Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Sylvan was sitting on a chair as he turned his body around slowly. His amethyst-like pupils observed Nightingale.
Before Nightingale returned, a spy had informed him of the battle between Blackmoon Castle and the manor owners. He also knew that an elder from the Mage Guild had been killed in the fight, and Watson had seized all of the manors.
Blackmoon Castle became a behemoth that occupied manors from their surrounding area as a result of that battle. He had also heard about what Nightingale had done in Blackmoon Castle.
“Nightingale, you’ve been living very comfortably these days. A hundred Rainbow Phoenix Chicken eggs each day to train the Blackmoon Castle guards.” Sylvan smiled.
Nightingale, who was kneeling on the ground, trembled.
The Fairy Castle had a comprehensive intelligence network that spanned all over the border. Sylvan had sent Nightingale to Blackmoon Castle to gather information, but that barely scratched the surface. He had also arranged for his network to focus on details around the castle.
A qualified superior would investigate everything at the border, including his subordinates’ actions. Sylvan was a cautious person, so he had to ensure that everything was under his control.
With a dignified expression, he said, “Nightingale, don’t forget you are.”
“Count Sylvan, I will never forget that. You were the one who saved me from the small village ten years ago. My life belongs to you, and I will never think otherwise.”
Nightingale answered respectfully as a flash of fire flashed across her eyes.
She recalled her first meeting with Lord Sylvan.
It was during a winter ten years ago. Several magical beasts had escaped the Misty Forest, and one of them, a powerful silver-tier beast, had run into her village and damaged the village. After that, a group of raiders had robbed them.
It was winter, and those magical beasts had attacked several villages nearby. If they wanted to survive the harsh weather, those villagers could only choose to invade other villages nearby.
She would never forget that day. She had seen how the bad men had killed her parents while she hid in the water tank. She saw how the strong men in the village fell one by one, and the women and children were abused cruelly until Sylvan descended and rescued her from that nightmare.
She had worked hard on her cultivation for so many years to become a Shadow Guard. When she was the commander, the first thing she did was kill more than half of the evil men who ransacked her village, and she had been hunting the remaining ones since then. She also hated the silver-tier magical beast that had caused so much trouble to her town. The beast was called Silvermoon Wolf, and she had wanted to get rid of it. However, she had not seen the magical beast again for ten years.
Hatred was the source of her strength, and Sylvan was the person who had given her that weapon.
“Count Sylvan, I recommend that you show some goodwill to Blackmoon Castle for the sake of Fairy Castle. Watson is only ten years old, but he is already a gold-tier warrior. Furthermore, he had mastered some kind of magical power called fusion magic. Therefore, I believe that he will be a platinum-tier elite or even a diamond-tier elite when he is 20 or 30 years old. He will be of great help to you then,” Nightingale said firmly as she pushed her confusion aside.
“Diamond-tier? Nightingale, do you think that highly of Watson?”
“I’m only telling the truth.”
She might have been telling the truth, but only parts of it. When Watson advanced to the gold tier, a light pillar had appeared on his body; it had connected heaven and earth to form a magical symbol. She had not wanted to hide it, but she was not sure what had happened to Watson. She was afraid that it would cloud Sylvan’s judgment had she said too much.
Perhaps it was a mutation caused by the fusion magic, but she would not know until she investigated it.
“I will take that into consideration. You may leave, for now, Nightingale. Winter is approaching, and many magical beasts have escaped from the Misty Forest. As the commander of the Shadow Guards, you must take precautions.”
Sylvan waved his hand. Nightingale looked as if she wanted to say something else, but she decided not to say anything after a moment of hesitation. Instead, she stood up respectfully and took her leave. “Yes, Count Sylvan. I shall take my leave now.”
After Nightingale left the office, Sylvan turned his chair and looked at the gloomy sky outside the window quietly.
“It will snow soon. If this had happened a few years before this, I would be interested in taking Blackmoon Castle to strengthen my place at the border. However, someone has repaired the source of the chaotic-elemental magic, and I’ll need to find them urgently. I’ll need them to improve my strength. Blackmoon Castle’s young master will only reach diamond-tier in ten or twenty years. Well, I can’t wait that long.”
Sylvan closed his eyes as he whispered softly, “I only have one goal in mind, and that is to overthrow the person sitting on the throne.”
..
Time flew by, and two months passed in the blink of an eye.
It was nearly the end of the eleventh month, almost to the twelfth month.
A caravan had set out from Monte Town toward the border. The caravan had more than 20 carriages filled with medicinal herbs, ores, armor, weapons, and essential daily necessities such as salt and condiments.
Two young merchants sat at the front of the caravan, and they looked similar because they were twins.
“Lord Zeke, Lord Zenoah, we have arrived at the border.”
At that moment, a strong man with a full mane walked up to the twins and bowed his head respectfully.
The man had a different appearance than ordinary people. The man was a demihuman, a hyena ma who was famous for his fighting strength.
The demihumans were a significant race in the world, and they included orcs, half-bug hybrids, vampires, elves, and many others. All creatures with a human body and had extraordinary intelligence were classified as demihumans.
Even though Holy Dragon Kingdom’s main population was humans, they still had many demihumans who lived amongst them. The demihumans had been powerful more than 40 years ago, and they had instigated the Demihuman War in the kingdom. However, they were annihilated by the army of the kingdom. Some of the remaining demihumans became slaves, while others were demoted to commoners. They would never be noblemen again for the rest of their lives.
The demihumans in the Holy Dragon Kingdom eventually worked as coolies or mercenaries. Since they were born with a stronger physique than humans, they would become iron-tier warriors when they reached adulthood. Talented demihumans would even get a chance to become bronze-tier warriors. Their fees were also cheap, so merchants liked to hire them.
The hyena man, who had spoken to the twins, was such demihuman. He was only 30 years old, but he was already a peak bronze-tier warrior. He was only one step away from the silver tier. He had an assortment of weapons on his body, which included a long saber and a short sword. One’s heart would turn cold when one looked at him.
“Lucas, tell everyone to rest for a while. Let’s try to arrive at Mist Forest today,” the older twin, Zeke, said.
“Yes, Lord Zeke.”
Lucas nodded respectfully. He turned his head and licked his furry lips. Then, he shouted, “Everyone, listen up. We’ll take a rest here.”
There were more than 20 guards in the caravan. The weakest among them was an iron-tier warrior, and more than half of them were demihumans. After they heard Lucas’ order, everyone took their weapons, sat down, or leaned against the carriage. They drank water and ate the bread they carried with them. They also scanned their surroundings vigilantly, which showed admirable professionalism.
“We’ve finally returned to the border. I wonder if Watson has missed us after so long,” Zeke said; he was a little emotional.
Zenoah, who sat beside him, smiled. “I don’t know what’s in his mind, but I am astonished. I heard that he defeated the manor owners’ allied troops two months ago, and he even killed an elder from the Mage Guild. This matter has spread throughout Monte Town. And thanks to him, we can no longer stay there.”
