Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
A stream of green radiance flashed across the sky as the dazzling tail extended far beyond. From below, it looked like a ray of a rainbow flying freely in the air, coming from one end of the sky, dividing the sky into two halves, then gliding away.
Since Han Jin already decided to help Jeddes, Gibran and the others did not mention anything in front of the others. However, Gibran and Reg both approached Han Jin separately and raised their objections. What surprised Han Jin was that Reg’s reactions were particularly agitated.
Reg was not a fool. Guevara and Ronning’s actions were not able to stay hidden from him for long. This time, he and Han Jin talked it all out. Some people said that a leader must have both virtue and talent, but in this world, virtue and talent were not that important; what mattered most was strength. Reg was now only an eighth-grade thief. He admitted himself that he did not have the capabilities of a Lord. Han Jin was a better choice for everyone, if Reg forced himself to do so, he would not only hurt everyone’s feelings, but also turn himself into a laughing stock.
In fact, Guevara had the biggest influence on Reg. Without Guevara’s nurture, Reg’s father Knight Conrad would never be able to leave the small village on the mountain. At most, he wanted to become a person of little importance like a shoemaker, a carpenter, or a peasant. He once firmly believed that his father was right, yet it was due to his firm belief and determination that Guevara abandoned him. This made Reg very sad. Of course, what Guevara abandoned was just Reg’s opinion and his perseverance, if anyone were to harm Reg, Guevara would definitely be the first to save him.
Everything was determined by human nature. If Reg was an overly stubborn man, he would certainly resent Guevara, possibly even Han Jin and Ronning as well. Since Reg was actually quite open-minded in some aspects, he always kept in mind his gratitude towards Guevara’s nurture, and also remembered that in his most painful and desperate times, it was Han Jin and Sunier who stood beside him, fighting alongside him, rescued Ronning, and finally helped him control the power of the Riptide Regiment.
He had never doubted Guevara’s intentions, and he trusted his friendship with Han Jin and the others. However, something had to be wrong; otherwise, where did the disputes come from? Reg chose to be silent and wait for facts to prove him right or wrong. Even if he learned that Ronning had launched a series of actions in the army, he did not say a word.
Winter was not a particularly suitable time for waging war. Even if they could annihilate the Beitman’s Allied Forces, their army could not immediately launch a counterattack. Thus, Ronning planned the battle for early spring, which was why Reg did not want Han Jin to leave. Everything would be alright if Ronning won, but what if he lost? Zaganide and Dismark were staring like prowling tigers, and the ambitions of the Beitman’s Allied Forces finally began to show, Cold Shadow City could also join the battle, Wild Willow City’s attitude was unknown so far, and there was also Woodrow, who could benefit from everyone’s disputes. Therefore, Han Jin could not leave; everyone’s eyes were gathered on Han Jin, and he was also the main reason why Isolated Cliff City was willing to help Ronning buy military resources. Guevara was just an old lion, no matter how powerful he was, the influence he had was limited. However, Han Jin was different; he was young, and youth always meant hope. Han Jin had enough time to attain a bright future. How could Isolated Cliff City ignore such a fact? Han Jin had strength and lots of connections; he had the daughter of Grand Duke Solomon as a companion, let alone Guevara. Furthermore, Han Jin had his own territory and an army, not to mention his strong influence among the mercenary community which included many powerful people, and thus he was very likely to win in a battle which had great significance. If even such a promising young person was not worth their funding, the people of Isolated Cliff City would be really blind!
However, Han Jin had already made his decision and he would not change his mind for anyone.
In fact, to Han Jin, his companions were both good assistance and a burden! Just like in the battle with Caroline and Betty, if Edwina did not help, Han Jin would have lost, he also had a great chance to escape. But because of Edwina’s death, Han Jin had to fight with the enemy. The intensity of that battle was already beyond what he could handle. However, Han Jin continued fighting for his own self-esteem and for his partner.
If he faced the danger alone, he would have had much more freedom. He had his flying green radiance, his Earthmeld technique, and he could also bless himself with the Art of Fake Earth Corpse. He could fight when he wanted, and retreat whenever he wished, no one would be able to trap him.
Due to the hostility between heaven and Earth, he had regarded Nicolas as his enemy! He never would have thought that people from this world could also attain the Dao! Of course, for Nicolas it was the Dao of the demons! Although Jeddes repeatedly emphasized that Nicolas had unfathomable strength, Han Jin was sure that Jeddes still underestimated Nicolas. Only the most devilish of demons or the evilest of monsters could be able to induce hostility towards both heaven and Earth. The only difference was that Nicolas could not release the Taoist Arts, but who knew for certain if Nicolas did not have a similar approach?!
They were natural enemies, determined by heaven. There was no room for compromise between the Taoist Xuan and the evil beings, more often than not they fought like cats and dogs. The demons hoped to convert the spiritual energy between heaven and Earth into hostile energy, while the Taoist Xuan hoped to convert the hostile energy between heaven and Earth into spiritual energy. Neither group would give in as it was a matter of their living spaces! Although Han Jin never considered himself an authentic Taoist Xuan cultivator, he still shared their same common enemy. Also, he had a vague feeling that the demigods in the legends were all people who had attained the Dao! If it was so, what was their Dao? And what was the difference between their Dao and the Dao that he was pursuing?
In any case, he could not let Nicolas grow any stronger without any constraint. Compared to Nicolas, Zaganide and Dismark were merely a small trouble, only due a minute of importance.
Looking toward the horizon, Han Jin frowned as there seemed to be no end to the boundless forests. Jeddes said that he also did not know the exact location of the destination, but as long as Han Jin continued walking southwest, he should be able to escape out of the forest after around three months of travel. However, the speed of flying on his green radiance was much faster than traveling on foot. According to his calculations, it would take around five to six days to reach the sphere of influence in Iron Fist City. Today was already the fifth day, but for as far as his eyes could see, dense vegetation remained. Had his direction deviated from the correct path?
Such a mistake was impossible! It was possible that he could have gotten lost trapped in a huge magic array, but otherwise, getting lost was simply impossible. Cultivators were extremely sensitive to heaven, earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars. Although it was an unfamiliar world, Han Jin had already lived on the planet for two years, and had long been familiar with the orbit of the sun, moon, and stars surrounding the world. His course was definitely correct, meaning that Jeddes’ judgment must’ve been wrong.
As he was pondering, a flying arrow awakened Han Jin from his thoughts. The arrow was soaring extremely fast, but Han Jin instantly judged that the arrow would not hurt him, and would instead just whiz past the green radiance.
Han Jin suddenly stopped, released the Art of Spirit Possession, and then calmly turned his head to look in the direction of the arrow. The Art of Spirit Possession itself could not do much in such a situation, but it could increase his overall abilities, such as his response speed, hearing, and vision, which was definitely needed.
Suddenly, more than 400 meters below, a few figures appeared on the branches. Moments later, Han Jin noticed a faint exclamation, “Oh my… that is really a person! Is it a person!”
Han Jin instantly lowered the speed of his green radiance as he made his way towards the figures. Since they only shot the arrow to probe the green radiance and the arrow was not an offensive attack, Han Jin believed that they were not hostile. Coincidentally, he wanted to ask someone in the group for directions. He could not afford to delay his progress any further, as Jeddes told him that Nicolas had already used the space scroll to return to Iron Fist City. Even a single day delay would give Nicolas more time to perfect his preparations. If Nicolas had persuaded the Knights Templars, Han Jin’s task as a messenger would become meaningless.
The distance between him and the group was getting closer and closer, but both sides remained equally vigilant. Han Jin could clearly see that the group had over a dozen people. They were led by a young girl around the age of eighteen, and the remaining were all strong muscular men, except for one person standing beside the girl. He was an old man with snowy white hair, but his face appeared very young, making it hard to decipher his exact age.
“Dear distinguished guest from afar, I am really sorry.” The old man raised his voice, “We thought you were a magical item that went out of control. Please forgive us for startling you.”
“It’s nothing.” Seeing that their attitude was very friendly, Han Jin became slightly relaxed, “Good day everyone, umm… I seemed to be lost… Could you tell me… How do I get to St. Petersburg?”
“Are you going to St. Petersburg?” The old man thought for a while, “Go northwest, it’s about seven hundred miles from here.”
“Thank you.” Han Jin nodded, then rose slowly.
“Wait… Are you planning to fly to St. Petersburg?” The old man shouted at Han Jin loudly.
“Why?”
“You will pass through the airspace of the Kingdom of Magnificent Light, they will attack you.”
“I’m just passing by, why would they attack me?” Han Jin was stunned.
“You came from afar, so you don’t understand the situation here. The Kingdom of Magnificent Light is a fully militarized country. Whether you’re entering their territory through the air, from the river, or on the ground, you must first obtain their permission, otherwise, they will treat you as an invader.”
“I am just a single person. How could I invade them? That is absurd!” Han Jin laughed. He did not care about the advice at all, but just as a precaution, he could fly a little higher. If they wanted to attack him, they would need to catch up with him first.
Seeing that Han Jin did not heed his advice, the old man opened his mouth again to blurt something out. However, before he uttered a single word, the girl snapped, “Don’t worry about him! He won’t listen, let him go and seek his own death!”
The old man glanced at the girl then smiled wryly back at Han Jin, “Dear guest, I know that you must be a powerful professional since you were able to fly all the way here from afar, but King Nicolas of the Kingdom of Magnificent Light had obtained the loyalty of several Dragon Knights; it’s too risky for you to try to force your way through.”
“Dragon Knights?” Han Jin’s heart skipped a beat. Jeddes mentioned the Dragon Knights before, but Jeddes instilled too many things, making it impossible to digest everything. He also recalled Yalina’s earlier remark, that only dragons and the fire phoenixes could surpass his flying speed, which also meant that the Dragon Knights could pose a strong threat.
“Dear guest, we are also going to St. Petersburg. How about you come with us?” The old man invited Han Jin, “If you think our speed is too slow, we could disband after we escape the sphere of influence of the Kingdom of Magnificent Light. ”
Han Jin hesitated. Suddenly, the girl asked out of curiosity, “Who are you looking for in St. Petersburg? Adunis? Aude? Aimee?”
“Young Mistress, don’t probe the guest’s privacy.” The old man smiled bitterly.
“I just want to help him.” The girl said proudly, “They’re all very very good friends of mine, no matter who you wish to meet, I just have to say a word.”
Han Jin immediately changed his mind and lowered towards the ground. Among the few people that Jeddes repeatedly emphasized, one of which was Aude from St. Petersburg.
