upon to reveal the five teenager Experts, Westin was receiving treatment.


    "Meet your new ssmate. Ezra"


    They expressed surprise, but quickly epted it quickly.


    Ezra turned to them. "Who is number one, no, what are your numbers?"


    A short boy with white hair raised his big arms first, "I''m Umeron. Number one"


    "Emerson, Number Three" said the tall and slim boy.


    "Benedict, Number Four" said the short brown-haired boy.


    He turned to the girls. "Valentine. Number Two" says the purple haired, blue eyed girl.


    "Valencia. Number Six" said a petite girl with green hair, red eyes and red nails-she did not seem friendly.


    "Then I''m Ezra, Number seven, no wait, since I beat Westin, number five?"


    He turned to Elisa. "Can a student have two crests?"


    "Oh? A student can rue as many crests as they want. Only, you can be challenged by same amount of people at the same time"


    "Meaning¡­"


    "Take three crests. And three people can fight you for it all at once"


    "Oh?! Splendid" Ezra white teeth was carved out with his smile.


    Elisa pped to get their attention. "With the introductions done. Let''s get down to it"


    "You were called because of something else" her gaze pervades them. "We have deemed the normal sses to be inefficient to teach you who are Experts, so we''re putting out a separate ss, a ss of Experts where you receive training dedicated to improving your abilities"


    "Sounds cool on paper, but is there anything different from what we did before?"


    "For one, you will have different set of teachers who will dedicated to your ss, not much else after that"


    "Wait. Give us new uniforms" Umeron pointed to Ezra, "I want his type"


    "What the? No don''t-


    "I suppose there''s wrong with that request, I''ll grant it"


    Ezra didn''t like it, but what could he do?


    "With that done. You can head to your dormitory; your ss is still being prepared. Someone should show Ezra around"


    "Oh. I''ll do that" says Umeron.


    Like so, they clear out of the head office.


    Ezra didn''t get a crest because number seven was already assigned to someone-he would go and take it from that person.


    Umeron seemed oddly eager to guide.


    He showed him the other sses, then away from the main building, Ezra saw the magic tower and the arena for duels-it looked like a dome, Umeron also told him that the arena held cultivation chambers underneath.


    Then, they say different stores filled with all sorts of things lined up for them to spend their tokens.


    ''I was wondering what was in here for it to take more half of the city. Seems like I underestimated the ingenuity of Niton''s top academy''


    It looked a whole different ce.


    After that, they weren''t to the dormitory.


    It was a building of ten floors, painted red, and very wide-as it should, in other to amodate ten thousand people.


    "This one is for the boys. The girl dorm is a bit far"


    "Ok"


    "Wanna check out your room?"


    "Sure"


    "Hehehe, race you to the top!"


    Umeron took off in a dash.


    Ezra decided to humour him and took off as well.


    Umeron felt hispetitive spirit ze after watching him demolish Westin just hours before.


    ''Let''s see how fast-


    "Hello"


    Umeron''s heart skipped a beat. Ezra was at his side.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''When did he¡­?''


    He didn''t even fell himing.


    ''This guy...!''


    It seemed he still had many things hidden.


    Such thoughts had Umeron fired up, a grin forming.


    ''Let''s see how fast you can go!''


    -----------


    "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha"


    Umeron panted, sweating heavily with his back on the floor.


    He''d lost, even after mustering all of his strength, he''d lost.


    His eyes didn''t leave Ezra''s figure.


    They arrived at the tenth floor in less than five minutes.


    ''But he''s not even sweating!''


    Umeron realized that Ezra outssed him in speed by arge amount.


    ''What about strength? Is he more powerful than me?'' Umeron wondered.


    He could do what Ezra did to Westin, easily. So Umeron wasn''t able to judge.


    Apart from Valentine, none of the boys made him feel threatened.


    ''But this guy pushed me to this extent''


    Umeron admitted. He just met his match.


    Now, with a real rival, Umeron felt hispetitive spirit shooting to the sky.


    ''Maybe this won''t be as boring as I thought!''


    Meanwhile, Ezra was pervading the dormitory.


    He was shocked when he entered.


    ''This level of space magic is unheard off''


    The insides were far wider and far taller than what was projected outside.


    The stairs were so long they took over four minutes even at Umeron''s top speed.


    ''They''re not going easy on us huh''


    He shook his head just imagining students walking up such steps exhausted after a full day of sses.


    Moreover, the school pushed students just as much as they were strong.


    ''The rooms of the first hundred is one first floor''


    Ezra chuckled. This was pure evil.


    ''Well, that''s their problem''


    He looked around, helping Umeron up after he stretched his arm.


    Theyout was simplistic. You had a sufficiently wide corridor stretching to the right, tiled in white terrazzo.


    Along the corridor were doors on both sides.


    Each door stood six feet from one another, and you had five doors on each side.


    So, both sides of the right made twenty doors.


    Then, at the corridors endy final door, facing the corridor, making it 21 doors.


    Ezra-ranked in the first ten-had his room at the end of the corridor, on the right side.


    Atop the door was card with arge 1.


    "Come on. Enter" said Umeron, nudging him forward.


    He tried to open the door but¡­"It isn''t working"


    Umeron facepalmed. "Ohh! That''s because you don''t have a crest yet"


    "Here, let me do it"


    With a small movement, the door knob clicked open to reveal the inside.


    "Oh" like the building, the room was sufficiently wide.


    You had a bed like that in the castle at one side, and then two bunk beds at the other.


    Ezra looked around. "So, the room participants are fixed?"


    "Yes and no"


    "What?"


    "The room had five bed, meaning it''s for five people"


    Ezra nodded.


    "But the only one the room is fixed for is one who''s number is at the top"


    "So, this is fixed as your room?"


    "Yes, as such, I have the power to decide who the other four I''m going to amodate are"


    "Four from how many people?"


    "A hundred"


    "Mmm" Ezra held his chin in contemtion, "Can you amodate any of the top twenty?"


    "No I can''t. It''s unallowed"


    "Hmm, I see" he says. ''Their making sure thepetition stays strong¡­can''t have top students getting cozy with each other''


    Umeron continues. "In all, I can amodate nine more people. But thest five are voluntary, the first four is obligatory"


    "I see, and these four they can be of any rank?"


    "Umm¡­" he contemted. "Yes"


    "Okay"


    "But there''s a catch"


    "Talk"


    "The academy takes your room members as a group. So, the performance of your group matters. If a member of your room loses duels consecutively, it''ll affect the overall situation"


    "Ha" Ezra chuckled. "Things just keep getting better and better"


    ''With these rules, it obvious they don''t want any strong protecting the weak situation. And all these rules are making sure of that''


    Ezra was smiling, ns forming in his mind.

 Chapter 234 Making A Scene

    Ezra turned to Umeron. "How do I issue a duel?"


    Umeron was surprised. "You''re already getting to that? Who do you want to fight?"


    "You"


    "Oh me-wait, what?! Why?!"


    "Isn''t that obvious? I want the number one spot"


    "Uh¡­okay" Umeron scratched his head.


    They were getting to know each other, but they were still rivals.


    "So, how do I do it?"


    "Just say, I challenge number one to a duel"


    "I challenge number one to a duel"


    Like before, Umarov''s crest lit up, a sign of acknowledgment, but before the duel was set in ce¡­ "Wait, if I take your crest will I be able to challenge lower members?" Ezra suddenly asked.


    Umeron shook his head. "Nope. You cannot challenge those lower than you, they can only challenge you"


    "Oh, then I''m not duelling anymore" Ezra decided.


    The crest went back to its dormant state.


    Looking around, Ezra recalled. "Anyways, isn''t it time to eat lunch?"


    "Hmm, you''re right, it''s almost time"


    "Then let''s go" Ezra says, running off.


    Umeron follows, racing to the first floor.


    They descended to the first floor even faster than before. Like before, Ezra won and Umeron was sweating again.


    A few minutester, they arrived at the canteen, where they found thousands of other students.


    Chatter was in vogue as these munchkins bbered whatever they could, spilling their food contents all over.


    Ezra''s arrival had it descend into silence as they previewed him carefully, especially with the number one standing by his side.


    Ezra looked around, his voice echoing. "Who''s number seven?"


    After a bunch of murmurs, a man, slim with long robes stood up. "I am"


    "Thank you, please hand me your crest. I''ve been certified as an Expert-except you want a duel"


    The recipient was silent.


    ''He''s the one who sent Westin to the healer''s room. It makes sense that he''s an Expert¡­but Dammit! My rank''s going to go lower again''


    Thankfully, he had enough sense to realize that the result of a duel was but a forgone conclusion.


    Without further ado, the man handed Ezra the crest.


    "Thank you"


    The man slightly nodded to acknowledge. No one would feel good about losing a rank.


    Ezra flipped it in his hands a bit. "One down, five to go"


    Ezra gaze pervaded the silent hall, until it met with those he was searching.


    "Theron,e here"


    The hefty tall ck man walked up to him.


    "You called?"


    "Yes. What''s your rank?"


    "Thirty-three"


    "Good. Call the others"


    Calling them, Johan, Ashton, Roxanne and Velora arrived in front of him.


    "Change of ns, I''m getting you to Expert rank as fast as possible"


    He looked to the others, "I''ve defeated Westin. That''s one crest down. Now I need four more"


    "I challenge number five, four, three, and one"


    The promation had the silence shattered. The canteen went into an uproar.


    "Is he crazy?!"


    "He wasn''t at the trials, does anyone know him"


    "I heard he beat Westin"


    "What? That had to be a lie, otherwise howe I haven''t heard of it?"


    "Maybe because you''re SLEEPING most of the time???"


    "Tsk! Whatever, he must''ve gotten lucky or something. Westin''s not hard to figure out, that''s why he''s number six, Six! If he thinks he''s going to beat them the same way¡­


    "Yeah" another continued. "He''d get so beat up he wouldn''t be able to walk for the rest of the semester! Hahaha"


    "You know, he might be doing this for the attention"


    "I hope not, because if that''s true, he''s gonna regret his life"


    "He''s gonna regret his life either way, hahaha"


    "What about the others?"


    "They seem to know each other. But the others aren''t that strong. The brothers are rank thirty-three, Forty-four and Forty respectively-I don''t know about the girls though"


    "Pfft" one burst intoughter. "Yeah, they must be doing it for the attention, they''d have to be dreaming if they think they''d face the top five"


    All sorts ofments were made, Ezra didn''t even blink.


    He looked at the siblings. "Get it together and don''t let the words into your head. I''d be very disappointed if you listened to a bunch of miscreants instead of me"


    The siblings calmed and took stances.


    "So, what are we to do?" asked Theron.


    "Nothing really. Just stand watch"


    The one''s challenged had walked up to him.


    Benedict spoke first. "If you think I''m going down like Westin, you''ll be sorely mistaken"


    Ezra huffed. "Are we fighting here?"


    That moment, a voice echoed. "Challengers should head to the arena for battle"


    It continued. "From now on, all duels are to be held in the arena. Due punishment will be delivered to those who unt it"


    Ezra calmed, recognizing the voice immediately. ''Director Elisa''


    Then, they heard, "I''m interested in this duel, so I''ll do you all a favour"


    "What-


    Space warped. Ezra and the four disappeared.


    -------------


    They reappeared on a stage at which ascending chairsy for the audience outside the circr ring.


    Ezra looked around. He''d only seen it from afar.


    It was tiled with stones in all shapes, bluish grey colour.


    "Are you sure you''re ready for this?" asked number five, a girl dressed in ck with red eyes and nails.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ezra didn''t even reply.


    "Are you ignoring us right now?"


    "No, just concentrating on better things" he remarked.


    "On better things?!" her face turned red with anger. "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    "Whatever you think it means. Don''t bother me"


    Emerson spoke. "How do you intend to fight us?"


    "¡­?"


    "In what order I mean"


    "Oh! You guys chose among yourselves, I can fight in any order"


    "Aren''t you looking down on us a bit too much?" Emerson growled, his revealed white razor teeth.


    Ezra still wasn''t looking his way.


    "This bastard...!


    At that moment, students rushed in, quickly taking seats, and then Ezra noticed a shadow.


    ''Huh?'' and it was getting bigger.


    Before anything, a mannded right in their midst.


    Rather Mr. Drew, it was Milos Lambert, the Shifter faculty head.


    He fished out a napkin to clean his sses. "The Director called me to regte your duel but I have things to do, so we''ll have to do things fast. Who''s first?"


    They looked at one another, before Benedict stepped forward. "I am"


    "Ok" he nods. "The rest of you move afar"


    The others quickly stepped away.


    With Benedict and Ezra facing each other, Milos raised his hands, a magic dome encased the arena, transparent blue in colour.


    "Are both sides ready?"


    He didn''t mention any rules because there weren''t any, even killing was allowed.


    No. if it wasn''t, duels wouldn''t carry nearly as much weight.


    Ezra brought out the hiltless silver twin des and stretched his arms and nodded to answer.


    Benedict brought out a great sword. "I''m ready"


    Milos brought his hand down. "Start"


    Benedict shot forth, taking a wide swing. He yelled, "I''ll have you pay for underestimating me!"


    Ezra simply ced his sword in a position to block.


    ''This bastard! Letting his guard down like an idiot!''


    Benedict snorted, maybe his fight with Westin was just a flux after all.


    The moment the Great sword sufficiently closed in, Benedict went into action, jolting his muscles-thereby increasing the power of his swing.


    ''Bet you never saw thising!'' Benedict chuckled.


    And then¡­Kanggg!!!


    Like a short bell ring, the force behind the hit blew him massive gusts of wind, obscuring the vision of those outside.


    The wind blew away after a minute, the audience holding their breaths while some were just arriving.


    When the gust faded, the result was revealed.


    It was a result expected by none.


    "No way"


    "Unbelievable"


    ''What?! How?!''


    Especially Benedict.


    He was pushing against Ezra''s de, but was unable to move him back by a centimeter.


    Benedict disbelieved, he refused to ept such absurdity, his pride as knight would not allow it.


    He called upon the strength within, as much as he could muster-and pushed again!


    "Ahh!" shouting helped him channel his power.


    His arms, neck, head, and thigh bulged, veins popping out all over.


    Crack!


    His eyes reddened from the pain, but my guy was unflinching, he pushed more and more, but his leg just dug deeper and deeper into the ground, breaking the more he pushed against Ezra''s sword.


    ''No, not yet!''


    Taking a few breathes, he used his family''s secret technique.


    Breakthrough!


    Focusing one''s full power into a single movement to give the greatest impact, and which a greatsword, it could break through the greatest of defences.


    "Hmmph!"


    Benedict activated it, and in that instant, he pushed Ezra back one step.


    "Ahhh!" That small taste of sess embodied Benedict''s confidence, the man in front of him wasn''t invisible after all!


    But¡­


    No matter how much more Benedict shouted, he made no progress, unable to push Ezra even a single inch more.


    Benedict''s heart stood strong and he kept pushing, but the more he pushed, the more he realized.


    ''This is entirely different from before!''


    It was a whole new wall entirely.


    Benedict couldn''t even determine the depth of it.


    It felt unbreakable, invible, imprable.


    If it was like this just now, then, from the start¡­


    ''He''d been joking around''


    Someone broke into Benedict''s mind as he affirmed the truth.


    Benedict began panting, his erged muscles began deting, his veins receeding.


    On this day, his pride as a knight was squashed, his worldview shattered.


    He was shown just how feeble was his existence, how feeble his strength in front of real power.


    On this day, he was shown the sky beyond the sky.


    The many emotions caused Benedict to faint, falling to the ground when someone caught him.


    His fading gaze saw the face of his challenger, mouthing some words.


    ''You did well¡­?''


    Then darkness covered everything.

 Chapter 235 Blood

    The entire was silent, the people were too overwhelmed to speak.


    Until someone broke the silence, speaking out what everyone else is thinking.


    "Am I seeing this right?"


    Benedicty on the ground, unconscious, the floor behind both him and his opponent had caved in immensely, but the opponent didn''t even seem affected.


    Thatment woke up the people, and amotion grew.


    "Who is that person?"


    "He won against Benedict so easily! He has to be from the top ns or somewhere close"


    The spectacle maker was having different thoughts.


    Ezra looked at Benedict on the floor, nodding in appreciation.


    ''He''s good''


    It was understandable why Benedict was fourth ce.


    Ezra body was cleansed of impurities by adept rank, boosting his muscture by an inestimable amount, and that amount only increased as he flourished to higher ranks.


    His obsessive and consistent training refined it even further, boosting his reflex speed andbat instincts.


    Not to mention his unbelievable mana quality and the size of his mana pool, and then, the elixirs and herbs from Bard augmenting his already insane capabilities.


    Then, his breakthrough to master rank took these things andpounded them.


    Right now, Ezra measured his strength to match ate stage master despite being in the early stage.


    He knew he could wipe the floor with mid stages, because the head assassin was mid rank, which was why he didn''t care for whatever the professors thought of him.


    All the more reason Ezra was amazed right now.


    ''To think he''d push me back''


    At the start Ezra used only ten percent of his strength, yet even that proved too much more an Expert in the early stage too ovee.


    Guessing this, Ezraxed, but then, Benedict took him by surprise and managed to push him back by using a secret technique.


    It was only one step, but Ezra still thought of it as a major achievement.


    ''I''ll have him show me that technique when he awakes''


    He looked to Mr. Milos, who hadn''t announced the end of the duel.


    Reading his expression, Milos replied. "A duel ends when a challenger either surrenders-making his intent known vocally, or one is knocked unconscious or out of the arena"


    "He''s unconscious though"


    "No, he is very much conscious, only that the use of hisst technique has him strained him to his limits"


    "Can he still fight?"


    "No"


    "Then the duel is over"


    "Yes¡­" he says, "I guess it is"


    He goes to Benedicts and takes off the crest, and then hands it to Ezra.


    "Thank you" Ezra says courteously.


    "Not at all, you won it fair and square" he says, stepping backwards before. "I dere the duel over. Winner, Ezra Miller"


    The arena went into an uproar.


    Boys went:


    "Miller? Did he just say Miller? As in the ROYAL FAMILY?"


    "That exins it!"


    "No wonder he''s so strong"


    "Right. Right" another nodded.


    "But which prince is he? None of the princes I know fit the description"


    "Right? I didn''t even know we had a prince named Ezra"


    "Me too"


    "Me three"


    "Ezra, Ezra, Ezra¡­" Someone murmured his name over and over again, until¡­ "I''ve got it. He''s the fourth prince!"


    The crowd wen "Ahh!"


    Another continued, "Yes, now that you mention it-


    "Quit the bravado Kelly, we know you don''t know him, you''ve never seen him before!"


    A p was delivered. "You weasel, why must you think everyone''s a dumbass like you"


    "What did you say?"


    "I was going to say, that I recall his name from my father a few years back. They say he felt mana when he was just three years old"


    "What nonsense? You must be-


    "It''s true, I''ve heard of him too from my uncle as well. This was eight years ago if I recall correctly"


    "¡­."


    The boy was dumbfounded as were many others the more Ezra''s identity was uncovered.


    The girls went:


    "Oh my! He was a prince?"


    "Right? How coincidental"


    "I did suspect it something with those good looks of his, but never did I think he''d be a prince"


    "Yah~ He''s totally my type" she turned to other girls. "Say, does anyone know how old he is?"


    "Must be at least fifteen with body, right?"


    "Yes, should be so. And that silver hair is just gorgeous, if I only I looked like that as well"


    "I didn''t want to believe it. But this confirms it, the blood of royalty is certainly different"


    Ezra facepalmed. Annoyed. ''Why did he have to reveal my full name?''


    He simply shrugged off the attention, digging into his ear.


    Such level of attention was new to him, but Ezra kept calm as Benedict was carried away for treatment.


    "Next challenger!" hollered Mr. Milos.


    Umeron, Valencia and Emerson looked at each other.


    "Who''s going next?"


    Both boys pointed- "You"


    "What why?"


    "We need to cause him as many injuries as possible. Benedict''s strategy seemed ineffective, but he must''ve gotten tired, no matter how effortless he made it seem. Then me and Umeron will finish him in his weakened state"


    Umeron spoke right after. "And we''ll hand you your crest once we win"


    Valencia contemted, "Okay" then steps into the arena.


    Facing Ezra, Milos raises his hand. "Are the challengers ready?"


    "Ready" says Valencia.


    "Ready" replied Ezra.


    The moment he drew his hand down. Valencia backed up while Ezra didn''t move.


    Stopping eight feet away, Valencia and Ezra stare down.


    ''Let''s see what you can do'' says Ezra.


    Then, she touches a ring on her right arm''s pinky, a small sharp edge shoots out, and she uses to cut the side of her left arm.


    As the blood poured out, it coagted, taking the took form of long thin sword.


    Ezra eyes widened. ''A blood mage''<novelnext></novelnext>


    Those with blood affinity were rare, he expected to find one or two at the academy, but this he hadn''t expected.


    He smiled, "Cool"


    "Excuse me?" Valencia raised a brow, taken aback by the suddenpliment.


    "It looks cool" Ezra repeated. Looking to his own hands and then the sword.


    He sucked back one sword into his space ring, rolling back his sleeves


    "What are you-


    Ezra cut his left arm at the wrist joint, causing blood to spill.


    "Now" he muttered, putting his other palm beneath the pouring blood. "Was it like this?"


    It began coagting.


    Valencia was bewildered. ''It couldn''t be!''


    Oh, but it was.


    The blood coagted and a longsword manifested.


    Ezra sucked in the other silver sword into the space ring, and then the longsword became two daggers.


    Valencia was in shock, her calm demeanour had evaporated.


    "You-You-You-


    "Yes, I''m like you. Problem?"


    Valencia was silenced.


    She looked at her sword, it had a in surface and no hilt.


    Ezra daggers had intricate markings, a hilt, and was ckish red.


    ''Although his longsword seemed worse than mine''


    ''Still!''


    Annoyance swelled in her heart as she witnessed him do some thing she''d always wanted to try, but always failed-and made it look easy too!


    She took a stance.


    Voom!


    Next moment, she was reaching Ezra.


    "How did you do that?!" She shed vertically, aiming to cut Ezra in half.


    She didn''t think he''d be that easy, but then¡­Ezra suddenly disappeared.


    She looked behind; he wasn''t there.


    "Where did he-


    A huge forcended on her weapon, faulting her bnce.


    It was Ezra, he stood on her sword with one leg.


    "Do what?" he asked.


    Valencia felt she was being mocked and tilted the de, having Ezra fall to the ground.


    "Don''t y jokes with me"


    She came hard, weaving shes like a dancer.


    Ezra followed up, parrying her weapon.


    Too him, she was too slow, he had to restrain himself to match her.


    Valencia noticed the difference as well.


    ''He''s predicting my moves in advance!''


    She hadn''t one hit in.


    Most of the audience couldn''t make out their actions from the speed the two were moving.


    Excepts to the likes of Umeron and Emerson, who watched closely.


    They made one solid deduction.


    "That guy''s a monster"


    "Yeah" Umeron nodded.


    At some point, Ezra got bored.


    ''Can''t I make things a bit more exciting?''


    A thought came to him. Ezra shut down his mana cirction, and then close all the cores.


    He immediately became slower, because now, he had but his body capabilities.


    Not slow enough for Valencia to surpass, but slow enough to make things dangerous, or otherwise exciting.


    He started putting his back into the attacks, twirling both daggers as he shed with Valencia-who felt the change immediately.


    ''He''s slower''


    ''The strength behind the attacks also reduced''


    Her confidence was boosted.


    ''If it''s like this, I can win''


    Big mistake, Ezra sped up to her, and because her focus was elsewhere, her response was a few secondste.


    ''Shit!''


    She sought to back up, giving more opening to exploit.


    Ezra didn''t hesitate.


    The twin daggers coalesced into long sword, and then¡­Shin!


    Her left arm was severed.


    A loud gasp came from the audience.


    Valencia on the other hand didn''t even muffle, much less groan as her arm was held on by the connection of blood as she backed up.


    She could have aeback, but Ezra didn''t give her chance, with his sword at her neck.


    "Surrender"


    She was frustrated, but could only sigh in defeat. "I surrender"


    She reattached her arm, well, held it in ce with blood.


    "The challenger has surrendered. Winner, Ezra Miller"


    This time the audience shouted in joy.


    "Did you see that?"


    "They moved so fast I got dizzy"


    "That''s Experts for you"


    Valencia huffed down her regret. Looking into Ezra''s eyes. "Where did learn to wield blood like that?"


    Ezra shrugged. "Nowhere, I taught myself"


    She stared at him with a ''You don''t really expect me to believe that, do you?'' look.


    "What''s your affinity rank?"


    "B"


    "Oh? I''m A rank"


    "Good for you then"


    Right then, Milos sent her out of the arena and asked the next challenger to step forward.


    Emerson came on without any weapons and a lose cloth.


    The third round quickly went underway.

 Chapter 236 Number 1

    "Ugh!"


    Emerson spurted blood, his spiked red scaled skin was covered in his green blood, his green eyes were shaking.


    Hisnky body was nowhere to be seen, now reced with the bulging body of a beast, that of the razor lizard.


    Neither his vicious teeth nor his ws saved him from taking a beating at Ezra''s hands.


    Emerson had known he''d lose, he just didn''t know how much.


    He was a shifter, one with a gifted physique that allowed him to twice his siblings in lesser time.


    Yet he''d lost so wholesomely.


    He now understood why Ezra wasn''t looking forward to the duels from the start.


    Emerson thought Ezra was just being arrogant, but the moment the fight began he understood the difference.


    Like Benedict, his view of the world was shattered.


    ''I thought I was pretty strong''


    Emerson snickered.


    ''I thought wrong''


    The meaning of strong was being revised in his mind.


    Quickly, Emerson was carried to the healing bay.


    At this point, the audience didn''t even know what to say. The reality that one person had defeated the top six was only setting in when they saw only Umeron remaining.


    "Oh my. He''s not really going to win, is he?"


    "You''re still asking after seeing all that?"


    "Well¡­we''ll see. The number 1 is about to climb the stage"


    Umeron climbed onto the stage, rolling his white sleeves to reveal built biceps.


    Talking a stance, he looks to the Mr. Milos, "I''m ready"


    "Ready anytime" replied Ezra.


    The duel begins, the domees up.


    "I hope we can still be friends after this" muttered Umeron, while circling Ezra.


    "Friend''s¡­" Ezra found the word funny, it left a bitter taste in his mouth. "Sure" he replies.


    Umeron''s expression brightens, he hits his fists against each other. "Well then, here Ie"


    Then¡­Bom!


    He bursts forth, leaving behind a sonic boom.


    Ezra furrows his brows, the force generated didn''t seem enough to cause a sonic boom.


    That mattered least when Umeron''s thick fist was headed for his face.


    ''In that case'' Ezra thought, the blood weapons melted. ''I should try out my fist techniques''


    Ezra took a different stance, straightening his fist.


    On cue¡­Umeron''s fist arrived.


    The duel was on.


    Surprisingly, the first contact had Ezra pushed back.


    Mostly because he''d restrained himself, and he didn''t push back that much.


    Noticing the difference, Umeron paused for a few seconds. "Are you going easy on me?!"


    "Nope. I''m testing myself"


    "Then don''t me me for whatever happens"


    "Nothing''s happening"


    "Hmph!" Umeron huffed, sending punches once again.


    Ezra dodged andnded a kick straight on his chest, sending Umeron back five feet.


    "It seems your sound waves only happen if your attacks connect"


    Umeron steadied himself, making noment while his brain whirred.


    ''He figured it out already''


    Underneath he was shocked, most don''t understand how his attacks work, not to talk off figure out weakness.


    Ezra made calctions of his own. ''He''s good. Using sound to augment his attacks, he disorientates his opponents and then causes damage from the inside out.


    Then, he recalled someone with the same characteristics in his past life. ''Thunder fist, so this what you looked when you were young''


    The man he knew and the boy in front of him werepletely contrasting, maybe a side effect of his doing, or that the antecedent to the drastic change had yet to ur.


    ''I think he died in the war of two fronts?''


    It was called the war of two fronts because while fighting foreign enemies, the east side of Niton-which wouldter be the kingdom of Roosevelt-rebelled and backstabbed the royal army, leaving them no choice but to flee.


    ''Hmm, since I''ve taken the Mithril, that event would either not happen, or they find another motive''


    All the more reason why couldn''t rest on hisurels yet.


    Training was crucial for the next stages.


    He''d already surpassed his former self in strength, a bit earlier than nned, not that he wasining, but with personal strength in check, he needed strong allies.


    More importantly, he needed to brush up on hiscking knowledge of the Kingdom''s affairs, how would he talk about bing Emperor if he knew nothing about Nitin.


    Then, with Triton having already graduated, he had to start making his mark and building his reputation before the inevitable battle for session arrived.


    Most importantly, the demon worshippers. They were up to something, and it could never be good news for others.


    With how much Sebastian was catching their trials, they were hasty in their actions, meaning something was moving them in urgency.


    Ezra took that as a note to also proceed with his ns urgently.


    So while he battled Umeron, his mind was counting the next steps to take.


    He needed a force of his own, ck Jaws was of his creation, but apart from the top few, no one knew of his involvement.


    cing faith on such things was very dangerous.


    Then, he had to study how best to use his affinities, that was the easiest way to increase hisbat capabilities, because it didn''t seem like he was going to make a breakthrough anytime soon.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The fist fights went on for a while as Ezra tested Umeron''s tenacity and the practical use of Infinite forms.


    Ten minutester, Umeron willingly surrenders, exhausted from the fight.


    Like so, Ezra imed the Seventh, Sixth, Fifth, Fourth, Third, and First crests.


    You had guidelines for duelling.


    You can''t challenge those weaker than you.


    Two, depending on rank, a space was given for duel winners to rest.


    For the top spots, it was a week. The winners of duels in the top three hundred were allowed rest for a week, in a state where others could not duel them.


    The duration got shorter the lower one is.


    That was it.


    Done for the day, Ezra helps Umeron up and they both walk off the arena.


    Reaching the edge, someone called out.


    "Hey!"


    Ezra turned to see a purple haired girl in a uniform of ck and gold like his with a long but thin sword strapped to her side.


    "Yes?" He wondered what the problem was.


    "Why didn''t you challenge me?" She asked.


    Ezra had to pause, take another look before realizing that she was the number two.


    He and Umeron exchanged nces, both wondering what to make of the awkward situation. "I didn''t duel you because I saw no need to"


    The audience burst into murmurs.


    "Oh! He doesn''t even put her in his eyes" one whispered.


    "Damn, now I''ve seen it all"


    "He''s actually looking down on her, this has to be a first"


    The girl quivered, embarrassed about the whole thing.


    "You''re looking down on me" she said coldly, drawing her Katana, "I challenge you to a duel"


    Ezra looked at Mr. Milos. "Can I reject it?"


    "Yes you can"


    "Rejected then"


    The duel was cancelled.


    "Why did you reject it?!" She asked, perplexed.


    He waved his hand in azy manner, while getting off the arena. "I deem it a waste of time and energy, I''ve already achieved my aim, so excuse me"


    The girl blinked,prehending the situation.


    Now, she stood on the arena with her sword unsheathed, but her opponent ignored her, she couldn''t imagine how stupid she must look, posing like a idiot.


    So, in a bid to save face, she sheathes her de in a neat fashion and slowly walks off.


    ''A duel with me is a waste of time and energy?! How arrogant!''


    She was so irked she walked to the dorm murmuring all the way.


    Meanwhile, once Ezra got off the arena.


    He gave one to Roxanne and Velora.


    "With this, you''ll easily secure resources. Anyone that challenges you challenges me, so just send them my way"


    They smiled, touched by his gratitude and gave a bow before heading off.


    He looks to Johan, Ashton and Theron.


    "You three will by roommates"


    He lightly taps Umeron on the head. "You as well"


    "Huh??? Why would I-


    "Else I''ll torment you for the rest of days in the academy. You''ll either be a friend or nothing at all, chose wisely"


    Ezra said it so easily Umeron got chills.


    "Alright, I''ll be your roommate"


    Ezra patted him. "Yes, that''s a very good choice"


    "I''ll have Benedict and Emerson join us once they''ve recovered"


    The four simply nodded.


    "Now, let''s go to the new room"


    ¡ª-----------


    Elsewhere¡­


    "How? Just how?!"


    Gwendolyn held her forehead while sipping a ss of one of the best wines as frustration, fear and anxiety rotated on her head.


    The news of the failed assassination had just reached her.


    With just that, all wasn''t bad.


    She''d made sure that the assassin''s trail would never lead to her.


    But the royal army was on the case when the Emperor found out about it.


    She simply sipped her wine.


    What was done was done.


    She didn''t know how much evidence was left behind nor how the assassination had possibly failed.


    She hoped her preparations were enough, and more importantly, she needed to clean out loose ends.


    So the moment her personal maid came in to take away the ss of wine, Gwendolyn stabbed her, staring right into her eyes as she muttered, "I''m sorry"

 Chapter 237 Faction Forming

    Two hours before noon, a Kingsmerian restauranty empty.


    Passersby were shocked, for this was one of Kingmere''s top five restaurants, just what could''ve caused them to close doors for a whole day.


    The answer showed itself an hourter.


    Carriages pulled by fit and steady horses, embellished with designs and embroidered with quality fabric appeared at the restaurant''s vicinity one after the other.


    Alofting from the carriages were Women of nobility, all dressed in fancy fabric and attires, a few had thick wool scarfs.


    "Oh? Genevieve, you''re here as well?"


    "Yes, her highness invited me"


    "Me as well," said another.


    "Does anyone know why we were called?"


    The others shake their heads.


    Thedies strolled in with the door opened for them.


    They looked around, surprised.


    "Why isn''t there anyone here?" one asked.


    "The entire venue was bought out for your arrival"


    Another wave of shock hit them.


    Buying out one of the top five restaurants-that was some serious money.


    The small tables had been cleared away for arge one, decorated as well with eight chairs around it.


    The hostesses pulled the chair back for them to sit, before handing them menus.


    Thedies felt good, they hadn''t been treated like this in a long time.


    The head hostess pped to get their attention. "All fees have been paid in advance, for the next three hours, we are dedicated to serving you"


    Thedies nced at one another. The entire experience felt surreal. "Should we?" one whispered.


    "I''ll have dark buffalo meat, preferably that of the heart. Avci Rice with mashed toppings of frost sprinkles and desert cabbages"


    "Yes mam" said the attendant, scribbling it down, and then headed off.


    The otherdies were staring at her, to which she replied, "I''m been treated to a meal underserving, its be stupid to waste such opportunity"


    Others stared before following suit, ordering the best of what the restaurant had to offer.


    If nothing else, it would end up as a staggering amount.


    But how would they know? The hostess had been told to not include prices in the menu beforehand.


    Minutes passed as the hostess went to prepare the ordered food.


    Thedies engaged in idle chatter, when the awaited personage arrived.


    With swagger, Ezra''s mom walked in, her hair dyed blue to match her eye colour, garb in white cloth, and scarf woven around her neck.


    All eyes are on her as she sits on thest chair, the fragrance she was permeating blew the other away.


    It was, no doubt, avish presentation.


    Kiara took in the stares without flinching. "Hellodies. How have you all been?"


    Thedies lost their words for a few seconds, gazing with jealousy, wonder or amazement.


    The presence she exuded hadpletely changed. She dominated the atmosphere.


    Someone replied. "Not as good as you at least"


    They burst into giggles.


    Kiara took in her strides like a boss. She didn''tment, and instead looked at the rest of the guests.


    Getting ufortable with the cold gaze, the giggle stopped, and after a few coughs to knock out the embarrassment they felt, they spoke.


    After the introductions, Kiara took the stage.


    "I assume you''ve wondered about the aim of this meeting, yes?"


    She didn''t await a reply before continuing. "I believe that concubines deserve better treatment" she started, locking eyes with each of them.


    "We did not choose to be wives of nobility, or mistresses. We simply find ourselves in the position simply because of a man''s desire"


    Theydies nod slightly.


    "So, why are we relegated? Why are we looked down upon and degraded? Why are our children looked upon with gazes of scorn like scoundrels found in the den of rats?"


    They all fall into mncholic silence.


    All thedies at the table were either ofmoner origin, or concubines.


    Kiara huffed. "All I want for my child is that his birthright be handed to him. A share of inheritance if you will, whether it be a worthless title or a few hands of gold. I see not why that is so impermissible"


    "I called this meeting in hopes of creating a union of wonderful female folk like us all, who are being suppressed for no clear reason and are threatened with an uncertain future"


    Only then did she quiet.


    Thedies stood quiet for a long minute.


    "What will be the aim of this union"


    Kiara waved her hand nonchntly. "Nothing grand. Simply ensuring our survival and that of our children"


    Many were hesitating to speak. It was clear they had doubts about the whole thing, or simply felt ufortable.


    Finally, someone spoke. "What makes you think we aren''t adequately equipped to survive?"


    Kiara started, before holding her nose inughter. "Hahaha"


    They frowned. It was clearly aughter of mockery.<novelnext></novelnext>


    After a few seconds herughter died down and she looked the questionnaire in the eye.


    "Do you have any businesses?" she suddenly asked.


    The woman took nces, the questionnaire was irritated, "What has that got to do with anything?"


    "Answer the question"


    Kiara was chillingly, making it verypelling.


    "N-No" the questionnaire stuttered.


    "Then, how do you make money?" she asked.


    "Make money?" The rest were visibly confused.


    Kiara sighed. "Seedies? This is the problem we have. Most of us never worry about money since it''s been provided you, so you must''ve never wondered about such problems because it''s a ''man''s'' job"


    "What happens when that man dies though? Have any of you thought of it all?"


    "Our children have been branded illegitimate and you all sit here as if everything''s okay"


    "The minute the man dies, the ''legitimate'' wives confiscate the belongings under the guise of taking their children''s inheritance, leaving us and our children stranded" her gaze pervaded there. "What will you do then? Because surely, we will most likely outlive our man"


    She quietened; her breath calmed. It felt like the stump in her throat was gone.


    The hostesses stepped in to serve food, but their appetite had waned.


    Apparently, it was not the same with Kiara.


    She dug into it with her fork and knife, eating voraciously yet gracefully.


    "Come ondies, what use will it be if you don''t enjoy the asion"


    Only then did thedies begin to eat.


    They were thinking deeply.


    "Erm, we all acknowledge your points-but what can we do?!" one spoke.


    Kiara raised her head from the food. "You can join me"


    "No offence your majesty, but what can you do?"


    A silent hiss was heard.


    It was the same questionnaire.


    Kiara didn''t even seem bothered. "I can take care of myself without anyone''s help. I can livevishly on my own terms" she swallowed. "Of course, I''d rather have my man take care of me, but things seem hectic for everyone these days"


    "How did you make such an amount of money?" another inquired, her toneced with intrigue.


    "By connecting with the right people"


    "Who are these ''right people''?" asked the persistent questionnaire.


    Her eyes narrowed. "You must be joking if you I''m actually going to tell you that"


    She looked at them. "I am in need of but one new member. I can ept more, but you must understand that what I stand to gain is negligentpared to the amount spent"


    "But I must ascertain a future for my child. By no means will this be easy, we''ll be facing the entire noble circle"


    "You really think you can win against such a force?" asked another.


    "With my backing? It''s a given"


    Thedies gave suspicious looks.


    Kiara had dropped the bait.


    "Are you referring to the count by any chance?"


    "But of course not. I wouldn''t want to drag such a man into my personal issues"


    "Then who?"


    Kiara shed a smile. "A group with top tier resources aimed at bettering lives, if you will"


    The backing she was talking about was ck Jaws!


    Ever since she reached advanced rank, she''d been wondering how to go about forming the faction Ezra tasked her with.


    Not knowing why, ck Jaws had assigned her a few shops, transferring her ownership.


    Yes, the restaurant they were in was one of those shops!


    She had initially been suspicious, but imed when ck Jaws exined themselves.


    Apparently, they were looking to gain power in noble circles.


    Only, most of those already had thick backing and alliances that ck Jaw''s help wasn''t needed.


    So, ck Jaws sought to group the part of the noble circle that were oppressed and use that as an opening.


    The shops were but a payment on their part to have Kiara work for them.


    Honestly, Kiara didn''t know what to say.


    She''d been racking her brain on how to go about things when ck Jaws came to her, and then paid her heftily to get along with her ns.


    She would''ve worked with ck Jaws even without the money.


    Moreover, she was constantly amazed at how resourceful ck Jaws was.


    They supplied with resources she didn''t even know she needed and allowed her massive freedom in handling affairs, and only sent people to check on progress. It was like they didn''t even care about the money spent.


    Best of all, they assigned her a group of women who helped her realize her character and taught her things that most don''t normally go into.


    It was a surreal experience, and with all that support, she didn''t even consider failure anymore.

 Chapter 238 Two Months Pass

    Needless to say, ck Jaws backing Kiara was Ezra''s doing.


    He already knew that forming a faction was far tougher than it sounded.


    Moreover, you couldn''t move nobles with simple words, especially the women, most were ambitious yet cowardly and very selfish. Being the best at switching sides at any given time.


    Having given Fredrick the orders, Ezra didn''t worry much.


    It''s been eight days since Ezra took the number one spot.


    Firstly, he picked the top brass as roommates.


    Emerson and Benedict were obviously reluctant, but after a good beating, they had no choice but toply.


    Normally, the top twenty couldn''t be recruited-Ezra had taken their crest, hence leaving them rank-less, which allowed him to recruit them.


    Of course, they could challenge the top twenty and be unrecruitable once more-that if Ezra hasn''t dered total destruction on whichever team they formed, or joined.


    To contain their rage, they would be allowed to leave his group whenever they managed to defeat him.


    Moreover, since Ezra had all their crests, they could challenge him all at once.


    Which they did, only to end up at the healing bay with far more injuries.


    They realized it in their hearts that defeating Ezra was a long-term goal.


    They subsequently challenged those below the top twenty and took those crests.


    Now, Ezra had seven roommates, Ashton, Johan, Theron, Umeron, Benedict, Emerson and yes, Westin.


    While Westin was no doubt stupid, his abilities were no joke.


    With diligent training, the boy would definitely be someone remarkable¡­although Ezra didn''t remember him from his past life.


    After five days of struggling, the top brass gave up. Of course, only temporarily.


    If Ezra slipped in his training, they''d strike at first sight.


    Naturally, Ezra wasn''t worried. None of them was younger than sixteen, and Umeron was only at mid Expert rank.


    Plus, he''d gained intel on hisst fight-if you can even call it that.


    His physique had hit a wall, as a twelve-year-old, it could not grow beyond the current stage, no, rather it was miraculous that he even reached this stage at his age. And that was thanks to Bard''s potion.


    He was irritated, but could only ept it. Trying to force growth would lead to catastrophic consequences, that which even he couldn''t estimate.


    He could only hope Bard perfected his newest potion soon.


    Besides that, he already mastered passive cultivation, and even with that, the requirement to advance to mid-rank was a steep one.


    For the next few months, he wouldn''t have to worry about his physique stopping him from advancing.


    With physique improvement on hold and his mana cultivation not needing his supervision. Ezra picked the next way to increase his battle power-and it was surprisingly simple.


    Master mana flow and elemental control!


    He''d known before, but leaving A rank elements dormant was an enormous waste of potential.


    Then, he had to cultivate physique, elements and meridians while mastering multiple weapons-so there wasn''t spare time for anything else.


    After a few experiments, Ezra determined that his orbs had dissolved into his bloodstream somehow.


    For one, the elements were no longer secluded to a side of the body, he could use a single element with both hands, or use two.


    This had him overjoyed, then, with his passive cultivation, his connection to his elements had deepened.


    Before, he would''ve not been able to create des with blood so easily, although there were other factors involved.


    Mastering elements would allow him versatile attacks.


    From dark lightning, to ice spears and scorching blood just to name a few things that Ezra might be able to achieve.


    Then, during the battle, he realized a bit of how much the runes on his back had increased his fighting power.


    With rity rune, Ezra senses were always at the peak, this helped him in various ways. One of which was having easier time controlling mana.


    Also, having his senses at peak functioning allowed him to master sixth sense far faster than in his past life.


    The sixth sense was basically an instinct to detect danger culminated from training the senses as one.


    Then, thanks to the mana strengthening runebined with that, his blood had arge mana density, meaning it had a lot of mana in it.


    The impact rune augmented his already powerful attack while the swift rune augmented his movements.


    And the concealment rune shielded his rank from probing eyes.


    Others would turn into a husk just trying to feed the runes mana equivalent to that of Ezra.


    With all this, it''s easy to see why he had to seize the usage of mana within him-which in turn stopped the rune''s effects-retrain his physical capabilities yet still toyed with each Expert that came at him.


    That said, he realized he had a lot to learn in the maniption of elements.


    He was best at controlling Darkness, but didn''t use it in the fight because he deemed it overkill.


    Last but not least, he had to groom Severus, the snake which he''d been neglecting for the past few days.


    But in the academy, he couldn''t possibly hide him. So, Ezra thought of a convincing story to tell after revealing him.


    As for Skyfall, he had zero interest in letting others know of the weapon.


    From the moment the top brass became his roommates, they shed with Theron and his brothers.


    While Ezra was definitely stronger than them, there had to be a room hierarchy in ce.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ezra didn''t try to stop them, instead, he acquiesced for thergest cultivation chamber.


    As the royal academy they had Formation rooms, cultivation rooms, alchemybs, and even cksmith''s forge that students could lobby for, by paying a certain token amount.


    In the cultivation chamber, the siblings were free to show off their Expert level, shocking the other four.


    A battle ensued, each taking turns.


    Westin came seventh.


    Benedict was Sixth.


    Emerson was Fifth.


    Ashton was Fourth


    Umeron was Third.


    Johan drew second, and Theron was First.


    It shouldn''t be surprising. The siblings were trained by master ranks for seven years.


    Ashton lost to Umeron simply because of experience.


    When battling the shifter Emeron, Theron had his upper half take the form of a screaming firefox, his eyes were golden and had ck slits.


    The animal had the affinity of fire and sound, and grew torge heights.


    It was his first time testing his morphed form.


    Yeah, Emerson was thrashed.


    Johan had his upper half take the form of a sizzling alligator but with the skin of an iron scorpion, allowing him the alligator''s scorching bite and the all-purpose skin of an iron scorpion.


    Ashton took the form of a grey wolf, allowing the heightened senses of one and the ability of darkness, particrly in the stealth category.


    This allowed him to deal surprise attacks, and with his strength-it wouldn''t be a light injury.


    By all means, they had grown from the immature children they once were into men.


    Ezra took five sses, Rune studies, Beast studies, Beast Taming, Mage battling, and a specialized ss for elemental mastery.


    Then, he realized that while he was stronger, his techniques weren''t necessarily the best.


    The easiest way to improve techniques was sparring.


    And since Ezra couldn''t reveal his real level, he found weight unsuitable for masters.


    Unsuitable because it was too much effort to move while wearing it.


    This reduced his physical capabilities, allowing him to match his roommates and spar with them.


    Sure, he could still anticipate their moves in advance.


    Things got far harder since his body couldn''t move as fast as it wanted to-because it restricted-forcing Ezra into tough positions.


    But, how would one grow if not through hardships?


    With every spar, all seven grew in strength.


    Moreover, Roxanne and Velora trained as well, sometimes sparring with the boys.


    Ezra got Valencia to teach him so he could master blood control.


    Dayter, he excused himself from the academy grounds, only toe back three dayster with a snake around his neck.


    It was Severus.


    Apparently, it had been sent by Bard as a beast with good prospects-was the tale Ezra weaved for to avert gazes.


    Then, Ezra''s infamy grew as news of how he dominated the academy''s top ranks spread far and wide.


    Many sneered, saying his opponents were simply weak, or giving whatever excuse they could.


    Rumours flew around and soon, some said that the academy orchestrated the whole fight. Others exaggerated the tale, saying he defeated them with a swipe of his hand.


    The whole thing went out of control.


    A monthter, officials from the Empire arrive to investigate Ezra''s ims on the alleged assassination-just as he knew they would.


    Excusing the siblings who were ''traumatized'' from the event, Ezra spun his narrative like a cassette on y.


    The officials spent considerable time at the scene of the assassination, and also previewed the bloodied carriage, and since the evidence matched the story, they could only believe him, especially after he showed them the marks on Theron''s arm and Roxanne''s leg.


    Of course, a few things were still unclear, but the officials couldn''t do much about that.


    They left soon after to report to the Emperor.


    By now, the rumours of Ezra''s strength had died down, another had taken the spotlight-Triton!


    Rather than return to the pce after graduating, Triton immediately joined the army and began building his reputation bypleting different tasks while being mentored by a general.


    The Emperor apuded his actions.


    It was a n inspired by his mother after news of Ezra spread far and wide.


    Niton was buzzing with activity, and in no time, another month passed.


    The new month was opened with a grand asion.


    It was the opening of Niton''s first Skyscraper!

 Chapter 239 Black Sky

    High status officials poured into Traxford, expectant of the skyscraper''s grand opening.


    News of the event had been circting a month before.


    It was a stunt by ck Jaws, and it had surely worked.


    To hold their vain, most of the nobles sent their emissaries to represent them, Bolton was in attendance as well-not that ck Jaws actually bothered.


    Most had arrived a day earlier, while more people poured in by the minute.


    The skyscraper was covered on all sides with a ck clothing.


    Once the streets were jam packed with people standing over others to witness the historic moment-Fredrick decided it was time.


    The building was heavily guarded by high ranking guild members on all sides, Kron was at the forefront.


    Then, a carriage, conspicuous it was, decorated all over pull in, from which Fredrick pulled over.


    With gleaming gray armour, he walked graciously to the Skyscraper, before turning to the people.


    His gaze previewed all. "It is an historic day as we witness the unfolding of Niton''s grand structure, and the many more toe"


    "Set it aze" he said, his tone thick.


    On each side, two people approached the blinds with torches in hand, and upon cing the torches near the blinds-it began burning.


    But rather burn in its literal sense, it disintegrated into dust as fast speed.


    In less than a minute, the blinds were gone. The majestic view of the spectacr construct was revealed.


    It was ck all over, with a pinch of grey, gleaming in the sunlight.


    "Wow"


    Onlookers could only gasp in amazement.


    It was a material most had never seen.


    Those that did recognize it were stunned into disbelief.


    "It couldn''t be¡­ they muttered.


    They didn''t what stone they used, but they recognized the paint.


    It was Berse ink!


    Specifically, it was something mixed with Berse ink.


    But still! Berse ink was one of the rare items most sought after-because it increased the efficacy of mana.


    It was used forying arrays, writing high level formation scrolls, Mana techniques, increase rune efficacy and much more!


    Not to mention the price, how did they get so much of it?!


    This was the first-time guilds and ns far from ck Jawsprehended but a bit of their financial prowess.


    Certainly, most paid attention, but not all.


    The rest were busy cleaning the leftover messes of the great war, electing new leaders, taking out rivals that were vulnerable and other things.


    In such, about one tenth of the Niton''s organizations were in the dark about ck Jaws matters.


    It became one tenth when Fredrick became a grandmaster-forcing many to begin paying attention.


    At this moment, Fredrick''s voice resounded.


    "Behold. ck Jaws greatest construct. ck Sky!"


    "Hoo"


    Another wave of gasps passed by. The name was surely catchy.


    More than that, the name was carved into top of the Skyscraper, distinguished with white paint.


    Then, the people started counting floors.


    "It has nine floors¡­" someone muttered, clearly overwhelmed.


    Nine floors!


    Others were shocked at the man''s quick deduction and counted it themselves as well.


    Something shattered in the minds of many, as the impossible was proved to be possible.


    A building of six floors was unheard of, not to talk of nine!


    The surprises just kept piling up.


    Then, striding across to the transparent door that revealed but a little of the inside, Fredrick called the onlookers along.


    "Friends, let us view this marvel together"


    Many adjusted their clothes and began walking towards to the entrance.


    For one the guards reduced rowdiness by a lot, forcing them to file up before they were allowed entry.


    Then, they did not discriminate between the high and low ss, again they couldn''t be bothered.


    Naturally the representatives were irked, but they curiosity held them on.


    A few thought it as too much hassle and left right away, while others simply instructed their subordinates to stand in line for them.


    Mind you, the entrance was not small, far from it, it was very wide, able to amodate five people standing side by side, and so, you had fivenes.


    When they reached the door, a man stationed by the doors side would stamp their arms with a symbol of purple ink, which glued on quickly.


    After that, the door would be pulled open, of which the workers would say, "Steady yourself, for you might experience a bit drowsiness and of course, have a great time"


    Thetter part was appreciated, but why the first part?


    They understood the moment stepped in.


    For a split second, they would a very ufortable discement.


    Those of high status weathered it easier than most.


    Commoners though, and low rank adventurers had their insides jumbled up, of which they found another worker waiting on the other side, handing them a bag to puke in.


    The sensation had the emissaries shocked.


    There was but two elements that could cause such reactions, but only one that was intense.


    ''Space magic!'' thought Bolton, adjusting his coat once more. Each phase just kept handing him surprises.


    The emissaries looked at each other, their thoughts rhyming.


    ''This ce is beyond imagination''


    The amount it would take to install any kind of space magic function was hefty-Bolton was beginning to understand how they spent hundreds of thousands of tina.


    Then chill winds hit them out of the blue, contrast to the hot weather outside.


    While it was not cold enough to do anything much to evenmoners, they suddenly felt more rxed.


    ''What is this mechanism?'' Bolton wondered if he was still in the same world.


    But he was admittedly enjoying himself.


    With the workers hurrying him up so others coulde in, Bolton quickly moved his feet.


    Walking about, he feels rejuvenated or at least, less fatigued-another surprise.


    Looking for the source, he discovers the mana within is far better than that outside.


    For one it was concentrated, meaning it had more density, then, it was purer, its high density made its effects far better than atmospheric mana that had dust particles within and the likes.


    Then, as he previewed the store, he found it far wider than the what it projected from the outside.


    In meaning, the interior and the exterior were disapportionate.


    They could be but a single cause.<novelnext></novelnext>


    ''Space magic?! Again?''


    Having it at the entrance was already impressive, but having the ground floor widened with space magic was insane.


    The amount it would incur was nothing short of extravagant.


    Bolton had a thought. ''Is this applied only on this floor, or¡­'' his thoughts trailed off.


    Then, you had spaces segmented with ss walls on a straight line.


    These spaces were empty.


    Wondering what they were, he inquired from the workers standing at the sides.


    "Each of those segments represents a shop" answered sinctly.


    "To sell merchandise?" he asked, to confirm.


    "Exactly so"


    "Then, why isn''t it filled with merchandise or even a seller"


    The worker shrugged. "That I do not know"


    Bolton nodded, walking about, he say manymoners were swaying about, the mana was too much for them.


    The day passed with Bolton perusing the nook and cranny of the skyscraper.


    By night, he almost didn''t want to leave.


    It was amazing all through.


    As the Empire''s representative, Bolton along with a few more, were allowed to peruse the building.


    All they could do was gasp each time.


    You had cultivation rooms, shop segments, formation rooms, training room, alchemybs, and even forges for cksmiths-all for rent!


    Moreover, chance stores an gambling houses were introduced, one on every floor, each better than thest-because ck Jaws knew the power of rxation.


    More importantly, the quality of every service ck Sky provided squashed they had previously seen.


    Emissaries ran to deliver word, a new storm was approaching


    Many ck Jaws members were brib-I mean, given gifts as a show of thanks.


    From the second floor upwards, ck Jaws had shop upied by members from ck Works, leaving the rest for rent.


    Armour, potions, weapons, rare herbs, and even beast eggs for the rich to take as pets.


    Then, he had selectively told a few that the shop segments were to be rented.


    Meaning, they would sell their merchandise in the biggest Nition''s biggest shop.


    Those with fast thinking could already see the potential.


    But not everyone was so keen once the rent price was stated.


    Rather than a fixed amount, ck Jaws would collect twenty five percent of all profits at the end of the month.


    "Outrageous!" many shouted. But ck Jaws wasn''t interested in having peasants for partners anyway.


    Then, ck Jaws was in charge of advertising products.


    Meaning they''d take care of the distribution. The shop owners just had to produce.


    Moreover, while the buyers initially chose the shop segment they wanted, ck Jaws had final say on who stayed where.


    After all, since rent was twenty five percent of profit, those who made most profit would naturally be more favoured.


    It wasn''t like ck Jaws couldn''t simply fill the skyscraper with their goods and workers.


    But they didn''t want to turn the entire market against them, so, they turned the market forces against itself.


    ck Jawswork spread far, and with ck Silence informants all over the ce, news of an uing auction of the greatest shop Niton, no, Lexon had ever seen spread to the farthest corners of the continent.


    More importantly, other nations were allowed to bid as well.


    Nitonians were clearly displeased, but since ck Jaws had offered a single space to the royal family on all floors for only six percent of profit! The Emperor didn''t speak against it.


    So, no one spoke against it, rather, they couldn''t since the Emperor allowed it.


    Even better news was that the loan had beenpletely paid off.


    The auction for the shop segments was scheduled a monthter purposefully so as to allow momentum and awareness to build.


    The entire structure was extravagant, from the blocks to the paint and the especially the functions.


    Extravagance was what nobles loved most.


    Like so, acquiring a segment in the skyscraper would be a symbol to represent ss.


    Then, projecting their belief of improving the lives ofmoners, anyone was allowed toe to shop.


    This in turn brought ck Jaws many royal followers who made their every purchase from ck Sky.


    Having prepared in advance, the first floor had almost everything amoner could want, it was also thergest floor, and the floor with items and services of the cheapest rates.


    Excluding few things, you had to be a D rank adventurer at least before bing a regr of upper floors.


    Also, the movement vehicle from one floor to another was stairs.


    It was implemented to reduce the rate ofmoners visiting upper floors-as they weren''t strong.


    Most of nobility were at least intermediate rank, allowing them to traverse such stairs easily.


    The auction took ce at the start of the third month and ended in an hour, that was how fast the segments sold out.


    The skyscraper had beenpleted for a bit more than year, but was left unopened.


    This was because ck Jaws did not have sufficient power at the time to guard against enemies.


    But now it did!


    ck Jaws now had seventeen masters! A jaw dropping number indeed, as such was the power of mana stones.


    Only the great families and the Royal Army could contend with such might.


    Of course, this power came with its own disadvantages as well, but Fredrick could handle it.


    For one, the ones allowed to advance to master rank were those whose loyalty had been tried and tested multiple times.


    Yes, allowed, having too many strong people would bring about a cmity.


    Therefore, once many reached Expert rank, there quota for training was significantly reduced until they were loyalty was certified.


    Those identified with malicious intent were purged, while many others were tasked with missions that would have travel to significant distances.


    This was to up theirbat skills by pitting them against others and plunging them in extremely difficult situations.


    You couldn''t have them simply cultivate.


    Thats why five masters were designated to chasing the Demon worshippers, these masters would switch ces with another five every six months.


    Ever since Ezra told of their dangers, ck Jaws was tracing their tails vigorously.


    Two masters died on those mission, bringing the number down to seventeen, along with hundreds of Experts.


    The more clue uncovered, the more fearsome the demon organization seemed to be.


    More importantly, their movements were now more erratic than ever, leaving a lot of traces.


    They were hastily preparing something, but ck Jaws hadn''t figured out what it was.


    Meanwhile, Ezra was making waves of his own.


    tina: Plural of tinum

 Chapter 240 Growth Potion

    On the same day ck Sky was inaugurated-two months after arriving-Ezra began to make massive moves in the academy.


    The student popce had been cut down by a bit beyond three thousand in thest two months.


    Two thousand were female, and the rest male.


    Meanwhile, Ezra and the rest breezed through the monthly tests.


    As Elisa mentioned, they now had a separate ss for Experts.


    Having trained for two months, Theron, Ashton, Johan, Roxanne and Velora revealed their Expert levels at Ezra permission.


    Ezra had upped his fighting capabilities through the strenuous training he''d been through, as well as the constant spars.


    The more he grew, the more he realized he wasn''t using his strength to the utmost potential.


    Particrly the runes carved into his skin.


    He had yet to master the impact, concealment, and the swift rune.


    Now, not maximizing potential didn''t necessarily mean he wasted it, buuut, he could use it better.


    For one, the concealment rune was neglected the most, and for a good reason.


    Its only function was cloaking one''s presence, and by itself was nothing special.


    But whenbined with his Darkness element, suddenly had many more options.


    The concealment was stronger, practically hiding his existence. Then, he could apply it to something other than himself to either shield allies, or as an attack, limiting the enemy''s senses.


    As for impact rune, he realized rather than having it on all the time, he should use it in opportune moments to boost attacks, surprising enemies.


    And for the swift run, he mostly focused it as an increase in foot speed, when in fact, it augmented all levels of movements.


    For the elements training, he used only lightning, Darkness and Blood in public, while training fire and ice in secret.


    The fact that he had triple elements caused an uproar in the academy, not to talk of quadruple.


    In the two months, he''d also had epiphanies which, looking at it now, should have been obvious.


    The legends of tomorrow came from this academy, and the fact they were children of high status basically tagged them as leaders of the next generation.


    Ezra was going to put them under him right now-at their most vulnerable point.


    So he begins by implementing a tax system.


    You had 8,814 students after three thousand were purged.


    The top 1000 paid him 8 gold every week, then next 1000 paid 7 gold and so on. Being equal, both genders paid.


    Those who tried to resist were squashed, how could anyone punish him when no one testified?


    But who in their right mind would testify against the number one?


    As such, the tax system came into ce with the top ten as the heads.


    The professor''s didn''t even try to stop it, mostly because it wasn''t tokens, meaning they didn''t need it to survive.


    Ezra sought to pick out an army of 3000.


    No matter what, the fact they''d passed thest two months was proof of their potential.


    So he screened them in his way, you couldn''t not participate-except you were okay with a few broken bones.


    At the end of it, 2732 boys and 500 girls were recruited. Again, they couldn''t say no.


    Ezra ced the top ten at the helm, and separated the groups into ten. Valentine was not included.


    Then, he personally trained them, making sure to impose more restrictions on himself while still doing more work than his army did.


    The threat of Demon worshippers was looming, and Ezra didn''t once forget his primary goal-revenge!


    At the start the drafted students whined like babies, but after a few examples and broken bones, they tucked in their discontent and did as was told.


    With Ezra''s expertise, it was long for them to start seeing changes.


    The rankings that were fairly stable were thrown into chaos. People were getting stronger, faster, most of which were those drafted by Ezra.


    With their ranks now in dismay, others were forced into training as well, else they''d plummet in strength.


    The academy got heated up.


    An additional two hundred boys and thirty girls joined willingly.


    Ezra had them go to the edge of hell and back. It was excruciating for these students who''d never trained so intensely, consistently. But it was very effective.


    With each training session, Ezra gained their respect and loyalty.


    They might have been initially forced into it, but they were forever grateful.


    They grew faster than many of them thought possible.


    Ezra then arranged that higher ranked students taught those of lower ranks.


    Then, he still had the copper scrolls that he copied mana techniques into, he had thosepiled, which he shared to top seven hundred.


    With it, the top ten were able to increase their battle prowess even more.


    The academy didn''t have a particr quota of people to cut down, instead, they ced a score a student must obtain by the end of the month.


    A cut off mark if you will.


    The mass training was like an infectious disease, forcing others to work hard as well, except for theziest few.


    Elisa couldn''t be happier. One because the failing rate had decreased tremendously and two, because Valentine, who was normally reserved, was training obsessively with her mother, Elisa, mentoring her.


    It allowed Elisa to fix her strained rtionship with her daughter, and what would know-it was because of a boy.


    Every time she thought of it, Elisa giggled wantonly, not knowing whether tough or cry. Of all things, a grudge against a boy bes the antecedent to fixing their rtionship.


    What would know, the boy was also the one behind the extraordinary passing rate.


    ''That Ezra boy keeps surprising me. If he keeps this up¡­'' she looked at her daughter, who was practicing her sword moves.


    Valentine suddenly felt chills down her spine. Only to look and see her mom staring with shining eyes.


    "Why are you looking at me like an exotic creature?"


    Elisa didn''t reply, her smile growing only wider as she turned to her work, pushed her sses in as she muttered, "Oh the possibilities, the possibilities¡­how exciting"


    On the first day of Ezra''s fourth month in the academy, he received a wooden box, courtesy of Bard.<novelnext></novelnext>


    In it were three vials containing light purple, and a note.


    It read, ''My liege, I hope your stay in the academy is fruit. It is with delight that I inform you that the growth potion isplete, and yes, is what you''re currently looking at. Taking hints for the recipes you gave me, I came up with a solution, rather than have the potion feed off vitality, these potions feed off mana. But as I''ve tested, they seem to work only once, and can have its effectpounded a maximum of three times, hence the three vials. Depending on one''s mana level and quality, the effects shall defer, so I rmend taking this only after hitting Expert level, which I feel shouldn''t be too long and with a fit body, as effects might diverge on bby skin. Oh, and when you do, have oversized clothes at the ready, all the changes to ur in the body take a maximum of three days to a week. I haven''t taken notice of any side effects


    From Bard, The Head Alchemist.


    Note: What are your thoughts releasing this potion to the public, and would you mind jotting the changes that ur when you finally drink the potion?...I just remembered something, nevermind''


    Ezra held his chin, a bright smile illuminating his expression. At this point, Bard''s loyalty was certified.


    ''Now¡­'' he raised a vial. ''Shall we see what you''ll do?''


    He was inwardly giddy, the potion hade at the right time, he didn''t like that his meridian cultivation had stagnated.


    Quickly, he went to a lone training chamber having packed the necessary items, he informed the top ten that he would be out after two weeks.


    Inside, he gulps down all three potions.


    A minute passes¡­nothing happened.


    ''Any time now'' he thinks, a mana stone in his mouth.


    Immediately, his body felt a sudden emergence.


    Veins popped all over as he felt his mana depleting, drying up.


    As that happened, his body shook, his eyes wide open with an expectant smile on his lips.


    His eyes shone with a blue luster, and shortly after, Ezra felt himself drained of strength.


    His eyelids grew heavy in an instant, darkness was upon him.


    He spits out the mana stone, wouldn''t have a repeat of what happenedst time.


    Then, Ezra falls asleep.


    Time ticks by as Ezray shirtless on the ground, his body quivering with his veins bulging.


    _________


    Ezra snapped awake. Breathing heavily, "Haaah¡­haaah¡­haaah"


    His vision is blurred, his eyes itchy and his body numb.


    After a few minutes the numb feeling fades, and Ezra''s sight clears up.


    The first thing he sees is a pair of long legs.


    Curiously, he touches it. Confirming that it was indeed his legs.


    Then, his hand wasrger as well, wider with longer fingers.


    "This¡­" his voice trailed off.


    He''d expected changes, but this was beyond that.


    For one thing, his body felt foreign.


    He stands after battling with his shaky legs.


    "Hoo" looking down, it seemed he''d grown even taller than his past life in his prime.


    The whole experience felt surreal, hended on his butt soon after.


    ''This will take a while to get used to''


    More importantly, his throat was dried up, he was parched.


    ''How long was I unconscious?''


    Apparently, he''d been out a week and a day after.


    He had to practice moving all over again.


    It was slow at first, but once he got the hang of it, progress elerated.


    Surprisingly, once he re-mastered the basic movements, pulling off his fighting skills was easy.


    Of course, such drastic change affected him, but the Infinite Forms was called that precisely because of its flexibility, it could change its form and sequence to suit anyone.


    Anywhere, that was forter.


    Firstly, Ezra focused on realizing the extent of his change.


    He jumped, kicked and punched all over the ce, exercising even the muscle in his fingers and toes.


    In less than a week, the feeling of foreignness had almostpletely faded.


    His power didn''t increase by much, but he was thankful it didn''t decrease either.


    He had taken off his restraints the moment he awoke-it had be too tight.


    If nothing else, his hard build muscles had deted for an almostnky build.


    ''Whatever, I''ll gain it back'' he thought.


    Thanks to Bard''s warning, Ezra changed from his short clothes into longer ones.


    Just imagining the ruckus his appearance would cause, Ezra thought he''d have a headache in advance.


    ''Thankfully no one saw me''


    He collected the box discreetly, outside the academy, so he coulde up with many excuses


    "Whoo" Ezra breathed out, and then pushed the door open.


    The sun greeted him, zing his eyes a bit.


    Ezra rejoiced, no one was around.


    But the moment he stepped into the corridor¡­


    "Huh?"


    Ezra turned to see Theron.


    "Who are you?"

 Chapter 241 Late Warning

    "Who are you?"


    It was Theron¡­but howe he''d grown shorter?


    Then it hit him. ''Oh!''


    Ezra facepalmed, giggling hysterically.


    "Did you not hear my question?" Theron raised his voice at the tant disrespect.


    While giggling, Ezra stretched his arm, reaching Theron''s head and then flicked his forehead.


    Theron''s head bent backwards.


    Theron didn''t act because he was unsure of what mental disease the student was suffering from.


    I mean, whoughs after being asked a question.


    "Ah!" Theron backed away, holding his throbbing head.


    Only then did Ezra face him. "I hope that helps your memory"


    ''This voice!'' Theron eyes went wide. "Boss?"


    "The one and only" Ezra replied.


    With the top ten as his roommates, they thought it disrespectful to call by his name.


    After debating whether to call him either leader, master, lord and a few others, they simply addressed him as Boss.


    Theron acknowledged that the man in front of him was Ezra-because apart from professors, no one was able to hurt him so much-but that only made things more iprehensible.


    "What happened to you?"


    "I overused my body and took to many potions to increase my chance of a breakthrough-this is the result of that"


    Theron was expressionless, having been by Ezra''s side the longest, he knew the man''s antiques all too well.


    "You really expect me to believe that?"


    "Nope. I guess I''ll juste up with something" Ezra turned. "Let''s go"


    Firstly, he went to see Elisa.


    Elisa fixed her sses. "A growth spurt you say?"


    Ezra nodded, "Yes. Ever since childhood my body has been experiencing elerated growth-although it is often more detrimental in long time"


    "I see" Elisa muttered. She previewed him. "Honestly I''m jealous. Come stand here and let me check you"


    For one, he''d grown from his previous height to 6''8, effectively dwarfing everyone else at the academy.


    His eyes were still ck and his hair still silver.


    So apart from his shrunken muscles, erged body size and new height, not much changed.


    "I''ll be going now. I''d appreciate that you help me avert any weird rumours that might pop up?"


    She nodded lightly. "Of course,"


    "Also, I''ll be out for a while. I need to get new clothes"


    Elisa approved.


    With that, Ezra was off to Guavedra best boutiques¡­only to be spotted just outside the gate by a man wrapped in ck clothes.


    The man whispers to him, ''I have a message for you''


    The messenger was certainly not a master, so Ezra had nothing to fear.


    Reaching a secluded area, the man pulls out an envelope from his breast pocket and handed it to him.


    It had been ruffled.


    "I was asked to deliver this as fast as possible. I had arrived ten days ago, but I was unable toe in contact with you"


    Ezra was rmed. Bard''s potions came ten days ago as well.


    In the envelope is a parchment.


    It read, ''My liege, in all hopes do I pray that this finds in time.


    Five days after I sent you the potion, I discovered that it had a tragic side effect.


    True to its name, those who drink it have their growth rate elerated, but in turn, their potential is sucked dry.


    To achieve such masterful growth, as I discovered, there had to be catalyst, potions were but ingredients made to draw out that catalyst, which would lead to the desired effect.


    With other potions, vitality absorbed from the blood was the catalyst.


    Having bypassed that, the growth potion did not affect the body''s vitality, but rather stoletent potential-which it then used to elerate the growth process.


    While I do not yet have specific parameters on how heavy the side effects will be, I advise that the potion is too dangerous and should not be used until further notice''


    Ezra brain stopped for a second, recalibrating the new wave of information with his eyes glued to the parchment.


    He could infer from pattern that the letter was written in urgency. Bard had even forgot to ce his name at the end.


    Ezra swept through his hair while his eyes became watery.


    Bard said it fed ontent potential, and Ezra drank three at once.


    He gripped this hair harder.


    For this to happen to him after amounting so much resources to reach master rank, it shouldn''t, no, it couldn''t be!


    But the letter was in his hands, if Bard''s words were true¡­he might never go beyond his current rank.


    He looked at the messenger and instantly grabbed him by the cor, raising him up.


    "Why didn''t youe sooner?" Ezra hollered, like a beast growling. "Do you realize what you''ve done?!"


    "This is all your fault!"


    "Hiek!" the man squealed, shivering with the fear in his re evident.


    "I should just¡­" Ezra grabbed him by the neck and began squeezing it.


    "Pwese¡­" the man managed to make out a pleading sound as he struggled to get Ezra''s palm off his neck, his eyes were bing red because of suffocation.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Pwese, dwant kall me!"


    While struggling, the man tore his mask off.


    Ezra immediately let go of him, letting him to fall to the floor.


    It was an old man, bald in the top side of his head while white hair grew around it.


    Ezra stepped back in shock. ''What am I doing?''


    Fidgeting a bit, he knelt and helped the man sit straight.


    The old man coughed and coughed, scaring Ezra as he eventually began coughing blood.


    ''Oh no''


    Only then was it sinking in that he had almost killed a man as old enough to be his grandfather-for no legitimate reason.


    While coughing, the old abruptly felt unconscious.


    "S-Sir?" Ezra panicked. Quickly, he brought out a healing potion and downed it into the man''s gullet.


    ''Please don''t die, please don''t die, please don''t die'' Ezra chanted, pouring a water into the man''s mouth.


    So long the heart was beating, there was still hope.


    --------------


    After one of the most grueling ten minutes of his life, the man begins to respond, and Ezra''s calms, his anxiety reducing.


    "Drink this"


    He wasn''t letting up, administering two more health potions to the old man.


    Three minutester, the man erratic breathing calmed, and he sat up.


    Before he could day anything, Ezra began begging profusely. "I''m so sorry. I am so stupid, I almost killed you because of my mistake. Please I''m very sorry"


    The man simply smiled. "It''s okay young one. At least I didn''t die, that''s all that matters"


    "I''m still very sorry" Ezra repeated, before the man said, "Raise your head. It''s okay"


    Only then did Ezra calm down.


    A few minutes pass in silence.


    "Old man, what are you doing all the way out here?" Ezra inquired.


    "What do you think? I have to feed my grandchildren after that sted war took my child from me. It''s not like someone else is going to do it for me"


    Ezra''s eyes brighten, "Then, you have to let me repay to for this stupid mistake that I''ve made"


    "You don''t have to-


    Ezra shook his head. "I insist" and brought out a pouch from his space rings and handed it to the man.


    cing it in the man''s palms, the old man found it light, and touching it, he inferred the object within.


    ''Coins''


    Money.


    Then, out of curiosity he pours it into his other palm.


    They were ten coins. Definitely Nitionian currency, but rather brown, silver or gold, this one was greyish white.


    ''No way''


    The man realized what it was, and his hands started quivering.


    "I can''t take this"


    "You have to, I won''t take it from you"


    "B-But-


    "I have far much more" Ezra said coaxingly, closing the man''s palm. "Take this as a token of gratitude and buy yourself new clothes, these one''s are dirty"


    Indeed, while he hadn''t noticed before the man''s clothes were dirty, proof of how much he had gone through to get here.


    ''And I almost killed him¡­I must''ve really run insane''


    "Thank you" said the old man, a bright smile hung on his face.


    Ezra takes the pouch and inscribe some symbols on the front.


    "Take this pouch to any ck Jaws guild hall to exchange it for gold"


    The old man''s smile deepened.


    He''d been wondering how to exchange the money without getting killed.


    Now, his worried melted like ice in water.


    Filled with determination, the old man stands. "Thank you for everything, I will not forget this your highness. Now, I must be going"


    Mncholic, Ezra nodded slightly. "Travel safely"


    "Yes"


    Then, the old man left, leaving Ezra alone to ruminate.


    ''With how dirty his clothes were, he must have gone through a lot to get here on the same day as the first messenger despite being five dayste''


    Each word just had him hating himself more.


    He stared at his hands. ''This is my fault. I was so excited I didn''t wait another minute to use the potions, and now¡­I''ll be paying the price.


    Dejectedly, Ezra went to the boutique and got himself quality clothes.


    Heading to the dormitory, many students stared, wondering who he was especially with the tall frame.


    Reaching the academy''s backyard where he trained his army of conscripted students, he met a ruckus.


    "Where is Ezra Miller?!"

 Chapter 242 Annoying

    "Where is Ezra Miller?"


    Ezra was unnerved, wondering what the problem was, but then he saw the one speaking-Valentine Kreel.


    "Yes?!" Ezra hollered.


    "Huh?" ran through simultaneously across everyone''s mouth as they turned to see a tall dude draped in ck clothes with silver hair.


    The adequate response came forth.


    "Who are you?"


    Ezra locked eyes with Theron. "You haven''t told them?"


    "I was about to¡­" he stared at Valentine. "¡­when she came along"


    "What do you want?" Ezra asked.


    Valentine stared for a long minute. "I know that voice, but¡­is that you Ezra?"


    "Of course not, my name is Micheal"


    Valentine narrowed her eyes. "I''m not stupid you know"


    "Huh? I actually didn''t know"


    She clenched her fists, quietly looking over Ezra''s new figure. "Last time, you ignored my request for a duel. I''m here officially to reissue it"


    Ezra stared with dead eyes.


    His mind was still a mess hearing the possibility that he was unable to advance, so now he was just annoyed.


    "I already told you," he said. Waving his handszily, "It''s a waste of time and energy"


    "Why? Because you defeated others doesn''t mean you''ll be able to defeat me"


    Ezra stared, before bursting intoughter. "Sure. In fact, I''m so afraid of losing I refuse to fight you-is what you wanted to hear, right?"


    "Well it''s true, why else wouldn''t you fight me?"


    "My head" Ezra rubbed his head. He just answered this question.


    After a long sigh, he turns around. "You know what?"


    Valentine looked expectant. While the drafted students awaited his answers as well.


    Ezra raised his hands. "I surrender"


    "W-What?" Valentine was flustered.


    "I said I surrender" he said, walking away.


    Valentine had to get a hold of herself. "T-Then you have to give me your crest"


    Ezra stopped. "You seem to be a master at pushing things" he said. "Do you want to lose that badly?"


    "Hah, just ept the duel and stop making a fool of yourself"


    All the while, Ezra''s thoughts whirred. ''Should I just give it to her? This is frustrating''


    But then¡­


    ''Maybe I should give her what she wants?''


    Ezra nodded. He had a feeling that if he didn''t settle things here, the annoyance would only grow.


    Moreover, he''d been looking for an outlet to destress.


    ''I have to be careful though, killing her would reallyplicate matters'' he thought. ''¡­But I should end things quickly. So¡­about thirty percent?''


    Thirty percent of his strength that is.


    He got into stance. He was going to fight barehanded. ''Shouldn''t take longer than a minute''


    "You win" he says after a lot of thought. He turns to the thousands of students around them. "Move back"


    Instantly, the top tenply-because they knew what he was capable of.


    Others were flustered by how fast the top brass responded and quickly backed away as well.


    "I ept the duel" Ezra says, the crest on his pocket lit up.


    "Are duels to be conducted like this? shouldn''t we head to the arena?" Valentine asked.


    "The arena is to make sure you have enough witnesses for the duel" he points to the thousands of students around. "As you can see, we have more than enough witnesses"


    She gathered her purple hair and tied it with rubber, before unsheathing a katana strapped to her side.


    Its hilt was red while the de was gleaming ck.


    "That''s a good de. Can I have it after I win?" asked Ezra.


    "Only if you can give me something equal in value if I win" she replied.


    "Sure" he nodded.


    "Where''s your weapon?" she asked, puzzled.


    "I don''t need it to defeat you"


    "I won''t attack an armless person"


    "Wow, so full of chivalry, are we? It''ll get you killed" he stretched.


    "Suit yourself" she replied with a heavy tone. "Don''t me me for what happens next"


    "Get on with it"


    "Huu" she inhaled.


    Her presence erging as her body lights up with purple lightning.


    "Oh" Ezra was pleasantly surprised.


    The lightning then converged onto her katana, and then, she locked eyes with Ezra, and suddenly¡­vanished.


    "What the-


    He didn''t finish before his sense warned him of an iing attack and immediately, he turned clockwise and raised his guard.


    Before he could even settle in the position, Valentine appeared, cleaving down with her lightning de.


    Cha!


    The ground cave in a bit with Ezra guarding the sword with his hands, the sword couldn''t even go inpletely, only taking trickles of blood.


    "That''s a new trick" Ezramented. Realising the folly.


    ''The daughter of the academy head, I guess using space magic wasn''t out of possibilities''


    "Ugh!" Valentine grunted. She did expect that her de might not cut off his arm in one go, but it didn''t even budge.


    "What kind of skin do you have?" she grunted out.


    "A lightning resistant one"


    THUM


    His arms lit up with white lightning, "I can do this too" and he punched out.


    Immediately, Valentine warps her way out of danger, arriving a few meters away.


    "So now you''re running?" Ezra taunted.<novelnext></novelnext>


    "Damn you" she growled, her lightning ring, before warping.


    ''She''sing''


    Immediately, he seemingly punched the air for no reason-when Valentine appeared in the direction of his punch.


    Craaan!


    The fist and katana hit one another, with Valentine sted backwards and warping before she touched the ground.


    Kang!


    Ezra intercepted her strike. She immediately warped again.


    Kang!


    And again.


    Kriian!


    And again.


    Kiiin!


    And again.


    She was constantly warping, reappearing around him attacking in all the ways that she could.


    Ezra guarded calmly at first, but as she sped up, he sped up.


    Kang!Kang!Kang!Kang!Kang!


    "Interesting" Ezra spoke, a grin on his face. "Let''s see how far you can go" Ezraughed


    Like so, his n changed from a fast win with overwhelming to testing Valentine''s limit.


    Most couldn''t make out anything, Valentine and Ezra had turned into afterimages, only the colour of purple and white were distinguishable, as they shed so much it looked like they were in symphony.


    It was beautiful.


    For the strongest few, it looked like a mirage in space was constantly moving around Ezra-who''s hands seemed to have turned in bright white due to how fast it was moving-causing sparks of purple and white to fly about.


    ''What is this?!''


    Valentine was rmed, she had reached her limits, but all she attained were shallow shes that healed faster than she could think.


    For most part, Ezra dodged or blocked, he wasn''t attacking for some reason-even though Valentine knew he could-and he didn''t look like he was getting fatigued in the least, rather, excitement flushed his face as he grinned like mad man, exposing the white teeth in full and his nature as a beast.


    On the other hand, her hair was disheveled, and her eyes mirrored the fatigue her body was feeling.


    Once Ezra registered that her attacks had gotten weaker and the intervals between her warps got longer, he went into attack mode.


    She was at her limits, he''d gotten the information needed, now¡­


    ''Let''s end this''


    He froze for a few seconds, his eyes closed with his hands raised in front of him.


    He was trying to pinpoint Valentine''s next warp point.


    Then¡­ ''Found it''


    He huffed, in one smooth motion, rotated and punched out with right arm garbed in white lightning.


    Valentine appeared right in front of his punch.


    ''Gotcha''


    ''Oh no!''


    Valentine hurriedly ced her katana in the direction of the punch.


    But¡­


    POW!


    It mattered not.


    Valentine indirectly puked water the moment the punch connected, before being blown afar.


    She smashed through trees before bouncing on the ground thrice and then kissing dirt.


    In all ounts, she was KNOCKED out, leaving a trail of dust in her wake.


    The onlookers had their mouths agape, moving their gaze from Valentine to Ezra, whose stance mirrored the gait of a Boss, while his clothes were ruined.


    The perceptive one registered something.


    ''Wait, he didn''t have armour on to take all those strikes¡­yet I don''t see any injuries¡­''


    They gulped. Carving into their skulls never to offend Ezra.


    Particrly the top brass.


    "What?" Ezra suddenly asked, wondering why all the students were staring at him like an exotic beast.


    Johan answered, scratching his head awkwardly, "We''re wondering if you couldn''t have been, you know, a bit gentler¡­considering that she''s a girl and all that"


    Ezra raised a brow, not properlyprehending such stupidity.


    "When you get to real battlefields. Being either gentle or merciful is the first that''s going to get you killed"


    They shut their mouths, when Ezra added "Besides, I practice equality" in a matter-of-factly tone.


    The boys raised eyebrows, rubbing their chins, seemingly enlightened on a matter they did not previously understand.


    Ezra picked up her katana, she had dropped it when he punched her.


    Feeling the smooth surface, he muttered "It''s a fine de" before sucking it into his space ring. "And now it''s mine"


    He looked at his clothes, cut to tatters.


    "Let''s get changed"


    He heads to the dormitory, leaving Theron a message.


    "Theron, once she awakes, take her crest"


    Theron nodded.


    Heading back, Ezra rubbed his head. "What a hectic day"


    He suddenly stops, a few seconds pass and he turns sideways, seemingly looking at nothing before saying. "You''re still hiding?"


    A pleasant tone rang. "Ohoho. To think you''d actually notice"


    Elisa came into view, smiling as always.


    Ezra just stared. "Why are you here?"


    "Tsk, you''re too boring"


    "You''re not here to take revenge, are you?"


    Elisa giggled, waving her handzily, "Of course not. What kind of mother would I be if I didn''t let my daughter grow?"


    Ezra simply nodded. "So. What is it?"


    "My daughter," she said. "What''s your impression of her?"


    "Huh?"

 Chapter 243 Thank You, Fredrick!

    "My daughter" she said. "What''s your impression of her?"


    "Excuse me?"


    Ezra was instantly confused.


    "You heard me"


    "Uhh¡­" Ezra went down the memoryne. "She''s strong, and has a lot of potential¡­?"


    "That''s it?" Elisa questioned.


    Ezra scratched his head, feeling embarrassed, though unsure why.


    He''d meant what he said, if he wasn''t a master, she would have done quite a number on him.


    The number 2 position was well deserved.


    Elisa sighed. "What about her looks?"


    "Oh" Ezra eximed, the gears in his head predicting where the conversation was heading.


    After coughing a bit, he spoke. "Well, she looks beautiful-like many others"


    Elisa''s smile brightened, though she didn''t like thest part.


    "Is that so? I''m d"


    "Umm, are you by any chance¡­


    "Bye" she didn''t wait for him to finish before warping away.


    Ezra was left with conflicting thoughts.


    -------------


    Elisa appeared in her office. Sits on a floating book in contemtion.


    ''Unlike my previous thoughts, he seems ignorant about these matters, which is strange since he''s a prince¡­should I call this good luck or bad luck'' she thought. ''Regardless, he''ll a fine son-inw''


    Her smile rose to the skies just thinking about it.


    ''Now, I just have to get them together somehow''


    She rubbed her hair. ''Should I call up the Emperor on this matter? No, not yet. I should affirm how much his growth spurt affects him. Will he hit puberty early, or¡­.'' Her thoughts trail off.


    If the boy was capable, age was a small issue.


    Besides he was more responsible than most she knew.


    ''Maybe I shouldn''t rush things, Valentine might get annoyed''


    ------------


    Elsewhere, Ezra changed his clothes, the matters of Elisa''s inquiry were shoved somewhere.


    His driedtent potential took priority.


    He wrote a letter to Bard asking if there was a way to checktent potential.


    Notent potential meant he wouldn''t grow any more.


    While this was fitting since he grown already.


    If his internals couldn''t constantly evolve, he would die if he tried to advance a major rank.


    The internals of grandmasters and masters were worlds apart, if his master rank body didn''t advance to suit grandmaster specs, he''d die, either by exploding in all glory or his organs rupture.


    This was a very worrying problem, so Ezra fished out the note where he wrote down future events, skimming through it to find something that might help.


    He found a few.


    But¡­ ''These won''t be avable for a long while''


    They were either resources obtained from otherworld monsters or dungeon items-all of which wouldn''t be making appearance until after the apocalypse-which wouldn''t be until 1733.


    Twenty-one years from now.


    Ezra rubbed his hair in frustration. ''Is there no other way¡­?''


    Then, his eyes brightened, remembering something as he flipped pages to arrive at a page depicting a being standing on hind legs, with horns and a skin of crimson colour.


    ''Right, the heart of a demon''


    Demons.


    They were the beings who invaded Orion right when Ribera and Roosevelt moved to erase Nitonpletely.


    That marked the beginning of the era of disasters.


    ''Yes, the heart of a demon can be made into limit breaking elixir''


    Ezra paused for a full minute. His mind kept repeating two words. ''Limit breaking, limit breaking, limit breaking, limit breaking¡­''


    His instincts were tingling, he was onto something, and the word ''limit breaking'' was the key.


    And then¡­ "OHHH!" Ezra eximed. Delight filled his face as he recalled a long past memory.


    Without fanfare, he began releasing the things in the ancient space ring.


    From the things he scrapped from the hired assassins to therge amount of gold coins to the copper scrolls and then his weapons¡­he found it!


    A vial containing a transparent liquid.


    The Un-limiting dew!


    Without dy, he popped it open and gulped it down.


    It was like water, Ezra didn''t do anything.


    It rolled past the gullet, and the moment it entered the body, Ezra shook.


    His body rumbled from inside, it was like his internals were jumping for joy.


    A refreshing feeling flushed through his veins. It was bliss.


    Ezra inhaled, his eyes rolling back as he changed inexplicable changes in him.


    After five minutes of Euphoria, his senses abruptly returned, pping him back to reality.


    He sits, regting his breathing, sweating all over.


    He couldn''t exin what happened to him, but he instinctively knew his problem oftent potential had been erased.


    "YES!" he shouted. Jumping and fisting the air.


    He exhaled, feeling livelier than ever, and his face had the widest grin.


    "Thank you, Fredrick!" he eximed, because he was the catalyst of this event.


    Then, he settled down.


    His bones were still scrunching up at different ces-the dew was at work.


    He was exhrated, but also a bit tired, so he slept.


    Month''s passed by, with Ezra living the life.


    As the number one to seven, he had the top members fulfill the monthly requirements in his ce-as he did for the past three months


    Beasts of Expert rank were already scarce, and he was a master, killing such beast would be very easy.


    Instead of going on a massacre and ughtering every Expert beast, he let those below him gain experience.


    Then, Valentine joined Ezra''s army willingly.


    Shortly after, the top few had a battle to determine hierarchy.


    It was almost the same, except that Valentine came second, knocking Johan to third,


    Theron was still number one.


    With Ezra training like never before, mostly because his energy capacity had exceeded past limits and because he aimed to improve his physique and master it as fast as possible.


    It was dizzying for the drafted students, who had to train with Ezra.<novelnext></novelnext>


    While they did only a quarter of what Ezra did, it was still very hard.


    The top brass did half of what Ezra did.


    As such, they improved at crazy rates.


    They began distinguishing themselves from the rest of the student body as ''training maniacs'' attracting even more students to join.


    The females did work routines designed by Ezra but with Valentine and Roxanne leading them separately.


    Then, Ezra recognized that his training wasn''t the best for everyone, so he enlisted the help of the professors who were surprisingly amodating.


    Exining his aim, the professors diagnosed a training regime for Shifters, Mages, and Knights-aimed at helping them master their biggest strength while shoring up their weakness.


    News of Ezra''s action went far.


    Moreover, Ezra had bought out two shops with the taxes he was collecting.


    Of that, he sent money to the poor and the needy, garnering respect from others-which was part of the n.


    Then, he hired them, and had them begin learning hired professionals.


    To build the best presence-one must aim to do things differently.


    In a world of selfishness and ignorance, being generous went a long way.


    Three months passed. It was now Ezra''s seventh month at the academy.


    Ezra had grown, rathernky, he was broad shouldered but not buffed with robust muscles.


    Draped in a new ck and gold uniform, he looked cool yet deadly.


    (A/N: Imagine Uzui''s figure, but less)


    His short silver hair was as eye catching as always, dressed in spikes with a bit of it falling to the left side of his face.


    Along with that, the growth potion had truly elerated his growth.


    He''d hit puberty!


    Since he was reincarnated, it wasn''t a big deal.


    Last month, Ezra advanced to mid rank, proving that thetent potential problem was no more.


    So, except for a few things, the past seven months have been peaceful.


    But Ezra knew it wouldn''t be long before the chaos started, he knew so because ck Silence had recently gained information hinting at the demon worshippers orchestrating arge attack.


    With the powers still recuperating from the great war, Ezra expected the worst.


    That''s why he pushed himself even when it seemed he''d already achieved enough.


    The students he drafted suffered for it.


    Some left due to stress but Ezra couldn''t care less.


    He''d already achieved his aim by having them recognize his might and potential, he had put them under his feet.


    That was why he drafted them.


    He didn''t really think they''d be his loyal army, especially since they were children of people in high ces.


    One could practically say he ruled the whole school.


    Beyond him, ever since ck Sky was inaugurated, ck Jaws was making so much they could barely count.


    The money from the businesses was used to build the academy Ezra told them to build.


    Yes, the Emperor approved of it after giving them shop spaces in the skyscraper for free.


    What would you know? It was nearingpletion.


    Then, Cabrera had advanced to mid master rank as did Kron while Sebastian was inte master rank.


    After that, Ezra''s mother had advanced tote Expert. A very impressive feat when regarding her age.


    In addition, her faction had begun to gain traction and generate waves within noble circles.


    The fact that ck Jaws was backing them was no more a secret.


    Then you had Niton''s heirs.


    Triton was making exemry contributions in the army.


    The other two princes were in Niton''s second academy, Trom academy.


    Connor-the second prince-had given up battling for the throne so he could dive deeper into the study of magic and learn the world''s truths.


    The Emperor had no problems with it. so long one of his sons yearned for the throne-it was enough.


    One could not force desire.


    Jordan-the third prince-on the other hand had also grown his infamy, but in another way.


    Rather his sword skills, the boy was now known as a womanizer. His acts of sleeping with a girl in the academy and uncontrolled drinking habits had reached all ears.


    Gwendolyn was facing from everywhere because of it.


    --------------


    Meanwhile¡­


    A man with long ck hair sat shirtless, cross legged under a sigil written in red in a room lit with torches when another man walks in, covered in red from head to toe with a fiendish mask.


    "Sire, it is done"


    The leader raised his bent neck. But did not turn to the other man. "I gave you seven months. You''ve used almost double that. Why?"


    "Sire the potion was far too iplete after just seven months. I thought would be a tragedy and disrespect for me to use an inferior substance for our grand n"


    "Hmm" the leader said. "Very well then. Is everything set in ce"


    "Yes. I made sure of it"


    "Then have themmence"


    The man bowed and left.


    The leader had his red eyes calm as still water, many thoughts swirling about his head.


    -------------


    At Russell, Gaga sat on his throne speaking with his son, Lexon''stest grandmaster when he felt a pull in his pocket.


    He frowned, and his son took note. "Is it them?"


    Gaga nodded, got up and went into the room, where he opened the artifact the demon worshippers handed him.


    "What is it?"


    An eerie voice came from the other side, the face wasn''t visible. "We have fulfilled our side of the bargain, it time you fulfilled yours"


    "Which is?"


    "War"


    "I cannot people in harm''s way again"


    "Without us, there wouldn''t a people to look after"


    Those words stung, but Gaga couldn''t refute them.


    "Now, here is what you''ll do¡­


    An borate n wasid out, the ingenuity of it shook Gaga to the bone.


    "Just how much do you want to see the world burn!" Gaga shouted..


    "You misunderstand," said the voice. "We only seek to please our lords"


    "If our Lords says the world has to burn-then it has to burn"

 Chapter 244 Upheaval

    ''I''ll get myself a good catch today'' thought Theodore as he skimped over leaves and branches, approaching the inner part of the Revir Beast Region.


    He was garbed in blue armour with a long sword strapped to his thighs.


    As a ck Jaws member, the pressure to advance was amounting with every passing day.


    Thankfully, with the guilds loan system, he got himself the best equipment for those in his rank, and now, he was headed to kill the C rank beast, nt viper.


    He could barely suppress his excitement, visioning himself posing beside the beast''s corpse after a lengthy battle.


    And because he''d done his homework on the beast, it didn''t seem at all insurmountable.


    But all that came to stop the moment he spotted moving figures; their bodies obscured by ck cloaks.


    Theodore squatted immediately, making sure to keep his movements to a minimum.


    In beast regions, carelessness was all it took to send people to their graves, so every living thing was regarded as hostile as first contact.


    That said, he didn''t know who these people were, nor could he discern their ranks, and mostly, he was curious about what it was they were trying to do.


    The two figures whispered words Theodore could not discern, except that they were discussing something.


    Then, a beast, a tempest wolf to be exact, appeared in front of the duo.


    Without a word, the leopard had a dagger in its side, Theodore hadn''t seen them throw it.


    For one, he confirmed that they were indeed stronger than him.


    Then, he looked at the beast.


    Clearly angry, the wolf growled, preparing an attack when suddenly, it fell to the floor like a drunk man.


    ''Huh?'' Theodore blinked. ''What happened?''


    As a low rank shifter, Theodore couldn''t morph, but he had some abilities, one was the eye of a hawk.


    His vision zoomed in, examining the beast and then the dagger, well, its hilt since the de was stuck in the beast.


    Nothing seemed unusual about the beast, the dagger though had its hilt depicting a snake''s head, and it was dark crimson.


    The duo walked past the beast, one petting its head while removing the dagger and spoke in a loud tone. "Should I kill him?"


    Theodore''s back went cold.


    "Leave him, we don''t hide anyways. Let him muster whatever futile resistance he can, the result will be but the same"


    The duo walked away.


    Theodore had frozen in fright, barely gaining cognitive senses minutester.


    He fell on his butt and panted heavily. One thought on his mind. ''I have to get out of here!''


    He stands and turns, only to pause at the sound of bone''s snapping.


    Slowly, he squatted, peering through the leaves to see the tempest wolf stand.


    As it did, its green striped white skin developed crimson hues all over.


    Then, its paws grewrger as did its body, its jaw grew disproportionate and then its eyes became red.


    Like a beast, it growled. But this time, louder than before and more savage as saliva dripped down its mouth.


    It locked eyes with Theodore, and instantly, Theodore realized there was no escape.


    Rather let it corner him, Theodore stepped out, stance first as he held his sword with shaking hands.


    It was either kill or be killed.


    And Theodore was damn sure he wasn''t going to die today.


    "Ahh!"


    "GROWL!"


    Man, and Beast went at it.


    __________


    Meanwhile, Gaga and his son Gird adorned their war armour.


    "I still cannot understand" Gird suddenly said.


    "What?"


    "Why you would make a deal with those people"


    Gaga sighed. "It was to save the kingdom"


    Gird gave a slow nod. "Then let us hope it was worth it"


    Stepping outside, an army of a hundred thousand strong stood in front of the castle.


    They''d been breeding this army even before the end of thest war could be estimated, it was preparation for the war soon toe.


    "We greet his highness!" One shouted.


    All soldiers went down a knee simultaneously.


    "WE GREET HIS HIGHNESS!" they chanted, before going back to their standing positions.


    Father and son looked over the group of men.


    "Are they referring to you or me?" Gird asked.


    "I have no idea" Gaga replied. "Would you like to do the honours?"


    "Surely" Gird answered. Raising his hand, the soldiers quiet down.


    "You have been gathered here for only a briefing" he started. "We believe another war is underway, as such, all soldiers must be ready for deployment at all times. Dismissed"


    Themander took charge right after, directing the soldiers as they marched away.


    Gird spoke. "Has there been any news?"


    "One" said Gaga. "We head to Itrevezar"


    "Any ns?"


    "Just to get there and be ready when the signal pulls through"


    Gird held his chin, "Any talk of reinforcements?"


    "It was briefly mentioned, but I doubt"


    "Hah, why am I not surprised?" Gird smiled dejectedly. "When do we leave?"


    "Right now"


    With that, Gaga took off, shooting mes from his feet as he did with Gird following behind him.


    ________


    In Sce.


    Two men draped in green and white robes walked to the front of a pce built in square shape and painted white.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The guards pulled the spears to block their way. "State your business" they asked.


    "I''vee to see Oakbear, your king"


    "How dare you-


    A voice echoed. "Let them pass"


    It was the voice of their King.


    Quickly, the hostility was withdrawn and the two mysterious figures walked in majestically to meet a man, with arge stomach and orange beard seated on a short but wide throne.


    "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Oakbear inquired.


    "Good to see you as well" he replied.


    "Covaria''s haughty king in the flesh, do your people know you''re here?"


    Covaria''s king Hunun, replied with a serious expression. "A few of them, yes. Besides that, we''vee as a matter of urgency"


    "And expect me to help you?" Oakbear raised a brow.


    "I expect you to help yourself. The approaching cmity is relegated to one kingdom"


    "And what exactly would that be?" he spouted with eye mirroring disbelief.


    "Demon worshippers" Hunun answered with a low tone.


    Oakbear was silent for a few seconds. "So? We''ve taken them on before. We can do it again if need be"


    "How conceited" spat the other. "Surely you realize that they are by no means fools"


    "What does that mean?"


    "It means they n something far more sinister than all we''ve previously encountered"


    Oakbear finally adopted a look of seriousness. "Hmm, how do you know all this?"


    "We have our ways, and all we''ve discovered is that a tragedy is approaching, rather it might already be here"


    "And youe to me for help?"


    "Don''t tter yourself, we''ve came to request an alliance to be moved in advent of theing cmity"


    "Why should I believe you?"


    "You shouldn''t. But you''ll have no one to me when your kingdom is brought to its knees"


    Oakbear''s aura red. "Is that a threat?!"


    "A sufficient warning" Hunun replied without flinching. "We will discuss the terms of the alliance tomorrow. I suppose that you''ll prepare sufficient reception at the very least?"


    After a big huff, Oakbear requested the guards to escort them to their rooms and the maids to make sure their needs where met.


    Out of sight, Oakbear thought of a lot of things.


    He felt their presence far even before they reached the city, which was why he wasn''t rmed.


    Hearing the words of Hunun, he couldn''t exin it, but he had a bad feeling.


    Thinking deeper, he realized that the warnings might hold true.


    Little did he know, but tomorrow would spark a chain of massive changes in Lexon.


    __________


    "Sir" said a demon emissary. "The puppets have moved into ce, and the disease has been spread. Should we begin?"


    The demon leader gazed afar, his eyes glinting from within his ck mask, while tapping the arming of his skull throne. "Give it a day"


    "But then-


    "I await a message"


    The emissary gulped nervously, bowed and walked away.


    The leader sat in darkness and silence, with the sound of his tapping arming echoing.


    ________


    In a world differing from Orion, the groundy scorched with the winds in the air dark.


    Along these cracks was a shining liquid moving in slow currents like any river. It wasva.


    Far beyond those was a mountain, jagged it was, with a crust darker than ck.


    Carved into it was a stairway, leading to the residence of the Lord.


    His eminence had lustrous crimson skin, three horns to signify his undeniable might, a long sharp tail with a star shaped end garbed in the best armours.


    "KREKIS?" (Well?) he sought from the one kneeling before him, his voice being very deep. "Sutun ragum rezar?" (What did you see?)


    Raising its head to reveal its one eye, red andrge with two horns arching backwards and bowed again. "Depashy Mugum" (I have failed) she replied.


    The Demon grit his teeth, the canines in full view, "SUTUN RAGUM REZAR?!" (WHAT DID YOU SEE?!)


    The mountain shook and the demon retreated in haste, while not daring to raise her head. "Mimashi" (Destruction). "Mimashi Rektum Resash" (Destruction of all our ns)


    The demon calmed. "Tesadagi sagam?" (Did you see the cause?)


    She shook her head. "Masha Irsagi Iryam" (I did not see clearly). "Kashata Jisagi lullugum" (But I discerned it to be a young boy living in biggest ce"


    "Subutum mishkarin. Raka" (Useless clues. Come here)


    She dragged her knee until she reached him and without warning, he ced his hand in her head. "Ifacivigim Derim nuyun" (I will channel my power into you) Rakin saddimm. (Find him)


    The demon''s palm lit up with a murky red light and the demon girl heaved, her eyes turned inside, recing it with whiteness.


    She began speaking. "Tefarin giamam" (My vision is blocked)


    The demon "hmph"ed and pumped more power, the eye began bleeding.


    "Urguwan Resanin litam" (Twelve cycles and ck eyes"


    She pukedrge amounts of blood.


    "Zisanan!" (Continue!) but the demon lord was still going strong.


    "Gasgitanin¡­redaminushin" (Silver hair¡­Royalty)


    POP!


    The moment she uttered thest word her eyes popped in all its glory and blood flowed down like a river.


    She was dead.


    "Isadun risin" (What a shame)


    The demon lord flung her away. Gasping for air, surely, it had taken a toll on him as well, but the smile on his face was unmatched.


    He knew what he had to do.

 Chapter 245 Dreadful Announcement

    The next day.


    In a vast hall with jade coloured walls, the top five of ck Jaws-Fredrick, Cabrera, Sebatian, Kron and Nathan-sat around a circr table.


    Sebastian started things off. "I believe we''ve all received the news"


    They all nod.


    Reports have beening in about Beast''s behaving erratically.


    With ck Silence in ce, the top ranks knew what was going on, well not all of it, but enough.


    Fredrick took over. "It''s a bit sooner than expected, but thankfully we''re sufficiently prepared"


    "Should we inform the royal family?" asked Kron.


    "They should''ve already received the information," Fredrick replied.


    "If they haven''t?"


    "That''s not our problem"


    Kron stopped there.


    Fredrick watched closely. ''They''re already watching closely. There''s no telling what sorts of usations they would propagate against us the minute we inform them of iing doom''


    Preferably too, it would be better if others suffered damage, because only then would ck Jaw shine brighter.


    "Can''t we keep a few more things?" Nathan asked.


    "No" Fredrick said sternly. "Maybe other times, but with the attack so near, it would be far too suspicious. Besides, we can always rebuild it since we own thend"


    "What about the people?" Cabrera asked with a deep tone.


    "I don''t care about what happens to other people-that was never our job. As for members and workers, I called a rallying two days ago, anyone who hasn''t arrived as only themselves to me"


    "Ok" Cabrera nodded. "What now?"


    "Now, we wait"


    _________


    "Oh Marty, how are you?"


    "Fine uncle Danny, feel refreshed"


    In a vige as obscure as any other, the vigers went about their business.


    People made small talk with a bit of gossip here and there with heartyughs echoing.


    Suddenly¡­ "AHHH!"


    A piercing shriek was heard, the whole vige froze, and because the vige was very small, a small turn of their head had them face to face with the monstrosity standing on their wooden fence.


    It was a hyena with a skin in patches of grey and red, snarling excitedly on the wooden fence.


    The men were no cowards, taking out their weapons and closing in on the beast while making sure the women were out of range.


    They inched closer, encircling it with their swords and pitchforks in hand.


    Yet the beast was unbothered, hopping on the fence in sheer excitement like it had inhaled mana weeds with his butt face to the vige while it made strange noises.


    Just then, the beast turned to them, opening its jaw wide to reveal its voracious teeth as it whimpered.


    The men gulped and flinched.


    They heard multiple other whimpers, and that''s when it dawned on them-the hyena was calling its friends.


    Just as the fear set in, the hyena pounced, it caught onto a man and dug deep into the hand guarding his head with its teeth while tearing his body.


    The men wanted to help when four more pounced into the vige.


    The beasts were unrelenting, biting and tearing every chance they got, and were hard to kill.


    The men were ughtered, and with the primary protectors gone, what followed after was a massacre.


    Such urrences happened rampantly across not only Niton but five more states, towns and viges were destroyed, while residents and adventurers were killed.


    _________


    At the royal pce the Emperor was also getting reports about the erratic movement of beasts.


    "Has the cause been identified?" he asked Bolton.


    "No Sire"


    "Have officials been sent to check the situation?"


    "Yes sire, but we are yet to receive feedback"


    Suddenly, a guard came in a hurry and whispered to Bolton.


    "Sire" Bolton''s face turned stern. "You need to see this"


    Walking to the castle''s veranda, a cage is ced at the center with a beast inside.


    Only, rather than any normal beast, this one spotted red hue on his fur and red eyes, hitting the change continuously.


    Bard, the head alchemist, Gerron, an expert in the field of beast studies and the head healer stood at the side, briefing the Emperor on what they''ve gleaned.


    Gerron began, "The beast seems to have lost all manner of cognitive thinking, embracing his desires for hunger seemed to have multiplied"


    "Seems to?" said Bard with a weird face.


    "More importantly, a normal wolf would''ve grown this much already"


    "So, it makes them stronger as well" Bolton sighed. "Do we know what caused this phenomenon?" the Emperor asked.


    "As of the moment, No¡­but I have a few conjectures"


    "What are they?"


    "We have but a single reference for something of this scenario, sourced from the archives"


    "Well?" Bolton hurried him up.


    "It was the end of Arcadia. The infamous beast stampede"


    "Ah" the Emperor recalled, his face darkening. "A beast tide, was it?"


    Arcadia was an Empire at the opposite end of Lexon, its end was a tale many knew, but the Emperor knew more details than most.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Like a dream, beasts began having drastic changes, and within the span of a day a beast tide erupted.


    Laxmand made sure the beasts hade too far before a proper force could be mustered.


    Beasts of all shapes and sizes came out, among them was a plethora of A rank beasts, because of them, Master ranks were ughtered.


    It was an all-out stampede of beasts, a ''tide'' that swept the Empire to its feet.


    But one thing that always stuck out about the whole thing was the death of their king. For he was a grandmaster.


    No matter if the kingdom fell, a grandmaster should''ve had no trouble retreating, and yet, he didn''t, or maybe couldn''t? Because his body was never found.


    This made many suspect that the event was orchestrated, but there wasn''t any evidence to prove so, so the next century, the event was forgotten while recorded into the annals of history.


    "How many beasts do you estimate?"


    Gerron scratched his neck. "Tens of thousands, Sire. In thest seven years the war had us neglect the beast poption, allowing them to grow beyond optimal limits. So, in the best case, their match us in a two to one ratio"


    "Worst case?"


    "A ratio of four to one, they quadruple us"


    The Emperor sighed. "Bolton, assemble the royal army quickly.  Have Kogar send word to ns and guilds. We need every hand we can get"


    "If they defer?"


    "They''ll have hell to pay when this is over"


    The Emperor walked when a thought came to him. "Also, send a message to have master ranks to rally, we have no idea what monstrositiesy asleep" Bolton nodded. "Begin conscription, call on mercenaries, they would be paid for their time" the Emperor chuckled. ''So long they survive till the end''


    Still, this was a massive problem, his ''cleansing'' of Niton the past seven years made sure the beasts would outnumber them. Moreover, the effects of thest war lingered, the people were still recuperating and now this.


    While it might have been a conjecture before, it was too much of a coincidence for a beast tide to happen at this exact time-someone was definitely behind it.


    The Emperor got to work. ''We might have less than twelve hours left''


    It was pressuring, but he would not panic.


    On his side, he contacted allies, giving orders-the likes of Elisa included.


    On that note, he inquired about the situation of the students.


    A pleasant surprise it was that many had reached advanced rank and there were even a few Expert ranks.


    On both impulse and careful consideration, the Emperor gave an order.


    "Have the students prepare for battle"


    "You want to send them to war?"


    "Is there a problem?"


    "Do you really think they will stand around and let you do that?"


    "My son is among them, that is enough reason. Simply write down the name of those who object or interfere. Are we clear?"


    After a long silence, Elisa replied, "As you wish"


    "Any child beyond fourteen is eligible to be conscripted, whereas, your students are well past that. Their death can only be the fault of their unpreparedness. Their nation needs them, and so, they shall answer"


    "Yes, your majesty"


    "As a privilege, each student is allowed an item from the missionary"


    "Which one?"


    "Whichever they chose"


    The Emperor cut offmunication, ending the conversation.


    He held his chin in contemtion.


    ''Number one''


    The Emperor smiled recalling Elisa''s report of Ezra.


    ''I should get him something''


    The boy did not disappoint, so the Emperor thought he should also not disappoint.


    ''Now, what can I give him¡­''


    -------------


    The students rallied at the entrance to the academy, throwing such chatter while everyone wondered what the matter was.


    "Where''s the Boss?" Emerson asked Theron-who was closest to him.


    "He''s noting"


    Emerson chuckled, "Of course he''s not"


    They had grown to understand Ezra''s personality over the past months.


    Training maniac, upromising yet nonchnt. These were the three things most of the top brass would use to describe him.


    He trained every day, hence a training maniac, in anything he deemed important, he was precise and upromising, to things he deemed unimportant, he was nonchnt and uncaring.


    That''s just how he rolled.


    Elisa warped onto the stadium, it was the second time since the first day.


    She was mostly in her office or teaching, so they wondered what it could be.


    "I have an announcement to make"


    The students went silent, her wrath wasn''t something anyone wanted to incur.


    "A deadly force is uprising and the future of our nation is threatened and every hand is needed to thwart it" That drew murmurs, but the shocking part was yet toe. "The Emperor in all his majesty as ordered all students to prepare for battle, the nation needs you"


    Silence!


    Pin drop silence!


    The students froze, one stuttered, "Y-You mean-


    "Yes" Elisa cut him off, "You are been conscripted-her voice deepened as she locked eyes with the questionnaire-FOR WAR"


    It was an announcement too dreadful to imagine.

 Chapter 246 Upheaval (2)

    Like Niton, reports of crazed beasts came in Itrevezar, Sce, Quartez, Iris, and Ledemor.


    Itrevezar


    ¡ª-------


    Klien Cavalli, the king of Itrevezar frowned as he received the reports.


    "How did you know of this?"


    Gilliard took to it. "Because we''ve been following a particr group that we believe orchestrated these incidents, which are of course, no incidents. Which is why we came here this early to establish an alliance"


    Klien''s eyes narrowed. His suspicions confirmed, he ignored the part about an alliance and said. "Do these people have a name?"


    Gaga coughs to gain attention, letting Gilliard sit. "They do, that which we found after months of painstaking effort"


    Klein simply nodded, annoyed. ''Get to the point!''


    "As we discovered" Gaga turned his gaze to the guards encircling them. ''This group has prated almost every kingdom, they have spies in almost every gathering" he locked eyes with Klien. "So I will need a privacy to make sure they are not rmed"


    Klienughed. "You can rest assured that no imposter exists among my personal guards. Feel free to speak"


    Gaga shook his head. "I have to disagree. Whether or not the spy is here at this moment, what stops any of them being rted to the spy, of which they leak details of our talk either intentionally or unintentionally" he stared Klien dead in the eye. "I will not take such risks"


    "I admit your concerns are genuine" Klien replied. "But I have concerns of mine as well"


    Gaga nodded. "I understand. To ease your concerns, I will have myself stay behind while my son brings you up to speed, after all, it takes one person to deliver a message"


    Klein contemted, then nodded. "Guards stay here. Gilliard follow me"


    The two men walk a bit beforeing to a stop in front of a door.


    *Click* Klein opens it, he looks back. "So, what is-


    His body came alive, his eyes glowed moving quickly to avoid the iing strike.


    A dagger pierced his palm.


    "Hmm!" Klein''s gaze turned cold. "What is the meaning of this?!" He intoned, enraged.


    Gilliard stared, "Tch" clicking his tongue as he pressed the dagger in even more.


    "I guess I''ll pry the answer out of your skull when I''m through with you"


    Gilliard snickered. "Don''t bother. You''ll be dead soon anyways"


    Immediately after, a wave of fire covered the pce and screams echoed.


    Klein''s expression turned grave. He kicked Gilliard away to take out a spear coloured jade green and white from his space ring.


    On cue, Gaga appeared beside him.


    Now Klein was shaken. "What do both of you think you''re doing?!" he hollered.


    "Haha" Gilliard grinned, pulling out a sword and shield. "Isn''t it obvious?"


    Gaga already had his sword out but he didn''t speak.


    Klein calmed. "Have it your way" he attacked, as did the other two.


    The sh blew the top of the pce to bits, and after, they took to the skies.


    Gaga and Gilliard with fire affinity and Klein with wind affinity.


    Their attacks reverberated while their ever expanding presence was crushing many below them.


    But now was not the time to care about such matters, Klein received barrages of elemental and physical attacks from two Grandmasters, he didn''t doubt that he''d survive, but he had to stop the attacks from destroying the city.


    "Why are you doing this?!" he shouted, parrying another one of Gaga''s sword strikes.


    They gave no answer, and that only infuriated him more.


    More importantly, with the presence they exuded, it''s unlikely that nearby Grandmasters hadn''t caught on. So why had no one arrived yet? Whatever.


    ''I''ll just take care of this myself''


    They fought intensely for five minutes before Klein noticed something was off.


    ''My mana¡­it''s depleting too fast!''


    But he didn''t have time to readjust because the father and son duo didn''t give him time.


    Another minute passed and Klein felt himself reaching his limits far faster than he was supposed to.


    ''What is this?'' he was thoroughly rmed.


    It didn''t take long for Gilliard to notice it too.


    He paused. "Took long enough"


    "What did you do?"


    Gilliard shrugged. "Let''s be quick about this"


    ________


    "Bastards!" Oakbear intoned. "I''m going to pound your heads into mush!"


    Irazet smirked, the other stared.


    Like Klein, Oakbear was ambushed and now he had a hole in his arm.


    But that wasn''t nearly enough to put him down, and Irazet knew so too.


    "We are to finish this quickly"


    They went at it.


    With his halberd, Oakbears attacks were vicious, keen on decimating the enemy, he wasn''t known to be a man with a lot of words.


    __________


    In Iris, Mervida had to fend off attackers of her own, Grandmasters who arrived iming the usual lie-the forming an alliance-before attacking.


    Their first attack failed, but they were relentless on the attacks that came after.


    __________


    Meanwhile, a majority of beasts had turned savage, spotting red hues and sharper ws and teeth, attacking not only towns and viges, but even cities now.


    Their strengthy anywhere from A to F rank but most peculiar, the beasts rarely fought among each other despite their rabid behaviour, attacking only humans.


    This formed a migrating stampede of beasts numbering thousands heading in one direction without any collision.


    From the sky, they look like moving ink that covered thend.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The Beast Tide had already started, but most nations were unprepared.


    The Emperor was deploying troops as fast as possible, what was an Empire without its people?


    Masters engaged the stampede which had yet to grow much.


    The beasts within all of Niton''s beast regionsbined would make for an insurmountable force, luckily it seemed it had not gotten to that point.


    Avi was the first to go under siege because their beast regions were closest.


    It wouldn''t have been bad because Jebas was stationed there, but he had to leave for other matters.


    Niton''s grandmasters lest the Emperor were on the move to the locations where they could feel the wavelength of other Grandmasters.


    Something was going on.


    ___________


    Scarred with wounds, Mervida struck brazenly every time, but the attackers were gaining the upper hand.


    Things seemed to be heading sideways when a voice rang out.


    "Sorry I''mte. Did I miss anything?"


    It was Jebas, he was striding towards them.


    Quickly, Iris distanced herself from the assants.


    "Now why don''t we-


    She interrupted him. "They are enemies. I felt demon energy from them!"


    Words were no longer needed, Jebas attacked immediately, anyone or thing colluding with demons must be killed.


    A minuteter, the two retreated, they''d determined the mission a failure.


    Jebas sought to chase them when Iris brought his attention to something else.


    "Leave them, we need to reach the others"


    "Can you still move?" he says, seeing her scarred body.


    "How sweet of you. But I can take care of myself"


    "Okay" Jebas took off. Leaving her speechless.


    __________


    Jebas reached Sce at breakneck speed only to meet Raven there-just arriving.


    Both ran to the pce where the battle was taking ce, with Jebas arriving first.


    Unfortunately, they came toote, Oakbeary had far more wounds than Iris, he was bleeding from all sides.


    Of course, his assants hadn''t had it easy either, Irazet''s arm was crushed while the other was bloodied as well.


    Not bothering to ask who was who, Jebas and Raven went after Irazet and his partner.


    As grandmasters, they had felt each other''s presence, so Irazet knew they wereing.


    His partner wanted to stay and finish off Oakbear once and for all, but Irazet held him back.


    "He''ll die either way. Let''s go"


    They took to their feet, running away with Jebas and Raven on their heels.


    Raven lit up his staff with yellow light, and threw it, catching Irazet''s partner in his Blindspot and breaking his rhythm.


    Irazet didn''t even think to stop and sped up faster, eventually losing them.


    While annoyed, they had to make due with the one they managed to catch.


    Already tired, the partner couldn''t muster enough energy to retreat while still fighting two grandmasters.


    It took over an hour, but they caught him.


    He tried to eat something that Raven suspected would kill him.


    Immediately they bound him with braces and a cor made of Silver iron and a mixture of Veprium and Auranium, thus sealing his mana usage.


    With his mana usage sealed, he couldn''t recover as fast anymore and could only struggle with only physical strength, but that was no problem holding him.


    Itrevezar had a Nitonian guest of its own.


    Getrahan was the guest, arriving with bang as hended in the city. s, he was already toote.


    As he saw Gaga and Gilliard running away, he tried to chase them, but speed was never his forte.


    In that, they got away.


    He reached the pce, but to his surprise, there was no body.


    The Itrevezan king was nowhere to be seen.


    Those master rank guards nearby told him what happened.


    "His Majesty (Klein) fought honourably, but I do not know what trick they used"


    "Meaning?"


    "At some point, he was severely weakened, and then¡­" the man''s voice broke.


    What happened next was clear; he was killed.


    "But where is his body?"


    The man broke even more, murmuring "T-the enemies, they t-t-took it"


    Getrahan''s mind whirred. ''They took his body?''


    A Beast Tide formed overnight and now this.


    ''No, maybe they caused the Beast Tide as a distraction?''


    It was horrifying to think of. But from what Getrahan knew, nothing was off the table for those creatures.


    Someone was nning a massive upheaval, one involving the whole continent-this much they knew.


    Who, and why were the next big questions.


    They chose Kingsmere as their rendezvous spot, and that''s where Getrahan was headed.

 Chapter 247 Beast Tide

    The surroundings reigned in unseen decorum before the students exploded.


    "We''re too young to go to war!"


    "How can you do this?!"


    "Yeah, we''re not going to war"


    "My father would never agree to this!"


    "Yes. Let us call our parents and see what they have to say!"


    BOOM!


    Elisa exploded, her aura''s red so high it the students suffocating, the decorum naturally returned.


    Her aura held a haze of grey as her eyes manifested a ferocious light and, in that moment, the academy head the children knew was gone, who, no, what was in front of them was too chilling to be her.


    The Expert lit their aura''s up to take off some of the pressure, but they still found their head aching.


    Others were on their knees, the weight of her force had them nose bleeding as their eyes turned bloodshot.


    Immeasurable fear was imprinted in their hearts as they felt their life force deplete.


    ''Am I going to die'' began the thoughts of many.


    Then, Elisa released her aura and the pressure dissipated like smoke.


    The Experts fell to their knees, some went down only one knee while the less powerful felt to the ground, seemingly helpless with blood running through their nose.


    Others had fallen unconscious, with their eyes turned white.


    Elisa gaze pervaded them, her expression calm, too calm, for someone who almost killed every student.


    Of course, at her level, she knew just where to stop to make sure no one died.


    More importantly, she was filing them.


    With them being conscripted, she wouldn''t want her students to be used as cannon fodder, so this would narrow down those to be sent home and those to be conscripted.


    To her surprise, she found over three thousand people crawling to their feet soon after.


    It was a given for the Experts, who cleaned the trickle of blood that flowed down their nose and stood up, but those below them she expected to be knocked out for at least ten minutes.


    Yet so many were able to regain cognitive ability, or struggle despite that.


    It was an amazing result.


    Furthermore, the Experts helped them to their feet, and in no time almost a thousand people were standing in less than ten minutes.


    Which she then made an announcement, "You will stand in the next ten minutes or be expelled!" her voice booming.


    She looked to the Experts. "You must not touch them" and restricted them.


    The eyes of many shut open and with whatever strength they had left, they moved at crawling speed, gritting their teeth as they bnced their footing and stood.


    When the tenth minutended, you had a bit beyond four thousand students standing, regardless whether weakly or firmly, with many others sprawled on the ground still trying to stand while a few hadn''t even woken up.


    When the four thousand took a nce at one another, they found that very few of them were not among Ezra''s drafted force.


    Elisa pped, gaining their attention.


    "As a fair school. We do not expect to go to war without sufficient level of benefits"


    She pped and Montera brought a wooden box before her and opened it.


    In it were five golden balls.


    She picked one to show the students, "This a mana converging pill, something definitely too precious for the likes of you"


    "Regardless, all those who passed will be given one. After which, you will be allowed into a vault to pick any item. It should suffice to say no item within the collection is less than gold rank, congrattions"


    She looked the students still unconscious. "For those you who failed. Congrattions as well, you will not be conscripted as you will be sent home. The Empire does not need weaklings"


    She waved her hand. "Note signifying either failure of passage will be delivered tomorrow. Dismissed" and warped away.


    The students riled up a while ago were ted.


    Even being children of renowned individuals, high level resources were hard to obtain.


    You could say it was harder precisely because of their position.


    For one, very few had but a single child in the current era, meaningpetition is always hot.


    Then, precious valuable had to be shared between guild or n members, and most times, it had to be fought for.


    Most importantly, the mana converging pill was ordinary pill, with it, your mana absorption rate elerates hence enhancing cultivation speed, and as a golden pill, it was too much a hot cake for these ambitious youngsters to pass up.


    Then, the ambiguous vault talked about was also touching their fantasies, anything Dark gold was scarce, even if your father was admiral (Missionary head), you couldn''ty hands on Dark gold times easily.


    Ezra had the opportunity because the Emperor was absent, and more importantly, he was a prince.


    Bolton hadn''t forgotten, but he hadn''t had the right time to tell the Emperor with all the things going on.


    The past seven months had been very hectic with him running around trying to fix many things the war had damaged, and now, a new attack was on the horizon.


    Like so, students went to bed giddy, talks of what the vault would contain and how much stronger they''d grow after eating the pill.


    While others had their open wide unable to sleep with the fear of expulsion hanging over their heads.


    And then you had those who didn''t give a damn.


    With Theron reporting the encounter, Ezra was surprised at the sudden conscription and ingenuity of the school.


    By his calctions-if he was correct-things were happening far too soon.


    ''Another change'' Ezra confirmed after talks with Fredrick. ''It seems the beast tide incident has been pushed forward''


    Niton suffered through many things. Each sapping its strength until it crumbled.


    This was one of them.


    But what worried Ezra was what would happen after.


    ''If it''s this fast, they might arrive far earlier than before''


    Ezra''s face turned grave, its seemed events were deviating, and that put him in annoying position.


    Since he couldn''t change that, he had to find a way to achieve his objectives despite that.


    ''Wait a minute¡­'' he began gathering his thoughts. ''If were conscripted'' he thought, ''I might meet that bastard earlier than I nned''


    A big evily on his face.


    He might be able to take out of those who conspired and then killed him in his past life.<novelnext></novelnext>


    Ezra suddenly felt exhrated, before calming down.


    While taking revenge was the best, he couldn''t let that consume him, there was much to do and much to prepare.


    The next moment saw the dormitory, particrly that of boys turn into a mad house with some screaming in pain while others shrieked in tion.


    Those of pain were naturally those expelled while the celebrants were those epted.


    The parents of the expelled were notified and those expelled were back on their way home soon enough, thereafter leaving only the celebrants.


    Then, the hour they awaited arrived and the golden pills were brought. But before it could be handed to them, they had to sign a slip first.


    The students were so celebratory anymore as they read through the slip.


    For one, to be acknowledged to have passed is to acknowledge the Empire''s conscription and therefore, must be go to war.


    Signing the slip effectively meant they became temporary soldiers for the army, and their lives were no more theirs.


    Many hesitated, as they disagreed, they were promptly expelled.


    Ezra signed it without thinking, as did the siblings and Valentine.


    Ezra wasn''t going to force anyone; loyalty couldn''t be forced.


    Someone spread news that Ezra had signed his and so, they signed, on the condition that they were to fight alongside Ezra.


    It was astonishing to say the least, how Ezra had cultivated so much loyalty from those older than him.


    Being strong and being a leader were two distinctions.


    Whatever the case, her job was done.


    That day, students came in to take their promised item from the vault in ascending order.


    Ezra was told to wait, apparently, the Emperor had something else in store for him.


    Beyond that, the siblings took element enhancing artifacts because their weapons were Epic gold, so it didn''t need changing.


    Not long after, a plethora of carriages, flying carriages were issued to take the children to the fortress they would be protecting.


    Time was sparse, a war was open them so they had to move quickly


    Ezra stopped the carriage, forcing them tond after causing a scene.


    So, they had to contact Elisa''s through amunication artifact.


    "Ezra, what is it?" she asked.


    "Which ces have the least protection?" he inquired.


    "Why are you asking? Your destination was chosen by the Emperor"


    "I''m not going to Oxfield" he replied. "There''s nothing to do there"


    "What are you talking about now?" as her favorite student, she wasn''t harsh with him.


    "The Tenesille fortress is home to a duke. Why are providing support to a duke-that already has an army-and not Gattiste? Where I''ve heard isx in armed forces"


    She sighed. "To keep you away from fatal danger of course"


    "Thank you but no thank you. I''ll decide where I''ll protect" Ezra said firmly.


    "So, you want to go to Gattiste? You realize you''re going against the orders of the Emperor"


    "He''s my father, so surely, he won''t mind"


    "Hmm¡­What about the others?"


    "My vassals will follow me, I don''t about others"


    "Aren''t they your soldiers?"


    "They follow me willingly. I don''t anyone ming me for the death of their child" he said loudly for the rest to hear. "Moreover" he added. "I''m heading to Gattiste because I do not need any obnoxious noble breathing down my neck and telling what to do. Do you get that?"


    "So¡­you want to be amander?"


    "Yes. I have been leading them in training. I see not why I cannot do the same in battle?"


    "Hmm" she nodded. "But as it is a Beast tide. Master ranks will be on standby in the case you encounter an A rank beast"


    "Sure" he answered. "Just inform them not to bother me"


    "You think you can handle them? Isn''t that-even for you-a bit too arrogant?" she asked with a raised brow.


    "With my vassals here? I''ll kill them" he replies unhesitant.


    "If you say so" he could visualize her rolling her eyes. "In any case, do as you wish. You can head to Gattiste"


    "I would''ve done that either way"


    Elisa''s mouth twitched. "But you cannot force anyone"


    "Do I look like someone who does such things?"


    Elisa wanted to spew blood. ''This shameless brat!''


    He literally beat the children into training and then tortured them by training, and now he was saying such nonsense.


    Unbelievable!


    The siblings in the carriage with him had to battle their will to maintain their neutral expression.


    After that, Elisa quickly cut off the signal, before she had to bear more of his shamelessness.


    He exined his actions of the rest of the students, that the ce he was headed to was far more dangerous than their original destination, that they should only follow him willingly, a few more things before taking time to stress how important it was to help the weak-which they couldn''t be doing at the Tenisille fortress- moreover, how much more they could gain because they could contribute far more and that with the master ranks being deployed they didn''t have to worry much about beasts above their ranks.


    His speech was so borate that the students got caught up in their sense of duty and honour that everyone followed him.


    The top brass was not fooled, but they also knew Ezra wasn''t one to put himself in jeopardy without a n, so they followed.


    Westin wanted to escape, but with a little threat, my guy quickly adjusted himself and joined the crowd.


    Like so, they flew to Gattiste with their heads clouded with sense of duty and the honour while they fantasized about ying monsters.


    But the moment they reached near it, all such thoughts dissipated, a few peed themselves.


    On the ground were beasts hurling themselves at the city walls.


    It was now clear, why they were brought in flying carriages.


    Ezra eye''s narrowed. ''So, it''s already begun?''

 Chapter 248 Beast Tide (2)

    Carriagesy in the air pulled by flying beasts.


    Below them was Gattiste outermost gate being besieged by thousands of beasts.


    It was a sight both terrifying and awe-inspiring


    ''It''s already begun'' thought Ezra.


    Compared to the apocalypse though, it was nothing.


    "Seems we''re right on time" he hollered. His voice booming enough for all the students to hear.


    The students, obviously shaking, stuttered. "Y-You mean we''re not retreating?!"


    Ezra tilted his head giving a weird look. "Of course not,"


    The students looked at one another, their eyes mirroring the same thoughts.


    But before anyone could speak,   Ezra said, "Well, I''ll be making a big entrance. See you all down"


    The top brass had an inkling on what he was about to do, but he''d already done it before their minds could process a response.


    Ezra jumped out of the carriage!


    The students gasped in both fear and amazement as they watched him descend.


    No, this wasn''t something Ezra usually did in his past life, but he thought he''d try it since he''d seen someone do it.


    The feeling of plunging down so fast was both thrilling and terrifying, it took less than twenty seconds for him to touchdown.


    *BAM!*


    Sure enough, hended with a bang, the stone beneath his feet had formed a web of cracks.


    The palisade quivered and the soldiers atop were shaken as well.


    Ezra stood, dusted his clothes and walked like nothing happened, ignoring the obvious gazes until¡­


    "Stop!"


    A soldier stopped him. "Please provide a name"


    "Provide yours first" Ezra replied.


    "Sir Allen, fourteenth adjutant of Emery troops"


    "Sir Allen, I''m Ezra Miller, prince of the Empire. Can you lead me to yourmander?"


    Allen froze for a bit, sizing up Ezra before pointing to the approaching carriages. "And them?"


    "There with me" Ezra answered. "We''ve been sent as reinforcement" he looked at the soldiers scrambling to push off the beasts. "And it seems it was needed"


    Allen coughed. "Follow me"


    He would have asked that Ezra prove his identity, but he recognized carriages because of the insignia they carried.


    Walking behind Allen, Ezra got an overall view of the situation at hand.


    You had catapults lined up to throw stones on fire, archer towers to provide cover for archers as they shoot down the beasts.


    For one the soldiers were vastly outnumbered, they seemed to still be energetic, but they would grow exhausted sooner orter and with most of them being intermediate rank, it would probably be sooner


    The war machines they had on hand were too small a number to do real damage.


    They reached the far end of the palisade, where they found a tent of shoddy yellow fabric built against the wall.


    At the entrance were two soldiers, but with Allen by his side there were no problems.


    They entered to see a man not older than thirty two sitting at a round table filled with scrolls and an artifact akin to a locket, the size of a palm.


    The man seemed overwhelmed, locked in his thoughts until Allen coughed.


    "Oh yes" the man shot to attention. Though still drowsy. "Allen what is the matter?"


    "This man" he says, moving to the side to reveal a figure. "Is Ezra Miller. A Nitonian prince"


    His drowsiness cleared up. "Oh, your highness" and he bowed.


    Ezra waved his hands, "Such formality is unneeded, please have your sit,manding such arge force as I can see that you''re tired"


    Themander smiled awkwardly as Ezra took a seat.


    "By the way, I haven''t heard you name"


    "Sir Benjamin, First adjutant andmander of the Emery squad"


    ''I thought so''


    Ezra was baffled when he first came in, because when he gauged Benjamin, he found him to be of Expert rank. Early expert rank, which shouldn''t be no matter howx security was.


    Moreover, excluding the ones he marked as adventurers, the number of troops was too small.


    It was simply impossible that the entire number of knights protecting a city was only that much.


    "I was wondering why there were so few soldiers. Mind telling me?"


    Benjamin sighed. "We were caught unprepared. The attack started only three hours ago, because of that we were isted from other troops, so I took control of the troops to repel the beasts, but since then, no one hase to help. The Empire promised to send a few master ranks, but even that is taking to long"


    Benjamin stared Ezra in the eye, "You must have seen it, but the only reason we''re still able to hold on is because the beasts are limited and their strength is sparse, for now at least. By the way, how many are the reinforcements?"


    "Roughly four thousand" Ezra was deeply thinking.


    "As for themander, he was killed in the initial charge along with the few on the ground when it happened"


    "I see" Ezra nodded, looking remorseful, while inwardly, ''This is better than I thought'' he was delighted.


    In the first ce, Ezra was ready to cause as much trouble to instate himself as themander, because he wasn''t sure the Emperor would allow it.


    Now though, things were even better.


    He sighed. Looking straight into Benjamin''s eye. "It is quite unfortunate that you had to bear this burden till now. Well then, it''s good that I''m here"


    Allen and Benjamin shared nces depicting ''What is he talking about?''


    Ezra hit the nail on the head. "I''ll be taking charge from this moment on"


    "Your highness" Benjamin pronounced, trying to remain calm. "I didn''t quite get that"


    "I''m instating myself asmander"


    "You cannot do that!" Benjamin flew into panic.


    Ezra stared, before radiating killing intent that had both men freeze. "I''d watch that tone. Else your tongue might just fly off"<novelnext></novelnext>


    They swallowed hard.


    Ezra withdrew his killing intent. "I''ve reinstated myself asmander from this moment" he looked at both of them. "Any objections?"


    They had a thousand and one objections but they dared not speak, but they didn''t consent to it either.


    Ezra knew their worries, so he spoke. "You need not worry. If I end up failing, I swear on my honour that I will take full responsibility for it"


    Only then did the face of both men brighten.


    "Are we clear?"


    While reluctant, the two nodded.


    "Good, you will announce it after this battle" he says. "Also, you''ll be my assistant from now on. Briefing me on-


    Benjamin cut him off. "I''m afraid I can''t-


    On cue, he found a cold de by his neck.


    "You were saying?"


    Benjamin was wide eyed. ''I couldn''t even discern his movement''


    He gulped, promptly shutting up.


    Ezra swung the sword about, "The next time you interrupt me or try anything funny¡­" he let him feel the sword''s cold edge. "¡­I think you''ve understood, yes?"


    The man nodded in haste.


    Ezra propped to his feet. "Let''s take a look at my troops"


    He hadn''t thought the war would start so early, so since it did, Ezra was going to capitalize on it.


    There was no better ce to rack up a reputation than a warzone.


    He knew ces that were said to have faced the greatest tides, but he chose here for a single reason.


    ''That sly bastard should be here''


    One of the targets of his revenge was here, and best of all, this was one of the best times to kill him.


    After all, who''d care about one measly warrior in such massive wars.


    The palisade was built in square, the part he stood on was directly under the gate.


    So, if the beast breached the walls, the citizens would be massacred.


    ''Wait'' Ezra halted. ''This situation doesn''t make any sense''


    He turned to Benjamin. "What about the nobles and their knights?"


    "From thest report, they vacated the city the moment the beast tide began" he spoke in disdain.


    "Okay" Ezra didn''t blink, he''d seen too much of such things in his past life to be surprised.


    One thing was perplexing though, "Don''t they have estates here?"


    "Yes, they do" he nodded. "But as I heard, the head travelled, leaving his eldest son in charge"


    "And the son took to his feet not bothering about his father''s property"


    Benjamin nodded.


    Ezra gave a wry smile. "What about themoners?"


    He pointed to those fighting. "Most of them are already here. And I believe the old would only burden the rest"


    "Why so small?" Ezra wondered.


    "It''s because of thest war, too many people died, now we''re at a shortage"


    "Ah" Ezra remembered. "Mercenaries?"


    "We requested for some, but most had gone to other ces with highermissions, only the few nearby choose toe here"


    Ezra ''hmm''ed, the situation was than he thought.


    "So¡­we shouldn''t hope for any reinforcements"


    Benjamin nodded. "I was surprised that you came"


    "Are those the reinforcements?" asked Benjamin, pointing at the congregation of people standing to one side.


    "Yes, they are" Ezra nodded, "We''ll have to make do with them"


    With a gesture, all four thousand students approached him.


    Ezra was deep in thought and did not notice them.


    ''It''s changed again''


    While he was prepared for this situation, he''d hoped it didn''t happen.


    But it did, his fears were confirmed.


    The future was deviating from the one he knew.


    This beast tide for example, it happened in his past life, but the details, time of happening, and many other things were different.


    He''d heard about the experience of this beast tide from the one he now came to kill, and it was vastly different.


    In his past life, Gattiste mustered enough force to prevent the beast tide from breaking through.


    As he thought about it, he realized ''This a cause of my doing''


    The mana stones he stole and the war he engineered into being were the prime catalysts of this situation.


    Only, at the time, he hadn''t thought this far.


    In any case, he''d dropped himself right in the middle of a disadvantageous position for the sake of revenge and now he had to deal with it.


    Ezra smirked, it would be a bit difficult, but not impossible.


    That he knew he was the prime manufacturer of the situation didn''t mean he regretted his actions.


    If he went back in time once more, he''d do the same thing, because Orion always punished the weak.


    Imagine he was still in advanced rank, how would he hope to catch up to Triton?


    ''Now, how do I go about this?''

 Chapter 249 Beast Tide (3)

    The students encircled him. They had adorned their armor and wielded their weapons at hand.


    The battle was ongoing right in front of them.


    The beasts were relentless, pouncing at the guards, attacking from anywhere they saw an opening.


    They climbed the stacked corpses to reach the palisade, and each dead beasts only added to that pile.


    At a time, a beast managed to breach the defenses and get inside the palisade, causing havoc before being killed.


    The result was dire and the troops were hanging by a thread.


    "Separate yourselves into three groups. Mages, Shifters and Knights"


    They shuffled themselves into those categories without a hitch as it''d been part of their training.


    "Now, I''ve reinstated myself asmander" he announced.


    "From what I''ve been briefed, chances of reinforcements arriving any time soon are very slim"


    He put his palm up to shut any mouth.


    "It means we''ll be protecting this ce on our own for as long as needed"


    "Now, mages, you will join the archers. What we need are long range attacks, preferably those that reduce speed. Archers should join them too"


    "For us Knights and Shifters, it''s simple, we''ll tackle these beasts head on"


    They were nervous, so Ezra busted out his silver tongue.


    "Remember your training" he began, staring them in the eye.


    "Remember the cold nights and the hot mornings, remember why you endured so much"


    "Was it not to grow stronger?!" his voice boomed.


    "Was it not so that you''ll never have to cower in fear of beasts ever again?"


    "Stand tall and stand proud, because you did not go through all that to die? Or did you?!"


    "No"


    "I can''t understand squealing!"


    "NO!" they chanted.


    "Good. Archers, mages take positions"


    He whispered to Benjamin, who was secretly amazed.


    "ce the archers in position"


    "Shifters and Knights pan out. I want you to make sure nothing gets past you. We will show these filthy beasts to their graves"


    "Yes Boss!"


    They were riled up.


    "Those from number two to ten, follow me. We''ll battle them, personally"


    They simply nodded, with Ezra leading them to the gates.


    With a wave of his hand, the metal gate was pushed open.


    "AH!" with his shout, he ran out through the gates and the students followed right behind him.


    Valencia (the blood mage) was to battle as a long ranger as was Westin, a nt mage, so he stayed on the palisades.


    Coming out, Ezra''s sword drew an arc of white lightning and, with it, he cleared out a perimeter by electrocuting the beasts and sting them away.


    Surely, they could have fought from on top the palisade, but the problem was that they weren''t killing the beasts fast enough.


    Furthermore, most of the beasts didn''t, no, couldn''t, reach the palisade, and were hoping to break the door instead.


    This was the main reason why they were able to hold more than ten thousand beasts with a bit more than six thousand men.


    The students pumped that number to ten thousand, but it was far from enough.


    Ezra''s arc of lightning raised the hairs of the soldiers on top.


    A few mercenaries were d in their hearts that they hadn''t challenged him.


    It wouldn''t have ended well.


    "Hahaha" Ashton burst intoughter, punching the hell out of a wolf with a gauntlet coated with aura.


    "Weak!"


    Valentine was spraying lightning as well, asionally warping to provide support where she thought it was needed.


    Theron had the spiked head of his halberd elongate, as it was connected with a chain, smashing it into the head of the beasts, clearing them out.


    Velora was cutting them down to size, shing across the battlefield at an insane pace.


    Roxanne had her whip sword slither across the battlefield, shing and slicing.


    Umeron was dishing out punches and kicks while Emerson had transformed, going beast to beast as he ripped them apart in a most brutal fashion.


    Johan was cutting them down with his twin sabers, while Ezra decimated them, killing ten to thirty at a time, giving them small wounds with a poison coated de.


    His blood had grown so corrosive that the skin of beasts melted on contact, and because of the agility runes, he was practically warping across the battlefield. The rity rune had his senses at the peak, but even without those, the beasts were as fast as a shadow slug in his eyes.


    If they didn''t die after a single cut - which was highly unlikely - their movements would slow down as the poison attacked their internals.


    Even at this, Ezra was holding himself back tremendously.


    Their insanity was proven when none of the beasts retreated even when staring at their deadrades. Rather, they ate them and attacked more viciously.


    Ezra knocked down the stairs of carcasses the beasts were using to climb up to the palisade.


    As a result, the pressure the remaining knights faced was lessened tremendously.


    With the support from the archers and mages, the beasts faced overkill, and in seven hours, all the beasts were dispatched.


    At the end of it, Ezra breathed a sigh of relief. It''d been a long time since he felt this feeling.


    Honestly, with the rate at which he battled in his past life, fighting had be a way to destress for him.


    Everyone was too shocked to celebrate, especially the original army.


    They''d resigned themselves to their deaths, which they deemed inevitable, yet now, they actually survived. Even better, they won.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It was an oue beyond their wildest dreams.


    Besides that, there were other reasons.


    The decently powerful - those of Intermediate and Advanced rank - could measure or at least estimate the ranks of the top few by observing them and their attacks.


    "They are all Experts!"


    That alone was shocking, but then, with a look, none of them could be older than twenty five.


    Both soldiers and mercenaries felt their pride melting like ice. Compared to those children, their achievements now seemed worthless.


    Then came pangs of envy. If only they had been born to some noble family, they''d have been able to achieve the same, or at least somethingpatible.


    But the students knew this assumption to be untrue. Both the skill and power these few achieved were mind blowing. It shouldn''t be possible!


    Even after training with them for so long, it didn''t make them any less awesome in their eyes, rather, it enhanced their awesomeness because they saw just how much effort they put in.


    Ezra shook off the blood on his swords. His clothes were barely stained, severely contrasting the rows of carcasses around him.


    Storing away his swords, he called Velora, Valentine and Roxanne over.


    "Your weapons" he said, stretching his palm.


    They didn''t know what he was up to, but they gave them to him.


    Cutting himself, he coated each de in his blood.


    "I have the poison blood skill. That''s why my blood''s ck"


    The girls understood.


    "Make sure you don''t touch it, identally or not. Get thick gloves so your hands don''t melt off"


    He handed it to them, having turned their edges to the ground.


    "Leave them in the sun for a bit"


    He walked away.


    Reaching the palisade, he found the soldiers lined up.


    The moment he arrived, they split to create a path for him, and as he worked through it, they expressed their gratitude in simple gestures.


    "Tell them to get some rest, those beasts will be back tomorrow, and with greater numbers. That''s an order"


    "Yes sir" Benjamin''s attitude had changed as well.


    As he devised the strategy for tomorrow''s battle, other parties were on the move.


    Niton''s grandmasters sat across a round table, the Emperor included.


    "What have you found out?"


    "We think the ones attacking Grandmasters are also the ones who created this beast tide, though we have no proof" Raven replied.


    "So, basically nothing?" the Emperor said tly.


    Getrahan spoke after.


    "By the time I arrived, Klein had already been killed, but the attackers didn''t leave his body"


    "They took his body¡­" the Emperor narrowed his eyes.


    "Regardless, we''ll get answers from Gaga, Gilliard, Irazet or Larson"


    "The situation is critical. We have find out what''s causing this beast tides fast and end it"


    They stood up to leave, when Jebas spoke¡­


    "Hey, what about the neer?"


    On cue, they felt a presence, one of their level.


    "Would you look at that?"


    Fredrick fell right out of the sky,nding on the ground gracefully as he manipted the soil, making it soluble.


    He walked into the meeting room, paying no one any attention, before taking a seat.


    "You''rete, the meeting''s already over"


    "Then I must suggest that you sit down. I have information with me"


    "What kind of information?" Jebas inquired.


    "Sit down" Fredrick answered.


    Begrudgingly, they sat down, but Fredrick folded his arms, confusing the others.


    "Well, we''re waiting" the Emperor said.


    "Oh" Fredrick looked surprised.


    "I never said it was for free"


    The Emperor pulsed a vein and white lightning starteding off of his body.


    "Get at it before I lose my patience"


    "And then what?" Fredrick genuinely didn''t give a F*CK, releasing his aura as well.


    "We can go at it anytime you''re ready"


    "Think carefully, it''s four to one. You can''t take us all at once"


    Fredrick shook his head.


    "Tch, Tch, I definitely can. Or do you think I came here without a n?" he stared them dead in the eye.


    "The worst you can do is kill me, during which at least two of you will die. Moreover, you''ll doom Niton to destruction. So, choose your next actions carefully"


    The aura of five Grandmasters rocked the building, threatening to demolish it, when the Emperor had his aura recede.


    "You win" the Emperor admitted.


    "Let''s hear your demands"

 Chapter 250 Red Spawn

    "You win" the Emperor admitted, folding his arms.


    "Let''s hear your demands"


    "Huh?" the others were perplexed.


    The Emperor had never been one to act sane, so they expected him to attack.


    The Emperor looked at them.


    "The people are being massacred, so I can''t start fighting now. Besides, we''ll soone under siege, as it seems all other ces have been attacked"


    He turned to Fredrick.


    "Name your terms"


    "Nothing much, just an additional decade of tax exemption and an additional decade of buffer zone"


    "I''ll give you two years each"


    "Nine years"


    "Three years"


    "Eight and a half years"


    "Three and a half years"


    The rest of the Grandmasters simply stared as they haggled terms until they agreed on five years.


    Then, Fredrick sighed in relief, before taking out a few scrolls and unfolding them.


    "Four years ago we came across the body of a child. The eyes had been gouged out and the skin was ckened, but not burnt, and the body was devoid of blood" he paused.


    "Nudging our noses here and there, we caught on to something. Following this trail, we discovered the existence of a secretive group with sinister intentions and a wide range of influence"


    "They call themselves the Red Spawn. They''re Demon worshippers and their mission, from what we''ve gleaned, is to have the world burn, or conquer it"


    "That''s it?" muttered Getrahan.


    "Before I arrived, you had no idea where to start looking to solve the current crisis, but now we have a trail so we can n better"


    "Still, none of this exins why the Grandmasters were attacked"


    "Grandmasters were attacked?" Fredrick pretended not to know.


    Jebas went on to exin all that had transpired.


    "Hmm" Fredrick contemted.


    It was always better to feign ignorance. He''d gotten more information than expected.


    "They seek to cause chaos" said Raven.


    "We''ve already established their sinister motives, so what better way to make the world burn than to kill the strongestbatants?"


    It was usible.


    "But is that really all it is?" Deneris had doubts.


    "And if it is, then Gaga and Izaret would be Demon worshippers"


    "Or just colluding with them" Jebas added.


    "It doesn''t matter. Anyone rting to demon''s has to die!" Getrahan proimed.


    Fredrick took charge.


    "Like the rest of you, we received word from a few who spotted two figures in ck walking by when the beasts grew abnormally bloodthirsty"


    "And you think those people are Demon worshippers?"


    "Not think. We''re almost, no, now I''m certain" Fredrick replied.


    "They caused the beast tide as a distraction while they attacked grandmasters"


    "Then why haven''t they attacked us?" Getrahan questioned.


    "If I had to guess¡­" Fredrick answered.


    "They''re saving the best forst"


    The Grandmasters went quiet.


    They looked to the Emperor, who hadn''t spoken since.


    "Since we know who they are, we mustn''t allow them any more time" the Emperor said.


    "Just as they did, we''llunch a swift ambush and kill the few we can then retreat"


    "Retreat?" they wondered if they''d heard it right.


    "You might have not heard, but Oakbear has died" they were shocked.


    "They have a poison specialized in killing Grandmasters, and Oakbear was injected with it. They might even have other things we do not know of"


    Their expressions stiffened.


    "Regardless" said Fredrick.


    "We have to take the battle to them. There has to be a reason why they haven''t attacked us, and I would hate to find out what it is. So, how do we go about this?"


    They sat in silence until Fredrick spoke¡­


    "How long is he going to stand there?"


    The Emperor snapped his finger.


    "Come in"


    The door opened to reveal a woman in a glittering green dress with long green hair and a very unfriendly re.


    It was the Queen of Iris, Mervida, the wither queen.


    There were still a few wounds on her.


    Jebas dropped ament.


    "The more the merrier it is then"


    Sitting down, she sped her palms.


    "So, it was a she" said Fredrick.


    They felt her presence even before entering. They just didn''t point it out as courtesy to the Emperor.


    "She heard everything we said, so we don''t need to repeat ourselves"


    "Might I ask why she''s here?" inquired Deneris.


    "I was attacked as well, by Ervin and dun, they-"


    Jebas interrupted.


    "Wait, the Kings of Vorus and Raixeros? I thought they hated each other?!"


    "Apparently not" said Fredrick.


    "Now, how shall we go about it?" the Emperor asked, putting an end to banter.


    "In conclusion, we know that they have an obsession with blood"


    _______________<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    In a dim cave, with torches hung to the walls and a sigil depicting two triangles inside a circle drawn with blood on the floor, sat the demon leader, meditating while shirtless, revealing his six packs, refined muscture, and light brown skin.


    With his mask off, he was revealed to be a fairly old man, brown hair falling below his shoulder.


    Then, the sigil glowed, gaining a deeper shade of red. The leader''s eyes snapped open to reveal red eyes.


    The ground beneath where he sat seemed to disappear, revealing somewhere not in Orion, but with scorched and cracked soil.


    Then, the face of a creature came into view.


    "Greetings my lord!" the leader proimed.


    "The eye has discerned the characteristics of the source of the ordained destruction. You are to find him and kill him!"


    "What of the n?"


    "There won''t be a n if this isn''t dealt with!"


    "Forgive me" the leader hastily spoke.


    "Here are the attributes. Twelve cycles. Dark eyes. Silver hair. Royalty"


    The leader nodded as he had memorized it.


    "And the ongoing preparations?"


    "We have masked our true intent with mass Chaos. Even our allies know not of our true intention"


    "Mass chaos¡­such lovely words. Good. Very Good. Now-"


    The leader interrupted him.


    "When will I get to see the face of my true lord?"


    The creature answered instantly.


    "When you seed. Seed and you will see his face as he wees you to our race. Else, never you speak of this again"


    "Forgive me for my insolence"


    "Taking care of the child is top priority, there can be no mistakes"


    The leader nodded.


    "As such, the Lord has decided to bless you with these"


    The mirror-like ground rippled like water. A part of it sank like soil, and then a hand - red as blood with scaled skin and four ws - pushed forward from within, no, from the other side.


    Reaching out from the other side, the hand began burning, the scales melting one after another, dropping into the mirror floor.


    The leader stretched his palm, to which the hand dropped pieces of ss, or something akin to it, red as it was, like what you''d get after frying sugar.


    The moment the leader got the ss piece, the hand pulled back.


    The face of the creature came into view soon after.


    "Eat them" it said.


    The leader did as he was told, putting them in his mouth, and the piece melted.


    The leader was weary but swallowed it.


    Entering his gullet, the leader felt a grow hot sensation and, as the seconds passed, it grew hotter. It didn''t take long to feel like he was burning.


    "Ahh!" he shouted.


    "It''s a gift from the lord. He wants you to take care of the child personally. There can be no mistakes"


    The creature shut the connection, leaving evil crackles, and then, the ground went back to normal.


    The leader spasmed on the ground, vein popping as his skin turned red hot.


    His red pupils turned ck in its entirety, and then he stopped twitching.


    For a long while, hey still, and then¡­


    "Hiek!" he snapped awake, raising himself to a sit as he stared at his arms that now had scales, though few and far inbetween. It was a glorious achievement for him.


    Then, he touched the middle of his head, feeling a lump covered by his hair and his smile stretched wide.


    His motivation to see the assignment through skyrocketed.


    ''12 years old, Dark eyes, Silver hair and Royalty¡­such peculiar attributes. He should be easy to find''


    He stood up and got to it.


    There was no time to lose.


    _______________


    The day passed and Ezra woke early to the sound of marching feet.


    Waking outside, a guard rammed into him.


    "Sir, I was on my to call you. We have a problem"


    "No worries. Lead me"


    Reaching the edge of the palisades, they met apartment of armed men standing at the gate while holding torches.


    They numbered anywhere between one thousand and two thousand.


    "Might I get a name?"


    A man raised his hand, his voice booming¡­


    "Sir John here, Master-rank, and these are my colleagues from ck Jaws"


    Ezra nodded.


    "Let them in"


    The gates were subsequently opened and they entered.


    The sound of feet woke many others who came outside to see what the ruckus was about.


    Thepartment reached the palisades and Ezra approached them, stretching out a palm to Sir John.


    "Sir Ezra,mander of the Emery squad"


    "The pleasure is mine" said Sir John.


    "Have youe as mercenaries or-"


    "No no no" John said, waving nonchntly.


    "It is the pleasure of our guild to protect the Empire"


    Ezra gave a small nod, expressionless.


    He knew they''de since he spoke to Fredrick.


    He was also the one who persuaded Fredrick into sharing the information with the other Grandmasters.


    Originally, ck Jaws would take a while longer before sending help, but Ezra felt that was unneeded after reaching here and seeing the underwhelming number of soldiers.


    "Might I know which of you are Knights, Mages and Shifters?"


    Sir John shed a smile, but was shocked inwardly. Most others would receive them more grandiose or at least have an expression.


    This guy looked like he genuinely didn''t give a F*CK.

 Chapter 251 The Feeling

    "Yes?" Ezra shook John out of his daze.


    "Which of you are Mages, which are Knights, and which are Shifters?"


    John gave a smallugh.


    "Sir Ezra, you need to worry, they are perfectly capable"


    "I know" Ezra nodded.


    "That''s why I want to ce them in the appropriate positions to make things go smoothly"


    They were clearly ufortable with the proposal, but Ezra paid them no mind, staring at John instead.


    "Ok" John approved.


    "Where would you have them ced?"


    "The mages and the archers should take high positions to allow for long range attacks. Knights and Shifters will array themselves around the palisades, while you-"


    Ezra pointed to John.


    "-and your best four will follow me into battle"


    John nods without much expression.


    Ezra left, and as he did, the members started blowing a fuss.


    "Sir, I don''t like this arrangement. Why does he think he can order us around?!" one spouted disdainfully.


    The others nodded at his words. Having a child - as they saw it - giving orders didn''t sit well with them.


    John calmed them down.


    "Remember, we''re here to help. Causing trouble from the moment of our arrival won''t do us any good"


    Their shoulders slumped, but perked back up when they heard his next words.


    "But, there are still a few things we can do, because I don''t like this either" he raised his hand.


    "The second tide is arriving soon, but don''t attack very much, so when their defenses fall, we can ''save'' them. Then, we''ll easily take charge"


    "Let''s do that"


    "Yes"


    "Yes"


    They agreed and then split up to hold positions.


    Even though it was still dawn, they killed many beasts whileing here. Few of them were without bloodstains.


    ck Jaws had a branch here, built in the slums, but the members left for Traxford after the call was issued.


    That''s why they were not there initially.


    As for the missionaries and the Admiral, they didn''t bothering to help defend.


    From what Ezra heard, they were packing all their items to make a hasty escape once the city was invaded, which they thought was inevitable.


    Not one to bother about such, Ezra returned to his tent to get a few minutes of sleep.


    After the first battle, the students used the mana converging pill they''d been given.


    When he saw how much of the pill''s essence they wasted, Ezra helped the top hundred and fifty students properly circte it, which in turn helped many advance.


    Once he was done with the top brass, he instructed them to help others as well, after all, he couldn''t attend to four thousand students on his own.


    Just one hundred and fifty drained him, as it ate up into his sleeping time.


    Closing his eyes, he slept for two more hours before waking at the sound of running feet, far more than the first time.


    Once outside, he saw the beasts approaching, and like he spected, their numbers had doubled, if not tripled.


    Moreover, rather than yesterday''s weak bunch, these ones radiated power.


    In minutes, the soldiers wore armor and rushed to their positions.


    Time trickled by as the soldiers awaited the beasts toe near before attacking.


    But Ezra was concerned about something else.


    From two years ago, a strange feeling welled up within him without warning, a feeling that was there but not there. Ezra attributed it as a sort of sixth sense, but vastly different.


    He was sure he hadn''t developed it through training, because he could distinguish it from sixth sense all too clearly.


    He''d tried and failed to get rid of it, so he epted it since he didn''t feel any harm from it.


    But as time went by, the feeling intensified and Ezra found himself fearful,ter bing extremely fearful - as the feeling grew - of something that he couldn''t even articte. It was of course a source of frustration and irritation.


    Call it instinct or whatnot, Ezra knew the feeling was telling him something.


    After a few experiments, he discovered that every time he increased in strength, the feeling would decrease.


    Ever since stepping into Master-rank, it seemed inexistent. Ezra thought it had gone awaypletely, only for it to rear its head soon after. This time, it came onto him while they were being driven to Guavedra, when Ezra discovered the assassins sent to kill him.


    After dealing with them, the feeling receded for a long time, only for it toe again a month after entering the academy, and not long after that, it intensified, killing any ns Ezra had of taking things easy.


    It was an unbearably irritating feeling, yet you couldn''t just ''unfeel'' it. The only way to reduce it was to grow in strength.


    With every bit he grew, either physically, mentally, or even in element or weapon mastery, the feeling decreased, which Ezra was d for.


    This was one of the primary reasons he took Bard''s potions so hurriedly, the feeling was just unbearable. It was like your soul was growing cold, and the only way to heat it up was to train yourself.


    Bard''s potion reduced the feeling, as did the Un-limiting Dew, and since he''d been training since then, the feeling had only gone down¡­until a few days ago¡­where it intensified greatly!


    It was the day the Beast Tide began!


    He''d originallye to Gattiste with the thought of killing Marcus and then heading off to ces facing greater beasts, as he nned to use battles to temper his technique and thought Gattiste would have a lot of strong warriors who would bepetitors.


    Arriving to meet the opposite of what he''d predicted, Ezra modified his ns and made himself themander.


    At a point while battling yesterday, Ezra ced mana stones in his mouth, removing it only after all the beasts were dead.


    Now at Mid Master-rank, Ezra ced two mana stones instead of one. His mana pool had expanded that much and was very pure.


    The night before, the feeling intensified, now greater than ever before. It took a while for Ezra to adjust to it. Before that, he was unable to sleep, thus helping students with their mana converging pill.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He was feeling ufortable all over, but it didn''t interfere with his cognitive or physical abilities.


    With reference to the past events, Ezra summarized that someone or something was aiming for his life, and with how intense the feeling was, it didn''t take long for Ezra to guess the category of the enemy.


    ''Grandmaster''


    That was the only exnation as he could go toe to toe with a Late Master while he was in Early Master Rank. At mid rank, even Great Masters couldn''t touch him.


    Great Master isn''t an official rank, but rather, a name for those unable to advance to Grandmaster level but who have enough skill to distinguish themselves from other Masters.


    Basically, a veteran Master, who polished their element and sword skills to the extreme.


    As for the ck Jaws members that arrived, so long as they didn''t get in his way he couldn''t care less.


    With the beasts approaching, Benjamin called to arms.


    "Soldiers! Steady yourselves"


    They arrayed themselves at nned positions, regting their breathing to calm nervousness.


    "Let''s go" Ezra led five soldiers outside the gate.


    John was surprised, but didn''t say anything. If Ezra died, all the better!


    The iing wave of beasts was nothing to joke with.


    After yesterday''s battle, Ezra had changed positions and also fixed some broken war machines, and with more Expert and Advanced ranks - thanks to the mana converging pill - they had a better fighting chance the day before¡­or did they?


    Right now, thousands of beasts approached. Hyenas and ck jaguars took the lead, and also took the first strike the moment they entered the designated perimeter.


    The battle began.


    This time, flying beasts came to y as well.


    The increased difficulty made Ezra smile, because now, he could use greater attacks.


    "Hey Boss" called Ashton.


    "Leave some for us, will you?"


    The others smiled.


    They weren''t able to fight as many beasts as they wished because Ezra had killed them all.


    "No worries, there''s plenty for everyone" Ezra responded.


    "If you say so" Ashton leaped andnded a punch into the arriving beasts.


    Unlikest time, they stayed together, because the rest of the ce was flooded with beasts and was being showered in mage attacks and magic arrows. You wouldn''t want to be in the middle of that.


    Like a shower of colors, all sorts of arrows rained down to give nasty effects, from freeze to burn and even deafen.


    Ezra''s attacks were less shy as he changed tactics.


    With such arge force behind him, he didn''t need to stretch himself by trying to overwhelm the tide on his own. Instead, he made the jobs of the main attackers easier by dominating the battle with his blood control and poison.


    With his mana rich blood, very little was needed to inflict fatal damage so long his aim was precise.


    Rather than fighting with his sword, he suddenly jumped into the palisades.


    The soldiers were shocked, but Ezra paid them no mind.


    "Get me a quiver" he said, taking out a bow from his space ring.


    Right then, he felt anger through a particr connection.


    ''You want toe out and feast?''


    It was Severus, hauling at Ezra for keeping him inside the ring since forever ago.


    Ezra was doubtful, but didn''t think much of it. Severus dying wouldn''t affect him that much.


    The cold feeling was still there, but Severus couldn''t grow fast enough to be useful against a Grandmaster.


    He headed into themander''s tent, drawing doubtful gazes, especially from those from ck Jaws.


    "Is he running away?" someone muttered, though with the power he''d shown, it didn''t seem logical.


    Their stops were put to a stop as Ezra came out soon after.


    This time, a ck snake with white markings was coiled around his neck.


    "Huh?"


    "Where did he get that?"


    The soldiers freaked, and of course, when you jump out of battle to get a snake, one''s imagination would be provoked.


    Without asking, Ezra dropped the snake from the edge of the palisade into the horde of beasts.


    None couldprehend the meaning behind his actions and Ezra was not interested in exining.


    No sooner, a quiver was delivered and Ezra slung it onto his back.


    His archery mastery was of the lowest proficiency, but he knew the basics.


    With the bow of a rank he''d forgotten, though he was sure it wasn''t less than Dark Gold-rank, Ezra fired the first arrow aftercing its edge with his blood.


    To test the durability of the string, Ezra pulled back, carefully adding strength until he reached a point where it would not budge.


    Pulling it farther by force would break the string.


    *Siiiin!*


    The arrow pierced six beasts before stopping.


    Others were surprised, but Ezra was calm.


    ''I guess I''m not too rusty''


    If he couldn''t do that at Master-rank, he might as well give up on living.


    Now, it was time to try out an idea of his.

 Chapter 252 Beast Tide (4)

    ''Now, let''s try this out''


    His blood flowed out and he tried to shape it¡­but he failed and the blood fell to the ground.


    ''Hmm, guess it''s not going to be so easy''


    He fired more and more poisoned arrows - as he dubbed them - surprising the onlookers once again.


    "He was an archer?" they whispered to one another


    With his skills, Ezra was shooting and reloading faster than they could follow.


    Then, once the quiver was empty, Ezra gave it a retry.


    He drew blood and then shaped it into an arrow.


    It was hard at first, but Ezra gradually formed it.


    At that moment¡­


    "Iing!"


    "Take cover!"


    ¡­something flew towards them.


    Ezra dropped the bow and pulled out a sword, which heced with darkness and sliced the iing projectile.


    It was arge boulder.


    *Shin!*


    The boulder was split in two, but that only reduced a little of the umted momentum.


    *Smash!*Smash!*


    Both pieces smashed against the palisade, disorienting the soldiers and killing more than a few.


    Ezra was unaffected, staring into the beyond to identify the boulder thrower.


    He didn''t bother checking the top brass, as such a weak attack could not harm them.


    And then, it revealed itself.


    A Mad Ape!


    Rough ck fur, red eyes, a herculean stature, matching the palisade in height, and with four limbs all looking like hands.


    It was bipedal, which was fairlymon, but this one was B-rank.


    The next minute saw it throw three more boulders.


    This time though, Ezra was prepared.


    Taking a stance as he whispered¡­


    "Sword sequence, de barrage"


    With his sword coated with dark energy, Ezra took a leap into the face of the iing builders and drew a wide arc across all boulders, then¡­


    *Shin!*Shin!*Shin!*Shin!*Shin!*Shin!*


    The boulders splintered into pieces and, with its momentum exhausted, it fell right down, killing a lot of beasts.


    Ezranded at the battlefield''s center, shing the approaching beasts as he shouted¡­


    "Sir John!"


    Themander reached him in a single leap, easily discharging the iing beasts while they chatted.


    "We need to kill it before the whole fortress is brought down"


    "Shouldn''t we wait for it toe closer?" Sir John questioned.


    Ezra shook his head.


    "No, apes possess an intellect slightly above the other beasts" he pointed his sword at the ape making erratic noises, angry that its builders were destroyed.


    "Besides, does that look like a beast that''s going to attack?"


    True to his words, Sir John discerned that, while the beast was angry, it wasn''t taking any step forward.


    "But why?"


    Beasts were naturally fighters, especially those of A and B ranks, who had established themselves as predators.


    "It seems to be waiting for something before charging forth" Ezra said.


    "What could that possibly be?"


    "Reinforcements"


    "Ah!" it hit Sir John like a lightning bolt.


    "That''s why you want to attack it now"


    Ezra nodded.


    "Let''s go"


    He leaped before Sir John could speak, forcing Sir John to follow him.


    "Wait, don''t we need a n?"


    "I have one" Ezra replied.


    "Hit him till he''s down"


    In their way was the advancing swarm of beasts.


    Ezra cut them out of his way, coating his sword with lightning.


    Additionally, imbuing his legs with lightning while using his agility rune had him turn into a mirage, shing past the beasts, only for their heads to slide off secondster like it was the most natural thing in the world.


    Even that was talking too long, so he copied Sir John, using the beasts as stepping stones.


    At the speed they were approaching, the ape surely did not miss them.


    Making erratic noises, it danced around, throwing boulders at them with both hands and feet.


    Rather than show off their skills, both Masters simply avoided it, leaving the beasts to be squashed into mush.


    Onest leap had Ezra face to face with the beast.


    The beast swung its hand like it was trying to swat away a fly.


    Rather than avoid it, Ezra turned his body towards it while in midair thanks to the lightning on his body.


    With Sir John still far away, Ezra didn''t hesitate to coat his de in blood, darkness and then, fire!


    With his de burning with a ck me, the apes palm was smoothly cut in half. The fingers were severed, falling to the ground likerge sausage rolls.


    "KRAA!"


    The ape cried, his palm bleeding out like a tap, yet rather than run, its anger just rose a notch.


    ''Tch''


    Ezra hadnded on the soil and was now retreating as the ape smashed into his former position with its other arm.


    Now the center of its attention, Ezra called to his partner.


    "John!"


    "I''m here!"


    John leapt into action, but not without the ape noticing.


    As the ape sought to stop John, Ezra let out a sh of dark lightning, leaving arge scorch mark on the ape''s abdomen.


    The beast cried out once more, but John wouldn''t miss such a chance.


    The ape pped its abdomen to calm the burning skin, and as it turned to take care of the nearest threat, it met John right in front of its face.


    *PUK!*


    Arge sword punctured its eye.


    Again, it cried.


    In trying to swap John away, it felt pain in its legs, but before it could even process it, it fell on its face.


    Its leg had been severed, and from it poured hot blood.


    The apes'' voice broke, the consecutive levels of pain too much even though it had gone rabid.


    While falling, John had removed his sword and jumped aside.


    So, it used its palms to push itself into a sitting position, but at this point, it noticed that the remainder of its cut palm was rotting, courtesy of Ezra''s blood.


    In the corner of its eye, it noticed a figure running closer.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    *Boom!*


    Ezra took off the ground.


    The ape turned to meet Ezra who was right in front of it.


    "Boo"


    With his sword coated in dark lightning, he sliced and subsequentlynded.


    The ape''s head slid off andnded on the ground with its eye, well, thest one, open.


    Its face spoke of shock beyond belief.


    Ezra called John while killing the beasts converging on his position.


    John leapt towards Ezra.


    Ezra pointed to the beast.


    "Take it"


    He was talking about the carcass. The carcass of a B-rank beast was useful for many things and would sell for a lot of money.


    "No, I can''t" John said hesitantly.


    "Don''t misunderstand" Ezra answered.


    "I''m not so kind hearted. Take it, and in return, you''ll tell no one about your powers, deal?"


    "What?"


    "I''d rather not reveal myself, so take it and tell them about how you killed it"


    John stood for a while, before nodding.


    "Be warned though. If you take it, and then betray me, I''ll kill you" Ezra added.


    "Sure" John nodded. He wasn''t afraid in the least.


    Normally, he would''ve never called him along, or would''ve killed him.


    But as a ck Jaws member, Ezra was lenient.


    Besides, even if he told others, Fredrick had a thousand and one ways to deal with it, so he wasn''t worried.


    Moreover, if the ck Jaws processed the carcass, it was still his.


    In a jiffy, John sucked the carcass into his space ring, as the thousands of smaller beasts were already eating from it.


    "Let''s return" said Ezra.


    As they turned, a loud roar was heard, forcing them to turn back.


    Looking from the top of a small hill, they saw the source of the familiar scream.


    An ape, 50% timesrger than thest, came into view, with the same features as thest.


    Moreover, it radiated a presence farrger than thest.


    Ezra smirked at the ridiculousness of it.


    "What are the odds?"


    With a look, it was clear the ape they killed was this guy''s wife.


    Moreover¡­he was A-rank!


    "Is this a joke?!" John questioned.


    Full-fledged A-rank beasts caused disasters. It took two to three Masters to take one down, depending on affinities and stages that is.


    Never mind the snake at the mountain, that one was inexperienced in dealing with humans. Also, it hadn''t settled into its new body before being attacked.


    All in all, the snake was a very special case.


    "Well, now we know what she was waiting for"


    John''s expression turned grave.


    Then, Ezra said¡­


    "It shouldn''t be that hard"


    John stared for a whole minute.


    "Have you ever fought an A-rank beast before?"


    "Nope"


    "Then you don''t know the difference between A-rank and B-rank beasts? If you think they''re simr in strength-"


    Ezra raised his index finger.


    "Look above you"


    "Huh?"


    Only then did John realize that things had gotten dark all of a sudden.


    Looking up, he saw a herculean figure dropping to his position.


    ''Oh shit!''


    With haste, he pushed off the hill and, immediately after¡­


    *Boom!*


    Two hand-like legs smashed into its surface.


    The ape looked around, but nothing!


    *KRAA!*


    It cried, shaking up the ground.


    John sought to turn and flee when it saw a boulder approach.


    With a wide swing, he split it in half.


    At first, he thought it a coincidence, but no, the ape was targeting them specifically.


    "How does it know?" he muttered.


    "We have her scent on us, that''s how" Ezra answered, scaring the heck out of John.


    "When did you get here?"


    "I didn''t go far in the first ce"


    John calmed itself.


    "So, what do we do?"


    "If we run, the fortress will be destroyed. So, we''ll end it right here"


    Again, he dashed forth without giving John the chance to reply.


    Taking out a second sword, Ezra went for its legs.


    But while getting close, the ape stomped the ground, knocking him off bnce, before following it up with a stomp to squash him.


    Ezra ran out of the leg''s reach without a hitch.


    "This one''s trickier"


    John arrived a few meters away from him.


    "Killing this one is going to be tougher"


    "I know-"


    He couldn''tplete the sentence because he had to dodge the iing boulder.


    *Bam!*


    It fell and shattered.


    Away from it, Ezra was hit with a wave of inspiration.


    He motioned to John¡­


    "Follow my lead"


    ¡­and then sped off in the opposite direction.


    He could challenge the beast head on, but that would take far more energy than necessary.


    ''Since you''re angry, I''ll give you a ce to vent''

 Chapter 253 Dodge Boulder

    ''Since you''re angry, I''ll give you a ce to vent''


    Ezra ran in the opposite direction, infuriating the beast who was awaiting a one on one.


    He ran into the beast stampede emerging from the nearby beast regions before jumping onto their heads and running away.


    John followed suit.


    Ezra looked behind him.


    ''Now, what will you do?''


    The ape should understand that he was outmatched in speed, so it''ll either jump, or¡­


    ''Eqlicent''


    Ezra nodded in appreciation as he watched the ape grab a boulder.


    "John" he called.


    "Make sure that you don''t stop moving"


    John nodded, looking at the ape as well.


    *Voom!*


    The boulder was thrown.


    "Wait" said Ezra, approximating when they should jump.


    The boulder got closer.


    "Ezra"


    "Wait"


    And closer.


    "Ezra?"


    "Wait"


    And closer.


    "Ezra?!"


    "¡­Jump Away!"


    They jumped aside with the boulder right in front of their faces.


    They survived, but the beasts below them were squashed. The beast behind them simply circumvented the area.


    Again, Ezra hitched a ride on one of those.


    John did the same, staring at Ezra with eyes of inexplicable meaning.


    "Shouldn''t we just finish him and then finish the rest"


    "I''d rather not waste energy doing something that could be done with less effort. Besides, how are we to know that this is thest one we''ll be seeing"


    John nodded, it was sensible reasoning.


    "So, what do we do now?"


    "Don''t break the boulders, only dodge them. And remember, you have to make each one is a close call else it''ll notice and then we''ll have to waste more energy"


    "Got it"


    John was stern, but in a few minutes, he''de to respect Ezra.


    So began the game of dodge boulders.


    As Ezra instructed, they only dodged, and slowly at that, so their folly wouldn''t be discovered.


    Meanwhile, more and more beasts were squashed, and since all of them were rabid, neither the ape nor the other beast called attention to it.


    This reduced tension for the army at the fortress significantly.


    Moreover, with the ape''s absurd height, they could see it hurling rock after rock at something.


    Experts and a few shifters could see even farther.


    The top brass were now fighting from the top of the palisade because the ground level was overrun with beasts.


    With slits for eyes, Theron muttered¡­


    "That''s the boss"


    ¡­prompting Valentine to swerve her head towards him.


    "What did you see?" she asked.


    "The boss. He''s toying with that beast" Theron mouthed with a smile.


    "Oh, ok" Valentine nodded and just went back to killing the beasts.


    She''d been thinking a lot ever since she arrived at the fortress.


    It happened the day after Ezra defeated her in a duel.


    Her mother, Elisa, called her to speak.


    "I know you must be hurting" she started.


    "And I know you must be gloating"


    "Why dear" Elisa''s neutral face revealed a triumphant grin.


    "Whatever are you talking about?"


    Valentine suppressed her emotions.


    "If you have nothing more to say, can I excuse myself?"


    "I have a lot to say" Elisa replied. Her grin had all but vanished.


    She pushed a chair to Valentine.


    "Sit"


    Valentine did as she was told, seeing that her mother''s expression had be serious.


    Cleaning her sses, Elisa spoke¡­


    "Tell me, what do you think about that boy?"


    "Which boy?" Valentine was instantly confused.


    "Ezra Miller"


    Valentine quietened¡­before exploding.


    "I think he''s an arrogant, poupous, and an egoistic fool"


    "Would you like to marry him then?"


    "Would I like to-"


    Valentine murmured her words before freezing as her eyes opened wide.


    "What did I just hear?"


    "Whatever it is I said"


    "You want me to MARRY HIM?!"


    "Please dear, calm down. I''m not asking you to die"


    "Well, I might just do so"


    "Can you give me a reason why you don''t like him so much? A genuine one of course"


    "He''s, he''s, he''s¡­UGH! I cannot marry him!"


    "Then give me a reason"


    "Ahhh!"


    Elisa smiled at seeing her daughter raging so much, before taping her head.


    "Listen"


    "Hmph!" Valentine crossed her arms.


    "If I wanted, I''d have you both engaged without your knowing, but I didn''t do that"


    Valentine calmed after realizing it was true.


    "From what I''ve seen, he''ll make a fine husband. He has good looks, more than enough brains, is royalty, and as for power, well I don''t have to say anything"


    "Mom, have you been stalking him?"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "I stalk every one of my students"


    "Hiek!"


    "What? How else would I be able to grade you urately?"


    Valentine coughed.


    "Fair enough, but I still don''t want to marry him"


    "Who then will you marry? Fine men don''te around so often"


    "How can you call him a man? He''s just turned thirteen"


    She pushed down her sses.


    "And you just turned fifteen. What difference does it make?"


    "Ugh! What if, what if he doesn''t like me?


    "So you''ve epted"


    "O-of course not" she stuttered, turning her red cheeks to the side.


    "What if, what if, what if he dies?"


    "Whatever can kill him would kill you too"


    "Mother!"


    "What? It''s a given"


    Valentine stared for a long while before releasing pent up air.


    "Does he know about this?"


    "Nope" Elisa shook her index finger.


    "Apparently, he doesn''t have much of an impression of you"


    "How would you know?"


    "I asked, and he went ''Umm¡­.''. From what I saw, he doesn''t have much concern for girls"


    "Then-"


    Elisa cut her off.


    "Then, you''ll just have to make him concerned about you"


    "How?"


    "For one, you''ll follow him everywhere. He needs to be familiar with you before anything can happen" she tapped her chin.


    "As for how to make him care though, I''m a bit stumped"


    Then sheughed.


    "He''s a such a fine man I need to think before knowing how to help him"


    "For now, I suggest you grow stronger" she told Valentine.


    "He seems to have an obsession with strength, so, most likely, he''ll like strong women"


    "You sure did your research"


    "Of course, I did. He''s going to be my son-inw. How can I be ignorant of his tastes?"


    "Why are you so awfully sure?"


    "Hmm, I just know" she shrugged, pulling Valentine''s chair beside her.


    "I''m not trying to give you out as a gift. I just think good men are few, and my daughter should marry one of them. I want you to follow him not just for him, but for you. Understand him, scrutinize him. Ask yourself ''Is this a quality I want from my husband?'' every time you uncover anotheryer of his character. If youe back, and you have problems with his personality, we''ll never need to talk about this again. You understand?"


    "Hmm" Valentine nodded, rubbing her shoulders.


    "Mother"


    "Yes?"


    "What is a husband anyway?"


    "He''s your life partner. He''s someone who''ll do anything to protect you and make sure you are well taken care off"


    "That sounds¡­a bit too good to be true"


    "Oh, but it is. Regardless, follow him and be familiar with him. So, when the opportunity presents itself, you''re by his side to help him. But if you don''t like him, just say so. Deal?"


    "Sigh. Deal"


    "Oh yes, did I mention that your husband is the father of your children?"


    "Mom!"


    That was it, now she was here, fighting while secretly trying to verify Ezra''s worthiness.


    So far, it was a disaster, because he outssed her in almost everything, and since yesterday, the power he showed was beyond her.


    Then, something blossomed in her heart, a flick of inferiority.


    Now, the tables were turning, it had gone from confirming his worthiness to confirming if she was worthy of him.


    ''How frustrating'' she thought, but she wanted to surpass or at least match him.


    But in the past day, the gap seemed to only grow wider.


    Breaking through to Expert-rank suddenly seemed easy whenpared with her current dilemma.


    Meanwhile, Ezra and John were expertly dodging the hail of stones thrown at them.


    From the start, each time the ape failed to hit them, it would increase its aggression.


    Now, after five minutes of boulder dodging, it was throwing boulders consecutively.


    Ezra was still breezing through it, while John was starting to have problems.


    "Are you okay?"


    John nodded, blood rolling down his dusty face.


    "I can still do more"


    "Good"


    They continued, this time with more risky ys, but it was all the more effective.


    Every stone they dodged went on to squash a squad of beasts, and with tens of boulders being thrown¡­


    The beasts reaching the fortress had reduced to a trinkle of what it normally was.


    With its eyes bloodshot and its expression fuming, the ape plunged out a massive part of the earth.


    It was so heavy, even the ape had trouble lifting it.


    More importantly, the piece ofnd it sought to pull out would be too wide for the pesky things to dodge.


    Only, it had forgotten one thing.


    Those ''pesky'' things could do more than just dodge.


    "John, let''s go"


    "Roger"


    Both men dashed for the beast, whose backy wide open while it struggled to tear out arge chunk of soil.


    Ezra twin swords lit up with blood and dark lightning.


    "Kreeu?!"


    Getting a strange feeling, the ape turned its head, but it was already toote.


    Ezra wasing in fast.


    The ape, sensing danger, dropped the piece ofnd and jumped away.


    Ezra followed suit, taking a leap that made the earth crack.


    From afar, only a line of ck light would be discerned as Ezra reached the ape.


    Mad it was, growling as it raised its hand.


    Rather than cut it as they were in mid air, Ezra dodged it by a hair''s breadth, stabbed the palm, and climbed aboard the arm, where he ran on towards the beast who raised its other arm to p him to death.


    Ezra ran faster, avoiding the death p, and just past the elbow, he jumped.


    The beast saw the pesky creature descend with its ck sword in hand and it instinctively knew.


    The next attack would be fatal.

 Chapter 254 Counterattack

    With both swords lit in ck lightning, Ezra spun like a top.


    Siiiiin!


    He sliced into the apes'' neck as they descended.


    John cleaved off his right leg.


    Bam!


    The apended on its back, with its head subsequently bouncing away.


    The ape was dead as could be.


    Immediately the surroundings felt a tremor and the apes'' carcass disappeared.


    It was sucked into Ezra''s space ring.


    John was dumbfounded seeing Ezra leap to his side, to which he sucked in the cleaved foot.


    A leapter, he sucked in the head as well.


    He leaped to John''s side, leaving ament. "It was B-rank"


    John nodded. The meaning; to everyone else, it was B rank.


    "This is enough. Let''s head back"


    They reached the fortress in strides.


    With a few healing potions, John was looking as good as ever-though now he needed to rest to wash away the fatigue.


    The soldiers were too shocked to speak, all gazes lingered on Ezra''s bloody figure.


    Fear, Admiration, Envy, Disbelief were the prominent emotions their expressions exposed.


    Ezra took note of them, with this battle, he''d achieved his aim-elevating his image in their minds-for better or worse, firmlyying a foundation for his reputation to grow.


    Now, his disy would make them rein in any funny ns they might''ve had.


    More importantly, ''I can begin whetting the weeds''


    In the academy, he nned extensively, not just the demons, but his method to take the throne, and then how we would rule.


    ''There too many powerful people, and that isn''t helping''


    If not for the Emperor''s domineering strength, Niton would have been fractured between Grandmasters.


    If grandmasters were less, kingdoms of Ribera and Roosevelt wouldn''t have sprung up so easily.


    ''So, should I go ahead and weed out a few?''


    There wouldn''t be much to having a few students die to beasts.


    But¡­


    ''No''


    Ezra decided against it.


    Apart from the poption shortage, you had the apocalypse on the horizon, and with how all the events in his past life were brought forward, the probability that the apocalypse would happen years earlier was rather high.


    After all, this beast tide did not happen till 1723 in his past life, now it happened at 1713, a decade earlier.


    Ezra had a hunch other events would happen even quicker, and his hunch seemed true with how the demonsunched attacks.


    He knew from his past life that the beast tide was the doings of demon worshippers and told Fredrick.


    Only, he didn''t know where their hideout was; it was never discovered in his past life.


    ''And I wanted to rest''


    Ezra chuckled, he had thought of taking things easy after hitting master rank, and he would''ve¡­


    ''This damned feeling'' thought Ezra, rubbing his neck.


    If not for the foreign feeling pushing him.


    Regardless, he was eagerly awaiting good news, as he''d instructed a few soldiers to find Marcus for him.


    His lips parted to reveal a cruel smile.


    ''Marcus, I can''t wait to meet you''


    As said, revenge was a dish best served cold.


    Then, Fredrick sent him something he was to receive today.


    With the A-rank beast ughtered, John was certain that no more beasts would appear, at least not today.


    Ezra walked into his tent, drinking cold water, thereafter taking a rinse to wash away the dust on his body and threw away his silver rank armour.


    He''d only worn it as formality.


    After all, he stepped out to see the soldiersughing over small jokes.


    ''Zero discipline''


    Ezra clicked his tongue. ''To act like this while awaiting enemies¡­have things been too easy for them?''


    The soldiers noticed him and the chatter gradually died down.


    Ezra stared for a while, before saying, "Carry on" and walked away.


    Surely, he thought of scolding them, but with the majority being students or hot blooded youths, he decided against it.


    Theck of casualties seemed to have instilled a sense of false bravado in them.


    ''I did my job too well''


    He realized.


    ''Well, experience is the best teacher''


    He went over the battle, noting differences between it and that of his past life.


    ''A ranks didn''t show up until the sixth day, and the mad rush began on the seventh''


    The beast tide in his past lifested ten days.


    The soldiers began cleaning out the ce.


    Most beasts were buried. Normally they''d salvage the skin, but most of the skin was destroyed by the spells and Ezra''s poison.


    As the beasts had turned rabid, their inner organs were disposed of.


    Yesterday''s pile of carcasses were buried in front of the fortress with the help of earth mages.


    Not Severus though, my boy was having an all you can eat buffet.


    Of course, with his taste exquisite, Severus couldn''t eat just anything.


    He badgered Ezra until he was allowed to eat the apes'' corpse.


    Time trickled by and noon came along with a surprise.


    A flying carriagended in the fortress,pletely ck it was, with the colouring of three scratches.


    "State your business" said the soldiers.


    "Hmph" the coach was unperturbed, his passenger spoke. "I have something for a Sir Ezra"


    They froze. There was only one Ezra in the army.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    _________


    Ezra stood silent as the man introduced himself.


    "This is a gift from his Majesty, he tasked me with delivering this to you. Its name is Darkane. His Majesty sends his regards"


    The passenger, which Ezra found out to be a member of the Royal guard, handed him a sword sheathed in brown and blue leather with its ck hilt sticking out.


    "Please tell him that I am deeply honoured"


    The royal knight nodded, before turning away.


    The coach was also there and stepped forth to give Ezra a ring.


    "I was tasked to hand this to you as well," he said. "The sender remains anonymous. He said you''d recognize the item, and if you didn''t-you should simply throw it away"


    Ezra fiddled with the ring. He didn''t sense anything unusual, so he nodded.


    With that, the guard and the coach left.


    Ezra sat in his tent, looking over the two items.


    ''So this is the Emperor''s gift?'' he thought, unsheathing the de.


    Complete ck it was, with small white lines across its surface.


    ''Darkane¡­suits it nicely''


    While it was undoubtedly badass looking, Ezra already had two Epic gold swords in his space ring.


    He''d have to test the sword''s usefulness to decide if he''d swap another sword for it.


    Ting!


    "Huh?" Ezra hears a tingle, looking around, he finds its source pinned to his clothes.


    It was the miniturized Skyfall, protesting against Ezra collecting other weapons.


    "Don''t worry" he said. "I''ll take you out to face the really strong guys"


    Skyfall stopped its protests.


    ''Whew''


    After a few months, Ezra now understood the nature of both Severus and Skyfall sufficiently.


    ''Now¡­''


    He picked up the ring, fiddling with it before putting it on.


    Unlike the coach thought, Ezra already knew who the sender was.


    ''Fredrick, let''s see what the surprise of his is''


    Trying to ess the space, he finds it locked.


    Ezra brute forced it and the lock broke off without a hitch.


    Then he removed the item within.


    An all ck armour with a helmet also ck,y folded on the ground.


    A short notey atop it.


    ''Armour made from the mountain snakes scales with a few other things. Imbue mana to discover its effects''


    Ezra smiles, putting it on.


    Only¡­''Isn''t it a little big?''


    The armour wasrger than him, but just a bit, he could manage.


    Exhaling, he infuses mana into it.


    Lo and Behold the armour tightens to fit him.


    ''Auto fit''


    Now he didn''t have to worry about armour falling off during battle.


    Right then¡­


    JUUM!


    The ground shook.


    JUUM!


    It shook again.


    Benjamin stormed in. "Sire, you need to see this!"


    _________


    Ezra watched from the horizon as new guests arrived.


    Seven of them.


    Though few in number, they exuded pressure of at least B-rank.


    Ezra mind was whirring ''There might even be an A rank beast hidden within''


    His eyes narrowed. ''Seems I''ve captured their attention''


    Gattiste was to be a ce upied easily given that an A rank was deployed, yet it stood unbreached.


    "Is this a joke?"


    "It has to be! We already got rid of the beasts"


    "Mommy!"


    The soldiers moured nonstop,


    They''d been relieved, certain that the day''s battle was over.


    Why had so many B ranks chosen to appear, and where did they evene from?


    "Silence!"


    Ezra''smand put the mour to a stop.


    "Get to your positions NOW!"


    The beasts were running towards them, and they were acting like headless chickens.


    "We will stand, we will fight and we will win, just as we did before. HOLD STEADY!"


    Their anxiety calmed as they awaited the dashing monsters.


    With how sudden it was, Ezra did not have time to n anything, and just picked out the top twenty along with Sir John and a few of his members jumped off the palisade and sped towards the beasts.


    "Aim for the legs" he said. "We want them on the ground as fast as possible"


    "Yes!"


    As they neared the point of collision.


    Shiiim!


    Something tore through the sky.

 Chapter 255 Big Moves

    Shiim!


    Arge piece of gleaming ck metal tore through the sky.


    Chuuk!


    Piercing all seven beasts to a standstill as they stood in a single file.


    Boom!


    The cracked soil caved in tremendously, blowing up a wall of dust and those approaching were blown back.


    Blood dripped off the de continuously, forming a puddle in mere seconds with a deathly silence right behind it.


    They could only be silent. The shock was too much.


    Experts were unable to register the attack taking nces at one another while wiping off the dust on their faces. Ezra and John had their faces to the sky.


    Then, the clouds split to reveal the skinny figure whose clothes had wings attached, with half of his face hidden behind a ck veil.


    Ezra could see this thanks to his rity rune, his eyes never left the figure in the sky.


    Ezra could release an attack of such caliber, but not casually.


    So, the level of the flying many bare, even if he thoroughly concealed it.


    ''Grandmaster''


    The metal drew out of the Beast''s bodies, and they fell backwards like trees.


    The de dismantled, scattering into many pieces and attached to the wings inyers, rapidly increasing them in size.


    The grandmasternded meters away from Ezra soon after, each p of his wings coughed up a lot of dust.


    "I am Finstor Deneris. A Grandmaster sent to oversee things here" he says.


    "Ezra Miller at your service"


    ''Miller?'' Finstor''s eyes widened. Taking a quick scan of Ezra.


    "I did not expect to see royalty here"


    "Unfortunately, it was an impromptu decision"


    "I see. Take me to yourmander"


    Ezra stepped forth. "Here he is"


    Deneris gave a weird look.


    "Thestmander died"


    Deneris gave a slight nod, leaving hisments unsaid.


    His gaze pervades the destroyedndscape. "What is the highest of the Beast you''ve encountered?"


    "B rank" said Ezra, locking eyes with Deneris.


    "Are you sure?"


    "Absolutely"


    "How many of them?"


    Ezra points to the seven bodies sprawled on the ground, his other hand holding onto the sword tighter. "Apart from those few? Two"


    "You seem to be on the lucky side of things"


    His wings start pping and he takes off.


    Ezra''s gaze followed his figure as it disappeared into the horizon, and once it was out of sight, Ezra breathed a sigh of relief.


    Touching his neck where the cold feeling usually came from.


    The feeling didn''t grow any colder, or Ezra would''ve attacked Deneris without any question.


    More importantly, Ezra caught onto something else.


    ''The grandmasters are personally taking action?''


    They didn''t take action in his past life-because Niton''s poption of masters was enough to take care of things.


    It was evidence that they were deviating from the future he knew more and more as time passed.


    "Boss" Theron called.


    Ezra whipped his head to the side; the others were waiting for his orders.


    "Gather the corpses and let''s head back to the fortress"


    _________


    Niton witnessed a show of power as Grandmasters decimated the Beast hordes terrorizing the Empire.


    ces close to the Traxford had it better than others because of ck Jaws.


    Under Fredrick''smand, cities and towns were assigned ''important'' or ''unimportant''.


    ces deemed important was where the cavalry was sent, troops numbering hundreds, while non important got the opposite.


    For non-important ces, members were ordered to retreat the moment a force beyond their ability appeared.


    Surely, Gattiste was part of thetter, hence the few members.


    Thanks to Ezra''s warnings. Except fornd, most things owned by ck Jaws had been kept safe, leaving just enough to avoid any usations that they''d known about the beast tide beforehand.


    _________


    Gathered in the Russel pce were six men, each garbed in different armours.


    Each person being a person of importance anywhere in Orion, the pressure they gave off was nothing to scoff at.


    The atmosphere was as tense as ever.


    "Irazet, Preston, Baldric. This is¡­surprising"


    Gaga made a sad smile with Gilliard standing beside him. All the members in the room were grandmasters, and at the same time, all of them were puppets.


    He recognized these three because they were kings of neighbouring kingdoms.


    He didn''t know thest guy. "Who are you?"


    "Revenmar"


    Clearly, the other party was unwilling tomunicate, so Gaga kept to himself, while his mind whirred.


    ''Six grandmasters¡­how terrifying''


    No one else spoke, they weren''t here because they wanted to be in the first ce.


    Recalling the summons, Gaga''s expression hardened.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He wasn''t curious as to why they were summoned, because he knew it was nothing good.


    On cue, the red mirrorying at the center lit up, and from it, a face was illuminated, but this face was hidden beneath a skull mask.


    The raspy tone came again. "Ah, I see you''ve all gathered"


    None spoke as he continued.


    "Alright then. There''s been a change of ns"


    "What does that mean?" Gaga questioned.


    "It means we''ll have to go about our ns a bit differently, because of a few nuances" he said.


    "This is what you''ll do¡­


    Over the next five minutes, the leader exined their new course of action.


    "What?!" unsurprisingly, Gaga was against it.


    "You heard me clearly"


    "That can never happen. I will not allow it"


    The face stared him down for a short while.


    "Such pity. I guess this is the end" the tone turned cold. "Kill him"


    Puhk!


    Gaga quivered, blood running down his mouth as he looked to see his heart beating in the arm stretching through his chest.


    Kugh!


    Gaga spat outrge amounts of blood, his eyes now bloodshot.


    Slowly, he looked to the side to see Gilliard.


    "What are you doing?!"


    Each word flew out of his with a spurt of blood.


    But he realized that the one he was speaking with was not his son, for in the eyes of his once loving son, was now a gaze cold and unfeeling.


    "The demon lord demands it" said Gilliard, ripping out his arm from Gaga''s chest.


    As the Russel''s king saw his body fall to the ground, unable to do a thing, only then did he realize how horrible a mistake he''d made.


    He falls to the floor, his crown bouncing off like the trinket it was.


    Gaga stared into the white skies beyond his pce, an unending regrety in his heart with the solemn wish of undoing his mistake.


    Yet the world refused to reply.


    A tear dropped as he let out a silent cry before breathing hisst, his eyes wide.


    Who would have thought that death woulde so swiftly? Indeed, Gaga had not woken up to think he would die hourster, in a pool of his own blood.


    Others made not a change in expression, even Gilliard did not look twice at the body of his father.


    "Now" the skull said. "I will have someonee and pick up his body. Get to it"


    "For the Demon Lord" they hailed.


    The grandmasters promptly dispersed, for each an opponent of his own.


    Desperate times called for desperate measures and Big events called for Big Moves.


    Pieces moving to a destination uncertain, with the future deviating into chaos, a crescendo was soon to be reached


    ________


    Night fell. Soldiers moved about the fortress, rowdy as ever, talking about Deneris'' mind blowing attack.


    News that grandmasters were actively helping with the beast tide had spread beyond the edges of Orion and calmed a lot of hearts.


    But Ezra''s heart was not at peace, because the feeling came along that night.


    In his tent, Ezra stared at the mana stones in his palm, unsure of what path to take.


    With a grandmastering for him, it would be most viable that Ezra advanced as well.


    But he wasn''t at the Late stage yet, moreover, thest time he forced a breakthrough he almost died, Ezra wasn''t so quick to forget that.


    ''Come on,e on,e on'' he chanted within himself, staring at the four mana stones in his palm.


    Slowly, he raised them towards his mouth, but at the crucial juncture¡­


    ''No, no, I can''t'' He drops it. ''It''s too risky''


    Quickly, he sucks them into his ring as he rubs in hair frustration.


    While ruminating, Benjamin steps in.


    "Sir, we''ve found the boy"


    Ezra plopped to his feet with thoughts of the approaching danger melting into the background as his expression of frustration melds into one of menacing glee.


    "Where?"


    "At the intersect-uuu!" Benjamin shivered as Ezra''s face shone under starlight.


    "Is there something on my face?"


    "N-No-Not at all Sir!" Benjamin cried out, still unable to look away.


    A grin stretched across Ezra''s face, his eyes glimmering with glee. Like a beast almost on its prey, Ezra seemed possessed.


    Benjamin was thoroughly afraid, but managed to speak the coordinates in stutters.


    Ezra dashed away the moment Benjamin said thest word.


    ''Marcus, here Ie''


    After waiting for so long, it was time to take his first steps in paying his dues to ones to use him as a discarded tool.


    Ezra''s skin stood from the exhration, envisioning how Marcus would react before and after he was done with him.


    Across the silent city looking almost dead, whose only light was the moon, Ezra rode along the streets adeptly, the winds generated by his speed blew the dust away.


    Taking seconds to register the road signs as the height of his brain was functioning, Ezra reached his destination in less than two minutes-and it was at the other end of the city!


    He skidded to a halt, calming his pounding heart as he walked ever so slowly to the boy''s abode.


    When suddenly¡­space warped, and a familiar figure appeared behind him.


    "What are you doing?"

 Chapter 256 A Beast

    Ezra turned deftly to see the one behind him.


    Space warped, revealing ady in purple armour with purple hair.


    "What are you doing?"


    Ezra''s gaze went icy. His body was itching for action, he didn''t have time to address her nonsense, neither did he want to.


    He turned and walked away.


    But then¡­Suup!


    Valentine appeared in front of him.


    "You didn''t answer the question"


    "Move aside" Ezra growled.


    "But I was just ask-


    Ezra ran towards her. ''This is taking too long''


    -king a ques¡­"


    Valentine''s voice trailed off, feeling the cold edge touching her neck''s skin.


    Slowly, Valentine raised her head to meet Ezra gaze, and the moment she did, she swallows, her throat going dry by the second.


    The boy she was ustomed to was nowhere to be seen, behind his dark eyes was the re of a predator.


    He oozed waves of murderous intent.


    ''W-What was this?''


    Her heart pounded and her legs grew weak.


    For the first time in her lifetime, powerlessness hit her like a storm.


    "Leave"


    She staggered in retreat, backing away but unwilling to let her eyes off the beast in front of her.


    "Ah!"


    As such, she didn''t see a jutting rock and fell on her buttocks.


    A bright light shone from her body, releasing a pressure that forced Ezra on alert.


    ''What now?''


    Anger brewed within him, what should''ve been a quick and swift task was now been dyed.


    The surroundings seem to cave in, and like Valentine''s arrival, space warped, but at a bigger scale, and then¡­something came through.


    Immediately, the sense of pressure rose a few notches, and Ezra took a fighting stance.


    A murky blue smoke came through first, the surroundings bing all the more quieter after which the silent taps of the earth were heard.


    A figure was then revealed, speaking with a tone all too familiar.


    "What do we have here?"


    Elisa Kreel appeared with her grandiose yet graceful movements.


    Dressed in a glimmering deep purple dress, a staffy in her hand with her eyes alternating between Ezra and her daughter.


    ''Tsk!'' Ezra was even more annoyed.


    Masking his emotions, Ezra spoke. "Lovely evening, is it not?"


    "It is" Elisa replied.


    "I apologize for the nuance I''ve caused" he bowed. "I merely frightened her as a joke, but it seems I overdid it"


    "Is that so?" muttered the olddy, taking a better look at the de in Ezra''s hands before turning to her daughter with questioning eyes.


    Amidst her fidgeting, Valentine made out a nod.


    "Then I must apologize for her rather impulsive behaviour"


    "Unnecessary" Ezra waved it off. "It was but a misunderstanding" turned to face Valentine. "Well then, with dawn near, I shall take my leave"


    He turns and walks off into his original destination, cing the swords back in the space ring.


    ___________


    With Ezra out of sight, Elisa turned to her daughter, who kept fidgeting.


    "What happened here?"


    Her gaze was stern.


    Her initial intent was to attack on sight, but she paused upon seeing her favourite student.


    Moreover, the looks in his eyes didn''t mirror lust, so she shoved away the thought of attempted rape.


    Valentine shook, quickly getting to her feet while her gaze was lowered.


    Then she ran to her mother, embracing her-much to Elisa''s shock.


    At this proximity, Elisa could feel her daughter shivering intensely as she reciprocated the hug.


    Elisa''s tone softened. "What happened?"


    Valentine raised her head, revealing the look of fear she''d been concealing.


    With a meek tone, Valentine spoke. "M-M-Mother. I''m scared!"


    Thest part had her burst in tears.


    "What is it, my daughter? What are you so scared of?"


    "Him" she muttered.


    Elisa realized the person being spoken of immediately.


    Elisa''s motherly instincts kicked in. "What did he do to you?!" she demanded.


    Valentine tears spilled even more. "H-he did nothing"


    Elisa pulled her daughter''s face and locked eyes with her. "You need not be scared of consequences. I will make him pay, just tell me, what did he do to you?!"


    Valentine''s expression became one of tranquil resignation. Holding the hands of her mother, she spoke. "He didn''t do anything. That''s the truth"


    Elisa calmed, bing even more confused. "Then, why are you like this?"


    With her shaking hands, Valentine cleaned her tears. "H-He s-showed me a side of him. The B-beast residing within"


    Elisa''s brain turned gears, but she still couldn''t understand.


    ''Oh mother''


    Seeing her mother confused. Valentine decided to stop exining and simply calmed herself, held her mother''s hand, wiped her tears and said, "It''s fine mother"


    "But it''s-


    Elisa tried to deny her false pretense, but Valentine interjected.


    "Can we go home Mother?"


    While uneasy, unable to understand what exactly her daughter had seen. Elisa simply nodded. "Sure"


    Elisa stomped her staff on the floor and it lit up with greenish blue marking.


    Like broken ss, space itself caved in, opening an eclipse shaped doorway.


    Stepping into it, the mother daughter duo disappeared.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ________


    ''What a mess. Thankfully she was easy to persuade''


    Ezra rather not make undue enemies, especially if they are formerly on good terms.


    It was a stroke of luck that Elisa hadn''t immediately attacked.


    ''I should talk to herter''


    He pushed the matter to the back of his mind as he reached his destination, this time with slower steps.


    A house, dark, damp and dpidated came into view, whilerger than houses built for viges, it was less than ideal for a hotel.


    A card dangled at its front, on it were the words ''Renovelle''.


    The was the Renovelle orphanage, and more importantly, this was Marcus'' abode.


    Yes, the man was an orphan. A crucial detail that was for it had brought them together as close friends in his past life.


    They both knew the cruelty of life better, and they bonded all the more for it.


    ''Only for him to stab me in the back!''


    Ezra''s killing intent rose as the painful memory resurfaced, but subsided just as fast.


    ''Calm down, calm down, calm down''


    He couldn''t lose his cool here.


    Darkness was bent and melded, covering most of his figure as he walked into the doorless orphanage.


    With the directions in hand, he reached Marcus'' bed shortly.


    There he was, sleeping soundly with his malnourished body in ragged clothes.


    Ezra''s eyes shone as the sight of his prey, but he channelled the rage bubbling up.


    He arrived in slow steps because he was thinking all the way.


    He realized that while his goal was clear, the details weren''t.


    He would have his revenge, yes, but how?


    They were one thousand and one ways to inflict vengeance, Ezra sorted out which one to deal with his enemies.


    Seeing Marcus'' face, many other thoughts pronged up.


    ''Shall I simply end you here?'' he thought, before shaking his head. ''That would be too merciful''


    He tapped his chin, contemting.


    ''Shall torture and dig out those eyes then?''


    He shook his head again. ''With how malnourished he is, he''ll die too fast''


    The more he thought about it, the more sadistic his thoughts became.


    As a Master with Darkness affinity, covering his presence to ordinary humans was beyond easy-like breathing.


    Two hours hush by as Ezra contemted over and over again, before reaching a conclusion.


    ''Since you''re so good at betrayal, I''ll let you feel what it''s like-then I''ll rip you apart''


    He nodded.


    Marcus was too malnourished to feel the pain as much as Ezra would like. Moreover, wouldn''t it be simply wonderful to see Marcus'' expression when dealt a deafening betrayal?


    Ezra''s smile reached the skies just thinking about it.


    ''I''m a genius''


    Like so, Ezra picked Marcus up, cing him on his shoulder like a sack and walked out.


    ''Hmm''


    A step away from exiting, Ezra walked to the caretaker, a youngdy- surprisingly-who had fallen asleep on her rocking chair.


    Ezra took out five pouches and ced them on the stool at her side, he then penned down a letter and held it down with the pouches, before leaving.


    __________


    Dawn struck, and the youngdy, Renovelle, awoke with her usual yawn.


    Stretching her rigid bones, she hits something off her stool.


    The sounds of coins struck her awake and her drowsiness melted away.


    Poor people like her recognized the sound of coins everywhere.


    So, when she turned to look behind her-what she saw had her freeze.


    A minute, and then two passed as she rubbed her eyes to make sure she was seeing it right.


    For on the floor were glittering pieces of gold, scattered in all directions.


    The third minute saw her stand, inching ever closer to the coins strewn about that she didn''t notice the other pouches on the stool!


    Slowly, she descends to her knees, her hands shaking as she reaches out to feel a coin.


    Believe and disbelief ran amok in her head as her hand inched closer, until¡­*cling*


    She tapped it, tapped it again, again and again, then took it in her hands, fidgeting even more as she felt it within her palms.


    Her eyes grew watery as sheprehended the scene, and finally, she bit into it, hard.


    Her brain paused as did her movements as tears streamlined down her face like a statue.


    All of a sudden, she blew into tears.


    Tears of joy, of unbelievable joy fell incessantly.


    A miracle had descended, and she was the recipient.


    She muffled her tone, making sure she wasn''t heard, gathered herself and began picking the coins.


    Her phase of naivety had long since expired, it would be the end of her and the children if anyone caught a glimpse of the money.


    cing it back in the pouch, she quickly stores it in her small shelf, her emotions turbulent with ideas running wild.


    Clearly, she needed rest.


    She sat back into the chair, only her eyes to pop out in deathly shock when she realised that five more pouchesy on her stool.


    Rather happiness, she is ovee with dread, surely, she of all people knew she''d done nothing to deserve such.


    Then, she saw the note.


    Fishing out her sses-the only intact item in her possession-she read through.


    She released a gasp; someone had taken Marcus. He was also the person that dropped the coins.


    In it were simple directions of how she should use the money-Renovelle couldn''t help but be grateful, she''d been wondering what to do with such an astronomical amount.


    Reading thest sentence, she fell back into her chair, the pressure on her chest had subsided.


    Quickly, she checked through the pouches, fishing out the object the letter told her off.


    A silver ring came into view.


    Yes, it was a space ring.


    She sucks in the pouches of gold, calming herself.


    There was much to be done!

 Chapter 257 Counter Trap

    sping his dry lips. Marcus rubbed his eyes.


    A look around had him confused. "Where am I?"


    He remembered sleeping in his bed, with all the other kids.


    "Your awake"


    The affirmative tone shook him out of his daze, looking straight at a man with silver hair.


    "Hello Marcus" said Ezra. "I kidnapped you from the orphanage, and you''re not going back"


    Marcus just stared, even more confused now.


    Who was this guy? Where was he?


    "I''m Ezra. Fourth prince of Niton"


    His skin tingled, ''Prince?''


    "I see enormous potential in you. So, from now henceforth, I am going to be training you"


    Marcus just nked out at this point, the confusion had hit its max.


    ---------------


    The previous day


    ----------------


    "This beast tide is a distraction for something else"


    All the grandmasters stared down Raven with a ''you think we don''t know that'' gaze.


    "They''re going after grandmasters, there must be a reason"


    "But if weunch an attack, we might fall right into a trap"


    "Hmm" the grandmasters were deep in thought.


    After two hours of disseminating information, they still didn''t have a concrete n¡­until now.


    "Why don''t we make theme to us?" Fredrick asked.


    "How do you suppose we do that?"


    "We take action. Eradicating the beast tides"


    "Hmm"


    They all made strange faces, such work was usually relegated to lower rank individuals.


    But thinking further, it was nned to work, or at least catch their attention.


    Taking nces, they nodded.


    "Then we''ve agreed"


    After that, they disseminated positions among themselves.


    Such was why Deneris appeared to kill B ranks beasts.


    -------------


    At present.


    -------------


    The beast tide cmity was unofficially over.


    With grandmasters intervening, most of the beast had already been vanquished.


    Now, forces were simply on standby, awaiting any surprises from the enemy.


    With the status of grandmasters, they had ess to the best items Lexon had to offer.


    As such, the grandmasters had an artifact that allowed them tomunicate with one another.


    With dawn underway, the grandmasters awaited the inevitable response of the demon worshippers, having killed most of the B and A rank beasts, detaining a few.


    Then it came.


    BOOM!


    An earth-shaking attack.


    But instead of Niton¡­


    "NO!" Mervida shouted.


    It erupted in Iris.


    The scale was enough to have a city evaporate-which was what most likely happened.


    The grandmasters didn''t need tomunicate, everyone could see it.


    Mervida wailed, her people were dying, she left the stop she was assigned and was about to fly off when Deneris arrived in front of her.


    "What is the meaning of this?"


    "We cannot let you go" he replied coldly.


    "What?!"


    "You''re already weakened. Going there would mean death, there''s no other way around it"


    "You don''t tell me what to do"


    Deneris clicked his tongue. He couldn''t help but muse over the enemy''s strategy.


    Like they''d killed the beasts, those bastards paid them back by ughtering the masses.


    Their n to trap them was countered.


    With Iris, Itrevezar and Sce without defenders, what would happen next was predictable.


    "Oakbear''s body was taken. Those demon worshippers are doing something with our bodies-and you want to go and hand yours over to them?"


    "What would you have me do? Watch while my people die?"


    "No"


    A voice came from themunication artifact.


    It was the Emperor.


    "We move as one"


    The others were surprised.


    "Jebas, Deneris, Getraham, and I will head there to deal with it"


    "Fredrick, Raven and you Mervida, are to stay behind to deal with any surprise attacks"


    "I don''t take orders" she growled.


    "You''ve been weakened, you''ll only be a drag in battle"


    Such words stung, but the Mervida couldn''t argue, it was the truth.


    Others felt annoyed that the Emperor was ordering them about, but since the n suited most, they didn''t argue.


    Especially since the Emperor was in the attacking group; while they mused that he had ulterior motives, things were better this way.


    Quickly, the Emperor wore his battle armour, it had been repaired and even upgraded since his battle in Avi.


    The Grandmasters assembled, and sped to Iris.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Demons weremon enemies of humans, and likewise, were demon worshippers.


    Then, another resounding attack came off, this time in Itrevezar, soon after, it happened in Quartez.


    As the Grandmaster stopped, wondering what decision to take, the Emperor gave a decisivemand. "Ignore it, splitting up is tantamount to suicide, we head for Iris"


    No matter who fought, people would die, but having grandmasters die because of ordinary people was a move beyond stupid. The other way around? That was quick thinking.


    Besides, the only reason he aimed for Iris was because he had nned to absorb Iris and take Mervida under his banner.


    Although, whether or not she''d be able to ovee the poison in her veins gave a lot of uncertainty.


    After all, he''d used seven years to clear it out.


    Thinking about now, the enemies were smart to poison him in advance. He had the mana stones to thank for being able to recover.


    More importantly, revenge was overdue.


    ''No one poisons me and goes free''


    They flew to Iris, every Nitonian caught a glimpse of them.


    Among them were demon worshippers.


    Being only an adept, this demon worshipper was not at all suspected.


    Moreover, at the moment, he was deep in a beast region.


    Taking out amunication scroll, he wrote to those on the receiving end.


    ________


    The message was passed around, and once it reached the grandmaster stationed at Itrevezar and Quartez that the grandmasters had ignored him, the attacks intensified.


    Itrevezar trembled again and again, each time signalling the death of thousands, but the Emperor didn''t bat an eye.


    ________


    In a cave lit with torches, the leadery bare chested, his ck hair falling below his shoulders.


    In front of him stood a pool of calm blood contained by a round block of stone akin to a well, at the center of this pool stood a pole like pir with a multitude of marks carved upon it.


    Last but not least was the small red jewel impaled on it.


    The leader felt endless satisfaction simply looking at it.


    From the space ring in his arm fell three corpses.


    A closer look would have you easily identify them.


    For they were corpses of grandmasters!


    One was Gaga, the others were Oakbear and the King of Itrevezar.


    The leader stared at them like the b of meat they''d be, and slowly, dropped them in the pool one by one.


    Touching the pool''s surface, the pool bubbled like it was frying something and then the body began melting like ice, up until the bones were grounded to dust.


    The leader raised his hands while watching this scene.


    Done, the pool settled. When suddenly, the pir lit up, specifically, the carved signs on it lit up, and the light moved like water, connecting from one symbol to the next and until it connected to the ruby, to which the light was sucked in.


    Secondster, the ruby shone, but dimmed soon after.


    Nevertheless, it was brighter than before.


    The leader sighed, dropping his hands.


    He''d lost count of how many were sacrificed to nourish the item, they had grown beyond a million. Still, it was not enough.


    Of course, most of those millions were ordinary people-else they wouldn''t have survived for this long.


    Still, master ranks had been plentiful, but still, the barrier was still too strong.


    He calmed.


    Besides, the current n was made to hasten the process, so he was worried.


    It was already beyond half way, once the n was set in ce, they would have seeded.


    ''Onto the next task''


    __________


    Now, he sat on his throne with his skull mask on, while his subordinates sat around him.


    "I received a prophecy from our lord"


    The subordinate''s eyes lit up.


    "What did it say?"


    "It spoke of imminent danger and our possible destruction"


    Their expressions took a turn around and unease spread.


    The leader raised his palm to shut them up.


    "But with the lord''s help, we pinpointed the source of this prophecy"


    "That means-


    "Yes, I have been assigned a duty to eradicate whoever it may be, and have been given a gift to do so"


    The subordinates were surprised, the leader hadn''t stepped out for as long as they''d known him.


    "To make sure of our sess, four, no, that would be disrespectful to the lord, all of you will follow me. While I deem it unnecessary since the source has been confirmed to a master at the early stage. But we must ensure that the threat is snared and killed"


    A chilly silence took ce as they stared intensely, awaiting the leader''s next words.


    "Before that, how are preparations?"


    "Numer and Crea are almost done nting the pirs"


    The leaders nodded, "They will not be following then. And the requirements?"


    "Approachingpletion as we speak, the grandmasters are working on it at the moment"


    The leader stayed silent, before speaking. "Then, we head out at once, the sooner the source is destroyed, the better. We cannot fail!"


    _________


    After two hours of massive destruction, the citizens of Itrevezar, Itrevezians, were on the verge of insanity.


    Too many had lost their rtives, no, that they were alive was a blessing at this point.


    It was simrly so, for the citizens of Quartez, Quartiz.


    A few master ranks rose up to asion, but were effortlessly killed, wiping out any thought of rebelling.


    Then, the grandmasters, demons they were as they stayed in the sky, spoke in booming tones.


    "You will be given a chance for survival. ept it or die"


    Then, they flew across the kingdom, dumping vials in each city, well those that remained.


    The vials broke to release a ck smoke.


    Upon inhaling this substance, the brain instinctively rejected it, disallowing entry.


    The person had to willingly ept it, even though they knew not of what it was.


    Under the circumstances, you''d be sure that thousands upon thousands epted it.


    Upon doing so, they copse.

 Chapter 258 Decisions

    Those in the midst of epting the substance into their minds were frightened, seeing their rtives fall to the ground like dolls.


    But with the halo of death flying over their cities in the form of a grandmaster, they could onlyply and allow the murky substance to invade their brains.


    All over Itrevezar and Quartez, people fell down like dominos.


    __________


    Meanwhile, the Emperor and the grandmasters apanying him reached Iris.


    Having spotted them miles away, the grandmaster stationed there had fled without hesitation, but not without dropping vials containing the ck substance.


    They didn''t chase, the enemy could very well use the strategy of divide and conquer to eliminate a grandmaster.


    "What is this?"


    The Emperor and co arrived to find a majority of peopleying around like corpses.


    Theynded, reaching for thoseying on the ground.


    Their hearts stopped beating, before suddenly restarting.


    With a few words, those still standing hastily exined the situation.


    Slowly, those who copsed stood up, wading about like a drunkard as they rubbed their heads.


    Suddenly, "Ahhrrr!"


    The man turned their faces to others, growling like a beast, his eyes were crimson, glowing like blood.


    "Oh no" Jebas felt trepidation.


    The man lunged at Jebas, who casually grabbed his neck, inspecting the man as he struggled to pull away from the deathly grip.


    Whatever this was, it was no longer human.


    After thirty seconds, Jebas clenched his grip and the man''s neck exploded.


    Those who hadn''t sucked in the substance were looking on in fear.


    Jebas looked to the others. "We have a problem"


    Getrahan nodded. "A big one at that"


    Soon after, others who copsed, stood up as well, growling and roaring as they attacked those still sane.


    The grandmasters wiped them out in sh, but screams and wails were already echoing from afar.


    "This is not a problem, but a man-made disaster" His forehead creased, remembering that the same scene happened in both Itrevezar and Quartez. "It seems to be arge-scale demonization virus"


    The grandmasters sucked in deep breaths, their expression grave.


    Getrahan spoke "We can''t handle this on our own"


    "Agreed" voiced the Emperor. "Let us clear out this ce first"


    At this time, "Hmm?!"


    They felt the presence of approaching grandmasters, three of them.


    "Jebas, help eliminate those contaminated"


    The Emperor took off with Deneris and Getraham right behind him.


    The Emperor took out a red crystal, infused with mana and spoke. "Alert our allies, grandmasters have joined hands with the demons, have them send reinforcements" before subsequently shattering it.


    Without dy, the Emperor''s group and the iing grandmasters collided-the battle subsequently began.


    The grandmasters could only furrow their brows, the enemies were people they were familiar with.


    "Revemar!" The Emperor was shocked.


    Revemar was garbed in his usual blue attire, matching the Emperor in age with a small hair but a long beard, all white.


    He was an ice mage of grandmaster level.


    Lightning and ice collided.


    "Why would join these vile creatures?"


    The Emperor truly could not understand.


    But Revenmar didn''t seem in the mood to speak.


    "You wouldn''t understand" he muttered.


    The Emperor grew in fury, before snorting. "A childish excuse is all you can give me? And here I thought you a schr, delirious!"


    An even greater attack erupted as the grandmaster separated to have enough space to maneuver


    "What are you after?!" The Emperor inquired.


    Revenmar refused to speak.


    "I guess I''ll just beat it out of you"


    __________


    At the entrance of the dark cave stood the leader with his fourteen subordinates, garbed in armour covered with cloaks.


    This time, the leader was without the mask, but had a red cloak on.


    "Raaz, Maldaga, Jagamar, Naberus, head out and mark the source. I will meet you there"


    They nod. Running out of the cave to fulfil the order.


    "Infaas, Volbrin, Suramir, Akanos" he nods to them. "They have been confirmed, head there and take it, as covertly as possible"


    They nod.


    "Goceron, Inimeel, stay here to defend the cave" they nod. He turns to thest three. "Nasrok, Golzaan, bring back only great masters"


    The leader turns and then vanishes into the outside world.


    _________


    At the same time Ezra felt arge chill all over his body.


    ''So, it''s almost time''


    He''d known a grandmaster was after his life, but he didn''t know which one.


    He knew, it wasn''t an early stage grandmaster, Ezra could fend off people of such level.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He washed his face to calm himself.


    He couldn''t bring himself to force his way to grandmaster level-the risk was too high.


    But he didn''t intend to ignore the warning either, it was true thest time, it was almost certainly true now.


    And if the feeling was this bad, the chances of dying were high.


    He wondered what grudge a grandmaster bared against him toe after him. He''d only seen the Emperor-so why was he being targeted?


    Or was it someone of less or equal power with an artifact capable of killing him? That seemed more likely.


    I mean, it could be another assassin.


    Regardless, Ezra wasn''t taking any chances, unable toe with anything tangible, Ezra could only suppress his curiosity.


    Since the first n, raising his strength wasn''t liable, Ezra thought of something else.


    The siblings sat with him at the center, he''d called them moments earlier.


    Ezra stared at each one. "Someone ising to kill me"


    The siblings were surprised.


    Theron facepalmed, suppressing the ridiculous smile unfolding. ''He says such things like he''s talking about training''


    "The person is strong, either a grandmaster or master, and if you''re with me, they might kill you as well"


    The siblings were apprehensive.


    "So¡­" Ashton''s voice trailed off.


    "Your lives are at risk. I want to know if you will still apany me"


    "If we don''t?" asked Johan.


    "I''ll grant you your freedom"


    "Oh, you''ll¡­Wait. What?"


    Now they were even more perplexed.


    A chance to regain their freedom actually came so easily?


    ncing at each other, they could more or less guess what the other was thinking, but someone spoke before they were even settled.


    "We will follow you"


    Theron''s answer sparked a tirade.


    "Brother what are you saying?" Johan mouthed, turning to Ezra. "Boss, can we take time to think about it?"


    "Sure" Ezra nodded. "You have one hour"


    The siblings bolted out the tent, their voices grew louder as they argued while walking afar.


    _________


    Johan grabbed Theron by the shoulder. "Brother, what are you doing?!"


    "I''m helping myself" Theron stared his down, expressionless.


    "What nonsense?! Help yourself by taking your chance at freedom! Do you think you''ll be of any use against a grandmaster?!"


    "Ezra thinks I do, so I believe that I do"


    Theron was the only one permitted to call Ezra by his name.


    "Ugh! You''ll die faster than I spell your name, why are you trying to kill yourself?"


    Theron huffed, releasing a long sigh. "Brother, when will you stopping looking at the future through the lens of the past?"


    "What are you talking about?"


    "Ever since the incident, I only thought of growing stronger. If not for Ezra, none of us would be here"


    "But we''re already strong!" yelled Roxanne.


    "Not enough" Theron replied so fast it felt perfunctory. "It''s not enough. Ezra has ascended to master rank, and he''s just thirteen! I refuse to believe that there''s another like him" he cried out, reducing his voice at thest part.


    There was a short silence, until Roxanne replied, "So what?"


    "Don''t you think? Ezra is a prince, if he keeps going at this pace, he''s sure to be Emperor, what about us?!"


    "Did you not listen to his words at all?" shouted Johan.


    "I did, but I have my doubts. He might be hoaxing us to see our reaction"


    "And why would he do that?"


    "I don''t know"


    "So, you expect us to give away our chance for freedom because of such? Even if he''s testing us, I''m not losing this chance!" Roxanne yelled.


    Theron sneered. "After all these years, you''re still delusional. Wake Up! Avi doesn''t exist anymore, so you idiots should stop thinking your freedom is worth anything!"


    Theron locked eyes with her. "In the academy we''re hailed as the best, but what about the outside world? There are so many masters in the world-but enough of that" Theron came to a halt. "We owe Ezra too much to leave. Surely, he could''ve ordered us to leave without naming his intentions-and we would have had no choice but to follow-but he didn''t!"


    "Sigh¡­forget it. The point is; I''m not leaving. No matter what you say, but I won''t stop from doing so"


    He looked at Ashton and Velora. "And you two? What will it be, are you leaving or staying?"


    The surroundings descended into silence as Theron leaned against a wall, awaiting their answers.


    ________


    Ezra wasn''t dilly-dallying either. With quick hands, he wrote to Fredrick of the situation.


    The enemy probably knew his location, and since he''d achieved his aim ofing to Gattiste by finding Marcus.


    It would be stupid to make himself an easy target by staying in one ce.


    But running away in itself was not a n-as it did not affect the enemies.


    And passivity was not his forte.


    Therefore, Ezra thought up a trap, and at the crux of that trap-was ck Jaws.


    Ezra nodded. ''Let''s bring in some reinforcements''

 Chapter 259 Plans

    In a hall of jade covered in white carpets, a fairly old man ate fruits cooked from the body of an A rank beast captured days ago.


    His light brown hair touched his shoulders, standing, no, sitting at 5''8, he was short but hefty.


    This was Fredrick.


    As the head of the wealthiest guild in Lexon, he was living the life.


    With money, he got resources that increased him in height, however little.


    Everyday seems magical, was it not seven years ago he was sleeping in a cramped old cottage, awaiting death from the curse inflicted upon him? Now, so much had changed, he was still astounded by it.


    ''Hmm?''


    His interest was piqued seeing his ring shine.


    While the Emperor left orders¡­Since when did he take orders?


    He''d stationed guild members to inform of any strange happenings, and then went to get himself a hearty meal.


    Pulling out a scroll from it, he read through.


    With haste, he writes back grinding the ink into the scroll, his expression having morphed into that of anger. ''Someone actually dares to target my lord''


    Such news made him lose his appetite.


    His benefactor was being targeted.


    Uneptable!


    pping twice, maids rushed out from otherpartments to clear the table.


    He took off the white shawl around his neck, and took off.


    __________


    The council members, Nathan, Cabrera, and Kron arrived into the hall, their steps quick.


    Each person wore clothes rare even for nobles-it was apparent how much things had changed for them as well.


    Each person thinking the same thing.


    ''Whatever is the matter?''


    Fredrick called them up with an urgency unheard of, so it could only be something very serious.


    As for the meeting ce, it was the guildhall built in Traxford slums.


    As a consequence of ck Jaws actions, Niton progressed in leaps. The amount of money they made was astronomical, especially regarding ck Sky.


    That thing pumped money beyond imagination, and it should, because it the money consumed building it was equally mind blowing.


    It had be a hotspot for nobles.


    Commoners were allowed in, so long they wore decent dressing.


    It irked Nobles, but ck Sky didn''t give a dime.


    You either shop peacefully-or get out.


    With the state of the arts functions and fantastic experience it provided, you could be sure ck Sky wasn''t on the losing end.


    Moreover, since the royal family and some of the great noble families had been wooed with resources, they turned a blind eye to the matter.


    Then, ck Jaw''s academy was underway, it already nearedpletion.


    Entering the hall, the trio find Fredrick awaiting them.


    "What is so urgent?" Cabrera asked.


    "I received information that enemy grandmasters are headed for Niton"


    The others were stunned.


    While most knew of Ezra''s existence, they knew him as the first of the three calls.


    Only Fredrick and Cabrera knew who he actually was.


    Cabrera knew because washed off the effects of the memory potion upon reaching master rank and remembered.


    Regardless, Fredrick wasn''t leaking where the information came from.


    "Aren''t you able to feel the presence of nearby grandmasters?" Nathan asked.


    Fredrick replied. "It seems someone else has learnt how to cover their presence"


    "Someone else?" Cabrera caught onto that part.


    "Yes. It was said to be possible during the golden age, someone might have figured it out"


    The hall went silent.


    The greatest threat on Orion were grandmasters.


    The damage they caused was only limited because their presence wasn''t conceble.


    Once it became such, you had Orion''s greatest nightmare.


    Kron gulped nervously thinking about it.


    Fredrick nced around.


    In truth, he had learnt to hide his presence as well, but kept it a secret.


    Most of Niton''s powerhouses were already pressuring them to give away the blueprint for the Skyscraper-but they couldn''t make any moves because of Fedrick''s strength.


    The moment his ability was found out, other grandmasters would surely make sure to get rid of him.


    Both their economic and physical power had reached a crescendo, it matched just enough for Niton to tolerate.


    If an overwhelming advantage such as the mana stone or Fredrick''s ability was discovered¡­


    It would war all over again!


    "There''s a high chance that the enemies will arrive at Gattiste, so dispatch twelve masters to the location and give them decent stealth equipment"


    Kron was rmed. "Isn''t that too much?"


    Fredrick shook his head. "Depending on the situation, if they''re too few, they might all die before I can arrive"


    "Even so" said Nathan. "That''s too much, send six instead. Moreover, we have one master already there"


    ''Hmm''


    Fredrick calmed, "Let''s do that then"


    They nodded.


    "That is all for the meeting"


    Fredrick went back to his abode, writing back to Ezra.


    _________


    Receiving the report of events, Ezra nodded to himself.


    Thereafter, he thanked him again for the armour sent his way before closing it off.


    With reinforcements inbound, Ezra''s worries lessened.


    Then he started thinking of his next move.


    ''Where should I run to?''


    He shook his head.


    ''Wrong question. How will I run without alerting the enemy?''


    His absence would be noticed, and since he couldn''t estimate the moment the enemy would arrive, the sess rate of leaving unnoticed was low.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    No matter what, his absence could be covered for a day at most, after that, there were no guarantees.


    His forehead creased, ''What a headache''


    As for other ways, you had instant transfer scrolls made by space mages, which allowed you to warp between two spaces.


    But the-


    ''Wait a moment'' he paused. ''Space mage?''


    His lips parted to reveal a ridiculous smile. ''Didn''t I meet one just yesterday?''


    Mrs. Elisa.


    But¡­


    ''How do I contact her?''


    Yesternight, she left with Valentine.


    Therefore, she didn''t have reason toe back to the fortress.


    Regardless, Ezra was happy that he found a convenient solution.


    ''Now I just need to find a way to contact her''


    __________


    Theron looked at the sun. ''It''s almost an hour''


    He''d been waiting for the others to make up their minds.


    "Hey, it''s almost an hour. Hurry Up!"


    Each person took nces at one another.


    Roxanne spoke. "I''m not going"


    Theron simply looked at the rest of them.


    "I''m also not going" toned Johan, staring into the horizon.


    Velora had her eyes darting to both sides, "I''m going"


    She walked past Roxanne, who grabbed her.


    "What are you doing?!"


    Velora stared Roxanne straight in the eye. "I''ve never felt like a ve with Uncle Ezra, I owe him this much" and pulled away from her grip.


    "I''m going too" Ashton huffed. Looking at Johan and Roxanne. "We''ve been with the Boss for the past eight years¡­crazy isn''t it? Honestly, even if I left, where exactly am I suppose to go?"


    Ashton motioned to them. "What are you two going to do with this ''freedom'' anyway?"


    "I-I-


    Roxanne gushed out, but was unable to make anything of herself.


    Johan came to the rescue. "With freedom, we can travel around the world"


    "Doing what exactly?" Theron asked, giving him ''the look''


    "Doing¡­eh, doing what people do while travelling"


    "With what money?"


    "We saved a decent amount, should be enough"


    "Tch. Brother, you could die out there"


    "I could die here as well"


    "Sigh" Theron raised his hand out. "Juste with us and stop this pointless argument"


    Johan stared for a long while¡­ before rubbing his head really hard.


    Unable toe up with anything, he admits defeat. "Argh! Fine. Whatever"


    Theron just shook his head with a funny smile.


    Roxanne stared with a look of annoyance. "Since I can''t travel by myself, I guess I''ll join you guys"


    "Yes" Velora flew in for a hug.


    "It''s almost an hour, we better hurry"


    _________


    "We thought it through" said Theron.


    "Yes?" Ezra stared intensely.


    "We wish to follow you"


    He let out a heavy sigh of relief, nodding.


    "Thankfully I wasn''t wrong"


    Their ears perked up. "So, your earlier words were lies?" Theron muttered.


    "Oh no, not at all"


    The expressions fell.


    Ezra let out a chuckle.


    "All of you, sit"


    They sat.


    "As you have decided. I must let you know that this is yourst chance to gain freedom, are you all sure you don''t want to?"


    "Freedom isn''t worth a dime when you''re weak" spat Theron. "I''d rather die by your side"


    The hesitation in the eyes of others was wiped away.


    "Ho" Ezra smiled. "Alright then, you''re fit to advance"


    An object appeared in Ezra''s hand and illuminated the surroundings in blue light.


    Thankfully, the tent made sure to contain the light.


    _________


    Across the cities of Itrevezar, Quartez and Iris was a gruesome sight.


    *Crack*Break*


    A restaurant had its contents thrown over.


    The assant? A man with sunken skin and red eyes garbed in a torn shirt painted in blood and a dagger in one hand.


    Heik!


    A small girl on the adjacent stairs let out a meek.


    The man turned to her direction instantly.


    "Ahhh!" Her legs got to work, taking her away at fast speeds.


    Unfortunately¡­Puk!


    A dagger pierced her head, killing her instantly.


    The man made a disfigured smile.

 Chapter 260 Mass Chaos

    ?


    Such were the effects of the ck smoke.


    Upon invading the mind, one''s rationality was suppressed while their destructive thoughts amplified.


    Thereafter, their eyes took a crimson glow, it was a mini version of demonization, one never before seen.


    Normal cases saw the demon worshippers'' amount to a few thousands at most.


    While this people were not demon worshippers, the infected made them no different.


    And with thousands affected, the hand of demons was seen as their recurring aim was achieved.


    Mass Chaos.


    Across the streets were thousands of corpses, strewn all over, many ripped to pieces, both normal humans and infect individuals.


    Moreover, more and more of the infected ones ran out of the cities and were swarming.


    The grandmaster floating over the ce made sure to blowrge holes into the walls of each city''s walls.


    So, even the dumbest infected would naturally find its way outside.


    Looking at the scene, the grandmaster felt something within his heart bit suppressed soon after.


    He couldn''t get carried away. ''Since I''ve started it, might as well finish it''


    ________


    Meanwhile¡­


    Boom!


    Shards of ice fell like rain droplets as the Emperor and Revenmar went at it back at Iris.


    Quick thinking had the Emperor push Revenmar from Iris'' surroundings, lest they kill those below.


    Jebas ran all over the ce, swiftly beheading the infected.


    They didn''t have an antidote; they weren''t even sure there was one, so this was the current solution.


    It was better than to have them kill those non infected.


    His des cur through their necks so fast he was gone before it was separated.


    Striding like a lightning bolt, Jebas advanced city after city, taking out waves after wave of infected humans.


    asionally, Getraham would break a few buildings as he was unable to take the battle far away from Iris.


    The battling grandmasters saw attacks of ice, lightning, wind, and light wash over Iris.


    _________


    "Woah" Ashton eximed.


    "This level of mana¡­" Theron''s voice trailed off.


    "Yeah¡­" Johan replied


    "How pretty" Roxannemented.


    "What is it? Uncle Ezra" Velora questioned.


    Ezra made a rueful smile. Over the years, Velora developed the habit of calling him uncle despite his protests, so he let it be.


    Ezra took a deep breath. "It''s a mana stone"


    Velora tilted her head, looking at Theron and Johan whose expression had frozen.


    Cleary, while she did not know what it was, it was something important.


    "Did you just say ''mana stone''?" Theron asked.


    Ezra nodded nonchntly.


    "Oh¡­" Theron''s jaw dropped to the floor, staring at Ezra with an incredulous gaze.


    "It is something special?" Roxanne inquired.


    "Is it?!" Intoned Theron. "Of course it is!"


    "A mana stone is an item¡­


    Very quickly, Theron told them all about the item, leaving them in awe.


    "Such a powerful item" muttered Velora.


    Ezra coughed to gain their attention.


    "You all will use it to advance to master rank"


    Another round of gasps erupted.


    "I needed to know if I could trust you" his gaze pervaded them. "Now I know I can"


    The siblings felt someone emerging from their hearts. They were moved.


    "Someone ising to take my life. I need your help if I hope to survive" he stated solemnly. "Now, take these and advance"


    He handed one stone to each person. "Since you''re all shifters, your mana requirements are lower than that knights"


    Just holding it made their bodies fell giddy, the mana emanating was nothing short of incredible.


    "But that also means, the more mana you have, the greater your power!"


    The siblings had their eyes sparkle as they understood his point.


    "Everyone, make the appropriate posture and then ce the mana stone in your mouths"


    A weird proposal, but they did it anyway.


    Their bodies shivered a bit-the mana gushing into their system was like no other.


    Except one¡­


    "Gwelp!"


    Johan shouted, pointing to his throat.


    He was choking on the mana stones.


    ''Seriously?'' Ezra was amazed at how this dude could mess things up.


    With a pat to the back, Johan spat it out. Drinking a lot water to cool his burning lungs.


    Thereafter, Ezra instructed them on how to do direct the mana and cultivate.


    He didn''t want them to breakthrough immediately-the more mana within them, the easier the breakthrough.


    He walked out of the tent, watching the soldiers who had all rxed their guards.


    No beast wave came after the day Deneris came around, those that did were sparse in number, allowing easy kills.


    At this point, many already considered the beast wave over. Patrolling and staying at the fortress was mere formalities.


    They only waited for the Emperor to announce the end of the beast tide.


    Ezra nned for the siblings to break through when the enemy arrived.


    But since the enemy''s arrival time could not be gauged, Ezra had to insure their retreat in case.


    At this point, he just needed to find a way to call Mrs. Elisa.


    At this moment, the surroundings went silent as Ezra''s hair was disheveled.


    With a look, he could see space warping, a woman appearing soon after.


    Ezra was dumbfounded.


    Mrs. Elisa appeared, garbed in a ck cloth and robe. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Hello Mrs-


    He was suddenly hit on the head. "Don''t mrs me. What have you done to my daughter?!"


    Ezra blinked in confusion. "I''ve done nothing"


    "Oh, no, no, no. You''ve definitely done something!" she took a deep breath, shooting forward words in single breath. "She won''t speak nor would she smile, and it all started since yesternight"


    Her breath raspy as she huffed, fuming in anger.


    Ezra didn''t know what she was speaking of, but he couldn''t be nonchnt because he wanted to make use of her. "Ma, please calm down so I can exin"


    Elisa stared with a ferocious re; Ezra stared back unperturbed.


    "Well?"


    "It''s like this¡­


    Ezra got to it, exining the events from start to finish, earning him a staff to his cheeks.


    "You put a de to my daughter''s neck?!"


    "¡­It wasn''t sharp"


    "That''s not the point!"


    "Ma, please calm down. Your daughter is a very strong girl, it''s probably a phase of puberty"


    Thepliment lifted her mood. "I''ve seen her in a phase, this is different"


    "By the way, where is she?"


    "She declined apanying me"


    "Can you let me see her, I might be able to find out what''s wrong"


    "She doesn''t want to see you"


    "How so?"


    "She said so"


    Ezra scratched his head. ''Did I go overboard?''


    "Then¡­what do want to do?"


    "I don''t know-but be warned. If anything happens to her, I''m holding you responsible"


    Ezra made a sigh of resignation, before changing expression.


    "By the way, I have a favour to ask of you"


    "Hmm? What makes you think I''ll ept?"


    "Because my life is in danger"


    Elisa''s eyes narrowed in suspicion.


    "No, I''m not lying"


    She stared him down for a while. "Exin yourself"


    "When I wasing to the academy, I had a premonition. At that time, it turned out that an assassin was aiming for me, and I was able to escape because of luck" he paused. "I had the same type of premonition yesterday, so it''s highly likely that someone is targeting my life"


    ''Hmm'' Elisa mind went to work.


    She knew of the assassination attempt because the officials hade to the academy.


    ''If what this child says is true¡­


    While the situation with Valentine had her extremely displeased, she wasn''t going to let her favourite student die.


    "Where do you want to go?"


    Ezra look to the left, and then to the right.


    "It would be bad of me to keep you standing, let us continue this conversation elsewhere"


    _________


    In a restaurant, Ezra sat opposite Mrs. Elisa.


    It was half empty, many people did note out due to fear.


    The likes of Ezra though swaggered in, the two talked over food-which was served to them free by the way.


    "I do not just hope to run away. I wish to know who the attacker is-and so, I''ll be needing your help"


    "Can you tell me how space magic works?"


    "That''s not information I like to share"


    "You can trust me"


    Elisa snorted. "I still don''t know what you did to my daughter. How could I dare trust you?"


    "sigh, I''ve already told you everything that happened"


    "Whatever" she said. "I can give you introductory information"


    "Space magic is simply bending the will of space to one''s use, which is, extremely hard so to speak"


    "Wow, you must be extremely talented to be space mage then"


    "Why thank you" her face glowed, before¡­ "Wait, wait, wait, I''m still angry with you"


    "Anyways-


    "How many Master rank space mages are there?"


    "Just me, if we''re talking about Niton"


    "In Orion?"


    "Couldn''t be more than thirty" she gave him ''the look'' while waving her hand nonchntly. "Now, like knights, methods of bending space differ from one another. But work on the same foundational principles"


    Ezra nodded. Elisa didn''t intent on telling those foundational principles, but Ezra wasn''t bothered.


    "How fast can open up¡­what do call it?"


    "Warp hole"


    "Yes that"


    "Depends on where you''re going"


    "How many people can go through at once?"


    "Ordinary people would be ripped apart. At Expert rank, the side effects are minimal. For fixed warp holes, anyone can go through, but the mana expenditure will be higher, for moving warp holes¡­I''m unsure"


    ''Hmm''


    Ezra was mentally running calction on whether his n was viable.


    "What''s the difference between a fixed and moving warp hole?"


    "Fixed ones are held in ce as permanent warp spaces, while moving ones are warp holes I open temporarily"


    "How does that work?"


    "I can warp to anyone of the fixed warps holes with either another fixed one or a moving one, the longer the distance, the greater the mana expenditure"


    "How many fixed warp holes do you have?"


    "I have one in every city"


    Ezra smiled.

 Chapter 261 Reinforcements Arrive

    ?


    "You must have one warp gate here then" Ezra smiled.


    "Surely" Elisa replied.


    "Huu¡­" Ezra exhaled and lowered his head.


    "I have a request"


    Silence came into y for a long while.


    "Alright" Ezra''s head shot up.


    "No, not yet. Tell me, what is your n"


    "It''s like this¡­"


    ¡ª--------------


    Ezra exined his n all through, and by the end of his talk, two hours had expired.


    Elisa nodded, her expression far better than before.


    "Alright, but how are you sure of this?"


    "I''m not, but it''s better to be safe than sorry"


    Having reached an agreement, Ezra headed out with haste.


    The enemy could arrive at any time, so he certainly could not get careless.


    ¡ª----------------


    Seven mercenaries soon graced the fortress with their presence, each one being Expert-rank.


    Ezra knew them to be the reinforcements Fredrick sent his way in hiding.


    Meanwhile, four cloaked figuresid in the forest nearest to Gattiste.


    "This is the ce?"


    "Yes, the source is confirmed to be here"


    "So, now we wait?"


    "Now we infiltrate. We must make preparations for the leader''s arrival"


    "Make sure to not draw attention"


    "Don''t tell me what to do!"


    -------------------


    The next day saw Niton plunge into chaos.


    The swarm of infected humans hade running, and they numbered hundreds of thousands.


    Fredrick, Raven and Iris took the helm, burying the infected as they arrived on Nitonian soil with their power attacks.


    But it was not enough. As thousands died, many more came running.


    Jebas, Getraham, Deneris and the Emperor were also stuck protecting Iris - or more importantly, themselves- from the siege of five other Grandmasters.


    With the enemies holding the poison lethal to Grandmasters, the Emperor and co had no choice but to be on the defensive, thereby giving the enemies the advantage.


    -------------------


    While this was happening, three figures arrived at Niton''s capital, Kingsmere.


    "You heard the leader, we move covertly" said Suramir.


    "Yeah, we know. Let''s get this over with"


    "Not just yet. We wait a bit"


    ------------------


    Two dayster¡­


    Situated at the farthest end of the chamber floor of the castle was the chamber of the head researcher.


    "Wonderful" said the man, taking out an organ from the corpse in front of him.


    The Emperor brought trophies from the great war, namely in the form of Grandmaster bodies, and handed them to him for research.


    One was the body Valin, the former king of Avi.


    Then you had the two Grandmasters that injected poison into the Emperor''s body, and the fire mage that died trying to achieve mutual destruction.


    It was a pity the Emperor didn''t have Leerstrom''s body, for Jebas had taken it.


    Over the past years, the researcher had been fumbling about the poison the Emperor was afflicted with, trying to develop an antidote for it in case of future emergencies.


    In time, he discovered the poison''s origin.


    From this, the Emperor got to know that demon worshippers were active once more.


    Yet, the researcher hadn''t gotten any closer to creating an antidote.


    Regardless, he was having the time of his life.


    When else would he be so free to experiment on Grandmaster corpses? He''d learnt a lot from them.


    While grinning like a monkey, someone knocked on the door.


    "Go away"


    *Knock*Knock*Knock*Knock*


    Annoyed, the researcher reaches from the door¡­


    *Chuk!*


    He was puking blood before he could even register the attack.


    His face went downwards to see the object running through the door and out of his stomach.


    Everything went cold and the researcher fell to the floor, dead.


    The door hinge was broken and the killer walked in, his tail retracting from the man''s wound while he made sure to step over the blood.


    "This is too easy"


    With the Empire in massive unrest, most of the guards had been pulled to the frontlines, leaving a sparse few to protect the castle.


    As such, Infaas had an easy time getting in.


    He nodded at seeing the corpses lying around.


    "This will do, this will do nicely"


    Quickly, he gathered the bodies within his space ring, taking the space ring off the researcher''s dead body as well before exiting.


    But just as he stepped out¡­


    "Identify yourself"


    A guard arrived.


    Infaas turned, digging his feet into the ground, and ran past the guard, cutting his neck off with his rhombus shaped tail end.


    At his speed, the guards were immediately alerted, prompting them into action.


    "Tch" he clicked his tongue.


    ''This has be troublesome''


    With a few tricks, Infaas got out of the castle, sprinting into Kingsmere.


    But then¡­


    "WHO DARES?!"


    *Boom!*


    Arge gale of wind flung Infaas off bnce.


    Steadying himself, he saw the sentinel, Kogar, floating in mid-air with his staff in hand.


    The moment both parties locked eyes, Infaas''s real form was seen through.


    "You actually darede here?! I''ll have it that you won''t be leaving"


    The old man was enraged.


    A stomp of his stamp had Infaas flung through several buildings.


    Kogar rushed towards him¡­before suddenly halting.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    He turned around.


    Behind him were three boys with menacing auras.


    Kogar stared for a few seconds before bursting into gloriousughter.


    "Hahaha!"


    His glee was too apparent.


    "Since you''ve all gathered, I''ll make sure I serve you well"


    His aura exploded, and the winds took to his will, bing enraged.


    "We''re not here to fight" said Akanos.


    "You two hold him down while I get Infaas"


    They nodded.


    Large amount of evil energy shot forth from both Volbrin and Suramir, exuding an aura of crimson ck.


    "You''re with us" they said, leaping like a carp through the dragon''s gate as they set forth a chain of attacks.


    But¡­


    "Hmph"


    Kogar was not to be trifled with.


    Gusts of winds and mini cyclones formed, pushing the boys away.


    Akanos moved with haste, dodging the attack.


    Kogar sought to hold them all back, but the two boys wouldn''t let him.


    Then¡­


    *Boom!*


    From the opposite end of the city, two ferocious auras rose to the skies.


    "How annoying" said one, yawning.


    "Is anything ever not annoying to you?"


    They were Master-ranks of ck Jaws stationed in Kingsmere.


    "Whatever. Let''s get this over with"


    With that, both men entered the brawl, greatly alleviating pressure off Kogar.


    Those in the surroundings had taken to their legs the moment the battle began, while a few unlucky ones lost their lives.


    A battle of epic proportions erupted.


    ¡ª-----------------


    Ezra was dealing with problems of his own as Benjamin called in an emergency.


    He left the siblings cultivating and took a walk to the healing bay.


    On the way, he saw most of the students he''d recruited were training.


    ''I thought them well'' he nodded.


    Reaching the healing bay, a healer approached them, a young man with fair skin and yellow eyes.


    "Sir Kellogs, Sir Ezra, please follow me"


    Walking into a room, they found several people, ranging all ages, sleeping.


    "Yes?"


    Ezra couldn''t understand the matter.


    "It started two days ago" she lifted the shirt of a boy, and on his body were red marks.


    "I do not know what it is, nor can I discern its cause. We had to put them to sleep to stop their screaming. I wanted to ask for your thoughts on the matter"


    Ezra stared, subtly quivering.


    ''It can''t be''


    It was a sight he knew all too well.


    ''But that''s impossible'' he repeated, but he knew what it was, and it could only be one thing.


    ''Demons? Here?''


    His head was already hurting trying to understand the situation.


    "Where were these people found?"


    "Um¡­this city"


    "What district?!"


    Quickly, the name of the district was spilled.


    "Sir, is there a problem?"


    Ezra rushed out of the bay, one word constantly ringing in his mind.


    ''Demons, demons, demons, demons''


    At the end of the long mantra was a question.


    ''How can they be here?!''


    Wiping sweat off his face, he told Benjamin to bring cold water.


    A ssh on his face helped him regain his rationality.


    ''Demons¡­no, it might not be them. They haven''t arrived yet''


    In which case, there was only one other possible cause.


    ''Demon worshippers!''


    ''How are they here?'' he shook his head.


    ''Why are they here?''


    He touched his neck.


    ''Could they havee for me?''


    It could certainly be so.


    But¡­


    ''How do they know who I am?''


    He stayed in the castle for twelve years, so he''d only been out one year.


    Moreover, there was nothing linking both parties¡­at least for now.


    He had ns to get rid of them, but not at the moment.


    So¡­


    ''What is going on?''


    He pulled his hair back in frustration.


    ''Things are gettingplicated'' he thought.


    ''No'' realization hit him.


    ''No its not''


    Either it was a demon worshiper, or just someone connected to them, and regardless of whether they came to attack him or not, he would just get rid of them like he originally nned since spreading poisons.


    If nothing else, they didn''te with good intentions.


    ''Moreover'' he smiled.


    ''They don''t know that I know of their existence yet''


    Demon worshippers had faded into legend as tales of the golden age.


    But he knew better.

 Chapter 262 Dreadful Surprise

    ?


    But he knew better.


    ''But I shouldn''t go alone'' Ezra held his chin.


    ''I know those to call''


    __________


    "Do you guys know what he''s called us for?"


    The others shake their heads.


    They were the seven masters of ck Jaws that were acting as mercenaries.


    Right now, they were heading to meet Ezra.


    With the siblings immersed in cultivation, Ezra chose a new tent for himself.


    "Wee gentlemen" said Ezra. Seated at a round table with John beside him. "Please take a sit"


    They were surprised to see John- one of their own, but didn''t show it.


    "I''ll get straight to the point" Ezra looked in the eyes. "We believe an enemy has infiltrated the city, and is poisoning its citizens" he paused.


    "While that may not interest you in itself, we believe the culprits have some rtions to the beast tide or have rtions with those that do. Therefore, we need them alive, and I want you to help me with that"


    "This is all good and all, but what''s in it for us?"


    "Good question. As you should know, I''m a prince" he paused. "If the capture is sessful, each of you will get fifty gold. You have my word"


    One pointed at John?, "How much is he getting?"


    "That''s concern you not" Ezra smoothly cut him short. "Are you in or are you out?"


    Inwardly, he was praising their performance.


    If he didn''t know they were masters, he''d have been fooled.


    Most of them weren''t inclined to ept it.


    Fifty gold was a paltry sumpared to their usual earnings.


    But a blink from John had them all changed stances.


    "We''ll do it"


    Ezra nodded in appreciation. "We move in ten minutes"


    On cue¡­


    "Commander!"


    Benjamin drove in with an urgency unbridled.


    "What is it?"


    "Sire, you need to see this yourself"


    Everyone rushed out to get a good look at the situation.


    "What in Raikan''s name?"


    Even masters were shaken.


    Infected humans ran towards them like a swarm of ants.


    ''Oh no''


    An rm went off in Ezra''s mind.


    Surely, he''d seen infected humans before, but they were never this many.


    ''Damn'' Ezra bit his lips. "Get into formation" he shouted. "Attack! Attack! Attack!"


    The tides of infected rushed forth like a tsunami, mming hard against the iron door.


    The first volley of rocksnded, squashing everything in its path.


    Those that could not see from afar, could now make out the sight of their species acting like wild beasts.


    Arrows were fired in volleys.


    Ezra tried to take out his sword, but the feeling of danger amplified so he took out the bow instead and used his blood arrows to deal massive damage as well.


    Well, he tried to, but the feeling grew strong yet again.


    He would have the blood arrow stter all over, killing many.


    Thanks to training with Valencia, he''d fixed the problem with low amounts of blood.


    The beast carcasses in his space ring had their blood sucked out, of which Ezra absorbed.


    But since the premonition was strong, Ezra shelved that strategy for another time and simply shot arrows with his arm amplified with mana.


    Thankfully, the swarm of infected weren''t too many, and most importantly, most of them were ordinary people, so they were quickly easy to deal with.


    With the situation under control, the soldiers gained momentum, gradually thinning down the numbers.


    Afar, they could see Fredrick Iris and Raven dishing out attacks, well, they could see the attacks not them.


    Ezra moved around, making sure to maintain the morale.


    Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down as Ezra felt the cold feeling magnify, and instinctively, he jumped away from his position.


    On point¡­


    SHIN!


    An energy wave of red shed past, exuding a pressure so mighty everyone froze.


    Itsted a second, many didn''t even see it pass by.


    The next moment, like a cake, arge part of the palisade slid and fell.


    Boom!


    Squashing many of the infected below while killing numerous soldiers as well.


    Ezra propped to his feet and took to his heels, striding past the soldiers at an overwhelming speed.


    His legs had barely survived being cut off.


    He had no time to be scared or shocked.


    The enemy was here!


    As he ran, four auras erupted, this time from within the city.


    ''Damn!''


    His heart was pounding, but he knew the worst thing to do right now was overthink.


    Rather think, he''d just act.


    Reaching the tent, he found the siblings standing, surely themotion had broken their concentration.


    He sucked all of them into the ancient space ring without question.


    Immediately after¡­


    SHIN!


    Another sh descended upon his position, killing multiple soldiers.


    A leery voice erupted. "You can run, but you can''t hide!"


    Ezra took a nce, and his eyes widened in disbelief.


    The man was garbed in red clothes staring at him with his crimson eyes while his long ck hair flowed with the wind.


    They locked eyes, and like psychics, they instinctively understood each other.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ''Of all people'' Ezra grit his teeth. ''It had to be him''


    With haste he leaped off the palisade and it was struck once more, this time the rocks were sttered, scattering them all over.


    With his runes active, Ezra calmly used the rubble as stepping stones, reaching the ground in no time.


    John was nearby when it happened, and having acknowledged Ezra''s strength, he followed him and one other master followed John lead.


    Ezra took off immediately, bursting out with seams of white lightning while not sparing a nce for either John or the other master; he didn''t need to look behind him to see the fast-approaching grandmaster-he knew he wasing.


    More importantly, he could feel the presence of four people approaching his position.


    With how much his body turned even colder, they couldn''t be allies.


    Ezra''s mind whirred, still calm. ''I can''t make it easy for them''


    Instantly, he took a curved turn in the opposite direction with two masters-John and the other-following behind him.


    They ran across buildings, all the while Ezra locked onto the location of the four masters.


    Memorizing theyout of the city was his first task since the day he''d arrived.


    So, while he wasn''t like a fish in water, he was certainly better off than others.


    Zigzagging through roads and jumping off buildings, Ezra made sure to circumvent the approaching four.


    The feeling didn''t get any worse, so he presumed the grandmaster was held up, or was just simply enjoying the show.


    A minute psed, Ezra could see that he''d let everyone-including John-in the dust.


    ''Let''s do this''


    He took another turn and kept at it.


    John and the other master followed him, though they were obviously straining themselves.


    Then, inhaling heavily, Ezra shouted.


    "Ergasres!"


    The surroundings trembled, a sigil lit up on the ground within a small, almost invisible wooden house, and a warp hole opened up.


    One consisting of swirling colours of ck and green.


    Instantly, the danger levels he felt increased sharply.


    The grandmaster had moved.


    ''It''s toote''


    He never intended to fight a grandmaster head on, that would be sure suicide.


    Instead, he simply wasted time knowing who they were, and still was able to escape.


    While this arrival was sudden, his preparations saved his skin.


    A leap had him falling into the warp hole, of which he turnedst minute to drag John along.


    A split secondter¡­


    Boom!


    An explosion was heard.


    Entering the warp hole, darkness covered his senses-for a few seconds as he felt his mana sucked out.


    Right after¡­


    Bam!


    Hended on concrete with his back, his eyes blurry.


    "Oh, my head"


    Wiping his forehead, Ezra plopped to his feet.


    He sees Johnying beside him, while only the aftermath of thest attack hit them, it surely did some damage.


    With Ezra''s fire resistance and physique level, his wounds healed rapidly.


    But he couldn''t be bothered to check.


    With lightning on his legs, Ezra destroyed the ground they were standing on, destroying the sigil imprinted in it.


    The warp hole shook, growing unstable-a sign it would soon forcibly close.


    Ezra tossed John away-his beating heart confirmed his survival-before running away as well.


    ________


    "AHHH!"


    The leader''s cry shook the earth, reaching the warp hole in a sh.


    "Step Back!" he growls as the four others.


    With the warp hole acting wriggly, he confirms its instability.


    "Entering an unstable warp hole only guarantees death" he paused.


    The four retreated even further.


    "I have to admit, this was good n"


    "But it''s not enough" His aura peaked. ''You won''t be getting away from me so easily''


    Bracing himself, the leader plunges his hand into the warp hole.


    His eyes close shut and his ws outstretched, feeling the mana within, all the while making sure not to get sucked in.


    ''No, no, no''


    With every passing second the warp hole bes more vtile.


    "Not yet"


    The leader forcefully suppresses its vtility. His fingers absorb the mana within and transfer information from it to his mind.


    ''Something, not this¡­Yes!''


    The leader''s eyes shone.


    Immediately, he pulls out his hand before stopping the suppression.


    He''d achieved his aim.


    __________


    Now far away from the warp hole''s location, he heard a loud droning sound and then a massive pop that decimated the surroundings.


    But Ezra''s wasn''tfortable enough to rest just yet.


    Quickly, he ran up the city''s palisades and then jumped.


    "Huh?"


    "What is that?!"


    He could hear the perplexity of the soldiers, but he didn''t have time to care.


    Turns out, this city was also being besieged by the infected.


    Ezra simply used their heads as stepping stones, running faster than they could move,


    He reached the head of the swarm within a minute, running into the nearest beast region.


    The feeling hadn''t subsided.

 Chapter 263 Ziltris

    ?


    "I know where he went" the leader said. "But he won''t be there for long"


    His subordinates shivered at the disdain in his gaze. "You all couldn''t hold down a single master-how disappointing"


    "Forgive us for our insolence!" they chanted, bowing as one.


    A few seconds passed before the leader averted his re.


    The subordinates sighed in relief.


    "So¡­what do we do?" Naberus inquired.


    "A chance like this might note again. Furthermore, this was an order from the lord; before the end of this day-he must die!"


    The leader began floating, "Hold on to me, hurry"


    Cautiously, the four held onto the leader''s robe.


    "Won''t this reveal your presence?"


    "Not so, but I will inevitably draw attention"


    Right after, he flew into the horizon, leaving a streak of red in his wake.


    "Hmm?"


    "Hmm?"


    "Hmmm?"


    Fredrick, Raven and Mervida were startled, feeling a simr presence of their level.


    But it sparked only for a few seconds.


    With the swarms of infected approaching, they had their hands full dealing damage while trying to make sure they didn''t destroy the terrain.


    The streak of red caught their attention, but they were too far away to make out what it was.


    Fredrick narrowed his gaze. "I''ll check-


    Before he could finish his sentence, he picked up two mana signatures, that of his level.


    Two new grandmasters arrived on scene.


    Fredrick was perplexed. "Where did all these grandmasterse from?"


    The enemy seemed to have gathered them like seeds.


    Fighting two enemies of the same level while taking care of infected swarms had their tes full.


    Fredrick was unallowed to leave the battlefield.


    _______


    Meanwhile¡­


    Ezra grit his teeth. ''It''s not going away!''


    The feeling of danger not only did not subside, but amplified.


    ''They headed here''


    He was sure, somehow, they''d found his location.


    ''Should I run?'' he thought, the memory he had of the attacking grandmaster surfaced.


    A man drenched in blood, standing with thousands of corpses all around.


    ''How many of his attacks can I withstand?''


    Ezra wasn''t afraid so to speak, but cautious. He took to his heels once more, creating distance while looking for a ce to hide.


    He runs into a dark cavern. A few swings of his de sliced therge spider within it into pieces.


    Pressed for time, Ezra stretched his palm and the siblings were ejected from his ancient space ring onto the ground in their lotus postures.


    The siblings immediately felt the difference and opened their eyes.


    They spat out the mana stones into their palms so they could speak.


    "Boss, what happened?"


    "Where are we?"


    With mana vision, Ezra could see that mana in their bodies had increased tremendously.


    "The enemy I warned you of has attacked" he spoke. "And he''sing"


    "What do you want us to do?" Theron replied.


    After seeing the stash within the space ring, Theron had newfound respect for Ezra.


    "I need you all to advance in rank, that''s the only way we''ll stand a chance against the approaching enemies"


    "That''s risky" said Ashton. "We could die"


    "You either die like that or wait for the enemy toe and kill you"


    "¡­Fair point"


    The siblings had nervous expressions.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll guide you through it" he pped. Sitting in a lotus posture. "Theron you first. Sit"


    The other siblings excused the cave, such advancements had drastic effects on the surroundings.


    Ezra ced his palm on Theron''s back.


    "This will sting a bit. Are you ready?"


    "Huu¡­" Theron exhaled. "I''m ready"


    Theron''s chest leaped out as he felt Ezra''s mana burst in.


    Ezra''s tone became calm. "Listen carefully"


    "Like a water current, direct the mana throughout your body¡­


    Theron''s expression grew unsightly, reflecting the pain he felt as he adhered to the instructions.


    Theron had his eyes shut, forcefully stimting the bloodlines within him with mana to push it to the next level.


    Blood spilled through his pores, as did sweat. While his body''s temperature climbed ever higher.


    Then after a minute of intense stimtion.


    Bom!


    Theron released an intense heat wave, glowing as it hit all sides of the cave.


    "Haaah¡­Haaaah¡­Haaah"


    He gasped and panted, opening his eyes to the wondrous new feeling of power.


    The dead spider had been signed, whereas Ezra seemed unaffected.


    Theron''s mouth contorted. ''This monster''


    But Ezra didn''t give him time, chasing him out of the cave immediately. "Start testing yourself. Find your new limits"


    Johan was subsequently called in.


    A swipe of his hand had all the blood moved aside, and Johan began his advancement as well.


    Outside, Theron began testing himself.


    On instinct, his hands shifted, growing in size as reddish-orange fur grew on it. His nails changed, extending into short but deadly ws.


    Then, the rest of the body.


    His legs grew about one and a half times as before, the fur popped out nicely as did the rest of his body.


    His ck hair turned reddish orange and his jaw cked and jacked before clicking.


    He took his armour, as it was tightening, and brought another from his space ring. Courtesy of Ezra.


    This one fits in just right.


    With his halberd on his shoulder. Theron was ready to go. ''Let''s test this''<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    With trees all over the ce, he couldn''t have asked for a better spot.


    ''Huuu¡­''


    Having mastered aura,cing the halberd with fire wasn''t hard.


    Theron moved, extending the halberd''s head as it drew an arc, smashing through two rows of trees.


    Moreover, the halberd left burns after every hit, lighting a fire on the stumps as well.


    The remaining three were shocked.


    Even Theron was shocked.


    ''But¡­I wasn''t even trying''


    He wasn''tining though.


    After that, he started testing his agility and reflexes.


    At this time, Johan had also advanced.


    With the amazing skills Theron showed, the rest were hyped up.


    Ashton went forward with enthusiasm.


    As the minutes passed, Ezra''s chill grew even more, but he couldn''t rush it, else the siblings could get crippled.


    After Ashton, then Roxanne and Velora.


    Once done, Ezra popped a mana stone into his mouth to quickly recover lost mana-as did the rest of the siblings.


    While he wasn''t sure of how powerful grandmasters really were, he was sure of himself being able to absorb their first strike without dying.


    So rather than running into oblivion, Ezra waited.


    Using the memories he had of the grandmaster in his past life, Ezra sought to form a n.


    The feeling of danger peaked, Ezra sucked the siblings back into the space ring, with extra effort this time.


    A red streak shone in the sky soon after, dusk was here.


    Raaz dropped into the city Ezra came through.


    ''He''s not here''


    Raaz reported to the leader with their mind link.


    ''I didn''t expect him to be'' said the leader. Pushing forward even faster.


    ''I must not fail the lord''


    ________


    Ezra felt them approaching, and while the pressure hit him, he felt his blood boil.


    ''Let''s not keep them waiting''


    He took off his shirt, and on him were the body weights he had built.


    In his abdominal region, two short ones on each arm, two on each leg has well.


    He had on him for so long Ezra felt like it had be a part of him-which was why he didn''t remember to remove it even when being chased in Gattiste.


    Now though, limiting himself when against a grandmaster made no sense.


    Bam! Bam!


    Each weight had the floor caving in.


    By the time he took off thest weight, he felt surreal, like a floating feather.


    Garbing the ck armour Fredrick got him, Ezra burst out with white lightning.


    ________


    The streak of white came alive, and the demon leader''s prey was identified.


    Only¡­


    It was headed for Raaz.


    ''Does he dare think me weak?!''


    Ezra ran away back in Gattiste but now chose to confront him.


    It could only be that Ezra thought Raaz to be an easy opponent.


    Enraged, Raaz pulled out his demonic powers, exuding a cloud of red smoke as his robes burnt off.


    A streak of red and that of white headed for a collision.


    Three feet apart, Raaz began vibrating, taking out two thin long swords as his speed drastically increased.


    He circles round Ezra.


    "You made the wrong choice targeting me"


    Ezra simply stared at the leader holding up in the sky.


    ''He dares to ignore me in this state?!''


    Raaz was furious, but Ezra''sck of movements gave Raaz an ego boost.


    "You can''t match my speed, and now you have no buildings to hide behind"


    His voice came all around, yet Ezra stood unmoved.


    Satisfied-


    "Now D-


    -Raaz went in for the kill.


    Well¡­was about too. When a shiver crawled up his thick skin.


    Before he could react.


    CHUK!


    From behind, a sword, dark as night plunged through his throat like a needle through paper.


    "No-Cawk!"


    Raaz tried to speak blood only blood poured out.


    Right after¡­ Shin!


    The sword was pushed out and Raaz''s head flew to the side.


    Ezra looked at the headless body and simply flung off the blood of Darkane.


    The other three wanted to attack, but¡­


    ''Stop''


    The leader''smand had them in their spots.


    The leadersnded, fifteen feet from Ezra, with his hands by his side.


    "Hello, Ezra"


    The voice was frightening yet enticing.


    "Who are you people and why are you attacking me?"


    Ezra feigned ignorance.


    "We are demon worshippers, and we have deemed you a threat"


    "How do you know my name?"


    "Who doesn''t know your name?" the leaders chuckled a bit.


    "What is your name?"


    "My name¡­" The man made a light smile.


    "Ziltris" he said. "My name is Ziltris"

 Chapter 264 Against Ziltris

    ?


    "My name is Ziltris"


    "Ziltris¡­" Ezra''s voice trailed off.


    "I''vee to kill you and I hate nobles¡­but I''m willing to make an exception this time"


    The four, no, three subordinates gave surprised looks.


    ''What is he talking about?''


    The man stretched his hand.


    "Join us, Ezra"


    Ezra simply stared.


    "Join us as we conquer the world together"


    "You''re serious?" Ezra tilted his head.


    "Of course. Raaz was a fine warrior, and while I thought of killing you, a talent such as yours is best with us. Nurtured effectively, you will be a force to reckon with"


    Ezra chuckled under his breath.


    "I just killed one of your generals without breaking a sweat, so what exactly are you nurturing? Also, conquering the world is a job far too bothersome. I''d rather not"


    "Hmm" the leader stood silent, before snapping his fingers.


    "Leave us, take care of the nearby pests"


    Naberus, Jagamar and Maldaga promptly ran off.


    Ezra followed them with his eyes, confirming that they had indeed left the perimeter.


    His eyes lingered on Ziltris''s lone figure.


    "Hmmm?" Ziltris'' interest was piqued, a slight smile illuminating his lips.


    "Could it be that you are worrying about me?"


    A smile both cruel and sinister, the man behind the mask was revealed emanating an eerie presence.


    Ezra was unmoved.


    "Well?" Ziltris smile vanished moments after.


    "Shall you be joining or not?"


    "After having sifted through my options, I must conclude I shall not be joining"


    "Sigh" his aura red up, but no weapons were taken out as he expressed genuine sadness.


    "How unwise, but then again, humans are creatures bound to abject stupidity for eternity"


    Ezra took a fighting stance, drawing out Darkane and another sword of Epic Gold grade.


    "You talk like you''re different" Ezra replied.


    "Exactly" Ziltris vanished.


    "Because I am" he whispered into Ezra''s ear.


    ''Behind me!'' Ezra''s body moved on instinct, turning around just in time to guard against the spinning fist.


    *Bam!*


    Ezra was knocked back, holding both swords in a cross sign, before slowly opening his eyes.


    "Huh?"


    Ezra stared at his body, then at the surroundings, then at the distance between him and the leader.


    He was knocked back by only twenty feet.


    ''This¡­this¡­did I overestimate him too much?''


    He was stupefied.


    The Ziltris in his memories was three times as strong, and while Ezra held on to the notion that he might not have grown that far¡­this was truly out of his expectations!


    Compared to the one in his memories¡­this one was far weaker!


    Or maybe he''d grown too strong?


    Regardless¡­


    ''Maybe?'' Ezra''s confidence shot up.


    He amplified his arms with mana.


    "Oh, you actually blocked that?" Ziltris expressed surprise as well, but only mildly.


    He''d merely been testing Ezra''s strength.


    Ezra, though, went serious from the start.


    With a thought, he removed the sealing bracelet on his wrist, making the elements of fire and ice essible.


    *Spark!*


    Lightning gushed from his body with darkness right behind it.


    Dark Lightning was born.


    "Oh?" Ziltris was pleasantly surprised, like a baby given a new toy.


    "Yes, struggle, humans love to do so" he nodded.


    He stretched, spreading his legs as he took a fighting stance.


    "I might just enjoy killing you"


    A small cut beneath Ezra''s wrist saw the des coated in blood.


    ''I won''t be able to absorb new blood while fighting, so I have to use this sparsely''


    Taking a stance of his own, Ezra grinned.


    "I''ming"


    In a blink, he reached Ziltris, bringing a downward sh coated in dark lightning.


    *Boom!*


    The ground caved in.


    Ziltris stopped the sword away with his feet raised high.


    ''Such strong physique'' Ezra noted. The leg should have been cut in half for most people.


    ''As expected of a Grandmaster''


    Ezra followed up with the second sword, aiming to cut the man in half right from the middle of his legs.


    A push against the first sword had Ziltris retreating, taking another stance.


    "My-"


    Then¡­


    *Chiss!*


    Blood spilled from underneath his feet.


    Ziltris paused, touching the red liquid on the ground.


    "Eh?"


    Taking a taste of it even.


    "It''s been forty-two years since I wasst injured. Congrattions¡­um, poison? Such futility. This has no effect on me"


    ''This manner of speaking¡­an emissary of pride? No, thirty-six years? How old is he?''


    "Now die!" Ziltris appeared in front of Ezra, with a pre-packed punch heading towards him.


    His previous expression of amusement reced with one of searing wrath, more of his aura having been manifested.


    Like apass, Ezra rotated with his feet, avoiding the attack easily.


    *Boom!*


    Despite hitting air, the ground trembled.


    Ezra retreated, watching Ziltris''s moves carefully.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ''With my current strength, this is still easy''


    On cue, Ziltris appeared with another punch.


    *Kang!*


    Redirecting the punch with one sword, Ezra attacked with the other.


    *Cling!*


    Ziltris held it in ce with his bare hands.


    "Hmph"


    *Doom!*


    Ezra gave Ziltris a headbutt, sending both of them in opposite directions


    Back on his feet, Ezra found himself with a mild headache, while Ziltris seemed unaffected.


    "Such power" he said, appearing before Ezra once more as the two got at it.


    *Kang!*Kin!*Shan!*Bam!*


    "Why is someone like you rejecting us?" Ziltris spoke, perplexed, but not pausing his attacks in between.


    "Do you wish to help humans?"


    "Is there anything wrong with that?" Ezra replied.


    His expression morphed to that of extreme disgust.


    "Humans aren''t worth saving. Why waste your life for people that will forget you in the blink of an eye?!" his tone rose a few notches.


    "Is that why you killed thousands of people?"


    "Oh, that? That was just coteral damage" he waved his hands nonchntly.


    "We had no other options, and besides, they died for the greater good. It should be their honor"


    "You murder thousands to fulfill your ideals, yet humans are the ones to me? Your hypocrisy is astonishing and your madness is beyond understanding"


    "Madness was never meant to be understood. Order is constructed from Chaos. I am simply seeing to it that it happens as such" Ziltris smirked.


    "You''re already strong. Join us, and we''ll make you stronger than ever before"


    "Howe you''re this weak?"


    "Hahaha" Ziltris burst outughing.


    "Your ignorance knows no bounds"


    *BOOM!*


    A sudden punch to his gut sends Ezra flying.


    Ziltris appeared before him in mid-air, sending him into the soil with another punch, this timeced with red aura.


    "Ouch" Ezra groaned, plopping out of the makeshift graveyard with haste.


    Ziltris''s figure flickered like images from the speed at which he was moving.


    "Is that it?" Ezra taunted.


    "Hahaha" another shower ofughter burst forth, this one echoing from all directions.


    "Why are you so eager to die?"


    Ziltris didn''t mind the entertainment. Very few could be unbridled as Ezra at this moment.


    Sadly, he''d have to die.


    Toughening his stance, Ezra took to his feet as well, running in circles to create an apparition.


    Ziltris arrived in front of his face, but this time though, Ezra was prepared.


    *ng!*Spark!*Smash!*Break!*Bam!*


    Sword and fist shed hundreds of times in the span of a few minutes, with small sparks lightning up from time to time.


    They backed away from one another.


    ''He''s able to match me even at this rate?''


    At this point, Ziltris was getting unnerved.


    His appreciation of Ezra''s strength turned into annoyance at seeing that not much progress was being made.


    Ezra was also assessing his opponent.


    ''I''m sure of it now, this style of energy distribution¡­he''s a martial artist''


    "I''m fairly sure martial artists are scarce around these parts. Where are you from?"


    Ziltris froze for a second.


    "You actually manage to find that out? Incredible"


    "So?"


    *BOOM!*


    A loud copse was heard.


    Ziltris demeanor softened.


    "Seeing as you''re going to die soon, I will indulge you. You''re correct in that I''m not a Nitonian. I am from Ruwain"


    "The Ruwain Dynasty?" Ezra murmured.


    "Yes" Ziltris confirmed.


    "Then, why are you here?"


    "You ask too many questions"


    They stepped back.


    Both men were riddled with injuries, numerous minor ones.


    "Well, Ezra. This is where it ends" Ziltris spoke.


    Three figures appeared beside him soon after.


    Maldaga, Jagamar and Naberus arrived on scene.


    Ezra looked at the three.


    "To think you would attack me three on one¡­seems your pride is only held in ce when convenient"


    "Taunting will do you no good"


    As the four readied themselves, Ezra out-stretched his finger and the siblings appeared.


    Ziltris''s eyes widened as did the others.


    An object that could store animated objects¡­they now had another reason to kill him.


    Ezra looked at the siblings.


    "Kill the other three"


    "Are we able to do that?" Ashton couldn''t help but doubt.


    "No, you can lose" Ezra replied. "Lose and then prove that all your years of training were fruitless"


    Ashton calmed, taking a stance as did the rest of them.


    "Another futile action" a gentle and calm tone it was.


    "Why don''t you just give up and take the warm embrace of death like the most glorious of men?"


    Ashton, Theron and Johan felt their minds subtly changing.


    "Hey b*tch!" a dagger was thrown.


    "Keep your sickly voice to yourself!"


    Maldaga clicked her tongue as her spell was broken.


    The girls immediately designated their target.

 Chapter 265 Against A Grandmaster

    ?


    Ziltris snapped his fingers. "Go"


    Vom!


    The three dashed forth.


    Ezra''s vassals responded in kind.


    Roxanne morphed, her red hair receded till only a small portion remained as her face protruded, a beak thus formed.


    Her skin took on a metallic luster, her legs shook, turning from straight to hinged while feathers of light silver colour grew on her arms.


    Her body subsequently erged and then¡­ "CAW!"


    A silver hawk came forth.


    Looking onto Maldaga''s figure, she flew forth with unbridled rage; Velora followed, white scales growing her skin with her eyes turning those of a snake.


    A swipe of Roxanne wings shot forth an array of silver feathers.


    Shin!Shin!Shin!Shin!Shin!


    Ziltris caught the feather in between his fingers.


    "Tch" Maldaga clicked her tongue. Stepping aside to avoid the iing volley of feathers as did the other two.


    The two sisters swiftly gave chase.


    Theron faced Jagamar, making a quick swing for his head while his fur grew on his skin.


    "You''re with me"


    Coating the halberd with fire, Jagamar felt his face grow hot.


    Dodging it, "Hmph" he stomped the ground, causing a tremor to disorient Theron while the Earth coalesced around his body.


    "Encasing armour!" With a shout of his skill, Jagamar struck with both fists and kicks.


    Theron faced it head on, his head morphed into that of a fox as canines grew to fit.


    And then¡­


    "KAAAA!"


    A scream of terror was unleashed upon Jagamar, sting him afar.


    The ''screaming'' attribute of a screaming firefox was unveiled.


    Long ws protruded from Ashton''s hands while Johan''s skin morphed to mirror steel


    Naberus stomped his staff on the ground and it lit up with a green light.


    Right after, numerous vines shot off the soil.


    Johan hastily stepped back. "Damn mages"


    "Why you still fight is beyond me" Ziltris spoke, crushing the feathers into dust with the tip of fingers. "Surely you realize your deaths are but certainties at this point"


    A line of ck lightning cut through the Naberus'' vines.


    Voom!


    Ziltris appeared before Ezra. "To dare ignore me"


    His hands lit up with a crimson glow.


    Boom!


    Fist and sword collided.


    CRACK!!!


    The soil cracks into immacte pieces.


    ''Hmm?!''


    But unlike before, Ezra was unmoved.


    Ziltris gaze narrowed. ''Even at this level?!''


    He aimed to inflict a fatal injury.


    Yet¡­


    Ziltris'' hand faced the soil, Ezra sessfully averted the attack.


    "Are you finally getting serious?" Ezra muttered.


    ''If he was serious at this level¡­


    The original intent was to stall for time.


    But when Ziltris'' power fell far below expectations, a subtle change set in.


    ¡­killing him is definitely a possibility''


    So far, they''d been grazing each other, testingbat ability-this would be Ziltris'' first hard hit.


    Kang!Kang!Bam!Bam!


    Ezra redirected punches one after the other and was able to guard Ziltris attacks without budging.


    ''You''re following my attacks is it? I''ll y with you'' thought Ziltris.


    Bam!


    Giving another next punch, Ezra dodged, Ziltris eyes narrowed.


    ''Sluggish''


    Bam!


    "Kiek!"


    A kick to Ezra''s feet swept him off the floor.


    ''I saw the attack, but I couldn''t respond in time!''


    Straight in mid-air like a fish to be butchered, Ezra expression scrunched up seeing Ziltris smirking at his powerlessness.


    Marcus looked at him like such before killing him.


    ''I won''t let you keep that face!''


    Spark!


    His brain went to work. ck lightning was shot out of his body at high speeds.


    ''Now!¡­


    The lightning made him acutely aware of his internals.


    ¡­Spin!''


    Just like with the A-rank ape, Ezra spun like a top with swords in both hands.


    ''Seriously?''


    Ziltris let a smirk slip onto his face as he put his hand into the path of the spinning swords to put an end to the futility.


    But¡­


    Sha!


    ¡­his palm was cleanly sliced through.


    "Huh???"


    It was inconceivable for Ziltris.


    That second of confusion had Ezra stick a sword into the ground and fling himself backwards of which he gained his footing back.


    Cranking out ck lightning currents, Ezra stared at Ziltris who kept staring at his hand-which had already healed.


    Now, with an optimal assessment of his opponent, Ezra pounced into action without a word.


    Seven years was enough toe with an arsenal of skills and techniques.


    The lightning arcsing off his body expanded, darkness slipped onto his skin, covering his presence even more while also being ayer of protection.


    ''Alright, I broke his defences¡­let''s do it again''


    Taking a deep breath, Ezra ate up distance in strides, unleashing the beast within, the look in eyes changed.


    ''This¡­'' Ziltriscency had dissolved, realizing his opponent could do more than just leave needle scratches.


    Kang! Kang!Kring!Kang!Bam!Krin


    Ziltris reacted to each strike with face unmoving, staring at Ezra.


    After a barrage of attacks, Ezra took arge step in retreat, creating distance.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The surroundings took the major brunt of their battle, both soil and trees had been obliterated.


    Ezra calmly assessed the situation.


    ''Everyone of my attacks work, but it''s not enough!'' Ezra was frustrated. ''I can''t get through that insane healing speed''


    Ziltris healed almost as fast as he was injured.


    ''How do I¡­'' his mind stopped. ''Maybe???!''


    An idea came up.


    ''Right, right, I must not confine myself. I have more options than before!''


    Just then¡­"Are you sure you''re not joining us?"


    Ziltris spoke, his tone having grown in eeriness as he cracked his knuckles.


    "So strong, yet with so much potential-you aren''t rethinking that decision? What could you possibly want from humans that you reject us?"


    Ezra stared him down. "I hate humans"


    "Umm?"


    "They''re disgusting things, more fickle than a speck a dust and most can''t stay true to themselves-it''s ultimately repulsive"


    "Hah?" the thin smile stretched. Ziltris stared for a time and then¡­"Hahahahaha"


    He burst out,ughing incredulously.


    "To think we''d be so alike" said Ziltris. "Humans are vermin to be terminated. Demons are the true beings, demonization is the part to true liberty!" he paused, his smile dissolving leaving behind a dark state. "Why then do you reject me?"


    Ezra didn''t even flinch. "I acknowledge demons, yes, but I will never ept them. Humans are creatures ofplex standards, topare that to the simplicity and beastial trait of demons-tell me, which is more important between the sun and the soil?" he locked eyes with Ziltris. "And one more thing. There is no liberty with demons-do not delude yourself"


    Ziltris huffed. "Talking is useless". His red aura spiked in intensity. "You have chosen death¡­? So be it"


    Boom!


    Releasing a sonic boom, Ziltris elerated explosively!


    ''Fast!''


    Reaching Ezra, he threw a punch.


    Ezra''s brain froze¡­and then jumped into overdrive!


    ''I didn''t run because I knew the grandmaster would catch up. So, the n was to stall till reinforcements arrive''


    But¡­ ''Is that even possible?''


    The overwhelming presence seemed to deny it.


    Ezra was confident in being able to hold his own against a grandmaster.


    ''Was I wrong? Am I still weak?''


    Right then¡­ "No!"


    A loud shout pushed back negative thoughts-Ezra came alive!


    ''I''m not weak anymore! This power coursing through my veins is mine!


    His eyes lit up. ''Then I just need to make this work!''


    Ezra dropped his head sharply, avoiding the punch entirely, the ck streaks linking towards his eyes showed dead on focus.


    He brought up the sword directly below Ziltris'' arm¡­


    ''Now!''


    He ovepped the elements coating the sword-with fire!


    And then¡­


    Sha!


    An arm spun in the air, leaving a trail of blood.


    Right after.


    Baam!


    A punch to his side had Ezra flying backwards.


    Gaining his footing, "Kuhk!" Ezra spat out blood.


    ''He used the opening created by my attack and counter-attacked. Tch''


    Ezra touched his ribs.


    Although trembling heavily, it hadn''t fractured.


    "Whew" he breathed in relief. While his internals shook, his bones were still steady.


    ''My physique has grown to this point''


    He clenched his fists. ''Definitely. The training was definitely worth it''


    Ziltris snatched his falling arm and attached it back to his shoulder.


    Zoom!


    Ezra found Ziltris in front of him.


    ''He''s even faster now?!''


    Still shaking from the recoil of thest attack, he ced the swords against one another in ''x'' form.


    Right after a leg smashed into him. Ziltris'' kick sent him flying into the air.


    Ezra spurted blood bearing the kick.


    Before he could react, a presence appeared above him.


    ''Wha-


    A kicknded on his back, sending him into the ground.


    Boom!


    The ground caved in.


    Ezra felt his bones reaching its limits moreover he felt Ziltris approaching.


    ''Move, Dammit!''


    Like a flickering image, Ziltris appeared before Ezra with his leg raised.


    As he let it fall¡­


    Boom!


    A ball of fire smashed into Ziltris, knocking him back a step.


    ''Who?'' he wondered. Looking to see the attacker-Theron.


    Right after, Ziltris sped in his direction.


    rmed, Theron shouted. "Ezra! Get up!"


    "Kuh!" He stepped out of the soil. "I didn''t need you to tell me that"


    Ziltris arrived in front of Theron.


    "Distractions aren''t needed"


    Spark!


    ck lightning lit up the surroundings.


    "Where are you looking?"


    A sense of danger had Ziltris step back.


    Right after, a stroke of ck lightning passed through, avoiding his face with centimetres to spare.


    Theron used that opportunity to create distance.


    Ziltris looked at Ezra, veins popping all over as his body reddened. "You''re only assuring yourself a faster death"


    "Shut up" Ezra steadied himself. spitting out blood and nodding to Theron with his dust filled face.


    Ziltris sped off once more, appearing in front of Ezra with a punch. "You don''t learn"


    "Actually" Ezra dodged. His sword exploded with fire. "I do"


    Ziltris stepped back.


    On cue, Ezra''s sword fell, his eyes shone.


    "Not happening"

 Chapter 266 Do Or Die Time

    ?


    Shin! Shin!Shin!Shin


    Metal feathers rained from above, slicing through trees.


    Maldaga was forced to dodge as she counter-attacked with her fire spells, lighting up the sky with explosions while making sure to keep her detection spells on.


    ''Tch''


    Taking on one of them would be easy. But with Roxanne taking care of frontal assault while Velora attacked stealthily-her attention was divided and her attack power was affected that much.


    Moreover¡­


    ''What is this poison?!''


    Velora''s first attack saw her dagger plunged into Maldaga''s skin, poisoning her as a result.


    With the blood of demons within, most poisons were nullified.


    Yet¡­


    From the stab point, it spread to her left hand, and they turned almostpletely ck.


    And it''d been less than three minutes!


    Moreover, as it spread, she lost feeling of her hand, leaving her at a serious disadvantage.


    ''Should I use it?''


    _________


    Kliiiing!


    Theron retracted the chain holding the spiked head.


    Jagamar stared. His rock armour now both scorched and broken as he took heavy breathes, sweating all over.


    "I know I''m stronger than you. Where did you learn to fight?" Jagamar questioned.


    "From him" Theron pointed to the side.


    Jagamar looked to the side.


    Krrriiiing!


    Turning his head, he finds the spiked head of Theron''s halberd near him.


    "To actually look away from your opponent-you''re even dumber than I thought"


    __________


    "Damn this guy!" eximed Johan.


    "Focus" Ashton said.


    Right now, both boys were entangled in a bitter battle against the numerous vines attacking them.


    As a grey wolf, Ashton tore through them, but they could tear through his skin just as much. Therefore, Johan''s provided the perfect cover with his metal scorpion skin, covering Ashton as they advanced amidst the orchid of vines.


    Moreover, the vines were poisonous.


    s, Naberus'' mana pool seemed endless, with each vine cut down, more and more sprouted.


    Hence, Johan''s frustration.


    _______


    "Not happening"


    The moment moved to step away, Ezra''s eyes shone, his body exploded with ck lightning, taking his speed to max and then¡­


    Freeze!


    A wave of ice spread from his feet, and with Ziltris aiming to avoid the approaching swords-he was unable to react on time!


    That said, such ice would hold him for less than four seconds.


    But the momentarypse was enough for Ezra.


    SHA!


    "Ha¡­" Ziltris, who leaned to run, fell on his back.


    His legs were severed!


    His greatest asset-his mobility-was capped.


    "Got you"


    Sha!Sha!


    In that same motion, Ezra cut off both hands.


    And then¡­


    "Die!"


    He cut off the neck.


    ck!


    No, he tried to.


    But¡­


    It was held in ce.


    "Unbelievable" Ziltris spat.


    ''HMM?'' Ezra was rmed.


    ''I''m sure I cut off his arms just now. What is-''


    "Kra!"


    An arm, good as new, tore through his left stump.


    ''Sh*t!'' Ezra realized what was happening and plunged the second sword towards his head.


    But¡­


    "Toote!"


    The second sword was caught as well.


    And despite pushing with all his strength, it didn''t budge.


    Right after, Ziltris sprouted new legs.


    ''DAMMIT!''


    Ezra pushed even harder but against Ziltris'' grip, it was¡­


    "Futile" said Ziltris, tightening his grip on the sword and then.


    Crack!


    The upper half of the sword broke into pieces.


    Ezra hastily stepped back, eyes wide.


    ''I''m toote!''


    Beads of sweat rolled down Ezra''s face, his brain literally screaming.


    ''WHY?!''


    ''Why does he have that ability?!''


    He knew it too well, it was an ability all toomon after the apocalypse arrived.


    ''But now?!''


    Ezra unintentionally froze. His chances of winning, no, just surviving had dimmed greatly.


    Such thoughts were processed in seconds.


    Boom!


    A wave of crimson aura burst from Ziltris, growingrge enough to cover a small patch of the forest.


    The subordinates noticed it immediately, each with varying reactions.


    Ziltris got on his feet.


    "To have stood against me so much that I''d have to use this against you¡­Be proud, boy. Rejoice! No death is better than this"


    "Tch" Ezra clicked his tongue. Hiding his apprehension. "To say that after been beaten half to death-I never knew demons were famous for such thick skins"


    That said, Ezra''s mind was whirring.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Ziltris looked nothing like before. His skin hadpletely reddened, two short ck horns stood attached to his forehead.


    With thest attack, Ziltris'' shirt was in tatters, so he ripped them off, revealing fit muscles along with the ck marks all over.


    Ziltris'' thoughts were opposite to his speech. ''I underestimated him and I almost died; I can see how he grows to destroy us-He must die!''


    Looking at his ring aura, he''s reminded of something else. ''They''ll definitely notice now. I need to finish this quickly''


    Ezra looked at the broken sword. It was of Epic gold rank.


    He tossed it away without thinking too much.


    Facing Ziltris, he aimed to take out the second Epic gold sword.


    ''We''ve definitely been seen. I just need to hold-''


    Ziltris'' left arm morphed, his wrist melded as his arm elongated.


    Recing it was the arm of a praying mantis, glimmering in crimson colour.


    Ezra''s mind froze again. ''He''s a shifter?''


    Then another detail hit him. ''From Ruwain?''


    Before he could process it any further-Ziltris was in front of him!


    "Where are you looking?"


    Ezra hastily raised Darkane.


    ng!


    It shed with Ziltris'' transformed hand.


    On cue, a punch was administered into Ezra''s gut, and then¡­Boom!


    He broke through a line of trees before halting.


    Ezra vomited blood. ''Oh man'' he touched his chest, sure enough, a rib was fractured.


    Ezra got on his feet, but before he could do anything, Ziltris appeared again.


    "I showed you the path to evesting life-you could''ve lived forever. Yet, you chose otherwise"


    Ezra''s attack is easily avoided and Darkane is flung away.


    ''He''s gotten faster!''


    BAM!


    Ezra tears through another line of trees after guarding against Ziltris'' kick.


    ''And also stronger!''


    Again, Ziltris appears.


    "I''m going to enjoy killing you!"


    Ezra dodges a blow to the head, only to be swept off the ground.


    Lightning shot out of his body as he tried to spin.


    But¡­


    "Not this time"


    Ziltris gripped his leg while in mid air and swung him through another path of trees.


    Landing, Ezra crawled to the nearest tree and ced his back against it.


    "Ugh!"


    Now three of his ribs had fractured, his head was bleeding and his armour was dented and bloodied.


    Ziltris appeared.


    Both men locked eyes.


    Ezra felt himself edging towards death asy there, defenceless.


    Ziltris calmed, walking to Ezra with slow steps.


    "Regretful. Look where your choices have gotten you? Beaten, battered and bruised. You could''ve joined us and we would''ve made history together as we eradicate the human to usher in a new dawn-but no, such things are meaningless to you"


    Ziltris sighed. "But not only did you doom yourself with your ingratitude, but also the children that came with you. Rest assured, their endings won''t be painless"


    "Now, then" Ziltris brought up his jade mantis arm. "Let me send you off!"


    "WAIT!" Ezra pleaded. Standing begrudgingly.


    ''I can''t have them die because of my stupidity again''


    "Oh? Have you finallye to your senses?"


    "Will you spare my subordinates if I join you?"


    "Hahaha, our likeness has brought the inevitable conclusion. Of course I will spare them, I am magnimonous enough to grant such deeds"


    "Then, then-


    Ezra ced his right arm against his mouth to prevent vomit.


    ''If I do this, my chances of survival are very slim. I don''t do this¡­I will most certainly die¡­."


    Still faking vomiting, Ezra plopped three mana stones into his mouth-


    ''I guess I have my answer''


    -and broke them with his teeth.


    Instantly, energy refilled his body.


    Ziltris noticed the change immediately.


    Boom!


    Ice, lightning and fire burst forth and the nearby trees were cleared out, they were frozen, burnt and scorched in but an instant.


    Ezra let everything out.


    In the face of such, even Ziltris could only step back.


    Silver aura rose to the asion, engulfing Ezra''s figure, shing with the crimson energy.


    ''What is this now?''


    The silver energy parted to reveal Ezra''s figure.


    Ezra stared at his arm.


    ''I was naive to think I wouldn''t need aura to stall him''


    More than that.


    ''I feel¡­like I can do anything''


    Mana filled his body to the brim.


    The healing factor of blood affinity shone!


    Sucking blood potency, most injuries could be healed.


    Right now, excess energy was taken as a recement.


    So Ziltris watched with a dark expression as Ezra''s wounds patched up.


    Ezra stared at Ziltris. No words were spoken-not that it was needed.


    ''My second mistake''


    Ezra pulled out a pin sized object from his space ring.


    Infusing it with mana, it erged, and a silver scythe was revealed.


    He could feel the weapon''s annoyance through their connection.


    ''I didn''t think he''d be able to bypass Epic gold weapons''


    But since Ziltris could, and Darkane-a tinum rank weapon-was lost. The only remaining option¡­was a bonafide Diamond rank item!


    "Sorry, I kept you waiting so long, Skyfall"


    The scythe shimmered in Ezra''s silver light.


    "Let''s kill him"


    Through the connection, the scythe''s ego gave confirmation.


    It was Do or Die Time.

 Chapter 267 Do Or Die Time (2)

    ?


    "Let''s kill him"


    Ezra was scanning his internals.


    The energy was sucked to heal him to his peak form, but it was still in excess-and now it threatened to spill.


    Ezra expected this, so much energy would kill him from within.


    ''I''ve temporarily crossed grandmaster level''


    To hold the power of a Grandmaster in the body of a master-that body couldn''tst long.


    In essence.


    ''I have five, no, four minutes''


    Four minutes before the mana overloaded his system and killed him.


    ''I have to kill him within that time''


    With his objective confirmed¡­


    Zoom!


    Ezra vanished.


    ''I can''t follow his movements?!''


    Ziltris looked as if he was going crazy, when a shadow covered him.


    ''Huh?'' he looked up.


    "Boo"


    Ezra swung his scythe.


    ''Damn!''


    Realizing that retreat was impossible, Ziltris put up his mantis arm to guard.


    But¡­


    Slice!


    It was cut through like a leaf.


    "Ha¡­."


    Watching his arm fall off so easily, Ziltris was speechless.


    The arm regrew instantly, but Ziltris took on a new level of cautiousness, retreating while his brain whirred.


    ''That weapon¡­could it be?''


    Before he could speak.


    BAM!


    A kick to the face sent him afar.


    Boom! Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!


    Clearing out trees like a certain someone.


    Ziltris hastily got his feet, snapping his broken jaw back into ce.


    Right then¡­


    "Right here"


    "You¡­!"


    Boom!


    Ezra''s leg smacked Ziltris'' forehead, sending him afar.


    Ziltris halted him body and bnced himself, before staring at Ezra with hidden meanings.


    "If I''m not wrong" he pointed at the scythe. "That''s a weapon of Kaldun, is it not?"


    Ezra raised a brow. That gave Ziltris all the confirmation he needed.


    "I am a fanatic of his work" he continued. "In fact" a weapon appeared in his hand. "I have one his works right here"


    A double edged double sword with a blue handle in between holsting the thin des of light green colour.


    "This is Swift de, a legendary armament. But to think I''d be forced to use it¡­Truly, we are the same"


    Spinning the scythe, Ezra attacks.


    "We are not the same-in fact we''re built with differentponents-let me show you!"


    The moment the Skyfall and Swift de shed¡­


    *KANG!*


    A loud shockwave erupted, destroying the surrounding tree.


    Right after¡­*BOOM!*


    The soil caved in massively, massive cracks all over.


    The ce was thoroughly wrecked.


    ng!ng! Kriiiiiin!Kakaka!ng!


    The soil was wrecked every time they shed.


    Ezra''s outmatched Ziltris in skill, but he covered that point with powerful attacks, but now that Ezra was at his level, the factor was amplified.


    At the same level-though temporarily-the demon energy couldn''t affect Ezra''s mind anymore.


    With Skyfall, that was able to conduct any element, Ezra lit up the surroundings, cing ice and blood attacks to detract Ziltris'' movements before raining down dark lightning and then fire, while making sure to keep his attacking pattern sufficiently random.


    Ziltris countered with a Swift de coated in demon energy. But his movementsgged, like he was having trouble using Swift de.


    Under Ezra''s control, Skyfall elongated, of which he smashed Ziltris away like a golf ball.


    "Kuh!"


    Spurting blood, Ziltris'' body had caved in from the side.


    His body straightened itself-the healing factor at work.


    With Ezra fast approaching, Ziltris steadied himself.


    "So that''s it''s ability?" Ziltris remarked, looking Swift de trembling heavily in his palm.


    The demon energy shot off the de''s surface.


    ''Annoying'' Ziltris thought. The veins in his right arm pulsed as he tightened his grip on Swift de. ''But it''ll have to do''


    Both men went at each other, scythe and sword shing back to back, desecrating the forest with every passing second.


    They were moving so fast it looked like a mirrage.


    Most would only be able to make out the sh of silver and red energies before the Incessant shockwaves knocked them off their feet-if not into their graves.


    Whenever Ziltris sessfully dodged, theyer of ice, lightning or fire would go on to destroy things behind them, further excerberating damage.


    A minute passed. Ezra noticed a problem.


    ''I''m not healing!''


    Being showered with injuries by the second, the inability to heal was fatal, sooner orter he would sumb to the injuries.


    ''At this rate I''ll lose!''


    Ezra refused to consider that an option. ''I can''t let my subordinates die again!''


    Ziltris'' healing factor was the only reason the battle was still ongoing.


    ''There''s always an upper limit, no, too uncertain. I just have to cut his head off!''


    With each passing second, Ezra''s attacks grew increasingly reckless, but that only had him pile up wounds faster.


    Agitation was filling up his system, his attacks became concentrated on Ziltris'' head and neck.


    "Ahhhh!"


    He let out a raging scream, forcing his body to the utmost limit.


    ''I''m going to die-then you''re going with me!''


    His aura rose ever higher, as did the output of his attacks.


    !!Kin!Krin!!ng!Kring!


    Ziltris was no joke, thwarting every attempt, whole other attacks healed instantly.


    The weapons lit up the ce with sparks every time they shed, while the surroundings froze, burned, broke from lightning strikes while demon energy elerated destruction several times over as it sucked up the potency of the items in the surroundings.


    It was as dreadful as it was beautiful.


    The enormous battle disrupted that of the subordinates-who had long since stepped away from both each other and the forest-as they watched the spectacle from afar.


    Another minute passed.


    ''Dammit!!!''


    Ezra made a desperate strike for the neck.


    Slice!


    ''Huh?''


    Spinning his weapon as well, Ziltris made a beeline slice from below, cutting off Ezra''s scythe wielding arm!


    The arm began silding off, but¡­


    ''No!''<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Losing his arm in this situation would have his head chopped off right after.


    In this instant, Ezra refused reality.


    ''I will not let them die!''


    His eyes went bloodshot while blood leaked from his nose as Ezra pushed his brain into overdrive.


    In that nanosecond, the answer came!


    Ezra froze the blood in his right arm, preventing it from falling just long enough for to pass the scythe to the other arm.


    Immediately the de fell into his left grip, Ezra made a swing for Ziltris'' neck!


    In seven years, he''d naturally learnt to wield weapons on both hands.


    Ziltris was no slow poke either, raising his de to behead Ezra in the same moment.


    ''Die!''


    Approaching Ziltris'' neck, the scythe sizzled, gaining the attribute of fire.


    With his mind still on overdrive, Ezra knew dodging Ziltris'' de was impossible if he sought to kill him in this instant.


    Ezra bent his knees, hinging forward, which lowered his height.


    He sought to go lower, but anymore would affect the scythes trajectory.


    And then¡­


    Slice! Slice!


    Both des cut the opponent.


    Ziltris'' head was lopped off, bouncing on the ground beforeing to a halt.


    The headless body feel backwards.


    "Haaah¡­Haaah¡­Haaah¡­"


    Ezra panted heavily, taking a long and slow stare at the headless body.


    The shing auras of silver and red had dissipated.


    Kang!


    Skyfall fell to ground with a thud.


    Still panting, Ezra touched his face with left arm.


    "Ha¡­"


    A thick cut ran through his right eye and nose, barely avoiding his left eye.


    ''So¡­I lost an eye¡­''


    He was so tired even his thinking had slowed.


    Cough!


    "Huh?"


    Retracting his palm, it was painted red.


    Cough*Cough*Cough*


    He fell to his knees, coughing blood nonstop.


    Riiip!


    His right arm fell, letting blood gush out.


    The frozen blood holding it had defrosted.


    From his nose flowed trails of blood, dripping continuously.


    Cleaning his nose, it hit him. ''Right, I''ll be dead soon''


    He could feel the residue mana reaching boiling point.


    "Ufff!"


    Breathless, Ezra fell on his side.


    ''I''m dying far earlier than I expected. But if they survived¡­then it''s enough''


    "Hahaha"


    A cracklingughter, all too familiar broke Ezra out his reverie.


    Straining himself, he turned his head to see Ziltris'' head crackling.


    ''Don''t tell me-


    "Rx" the head turned to face him. "Even I can''t grow a new head"


    Ezra was relieved.


    "I''ll die in a short while" Ziltris remarked. "Too think I''d end like this¡­how futile"


    Ezra stared with renewed curiosity.


    Where is the prideful and self-righteous guy from before?


    "I came to kill you as a order from my lord¡­And I have seeded"


    "Being ''his'' pet *cough*cough* is nothing *cough* morous"


    Ziltris'' eyes widened.


    "After all *cough* look where that pride led you?"


    "Y-You" for the first time, Ziltris was genuinely shocked. "K-Know of him?"


    "Like you wouldn''t believe"


    Ziltris stared with utmost surprise before his expression settled.


    "I see" he muttered.


    Ezra blinked in confusion. ''I see? What is he talking about???''


    Fast steps were heard.


    "Boss!"


    "Boss!"


    His body was tilted to have his back to the ground.


    The siblings crowded his view.


    "Boss!"


    "Boss!"


    "Boss!"


    Their panicked expressions said it all, Ashton and Johan kept calling him.


    Ezra spoke, "Calm down" his tone weak.


    They quietened.


    "You all did great" he spoke. "And I expect you to continue that way"


    "Then get up, you''re the boss"


    "I can''t¡­"


    "W-What are you saying?" Velora''s voice broke.


    "I''m sorry" Ezra said. "You''ll have to go on without me"


    "Lift him up!" Ashton shouted.


    "Stop, sto-*cough*cough*cough"


    "Ezra!" Roxanne freaked seeing Ezra spew so much blood.


    Ezra stared at them with a lukewarm expression.


    Theron made himself known. "Are you okay?" Speaking with a calm unheard of.


    "It''s no use *cough*cough" Ezra smiled. "I''ll be dead in a minute or two *cough*cough*cough* I''m surprised Isted this long"


    Theron muscles tightened. "There must be something, I mean, with a lot healing potions, we can dy it long enough to get you-


    Ezra gently shook his head. "No healing potion can help me"


    ''Because excess energy isn''t a disease'' he chuckled inwardly. ''If I don''t die of blood loss first that is''


    He was bleeding on all sides.


    "Damn!" Johan mmed his hand into the ground, his eyes growing teary.


    "There has to be something we can do!"


    The siblings could only hold their tears.


    "There is"


    The siblings snapped to attention.


    Looking behind them to see the speaker.


    Ziltris'' head.

 Chapter 268 Crossroads

    ?


    "What did you say?!" Johan asked.


    "There is a way to save his life" Ziltris remarked in a matter-of-factly tone.


    eaglesnov?1,§ão§® "Tell us! What is it?!"


    "Don''t bark at me boy!" Ziltris'' expression was ugly, but quickly reverted to normal. "Bring my body over"


    Johan wanted to stand but Theron held him back.


    "How do we know to trust you?"


    "He''ll be dead in a minute-do you have any other option?"


    Theron stared, while doubtful, he could only relent.


    Johan dragged the headless body over.


    "Move it closer to him"


    Johan narrowed his gaze. "Why?"


    "Just do as I say"


    Taking nces, Johan ced the body by Ezra''s side.


    "Step back" Ziltris said.


    "Don''t" Theron spoke. "What are you trying to do?"


    "Save his life"


    "Why would you help us?"


    "Oh?"


    The body raised it''s right arm, rming the siblings.


    Suddenly, the arm dug into the center of the chest, cutting through flesh with its nails before rising up once more.


    But now, it was drenched in blood, and on it was a fairlyrge organ, round it was, dripping blood while beating at set intervals with ck and red lines snaking all over it.


    Ezra''s eyes widened in realization. "I''m not doing it"


    The siblings were confused.


    "Seems you knew of this already" Ziltris remarked.


    Ziltris turned to the siblings. "This is my heart. More importantly, this is the heart of a rank six demon"


    "It has incredible healing properties. Eating it will save his life"


    The siblings lit up, before¡­


    "That''s not all now, is it?"


    "The healing works best for first timers, subsequent uses diminish in effectiveness"


    "You b*stard!" Ezra spoke. "Tell them everything"


    "Hehehe" Ziltris formed a cruel smile. "Eating the blood with grant him incredible healing powers, but also turn him into a demon!"


    "Hahahaha" Ziltris burst into sickughter. "So, what will it be?"


    "Give it up" Ezra said, smiling. "This is for the best. Death is far more honourable than bing a demon"


    He knew demon hearts were ingredients for the best elixirs, but those were strongly distilled before use, they had nothing to distil it at hand, and even if they did-Ezra would have long died by then.


    "Anyways, now you''re all free"


    The siblings were shaken, tears fell off Velora''s cheeks.


    But Theron''s gaze was locked on the beating demon heart.


    "Hu-rry¡­" Ziltris'' sinister tone nudged at him. "I''m almost dead, and once I die, my heart''s potency significantly weakens-so you''ll have an even lesser chance of saving him"


    Theron gulped, at the crossroads of such a difficult decision.


    Then, he whispered. "Sorry Ezra"


    "Huh?"


    Bam!


    Theron knelt on his left arm.


    "Kuh!!! What are you doing?!" Ezra shrieked.


    The other siblings looked at him in shock.


    "I''m saving your life" he replied.


    "Imand you to stop!"


    "I''m afraid I can''t do that"


    Theron faced the others. "What are you doing?! Hold him down"


    "B-But-


    Velora stammered.


    "But what?!" Theron hollered. "I refuse to let him die"


    "That isn''t something for you to decide!" Ashton eximed.


    "Then I guess I''ll be selfish this time around. And don''t dare try to stop me!"


    Ezra was enraged. "Theron, get off me!"


    "No can''t do, Ezra"


    iling his body, Ezra''s right leg was pressed to the ground.


    "Johan, what are you doing?!"


    "Saving you, Boss"


    "You''re making a mistake!"


    "Too many of those already-one more wouldn''t hurt"


    Bam!


    Then the left leg.


    "Roxanne! Stop this nonsense"


    She shook her head fiercely. "I''ll have to disobey. I can''t let you die"


    Sniff*Sniff* Velora wiped her tears. "I''ll help too"


    "You too?!" Veins pulsed all over Ezra''s forehead.


    "Uhhh¡­" Ashton scratched his head. "How can I help?"


    "....."


    Ezra was speechless at this point.


    "Hahahaha" Ziltrisughed hysterically. "Hahahaha, I''ll win"


    "Oh shut up" Theron smacked the head away.


    "Now" Theron reached for the heart.


    Ziltris spoke from afar. "If you hold it with your bare hands you''ll die"


    Theron gulped.


    "There''s a lot of poison residing within" Ziltris added.


    Theron understood, then nodded. The siblings knew of his blood poison while in the castle.


    "Take his scythe and cut off the hand"


    Quickly, Theron cuts the arm holding the heart and holds it.


    "ce it right atop his mouth"


    Ezra snapped his mouth shut, letting the bloodnd on his face.


    "Ashton, press down on his chest!"


    "Yes!" Ashton jumped on Ezra''s chest. Forcing Ezra''s mouth open as he spewed a lot of blood.


    Ezra forced a few words out.


    "You-guys, stop!"


    Theron shook his head. "No we won''t!"


    Ezra''s eyes shone blue, provoking the mana within to burst faster.


    The siblings felt the change.


    "Even I if I have to kill myself, I am not going to be a demon. Now, get away!"


    Johan tightened his grip. "Then you''ll have to take us with you"


    "You¡­!"


    "Same here" Ashton strengthened his leg.


    "Us too" Roxanne and Velora replied as one.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Don''t you get it?" Theron inquired. "We can''t let you die-we need you!"


    Ezra paused, looking Theron in the eye. "You¡­need¡­me?"


    Theron nodded vigorously. "Yes we do. We wouldn''t have gotten this far without you-So don''t dare die on us!"


    "Ha¡­" A look of astonishmenty on his face, before reverting to a calm smile.


    ''I thought you guys resented me¡­''


    "Fine then. Do what you want"


    Ezra rxed his muscles, opening his mouth willingly.


    Seeing that, Ashton lifted his knee off Ezra''s stomach.


    Carefully, Theron ced the heart above Ezra''s mouth, letting the blood trickle down the throat.


    The minute it touched his tongue, Ezra''s body shook, inhaling deeply.


    He could feel it, the blood moving through his body as a foreign force invading it and tainting his mana red.


    At the same time, he felt his veins pulsing as the blood was absorbed.


    The injuries that weren''t healing before healed fast.


    The mark along his face faded, and his eye healed.


    Gradually, his skin hardened and reddened while his nails ckened.


    "Let me help a bit" said Ziltris. Forcing whatever was left of himself to have the severed hand squeeze the heart into pieces.


    The pieces fell down Ezra''s gullet.


    *Munch*Munch*


    Ezra instinctively chewed on it.


    And then¡­


    "UGHHH!"


    With a beast-like groan, Ezra''s presence changed, exuding demon energy.


    Ziltris spoke. "Step far away from him"


    The siblings did as told.


    Ezra rose up to a sitting, looking around he grabbed his detached right arm and ced it on the stomp.


    Immediately, it began healing.


    Thereafter, he starts looking around, sniffing and even drooling.


    "Hungry.¡­"


    Locating food, he plunged his nail into the headless body beside him, ripping out the lungs-which he then munched on hastily.


    All the while¡­


    "Haha! Hahahaha! I won!"


    Ziltris jubted. His head rolling about.


    Ezra munched on the organs when he paused, his body felt giddy.


    "Hmm?"


    Boom!


    From his figure erupted arge pir of blue and red light, shooting into the sky.


    "Is he-


    "Yes" Theron nodded. "He''s advancing"


    "This¡­!" Even Ziltris quietened.


    ''Reaching Grandmaster rank so easily¡­Tch!''


    Waves of envy washed up on his face.


    After an entire minute, the pir receded.


    Bom!


    Uponpletely dissipating, a wave of energy burst on all sides from Ezra''s body, sting Ziltris and the siblings afar while simultaneously knocking up a whole lot of dust.


    The dust cleared up in a few seconds.


    Only then did Ezra''s red skin recede.


    pping his tongue against his lips, Ezra opened his eyes to the scenery.


    "Hmm, what-ssss


    Ezra hissed, rubbing his eyes to ease the sudden burning itch within them.


    "Ahhh!"


    But it proved useless as Ezra''s eyes turned red, more importantly, memories came flooding, memories of another-Ziltris.


    Only then did the itching dissipate.


    Rapidly blinking, he finds his eyesight to be not much different.


    ''Oh, my head''


    But his brain was definitely hurting.


    He confirmed that Ziltris'' memories had reached him, but rather than the initial glimpses, Ezra wasn''t in a hurry to dig into it.


    An eye sweep of the surroundings had him shocked.


    Arge radius of the forest had been destroyed with them at the center.


    The soil now ck, the trees incinerated with precision, others on the ground as broken blocks of ice, with many more charred to powder by lightning.


    "Boss?"


    A voice called.


    "Boss, is that you?"


    The siblings came into view, walking towards him with slow steps.


    Ezra smiled. Stretching out his palm to the side. "Hmph. Who else could it be?"


    "Haha, it''s the Boss!"


    Skyfall flew from its position into Ezra''s palm. Shrinking to the size of a pin afterwards before Ezra sucked it into the ancient space ring.


    Velora ran and jumped into arms-much to Ezra''s surprise.


    "Don''t ever try to leave us again!"


    Slowly, Ezra gave a back page. "I promise"


    Only then did she relent.


    The other reached him.


    "So, how are you feeling?" Theron inquired. Folding his arms.


    "Great" Ezra replied. "I''m a Grandmaster"


    Lightning sparked all over his body.


    "I can''t wait to try it out"


    "Shouldn''t we take care of that first?" Ashton asked. Pointing at the corpse.


    "Right"


    Ezra approached it. "I almost forgot this was here"


    He picked up Swift de and had it stored in the ancient space ring.


    He took a small leap.


    "You have no words?"


    In front of him was Ziltris'' head, with its face facing the ground.


    Lightly tapping with his feet, the head rolled over.


    Ziltris stared him in the eye, making a smile. "Heh...


    "Well? Speak"


    After a few seconds, Ezra reached down and tapped the head.


    No movement.


    ''So he''s dead''


    Ezra gave a heavy sigh.


    Then, something popped up in his view.


    Something so shocking, Ezra staggered, falling on his butt.


    ''It couldn''t be''


    Ezra stretched his arm forward.

 Chapter 269 Life Ark

    ?


    Floating in front of him was a green coloured light.


    In it was written ''Activating¡­'' in brackets.


    Ezra couldn''t believe his eyes.


    ''The Life Ark!''


    JUUUUUUUUUM!!!!


    The whole world shook.


    Itsted only five seconds, but every inhabitant was thrown off bnce.


    Panting heavily, Ezra rapidly turned from side to side, sweating profusely.


    ''What was that?!''


    For the shortest time, he felt something locking onto his presence.


    Something unfathomable.


    *Gulp*


    Still though, his eyes couldn''t help but go back to green floating words in front of him.


    [Activating¡­. ] It said.


    With it came a bevy of memories Ezra would rather not dig up.


    ''I was really stupid back then''


    Shall it not be wondered, how Marcus, who gave away his artifact, his chance for continuous improvement, and yet somehow, was able to match Ezra-who was constantly changing battlefields?


    This was it.


    This was the item that allowed such absurdity to take ce.


    When the apocalypse hit and otherworld monsters invaded, humans were culled in the dozens, dying by the thousands.


    Extinction creeped ever closer, but then a ray of light shone.


    Awarded to every human was an artifact enabling better and faster growth.


    It was soon dubbed the Life Ark.


    ''But I didn''t believe it''


    But of course, humans will be humans.


    Opinions on it were divided between two sides, those who trusted its power and those who didn''t.


    Ezra was among thetter, its existence was unexinable, he just couldn''t bring himself to utillizing its power.


    ''And look where that got me''


    He shut it away, making sure never to use it. And since he could still grow using traditional means, Ezra kept to that.


    s, fighting change was almost always a fool''s act.


    Embracing the Life Ark, Marcus caught up to him in no time, and then came to kill him.


    When his memories came to him as Ezra Miller, he realized that not utilizing the Life Ark was his greatest mistake.


    If Marcus was able to grow to Expert rank so quickly¡­


    ''I would stepped into Master rank easily''


    And avoided a lot of mishaps along the way.


    Then¡­


    The Life Ark vanished before reappearing.


    [ Kevin Reed ]


    Soul Shards: 2500/10


    [ Strengthening confirmed ]


    Ezra could feel arge power ready to burst from within him.


    It froze.


    After which it wrote¡­


    [ ##Error#@@##Error@@# ]


    Then, it unterally shut down..


    Waving his hands in front of his face, Ezra confirmed its disappearance.


    His skin tingled.


    Ezra jumped to a stance, staring straight ahead at an approaching projectile trailing forth with white lightning


    The presence was unmistakable.


    Three others followed behind it.


    Without a word, Ezra''s body was emzoned with lightning and he took to his feet.


    But he was unable to get far.


    Lightning struck in front of him, forcing him to a stop.


    He noticed the presence far toote.


    Boom!


    The projectilended in front of him.


    eaglesnov?1,§ão§® "Ezra"


    It was a voice all too familiar.


    "What have you done?"


    "Hello" Ezra''s gaze darkened. "Father"


    Emzoned in lightning, the Emperor stared him down.


    Wait, since Ezra was now taller than the Emperor, shall it be stared him up?


    "You did not answer my question"


    "Which was?"


    "Hoo¡­"


    Bam!


    The Emperor punched out.


    Ezra his feet dug into the ground, sliding back ten feet, his hands letting off steam, having guarded his face.


    "Decent strength, son. This should''ve been a joyous asion, so, why did you be a demon?"


    "It was only way for me to survive"


    "Do you realize what this means?!"


    "That I cannot be the next Emperor?"


    "You cannot be allowed to live"


    "Just let me run away, I''ll nevere back"


    "I can''t let you leave"


    "And if I do?"


    "Both those servants and your mother will be executed as demon aplices"


    Ezra flew into rage. "You wouldn''t DARE!"


    The Emperor pointed behind him. Where Deneris, Raven and an injured Fredrick. "I have no choice in the matter. You''ve been seen by others"


    "Guess something''s even Emperor''s have to bend to, huh?" Ezra retorts. "And if I fight?"


    "We''ll have no choice but to kill you"


    The Emperor was blunt.


    "Aren''t you going to do that either way?"


    "No" the Emperor shook his head. "I won''t let them"


    "What then will you do?"


    "We''ll break your meridians and seal your mana flow"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Ah! And let me guess, you''ll throw me into the demonic army?"


    "Hmm, I thought to simply lock you away-but that might be better"


    "I thought I couldn''t be allowed to live?"


    "Consider it benefits for beings my son"


    Looking beyond the Emperor, Ezra saw Fredrick giving him signs.


    If Ezra wanted, he could escape because Fredrick would help him dy the others.


    Behind him, the siblings were hunched together.


    ''I can have them in the ancient space ring in but an instant''


    He could also take them away.


    Just when he seemed ready for action, Ezra calmed.


    ''But then¡­I''ll abandon mom?''


    Ezra couldn''t do it.


    He could make short bursts of speed and disappear into the ocean, but heading towards Kingsmere to rescue his mom had a ny percent probability of failure.


    And if it failed, his mother could be executed.


    ''It''s too much of a risk'' Ezra deduced. ''Damn!'' he clenched his fist.


    His predicament came down to one issue. ''There couldn''t be worse timing''


    If this happened even a dayter, he might''ve been able to familiarize himself with his new strength.


    He didn''t even know how to fly yet.


    Theck of information on his new abilities rendered him handicapped.


    Moreover, the sudden appearance of the Life Ark took his attention until the Grandmasters were already close by.


    So it came down to one question.


    Would he sacrifice the strength he painstakingly built to save his mother-or not?


    ''I still have an advantage. Since I definitely can''t be the next Emperor-there''s no reason to stop theing apocalypse anymore'' Ezra reasoned.


    ''Right, as a demon, that''s the best time to take advantage, it''ll be ripe for my intervention. And I''m a Grandmaster now, heading to Sirion or Lumeria shouldn''t be too hard. But then-


    His thoughts were cut short.


    mp!


    A metal brace mped into his right wrist.


    Immediately, he felt weaker.


    ''What is-


    Ezra sought to smash it.


    The Emperor attacked.


    ''Sh*t!''


    Ezra retreated with haste.


    "Surround him" the Emperor said.


    Right then, the same type of brace mped on his leg, distorting his bnce.


    ''Just what is-


    Another brace flew towards him, aiming for his second leg.


    This time he was ready, deftly dodging it.


    While dodging the first, another flew towards him.


    Dodging even that should be easy, but the first two braces distorted his mana coordination, hence¡­


    mp!


    Another brace mped his left wrist.


    And before he could recover, the Emperor arrives before him, pressing his head into the ground.


    Of which a brace mped on his right leg.


    "W-What is-


    With effort, Ezra mouthed some audible words.


    "Mana distorting braces. Made to capture demons" the Emperor said. "I never thought I''d use it to catch my son"


    "Don''t do this!" Ezra yelled. "Let me go! I''m different from the others"


    "That''s what they all say" Deneris noted. Watching the Emperor carefully. "Well?


    "Huuu¡­" the Emperor took a deep breath.


    "Don''t!" Someone shrieked, and a shower of silver feathers rained down.


    The grandmasters easily swept it aside.


    "What is the meaning of this?"


    It was the siblings.


    "He risked his life to save us. We won''t let you kill him!"


    They ran towards the Grandmasters.


    The Emperor stared, before firing down lightning bolts in the dozens.


    Sure enough, the siblings were swept away.


    "I don''t intend to kill him. Do not interfere"


    His white aura zed, frightening them out of their wits.


    With his hand emzoned in aura, the Emperor struck.


    "Wait, wait, wait!"


    "Sorry Ezra" it fell on deaf ears.


    Bam!


    The Emperor smashed his palm against Ezra''s back.


    Soon after, Ezra felt indescribable pain as his eyes took a deeper shade of red, turning crimson.


    He could feel something within him being destroyed, letting out a gut wrenching scream.


    He tried to fight back, but the braces made sure he''d be unable to, growing weaker in the passing seconds.


    His struggle was rendered useless in the face of the Emperor''s strength as ate stage Grandmaster, and even then, the man''s arm was most of its veins bulging.


    Other Grandmasters would not have had it easy trying to hold Ezra down.


    Deneris and Raven stationed themselves facing the Emperor, making sure Ezra didn''t escape.


    After five minutes, Ezra was allowed rest, blood flowed down his nose like a leaking tap.


    But the ordeal was not over.


    The Emperor raged, lightning bursting out of his body-and then into Ezra''s!


    ________


    Elsewhere.


    Break!


    A teacup fell and shattered. Sttering tea over the Empress''s dress.


    "Mydy?! Is everything alright?"


    The maid scampered to her side.


    Kiara froze in ce, her breathing quickened.


    She took the maid''s shoulders.


    "My child" Kiara cried. "Something''s happening to my child!"


    She couldn''t exin it, but she knew. Such unease coulde from nowhere else.


    Her heart felt heavy.

 Chapter 270 How It Happened

    ?


    Laying on dark soil, Ezra continuously coughed out blood.


    His skin was dark pale, a sign for extreme weakness in demons.


    As a human turned demon, he was but a half demon as of the moment, but a demon either half orplete, was still a demon.


    "What are you doing?" Raven inquired. "We can not leave him alive"


    Spark!


    "His meridians are broken and his core shattered, he poses no threat"


    Deneris backed him up. "Surely, you of all people realize how absurd those words are"


    "I will do to him as I wish!" The Emperor affirmed his authority.


    _____________


    An hour ago¡­


    Elisa shed through cities rapidly with her warp holes, a smile on her face reminiscing her talk with Ezra.


    ¡ª-------


    "I have reason to believe a Grandmaster will arrive at this city before the day''s end"


    Elisa''s eyes sparkled. ''Where did you hear this news?''


    "I cannot say, but it''s uracy is confirmed"


    Elisa locked eyes with him. "Hmm¡­even if what you say is true, whatever shall I do about it?"


    "A Grandmaster''s arrival would spell my death" Ezra said. "I need you to bring reinforcements"


    He inhaled. "I need you to head to Iris and have the Emperore here"


    Elisa''s eyes twitched. "Am I being ordered about?"


    "No, if he arrives here to stop the grandmaster, you need not mention my name-meaning all the merit will be yours"


    Elisa chuckled at the ridiculousness. "And if nothing happens"


    "Tell him I insinuated it, that should save you all the trouble"


    "Hmm¡­.seems you''re sure of this"


    "I wouldn''t have proposed this if I wasn''t"


    Tapping her cheek for a while, she nodded. "Alright, I''ll do it"


    "Just in case I need to escape, where is your warp hole?"


    "You expect me to tell you?"


    "You expect me to ce my life on the chance you arrive on time?"


    "Why not?"


    "The Emperor would kill you if I died"


    "Huff¡­it''s in a small shed at the end of seam street"


    Ezra nodded.


    _____________


    Elisa had ced a warp hole in Iris years ago, so she wasn''t worried about not being able to get there.


    That said, warping from Gattitse straight to Iris was pure insanity.


    Not to talk of the mana cost, only a Grandmaster''s constitution would survive warping such distance in one go. She on the other hand would be shredded, leaving not merely pieces as a proof of her existence.


    This was why Ezra didn''t warp to a city deeper in the continent.


    Elisa warped from city to city, saving mana expenditure.


    That said, she had to rest her body once in a while to heal from the year of rapid warping.


    She reached Iris, where the Grandmasters faced off against one another.


    The scale of the battle was beyond her interference, so she had to wait, staying her time before gaining the Emperor''s attention.


    Risking her life, the message was delivered, but as expected, the Emperor was extremely sceptical.


    Worse, he became suspicious of her motives.


    But all that ended when the enemy Grandmasters began moving erratically.


    Soon after, a message of Gattiste''s destruction reached him, prompting him to action.


    With her words proven, the Emperor took her seriously.


    More importantly, the distance between Gattiste and Iris was too far to cover in a few minutes-Elisa, a space mage, was the only one who could help with that.


    "Open a portal to Gattiste"


    "That''s impossible from here-I don''t have that much mana"


    "Then send however far you possibly can"


    ''Like father like son, huh?''


    With an incredible sigh, Elisa''s eyes shone green, conjuring up a dark green warp hole.


    At first small, it continuously expanded double the Emperor''s height.


    "Hurry!" She cried. "It''s only stable for a minute at most"


    "Hmph" the Emperor snorted. Stepping through.


    Denerisnded in front of him. "I''m going with you"


    "No-


    Before the Emperor could interject, Deneris flew into the warp hole.


    *Veins popping*


    The Emperor subsequently ran in behind him.


    ___________


    They arrived in Niton and promptly flew for Gattiste with haste.


    Closing in on Gattiste, they find it in ruins.


    But before they could begin puzzling over the situation, the presence of a sinister existence lit up, and it wasn''t far away.


    This was the moment Ziltris took on full transformation, forming a red fog above the beast region.


    Hence his thought, ''They would''ve definitely noticed me now''


    That said, Ziltris revealing his presence intensified the battle ensuing between Fredrick, Raven, Mervida and the two from the enemies side.


    Fredrick''s attacked like a raging beast.


    He was rmed. ''My liege is in trouble!''


    Reconfiguring thendscape with his attacks, Fredrick''s murderous intent rose to the sky, but his opponent-a fire mage-didn''t let up either.


    Worse, with Mervida poisoned, her battle strength was mediocrepared to the others, not being much help.


    At this time, they picked up the presence of two Grandmasters.


    Subsequently, the Emperor and Deneris appeared on the horizon.


    The tides turned instantly.


    Just as the Emperor wondered whether to stay and kill these grandmasters or head for the grandmaster emanating a sinister presence, another presence was felt!<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    What''s more, its location mirrored that of the sinister Grandmaster.


    Ezra ate the mana stones!


    With his silver aura rising to the sky, the Emperor made his decision.


    "Let''s quickly kill these two"


    The Emperor supported Fredrick while Deneris supported Raven.


    The enemy grandmasters had no chance-which made them all the more desperate.


    Their attacks intensified trying to run away while Fredrick and Raven forcefully held their attention.


    In a few seconds, Fredrick was injured a few times before the Emperor''s arrival, and then the enemies were killed.


    In the time it took to take down the two grandmasters, they could see the sh of Ezra and Ziltris-covered in Silver and Red auras-not too far away.


    Moreover, as they approached, the overarching effects of their battle became vivid and had them apprehensive when they put themselves in the scenario.


    All of them confirmed.


    ''Beating such opponents won''t be easy''


    Deneris couldn''t help butment. "We seem to have more Grandmasters on the continent than I recall"


    The others nodded.


    Fredrick understood.


    Rather swoop in, they waited, marking off the perimeter so none of the grandmasters escaped.


    They slowed a bit, letting the fighters tire each other out before intervening.


    Having just finished one exhausting battle, it seemed the smartest choice of action.


    But in their minds, the best oue would simply be to have both of them kill each other.


    ''We don''t need more Grandmasters''


    It was already tough wrestling power with the existing Grandmasters, it was better to maintain the status quo than allow more parasites.


    ''Not on my watch''


    But Fredrick wasn''t going to follow the script.


    He rushed forth-


    Wait, no, he tried to.


    "Where do you think you''re going?"


    Raven stopped him.


    "Your concern?"


    "Do not interfere"


    "Don''t ever tell me what to do!" Fredrick howled at him, his aura ring.


    ''Only one person can do that''


    ''Tch'' Raven was annoyed. ''How does he still have so much mana?''


    He thought Fredrick would be exhausted, and rightfully so after battling a mid-Grandmaster, but this dude was still energetic.


    ''Still''


    Raven wasn''t letting up. "Don''t interfere"


    Fredrick flew forward, Raven stopped him and they entered a brawl.


    The Emperor and Deneris didn''t even act as if they saw them, smoothly flying.


    With both Ziltris'' and Ezra''s energy epassing their surroundings, both men didn''t notice the presence of the fighting grandmasters.


    And how could they? While trying to decapitate one another.


    The fight died down soon after, with Ezra killing Ziltris. Only then did the Grandmasters fly in.


    Getting closer, the Emperor''s eyes widened.


    ''Ezra?''


    Moreover, his son''s skin was thick red.


    The Emperor made a conjecture, but hoped it would not be true.


    ''No''


    He swooped in, the others following quickly behind him, having seen Ezra''s figure.


    The boy himself stared into the air as if possessed.


    Before suddenly plopping to his feet when they were already close and making an attempt to run.


    The Emperor stopped in his tracks, wrestling the other Grandmasters-whose murderous gazes made clear their intentions.


    _____________


    Back to the current situation¡­


    "I will do with him as I wish"


    Raven stood in his path. "We will not allow you"


    "It is too dangerous to the Empire to leave such a threat alive, we cannot allow demons to go unchecked" Deneris followed suit.


    Their gazes alternated between the Emperor and the boy in his hands.


    ''Dangerous to the Empire?'' the Emperor snorted.


    B*llshit!


    These b*stards aimed to weaken the Royal faction!


    Never mind being a demon, if the boy was in fact a Grandmaster, leaving him alive was asking for untold troubles, regardless of his neutralized threat level.


    They knew it wasn''t the first nor the second prince-as they were well known-so the boy was only a child.


    The lifespan of Grandmasters was longer than most as was their tenacity and constitution.


    Even a bit of thinking brought headaches.


    Too many thoughts clouded their minds, but one thing was certain-the boy had to die.


    The Emperor let it rip, lightning ravaged the surroundings, his face conflicted.


    "I will not watch you kill my son before me!"


    Deneris and Raven braced themselves.


    "That is not your son, but a demon"


    Right then, "I agree with the Emperor"


    Fredrick backed up the Emperor.


    Andrew locked eyes with Fredrick, nodding without a word.


    But the intent of appreciation was delivered.


    Deneris chuckled. "How many times are you going to battle today?"


    "Depends on your next move" The Emperor replied.


    Both sides watched each other closely, awaiting the first strike.

 Chapter 271 WHY?!

    ?


    "Depends on your next move" The Emperor replied.


    Both sides watched one another closely.


    Until¡­


    Raven took a step back.


    The Emperor didn''t humour him. "Running away, are we?"


    "This isn''t over, Andrew" Raven remarked, flying in the opposite direction with Deneris behind him.


    The Emperor calmed as well, the lightning currents lessened.


    "Thank you" he told Fredrick, before cing Ezra on his shoulder like a sack and flying away.


    Ezra had fallen unconscious.


    Once he was gone, Fredrick''s face crumpled.


    ''I failed! I was toote''


    Hearing what the siblings said, Fredrick was moved.


    He leaped,nding in front of the siblings who stood bespectacled.


    With his voice deep and aura ring, Fredrick spoke. "Tell me, how did this happen?"


    The siblings shivered, gulping. Theron reluctantly, exining the events step by step.


    Of course, he made sure to remove the part where they were pulled into a space ring.


    "Ha¡­is that so?"


    By the end of the short tale, Fredrick was depressed.


    It was enough that his liege was captured with him being unable to do a thing, but as he found out, he could''ve prevented Ezra''s transformation if he arrived earlier.


    Furthermore, he tried to!


    ''That b*stated!''


    Raven''s face formed in his mind.


    But Raven obstructed him.


    Fredrick exploded with murderous intent, ruminating on ways to kill Raven.


    "Kuhk!"


    It took Theron to spurt blood before Fredrick realized the pressure was killing the siblings.


    Giving them a healing potion, Fredrick was about another question when a figure embroiled in white lightning descended.


    It was the Emperor.


    "You came back?" Fredrick inquired.


    "For them" he pointed to the siblings.


    Lightning extended from his hand, binding the siblings.


    They struggled, but against a Grandmaster, it was futile.


    Like so, the Emperor took off. Fredrick left soon after, his thoughts swirling.


    The battle between Grandmasters killed all the infected, so he had nothing left doing there.


    ______


    The Emperor arrived at Kingsmere, only to find a part of it destroyed.


    He dropped into the castle, walking to the chamber floors and threw Ezra into a cell.


    Reaching the throne room, he unbinds the siblings.


    "Tell me everything"


    _______


    "The boy has to die" said Deneris.


    Raven responds. "Surely. But Andrew isn''t one to budge"


    "Then we''ll need some help"


    "Who?"


    "Augustus would do"


    Raven smiled. "Then you won''t mind doing the honours of contacting him"


    With a nod, they separate.


    _______


    "Ohhh" Groaning, he wiped dust from his face.


    "Hmm?"


    He found trouble lifting his arm.


    Only then did Ezra look around.


    "Where¡­am I?"


    The cold hard ground and the gate with holes was one familiar.


    ''A cell?''


    "Ah!" He gripped his head, enduring a massive headache as his memories came back in fragments.


    "Huff¡­Huff¡­Huff"


    Breathing heavily, Ezra''s eyes! snapped open.


    ''That''s right!''


    His armoury in ruins, his body pale, dirty and bloody.


    Sitting upright, he sped his hands together, moving mana to check the state of his body.


    "Ouch"


    But moving mana-a reflex almost like breathing for him-was strenuous.


    A spat out blood on his first try.


    ''That confirms it''


    Ezra stared down, looking lifeless.


    ''My meridians are broken''


    His heart tightened, but Ezra held in the pain.


    Taking a deep breath, Ezra tried to manifest lightning but it fizzled out before it even formed thanks to the mana distorting braces.


    Ezra held in the frustration.


    Raising his palm, relief washed over him to see the ancient space ring still on his finger.


    Ezra turned his back to the cell gate. With slow and shaky hands, he held out a mana stone and ced it into his mouth.


    "Kuh!!!"


    He spat it out right after. Panting.


    ''No''


    His eyes grew moist.


    ''No'' he shook his head. ''No, no, no, it can''t be!''


    Bam!


    The wall caved in from his punch.


    With the braces on, the mana wasn''t coordinated, letting it trickle down multiple paths, damaging his internals.


    The mana that flowed down his meridians were miniscule and the circting speed had slowed to a crawl because his meridians had broken.


    Ezra stared as tears dripped down his face.


    Realization stood square in his face.


    The foundation of strength built over years of persistence,mitment and dedication were destroyed in an instant.


    "Arrrrgh!" Ezra screamed. "Damn it!"


    He punched the floor-


    "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    -continuously. Ignoring the pain in his hands.


    After a few punches, Ezra stopped.


    Even moving a lot wasn''t easy anymore.


    He fell on his back, panting with hot breathes while his eyesight dimmed.


    One thingy on his mind.


    "My revenge.." his voice was weak.


    He could see the faces of those who killed him,ughing and f mocking him.


    His revenge seemed to move further away.


    ''After so many years of nning, Why? Why? Why? Just WHY?!'' He screamed within. ''Why is this happening to me?!''


    Everything went dark.


    _______


    Ezra woke up after a time. "Hmm?"


    He rose up with haste, staring at the figure standing beyond the gate.


    "Mom?"


    Kiara burst into tears. "Oh! My son"


    She stretched out her arm.


    Ezra walked to the gate but¡­


    ng!


    Chain attached to the braces linked to the wall held him in ce.


    ''Oh damn this''


    His veins bulged, and his skin reddened, pulling out the chains slowly.


    The blocks in the wall dislodged, falling on the floor and shattered.


    Ezra held his mother''s hand.


    "How did you know I was here?"


    "Roxanne told me"


    Kiara stared into her son''s eyes, now crimson.


    "Mom, I can exin-


    "Shh" she ced her hand on his lips. "Save your breath. Your vassals told me what happened"


    She added, "And how they forced you to do it"


    "I''m sorry"


    "Nonsense. I wouldn''t had it any other way"


    "Mom?"


    "Come closer son"


    cing their heads against each other, Kiara''s voice broke.


    "As long as you''re alive, I don''t care what form you take. You''ll always be my son"


    Ezra took a deep breath. "Yes mother"


    "Now" she said. "It''s time I had a word with your father"


    She left shortly after.


    ________


    The Emperor sat in silence, tapping the armrest of his throne.


    *m!*


    The door was pped open.


    With quick steps, Kiara walked in, stopping five feet from the Emperor.


    With his thinking disrupted, the Emperor stared at Kiara with a cold gaze.


    "What is the meaning of this?"


    Kiara stared him straight in the eye, palms fisted. "I need to know what you intend to do with my son"


    "Excuse me?"


    "Answer me"


    The Emperor stared at the ceiling, incredulity sketched on his face.


    "Hahaha"


    Heughed, getting a mouthful, before facing Kiara.


    "WOMAN"


    His aura red, engulfing the room.


    Kiara paled, falling on one knee as blood trickled down her nose.


    "You will lower your tone, or else-


    "Or else WHAT?!"


    Kiara rose back on her feet, albeit shaky, wiping her bloody nose.


    "You''ll kill me?! Because that''s the only thing left for you to do!"


    "I have been patient a lot, and have suffered a lot as well" she said. "But I refuse to watch you kill my son! It will not happen!"


    "You seem to forget that that boy is of my blood as well"


    Kiara''s eyes widened.


    "Don''t you darey im to my son-


    "Our son"


    "Damn you!" She shrieked. "Damn you and that word!"


    "Where have you been for most of his life?!" She inquired. "Building the Empire, were you not"


    The Emperor watched unperturbed.


    Kiara clenched her fists, wiping leaking tears. "If that boy is truly the son that you speak of. You better make sure he lives!"


    She turned and stormed out the obvious room right after, the Emperor gazing on her figure as she did.


    Upon her exit, he stared nkly into the air, seemingly trying to understand what exactly just transpired.


    He was both angry and¡­amazed? At the same time.


    ''I''ve never seen her act that way before''


    ________


    In the days passed, the Emperor received reports of an attack of demon worshippers on the castle and the stolen grandmaster corpses taken.


    The news of a Prince bing a demon spread faster than wildfire, calling the attention of a disproportionate amount of people.


    In the same breath, Elisa was under deep pressure.


    During Ziltris'' attack on Gattiste, a lot of students died, buried under the copsed palisades.


    In other words, the future of a lot of families was now in jeopardy.


    And of course, nevermind the fact that the enemy was a Grandmaster, they needed a ce to vent and Elisa turned out to be the prime candidate


    The woman in question was too busy with recovery to care.


    Suddenly, the foreign powers who stood unresponsive at the Emperor''s initial call for aid started contacting.


    The Emperor didn''t even try to answer them.


    Instead, he delved in his throne room in silence.


    Mervida was furious that her kingdom was abandoned, but seemed keen on doing nothing about it.


    Jebas and Getrahan returned to Niton, apparently the enemy Grandmasters pulled back a few hours after the Emperor left.


    Moreover, the infected phenomenon settled down as the infected reverted to normal.


    A semnce of peace was restored.

 Chapter 272 It’s Time

    ?


    Ezra sat in his cell, mncholic.


    Unchained, he could simply walk out of the cell.


    But the Emperor warned him against it, and since he was near powerless, Ezra stayed put.


    He could hear the guards gossiping about him from time to time.


    As expected, they weren''t saying nice things. Then again, he was a demon.


    Demons were the archenemies of humans, collectively hated. Which was why anything regarding demons was hot cake, handled by every power.


    Coming from a different space, demons only seeked to rape, pige and kill.


    All these made Ezra''s case delicate andplicated.


    With the possibility of death greater than ever, Ezra found him losing interest in most things.


    His strength had failed him, his meridians were shattered, rendering cultivation, even mana stonesrgely ineffective and he wasn''t at all keen to practising his weaponry.


    Even if he was, there were no weapons in sight and he didn''t want them taking notice of his space ring.


    Bored out of his mind, Ezra took frequent naps, putting all former routines on hold as he delved into his memories, self reflecting.


    _______


    ''What have I been doing all this time?''


    From waking up in a body unknown to regaining his lost memories to then nning and then acting towards his goal.


    The deeper he delved in his memories, the more he found them epassing one thing.


    His sole objective.


    Revenge.


    "Hmm" Ezra delved a little deeper into his past actions.


    ''My desire for gaining strength as the fastest possible means was to kill my enemies just as fast''


    He nodded.


    ''The ambition to be Emperor was to wage war on the same enemies''


    ''ck Jaws was created to gather the army capable of doing so, and the siblings I gathered for the same reason''


    ''I trained myself into a weapon for the same reason¡­''


    And yet..


    ''I wasn''t even able to kill Marcus''s


    Realization hit him.


    ''Guess I...failed?''


    The word left a bitter taste in his mouth.


    He stared at his dirty shackled hands.


    ''If I am to die right now¡­what have I achieved?''


    "Hmm"


    Another deep thought.


    ''Well, I''ll be known to have been the fastest to grow to Grandmaster level''


    Ezra chuckled.


    Right, he was only Thirteen.


    ''And Niton''s greatest genius''


    Others might differ, but Ezra approved that he''d earned it.


    ''A few would know me as the one of the creators of ck Jaws''


    But then his smile faded.


    The braces reduced his powers by a lot, dulling his senses, instincts, and reducing his recovery speed to almost zero.


    Not that he''d ever be able to recover to his peak form, as that was nigh impossible-the Emperor made sure of it by breaking his meridians at a fundamental level.


    So even with a demon''s insane recovery speed, Ezra wouldn''t be able to return his meridians to their original form.


    Then, it happened right after he stepped into grandmaster realm, further cementing the damage.


    Even Ezra didn''t know of many items that couldpletely heal him.


    Those that he did know of were few, and in ces beyond his reach-for the foreseeable future.


    Regardless, his instincts, even dulled, were calling for a warning.


    ''What is it?''


    He realized.


    A Grandmaster was approaching his cell.


    With slow steps, a figure appeared beyond the cell gates.


    "Father?"


    With his clothes fluttering, the Emperor and Ezra locked eyes.


    The Emperor''s beard had grown, and golden hair seemed dimmer, holding the eyes of someone with a heavy burden.


    "Why are you here?" he asked.


    "It''s time" The Emperor simply said, a line of lightning stretched out like a limb and approached Ezra.


    "Time for what?"


    The lightning binded him.


    "Time for your fate to be decided"


    "I see. You''ve decided to kill me?"


    ''I guess its times to be executed''


    Ezra struggled, but like before, it was futile, especially with the braces suppressing his powers.


    Tied up by lightning, Ezra watched as the Emperor walked to the throne room.


    Any guard encountered bowed, and as they walked, more and more people came into view.


    Their exotic clothes made it easy to guess their identities.


    ''Nobles''


    More and more gazes lingered upon his figure, as Ezra smelled fear in the air-a lot of it.


    Yes, smelled.


    Thanks to demonization, Ezra was privy to demonic abilities.


    One of them was smelling fear.


    It was acute for hunting prey. Moreover, demons were creatures born of negative energy, fear was their favourite scent.


    Ezra was allured, but he could still control himself.


    From their faces, Ezra read a few more, envy and fury for most.


    His eyes, now red, could read the mana levels of people, better to say it could gauge it.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Another ability of his.


    During the past weeks, bored out of his mind, he''d been experimenting, extending his ws and other things.


    Not much was discovered, besides, he already knew a bunch of things demons could do. And because the braces burnt him if he activated his demonic abilities, he stopped.


    The more they walked, the more the crowd encountered, and the bigger their presence.


    The Emperor''s gaze was hardened, so people simply moved out of the way before they were told.


    The door to the Throne roomy wide open, the path to the throne clear, lined with wine coloured carpet.


    A crowd bigger than all othersy on each side of it.


    With silent steps, the Emperor walked up the podium before sitting upon his throne.


    Ezra was freed of the lightning, then forced on his knees with his heavy shackles as his eyes pervaded the crowd before him.


    ''A lot of powerful people have gathered''


    Closest to the podium were the three witches, Triton was there as well.


    After those, he recognized Raven, Deneris, and of course, Fredrick.


    Judging from the simr presence, Ezra noted two others as Grandmasters.


    These were Jebas and Getrahan.


    He turned his head from side to side, but those he expected to see were nowhere to be found.


    ''Where are they?''


    "Greetings"


    Bolton started the speech, dressed in a ck cloth, a ck patch covering the left eye.


    Fighting the demon worshippers hadn''t gone without a cost.


    That went for Kogar as well, who sat without a right arm.


    "I wee you all to this asion, to be witnesses as justice is served against a demon and his aplices"


    ''Aplices?''


    Unease rose in Ezra''s heart.


    Sure enough, five people, shackled on every limb, were brought forward, and arranged linearly to him.


    Faces too familiar to be forgotten.


    The siblings


    He turned to face the Emperor behind him.


    "What is the meaning of this?" his tone venomous, his gaze furious. "They have nothing to do with this"


    "Is that so? They tried to protect a demon, I don''t anymore evidence "


    ''Damnit!'' His fears came true.


    Thankfully, he didn''t see his mother among them, but on the same note, he didn''t see her in the crowd.


    "What about my mother?" he asked.


    "She''s fine"


    Ezra''s body lit up with lightning despite the brace''s suppressants.


    "If you do anything to her-


    "I didn''t, but I might, if you keep doing that"


    Still gritting his teeth, Ezra stops his outburst.


    "You can''t kill them for protecting their master"


    "Who said I nned to kill?"


    "What-


    "Son, face the crowd before I make you"


    While ring, Ezra turned to face the crowd.


    Certainly, his re enamoured gestures from the crowd.


    "Look at him ring" one whispered. "Damn demons"


    "I know right, so demonic. He must been one from the start, how else could he be a grandmaster so easily"


    ''Easily?!''


    Another went¡­


    "Hey, don''t you think¡­he''s a little cute?"


    "Are you insane?!"


    "Just saying¡­"


    "You stupid? Don''t let anyone hear you!"


    Ezra turned to the siblings staring at him, sad and mncholic.


    Theron looked him in the eye. "I''m sorry I put you in this mess"


    "No" Ezra said. "I''m thankful. I realized I''d been taking my life for granted"


    He chuckled. "Whatever happens, I''m grateful you didn''t let me die"


    The siblings lit up.


    "Let''s see what fate has in store for us"


    Bolton quickly read Ezra''s deeds.


    Apparently, he and his aplices ''deserted'' Gattiste, thereby ''contributing'' to the deaths of soldiers.


    On that note, the city he warped to, Erenven, was also destroyed by his pursuers, hence bing his fault.


    After omitting the part where he killed a Grandmaster leaving him on the brink of death, he was said to have eaten the organs of demons in a ''greed'' for power.


    It was so ridiculous Ezra didn''t bother challenging it.


    Besides, they had no power to resist. He''d rather not waste his breath.


    The siblings didn''t seem to think the same, but their words were simply ignored.


    "And now" Bolton concluded. "His Majesty will choose fitting punishments for such grave offences"


    Ezra could see Fredrick straightening his body, ready to burst into action.


    Ezra shook his head.


    In the past days, he''d been writing to Fredrick, both had been writing a n of escape.


    But like the first time, his mother was held hostage, and he didn''t know what would happen if he left her behind.


    If nothing else, her help in his life was undeniable.


    So he shook his head to dissuade Fredrick from acting, much to thetter''s disapproval.


    Bolton stepped down from the podium, leaving the spotlight for the Emperor.


    "For such grave offences" the Emperor''s tone picked up.


    "They will-

 Chapter 273 New Plans

    ?


    "For such grave offences" the Emperor''s tone picked up.


    "They will-


    Silence reigned as the attendants stretched their ears to get every word.


    -be imprisoned for a lifetime. Wrung dry spending the rest of their lives in Arcadia"


    There was momentary silence, and then chaos broke loose.


    "What?! They''re not killing him?!"


    "The demon must not be allowed to live!"


    "Execute them!"


    Others made small talk. "Did he say Arcadia? Isn''t that the cursednd?"


    "Is it? The one with the worst criminals?"


    The Emperor released his lightning in full force.


    The sudden increase in pressure had many shivering in their shoes.


    With the silence restored, the Emperor nodded.


    "You shall speak in a manner befitting your status, or you will be thrown out in due haste"


    The nobles had their prides wounded, but they dare not try nonsense.


    After all, this was the Emperor''s domain.


    Moreover, none of the Grandmasters had spoken, and they were the only ones qualified to speak with the Emperor on equal terms.


    After a minute of silence.


    *Cough*cough*


    Not Deneris nor Raven, but Fredrick coughed to gain attention.


    Once gained, he asked his question.


    "Your Majesty, might we know the reasoning behind your decision?"


    A drop of sweaty on his cheeks. While he maintained a calm demeanour, his head was moving in overdrive.


    Most people thought for sure that Ezra would be executed, himself included.


    "Certainly," the Emperor nodded. He pointed to Ezra''s kneeling figure.


    "What is this?" he inquired. Much to the crowd''s dismay.


    "Haa¡­" Fredrick tongue paused. "I believe it a human turned demon"


    "Correction" said the Emperor. "It is a Grandmaster turned demon"


    After a small pause, he continued. "And it''s the first to ever been caught-Alive"


    Those with sharp minds were connecting the dots, their eyes widening.


    "Is killing it the best way to make use of it?"


    "That''s a no" his gaze pervaded the crowd. "Demon worshippers are still atrge, with him as live specimen, we''ll learn more about our archenemies faster than ever before, and in doing so, create something to kill even those more powerful"


    "Hmm"


    The crowd began to understand the reasoning.


    "Don''t forget, thest Grandmaster arrived within the Empire without leaving any trace of his presence. We have my son to thank that only two cities were destroyed. In other words, we were lucky, very lucky" his gaze hardened. "But luck is not a reliable factor. If such incident repeats itself, the Empire will suffer irreparable damage"


    "In sight of this, to kill the boy is to be short-sighted. Am I clear?"


    Fredrick nodded, satisfied. "Very"


    "Good-


    "But then-


    Deneris interrupted.


    -what about the other five?"


    The Emperor stared uninterested. "They might be aplices, but they are not demons neither do they have any ties with demons. They will be imprisoned till their deaths''''


    "But-


    The Emperor mmed his fist on his armrest. "That is final"


    Deneris stared coldly, but didn''t probe anymore.


    "How do we know he won''t escape?" Raven inquired.


    "Because I''m making sure of it"


    "And if he does?"


    "I will put him down permanently-personally"


    A few questionster, the gathering was done.


    With a snap of his finger, guards came to take Ezra and the siblings away.


    On his feet, Ezra turned to face his father and gave a nod.


    ''Thank you''


    Regardless of reason, anything except death was something Ezra didn''t think possible.


    As they walked him back to his cell, Ezra took in the sight of the jolly crowd and atmosphere.


    ''This used to be my home'' he thought. ''Now it''s my prison...amazing''


    Raven walked up to the Emperor.


    "When will he be transported to Arcadia?"


    "¡­?" the Emperor gave a questioning gaze.


    "When will he-


    The Emperor cut him short. "I heard the first time" then looked him in the eye. "How is that any of your concern?"


    "In himys the answer to wiping out the demons for good, I had to know"


    "Raven" he said. "You seem to grow brazen as time passes-don''t make me kill you"


    He leaned into his chair. "All things regarding this matter are of utmost secrecy. Are we clear?"


    "Of course,"


    After that, a banquet was held, stretching into thete hours of the night.


    ________


    Meanwhile¡­


    Ezra shook his hands. "So¡­I guess I''m not dead yet"


    If nothing else, it was a pleasant surprise.


    ''To think he''d take my advice''


    When capturing him, Ezra hinted at the Emperor to ce him in the demonic army.


    The demonic army was located in Arcadia.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    To be exact, the demonic army were the inmates of Arcadia.


    Arcadia, also known as the cursednd, was home to Niton''s worst criminals.


    People too dangerous to be left alive, but too special to simply kill, then as a third option, the Arcadian prison was constructed, where they were taken, and then tested on, sometimes dissected till their worth was wrung dry.


    The workings of the ces weren''t known to many.


    Ezra knew this much because he talked with one, who escaped in the advent of the apocalypse.


    "What do I do next?" he murmured. "Doing nothing is out of question. Mother is still being held somewhere¡­so how do I get her out?"


    Right now, Ezra''s options were severely limited.


    Yet he had to make sure of his mother''s safety.


    He pulled out the ancient space ring hidden beneath his tongue.


    Kept there as insurance against the noble''s nimble hands. They would''ve taken it had they seen it.


    His mother was being held hostage, to release her, he''d have to recover his strength.


    ''So, we''re back to square one?'' Ezra chuckled. ''I''m nothing without my strength huh?''


    Then the best action to take was something rted to that.


    For now, he took out the book where his memories had been written into, skimming through as he marked things that could help him recover his strength.


    ''No, not this, this won''t work. Okay, this is one, another, third¡­''


    Only three things fit the bill.


    How many he could currently find? None.


    "I''ll have to wait till the apocalypse"


    ''How long will that be?'' Ezra felt depressed.


    Pah!


    He pped himself.


    ''No, I should be thankful that a solution even exists''


    Most people had their cultivation forever handicapped if they sustained the same injury-he wasn''t!


    That alone was an absolute win!


    He brought a nk book, scribbling onto it while his mind worked the magic, making a prediction on the nearest future.


    ''With how a lot of events came faster than I was expecting, the apocalypse will begin earlier this time''


    ''Last time, the manite mine wasn''t ransacked, ck Jaws didn''t exist, Avi wasn''t conquered, and Ziltris didn''t die''


    Ezra shook his head at how many big moves he''d pulled.


    ''I can''t predict what kind of variables these things will create, but a few things can happen''


    ''With Ziltris dead and their forces mostly exposed now, the whole world will be looking to attack them -prompting another war''


    ''If they are to survive that, the demon invasion will have to happen far faster than before''


    ''When that happens, the apocalypse wouldn''t be far behind'' Ezra nodded.


    ''Regardless, this will happen only after a year at the very least, at worst, should be a decade¡­or never''


    He pped himself again.


    ''Can''t grow negative right now. It''ll happen, definitely. I just have to be ready for whenever that will be''


    Ezra calmed.


    Having speedrun adept to Grandmaster rank, this would be the opposite.


    Now he''d have to wait, making patience a core virtue while awaiting his chance. Which, by his rough calction, might as well be a decade.


    Frustration was already welling up in his brain.


    ''No matter what, I can''t be hasty''


    For one, while his case was decided, a lot of eyes would be watching.


    After that, he also knew most didn''t believe he ascended to Grandmaster realm relying on only talent.


    Heck, even the guards usually said so.


    Things like¡­


    "There had to be some secret to it"


    "Maybe he has some type of treasure"


    "It could be something only the royal family knows about" and many more.


    He knew most were thinking the same thing, even the Emperor had questioned him on it.


    Ezra radically denied it.


    He''d be spelling his death if he revealed such information.


    The Emperor wasn''t intent on forcing it out of him¡­


    Ezra''s brain halted.


    ''Could this be the real reason I''m going to Arcadia?''


    He hadn''t thought of it before, but it was certainly convincing.


    ''A secret to bing a Grandmaster? Anyone would kill for that¡­Tch!''


    That said, Ezra wasn''t helpless.


    He''d told the Emperor something else.


    "I practised cultivation and weapon mastery everyday for a bit more than seven years-that gave me enormous advantage because advancing was far easier"


    It was the typical answer of a genius, vague, mysterious and not very useful.


    But hey, it had staved off the Emperor''s curiosity.


    Especially since he was telling the truth.


    But he couldn''t be sure his Father believed him.


    ''If he doesn''t, I could be in big trouble''


    He sighed.


    For the first time, Ezra was apprehensive of the Arcadian prison.


    He''d only decided to live, now his life might be taken.


    With his emotions all over the ce, Ezra decided to postpone any more thinking to the next morning.


    One thoughty on his mind.


    ''Life''s tough''

 Chapter 274 The Culprit

    ?


    The Culprit


    A week passed since Ezra''s punishment was decided.


    The Emperor''s promation kicked up a fuss in noble circles, but no one made a move.


    In the meantime, Ezra got news of the outside world from Fredrick through themunication scrolls.


    For one, ck Jaws academy was nowplete.


    The first round of admission had begun.


    Rather nobles, ck Jaws focused on taking talents from the masses ofmoners.


    As always, they made it clear that they were for the less privileged, the nobles should go and eat sh*t if that made them feel better.


    Alongside this, ck Jaws was facing serious pressure from other top guilds and top organizations.


    The Emperor''s original intent was to eat up ck Jaws once it sufficiently developed.


    The other Noble houses did nothing as well, awaiting ck Jaw''s inevitable destruction with greedy eyes.


    s, with Fredrick''s timely advancement, their n fell into disarray.


    Then, the support ck Jaws culminated among ordinary folk was unmatched.


    It should be obvious considering ny percent of all their members weremoners.


    Their product was also geared in the direction of helpingmoners.


    Then, during the recent Beast Tide, ck Jaws dispatched members to viges and towns without worrying about losses, saving thousands that would''ve rather died, garnering massive support in the process.


    Of course, in exchange for doing so, they didn''t send reinforcements to a set of ces-where their enemies resided.


    After all, Nobles were rich enough to defend themselves.


    But now that a semnce of peace was in ce, ck Jaws abnormal growth had many guilds group up to avoid destruction.


    The former top guilds banded to resist ck Jaws, bing an Anti-ck Jaws guild.


    They couldn''t let ck Jaws eat up all business opportunities.


    Then, the royal family put morews in ce to restrict their ability to grow.


    Not surprising, the royal family was probably the entity most weary of them.


    With ck Jaws unlikely to be usurped for the foreseeable future, the calm guilds were now panicking.


    Their n backfired.


    So, right now, ck Jaws was fighting multiple organizations at once.


    The Buffer Zone was outrightly ignored at this point.


    The royal family didn''t say anything about the other forces going against it, tacitly agreeing with their methods and ck Jaws didn''tin.


    At the end of the day, you just had to kill every enemy, words wouldn''t do much at this point.


    The royal family offered to send trusted nobles to ''help'' ck Jaws improve their situation.


    For one thing, Fredrick didn''t like nobles, they were hard to deal with in every way, being very prideful yet stupid at the time.


    Second, they would most certainly be spies.


    After that, ck Jaws would be betraying its beliefs if it gave away high positions to nobles rather than the workers already there.


    So, he offered that theye in as low rank workers and then work their way up.


    Of course, Fredrick wasn''t nning to increase them in rank anytime soon, but why say no to freebour.


    The more, the merrier, was it not?


    Like expected, the royal family sought to think about it.


    Besides that, the Grandmasters had meetings to discuss how the remaining demon worshippers were to be taken care of.


    As it was a matter with demons, support was being solicited from other powers in Hellison and Puton.


    However long that would take, Fredrick didn''t know.


    In short¡­


    ''It seems my prediction was spot on with this matter''


    But Ezra put that thought aside.


    He''d issued for Fredrick to head to Gattiste to check if Marcus was alive.


    Additionally¡­


    ''I need to know if Emerson, Umeron, Westin and Valencia survived''


    So, he told Fredrick to sniff them out as well.


    Valentine had left the night before. So, he wasn''t worried.


    _________


    The Emperory in his quarters, looking through paperwork when the door was knocked.


    "Come in"


    The door opens to see a one-eyed Bolton step in, behind him came a man cloaked in ck.


    "Your Majesty, he says he''s found the culprit behind the assassination"


    The Emperor stopped, and then reclined into his chair.


    "You have my attention"


    The cloaked man knelt. "Your highness, afterbing through multiple suspects, the name Calvin Kalwin seems the most recurring"


    He raised his gaze to face the Emperor, but froze on the spot.


    A haze of red formed over the Emperor''s figure; murderous intent at its best.


    The Emperor tapped his armrest with his index finger. "Calvin Kalwin you say¡­"


    ''Kalwin¡­is Gwendolyn''s family name''


    Realization hit.


    ''She did this''


    The culprit was found.


    The Emperor stood ever slowly, nodding, "Your work is appreciated"


    The cloaked figure nodded in haste.


    The Emperor walked out.


    ___________


    "Hmm hmm hmm hmm"


    Gwendolyn hummed, taking in her heavenly visage projected by the mirror while pulling on her jewellery.


    She was beaming with happiness ever since Ezra got in trouble.


    With the boy being put away for life, her worries reduced dramatically.


    Now, she just had to get her son thinking straight.


    Jordan grew infamous in his lecherous acts, she had to find a way to stop that.


    At this point, someone knocked.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "Who is it?"


    The door lock was broken, forcing her to turn.


    "Who-


    The Emperor''s visage put her brain on halt.


    ''Why is he here?''


    Unease began squeezing her heart, nevertheless, she maintained her calm demeanour.


    "Andrew? What is it?"


    With every step he took towards her, she took one in retreat.


    "I''ll ask once"


    "Huh?"


    "Did you or did you not send assassins after my son?"


    "Haa¡­" her expression froze. "W-What are you talking about?"


    Break!


    The Emperor broke the mirror, cutting out arge shard.


    "W-W-Wait! It''s not what you think!"


    "Is it now?"


    "Y-Y-Yes" she nodded vigorously. Stabilising her voice. "I don''t know how, but he was demon since then"


    "I knew if I told you, you wouldn''t believe me, so I took it in my arms to execute him" she spoke in one breath. "Haah¡­you have to understand¡­Haah¡­I swear I was only thinking of the Empire"


    The Emperor just stared, and once he determined she was done, he spoke.


    "I see" he nodded ever so slowly. "Sadly" he continued. "I don''t believe you"


    He raised the ss shard.


    "No, no, no, no" her face paled. "Wait-!


    The Emperor shed downwards.


    "AHH!"


    The castle was engulfed in a howling shriek, and Gwendolyn''s room was dyed red.


    Gwendolyn herself wriggled like a worm, a bloody one, holding the stump that had once been her right arm.


    Once done, the Emperor walked out like the chad he was, the shrieks fading into the background.


    _________


    That made another round of waves.


    Gwendolyn''s family came to the royal castle two dayster, but as they sought to enter, the Emperor''s voice boomed.


    "If you step in, you will not be leaving," he said. "She tried to kill my child, and was duly punished for it. Now, leave"


    After arranging their choices, the family members left.


    As anyone could deduct, the Emperor was in a bad mood.


    They''d test his patience another time.


    _________


    With everyone seemingly boiling for action, another week passed.


    ''Hmm?''


    Ezra raised his head to find where the metallic sound wasing from.


    The cell door was opened, and in came three figures.


    All masters.


    "Get up" one spat.


    "To where?" Ezra asked.


    Another rubs his knuckles. "Seems you don''t understand how this works yet"


    "Oh?"


    "When I say get up" he raised his fist. "You get up" and sent it to Ezra.


    Pam!


    Ezra held it in ce effortlessly, yawning heavily, before raising his gaze to face them.


    Squeezing the man''s hands. Ezra spoke "The next time you attack me"


    "ah, ah, ah-


    The master''s hand was gradually fracturing.


    ''What is this?! Didn''t they say he was weakened?!''


    The man felt like crying.


    The guards outside spoke so heartily about how weakened he was.


    With that, the master''s came in thinking, ''No matter how powerful a grandmaster might be, since he''s weakened, let''s push him around a bit''


    The dude felt he was dying, his fist bulged so much you''d think it was going to pop.


    Yet, Ezra was pressing it down without a hitch.


    "I won''t let you off so easily" Ezra''s eyes glinted, and he squeezed harder.


    Crack!


    "Are we clear?"


    The master, who was holding back a scream, nodded vigorously.


    "Good" he swiped the man''s hand away. "Now, where am I going?"


    "Don''t get ahead of yourself" another raised his tone.


    Ezra scratched his head. ''Why am I surrounded by idiots?''


    Slowly, Ezra rose to his feet.


    And then, Bam!


    The dude took a punch to the gut. Breaking the cell gate and smashed into the wall, imprinting his figure.


    Ezra looked to the third.


    "And you?"


    Sweating like crazy, the third dude raised both arms in surrender.


    The other still gripping his fist had his eyes pop seeing what a single had turned hisrade into.


    Not wanting to follow such footsteps, he straightened his back. The previouslycking demeanour immediately changed.


    Ezra smiled. "Now, where am I going?"


    From their view, his smile was too scary.


    They were cursing inwardly.


    ''Sh*t! Which b*stard said this job was easy?!''

 Chapter 275 To Arcadia!

    ?


    ''Sh*t! Which b*stard said this job was easy?!''


    Coughing, he quickly began speaking.


    "We''re to guard you to Arcadian prison"


    "Oh" Ezra lit up. "Why didn''t you say that at first?"


    ''I guess it''s time''


    *Cough*cough* "I-I didn''t know"


    "Okay" Ezra nodded. "Lead the way"


    "Ye-Yes?"


    "Lead the way"


    After a few seconds of astonishment, the man nodded and turned. "This way"


    With only the braces on him, Ezra followed him without a word, letting his eyes take in the castle.


    It would be thest time he saw it in a long time.


    They walked for a time, before Ezra stopped in front of another cell, one bigger than his own.


    "Hmm?"


    "Give me a few minutes"


    Standing in front of the cell, its inmates came into the light.


    Apparently, Johan, Theron and Ashton were kept in the same cell.


    He would know, because they were standing in front of him, dirty and dusty as well.


    "I''m leaving for the Arcadian prison" he said. "Tell the others. They better not getzy just because they''re in cells"


    "Ah¡­" Theron was stunned. "Sure," he smiled.


    No other words were needed, Ezra nodded.


    "Why is this happening to us?"


    Johan clenched his fist, his face crumpled.


    "We''ve only been training since, yet somehow, we''re in this situation? Why?"


    Ezra stared in the eyes of Johan and Ashton. "I don''t know, and besides, it''d be better if you stopped worrying about things you couldn''t do anything about"


    "Sometimes life y''s tricks on you, this is one of those times"


    ng!


    Johan smashed his fist against the metal cell gate, denting it.


    "What I know is this. Sometimes, no, a lot of times, we find ourselves in situations we can''t control. In those situations, it isn''t the situation you should worry about-but your next action" Ezra said. "Because while you can''t control situations-you always control how to respond to it"


    After a while¡­


    Johan hollered. "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    "That''s for you to find out" Ezra perfunctorily replied, turning away.


    "Hey, hey, hey, give me something concrete, stop talking in parables Dammit!"


    Ezra said, "Take care" and walked away.


    Watching Ezra''s figure disappear, Johan clicked his tongue.


    ''How annoying''


    Walking to the royal hall floor, the Master suddenly heads for a wall and then pressed down, unlocking a secretpartment.


    "Go in"


    Ezra narrowed his eyes. "And you?"


    "I can''t go in"


    Unease came about as Ezra stared at the dark corridor built with ck bricks.


    ''Are they going to kill me?'' he wondered, before shaking his head.


    ''No, if I was to be killed, the Emperor would have done so already''


    ''But then, why is it there?''


    Taking arge breath, Ezra walked in.


    As he realized, his fears were unfounded.


    Entering, he heard the door close behind him, and then the little light within was shut out, plunging him into darkness.


    He could see fine though, and his darkness affinity made it easier for him.


    He walked, and kept walking. After a time, he met a man standing.


    It was Bolton.


    "Please follow me"


    As a master, torches were unneeded to navigate the cave.


    Reaching a point, Bolton stopped, pushed in a brick and subsequently a new room opened up.


    A fairlyrge one from what Ezra could tell.


    Entering, he finds two other people there.


    One of them¡­


    "There you are"


    Elisa, head of the royal academy.


    She stood in shimmering purple clothes, a wooden staff, gloves of ck and blue, brown boots and a long hat to finish the getup.


    "Why are you here?" Ezra inquired.


    "To make sure you don''t die during the transfer" she pointed at the visage sitting at the side. "He called me"


    The Emperor.


    He sat in ck clothes, his arms crossed, looking into space.


    Ezra stared, nodding.


    "So, I''m going to be warped to Arcadia?"


    He didn''t know because his past life informant had been unconscious during the process.


    "Yes" Elisa nodded. "This is how it''s always handled, Arcadian inmates are all highly wanted and coveted" she pointed at him. "If we sent you with a carriage, many wille to take your head or kidnap you, and the Emperor can''t be attending personally attending to an inmate"


    "I understand"


    "Good" she threw him a ck cloak. "Put this on"


    " ...?"


    "Arcadia is quite a distance away-it can''t be done with one warp"


    "Okay. But can''t I clean up first?"


    "No, you''ll do that in Arcadia"


    Ezra was annoyed, but wore the cloak withoutints.


    "Normally, you''d be unconscious during this process, but I decided against it"


    "Why?"


    *Shrug* "I want to talk to you while we go"


    Ezra nodded absentmindedly.


    "Yes" she added. "Bolton will be following as well"


    *Shrug*


    Standing to her right side while Boltony on her left, she blinked rapidly.


    "You''re tall" she said.


    The difference in height wasn''t that noticeable from afar.


    But when he stood beside her¡­


    "You''re really tall!" She eximed, ''Wait, what am I doing?''


    Before coughing to avoid embarrassment, she stomped her staff and the ground lit up, the runes on it Illuminated.


    She turned to the Emperor. "Would you do the honours?"


    The Emperor stomped his feet. Infusing mana into the ground.


    Like so, a warp hole formed, dark green it was, starting as a dot before expanding into a warp holerger than average.


    "Now then, let''s get going"


    Elisa stepped in, then Bolton.


    Ezra turned to meet his father''s gaze, giving a nod and a light smile before entering as well.


    The next moment, he found himself in a darkpartment.


    Bolton stood, rather, sat to his side, panting, while Elisa watched him.


    Stepping out, they let the warp hole recede, resetting thest destination.


    "The Emperor''s help let us cover a lot of distance in one go" Elisa spoke. "Unfortunately, while space magic has less on me as a space mage, and you with you have Grandmaster constitution, Mr. One eye here was affected quite a bit"


    "Don''t call me that," said Bolton. "I''m fine, give me a few minutes"


    After a few minutes, Bolton was good to go.


    Then Elisa opened the warp hole, this time to another ce.


    "We have to be quick, I''m no Grandmaster, so my mana reserves aren''t as robust"


    Nodded, Ezra and Bolton went through in haste.


    Ending up in anotherpartment, Elisa arrived soon after.


    Without closing the warp hole recede, she changed the location-a perk for space mages-and had them go through.


    They repeated this four times, beforeing to a halt. Elisa needed rest.


    Without going out thepartment, Elisa took out food from her space ring to eat and gave Ezra some.


    Bolton packed his own lunch.


    Taking a bite of bread, she spoke.


    "So, how did you a Grandmaster would arrive"


    ''As expected''


    He expected this question.


    "I could feel whenever my life was in danger" he said.


    Elisa raised "Could?"


    "It stopped after my meridians were broken"


    "Oh" she nodded.


    No it didn''t, but he staved off further questions in advance by saying such.


    He wasn''t going to give them any hints on theing apocalypse, you never know what kind of changes would take ce.


    For him, except it was to his advantage, Ezra rather have the future as close to that of hisst life as possible.


    More importantly, he didn''t want anyone stopping the apocalypse-he needed to happen so he could recover his strength.


    "At the time, I was at Master rank. So, I concluded the attacker to be a Grandmaster, and then you arrived"


    "So¡­" she was dumbfounded. "...It was just a hunch?"


    "You could say that" Ezra nodded. Changing the subject, "By the way, how''s Valentine?"


    "I don''t know" she muttered.


    "Huh?"


    "I don''t know" Elisa spoke loudly, reminiscing. "She suddenly went into indoor cultivation without a word, and hasn''te out since"


    She red at him. "What did you do to my daughter?"


    Ezra coughed. Sweat rolling down his cheeks.


    ''Maybe I shouldn''t have asked''


    Quickly, he changed the subject once more.


    "By the way, why do we alwaysnd in a dark ce?"


    "I built small huts around my fixed warp holes. This is one of those ces"


    Ezra nodded. The one in Gattitse was in a small hut as well.


    After a hearty sleep, the journey continued, for two more days and twelve more warps.


    And then, they arrived at a ce.


    Usually, it was sunny and bright contrasting their routine of darkness and gloom.


    In the ce of decorum was the sound of leaves falling, winds howling and birds chirping.


    "Where are we?" Ezra inquired.


    "The location I was told to arrive at. We''re waiting for someone else" Elisa replied.


    After half an hour, a warp hole opened, this one blue, and then a person walked in a grey cloak, radiating pressure.


    With hair to match the cloak, shimmering gold rings on each finger, blue eyes and jeans with a sword strapped on, he looked stylish, if nothing else.


    He bowed. "Pardon myteness, I was eating"


    Ezra was surprised. ''He''s a space mage?''


    Ezra was expecting an old man with a skinny body on the short side dressed in bby mage robes and a pointed hat with a short staff.


    Though he was short, the other things were off mark.


    The most intriguing was¡­''He'' Young''


    The boy in front of him couldn''t be older than twenty six.


    Then¡­


    ''That ent, he''s not a Nitonian''


    Ezra wasn''t sure but he felt his suspicions were close.


    The boy noticed him as well. Stepping towards him. "You must be Ezra. I''m Maximus"


    Ezra nodded. "Good to know"


    "I''ll be taking you to Arcadia"


    ''Unlike what we''re told, I don''t think Arcadia is in Niton''


    He''d first thought they were warping to confuse him about the destination.


    But it might very well be¡­


    ''That I''m on another continent!''

 Chapter 276 Arcadia

    ?


    He''d first thought they were continuously warping to confuse him about the destination.


    But a look around had him squinting his eyes.


    ''This ce¡­it''s familiar''


    Rubbing his head, Ezra scanned the surroundings over and over¡­


    ''Vonnamor?''


    His eyes widened, shock evident.


    ''I''m on another continent?''


    Never before did he think Niton''s worst prison wasn''t even in Niton.


    But considering the amount of warp holes they crossed, it made sense.


    Ezra pped his head.


    ''Of course!''


    How did I not ur to him? He met the Arcadian escapee while in Vonnamor.


    At the time, the prison was destroyed, so the escapee didn''t think anything of not telling him the prison''s location.


    Nevertheless, Ezra''s smile widened.


    ''I never thought I''de here so early''


    His ns were to be modified once more.


    At this time, Maximus was done speaking with Elisa.


    "Okay, thank you for bringing him here, I''ll be taking him"


    Elisa nodded, meeting Ezra''s eyes as Maximus opened a warp hole for himself, Ezra and Bolton, one bigger than usual.


    Stepping in, he finds himself in the dark, but the ce was wide and the ground was held with metal rather than wood.


    Aligned from side to side in front of him were people with ck clothes and masks.


    Maximus and Bolton appeared right after.


    Then, a man packed with muscles in an armless clothes came forth, maskless he was, pushing down his sses to peek better at Ezra''s figure.


    "You must be Ezra" the manmented.


    From the escapee in his past life, he knew of the man in front of him.


    Head of Arcadian ward, said to be a Great Master.


    "Yes" he says. Feigning ignorance "Who are you?"


    "Arcadia''s head ward"


    Ezra nods. Looking around as it sees through the walls. ''Where is this?''


    The head ward waved nonchntly. "Don''t bother trying to see through it"


    Ezra turned to him without a change in expression.


    "This ce with top of the art equipment, like those braces"


    "Oh" Ezrs raised a brow. "You know what they are?"


    The head ward nodded, while assessing Ezra.


    ''Usually they''d be terrified¡­But he doesn''t even seem surprised'' The ward looked him over again ''Also, how can a Thirteen year old look like this?''


    The dude was too tall, the head ward at his 6''1 height couldn''t helpparing them even more.


    Envy welled up within. ''How annoying''


    "Bolton" Ezra called.


    "Yes"


    He raised his arm. "These braces, what was its original purpose?"


    "To catch demons"


    "I see"


    Now he understood why he felt so restricted.


    As far as he knew, there weren''t any items capable of holding down grandmasters till the apocalypse.


    Then again, in his state, he barely qualified as one.


    "Thank you" the head ward said to Maximus and Bolton. "We''ll be taking it from here"


    Maximus opened a warp hole.


    Nodding, Bolton and Ezra''s eyes met onest time before Bolton stepped through the warp hole.


    Ezra''s gaze roamed Bolton''s former position for a few seconds before turning to the head ward.


    The head ward pped. "Let me properly wee you to your new home"


    Ezra nodded slowly, the personnel aligned in front of him were all masters.


    ''They put a lot of effort into this''


    Ezra was beginning to understand why no prisoner had ever escaped.


    "Please follow me"


    With slow steps, they went through a door.


    Beyond it, a whole new structure was revealed.


    Cells lined up one after another, the building was into a wall.


    Ezra was amazed.


    ''It''s just like he said''


    The escapee had informed him on how the insides looked.


    ''Still, seeing and believing are two different things huh?''


    It was coloured all ck, and guards at both sides of each cell.


    "I''ll kill you!"


    "Help me!"


    "Let me out, please!"


    "I want to see the sun again!"


    "Monkey mask over here! Oh wait, that''s all of you! Hahaha"


    Several weird noises formed a cacophony of craze.


    "Hehehe, what have we here?...A neer?!"


    The noises died down immediately.


    And then¡­


    "Ehh??? It Is a neer!"


    All hell broke loose.


    "We have a new youngest!"


    They began pushing their hands out their cells, prompting the guards into action, smashing the hands with ck metal batons.


    But that didn''t stop the craze.


    "Woah! Be my roommate!"


    "No! Mine!


    "Waaah! And he''s handsome too"


    All the while, Ezra and his escorts didn''t stop walking.


    Moreover, Ezra was observing the prisoners as they passed by.


    The guards and the crazed prisoners on the first floor were weak.


    Expert ranks.


    Looking down from the spiralling staircase built into the wall, Ezra could smell something else.


    ''Demons''


    Apparently, he wasn''t the only one here.


    "Isn''t that the head ward?" Someone observed.


    "Now that you mention it¡­aren''t those the squad leaders?!"


    "All of them?!"


    Naturally, they knew the rtive strength of the guards there, and had since been able to identify them.


    So when the squad leaders-monsters in their own right-and the head ward-a monster amongst monsters-all escorted one person, they couldn''t help but wonder what kind of notoriety would such treatment.


    "I wonder what he did"


    Unfortunately, not everyone was blessed withmon sense.


    As they walked, an arm shot out a cell.


    "Come here!"


    Heading for Ezra.


    *Snatch"


    Ezra grabbed it.


    And then¡­


    Fuiim!


    Red fire trailed from the hand onto the body, engulfing the prisoner.


    His fire attribute was the most enhanced by his demonization.


    "Ah-AHH!"


    The heat permeated the surroundings followed by the shriek, silencing all other noises.


    After a few seconds, the shrieking ceased, and Ezra let go of the charred arm.


    Falling, it shattered on contact with the ground.


    Without a word, Ezra kept walking.


    Thecking demeanour of his escorts had straightened, their gaze now sharp.


    ''Good'' he nodded within.


    A few secondster¡­


    "I told him! That crazy long arms finally did it!"


    The prisoners became rowdy again, but Ezra had descended to the lower floors.


    The first floor had the weakest members and the most cells, after those, the number of cells reduced as did the rowdiness.


    Now, hissing, slithering and metal scraping sounds echoed amidst the semi silent environment as Ezra walked.


    Inmates asionally peeking from the darkness of their cells.


    These ones were masters, and the guards were of equal strength.


    After that they descended onto a third floor, thest floor as Ezra observed.


    Here, an eerie silencey, their steps echoed as a result. It would shock many that living beingsy on this floor.


    But they were, and their presences were far more enormous than all those before.


    It would be difficult for Ezra to beat such people with his shattered meridians without sacrificing something in return.


    A floor with only five cells, four stationed at the edges, equally far from each other, and more importantly, there were no guards.


    The fifth oney at the middle of this floor, held out with a thick chain from above and four bridges connected from each corner.


    "Let me guess" Ezra said. Looking at the fifth one. "That''s my cell"


    "Indeed" the head ward nodded. "We built it especially for you"


    Then¡­


    "Hmm"


    A thick tone arose from a cell.


    The cells of the third floor didn''t have open metal gates, ratherpletely closed with enough space for the inmate to see through.


    Red eyes peeked from this one.


    "I thought I was mistaken" it said. "But to think another one of my kind would be brought here"


    "Ezra"


    "Tell me, how are things in the outside world?"


    Ezra yed along. "A lot things has happened since you left, but we still stand strong and feared by the humans"


    "Hmm" the eye closed, and then opened. "I see" it said, before receding into the darkness.


    He lied through his teeth, though his tone was convincing enough for the demon and his guards, whose handsy on their weapons.


    After all, those in here hadn''t seen sunlight since they arrived, there''s nowhere the demon would tell if he was lying.


    After that, Ezra''s led to his cell.


    Encased in metal walls was a single bed, a ce to clean up and nothing else.


    Stepping inside, Ezra found his abilities restricted even more.


    The wards stayed at the front of his cell, watching as he sat on the ground with a lotus posture.


    "We''lle tomorrow for the first sampling" the head ward said sinctly, and then left.


    The doors sped shut and Ezra found himself in darkness once again.


    The echoing steps of the wards soon disappeared, eerie silence recing it.


    ''So, I''m here''


    If nothing else, he knew breaking out this ce would not be easy.


    The squad leaders would give him a tough, but he could get out of their grasp, with the head ward added in though, things were different.


    Of course,ing here, he never expected to leave early.


    At least a year would pass before the apocalypse.


    During that time¡­


    Ezra pulled out the ancient space ring from under his tongue, his eyes glowing.


    ''I''ll be preparing''


    He wore the ring, putting his hand to his mouth before letting out a mana stone.


    His eyes lit up.


    ''It works''


    The mana stone in his mouth confirmed it.


    The restrictive runes on the cell could not inhibit the ring''s function.


    ''Wonderful''

 Chapter 277 Valentine

    ?


    Giants they seemed, looking at her from above.


    Always were there gazes full of hate, disdain and disgust.


    Of what she had done, she didn''t know-she was never told.


    And it was so from birth.


    But on this day, it reached the tipping point.


    Aligned in front her mother, with their purple clothes shimmering as their essories glittered.


    Amongst them were those giggling at her from behind their mother''s clothes, happy at her misfortune and making no effort to keep it hidden.


    The announcement that blew it all up then began.


    "Under the discretion of the house guardians, from this day forth, you are stripped of the name Henderson. The family sever all ties with you!"


    Though, delivered in a soft tone, in the ears of child Valentine, it was louder than thunder.


    She immediately became weaker, falling on her back.


    __________


    "No!" Valentine barked, snapping awake.


    A look around restores her to reality.


    All she had seen was a dream, or rather, a nightmare.


    ''This dream again''


    A nightmare recurring daily.


    A touch of her forehead reveals its high temperature. "My head"


    Standing up, she avoided hitting her de sheathed at the side of her bed.


    Into the washroom she washes her face, weary it was with heavy eyelids.


    She sighs. ''This isn''t funny''


    Her encounter with Ezra had awoken hidden memories, bad ones. Now, they didn''t want to go back into hiding.


    No matter what she tried, she was unable to put the memories at the back of her mind.


    They were adamant about being at the forefront.


    With her mother already heavily burdened, she didn''t want to add to it and so, she kept to herself.


    After a week of unsessful testing, she decided to go into indoor training to find a solution and most importantly, grow stronger.


    But¡­


    *Bam*


    She punched the wall.


    ''I haven''t been able to train a single time since I got here!''


    So far she''d been unable to do that either.


    Simply unsheathing her de would have her bad memories automatically begin shbacks, forcing her to hurriedly sheath the de.


    She sat on her bed, holding her head in frustration.


    ''Why is this happening?''


    Her eyes became teary, once again, she was thrusted into her hidden memories.


    _________


    In a butter coloured room, child Valentine walks in to see her mother reading a book with a red cover, hefty it was, with pages stacked.


    Child Valentine, in her yellow gown, had her eyes spilling water as she pulled her mother''s dress.


    "Mom, why does everyone hate me?"


    Her mother looked away from the book to her, cing Valentine on herp.


    Elisa tapped Valentine''s nose. "Everyone doesn''t hate you-I love you"


    "I know," Valentine replied. "But why do all the others hate me?"


    Her mother paused for a long time.


    "Is it because I don''t have a father?"


    Elisa was shocked. "Sweetie don''t ever say that! Of course you have a father"


    "But where is he? Why won''t he see me? Doesn''t he know I miss him?"


    "Of course he does¡­but he can''t see you right now"


    "Why?"


    The mother paused again. Saying,"I promise to tell you-


    -when I''m older"


    Valentine repeated after her, ring at her mother as she jumped off herp.


    "That''s what you always say!" She said, running to the door. "Tell me something else!"


    mming it shut as she runs away, tears spilling all the way.


    _________


    Born in 1698, Valentine was ushered into a family of nobles.


    The Hendersons.


    But what should have been a dream was a nightmare.


    After the first years of friendliness with her siblings, she was suddenly branded an outcast, used, betrayed and then exempt by all her peers, friendless.


    Relegated to being used as a bag for insults for years.


    How would one ever know she was the oldest amongst them?


    And it didn''t stop there. No, Lest her mother, the adults treated the same, in some ways even worse.


    Their gazes were always leaking scorn and disdain.


    Her mother did well to protect, but a mother can only do so much.


    Anything and everything she did was criticized, she could never get it right.


    The way she walked was wrong.


    The way she smiled was wrong.


    The way she stared was wrong.


    She was forever inferior, disgusting and inadequate.


    Under such circumstances, her face of jolly quickly became hollow, mirroring her dead spirit.


    Her self-esteem had evaporated.


    At the same time, her brain aged faster, bringing forth umon maturity from a young age.


    Insults became like water, sprinkled on her at any given time, and Valentine learnt to treat it as such.d


    Essentially, as she would realize, her existence in itself was a source of irritation to these so called ''family members''


    Once this was clear, she simply stopped trying.


    Then, it finally happened.


    On a day like any other, they were exiled!


    Valentine was dreadful, fainting in the face of such horrible news.


    But looking at it now, that was the best thing that ever happened to her.


    From there, she found herself living in the royal academy, where her mother had begun working.


    It would be so for the years toe.


    Everyday became great days as the sun always seemed to shine brighter.


    With knowledge at her disposal, Valentine dug in, staying away from other people.


    The word ''friend'' became a sphemous statement to her, for obvious reasons.ssss


    Sheter understood from her mother what had actually transpired leading to their exile.


    To save her daughter from total mental breakdown, Elisa had made preparations to leave.


    In the advent of this, they were quick to exile them to save themselves shame.


    Even that was thanks to her mother''s being a space mage, else they might have not been allowed to leave.


    But it was more than that.


    The heir to the Handerson family, Nelsen Handerson was her father.


    Unfortunately, just after getting her mother pregnant, he died of poison.


    So the whole family had been riding on the result of Elisa''s birth.


    They all wished for a boy who would directly stand as heir.


    Instead, Valentine was born, and that sowed hatred in their hearts.


    So every time they saw her, they were reminded of their inability to get a boy.


    With her questions answered, her heart was at peace, Valentine could now move forward in her life.


    With a little nudging from her mother, she began to interact with students, trying to understand them, who were by all means, vastly different from her.


    As she learned things, her psyche began to change.


    As it did, a second personality was created, one ced on the surface.


    Unwilling to experience her dark memories again, she swore to grow in strength.


    Her mother adviced her to be a knight-as that was her father''s path.


    Then, to ovee her fear of friends, surrounding herself with admirers helped, and then came the joy of owning attention.


    And as she would find, attention was easy to get when one was strong.


    The stronger she got, the less she could be ignored.


    For someone ignored through most of her childhood, the attention and praise was intoxicating, to say the least.


    The boys simply loved her.


    As did most of the girls.


    Inadvertently, getting attention became a way for her to evaluate herself.


    Which was why she fought Ezra, because he was taking away all the attention.


    After taking a beating though, she calmed.


    Then, something else happened.


    For the whatever reason, Valentine found herself admiring someone else for the first time in her life


    A very weird feeling¡­but, as she would realize, wasn''t too bad.


    Her curiosity was sparked.


    She sought to know more about this person who was able to evoke feelings from her.


    Apparently, her mother had the same idea.


    So she joined Ezra''s team.


    Unfortunately, because Ezra didn''t spar with girls, she didn''t get to see her often.


    But she found out about him from siblings, who were more amodating than she was expecting.


    For one, his life seemed simr to hers in a few ways.


    Then, from the stories heard, he seemed more obsessed with strength than she thought she could ever be.


    ''Why though?'' she wondered.


    He''d never seem to notice her, at least, not like others did, his gaze onlysted a few seconds.


    A bruise to her ego that one.


    But it helped that he didn''t seem to notice other girls either¡­


    ¡­Or maybe not? Could it be something else?


    She needed to be sure, but she could never see through him.


    Those ck eyes of his always looked to suck her in, like an ocean, too much was hidden within.


    Heeding her mother''s advice, her first objective was to get him to notice her while observing him.


    Easier said than done.


    For one, he seemed interested in nothing other than strength.


    So her thoughts were, ''If I''m strong enough, he''ll naturally notice me''


    Since (she thought) Ezra was in Expert rank, it didn''t seem too hard to get to his level.


    Couldn''t have been more wrong.


    Getting serious with Roxanne and Velora in their spars, she was shocked to find them above her.


    Heck, they were on par with Umeron, the former number one.


    Worse, when Roxanne said the boys were either stronger or equal with her in strength, her heart almost jumped out!


    She thought Ezra was the only monster.


    ''I was mistaken''


    ''They''re all monsters!''


    Again her worldview shattered, reforming once more.


    It took her a while to set her sights straight, but she did.


    The objective then changed from defeating Ezra, to defeating his vassals to reach his level.


    Again, easier said than done.


    Though, she improved in leaps and bounds.


    Then, the beast tide hits and the sudden call to war disrupted things.


    Ezra''s effect on the battlefield was so strong it sidelined everyone else.


    Valentine didn''t try topete.


    Suicide was not the goal.


    Then she saw him escape somewhere.


    It''d be the first time he''d be alone, so she followed him, unwilling to miss the opportunity.


    s, what she met was not in her expectations.


    Standing in his way was a sure-fire way to catch his attention, and it did.


    Unfortunately, he wasn''t in a good mood and she almost had herself beheaded.


    She could remember it vividly.


    The fear of death gripped her senses like a beast''s jaw.


    Her brain froze when she looked into his eyes.


    In that moment, it bore onto her figure as if to devour.


    Whatever he had been looking for, goodness wasn''t his intention.


    Remembering it still sent shivers down her spine.


    The intensity of it was so great she instinctively used the pendant-an artifact given by her mother in times of endangerment.


    Thinking about it now¡­


    ''That''s when it started''


    The moment they locked eyes, her dark memories awakened.


    And they''d refuse to go back into dormancy ever since.


    During the day after, she lost every emotion.


    No appetite to do or eat anything.


    Though, under her mother''s constantints, she reluctantly took two spoons of food.


    Throughout, her thoughts wounded on the issue of death.


    With it as the ultimate truth, and no emotion around to sway her perspective, many things became clear.


    ''What role would all the amassed attention amount to once I die?''


    ''Nothing''


    ''Why exactly do I want to be strong so much?''


    ''Because I don''t want to be treated like ''that'' again''


    ''But is that all there is to it?''


    ''No'' She shook her head.


    ''Deep inside, I still want prove them wrong for exiling me and my mother and¡­I want to gain their approval''


    ''How does this help me?''


    ''It does not''


    ''Is being strong even worth it?''


    ''Yes, I can spend more time with mother that way and stop being a burden''


    ''Then, how strong should I aim for?''


    ''...As strong as possible''


    ''What exactly am I doing with my life?''


    ''Too many needless things''


    ''That needs to change''


    ''Where do I wish to end up?''


    ''...I have no answer for that¡­yet''


    ''Why did I¡­


    For the whole day, she screened her existence like such.


    Her brain aged even higher as a result.


    It took three days for her emotions to set back in.


    By then, a lot of things had changed.


    Valentine was a whole other person.


    For one, she told her mother she wasn''t attending the academy anymore.


    Spending her time-parts of life-to impress others was beyond stupid.


    That phase had passed.


    Instead, her priority was to reach master rank. At that point, she''d be able to offload her burdens off the shoulders of her mother.


    The earlier the better.


    As for the matter of wedding Ezra, surprisingly, she was still undecided.


    She leaned into not doing so, but she''d ask her mother before making a final decision.


    Every time her dark memories surfaced, so would his face, specifically, the beast like re that prompted her transformation.


    While thankful that their encounter helped her mature, it was irritating to have him in her head.


    If nothing else, her top objective was to repay her mother''s favour-something she hadn''t properly understood before.


    But¡­


    _______


    "Ugh!"


    She was unable to even begin training, because no matter how much she convinced herself, those dark memories contained a sleeping fear.


    One great enough to keep her from taking action.


    It''s been five weeks since she came indoors for training.


    Yet had nothing to show for it lest shaking hands and dark circles underneath her eyes.


    __________


    A lot of time was wasted trying to bypass the fear or simply shut it out.


    With that being unsessful, it became clear.


    ''To advance in strength, or in anything at this rate, I need to face this, face it and win''


    She couldn''t fake it nor bypass it-she had to face it!


    Garbed in white armour with her hair tied to a point, she straps on her katana.


    To defeat it, she thought it was best to take it from its root cause.


    ''I have to go and see him''


    It was time to pay Ezra a visit.

 Chapter 278 Enemy Plans

    Chapter 278 Enemy ns


    In a dark cave, eleven figures stood in a circle, an air of mncholy and sadness permeated the atmosphere.


    Silence reigned supreme as each person let thetest news sink in.


    Akranos, Surramir, Raaz, and the leader were dead, killed in battle.


    "How is this possible?!" Golzan was furious. "Leader was a Grandmaster. How could a Master defeat him?!"


    Jagamar faced him, wounds from the battle with Theron had healed. "So, we''re lying?"


    Golzan stared, before falling to his knees. "Damn!"


    He smashed his fist into the ground.


    "Damn!"


    About to do it again, but Jagamar stops him.


    "Stop. Are you trying to expose us?"


    Golzan''s arms bulged, but he didn''t force it.


    Instead he stared into Jagamar''s eyes, holding him by the cor.


    "Why didn''t you help him?! If you did, he might still be here"


    Jagamar didn''t utter a word.


    A vine shed at Golzan''s hand.


    Dodging it, Golzan grinded his teeth. "Naberus"


    "Why didn''t you intervene in a battle of Grandmasters? Are you serious?"


    "I am, how dare-


    "That''s enough!" Maldaga shouted, bringing the confrontation to a halt. "None of this is going to bring the leader back" she says, clearing out her tears.


    She had lost an arm, cutting it down herself to stop the spread of Ezra''s poison.


    Silence reigns once again.


    Goceron speaks, his toneced with sadness. "It''s as Maldaga says. Leader won''t being back regardless of how much we fight. Besides, we all knew this could happen"


    Each person stole nces at another.


    Even if the possibility existed, they''d never lost four members all at once.


    It was a massive blow to their strength, to say the least.


    "So, what do we do now?"


    Crea voice took center stage. "While the leader may have gone, the mission stays the same, and we must make sure we seed. That is the only way to honour leader and our fallen brothers, their deaths cannot be in vain"


    That woke up the fighting spirit of others.


    "Right, we must avenge leader"


    Infaas spoke. "The one who killed leader is still alive"


    Everyone froze.


    "How do you know that?" Golzan faced him.


    "I have my sources"


    "Where is he?!" Golzan flew into rage. "I must make sure of his death!"


    "Calm down" said Infaas, his tone calm. "That won''t be needed. His meridians have been shattered and his core destroyed. Moreover, he''s in Arcadia"


    "What?" Golzan was confused.


    "Apparently, he became a demon after eating leader''s heart"


    "Damn this!" Golzan shouted, turning to Jagamar. "Why didn''t stay and make sure he died?!"


    Wiping away the saliva sttered on him, he responds. Reminiscing. "We''ll have all died if we did"


    Battling the siblings took tolls on them.


    But they would''ve gone to retrieve the leader''s body if it was only that.


    Instead, Ziltris sent them a message through their psychic connection.


    "Run! Run now!"


    Having felt the iing presence of Grandmasters, he mustered the little energy left to send that message.


    Thereafter, Ziltris died.


    The urgency in his voicepelled them to obey.


    He thought to himself. ''We were too weak to be of any help''


    They couldn''t even recover his body.


    With that over, this time Numer spoke.


    "We finished setting up the gate, now, we just have to wait for enough sacrifices to fill it up"


    "We can''t do that," Goceron interjected. "We''ve been revealed to the whole world, do you think they''re going to wait around while weplete our objectives?"


    "What do you mean?" Crea inquired, the rest listening to the conversation.


    "I''m saying we are about toe under heavy fire"


    "And so?" Golzan didn''t get it.


    "The n has to be sped up," Crea responded.


    Goceron nodded.


    destroy us all at once"


    "So¡­" Jagamar was beginning to pick up. "¡­their attack might "I don''t understand" said Jagamar and Golzan at the same time.


    After a heavy sigh, Goceron exins.


    "As we have been exposed, the world now has its eyes on us" they nod, he continues. "We''ve killed too many for them to ignore, so we can be attacked at any moment"


    "Now, if I were the enemy, I would be preparing a n of attack. After all, they know very little of what we''re capable of. In consequence though, their attack would be one concentrated to destroy us all at once"


    "So¡­" Jagamar was beginning to pick up. "¡­their attack might destroy the n?"


    "Not might" Goceron replied. "Will"


    "How can you be so sure?" Golzan retorted.


    Goceron chuckled. "Individually, we''re plenty strong. Against thebined might of three continents though, we be lucky to die with our limbs attached"


    "Then" Crea came in. "We have to finalize the n before they attack?"


    "Not exactly" Goceron nodded. "We have to finalize the n before theirbined attack"


    "Raixeros, Ledemor, Russell, Covaria Vorus, and now Quartez are our allies. I expect all of them toe under fire within the next two months at thetest. With Niton''s present condition, another war would simply not do. So, they''ll likely outsource. And in doing so, many independent forces, neers and old enemies wille to take a bite of the cake"


    Inimeel spoke. "What about the Grandmasters? Will they not turn on us?"


    "They won''t" Goceron shook his head ever so slowly. "Not if they''re smart"


    "We promised them a pathway to the next realm of power, and we''ll be doing just that by finalizing the n"


    "Moreover, they''ve been branded demonic allies. There is noing back from that, even if they seek to surrender" A evil grin formed. "No, I hope some of them do, or at least try to"


    Volbrin spoke "He''s right, I know humans. They''d rather die and believe demons or anything rted to them could do anything good, and that will work perfectly into what he''s envisioning"


    "Thank you" Goceron smiled. "As such, their best option would be to simply aid us to the end. Their fate was sealed the moment we joined hands"


    "Okay" Crea nodded. "What about the n? How do we speed it up?"


    "Simple" Numer interjected. "We''ll make another seal and ce it in thetter half of this continent."


    Crea frowned. "It took years to make one and nine months to ce it, we don''t have such time. Except¡­Goceron, did you perhaps make another?"


    "Unfortunately, I didn''t" Goceron answered. "The items used aren''tmonce"


    "What do we do then?"


    Goceron coughed. "That said, I have a few additions" he raised his palm to stop from interrupting. "It''s not enough to make another "Howrge?" Crea inquired.


    "Hard to say"


    set, but, ced strategically-we can widen the seal to epass a farrger area"


    "Howrge?" Crea inquired.


    "Hard to say"


    "And if we could get a bit more?"


    Goceron stared with a questioning gaze.


    "Hmm, the whole continent isn''t impossible. Only, the rate of collection would be slower"


    Crea nodded. "This seems best"


    "But how do you hope to get more materials?"


    Crea simply stared into the cave, at the deepest part, where the leader stood.


    Goceron followed her gaze. "That''s too risky, you might die"


    "I know, but if we are to seed, we need ''their'' help"


    The others gulped nervously.


    Crea walks into the door.


    Only the leader couldmunicate with the other side, an emissary. With him gone, someone else would have to do it.


    That said, if whoever she met wasn''t in a good mood, she could be killed with the snap of a finger.


    In any case, once entered she couldn''te out except as the new emissary or as a corpse.


    At least, that''s what the leader had told them.


    Apart from that¡­


    ''If I seed, I''ll be the leader''


    The leader death brought about a vacant position.


    While the others were still fearful, she decided to take her chances.


    Being the next leader was too good to pass up.


    Moreover, if they were to seed the n, she''d be in a perfect position to reap the best benefits.


    In both short term and long term, the gains outweighed the risks.


    Of course, she wasn''t the only one to have thought this but the chances of being killed were too high, so others waited for someone to go ahead first.


    Pushing the nicely carved red door, Crea stepped into the room.


    A sigily carved into the ground with ck ink.


    In front of it was a small pool of what is revealed to be blood, one of very high quality.


    Crea felt euphoric sniffing it.


    Demons drank blood and ate humans.


    To Half-demons who could still eat normal food, it was the best of delicacies.


    A piry at its middle holding a tiny red crystal half glistening.


    ''How beautiful''


    She longed to touch it, stepping right into the sigil.


    *Creak*


    The door closed. The sigil lit up right after, and the ground seemed to face, projecting the image of and scorched and battered.


    ''The other side''


    Then, the image twisted, opening to a demon''s visage.


    Sitting on a ck throne, it stared into her eyes.


    "Seradim mutim?"


    He wasn''t speaking anguage she knew, but she understood.


    ''Calm down, calm down, calm down''


    After a nervous gulp, she raised her head to maintain eye contact.


    She couldn''t help but fall on her knees, breathing heavily while her pale expression and the shaking hands told of her dread.


    Thereafter, it asked again.


    "Seradin mutim?"


    (Who are you?)

 Chapter 279 Plan of Action

    Chapter 279 n of Action


    "What?"


    Elisa wiped her hair. "You can''t see him"


    "¡­?" Valentine was confused. "Didn''t you say he''d be my husband?"


    Sigh¡­ "Unfortunately, that''s no longer possible"


    "What do you mean?"


    "Come sit, my child. A lot has happened in the past few weeks"


    Sitting ever slowly, Valentine kept rapt attention to Elisa''s words.


    Having left in the middle of the Beast tide, Elisa narrated from there.


    "A day after you left Gattiste, demons attacked, very strong ones. They¡­


    From the initial attack to Ezra''s escape using ''her'' warp hole-which she didn''t forget to emphasize-her contributions of calling the Emperor, Ezra''s legendary battle, and then his subsequent misfortune.


    Out of everything said, one thing stuck to her most.


    "Ezra¡­is a grandmaster?"


    "Apparently so, he awakened his potential during battle-or at least that''s what he told me" she sipped hot tea.


    "I went back to the scene of battle. It was devasted" she continued. "The few people able to witness the battle from afar without dying spread word, and now they''re calling Ezra the Silver Demon"


    "Silver Demon¡­" Valentine bit her lips. Reminiscing.


    ''Last time I saw him, I suspected that he was a Master, but¡­a grandmaster?''


    It was beyond her imagination.


    Her brain throbbed as her worldview was once again shattered, her heart pounded loudly.


    ''He''s a grandmaster already''


    ''Can I still catch up?''


    ''Is that even possible?''


    Despair threatened to fill her heart.


    But¡­


    ''No, no, no'' she shook her head vigorously, clearing her head.


    ''My goal was never to catch up to him. But to get as strong as fast as possible''


    She nodded, steeling herself.


    "I still need to see him"


    Elisa raised a brow. "Did you hear all I said? He''s now in Arcadia-you can''t see him"


    "Yes. I can" Valentine pointed. "You have to take me there"


    Elisa ced her cup down. "Valentine, don''t tell me you''re smitten with that demon, are you?"


    "What? No! Of course not!"


    Elisa touched her chest, sighing heavily. Before ring. "Then why do you want to see him so much?"


    "It''s like this¡­


    Valentine exined her situation.


    "Hmm, this is¡­tricky. Are you sure seeing him would cure you of those nightmares?"


    "No, but it would help"


    Scratching her hair, Elisa speaks. "I might not be able to-


    Valentine lungs, sping her mother''s hand. "Please?"


    After a fit of fake coughs, Elisa rubs, staring in her daughters pleasing eyes.


    ''How can I say no to that?''


    After an intense stare down, Elisa sighs. "Fine, fine, I''ll take you there"


    Valentine beamed, catching her mom off guard with a hug. "Thank you!"


    Elisa shook her head, experated, but the smile on her lips didn''t fade.


    "Actually, I was already scheduled to go to Arcadia today, so bringing you along should be simple enough, pack two days worth of clothing"


    Valentine beamed. Hurriedly leaving


    ___________


    Seven figures sat at a round table made of diamond wood.


    "I believe we should eradicate them as quickly as possible!"


    Here were Mervida, Jebas, Getrahan, Raven, Deneris, Fredrick and the Emperor.


    While Grandmasters were dubbed the most prestigious ss as to their strength, what you had here was everything short of prestigious.


    "We can''t do that" Fredrick replied.


    This meeting was to present a uniform decision onto what action should be taken against the demon worshippers.


    A variety of opinions flodded the table.


    Each person with their own ideas, ovepping and overwriting each other.


    But when all ideas were categorised, it split into three main groups.


    First, to attack as swiftly as possible, disregarding consequences to strike down the demon worshippers.


    Second, wait for aid from their allies to bolster their strength and thenunch abined attack to wipe out the demon worshippers and all their affiliates.


    Third, avoid confrontation for the short term and instead recover strength.


    With voices flying around as the others bickered, the Emperor contemted, smothering his beard, before raising his hand.


    The voices died down.


    Regardless of rank, the Emperor was to be orded respect.


    "I havee to a conclusion on the matter"


    Beyond that, Niton was the Emperor''s domain, his word was final-though they could choose not to follow it.


    "One" he raised his index finger. "We will not be attacking aggressively in the near future"


    The few supporting the idea were dismayed, but made noment.


    He continued. "Or rather, we cannot afford to. We have fought two wars consecutively, and either against humans or beasts, we triumphed" He paused. "The great war filled the Empire''s coffers and the beast tide offered up massive material for growth"


    "But the manpower used to gain these riches have not been replenished! Niton is overrun with women because too many men have been killed. The Empire will be in jeopardy if this continues" he leans into his seat, giving them three breaths of time to digest his words.


    "We have gained more than enough from the past wars, now, we need to digest them before thinking of plunging ourselves into another war" The Emperor''s gaze pervaded them. "Are we clear?"


    Others nodded. Fredrick spoke. "How long shall that be?"


    "Less than a decade"


    Fredrick nodded, the answer was vague, but that simply meant that was just how much the Emperor could gauge it.


    "We need better warriors now more than ever" the Emperor intoned. "So, I''m putting some measures in ce. Outsiders (e.g anyone not Nitonian) beyond adept rank can apply to be integrated into Niton after having passed a resolution test"


    "What?"


    "That is sphemous"


    "You can''t be serious"


    Shock spread to the Grandmasters.


    The Emperor''s tone grew heavy. "I did note here to amuse you"


    Now they were even more shocked.


    The Emperor was basically saying he would turn any outsider deemed worthy into a Nitonian.


    They''d never heard of such a thing.


    It was too absurd, too insane!


    Citizenship was decided the day you were born, it wasn''t an item to be granted at will.


    Apparently the Emperor thought differently.


    Fredrick held his chin. Unlike others, he wasn''t even surprised.


    Ezra gave sketches of a skyscraper before he was ten, very few things could beat that.


    The Emperor continued. "That said, we must not leave the demons undisturbed."


    They nod.


    "I will contact our allies, we will attack them in concentrated small forces until we''re ready to take them to out all at once"


    Fredrick shook his head. "That won''t do much"


    These were five kingdoms. Combined, they matched Niton.


    Small attacks wouldn''t do much.


    The Emperor sped his hands together. Exhaling. "Do you have any suggestions then?"


    Fredrick nodded, "Why don''t we draft warriors from beyond Niton?"


    The Emperor raised a brow. "Is there a problem with our warriors?"


    "You might''ve not noticed, but I have.


    They are tired of war, they''ve been fighting for almost a decade consecutively, these men are fatigued. Pushing them further won''t help us" he locked eyes with the Emperor.


    "Furthermore, most of them have umted enough riches to livefortably for the rest of their lives. With their needs met, why would they want to risk their lives?"


    "Hmm" the Emperor pondered. "Valid points, continue"


    "As you said, they need to digest their gains, a man with a full stomach won''t fight a beast for its meat"


    "I see"


    "Give them wine and women in abundance, then exclude them from the battlefield, this will help the poption problem. We''ll have others do the dying while our warriors dine in leisure"


    The room was silent.


    Even the Emperor had to admit.


    ''This n is ingenious''


    The thought of outsourcing troops wasn''t a popr choice, but Fredrick''s exnations were bringing more possibilities to mind.


    "That said" Fredrick continued. "The hired warriors must be leashed, we can''t have them causing more chaos, and also, we cannot allow them to take all the spoils"


    They nodded vigorously.


    "What do you suggest?"


    Without realizing it, Fredrick had taken reins of the conversation.


    "I suggest using mana contracts, but I''m no expert in these matters, the royal advisor is"


    The Emperor nodded sinctly. Point taken.


    Fredrick''s advice stopped there.


    "Well" Fredrick got up. "I will be taking my leave"


    He wasn''t much interested in helping them, because they were his enemies.


    His advice was only to nudge them into the preferred direction.


    "Wait" the Emperor called out.


    "Hmm?"


    "Fredrick, what do you intend to do now?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "When will your forces join the attacks?"


    "When will they recover from the effects of the previous wars?"


    "Less than 4 years"


    "That''s too long"


    "After eight years of war? I don''t think so"


    The Emperor''s fist tightened, but his face didn''t change in the slightest.


    Infighting at this point wasn''t helping anyone.


    "Fine then"


    With a nod, Fredrick exits, walking away, he reminisces on the current matters.


    In terms of change, ck Jaws were at the forefront.


    Ezra''s foresight had ck Jaws ce measures for the issues the Emperor was just addressing before the end of the great war could even be estimated.


    ck Jaws were far ahead, they had already implemented the Emperor''s ideas.


    As to creating an army, Ezra naturally didn''t limit himself to the edges of Lexon.


    They''d infiltrated the other continents and stolen multiple talents from them in the past years.


    This was one of the hidden purposes ck Jaws built a fleet of ships-to siphon resources from other continents.


    The amount of money in their coffers could buy a lot of things.


    But resources weren''t infinite, and many of their former trade partners refused to sell to them anymore, citing scarcity as the cause-even though it hadn''t stopped them before.


    It was an excuse to stop them from growing out of control, though that already happened¡­


    So, ck Jaws had to seek resources for advancement from elsewhere.


    Funny enough, foreign powers were also wary of them, refusing trade with them at first nce.


    Though not all of them.


    It wasn''t surprising, the sailors had already received orders on what to do.


    With them unable to prove ck Jaws involvement in the matter, no action could be taken against them.


    Those who rejected him weren''t given a second nce and they simply headed to the next person.


    The names of those who rejected were jotted down. One must know his enemies to outsmart them.


    If that wasn''t enough, their ships were being visited by pirates soon after, a few were sunk.


    Pulling a trick of their own, ck Jaws turned to bandits and dark guilds, using them as figureheads to loot these selfish powers.


    With them unable to prove ck Jaws involvement in the matter, no action could be taken against them.


    In this process, skilled prisoners left to rot were discovered and then recruited.


    For the talent siphoning operation, the members entered with different names at different times in small groups to avoid attention, maintaining a low rate of activity.


    The aim was to be low-key, maintaining an almost invisible presence while scouting out talents.


    Moreover, all the members of the scouting groups were of Expert or lower ranks.


    Few masters were deployed as leaders, those with special scouting capabilities.


    Rather crowded cities, they concentrated their energy on travelling.


    Their popr destinations being sparse viges and towns, ces where anyone worth salt to their name wouldn''t go.


    One would be surprised what you''d find in these ces.


    Ezra knew this because a lot of warriors who rose in the time of the apocalypse came from sparse ces, their existence previously unknown.


    Over the years, this strategy saved them a lot of energy, money and time whileting them extraordinary individuals, many of whomy hidden from the world-Ezra''s orders.


    Of course, the crowded cities weren''t spared either, but the scouting wasn''t aggressive.


    They only tookmoners, taking away someone who would be missed would lead to unforeseeable consequences.


    Being discovered was the one thing that could not be allowed to happen.


    ck Jaws was perpetually growing, but masked their external presence.


    At the moment, they would wipe the floor with the royal army.


    Of course, showcasing such strength was like tagging a kill me sign on one''s forehead.


    So, theyy in the darkness, perpetually improving.


    ording to Ezra, the time for their uprising was soon near.


    Fredrick couldn''t wait.

 Chapter 280 Swimming in Fear

    280 Swimming in Fear


    "Wake up" an eerie voice called out and Valentine promptly arose, pulling her hair from the front of her face.


    Her heart pounds rapidly as she scans her surroundings.


    Rubbing her eyes, she finds herself in a darkpartment, with a hefty man standing beside her.


    "Where am I?"


    The man spread his arms. "Wee to Arcadia"


    Those words had her running down the memoryne.


    With her mother''s help, she''d arrived at the rendezvous location.


    As protocol, she was then made unconscious-that was the only way she''d be allowed entry into Arcadia.


    Now she''s here.


    Looking around, shemented. "My mother?"


    "Not here"


    Valentine nodded. "I came to see-


    The man raised his palm, shutting her up. "I know why you''re here. To see the Grandmaster isn''t it?"


    Valentine nodded vigorously.


    "Alright, I''ll take you to him"


    A question mark floated above her head. "That easy?"


    "Don''t worry about that" he said. "Are you ready now?"


    Valentine clenched his fist, steeling her nerves.


    Fear threatened to cloud her resolve, but she wasn''t backing out now.


    ''I have to grow stronger''


    She nodded.


    "Follow me"


    Then she touched her side, her sword was gone.


    "We searched you in your sleep" he said. "Your sword and the other daggers you brought have been taken away"


    Valentine was dumbfounded, her cheeks growing red, "You searched me?''


    He just stared. "The female squad leader did. So stop thinking stupid thoughts and lets go"


    He turned and walked.


    Quickly erasing her look of embarrassment, she followed after with haste.


    ________


    ''Dammit!''


    Ezra groped his head, fuming.


    ''This should''ve been easy''


    He stared at the braces on the floor.


    During the time in the castle cell, he tinkered with the braces.


    A breakthrough urred; with tremendous difficulty, he was able to take the braces off without breaking them.


    Doing that, the restrictions on his body faded, his demon part red, healing him.


    Over the past few weeks, he''d routinely take off the braces to reduce the restrictions and then use mana stones to cultivate.


    With it, he could gradually put his meridians back in ce, whilepounding mana before going for another breakthrough in due time.


    s, things were not going ording to n.


    ''Why?! Why isn''t it working?!''


    With immacte precision, Ezra used his mana to shift his meridian pieces into ce.


    But it didn''t budge.


    Every time he ced the pieces in order, they would separate regardless, adamant on staying apart.


    Having not reached Grandmaster rank in his past life, he also couldn''t ''simply'' infer the problem.


    As a consequence, frustration was growing ever close to the peak as Ezra had very little to show for all the effort he put in for the past few weeks.


    Though, one good thing was that he struck Fourteen in the past week.


    Although looking over his current situation, he didn''t feel good.


    He didn''t know the state of his mother or the siblings.


    Right now, he was experimenting on himself, trying to pinpoint the problem.


    Why exactly did his meridians refuse to take shape?


    Finding the answer to this question was the first step towards getting an answer.


    Among other things, he''d been talking with Fredrick the past few days.


    As of the war ns the Emperor spoke of, things were going in the direction Ezra predicted.


    Now a demon, he felt a surge of power leave his body hours ago.


    Meaning the demons were also making moves of their own.


    Regardless of the process, Ezra needed the apocalypse toe into being, and preferably sooner rather thanter.


    But what was this? He was recovering at a snail''s speed. At this rate the apocalypse would meet him unprepared.


    His cell was superbly constructed, the walls prevented mana particles from entering.


    Normal space rings were inessible inside, if not for the ancient space ring and the mana stones inside, Ezra would''ve been truly hopeless-not that he was far from it.


    Elements were still essible, thankfully.


    Yet melting the cage didn''t seem possible, its hardness was beyondprehension. It took Ezra two punches at full force to put a dent in it.


    ''That proves just how weak I am''


    He couldn''t get over the frustration.


    He had tried, tried and tried, only to end with meagre results.


    Moreover, he could feel his demon side bing more active as time went by.


    He didn''t know what that meant because he was still in the dark about demonic powers.


    Then, he couldn''t say that his newly acquired powers weren''t the reason for his current dilemma.


    He''d ventured on this alone and hadn''t asked help from Fredrick.


    But it seemed this problem was beyond his ability to solve alone.


    ''Can I really not solve this on my own?''


    This wasn''t a matter of alchemy, runes or some other foreign topic. So, he didn''t think he''d need the help, but clearly, as his body had now reminded him, the workings of a grandmaster''s body was a whole slew of differences from master rank.


    Speaking of runes, the one''s on Ezra''s body were functioning haphazardly.


    Broken meridians directly destroyed the impact runes holding down the path for mana flow, disrupting mana converging.


    In consequence, mana didn''t flow as it was supposed to, some areas on his body neglected, while others reinforced to absurd degrees.


    The pathway to the runes was damaged as well, so little mana reaches there.


    It was irritating.


    With the rity run dysfunctional, he felt the range of his senses decrease a substantial amount.


    So, Ezra contemted his options.


    ''Do I have to seek help?''


    While his pride didn''t want him to ask for help, Ezra was more on the rational side.


    ''This level of progress is unsatisfactory. Stubbornly sticking to ignorance is stupid''


    ''Alright'' He decided. ''I don''t make any breakthroughs by the end of this week-I''ll tell Fredrick''


    ''Now'' he cracked his knuckles. ''Shall I destress a bit''


    He was about to begin his favourite activity of the day when the door to his cell vibrated.


    Ezra quickly put on his braces.


    "Ezra" the head warden called in his tone devoid of emotion, surprising Ezra.


    ''Why is the head warden here?''


    The one who brought food was someone else.


    Ezra got his answer. "Someone''s here to see you"


    The door split open and light beyond that of mana stones shone into his cell for the second time since he arrived.


    As a Grandmaster, it didn''t sting at all.


    _________


    Coming down here, she was already scared out of her wits by the murderous intent engulfing the whole ce, but she bared with it, swiping her hair to the side every few minutes.


    The cell, extravagant in size and design, opened up to reveal pitch darkness.


    "Get in"


    Before she could rethink her options, a p on her back sent her flying right into the cell, falling face first.


    "Oh" she groaned, raising her head tond on a pair of crimson eyes.


    In pitch darkness, she could not make out the being in front of her so she scrambled.


    "Ah!"


    In fright, she bounced on her feet, retreating till her back touched the door, barely holding back a shriek.


    All the while, the red gaze followed.


    And then¡­


    "What are you doing here?"


    A voice all too familiar called out.


    While she thought that would have her less scared, it didn''t.


    The fear strengthened instead, threatening to squeeze her throat and she found herself trying to retreat with every passing minute.


    "A-A-Ah-


    She was about to start shrieking when¡­


    "You smell"


    She couldn''t make out his facial expression, but she was certain he was smiling somehow.


    Then, the eyes disappeared.


    Immediately, her heart calmed, the ensuing fear reduced and she sighed in relief.


    Before the silence could go on for any longer, Ezra spoke, "You should be able to think now, yes? So I''ll ask again, why are you here?"


    Panting, she stares, quiet as ever with her hands fidgeting incessantly.


    ''Why did Ie here?! Am I crazy?!''


    ''I''m going to die!''


    It may have reduced, but the fear was still there.


    Voice swirling in her mind, sprinkling negativity everywhere.


    She grit her teeth.


    ''I''vee to far, I can''t back out now''


    Her resolve pulled through the fear.


    "I''m here to see you"


    "What for?"


    "You''re holding me back"


    "Huh?"


    "Since thest time I saw you-


    "You couldn''t stop thinking about me?"


    "Yes" she replied. Then she realized. "Wait no, that''s not what I meant"


    "Ha, sure thing"


    "That''s not what I meant!"


    "I''ve heard you" he returned to his cold tone. "So?"


    "It-It''s like this¡­


    Down the memoryne she went, narrating how his gaze was the catalyst for her nightmares.


    "Slow down, you came to see me because you thought that would end your nightmares?"


    "Yes?"


    "Are those nightmares about me?" he inquired.


    "No"


    "Then what are they about?"


    "I can''t say"


    "Then our conversation ends here"


    "What? But it''s nothing important"


    "You came all the way here for something unimportant?"


    Clearing her throat she replied. "Yes"


    "Okay, then it should be easy to tell, no?"


    "I don''t want to"


    "Then get out"


    She popped a vein. "Why are you being difficult?"


    "I''d ask the same"


    "Ugh!"


    A long silence followed as Ezra''s eyes shut open.


    This time, he''d reverted to the ck colour she was familiar with.


    Though in a pitch ck room, that just meant she could make out his eyes anymore.


    "Haha" heughed. "You look cute"


    "What?" she was taken aback.


    "Ah¡­" Ezra realized his statement was inappropriate. "Forget what I just said¡­anyway, I''m done talking if you can''t tell me what those nightmares are about"


    After a fit of coughs she continues, "You''re incorrigible"


    "Suit yourself" Ezra tapped his chin, staring at her.


    "I''m amazed" he suddenly said. "How are you doing that?"


    "Doing what?"


    "Demons smell fear" he said, "And you''re swimming in it"


    "I''m not afraid of you"


    "You''re lying"


    "No, I''m-


    Voom!


    A gush mmed into her, disrupting her hair.


    Shifting them back into ce, she freezes.


    A hand on her mouth prevents her from screaming.


    Then crimson eyes peered into hers.


    Slowly, Ezra mouthed, his breath touching her forehead.


    "Say that again"

 Chapter 281 Unsure

    ?


    "Say that again"


    His breath heated up her forehead.


    The crimson gaze had her brain freeze.


    ''S-so close!''


    Ezra''s body was almost touching hers, yet¡­


    ''I can''t feel his presence!''


    She gulped nervously, extending her hand ever so slowly.


    Itnded on bare skin, surprising her, but the hand on her mouth restricted all audible sounds.


    Her face grew hot, ''H-He''s naked?''


    ''No, just shirtless''


    Strangely, she didn''t feel repulsed, rather pulling her arm away, she sought to explore thisndscape she discovered.


    Slowly, her palm drew over his skin.


    ''So smooth''


    She felt his chest, then his stomach, slowly building an image of him in her mind.


    Enthralled she was, unnoticing the hand on her mouth sliding away.


    Her hand reached his head, slowly drawing over his face, then back to his chest, focusing on his beating heart.


    Ever so slowly, she ced her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.


    ''So calm, so¡­peaceful''


    Then everything went dark.


    ________


    ''Hmm''


    Valentine ''s shut open to pitch darkness.


    *Yawn!*


    Yawning and stretching her crisp bones.


    ''Where am I?'' she wondered, cold she was, her hands drawing over the cold surface shey.


    Like an abrupt start, her memories hit like a storm but quickly subsided.


    ''Right, I was-I was¡­''


    When the details became clear, Valentine found herself tongue-tied.


    ''I. DID. WHAT?!''


    At that moment¡­


    "Oh, you''re awake"


    A voice rang out. Valentine got on her feet.


    Without his crimson gaze, Valentine found it nigh impossible to discern his location.


    "Considering how easily you fell asleep; I take that those nightmares really took the toll one you"


    ''Right'' she thought, ''Nightmares''


    She was shocked. ''I didn''t have any nightmares this time''


    She calmed. "How long did I sleep?"


    "Five hours give or take"


    She turned in haste. "I need to get going"


    "Wait"


    She halts.


    "You still haven''t told me what those nightmares were about"


    A short silence pervades. "I''ll do that next time"


    "Huh? This wasn''t a one-time thing?" Ezra was genuinely surprised. "Are you seriously not afraid that I''ll kill you?"


    She turned to him. "I''m not afraid of you"


    The crimson eyes appeared. "The smell on you says otherwise"


    Valentine flinches, but stands her ground. "That nose of yours must be severely damaged"


    "Hahaha" he burst outughing. "With how long you''ve been here, those outside are going to be suspicious. Tell me-what are you going to tell them you were doing all this time?"


    Valentine turned to him. "Thank you, I''d almost forgot"


    "¡­?"


    Taking out a small vial from the pouch strapped to her side, she pushes it to him.


    "I came to take your blood" she flings it to him. "Put some of it in there"


    Ezra looks intermittently between her, the vial and then¡­ "Nope" flings it back.


    Thankfully, she caught it.


    "I''m not doing it. You still haven''t told me what I want to hear"


    "Must you know?!"


    "Must you take my blood?"


    "Ugh!"


    "Grumbling won''t solve your problems"


    "Why do you want to know so much anyway?!"


    "Oh, that''s simple. I''m the only one here and talking to myself gets boring quickly"


    "So¡­" she was dumbfounded. "You''re lonely¡­"


    "I didn''t say that"


    Coughing to wipe away the awkward silence, she continues. "I''ll tell you the next time I''m here-I''ve already spent too much time"


    "Then spending a bit more won''t be a problem"


    "You''re not listening"


    "No, that''s you" he replied.


    "You''re not going to give me your blood until I tell you about my nightmares, are you?"


    "Nope"


    *SIGH*


    A heavy sigh cascaded the cell.


    Then, Valentine sat in a lotus posture, staring into darkness until something touched her feet notifying her of Ezra''s presence.


    "I''m thankful you decided to tell me" he mouthed.


    Valentine rolled her eyes. "Did I have a choice?"


    "Nope"


    "You''ve changed since thest time I saw you" she pointed out. "What happened?"


    "Uh? I have? I don''t think so. How so?"


    "Your eyes" she pointed out. "You peered into everything like a beast before, now, it''s softened a bit"


    "Is that so?"


    "I assume something happened?"


    Ezra blinked, blinked and blinked.


    "I''m in Arcadia-if that gives you an idea"


    *Cough*Cough* She looked away. "Never mind"


    She took deep breathes. "I was born in a noble family, the Henderson''s"


    "Wait, what does this have to do with your nightmares?"


    "Everything, now stop interrupting me"


    Ezra nodded, having thoughts of his own.


    ''To be so casual in front of a Demon¡­maybe she doesn''t just understand they''re I''m capable of?''


    Something urred to him.


    "How are you here?" he suddenly asked.


    "What?"


    "How did you even get to Arcadia? I don''t think it''s that easy to find, or is it?"


    "My mother helped me"


    "She brought you?"


    "You can say that"


    "You told her you wereing to see me and she allowed you?"


    "Yes" Valentine replied. "She said being a demon didn''t change your personality. ''You didn''t turn into a beast'' to be exact. Though in my opinion, that''s because you were already one"


    Ezra blinked.


    "She let you-an Experte to see a Demonic grandmaster alone?"


    "I''m not alone"


    "I know"


    Ezra ced his palm on the metal floor, and then¡­


    *Freeze*


    Ice expanded from Ezra''s arm, covering the whole cell in seconds.


    _________


    "Sir! I''ve been blocked, I can''t see him. What should we do?"


    The head ward frowned.


    The squad leader was a metal mage, and he was monitoring the situation inside Ezra''s cell.


    While he couldn''t tell each and every movement, he was able to affirm those within.


    The Grandmaster did something and now he couldn''t do that.


    "Leave it" the head ward replied.


    "Yes?"


    "Leave him. If he hopes to escape, he''ll find us waiting for him, get the others ready"


    "But sir, what about the girl?"


    "She has herself to me foring here. Now, get the others"


    "Yes!"


    _________


    Valentine touched the ground, her fingers slipped.


    The walls of the cells were iced, but none came on her body.


    ''This level of ice mastery¡­is astounding''


    On cue¡­


    *Kiek!*


    A force grappled her neck and lifted her.


    "Ezra, what are you doing?!"


    No reply.


    "You''re strangling me!"


    He simply stared, his gaze red once more as he tilted his head from side to side.


    ''Sh*t!'' she realized. ''His eyes have changed!''


    He stared at her like she was some inanimate object. Moreover, his eyes were a shade deeper.


    The eye''s ability was taking effect, encroaching her mind with fear.


    Her body lit up with purple lightning, trying to pull away from Ezra''s grapple.


    But it proved futile.


    Then he pulled her towards him.


    Her eyes made out a sadistic smile on Ezra''s face.


    Putting his mouth beside her ear, he spoke, his voice chilly. "I thought you weren''t afraid of me?"


    "I''m not!" she choked the words out. Looking vengeful. "But I am afraid of dying"


    "Ha" he let go of her neck.


    *Thud*


    She fell on her butt with a thud.


    Straightening her sore throat, she looks to see the crimson gaze peering down on her figure.


    "Why are you doing this?"


    "I truthfully¡­do not know"


    Suddenly, he sat. Taking a lotus position, the red shade on his eyes subsequently fading.


    A wave of fire washed over the cell, turning the ice to vapour.


    Again, she wasn''t affected.


    "Now, where were we? Yes, you were telling me about your family"


    Valentine stared, panting while rubbing her sore throat.


    ''Is he crazy?'' she wondered.


    "You don''t remember what you just did?"


    "I do" he replied tly.


    "AND?"


    He shrugged, "Since you insulted my pride, I had to make sure"


    "Make sure¡­?"


    "Make sure of¡­something? Hmm, I can''t remember"


    She was fuming. "You almost killed me!"


    "Not true. I was never going to kill you"


    "Ugh! Since when did you care about pride?"


    "I''ve always¡­no, not always¡­since¡­"


    His voice trailed off as his eyes turned cold as he dug deeper. ''Since when did I care about pride?''


    His eyes widened. "Ziltris was a dog of pride. His heart¡­yes, ever since I ate it¡­but even emissaries shouldn''t have this much of an effect"


    Holding his chin, he thought, ''Unless¡­he drank blood from¡­''


    As the dots connected, he chuckled. One of dejection, ''What are the chances?''


    His ns would have to be revised again.


    "Give it"


    "What?" Valentine was on guard.


    "The vial"


    In his hand, Ezra made a small cut on his finger and filled the vial before handing it back to her.


    "You can go"


    She was surprised. "You don''t want to hear the rest of the story?"


    He waved his arms. Having lost any previous excitement. "Another day"


    So, in a much unspectacr way, Valentine made her exit, still rubbing her sore throat.


    _________


    Coming out, she meets the squad leaders aligned with the head warden at the forefront.


    "Well?" the head warden inquired.


    Valentine raised the vial. Its contents are clear for all to see.


    "Sir, she did it"


    The head warden nodded.


    Over the past week, they''d tried to extract Ezra''s blood to begin experiments.


    They''d been unsessful every time.


    So, when Valentine arrived, the head warden thought it was a chance to test it out.


    What would you know? She seeded.


    ''That too as an Expert. She might be worth grooming''


    Valentine stopped right before the head warden, handing him the vial.


    "I did it" she stated. "So I get to stay"


    The head warden nodded.


    The deal was, if she failed to fill the vial, she would leave Arcadia, if she seeded, she could stay.


    Ordinarily, she wasn''t bothered with leaving since she got enough from this visit.


    ''I don''t know why'' she thought, turning to face Ezra''s cell.


    ''But I don''t want to leave just yet''


    She was unsure of her next move.

 Chapter 282 New Problem

    ?


    "Is that all?" the head warden inquired.


    "Yes," Valentine nodded. Having finished narrated her encounter with Ezra.


    Though suspecting, the head warden didn''t press on.


    Regardless, they''d been able to get the needed blood sample-it was a satisfactory oue.


    That said¡­


    "You will not be going back into that cell any time soon"


    "What?"


    "Meeting him as an Expert is far too risky. You''ll have to ascend to master rank"


    "We had a deal!"


    "Yes, we did. That''s why I''m not chasing you away right now. But, while you stay here, you will do as you''re told"


    "And do what? Be a master? You say that as if it''s easy"


    "It''s neither impossible. You''ll be paired with the two female squad leaders around. They''ll be your teachers" he stared at her. "If you can''t ascend master rank with their help, you''ll never be able to achieve it otherwise"


    While reluctant, she nodded stiffly.


    The head warden walked away. "I''ll notify your teachers. Training begins tomorrow"


    _________


    With Valentine''s exit, Ezra gripped his head inplete dismay while stripping off the restricting braces.


    ''If Ziltris was given primal blood, that''ll exin things¡­I''m in trouble''


    A headache wasing on.


    Ezra cancelled his ns to keep treading the path alone and wrote to Fredrick immediately.


    _________


    An hourter¡­


    ''This is a disaster''


    A cmity had struck.


    Rather, Ezra only realized it was a cmity.


    The transformation of a master to Grandmaster brought many perks, but the biggest difference was the forming of a core.


    A mana core.


    Previous ranks had the user drawing mana into the body, culminating it to a certain level before directing them through set paths of the body.


    Reaching Grandmaster rank, an orb formed at the center of the chest, dubbed a mana core by the Oranian ancestors.


    This core, known toe in a variety of colours, would then automate the process of mana absorbing, taking mana from the atmosphere to condense and then refine the mana, purifying it to match that of a mana stone.


    Only, a thousand points of atmospheric mana equated 0.01 of mana stone quality-a dastardly conversion rate.


    ''My mana core-he destroyed it!''


    Only then did Ezra realize why he''d felt such excruciating pain when the Emperor''s attack permeated his body.


    His newly formed mana core was broken, then his meridians were shattered.


    Inquiring if mana cores could be remade, Fredrick was unsure, but Ezra didn''t think it impossible.


    In fact, thinking deep, he had a solution on ground.


    ''The demon blood within me, if I use that, I could probably fix it''


    The blood of demons had extreme healing powers, coating the blood on the broken core would reform it, returning it to a state even better than normal.


    s, the blood of demons had a corrosiveness equal to, or even surpassing its insane healing ability.


    Healing it with demon blood meant his mana core would be tainted with demon energy.


    In turn, all the processed mana would be tainted with demon energy, increasing the rate of demonization.


    The corrosiveness of a demon''s blood wasn''t referring to toxicity. It was referring to personality corruption.


    And it was already happening to Ezra.


    ''All that talk about pride¡­this is bad''


    As he inferred from Ziltris, the man was the King of pride''s emissary and someone whose demonization rate was hundred.


    That led to his prideful gait and manner of speaking. Also, he wouldn''t have been able to transform otherwise.


    It was also why he referred to humans as ''them'', at a hundred percent of demonization, one was no more human, but a demon taking human form.


    ''And I drank his blood?! Dammit!''


    The entire situation had just messed up.


    His ns hadpletely flipped.


    Eating the heart of a normal demon wouldn''t have influenced him much, and the rate of demonization would be far smaller.


    ''I also wouldn''t have advanced to Grandmaster rank''


    The first problem.


    With his blood affinity, Ezra quickly dredged Ziltris'' blood apart from his own.


    A painful process to say the least.


    The blood was too potent to just let flow, else the rate of demonization would continue to increase.


    It''s been almost two months since he killed Ziltris, that time was enough to begin influencing his character.


    Leaving it unchecked any longer would have him reaching hundred percent demonization by the end of the year.


    ''But..'' confusion set in. ''What do I do now?''


    The n was to quietly recover strength.


    With this development, he now had to actively stop himself from recovering, else he would truly be a demon.


    Ezra held his head in dismay. ''What is this?''


    Things were getting even more out of hand.


    Completely dredging the blood of its demonic attribute was impossible at this point.


    But he seeded in partially dredging it.


    ''Even if I do this, what then?''


    Once the blood was dredged, would he continuously remove the demonic attributes?


    ''If I do that I might never recover''


    His chances of recovering were already slim and his body was very unstable.


    He''d only been able to exert power beyond that of masters because the demon blood was constantly healing him. So, when he removed it, what would happen?


    There was no guarantee that he''d be able to fix his meridians with mana stones.


    If things weren''t wrong, he could regress to early master rank.


    Worse, his shattered meridians were unfit for cultivation, he could be unable to advance ever again.


    Thinking of potential disasters threatened to freeze his mind.


    ''Calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down''


    Ezra forced himself to calm down, pping himself to regain rationality.


    With his strength, the p was nothing ordinary, but it got the job done.


    He began reviewing the situation from the beginning.


    ''A broken mana core means my passage to Grandmaster rank is locked. I can''t advance otherwise''


    ''Demon blood would solve this problem but then I''d be a full-fledged demon. That''s never happening''


    Bing a half demon happened against his will, but he''d never trade his humanity away willingly.


    He looked around the cell. ''I''m here because my blood is useful to them. my demonic blood. Even if I got rid of most of the demonic blood, would they let me go?''


    ''No, rather, I''ll be in a far more vulnerable position'' he nodded. ''With my cover blown as well, there''s no way they''d let me leave''


    The power of his elemental attacks would decrease, drastically lowering his battle strength considering his broken meridians.


    He shook his head. ''So, what do I do?''


    For one he couldn''t leave himself vulnerable for the enemy to pick apart.


    After all, the preferential treatment they gave him was in regards to strength.


    Regressing in strength would lose his value as a specimen and that could see him dissected.


    ''I can''t be a demon, and I must not lose my strength''


    He chuckled, ''Is this what they call ''stuck between a rock and a hard ce?'' How unpleasant''


    He huffed. ''Let''s test a few things''


    Ezra cheeks inted, and then¡­


    *Blergh*


    Demonic blood was purged from his system.


    ''Now let''s see-


    A wave of weakness hit him. As if a bucket load of fatigue was dropped on his muscles, his movements slowed to a slug''s walk.


    He grew dizzy immediately, his vision blurred and a headache hit him like a thunderstorm.


    ''Oh man! It hurts!''


    He gripped his head, twisting and turning on the cold floor.


    After a good minute of that, he sat straight with a pale face, holding his sore throat.


    ''As expected, demonic blood is the core reason I can utilize such power despite my shattered meridians''


    He heaved, ''It''s also the reason why my meridians were shattered in the first ce''


    If he wasn''t a demon, the Emperor wouldn''t have crippled him.


    ''If Ziltris hadn''t appeared, I wouldn''t be in mess. Sending a grandmaster to kill a kid. Tch!''


    He grinded his teeth just thinking about it, forgetting that the ''Grandmaster'' had lost.


    ''How did he even know about me?'' he suddenly wondered. ''Even mother didn''t know, or it is something else''


    Ziltris'' persistence on killing him or turning him to a demon was beyond something garnered from a regr feud.


    ''Did he discover the link between me and ck Jaws?''


    That could be it, but Ezra thought differently.


    ''Even if so, he''d be better off targeting Fredrick-why me?''


    Honestly, if not for the supernatural feeling of danger guiding him, he would''ve surely been killed.


    ''That too, what was it?''


    The feeling faded on point with Ziltris'' death or was it the Life Ark''s appearance?


    This was why he wasn''t alerted to the iing Grandmaster until it was toote.


    ''I remember¡­inheriting Ziltris'' memories?''


    He scratched his head. He could remember getting glimpses of Ziltris'' life, but at the time he swept it aside because of the Life Ark''s appearance.


    He''d heard of such in his past life, but he couldn''t confirm it.


    Now, he seemed to have forgotten the contents.


    ''What was that about that again?''


    Scratching his hair toe up with nothing, Ezra threw the topic to the back of his mind


    So many questions, so little answers.


    Ezra sighed. ''I hope the others are faring better than I am''


    The situation was upsetting, frustrating and depressing, but Ezra''s been through worse.


    That didn''t make it any less bad, but he was able to cope better than most would.


    Another heavy pnded on his face by himself.


    ''I can''t start bothering with what''s happened-it''s happened'' he reminded himself. ''Now¡­what''s the next move?''


    His estimations for the apocalypse'' arrival are too vague, so the more prepared he was, the better.


    ''Wait'' he paused. Going back to the original question that led him down his thoughts hole.


    Now sure that the demonic blood was essential to maintain strength, he had checked out a few other things.


    A month passes.

 Chapter 283 War Preparations

    283 War Preparations


    Into Kingsmere with sprinting horses was a trio of adventurers, their eyes lighting up.


    "We''ve arrived!"


    They jumped off the moment the cart came to a halt.


    "Let''s go! Let''s go!"


    Arriving in Kingsmere, they marched to the missionary with haste to get in on the next big thing.


    Reaching their destination, they skidded to a halt.


    "So many already?"


    Hundreds of mercenaries lined up in front of the missionary with royal guards aligned to encase them, to keep the order.


    The Emperor''s recent recruitment order was the talk of the town.


    Niton wasmissioning adventurers for the iing war.


    Just the word ''war'' raised many heads, connoting opportunity.


    The situation was especially different because it was open to adventurers from other continents.


    Normally, major war participants were exclusively from one''s origin country simply because no one took kindly to another party taking from the bounty.


    It was a first for sure, and more importantly, this was NITON-the Empire thought forever certified as an overpopted region.


    Sourcing external forces was thest thing anyone thought they''d do, also connoting how the serious the situation was.


    To reduce mishaps and ensuing chaos, all arriving adventurers were to file for the war entry at Kingsmere.


    In the same breath, Nitonians were given priority, the parameters of their rewards far outstripped those of foreigners.


    For one, the tax rate was higher.


    Yes, Tax. The opportunity to participate in the war was provided by the Empire, therefore reparations had to be paid.


    Especially since Niton was giving out, better yet, loaning standard armour to all mercenaries with equipment of silver rank.


    Foreigners were paid a set amount, of which they could use to buy items.


    Any item found on the battlefield was to be turned in, taking any item for oneself was forbidden.


    Quite stringent, but to mercenaries previously bored out their minds, it was good enough, becausepared to the war torn Lexon, other continents were rather peaceful.


    Not that peaceful, but Kingdom, no, continent wide wars was notmonce.


    Enlisting was simple, you were to sign a mana contract and once done, head to the border under the lead of a royal guard.


    -----------


    "Bolton" The Emperor called out.


    Bolton raised his head.


    "How is Triton''s progress?"


    "Wonderful sire" he replied. "The boy has been growing exponential pace, he''s grown into a fine warrior and soon, a fine leader"


    "Hmm" the Emperor nodded. "Good"


    "What of ck Jaws? Anything to report?"


    ck Jaws was now a behemoth even the Emperor didn''t dare ignore.


    Bolton flipped the documents in hand, provided by the spies nted in ck Jaws.


    "Apparently, they''ve begun recruiting menial workers, maids, cooks and the likes, beyond that¡­


    Nothing noteworthy"


    The Emperor stared into space, a deep frowning forming. ''What are you nning now?''


    ck Jaws had risen to prominence during wars, with another approaching¡­


    ''Leaving them unchecked would be disastrous''


    "Have our spies on their toes"


    For Nitonian powers, ck Jaws was ten times more of a threat than whatever the demon worshippers were nning.


    With their unprecedented growth, increasing range of influence, innovations and most importantly, their appeal to themoners, it wasn''t hard to see why.


    ------------


    Meanwhile¡­


    With his legs hosted on the table, Fredrick looked through a set of documents while sipping on the best of beers, his eyes focused with hair unblemished.


    Cabrera''s sudden sigh called his attention. "Another war on the horizon, a pity we can''t partake"


    Cabrera''s eyes met his.


    "It''s better we put it out of our minds, partaking would only cost us"


    ''Which was why we opted out from the start'' Cabrera nodded.


    "Thankfully, it''s not a total loss" he said, reminiscing.


    Thanks to the recruitment order, ck Jaws shipped guild members overseas to participate in theing war as mercenaries while hidden recruits were allowed into the world, sent to rece the batch of those heading to war.


    Additionally, in ordance to the times, prices of armour, potions, and runes skyrocketed.


    What would you know, ck Sky had such items in both good quality and great quantity.


    Most importantly, it''s greatest selling point, it was most easily essible.


    You didn''t need to pay anyone other than shop owners, you didn''t need to grovel at a noble''s feet or need that many ''connections'' even.


    Also, transactions of any item beyond five gold were made in private, away from the gaze of others.


    11:36


    Fredrick was contemting, his index finger tapping his armrest.


    After the first few months of business, customers were allowed to wear masks to obscure their identity and protect them from harm.


    Also, transactions of any item beyond five gold were made in private, away from the gaze of others.


    Fredrick was contemting, his index finger tapping his armrest.


    Their tax exemption was a decade long, and in a few months, it would expire and they would have to start paying.


    With things the way they were, the Empire would make them bleed money, and Fredrick wasn''t ready to give up any.


    They''d tried to negotiate, but the Empire was adamant on having them pay taxes.


    Negotiations on both sides had deteriorated.


    Caressing his small moustache, Fredrick''s eyes narrowed.


    With no answer in sight, he threw it to the back of his mind.


    ''We''ll deal with it when ites to it''


    Then, he thought of Ezra.


    He''d wished to set Ezra free, but the fourth empress'' whereabouts were still unknown.


    Puffing out smoke from his finely tuned smoking pipe, Cabrera inhaled deeply.


    "The bliss" he said softly. "Are you sure you don''t want any? You''re missing out"


    Fredrick shook his head, "I told you, I don''t smoke"


    "A shame" Cabrera puffed another. "I have to ask, why aren''t we building anything on the rest of thends we acquired?"


    "Because their purpose lies elsewhere, be patient and you will find out"


    Cabrera stared. "Don''t you think it gives our enemies a chance toy im on it"


    "They wouldn''t dare"


    Cabrera nodded. "Not in their right minds, they wouldn''t. But I suggest we be cautious"


    "What do you n?"


    "A fence" he said. "Fences demarcating ournds, built with the best materials to ward off invaders"


    "A good idea" said Fredrick. "Go ahead with it"


    With a nod, Cabrera left.


    ¡ª----------


    Meanwhile¡­


    "Ah!"


    Valentine winced, reverting to stance for the subsequent attacks.


    "Concentrate!"


    Another attacknded.


    "Ugh!" Parrying, Valentine grunted, her body quivering holding against the master''s force.


    Since herst visit to Ezra, the head warden assigned her to the two female squad leaders as a student.


    She was in the middle of a ss.


    "Concentrate!"


    A fist caught her square in the abdomen.


    "Ugh!"


    The momentarypse in movement had her pinned to the ground in the next two moves.


    Valentine tried to clutch back onto her feet, but with her mentor sitting on her, she soon gave up.


    "You''ve been improving nicely, keep it up and you''ll be as strong as me in no time"


    Standing, her eyes shed behind her dishevelled hair. "Save thepliments, let''s go again"


    Her mentor shook her head incredulously, getting into stance.


    "Suit yourself"


    Valentine attacked.


    ¡ª----------


    In the bare darkness of his cell, Ezray dormant, crossed legged with his eyes closed.


    His veins voluntary slithering as blood sipped out his pores


    Painful, but he''d gotten ustomed to it.


    This was a routine procedure to keep the volume of the demonic blood down.


    Hisck of mobility or otherwise theck of an outlet to release his power was fatally detrimental, because the rate of recovery was far much faster, making it far more harder to get rid of.


    So he began training, finding it multiple times harder than before because of the shattered meridians.


    Among other things, his elements were being corrupted by demonic energy.


    His ice gained a ruby ze, his fire gained a deeper shade, lightning seemed the same, while darkness gained a psychic effect.


    Long exposure had a chance to provoke mental instability or insanity by radiating demonic energy.


    An out of shape white crack of lighty attached to the top of the cell.


    A loud hiss called Ezra''s attention, looking up to see the white light dislodge itself, stretching to hang right in front of Ezra''s face.


    A snake with skin halved between pitch ck and white light, opening its mouth to reveal the array of small, needle-like teeth, almost transparent.


    A rather terrifying sight to behold.


    Ezra tapped the head with his knuckle, "What is it, Severus?"


    For Ezra though, it was but a pet in need of attention.


    Hissing deeply, Ezra could only run his head and exhale a heavy sigh.


    "Yes, I know you''re bored¡­fine, I''ll y with youter"


    Ezra couldn''t me him.


    Just moving about a small space for so long wouldn''t hold much in terms of excitement.


    Without further ado, Ezra sucked Severus into his space ring.


    Sighing once again, he eyes grew serious.


    Ezra spoke, staring into space. "Why are you here?"


    Whether as a gift to uplift his loneliness or a curse to haunt him, Ezra weed a new guest a few days ago.


    Only, said guest shouldn''t even be alive.


    Seated facing his Ezra with his legs crossed, the man smiled, his red eyes gleaming and his face as good as new.


    An unforgettable visage it was.


    Ziltris was back.


    "Now now, that''s no way to treat a guest"


    I''m back!


    VOID_

 Chapter 284 Remnant

    ?


    Perched on a skeletal throne with skulls for armrests was Crea projecting her transformed visage.


    Her skin pale, her hair darker and longer, the red in her eyes deeper, her nails gleamed with the same colour.


    Garbed in a baggy robe with tattered edges, the frame of body was masked, but the others discerned that she had grown in size as well.


    As for how much stronger she''d gotten, none would rather find out.


    And before this entity¡­


    "We greet the leader"


    From Goceron to Golzan, the others bowed.


    A month had passed since her meeting with the demon lord, the day that marked her as the newest emissary.


    Regardless of how the rest felt about it, emissaries were chosen by the demon lord, to go against it would be defying their own faith.


    She spoke, her voice silent yet booming across at the same time. "Are all things in order?"


    A light of ambition stayed lit in her gaze, screaming of ns and purpose.


    Goceron bobbed up. "Yes, leader"


    Refining the materials into items for the expansion of the passageway was to take months.


    Instead, with whatever new power she gained, Crea had elerated the process extensively, creating what should have taken them months in only thirty days.


    With the most vital piece of their ns secured, the future had never looked brighter.


    But with the convergence of enemies at their doorstep, it also never looked bleaker.


    "Numer, Goceron, I leave you the task of extending the passageway"


    "With haste" Goceron replied.


    Her tone rose as she turned her gaze to the others. "As for the rest of you"


    "Go" she ordered. "Join them and create havoc, ughter the enemy and bask in their blood"


    They nod, their gazes hardened.


    "Our leader sacrificed himself for the sake of the mission. We must not let his death be in vain"


    A strong silence permeated, and then, "Disperse"


    The worshippers sped off, leaving Crea alone with her thoughts.


    Things were about to get hectic.


    --------------


    "Now now, that''s no way to treat a guest"


    "Leave!" Ezra growled.


    "You''re the one keeping me here"


    Ezra let loose a st of ice, but it simply passed through Ziltris andnded on the cell wall.


    Ziltris smiled, his voice echoing. "Why do you keep fighting what you''ve be?"


    Ezra stared.


    "Being a demon isn''t as bad as they say"


    "And yet here you are"


    "I''m a special case"


    "I never doubted that"


    "Why are you resisting my inheritance? It''ll grant you the power you''ve always wanted"


    Ezra stared him down, his disdain unhidden. "Was that what you told the rest"


    He''d lived through Orion''s worst encounters with demons, he had more than enough reason to hate them, and no one could change that.


    "I felt this from the moment we met" Ziltris said. "Your hatred against our race transcends all others¡­Why?"


    "Because I know exactly what you are"


    A silence pervaded, before¡­


    "Hehehehe" Ziltris let out a sickening giggle. "Don''t you understand. You''ll never have a chance of escaping this ce if you be a demon"


    Like smoke, Ziltris'' body diffused.


    His ears echoed with a whisper right after.


    "It''s the only way you''ll ever see your mother again"


    Ezra clenched his fist, mana around him turned crimson.


    "Why were you in my head?"


    It could only be so, because none but Ezra knew about how much he cared for his mother.


    "Do you not understand?" Ziltris whispered. "I live within you, I''m but a manifestation of the demonic essence you refuse to absorb" the base of his tone went up a notch. "What you see and hear of me is simply an image projected into your mind"


    (A/N: Talk about living in someone''s head rent free)


    Ezra let not a reaction slip, taking a stoic posture.


    "And if you want me to leave so badly, all you have to do is expunge or absorb the demonic essence¡­Hehehehe, be a permanent cripple or a demon, wonderful odds"


    ''A remnant, a remnant, a remnant¡­''


    Ezra spoke. "So you have Ziltris'' memories?"


    "I don''t have anything-you do. The essence is flowing through your veins. The memories are within you, and like opening a door, you can ess them at will"


    Ezra stared. "You''re ufortably forting"


    "Oh, am I?"


    Ezra rather not follow him, but¡­


    ''There''s something I need to find out''


    With a deep breath, Ezra delved into meditation, diving into his interiors.


    A murky crimson energy enveloped his awareness, forcing a deep gasp as Ezra found himself losing awareness, only toe alive.


    Only,


    ''Where am I?''


    Contrasting the cold cell he knew, hey in a bed made of hay encased with walls of grey stone.


    ''Huh?''


    Trying to get up, he falls over listlessly like a leaf.


    A raise of his palm and an arm as thick as a tree''s youngest branch came into view.


    Slowly, Ezra''s heart quickened, tension and anxiety spiralling from all corners of his mind.


    "Wha-wha-what is this?" he asked. No, he tried to, but his mouth refused to move.


    Instead, against his will, his body rose, eyes darting all over when¡­*Grr*


    If things weren''t confusing enough already, a deep hunger came forth, disrupting his thought process as his stomach rumbled.


    Again, the body moved without his consent, eyes darting, only to stop at the sight of a wooden bowl roughly twice his fist lying right at the front of a block of nailed splinters.


    Noticing a hinge, he realized that it was actually a door.


    By now, Ezra had calmed enough to realize that he wasn''t in his own body anymore and that wasn''t in control of it either.


    That didn''t make the situation less rming though, because while it wasn''t his body, he felt like it was.


    Worse.


    ''How did I end up here?''


    Upon experimentation, he finds that his nearest memories are unable to be called upon.


    ''Why can''t I remember?''


    He couldn''t recollect thest bits of his memory.


    His body dug into the wooden bowl, it''s worth to say Ezra''s taste buds had never been vited so badly.


    With him out of control, he couldn''t even vomit, instead, he gobbled it up without a change in expression.


    But¡­


    *Grr*


    It was nowhere near enough to fill him up.


    Sitting, he grabbed the second bowl, one with liquid.


    Ezra had his taste buds vited a second time as he downed it in one go.


    Apparently, the coloured liquid was water, well¡­was supposed to be.


    Soon after, he crawled to the bed of hay and fell asleep.


    Unfortunately, Ezra was forced into sleep as well.


    -----------


    *Huup*


    Yanked up like a piece of cloth, Ezra was in for a rude awakening, literally.


    Snapping to reality, he finds himself held up by a man in a brown sleeveless leather, stomach poking pudgy but with enough muscles to be threatening.


    Bald he was, hosting a long moustache, carefully caressed it was.


    If nothing else, his gaze was anything but weing. You''d think he''d discovered thergest piece of trash, no, he might look at that with a softer gaze.


    His eyes radiated a deep digust.


    The boy''s attitude indicated he was familiar with the man, but till dazed to give a response, he stared like a limp.


    The man didn''t like that.


    "You dare oversleep!"


    It wasnguage Ezra didn''t know, but he instinctively understood.


    Before he could think any further¡­


    *Pah!*


    A p had his head snapping to the side, his neck straining.


    *Pah*Pah*Pah*Pah*


    A flurry of pster, the man let go of his clothes, leaving him to fall to the ground.


    "Kuh!"


    Gasping on impact, blood dripped out of his mouth.


    But hey there, still limp.


    A minute passed, boy and man staring at each other, and then.


    *Gak!*


    A kick from the man saw Ezra mmed into the wall, before falling on the floor.


    "Ah!"


    Ezra let out a cry of pain. The impact had broken his arm.


    But the boy didn''t, hey there, not letting out a squeak.


    Then¡­


    "Tch" the man clicked his tongue in distaste.


    "Better be on your feet before Ie back" he remarked, walking away.


    Only after half a minute psed did the boy raise himself to a sitting, clutching the broken arm.


    Another minute passed, seeing the boy stare out the open door as tears fell in drops.


    Letting out a broken whelp of pain, he wiped his eyes with his clothes, which was a tattered grey long shirt.


    Taking a short scan of his broken arm.


    *Crack!*


    He shut his eyes, bit down on his lips and snapped it back into ce.


    Pain hit him like a thunderp.


    "Ah!"


    It was the first time he''d make a clear sound.


    The pain had him limp.


    Shortly after, he forced himself on his feet and staggered out the door.


    Lays rays pierced into his sorry gaze, striking away whatever dazedness remained in him.


    Only then were his clothes illuminated.


    A faded grey robe with patches all over. Worse, his skin colour was barely distinguishable.


    Within him, Ezra was furious, yet calm at the same time.


    After sunlight fried his eyes, the scenery came into view.


    A wall of pegged wood held a wall for what would be a vige-it was too small to be anything else.


    It would take him less than twenty feet to cover the distance.


    Ezra wanted to see how his residence looked, but the body didn''t. Instead, he marched while dirty, barefoot, and burned by the sun.


    Butpared to the ps and aching arm, it was nothing.


    With limbs feeling like lead, staggering turned to wobbling as the throat dried up.


    Yet with all that had happened, Ezra was not an inch closer toprehending his situation.

 Chapter 285 Levin

    ?


    Under the sun''s scorching gaze, Ezra reached the wall, close enough to make out bold ink writings.


    Certainly not anguage he knew beforehand, Ezra understood its meaning like he did.


    Town of Strow it said, or better yet, Strow Town.


    Five steps to the side was the gate.


    Evident with the two Caucasian males posted on both sides, one with a spear, the other with fisted knuckles, both in long brown baggy breeches and sleeveless shirts that had them bare-chested.


    "Ah, yes. Remonon is-


    The conversation died the moment he came into view as the guards stood apart, avoiding him like a gue.


    And while his eyes were fixed on the door, Ezra could feel their gaze burrowing into his back.


    Pushing the gate open was a hearty task for the boy, but he dared not ask for help.


    A gruelling two minutester, the door moved enough for him to slip through, and the boy went through in haste.


    Falling to the floor upon entering, he quickly picked himself up, eyes darting around with a quickened heartbeat, like prey avoiding predators.


    Now inside, the full sceneryy exposed.


    The ground was padded with grey soil. Huts were huddled together on two sides, with the constant movement of people made the roads seem wider than it was.


    Rows of hutsy abound, separated between homes and workces.


    The number of huts did not surpass fifty, it was the space held between the huts that substantially increased the town''s width.


    Walking along, he saw Tailor shops, and an abattoir, judging by the pieces of hanged flesh.


    Residents walked by, both genders dressed in long robes, some had swords strapped, others did not.


    One thing remained unchanged though.


    All nces thatnded on him promptly morphed into disgust.


    Even walking at the street''s edge to avoid collision didn''t help.


    Judging by the boy''s reaction or theck of one thereof, such looks had to bemonce.


    A few more steps and the boy went through into a corner, arriving at a stable.


    Already there, was another child attending to the horses.


    With thin bones, dirty clothes, and a dead gaze, he mirrored Ezra''s host in both appearance and stature.


    Ezra felt a foreign calmness overtake the boy.


    And for the first time, the boy spoke clearly.


    "Levin!"


    Though neither loud nor silent, the other boy turned, and another miraculous event took ce.


    Levin''s eyes lit up, he dropped the bucket in his hands and ferociously embraced Ezra''s host, his voice ringing of joy.


    "Ziltris!"


    Ezra''s mind spiralled.


    ''Ziltris, Ziltris, Ziltris¡­''


    The name felt ever so familiar, yet Ezra failed to grasp the essence, his memories refusing him aid.


    So while the name rang a bell, he didn''t know which bell he was ringing.


    Meanwhile, Ziltris and Levin were deep into friendly chatter, well, it was better said as a one sided conversation as Ziltris was digging into the bowl of food handed to him.


    "What happened to your hand?" Levin inquired, seeing his friend eat with a single hand.


    Ziltris paused, swallowed and simply said. "Him"


    An awkward silence came about as both boys clearly knew who ''him'' was.


    "*cough*cough*" dispelling the awkward atmosphere. Levin shifted topic. "Ziltris, you''ve got learn how to smile once in a while"


    Ziltris gave aeback, his tone now friendly. "And you need to learn not to bother someone who''s eating," he turned around. "Besides, sitting around is going to get you in trouble"


    "Bah" he waved. "We both know the bastard''s going to say something regardless of what I do-why care?"


    Ziltris eyes widened. "What are you saying! What if someone hears you?"


    "Bah, who''de here this early?"


    Ziltris nodded in confirmation, finishing thest of his food.


    Right then¡­


    "What is this?!"


    The boys were frightened out of their wits by the all too familiar voice and got on their feet with haste.


    The man had juste out from another alley, yet didn''t fail to make his presence known.


    Both boys unintentionally froze.


    "Who said you could rest?" the man barked. "I paid a lot for you two, and you won''t die until I''ve got my money''s worth"


    Ziltris exhaled in relief, thanking his stars nudging Levin to which both made eye contact.


    It would''ve been their end had he heard their conversation, ves had been executed for far less.


    As for shouting, they''d long since gotten used to it, it would instead be unsettling if he didn''t shout.


    The man was always angry for whatever reason.


    "Did you not hear me?"


    Thest bit shook them out of their frenzy and they scampered to clean the stables, hoping to avoid his grasp.


    Their day had begun.


    Mr. Alwin, which was their keepers name, decided to supervise them, making the day even worse.


    There was no chatter, only squeaks of movement were heard.


    Ziltris had it worse using only one arm with his fractured arm still recovering, but his keeper''s whims could have him lose the very little he had, and his life soon after. So he chalked up the pain and kept on.


    An hour before noon, they had their first customer.


    Rather rent a horse, this man was here to buy one, so negotiations ensued.


    Haggling turned to heated arguments, before finally they reached an agreement, and the horses were given, the buyer caught sight of the two boys.


    Pointing to them he asked. "How old are they?"


    Alwin looked at them. "Tell him your ages"


    "14" Levin replied.


    "13" Ziltris replied.


    The man''s eyes lit up. "How much for them?"


    "How much are you willing to pay?"


    "Fifty silver"


    "Deal!" Mr. Alwin hurriedly agreed.


    Just like that they changed owners.


    A few minutes passed with both men exchanging pleasantries, and then it was time to leave.


    ves they were, trailing after their new master, Mr. Owen while pulling the horses as well.


    With their master five steps in front, Ziltris and Levin conversed in whispers.


    "Where do you think he''s taking us?" Ziltris inquired.


    Levin rubbed Ziltris'' hair giving a wide smile. "Somewhere better than here" he whispered to himself. "¡­hopefully"


    Ezra was able to gain some information from the two men''s conversation.


    The currency and name drops helped him identify his location.


    The Ruwain Dynasty.


    He was relieved to know that he was still in familiar territory but apprehensive about being so far away from home.


    But he couldn''t recall where ''home'' was.


    Walking straight down, they came out from the farthest exit.


    Exiting, Owen strapped the two horses onto his cart and set off.


    The sea of pedestrians parted ways to give them passage and the cart sped up, only to stop in front of arge hut, the biggest Ziltris ever saw.


    Right in front were fresh garden patches that had the boys mesmerized.


    Like a Mini-orchid it was already bearing fruit.


    "Well, get off" Owen''s voice shook them out of their reverie.


    A few knockster and a voice was heard.


    "State your business" was said in a strict yet tone.


    ''Definitely not a man'' Ezra conjectured.


    "I bring gifts for Sir Larson" Mr. Owen replied and the door creaked, opening from within to reveal a petite female, one of short stature.


    Her frozen gaze rivalled that of a dead fish, and judging by the attire, she was both unfriendly and a maid.


    Sir Owen enters and the boys follow.


    The boys behold neatly arranged gorgeous artistic frames hung on both sides.


    But that was just the start. Lowering their gazes had them amazed multiple times over.


    The walls were covered with a sort of thin carpet of light brown colour.


    On this carpet was a ck ink depicting the most random shapes yeting together to prove as fantastic artistry-at least for the boys.


    With only a single pair of table and chair, the boys were to stay on their feet, and apparently, Mr. Owens too.


    A creak saw the door close.


    The maid faced them. "Master will be here soon" before walking away.


    While waiting, Ziltris tapped the floorboards incessantly.


    A cough from Levin broke his concentration.


    The house owner had appeared.


    Walking ever slowly with his crutch and a hunched back, the old man had a brown cloak on, and on his face was a short white beard.


    Mr. Owen curtly bowed. "Greetings, sir Larson"


    "Ah, Mr. Owens. To what do we owe such pleasure?"


    Raising himself, Owen replied. "I came to express gratitude so I brought ves"


    "Oh" Larson muttered, taking looks at Ziltris and Levin, before nodding. "Then I''m very much thankful. I was about to get new ves myself"


    His hands were so skinny they seemed to have wilted, yet when he grabbed Ziltris'' face, it revealed considerable strength.


    Shifting it from side to side, Larson inspected it with a serious gaze before releasing him.


    "Oh, these would do nicely" Larson smiled after checking Levin.


    ''This man isn''t normal''


    Unlike the naive duo, Ezra was rmed.


    His instincts have been ringing ever since they stepped into the house.


    The articted framework was there to deceive, the house held something sinister within.


    Owens'' fidgeting fingers suggested he knew something of it too.


    s, Ezra was powerless to do anything.


    On cue, Owen gave hisstments and left.


    Overly nice.


    Larson was overly nice, providing them exquisite food, and a room.


    The day''s events seemed all good to be true, each passing minute only proved Ezra''s intuition.


    The maids moved like mindless ves, giving neither a smile nor a wink and shunning all attempts at idle chatter.


    Everything about this ce was wrong and by the time the duo caught on, it was already toote.

 Chapter 286 How Unfortunate

    ?


    *Whip!*


    "Ah!" Ziltris cried. Whipped for the umpteenth time, he was barely holding onto consciousness.


    Squinting his remaining eye, he saw Sir Larson squirming in ecstasy holding a bloodied whip.


    ''Why is this happening?''


    ------------


    The first few days in Sir Larsonpany was utter bliss.


    They ate food better than ever, slept blissfully for the first time in years, and were prepared for their daily tasks without hassle.


    Then ten days in, Ziltris woke up without Levin.


    Prompting into panic, he searched for him, but to no avail, he found not a trace.


    When he informed the maids, they told him not to worry, and prompted him to get doing daily tasks.


    Asking four dayster, the maids told him Levin followed Sir Larson on a trip.


    Two weeks passed, and Sir Larson arrived from his long trip.


    Unlike his expectations, Levin was nowhere to be seen.


    Apparently, Sir Larson had sold him to another.


    As expected, Ziltris was devastated, but he made sure to keep his emotions under wraps.


    That night he cried himself to sleep, depression had him acting like a corpse for the next few days.


    He came to terms with the loss two weeks after, having abandoned any thoughts of escaping.


    Holding the loss close to his heart, he busied himself with house chores, working himself to exhaustion while doing so.


    With weeks having passed by, the house''s initial novelty had all but faded.


    With a routine as mundane as can be, Ziltris had spare time which he used to find anything to alleviate the immense dosages of boredom he was saddled with daily.


    Settling into life without Levin was not easy, but Ziltris was getting there.


    Now eating good food, Ziltris grew some muscles, changing from his skinny frame to look like a normal child.


    Seven dayster, Ziltris woke up in an unfamiliar space, gagged and blindfolded, with his arms and legs restricted.


    Squirming to get himself loose, he managed to cut him.


    Then, the gag was forcefully ripped off, and the sight he came to had Ziltris'' eyes widening.


    It was Mr. Larson, covered in blood while holding an equally bloody whip in one hand.


    "Mmm!" Ziltris'' mind could notprehend the situation and he fell into immediate panic.


    Sadly, efforts to get himself loose had him bleed more, he had never felt this much pain.


    With his eyes open, he could now see what exactly held him captive.


    He was bonded with metal on his ankles and wrists to a steel with his hands and legs spread apart.


    Designed for its sharpness, anyrge movement had the braces cut into the skin.


    Worse still, he had been stripped of his clothes.


    Each passing second had Ziltris closer to a panic attack.


    Then¡­


    "Z-Ziltris?"


    A weak mutter of his name had him turn his head to the side, and then came the greatest shock of his life.


    There lied Levin, his one and only friend, bruised and battered and bloodied, with cut marks stretching across his face.


    Upon eye contact, Levin muttered with the little left of his strength. "No¡­"


    Ziltris'' mind reached a breaking point as he unsessfully tried to scream, squirming uncontrobly.


    "Tsk, tsk. Look what you did"


    The devil in the room stepped in, and with a hand movement Ziltris could barely follow, had the whip p right onto the side of Levin''s face, giving him aceration to remember.


    Ziltris froze.


    Levin''s face hit the other side and bounced back to face Ziltris, to which he muttered something under his breath.


    Ziltris read his lips.


    ''I''m sorry¡­''


    Ziltris watched as the life in the eye of his friend fades, leaving his head to simply dangle.


    Realizing what just transpired, Ziltris'' spirit broke, and at this point, he was fresh out of tears.


    "Raise your head!" barked Mr. Larson. Whipping him a few more times before realizing.


    "Oh? He''s dead" said Larson, holding his limping head by the chin. "Disappointing" he muttered, before snapping his fingers.


    A man came into view, his face obscured with ck masks while his hands were covered in ck gloves, all bloody.


    "You called. My lord"


    Larson waved his handsckadaisically. "Get rid of it"


    Promptly, the man cuts off the binding braces, slings the body across his shoulder like a sack of wheat, and takes it away.


    It would be thest Ziltris would see of his childhood friend.


    When the sound of footsteps faded, Larson got to Ziltris.


    "Your friend didn''tst long; he was too weak"


    Ziltris balled fists, before releasing them with a defeated sigh.


    Larson pulled Ziltris by the chin, raising his head to whisper in his ears. "Let''s hope you can do better"


    All he met was an unresponsive gaze.


    ''How weird'' he thought. Usually their eyes would be boiling with fiery rage.


    He mind-shrugged, smiling. ''Let us see how long you maintain that fa?ade''


    He dealt with too many of such kids to not have seen such antiques before, he could not wait to make the boy squeal.


    ''Ah!''


    Just thinking about it had him shaking in ecstasy.


    So began the worst days of Ziltris'' life, which consisted of whipping, sleeping, and sometimes, eating.


    But unlike most others, Larson grew to hate the boy.


    *Whip*Whip*Whip*Whip*Whip*


    Consecutive whipping, each one harder than thest.


    "Why won''t you cry?!"


    At the start, Larson looked forward to the challenge, eagerly whipping the boy for three hours on end.


    He denied his henchmen from helping him, Larson wanted to do this all on his own.


    At the time he could almost taste victory.


    Yet as time went by, reality proved otherwise.


    The best reaction he got out of Ziltris were muffled groans, the boy refused him his pleasure even while bathing in his blood.


    Unwilling to concede, Larson developed an obsession with Ziltris.


    The boy''s eyes fueled with defiance and Larson was not having it.


    He would crush the boy''s spirit and make him submit, no matter how long it took.


    Day after day, Ziltris was whipped to the edge of death, but Larson cared too much for his pleasure to have die so easily and so, Ziltris was fed healing potions after been whipped to the extremes while also preventing him frommitting suicide.


    If his body continuously healed and destroyed, at some point, his mind would break, Larson theorised, and put in even more effort.


    Larson could not wait to im his prize, he could see himself bathing in unimaginable ecstasy.


    His henchmen would testify that Larson''s whipping skills had risen twice with the amount of effort he put in.


    The problem was, Ziltris was already broken.


    The loss of his always optimistic friend right before his eyes did more damage than any sort of physical pain ever could.


    And in memory of his friend, he was not going to let Larson have his way.


    So, each time the pain came to unbearable levels, that memory kept him straight.


    Too bad his body was reaching its limits.


    He was bloody, hungry and exhausted. It was only a matter of time before his body gave in.


    Fortunately, Larson was not around for what Ziltris predicted to be the early parts of the day. He could not actually tell while locked in a ce of perpetual darkness.


    His bucket of tears had dried up, and the few hours of rest gave him all the time to ruminate in silence ande to terms with how fast his whole life had turned upside down.


    Dayster, as he predicted, Ziltris'' body reached its limits, Larson ecstatic chuckles rang deep as Ziltris screamed in pain.


    From there on out, was an experience best left unsaid.


    After a certain point, Ziltris stopped counting days and became ustomed to the pain, but still put up pretences because he knew if Larson got bored, he would be killed on a whim, and Ziltris didn''t want that.


    No, after suffering to such an extent, his only fervent wish was to repay Larson''s ''kindness'', and while he had no master n or any of the sort, he had hoped that eventually, an opportunity would arrive.


    Funny considering the circumstance, but he held on.


    And it did, twice in fact. But Ziltris fell short both of those times, and was thoroughly disciplined for the next few days.


    In all this, the one enraged the most was the unwilling host in Ziltris, Ezra.


    His prediction had been on point, but that did not matter.


    He got to feel inhumane levels of pain day after day after day, without being able to do a thing about it.


    After an unknown amount of time, something happened.


    Like any other day, he was getting whipped, when amotion was heard from above.


    He had long discovered that he was held underground, but he hadn''t identified the route leading out.


    The ground shook, tripping Larson.


    Fuming, he points to his henchmen. "Go and find out what themotion is about"


    Minutes pass and the henchman fails to return, so he sends the second henchmen, who also did not return.


    Changing clothes, Larson walks out of view. Ziltris guessed that he went up.


    Right behind it¡­


    *Crash! *


    The loud sound of falling metal reverberated.


    Then, a man came into view, looking as ordinary as can be, if his clothes weren''t soaked in blood that is.


    His left hand was choke holding Larson, holding with his feet above ground while permeating a presence that threatened to suffocate Ziltris.


    One Ezra recognized immediately.


    ''Demon worshipper!''


    The man stopped right in front of Ziltris, looking him in the right before caressing his jawline.


    "My, how unfortunate"

 Chapter 287 Out Of The Frying Pan

    ?


    Caressing Ziltris'' jawline, the man''s eyes shimmered.


    With a motion faster than Ziltris could follow, cut the braces binding him to the metal.


    Ziltris felt his powerlessness as he simply fell, unable to move a muscle, apart from thecerations from being whipped, the metal had dug into his back to leave an imprint.


    The man caught Ziltris and gently ced him on the ground facing upwards.


    "You poor thing" the man said. He had tossed Larson to the side.


    Ziltris was too weak to even build up enough energy to move his finger, he simplyy and with eyelids threatening to shut tight, witnessed the man loom over him.


    "Such an enormous grudge. It''d be a waste to leave it unfulfilled"


    Slitting his wrist, blood dripped out into Ziltris'' mouth.


    A minuteter, Ziltris quivered, his chest bobbed and throbbed.


    Veins snaked all over his body, almost stretching out.


    Before long, Ziltris began shaking as if ced in ice, froth fell from both sides of his mouth.


    His eyes rolled in to reveal a nk whiteness, and his nails elongated. Then, he rose like a man possessed, still frothing from his mouth.


    Smiling, the man pulls back his clothes and outstretches his arm and cuts it off.


    He flings it towards Ziltris. "Eat"


    Ziltris pounced upon it, munching down the slim pale hand like a dog with his bone.


    Once done, he fell on his back and his body returned to normal. Letting off steam, his veins receded and hisplexion became much healthier.


    A minute passed, and Ziltris'' eyes came back to normal.


    With his exhaustion having vanished, he lifted his arms without much of a thought, feeling surreal at the sight of his recovered skin.


    Even more astounding, all thecerations had faded, not a scar to be seen.


    "Amazing, is it not"


    The man''s voice brought him back to reality.


    Now though, he felt closer to the man for some reason.


    "What happened to me?"


    "All in due time" said the man. "Don''t you have a grudge to settle?"


    Larson entered his sights at that very moment, the man''s throw had him lying unconscious, and all the anger within Ziltris came to the forefront.


    Ziltris walked by the man as if he had turned invisible, grabbing the unconscious Larson by the leg.


    Dragging him to the, he sped his limbs with braces at such a speed and ease that even Ziltris was surprised.


    With that done, Ziltris rendered a hot p first and foremost to wake up the bastard.


    Abruptly awoke, he finds himself in torn clothes and his movements restricted.


    His eyes cleared and he came eye to eye with histest torture victim.


    And when their eyes met¡­


    "Heh"


    Ziltris gave a most frightening grin.


    "Heuk!"


    Larson''s drowsiness was driven away, and anxiety quickly settled in.


    Nevertheless, the man didn''t outright burst into panic, and used his brain-a very rare urrence.


    "W-What are you doing?!" he shouted. Trying to hold an air of authority.


    s¡­


    *Pah*


    All he got was a p for his efforts, a loud one.


    But Larson wasn''t giving up so easily. "Do-


    *Pah*


    Five pster, Larson''s cheeks had swollen, rendering him speechless-literally.


    Now content with the silence, Ziltris walked to the side, grabbing the whip, the one that had been used tocerations, Ziltris relished the feeling, savouring the moment.


    For Larson, it was the beginning of an untold nightmare.


    *Whip*


    Ziltris gave it a shot, still relishing his new reality.


    With the whip affirming it, Ziltris got to work, expending his newly gained strength paying his oppressor back tenfold.


    Maybe owing to the fact of how much he had been whipped, he wielded the item expertly, whipping him at least ten times every minute, and with his body strengthened, he felt neither tired nor sore.


    It was the greatest day of Ziltris'' life to date, and he had the grin to prove it.


    Meanwhile, Larson got to eat from the fruits of hisbour, letting out shrills and screams all through, until finally¡­he went quiet.


    Larson had breathed hisst, his corpsecerated to the point of being unrecognizable.


    With his death confirmed, Ziltris'' well of motivation dried up and he slowly recovered from his frenzy.


    He tossed away what remained of the whip, falling on his butt caressing his head, he took in the sight of Larson''scerated corpse.


    Now in his right state of mind, he found he was covered in blood. Larson''s blood.


    Water dripped from the edge of his eyes as he squeezed his palm till it hurt, Ziltris punched out to the sky, savouring his big win.


    ''Levin, I did it'' he rejoiced, looking at his palm. ''I got revenge for you''


    Right then¡­


    "Seems you''re done"


    "Ah!" Ziltris was frightened. Turning around, he found the man standing.


    ''I didn''t feel anything''


    Moreover¡­ ''How long has he been standing there?''


    Shivers went down Ziltris'' spine and he was quickly reminded of his weakness.


    Looking at Larson''s corpse, the man spoke. "Are you done here?"


    Taking a final nce at the corpse, he nodded.


    "Good, follow me. We have a lot of ground to cover"


    The man turned around without another word and began walking.


    It was so abrupt that Ziltris froze.


    Three steps in, the man turns to him. "You don''t want to?"


    With his skin crawling, he rose to action. "Not at all" he replied, tailing the man.


    In minutes, they reached the hidden stairs, whose entrance had been destroyed.


    Along the way, he saw the corpses of Larson''s henchmen, strewn apart.


    Walking out, he finds himself a view of destion awaiting him.


    Not his memory of neatly lined houses, instead, scorched earth, wrecked houses and corpses strewn about.


    ck smoke billowed, building into the sky.


    Surprisingly, seeing his hometown razed brought no particr emotion.


    His only genuine connection was Levin. With him gone, he couldn''t be bothered.


    Besides, most of the townsfolk were disgusted by him and Levin, simply because he was a shifter.


    It was also unlikely that none of the townsfolk noticed the disappearing children, rather. It would make much more sense if they simply ignored it.


    Well now fate had caught up to them, leaving them reduced to the piles of filth they were.


    He would have loved to search for the body of his former owner, but with all the buildings wrecked, that could take him several days at the very least.


    Committing the scenery to memory, Ziltris was once again intrigued by the mysterious-no, by his saviour.


    But he held in all questions and toddled behind him in the sunrise.


    Still reeling from the experience, Ezra was overjoyed.


    At this moment, his vision whirred and then...


    His eyes snapped open, to his all too familiar.


    ''It was a dream?''


    *Ack!*


    He gripped his head, grunting as his memories were rapidly restored.


    Blood trickled down his nose, dripping onto the floor.


    Ezra felt his mind heating up because as his memories restored, the sensations of torture he felt while a host in Ziltris'' body hit him afresh.


    The pain turned his eyes bloodshot as he found himself in a pitch ck space.


    Looking around, each step had the floor rippling.


    A whisper prated his eardrums. "Do you now understand?"


    Turning, he finds Ziltris standing behind him with a smile.


    At the same time, his dormant body came to life, absorbing the demon blood he actively resisted prior to this and began healing himself.


    "Do you see it now? Humans should not be allowed to live" Ziltris walked till Ezra and him were less than a feet apart. "Look how they tortured us, enving us for our heritage, even after all we''d done"


    Looking Ezra in the eye, he goes. "Is it fair that we let them do the same to others?"


    A minute goes by, with Ezra gripping his head.


    ''What-


    His thoughts were convoluted and interrupted, his ability to reason was suppressed.


    While the word "No" continuously echoed.


    Ezra simply replied what he heard "No"


    The process of assimting the demonic blood increased.


    "Then let us save them. We must save them from themselves, should we not?"


    Three minutes pse, Ezra replies with the new echoing word.


    "We should"


    "So, join me" he said, raising his arms in both direction" and let us bring salvation to all"


    Ezra nods, "Yes"


    *Boom*


    Demonic energy erupted from his body.


    On cue, Ziltris pronounced a statement. "It is done"


    Soon after, his expression morphed, a grin stretching from side to side as he burst into hystericalughter.


    The ck space melded like liquid.


    Ezra''s eyes snapped open right after, his thoughts no longer interrupted.


    Quicklying aware of the demonic essence gushing out of him, he moved to stop it.


    But, his body didn''t listen to hismand.


    ''Don''t be in a such a hurry''


    In actuality, another had gained ess to his mind.


    The corruption.


    Now out of the frying pan, Ezra finds himself in the fire.


    His thoughts were slowed down and interrupted before, now, his mind was being encroached, and he was losing control over his own body.


    He had one incessant thought.


    ''I should never have trusted a demon worshipper!''

 Chapter 288 Into The Fire

    ?


    "Get in formation!" the head warden spoke urgently. The squad leaders geared in full, stood aligned in front Ezra''s cell, which was exuding vast fumes of red. "We attack the moment somethinges out that door!" said the head warden, with a forehead full of sweat.


    Arcadia was built with only the best items, so the head warden never doubted its ability to hold it ground¡­until now.


    The demonic aura being exuded was the most he''d ever felt, it had him concentrate just to stay standing, while the squad leaders had to imbue themselves with mana.


    The chain holding the top of the ceiling was iling like any random rope, with the cell itself shaking.


    While hoping for the best, things seem to get worse.


    Arcadia wasn''t built to sustain grandmasters. It was of every doubt that such a ce even existed.


    But they''re Arcadia''s guardians, fleeing was not an option. They would stake it all on the slim chance of killing the enemy the moment he came out.


    For now, they simply watched the situation.


    Meanwhile¡­


    "Damn this!"


    Ezra was in a battle of his own.


    The space in his mind was split because a demonic entity was encroaching it.


    His body''s demonization had been automated, it was progressing without conscious assistance, and fast.


    But to stop it, he had to concentrate to take control and forcefully stop it while tackling the entity meddling in his subconsciousness.


    With each percent the demonization progressed, the encroaching entity grew stronger.


    Worse, the encroaching corruption actively tackled Ezra''s efforts.


    It was still undevelopedpared to Ezra''s part, but it didn''t have to do much.


    It simply kept Ezra upied by disturbing him just enough to distort his effort to focus, while maintaining enough speed to avoid being crushed.


    In this manner, Ezra was forced to deal with the parasite in mind and body, stretching him thin, leaving unable to do either.


    Then, something changed.


    The corruption grew, gaining wings tounch forward attacks, and this time, hurt more.


    From then on Ezra lost inch after inch of his subconsciousness to the corruption.


    Ezra pushed the corruption back multiple times, almost erasing it on a few asions, but the continuous demonization had it regenerate faster and faster.


    Soon enough, Ezra''s right eye turnedpletely dark, and ck tears dripped down his cheeks.


    A turning point was reached.


    The corruption matched Ezra, facing him head on, and with the demonization in progress, it only gained more power even while being beaten up.


    The corruption polluted Ezra''s mind, enhancing the dark side of his subconscious with each inch gained.


    The quiet thoughts of revenge and hatred were now pushed to the forefront of his brain.


    While he concentrated on ''stopping the demonization'' the influx of those thoughts halted progress, haunting him with shbacks of his time as Kevin reed, of all the sacrifices made and the things endured, all fuelling one thought.


    ''All humans should die!''


    "Ah!" with a short shout, Ezra fell to the ground, limp as a dead fish.


    With nothing stopping it, the demonization process ended sessfully.


    The fumes being spewed were absorbed, his veins glowed, before settling down.


    Yet, the boy did not get up.


    For the battle had yet to end.


    At this point, his subconsciousness only had dark thoughts swirling around it.


    ''We must pay them back for what they did to us!''


    ''We cannot rest until we have our revenge!''


    ''We sacrificed too much to not pay them back!''


    ''They must pay!''


    These were the mainstream thoughts, the corruption hadpletely taken over.


    With the subconscious corrupted, the rest followed, and soon enough, Ezra began epting the train of thought.


    ''Humans don''t deserve to live''


    ''They must all be purged to save the world''


    The resistance drew less and less as a narrative was created by the corruption to trick the brain into installing a new perception of reality, one that would sooth its needs.


    With the hard battle having ended, things progressed smoothly, the corruption worked hard.


    With Ezra already containing considerable darkness from past betrayals and grudges, it simply mixed those thoughts with demonic values and soon enough, they began to ovep, forming new thoughts.


    Killing his enemies became eradicating humanity, making his enemies suffer became saving the world from the hands of humans.


    His limp body became not so limp. His eyes shut open, both now pitch ck and then his lips began to move.


    From his mouth, his thoughts echoed out.


    "Humanity must be extinguished to save the world"


    A mistake was made.


    Ezra reincarnated, holding memories of otherworld monsters and dungeons-he knew what would burn the world cause he''d seen it.


    So that statement was a lie, an existential one.


    From the depth of his soul came a rippling that woke the real Ezra, who should''ve been devoured.


    His entire ego came together as a small sparkling light held in his form amongst the darkness in his subconscious.


    The corruption promptly struck.


    This time, Ezra did not fight nor avoid.


    Darkness covered the manifested ego, looking to corrupt Ezra''s essence and stake its chance to be the sole host.


    But things took a turn.


    The light to be absorbed, began absorbing the corruption.


    For a bit the corruption was shaken, but rxed soon after.


    Regardless of how it was done, Ezra''s thoughts would be influenced.


    Rather, this method would have the ego corrupted even faster, so it watched all its essence get absorbed, and subsequently, itself.


    The corruption''s goal was that, to corrupt, not to stake sole im of the mind, regardless of the method.


    So it had no problem with the current procession.


    By the time the corruption waspletely absorbed, the manifested ego had lost its outline, being only a lump of darkness with no features.


    Thoughts of both human extinction and personal revenge floated around just like before, nothing had changed.


    But the thoughts were now processed with shbacks only of his new life.


    His birth, his mother, his first word, first book, first thought, his first wobble, his first walk, his first run, his absorbing of mana, meeting Fredrick, meeting Cabrera, training till exhaustion day after day after day, meeting his vassals, heading to the academy, meeting Valentine, fighting beasts, running away, getting captured and now, being imprisoned.


    All that brought out conclusions he''d failed to acknowledge since day one.


    ''Things are not so bad''


    ''I have great people around me''


    ''I''m not suffering anymore''


    The betrayal didn''t fade, but rather advanced to the forefront of his mind.


    ''I was scorned, sneered at, betrayed and then killed'' he acknowledged.


    But that didn''t shake him, for he could now see the light at the end of the tunnel.


    ''But I waspensated with a second chance!''


    A wave of ck fumes was heavily expunged.


    All along, he''d been missing the point.


    The only reason he sought revenge, nned for it and trained for it-was because he could!


    How many could say the same? None. As far as he knew.


    Not only was he given a second chance, but blessed with many more perks!


    How many were born a prince? How many had loving mothers? How many had living fathers? How many had the wealth and power he did? How many were able to navigate life so easily and naturally, leaving the bad and taking only the good right from the start.


    Yet, what was he doing? nning revenge.


    nning revenge on enemies, no, people with no recollection of him. Who couldn''t be concerned less to know of him?


    Why was he trying so hard to go back to the life he hated? Did he not see that he was now in a better, far, far better ce.


    Little by little, the manifested ego gained features, bing an outline of Ezra once again.


    They took his life from him? So what? Was he not granted another?


    They betrayed him? Get in line, you''re not the first.


    They, they, they¡­


    His mechanism for excuses became dysfunctional trying to exin his obsession, because beyond betraying him and killing him, there was nothing left to fall back on.


    That was it, that was everything.


    Betrayal and death, that was it.


    Then, against all odds, he gets a second chance, coincidence or not-the universepensated him.


    So, he dug deeper into himself and questioned again.


    ''Why?''


    He murmured that repeatedly in silence, until the answer manifested itself.


    ''I''m not angry because they killed me. I''m angry because I think they took my purpose from me''


    The realization hit louder than a lightning bolt, and arge part of the corruption within his ego dissolved.


    He could now exin his obsession.


    It was never about the physical pain. It was about taking back his purpose from those who had taken from him.


    It was about gaining his path, for he believed that only by killing them would he have the right to look for his purpose elsewhere-because he identified himself as a knight!


    A knight who''d sworn his loyalty!


    Unfortunately, he''d fail to realize that he was no longer that person.


    He thought he''d convinced himself, but no, the dredges of his past buried deep within his subconsciousness, inbuilt as part of his identity, were still pulling him down.


    He was no longer anyone''s knight.


    He was a prince that came back in time, making literally anything he set for himself easily achievable.


    If bing Emperor was his final goal, he would''ve achieved it by now. But no, it had to be him nning ''his glorious revenge''


    And that wasn''t going too well.


    After talking about how much he loved his mother, look where that led her, it was the same with his vassals.


    Worse, he didn''t know his mother''s location, gave someone else to find out, and wasn''t bothered.


    It became clear.


    ''I''ve been chasing the wrong things''


    "Revenge is not the answer"


    The moment this was uttered, Ezra glowed white.


    From the depth of utter darkness, Ezra''s ego was being forged anew.

 Chapter 289 The Answer

    ?


    "Revenge is not the answer"


    At this utterance, Ezra''s body glowed white, and he began to levitate.


    Back to the manifested ego¡­


    --------------


    ''Revenge is not the answer''


    This phrase echoed repeatedly.


    It was of wisdom Ezra didn''t know he had.


    Revenge held the biggest part of his dark side, and as it dissolved, so did arge portion of the corruption, because they were mixed now.


    But it had yet to end, the ego pushed further.


    If he''d been chasing the wrong things, then, what were the right things?


    No, firstly, him letting go of his revenge was also him parting ways with his identity as a knight.


    That left a burrowing hole and the question¡­Who was he?


    The question was both deep yet light.


    It was an existential question. The answer would be a core attribute to his being.


    So, the question echoed.


    ''Who am I?''


    The more it echoed, the harder the answer seemed.


    So, deduction began from where it was easiest.


    ''Who am I not?''


    Surprisingly, the answer popped like popcorn nearva.


    He was not an orphan. He was not poor. He was not a lowly peasant. He was not the one betrayed. He was not weak. He was not miserable. He was no magician. He was not a fraudster. He was not a thief. He served no one. He was not a martial artist¡­


    Time passed as Ezra listed everything he was not.


    When that was done, the question ''Who am I'' was asked once more.


    This time, the ego had no qualms on answering.


    He was a knight. He was a prince. He was healthy and wealthy. He was the son of a loving mother. He was the son of Niton''s Emperor. He was blessed. He was strong. He was honest. He was the one who came back in time. He was the one who trained for seven years¡­


    With each attribute discovered, each answer given, the glow around his body dimmed, and it began falling from its levitating position.


    Without noticing, the corruption dissolved with each attribute given until the dark and the white part matched perfectly.


    Bnced, as all things should be.


    After which the ego began engendering features.


    First Ezra''s general outline, then the not so general outlines.


    The jaw line, the chin, the wrists, the eyebrows, the knuckles, the toes, the finger, until finally, the mostplex details wereplete.


    At that moment, the air around Ezra''s body rose in pressure, a presence emerged pressing down on all the prison''s inmates.


    "Ack!"


    "My¡­body!"


    "Such pressure!"


    Even the head warden was forced to kneel. Most fell face t on the ground.


    Today seemed to be the worst ordeal as the head warden stared at which the pressure emanated.


    The pressure overwhelmed their capabilities so much that their bodily response was enduring, for resistance seemed like a fool''s gamble.


    Worse, the pressure gradually built up, pressing them down even more.


    Suddenly, the pressure was taken back, sucked back to its source.


    Not a sound was made nor did any move.


    Thirty seconds passed, the situation seemed to pass, and then¡­BOOM


    A massive soundwave was released, sting everything afar, smashing the guards against walls and cell doors while the inmates against the walls of their cells.


    Moreover, the imprable fortress made to contain Ezra was split apart, part flew in every relevant direction.


    The soundwave was so massive, everyone in Arcadia was knocked out.


    The strongest few regained consciousness first, scrambling to their feet.


    The head warden slowly removed himself from the wall he was lodged into, while clearing his eyes of blood flowing from his forehead.


    For the first time in a long time, he got reminded of the higher echelons of power that roamed Orion.


    Moreover, it seemed he''d just witnessed the birth of one.


    His senses came one by one as he scanned for his people-the squad leaders and promptly began helping them up.


    Firstly, he realized that the surroundings were pitch dark, the soundwave from earlier must''ve messed with the lights.


    At his level of power, it wasn''t a hindrance.


    Lodging the squad leaders out of the walls, he found Valentine bleeding on the ground after dislodging arge shard of metal in the wall right above her head.


    ''How lucky''


    She escaped death by a few breaths.


    Others were not so lucky. He found one of the female squad leaders impaled to the wall, another male squad leader had his head squashed.


    All in all, he found three dead, the rest injured, but with good healing potions and a lot of rest, they might just live on.


    But when he looked in the direction of the cell, he couldn''t make out anyone.


    That was concerning.


    Right then¡­


    *Kang*


    Something hit a metal door loudly.


    *Kang*


    And did it again.


    ''Oh no!''


    The head warden realized.


    ''Someone''s trying to escape''


    The door were supposed to hold on any situation, but there was no telling how the soundwave must have affected the


    It wouldn''t have been too bad if they weren''t on the third floor filled with master-rank , and all the squad leaders weren''t in critical condition.


    ''I need to get them out of here''


    He was in shape to fight, but his subordinates weren''t. So, he got up to get away.


    *Boom!*


    Toote.


    With the sound of the door sent flying, clearly reverberating, the situation had turned for the worst.


    The head warden would be struck down if the enemy caught him fleeing, and he knew so too.


    So he had one choice.


    Stand and fight.


    With heavy steps, a figure walked out of the cell, shirtless with a bulky physique and broad chest. His voice booming.


    "Finally. I''m free!"


    Moreover, the presence of demonic energy identified which inmate had escaped.


    That made little difference. The warden was confident in taking anybody short of Grandmasters, after all, he was a great master.


    Having decided to fight, the head warden had no qualms engaging the opponent.


    From the corner of his eye, the demon saw something glinting.


    Sha!


    The head warden''s rapier came to light, cutting deep across the demon worshipper''s face.


    "Get back in your cell!" the head warden spoke.


    Bashing his fists, the demon worshipper replied, "Make me"


    sh!


    The battlemenced.


    "Gah!"


    The inmate quickly found himself on the losing side.


    Cuts appeared on his body faster than he could heal, and in less than two minutes, he was about to be defeated.


    He regarded the head warden highly because he knew he was tough, but apparently, he''d been underestimating the old man.


    Now, he was paying for it.


    Being the head of Niton''s greatest prison yard, the head warden saw it as his duty to find out as much as possible about his inmates, just as insurance for the possibility of the current situation.


    He knew the weaknesses of each inmate by heart.


    The demon worshipper in front of him was no different.


    The head warden closed him down to prevent him from gaining range to release attacks, and then kept the pressure persistent.


    The demon worshipper was a mage, if allowed time and distance, he wouldn''t be able to guarantee the safety of his unconscious subordinates.


    So, with precise aim, the head warden shredded the demon worshipper, decorating him withcerations, deep ones.


    At one point, the demon worshipper''s arm was cut off.


    But in that exchange, the demon worshipper released a beam, not at the head warden in front, but behind him, and a loud explosion rang the second time.


    The demon worshipper backtracked while under attack from the unrelenting head warden.


    Until at a point, he stopped.


    Already cut down to a near death state, the demon worshipper smiled, unnerving the head warden, who only then realized the plot.


    The metal sound was the door to another cell!


    Another inmate had been freed!


    With quick pace, he aimed to end the demon worshipper by beheading, but the de was swerved off course by an external force.


    "Tsk" the head warden clicked his tongue.


    The demon worshipper had used the brief interruption to gain distance.


    "Head warden" a voice called. "Why don''t we make a deal?" it said.


    "I help you catch him, and you''ll let me go"


    "What?!" the demon worshipper was aghast.


    But then¡­


    "Shut up" the head warden shook his de to get rid of the blood on it, his voice loud. "There will be no deals. Both of you are going back in your cells"


    "Tch, tch, tch. How unwise."


    The new enemy came into view, donning ck robes on his thin muscture with a bald head, was Shatin the gue.


    A martial artist chased out of Ruwain and discovered a technique along the way, which led to him killing hundreds of people.


    A drop of sweat slipped down the head warden''s face.


    ''This will not be easy''


    Nothing ever was. He engaged them without a second to lose, and a three-way battle ensued.


    At that time, the squad leaders began to wake up.


    While no one noticed, another cell door was slowly being loosened.


    Most importantly, they all seemed to have forgotten about the main cause of the incident, with his presence masterfully hidden.


    Things were far from over.

 Chapter 290 Identity

    ?


    With thepletion of the attributes that made up his identity, Ezra''s ego now took those attributes to rebuild itself.


    First things first, his name.


    ''I am Ezra Miller''. More importantly, ''I am no longer Kevin Reed''


    The second announcement resounded, changing his existence fundamentally.


    Since day one he''d been meshing both characters together, but like water and oil, they stood together yet apart.


    Both were names he imed for recognition, which caused the problem.


    What was his formal identity?


    Previously, he''d unconsciously held it to be Kevin Reed as it was the obvious choice.


    But now he could see clearly, he realized that holding up Kevin Reed as his formal name had him living in the past.


    It had him evaluating the present with the past.


    Now, he acknowledged having lived as Kevin Reed, but more so, he acknowledged that he had ''lived'' it.


    Kevin Reed was no more, only Ezra Miller.


    This deration was the spark his soul needed.


    Now, Kevin Reed''s soul, which held all his past life memories were dissimted and then assimted into Ezra Miller''s soul.


    His souls had begun to truly integrate.


    Ezra''s ego had no awareness of this, but instead, had its work far easier with that single answer.


    With the main identity now rified, all other decisions were taken with it as a basis.


    Kevin Reed wanted revenge, not Ezra Miller, so that was discarded.


    Kevin Reed was the one betrayed by his liege andrades, not Ezra Miller, that too was discarded.


    Kevin Reed was born a peasant, Ezra Miller was born a prince, the son of an Emperor.


    Kevin Reed held grudges against Vonnamor, not Ezra Miller.


    Ezra Miller swore to protect his mother-Kevin Reed didn''t have parents.


    Kevin Reed was the one wanting to take advantage of theing apocalypse as an agenda, not Ezra Miller, so those ns were dismantled.


    Ezra Miller was the fourth prince, the one with Vassals.


    Ezra was the master of Fredrick and Cabrera, not Kevin Reed.


    Kevin Reed got stronger to destroy his enemies, Ezra Miller grew stronger to protect his loved ones.


    Kevin Reed was the miserable, damaged and broken man left to die, not Ezra Miller.


    Kevin Reed was the one roaming from battlefield to battlefield, not Ezra Miller.


    Ezra was the one who led his troops against the beast tides, not Kevin.


    Kevin hated demons because he''d seen their inflicted destruction, Ezra hated demons because they tried to kill him.


    Kevin was the one taught assassin techniques, not Ezra.


    Kevin was the one who discovered a Dark gold mana technique, not Ezra.


    Ezra was the one who ransacked the royal treasury.


    Ezra is the owner of the ancient space ring and everything within it.


    Ezra is the head of ck Jaws, Kevin was the head of the 12th dungeon division.


    Kevin was the one who''d lived through the Great cmity.


    Each memory was categorically ced as the souls integrated.


    The creation of a new identity didn''t mean thest one was forgotten.


    It was simply the realization of change.


    Akin to the caterpir turning butterfly, the time as a caterpir was not forgotten, but nor was it used as the main processor for the present information.


    As such, the corruption dissolved as its influence eroded, unable to handle the depth of Ezra''s ego was rebuilding itself and was ultimately eradicated.


    Unconscious, Ezra failed to realize he was being watched.


    --------------


    Staring at Ezra was a being with a solid body beyond the deep skies.


    "To think it was possible" it said, at a frequency only it could hear, surprised nheless. "This produced a worthy individual"


    And right in the nick of time as well.


    "Well, worthy might be a bit far-fetched" it said, still looking at the boy. "But this''ll have to do"


    With its power drastically limited, it was a matter of days, weeks at most, for the inevitable to happen, and it had been preparing for it.


    At the same time, it''d been monitoring the entity that held energy mirroring its own within itself.


    "There might just be hope to avoid theing cmity"


    Now, a chance was given, and while it felt the vessel was far below satisfactory, it had not the leisure of choice.


    Like so, dots of energy hanging around Orion''s stratosphere began clumping.


    The world''s inhabitants felt the change, specifically masters and grandmasters, but could not pinpoint the cause.


    Without anyone''s knowledge, the clump of energy now refined to look like a cue ball, shot faster than a shooting star, evading all forms of detection, andnded right into the heart of the entity in question seamlessly and ceaselessly.


    Ezra.


    But his body felt no difference, and neither did anyone else.


    No, there was someone who felt it.


    --------------


    "Hmm!"


    On his throne of fire twinkling his fingers, the demon lord bopped his head.


    The feeling was unmistakable.


    For the first time in eons, he set up the mirror portal to see his apostle, and fast.


    Crea''s face appeared on the other side soon after, looking gloomy as she held her breath in front of the demon lord''s gaze.


    It was an expression she''d never seen.


    "Rugu zartu lugun! Dunum ardduum!" (The barrier has been taken down. Begin the descent immediately!)


    And he spoke in a tone she''d never heard.


    Crea asked not how he knew this, nor could she, as the demon lord cut off the portal right after.


    Instead, she moved with haste tomence her lord''s order.


    If he called her with such urgency, missing such crucial timing would be her end as an apostle and even a demon worshipper.


    She dare not dilly dally.


    Time slipped and clocks ticked as each force made moves to ensure their aim.


    -------------


    The head warden stood strong even in front of two powerful foes, fending off attacks.


    The unfamiliar movements of the martial artist were most annoying to fend off, but the head warden wouldn''t do his reputation justice if he couldn''t push past his limits.


    The squad leaders had all woken up. But they could only watch as the head warden battled, for they were in no condition for battle, lest a few.


    Valentine was among the few.


    For those few, the head warden specifically told them not to interrupt.


    It was HIS fight.


    Besides, they''d mostly slow him down anyway.


    Instead, they got their wish when the third inmate escaped his cell.


    Now they worked together to fend off the new assassin on the scene.


    The battle had the walls broken and the floors dented, but those could always be repaired.


    Having advanced to squad leader status, though still the weakest, her intermittent lightning sparks worked as a direct counter to the assassin utilizing darkness as a weapon.


    Things continued like that suddenly.


    "AH!"


    A loud cry rang out.


    Ezra squirmed with his eyes wide open as he felt his insides forcefully adjust.


    As his souls integrated, his body-which was now that of a half demon-fought against it.


    Demons were also called masses of negativity, corruption was a part of their being.


    With the corruption now gone, the body was forced to adapt, else it died.


    Thereby bringing about the current situation.


    From his eyes tears of blood fell while his ws intermittently popped up and receded.


    ck blood ran down his mouth as Ezra nowy on his side.


    Then his body began emanating his elements.


    His body would have the ground freeze, then it lit up with fire, followed byrge lightning crackles.


    His blood rose to the air and fell as the fumes of darkness followed.


    It was happening so fast and emitting such pressure itmanded everyone''s attention.


    No one dared go close though. For it looked to them like Ezra''s body had grown vtile after a forced advancement.


    Meaning all the energy within him was going to burst.


    In other words, he''d be a bomb.


    With the pressure being emitted, it was no doubt that the ensuing explosion would kill everyone in the surroundings.


    This had the inmates panicking.


    They''d only gained their freedom, losing their lives was not an option.


    But the head warden refused to budge.


    "Have you gone senile?!" The demon worshipper questioned. "We''ll all die if we stay"


    "Exactly" the head warden spoke. "I''ll choose that over letting you out of here anytime"


    "Ah"


    The demon worshipper realized. He was talking to not just anybody, he was talking to the warden.


    It would be weirder if the Great-master who dedicated his life to guarding a prison was sane.


    But that only had them panic even more.


    The old fart was trying to bury everyone here, they had to escape now!


    But theirbined efforts bore no fruit.


    The head warden was no rookie to be run over by people whose skills grew stale in a cell.


    The assassin attacking the squad leaders took to his feet, he''d rather save himself over settling petty grudges.


    Gone, the squad leaders looked in the direction of the Ezra emanating elements and then at the head warden.


    Like the inmates, the basics were to save themselves. Yet, they didn''t want to leave their leader either.


    Just then¡­


    "Go!"


    The head warden''s voice boomed.


    "But-


    "Go! Take the others and go now!"


    He left no room for argument, they could only take a glimpse of him onest time before holding up theirrades and heading to the first floor.


    Moreover, there was no telling what the escaped assassin would do on his way out, so they had to hurry.


    Halfway to the second floor, they were knocked off their feet with a loud boom, falling to the ground, while somended on those wounded.


    As squad leaders, they scampered to their feet, Valentine among them.


    But she was mesmerized at the sight in front of her.


    Suspended in the air was a sphere radiating elements of fire, ice, lightning, blood, and darkness.


    They were changing so fast, the colours blended.


    It was beautiful.


    So much so, Valentine forgot herself.

 Chapter 291 Leaving

    ?


    The floating orb of element radiated power far surpassing a Master''s.


    rms went off in everyone''s mind.


    The inmates on the second and first floors were also scrambling to escape, entering an altercation with the low-level guards who thought to do the same.


    The orb sped up its rotation, going faster than any could follow.


    All they saw was a beautiful blend of colours.


    The demon worshipper even struck it with his spells, but they were promptly absorbed, rendering his efforts useless.


    After three minutes that seemed like forever, the orb slowed as the masters noticed it lose size until finally, thest of it was absorbed to reveal the one within it.


    The orb acted as a cocoon, holding Ezra''s body within it.


    Ezra''s mere presence had every person taken aback.


    It was suffocating, to say the least.


    He came alive, stretching and yawning as thest of the white particles floated away.


    There hey, suspended in the air and shirtless, while all around him was wreckage and ruin.


    Yet he was unbothered.


    The head warden and the inmates had temporarily stopped fighting to examine Ezra.


    Contrary to their expectations, he hadn''t blown into a great shower of energy as they''d expected.


    Rather, the presence they felt indicated that he''d risen to a new rank.


    After a minute of stretching, Ezra looked down at them with his eyes now holding a deeper shade of red.


    Without a word he spread his arms out, and a shower of blue particles gushed out to touch every part of the person.


    Ezra rose even higher, his skin crackling and stretched his palm, for which a whip of lightning was formed.


    *sh*


    The whip moved, and an instantter, the bars to a cell were split in half.


    *sh*sh*sh*sh*


    Four more cells were split apart right after.


    Lightning chains moved like snakes and entered those cells to pull the ones within.


    Dragged out momentster, Ezra smiled at the sight of his Vassals.


    "Ezra!" Theron called out in surprise.


    They were just as surprised to see him, more so from his presence and how he was masterfully controlling lightning.


    Ezra nodded lightly, speaking for the first time.


    "I apologize for putting you all in this mess"


    "Forget about that" Johan spoke. "When did you advance?"


    Ezra chuckled. "Just now"


    Their cells were locked with doors, so they hadn''t witnessed the ongoing drama.


    "He left us behind again!" Velora grumbled.


    "So¡­" Roxanne. "What are we doing now?"


    "We''re getting out of here" Ezra replied. Then he looked up, "But first, I have a few things to do"


    He raised his hands, another lightning whip was formed, shing upwards.


    The siblings couldn''t help but wonder what he was trying to do.


    A minute passed; Ezra sent two more whips.


    Only after another three minutes did the whipse down, binding another individual.


    A man garbed in all ck, leaving only his face uncovered.


    The grey hair exposed his old age.


    It was the assassin that fled from the third floor.


    Squirming like a rat to escape the binding lightning chain, he was outraged. "Let me go!"


    The siblings stared, but no, they''d never seen this man before.


    "Who is he?" Johan inquired.


    "Someone useful"


    That was enough of an answer.


    Ezra stared at the man, reminiscing.


    ''Teacher''


    This was the man who taught Ezra, no, Kevin, assassin techniques, and how to properly utilize darkness.


    During Kevin''s time, he''d only escaped after the apocalypse hit.


    History had changed once again.


    ''Now, we leave'' Ezra looked around.


    As a grandmaster, his aura was a beacon for other grandmasters.


    So, flying across continents would get him killed.


    That left one other method, space portals.


    Space mages were summoned, and they could take two to five days depending on how far away they were.


    Luckily, Ezra knew of someone nearby.


    Dropping to the third floor, he released the binding over the siblings, deeming it better to walk.


    The master rank inmates avoided eye contact with him.


    But¡­


    "I will not allow you to leave"


    The head warden blocked his path, with his bloody rapier in one hand, he stood strong though bloody in the face of overwhelming strength.


    His courage was unmatched.


    Unfortunately, courage did not match ability.


    And when courage did not match ability, it was called a different name.


    Foolhardiness.


    Raising his palm, Ezra created a concentrated sphere of fire, and it grew to twice the size of his palm in no time.


    Released, it flew to the head warden, who determined it was too fast to dodge and brandished his rapier to cut it in half, all in ten seconds.


    He sought to slice the sphere of fire, but the sphere imploded upon contact.


    Boom!


    The result? The head warden was blown into the wall like a piece of dirt.


    Ezra leaped onto the stairs,nding in front of the fallen squad leaders, and pulled Valentine away without hesitation.


    "Ah!" she screamed. One of her ribs was fractured


    "Drink this" he said, handing her a healing potion from the space ring.


    Shook and unsure, she nced between Ezra and the potion.


    Especially since the potion is not of its regr colour.


    Under Ezra''s high gaze, she gathered up the courage and chugged it down in one gulp.


    She hissed, holding her side as her body was healed.


    Ezra didn''t wait. He grabbed her hand, held her by the side, and leaped. Landing in front of the siblings.


    The siblings watched the duo, blinking as they concluded the situation.


    Theron smiled wryly, giving Ezra a thumbs up.


    "She looks good"


    "Huh?" Ezra raised a brow while Valentine''s cheeks reddened.


    "It''ll take too long if we wait for a space mage, so we''ll settle for the next best thing"


    "Huh?"


    Both Valentine and the siblings were thoroughly confused.


    Ezra released Valentine, looking just as confused as to why they didn''t understand.


    He looks at Valentine. "Can''t you open portals?"


    "I can¡­"


    "Good. We need your help to go back to Niton"


    Only then did they understand.


    "Wait" Valentine cautioned. "I''m not my mother, I can''t go far before depleting my mana"


    "If it''s a problem of mana then you don''t need to worry. I''ll take care of that"


    "Are you going to leave them like that?" Valentine asked, looking at the two master-rank inmates trying to avoid detection.


    "No, I was getting to it" he said. "Might as well do it now"


    He wrapped more lightning chains around the squirming assassin and ced him on the ground, before racing off faster than they could follow.


    Darkane appeared in his palms, ejected from the space ring.


    Voom


    The siblings found him standing behind the two inmates, who-for some reason-froze.


    Still wondering what happened, they witnessed the two inmates'' heads slide down their necks and fall.


    Followed by the torso, and then the legs fell like dominos.


    The mouths of onlookers went dry. The assassin stopped squirming as a chill ran down his spine.


    He was too frightened to speak.


    Ezra sped up the stairs to the second floor, the noisiest floor.


    Sounds of falling metal rang loud and clear as of a minuteter, silence reigned.


    Ezra arrived at the third floor once more after ''exploring'' the first floor as well.


    With him were fifteen guards bonded with chains of lightning, all wounded.


    cing them down, he races off andes back, this time with the squad leaders.


    With the siblings and Valentine''s help, they fed all of them healing potions.


    Inferior one, of course, Ezra wasn''t THAT generous.


    Stealing nces, Valentine spoke.


    "What did you do to them?" she asked.


    He replied without even looking at her. "Don''t ask questions you don''t want answers to"


    Shey silent after that.


    In five minutes, both guards and squad leaders awoke, and could now stand.


    Walking to the fourth cell on the third floor, he ced his hands in the small area meant for food and ripped the door out.


    Darkane was in hand, ready to cut the person down.


    But then¡­


    "Please don''t kill me!"


    What was this?


    A manpletely covered in dirty purple robes was bowing.


    "I''ll do anything you want. Please don''t kill me!"


    "Raise your head" Ezra spoke.


    With a long grey beard, no hair, and massive wrinkles on his face, his age was all too apparent.


    Though the man had more meat to his muscles than expected.


    More importantly¡­


    ''He''s not someone I knew as Kevin''


    He had no recollection of him from his past life. Most likely, he''d died during the apocalypse or of old age.


    "Who are you and why were you locked up?"


    "I''m known as the poison cloud. I was locked up after killing ten viges with my poison"


    ''Come to think of it'' Ezra looked at arm. ''I''ve been looking for how to strengthen the poison in my blood''


    He smiled, looking at the man. "You''ll do anything?"


    "Yes, of course" the man spoke profusely.


    "Hmm, I may have a use for you after all" he pointed to the others. "Go and stand with them"


    "Yes" the man took to feet and joined them with speed.


    A few stepster, he stopped in front of the unconscious head warden.


    The sphere was never meant to kill.


    He broke the wall apart and pulled out the head warden with lightning chains binding him.


    Without a care in the world, Ezra brought out a mana stone from the space ring and handed it to Valentine.


    Her eyes felt widened just touching it, she examined it further.


    "Such rich mana. What is it?"


    "Who knows? Try absorbing it" Ezra replied.


    She didn''t speak back and tried absorbing it.


    Her body shook at the difference in quality she felt.


    She looked at Ezra with an incredulous gaze.


    "You must''ve felt its potency, he said. "But we don''t have time to do things slowly"


    "Give it to me"


    Valentine handed him the stone.


    "Do you know where your mother ced her marks?"


    "No" she shook her head. "But I can feel it"


    "Oh, okay. You''ll open a portal to the nearest one"


    "I''ve said this before, but I''ll say it again. I can open a portal in two, but I''ll need at least five to stabilize it, else you all be torn apart"


    "Okay-


    "I can''t hold it for more than five minutes and I can only do it four times a day"


    "¡­." "Is that all?"


    "Yes" she nodded.


    "Aren''t you too weak?"


    "Hey!" she fumed. "	Not everyone can be grandmasters so easily"


    "Fine. Begin the spell"


    It was time to leave.

 Chapter 292 To Niton

    ?


    "Fine. Begin the spell"


    Taking a deep breath, everyone moves to the side as Valentine begins.


    Slowly she stretched her palm into the air, and it rippled. Wasting no time, she tore it open with her two hands.


    Raising her palm, she stopped the suction force that would otherwise swallow everyone around and then widened the portal size slowly until it stabilized.


    Upon stabilizing, she heard a voice behind her.


    "I''ll be assisting. Hold on"


    "What?"


    A palmnded squarely on her back, and before she could question it,rge amounts of mana prated her skin.


    That of the same quality as a mana stone.


    Valentine was temporarily breathless. Coming back to reality, she tried to control the mana.


    "Don''t try to control it, just let it all out" Ezra instructed, and she obeyed.


    Channelling the gushing mana into the portal, she was able to navigate beyond her normal limits and feel her mother''s mark faster than before.


    "I''ve found it" she said. Immediately linking the portal point to open as close to the mark as possible, and it happened.


    The dark green portal began swirling at a much slower speed.


    Only then did Valentine release her hand.


    Falling on her back, Valentine let out tired breaths as she swiped her hair off her sweaty face.


    A shadow loomed over.


    "Good job" Ezra intoned. "But it''s too early to be exhausted"


    He looked at the crowd at the side. "What are you waiting for?" he asked, tossing the unconscious head warden and then the assassin through the portal.


    Quickly, the squad leaders and the guards picked up the pace, running and jumping into the portal, followed by the Vassals and then the poison man.


    Valentine got to her feet, ready to jump in when she looked at Ezra, who stood unfazed.


    "Well?"


    "Go ahead. I have onest thing to take care of. Also, begin opening the next portal the moment you go through"


    She stared¡­ "Suit yourself", before jumping through anticlimactically.


    Ezra chuckled.


    Not willing to waste any time, he lit with lightning and took to the air, levitating to the top floor.


    From this height, he could survey the entire ce and could see the carnage he wrought with rity.


    All the cells had been destroyed, either by the inmate or by him. The floors were filled with what remained of the inmates.


    Corpses.


    Corpses in a worse state than ughtered beasts.


    A pool of blood had formed.


    In face of such horror, Ezra didn''t even blink.


    He saw what transpired after they got released during his life as Kevin, and he wasn''t about to let it happen again.


    ''Now to bring this ce down''


    Moreover, with all the inmates dead, what good would it be to leave the ce standing?


    Yes, Ezra intends to destroy the facility, relegating Arcadia to the annals of history.


    A sphere of fire formed from the air above his open palm.


    Rapidly it grew, when it became thrice his size, the corpses were already sizzling.


    Of course, it could be destroyed with much less effort.


    But since he''d be destroying it anyway, why not use this to pull away attention from himself while he fled.


    When it became four times his size, Ezra stopped expanding and startedpressing it until it came down to the size of his half his fist.


    When that happened, Ezra simply let it fall.


    It began dropping, but at Ezra''s speed, it was as fast as a falling feather.


    He picked the sphere of fire once more, brought it very close to the top and then sped off into the portal.


    Arriving at the gathering, he finds himself in a forest, with the rest waiting.


    With the second portal stabilized. Valentine was waiting for Ezra, since with him the process was faster.


    "Close this portal" Ezra spoke.


    No doubt that with no one holding it up, the sphere of fire was already falling.


    Closing a portal was easier than opening one so Valentine did that easily.


    Done, they proceeded to link the new portal to the next location.


    A mark was simply a version of saying a set portal.


    Meaning the portal opened was set in ce by Elisa, and already had a predetermined destination.


    At the same time, it meant the mana provided was far smaller.


    Within a minute, the portal was opened, Ezra went through first with the head warden and assassin chained along.


    At the same time¡­


    The sphere of fire dropped with leisurely pace, providing the only light to Arcadia''s now silent environment.


    The moment it touched ground it imploded, engulfing everything in sight.


    Secondster¡­BOOM!


    The mountain top broke apart, producing a sound too loud to be ignored.


    So loud that even the escaping guards heard it.


    All of Vonnamor came alive as grandmasters rushed to the scene, sessfully pulling their attention away from a fleeing grandmaster whose aura could be felt if carefully searched.


    ----------


    A dayter, they were in Niton.


    Hellison and Lexon were neighbouring continents.


    Elisa could''ve made the trip to Arcadia in half a day but had no reason to expend herself.


    Valentine, the one who made it possible, was bleeding from nose just to say far past her limit she''d gone.


    It was worth noting that she''d been able to take them this far because they travelled through set portals.


    Now in Niton, the party was free to disband. Before that though, everyone apart from Ezra sat down to recover.


    Portal travel was exhausting.


    If non-space mages travelled too frequently with portals, not only did all their bodily organs begin to hurt, but their sense of time would begin to warp.


    Such as what the members were currently experiencing.


    Ezra flung the head warden away with the lightning chains binding him like a fly.


    He brought him along in chance of making him an ally, but he''d given up, the man was a lunatic.


    The head warden woke up by the time Valentine opened the third portal and started a ruckus.


    Ezra had to thoroughly beat him to make calm.


    With everyone resting, Ezra decided it was the best time to make his announcement.


    "We''re in Niton, so each of you can go your separate ways " he said. "Before you go, I extend an offer-I would like to recruit whoever is willing to join me on my journey"


    They began murmuring.


    Most never thought they''d have this problem until they grew too old for their job at Arcadia.


    Moreover, those scouted for such positions were not normal individuals. None of them lived normal lives.


    For that, most didn''t have any ce they knew to turn to.


    There was also no guarantee that they wouldn''t be killed pending they met a powerful enemy.


    An offer like this-was exactly what they needed.


    Having seen him bash the head warden effortlessly, they could vouch for his strength.


    Moreover, he was a prince.


    "But your highness" once spoke. "I don''t mind. But with the pce regarding you as a demon-will we not be killed if we follow you?"


    Murmurs increased once more as they all remembered why Ezra was in Arcadia in the first ce.


    "No worries, if that turns out to be the case, I will keep our rtionship a secret. I will have you join one of the many guilds working under me. With that, no matter what happens to me, you remain unaffected"


    The man held his chin, nodded, and then lowered his head. "I pledge my loyalty"


    Others followed suit, leaving a few.


    "Good" he nodded, handing his new subordinates mana recovery potions.


    It couldn''t substitute the effect of food and water, but it alleviated their exhaustion.


    "Those with me follow as we find cover for the night"


    He ced Valentine on his shoulder like a bean pack, and with her being too exhausted to fuss about it, they walked off, leaving the rest to find their way.


    They found a ce and sessfully lodged in for the night.


    Ezra paid for a three day stay for every person and their essentials as they also needed food and rest.


    When the food arrived, Ezra realized he was the hungriest one, eating so much, even he was shocked.


    Three days, because Valentine needed that much time to rest and recover her strength.


    Ezra was able to truly rx for the first time in a long while, and contemte past events.


    While doing so, he let Severus out of the space ring.


    ''Master!'' Severus cried. His voice rang in Ezra''s head. ''You almost killed me!''


    Ezra stared. "Eh¡­when?"


    ''While you were meditating, a lot of demonic energy poured out of your body, and it almost killed me!''


    Ezra blinked. "Oh, that must be while I was in Ziltris'' memory"


    He exhaled heavily, thinking about how he almost lost his sanity a few days prior.


    Even now, what happened with him was still unclear, he woke up to find himself a Grandmaster, and that his goals were of utmost rity.


    ''That''s not the point!''


    Severus'' voice took threw out of his reverie.


    Ezra ced Severus onp and rubbed its head and under.


    "I don''t know what happened. But I''m sorry"


    ''Hmm, saying that after almost killing me''


    It seems Severus held grudges.


    ''Meditating for three months, I wonder what you were thinking for so long-


    "What?"


    ''?''


    "What do you just say?"


    ''I wonder what you were thinking for so long?''


    "No, before that"


    ''Meditating for three months?''


    "Yes that. What do you mean?"


    ''Huh, what do you mean what do I mean?''


    "Gah! I don''t understand"


    ''Huh?'' the snake blinked. ''You don''t know?''


    "Severus" Ezra cracked his knuckles. "Don''t make me angry"


    ''You were in deep meditation for three months'' it said. ''I thought you knew''


    Ezra stared into space.


    No wonder he ate so much, he hadn''t eaten in three months!

 Chapter 293 Three Months

    ?


    ''I was in Ziltris'' memories for three months?''


    This was the first he was hearing of this.


    Besides, he woke up to find himself a Grandmaster and suspended in the air after battling the corruption trying to encroach his mind.


    He acted swiftly because he knew his next moves, and that led to the current situation.


    ''I need to know what happened''


    With Severus in the space ring a while ago, he went to those nearby moments before he awoke.


    Talking to the squad leaders, he pieced up the process leading up to his awakening.


    ''An orb of elements sheltered my body, and I absorbed it when I woke up?''


    The story was incredulous, but with the reports matching, Ezra could only believe.


    For he noticed that his presence was far lower than what normal grandmasters gave off, yet his attack power was notckingpared to them.


    ''I''ve never heard of a grandmaster advancement looking like that before''


    He had also never heard of someone reincarnate before, nor had he seen a demonized person able to keep his sanity as he did.


    ''In many instances, Ezra was a unique case''


    But beyond that, three months have passed¡­ ''How much has the war progressed?''


    No point in guessing. Ezra went to the hotel owners and pried the information from them.


    "What? You want to know about the war?"


    "Yes" Ezra nodded.


    Having brought in big bucks when he arrived, the staff present had a favourable view of him.


    "I don''t know too much since we''re ways away from the war, but I''ve heard that things are getting heated up"


    "What do you mean?"


    "For one, the Empire brought adventurers from other continents to help them win the war, but some of them joined the enemy''s side" she said. "Then, those demons are putting up a good fight. I heard their knights jumped in enemy ranks and blew themselves up. They also use poison and whatnot. Anyways, their giving the Empire a hard time"


    "Thank you" Ezra said, going back into his room where he contemted.


    ''Three months¡­I need to stop the apocalypse from happening!''


    Right from his awakening, his priorities had shifted.


    If nothing else, he was now a grandmaster, so he had enough strength to protect his loved one and he''d escaped Arcadia.


    There was no more reason to allow the Great cmity to be realized once more.


    Plunging the lives of his vassals and mother into chaos just for personal gain wasn''t attractive anymore.


    So now he had to stop it, and with Kevin''s memories in hand, it wouldn''t take much.


    ''I have to act fast''


    With three months having passed, there was no telling how much faster the apocalypse would arrive.


    Time was of the essence.


    As such, Ezra would love to head there right at this moment.


    But he had something else to do first.


    ''Seems I can''t dy''


    Valentine needed more than the three days allocated to get back to a functioning state, and Ezra did not have the leisure of waiting.


    He called in the siblings.


    "I''m heading to the capital"


    The siblings were surprised.


    "I''m going alone" he said. Mana stones appeared in the palm of his hand.


    Handed one to each person, he gives a second to Roxanne. "Give that to Valentine"


    "You''ve all grown strong since we first met" he said, addressing them generally. "But my next battle isn''t something you can interfere with"


    His fist tightened. "Stay here and cultivate until Valentine fully recovers, after which all of you should head to ck Jaws headquarters. Tell them I sent you"


    With that he got up and walked out.


    Even with his low presence, staying here had his presence concentrated.


    If he didn''t leave, other grandmasters would pick it up soon.


    "Where are you going?" Velora inquired.


    "Kingsmere", he answered, shutting the door.


    Walking twenty metres from the city, he looks at the hotel and then at the sky, sighing deeply.


    *Spark!*


    White lightning enveloped his being, destroying the surrounding areas.


    Ezra took to the skies, elerating in the direction of Kingsmere without a care for anyone watching.


    ------------


    Five grandmasters sat at a round table.


    Deneris, Raven, Getrahan, Jebas, and the Emperor.


    They sat, listening to Bolton read out reports of the situation at the war front.


    Unless certain of the enemy''s destruction or reacting to an equal''s attack, grandmasters didn''t move easily.


    Right now, master ranks are the highest personnel at the war front.


    "That concludes the report, Sire"


    "Hmm" Everyoney quiet, brainstorming.


    The nation''s attacks became increasingly aggressive and self-destructive by each inch the Empire advanced.


    From exploding knights to mass spells hurting both friend and foe. A few had even reported cannibalism.


    Tapping his fingers, the Emperor thought, ''It''s a good we included mercenaries''


    Including mercenaries to buffer their army turned out to be the best they''d had in a long time.


    Moreover, under the guise of giving them more opportunities to shine, the mercenaries were used as pawns.


    Niton had enough gold, so the aim was to win with as little casualties as possible, and so far, they were doing a splendid job.


    Not everyone was stupid enough not to see the trick-most weren''t-but seeing others gain a share out of their ''eventual rewards'' after performing outstanding merit kept up the morale.


    Then a capablemander in charge was capable. At least in the arts of manipting others.


    Week after week had them announcing how much they''d cornered the enemies and were on the cusp of gaining victory, downying how much more fighting needed to be done.


    In reality they''d barely taken down one third of the opponents.


    The situation weakened both sides with mercenaries dying in droves.


    Many mercenaries left after losing a limb, very few with all their limbs, and with Nitonian agents telling tales how easily they were winning the war, mercenaries kepting to volunteer themselves.


    Keeping Niton''s actual loss to a minimum.


    While that was being taken care of, something else was bothering him.


    ''They still haven''t made any moves''


    ck Jaws. Niton''s biggest and richest guilds steered away from the action entirely.


    Few of their members joined the war, a healthy portion of them kept to beast hunting, another portion were the nonbat staff they had opening stalls at multiple ces to sell food and other items for daily living.


    Thergest portion though, became a lot more interested in the sea.


    Many of their members were now going overseas.


    For what reason? The Emperor did not know.


    Fredrick said his members needed time to bereave and rest after partaking in thest war.


    When he questioned Fredrick about it, thetter simply answered that they were looking into other types of food but with sea creatures.


    Still, the Emperor was uneased, watching their movements closely.


    The duration of their buffer zone had long since ended.


    But after utterly smashing thebined power of the five guilds below them and then absorbing their remnants, other guilds kept their heads low, and the hierarchy was set in ce.


    Now, they stood toe to toe with the five great noble families and the royals.


    And like them, they were preserving their forces.


    Recklessly trying to order them about would lead to war, and that was just not the priority.


    All five grandmasters suddenly stopped talking.


    They felt a presence matching theirs headed their way.


    They could feel''s Fredrick''s presence, so no, it wasn''t him.


    Moreover, the presence felt weaker than normal.


    The grandmasters nced at one another.


    "It might being here to self-destruct"


    They blew through the building, heading to meet whatever was approaching.


    While they didn''t think it possible, if a grandmaster truly came to self-destruct, its effects would be catastrophic!


    With possibilities like that, they''d dare not sit around and contemte their options.


    -------------


    Streaking through the clouds, Ezra felt grandmasters approaching.


    Seven of them.


    But rather deter his fighting spirit¡­


    ''Good'' Ezra put more in speed to meet them as fast as possible.


    Two hours in, both sides met.


    Ezra came face to face with Raven, Deneris, Getrahan and the Emperor.


    ----------


    They were naturally shocked.


    "What?" Getrahan particrly so. "Ezra?"


    How was the boy supposedly locked up in Arcadia, here?! And why was he radiating a presence matching theirs?


    Not bothering to answer, Skyfall appeared in Ezra''s palm as he found his target. "Hello Father. How''ve you been?"


    The Emperor grew cold, but he kept his cool. "How are you here? What happened to Arcadia?"


    "I destroyed it"


    "Impossible" Raven interjected.


    "Impossible is but an opinion" Ezra replied, without looking away. "Besides, it wasn''t built to hold grandmasters"


    "So, this is their n?" the Emperor asked.


    "Whose n?" Ezra intoned, confused.


    "Those demons helped you escape, thinking I wouldn''t dare kill you, is that it?"


    After a short silence, Ezra burst outughing, covering his right eye.


    "Hahaha¡­ha" hisughter expired. "I don''t mind being looked down on-but aren''t you taking this too far?"


    Ezra brandished Skyfall, his eyes glowing. "I''m only here for one thing. To take mother"


    Fredrick arrived at this time.


    He was the most surprised, having not gotten a reply from Ezra over the past three months only to see him now.


    Upon seeing Ezra, he nodded to him and proceeded to stand beside him.


    The Emperor''s eyes stretched.


    "Fredrick!" Getrahan voiced. "How dare you collude with demons!"


    "He is not a demon" Fredrick answered calmly.


    "Don''t make meugh. Can you not see his eyes?"


    "So having red eyes makes me a demon?"


    "Shut up boy. We saw you eat that demon''s heart. Nothing you say can convince me otherwise"


    "Then I guess there''s nothing left to say"


    With that said, Ezra gave up talking.


    "Do you believe the same?" He asked his father. "Well, it doesn''t matter. All I havee for, is my mother"

 Chapter 294 Father Vs Son

    ?


    "Well, it doesn''t matter. All I havee for, is my mother"


    "I don''t negotiate with demons"


    Bursting with lightning, Ezra engaged. "You will not keep me from my mother"


    Getrahan interfered, swinging his double hammer staff. "Know your ce!"


    With the presence being weaker than the rest of them, Getrahan guessed that his strength would lower as well. Making him an easy opponent.


    Too bad.


    "Mtchew"


    Hissing, Ezra infused the staff with lightning, warding the staff off.


    More mana had it elongate and he smashed the Getrahan''s forehead with its deless side.


    The man flew away faster than he arrived.


    The others were shocked. They knew Getrahan''s strength, blown away so easily meant Ezra was indeed a grandmaster, and was strong enough to contend with any one of them.


    Ezra didn''t pause, instead elerating towards the Emperor when arge piece of metal appeared to obstruct him.


    "Grandmaster at twenty¡­I''m jealous"


    Deneris dry tone was too recognizable.


    Ezra was annoyed.


    "It seems the Emperor is afraid of his son," he taunted. "Hiding a like a cornered beast"


    *Spark!*


    That did the trick.


    The Emperor lit up with white lightning, shredder appeared in his palm.


    "Deneris, leave him"


    The piles of iron were retracted.


    Father and son stared down.


    "You were a mistake" the Emperor said. "One I ought to correct"


    Ezra sneered, the lightning streaking through his body turned dark, a cut on the hand had the scythe''s de turn red.


    "A mistake better than your other sonsbined that is"


    The Emperor''s head popped a vein. "You won''t be getting away from here alive"


    "That''s not for you to decide" Ezra attacked.


    A trail of ck lightning followed him as he brought down the scythe behind the Emperor.


    Bom!


    A shockwave resounded as the Emperor parried Skyfall with Shredder.


    Ezra felt the difference.


    ''He''s stronger than me''


    A head-on collision would be disadvantageous.


    ''But not faster''


    "You should''ve nevere back" the Emperor pushed Ezra''s weapon away, taking a strike of his own.


    "You should have never taken mother"


    Going at each other multiple times a minute, the duo''s every sh resounded, and those below were affected.


    Ezra constantly changed elements, using them in pairs.


    Strikesnded would freeze the Emperor''s weapon while the blood coated de made sure any cut made had poison dripping into the skin.


    But the Emperor wasn''t the only one taking hits.


    Ezra got hit a few times as well, witnessing the Emperor''s masterful lightning techniques, and began copying them in real time.


    At grandmaster stage, his control over elements had risen significantly.


    But Ezra was losing.


    ''I can''t match him in the air''


    He''d only learned to fly a few days ago, the Emperor had been flying for years, giving him aerial superiority.


    Ezra wasn''t losing, so he changed things up, and started falling like a mummy case.


    As expected, the Emperor followed suit.


    Landing on the ground with a boom, he moved to the side, dodging the Emperor''s attack.


    Shredder smashed right into the earth severely damaging it.


    Thankfully, Ezranded in open space rather than a town or city. Though, they weren''t far from one.


    Both men had injuries. But only shallow ones.


    Ezra released ayer of darkness, forming a dome above the two men.


    Pulling out shredder, the Emperor brandished it, unworried about the dome.


    "Is that all you know how to do son?" he said before making a sudden stop, touching the side of his neck.


    "It''s poison" Ezra said. With poison in the Emperor''s body, he just had to tire him out.


    "Poison doesn''t affect me" he said.


    While cleaning out the poison put in his body for years, he developed resistance to it.


    "Sure" Ezra attacked, eating wide strides as he struck.


    With both men in armour, each had to go the extra mile to damage the opponent.


    Parrying, the Emperor came for his neck as well.


    This time though, Ezra dodged easily.


    ''He''s gotten faster'' The Emperor sensed something amiss.


    "Anything the problem?" Ezra smirked.


    "I was almost disappointed, but it seems you might entertain me before you die"


    Ezra made a cruel smile. "I guess there''s nothing wrong in being positive"


    The Emperor''s double greatsword and Ezra''s double scythe shed over and over.


    ''What is this?''


    The Emperor''s speed begangging.


    ''The poison!''


    Unlike his assumptions, Ezra''s poison was potent and his advancements only boosted its lethality.


    Drinking a potion in a battle of such speed was impossible.


    The Emperor was in trouble.


    The grandmasters spectating from above observed so as well.


    ------------


    Getrahan was rmed. "We can let the boy kill the Emperor. We need to interfere!"


    "You''re not doing anything"


    Fredrick blocked them, d in armour of his own.


    The message was clear.


    "Easy" Deneris said. "The Emperor told us not to interfere. I feel he''d feel worse if we did"


    Raven nodded.


    Getrahan was outraged. "You can''t be serious!"


    Deneris kept silent, giving all answers needed.


    With no certainty of beating Fredrick in a one on one, he was stuck between a rock and a hard ce.


    Jebas couldn''t fly, so he couldn''t help.


    Mervida was the seventh grandmaster to arrive, watching the proceedings without a word, and he was sure he wasn''t going to help.


    With that, Getrahan was forced to sit back and watch.


    -------------


    *sh*ng*Kang*Kang*Kang*


    Striking after strike after strike, both men had inflicted less than ten deep cuts on each other in a battle the Emperor thought he would quickly end.


    Neither had gone all out, and they had the stamina and mana to go on for the whole day.


    As such, after a flurry of attacks, the fight came to a pause.


    "If I run away now, you can''t catch me" he said. "I''ll simply wait till you die of the poison and thene back. No one can cure of that poison except me¡­well, maybe if you go to the demon world you''ll find it"


    The Emperor didn''t reply.


    "I''ll give you the antidote for the poison, and you give me mother"


    "Are you a demon?" the Emperor suddenly inquired.


    "Hmm¡­I don''t feel like one. No"


    "How do I know you''re not being controlled?"


    "Because I can tell you where their hideout is. Wouldn''t that help you win the war?"


    The Emperor was taken aback. "If you''re lying?"


    "Kill me"


    *Silence*


    Still cautious, Ezra withdrew the dome of darkness.


    "Lead the way"


    The Emperor took to the sky and flew in the direction of Kingsmere.


    With Skyfall in hand, Ezra followed, as did Fedrick, Getrahan, Deneris, and Raven.


    The battle seemed to have ended.


    ----------------


    It took a while, but the capital came into view.


    Ezra entered, dropped to the ground to walk, he was better equipped to resist an ambush on the ground.


    Ezra stopped in front of the castle watching as the Emperor''s back faded into the castle.


    Ten minutester, he walked out without anybody in sight.


    Ezra was alert, watching as two guards walked out behind him with a woman in tow.


    His fist clenched tight.


    "Mother"


    He rushed in front of her, flinging the guards away.


    She was too shocked to say anything for the first few seconds, staring into her boy''s eye.


    Her blue hair was tied to a point, while her eyes spoke of sleeplessness.


    "Ezra" she cried out, pulling him into her embrace.


    "Mom"


    ------------


    After being kidnapped by her own husband and locked away, Kiara tried to escape, each time unsessful.


    Time went by as she wondered what her son was doing, and wished he''de to her rescue. But continue trying to escape despite it.


    She incessantly struggled, and now, her son had finallye.


    --------------


    Tears dripped down her face as she savoured the moment.


    Rubbing her son''s head, she spoke. "My son, you''ve been through a lot"


    After a whole two minutes, Ezra released her from his embrace, and faced his father- who was currently chugging down a potion.


    ''It''s not working''


    Ezra was telling the truth.


    "Ezra" he called. "The antidote"


    He walked his mother in front of Fredrick.


    "Keep her safe"


    Fredrick nodded.


    -----------------


    Before arriving, Ezra had tested the potency of the poison with Mr. Poison Cloud from Arcadia.


    That''s when he found that it was far more potent than expected.


    ording to the man, Ezra''s deadly poison was boosted by hisrge demonic attributes, and then refined during his advancement.


    His bloodstream held the most lethal of poisons, one that could end any grandmaster.


    Anything below would simply die in a matter of seconds, minutes at most.


    But the poison cloud was able to create an antidote using his blood.


    With this, he had one up against every other grandmaster.


    That was also when he thought up the n to poison the Emperor.


    If the Emperor hadn''t epted, he would have fought to the death, because Ezra was unwilling to let his mother stay locked up for even one more day.


    ------------


    The Emperor chugs down the antidote.


    "Now, do you have a map?"


    The Emperor stayed silent as the poison effects left his body before wiping his mouth.


    "What for?"


    "We need a n to take out the demon worshippers once and for all, and we need to hurry"

 Chapter 295 Attack

    ?


    "We need a n to take out the demon worshippers once and for all, and we need to hurry" Ezra began. "The demons are nning to open a portal connecting our world and theirs, allowing demon toe into enter Orion nonstop"


    The other grandmasters gathered around.


    "What makes you think we''d believe a word you say?" Raven questioned.


    Ezra shrugged, "You don''t have to. I lose nothing regardless. On the other hand, Niton will perish"


    "Then why are you telling us?"


    "Am I supposed to have good feelings for those that tried to kill me? I hate demons and I want them eradicated. But I can''t do it alone"


    The Emperor spoke. "Tell us more this n of theirs"


    "They intend to bring forth chaos in Orion. Opening a portal is the easiest way to go about it, and soon, they will seed"


    Ezra had no idea of how far the progress to a portal hade neither the process they used to open one across such an absurd distance. But he couldn''t let the others know, else they default.


    "So, we need to stop them before then-but it''s not that simple. The kingdoms allied with them have at least four grandmasters on their side, so if we''re to stop them, we need equivalent force"


    Persuading with urgency was the basics of maniption.


    "Moreover, I only know of their currentir, if we fail at striking them down, and allow them retreat, we might never get this chance again"


    So they had one chance to strike, and they had to make it count.


    Getrahan stepped in front of Ezra. "Are we really going to believe this? It is the plot of demons to lure us into an ambush, don''t you see that?"


    "Don''t worry. You''re wee to stay back" Ezra pats his shoulder. "Your presence won''t be of much use anyway with how weak and cowardly you are"


    "What did you say to me?!" Getrahan popped a vein.


    "Have your ears rotten?"


    Getrahan punched out.


    But¡­


    "Control yourself"


    His arm was held back by the Emperor.


    Staring down his son, he goes, "I concur not that I believe your story. But thisir that you talk of, where is it? And how had nobody found out since"


    Ezra knew its location because he had Kevin''s memories.


    It was where the first portal opened. By then, the invasion was already in full throttle so it was useless information at the time.


    "It''s located at¡­


    --------------


    Once briefed, the grandmasters kept mute, digesting the new information.


    When exined, it seemed the boy was telling the truth.


    Deep rooted distrust wasn''t removed so easily though.


    The Emperor made a decision.


    "We will act ording to the n"


    He turned to Ezra. "But you are unallowed to apany us"


    Ezra stared, thoughts swirling. ''This is even better than I expected''


    "I never said I wasing along. I only came to take mother" he said, walking to his mother''s side.


    Lifting her up, white lightning erupts from his body and then¡­ "Let''s go"


    Ezra flies off.


    Watching him go, the Emperor dished out orders.


    "Raven, Getrahan, Deneris, Fredrick will apany me to end this war"


    "Is it wise to trust him?" Raven spoke, alluding to Fredrick.


    "Right now, we have no choice but to do so" the Emperor replied. "Jebas will stay here to guard the castle"


    "You will be apanying us as well"


    "With pleasure" Mervida''s voice resounded.


    It took twenty minutes for them to get into adequate armour, after which the party took off immediately.


    Swift action was of the essence.


    --------------


    Ezra on his own part, flew to ck Jaw''s skyscraper-ck Sky.


    Still Niton''s tallest building, the ce was bustling with activity even with the ongoing war.


    No, it was bustling even more so because of the war.


    Greeted with a familiar face, It would be the first time in years that Cabrera and Ezra would meet.


    Now, he no longer needed to conceal his identity.


    Ezra had given up the seat of the Emperor, it became impossible the moment he became a demon.


    That didn''t mean there weren''t other things he could do.


    Once they seeded in putting an end to the demon worshippers, there was no doubt that they''de after him.


    For that reason, Ezra couldn''t ck.


    As per hismand, ck Jaws had recruited arge number of talented individuals, each for specific reasons.


    Among them were space mages.


    Space mages were useful to all powers and Ezra needed them for something special.


    He specifically asked them to steal a talent from Vonnamor.


    Ezra''s eyes shimmered looking at the purple haired boy in front him.


    Evan Neil.


    ''With you, it might just be possible''


    There was no doubt in Ezra''s mind that the apocalypse would note to fruition a second time.


    The apocalypse happened years from now during Kevin''s time-Ezra didn''t think it could have elerated forward that much.


    Unfortunately, Ezra did not realize how urate his description actually was.


    ------------


    Meanwhile¡­


    With the demon lord''s order, Crea was making the necessary preparations to open the portal.


    In the room of the demon leader, blood flowed through numerous thin veins, converging into a pool, with a tall pole made of earth ced in the middle, with a glistening crystal at its top.


    Almostpletely red with a little part of it remaining transparent.


    Crea threw the small crimson crystals into the blood pool and they rapidly dissolved, sizzling as the smoke was absorbed into the crystal at the top.


    At the same time, the allies of the demon worshippers pushed the remaining troops into battle under Crea''smand.


    With the speed of which it was filling up, Crea estimated a whole day before the descent.


    But looking at it now, it might not even take that long.


    A smile of satisfaction formed as their dream would finallye to fruition.


    Two hours into it, she felt foreign aura''s matching hers headed her way.


    ''No, that''s impossible'' she thought, ''No one knows our location''


    But the bad premonition in her chest wouldn''t leave.


    It was too much of a coincidence for grandmasters to arrive the same day the barrier fell.


    She didn''t need to say anything to her allied grandmasters-they knew what to do.


    --------------


    With Elisa''s help, the grandmaster''s cut travel time by half, appearing on the new continent, their aura descending like a storm.


    Matching the arriving grandmasters, aura emerged from the surroundings.


    As per expectations, four grandmasters emerged.


    But the Emperor''s party held the advantage, keeping a lot of distance between them and the emerging grandmasters.


    With speed, they avoided collision for as long as possible, diving deep into said territory.


    No matter how fast the other grandmasters were, they couldn''t catch up to them so easily.


    The one nearest slowed down, upon noticing the absence of others.


    Try to hold down six grandmasters on his lonesome? This man was not suicidal.


    So, he trailed a good distance behind them, using wind spirals and other long-range attacks to derail their speed while awaiting the rest.


    Deneris asionally shot back metal projectiles of his own, but the Emperor''s party didn''t halt, elerating instead.


    Along the way, the Emperor didn''t forget to dish out attacks on the enemy''s troops below, frying them to have skin worse than charcoal.


    Which indirectly raised the morale of the mercenaries fighting below, who mistook the situation as the grandmastersing to help.


    The Emperor moved to destroy the demon worshipper''sir underbined attack and wasn''t going to let the approaching grandmasters stop them.


    The attacking grandmasters also realized the irregrity and struck even harder.


    They didn''t know the Emperor''s objective, but they reasoned it would most likely be anything but good for them.


    The party had to split off from one another when attacks came from the side-the others had caught up.


    Fredrick, Deneris, Mervida and Raven subsequently stopped and engaged the attacking grandmasters, holding them down while leaving Getrahan and the Emperor in pursuit of their.


    Each picked his opponent and a battle ensued.


    Both sides gave every attack aimed to kill.


    While doing that, the Nitonian grandmasters struck the cities below whenever gaps appeared, killing hundreds while helping the mercenaries below.


    ------------


    Meanwhile¡­


    ''Is it a coincidence?'' Crea wondered. Before shaking her head, too many coincidences were happening at once.


    So, the question was¡­


    ''How do they know?!''


    Crea was doubting at first, but the iing grandmasters were heading straight at her, to theirir.


    With her aura covered so masterfully, she doubted it could be her.


    If so, then¡­ ''Their location was discovered? But how?''


    At such a crucial time too.


    She couldn''t understand how it was possible, brainstorming, she heard sizzling and to look at the blood altar, which she found was processing more energy than before.


    Her eyes widened, a smile appearing. ''All might not be lost''


    Looking at the altar''s rate of progress, she devised thatpletion was possible in a few hours.


    Clenching her fists, she got ready to greet the arriving guests. ''I can''t let anything go wrong''


    With haste, she donned her armour and exited the cave, drawing a protective formation above it with her blood.


    She was determined to see the end goal to fruition, even if it meant her death.


    Fair as day, her red eyes peered the horizon with her long ck hair tied together while custom made ck armour covered the rest of her features.


    Her bust was neither deep nor shallow, but still managed to stand out.


    The other members were out on assigned missions, and this turned out to be a gain considering the situation.


    The moment the approaching grandmasters passed a certain distance, ascertaining that her guess was on the spot, she swallowed three small red crystals.


    Immediately, she shook as her body began radiating demonic energy.


    It would be stupid to reveal her position without absolute certainty beforehand.


    In no time the grandmasters arrived at her doorstep.


    No words needed.


    A massive bolt of lightning was the greeting received.


    --------------


    Meanwhile¡­


    [Hurry]


    "I''m going as fast as I can"


    Another unexpected guest was on his way to join the fun.


    Ezra grunted, putting more mana into his body as he streaked through the sky.

 Chapter 296 Orion’s Will

    ?


    Minutes after the Emperor''s departure¡­


    [How do you know that?]


    "Hmmm?" Ezra swerved his head, spooked.


    Looking around, he sees others looking at him strangely.


    [I''m in your head]


    Ezra held in his fright and excused himself.


    -------------


    "What are you?"


    [Orion''s guardian] it replied. [Orion''s will]


    "What does that mean?"


    [I''m the one who''s been guarding Orion from the hands of the demons, keeping it from destruction] it said. [And I''ve been watching you for a while now]


    "Then why are you in my head?"


    He couldn''t sense any animosity and there was no reaction from his subconsciousness, so it didn''t seem to be demon corruption.


    [Because even my power is limited, and I hadn''t found someonepatible with dimensional energy]


    "Dimensional energy?"


    [You don''t know what that is] the voice held surprise.


    It went silent for a while.


    [What do you think this is then]


    A row of words built up in front of Ezra.


    [Ezra]


    [Power: 77]


    [Mana level: 81]


    [Demonic energy level: 23]


    Ezra''s heart almost jumped out. "The Life Ark? How did you do that?"


    [I haven''t studied it much] it said, growing louder but colder [But, this item is made from my being]


    Ezra''s stomach ached from the chills he felt.


    [Now I ask, where did you find this item]


    Pressure pressed on his brain, making it feel like it would pop.


    Gripping his head in agony, Ezra replied. "It was given to every human in a time different from now"


    [What nonsense? I''ve been here since the conception of the first Grandmaster. You dare lie to me! Do you want to die]


    With the pressure increased, Ezra squeezed a sentence out his lips. "I''m not lying. Ie from a time yet experienced"


    [Oh really? And what exactly would cause me to disseminate myself to give dimensional energy to humans]


    "We were being ughtered by otherworld monsters-Gah!"


    He held his chest, puking blood while blood dripped through his nostrils.


    There was a pause and the pressure alleviated.


    [What are you talking about]


    Gasping for air while catching his breath, Ezra healed with haste one the pressure let up.


    For one who thought himself a powerhouse, it left a bitter taste in his mouth.


    [Speak]


    Taking deep breaths, Ezra clenched his fists in anger.


    "No"


    [What]


    "No, I''m not telling you anything more" he spat blood. "You don''t get to appear and begin asking questions. I owe you nothing"


    [I can have you dead with a thought]


    "Exactly. So, you would''ve done so if that was your aim-you''re here for something else, and if I had to guess, you need to me alive"


    Ezra was stern, with his thoughts swirling.


    For one, with how he brought up the Life Ark, he could very well be talking to the Life Ark''s creator.


    [Hmm]


    "What?"


    [How amusing. Seems not every human is a letdown. Let me formally introduce myself] it said. [I''m a being that inhabited this world''s will and has been guarding it for thousands of years. You can call me Zydrax]


    "Zydrax¡­"


    [I inhabited your body to strengthen you, so you could stop the demons from opening the portal]


    "Wait" Ezra backtracked. "The demons are about to open the portal?"


    [They have an arrayid around the two thirds of the continent to siphon energy from the blood of dead creatures to fuel the portal crystal, and the wars you waged has provided them with just that]


    "Siphoning energy from blood¡­" Ezra''s eyes widened. "That''s why they started a war!"


    Ezra was shocked, his biggest fears hade to light. ''I expected the invasion to be brought forward, but this was too fast!''


    [Seems your knowledge about things is far less than I thought] it said. [Regardless, you need to head there now.]


    "What does that mean?"


    [When those block brained grandmasters begin fighting in that many a number, how many do you think are going to die]


    ''At least a hundred thousand people''


    [People dying will serve as energy for the portal, elerating the process. You need to head there to make sure the crystal is destroyed before that happens]


    Realization hit Ezr. His fool proof n was going to worsen the situation.


    With haste, he heads to mom''s ce, where sheyfortable with maids attending to her.


    "I have something I need to do. I''m leaving for Quartez" he said.


    "Go" she said. Her boy had be a man. "But promise me you''lle back in one piece"


    "I promise"


    In no time, he donned the white armour made from the A rank snake Fredrick encountered years ago.


    Crackling with lightning, Ezra took off to Quartez.


    "Why do you care about Orion so much?" Ezra questioned Zydrax while racing across the sky.


    [I''ve been looking over this world for generations, and I''m not about to see it get destroyed]


    Ezra nodded, sounded reasonable enough.


    Now thirty minutes behind the Emperor, Ezra put his hands by his side, fuelling his lightning, he didn''t think it was impossible to catch up.


    Flying against time, Ezra shed into the horizon.


    ------------


    [Hurry]


    "I''m going as fast as I can"


    [The portal opening has gotten faster. You won''t make it at this speed]


    Ezra grunted, having not met the party of grandmasters despite flying so fast, and now, the portal was on the verge of opening.


    Memory of destruction popped up on the periphery of his mind.


    ''I''m not letting that happen again!''


    Putting his back into it, Ezra challenged his limits as a grandmaster.


    ------------


    Crea pulled out her red wavy staff.


    Demonic energy gushed out as she deflected the lightning bolt aimed at her.


    Right after, Getrahan''s hammer staffes crashing, and without hesitation she punches it, having it swerve to the side.


    A finger snap had the atmosphere explode, blowing Getrahan away while setting him aze.


    *Crackle!*


    The Emperor intervened, bringing down shredder to pass judgement on the unholy woman.


    "Tsk" she kicks Getrahan away, demonic energy ring as she dodges the shredder.


    "Hmph" The Emperor put his back into it, lightning crackling as he elerated, adding more speed behind the shredder''s rotation, and then¡­


    *KANG!*


    The weapons had the soil denting heavily, as a clear ring of metal resounded.


    With the demon portal opening growing closer, demons gained strength.


    The crystals she ingested before the Emperor''s arrival were to boost her power.


    Snapping her fingers, the surroundings exploded, giving her the precious seconds needed to distance herself from the Emperor.


    The Emperor saw through her attack.


    ''She''s denoting the mana in the atmosphere by making them unstable''


    Simple, but required immacte magic control to do at will.


    The opponent was no small fry.


    "Since the Emperor decided to barge in without consideration. Let me make sure you never need to leave"


    Red fire grew rapidly from her palm, and she sent it in his direction.


    Snapping her palms, different spells came on.


    ''Lesser healing''


    ''Speed boost''


    ''Burn''


    With her second palm, she set up a shield.


    "Now die" She took the initiative, attacking the Emperor.


    Locking onto him, she advanced, snapping multiple fireballs into existence and then sent to yours truly.


    Each explosion brought a massive explosion.


    With a cold stare, the Emperor took a stance, with his masterful lightning control, he concentrated it on his de, elerating as came face to face with the first fireball.


    The Emperor sliced it in half, moving from it onto the others before it could explode and expand.


    ''What?''


    Crea was in shock.


    The shredder was a serrated double greatsword, better for hacking than slicing.


    ''Yet he tore through the spell so easily''


    A spike shot out the earth, Crea barely avoiding it.


    Looking closely, it wasn''t a spike protruding out the earth-the earth had formed to create a spike.


    Getrahan was back in action.


    With burn scars on his face, Getrahan was outraged, the motivation to kill Crea had skyrocketed.


    Smashing the hammer into the ground, broken earth bounced up.


    Not one to waste time, Getrahan began ying target.


    *Bam*Bam*Bam*Bam*Bam*


    Kicks had each stone aimed at Crea.


    Dodging the stones, one managed to hit the shield.


    Clicking his tongue, Getrahan changed targets, the stones now colliding with the fireballs to burst into glorious explosions.


    With the fireballs being taken care of, the Emperor was allowed more manoeuvrability, closing in on Crea.


    Annoyed, Crea had her staff turn to a sword, ck as night radiating unholy amounts of demonic energy.


    "Don''t you dare underestimate me!"


    Rather retreat, she forced forward, meeting shredder face on.


    *KANG!*


    Demonic energy and lightning repelled one another.


    "Ugh!"


    To no surprise, Crea was pushed back.


    She detonated the surrounding mana, pushing the Emperor back, before receiving a nice slice of hammer to her head.


    Getrahan''s hammer destroyed the shield and smashed her head, sting her sideways.


    *BOW!*


    The resounding boom levelled the ground, thick clouds of dusk obscuring everyone''s vision.


    Without waiting, the Emperor struck the cave with lightning.


    Landing squarely on the cave, Crea''s formation absorbed the strike.


    As the Emperor prepared a second attack, Getrahan took to the sky tond a mighty blow.


    Before either couldnd, arge wave of demonic energy blew them off bnce, taking the dust with it.


    A bloody Crea rose to the sky, brandishing her weapon.


    Thest attack had allowed her the one thing she''d been looking for throughout the battle.


    Sufficient distance.


    Pushing out her palm, a red magic circle three times her size appeared in front of her.


    From within came a fireball.


    The Emperor and Getrahan rushed to interrupt the casting.


    With the wrath of a mother, she looked at them.


    "None shall stop the descent"


    They reached her and swung their weapons.


    But it was already toote.


    *BOOM*

 Chapter 297 Elisas POV

    ?


    Moments after Ezra left the siblings, a portal emerged in front of the establishment, and ady with a hat garbed in all purple stepped out.


    It was Elisa.


    Just as Valentine could pinpoint her mother''s marks, Elisa could feel the fluctuation of her marks.


    A marked set point was a space mage''s signature, it would be weirder if they didn''t notice an intrusion.


    Of course, that didn''t mean they could interfere when not nearby-they were simply notified.


    Elisa took it a step further. She''d ced a marker on Valentine the day she dropped her off at Arcadia, as a measure of safety.


    The marker did not tell the person''s condition else Elisa would''ve appeared at Arcadia before Ezra would have woken up.


    Also, Arcadia was a prison at least five centuries old, with only ten inmates ever escaping-Elisa could''ve never foreseen its destruction nor would she have believed it.


    As such Elisas was immediately alerted the moment Valentine stepped out of Arcadia.


    She was rmed, but calmed herself nevertheless, hasty actions rarely gave good results, especially in this situation, where shecked any information.


    But then, she was notified of the use of her mark, one ced exactly where Valentine stood.


    Her anxiety came down a few centimeters.


    For one, her daughter wasn''t being kidnapped-else she wouldn''t be using her set marks.


    Beyond the blood ties, Elisa''s set marks were well hidden.


    Now, Elisa theorized that Valentine was being chased by something, especially noticing how fast she opened, stabilized and closed the set portals.


    Elisa had all the set points for her portals memorized, so she knew Valentine''s location once the marks notified her, and was able to chart Valentine''s travel trajectory.


    ''Niton''


    Elisa didn''t rush out to get her daughter, but stood on standby to warp to her position the moment Valentine changed trajectory or stopped moving.


    She ended up watching for hours as Valentine went through portal after portal eventually ending up in Niton.


    ''This is strange'' Elisa was both surprised and perplexed.


    While proud that her daughter was able to cover such arge distance in so little time, while perplexed as to how it was done.


    ''She must have been training hard in Arcadia''


    Elisa chalked it up to training though doubtful that such growth could be gained so fast.


    Watching expectedly as to when the journey woulde to a stop, she wasn''t surprised to see Valentine halt after just one more portal.


    With that, Elisa warped to the location soon after, getting there she eases onto Valentine''s location.


    Her daughter had lodged in a hotel.


    She was just about heading there when she spotted a familiar figure dusting sand off his body in the distance.


    Squinting her eyes, Elisa was appropriately shocked.


    It was a face all too familiar.


    "Head Warden?"


    "Hmm?" the figure turned in her direction, and surely, he was the one.


    Numerous question marks popped up.


    Why was the head of Niton''s most fearsome prison guard, someone matching Elisa at Greatmaster rank wiping sand off his being.


    No, in the first ce what was he doing here?!


    With questions abound, Elisa warped in front of him, only to be shocked once more.


    The man''s right eyes and lips were swollen. His left hand mangled, fractured and dangling.


    Elisa felt a chill down her spine, the image in her head and the one in front of her did not corrte.


    But they were the same person.


    "What happened to you?!"


    "Thawmn dwamm bie¡­


    His swollen lips had him shouting iprehensible words. So, Elisa gave him a healing potion, a high level one.


    The swelling came down drastically and the head warden recovered some mana, blowing off the sand on his body.


    The man cursed. His shouts nowprehensible. "That damn boy!" he yelled, before calming down, gasping in deep breaths.


    Elisa had to cover her ears to avoid the loud yell.


    "What happened?" she asked. "Why are you here? What happened to Arcadia?"


    "Arcadia has been destroyed" the head warden spoke.


    "That''s impossible" she said tly. Such ims were so outrageous, she refused to consider the possibility.


    Even sharing gazes, Elisa realized he was dead serious.


    "How?" she asked, aghast. "That prison is more than five centuries old, how did it get destroyed?"


    "Ask your prisoner" he said. "You should ask the prisoner you brought to us-he destroyed Arcadia"


    "Ezra?" she asked doubtfully.


    "Yes him!"


    "Wait" Elisa paused, thinking, ''He couldn''t have arrived in Niton unless¡­''


    "You followed my daughter here?" she asked.


    He scratched his head. "I was dragged along"


    Frustrated, Elisa turned in the direction of the hotel to get Valentine.


    But the head warden pulled her back.


    "Where are you going?"


    "To get my daughter", Elisa said, distasteful as she failed to pull her hand out of his grip.


    "You can''t" he stared her straight in the eye. "You won''t be able to"


    "What nonsense are you-"


    Sighing, the head warden began exining the events having transpired in the past hours, from Ezra''s awakening to the release of the prisoners, to their arrival here.


    As a matter of course, he pleasantly forgot to tell her of the part of which he was unconscious and had no real proof beyond Ezra''s words that Arcadia had been destroyed.


    Also, he sprinkled a bit of sauce on the story to make Ezra''s threat level higher.


    With most of the story fitting, especially since she''d seen how badly he''d been bruised, Elisa had to calm down.


    "So you''re saying, he''s keeping her alive because she''s useful" Elisa reiterated.


    The head warden nodded. "If you confront him and he doesn''t release Valentine, you will be forced to fight him, and if you fight him" he paused for a sec, "You will surely die"


    Firstly, the head warden had seen Valentine bleeding from both eyes and ears, in no position to move-which was why Ezra had them rest here.


    Also, Ezra didn''t kill any of the guards but forced them to join him, but the head warden wasn''t willing to bet on a demon having sound mind.


    "So what should I do?" Elisa inquired.


    "I will help you" said the head warden. "We''ll wait for a chance to take her away"


    They made sure to stay a distance away from the hotel, the awareness of a grandmaster was frightening.


    With Ezra eating and patching memories all through the night, they didn''t risk it.


    The night passed like such.


    Then at dawn the next day, they see Ezra fly off into the sky, leaving both perplexed, but Elisa didn''t dilly-dally, warping in front of the hotel right after.


    Contrary to expectations, The sibling who saw her wasn''t hostile in the least when Elisa requested to see her daughter.


    Moving with haste, she found her daughter sleeping peacefully and well attended to.


    She couldn''t help but wonder if all the head warden said was true.


    Rubbing the head of her daughter, Valentine''s eyelids slowly opened.


    "Mother?" she said weakly. "What are you doing here?"


    "That''s a question forter" Elisa replied. "You''ve outdid yourself, travelling across continents. But it has clearly taken a toll on you"


    "I''m doing fine" Valentine smiled. "I''ll be back to full health in a few days"


    "Whatever the case, I''m bringing you home"


    With a few hand movements, she opened a portal in the room, one big enough for the entire bed to go through.


    But¡­


    "Wait" Valentine called out, bringing the others to a pause.


    "You have to bring the others too"


    "Others?"


    "Yes" Valentine nodded. "Those who came along with me"


    Elisa looked her daughter up and down. "You''ve changed"


    When did Valentine ever care about others in the past? This was a new phenomenon.


    "Thank you" she replied, her eyes heavy.


    With a sigh, Elisa decided it wasn''t a terrible idea to bring them along.


    So, she did.


    The siblings had no qualms with it, and if they didn''t, then the others didn''t either.


    Besides, the academy was close to Traxford, reaching ck Jaws was easy now.


    ------------------


    Traversing the portal and arriving at Valentine''s ce, she begged her mom to allow them stay since everyone was still exhausted from the past day''s journey, which Elisa graciously epted.


    With that, Valentine, Velora and Roxanne conversed nonstop.


    Time passed, and Elisa sprung to her feet and headed out to ''take care of something very important'' she tells Valentine.


    Which was transporting the party of grandmasters to Quarzet.


    Present Moment¡­


    Transporting the grandmasters, Elisa found herself at the war front with thousands of others gathered.


    Not long after, thunderous and ear-splitting explosions rang out in session as the grandmasters faced one another, from wind to water to metal attacks, and then lightning streaked through the sky descending onto something.


    Not long after, a sea of fire engulfed thend, thoroughly destroying it.


    The power within the attacks radiated all through the kingdom, for Elisa was miles after from where the battle was happening yet was unbnced as the ground shook.


    Soon after, she saw something streak to the sky faster than a falling star, heading in the direction of the battle.


    All while fighting her own battle.

 Chapter 298 Descent

    ?


    "None shall stop the descent!"


    *BOOM!*


    Fire engulfed the surroundings.


    Shredder managed to scratch Crea''s magic circle, causing it to malfunction.


    As such, Crea was blown back by the bacsh as well, but it was far lesspared to the real effects.


    Fire raged, the figures of Getrahan and the Emperor submerged beneath it.


    But then¡­


    *CRACKLE!*


    Lightning burst from within, repelling the mes for Crea to see the Emperor rise from within the fire, his figure majestic with lightning crackling at set paces, almost pouring out of his eyes.


    ''Ugh!''


    Even Crea was repulsed by how fast the Emperor was able to bounce back after withstanding such an attack.


    Fear creeped into her heart ''I can''t beat him''


    But she calmed. ''I don''t have to kill him. I just have to keep him upied long enough''


    Sighing in relief, she inhales sharply as the Emperor descends upon her, dodging the attack aimed to hack off her neck like a piece of wood and have the lightning cook it by a mere inch.


    Shredder weaved through the air,ing back for another strike.


    *Snap*


    Crea snapped her fingers, detonating the atmospheric mana.


    Like a lie, the fire engulfing the surroundings began dying out, with Crea cutting of her mana supply, it was only natural.


    The Emperor was relentless, emerging from the detonation. The lightning slithering across his skin negated most of the damage as he healed his burnt body.


    Crea was forced into defence as she tried to create distance but failed, she struck back Shredder by coating her sword with fire.


    Hitting it to the side, Crea guarded shredder''s next attack with her left arm, having it hacked away like cake, both flesh and armour.


    cing Shredder horizontally, the Emperor struck to split her into two, but¡­


    Shredder caught her bare arm instead, the one cut down just moments ago!


    Like a lie, her arm had grown back in an instant.


    The perverted ability of demons-regeneration.


    Unlike beasts who did this during an advancement, demons naturally regenerated lost body parts, some instantly, most took hours.


    Crea''s regeneration was fast, but not fast enough to be instantaneous.


    The portal opening was already showing its effects.


    ''The time of the descent is near'' she thought.


    At this time, numerous tiny markings appeared on the small red crystal, a small portion of it breaking off into the pool below right after.


    It was intermittently glowing and then dimming, first slowly, gaining speed bit by bit.


    The Emperor was unfazed, simply putting more power behind it.


    A red magic circle emerged underneath him at this moment.


    ''Take this''


    A smirk on her face as a pir of fire sprung up, swallowing the Emperor''s figure.


    It rose to the sky like a beacon of fire before she could rejoice though, a circle of lightning split it apart and the Emperor lunged at her.


    Putting lightning against fire, the Emperor attacked while Crea struggled to defend.


    From afar, the colours of white and red intertwined, lighting up the sky.


    At the same time, a loud bang came from below.


    Getrahan brought down his hammer staff on the formation guarding the cave.


    The formation remained intact despite the Emperor''s initial lightning and the grandmaster attacks after that.


    The reason became clear after Getrahan''s second strike.


    The formation''s barrier shook heavily, cracks spread across its surface, before it stopped and rapidly restored itself.


    The formation was directly linked to Crea''s mana pool, consuming a chunk of her mana to restore itself.


    Getrahan''s strike dealt immense damage, the formation then consuming her mana caused apse in movement.


    That was all the Emperor needed.


    *SHA!*


    "AH!" Crea was split in half.


    The sh went beyond her to ce arge gash into the ground.


    Not forgetting the main objective, the Emperor headed for the cave.


    At this moment, a white streak brighter than his tore through Quartez''s atmosphere.


    --------------


    Streaking to the clouds at his highest speed, Ezra tore into a Quartez with a sh, garnering everyone''s attention.


    Meanwhile¡­ ''My bones are killing me''


    Resisting current while flying at his highest speeds had his body sore.


    He''d thought about what to do.


    He could stop to tell the grandmaster to halt their battles and bloodshed, but it was doubtful if they''d even listen.


    Without stopping, he approached the demon''sir.


    [There''s a barrier guarding it] said Zydrax. [Hit it with your greatest attack]


    shing past his father, Ezra''s white lightning turned ck as Darkane appeared in his palm.


    Imbuing Darkane with dark lightning, Ezra dived right onto the formation, holding his sword for an overhead sh.


    The pressure he emanated was enough for Getrahan to get himself out of the way without being told.


    And then the attacknded.


    *CRACK! BREAK*


    The lightning cracked into the barrier, and like ss, it split in two and shattered.


    From where shey, Crea stretched her arm in direction of the cave.


    "No¡­"


    Ezra rushed in, destroying everything in his way as he ran to where the demonic aura was most concentrated.


    Breaking room after room, Ezra barged in room with the blood pool¡­only to be repelled.


    Back on his feet right after, he struck out with Darkane imbued with dark lightning, only to be repelled once more.


    Of course, it was never easy.


    Inside, he could see the small crystal glowing and dimming at a very fast pace.


    Sensing the demonic energy it contained, Ezra was temporarily dozed, he had to take a few steps back.


    It was so potent Ezra senses were assaulted, his demonic side was brought forward, but shaking his head a few times had Ezra back to his senses.


    Sketched on the floor was a circr formation.


    [It a magic circle ovepped with a formation] Zydrax identified. [But all formation''s have threshold, you have to hit it with an attack above its threshold to destroy it¡­and hurry]


    Without dy, Ezra ran back, where he saw Getrahan and the Emperor approaching.


    "I told you not to-


    Ezra stopped and turned with his back to his father.


    Holding his sword in front of him with his eyes on the room with the blood pool, Ezra''s mind zeroed in, achieving maximum concentration, everything else was silenced.


    *Vom*


    His aura erupted, destroying the cave as white lightning lined up his sword, turning dark whenced with darkness and then the de grew hot, imbued with fire.


    Inhaling, Ezra took a stance.


    ''Sword Form'' the ground cracked. ''Laceration''


    He struck.


    -------------


    The Emperor was shocked to see his son sh past him. But was even more shocked when he felt the weight of the attack hended on the formation.


    With his intentions unknown, the Emperor rushed into the cave with Getrahan beside him only to see his son, approaching them¡­before suddenly stopping?


    Confused only for a second as Ezra''s aura erupted, tongs of lightning flying out from all parts of his body.


    Feeling the power of the attack Ezra was about to conjure, the Emperor thought to stop him, rushing to reach him despite his surroundings.


    Reaching arm''s length, the Emperor brought down his palm on the boy''s shoulder.


    But before he could touch him¡­Ezra shed away!


    -----------


    ''Sword Form. Laceration''


    Arriving in front of the formation almost instantaneously, he struck.


    The de met resistance upon touching the invisible barrier but tore through like butter.


    From the sword came a hot ck lightning strike, cutting right through the room.


    It sliced through the blood pool, but reaching the small crystal, it dismantled.


    Nevertheless, the attack destroyed some of the falling pieces.


    All this happened in seconds, as the sh proceeded to cut through the cave into the ground above.


    The cave split apart, and the lower side copsed, while the blood in the pool spilled out, leaving very little.


    The sh travelled so fast, that the barrier''s rebound came after it had already cut through the blood pool, pushing Ezra a few steps back.


    Gasping for air, Ezra stabbed his sword into the soil and fell on his knees, puking blood.


    A smile on his face as sun rays came through the broken cave and shone on his back.


    ''I did it''


    Unfortunately¡­[No you didn''t]


    ''W-What?'' Ezra was shaken.


    [You failed. The portal will open any second now, you need to get up]


    Still gasping, Ezra grit his teeth, pulling strength from his exhausted body.


    Pushing with an arm on the ground and the other on his sword, he tried to raise himself to stand.


    Right in front of his eyes, a drop of blood rose to the air, akin to a red dot.


    While holding an unnoticeable size, the foreign presence it brought into the room couldn''t be missed.


    Ezra''s blood grew cold.


    ''No¡­''


    In quick session the drop of blood began swirling, and other drops began floating as well.


    Coming together with the first, it began coagting, and it swirled even faster, absorbing even more blood.


    Ezra gazed nkly at the scenery, nightmares of a past life started reying itself.


    As the blood coagted, it began sinking into the ground-where the mirror portal formunication was fixed.


    Space bent and warped, throwing off Ezra''s senses even more.


    Then, like the opening of an eye, it opened in the ground.


    A pitch ck portal.


    The descent had begun.

 Chapter 299 Demons

    ?


    The portal opened simultaneously on Orion and in the demon realm.


    Every person affiliated with the demons felt a huge boost in strength at this moment.


    Their eyes grew shades of red as their muscles contracted and then expanded.


    It came to some at the most unfortunate timing, causing apse in movement while in battle and they paid for it with their lives.


    The direct demon worshippers benefitted the most from this, as their strength was multiplied based on how big their demonic foundation was.


    Feeling the burst of power, they began turning tides in many parts of the war, killing many.


    Here, things got interesting.


    Ezra de had split the magic circle carved in the room of the blood pool in two, but that simply disconnected half of it, rendering it unusable, the other half was still functioning, though its rate of progression was slower.


    The formation sapped the blood out of anything that died within its boundaries and then sent it off, refining it on the process as what would arrive at the cave would be miniscule amounts of blood containing the essence necessary to act as a power source for the portal.


    The portal in the ground was indirectly imprinted onto the magic circle''s path, allowing it to absorb the essence and grow even more.


    Beyond that¡­


    -------------


    The demon lord looked at the portal with expected eyes, waiting for it to erge to its fullest.


    The demon lord had his three strongest subordinates arranged in front of the portal, but it didn''t open higher after that.


    Frowning at the dy, the demon lord walked and plunged his hand through.


    He couldn''t feel anything, indicating the portal had yet to even stabilize.


    With a snap of his fingers and a few words, a demon was brought to him, a short monstrosity, a demon at the bottom of the hierarchy chain.


    With a swift hand, the demon lord beheaded the demon.


    "Kaka raguu saga" (Throw his body inside)


    Like a sack of sand, they tossed the body and then the head into the portal.


    The demon lord was familiar with Orion, for they had invaded the ce once before, but were repelled by the inhabitants.


    They were killed in droves and knocked back to their resource barren world and then locked there as the portal used was permanently sealed.


    Whatever remnants the demon''s left behind was cleaned up and their supporters were massacred.


    Centuries, unbeknownst how, a demon came to report an anomaly.


    It had seen a human.


    Getting there with haste, the demon lord finds it to be true.


    Somehow, a human had opened a mirror portal to their world.


    But this human was not in a good state, he was raggedy, skinny and impoverished.


    Bringing a demon mage to enchant the mirror portal, the demon lord was able tomunicate with the man.


    Using a demon''s ability, their tongue, he brought the man to his side, promising him power and riches.


    To make sure the secret was kept, the demon lord killed both the mage and the demon that initially discovered it.


    Using their bodies as sacrifices, he found he was able to transverse the portal into the other side.


    He was able to push his fist through, cutting a wound with his long nails, from which the man drank the demon lord''s blood, bing his first human emissary.


    From then on the demon lord guided the man, gaining much useful information from him.


    For one, the humans had grown immensely weaker, those that repelled the demons were no more, and the strongest of people he overestimated, was but a bit stronger than his strongest subordinate.


    The demon lord recognized an opportunity, and so his ambition bloomed.


    From it, the demon lord put a n in ce, one to ensure his return to conquer Orion, with which he would ensure his rise to the position of strongest and dominate the others.


    With the possibility at hand, it mattered not how long it took. Besides, he had nothing else to do.


    Demons lived in the harshest environments, as such their bodies grew to amodate it, but it left them with very short lifespans.


    But there was a twist, as the ability to steal the life force of others was also granted, allowing them natural evolution in the process.


    Born from the''s earth, the need to devour was imprinted on them right from childhood, each demon was to kill their way up, gaining experience and knowledge as they did.


    Competition was steeper than a snowy mountain as the horizon offort could only be seen atop a tower of corpses.


    Several decades passed, with everybody fighting everybody, and at the end of it, seven championed all others in strength, bing lords.


    That was how demon lords came to be.


    As of their rise, the entire race had grown several times in knowledge, most things understandable.


    At this point, the demon poption split into seven uneven factions.


    Soon after, the portal was discovered for the first time.


    Without any information, others passed through and soon all the lords heard of it and came.


    At the top of their world, only curiosity drove them as they crossed into a new world.


    The change in scenery was too damning, the evesting caused by the flowing streams ofva on their was nowhere to be seen.


    Here, everything was shined upon by a light from above, burning deep into their eyes as the demon world hosted perpetual darkness.


    Then there was the general atmosphere filled with dust that strengthened their bodies and could not be depleted.


    They woulde to know this to be mana.


    From the trees grew things more delicious than they''d ever tasted and they seem toy everywhere.


    The moment they identified these things, they set out to take it all for themselves, and being so powerful, what could possibly match them?


    Soon enough though, they were forced into confrontations with the creatures of this new ce.


    And their perspective was forever changed.


    Humans they were called, the demonster found out.


    Amongst them were many with strength equalling the seven demon lords.


    Realizing this the hard way, the demons fled back to their realm with the humans chasing them, and managed to arrive back home, but with immense scars and wounds.


    A few decades passed with the demon lords simply focused on healing, and with three demon lords killed at the hands of humans, there was more than enough of everything for the four of them to avoid each other''s territory for centuries as they healed from the massive injuries inflicted upon them.


    But even that would soone to an end, an age of bloodshed was on its way for it was a matter of time before one demon lord riled up chaos.


    The stagnating stench of peace had peaked. Destruction was inevitable at this point.


    He was among the four demon lords, and the best way to ensure his survival and elevate his position was by outstripping them in strength.


    The easiest way to outstrip them was by conquering Orion and using its resources to strengthen himself.


    Through decades of diligent work, he''d gained loads of new knowledge, learnt thenguage of humans, learnt their principles, taught them his, and rebuilt his entire foundation by literallybining the best from both worlds while establishing a new culture in Orion.


    A culture carefully curtailed, created to fulfil his wishes.


    Now holding many hidden powers, he was confident in killing any of the other demon lords in a one-on-one fight, but the probability of getting a fair fight in the demon world was infinitely close to zero.


    It had taken an exorbitant amount of lifeforce to fuel the portal.


    It was expected for the portal to connect two worlds and resist the barrier that had risen against creatures from outside.


    All that work faded into memory, having paid off as the demon lord stared at the pitch-ck portal in front of him.


    He nned to take very few along with him simply to have things go smoother.


    Sharing the fruits of hisbour was not one of his hobbies, and more importantly, under no circumstance could the other demon lords know.


    The demon lord guessed something must''ve happened because the life force put in was to be enough to open a portal wide enough and stabilize it.


    It mattered not as the demon lord was not letting the chance slip him by.


    After throwing in three additional bodies and the portal still showed no effect, the demon lordmanded his subordinates.


    "Rekaluum" (Enter)


    The first went straight in, the second followed behind him and then the third.


    As the third andst subordinates entered, the portal shook, calling the demon lord''s maximum attention.


    Right after, the tips of the portal began to shrink.


    rmed, the demon lord rushed in right away, the portal closing just as he did.


    Where there were four, there were now none.


    -----------


    The demon lord finds himself going down a vacuum of darkness, with everything pitch ck as his body and senses warped in ways beyondprehension.


    Suddenly, he drops somewhere, everywhere still ck, but a radiance shone into it.


    Forcing himself to look, he realizes the window the radiance came through was closing.


    With haste, the demon lord pushed himself in the direction of the radiance which as much might as he could muster.


    Yet it seemed he moved too slow as the window of radiance closed just as fast as he arrived.


    Within arm''s length, the demon lord lunged for the radiance with his arm.


    He did note this far to fail!

 Chapter 300 Demon’s Arrival

    ?


    Still coughing blood, Ezra stared at the pitch-ck portal as he staggered to his feet, ck lightning crackling along his skin.


    Upon standing, the Emperor appeared beside him, white lightning crackling across his skin.


    Ezra hit his father, "Qui-


    His words were cut short as he puked a lot of blood in the opposite direction.


    The Emperor with his memory still fresh about the effects of Ezra''s blood, stepped back.


    "Where does it lead too?" the Emperor inquired, sensing the ominous energy permeating through.


    "De-Blergh!"


    Even more blood stopped him talking, so he gestured with his hands to the Emperor.


    Pointing at shredder, and then at the portal.


    The Emperor understood the message.


    Channelling his lightning, he gave shredder a good rotation before striking the portal.


    *Bam*


    The portal repelled the attack, rebounding with double the force and sent both Ezra and the Emperor flying backwards.


    Ezra broke through one of the cave''s walls before falling to the ground.


    The Emperor, being the initiator of the attack, flew further back.


    Ezra, already weak, cleared the rubble of his chest one by one, moving them away as fast as he could.


    But he was exhausted, and so he was slow.


    Spitting out thest of blood in his mouth, Ezra exhaled heavily, panting with both hands ced on the floor.


    He was doing his damn best to get back on his feet, thatst attack had drained him of all his mana.


    Thankfully, with how enhanced his body was, Ezra was already recovering.


    Lifting his heavy muscles, a mana stone appeared in his hand which he then ced in his mouth.


    Then, Ezra saw the formation lines drawn on the floor emitting light.


    rmed, Ezra moved to destroy it, when¡­[Don''t]


    Zydrax spoke.


    ''What?!''


    [Don''t destroy it] he said. [I have use for it]


    Zydrax had just informed him that the formation needed to destroy the rest of the formation to stop it from reinforcing the portal.


    [I said that you need to cut the routes connecting the formation to the portal]


    In front of his eyes, neon particles exited the formation lines on the ground and came towards him.


    [Rx. It is my doing] it said as Ezra watched the first of the particles sink into his chest.


    Rather apprehensive, Ezra was surprised that he felt¡­nothing.


    No difference at all even as purple particles rose from all over the room, specifically from the formation lines and the blood pool.


    Ezra watched as they sank into his chest.


    [What are you doing] Zydrax questioned. [Get up quickly]


    The Emperor was back on his feet, brushing off the rubble from his body as was Getrahan.


    Ezra saw the portal shake, its ominous aura rising when suddenly, it spat out something from within.


    Landing a distance away, Ezra made out a disfigured body with crimson scaled skin and sharp ck nails.


    *Pop*


    Right after something else popped out. Ezra made out a round red object as it bobbed all over the ce,nding right beside him.


    Then Ezra saw it clearly, and his pupils shook.


    The creatures of his nightmares just a while ago.


    It had been manhandled, twisted in an uneven way, but there was no doubt about it.


    It was a demon''s head!


    With his mortal enemies in front of him, standing wasn''t daunting anymore.


    "Ah!" rising with a grunt, Ezra picked up the mismatched head, taking a better look while the purple particles continued descending into his chest.


    Suddenly, the blood with the head he held was sucked out, as was the blood within the headless body.


    Both werebined and then sunk into the formation.


    It wasn''t Ezra, so it could only be Zydrax.


    "What are you doing?"


    [Stop worrying about me and get that portal to close]


    The Emperor appeared at Ezra''s side, casting a deep nce upon him.


    The man himself was dirty, bloody and dusty.


    At this time, more bodies and heads fell through in consecutive order, three in total.


    "We need to close the portal" Ezra intoned, heading for the portal.


    "Except we attack together, I doubt our attacks would even go through"


    "We don''t need to destroy the portal" Ezra said. "We just need it to shut down its power source"


    "You want to exin why your chest has be a purple light show?"


    "Nope" Ezra responded perfunctorily.


    Getting close to the portal, they experienced intense difort as mana within their bodies went awry as a reaction to the ominous energy swirling within the portal.


    That wasn''t nearly enough to stop them though.


    Imbuing Darkane with silver aura, Ezra stabbed into the ground an inch away from the portal.


    But¡­


    *Kang*


    Instead of immediately breaking, Darkane was repelled.


    Tapping the edge of the sword on the same spot, Ezra found it to have hardened, the surface smoothened like a gem.


    He expected resistance, but this was too much, it was probably the portal''s effect.


    If nothing else, it would take more than suchcking efforts to break through these.


    As such, Ezra put his back into it, switching out Darkane for Skyfall, the de gained a shade of red as Ezra imbued with fire and rotated briefly within both hands to get the feel for it before taking a stance.


    ''Breakthrough''


    He swung it like a pickaxe, breaking apart the hardened surface and destroying the formation route at that spot.


    There was little rebound, pushing him back a bit.


    "We have to cut off the formation lines connected to the portal"


    You didn''t have to tell the Emperor twice as he channelled lightning for the umpteenth time today into shredder and mmed right into a formation line, disrupting two at the same time.


    Getrahan reached them at this time.


    As he raised Skyfall for a second strike, his senses told of an approaching presence.


    One different from the Getrahan.


    On cue, the portal spat out another body,rger than those which hade before, and most importantly-it wasn''t headless.


    With bright scaly red skin and small ears, hinged legs and an elongated head a bit wider than that of a horse, not to mention the sharp looking red wings with a wingspan too big for the cave, it grabbed their attention no doubt.


    The wings cut through the walls of the cave easily.


    Apparently, the wings weren''t just ''sharp-looking''


    Most importantly, it gave off a presence matching theirs.


    Ezra was most shocked.


    ''What''s that doing here?''


    Grandmaster level demons didn''t appear this early during his time as Kevin.


    ''Things have changed again'' he realized.


    ''Was it because of my intervention?'' he wondered but dropped out his thoughts right after.


    Unlike Ezra, Getrahan had immediately engaged the creature, taking advantage of the low flight zone, he pummelled the creature with his hammer, hitting it right at the center of its head.


    The collision created a sound wave that destroyed the cave, blowing away the top to expose them to the sun.


    Greatly disoriented, the demon crashed.


    Taking advantage of the first strike, Getrahannded one more on the same ce, with the Emperor following up with a swing to the same head.


    Shredder cracked its skull, digging deep into its brain as lightning cooked it from within, killing it.


    Right then¡­


    *m!*


    Something mmed into the Emperor and blew him afar.


    "Gah!"


    It was Ezra.


    But what could have thrown Ezra with such force?


    The Emperor got his answer.


    The portal had spat out another demon.


    This one had the same frame as a human, but was twice the Emperor''s size, holding arge ck axe that didn''t look any shabby, and an ugly face.


    Most importantly, it gave off the same presence as thest one.


    *Kang!*


    And it was in battle with Getrahan.


    Father and son got back on their feet and attacked.


    Ezra was irritated, he''d been hit from behind.


    Just as they reached Getrahan-the portal spat out yet another demon.


    "Tsk" Ezra clicked his tongue. "Keep them busy, I''ll close the portal"


    They had to close the portal before another one popped out.


    While not yet back to full capacity, Ezra was sufficiently healed.


    He imbued Skyfall with fire and then darkness, creating dark fire, his body wasn''t healed enough to handle the strain of adding lightning.


    ''Let''s hope this is enough''


    The Emperor charged at the third demon, and immediately engaged it.


    With the corpse of theirradeying just meters from them-no more words were needed.


    As they felt the energy from Ezra''s sword, they moved to stop him, but Getrahan sessfully blocked them.


    Putting more strength into the arms, he shed, a line of dark fire cut through the hardened surface and broke off more than enough formation lines.


    Immediately, the portal destabilized and shook the ground, throwing the fighting grandmasters off bnce.


    On cue, the portal began closing, shrinking into oblivion.


    Though breathing heavily, Ezra watched the process attentively.


    Satisfaction welled from within as thest of the portal was about to zip up.


    But then¡­


    An outstretched arm came through, on which were nails longer thanmon sense.

 Chapter 301 Mythical rank!

    <h4>Chapter 301 Mythical rank!</h4>


    Crimson skinny hands popped out of the portal, on which were nails longer thanmon sense and ck as midnight.


    One hand held onto the lower part of the portal and the other held onto the upper part, stopping it from closing in its entirety.


    Exchanging Skyfall for Darkane, Ezra coated his sword with lightning, Ezra swung down on the hand to have it withdraw.


    Instead¡­*Kang*


    A ring of dark energy exploded as Ezra was repelled farther that even the portal had managed, smashing deep into the ground.


    ''What?''


    Ezra was so confused he could only stare nkly for the next few seconds.


    The protruding arm had a slight gash, healing immediately afterwards, and like a curtain draw, it stretched the portal''s edges, pulling it apart.


    The portal opened little by little, it began behaving chaotically being bent to another''s will.


    The aura of the intruding being spilled out of the portal.


    Immediately afterwards¡­


    [You must stop it from emerging] Zydrax''s voice pitched into Ezra''s head, rmed.


    Zydrax hadn''t spoken in such a voice even when he realized Ezra''s efforts to close the portal had failed.


    Forcing himself back on feet, he went for another strike, this time stronger, but¡­


    *Boom*


    Getrahan smashed into him, disorienting him and cancelling his attack as both men were blown off course.


    Bncing themselves soon after, they find the grandmaster demon in front of them.


    Ezra dodges the axe, back on track to attack the portal while Getrahan blocks it with his hammer staff, holding down his opponent.


    The portal had stretched to a considerable length, dark particles started pouring out, permeating a presence that had the human grandmasters ufortable.


    As Ezra approached the portal ready to deliver an even more powerful strike, he briefly halted as a spinning axe shed by, missing his face by a centimeter.


    Those few seconds cost them much as a leg stomped onto the lower part of the portal, and the ground shook.


    Right after, the second leg enjoined and the ground shook again.


    [You''re toote] said Zydrax.


    "What are you talking about?!" said Ezra, reaching the portal.


    [You need to turn back now, there''s nothing you can do about this anymore]


    Ezra went deaf, striding towards it without fear.


    Emzoning his sword with lighting, ck lightning this time, he struck, blood from his hands had dyed his hilt red.


    But this time, the unbelievable happened.


    The sword was stopped. The creature''s hand held it in ce, with the other holding up the portal.


    The impact of Ezra''s attack was redirected, the feet dug deep into the ground thanks to the abrupt stop and cracked the ground around him.


    "Gah!" Ezra gritted his teeth, such an abrupt stop of motion affected his internals as well, but Ezra still tried to force Darkane through.


    But no, it was like an adult was holding back a toothpick in the hands of a baby.


    The sword shook but budged not.


    Worse, Ezra was unable to pull it out.


    ''Stopping my attack so easily!'' Ezra was apprehensive, full of sweat, gritting his teeth trying to pull Darkane away, but to no avail.


    Another part of the creature popped out, and Ezra shook involuntarily, a chill like no other ran down his back.


    ''No way''


    It was the head.


    With the size being four times Ezra''s fists, it was covered in reddish ck skin, its oval shaped head held two horns shooting upwards like curved spears, eyes bright likeva and no mouth, Ezra was forced into the darkest parts of his memory.


    ''How is he here?!'' Zydrax''s words now made sense.


    This demon wasn''t someone a grandmaster could contend with.


    Then¡­ "Hmmmm?"


    Outing its head, it prompted a stare down with Ezra, who realized he was mistaken thinking the demon had no mouth.


    Its mouth was simply camouged and at this moment, it was revealed.


    Looking, Ezra saw no teeth, rather, like a damp firece, he saw a devouring darkness.


    The demon''s mouth curved, looking down at the sword within its fingers that Ezra was trying so hard to remove, and then¡­ *Snap!*


    Darkane was snapped in half like any random twig.


    [You can''t defeat it, retreat]


    With shaking legs, Ezra stepped back, still maintaining eye contact¡­before suddenlynding a swift kick on the demon''s face!


    Sadly, it bore no fruit as the demon was merely smeared.


    It did serve to enrage the demon lord though.


    Opening the portal wider than it was before, the demon jumped out in one go and the portal immediately closed, generating a force that pushed Ezra a few steps back.


    Bringing himself to a halt, he looks to see the demon lord''s wings pping as itnds without tremor.


    Clenching his fist, the demon lord rejoiced looking up. "I''m here. I''ve done it"


    Dark energy surged from its body, all grandmasters felt a terrible premonition.


    Those fighting above Quartez temporarily stopped and looked to the source.


    Getrahan and the Emperor also halted their battles, stepping back a few feet while the demons enjoined their lord and stood by his side.


    They''d never felt so weak in a very long time, and it sent shivers down their spine.


    Moreover, how was this demon speaking theirnguage?


    It was not fully polished, but they could understand what he was saying.


    Ezra didn''t step back, staring at the demon lord who was almost twice his size.


    It hadnky arms neither short nor long with ck fingernails reaching almost half almost half of Darkane''s full length.


    It had armour on, crassly created metal covering its chest, the right shoulder and left leg.


    Dark energy swirled as none dared to attack, and after a moment, the demon punched out, snapping its bones into ce.


    It looked at Ezra, and then those behind him, specifically the Emperor.


    As permunication between him and his followers, he knew not all, but the most relevant information.


    "Emperor Andrew" spoke in a slow tone, giving the grandmasters another shock.


    "You know me?" the Emperor asked, showing very little sign of surprise.


    "Of course. My underlings told me much about you, especially your formidable strength"


    "I must say I''m not ttered"


    The demon eyelid thinned, his voice thickened, "Don''t be. I wasn''t trying"


    "You know my name. Shouldn''t I know yours?" the Emperor inquired.


    "Call me Alvarach" it said. "I am here to conquer Orion"


    Such a deration had Getrahan gulping while the Emperor''s grip tightened around the shredder.


    Alvarach''s eyes then fell upon Ezra.


    "You" it said, looking at Ezra. "What are you?"


    Before Ezra could form a response¡­


    *vom*


    Alvarach was in front of him.


    Ezra was rmed. ''I couldn''t catch his movements!'' But he stood as if frozen with a broken sword in hand.


    His nails caressed Ezra''s cheeks. "I smell my blood from you, yet you maintain your human form rather that of a demon"


    The nail cut his skin, blood spilled onto it and the nail absorbed.


    "You do hold my blood" he said. "Yet¡­


    He spread his fingers, moving them, but nothing happened.


    "I hold no power over it anymore" said Alvarach, staring right into Ezra''s eyes "What is your name?"


    Ezra had to hold himself down from immediately attacking.


    "No one important" he replied.


    "Is that so?" the demon smiled, before¡­


    *Whip*


    Alvarach''s tail shed, Ezra barely raised his broken sword to block it.


    *Boom*


    It sted him further than where Getrahan and the Emperor stood.


    The Emperor grabbed him, but the force pushed him a few more feet, before setting Ezra down.


    "When I ask a question, I expect an answer" Alvarach spoke, his voice deep.


    He hadn''t noticed before because of the level of destruction, but looking around, he saw the demonic ornaments broken and then he could feel the demonic essence in the blood sprayed on the floor.


    On his feet, Ezra blurped out a mouthful of blood, wheezing.


    His body was already overspent and healing, the attack prated his defences easily.


    With a grunt, Ezra observed the demon closely.


    [I told you to retreat but you refused to listen]


    Regardless of the demeanour held, its legs were twitching imperceptibly.


    ''We might have a chance''


    [A chance to survive that is] Zydrax countered.


    Ezra concurred, he''d seen the demon only once during his time as Kevin, watching as a bystander and he''d almost lost his life.


    At that time, he peaked at Expert rank, so he didn''t know the significant difference between ranks well.


    For one, the power gap between ranks only widened as one advanced.


    The gap between an Expert ank and a Master was smaller than the gap between a Master and Grandmaster.


    Having said that, there was just no way Ezra saw them defeating the demon.


    They already battled heavily till this point, so like Ezra, they were overspent.


    Moreover, they''d umted injuries-which was another reason why they kept their words to a minimum.


    They were all tired.


    Especially not when the demon in front of them stood a rank above theirs.


    Alvarach was a Mythical rank being, and he stood at the apex of Orion at the moment.


    Last time, things proceeded in a way that allowed humans time to match the demons.

 Chapter 302 Cruel Reality

    ?


    Last time, things proceeded in a way that allowed humans to match demons.


    The initial invasion was thousands of Expert rank demonsing out at once, and it happened while the Emperor was battling to stop the Kingdom of Ribera and Roosevelt from gaining independence.


    The timing was jarring, and the new enemies forced the internal war to a stop.


    The kingdoms raised their banners in alliance along with their spears to face the newest enemies.


    It was the first of events that would set off amongst a chain of events and all those events were grouped as one, because they preceded one another with months and then dubbed the Great cmity.


    The Great Cmity in other words was a bundle of disastrous chain events that dealt catastrophic damage to Orion.


    But something had changed, something massive had shifted.


    The grandmaster rank demon entered Orion five months after the invasion began.


    Mythical ranks came through yearster, after dungeons and otherworld monsters had settled.


    So, how was Alvarach here already?


    Ezra was reeling from the reality of the situation.


    Of all the possibilities, one of the most damning came to fruition.


    A mythical rank getting through was beyond anything he could''ve predicted, and it met him in the worst state possible.


    All the apprehensiveness in the world wouldn''t push the mythical rank back to the demon world, so he had to think.


    Stand and fight was an option, but the result was clear as day.


    They''d be killed. Easily too.


    Then, retreat? Could they even outrun the demon?


    That was about all his options.


    ''Let''s go with thetter''


    In any situation, he might''ve sought to fight, but they were all exhausted, they''d barely get a hit in before all dying like fledging street thugs.


    At this time, Alvarach''s voice echoed.


    "I''vee to conquer Orion" he said, looking at them. "Killing you all is easy, but I''ll offer you a deal as regards to your strength"


    "Bow to me" he spoke, his tone crystal clear. "Bow to me, and I''ll grant you power beyond your wildest dreams. I''ll even forgive your act of killing my subordinate"


    The Emperor stepped forth, erupting with lightning as he brandished shredder as he looked right into the demon''s bright red eye. "This Emperor bows to no one"


    Decorum pervaded the surroundings for a short minute, and then¡­


    "How unwise"


    Alvarach stretched out his palm as if to push against a wall and a crimson circle formed.


    Ezra''s eyes almost popped out.


    "What?!" Getrahan''s confusion took the best of him.


    There was no doubt about it-that was a magic circle.


    But how was a demon using magic circles?!


    The demon world didn''t have mana, so it shouldn''t be possible.


    Looking closely, it differed from those Oranian mages used, meaning it had been modified.


    And if it had been modified yet worked, it couldn''t be something recently created.


    ''Zydrax, did you know of this?!''


    [Not at all, but I should say, your odds of surviving this encounter just went down tremendously]


    Ezra popped a vein. ''Then do something to help!''


    From the magic circle came arge ball of crimson fire.


    [I''m already doing something] Zydrax said. [But you''ll have to hold on for a bit]


    On cue, the fireball was shot towards them.


    Their senses told of fatal damage, so all three took off without hesitation, flying as fast as possible.


    Arge explosion urred, and the cave was destroyed, the fire literally burned them out of existence up until it reached the surface, destroying it as well.


    Now in the air, Ezra took flight in the opposite direction without a second wasted, streaking through the sky.


    Aftergging for a few seconds, Getrahan and the Emperor followed right after.


    "We need to get out of here right now, or we''ll all die" said Ezra.


    Then he remembered his long journey here.


    "How did you get here so fast" he inquired from the Emperor.


    "Portals" he simply replied.


    "The space mage that brought you-where is he?" Ezra hurriedly asked.


    "At the army''s rear"


    "Then that''s where we''re going"


    "We''re running away" The Emperor muttered, the situation left him with a bitter taste.


    "Do you have a better idea"


    Ezra streaked through the sky, when a mirage appeared in front of him.


    "Who said you could leave?"


    ''Shi-


    His thoughts were cut short as a force easily surpassing his ownnded right in the middle of his back.


    Ezra smashed into the ground like a pancake, his insides squiggly, puking blood like vomit.


    Attempting to stand¡­


    "AH!"


    Excruciating pain hit him all over, engulfing his senses.


    His spinal cord had fractured.


    Ezra couldn''t get up, grasping at dirt as he endured.


    He hadn''t felt this much pain since¡­never.


    He''d never felt this much pain, cultivating was painful, but it wasn''t to such a degree.


    ''Zydrax'' he called. ''Do something!''


    [I can, but you must not fight against my control]


    The purple particles from before had faded minutes after the Emperor killed the first demon.


    Ezra glowed a bit, his body rose three meters above ground-Zydrax''s doing.


    Ezra could stop it but didn''t.


    He was dripping blood onto the ground like a broken vase.


    Apparently, not only was his spine fractured, but his right arm was also held in an obscene angle, looking like a crooked walking stick.


    Without further ado, Ezra was flipped onto his back, still floating, and then¡­


    *Crack!*Crack!*Crack!*


    "AHH!"


    His spine was forcefully ced appropriately, generating pain even worse than the former.


    As a grandmaster, no, even amongst grandmasters, Ezra had extraordinary healing ability.


    At the same time, his ear picked up argemotion.


    "What''s happening?" he asked.


    The spine began healing the moment it was correctly ced, only then did Ezra feel relief, but before he could settle into it...


    *Crunch!*


    "Hmmm!" Ezra held himself from screaming.


    *Crunch*Crunch*


    A few more bone crunches saw his right arm receive swift treatment, looking better immediately after.


    Gasping, Ezra takes out a healing potion from the ring and pops it into his mouth, healing himself.


    Within minutes, the wounds healed, and the bleeding stopped.


    Soon after, Ezra was ced on his feet and the glow on his skin faded.


    His fall had levelled the soil immensely.


    While healed, Ezra was still exhausted, and the use of excessive mana all through the day had him sore all over.


    But now, he could see where the sound wasing from.


    Above, he could a ck and then a white figure, and then, someone inconspicuous.


    Three people were battling in the sky.


    One was Alvarach.


    He looked different, with tworge ck wings outstretching from his back from the most jarring difference.


    Another was the Emperor.


    The third¡­was surely Getrahan.


    Ezra was surprised.


    Considering the force of Alvarach''s strike, it wouldn''t have been surprising that Getrahan was incapacitated in the ground somewhere.


    Yet, there he was, fighting alongside the Emperor.


    Ezra was sure he was stronger than him, so¡­


    ''Did he dodge the attack? Or did Alvarach not aim for him?''


    Putting all such thoughts aside, Ezra watched as they battled.


    [This is your chance to escape. Take it]


    He was about to join, but then paused.


    Zydrax was right, this was his chance to get away while those two held Alvarach''s attention.


    ''But they''ll both be killed'' he replied.


    [Everyone here is already dead] he said. [The only thing beating a Mythical rank is another Mythical rank, look at the battle closely]


    Ezra squinted his eyes.


    [The only reason those two are still alive is because Alvarach''s ying around, he''s testing their strength]


    ''Then why did he hit me into the ground?''


    [You''re a demon that''s not a demon, he wants to capture you not kill]


    ''Doesn''t that mean we''ll have better odds if I join in''


    [Do you NOT understand what I''ve been saying] Zydrax''s voice exploded in his head. [There''s nothing you or any other Grandmaster can do to stop him right now]


    [I have a n to stop him, but it''ll all be for NOTHING if you get yourself killed, do you now understand]


    Ezra grits his teeth, clenching his fists. Reality hit him like a mountain of stone.


    He''d momentarily forgotten how cruel reality could be.


    ''So, I''m powerless again'' he thought.


    [No. You''re powerful enough to run away, not many can say the same] Zydrax hauled at him. [Now start running]


    Slowly, Ezra took off his dusty and bloody armour, putting it into the ring.


    It provided no protection against Alvarach''s attacks and its weight would only slow him down.


    Taking a deep breath, Ezra''s body lit up with lightning as ced one knee on the ground.


    His veins protruded, giving clear visuals as they snaked along his skin.


    It was his best movement skill thus far.


    Gulping down mana recovery potion, Ezra built up the mana within him to amplify his body all over.


    His red eye''s momentarily shes blue.


    "Whoo¡­"


    ''elerate''


    *VOM*


    Ezra raced off, breaking the sound barrier.


    The mana within him swirled like a whirlpool, boosting the rate of how much mana he could extract per second and pumping the rate of which he could produce lightning.


    The sonic boom caught the attention of those battling above.


    "Hmm?" Alvarach''s eyes followed the trail of mana expertly and he located Ezra.


    His gaze frowned, like a father disproving of his son.


    "It seems our bout ends here" he said, putting the two grandmasters on the edge.


    Suddenly, his figure vanished.


    "¡­!"


    Getrahan was rattled looking both ways trying to catch a glimpse of the opponent.


    Then, he caught onto a presence appearing behind him, and hastily moved aside.


    On cue¡­*Puck!*


    Five pitch-ck nails skewed his left shoulder along with the left side of his stomach, treating armour like paper.


    "Ahh!" Getrahan screamed.


    "You dodged that?" Alvarach spoke. "I was aiming for your head"


    Without further ado¡­*Sha*


    He cut off Getrahan''s left arm, and cut out a portion of his stomach along with it.


    In the same movement, Alvarach smashed his feet into Getrahan''s face, sending him on his way to kiss the ground.


    Upon turning around, he watches as a lightning emzoned shredder swings down to cut him.

 Chapter 303 New Entrant

    <h4>Chapter 303 New Entrant</h4>


    Upon turning around, he watches as a lightning emzoned shredder swings down to cut him.


    *Bam!*


    Alvarach''s nails held in ce, and the Emperor was unable to move it further.


    "Damn it!" the Emperor was pissed.


    The fact that Alvarach''s nails withstood shredder so easily meant it held a hardness matching adamantium if not higher.


    Doing that, Alvarach sees Ezra shing off.


    ''If he goes further than that, it''ll be tough to catch him''


    His priorities changed, catching Ezra was more important than killing the Emperor.


    Turning his head backwards like an owl, he speaks to his two subordinates watching from the ground in demon tongue. "Serekrin" (Kill him)


    Alvarach hit the shredder away and shed off like a mirage.


    All this happened in seconds. It''d been less than a minute since Ezra took off on his speed run.


    Of course, he didn''t forget to leave the Emperor a gift.


    "Gah!"


    Arge gash appeared on both Andrew''s shoulders.


    Alvarach, who was already sped off, smiled.


    shing off, he flew above Andrew, positioning his nails to slice into Andrew''s shoulders and cut off his arms, leaving him as pickings for his subordinates.


    But Andrew reacted, proving himself as the Emperor by putting shredder horizontally across his shoulders, reducing the attack to only leave arge gash.


    Alvarach doubted his two subordinates could kill the Emperor, but neither could the Emperor kill them, so the battle would enter a stalemate.


    ------------


    Meanwhile¡­


    "Urk!"


    While no one was looking, Crea gradually healed.


    She stayed alive despite being cut in half thanks to the portal''s effects, while she wasn''t powerful enough to regenerate a new set of legs, she maintained consciousness.


    With her two parts fallen not far from one another, she conjoined back as a whole using the small time frame.


    With the portal closing soon after, her regeneration rate went back to normal, but that was okay since she was able to stay alive.


    In silence and amidst the chaos, she steadily healed, exhrated at the thought of meeting the demon lord.


    -----------


    Meanwhile¡­


    *Crackle*Spark*


    Ezra was moving in a world without sound, stepping in and out of differentndscapes by the second as he ran to the heart of the main battlefield, leaving a trail of scorched earth in his wake.


    Unbeknownst to him, a ck dot was following behind him and closing the distance inch after inch.


    -----------


    *VOM*


    "Huh?"


    Master ranks paused involuntarily as Ezra shed past.


    Like a bright light in the dark, his massive use of mana presented his presence as radiance covering others like the sun.


    For such an immense presence to pass by so fast, most master''s felt that their senses must''ve glitched.


    But were subsequently more confused when they felt ominous energy even heavier than the first passed by seconds after, leaving them with a stomach-ache.


    The grandmasters were only a bit better off as Ezra''s speed was beyond them as well, but even the weakest was able to catch his silhouette.


    *ng*ng*ng*ng*


    "Ah!"


    "Chiek!"


    "Puck!"


    Shouts and screams erupted from every direction on the field of battle, as man pierced the flesh of others, soaking the floor with blood.


    The shouts were then drowned by the sounds of metal scraping metal and the numerous explosions brought forth by the spell of mages.


    At this moment a transparentyer of aura in the form of a dome brushed past every soldier and they flinched, some had their minds turn nk and some fainted.


    Seconds after, Ezra appeared, emzoned in lightning and cutting through the army like butter.


    He paid no attention to who was friend or foe as without raising a finger, the lightning he generated scorched many to death.


    Those in the way jumped away without being told.


    Reaching the rear, Ezra stopped, generating a wave of lightning that blew away those near and damaged the earth quite a bit.


    ''Ssss''


    His body was sizzling with heat.


    ''Ah¡­''


    Only now did Ezra realize he had a problem.


    He didn''t know who the space mage the Emperor spoke of was.


    More importantly¡­[Ezra, RUN]


    Zydrax''s loudmand threw him in disarray, but his eyes widened seconds after.


    While running, neither he nor Zydrax felt the ominous aura heading in his direction.


    Turning his head, he could see the dot racing towards him, and the pulsating darkness wrapped around it.


    ''You have to be kidding!''


    It was one all too familiar.


    Alvarach had followed him all the way here.


    ''Shit!''


    He picked up once more, running.


    s, the few seconds he''d wasted stopping allowed Alvarach to bridge the gap, and because he took off running off this time without any preparation, his starting momentum was nowhere near his previous streak.


    Alvarach closed the distance before Ezra could get far and blew arge ball of fire right in his running course, throwing him off.


    Jumping, Ezra took to the skies, but the abrupt change of movements caused gaps.


    Holding his initial speed, Alvarach reached him in no time, with an expression of fury.


    "You won''t be leaving until I say so"


    Before realizing it, Alvarach arrived at his side and smacked him.


    Having gotten smacked once before, Ezra gave a timely response, pulling out Skyfall from his ring to block the attack.


    *Kak-


    Alvarach retreated ever so slightly, his face turning unsightly as he pervades the gleaming scythe.


    The beautiful piece of craft was repugnant to him, he could smell it.


    It was made with the body parts of other demons, with the part of demon''s lords also.


    "You dare!" he shouted. "You dare bring this in front of me?"


    Alvarach felt nothing for the fallen demons, after all, battle was the way of their race, they were simply weak.


    Even then, he felt deeply insulted seeing such a weapon pulled against him by a being who took part of his power from him.


    Alvarach determined Ezra too unusual to leave alone and wanted to capture him.


    Now though¡­


    ''There''s no need to capture this insolent brat whole, cutting of one or two of his limbs would do''


    He was out for blood.


    Immense bloodthirst was aimed at Ezra, but he wasn''t fazed, he witnessed it one too many times before.


    After all, just because he wasn''t Kevin anymore didn''t mean he forgot the things learnt.


    Alvarach attacked. Ezra countered.


    Upon contact, Ezra was hurt, Alvarach''s strike came faster than before.


    [Focus, he''s not ying around]


    Ezra straightened his face, pushing his power output to the highest.


    As if responding to provocation, Alvarach''s aura started deepening, coalescing at one point and became heavier, all while he never stopped moving.


    Ezra could''ve dropped to the ground, but he would suffer for it because of Alvarach''s ability to easily dish outrge scale attacks-something the Emperor was incapable of.


    Even at the top of his game, Ezra only managed to mitigate Alvarach''s attacks, he was unable topletely stop them.


    He''d managed to endure this long only because of his healing ability was preposterous, his blood affinity prevented him from bleeding, moreover, it also provided substantial healing properties which multiplied with his base healing ability, which by the way was already above par because of his strengthened physique gave a huge edge above other grandmaster.


    Other grandmasters would be riddled with injuries bleeding out, and paralyzed by now, yet here Ezra was, healing after every strike.


    Sometimes, Alvarach would attack with fire to blind his line of sight and then followed up with a physical attack.


    Mind you, with Alvarach''s nails coated with poison, Ezra was only still moving because he had cultivated the poison blood ability.


    Surely Alvarach had greater attacks in his arsenal, but his pride wouldn''t let him use such powers against what he deemed to be an insect, only slightlyrger than the rest of his counterparts.


    Moreover, with nowhere to run, Alvarach was willing to wilt down Ezra''s endurance, besides, it wasn''t like anything could stop him anyways.


    With every strike exchanged, Ezra was pushed back, all his powers and he was unable to mount a decent strike, only serving a live target.


    The odds were tilting more and more in favour of his opponent.


    On cue, arge rock came into his sights, stopping Alvarach''s attack.


    Slicing it in half, Alvarach looked to see the intruder.


    There he was a distance away.


    Ezra recognized him straight away.


    ''Fredrick?''


    Without missing a beat, Ezra struck, not missing the opportunity handed to him.


    Like that, the battle changed, with Fredrick interfering time after time, having realized that getting physical was disadvantageous, he threwrge pieces of stone, one after another, making sure to time in a way that gave Ezra an advantage.


    Also, it split Alvarach''s attention.


    If he tried to go for Fredrick, Ezra stopped him and if he went for Ezra, Fredrick interfered with him as well.


    Alvarachunched fireballs at Fredrick, but at such a distance, he was able to dodge easily, getting hit very few times.


    Then, things took a turn as Alvarachunched three consecutiverge fireballs, stopping Fredrick in his tracks.


    Just as he was about to strike Ezra¡­


    "Don''t you dare forget about me"


    The battle had a new entrant.

 Chapter 304 Breakthrough Point

    <h4>Chapter 304 Breakthrough Point</h4>


    Alvarach remotely detonated the fireballs, disorienting Fredrick and giving him enough time to reach Ezra.


    Upon doing so¡­


    "Don''t you dare forget about me"


    A new entrant arrived.


    The booming voice was too familiar to be mistaken.


    The Emperor had arrived!


    A pole of lightning tore through the air aimed at Alvarach.


    This forced him to swerve as he sliced Ezra''s arm while passing.


    "Ack!"


    Ezra winced, the upper part of his left arm was sliced off, breaking his stance.


    Lifting Skyfall with a single hand shifted his center of bnce, defending mythical rank attacks with a single arm was too much even for him.


    Alvarach knew this too and came right back at Ezra to cut off the left hand, but¡­


    *Kang*


    Ezra blocked it.


    Alvarach squinted his eyes for the first time in a while.


    With one arm, blocking his attack should be impossible for a grandmaster.


    And it was.


    Ezra''s left arm didn''t fall off after being severed, rather, the blood meant to spill out congealed.


    A line of ck blood connected to the shoulder to the severed hand.


    What''s more, it pulled it back, and like a lie, the arm was reattached.


    ''Right'' Alvarach realized. ''He has my blood within him''


    With his healing ability alone, Ezra would have never pulled that off, instead, it was the demonic blood integrated into his bloodstream that made it possible.


    The more they fought, the more Alvarach realized that Ezra was neither human nor demon and seemed to have struck a bnce between the two sides.


    This was something Alvarach failed to do even after centuries of attempts, suppressing the inevitable corruption while maintaining the power.


    He''d taken all the good parts and threw out the bad ones.


    His greed to obtain the boy grew a notch higher.


    But with his attack blocked, another pole of lightning was onto him, forcing to break away from Ezra''s proximity.


    ''This insect!''? the Emperor''s persistent interference outraged him, it was unbelievably irritating to say the least.


    Moreover, Fredrick was back on his feet, raising even bigger rocks to toss.


    Alvarach calmed down, shuffling his priorities.


    ''These two need to die first''


    ''Did he kill them?'' Alvarach questioned, but cancelled the thought, his subordinates weren''t that weak.


    He''d managed to outpace them.


    The Emperor was able to lose his subordinates, even after Alvarach inflicted such arge cut into his inventory.


    Meanwhile¡­


    The Emperor exhaled intermittently looking at Alvarach and then at Ezra.


    From all signs, Alvarach was trying to capture Ezra and not kill him.


    While the Emperor knew not the reason, it was conclusive that it was better to stop him in his tracks.


    Still, the Emperor could only stall him for so long, they needed to get far away before he hit his limit.


    The Emperor looked at the palm holding shredder. It had turned purple.


    When blocking Alvarach''s attack to his shoulder, the nail cut into his palm and poisoned it.


    Moreover, he could feel it spreading along through his body right at this moment.


    If nothing was done about it soon, his body might go into an irreparable state.


    Moreover, cutting off Alvarach''s subordinates came at no small cost, blood ran down from a cut on his cheek and his armour had gotten a few more dents.


    After a minute of staying stationary, Alvarach vanished.


    Andrew''s senses tingled, gripping ''He''sing''


    Surely¡­*Krraang!*


    Alvarach''s attacknded, blocked by shredder.


    *Gah!*


    The Emperor felt the difference in power as the weight of impact pushed him back.


    Worse, the shredder was losing durability and sharpness with each attack.


    Coming at him again, Fredrick''s intervention gave Andrew breathing space, but he had to keep himself in front of Alvarach to keep him from going after Fredrick.


    The future looked bleaker by the minute.


    Yet, they could only move forward.


    Ezra watched as they fought.


    ''Zydra-


    He shook his head, cutting his thought short.


    Without knowing, he''d begun giving Zydrax his options to weigh.


    ''I need to think for myself'' he thought, calming himself.


    ''I could run away again'' he thought, looking at those battling. ''But then they''d surely die''


    ''And like now, there''s nothing saying he won''t catch up to me even if I run, and then, they''ll be no one to help''


    ''I need to do something about his speed'' he concurred. ''Slow him down long enough to make our escape¡­but what?''


    He was faster than stronger than them, and also-


    ''No'' Ezra shook his head. ''There''s got to be something, he has to have a weakness¡­but what is it?''


    Sweat dripped down his forehead as he zoomed in on Alvarach''s figure.


    The Emperor''s attacks were getting weaker and slower, he''d needed to find a breakthrough point for them, else they''d all die.


    ''Come on,e on'' he chanted, eyes darting to find something, anything. ''Where is it? Where is it?''


    Then¡­ ''Huh?''


    Ezra zoomed out, noticing something peculiar and began watching closer.


    ''Zydrax, if he''s as powerful as you say he is. Why does he dodge?''


    [Hmm¡­] Zydrax thoughtful intoned. [Now that you mention it¡­it could simply be nothing, but I am surprised that you''re still alive¡­I''ve found the space mage] Zydrax suddenly said, shocking Ezra.


    "Where?"


    [Not far] he replied. [But I guess you want to take the others along as well]


    Ezra nods, his hands tightened around Skyfall. ''It''s just a hunch, but I have to try''


    [Do you not learn] Zydrax questioned. [You were only slightly faster than him even with a head start, a half assed attack won''t touch him]


    ''Don''t dare tell me to run away''


    [I wasn''t nning to] he replied. [If you want your de to do real damage, move like you did before, but faster]


    ''And how do I do that?''


    ''Just do what you did thest time, but better''


    Ezra popped a vein, ''Seriously?'' Zydrax said nothing meaningful.


    Another shockwave shook him out of his reverie.


    ''Tch'' clicking his tongue, Ezra closed his eyes, ''Let''s do this''


    Meanwhile¡­


    "Ah!"


    With Fredrick dodging, the droves of fireballs Alvarach shot out incinerated the ground troops instead, hitting ally and enemies alike.


    The poor men scrambled like ants, many were burnt never to fully heal, master ranks with missing limbs, it was the worst day for ground troops.


    Amongst them were a few who''d managed to get away unscathed.


    One of them was a green robed woman.


    Elisa exhaled intermittently with her back rested against a wall, the look of dread on her face mirrored insanity.


    If even the Emperor felt chills, the presence of a Mythic rank struck fear into their hearts.


    Then, the demonic energy he radiated was potent, corrupting the weak minds amongst them to hunt the stronger ones, while the army members affiliated with the demonic path were strengthened.


    Ezra hade looking to escape, but Alvarach''s presence had brought doom upon the army.


    Strengthening the enemy while weakening theirs, they swiftly fell in ranks, added with the balls of fire andrge boulders thrown about, the battlefield had be an absolute mess.


    No longer were the soldiers looking to win, survival was starting to seem like a luxury at this point.


    -----------


    ''Concentrate'' thought Ezra, closing his eyelids harder, as he expanded his senses to his elements.


    His greatest attack yet was thebined fire lightning and darkness attack he used to destroy the demon''s cave.


    At that time, he''d simply focused on bringing out as much power as possible, and while the power was indeed tremendous, when carefully studied, Ezra could pick some ws in it.


    ''The mana was dispersed''


    He practically threw the attack of his sword, so the mana was more dispersed than it should''ve been.


    To achieve an attack higher than that, he had to concentrate the attack to bring out greater effects.


    For one, the attack would be faster.


    One problem, he wasn''t sure if he could use it-a sword attack-with a scythe.


    Then, he couldn''t say that his other sword would be able to cut past Alvarach''s defences.


    Unsure, Ezra was not about to waste the chance, so he stuck with Skyfall, one whose abilities Ezra had verified.


    Since he was using a scythe, the movement was modified, and easily.


    With his eyes still closed, Ezra configured a new ultimate attack.


    As he did to elerate, Ezra put his mana into overdrive, amplifying his entire body, but slower, and this time, he suppressed its outburst, reinforcing the power instead.


    The crackles on his body slowly turned ck, extending onto Skyfall as well.


    Gripping the scythe tight, Ezra polished the mana channelled within, condensing the mana a level higher.


    Then, the runes on his body were already active, but to achieve higher speeds, he strained them, pushing in mana to give greater effect.


    Since it was carved into his skin, the chances of his breaking were abysmal, but his body heated up as a result.


    Even exhaling became difficult as Ezra felt his body was about to burst from how much momentum he was building.


    "Hmm?" Alvarach stopped his attack on the Emperor and looked behind him.


    His body tingled. Honed instincts rang out.


    Ezra was noticed even after suppressing his presence so much, well, with the rank of his opponent, it was expected.


    That is why the moment Alvarach met Ezra''s gaze, Ezra attacked.


    With mana coalesced upon Skyfall, it grew a few inches longer, the lidded mana erupted out of Ezra''s body like a puffy cloud and big ck lightning bolts crackled atop his physique.


    And then¡­


    *VOM!*SHIM!*


    The air bellowed loudly as a streak of ck lightning crossed Alvarach faster than the Emperor could follow, with the serene sound of a clear sh in the same gap.


    The Emperor was momentarily taken aback as Ezra reappeared a few steps apart from him.


    Just as he wondered what happened, the unbelievable urred.

 Chapter 305 Hasty Escape

    <h4>Chapter 305 Hasty Escape</h4>


    Just as he wondered what happened, the unbelievable urred.


    *sh*


    "Ah!"


    Alvarach shrieked as a diagonal gash appeared across his chest and blood poured out.


    His left arm was sliced off in its entirety, but like Ezra, congealed blood held it together.


    While still shocked¡­


    *sh!*


    Four distinct sh marks appeared on Ezra''s shoulder and it separated into four parts with Ezra puking out blood as well.


    The Emperor quickly caught him.


    "What are you doing, you''ll be poisoned" Ezra said.


    "I''m already poisoned" the Emperor replied, allowing Ezra to note the shade of purple spreading through his skin.


    The attack took much of Ezra''s energy with it, leaving him gasping for air as it had taken a tremendous toll on his internals, with his eyes now bloodshot.


    Moreover, varach was already recovering.


    The attack was far from enough to kill Alvarach, but it bought them some time.


    Gritting his teeth, lightning crackled across Ezra''s body. "Let''s get going"


    With a nod from the Emperor, the duo shot into the horizon.


    Looking back at Alvarach, Ezra''s eyes glimmered.


    ''I was right''


    If Alvarach was as infallible as he said, why was he intently dodging their attacks? It would be much easier to take the hit and kill the attacker right after.


    The more he watched, the more he realized Alvarach wasn''t as infallible as he propagated.


    ''Still¡­'' Ezra looked at left arm cut in four pieces.


    Even mustering that much energy and using the element of surprise, Alvarach was fast enough tond an attack of his own.


    Of course, in about a minute, Alvarach would catch up, so they had to hasten their escape.


    ''Zydrax, where''s the space mage?''


    [There] Zydrax gave the direction and Ezra immediately turned in that direction with Fredrick following behind, they dropped right into the anointed city.


    ''Where?''


    They moved with haste with Zydrax as their guide.


    One swipe of Skyfall erased any who came near.


    Breaking through walls, Ezra arrived at the destination, only to find a familiar face.


    "Mrs. Elisa?!" Ezra was shocked.


    ''The space mage was a she?''


    The woman in question rose was also spooked, blinking meters away before stopping as she recognized the boy.


    "Ezra, what are you-


    "Mrs. Elisa" Ezra cut her short. "Open a portal, Now"


    Straightening her sses, Elisa got to work. "Give me a minute"


    "We don''t have a minute"


    On cue, arge ball of fire homed on their location.


    "We just have to keep him at bay for a minute"


    Nodding, the three took flight, with Ezra and the Emperor heading directly for the fireball.


    Brandishing their respective weapons with lightning, they split apart the fireball.


    Only, varch was nowhere to be seen.


    rmed, both men surveyed the sky for his figure. ''Where is he?!''


    Alvarach had polluted the near areas with demonic essence, using it as a smokescreen to cover his actual body.


    Ezra senses tinged as he looks behind him.


    "Fredrick!"


    The trusted subordinate had taken his position a distance away from Ezra and the Emperor to utilize his abilities for long-range.


    But¡­


    A lone figure was the easiest prey.


    Alvarach appeared before him seconds after Ezra''s shout and shed away before Fredrick could think to back away.


    Four shes appeared on Fredrick''s arms, destroying his gauntlets.


    Fredrick was able to put up his guard in the nick of time.


    But Alvarach was just beginning, after the first sh, he brought a rounded kick to the side of Fredrick''s forehead in the same motion.


    Fredrick waste to put up a defence and let the kicknd clearly.


    *Bom*


    The impact drove Fredrick right into the soil like a nail.


    Disoriented, Fredrick groaned to get up when Alvarach appeared in front of him once again, bringing down his nails.


    At this moment¡­


    *Bam!*


    Skyfall smacked Alvarach aside, Ezra and the Emperor attacked, taking the initiative to give Fredrick breathing space.


    Arge fireball was shot towards them.


    This time, they positioned themselves in front of Fredrick, throwing out long range attacks to negate the fireball rather than going close range.


    Getting fooled a second time was not an option.


    But fixing themselves to a spot made them live targets, and Alvarach treated them like such.


    Shooting fireball after fireball, Ezra and the Emperor were unable to get a breather.


    Moreover, they didn''t dareg because the fireballs couldn''t be deflected with just one of them.


    The difference in power was stammering, shooting this many fireballs had them wondering just much mana he held.


    In any case, Elisa was steadily opening the portal, the time for their escape was almost here.


    But it was bing doubtful if they''d be able to make it under Alvarach''s barrage of fireballs.


    Moreover, Fredrick might need even more time to recover.


    While such thoughts spontaneously spawned, arge piece of metal pierced an iing fireball, causing it to implode.


    The small window had Ezra will a healing potion out of his space ring and break it on Fredrick''s body, speeding up the healing process.


    In the same vein, the Emperor took to the skies.


    Looking up, Ezra sees a figure in ck pping his metal wings.


    Deneris had arrived on the scene with his clothes torn.


    On cue, Alvarach appeared beside him, swinging his nails horizontally with the aim of clean decapitation.


    Three of them were already annoying, he wasn''t about to have another intervene.


    Reaching Deneris'' neck, the Emperor caught hold of Deneris'' leg and flung him backwards, avoiding death by a hair''s breadth.


    *Kang*Kang*Kang*Kang*


    The Emperor faced off against Alvarach.


    This time with more confidence. After all, if Ezra was able to cut him-why shouldn''t he?


    Like a crazed beast, the Emperor fought.


    With poison running through him, essing his peak power was impossible, so he focused on surviving.


    He deflected many of the attacks with shredder, but as the speed they were moving, many attacks still went through.


    Deneris came alive, using metal pieces as projectiles, he shot them at Alvarach.


    Alvarach huffed, It''d been a long time since he was annoyed this much.


    Unlike his gestures, his abrupt rush through the portal and then his disy of strength in splitting it open had done a lot of damage that went unseen.


    As a being above the strongest ss of beings inhabiting the, the was against his presence.


    He forced his way through, but the wasn''t one to leave an invading entity alone.


    It branded him with a curse, one that made him, specifically, his soul far more susceptible to damage.


    Which was why he''d been dodging, somehow, the boy was able to find out.


    Alvarach still didn''t fret, but the appearance of a fourth enemy forced his hand.


    With his assassination attempt unsessful, Alvarach raised his power output up a notch, and his nails lit up with fire gaining burning effects.


    The change was minimal, but its effects were significant.


    He tore the metal pieces Deneris sent his way like knife cutting onions.


    Moreover, each sessful strike burned his opponent, forcing the Emperor back.


    Andrew changed tactics, creating distance as closebat became far more disadvantageous.


    The Emperor''s ability drastically decreased.


    These changes were happening by the second as but a single minute had passed.


    Alvarach side stepped a huge boulder tossed at him, cutting it while fighting the Emperor would be a mistake.


    Fredrick was back on his feet. And he took to the air.


    With another back in the fray, their ability to hold him down had increased drastically.


    Alvarach changed his objectives.


    He could kill each one, but he needed time.


    As such, the priority was now that they couldn''t escape.


    While facing the three, his eyes spotted the portal nearingpletion.


    Spraying a mass ofrge fireballs, he detonated them.


    "Ah!" sting everyone in sight, he bought himself a moment of respite.


    Immediately, with his quick pace, Alvarach reached the space mage, swiping his nails.


    But¡­


    *Crackle*


    A bolt of lightning thwarted his attack.


    "You!" Alvarach bellowed. Sparks flew as his burning nails pushed against a glimmering scythe.


    Ezra hadn''t joined the skirmish in the sky for exactly this reason, and thankfully so.


    Should Elisa die, their chances of escaping would plunge into the ground.


    "Gah!"


    Holding down Alvarach wasn''t easy. Although his injuries had healed, exhaustion was hitting him on every level.


    Thankfully he didn''t have to hold it for too long.


    A piece of metal shot towards Alvarach,? Deneris'' handiwork.


    Right after, the others attacked, keeping him at bay.


    Ezra stood his ground, and the worst-case scenario was averted.


    The portal was on the cusp of stabilizing.


    It''d only taken this long because of how vtile the atmospheric mana had be thanks to the endless attacks being poured out.


    Sess was on the horizon.


    As for the other grandmasters, Ezra had nothing to say to them.


    The situation couldn''t be judged with morals.


    Not only did he not know where they were, he couldn''t afford to wait for them, nor did he have the luxury to do so in front of Alvarach.


    As the portal settled, Ezra smiled, breathing heavy.


    Alvarach''s attacks intensified, and he raised his power by a notch once again, this time, his body caught on fire.


    "You will not be leaving!" he proimed, dishing out daring attacks.


    But thebined effort of four grandmasters thwarted his efforts stopping all attacks on Elisa while collectively pushing him back.


    *SIIUM!*


    Ezra heard a tear in the air, rming him as he split his attention to discover that something was heading towards them.


    Having concentrated on containing Alvarach, the rest noticed far toote.


    A shadow appeared right above Elisa.


    From a palm, a magic circle unfolded and a small ball of fire was shot directly onto Elisa''s stationary figure.


    *BOOM!*

 Chapter 306 Hopeless Standoff

    ?


    *BOOM!*


    The ball of fire dropped right into Elisa''s position and erged.


    It engulfed the surroundings, blowing everyone away.


    It dug into the ground, destroyed the surroundings and pulled up walls of smoke.


    As the ball of fire receded into oblivion, a body was revealed.


    Scorched ck and held beneath the soil level, all that could be seen was ck.


    But then¡­


    "Ah¡­"


    Ezra groaned, pushing himself back on his feet.


    -----------


    *SIUUM!*


    As soon as he felt something, Ezra left the grandmasters and rushed to Elisa''s side.


    Even then, he reached her right as the grandmaster flew across and dropped the fireball.


    His brain went into overdrive, any impact on the fireball would have it explode, so trying to move it was out of the options.


    At the same time, he wasn''t fast enough to avoid the impact, nor could he shield her from it in such an abysmal timeframe, so how was he to save Elisa?


    The answer popped up.


    He reached Elisa with an outstretched palm, willing the ancient ring to suck her in.


    On cue¡­the fireball detonated.


    -----------


    Groaning, Ezra raised himself back on his feet, puking blood as he did.


    Wiping his eyes of dirt, he looks around, still disoriented.


    ''Elisa'' he thought, his vision blurred. ''Did I save her?''


    If she died, chances of them getting out of here reduced tremendously.


    His chance of escaping would be infinitely close to Zero.


    Then¡­[You did] Zydrax replied. [She''s in the space ring, although unconscious, she''s alive]


    ''Whew'' Ezra sighed in his mind. His eyes cleared up as his body healed. A single question burned in his mind.


    ''Who attacked us?''


    He could hear the sh of metal and make out lightning sparks at the distance.


    When suddenly¡­ "Ahh!"


    A shout came about, with a familiar tone.


    Ezra hadn''t forgotten that enemies were abound.


    With a quick p, he pushed away the fog of the smoke, granting a clear line of sight.


    Fredrick and Denerisy with their faces to the ground on which Alvarach now stood, repressing the two from standing.


    The Emperor was shaking with his feet above ground while blood flowed down his mouth and nose like a fountain and Ezra could see why.


    The tips of Alvarach'' s nails protruded out the Emperor''s back.


    "Gah!" The Emperor puked more blood as he tried and failed to pull out Alvarach''s hand.


    "To die so pathetically" Alvarach expressed distaste. "Join me and save yourself such a wretched demise"


    Choking on his breath, the Emperor looked Alvarach in the eye.


    *Peh!*


    And spat in his face.


    "The Emperor bows to no one"


    Alvarach''s nails retracted as he wiped the blood on his face as his eyes glowed.


    "I will grant your wish" he nails protracted, and he stepped on Fredrick''s back harder, repressing him from standing.


    As he aimed to decapitate the Emperor, he shot a nce at Ezra.


    "I''ll be right with you"


    Ezra watched as Alvarach''s nails drew an arc for the Emperor''s head.


    ''I have to do something'' he prompted himself, ''Move, move, move!'' he cried out, but nothing happened.


    For a person barely standing, the sort of power burst he tried to force out was beyond what he could handle.


    ''Zydrax, Help!''


    Alvarach''s w reached Andrew''s head, but then¡­*BAM*


    Something smashed into Alvarach''s figure and the rebound from the collision cleared the rest of the smoke to give clear visuals.


    No, it wasn''t Ezra.


    ''What happened?'' Ezra questioned, standing after the rebound threw him off his feet.


    -----------


    Alvarach observed the staff in his grip.


    Garbed in yellow light and covered in numerous runes, the grade was obvious.


    He caught it but was still pushed back substantially.


    With the smoke cleared up, he locked onto the owner a yards away the moment he raised his gaze.


    Across the field of burnt and dismembered corpses, a man dripping with yellow light stood valiant.


    Raven was revealed.


    This time though, much of his left arm was nowhere to be seen with his clothes torn in multiple ces and his hair partially burnt.


    Winning his previous battle hade at great price.


    Yet he faced Alvarach''s gaze like he was infallible.


    "Another one?!" Alvarach was pissed off, no longer able to maintain his unfazed expression.


    Like pests, they just kept appearing and interrupting.


    Moreover¡­


    Fredrick and Deneris were back on their feet.


    Things had gotten difficult.


    "Take care of him" Alvarach spoke to the one behind him.


    "Yes master" the one responsible for the massive fireball flew off, manifesting magic circles from which massive fireballs were spewed.


    ''???!'' Ezra made out the person''s identity immediately and was shocked.


    ''How is she still alive?'' he inquired.


    Indeed, how was someone cut in half and yet able to remain alive? He saw it happen, so what was this?


    How was this woman here?!


    It was Crea.


    Regardless, she was alive and recovered to peak state, dishing out such attacks weren''t as easy as she made it out to be.


    In any case, without a hand and his staff, Raven ran, avoiding the massive fireballs hurled at him.


    Those of master ranks and below had long since fled, putting their enmity on hold to survive.


    Yet not many lived after witnessing a Grandmaster''s attack.


    The ground was littered with burnt and dismembered corpses, their armours turned to scrap.


    With Crea on Raven''s case, Alvarach''s skin darkened and lit up with fire, melting the staff.


    On cue, Fredrick and Deneris engaged him.


    Clicking his tongue, Alvarach tossed the limp Emperor away, not that he had the leisure to not do so.


    Besides, Andrew''s blood was mostly stained with poison that would finish him off.


    He tossed the staff aside as well, leaving both arms vacant as the fire from his arms receded, he wouldn''t go so far to use it on such insects.


    Besides, with the portal closed and their space mage dead, he could now hunt them at his leisure.


    Raven called his staff back to his hand,menting the melted edge but not so much he stopped running.


    Instead, he took to the skies as well, with his staff lighting up with yellow fire, and subsequently his body lit up with a yellow aura.


    Joining the others would have to wait, he needed to take care of Crea.


    With his extraordinary me resistance, Raven cut through therge fireballs, absorbing the little damage that got through and closed the distance.


    Meanwhile¡­


    *Kang*Kang*Kang*


    "Why don''t you stop this meaningless struggle?" Alvarach asked, with his heated nails cutting through the pieces of metal flying at him, while making sure to deny them any chance of creating distance.


    Both men shined best attacking from long range, but Alvarach wasn''t allowing that.


    Instead, he was leisurely cutting through the metal piecesing at him while parrying Fredrick''s massive hammer.


    The two men lost an inch every strike.


    The Emperor had been the main anchor in holding Alvarach down, with him down, the difference in abilities was too apparent.


    Less than a minute in closebat and they were on the verge of defeat.


    "We can''t hold him" Fredrick cried out.


    And then¡­


    Bam!


    Something smashed into Crea from behind, and Raven doubled down on that opportunity, delivering a sweet kick.


    It drove her into the ground like a nail.


    Another entrant had joined the battle.


    It didn''t take long to know who.


    Mervida was here.


    Now, she had arge dark green patch on the left side of her face and smaller green patches on her neck and exposed palm, fair to say it matched her hair colour.


    Her armour had be ragged, as was her breath.


    Raven nodded to her. "Thank you"


    "Don''t" she shook her head. Looking at the carnage taking ce.


    The Emperory limp while a demon whose presence made her skin crawl  thrashed Fredrick and Deneris. "It''s far from over, help them. I''ll take care of her"


    Raven gave a small nod and shot in Alvarach''s direction.


    Looking further, she makes out Ezra watching from a distance.


    At this time, Crea blew away the object thrown on her, which was a grandmaster''s carcass by the way.


    "Who dares?!" she was enraged.


    Unfortunately, Mervida was already beside her.


    "I do"


    Bam!


    A punchnded on her square face and sent her flying.


    Mervida follows up with another.


    ------------


    The moment Alvarach registered Raven''s approach, he stepped aside, dodging a me attack aimed at him.


    Right after, he took to the sky, appearing before Raven in record time, he drew an arc with his nails.


    Sha!


    He avoided death, not his staff though.


    It split apart cleanly after blocking that attack.


    On cue, Alvarach vanished.


    With Raven looking to find him, arge rock smashed into him.


    "Ah"


    It held considerable momentum behind it.


    Right after, Alvarach''s figure appeared, this time behind.


    Being a little quicker this time, Raven got four shes imprinted into his back.


    It was certainly beat having his intestines separated.


    A piece of metal interrupted Alvarach''s next attack.


    Fredrick and Deneris were relentless, tailing Alvarach with a flurry of attacks that swerved his strikes; they couldn''t let Raven die.


    Alvarach paused, looking at his nails. "After years of peace, my battle skills have degraded"


    He smiled. "Good, I will use you to sharpen my skills before I begin my main conquest"


    The fire in his nails receded, he reasoned that it wasn''t needed, he''d been thinking about things wrongly.


    Fredrick and the others seemed to be holding on well, but they were all poisoned.


    Moreover, none of them could outrun him, and with their portal destabilized, they had nowhere to run.


    If so, rather hastening his feast, he''d use them as a learning experience until they were drained of energy-which shouldn''t be far away-and then kill them.


    Honestly, they''d surpassed his expectations by a lot by thwarting him for this long, especially the Emperor.


    If other ces had people of simr power, it would be wise to take things slowly.


    With Ezra unmoving, he was convinced the boy was out of strength, so there was no need to rush.


    The Grandmaster''s knew this as well.


    It was a hopeless standoff with no victory in sight.


    But then¡­


    "Don''t give up!" Ezra''s voice boomed. Calling their attention.


    "Do you have a n?" Fredrick replied.


    Ezra simply nodded.


    Fredrick fist tightened around his massive hammer.


    "Ezra has a n. We need to buy him time" he said to the other two.


    "How much time?" Raven asked.


    "As much as possible"


    "So¡­" Deneris''s dry voice resounded. "¡­Three minutes?"

 Chapter 307 The Great Devouring

    ?


    Minutes earlier¡­


    ''Zydrax, wake Elisa up. we need to reopen the portal''


    [I can''t do that]


    ''What? Why?''


    [You saved her from utter annihtion, but not entirely. Part of her head scalded by mes, and I don''t think she''ll be using her right eye anytime soon]


    Ezra''s head dropped.


    [Even if we woke her up, she''s in no condition to open a portal]


    ''Zydrax, help me get up''


    [Joining them wouldn''t be of any help] Zydrax replied. [If we don''t find a way out of here soon, you will die]


    ''Are you suggesting-


    [Yes, I will boost your strength and you run faster-


    ''No'' Ezra shut it down.


    ''That already failed'' he said, his thoughts clear. ''I''m not abandoning them a second time''


    [Then you will all die] Zydrax replied.


    ''Then so be it. I wouldn''t be able live with myself if I ran away now''


    How would he hold himself as a person if he abandoned his subordinates and fled every time he faced a stronger opponent.


    The first time already had him feeling inherently pathetic, he wasn''t doing it a second time.


    Barely on his feet, Ezra keenly watched the fight.


    [You have no chance of beating him as you are now]


    ''I don''t believe that''


    He''d hurt him once. He could definitely do it again.


    Now, the situation irked Ezra in more ways than one.


    Especially Zydrax''s attitude.


    ''For someone iming to be Orion''s guardian, it is disappointing that you propose fleeing in front of the enemy''


    ''It was my mistake hoping you''d be able to do something''


    [¡­]


    Zydrax wanted to say something but didn''t.


    Shaking off dust, Ezra inhaled and then stood upright.


    Closing his eyes, he examined his internals, the well of energy and streams of mana within him.


    Ezra was far from actualizing his full potential, and he knew it too.


    He focused on Alvarach, visualizing his previous attacks.


    From his speed to the sharpness of his ws, absurd casting speed, not to mention the fire he kept repressed.


    Little by little¡­


    Crackle*


    Small sparks of lightning began forming on the outside of his skin.


    Ezra''s words hit Zydrax like thunder and kept echoing.


    Zydrax felt even more pathetic, from the mighty being he was once, reduced to a guard to such a worthless.


    Now, he''d turned so weak he was being talked down to by an existence yet to step even out of his.


    It was the height of humiliation.


    But after so many centuries, Zydrax wasn''t shaken.


    He knew what he was doing. He had a n and was following it to the letter, he knew the possibilities and see effects far farther than Ezra could possibly imagine.


    But Ezra didn''t, and he couldn''t force him to.


    The leftovers from his astral form were about to perish when it encountered Orion.


    Being such a weak, Zydrax was initially displeased, but with no other option, he assimted with it.


    In doing so, he came less of a living being and more of a conceptualized one.


    A being spawned from the universe and bounded by its rules.


    Zydrax was then sealed to the, incapable of separation as his consciousness became the world''s will.


    He cursed in utter damnation, ns to recuperate and then head elsewhere were ruined.


    But as a being of his level, he was quick to calm down.


    All things remained possible so long he remained alive.


    In that case, things were not so bad.


    Zydrax was quick to note that he''de to Orion just a few centuries after its birth.


    While initially displeased, he''dter learn that this had been one of the reasons he was able to survive at all.


    If his astral remnant had tried to inhabit a developed, the residing will would have fought against his domination and in that scenario, chances of his remnant being destroyed were quite high.


    As a baby, Zydrax''s watched and guided its habitants, prompting unmatched growth in all areas of life.


    The more time passed, the morews of conceptuality ingrained into his being.


    After multiple centuries, his origin was restructured and he became a true conceptualize being, as if created that way.


    As a result, he lost the strength he umted and any way to regain it. But gained new strengths.


    It was also the moment the mes of revenge seething within drastically cooled.


    While he didn''t forget and dare not forgive, like his being, his entire n had to be restructured.


    For he could no longer take that revenge on his own terms, he''d have to use someone else, and that''s how he raised the inhabitants of Orion.


    But he didn''t know untilter that his conceptualization had given away Orion''s location.


    Soon after, the first demon invasion urred.


    His efforts shone as Oranians pushed them back.


    The problem came afterwards.


    Many of the inhabitants surpassed his expectations, reaching rank before the designated time, and that would call for serious trouble.


    Then, he picked out the most favourable few and approached them, but none of them was willing to do his bidding.


    Having lived lives of constant battling, they valued their freedom above all else, to be the proxy of another being was beyond them.


    Moreover, he needed them to pause their advancements for at least a few millennia, and in essence, as long as he told them too.


    This, to such people, was even more absurd than the first proposal, and they rejected without a second thought.


    This made Zydrax angry, extremely, his efforts were about to go down the drain, and not only that, should a plethora of them exceed rank, they would call down a force beyond their wildest dreams.


    As a being who once stood close at a level only looked down by the peak hegemonies of power, he would never let himself be enved.


    No, should he be discovered, the life of all Oranians would forever change.


    So, after careful deliberation, he took a most drastic step¡­and wiped out the top two sses of power!


    Transcendentals and Mythical ranks!


    Late-stage Grandmasters were wiped as well.


    Moreover, in the process of trying to resist, Grandmasters died in droves as well.


    Not only that, ny percent of scrolls containing methods to rise to such ranks were destroyed and the many artifacts were hidden, many destroyed.


    It was the end of Orion''s golden era, the eventter dubbed as the Great Devouring.


    And it happened in the span of a day!


    Landscapes underwent massive changes.


    The day after this event was the most confusing for Oranians.


    Where, lest a few, the top ruling powers had died, leaving not a corpse as their bodies burst into showers of mana.


    What followed was an era of untamed Chaos, and the reorganisation of many things.


    Most of the powers in today''s Orion took Origin in that era.


    For conceptualized beings, every action prompted bigger effects, and in this case, his drastic actions prompted drastic consequences.


    Zydrax was immensely weakened, and his ability to act or impact Oranians was heavily restricted.


    He''d expected bacsh, but when it came, he realized he''d underestimated the cost of his actions.


    Zydrax didn''t regret his actions though, they had to be done.


    The restrictions made sure Oranians had far more freedom to develop naturally.


    For that reason, he was unable to do things as he''d nned, which was to groom a few into top powers for his bidding.


    Normally, he would be unable to do anything to the inhabitants, but with the vast knowledge he had, he was able to bend the restrictions, but only slightly.


    As a result, he had to settle with picking a single entity to groom to the transcendent level, and most importantly, it couldn''t be unyielding like its predecessors.


    It was a gamble with a very slim sess rate, and as such, Zydrax pulled all stops.


    One, he wouldn''t pick Grandmasters or Masters, those were more prone to arrogance.


    He also wouldn''t pick any less than adept rank, they had to have a sense of survival and inherent ambition to be of best use.


    As a being living more than a millennium, he was happy to wait, and as such, was picky.


    That backfired when the demons began resurging.


    Someone, somehow made contact with a demon, and soon, the demon cult was formed.


    With his abilities thoroughly restricted, Zydrax couldn''t simply wipe them away.


    Moreover, he couldn''t directly converse with more than one person at a time, and once he did, till the person died, he couldn''t talk to anybody else.


    Worse, Orion hadn''t shaken off the effects of hisst stunt and was incapable of thwarting mythical rank demons should they emerge.


    With no one worthy in sight, Zydrax moved to stop it himself, forcing a battle of attrition where he blocked their attempts to open a portal connecting the two ces.


    But there was a problem.


    Thews restricting him couldn''t be reasoned with, they couldn''t tell he was thwarting an enemy from invading.


    So he couldn''t directly wipe away demons either, all he could was to stop them from entering by directly wrecking any portals created.


    Only, like him, the inhabitants could also think.


    Forcefully closing the portals required energy on Zydrax''s part, the same amount used to create it.


    Under Alvarach''s guidance, they drew a magic circle covering Lexon as a whole.


    The circle sucked the soul energy out of anything that died within it, and transported that energy onto one spot-the small crystal held up above the blood pool-which would act as a catalyst to open the portal.


    Zydrax realized their ns, but now incapable of direct intervention, there was nothing he could do.


    Days passed with the crystal more and more soul strength, creating a sense of crisis for Zydrax.


    If their invasion was sessful, it would ultimately lead to the oue he most dreaded, the one he wiped out Transcendentals to prevent.


    Worse, in lieu of his very picky attitude, anyone even remotely close to the required standard was dead.


    In such bleak times, a ray of light shone.


    Literally, a beam of light appeared in the night sky out of nowhere.


    He deducted the object''s identity with the energy it gave off only to be shocked.


    It was the actualization of a Great wish.


    But the item capable of bringing it forth didn''t exist in Orion-so where did ite from?


    From that moment, it held Zydrax''s attention, and he watched itnd into the chest of a baby.


    Since then, he''d been keeping an extra eye on Ezra.


    At all angles, the boy was anything but normal, he surpassed Zydrax''s expectations-which was hard to do-multiple times.


    Then, the more he looked, the more he saw simrities between the old him and Ezra.


    The drive for revenge was most ptable, as was the drive to end his enemies.


    Then, his ability to scheme so masterfully.


    Without knowing, Zydrax was drawn closer to the boy.


    Still, he didn''t make a move.


    He had to ensure his character, and having waited so long, he could certainly wait a bit more.


    About the same time, the demons began knocking harder, drawing away his attention.

 Chapter 308 Insulted

    <h4>Chapter 308 Insulted</h4>


    About the same time, the demons began knocking harder, drawing away his attention.


    They started rushing their ns, an act Zydrax could notprehend, but he had to stop them either way.


    He was embroiled in a tug of power constantly limiting the contact between humans and demons but was only able to do so much.


    If he suppressed the portal, they simply used more soul strength to open it, with it, materials were passed from one world to another as soon after a demonic potion was created.


    With it, they prompted the biggest beast tide in centuries, wiping out hundreds of thousands in the process.


    While he kept watch, trying to decipher their end goal, the head of the demonic cult suddenly moved.


    Zydrax was perplexed, Ziltris hadn''t moved out of the cave for almost fifty years-why the sudden movement.


    Following Ziltris as he speeds off, he''s shocked when he realizes his target.


    The best prospect of the current generation.


    Ezra.


    Zydrax''s apprehensiveness grew in leaps.


    How had they known of the boy? Ezra hadn''t revealed himself to the world, yet the demonic cult was after him.


    Not only that, they sent a grandmaster after him!


    It was evident how much they prioritized his death.


    Zydrax realized that he was once again a step behind these people.


    Worse, he couldn''t empower the boy while he was travelling through portals or shing des with a grandmaster, because Ezra would lose in his head before it could take effect.


    Once again, Zydrax found himself being of no help, no more useful than straw fluttering in the wind.


    Nevertheless, he would see things to the end.


    Against all odds, Ezra managed to etch out a win against the grandmaster, but was left with an inch of life as a result.


    With the importance the demons ced upon his demise, Zydrax had to make sure he didn''t fall, so he began wrapping up essence to restore the boy back to peak condition.


    In time it took to do that though, the siblings had forced a demon''s hearts on him, effectively turning the boy into a demon


    Soon after, other grandmasters arrived, denying Ezra a chance to escape and destroying his mana core, effectively crippling him.


    The loss of such potential forced Zydrax to confront his act of reactingte, in efforts to look for a host, he''d lost the most promising candidate, rather, the only candidate.


    It was aplete disaster¡­or so Zydrax thought.


    He watched Ezra be escorted to Arcadia, and simply awaited the inevitable corruption as everyone else.


    But no, the boy proved to be different even then.


    Not only did he not get corrupted, but he also actively rejected it, bleeding out regrly.


    Then, suddenly, he went silent and unmoving.


    His heart was still beating though, so he wasn''t dead.


    Unable to determine what was going on, Zydrax leaves him untouched, diverting attention to the demon cult that had begun making more aggressive moves.


    As per limitations, he couldn''t do anything to stop the war from beginning, but he did hinder their efforts to expand the magic circle across the rest of the continent.


    He stalled them, stopping the advent multiple times, but each time he lost part of his essence and was unable to replenish it while they were progressed despite, replenishing the soul energy expended and after three months of doing this, Zydrax knew he couldn''t keep at it-he was fighting a losing battle.


    At most, he estimated, they''d breakthrough by the end of this year, and so, he was actually desperate, looking for a way that would at least provide a shot at winning.


    He found no worthy host, for different reasons, but mostly because it would take too long for them to grow to a stage on par with the enemy.


    In the meantime, he thought up multiple possible solutions.


    At this time, Ezra''s body lit up with energy and Zydrax was immediately alerted.


    He watched apprehensively as Demonic energy gushed out the boy, already deeming it a disaster soon to ur.


    The energy outburst was that of an iing breakthrough.


    It being demonic energy meant Ezra was about to ascend to grandmaster as a corrupted being.


    Again, Zydrax could do nothing, else he might''ve, no, would''ve ended Ezra''s life then and there.


    But like everything else with the boy, something irregr urred, the demonic essence was no longer gushing out, but being expunged.


    His attention was held down as he watched the rest of it be expunged, and once all of it was gone, mana poured out, condensed to the purest level, it was of a level Zydrax didn''t think could exist on Orion.


    The boy''s breakthrough to Grandmaster level provided the easiest way for him to integrate into his body.


    Done wasting time, Zydrax didn''t hesitate to clinch onto the boy''s body, where he swiftly got to work moulding a power for the boy that might just see them through the crisis.


    After many twists and turns, things could finally take a turn around.


    But nope! The demons were one step ahead once again.


    Zydrax didn''t know how, but they''d detected his departure, and made haste with their ns.


    With no one there to copse the portal right at the start, the crystal built up enough energy and a portal connecting both worlds was shut open.


    With quick thinking, he led the boy to put a stop to such precarious processions.


    s, mustering all their might, they were a minute toote, and as such, demons came through.


    Bad luck struck again, as an enemy beyond any Orion powerhouse emerged.


    Understanding the situation, Zydrax swiftly advised a retreat, but like any self-made powerhouse, Ezra disobeyed.


    In the minutes after, he was surely regretting that he did.


    With his vast knowledge, Zydrax plotted a path to victory.


    He realized that the path was inessible in the moment, as such, retreating was top priority.


    But of course, when were things ever so easy.


    Even using his subordinate as bait, Ezra failed to escape.


    Now, another golden opportunity hade their way, and yet¡­


    ''For someone iming to be Orion''s guardian, it is disappointing that all you propose is fleeing in front of the enemy''


    What was this?!


    Zydrax hadn''t felt so angry in as long as he could remember.


    His authority had never been so directly insulted.


    Right after¡­


    ''It was my mistake hoping you''d be able to do something''


    That popped the lid.


    Zydrax''s mind rewrote the scenario.


    The original was optimized as the fastest way to victory against Alvarach.


    Seeing Ezra so determined to die, the original n became unfeasible, and Zydrax came up with a n to actualize Ezra''s goals.


    It wasn''t hard. Taking a total of one minute to do.


    Even that was too long.


    [There''s a way]


    Ezra''s concentration was broken. ''What do you mean?''


    [I can open the portal, but realize there will be consequences]


    ''I don''t care''


    [It will take a minute or two. During that time, you shouldn''t move around much]


    Ezra nodded, Zydrax went silent right after.


    Watching the battle closer, he could see the attack of the grandmasters getting slower, more than just the poison, they were gradually giving in to despair.


    So he shouted."Don''t give up!" and his voice boomed. Calling their attention.


    "You have a n?" Fredrick asked aback.


    Ezra nodded.


    Tightening his grip around his massive hammer, the man fixed hiscking gait.


    "Ezra has a n. We need to buy him time" he said to the other two.


    "How much time?" Raven asked.


    "As much as possible"


    "So¡­" Deneris''s dry voice resounded. "¡­Three minutes?"


    ".¡­"


    ".¡­"


    Fredrick and Raven were speechless.


    Of course, they ced their estimates about that long as well, but saying it like that¡­sigh¡­


    Right then¡­


    "Watch out!"


    Raven snapped out of it, immediately noticing Alvarach''s presence with his nails already drawing an arc in his direction.


    ''Shit!''


    But then¡­


    A ray of blue came along, Alvarach raised his hand by a few meters, dodging it, of which mmed into Raven.


    *Creek!*


    "Hm?!" Alvarach was bbergasted.


    ''Huh?'' Raven himself was panicked.


    Why wouldn''t he when his body was being encapsted in ice.


    Regardless, varach drove his nails through, hoping to end one of the insects pestering him.


    His nails crashed into Raven''s iced skin.


    Contrary to expectation, the ice proved to actually affect his speed, albeit by very little.


    Cutting through Raven''s remaining arm, something smashed into Alvarach, cancelling his attack.


    His irritation peaked looking at the massive hammer in Fredrick''s arms.


    Breathing heavily and swaying nervously, Fredrick faced Alvarach, standing tall.


    "Are you okay?" He asked Raven.


    "Anything beats being dead. Thank you" Raven replied, breaking the ice formed on his skin. "Where did thise from?"


    On cue¡­


    Alvarach dodged another freeze ray, his eyestching onto the attacker.


    Ezra.


    In front of his outstretched palm was a medium-sized magic circle, cerulean in colour and shimmering.


    "Seriously?" Raven was in disbelief.


    Ezra learnt it during his short stay at the Royal academy as a way of utilizing his ice affinity and modified it with rune knowledge.


    It was his most neglected strength.


    Thanks to that, the enemy was caught unaware.


    Else Raven would''ve been cut in half.


    "Focus!" Fredrick yelled at Raven, blocking Alvarach''s attack in the nick of time.

 Chapter 309 Three Minutes

    309 Three Minutes Alvarach''s figure flickered from side to side, attacking them all at once.


    With time against them, the grandmasters faced their biggest barrage yet.


    "Ack!" Raven was bearing the most brunt, as Alvarach had identified him to be the weak link.


    Truly, without a staff and a second arm, that he was.


    "Raven"


    He turned his head to see Ezra holding a shining yellow spear, far lower in grade than his original spear of course, but anything was better than nothing.


    "Catch" Tossing it, Ezra kicked the spear towards him.


    Alvarach wasn''t about to let that happen.


    Shredding another piece of metal, he flickers away, reaching Raven who had his back turned to grab the spear.


    Ezra followed with his eyes, shooting rays of eyes that reduced his attack range and disrupted his movements.


    Moreover, Ezra was able to shoot more than three ice rays at a time, a time being less than ten seconds.


    That,bined with Fredrick''s reinforcement foiled Alvarach''s ploy.


    Waving it, Raven nodded in appreciation, now he could do more than just dodge.


    Alvarach took a back seat for a few seconds, raising the level of the grandmasters a bit more.


    The curse inflicted on him was the only reason these cockroaches could even dare face him and it was beginning to really irritate him.


    His eyesnded on Ezra. Thest time he left the boy alone, a scythe cut him in half.


    Now, he had a n up his sleeve once more.


    Alvarach himself couldn''t decipher what exactly the boy nned to do, considering that their space mage was dead, but he''d be damned before leaving things be.


    This whole affair only took this long because he''d been trying to capture the boy alive, so the question then popped up¡­


    ''Should I just kill him?''


    After a short pause, ''No'' Alvarach decided against it.


    The boy''s body might just hold the key to achieving a greater form of power, Alvarach wasn''t about that chance slip his fingers.


    Besides, it wasn''t like he couldn''t take everyone here.


    It hurt his pride, but he sure wasn''t going to allow them any more time.


    Then¡­


    "CRA!"


    Alvarach let out a scream-like screech, and his presence grew heavier, demonic energy began filling the surroundings.


    His moderate body gained muscle and his head grew bigger, as did his horn grow in length and got darker while his nails didn''t change.


    Finally, a thin line of fire coated his skin.


    The atmosphere was unbelievably oppressive to the grandmasters as the pressure weighed on them.


    As Alvarach surveyed his magnificent figure, his expression shook as his head twisted in a weird angle.


    "Ahh!"


    Letting out a booming screech of pain, his figure twisted in obscene ways and the oppressive atmosphere started deting.


    Twisting and turning, he fell to the ground like a crashing mosquito, creating arge crater.


    Soon after, he reverted to his previous figure, and spurted arge deal of blood.


    "This is our chance!" Fredrick''s cry brough the other two grandmasters out of their reverie.


    His massive hammer reached Alvarach right after.


    *Bam!*


    Fredrick smashed him into the ground without remorse-the experience was exhrating even.


    He didn''t know what just transpired, what he did know was that they''d been given an opportunity to turn the tables, and he wasn''t missing it.


    Without a break, he smashed Alvarach once again.


    Of which Raven and Deneris joined in, the formerunched a beam of yellow light while thetter sent down a shower of metal weapons while Fredricknded his third strike.


    On his fourth strike¡­


    *Kang!*


    The hammer was repelled with so much more force, Fredrick moved back more a few steps.


    The grandmasters stepped back on instinct, looking at Alvarach while awaiting the inevitable attack.


    He vanished from his position, but¡­didn''t attack them?


    Fredrick looked behind him haste, and surely.


    Alvarach went for Ezra.


    ''Damn it!''


    The boy in question had been paying attention to the battle as well.


    So, he saw Alvarach flicker.


    As a grandmaster himself, Ezra was not weak, and he did not panic when Alvarach reached him.


    *Zom*


    Dude shed away just as fast as Alvarach arrived, leaving a trail of ck lightning.


    Stopping beside the Emperor''s limp self, he wiped away the blood on his cheek.


    Alvarach was still able to cut him even with that speed.


    Ezra smiled.


    *sh*


    Alvarach''s arm was cut through.


    Confidence levels arose. Ezra wasn''t stupid enough to think he could beat varch over such a small win, with the cut arm having immediately healed, but¡­


    ''Not dying shouldn''t be problem''


    Relieved to hear the Emperor''s beating heart.


    Without straying eye contact on Alvarach, he empties a healing potion on the Emperor''s figure.


    Alvarach was stunned, confused whether it was the boy who got faster or he got slower.


    His previous transformation had been thwarted by the world itself.


    As a being from another, he was intruding, his transformation thereby spreading his presence gave the world an opportunity to suppress him.


    Regardless, the boy caught himcking.


    Turning around, he flickers away, dodging Fredrick''s hammer, reaching Ezra.


    The boy''s instincts rang out as he ced his scythe at an urate distance to stop Alvarach''s nails.


    The force pushed Ezra back as the sparks flew.


    ''He''s faster than before''


    Gritting his teeth, he thwarted off two more attacks, each one shook his body, making his organs feel like jelly.


    He could take only a few more of such attacks before he fell.


    Deneris and Fredrick''s provided timely assistance, swerving Ezra''s aim, allowing him distance and breathing space.


    The scythe was currently holding the ice element, but Alvarach''s nail turned into vapour just as soon as it came on.


    With Ezra holding the lifeline to their escape, the grandmasters didn''t hesitate to bring the heat to Alvarach.


    A brawl ensured, with all three covering one another while Raven threw shots from above.


    Each blow resounded and the grandmasters were being pushed back each time, barely resisting.


    Moreover, after the attack from the world, Alvarach stopped pulling his punches.


    His nails wereced with fire again, and his attacks grew stronger and came faster each time.


    "Ezra, if you truly have a way out of this-please hurry!" said Fredrick.


    With everyone at their limit, Ezra couldn''t help but cry out to Zydrax.


    ''Zydrax, do it now!''


    [I need more time-


    ''We don''t have more time, do it now!''


    -------------


    Zydrax was thoroughly annoyed by the way the situation yed out.


    If only Ezra listened right at the start¡­whatever.


    He threw such thoughts away,ining was not going to solve the problem.


    ''The umted essence is going to be wasted!''


    Still, he was reluctant to take-as he saw it-such a disastrous decision.


    But if he failed to act this time, his biggest fear might be realized, and that forced his hand.


    In the space ringy Elisa''s unconscious self, Crea''s attack burned the left part of her face and hair as well.


    Severusy beside her.


    Following Zydrax''s will, a ray of bright yellow dust streamed into Elisa''s body.


    Its rate of movement increased.


    Her chest rose and quickly healed the burnt part of her hair, face and body began healing.


    Her skin glowed bright yellow, and then her eyes snapped open, with irises shining bright yellow.


    Severus distanced himself, slithering backwards while curiously watching the unexined phenomenon.


    Her eyesy wide open, yet this woman was not awake.


    Suddenly, the glow of her skin brightened, akin to a colony of fireflies, and she raised her arm, her palm openly facing the sky.


    ----------------


    On the outside, a green dot appeared, suspended in the air right atop Raven.


    Alvarach and Ezra noticed it.


    Raven had joined the brawl on the ground, standing behind the rest andunching beams of light at Alvarach while the rest weathered his attack.


    Dodging attacks, Alvarach took note but didn''t bother.


    Big mistake, the dot erged into a portal right after. It was twice the size needed and formed ten times as fast.


    Alvarach''s eyes widened as others immediately noticed it.


    "You will not be leaving!" Alvarach proimed, from his palm a crimson magic circle unfolded.


    "Go!" Ezra shouted. A blue magic circle unfolded from his palm as he thrust forth and engaged Alvarach.


    With haste, Raven fell right in, Deneris followed.


    While they couldn''t ascertain the portal''s destination, it gave higher chances of survival.


    The two magic circles shed.


    *Boom!*


    A massive explosion as ice and fire cancelled each other out, from which a wall of smoke formed.


    "My liege, let''s go!" Fredrick intoned.


    Ezra hopped backwards with haste.


    Right then¡­


    "Wait!"


    Ezra''s head swerved in the direction of the voice.


    It was Mervida.


    On cue, Alvarach arrived at his side, and swung his nails.


    Sharp senses let him ce Skyfall in ce to parry the attack, but the rebound sent him flying to the side.


    Swerved off course, Alvarach chuckled.


    "I told you. You will not be leaving"


    "My liege!"


    Fredrick was at the rescue, his hammer brought down on Alvarach''s figure.


    Unfortunately¡­


    *Bam!*


    Alvarach knocked it aside with an overhand backhand punch, and without stopping, ced a kick right on the chest and sent him flying like a piece of stone.


    Flying right into the portal.


    With that, he''d been gotten rid of.


    Facing Alvarach''s, Ezra tightened his grip and grit his teeth.


    *Boom!*


    With a quick look he saw Mervida jumping out the crater with a bloody mouth before Crea attacked.


    "Give up" Alvarach offered. Taking back Ezras attention.


    "You barely stopped me when they were four of you, you can''t get past me on your own"


    A voice boomed. "Who said he was alone?!"


    *Bam*


    Something crashed into Alvarach right after.


    Even with his skin now purple and clean hair filthy, the Emperor gait lost none of his valour, his eyes stood bright still.


    "You''re alive?"


    It was a stupendous situation for Alvarach, holding back shredder with his nails.


    But then, he looked at the Emperor. "Well, not for long"


    "Shut it" said the Emperor. "You will not touch my son!"


    The Emperor engaged him, erupting with lightning like never before.


    *Bam*Bam*Bam*Bam*


    Moving at a speed Ezra could barely follow, they struck each other more times than he could count.


    Watching for a chance¡­


    "Ezra, go" the Emperormanded.


    "But I can-


    "Go!"


    Alvarach was genuinely shocked, the one he''d left to die was back on his feet, moreover, he was matching his attacks.


    Reluctantly, Ezra ran to the portal.


    ---------


    *p*p*p*p*


    Crea delivered sonic ps to Mervida, who was barely standing.


    The poison from Mervida''sst fight constantly weakened her body.


    This and her loss of sight clinched her loss while battling Crea.


    Blood sttered out of her mouth as she struggled to stay standing but as her pride as a queen kept her going.


    She would never lose her dignity.


    "Futile efforts" Crea said. "Bow before me and I might just let you live"


    Mervida spat in her face, smiling. "Over my dead body"


    Crea''s eyes narrowed, "As you wish"


    Right then, her eyes widened, and immediately, she bent ny degrees backwards, avoiding decapitation from Ezra''s scythe.


    That didn''t stop her from getting kicked away like a doll though.


    Ezra swatted Crea away with a kick and pulled Mervida by hand, tossing her into the portal, as he ran to it too.


    [Hurry, I can''t keep the portal open for much longer]


    Seeing his prey about to get away, Alvarach parried another one of the Emperor''s attacks and flickered in Ezra''s direction.


    "No, you don''t" the Emperor wasn''t about to let that happen.


    His instincts rang out and Ezra stepped back as a line of fire slid right past him.


    Alvarach reached right after, but the Emperor reached Alvarach just as fast.


    And then¡­


    *Sha!*


    Having turned around with precision, the Emperor fell right into his nails.


    "Gah!" the Emperor puked blood at the abrupt stop.


    "No!"


    Alvarach''s nails were sticking out his chest, he looked like chicken on a stick.


    Hiss...

 Chapter 310 Escaping

    310 Escaping


    "No!"


    Ezra was horrified by the scene in front of him.


    With Alvarach''s nails sticking out his back, the Emperor looked like a chicken pierced with a fork.


    "Blergh!"


    Puking blood, light seemed to illuminate the Emperor. His once glorious armour now in tatters, covered in grime, sweat and dirt, as was his skin.


    He''d gained more injuries in this battle than every other he''d ever fought. His golden hair had its shine suppressed with blood as ity there dishevelled.


    The Emperor had never looked so pitiful, and Ezra watched with rapt attention as his movements loosened to a halt and Shredder fell out of his hands.


    Alvarach watched with an expression of disappointment. "What a waste," he said. "You should have epted my offer when I offered you the chance"


    The Emperor gave no reply, looking with a lost gaze as the majestic sparks of lightning began dying out.


    With no response given, Alvarach turned his attention to Ezra.


    He stared at the boy, savouring the hopeless expression he''d long to see.


    Indeed, the situation was looking hopeless.


    With the rest gone, he was on his own with an insurmountable enemy in front of him all while time trickled by.


    "Well?" Alvarach spoke, his tone akin to a whisper with a tinge of mockery. "Will you still continue fighting even now?"


    Ezra''s fist tightened so hard around Skyfall his bones quaked with his mind strained trying to find a way out of the situation.


    If he was to thwart the enemy blocking him, he needed help.


    "Is this it?!" Ezra suddenly shouted. Startling Alvarach, who realized right away who the boy was talking to.


    The Emperor turned his head to him.


    Alvarach watched with amusement, he shook the Emperor like a doll, speaking incredulously. "You think he can save you from me?"


    Ezra continued, ignoring Alvarach''s taunts.


    "Will the Emperor die so pathetically?! I thought you bowed to no one?!"


    Being ignored killed Alvarach''s mood.


    He realized he was wasting much time ying along with this farce.


    As Alvarach turned, the Emperor held onto his arm.


    The sudden movement surprised Alvarach and he turned to see the Emperor, but this time, with light in his eyes while he forced out each breath.


    Sparks of white lightning began emerging as the Emperor''s forced out words.


    "Right¡­I am¡­the Emperor"


    For demons, such a scene was incredulous, Alvarach couldn''t help but be amazed at the nonsense of this race.


    So he took his attention off Ezra and onto the Emperor.


    Shaking him, Alvarach watched as the Emperor groaned.


    "You seek to stop me in this state?" Alvarach was almostughing, he hadn''t seen a better joke in centuries.


    "You really think you can stop me?" he repeated, shaking the Emperor harder.


    He really wanted to see what exactly the Emperor would do.


    Standing in the way of the portal meant Ezra would have to go through him to get away or run in the opposite direction.


    Regardless of which he did, Alvarach would beat him at it easily.


    Groaning, the Emperor''s hands tightened around Alvarach''s arm, popping veins.


    Then, his murmurs became audible.


    "I¡­am¡­the Emperor"


    Even while poison from Alvarach''s nail consumed him, he kept muttering.


    "I¡­am¡­the Emperor"


    White lightning sparked a bit, and erased Alvarach''s amusement.


    ''Look at this insect''


    He mped his left arm shut.


    No, he tried to. Andrew held down his fingers, and looked him in the eye, his voice very much audible as he proimed¡­


    "I. Am. The. Emperor!"


    *CRACKLE*SPARK!*


    The Emperor erupted with lightning like never before.


    Immediately, "Then die"


    Alvarach set his nail''s aze and brought down his second arm to swiftly end the Emperor''s life.


    On cue¡­*Spark!*


    Ezra burst into action and ran at Alvarach.


    With a snort, Alvarach swerved and kicked him away.


    "Ack!" puking blood into the air, Ezra''s eyes shook as his dizziness hit him all over, he''d dyed Alvarach''s attack, but at what cost?


    His eyes began to fall as sleep lured him in.


    But then. [Ezra, wake up]


    A call from within brought him back to the present.


    [You have to escape]


    ''But I''m not leaving without him'' he thought, looking at the Emperor.


    12:56


    To that, the boy responded¡­ "I know" before racing back to Alvarach.


    ''But I''m not leaving without him'' he thought, looking at the Emperor.


    In a state of emotional turmoil, Zydrax didn''t bother persuading him otherwise, it would undoubtedly be futile.


    ------------


    Being burnt from within was anything but pleasant, yet while experiencing such excruciating pain, the Emperor refused to budge.


    With the second pair of nails piercing his body, the oue was already set.


    Still¡­


    Holding down both hands from tearing him apart, he sees Ezra approaching from the corner of his eye.


    ''I can''t let him see me being so pathetic''


    That proved to be more than enough motivation.


    As such¡­''I have to put my back into it!''


    Already stretched to his limit, the Emperor braced himself to surpass them onest time.


    Alvarach was thus faced with an oxymoronic situation where the one burning alive kept outputting more and more strength.


    "What is this?"


    The sheer absurdity of the situation was bending his understanding of the norm.


    Engulfed in lightning, Alvarach found this race''s ability to surpass expectation as perverted and disgusting.


    Why couldn''t they just die easily?


    In his frustration, Ezra was able tond a clean strike on Alvarach, and blood burst out of his back.


    Moreover, it was not just any weapon, but one made with the parts of a demon, making it far more painful.


    "Let him go!" Ezra spoke.


    Furious at the absurd situation, Alvarach strengthened his arms and tried to use the Emperor like a hammer.


    Since the Emperor didn''t let him remove his nails, he used the man to hit his son.


    With quick instincts, Ezra leaping out of the way, else be swatted like a fly.


    Motivation couldn''t only do so much while being burnt alive and smashed against the dirt.


    The Emperor was reaching his limits, he felt his lower body be stic as soon, it would fall off.


    His death was all but guaranteed.


    So he cried out to his son. "Ezra, go!" he forced out from his burning vocal cords.


    Ezra ignored his father''s cry. "I can still save you!"


    "LEAVE!" The Emperor boomed louder than ever before, pushing Alvarach back a step as he mustered whatever strength his vocal cords had within. "NOW!"


    The sudden shout shook Ezra, forcing him to a halt, his mind and hearty in conflict.


    Struggling to make a decision, Zydrax came to the rescue.


    [If you don''t leave now, his sacrifice will be in vain]


    "But I can¡­


    [No you can''t!] Zydrax cut him off, unrelenting still.


    [There''s no one who can save him on this!] his words shook Ezra. [Stop trying!]


    Thest part sounded like a desperate plea rather than an order.


    Ezra was visibly shaken, he looked at his father held down by the demon underneath an umbre of lightning.


    Their eyes synced, and the Emperor simply nodded.


    A cold feeling washed over him, as right after, his eyes came clear.


    Holding down his lips, Ezra let out a heavy breath.


    "AH!" With his shout, he forced out power from within and ck lightning erupted in its own majesty.


    Without hesitation, Ezra beamed towards the portal.


    "I won''t let you" Alvarach turned to obstruct him.


    In a hoarse voice, the Emperor spoke "You have me to deal with!"


    Mustering whatever strength left and took to the sky, dragging Alvarach along with him.


    "No!" Alvarach pulled himself towards Ezra.


    With the little strength he had left, the Emperor rose a mere three feet into the air, which allowed him a view of his son racing into the portal.


    ''Good luck, son''


    Even at the end of his rope, the Emperor held onto his style of massive action.


    Looking into Alvarach''s eyes, he lets out ast lightning spark.


    "Ah!" and with the shout of a king, burst his core and detonated himself with decisive precision.


    *BOOOM!*


    An exit worthy of an Emperor.


    -------------


    Reaching the portal, Ezra turned, only to see the Emperor in the air.


    On cue, he releases a lightning bolt and explodes, the shockwave smashed into Ezra almost immediately, pushing him into the portal while his eyes never left his father''sst position.


    *Bam!*


    Momentster, he smashes into a wooden floor, buty still, processing what just transpired as the portal above him closes.


    "Ezra!"


    A familiar voice breaks him out of his reverie.


    Now cognizant, he finds himself face to face with the purple haired girl from Arcadia.


    In a weak voice, he mutters. "Valentine?"


    "Where¡­" Turning to determine his current location, darkness overwhelms him.


    If nothing else, he''d sessfully escaped the clutches of a Mythic rank demon.


    Meanwhile¡­


    "Regi sarta kagum!" (That puny imbecile!)


    Standing at the former site of the portal, Alvarach was pissed!


    The Emperor''sst stunt levelled the surroundingndscape.


    More importantly, Alvarach had taken a massive hit.


    Touching his head, he finds the left side of his face greatly charred.


    Sight of his bleeding arms only infuriated him more.


    The moment the Emperor detonated, Alvarach pulled out his hands and guarded against it, but at such range, it did little to shield him from harm.


    He was bleeding all over, like everything else, thest attack exceeded his expectations.


    The raw power unleashed had him looking miserable, proof the Emperor was but a step away from Mythic rank.


    The wounds heal with pace as he slowly collects his thoughts.


    If nothing else, he had underestimated the''s inhabitants too much.


    While he did foresee obstacles along the way, this seemed too out of order for him.


    Especially that boy.


    Alvarach clenched his fists in frustration of his failed hunt, before slowly releasing it.


    While he wished to chase down the boy right this moment, not only did he not know where to go, he was also in no shape to begin another battle.


    He caught sight of a person walking towards him.


    Hisst emissary pressed down on her arm to stop it from bleeding as she limped towards him.


    Crea looked devastated.


    The Emperor self-exploding left her with tattered clothes and deep wounds.


    Alvarach watched her approach, and thought to him¡­


    ''Should I start with her?''


    Her soul was bound to be of much help, but Alvarach decided against it.


    All these years he''d been rying information, and he nned with that information.


    Sadly, the reality of doing so gave a different oue.


    "My lord!" Crea said. Her lord being injured left her shaking.


    As an inhabitant, she was the best person to help him understand this world better.


    "The boy escaped" he said, leaving a moment of silence before continuing. "That aside, I will need your help to bring salvation to this world"


    "I will give my life" she hastily replied, and Alvarach nodded, mapping out a change in his original ns.


    This battle had extended him more than he''d like to admit.


    He had to recover his strength and fast, before the inhabitants of this world came upon him.


    Luckily, he could feel the thousands of beings just miles away, he would use them as a starting supplement, and work his way from there.


    Having lost the element of surprise, it would be unwise to move unhinged any longer.


    There was also a need to integrate more with the natural power of this new world before venturing further.


    "Hm" his attention is taken by the two appearing entities.


    *Bam!*Bam!*


    His generals had arrived, but the event had long since passed.


    "Shrega Saga?" (What took you?)


    Rumbling their own replies, they tossed something onto the ground.


    It was a man covered in blood and dirt.


    It was Getrahan.


    "Oh" Alvarach smiled.


    Not everyone got away, it seemed.


    Moreover, he was more surprised at the fact that the man was still alive.


    Picking him up, Alvarach plunged his nails in his neck, forcing him awake.


    His eyes shut open and Getrahan quivered, kicking at the air, trying to free himself, but to no avail.


    As with the Emperor, he was sucking out the Getrahan''s life force.


    Unlike the Emperor though, Getrahan was too tired to resist and turned into a decayed corpse soon after.


    Alvarach''s wounds healed substantially.


    With his face healed, he looked to the horizon.


    The boy escaped his grasp, but not for long.


    In but a week, he would''ve rid himself of the atrocious curse ced upon him, regaining his full strength and more.


    Then, there would be no stopping him.


    Deepest Apologies to my beloved readers.


    My phone spoilt and my gmail was unable to essed, hence the long wait.


    once again, I apologize.


    Happy new month, and enjoy!

 Chapter 311 Loss

    311 Loss


    BOOM!


    Ezra''s eyes snapped open. His chest heaving at the tremendous inhale before deting as he exhaled.


    His eyes now open, but his visiony blurred, it felt like looking through a dusty hourss.


    Blinking rapidly, his senses returned.


    The sudden awareness caused a wave of mana outburst, raising him from his lying posture just a bit, while wiping the dust afar.


    His eyes came clear as did his memory.


    A full minute passed as he relived the battle with Alvarach all over again, letting out a long sigh as his gaze wandered¡­


    "Father" he muttered.


    [You''re awake¡­about time]


    ''Zydrax''


    "He''s awake!"


    The sudden shout jolted his consciousness as he turned his head to the side.


    There sat Ashton, with built muscles and his chiselled chin, no more was he a boy, now a man.


    By the way, he found his body wrapped in bandages all over.


    "Ezra''s awake!"


    With quick steps, a group arrived by his side.


    "Master!"


    "Master!"


    "Master!"


    There was loud mour as his Vassals gathered around him.


    Theron, Johan, Roxanne, Velora, and Ashton.


    Each now exuding strength as their gaits radiated power of mid to peak master rank, no longer fragile beings of yesteryear, these were powerhouses.


    Yet at this time, they seem to have be children again as they moured Ezra, forcing a smile onto his face as they hugged him.


    "All of you" he spoke, the vassals went quiet. "Thank you"


    Upon ushering those words, his heart felt drastically lighter.


    This was it, what he''d lost sight of.


    Here were people who were genuinely worried for him, people who neither wished nor wanted him dead.


    Recalling his action until recently, his fist tightened as sadness overwhelmed him more than ever.


    But as a warrior, he held the tears within.


    It was toote for regrets, Alvarach would be here soon, and then, the apocalypse would truly begin.


    He sighed again as rubbed his eyes with bandaged hands.


    [Not so]


    Ezra''s ears pricked up.


    ''What do you mean?''


    [It is not so hopeless] he said. [The Emperor was a peak grandmaster, his sacrifice would''ve inflicted Alvarach deep injuries]


    ''So, he''s noting here right away?''


    [He''s not. Those injuries will take him at least ten days to heal from, before then, the chance he would attack is slim]


    Ezra''s eyes lit up.


    Two weeks.


    Neither short nor long, it was more than enough to build a meaningful attack.


    ''Will I be healed in ten days?''


    [Look at your body] Zydrax replied.


    ''Hmm?'' He was perplexed.


    "Raise me up" he told his vassals.


    "Master, you''re not yet-


    "Raise me up"


    With reluctance, they raised him up with utmost care.


    With his back against the bed, Ezra looked over his body.


    It was covered in bandages.


    His brows creased, but it hit him.


    Directing mana to his sclera, the innerworkings of his body became visible to him.


    The sight shocked him.


    "What is-


    [You''ll need to do more than just heal to stand a chance at changing the result of the best battle]


    In his sight, his veins magnified.


    [And what would you know, I have a way]


    Filled to the brim with rich mana essence, his blood seemed to shimmer.


    It looked so unreal Ezra lost his words, while the fact that he was currently looking at himself made it amazing all the more.


    [The mana stones in your ring] Zydrax exined, [That''s where the mana ising from]


    No wonder mana outburst from him when he woke up.


    That wasn''t even the best part.


    ''Why does it look like that?'' Ezra wondered.


    Why was his heart glowing?


    Looking closer, he deciphered it to be a cluster of mana within his heart, interchanging colours between white, ck, red and deep blue.


    ''Zydrax, what is that?''


    [Ah! You haven''t examined yourself ever since you became a grandmaster?]


    "No"


    "Master?"


    Velora''s voice forced him out of his trance.


    "Why do you look like that?"


    Watching Ezra stare down at himself made her worry something was wrong.


    "There''s nothing wrong, I''m just recalling the fight against the demon. Excuse me for a bit"


    "Ok"


    The vassals promptly walked away.


    Back to the topic at hand.


    "Hmm?"


    With the siblings gone, his sight was exposed to the rest of the room.


    Arranged by his side were Raven, Mervida, and Deneris, all bandaged, all unconscious.


    ''Where is Frederick? And where is mrs. Elisa?''


    [Elisa is being tended to in a separate room, Fredrick is resting]


    He nodded. ''Why is my heart glowing?''


    [That''s your element essence]


    ''Ah''


    Come to think of it, upon looking into his body, he couldn''t find the element orbs, but he didn''t immediately register the difference.


    ''So those are the element orbs?''


    [Yes. They took a new form during your breakthrough to Grandmaster rank, coalescing into that]


    ''I see''


    Upon achieving Grandmaster rank, Ezra had been able to instinctively use his elements.


    Escaping Arcadia and destroying it, fleeing with Valentine''s help, rushing to Quartez to end the worshippers, and then narrowly escaping.


    All these events happened in quick session. To the point where it was almost dizzying.


    Things went from zero to a hundred real quick.


    In that time, there was no space for him to examine the changes in himself.


    So that was one thing he was going to do in the next few days.


    ''Wait, how long was I unconscious''


    [It''s been thirty hours]


    ''Slightly more than a day'' Ezra sighed in relief, his anxiety dying out.


    *Bam!*


    The door was mmed open, as a short but hulking figure walked in.


    "My lord!"


    It was Frederick.


    With both of his arms bandaged, he still sought to bow.


    "Frederick, stop"


    Fredrick raised his head in dismay.


    "From now on, refer to me by my name"


    "I can''t-


    "You''re old enough to be my father, you''re also my closest aid and now, we''re both Grandmasters" Ezra replied. "From now on, refer to me by name"


    After a short pause, Frederick rose from his bow, she replied. "Yes my lord¡­I mean, Ezra"


    "Good"


    At 6''9, Ezra looked like a giant by Frederick''s side, who was 5''8 now.


    But Alvarach''s frame towered over even Ezra, staying at a staggering 7 ''4.


    "Tell me, how is your body holding up?"


    "I''ll be ready to fight in five days"


    Ezra nodded. "Good"


    His expression downcast right after.


    "The Emperor sacrificed himself so we could escape and also injured the enemy" Ezra said. "It would take him at least ten days to get back to full strength, we need to be ready to strike on the tenth day"


    "Demons are existences that feed off chaos, if we fail to stop, Orion will fall"


    Frederick was solemn, unable to see any meaningful difference being achieved in just ten days.


    "What do you have in mind?"


    "I''m currently working on an aspect to boost my fighting power to give us a fighting chance"


    Frederick was shocked. Ezra had broken through to grandmaster rank as an obscene age, yet he was still advancing? Even in his current state?!


    Too terrifying.


    "But I''m unsure if I will be able to achieve it in ten days"


    Frederick''s emotions cooled.


    Even for him, ten days was far too little.


    "If the future of Orion is stake, shouldn''t we inform the other kingdoms and have all grandmasters unite"


    Ezra chuckled lightly.


    "Unite? Those cowards? You''re severely overestimating them" Ezra said. "Remember, Grandmasters are humans too"


    As Kevin, he''d heard too many tales how Grandmasters fled when the apocalypse first arrived, even witnessed one firsthand.


    When faced with mortal danger, those higher up were many times the first to flee, because they deemed themselves as having more to lose.


    Ezra grinned. "You''ve given me an idea"


    Holding his chin, Ezra went into thinking mode.


    "Remind me what happened on your mana mountain expedition"


    "Which part of it?"


    "How you eliminated the snake and the adventurers, swooping in to take most of the spoils after"


    Frederick exined it over a lengthy period of time.


    By the time he was done, Ezra''s eyes were glinting.


    "Hoo" he exhaled. Still calcting a few things.


    "Frederick, how many people know of our arrival?"


    "Apart from those in this building, none"


    That meant, no one knew of the Emperor''s demise.


    "What about the war? What news is circting about the war?" He asked hurriedly.


    In the past day, no army members have arrived.


    Ezra nodded, "That''s to be expected, the demon has probably killed them all"


    Taking in that information, the blueprint to the objective was being drawn.


    "How much of the information in Niton do we control?"


    "All of it, we''re the number one information force since seven years ago"


    Ah!


    To think the seeds he sowed would be reaped like this.


    "What about our forces, how many can be assembled on the fly?"


    "I''ll have to tally the numbers to give exact figures, but we have at least three hundred thousandbatants ready for movement"


    Ezra nodded.


    He created it with the purpose of being able to single handedly crush Vonnamor''s imperial army.


    Rather, with how much effort and resources had been plunged into it, it would''ve been a failed endeavour if they couldn''t do this much.


    "Assemble all capable forces in Avi ready to match in eight days"


    "Of course"


    How funny things had be.


    Now, with the power sessfully cultivated to decimate Vonnamor, Ezra no longer cared for such a cause.


    The organization bred for the destruction of an Empire was now spearheading a movement to save the world.


    Ironic indeed.


    "But Ezra, our chances of winning with only our members are extremely slim"


    "Who said we were fighting alone?"


    "Then, what do we do?"


    "We''ll fight with both des and borrowed ones, just like you did at the expedition"


    "For one, immediately contact your subordinates, news of what''s going on in quartez must not reach Niton. If the Emperor''s demise be know, we''ll have a whole new slew of issues to deal it"


    "Right" Frederick nodded.


    "Ezra?"


    Deneris had woken up.


    "You''re awake" says Ezra.


    "How long has it been?" he said, still groggy.


    "A day has passed since we fought the demon"


    "Oh" his eyes cooled.


    "The Emperor is dead"


    It was so abrupt it took him a few seconds toprehend, to which he simply replied¡­


    "I see"


    "How long will it take you to heal? We need you for next battle in ten days"


    "Ten days" Denris muttered in his dry tone. "I should be up before then"


    Nodding, Ezra turned his attention back to Frederick.


    "With the Emperor gone, who sits on the throne?"


    "The Emperor left Triton in charge"


    Ezra stared upwards, his lips stretching into a smile.


    "That makes things easier"


    He turned to Frederick. "I need you to deliver a message for me to Triton¡­" his voice trailed off.


    "No, a message from the Emperor"


    a separate room for seclusion.


    10:10


    While it hurt him that he couldn''t see his mother for the time being, this took priority.


    "About what?"


    "A manite vein that the Emperor discovered in Quartez and is currently safeguarding"


    Frederick held his chin, reasoning the unsaid ploy, before his eyes widened.


    "Then, have our members spread the message to every nation"


    "Yes" Frederick nodded. His eyes gleamed.


    "I will make them into heroes"


    Despite his mindset change, not all habits had been reced.


    Which was why Ezra had his mouth forming a devilish grin.


    The Emperor''s death was a tremendous loss to Niton, but it bought them time they desperately needed.


    Ezra and Frederick ironed out the n for the whole day.


    Having headed ck Jaws, ironing out the n would be Frederick''s job.


    Ezra told them he wanted to be undisturbed for the remaining eight days, having himself moved into a separate room for seclusion.


    While it hurt him that he couldn''t see his mother for the time being, this took priority.


    If Alvarach went back to full health, it would be the end of everyone he loved.


    It was crucial that he increased his strength as much as possible.


    From battle power to technique to cultivation level.


    He couldn''t fix them all in ten days, but the recent battle gave him insights on where improvements could be made.


    For one¡­


    "I''m going to need a new weapon"


    More than a littlete, here''s a new chapter.

 Chapter 312 Bait

    312 Bait


    At dusk, Triton overlooked the city from the castle''s terrace.


    But unlike the usual, he wasn''t admiring the bustling scenery before him.


    With the news he''d just recieved; it could only be so.


    Earlier¡­


    While going through paperwork like any other day, Bolton, the royal advisor, walked in with haste to deliver him an earful in hush tones.


    His eyes widened.


    "Where is he now?"


    With quick hands, he adorned his robes. "Take him to the parlour, I''ll be right with you"


    Getting to the parlour, he sees his guest, and is stunned.


    As the crown prince, he''d seen the Grandmasters of Niton many times, so they were easily recognizable.


    There sat Raven, with his sunken gaze, wrapped in bandages, almost cocooned even.


    Moreover, there seemed to be something wrong with his left arm.


    He sat with drinks served in front of him.


    Such an appearance was rming.


    What must''ve happened for a grandmaster to end up in such a state?


    "Hello Triton"


    "Hello, Mr. Raven"


    If this was a lower rung person, they''d be disciplined heavily or killed depending on Titon''s mood.


    But in front of a Grandmaster, Triton dared not be arrogant.


    "May I ask why you''re in such bad shape?"


    "All in due time" Deneris replied. "Your father sent me here to bear a message"


    Triton got the message and covertly sent the guards away, leaving them and Bolton in the room.


    Taking a sip of the served drinks, Raven kicked off the conversation. "The enemy was stronger than expected, I sustained these injuries when a grandmaster suicided himself when I was about to kill him"


    His head dropped. "We lost Getrahan to another suiciding grandmaster as well"


    Triton squeezed his fists. "Those damned demons!"


    "Thankfully, with the Emperor''s support, we triumphed in the end" he said with a smile. "The demon''s have been extinguished, Quartez is now ours"


    Triton was stunned, and then ecstatic.


    "But then, where is his Majesty?" Bolton interrupted.


    "That''s why I''m here"


    "After we cleared up the small forces-we found something" his voice subconsciously went lower. "A manite vein"


    The atmosphere cooled as the two reeled in the implications of those words.


    The manite vein found in Niton, even though depleted, helped at least ten thousand people advance to the next rank.


    "How big is it?" Triton asked.


    "It seemed to be in smaller quantities than the one in the mountains, but¡­" he paused.


    "Its at least ten times purer"


    Tension creeped in as both men began visibly sweating from excitement.


    "But, there''s a problem" his gaze turned stern.


    "Currently, less than a quarter of the troops remain"


    Triton inhaled, imagining the brutal battle that must''ve been fought.


    The mercenaries and troops deployed alongside the Emperor crossed over two hundred thousand, alongside five Grandmasters.


    "The Emperor fears that news of manite vein would soon reach the ears of others-


    "And they''lle flocking like birds" Triton replied.


    "Exactly" said Raven. "As such, he wants you to gather all forces at the Master rank and reinforce him in five days time"


    They didn''t bother questioning him, because the Emperor could''ve definitely said so.


    As for the Emperor dying, that was even more inconceivable.


    Moreover, none of the troops that went along with him hade to report anything.


    They had no reason to doubt.


    No, Bolton wasn''t satisfied.


    "But why didn''t the Emperor give you a letter? That''s how he normally send such messages"


    Raven scratched his cheek in irritation, "He said I had no business staying on the battlefield any longer" clenching his fist.


    "Besides, with the injuries I saw on him, he''s probably recuperating right now"


    "Did he say anything else?"


    "Nothing of Relevance" Raven was still visibly irritated.


    "Will you be apanying us?"


    "Why do you think I was sent here as a damn messenger?" His voice rose a bit.


    ''Right'' Triton looked away.


    Anyone could''ve sent as a messenger, yet Raven came.


    Something had probably happened between him and the Emperor, and Triton was interested in finding out what.


    "So no?" He still had to confirm.


    "No"


    So, he simply said "I understand"


    "I''ll be taking my leave now" Raven said with a muffled huff.


    Without another word, he gets up and walks out, leaving the two to their thoughts.


    10:11


    Without another word, he gets up and walks out, leaving the two to their thoughts.


    ¡ª--------


    Bolton had sprung to action since then, Triton came to the terrace to calm his racing heart.


    Though, it seemed to do the opposite instead.


    His heart beat faster as he imagined himselfying his hands on mana crystals.


    A thought struck him.


    ''Does this mean father will be able to break the wall in front of him?''


    The Emperor had stopped advancing after reaching the peak of Grandmaster rank.


    With this, he might be able to surpass grandmaster rank.


    Triton couldn''t stop himself from smiling.


    With his mind settled, Triton got to work.


    Meanwhile¡­


    Jebas looked around him.


    "What are you doing?"


    Frederick sat in front of him.


    "You need toe with me"


    "No thank you. I don''t like thepany of old men"


    Frederick''s vein shot out, before exhaling as he tossed him a glowing object.


    Catching it with a snap, Jebas'' eyes widened.


    "This is¡­


    "It''s a mana stone"


    "How did you-


    "So you''re interested in talking now?"


    Jebas nodded.


    With a finger snap from Frederick, Valentine opened a portal behind them.


    "Let''s go" he said, walking through the portal.


    Within a little hesitation, he walks through.


    He arrives at an unfamiliar castle, with Frederick awaiting him with his arms folded with Valentine arriving right after.


    "Where are we?" Jebas inquires, now on guard.


    "The royal academy"


    ..?


    "Follow me"


    Frederick heads up a spiral staircase with faster steps.


    He opens a door to reveal an attic wider than Frederick''s original cottage.


    Entering, he finds Raven and Deneris seated at the side, bandaged all over.


    "What the heck happened to you guys?" He asked.


    "Get in" said Frederick, for Jebas held himself at the doors entrance.


    Jebas takes a step back instead.


    "That''s right, aren''t you all supposed to be at Quartez. Why are you here instead?"


    "Take a seat and we''ll answer all your questions" said Raven.


    Jebas'' gaze turned icy. "Are you nning to get rid of me?"


    "No. On the contrary, we need as many people as can get to face what''sing"


    "What''sing?"


    The conversation was bing more unsettling.


    Frederick facepalmed. "Are you certain he''s going to be of any help?"


    "Yes, at least, we can''t have him ruining the n"


    "Look" Frederick stared at him, their heads almost touching. "If we wanted to attack you, we already be doing that, so get seated"


    Watching for any tricks, Jebas steps in.


    Once in, Frederick shuts the door.


    "What about that girl?" Jebas asks.


    "She''s gone off to do something else, so sit"


    Once seated, he looked at all three, marvelling at Deneris and Raven specifically.


    "What happened to you too and where''s the Emperor?"


    Raven took charge. "Attacked by a demon. Dead"


    Jebas was visibly shaken. "What did you say?"


    "The Emperor is dead" Frederick reiterated. "And if we don''t act fast, we''ll soon be following in his footsteps"


    "Hold up. That makes no sense, that monster, dead?" It felt iprehensible.


    "He sacrificed himself to let us escape"


    "Escape from what?"


    "Calm down and let me exin"


    Like such, over the course of an hour, they brought Jebas up to status.


    At the end, he couldn''t help but gulp in fear.


    Afterwards, Frederick took the reins and reiterated the n to them.


    "By the way, Raven. How did it go?"


    "They seemed convinced" he said.


    "Good" Frederick nodded.


    With that, the first big fish had been baited.


    Ezra had originally proposed that Frederick should go and convince them.


    But the situation would be too unusual, Frederick and the Emperor didn''t have a good enough rtionship to be sending messages through one another.


    It would''ve been too suspicious.


    With permission, Frederick got five mana stones from Ezra and used that to hasten their recovery.


    The battle that happened in Quartez was unknown to Nitonians, and they were nning to keep it as such till the reinforcements arrived there.


    If Jebas was left in the dark, he could easily scout it out and foil their ns, hence why I pulled him into it.


    Besides, as a grandmaster, he was among the main strike units.


    As they talked, each person had a mana stone in their palm which they absorbed mana from.


    ¡ª--------


    Frederick work was swift, and having engineered ck Jaws for more than a decade now, the structure had been built to allow automated functioning.


    Without his input, ck sky would continue working.


    Moreover, he only needed to pass off orders to get things done.


    At this time, the order was to spread rumours about a manite vein discovered in Quartez.


    And it was being carried out at a scary pace.


    With their roots basically entrenched in Traxford-the city ofmerce-the dissemination of information did rounds very quickly.


    To keep things cool and coded, the information was only given to those identified to have roots in other nations.


    Other nation spies from higher ces, these were the ones specifically targeted.


    It wasn''t anything hard too, because most of these people were their clients one way or another.


    Such hot news spread like wildfire and in no time, he reached the ears of various leaders, Kings and Emperors alike.


    And no matter which of them heard it, the reaction was the same.


    The news was too rming.


    A Great war was waged thest a manite vein was found.


    During the time, despite fighting thebined might of half of the continent, Niton managed to retain its position and even grow almost a thousand new Master-rankbatants.


    A startling number when taken into ount just how many must''ve died.


    With another one found so soon, would this nation not advance upon other nations and eventually rule them all?!


    All leaders felt their seats heat up, they could not be idle.


    The nations were so engrossed in a frenzy to gatherbatants that it became a trend as they scrambled into positions.


    It was unknown how long it would take them to get moving, but it wouldn''t take up to eight days.


    Like such, they were moving in the direction nned for them without knowing it.


    Sure, more than one ruler would send scouts to Quartez, and sure enough, none would return.


    Very few, if any, would sit out such news because of that, there were a thousand and one reasons why such urred besides a Mythic-rank demon harvesting his soul.


    ¡ª--------


    ¡ª--------


    While the world became more tumultuous, Ezray still on his bed, eyes closed.


    His consciousnessy in a nk space.


    This was the previous trial space where Ezra was tested.


    As a legendary weapon made out of the parts of a demon, Skyfall allowed better control the stronger its master became.


    At Grandmaster rank, Ezra discovered there were no more tests.


    He could now ess the nk space at will, to practice his technique, sharpen his mind on various topics, and perhaps meditate if he felt like it.


    Right now, he was looking over his battle with Alvarach with a transparent sword shaped like Darkane in hand.


    Primarily, he was reviewing the temporal burst of power that allowed him to cleave Alvarach in half, trying to get a hold of that feeling again.


    s, swinging in his mind only allowed him betterprehension of the technique, he''d need to practice physically to actually improve.


    With a sigh, he dissolved the mind space, his consciousness diverted back to his body.


    With his eyes still closed, Ezra got in tune with his body.


    Watching how Zydrax was shaping it.


    ''How is it going?''


    [Stop asking me that and observe]


    The first few times Ezra asked this question, Zydrax replied.


    After the twelfth time though, this answer was all he''d been getting.


    From the first few answers, he knew a few things.


    One, using his ''essence''-whatever that was- Zydrax connected the mana stones from the ring into his body.


    Allowing mana to be infused directly.


    With it, Zydrax healed the bones and was now configuring his internals to give him a power boost.


    That was the gist of it.


    Beyond that, Zydrax gave some details.


    By constantly filtering out the demon blood from his bloodstream while in Arcadia, Ezra had tremendously weakened its power to corrupt and while breaking through to Grandmaster rank, his body had been substantially strengthened.


    Even better, the exaggerated healing power from before was a result of about fifty percent of the remaining blood being integrated.


    With Zydrax''s help, the remaining fifty percent would be integrated.


    Another thing was that his five element orbs had congealed and were now in his heart.


    So he could better control them, changing elements without a hitch.


    Zydrax''s work was delicate, so Ezra wasn''t allowed to move untilpletion.


    So he hadn''t been able to test his elemental abilities.


    Alongside that, Zydraxined about wasting his essence to save the Grandmasters, else it wouldn''t take this long.


    Like this, time flew by.


    The bait had been set, all that remained was for the prey to get hooked.

 Chapter 313 Small Setbacks

    313 Small Setbacks


    Quartez had beenid waste to.


    The stench of death permeated as far as the eye could see, buildings had been wantonly destroyed, castles wrecked like defective constructions.


    With mes wantonly spreading because of the destroyed houses.


    Along both the streets and gutters of every city in Quartezy corpses of every kind.


    The powerful, the poor, the elderly, and the small, half-breeds and tamed beasts.


    Death did not discriminate, and neither did he.


    Those that had proved their loyalty, promised power and indoctrinated with demon blood weren''t spared such fate either.


    Rather, they were the first to be killed, for their scent was unique and as a demon, their souls were bound to be bigger than others.


    Lest Numar and Goceron, who just happened to be outside of Quartez at this time, all other members of the demon cult had also been killed.


    As the one to wee him, Crea was allowed to hold on to her life, and by his side she watched all her friends die to their ''lord'' as sacrifices, never showing any bit of emotion.


    But in her mind, she was already panicking, panicking greatly.


    She could see that the lord they had ced so much of their faith in, was just as expected and also not.


    Ruthless and extremely powerful.


    BUT, the foundation of their movement and ideal was the salvation of humanity.


    At least that was where she took her stance on their faith.


    As a race beyond redemption, they were to be cleansed, they would either willingly be demons, or be exterminated.


    Such self-contradictory species should not be allowed to exist.


    So, why was their lord killing all those who''d sworn allegiance, people who were halfway towards salvation, going farther to kill everyone of her friends.


    People who''d attained salvation, practically entrenched in it.


    Being in the cult from a young age, they were the only people she was limatized to.


    For them to die in such a manner was inconceivable.


    Yet she dare not raise her voice, not to talk of resisting.


    Alvarach had told her it was for the good of the cause, and she simply nodded in affirmation.


    But she wasn''t buying it, for the first time in over three and half decades, she questioned her path.


    Alvarach was kind enough to allow her to heal herself back to full health.


    How? By killing a whole town and absorbing their souls.


    What? She was already a demon and reached a point of no return decades ago.


    So what if she regretted it, it didn''t change what she''d done and what she had to do.


    While her faith had been shaken, no, it was better to say it was uprooted, her instinct to survive was intact.


    All she''d done was ultimately for survival, and so will all else that she did.


    At this point, there was very little she could do to reverse the situation.


    By this time, everything kible was dead.


    Not surprising, considering the great war had hacked away much of Lexon''s poption as a whole and Niton''s subsequent siege didn''t help.


    ¡ª-----


    Five days earlier, just as he began his massacre of those on the battlefield, he soon noticed a problem.


    Taking such a massive blow at point nk range gave him substantial wounds.


    While such wasmonce for all demons, the problemy in that the injuries incurred from the Emperor''s imploding weren''t healing.


    The residue of mana stuck on the exposed flesh prevented them from doing so.


    As an unwee guest, his body wasn''t limatized to Orion''s atmosphere.


    Moreover, his forceful intrusion made him a sole target of Orion''s suppression.


    Even without Zydrax actively directing its thinking, the world will had a pseudo-consciousness.


    Enough capacity to identify enemies.


    So apart from his vast depth of power, Alvarach was unable to increase his strength.


    Mana was akin to poison for him.


    And it would remain as such lest he patiently integrated it into his body.


    A process that would take anywhere from three months to ten years.


    Of course, as a Mythic rank demon, he wouldn''t do his status justice if he simply epted the situation as it came.


    Proving his title, he sought to force his way through the curse, for that best described its effects.


    He shoved multiple souls at once, trying to forcefully push away the effect.


    As he hoped, the flesh grew to cover the wounds, but then the mana within red uncontrobly, returning it to a state only slightly better than it originally was.


    It appeared that he''d suffered more damage than he anticipated.


    Nevertheless, Alvarach remained unfazed.


    This was only a hurdle in his path.


    A small setback.


    He tried again, shoving more and more souls, but the effects were minuscule.


    After several attempts, he gave in, leaving the wounds to fester.


    While he wasn''t healing, the mana was unable to expand the injury any bigger.


    At this point, pushing ahead was nothing short of insanity.


    He had to think of something else and quickly.


    All the while, he didn''t stop scooping souls out of the living.


    A dayter, Crea brought a dozen adventure who had wandered into Quartez.


    Looking at their get up alone, she had determined that they were scouts.


    But what were they scouting?


    With little effort, they divulged all that they knew, and by the end of their short briefing, Alvarach was grinning.


    For one, the outside knew nothing about his arrival, or even the death of the Emperor.


    The most likely scenario was that the escapees purposefully kept it a secret, or something else had befallen them along the way.


    The cause didn''t that mattered much.


    Thanks to someone spreading rumours, many now believed Quartez held a Manite vein.


    Crea had confirmed that it was false.


    She''d been to every part of Quartez, if a Manite vein was here, they would''ve long found it.


    But thanks to this lie, Alvarach confirmed that guests would be arriving at time, and possibly en masse.


    And to present himself in good light, Alvarach had to be ready to treat his guests.


    The question of what to do was immediately answered.


    He wrote out a formation across the entirety of Quartez with the most mana concentrated part of his victims blood.


    One that would prevent guests from leaving once they stepped in, except for the formation''s master.


    Though ever arrogant, he drew rune seals alongside it, all of them with debuffing effect.


    This was for the inevitable urred in which Grandmaster came in.


    Now injured, he had to be more cautious.


    He strengthened both the formation and the seals by infusing souls into it.


    That was that.


    Last but not least, Alvarach changed up his n of attack.


    As per Crea''s advice, he took into ount the appearance of multiple Grandmasters at thest battle.


    The possibility of it reurring could not be forsaken.


    In fact, seeing as how just four Grandmasters gave him trouble, it would per expected if six or even ten of them came along next time.


    If he was caughtcking, he would suffer.


    Moreover, he could not get injured a second time like he was now.


    So he yed his best card-summoning subordinates.


    As a Mythic rank figure, he had a number of Grandmasters demons under him.


    The aim was to summon them all.


    Having summoned three previously, that left the remaining two.


    What? Even in the demon world, Grandmasters didn''t grow on trees.


    With that set, varch quickly made preparations.


    He made another formation, right where the demonir originally was.


    While the original demonir had been destroyed, the soul essence concentrated here was second to none.


    Even if only a quarter of the essence remained, it would be beneficial in stabilizing the connection between both worlds.


    With the usage being far moreplex than thest dimension, Alvarach was force to tame his wild nature as he carefully inscribed the formation.


    Any mistake meant his Grandmasters would be torn apart.


    It took two whole days toplete, now the fifth day, he directly used himself to stabilize it, and it eat into the reserves of his power.


    Better weaker than dead.


    Moreover, once the passage was sessfully established, energy from the demon world woulde through, allowing to recover the used energy.


    The sigil-like formation made in blood shone, and the demon world came into view.


    Putting more effort, he located the two Grandmasters.


    He''d left them to act in his stead.


    If the other two realized he wasn''t around, they woulde to cause trouble and do serious damage.


    In any case, it wasn''t too bad to return them after the impending battle.


    Focusing his power, hangout their attention, with a few words, his intentions were ryed.


    They quickly got there closest aides to stand guard in their stead, telling them that Alvarach had called them into seclusion.


    That was his cover while conquering Orion.


    Having moved out of sight, Alvarach opened the portal slowly.


    After the five minutes, the portal opened up enough for them to pass over.


    With pace, they dived in, arriving on the other side in a minute.


    With Crea, they were five demon Grandmasters.


    "Wee-


    Right then, the formation shook, alerting him of an intruder.


    Moreover, from this presence-it was actually a Grandmaster!


    "We have a guest" he proimed with a happy tone. "You should go and greet him"


    The two Grandmasters pounced, the message was clear.


    ¡ª-----


    ''Hmm?''


    Winfrey had immensely shocked seeing the carnage wrought on Quartez.


    It didn''t make sense that no one that no one had said any thing about it.


    As such, he decided to investigate.


    By the moment he crossed the border, he felt something ripple.


    Immediately cross-checking, he realizes that a barrier is now in his path.


    He punched, kicked and shed with his sword, both had very little effect.


    He focused his power to forcefully breakthrough when his senses tingled loudly, alerting him to iing.


    Ever since ascending to Grandmaster rank, only Andrew and Augustus warranted such a reaction.


    Brandishing his sword, Winfrey got ready to meet the enemy, looking closer at the state of devastation wrought on Quartez.


    ''So many corpses!'' his eyes shed.


    One had to be a demon to do such a thing.


    On cue, he picked up the presence of two individuals.


    Both of Grandmaster rank.


    But he was perplexed, something was different about the approaching entities, but he couldn''t quite put his finger on it.


    Once the entities entered this sights, his eyes widened.


    ''Demons?!'' He was rmed.


    All power were watching keenly as Niton attacked Quartez, but there no news on anything that transpired.


    He''d guessed it was because they were held themselves up guarding the Manite vein.


    He was wrong.


    No, something was fundamentally wrong with this situation.


    Moreover, the formation was doing more than just maintaining a barrier.


    It was inhibiting his senses, which was why he hadn''t Crea and thest two at Alvarach''s side, nor Alvarach himself.


    He''de earlier to get a headstart on everyone else, a unique situation indeed.


    Even Ezra wouldn''t expected a Grandmaster toe to secure loot from a manite vein which was said to be guarded against five Nitonian Grandmasters.


    Was he not afraid to be killed.


    Enough contemting, the demons had reached him.


    There was a reason he darede here in the first ce, the demons were about to find out what that was.


    "Come, you vile beasts!"


    ¡ª---------


    Atop sand turned red from bloodshed, Alvarach overlooked his surroundings.


    It was the sixth day since Ezra escaped from his grasp.


    Right now, he wasmenting the loss of one of his Grandmasters.


    Winfrey battle prowess was above average for a Grandmaster and he fought two Grandmaster rank demons to a halt.


    As the fight became one of Attrition, Alvarach told Crea and thest two to join in to end it quickly.


    What he hadn''t expected was for Winfrey to promptly gave up on trying to survive the moment he registered their presence.


    He fought without restraint onwards, using a flurry of attacks to separate demon Grandmasters before lunging onto one.


    He had a artifact that could deal a lethal blow to a Grandmaster, it was to be his element of security if the Nitonian Grandmasters wanted to kill him.


    Detonating it without hesitation, both him and the demon were covered in the explosion before the others could understand.


    They both died, dealing a massive blow to Alvarach''s overall strength.


    As one would expect, he was livid.


    But all was done and said, there was nothing could do.


    With all his Grandmasters here, he focused on recovering his strength.


    While keeping the portal open sapped his energy, the energy was able to recover was slightly above.


    As for bringing Master rank demons to bolster forces, that was backwards military thinking.


    In a battlefield with Grandmasters would serve as fodder.


    Moreover if they were a problem he couldn''t solve personally, no amount of Master rank demons could solve it.


    When all was said and done, he would have to rely on himself to his ambition to fruition.


    That was the n in first ce so all that happened didn''t shake his resolve one bit, it did serve to enlighten him on the things the Grandmasters might pull in the next battle, and-he would never admit this-they couldn''t be underestimated.


    Reagardless, nothing would stop him from conquering this.


    Whew! We''re about to reach a mini-climax, hold onto your sits


    VOID_

 Chapter 314 A New Grandmaster

    314 A New Grandmaster


    Cabreray shirtless on a t stone, with a mana stone in his mouth and two more in his palm.


    "Calm your breath"


    Frederick stood by his side, guiding him.


    Being ck Jaws second inmand, he''d ascended to Master rank years ago, bing a Peak Master four months back.


    He would''ve ascended if it wasn''t for Frederick preventing him from hoarding mana stones Ezra gave them.


    Alongside nning, Frederick obtained six mana stones to help Cabrera advance.


    In fact, he''d thought up something more daring


    ________


    "With the mana stones, we could have people break through master rank en masse" Fredrick suggested. "Wouldn''t this clinch our win?"


    Ezra clicked his tongue, shaking his head lightly.


    "You''re underestimating the Mythic rank too much" Ezra began.


    "Will twenty new Grandmasters, the battle would seem to be more favourable¡­but" he stared at Frederick "You think twenty newbie Grandmasters would faze Alvarach?"


    "Putting aside the time constraints, there''s no guarantee that even half of those who try will be able to seed"


    "I will guide them" Frederick proimed.


    "At what cost? With only eight days, you would have to guide twenty individuals to breakthrough to Grandmaster rank consecutively? Not to mention you''re still healing from thest battle, even at peak performance you would be too exhausted to be of any help against varach"


    "As you said, Twenty Grandmasters wille in my stead" Frederick replied.


    "I''d rather have you than twenty newbie Grandmasters" Ezra retorted "To fight against varach without familiarizing themselves with their new strength, they would simply die like flies"


    "But-" Frederick wasn''t letting up.


    "What if he runs away?" Ezra suddenly questioned.


    "Runs away?" Frederick was bewildered.


    "Alvarach. What if he runs after seeing so many Grandmasters? Who would be able to stop him?"


    "Why would-"


    "He hasn''t thought of doing such a thing because he''s still underestimating us, and I intend to use that against him"


    "He values his life more than all else" Ezra''s words came out clear. "If you arouse his caution, he wouldn''t hesitate to run away, and one''s he does, no one will be able to catch up to him"


    Frederick''s eyes glimmered, he hadn''t thought up to such a level.


    Ezra continued, his tone now cold, "While running away, if he decides to destroy towns and cities, who would be able to stop him?"


    "Going against him alone would have any Grandmaster sink into the Jaws of death"


    "Even if we decide to chase in batches, he''all just pick us out one by one, until we''re all dead"


    "So we can''t rely on Grandmasters, I have to take this gamble to reach Mythic rank" he revealed. "I don''t even know if I''ll be able to achieve by the tenth day, but we can''t leave him be"


    By the end of his exnation, Ezra was exasperated.


    Frederick was taken aback. "So¡­all those who attack are simply going there to die?"


    "Tch" Ezra clicked his tongue. "Yes¡­unless you have a better idea"


    "I don''t" Frederick answered, clenching his fists to show veins lined along his arms and head while looking down.


    "What are the chances of you breaking through in ten days?"


    Ezra exhaled. "Sixty percent"


    Frederick let go of his fists unconsciously.


    He didn''t question it because his liege wasn''t one to lie.


    "Now that you know¡­are you still going to attack?" Ezra asked.


    "Of course" Frederick answered resolutely.


    Ezra nodded, a plethora of emotions running through him, but he could only mutter two words.


    "Thank you"


    "No, thank YOU my liege" Frederick said. "Without you, I would''ve died from curse all those years ago"


    ''Ah''


    That sentence had Ezra reminiscing.


    "It was hard, but we pulled through" he said. "And we''ll pull through this too"


    "Of course My liege"


    "That reminds me, what rank is Cabrera now?"


    "He reached Peak Master four months ago"


    "So slow¡­" Ezra muttered. Taking out six mana stones from his space ring and handing it to Frederick. "Assist him in advancing, one person shouldn''t affect you, right?"


    Frederick nodded.


    They quickly moved their discussion to other issues.


    __________


    As the mana stone began dimming, Frederick ced his hands just below Cabrera''s chest, subtly holding the coalition of mana in ce.


    Having already absorbed three mana stones, the mana core had already begun forming with Frederick''s help.


    On his own, Cabrera would''ve used at least 12 hours to achieve the same results.


    Sweating, Cabrera focused his attention on absorbing and guiding the inflow of mana into Frederick''s reach.


    An hour passed, the mana stones now had barely any light left.


    With that, Frederick instructed him to let go of them.


    Tossing them away with a flick and spitting out the other, Cabrera''s breath quickened, feeling the exhaustion seeping in.


    Major breakthroughs were no joke.


    "It''s not over yet"


    Frederick''s voice brought him back into the present.


    "Focus" he said. "This is the hard part"


    Cabrera blinked in reply, steeling himself.


    "Now that you have enough mana, you need to keep it in motion till a core forms naturally, the faster the better"


    Regting his breaths, Cabrera shut his eyes, his handsing to form a triangle right where the core was being formed.


    Frederick''s index fingery in the middle to provide assistance in case something went wrong.


    Feeling the swirling mana, he begins to speed it up, grunting as he did so, holding something with such intensity in ce was no easy feat, and its speed only increased.


    After ten minutes, the mana was blinding, the core on the cusp of forming.


    But¡­


    "I can''t¡­hold on!"


    Cabrera was reaching his limits.


    "No you can" Frederick replied. "You have to, you can''t stop now else you''ll be crippled"


    ''Shit!'' Cabrera was suddenly regretting agreeing to this.


    Just then¡­


    The core formed!


    Cabrera''s veins lit up with a shimmering blue glow, realizing what was about to happen, Frederick quickly withdrew.


    *Boom*


    As with all others, from his body came a ray of light, blue in colour, and smashed against the ceiling as it sought to announce the birth of a new Grandmaster.


    Frederick had fled the chamber, locking it up.


    Made with the finest minerals, it was to stop the ray of light from escaping the room and exposing the birth of a Grandmaster.


    This would be the first time its quality would be put to the test.


    After ten long minutes, Frederick slowly opened the door, his gaze going straight to the ceiling.


    ''It worked''


    The ray of mana had dug into it, but had been unable to prate it.


    The chamber was a sess.


    ''Now then''


    He reached Cabrera. He had fainted and his body was letting out hot air as if boiled.


    But, he was alive.


    Frederick couldn''t resist smiling as he crossed his hands.


    Niton had gained a new Grandmaster.


    They might ''just'' be hope for the future.


    He looked up.


    18:13


    ''My liege, I really hope you seed''


    He looked up.


    ''My liege, I really hope you seed''


    Having confirmed Cabrera''s health, he exits, leaving the new Grandmasters to some hard earned rest.


    Despite having three hundred thousandbatants ready, Ezra and Frederick decided that only five hundred would follow.


    The five hundred was nine-tenths of all ck Jaws Peak Masters.


    A Jaw dropping number considering they were a force a little more than a decade old.


    With Cabrera and Frederick heading to a battle most likely to im their lives, the few Peak Masters left out were to hold the line in case their enemies decided to take their absence as an opportunity to attack.


    Though, with a thousand mid rank masters along with a thousand early master ranks, the attackers would surely face defeat.


    Leaving orders in case he lost his life, Frederick prepared for what could very well be his final battle.


    Once done, all that remained was for Cabrera to wake up.


    Meanwhile, thanks to the frenzy ck Jaws caused, Triton had hastily moved the royal army, gathering the mercenaries with salt to their names to bolster their strength and marched to Quartez ¡­on horses of course.


    Like every other time, hyenas stuck by to fish for scraps from the lion''s hunt.


    Many others, obviously underqualified, followed the army''s trail, having chanced upon the news, hoping to earn it big.


    Of course, they kept adequate distance from them, else be killed.


    And since they were tight on time, Triton didn''t bother so long they didn''t get in his way.


    Besides, it was not toote to settle things once they arrived at Quartez.


    Marching non stop for the past four days, the horse''s were terribly fatigued.


    As such the army was letting off steam at a town nearest to the border.


    It was now the eighth day, with the town being thest settlement before Quartez, they sought to recuperate before entering enemy territory.


    With the horses out ofmission, they would march on foot.


    In any case, their final destination was a short distance away.


    Mercenaries chugged themselves full of alcohol, after all, nothing was certain about the mission.


    It could be theirst chance to get drunk, and they weren''t going to miss it.


    Members of the royal army on the other hand spent their time meditating and polishing their weapons before getting some shut eye.


    ________


    Dawn came and went with most of them asleep.


    By the time they were ready to advance into Quartez, it was almost noon.


    Those tailing them were left far behind, unable to keep with the inhumane pace.


    Upon marching forth though, they soon encountered an obstacle.


    A crushing presence came over them as beams of light stopped in front of them, temporarily blinding them.


    Upon opening his eyes, a line of Grandmastersy in front of him.


    Thirteen in total.


    All of which Triton recognized.


    You had Augustus Lancaster, the Emperor of Vonnamor, the only said to be on par with thete Nitonian Emperor, along with two other reputable vornnamorian Grandmasters.


    Zokov Ruwain, the monarch of Ruwain.


    Cgar Houston, the Emperor of the Houston Empire and his brother, Berenger Houston.


    Lativ Bernard, Yule''s second inmand.


    Rita Grimwald, right hand of Tezar''s Emperor.


    Wimbledon Bryan, Kreya''s battle maniac.


    Daniel Sigur, Hisle''s King.


    Jerry Jones, King of Wales.


    Talia Winston, Vio''s dancing de.


    Perry Vince, King of I.


    It was the real All star lineup.


    Triton couldn''t help but gulp.


    Thanks to his hasty efforts, the Grandmasters didn''t have time to bring along subordinates, nor could they thoroughly examine the piece of information.


    At least not when everyone else already believed it.


    To stop Niton from monopolizing the mine, they agreed to a ceasefire.


    The n was simple, subtly suppressing Andrew, they would negotiate rights to the mine.


    Even for Andrew-the strongest Grandmaster-he could only hold himself back at such a lineup.


    Though, because of time constraints, they hadn''t had time to really n the details of the negotiation as they flew across continents.


    No matter, they would sort it out somehow.


    Augustus acted as their spokesman, he''d learned Nitonian years back in order to converse with Andrew.


    "Halt your steps" he said, his voice echoing, dripping with authority. "Whoever steps forth will be killed"


    Having already halted, each person looked to another.


    No one was willing to test the authenticity of his statement, but even Triton.


    Right then, a fellow Grandmaster tapped his shoulder.


    "You need to see this"


    Turning around, now curious, he gazes at Quartez.


    Instantly, his expression darkened as was those of the other Grandmasters.


    "What madness?!" He says, anger bubbles forth, as his gaze switches to Triton.


    "You" he says. "Why have youe here?"


    "We''re reinforcements requested by the Emperor"


    "Hmm¡­" Augustus'' eyes narrowed.


    ''He''s not lying'' he certified. ''Then he really does not know?''


    Augustus continued. "The people of thend have been massacred"


    "What do you mean?" Triton inquired.


    "I came here to talk about a manite mine" Augustus didn''t bother exining. "But, if Andrew''s truly the one responsible for this" killing intent rose.


    "I will not forgive him!"


    Willing it, a Great sword appeared in his hand.


    The others also drew their weapons.


    They hade to bargain, but it seemed fate had other thoughts.


    Things are about to get HOT!


    VOID_

 Chapter 315 Dreadful Surprise

    315 Dreadful Surprise


    Approaching with caution, he realized a barrier had been set up starting at the Border.


    "Hmph!"


    Augustus punched out reflexively, only for his hands to phase through the barrier.


    ''Hmm?'' He was surprised. ''It wasn''t to keep out intruders?''


    Or was the barrier faulty?


    Augustus didn''t think so, regardless of how faulty it was, it should still put up resistance no matter how little.


    From the news about the manite mine and now this, Augustus started feeling uneasy about the whole situation.


    Steeling his heart, he looked to the others, "Something''s wrong with whole situation, so we''ll go in together, be on guard"


    Normally, they would banter amongst each other, but since Augustus was the one talking, they had to take it seriously.


    Passing through the nonexistent barrier, they appeared on the other side, and their expressions took a turn for the worse.


    Grandmasters could sense each other''s presence without much effort.


    So when they felt the aura of four Grandmasters, they had their guards up.


    At the same time, they realized there was something wrong with the presence, it wasn''t the usual type.


    They''d met Nitonian Grandmasters at least once, the presence they felt did not match any of them.


    "A battle happened here not long ago" Rita Grimwald said.


    "We can all see that" Jerry replied, rolling his eyes.


    They were corpses all over the ce, did she think they were blind?


    "Not that" Rita shook her head, pointing further ahead, where they saw a massive crater, with the soil around also damaged worse than other ces.


    "It doesn''t seem to have happened long ago" Perry remarked.


    Rita nodded. "Moreover, only Grandmasters can create such arge crater"


    "Keke, so some Grandmasters decided to stretch their muscles eh? I also want to get in on the action!"


    As expected of a battle maniac, Wimbledon was fired up.


    "Calm down" Augustus intoned.


    All of a sudden, "We have a problem"


    They turned to the speaker, Zokov Ruwain.


    He punched against the barrier without, only for it to be repelled.


    The others tried their luck, same result.


    "The formation master is most likely inside the formation" Lativ Bernard inputted. "We just need to find him"


    "I''ll bet my life he''s with those Grandmasters"


    Nodding for affirmation, they went further in, noting the red soil along shrivelled corpses, some already dposing.


    It was exceptionally filthy.


    They sped up, zing through the sky, and by the time they flew past the pce of thete Quartz King, they''d confirmed that almost everyone, if not all, had been killed.


    The pce itself was in ruins, its previous elegance now unrecognizable.


    The situation was even more bizarre. Was the Emperor conducting some demonic rituals to increase his strength?


    Augustus felt that Andrew would never do such a thing, he was too prideful to do so.


    So what was going on?


    Surprises after surprises. Like him, the others had begun feeling like they''d been caught in some deep seated conspiracy.


    Still, Augutus was unbridled.


    In front of absolute power, all such schemes were useless.


    Soon after, they slowed down, the enemy Grandmasters weren''t too far from the pce.


    Being Grandmasters, surely the enemy must''ve felt their presence, yet they chose not to engage.


    In short, it was two things.


    They were either being lured into a trap, or the enemy was burdened by something.


    Upon reaching enough distance to sight the enemy, all their thoughts froze.


    ''Demons?''


    It was too shocking.


    None thought the Emperor would lose to a bunch of Demon worshippers.


    But then, why were they here?


    "What are demons doing here?" Augustus'' voice rang loud and clear. "Where is the Emperor?"


    "Hmm" A voice came from where none of them had been looking. "You really don''t know, do you?"


    They turned to see a demon almost doubling their height watching with his arms folded, with two long horns jutting out of his head.


    Augustus felt cold sweat slip across his face.


    ''I didn''t feel presence at all''


    Fully fledged demons had be myths to Oranians-that was how long ago they''dst been seen.


    Of course, Grandmasters knew the stories were true, but they expected to face them here.


    But Augustus wasn''t one to cower, "Answer the question. Where is the Emperor"


    "He ran away" Alvarach replied.


    "Lies" Cgar Houston refuted. Spitting, "As if I would believe a demon"


    Alvarach''s eyes curved with disdain. "Are you going to run away too?"


    "Not until I see you dead" Cgar replied, squeezing his fists as his red gauntlets shone.


    Though prideful, Cgar has brains.


    "Augustus, work with me. Let''s kill him"


    Brandishing his great sword, he flew to Cgar''s side.


    They were the strongest of the bunch.


    "Keke, I''ll be joining in as well" Holding two serrated daggers, Wimbledon joined the duo.


    "Your assistance is unnecessary" Cgar said coldly.


    Wimbledon only gave him a nce. "Who the f#ck came to assist? I''m just here to see if he''s a worthy opponent"


    Wimbledony a rank below the likes of Cgar and Augustus as a Mid Grandmaster.


    Sparks flew between Cgar and Wimbledon.


    "Both of you, stop. The earlier we finish this, the better"


    Augustus was still feeling uneasy as he couldn''t see through his opponent''s strength.


    With "hmph" from both of them, they got ready to face Alvarach.


    "The rest of you should take care of thest few"


    "Don''t try to order us around. We''re not your subordinates" Daniel snorted. Getting into an attack position.


    "Let''s get this over with" Jerry remarked. Before they could break into teams, Cgar attacked.


    With Augustus and Wimbledon right alongside him.


    Upon closing in, Alvarach took on a look of disgust. "Insects"


    Arge wave of killing intent erupted, forcing the approaching Grandmasters into a momentary pause.


    All the Grandmasters felt their brains shut down for a second.


    That was all Alvarach needed.


    At once his nails elongated, and lit up with mes as he went with his full strength, decapitating Cgar in a single stroke.


    Augustus was able to react, breaking the sudden shock faster than others, proving his strength as he raised his sword to block the strike aimed for his neck.


    The strike never came as Augustus found his vision twisting.


    ''Ah''


    He had been split in half, with top and torso separated.


    Wimbledon''s intuition was extraordinary, stepping backwards just before Alvarach released his killing intent.


    "Wha-


    Unfortunately, he was still too slow.


    Five nails were plunged into head, blood flowing through like a leaking juice sack.


    With little movement, his head was torn like a watermelon and he fell to the ground.


    Alvarach didn''t stop at that, capitalizing on the moment, he sessfully dispatched Zokov Ruwain, Cgar''s brother Berenger, before killing one other Vonnamorian Grandmasters all in a single minute.


    The dangers of unpreparedness could be seen clearly.


    They were the ones he''d judged to be of highest threat.


    After facing the might of Andrew, Alvarach understood two things.


    Before hepletely assimted mana into his body, dragging out battles was disadvantageous for him.


    Two, he could not allow them time to use any gimmick.


    So the n was simple, that was to end the Grandmasters as fast as possible.


    The moment the Grandmasters passed through the barrier, he knew their numbers and rank.


    As such, he concealed himself, which was why the Grandmasters dared to act arrogant in front of him.


    Moreover, thanks to whoever it was, they knew about him, allowing his n to work even better.


    Augustus was cautious, but he still ended up underestimating the enemy.


    Maybe he even suspected Alvarach''s level was above theirs, but forced his mind to reconsider.


    Either way, the most threatening of the group was now dead.


    Had the battle dragged out, those few could''ve given him a really tough time.


    Alvarach was not used to concealing himself, because in the demon world, strength determined everything.


    Furthermore, few were dumb enough to fight someone higher rank than them.


    Moreover, ganging up an opponent was actually a rare phenomenon.


    Ranking battles were basically one on one duels where fighters were allowed to do anything to obtain victory.


    With all battles being ranking battles, who would team up? Were they supposed to share the rank after winning?


    Demons didn''t work like that.


    And for stronger ones, why would they bother duelling those weaker than them?


    Regardless, he absorbed their souls, allowing him to heal a bit.


    The power he was emanating shunned the remaining Grandmasters.


    Fear struck deep in their hearts.


    Talia''s voice was shaking. "He killed Augustus¡­in one strike¡­how is that possible?"


    With the rest at Mid Grandmaster rank, Alvarach didn''t have anything to fear.


    It seemed the first group containing so many Peak Grandmasters were an exception.


    Still, he decided to be cautious and attacked Rita, but while she was severely wounded, she didn''t die.


    He decided to leave it at that, having trimmed the party of thirteen to seven in a short time.


    The rest were for his subordinates. "Kill them"


    The subordinates pounced at the startled Grandmasters, and another began battle


    He needed them to gain battle experience as well, what better chance than this?


    Besides, he would be watching while recovering his strength through the portal.


    If anything seemed off, he''d simply kill them.


    Using his strength in Orion had sapped more dark essence than he anticipated.


    In the few minutes of fighting, more than half of his essence was used up.


    The souls of Grandmasters he absorbed recovered about a quarter of that.


    In any case, he simply had to hold out until hepletely assimted mana, once that was done, this would be his to take.


    Meanwhile, the army of Peak Mastersy outside the barrier.


    With the warning they received, they were all reluctant to cross the barrier.


    The chance they would lose their lives was very much present.


    Triton couldn''t force the situation else the mercenaries simply cut their losses and ran away.


    Though, he wasn''t actually forting on pressing on either.


    But he needed a way out, directly ordering a retreat would reduce his prestige in the eyes of others.


    Luckily, the vicemander was smart enough to extend the olive branch.


    "Commander. They could be fighting in there, to enter such a battle would only be suicide"


    "Hmm" Triton acted like the decision was a difficult one.


    "Besides, you diligently answered the Emperor''s summons. If we were forcefully enter and suffer needless casualties, the Emperor would not be happy"


    Triton raised his head. "I suppose you''re right. After waiting so long, no one ising out, so something is definitely going on inside"


    "Until someone leaves the barrier, we won''t enter. Let''s head back to the town"


    Like that, they marched back to the town.


    Amongst them was a member from ck Jaws.


    He''d been given a set of identical artifacts to ce along their road to Quartez without being informed of its function.


    As they marched back to the town, he threw thest one towards Quartez, thus signifying the end of his mission.


    They went back to town, wining and dining once again.


    Grandmasters were indeed strong, four against six, none tired easily, battling all through the night, while Alvarach asionally intervening whenever the situation turned dire for his subordinates.


    The situation was frustrating as they felt themselves be toyed with, but could only suck up the indignation.


    Alvarach was loving it, his subordinates were grown and the enemies were only getting tired as time went on.


    Thanks to Winfrey''s early arrival, the barrier now disabled dimensional rings, so they were unable to use potions.


    Struggle in futility and then die full of despair, a fitting end for insects.


    Watching as he recovered his strength, the Grandmasters could only keep struggling hoping that someone or something would get them out of their situation.


    The night passed like such, and morning soon came upon them.


    At its rise, two powers were soon to sh and by its fall, Orion''s fate would''ve been decided.


    (Guys, I''m thinking of changing the Nitonian royal family surname to Zephyr instead Miller, let me know what you think in thements)

 Chapter 316 Evan Neil And Chain Portals

    At sunset, Zydrax spoke for the first time in eight days.


    [Its done]


    Ezra''s eyes shut open ten secondster, abruptly exiting Skyfall''s mind space and hot to attention, squeezing his numb fists.


    "It''s done? I don''t feel all that different though"


    [Only the first part is done]


    "Which is?"


    [Your mana limit has been reached]


    ''Hmm?'' Ezra instinctively pushed his mana into action.


    "Ohh" he was bbergasted. His mana had quadrupled!


    At the same time, his body was longer absorbing mana.


    [Mana limit] Zydrax began. [Simply put, you body has reached the limit of the mana it can hold-which is far more than I had expected]


    Ezra smiled. "You must be surprised"


    [Yes. I didn''t think this infant had an existence like you in it. You''re just good enough to be decent]


    "Just ''decent''?" Ezra felt insulted.


    Zydrax chuckled. [Take it from me, it''s nothing to be proud of, the universe is teeming with beings that would blow your mind]


    "I know" Ezra replied.


    [Hehe] Zydrax chuckled, Ezra had told him about the advent of the apocalypse in his past life. [No. You don''t]


    "But you do?"


    [Hehehe] he chuckled even louder, his tone colder than usual. [You have no idea]


    Hisughter died immediately after, almost like it was never there, quickly switching subjects.


    [Mythic rank is an outlier among the beginner ranks, and the achieving it isn''t straightforward, rather tricky instead]


    Ezra listened to Zydrax with rapt attention.


    [I could''ve had advance with only half of your current mana, but with Alvarach at your neck, I had to make sure to chalk up to the brim with mana, so that you may stand a chance]


    [The moment you achieve Mystic rank, he''s going to take notice ande for you. This time, you won''t have the luxury of learning things slowly]


    [Thankfully, you have more than sufficient training, so it shouldn''t be too much of an issue]


    [Using mana stones as your primary cultivation source also helped] Zydrax exined. [Right now, your mana level is twice of your father''s]


    "So I''m a Peak Grandmaster already" Ezra sought to confirm.


    [What do you take me for? It only took this long because you previously had me waste much of my precious essence on saving those useless beings]


    "So, how do I advance to Mythic rank?"


    [Unlike other ranks, you can''t advance by increasing mana. Others try to, but once they hit their mana limit, they find themselves stuck. And because of both fear and theck anything to guide them, they remain there and eventually perish]


    [Your mana capacity has been reached, so advancing to Mystic rank would require something else]


    [You have to change the state of your mana itself]


    "What does that mean?"


    [Right now] he said. [Apart from the core at the center of the chest or in your case, your heart. The rest of your mana is in aparticle state]


    "Particle state?" [It''s like air. It exists everywhere, but is not tangible]


    [Normally, using your core, you align these particles and then meld them together]


    [Slowly, your mana would start to coalesce, turning from an air like state to water like. And once reached the threshold, you''ll advance]


    "How do I know when I reach the threshold?"


    [How do you know you''re hungry] he asked back. [Your body will tell you]


    "What do I do now?"


    [What you''ve been doing until now] Zydrax replied. [Lay down and stay still. We don''t have much time so you can leave melding to me]


    [Go back to the mind space and keep practising Infinite Forms. From what I sawst time, there''s a lot be improved on]


    "I know". He''d been practising and now, he felt he was on the cusp of a breakthrough.


    He thought about asking Zydrax for pointers, before deciding not to.


    ''How will I continue to grow if I rely on him for everything?''


    With that, he closed his eyes, going back into the mind space.


    He thought about observing the process of melding mana particles, but since there was a good chance he''ll be fighting moments after his advancement, improving his skills was more important.


    ''I won''t fail this time''


    ''I protect mother and my vassals''


    ''I will protect everything I care about''


    ¡ª------------


    An hourter, someone knocked on the door.


    "Ezra, I''m heading off"


    Armoured and ready for battle, Frederick gave a simple notice, before leaving.


    After Cabrera woke up, they sparred to gauge his new level of his strength and get him better ustomed to it.


    Once that was done, Frederick had only one thing left to do.


    He broke into the castle and took one of Kaldun''s weapons for himself.


    The spiked hammer.


    With most of the guards having left, it was too easy.


    He simply walked in and took it.


    Bolton warned him about the Emperor''s wrath, but who would be afraid of a dead man?


    So here he was.


    "Mr. Frederick, wait for us"


    As he was leaving, the siblings obstructed him.


    Armoured with weapons at the ready, Theron stepped with you.


    "We''re going along with you"


    Frederick paused, reading their energy.


    ''Peak Masters¡­I guess they haven''t been ying around''


    "Have you told Ezra?"


    "He wouldn''t stop us"


    Frederick smiled. "Fine"


    The siblings cheered.


    "I''m going too"


    To the side stood Valentine, fully d in armour with her face full of fury.


    "No"


    "What?"


    "Your mother is here, stay behind and look after her"


    "I want to kill the demon that did this to her!"


    With a sh of wind, Frederick was behind her, with mana solidified from his hand in the shape of a small knife.


    ''Sword aura''


    "You can''t even stop me, how are you going to kill someone stronger than me?"


    Valentine bit her lip in frustration.


    "I will find a way"


    Frederick shook his head. "Only death awaits you against that demon" and walks off.


    The siblings also look at her with pity, before following Frederick.


    As a master rankbatant of her age, she was hailed as a genius.


    But¡­''Why am I so useless?''


    She was yet to enter mid master rank, which was absolutely normal, but she couldn''t help but feel stifled.


    After long minutes of standing, she drags herself back to her mother''s room.


    It would soon be midnight.


    _________


    Once thest of the Artifacts were thrown in front of the barrier, it let off a small green glow.


    Evan Neil was a boy born to amoner in Vonnamor.


    Soon after, he discovered that he had gained the space attribute, one of the rarest types in Orion.


    That turned into an overnight sensation, and multiple academies began seeking him for enrollment, while gifts poured in from strangers hoping to build a good rtionship with a future spatial mage.


    He became widely known as a prospective future spatial mage¡­for a while.


    His whole world flipped just a year into a prestigious academy.


    He was unable to stabilize any sort of portal, regardless of distance!


    Anyone who used his portals would end up torn into bits and pieces, with the strewn parts thrown out to who knows where.


    Holding on hope, the academy held special sses for him to figure out his edge.


    By the mid of the second year though, it was clear to all that Evan was a spatial mage in name only.


    I mean in terms of spatial mages, there were others with such afflictions, but they were able to travel through their own portals.


    Allowing them to use portals as offensive attacks and develop in the direction of assassination.


    But he couldn''t even do that.


    In no time, he was publicly known as the spatial fail.


    By the end of the second year, under the reputation he was bringing to the academy, his schrship was revoked and he was back on the streets before long.


    All his dreams seemed to have crashed and soon, societal pressure threatened to suffocate him.


    Against all odds, Evan''s was still going strong.


    ''It''s not over until it''s over''


    Compared to his beginnings where he ate little more than staple food, he was already in a far better condition.


    Spatial failure? Trash mage? Who cared about what others thought? Certainly not him.


    One way or another, he was going to make it work, he was given spatial talent for a reason.


    There was definitely something he was capable of.


    He just needed to find out what that was.


    Before then though, he found himself gagged in the middle of the night, opening his eyes in another continent.


    Cursing his fate, Evan prepared for the worst.


    His enemies had finally decided to get rid of him.


    Well, he wasn''t going down without a fight.


    So he could only be dumbfounded when he found that his kidnappers needed his strength for their guild.


    Moreover, the guild master himself came, and he was a Grandmaster!


    After exining to him why he was needed, they showed him just how many benefits he would get by sticking by.


    Sure enough, he quickly epted, with the condition that his family be moved to Niton.


    With the help of two space mages over the of a year, Evan discovered his edge!


    Where other mages created portals, and even sometimes gained the ability to teleport-he got something entirely different.


    He could make set mark''s on any artifact!


    Ezra already knew what it was, but feared that if they straight up told him, he wouldn''t be able to be the man he was in his past life.


    Rather, they told the two mentors in charge of him.


    Even with that, it still took a whole year to see tangible results.


    During his time as Kevin, only after the apocalypse arrived did Evan find his true strength, going on to be a legend in a few years.


    Let''s get into why that is.


    The ability to create set mark''s wasn''t something anyone could do.


    Then, among those who could, there were a lot of factors to be considered.


    Was it only usable for the mage, or could other mages use it? What were the requirements for activation?


    How long was it sustainable for? Would it continue to work so long it was left untouched, thereby ousting the mage or would it cease to exist after a period of time?


    How stable was the portal? How many things could go across at a time?


    There were so many parameters to be measured to determine the exact features of any portal.


    This was where Evan shined.


    His ability allowed him to ce a spatial seed of sorts on basically any item.


    Once infused with spatial energy, the seed would then sprout into a portal with set coordinates.


    Then, the highlight of it all, except for fragile items, the formed portal had no restrictions on the type of goods it could take.


    Moreover, the portal could be opened for as long as needed so long the needed spatial energy was provided.


    Do you know what this means?!


    Other set portals have items they are resistant to.


    Beyond that, most of them can only stay open for an hour each day at most, the best one stayed for three hours.


    With such portal types, how would it be to have a portal that didn''t have resistance to any items, stayed open for as long as needed and didn''t need the original space mage to be activated?


    Better still, since it could be ced on an item, you could have it attached to a piece of jewellery, ready to be activated at any time.


    It was revolutionary, to say the least.


    In his past life, Evan had spent more than a decade practising and perfecting his spatial magic.


    He was able to open stable portals with a bit of effort.


    Moreover, because his portals were initially so bad, he knew more than most what made a portal stable and what made it unstable.


    With that knowledge, he made offensive spells using a lesser version of unstable portals as its base.


    They were called beams of death.


    The movement the attack connected, the space around the person would destabilize, killing the person by squeezing into an u recognizable mess.


    With this space, he rose back to fame as a renowned battle mage.


    Only after did he discover this unique edge of his.


    With it, he became the deputy head of the mage tower less than four years after, and a very, very, rich man.


    Right now, with ck Jaws mentorships, he hadn''t achieved his battle mage status nor was he now able to stabilize his portals¡­though he was getting there.


    Instead, he''d made significant progress in the aspect of cing spatial seeds.


    One of the few things he''d learned and also one of the most significant was the ability to make set portal chains.


    It was the same thing Elisa had done across the continent, cing set portals that led to another set portal.


    Only¡­he was able to do this with objects!


    After much practice, Evan had be a lot more proficient.


    That was how knew thest of the artifact set had been ced.


    Tested and tried, this was how Frederick intended to get to Quartez in less than thirty minutes.


    It only made sense, it was already the eighth night.


    By their calctions, the Grandmasters should arrive tomorrow, hence making this the optimal time to go.


    The artifacts dropped by the ck Jaws member at intervals had spatial seeds ced in them.


    Frederick and the peak masters assembled in the biggest hall for guild members, with Evan and seven other spatial mages in front of them.


    "Its time"


    Upon Frederickmand, they began to open the portal.


    Evan could only calm himself as he hoped with all his might that it worked.


    It worked for the previous tests, but none was over a distance as long as this.


    ''Think positive, think positive'' Evan told himself, closing his eyes to feel the position of each artifact.


    They were circle shaped artifacts tailored by cksmith members to create the best effect with spatial energy.


    Taking a deep breath, Evan started infusing his mana into the artifacts on the ground.


    Through it, he was able to sense the next artifacts.


    To make a such a set chain, they made it such that the energy from one would lead to the next and that one would lead to the next and like such till the it reached thest artifact.


    Meaning¡­


    *GURUUM!*


    The artifact shook a bit, glowing purple before going back still, vibrating at low frequency.


    The purple glow shot out of it, creating a purple portal big enough to amodate a person and still be spacious, except the person was overweight.


    The other spatial mages joined in, directing their spatial energy into it, and therefore setting off the chain reaction.


    The energy flew into the portal created tond on the nearest identical artifact, activating its portal.


    The portal showing only the void before now showed a view on the otherside.


    But that was just the start.


    The energy was pushed in from the first into the second, and from the second the third was activated, up until the thirteenth portal opened.


    This took ten minutes to set up.


    Sweating, Evan spoke. "Sir Frederick, you need to hurry. I miscalcted, we can''t this open for more than ten more minutes"


    "That''s plenty of time" Frederick remarked. "All right you heard him boys! We''re moving!"


    With fast steps, Frederick went through first, a long line followed, giving themselves enough space to avoid mishaps.


    With the portals connected to each other, they didn''t have toe out of one and then go in again to get to somewhere else.


    No, they directly traveled through all thirteen portals, with the first leading to the next until they reached thest one.


    They shed in and out of existence, almost like they were teleporting.


    The name chain portal was now better understood.


    By the eighth minute, thestbatant had crossed through.


    Standing in Traxford just minutes ago, they were now in front of Quartez.


    Though¡­they weren''t exactly feeling sensational at the moment.


    *Blerrgh!*

 Chapter 317 Overnight Economy

    ?


    *Blerrgh!*


    Each peak master took a good ten seconds to purge their stomachs of all its contents.


    What did you expect? Even for Peak masters, moving through thirteen portals consecutively to cut travel time from four days to eight minutes naturally came with side effects.


    Their internals shook as their senses felt incongruent, feeding their brains much unnecessary information.


    They wobbled, feeling more out of touch than drunkards.


    Mid and early masters would''ve puked far more.


    Peak Experts would have their internals thoroughly messed up while those below would just die before reaching the thirteenth portal.


    Only Grandmasters like Federick and Cabrera could cross unfazed.


    It took several more minutes for their senses to get back in tip top shape.


    Once thest person recovered, they arranged themselves in a formation, behind Frederick, who watched the newly erected barrier with a piercing gaze.


    He sought to touch it, and he was rmed as he body went right through it.


    He was a Grandmaster and all, butmon sense was always something to be applied.


    Was this barrier made by Alvarach? Or someone else? And what was its purpose?


    Instead of testing fate, he turned in the other direction.


    As a Grandmaster, he could sense the army of Peak masters dining in the nearest town.


    Now, should he simply tell someone to call their spy amongst them toe and brief them in the situation? Or should he lead everyone there and crash their party?


    Frederick rubbed his chin.


    Should he choose the first method, he would''ve to stand and wait for the messenger to go ande back with their spy.


    As a Grandmaster, why would he subject himself to such treatment?


    The choice was obvious.


    "I''m sure you''ve all the aura of multiple Peak masters nearby besides yourselves"


    They nodded, if they couldn''t notice such a simple thing, they had no business calling themselves Peak masters.


    With a wave of his hand, Frederick dered. "We''re heading there" and took flight, staying a few meters in the air before flying forward with Cabrera by his side.


    _________


    "Ho, have I told you about how I wrestled a magical beast to death?" said one mercenary, his head wobbling while the hand holding his drink was as steady as a metal pole.


    "Have I told you about the time I killed a sand worm with one punch?"


    Suddenly, the bar''s atmosphere froze as each person dispelled their drunkness, their heads facing the same direction.


    Quickly, they exited their abodes to see the approaching group.


    "Were there supposed to be other peak masters here?" One person asked.


    "They weren''t"


    Looking at the five hundred Peak masters approaching, they could only wonder how they were here and why?


    Triton stepped forward to address the group, escorted by the armymander and a dozen knights.


    Once in close proximity, now in clear view, whatever bravado Triton held crashed like a sandcastle.


    "Sir Frederick" he says, his tone unintentionally high, sweat forming on his forehead. "I didn''t see on the way so I didn''t know you would be here"


    Why was a Grandmaster here? At midnight? Did he only start travelling after sunset? No, wait, where did five hundred Peak masterse from?


    Frederick didn''t even try to be pleasant. "I didn''t know I had to tell your highness of my movements"


    Triton spoke with grace. "Ah, of course not. I was simply surprised by your presence"


    Though one could see the vein in his hand sticking out.


    ''You dare talk down to me?! I am the crown prince!''


    Of course, Triton could only swallow his discontent.


    "The Emperor requested that I gather reinforcements. We''re here to assist"


    "But then-


    "A barrier has been set up, and it wasn''t there before. I''m here to ask you for information on the situation"


    Triton nodded, the situation made a bit more sense now.


    Though he didn''t fully trust Frederick''s words, he had no way to prove its inauthenticity.


    In any case, the Emperor would sort out the issue.


    "It would be rude of me to keep a Grandmaster waiting. But I believe it would be better to talk about this at a more appropriate location"


    "Lead the way" unlike his words, Frederick was looking at a masked individual sitting on a rooftop of one of the town''s buildings, who was staring right back.


    Turning around, Triton led them to the town.


    Cabrera kept his presence tamed, so they didn''t take note of him.


    In no time they got to the town and Triton had hismander brief them on the situation.


    Frederick''s face was not good.


    ''They came earlier than I expected''


    The n was to arrive on the eighth night and wait for Grandmasters to arrive on the ninth day, and then join forces to attack Alvarach.


    All that had gone to shit now the Grandmasters arrived earlier.


    ''Thirteen Grandmasters¡­''


    It was certainly a formidable line up, but their opponent was Alvarach.


    In the case of a surprise attack, which is the most likely case, at least half of them would''ve been killed.


    There were two possible scenarios.


    One where they had all been killed due tock of preparation, and the other where few remained alive, fighting for their lives.


    Right now, Frederick was leaning towards the former.


    In the case of thetter, he didn''t think more than five of them would still be alive.


    ''Augustus, Zokov, Rita, Cgar, and maybe Berenger''


    From gathered intelligence, these were the strongest few.


    Moreover, they would likely be heavily injured.


    Frederick had steeled his mind for the death that was very likely toe upon him.


    However, the situation had flipped over.


    Advancing into an unknown situation with only two Grandmasters would be to greatly push his luck.


    On the flip side, if some Grandmasters were still alive and kicking, they would prove to be a decent resistance before eventually losing their lives.


    If not, they would die a dog''s death.


    The situation had turned for the worst.


    Triton thought that like him, Frederick also suspected that the group of Grandmasters had besieged the Emperor, but he wasn''t worried too much because he didn''t doubt the Emperor''s survival.


    Besides, if they really wanted to kill him, at least three Grandmasters would die.


    He didn''t think they''d go that far even for a manite mine.


    "So, sir Frederick, what do you want to do now?"


    At that moment, a man barged in.


    The masked individual Frederick was staring at.


    Triton was naturally furious, "What nonsense is this? How dare you barge into a meeting with a Grandmaster without any courtesy?"


    Themander drew his de without a word, wondering something different.


    ''Yuno and Bruno were guarding this ce? So how did he get in?''


    The atmosphere turned tense, and then¡­


    "Settle down"


    They were surprised and the tension dissolved faster than boiled salt.


    Frederick turned to the masked man. "Why don''t you take of the mask so we can have a proper conversation"


    The man finally spoke. "Sure thing"


    Triton was shocked. ''This voice¡­


    The face confirmed his suspicions.


    It was Jebas.


    He spoke to themander. "You don''t have to worry, I simply put them to sleep. They should be awake in an hour"


    Calming himself, themander sheathed his sword.


    "H-How?" was all Triton managed to say.


    You couldn''t me him, the situation was too shocking.


    He was still dealing with the first Grandmaster that arrived unannounced¡­only for another to pop up!


    What was this? Were they trying to y with him? Because this was not funny?!


    "I came along as you were leaving Kingsmere. I hid my presence for reasons I cannot say"


    "But then¡­why didn''t you step out when the Grandmasters arrived?" Triton asked.


    "Ah yes, *cough*cough* the situation was disadvantageous for me" he said. "Had I tried to stop them, we would''ve fought and his highness would''ve been in danger"


    In truth, he was just scared for his life.


    Like Fredrick, the thirteen Grandmasters had noticed him from far away.


    It was why they even bothered giving a warning.


    "So then, why didn''t you follow them?"


    "Ah¡­" Jebas quickly answered. "Because I was waiting for Sir Frederick"


    "You knew he woulde?" Triton inquired.


    "Of course" he said.


    Being a Grandmaster, Triton couldn''t press him for answers anymore than this.


    Without further ado, he took a seat and they began discussing.


    One, after a lengthy discussion, they decided to only enter after three more days if no one came out.


    Of course, this was just the surface agreement.


    Frederick intended to wait for five days, knowing the full scale of what was really going on.


    Although this would mean having the Grandmasters who might still be alive would probably die, Frederick had the intention of working with luck at this time.


    Instead, having not heard from their Grandmasters after three days, more Grandmasters would arrive as reinforcements.


    This was a certainty.


    Frederick would join that group to attack Alvarach.


    Two, during that time, they would all make sure to keep the peak masters in line.


    Three, they were to contribute their forces to keep watch on the barrier and surroundings.


    There were barely any people within miles of here, but hey, Frederick had popped up like grass, someone else could too.


    Throughout, Jebas merely followed Frederick''s lead.


    Once the matters were settled, they dispersed.


    With a thousand and five residents suddenly appearing in this small town, it was bound to be congested.


    Something had to be done.


    ck Jaws members got to work.


    Frederick, Cabrera and Jebas went to get wood, at the speed they moved, it wasn''t hard to reach a nearby forest.


    As a Grandmaster, Jebas discerned Cabrera''s rank from afar.


    Cutting them down with ease, they stored them in their space rings, went back to town and dumped them.


    The peak masters took it up, using their techniques to cut and shape the wood into fine pieces, before those with metal attributes used the avable nails and created new ones to hold the houses steady.


    Withbined effort, the town''s infrastructure quintupled as did the area it upied in one night.


    The original residents, as you could guess, were dreadfully scared and confused.


    They were a sparse people, living life day by day, only to be besieged upon by more than a thousand Master ranked individuals.


    The change was so sudden it was dizzying.


    Moreover, their concentrated presence changed the town''s atmosphere.


    The peaceful andx environment became tense, almost suffocating for these untrained humans.


    Since only one night had passed, a fight hadn''t broken out, but they could just see it happening.


    The bartender felt it the most.


    As an old man, he didn''t even know what to feel when rows and rows of powerful warriors entered to buy a drink.


    Now though, he could confidently say he was the happiest man in the world.


    As Peak masters, they basically had a lot of money.


    Serving them the town''s cheap wine, the peak masters threw silvers at them without much thought.


    For a drink sold for a few coppers, the man made his yearly profit multiple times over.


    Moreover, thanks to ck Jaws'' arrival, a new building was dedicated to his wine business for FREE! Seeing as how the old one was too small.


    Then, Cabrera casually gave himrge barrels of exotic wine to sell and let him keep half the profits.


    Not to mention half, even five percent would''ve been enough to satisfy the bartender.


    As ck Jaws second inmand, the wine, even though it wasn''t his main one, was truly exotic.


    It sold out very fast, cashing in ten gold per cup.


    It wasn''t worth that much normally, but the situation wasn''t normal.


    This was the only bar house in the town, and being Peak masters, they couldn''t start haggling while their mates watched. So they paid for it without any fanfare.


    Who would want to be known as a guy too poor to buy a drink?


    Their original n was to wait till the next day, so the ck Jaws members were sufficiently prepared.


    Of course, sufficient in the case meant preparation for any and all cases.


    They had their space rings packed with food, along with nails and wood to make houses to sleep in.


    The trees Frederick and Cabrera got were surplus to make houses for the army members.


    Of course it wasn''t free.


    Instead, they rented it out at high prices, and hired the original residents as workers.


    With the leaves from the trees, they created beds, well not exactly, but a ce to sleep that wasn''t the floor.


    A restaurant was also constructed, the chef was a mercenary who liked to cook.


    With resources from Cabrera, he hired a few residents and got to work.


    With two ck Jaws members ced by his side and knowing he''d have a Grandmaster to answer to help him curb any funny thoughts that popped up.


    Moreover, why was there a need to steal when the pay was good?


    The town was lively as ever, with good food and exotic wine being served at equally exotic prices


    Frederick had barely any hand in this.


    It was Cabrera, whose merchant senses couldn''t stop tingling that set it all up.


    After leading ck Jaws to make so much money, you better believe that the man had carved the art of selling into his bones.


    In one night, a budding economy had been formed.


    The residents who were cursing their luck an hour ago were now so happy they felt if they died, they wouldn''t have any regrets.


    Well, except not being able to spend the money they umted overnight.


    With everyone briefed on the three day ultimatum, they were unrestrained in their drinking.


    A few fights broke out here and there, but Frederick took care of it without a hitch.


    After the fifth group of fighters got beaten up ck and blue, before being designated for surveince duty, others chilled. Opting to stare one another to death.


    They could fight, they just had to make sure it didn''t affect the town.


    But by the time they got to a range of which their attacks wouldn''t touch the town, they wouldn''t feel like fighting anymore.


    The bar owner sighed in relief, watching as his first apprentice moured the five new hires to serve more drinks.


    Like all things, the festive mood died down and the night eventually passed.


    The mercenaries slept till afternoon of the next day, before a loud mour woke them up.


    *BOOM!*

 Chapter 318 Breakthrough

    318 Breakthrough


    Morning of the Ninth day, the Grandmasters are still stuck in their bitter battle, riddled with injuries, while the demons are being healed by Alvarach.


    Talia had fallen to abined attack, leaving her in a state worse than that of Rita, her presence on the battlefield decreased by ny percent as a result.


    As it were, only five Grandmasters were rumbling with action, but against four inexhaustible opponents, they wouldn''tst much longer.


    Meanwhile, Zydrax gives Ezra good news.


    [The second part isplete]


    ''What exactly did you do?'' Ezra questioned. He felt the changes, but feeling and understanding the process were two different things.


    [I connected tendrils of pure elemental energy and infused them into every mana particle within you]


    ''So now you just have to meld it and I''ll advance to Mythic Rank?''


    For the first time in a long time, Ezra felt excitement.


    [It''s not that simple] Zydrax exined. [Your core essence and your element orbbined together into your heart, giving you better control of your elements. I have my spections but it''s not a phenomenon I''m familiar with so I''m not certain.]


    [The one thing I''m certain about though, is that it''s going to increasingly affect your cultivation going forward. Whether that''s a good or bad thing, I can''t say at the moment]


    ''Doesn''t matter as long as I can as long as I can advance to Mythic rank''


    [Normally, it takes years to achieve this rank as you would have to do it by your lonesome, taking steps in bits, else you could easily meet a tragedy]


    [I''ve bypassed all of that. Moreover, the threshold of reaching Mythic is to have at least thirty to thirty five percent of your total mana reserves melded into liquid form]


    ''But you''re going a hundred percent at once?''


    [No, sixty seven percent. Anymore, and you''ll be incapacitated for at least three days as your body adapts to such a drastic change, but with Alvarach on your neck, we can''t afford such a thing]


    ''Why did you infuse elemental energy into all of my mana particles then?''


    [I don''t like doing things twice] Zydrax replied. [With tendrils through all your mana particle, once you meld the sixty seven percent, the already infused energy will ensure that reaching hundred percent afterwards will be far easier]


    ''Ok'' Ezra mentally nodded in understanding.


    [Sixty seven percent shouldnd you right at the start of Peak Mythic rank, and by my estimations, stronger than Alvarach, though only by a small margin]


    Ezra clenched his fists, imagining his victory.


    A blinding ray of light hade through in such a dark situation.


    ''With this, I will win''


    Ezra was in no doubt of it.


    [I forgot to mention, the melding process will take six hours at the very least. You will feel pain all through and lose consciousness else the process fails]


    Ezra wasn''t worried, from his time as Kevin till now, the most present factor in his life was pain.


    Toiling away for years to eventually breakthrough to be an Expert rank knight, betrayed afterwards and then reincarnated.


    Dodging poisoned food and evil gazes from a young age, recruiting Cabrera and Frederick into his fold, setting up an information agency, obsessively training in a chamber for seven years, only to reach Grandmaster rank and have his core destroyed.


    He''d trulye a long way.


    At this point, rather than apprehension towards theing wave of pain, his mind was upied with the increase of strength that would apany it, excited at the possibilities.


    Pain was his friend, every time it visited, Ezra was either taught a valuable lesson or left with greater strength.


    No pain no gain.


    This was the quote that suited life the most, and by now, he''d epted it, weed it and embraced it.


    For pain was temporary, but its benefits were not.


    With a small smile, he replies Zydrax.


    ''Pain has never been a problem, begin''


    [As you wish]


    Like the turning of a switch, Ezra rebounded as his body lit up. Glowing with a light blue hue.


    ''Ack!''


    Ezra bit his tongue so hard, it bled. The pain was so sudden, staring right at the highest level right away.


    The mana particles within him seemed to have entered a frenzy as they shook crazily, causing his internal to go haywire.


    The pain was no joke, but Ezra was held on.


    He grit his teeth, muffling any sound time and time again,pletely focused on staying conscious.


    An hour in, the pain suddenly decreased by half, allowing Ezra to catch his breath.


    Soon after, the blue glow was tinted with red hues at multiple ces.


    Even after removing arge amount of demonic blood, some parts of demonic essence inevitably remained.


    The remains were reacting to the mana frenzy.


    Going further, Ezra''s senses were soon isted.


    It was unknown how much time had passed.


    Apart from the sight of the ceiling, he couldn''t hear and forget moving, his body waspletely numb.


    The pain had faded.


    Not exactly, Ezra had just adjusted to it.


    His brain also heated up.


    ce.


    17:51


    Through most of this ordeal, Ezra was lost in his imagination, simting how the battle would take ce.


    After one point, the elemental energies in his heart began fluctuating, prompting faster blood cirction.


    This sensation forced Ezra back to reality.


    His nk gaze gained liveliness as he inhaled heavily, the energies in his heart were brighter than all others.


    From his pores, mana particles gushed out, filling the room.


    The glow extended outward and Ezra started floating.


    The energies in his heart went into a frenzy, spinning faster than a spindle as it constantly refined the rest of Ezra''s mana to maintain a white colour.


    His skin began smoothing.


    But Ezra discovered a problem.


    The runes carved into skin were being erased!


    ''Zydrax, don''t erase the runes''


    Right after, he felt a massive itching from the carved runes as they heated up, carving themselves into his bones.


    It was painful, but in this process of healing, Ezra barely felt anything.


    Without warning¡­


    *OOM!*


    The sound of a well made gong resounded, apanied by a circr wave of mana that Ezra expunged.


    *Bam*


    Still disoriented, Ezra fell onto the bed, and his weight crushed it.


    "Ugh!"


    As if waking from a rxing night, Ezra stretched, each snap of his bones caused wind outburst.


    Rubbing his eyes, affected from ring at the ceiling for so long, Ezra got to his feet.


    After another long yawn, thest of his sleepiness was wiped away.


    The brightness of day told Ezra it was afternoon.


    Clenching his fists, Zydrax popped in.


    [How do you feel]


    "The feeling''s the same after a breakthrough. I feel energized and rejuvenated" he replied. "I''d have to do tests to give urate measurements"


    [The breakthrough took twelve hours, also, instead of sixty seven percent I was going for, approximately seventy five percent of all your mana has melded to liquid form]


    A cold smile came upon Ezra. "I can say one thing though, I''m as least thrice at strong as before"


    [That''s good enough]


    Ezra nodded, inhaling before coughing.


    Laying on a bed for nine days straight, his body held a foul smell.


    "How long do I have?"


    [Two hours, give or take]


    "Good" Ezra answered, walking out of his room.


    The wave of mana would spread to every edge of the, informing them of a Mythic rank breakthrough.


    Upon reaching Alvarach, the demon would definitelye here.


    The momentum from expunging that wave of mana had wrecked the room.


    The windows were broken and everything else was smashed against the wall.


    The door had been broken off, and outside, a bunch of paintings and ceramics had broken.


    Ezra walked out to find someone standing.


    A familiar figure.


    "Valentine" he called to her like he was greeting.


    The girl was currently stumped, looking at the destroyed room with shaking eyes.


    As a master, Elisa had naturally splurged in building her home, so it was not so easily damaged.


    But what was this?


    The furniture was embedded into the wall and the door had been blown to pieces.


    Not to mention the wave of mana that passed through her, giving her a dreadful feeling.


    "D-Did you do this?" She asked, pointing at the room.


    "Ah that" Ezra raised his hands and four pouches appeared on the floor, making a ng sound.


    Filled with Gold and tinum coins, Ezra simply said. "I apologize, but I believe this is serve as appropriatepensation"


    Picking the pouches, Valentine regained a semnce ofposure. "Yes. This will be enough"


    "Now, where is your restroom?"


    "Go right¡­


    With a thank you, Ezra went to the restroom.


    He had to take a good bath before fighting Alvarach.


    Done showering, Ezra discovered that he''d grown an inch, now 6''9.


    Putting on casual clothes, Ezra quickly went for his next priority.


    A new weapon.


    Along with ns to attack Alvarach, Ezra had also nned many things to clinch the battle in his favour.


    Flying through the broken windows, he flew towards Kingsmere¡­before halting and facepalming.


    Valentine was a space mage, how could he forget.


    With Valentine''s help, he arrived at Traxford and not Kingsmere through a portal.


    Kingsmere had defences against space mages.


    Traxford did as well, but by connecting to her mother''s set portal, Ezra arrived in Traxford soon after.


    Without fanfare, he took off to Kingsmere.


    At the speed he was going, he''d get there in twenty minutes.


    Meanwhile¡­


    The wave of mana continuously expanded, passing by Quartez in no time.


    "Impossible!" Alvarach shrieked, throwing off all the Grandmasters.


    Everyone had felt the pressure from the wave of mana, but only Alvarach could decipher it further.


    "It cannot be!" He reiterated, as if going through a midlife crisis.


    The Grandmaster demon couldn''t help but be perplexed.


    Without warning, his ws lit up with me.


    shing horizontally, the fire left his ws and became a sh of fire, heading towards unsuspecting Grandmasters.


    Sending ten more shes alongside them, he took off without seeing the result of his action, bursting through his barrier towards where he felt the presence of Mythic rank through the mana wave.


    On his way he takes note of the town in the distance, where multiple peak masters were gathered.


    Using the same skill, he sent ten shes of fire towards the settlement as well, and flew past it before the skills hit.


    He''d previously restricted his sense to the whole of Quartez, so he didn''t notice the arrival of peak masters.


    Moreover, in his rush, he failed to see the three Grandmasters situated among the ranks of the Peak masters.


    How lucky. Had he found them, Alvarach would''ve taken his time to kill them.


    But he didn''t spare much thought on that.


    If his senses were correct, and they usually were, he needed to put such a troublesome element out of the equation as fast as possible.


    He lit up with mes and sped off.


    This time, Alvarach was definitely fazed.


    _________


    On the other hand,


    "WATCHOUT!"


    Thanks to Jerry''s timely warning, the Grandmasters dodged the shes of fire.


    Most of them anyway.


    Thanks to a surprise attack, Hisle''s King, Daniel Sigur was pushed into the trajectory of a fire sh and was cut diagonally.


    Moreover, the shes exploded upon contact, so the others didn''t go unscathed.


    During the terrible situation, Rita was trying to get a healing potion from her space ring.


    That coincided with the moment Alvarach burst through the barrier, providing an opportunity.


    "Huh?" Rita was desperate, but after trying from the past night, she wasn''t expecting it to actually work.


    Regardless, she popped the lid of the two potions in her hand and downed it at once.


    A light shone on her body as her burns healed and skin expunged poison from Alvarach''s ws.


    Now in a better position, Rita attacked the Demon Grandmasters, eager to take revenge.


    With Daniel''s death, the demon Grandmasters more or less matched human Grandmasters.


    Thanks to Rita though, they were able to hold on.


    Nearby


    *Boom*Boom*Boom*


    The town filled with Peak masters was silent.


    After drinking till after midnight, many were still sleeping.


    Furthermore, they had no mission today, so a good rest wasn''t out of ce.


    As such, lest a few, most were asleep.


    Which was why Alvarach''s attack caught them like lightning on a sunny day.

 Chapter 319 Soul Weapon

    ?


    *Boom


    Explosions set the quiet town into motion.


    With most of them sleeping, they were in no position to evade such a fast attack, and since multiple shes hit almost simultaneously, the damage was exponential.


    The first sh caught most unawares, throwing them into disarray as fire engulfed them, or the recurring explosion sted them away while in the middle of a good nap, only for the next sh to finish the job.


    Alvarach was going for total annihtion.


    To stop that from happening, the three Grandmasters burst out of their abode.


    With the first sh havingnded, the town was already in chaos.


    They needed to stop the rest, else nothing would remain by the end of the barrage!


    As a man of action, Frederick was the quickest to respond.


    Motioning his hand as if trying to raise a tsunami, a thick wide wall erupted from the earth and covered the town like a man bending backwards as the third sh hit.


    *Break!


    The wall was almost broken through with chunks of it flying about.


    Quickly, reinforcing it, the fourth sh hit.


    *Break!


    Frederick''s knee bent as the ground beneath his feet cracked like a web.


    The impact was no joke!


    Luckily, he had Jebas and Cabrera to assist him.


    ________


    Reaching the castle, Ezra stopped,nded gently before walking into the castle with fast steps.


    "Halt! Who goes there?"


    The guards were startled, they hadn''t noticed him until hended.


    "I am Ezra, the Fourth Prince" he replies, his steps unceasing.


    The guards were perplexed, looking at each other before getting into battle stance. "Demons are not wee in the castle! Leave now!"


    ''Right'' Ezra raised both palms of which ice shot out and held them against the wall.


    The force of which they hit against the wall knocked them unconscious.


    With all that happened in the past month, he''d forgotten what his reputation was like.


    Not like he cared though, for it only made things easier.


    Freezing every guard in ice, Ezra walked unhindered,ing across a familiar figure.


    "Bolton" he said. Reminiscing on thest time they saw one another.


    Bolton adjusted his monocle. His eye widening "Ezra?"


    "I knew you''d recognize me" Ezra nodded.


    He remembered Bolton''s vanishing from sight from the royal carriage on his way to the academy.


    Ezra chuckled, thinking over how the current situation came about.


    From academy to Beast Outbreak to Arcadia.


    It was too ridiculous.


    Getting a hold of himself, Bolton stepped back in a hurry, "What are you doing here?"


    Before getting a weapon, there was a task far more pressing awaiting him.


    "Where is my Mother?"


    Taken captive by the Emperor, Ezra had been able to get her away for a long time.


    Moreover, when Frederick saw a chance, she had actually rejected him.


    He didn''t know what was going through her mind. He needed to see her.


    Sweating, Bolton begins "The Emperor-


    "-Is dead"


    "....!"


    Bolton shook.


    "W-What did you say?"


    Without mincing words, he repeats. "The Emperor is dead"


    "Lies!" Bolton shouted. "Who could possibly kill the Emperor?!"


    "A Mythic rank demon" Ezra replied casually, as if this wasn''t really heavy news.


    "M-Mythic rank?" Bolton stuttered.


    "Yes, the stage of power after Grandmaster"


    Bolton grit his teeth, "You''re lying!"


    "Suit yourself" Ezra shrugged, his eyes turning cold. "Move aside. I don''t want to hurt you"


    With pressure threatening to suffocate Bolton, he reluctantly moved to the side.


    "Thank you"


    The next moment, Ezra vanished from sight.


    As a Mythical being, his mana sense epassed the castle and more.


    He knew where his mother was the moment he reached the castle.


    Heading along the corridor that held the Emperor''s room, he stopped in front of a room just before it.


    For whatever reason, it was unguarded.


    Moreover, none of the Empresses were at home.


    With arge exhale, Ezra rubbed his hands together, trying to curb the anxiety in his heart.


    Even at his rank, he couldn''t help it.


    With mana sense, he sensed that she was in no trouble, as Frederick had said.


    With one final exhale, he pushed the door open.


    The scene was not quite what he expected.


    His mom was perusing a book ever so slowly, with spectacles on.


    The swerving door grabbed her attention.


    Jerking her head, her eyes widened in shock as she stared at the man at her door.


    A mother would never forget her child.


    With a trembling voice, she spoke. "E-Ezra?"


    Ezra nodded in response, his fears dying out as he approached her.


    "Oh my!" Taking off her spectacles, she sprung onto her feet, and reached for her one and only son.


    Their embrace could only be called a magical scene of filial piety.


    "Oh Ezra. How scared you must''ve been and this silly mother wasn''t there to protect you" Tears began leaking from the edge of his mother''s eyes.


    "Don''t say that Mom" he replied, pulling her harder into his embrace.


    After a whole minute, they loosened their embrace, of which Kiara''s expression turned rmed.


    "No, you can''t be here" she said. "Your father, if he find you here-


    "You don''t worry about him any longer"


    "...?."


    Kiara was puzzled. "What do you mean?"


    "The Emperor is dead"


    She was shocked. "Son, don''t tell me you-


    "No mother, I didn''t kill him. A demon did"


    "A d-demon?!" Now, she was even more scared.


    "A lot of things have happened" said Ezra. "It''s better you sit down"


    Taking seats against her reading table, Ezra exined all that had happened, leaving out many parts so as to scare her too much.


    Thirty minutester, Ezra watched in silence as his momprehended the situation.


    "You mean¡­you have to fight a very powerful demon¡­again?"


    Ezra nodded humbly.


    Staring at her fingernails, her expression betrayed her unwillingness.


    "What if¡­What if I don''t want you to go?" She blurted.


    "Then I won''t go" Ezra replied. "I can find a way to take you and a few others to a new continent"


    "Hmm" she seemed to consider the idea, before her expression changed once again.


    With a tone full of hesitation, she asks. "But if you don''t go¡­many people will die right?"


    "Yes"


    After a long minute, she started speaking.


    "I''ve told you this before, but I knew you were special since you were a little child"


    "Seeing you now¡­you''re more special than I could''ve imagined"


    A bitter smiley on her lips as she said those words.


    "When I heard you became a demon, I wanted to rush to your side, but I couldn''t, and when I heard that you were imprisoned in Arcadia, I-I thought I''d never see you again"


    At thest part, she burst into tears.


    Ezra''s heart sank. ''And I acting so selfishly, as if I was the only one going through something''


    Wiping her tears with a handkerchief, she continues, "I thought I''d never see you again, but I held out hope"


    "My boy was stronger than others, surely he woulde back one day-I told myself"


    She smiled. "And here you are. Grown into fine man"


    "But yet again, the burden of the world rests on your shoulders. You have to go and fight someone again. And this time you could really die"


    She wiped the small tearsing out. "Even after all this, I''m unable to help you"


    "Mom, don''t say that. Without you, I wouldn''t be here"


    She smiled. "I don''t want to you go¡­but I guess this he price I have to pay for having such a special son"


    "Mom¡­"


    "Go" she said. "The people need you"


    Ezra gulped. He couldn''t imagine how hard it must be for her.


    "But promise me you''lle back"


    "I promise" he nodded.


    Taking a very heavy sigh, she smiles at her child, nodding as acknowledgement.


    "You''ve be a man now. But in my eyes, you''ll still be a little child. Remember, you muste back soon"


    "Yes!" With a heavy heart, Ezra stood up, and walked out slowly.


    Closing the door, he spoke to Zydrax.


    ''Let''s make sure we win''


    [That was the n]


    Having used an hour already, he hurried to the secretpartment where the legendary weaponsy.


    After his fight with Ziltris, Ezra realized that while his scythe skills were good, the sword skills he''d been polishing since his time as Kevin were a notch better than the rest.


    The battle with Alvarach confirmed it.


    With Alvarach already on his way, it was imperative that Ezra faced him with the best of his abilities.


    Sadly, Skyfall couldn''t bring out the best of his abilities, so getting a new weapon was paramount.


    No, maybe practising five different movement types had been a bad choice?


    Regardless.


    Frederick had taken the spiked hammer staff, only three weapons were left, chained to the wall.


    What would you know, there were exactly two swords left.


    A blue serrated longsword with various symbols¡­no, Ezra realized, they were runes ced systematically to achieve a special effect and a double edged sword of ck and yellow colour.


    Thest weapon was an emerald bow.


    Now at Mythic rank, he could feel the depths clearly.


    If anything, they were made for Mythic ranked beings.


    Then again, it only made sense.


    In a golden age where Mythic rank was the pinnacle, the pinnacle weapons should be of that rank.


    As in Ezra''s case, lesser rank beings could use it, but they wouldn''t be able to actualize it''s full potential.


    Inhaling, Ezra willed Skyfall out of his ancient space ring.


    In his grip, Skyfall sucked Ezra mana at astonishing speeds.


    It shone and shook, almost like it was groaning while bing more lustrous.


    Being in the space ring for a while, Skyfall was only feeling its master''s advancement.


    Ezra could feel a change taking ce in Skyfall, but he didn''t exactly know what was happening.


    After two minutes of a splendid glow, Skyfall settled down.


    Then¡­ ''Master¡­?''


    It was Ezra''s turn to be amazed.


    He''d concluded that Skyfall had something akin to a consciousness but iplete, allowing it to ry emotional wavelengths to express itself.


    This would be the first time it spoke.


    [That''s odd]


    ''What is?''


    [It shouldn''t be able to do that] Zydrax exined. [The only reason it could ry emotions was because it core materials were harvested from the corpse of a demon, and that alone makes it an extraordinary weapon]


    [For it to ry actual thought like now though¡­it seems you have a soul weapon on your hands]


    ''Soul Weapon?''


    [In short terms, a weapon that grows] Zydrax replied. [Which was what happened just now]


    ''Master¡­is that you?''


    The voice resounded in his mind. The tone was hoarse and heavy, yet clear still.


    Carefully, Ezra replied. ''Yes it is. You can talk now?''


    ''I guess¡­so?'' It said, ''Why¡­are we here?''


    Chained to walls here for years, it only made sense that he would know.


    "I''m here to pick another weapon"


    Skyfall shook madly.


    ''Why¡­? Why do you want¡­another weapon?!''


    It spoke with agitation and anger.


    Ezra replied, ''I am better at using two swords than a scythe'' looking at the two swords.


    ''Grr''


    A beast-like growl came from its depths, startling Ezra.


    ''You don''t need a weapon other than me''


    Skyfall started shaking, vibrating even as it heated up.


    Ezra couldn''t help but wonder, ''Is he throwing a tantrum right now?''


    As a Mythical being, the heat wasn''t enough to make him feel pain.


    But what was this situation?


    He wondered whether to stop it, but Zydrax said not to.


    Skyfall gleamed, growing hotter and hotter, before streaks of red spread, until it waspletely red, exuding thick demonic essence.


    While it didn''t look like one, Skyfall was a demonic weapon through and through.


    Skyfall''s hard steel body softened, as if liquifying.


    On cue, the curved des straightened and the softened steel began hardening.


    The demonic essence receded as Skyfall shed molten pieces, as if molting.


    When its hardening reached its center, Skyfall split in two.


    "....!"


    Ezra was rmed. Had he pushed Skyfall too far?


    ''I am¡­alright¡­Master''


    Split in two, the part where it was split reshaped itself.


    Gleaming dangerously, Skyfall looked like it had always been two long swords.


    Ezra was lost for words.

 Chapter 320 Rematch

    320 Rematch


    Ezra stood speechless for a few seconds.


    "Skyfall?"


    ''Master?''


    "Whew" he takes a breath of relief, afraid something bad happened to Skyfall.


    "What, no. How did you do that?"


    ''I''m¡­not sure''


    "Can you turn back?"


    ''Let me¡­try''


    cing the swords against one another, the hilts conjoined and slowly, Skyfall became a scythe again.


    Zydrax dropped ament.


    [It''ll have to be faster if you want to use that in the middle of a fight]


    "Skyfall, how fast can you change forms?"


    Like before, it turned into twin swords, taking thirteen seconds.


    Without stopping, it turned back into a scythe and then turned into the twin swords again, doing it more than five hundred times, changing faster each time.


    Ezra stood still, watching.


    This exercise took only a bit more than seven minutes and by the five hundredth time, it took only two seconds.


    Skyfall would have continued if Ezra hadn''t told it to stop, staying in its twin swords form.


    It fit his grip like a glove, well, since he''d been Skyfall for so long, it was to be expected that the weapon had also grown ustomed to him.


    Moreover, with this, he certainly didn''t need any other weapon.


    Swinging the sword, Ezra tested it with multiple shes, and ended it by having itbine to form a scythe and then separate into twin swords.


    "Huu.." taking a breath, he channelled elemental energy onto Skyfall, and activated his ice element.


    Skyfall started glowing blue.


    shing downwards, it let off a wave of ice that shed against the wall and spread over it.


    While not covering itpletely, it was the same size as that which he used to hold the guards down.


    Moreover, this was a casual strike. In battle, he would not fight Alvarach with such a light attack.


    [Try changing the element] said Zydrax.


    Ezra willed it to fire.


    ''Oh!''


    Unlike before, there was no dy, the ice element turned into fire without any hups.


    Quickly, he tests the other two, like the first time, fire changed to darkness which changed to lightning instantly.


    He realized this was the effect of his element orbs coalescing along with his mana turned into elemental mana.


    Also, all his elements were strengthened through his advancement.


    Unfortunately, he had to cut himself or have blood in his surroundings to use his blood element like before.


    Unlike the previous three, Blood was not created with just mana, it could only be controlled.


    Nevertheless, his control over it was far better than before.


    With little effort, the blood would shape itself into different weapons.


    Though, controlling the blood weapons was a whole different aspect entirely.


    But if he could create multitudes of a single weapon¡­


    ''That would be awesome'' Ezra thought, before shaking out the thought.


    With all that done, Ezra willed his aura to erupt.


    Bad idea.


    With the eruption of his silver Aura, the charred entrance-thanks to his lightning attack-to the chamber was broken off and blown away, causing a loudmotion.


    "Oops¡­"


    With the pce bear empty, the sound echoed.


    Ezra was certain that Bolton heard and suddenly realized it was time for him to leave.


    He steeled his resolve.


    ''With this, I''m ready''


    This was as much power as he could muster in the little time permitted.


    While he couldn''t certainly say he would win-so as not to jinx out-there chances had increased dramatically.


    He was about to step out when Zydrax''s voice resounded.


    [Those weapons, who are you leaving them for]


    Ezra blinked and blinked.


    ''I hadn''t thought about that''


    Less than a minuteter, the three Legendary weapons had vanished.


    Steal? No, no, no such thing. He simply put it in his space ring for safekeeping¡­if you know what I mean.


    Looking around once more, how fast everything had been was astounding, he had jumped from one situation to another without pause.


    He promised to treat himself to a well deserved break after this battle.


    He was also disappointed that Bard wasn''t at the castle, but he could do greetingster.


    At Mythic rank, there weren''t many armours that could contend against Mythic rank attacks, they would just be shredded like paper against Alvarach.


    As such, except for armour covering his legs because normal shoes would get burnt off when running, it was better for him to simply use his body.


    In no time he was fully garbed in his favourite colour, ck.


    18:04


    In no time he was fully garbed in his favourite colour, ck.


    With that, he sped out of the castle and took to the skies with a st.


    It was time for him to face his demons¡­literally.


    _________


    Even with the efforts of three Grandmasters, less than half the town was able to survive Alvarach''s attack.


    The town that had been joyful the night before was now in such desecration that the original residents didn''t know what to say.


    Drinking potions, Frederick was thinking of his next move.


    Jebas and Cabrera though, were still reeling in their feelings having faced Alvarach''s attack.


    From Frederick''s words, that attack had been slightly above causal.


    The difference between seeing and hearing was stark.


    "Let''s go" said Frederick, before taking off towards the red dome.


    "Hey, hey, didn''t you see the attack just now, why are you-


    He had to shut his mouth when he saw Cabrera follow along.


    "Damn it" he cursed, before running along.


    Frederick''s thoughts were simple.


    While he didn''t know what made Alvarach so urgent-though he had a guess-with him gone, they could do serious damage to his ns and kill his subordinates.


    As for why he believed they were inside? The barrier wouldn''t be left maintained for no reason.


    So even without subordinates, just destroying the barrier would a win for Frederick.


    Having fought Alvarach, he knew the demon didn''t do anything thoughtlessly.


    Frederick crossed into the barrier.


    Like the Grandmasters before him, he immediately felt their Aura''s.


    Of course, they felt his presence too.


    Without dy, he shot towards them, with Cabrera and Jebas behind him.


    Jebas yelled from below. "The barrier blocks us from leaving"


    Frederick simply nodded. Not surprised, and flew even faster.


    ________


    On the side of the thirteen Grandmasters or was it five Grandmasters now, because after a fierce resistance, the third Vonnamorian Grandmaster had been killed through focused fire.


    With Talia gravely injured, it was back to a four on four.


    But with the demons seemingly inexhaustible, their loss was but a matter of time.


    The presence of three Grandmasters was a ray of light in such a situation, and since the demons understood that as well, the battle was instantly kicked up a notch.


    Talia who had been left alone forter had to start dodging multiple attacks aimed at her.


    For the next few minutes, the Grandmasters struggled fiercely, stepping right on the line of death before stepping back.


    Their struggle proved fruitful when the demon shing against Rita had a hammer st it afar, denting its head while the spikes left holes.


    With a grunt, the demon got back on its feet, its skull fixing itself.


    This was what the Grandmasters had been dealing with.


    Frederick and the gang had reached the scene.


    With Cabrera striking them with wind strikes and Jebas throwing lightning streaks, the situation changed immediately.


    The other Grandmasters were allowed breathing space and brought the neers up to speed on the current situation.


    Jebas and Cabrera felt their bloods chill hearing how Grandmasters had been wantonly ughtered.


    Frederick simply clicked his tongue and got to work.


    The other Grandmasters had theorised that the barrier was the cause behind the inexhaustibility the demons disyed.


    Seeing the circle of descent carved into the ground, he had no doubt that it was connected to the barrier, most likely the formation''s core.


    They needed to destroy it to push the battle in their favour.


    ________


    Meanwhile, Ezra was headed towards Guavedra.


    Thinking it through, Ezra realized there was no reason for him to fly all the way to Quartez.


    With Valentine''s help, he would be able to shorten the distance considerably.


    With two hours having already passed, either Alvarach had chosen to stay in Quartez, or he was already approaching and they would soon meet.


    Either way, Ezra was ready for battle.


    While getting there, Ezra busied himself talking to Zydrax.


    "Zydrax, with the rity rune, shouldn''t my senses extend farther than this? Is it not effective anymore?"


    [You''re only using it passively]


    "What do you mean?"


    [Just having mana flow through a rune and actively using it producepletely different results]


    Without a word, Ezra concentrated mana into the rity rune.


    The change was so jarring that Ezra almost fell out of the sky, it felt like the world suddenly expanded.


    Ezra shook his head, that was a wrong deduction.


    ''It''s the range of things I can ''see'' that increased''


    The amount of information he brain collected at once increased so suddenly it had almost overwhelmed him.


    He felt the muscles in his body better than before, allowing better bnce and body coordination.


    His perception was greatly boosted.


    The difference between using it passively and actively was really wide.


    ''If this is like this¡­


    Ezra activated his haste rune, and his speed increased by almost twenty percent!


    With theck of a target, he couldn''t use the impact rune to augment his attacks.


    The concealment rune had lost most of its appeal, because it wasn''t more effective than what he could already do.


    Then, he used the condense rune.


    ''Hmm?!''


    This was even more shocking than all the others.


    The remainder of his mana still in gaseous state began to fuse into liquid state, albeit slowly.


    Regardless, this was astounding.


    Right now though, his priority was to reach Guavedra as fast as possible, so activated the haste rune.


    Already close, the haste rune shortened the flight time considerably.


    ________


    Alvarach on his own part was rushing towards the region he marked out.


    Using only mes, he was considerably slower than Ezra.


    But after two hours, he was almost there.


    With his patience thinning out, a red magic circle formed behind him boosting his speed.


    _________


    Both moving at great speeds, their senses tingled the moment they got within two hundred miles of one another, because they were heading in the same direction!


    Ezra''s killing intent began leaking out unintentionally.


    [Seems like you won''t be needing that portal anymore]


    On the other hand, Alvarach felt like he could go crazy.


    After so many years of watching and nning, a Mythic rank entity popped up right at the crucial moments of his n.


    Was the universe trying to joke with him?! Because this wasn''t funny!


    Ezra was at Elisa''s home when he advanced to Mythic Rank, and that was the region Alvarach perceived and marked.


    With more than an hour''s head start, Alvarach arrived in Guavedra.


    But, contrary to his original intentions, he simply flew by, forgoing the city and heading straight towards the source.


    With a magic circle boosting his speed, it didn''t take long for the two to meet.


    The moment they got in each other''s sight¡­


    "YOU!" Alvarach was pissed.


    This was the boy prophesied to destroy the demonic cult and put all his efforts to waste.


    He managed to avert the prophecy from fruition, but despite his efforts, he hadn''t been able to kill Ezra back at their first meeting.


    He hadn''t pushed himself because he decided they weren''t worth the energy expenditure.


    There was no reason to fuss so much over a bunch of Grandmasters.


    In the end, they would all either submit or die to him.


    in and simple.


    As such, while it was regrettable he couldn''t kill Ezra, the boy couldn''t threaten him any time soon, he just felt it would''ve been nice to take the demonic scythe for himself.


    But what was this???!


    Ascending from Grandmaster to be a Mythical being IN TEN DAYS???


    "YES. ME!" Ezra bellowed back.


    With the enemy in front of him, there was no reason to hesitate.


    Bathing in killing intent and with Skyfall in hand, Ezra attacked.


    "Let''s begin our rematch, shall we?"


    Reaching Alvarach almost instantly-


    Sha!


    -he drew first blood.


    Let''s Fuckiiiing GO!!!

 Chapter 321 Terrified, Mystified

    321 Terrified, Mystified Ezra attacked, aiming to behead him in one strike.


    On instinct, Alvarach parried with his nails.


    As a cause of his initial surprise, Alvarach was caughtcking.


    Ezra shed at his shoulder, cutting off his left arm and drawing first blood.


    "You!" The pain jolted him back into the present.


    "YOU. DARE?!"


    "Shut up" Ezra wasn''t having it.


    Gritting his teeth, he set himself aze, creating distance as Ezra retreated due to the sudden heat.


    But then¡­


    "Hmm?!"


    What was going on? His arm should''ve instantly regenerated.


    Confusion set in, before it clicked when he took a closer look at Ezra''s weapon.


    He wasn''t sure of specifics, but the sword was closely rted with the demonic scythe from before.


    With its base items containing demon scales, Alvarach found its attacks were harder to heal from.


    Had Skyfall been in its scythe form, he would''ve been more cautious from the start.


    Right now, he couldn''t be more pissed.


    Not that Ezra cared¡­


    Sha!


    In the seconds of deliberation and anger, Ezra struck again, with the swords glowing blue.


    Fighting with anger was routine for demons, Alvarach was no exception.


    At a disadvantage, he was quick to back away, Skyfall sliced through his mes at the same time and it turned to ice.


    Alvarach raised his awareness by multiple levels, unlike before, he was starting to understand that he couldn''t afford to joke around anymore.


    Retreating to create distance, Ezra tailed him, hacking away like a crazy hound.


    Using his left arm to parry strike after strike, Ezra still gave him a few injuries.


    With the situation going into a stalemate, Ezra''s body burst with white lightning, and he stopped actively using other runes, leaving only the haste rune.


    On cue, Alvarach''s arm regenerated like a caterpir breaking out of its cocoon.


    The second hand provided Alvarach with much needed defence.


    Unfortunately for Alvarach, Ezra''s haste rune provided him with a sudden increase in speed.


    Sha!


    Again, he was caughtcking.


    ''He got even faster!''


    Only this time, he lost half his arm.


    ''Ack!''


    With Skyfall infused with ice energy, Alvarach''s blood was frozen, the ipatibility between his fire affiliated genes and the Ezra''s strengthened ice heavily affected his nerves, making the pain worse than the first time.


    The sudden pain affected his body coordination, giving Ezra a rare opening.


    One he would not miss.


    Parrying a first sword, Ezra plunged the second into Alvarach''s chest.


    Well¡­almost.


    On instinct, Alvarach swung his half arm horizontally, spraying blood in a straight line towards Ezra.


    ''Huh?''


    Lighting up, the blood burst into mes.


    shing it, the line of fire iced up, but Alvarach achieved his aim, he was able to create distance within that short time.


    Far from the initial bravado, Alvarach''s face was grim as he tore off the piece of ice out of his chest.


    Almost defeated, his heart was in tremendous turmoil.


    "What is this?"


    From the bottom of his heart, an emotion too familiar awoke.


    Fear!


    Him?! The Demon Lord of Pride! Afraid?!


    ''I reject it!''


    He forcibly suppressed the unpleasant emotion.


    He had flown here unbridled.


    In his mind, the situation was easily solved.


    The new Mythic rank would have to either bow to him or die.


    While weakened, he was more than strong enough to defeat a Mythic rank newbie.


    So what was this?!


    How was he losing to someone who just stepped into Mythic rank mere hours ago? It didn''t make any sense.


    Moreover¡­


    *Crunch!*


    Alvarach clenched his fists, boiling with regret.


    ''I should''ve made sure to kill him at that time!''


    His pride held him back from going all out against mere Grandmasters.


    But now, it had bitten him in the back.


    ''Either way-


    His arm regenerated.


    -I just have to kill him''


    With a burst of speed, Ezra reached Alvarach, adorned in white lightning.


    09:43


    cing the two swords together, it turned into the scythe.


    Ezra was faster on the uptake.


    With a burst of speed, Ezra reached Alvarach, adorned in white lightning.


    cing the two swords together, it turned into the scythe.


    "This is me cutting your head off"


    ''SHIT!''


    Alvarach immediately leaned back.


    But the scythe wasn''t so easily dodged.


    *Sha!


    It cut right through his windpipe, severing his vocal cords.


    s, it failed topletely serve it.


    Holding his head, a magic circle formed in front of Alvarach, pushing him away from Ezra.


    "Tsk" Ezra clicked his tongue.


    With Lightning having a burn effect, Alvarach was able to heal from it faster than he would''ve if it had been ice.


    No, if it had been¡­


    ''I might''ve just been able to end the fight just now''


    Annoyed that he botched his chance to end the battle, Ezra chased after Alvarach like a fugitive.


    At the same time, he realized that he might''ve overestimated Alvarach more than a little.


    With the rank suppression gone, the demon didn''t seem even half as threatening as he did before.


    As he pursued that train of thought¡­


    [Get over yourself and concentrate]


    The train of thought came to a halt.


    Alvarach was disadvantaged because he underestimated Ezra.


    For Ezra to do the same thing¡­


    ''Right right, I must not be arrogant''


    Steadfast, Ezra picked up the pace.


    Alvarach was frightened out of its wits after almost being beheaded, hurling a multitude of fire shes at Ezra while amplifying the magic circle to increase the distance.


    ''This situation is too disadvantageous for me''


    He grit his teeth.


    He couldn''t handle Ezra''s onught in this weakened state.


    To alleviate this weakness, he had to head back to his home turf, and that''s exactly what he was going to do.


    Ezra didn''t know what Alvarach was up to, but he''d have to be brain dead to simply watch him seed.


    With due haste, Ezra sent out a barrage of ice shes towards Alvarach and focused fire at his sole, explosively boosting his speed.


    ''Ack!''


    Maneuvering in the air, Alvarach found it difficult to dodge the barrage of ice shes set upon him.


    With some asionallynding on the magic circle and disrupting it, the chances of him reaching Quartez under such intense assault was extraordinarily slim.


    He had to think of something¡­and it didn''t take him long toe up with an answer.


    He''d been saving his energy reserves because of the abysmal recovery rate to use in emergencies.


    But if this wasn''t an emergency, what was?!


    Reducing his speed, he turned and returned barrages of fire shes towards Ezra.


    With the shes being of extreme heat, cutting through them with an ice infused Skyfall caused an explosion of vapour through evaporation.


    As such Ezra deigned to dodge instead, closing in on Alvarach.


    Now close, Alvarach suddenly proimed "It''s done"


    Without further ado, five magic circles formed consecutively beneath one another, each one bigger than thest.


    Eyes widening, Ezra realized what Alvarach was up to and promptly sent him arge ice sh.


    While ice sh was able to lodge itself into the magic circles and damage it, it was unable to disrupt it.


    With a boom that shook the earth, Alvarach took off like an arrow released at full strength, leaving Ezra to bite the dust.


    "Damn it!"


    Watching Alvarach streak across the sky, Ezra was pissed.


    He let the perfect opportunity slip through his fingers and the enemy got away.


    While he had studied magic circles a while back at the academy, it was lost to him with all the things that had happened afterwards.


    Even if it wasn''t, chances of stooping Alvarach-a demon that had meticulously studied magic circles for decades-was slim.


    The moment Alvarach manifested the magic circles, his departure was already set in stone.


    Calming himself, Ezra picked up his pace as well, concentrating all his efforts on speed.


    With only fire and lightning to help, Ezra decided on fire, since lightning with reflexes and agility, it would be the better choice if he decided to run instead, but he wasn''t running.


    For Flying, Ezra took inspiration from Alvarach and used mes from his hand and legs to propel himself.


    His flying pose resembled a certain someone whose heart had been exchanged with metal.


    Out of the danger zone by arge margin, Alvarach didn''t use the move a second time-it would be detrimental in preparing for his inevitable battle against Ezra.


    At the same time, he dared not travel casually and quickly sped off once more.


    Natives saw two streaks of red following one another, racing towards Quartez.


    _________


    Two hours since Frederick entered the barrier, the surviving Peak master had cleared out the rubble, rescuing others and fed them healing potions to have them recover.


    Only now were they back in shape.


    With Frederick inside the barrier, the remaining ck Jaws members decided that it was only right for them to follow.


    The siblings were all unharmed, they watched quietly and let others decide.


    Most of the royal armybatants died from the surprise attack, as they were the ones particrly drunk from the night before.


    Thanks to themander''s efforts, Triton survived, but with most of the hired help dead alongside more than half of the army members, he wasn''t really feeling optimistic anymore.


    He had the remnant forces gather around him as a form of protection, but contrary to expectations, Triton proposed that they advance into Quartez.


    He looked up to his father as a role model, and at such a crossroad, he simply wondered what his father would do.


    To him, the death of the Emperor was an impossibility-he''d never even considered it.


    Such a courageous act appealed to the others, because they were also warriors.


    Moreover, the ck Jaws guild members were thinking the same thing.


    After quelling their fears, they gathered together and marched into Quartez as one.


    Once inside, like past visitors, they found themselves unable to leave.


    A smallmotion burst out, but as Peak masters, they quicklyposed themselves.


    What hit them next was the heavy stench of death permeating the atmosphere.


    Seeing the corpses strewn all around, charred and lifeless, some couldn''t help but gulp.


    Some couldn''t help but wonder¡­was this the Emperor''s doing?


    Other than the Frederick, Cabrera and Jebas, none of the others had seen the attacker, so they simply thought it was a Grandmaster.


    Going further, they realize they can''t extend their senses beyond the barrier.


    With their backs against the wall, they could only march forward.


    Getting closer, a huge pressure descended on them, and the cause was soon revealed.


    Attacks poured all over the ce as Grandmasters battled, lighting up the continent like a fireworks show.


    The earth bent and cracked as they shed with weapons in hand.


    One group to destroy the barrier and one group to protect it, the continent almost crying as they showcased their might!


    Themotion had corpses strewn about, damaged buildings copsed, while copsed buildings were blown afar.


    The congregation of Peak masters became solemn seeing Grandmaster attacks thrown about.


    Moreover¡­


    "Aren''t those demons?!"


    "Where''s the Emperor?"


    "What''s going on?!"


    The appearance of demon shook them like no other.


    The situation was far too different from they envisioned.


    Even in the bustle of the battle, the congregation did not go unnoticed, but the demon Grandmasters were too busy defending themselves to attack.


    In thest hour of fighting, a few attacks sessfully reached the portal, but they sizzled out, unable to do much damage.


    The attacks that did damage, didn''t do enough.


    Frederick stepped back from his opponent, leaving him for the other Grandmaster to give a message to the Peak masters.


    "All of you, focus your attacks on the barrier!"


    He resumed his fight right after.


    With a given directive, the Peak masters did not waste time, rushing towards the barrier, they began bombarding it.


    Triton was in turmoil as he couldn''t point out the Emperor''s figure, but he suppressed those feelings and joined the others in their bombardment.


    As a product of a Mythical being, the situation was akin to trying to crack a dragon egg with a chicken''s.


    Nevertheless, when more than five of three attacks concentrated on a single area, they were bound to be results.


    The barrier began fluctuating from their attacks, giving them a confidence boost tounch better attacks, and then, an entity burst into the barrier faster than they could process.


    His aura called all attention.


    Bathing in crimson light, Alvarach struck fear and awe in the hearts of those masters at the same time.


    They were terrified.


    Yet at the same time, they were Mystified.


    Another day, another chapter


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!