Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Vermillion Town.
“All of you, hurry up. Her Highness doesn’t like people who dawdle.”
A guard stood outside the mayor’s office, urging a few farmers to transfer their belongings to a few carriages. Among the items were priceless murals, books, and a few large boxes. Nobody knew what was inside.
Adele, Vermillion Town’s mayor, was dressed in a golden and red gown. She leaned against the door, observing everything in front of her with cold eyes. Her ruby-colored eyes glowed with regret.
A guard stood next to her; he had golden-yellow hair and a dashing appearance. He was sizing her up in the carriage.
The handsome guard spoke after a brief moment of hesitation. “Lady Adele, it has been almost a week since the border count sent us an invitation. Is it true that we are not going to Blackmoon Town?”
The handsome guard’s name was Lophis; he was Adele’s personal guard. He was a descendent from the Saint Laurent family in the royal city. He was only 24 years old, but he was already a peak silver-tier warrior.
It was a long story as to why he was working as a guard. He was a Saint Laurent descendant who had been sent to the border for a gilded post. However, he had only been the mayor for two years when a young woman was transferred to take over that position. It was Adele.
He had been unconvinced. He went to his family to express his displeasure, but they said nothing. Adele’s identity was something out of the ordinary. Furthermore, Lophis got along with Adele, and he discovered that Adele was a capable woman. The doubt in his heart gradually faded. He was eager to take over as captain of the guards.
The border count had burned the magical scroll that he had given to Vermillion Town a week ago. They received word that all mayors were to travel to Blackmoon Town. The border count had wanted to declare that Blackmoon Town would take control of the border.
Lophis was present when they received the news. Adele had told him to ignore it, so he did not take it seriously. Unfortunately, he could not do anything about it because the border had undergone earth-shattering changes in just a few days.
For starters, there was a ten-meter-wide passage just outside Vermillion Town. The path was made entirely of platinum-tier ores. No one knew who had constructed that passage. According to the city guards, it had appeared out of nowhere. In addition, a swarm of rats had appeared alongside the route.
Those rats had infiltrated Vermillion Town and devoured a slew of hot stone veins. The town was well-known for its hot stone veins. It would be an extreme inconvenience if they were to lose those veins. However, that was not the case.
The rats did not consume all of the hot stone veins. Instead, they left some, and the remaining veins had evolved into super hot stone veins.
The super hot stones reigned supreme among hot stone veins. It had a platinum color that set it apart from other hot stone veins. Typically, the vein as a whole might not even produce another one. It contained far more energy than ordinary hot stone veins, and its value was extremely high. The rats had devoured the hot stones and left behind the super hot stones in the past few days. Even though the number of hot stones had been reduced hundreds of times, the price had increased thousands fold.
Many Vermillion Town residents referred to those rats as angelic rats. They believed that the gods had sent the rats to assist them. People brought hoes and other tools to the hot stone mineral vein daily. They were willing to destroy a piece of boiling stone to sell it for a profit. Unfortunately, the tools at their disposal did not assist them in extracting the platinum-tier ores. The hoes and weapons they used, on the other hand, were severely damaged.
In addition to the super hot stones, a platinum road outside of town had recently been discovered in an unusual location. They did not have to lift their legs to walk; the road would automatically move them when they stood on the road. The speed was ten times greater than that of a carriage.
The town’s merchants were overjoyed at the discovery. As they looked at the towns to the north, they realized that they would be able to do business with those towns in the future. Their speed would skyrocket.
Lophis remembered his worried expression. Apparently, a pair of invisible hands had infiltrated Vermillion Town and gradually changed its environment. He did not know the owner of those hands.
He sighed and shifted his gaze toward Adele. The woman lacked cultivation ability, but she was unrivaled in terms of management. Adele was Vermillion Town’s sole ruler, as opposed to the city hall system. He had asked Adele if she wanted to go to Blackmoon Town. That was the first time he questioned the mayor’s decision.
“What is Blackmoon Town? What’s the point of going there?”
Adele did not even turn her head to reply to him. She continued to stare at the goods loaded onto the carriage. It was as if they were essential to her.
“Well, the border count said that he’d expel us from the border if we don’t go to Blackmoon Town,” Lophis explained hesitantly. “Also, if you do not intend to go to Blackmoon Town, why did you ask them to move the things in your office?” he asked as he looked at the carriage in front of him.
Adele’s belongings were in the carriage, including letters, documents, clothes, and daily necessities. Adele wanted to take some of the furniture with her. It was inaccurate to refer to it as a long-distance journey. She appeared to be moving.
“The border count is merely a symbol. He can’t really kick us out. There are only four towns on the border, well, five towns, including Blackmoon Town. Do you know how much those five towns pay in taxes each year? About 200,000 gold coins.”
Adele’s tone was soothing. “For example, Vermillion Town is required to pay 80,000 gold coins per year, and we pay the highest tax among all the other towns. If they were to lose Vermillion Town, then the taxes would need to be redistributed between the other towns. Do you think the border count would know how to settle that?”
Lophis realized Adele’s words made sense, so he nodded thoughtfully before he asked, “Since we are not going to Blackmoon Town, what are your plans, Your Highness?”
“I am taking a trip to the Royal City. I have a few things to do there. I will be leaving Vermillion Town for about ten days to a few months. I shall appoint you as the acting mayor!” Adele took a transfer document that she had prepared from her bosom and handed it to Lophis. Then, without looking back, she walked toward the horse carriage, which had been partially loaded.
“You don’t have to carry it anymore. The rest of the things are more valuable, so I’ll take them myself.” Adele dismissed the farmers who were helping her with the things. She moved the last few boxes onto the carriage and touched the veins on the boxes. Waves of emotions rose in her red eyes.
Her original name was not Adele. It was only her alias after she went to the border. In fact, she was part of the King’s entourage. She was at the border to monitor the border count.
She had asked the King for further instructions a week ago when the Dragonspine Snow Mountain was destroyed, and the border count had gone to support Blackmoon Town. She would always receive those instructions in the basement of her house. So, she renovated the city hall and murdered the person who constructed the secret room.
The King’s response to her was straightforward. There were only two words.
[Evacuate immediately.]
Typically, the King’s orders were quite lengthy. She did not understand why it was so simple at that time.
Perhaps the border count had discovered her true identity and wanted to capture her, but that did not make sense. He would have made a move on her a long time ago if he had wanted to do that. Furthermore, she had been waiting for a few days, and the border count had not sent anyone there. It meant that the other party was still unaware of her identity. It would be interesting if the King asked her to return under such circumstances. She had no idea if her mission was completed or if the King intended to assign her some other missions.
Adele shook her head, putting an end to her rambling thoughts. It would be a lie to say that she did not feel hesitant to control Vermillion Town after she had lived there for so long. However, she could not defy the King’s orders.
“All right, let’s go.”
Adele climbed into the carriage without further hesitation and directed the coachman to begin driving out of town. She heard that there was a new tunnel outside the city that could transport people to distant locations independently. Even in the Royal City, she had never seen such an unusual tunnel. She decided to give it a shot.
Lophis’ face was filled with disappointment as he watched Adele enter the carriage. He cradled the transfer document that Adele had given him, but he did not read it. Adele would only be gone for a few days. That was good news; if she were gone for longer, he would not bear his longing for her. She must have a good reason to be at the Royal City, so he had no reason to stop her.
Lophis, whose gaze followed Adele’s carriage discreetly, saw her carriage reach the platinum passage that connected the gates. Eventually, the carriage became a small black dot before it disappeared into the distance. It made him feel uneasy. He had developed an aversion to the enigmatic platinum passage. Could Adele leave slowly if that passage was not so magical?
Just as he was about to say something, he noticed the carriage that had turned into a black dot had returned at an even faster speed. Adele poked her head out from the coach. He was about to greet her when he noticed her face was twisted with fear. She pleaded with the coachman frantically. “Change your route as soon as possible. I am leaving the border today, so hurry up.”
“What is the matter, Miss Adele?”
He waved his hand to clear the dust stirred by the carriage. He had a puzzled expression on his face.
He hesitated for a moment, but he did not go after Adele. Instead, he turned around and made his way to the platinum passage. That passage had appeared a few days ago, but he had yet to use it. He wanted to go through it and see what had caused Adele to panic. She would always maintain a poker face no matter what had happened. That was the first time he had seen Adele go through such intense emotional turmoil.
A platinum shield appeared on Lophis’ body as he stood in the passage. Following that, a powerful force transmitted and caused him to move forward quickly. That did not make him feel uneasy. On the contrary, it made him feel extremely at ease.
“There is nothing here. What did Miss Adele see that caused her to look like that?”
He continued to ponder after advancing for a few minutes until he felt that he had advanced for more than ten kilometers. Suddenly, his vision turned black. It was as if something was blocking the sunlight.
He raised his head unconsciously and saw a scene that made his face pale. There was a mountain in front of him. It was even more magnificent than Dragonspine Snow Mountain, and it stretched across more than half of the border.
The most important thing was that the mountain was floating in the sky!
