Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
As Han Jin sat on his bed, he stared unblinkingly at a thin black line which was dancing around in a ball of white hot flames like an agile snake.
Against a powerful enemy, the Black Crystal Thread would become an useful assistant. It could even completely restrain Guevera in his prime, let alone an ordinary professional.
However, Han Jin had only focused on absorbing earth element energy these past few days, and only occasionally consuming a few fire element magic crystals. Forging required a long period of tempering for the Three True Flame, thus he still hadn’t finished his Immortal-Binding Rope.
The Black Crystal Thread’s color gradually changed, shifting from the initial red to a golden color. Drawing a deep breath, Han Jin fired a few more balls of Three True Flame, while his finger quickly started drawing in the air.
Charm after charm appeared in the air, and the flowing black thread immediately absorbed all of them like a magnet. Ray after ray of white lights collided with the black thread and caused explosion after explosion of sparks, appearing extremely dazzling.
Sweat started appearing on Han Jin’s forehead. “Almost done,” he thought to himself. The black thread had just absorbed all the fire elements, and he didn’t want to use any of his vital energy. It was easy to form Three True Flame out of fire elements, and it would be a great waste if he used his vital energy instead. Even though vital energy was no longer traditional energy and could be regenerated through meditation, the process still took time. After the previous incident, Han Jin had been living in a state of high alert; he had to be ready for all possible mishaps, and even the slightest consumption of vital energy made him feel uneasy.
He truly was overreacting a little, but since no one knew what Han Jin was thinking, no one told him to adjust his mental state. He had to learn to do so by himself.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. Han Jin waved his hand, and the now gold-colored thread shot toward Han Jin with a snap and twisted itself around Han Jin’s right hand. From afar, it only looked like a golden bracelet. He couldn’t put the Black Crystal Thread in his space ring because the Three True Flame was too powerful, and he couldn’t control it within a space ring. Last time, he had nearly burned all the leftover woods from the Treefolk by accident. He had to wait a while, until the Three True Flame extinguished itself from lack of energy, before he could put it back.
“Come in,” Han Jin said.
The door opened, and Guevara slowly walked in. He looked at Han Jin and said, “I heard the Mercenary Association helped catch a vampire?”
“Yes. Did something happen?” Han Jin was surprised, as Guevara would never come to him for such a minor matter. Since he hadn’t left his room for several days, Guevara was the one that had to deal with negotiating with the Chamber of Commerce and receiving Ronning’s ambassador. In other words, Guevara was a very busy man.
“It seems that I’m wrong.” Guevara slowly sat down. After a pause, he continued, “Those vampires will never relent. Even though Zaganide has always commanded the vampires, they are a very proud and xenophobic race. They could tightly rally together if they wished. Even if Zaganide decides that now is not the time for revenge, some within the vampire clans may still insist on attacking!”
“Then let them,” Han Jin flatly said. “Even if they don’t… I will go find them.”
Guevara stared at Han Jin for a moment, then shook his head. “This isn’t good for you.”
“Me? What do you mean?” Han Jin said in confusion.
“You have been acting too gloomy as of late,” Guevara gently said. “Someone as young as you should be more lively; don’t act so depressed all the time. Besides, failing once means nothing. You just have to climb back up.”
“I am feeling fine, thank you.”
“You are a smart kid; you know what I’m trying to say.” Guevara smiled. “I’ll stop now so that I won’t get called a long-winded old man.”
“I understand.” Han Jin said after a moment, “Thank you.”
“Thank you? Ah, you must be reminding me that I should be the one thanking you.” Guevara simled. “But… I do have to thank you. I’m old now, and my only goal right now is to get rid of Zaganide, Caroline, and Betty, and get my revenge. Yet, you somehow just finished two thirds of my wish! I must say, I’m relieved, and happy… very happy!”
“That’s my responsibility as well. After all, if I hadn’t killed them, they would have killed me.”
“No matter what, you did it.” Guevara sighed. “How does it feel? Indulge an old man.” Guevara initially wanted Han Jin to understand himself, but the way he acted had him worried. Thus, Guevara decided to take a more direct approach.
“Feel? I only felt lucky. Betty was trying to get rid of Caroline from the start and never used her full power. As you said, sir, she is one of the best magicians among the vampires, yet she only ever casted two spells. Is it possible for such a powerful magician to only knew two spells?” Han Jin had analyzed the battle countless times already, and had noticed many crucial details. He had also learned a lot from it. “If she hadn’t tried to use the opportunity to set a trap, I would have died a thousand times already.”
“In all honesty, Betty could be ranked second among Zaganide’s forces, both in terms of strength and intellect. Compared to her, Caroline was only a brainless fool. Yet she still always sat above Betty, which made her very jealous. That’s why Betty always wanted to get rid of Caroline.” Guevara smiled. “But she was mistaken. Caroline only sat above her because Zaganide thought Caroline was much better suited; even if she did manage to get rid of Caroline, Zaganide would prop up another vampire. He would never give Betty control of his army.”
“Why? Aren’t they… husband and wife?” Han Jin asked in surprise.
“Like I told you, vampires are extremely xenophobic and unified. Zaganide is not a vampire. Thus, do you think he would entrust his army to a shrewd, and even treacherous vampire?”
Han Jin fell silent.
“Let me tell you an example. There is a door in front of you. Taking control of this door would be costly. If Caroline were in charge, as long as Zaganide placed the order, she would charge forward no matter what. But if Betty were in charge, she would be worried about wasting vampire lives and make up excuse after excuse to delay the attack.” Guevara said, ‘”If you were a lord, which would you put in charge?”
“Caroline,” Han Jin said without hesitation. No matter which lord was presented with this choice, they would always choose Caroline.
“You said they are husband and wife?” Guevara smiled. “Zaganide can command the vampires as Betty’s husband, but Betty can also command the rest of the Abyssal Race as Zaganide’s wife. If Zaganide fell… Ha, he can trust Caroline, but Betty… is too ambitious. Zaganide knew that better than I do, so how could he trust Betty?”
“Is it necessary… to make a marriage so complicated?” Han Jin scornfully smiled. He had experienced quite a lot for his age, but it was still not a lot. At least, when it came to love, he still had some idyllic hopes. If there was love, there should be trust, or one might as well not love in the first place. Aside from his deepest secrets, he would never keep anything from Sunier nor lie to her. Hence, he had always scorned the conflict between Zaganide and the two vampires.
“Ah, youth…” Guevara shook his head. “You just aren’t there yet. You will eventually understand when you sit in a seat of power.”
“Understand what? Be weary of my own wife?” Han Jin quietly said, “I won’t.”
Guevara didn’t say anything and only looked at Han Jin with a smile.
“I never will,” Han Jin added.
“Still too young…” Guevara sighed in his heart. Unlike Han Jin, Guevara knew this world too well. He knew everything you did, and everything you didn’t. Sunier had been marked by the gods, and according to Elven traditions, she must marry another similarly marked elf so they could lead their people out of their plight and rebuild their former glory! The day Wild Willow City gets wind of this news will be the day when trouble comes. Sunier can ignore the rules and choose someone she loves, but the tradinalist elders will never indulge Sunier’s betrayal. Their reactions would be worrisome.
When it came to defending justice, the elves could become extremely resilient. That, Guevara had personally learned. They could throw themselves into battle until every resource had been exhausted, and even then, never give up. Back then, it was such an elven army that had managed to topple him! Of course, the so-called justice was strictly defined in elven terms.
If there was conflict, there would be blood. If they watched their friends fall under the butcher knife, would Han Jin and Sunier stay the same and still love each other? Would there be no estrangement at all??
Guevara had heard Julia’s whispers to Sunier before. She was worried about Sunier’s future. She understood because she had left for too long and had fallen in love with a human herself, but most other elves wouldn’t. However, Sunier was optimistic and firmly believed there was nothing Han Jin’s couldn’t solve. She had even pointed out how powerful Han Jin had become in just a year. That little elf clapped at every step Han Jin took. She must also be aware of the resistance they might face in the future.
True, if Han Jin possessed crushing power, he could force Wild Willow City to bow their head and make all the elders accept reality, but that would only be on the surface. There is a fundamental difference between compromise and actually resolving the conflict. The former was forced, while the latter was a true happy ending. In other words, even if the elders of Wild Willow City backed down, there was no guarantee they would stay the same in the future.
A young man’s world was always so black and white; love was love, and nothing else. But for an old man like Guevara, love could not be more worthless. In truth, he thought another girl was more suited for Han Jin as of now, but he didn’t try to influence him. Even though he couldn’t dig up Han Jin’s past, he had familiarized himself with his character. If he really did try to push him one way or another, Han Jin would never forgive him and might even grow to hate him, even if his intentions were good.
“Realistically, I’m not worried about the vampires.” Guevara pulled back his thoughts and shifted the topic. It would be useless to tell Han Jin these things right now; he wouldn’t understand anyway. All he could do was to return as fast as possible and help Ronning defeat the Beitman army. If Han Jin really did become the lord of both Black Raven City and Beitman, the elders of Wild Willow City would have to take him seriously; was it worth it to anger a lord like him? Tradition was important, true, but there were certain things that held more weight. Faced with a lord over two territories, they would have to be cautious.
“Then what are you worried about, sir?” Han Jin asked.
“I’m afraid we might alert the old vampires within the Abyssal Race.” Guevara slowly said, “Caroline and Betty are both their descendants – very talented ones at that. Now that both have died at your hands, some of those old bastards might want to crawl out of their holes. With only Gail with you… I’m worried.”
Han Jin’s expression also became solemn. He didn’t know how powerful Majordomo Gail truly was, but if he had Guevara’s respect, he couldn’t be too weak. Now that Guevara said Gail might not be able to protect him against this threat, he felt truly nervous.
“You don’t have to worry yourself with these things; I will take care of it.” Guevara noticed the shift in Han Jin’s expression. “The way to the Abyss is not a smooth one, and it would take at least half a year for a round trip; more than enough time for us to prepare.”
Han Jin was silent.
“Do you know what the most terrifying part about vampires are?” Guevara asked.
“Their natural born power.”
“Correct.” Guevara nodded. “Caroline’s power of regeneration is the most useless. Of course, if she were more powerful, that power would give many professionals headaches. Unfortunately, she was too weak. Betty’s power was even more troublesome; even I constantly fell for her traps. If not for her, how could Zaganide have captured me back then?!”
“The old vampires you mentioned… do you know their power?”
“I don’t.” Guevara bitterly smiled. “Which is why we need to prepare for everything.”
Han Jin’s heart sunk. It seemed like Guevara was not certain either.
“A vampire’s life span rivals the elves. When I was young, I was always jealous of them.” Guevara smiled. “But not anymore. Is a hundred years of life not enough? I’ve loved, I’ve hated, I’ve fought, and I’ve languished. All of that has made me extremely tired. Death is truly going to be a relief in some way. I’m very curious what those millennium-old bastards live for. Besides, you don’t become more powerful by simply surviving. Those old vampires hide in the dark and sleep all day long, sometimes for decades and centuries at a time. Can that really be called living? I refuse to believe they can become more powerful in their dreams!”
Han Jin opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. With what Guevara had gone through, he might think death would be a relief. But Han Jin knew even better that no matter what one went through, ‘living’ was often a tempting enough gift by itself. And that was exactly what he strived for: immortality!
