Translator: Wuxia Dog Editor: Wuxia Dog
They marched at a slow speed to save their physical strength and maintained a sharp vigilance. No one dared let their guard down as they had realized the fact that they had become the targets of a black task. It was different from before, as the atmosphere around them was now very depressing. There was no chatting or laughing amongst them.
It was quiet in the forest the entire morning, and even holy animals were rarely seen. Han Jin ordered them to rest when he noticed the fatigue on the young magicians’ faces. Just then, a faint sound of flowing water came from a distance.
The Tarasha Mountains was rich with water, so springs or riversides were always good places to rest. Clean water could wash away the fatigue, and the fish in the rivers could be cooked into delicious food. Plus, every time a storm came, the width of the river would be widened. Day after day, year after year, both sides of rivers had become flat and clean. Therefore, mercenaries liked to camp beside rivers.
“Wait a minute!” Reg appeared out of nowhere in front of them. “There are some mercenaries. We’d better change our direction.”
“How many mercenaries?” Han Jin frowned.
“Two. Both are soldiers.”
“Let’s go upstream,” Cessacioun said.
“Are we unpresentable?” Han Jin sneered. “Just move on!”
He said this resolutely. His self-confidence had escalated unprecedentedly due to the dragon blood that he had drunk, combined with his accomplishment of Method of Dan. Let alone some mercenaries, even Scott, the headmaster from God’s Language Magic Academy, could not scare him. On the contrary, Han Jin had forestalled him and hurt a ninth-grade swordmaster. No one could have predicted that Han Jin would become so hard-edged!
Reg was shocked but then shrugged and continued directly walking forward. The others all followed him.
After passing a huge ancient tree, the area before them turned broad and flat. On the riverside sat two soldiers who were talking and laughing. Upon seeing them, one of them stood up, jumping over toward his companion to make room on the right side of the river.
The two soldiers were both similar in shapes and both shorter than Moxinke. Though different in appearance, they looked pretty much the same in temperament. When talking, they would grin, and their cheeks would shake. Though their laughter was loud and clear, their eyes were kept sharp and cold. Those who didn’t know them would easily mistake them as twins.
Chipango’s face turned pale all of a sudden upon seeing the two soldiers. He subconsciously looked around to look for someone else. Fortunately, he hid his reactions well enough that no one noticed it.
Neither party greeted. Both were busy with their own business. The young magicians were nervous at first, but all felt relieved when Han Jin sat down on a rock near the riverside. Though he seemed to be at leisure, with one of his hands supporting his cheek and his eyes erratic, from time to time he would tiptoe into the water. The young magicians knew that he was deliberately doing these to protect them. Han Jin sat there to directly block the soldiers’ attacks. In case they really started a fight, they had to first pass by Han Jin.
Cessacioun frowned. He felt that the two soldiers were quite familiar but could not remember them however hard he tried. Han Jin also showed a look of pondering. Obviously, he had the same feeling as Cessacioun.
After hassling with the errands, the young magicians sat in a circle and started to enjoy their food. Meanwhile, the two soldiers opposite them roasted something, and a delicious and alluring smell wafted out.
“Wanna have some?” One of the soldiers stood up with a blackened grilled fish. “This is Big Mouth Fish. It’s very good-tasting.”
Before Han Jin and the others could reply, a clear and sharp roar came from the woods. “Stop!”
A ray of black light that was hard to be detected by the naked eye was shot out from the woods and emerged into the rock behind the soldier like lightning. The next moment, countless small cracks appeared on the rock. The cracks turned larger and larger until the one-meter-high rock was soundlessly cracked into gravel. It finally turned into clouds of dust, which were blown away by a gentle wind, rising and disappearing like a thin mist.
The soldier’s face turned pale. He cast a glance around and tentatively asked, “Is that you, Edwina?”
Before his voice died away, two elves successively came out from the woods. They were both blue-haired and looked much the same in terms of their noses, eyes, lips, shapes, even down to their soft armor and their longbows, as if they were twins as well. The only difference between them was their eyebrows. One had curved willow eyebrows, which added some delicacy to her face, while the other had a pair of blade-shaped eyebrows, giving her a feeling of aggressiveness.
“Julia, what brings you here?” The soldier’s face turned paler.
“Why can’t I come here?” The elf named Julia coldly replied.
The young magicians immediately formed a circle, surrounding Yalina and Cessacioun. Reg’s figure gradually disappeared while Moxinke stood beside Han Jin, holding his giant sword. Sunier was staring at the two elves with both her eyes full of surprise.
“Hayden, you sold your soul to a devil for just three dragon crystals, didn’t you?” said the other elf icily. She must be Edwina.
“I… I don’t know what you are talking about.” The soldier named Hayden shook his head, but his movements were slow.
“Where is Gibran? Come out!” Julia snapped. Her two blade-like eyebrows frowned due to extreme agitation.
Chipango stared at them with his mouth wide open. Fearing that the Mercenary Team of Red Vanguards had made an ambush for them here, Chipango had been thinking of a way to escape. However, the internal conflict amongst them had greatly astonished him.
A figure flashed out at around one hundred meters away from the riversides and moved towards them. Julia stared at Gibran, whose eyes flashed to avoid directly looking into her eyes. His face was as pale as the other two soldiers.
“Gibran, I am not querying you as a team member!” Julia said in a cold voice. “I am asking you in the name of your fiancee. I hope you can give me an explanation.”
“Julia, I can’t understand why you are so angry.” Gibran spread out his hands, but his fingers were violently trembling. As a high-grade thief, he should not be acting like this. “It’s just a task, and the target is a magus. I don’t want you to be hurt, so…”
“So you asked us to go to the eastern area?” Edwina sneered. “Gibran, you are smart, but don’t take us to be idiots! When you had told us to leave, your eyes already betrayed you! I admit that you love Julia, but we were still able to perceive your real intention from your eyes. This is unforgivable!”
“What are you doing?” The soldier named Hayden jumped to his feet and shouted in a crazy tone while pointing his finger at Sunier. “Well, I admit that we investigated and know that this elf had looked for you once at the Lily Hotel. She might be your friend, so… we hesitated as well. But, how can this little elf be compared to three dragon crystals?”
“Nonsense!” The other soldier’s patience hit the roof and pushed Hayden aside and said in a deep sound. “Don’t get angry, Julia, Edwina. Hayden likes to talk nonsense! Actually, Gibran ordered that no matter what happens, we must not hurt this little elf! What I am saying is the truth. I can swear upon it with my life!”
Julia and Edwina icily looked at each other and said nothing.
“Julia, Edwina, I think you can understand us. We really need the three dragon crystals!” The soldier said in a sincere tone. “Especially you, Julia. Gibran is ruthless to others but how does he treat you? He regards you as a treasure, the one and only for him. Can’t you see how much he loves you? He will even give out his heart to you if necessary. Now you’re treating him and treating us in this manner just for this little elf? Have you forgotten our friendship during those dangerous days? Is it worth it? Plus, we have never thought about hurting her!”
“Little elf?” Edwina laughed bitterly and waved to Sunier.
Julia’s face had turned pale. The words from the soldier had reminded her of all the moments in the past they had shared. She would be lying to herself if she said she didn’t care about the past times. As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water. They had fought together, bleed together, shared common joys, and bore hardships together. She would never forget this. Even dozens of years later, she would still remember the name Red Vanguards, remember each of her teammates and this team which she had considered as another family!
Sunier walked toward Edwina without any hesitation. Moxinke deliberately blocked her due to worry, but Sunier expressionlessly dodged his block. She trusted the two elves.
“This is Sunier!” Edwina gently held Sunier’s hand. “Do you know what she means to us elves?”
“What?” Gibran asked in a heavy tone.
Edwina reached out the other hand toward Sunier’s mask but retracted. “Can I?” she asked in a low voice.
Sunier let out a light sigh and personally took off her mask. The soldiers and Gibran were all shocked upon seeing her face. Their eyes filled with complicated expressions of panic, confusion, and nervousness. With their experience, they would not be shocked by her beauty. There must be something else that startled them.
“Sunier is a descendant of Warlord Abraham and Elf Messenger Doreen!” Edwina said it word by word. “We are friends of Sunier regardless of our status, but if any danger came upon her, every elf alive would die for her without hesitation, including our queen. Understood?”
The atmosphere turned into a deathly stillness. After a long while, the soldier named Hayden suddenly shouted, his voice as harsh as if his throat had been cut by a knife, “Are you kidding me? Since this little elf… sorry, since Lord Sunier has such a noble identity, she should stay in Wild Willow City instead of randomly coming out!” However foolish they were, they knew that they had violated a taboo which should by no means be violated!
“It is a tradition created by Warlord Abraham that all of his descendants must tour the whole continent after growing up. Hayden, do you think you have the status to question Warlord Abraham?” said Edwina, her voice still cold.
Han Jin was stunned but soon realized many things. However wild Moxinke was and however arrogant Reg was, they both acted modestly towards Sunier. This was irrelevant to Han Jin, and irrelevant to her strength and personality! Moxinke disliked being hit by women, but even Sylner would be hit back by him if she pulled on his ears and irritated him. However, whenever Sunier got angry, Moxinke would run away as far as possible like a frightened rabbit.
Warlord Abraham, Elf Messenger Doreen. Han Jin was very familiar with these two names as Cessacioun often mentioned them when he was telling epic stories!
In the war of invasion by the races of Abyss, the races on the ground were in a very disadvantaged position at the beginning. But the emergence of Warlord Abraham, Paladin Gotha, Elf Messenger Doreen, and Mountain King Damtin propped up the last defensive line on the ground. It could be said that without them, there would be no continent today.
After spending dozens of years fighting the war, the strengths of both Abraham and Doreen had shown signs of breaking the twelfth-grade. No one knew what a professional would be like after reaching the twelfth-grade. To become a demigod or even a god? All of the people knew was that Abraham and Doreen had become the nightmares of the races of Abyss. Wherever they went, the morale of the races of Abyss would be greatly reduced.
If the two heroes only possessed strength, they might not have been remembered and eulogized by people, even hundreds of years later, but they were also a tragic couple who had played a life and death story about love.
Before the races of Abyss were completely defeated, a black dragon named Havana took refuge under Damtin, the Mountain King, and described a prospect with deceiving words. He told Damtin that the continent must be united after the war, but who would be the last king? People now insisted that it the plot of the Black Dragon Race.
But Damtin’s ambition swelled up after hearing this. He pondered this for a long time and finally arranged a party. Abraham, Gotha, and Doreen were all invited, but Gotha didn’t attend because he was busy capturing an army of the races of Abyss which was secretly marching to the depths of the continent while both Abraham and Doreen came without suspecting anything.
The result was easy to guess. Damtin attacked both Abraham and Doreen at the party!
Abraham was a human while Doreen was an elf. It was known to all that elves had a much longer lifespan than humans. Thus, at that time, Abraham was an old hero while Doreen was still young. Abraham had asked Doreen about this. He told her that his life was vanishing and asked what she would do if that day really came. Doreen’s answer was understated. “Nothing can tear us apart, including death,” she said.
Abraham burst into laughter. Since then, he started to alienate Doreen by hanging around with his young maids. He didn’t doubt Doreen’s words. On the contrary, he did this because he knew Doreen was a woman with an iron hand in a velvet glove who would do what she said. Abraham hoped Doreen would hate him for his behavior and thus abandon her idea of dying together with him.
But how would Doreen not know this since they had been married for dozens of years? She even knew Abraham’s every detail, including the hairs on his head which were changing from golden to grey and each wrinkle on his face. She loved him more than anything else.
At the end of the dinner when the treachery started, Doreen fulfilled her promise with her actions. Abraham was entangled by the Treefolk’s roots and couldn’t run away, but Doreen, who had many chances to flee with a space scroll, didn’t leave. She fought beside Abraham the whole time. Compared to this man, everything else, including her mission and responsibility as a goddess of nature, as well being the hope of her clansmen, was insignificant! She knew Abraham, the man she loved most, and who had been considered as the leader of the whole continent, would also abandon everything for her!
This treachery caused great damage to the races on the ground. Warlord Abraham and Elf Messenger Doreen both died, while Damtin, the Mountain King, was also seriously injured. Almost half of the dwarfs following him died in that battle. Humans, elves, and the dwarfs were the three powers on the continent, but to fulfill his own ambition, Damtin had also dragged his own race into this muddy water.
But that was not the end!
Paladin Gotha vomited blood and fell into a coma on the spot when he heard the news. The first thing he did after waking up was to go back with his army and target the kingdom of dwarfs.
Damtin was greatly frightened and sent messengers to Gotha, promising to share the continent with him. Gotha did not reply, but instead waved his hand and ordered to have the messengers beheaded.
With his ability, Damtin should not have done such a stupid thing, but having been blinded by his lust for power, Damtin had lost his wisdom and had become an idiot!
He sent messengers to Gotha again, claiming to offer Gotha all the Dead God Weapons and all the other territories, except those belonging to the kingdom of dwarfs at present, but Gotha still said nothing. The messengers were also beheaded.
One of the most trusted subordinates of Gotha stood out to stop him. He said that, as the continent was still being threatened by the races of Abyss, it was unwise to do things that saddened those near and dear to them and gladdened the enemies! But Gotha only raised his war pike expressionlessly.
Faced with those terrified subordinates, he finally opened his mouth, though it was only one sentence. “If I can’t even protect my friends who shared life and death with me, what’s the meaning of protecting the whole continent?”
The power of personal loyalty could never be neglected. Considering their own king was too cruel and shameless, many dwarves came out to welcome Gotha’s troops, but only got themselves killed.
Gotha washed the main city of Damtin with blood and personally killed the Damtin who had not yet recovered from his wounds. All the elite dwarves died in that battle.
Gotha had a much more miserable experience than Abraham. But unlike Abraham, an affettuoso leader, Gotha was a hard man of iron bones. He had once been captured and tortured, but he had shed no tears. When his troops, to which he had devoted most of his efforts, was besieged by enemies and all were annihilated except him and some of his personal guards, he had shed no tears. When his family, including his parents, uncles, and his underage sons and daughters, was killed by the races of Abyss through cruel means, he still shed no tears.
But when he saw the remains of Abraham and Doreen, Gotha burst out crying. Abraham was a good leader in terms of both strength and personal charm, and the only one whom Gotha had admired from the depths of his heart. After Abraham and Doreen’s death, Gotha had no choice but to kill Damtin, the man he deeply hated to the bones, and whom he could no longer cooperate with. Gotha cried in despair, not only for himself but also for the future of the whole continent. How could he win the war on his own?
As the epics had described, Gotha’s emotion also affected his subordinates and people all around the continent. All of them cried. After taking back the remains of Abraham and Doreen, Gotha destroyed his war pike and secretly left. No one knew his whereabouts after then.
It was the most vulnerable time of races for the ground, as the four heroes had quit the war almost simultaneously. However, treachery also happened underground, and the races of Abyss had to abandon the opportunity and returned underground.
The invincible iron wall formed by Warlord Abraham, Paladin Gotha, Elf Messenger Doreen, and Mountain King Damtin was crumbled in the blink of an eye because of personal interests. It was such a pity!
All dwarves that appeared in front of Gotha’s eyes were killed. His cruel means of revenge was denounced by most righteous people. Gotha was also considered as a ‘coward’ after his secret dismissal, as he had abandoned his own responsibility regardless of the threat posed by the races of Abyss, while Abraham and Doreen were still considered impeccable tragic heroes and had greater influence than Gotha.
What made Moxinke and Reg give ground and what had aroused Gibran’s reverence was not Sunier herself, but the great glory left by Warlord Abraham and Elf Messenger Doreen! In the past years, such glory had always affected the later generations and told them what righteousness, faith, and loyalty was! Though the chaos had lasted for a long time and good things, such as righteousness and faith, were crumbling everywhere, the godhead mark on Sunier’s forehead still reminded them of the stories of Abraham and Doreen. No matter how arrogant they were, those who saw the mark would turn cautious and show respect.
“Julia…” Gibran said in a quivering voice, realizing how stupid he had been to have done such things.
“Stop!” Julia held her longbow and said word by word. “Stay back. I don’t trust you!”
Gibran suddenly froze. His face turned paler as Julia spoke.
